Sometimes we take for granted what is right in front of us. Consider that one of the most important documents of the 20th century is right here in Los Angeles, accessible and on view for all to visit. Few realize it; fewer still appreciate it. Although originals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and […]

Can a conversation inspire a city? A people? Nextbook, an organization devoted to Jewish literature, culture and ideas (www.nextbook.org) came to L.A. last weekend, staging a full day festival at UCLA’s MacGowan and Freud theaters called “Acting Jewish: Film, TV, Comedy, Music,” the first of what it hopes to be an annual event. According to […]

David Mamet in conversation with Tom Teicholz http://www.nextbook.org/festivals/la.html# The conversation took place on the stage of the Freud Playhouse at UCLA at 11AM on April 22nd, 2007 and lasts about an hour. The Nextbook festival of ideas link above will also lead you to video and podcasts of all the other panels from the Nextbook […]

Andrew Stevens, a longtime Beverly Hills resident, successful businessman, active philanthropist and Hungarian Holocaust survivor, is hard to resist. He’s in his late 70s but looks 15 years younger — not because of his hair, which is darker than nature permits, but because of his energy, drive and determination. He has a quality I find […]

Can you tell the story of a people by its music? Last November, the classical music label Naxos released the 50th CD of its American Classics series, music from the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music, so the time has come to give the archive its props (just imagine Randy Jackson saying: Yo! Yo! Dog, […]

This time of year finds me on the treadmill in the mornings, futzing around the gym, taking walks around the neighborhood, eating lots of grilled chicken salads. I’m in training — not for the recent Los Angeles Marathon, but for the marathon weekend in May when my wife and I travel to another city with […]

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a seminar room at UCLA’s Royce Hall attending a presentation by professor David Shneer of the University of Denver concerning Jewish museums in Los Angeles, a city he calls, “The Newest Jewish City in the World.” As someone who has argued that Los Angeles is the […]

Recently I asked a 15-year-old boy what music he listened to. His answer: “No one you ever heard of.” A perfect answer. Because what every fan needs, what every person should have, is music that is his own. Over the years, there’s been a lot of music that has mattered to me. That I have […]

What better way to start the New Year than by sprinkling a little literary paprika? Consider this: Mark Sarvas, a New York-born son of Hungarian parents, a voracious reader, a Francophile and a foodie, comes to Los Angeles to be a writer, sells some screenplays and starts an acclaimed literary blog, The Elegant Variation (marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar […]

Recently, I attended a screening of “Swimming in Auschwitz,” a still unreleased documentary directed by Jon Kean about the experience in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp of six women — Eva Beckmann, Rena Drexler, Renee Firestone, Erika Jacobi, Lili Majzner and Linda Sherman — all of whom survived and today live in the Los Angeles area. The […]