Virtual Revolution

BBC has produced a very interesting looking documentary about how the Internet has transformed the world, but ironically enough, you can only watch it online if you life in the UK. To quote my buddy Wagner James Au: "Don't you think it's immensely silly to produce an online program claiming that the Internet has transformed the world... then prevent almost everyone in the world from viewing it on the Internet?"
Anyhow, on YouTube you find an interesting teaser. Hope to be able to watch more online in the near future.

Lost

The final season of Lost set to kickoff tonight night. The JTA staff started wondering: What if it had been an El Al flight that crashed on the island? Here the answers from their website:

In the first place, the plane would have never crashed because the pilots would have been able to perform evasive maneuvers. But if it had…
- Jack would not have been the only doctor.
- John Locke would have been named Yeshyahu Leibowitz.
- Sayid would have never been on the plane.
- Instead of his makeshift radio, some of the Israeli passengers would have set up a high-speed Internet link.
- A Chabad house would have opened up.
- There would be more than just one recklessly driven, German-made vehicle on the road.
- The existence of a nuclear weapon on the island would never have been acknowledged.
- Gratuitous shots of Kate in her underwear would be replaced by quick peeks of haredi women sans sheitels.
- The island would suddenly have attracted the attention of the entire world, with the U.N. accusing the passengers of illegally occupying territory and using disproportionate force to fend off attacks by the Others.

Life 2.0

"Life 2.0" documentary teaser from Jason Spingarn-Koff on Vimeo.

Teaching á la Modiya

“Teaching à la Modiya” offers strategies and multi-media primary sources for teaching selected readings related to cultural practices at the intersection of Jews, media, and religion. Each installment brings students into direct contact with the primary sources upon which a given reading is based. Inspired by Teaching the Journal of American History, each installment includes a reading, commentary by the author, and exercises using primary sources (artifacts, photographs, film clips, audio, excerpts from a variety of texts), as well as recommended readings and links to relevant materials accessible online.

The first installment is dedicated to "Absolut Tchotchke," Chapter 5 of Jeffrey Shandler's, Adventures in Yiddishland: Postvernacular Language and Culture (University of California Press, 2005).

This chapter explores how American Jews express their postvernacular relationship to Yiddish through objects.

The Absolut Tchotchke installment includes the complete chapter, discussion questions, recommended readings, and four exercises, together with primary source materials, on the following topics:

• Analyzing Objects of Postvernacular Yiddish
• Mock Yiddish-English Dictionaries
• Postvernacular Yiddish on eBay
• Material Culture of Other Postvernacular Languages (Irish, Occitan)

“Teaching à la Modiya” is a project of the Working Group on Jews Media and Religion, which is convened by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Jeffrey Shandler at New York University’s Center for Religion and Media.

If you are curious, click here.

Cultural Heritage Artists Project: Jaime Kriksciun

On Sunday, the Cultural Heritage Artists Project of the Orchard Street Shul will end. At this point, it is not decided if this exhibition will travel to another location, but all in all the feedback was very positive. We take this opportunity to introduce another, last artist -- and apologize to all of the other artists who did not make it into the blog. Here now three questions to Jaime Kriksciun.

How did you find out about the Orchard Street Shul project and what motivated you to participate?
I received a call to artists through the New Haven Arts Council. My interest was first sparked by the restoration aspect as a major portion of my career consists of the restoration and refurbishing of old and deteriorating stained glass windows, many associated with ecclesiastical buildings. Before my first official visit to the Shul as part of the CHAPS group, I did a drive by and was immediately struck by the unusual architecture of the building. Once inside, it was obvious this was a diamond in the rough in desperate and necessary need of repair, as a historic landmark, not only for followers of the Jewish faith, but also for New Haven and the community as a whole.

How does this work fit into the context of your other art work?
Trained as a fine artist in multiple disciplines, my focus has been in stained glass for the past ten years. I've sought to push the craft and it's medium from more traditional means into the 21st century, mixing mediums (paint, found objects, etc. . .) with the glass. I tend to tell inspired stories through my pieces and I saw in the shul and it's story a perfect opportunity. There are many layers to my work, literally and figuratively, beyond the broad theme or idea I wish to express. I notoriously includes subtle details, in the form of meaningful objects which require close inspection and deeper introspection. In the case of the Shul piece, I was able to procure several broken crystals from the building's chandeliers as well as some paint chips which i directly incorporated into the work.

What did you "learn" by dealing with the synagogue as inspiration for your work?
At a very basic level, I was simply unaware of the existence of the Orchard Street Shul. I knew of the neighborhood, but became increasingly fascinated by the history that unfolded surrounding the area and the Shul as the project progressed. Not being of the Jewish faith and knowing somewhat little of the Jewish practice of worship (until becoming involved with the Orchard Street Shul project) I was largely unfamiliar with the interior design of a synagogue and the specific symbolisms therein. I've always been a follower of architectural styles and movements. Having had the opportunity to attend some of the lectures and talks on the diversity of synagogue building and architecture throughout history in the New Haven area as well as nationwide and abroad has expanded my knowledge and sparked my interest in this specific area of design.

The People of the DNA

JLTV's Brad Pomerance reports on Author Jon Entine's Book "Abraham's DNA: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People."

Living Virtually

Don Heider, dean of the school of communication at LOYLA university of Chicago, wrote a book a book about life in the age of Web 2.0. The title: Living Virtually. 2Life Magazine is also mentioned in it (if you go to the Amazon website and click on book preview, you can find the entry, it is on page 280). On YouTube I found the interview with him about this project. Sounds interesting. Maybe 2Life can obtain a review copy.