For fans of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks (and who isn’t one?), pick up a copy of the “2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History.” The box set includes re-mastered editions of all their comedy albums and other special material on CD, including a brand-new interview, a DVD and a 32-page book with rare photos. ($60; amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and other retailers)
Itzhak Perlman left his native Tel Aviv in 1958, as a 13-year-old, to perform on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and kept on going. In a career spanning more than 50 years, the violinist has performed with almost every major conductor and orchestra in the world. Awarded a Kennedy Center honor in 2003, Perlman was also invited to perform in January at President Obama’s inauguration. Speaking by phone from New York, Perlman called the inauguration experience “chilling” and said he brought an inferior violin so his priceless Stradivarius wouldn’t be damaged in the cold. He also said the music had been prerecorded.
The coming winter season offers some small gems, many of which may remain under the radar, so to speak. Most, in their individual ways, tell stories that have some relationship to the Nazi era, and each is singularly individual in its perspective. Two films, “Four Seasons Lodge” and “Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis,” tell very diverse stories about Holocaust survivors.
As Alicia Silverstone stands at the counter of the vegan Cafe Flourish in Los Angeles, she’s not immediately recognizable as the vixen in Aerosmith music videos or the girl who played the iconic Beverly Hills princess, Cher, in the movie “Clueless” (1995). On this day, her blonde hair is in a makeshift bun; her scruffy black jacket and pants hiding her lean frame in a manner her “Clueless” character might have dubbed “ensemble-y challenged.”
When Katya Aguilar, 27, talks about her journey toward Jewish conversion, she often uses the word congruente — consistent. As she talks, it becomes clear that for her, congruente means more than that. It means integrity. Oneness. Eliminating the gap she once felt between her life — growing up Catholic in Mexico — and her Jewish soul.
My boyfriend was sitting with me at my Reform temple, listening as the rabbi recounted our predicament to make sure he understood the situation.
Psychotherapist Shepha Schneirsohn Vainstein lives on a ranch in Agoura Hills that also serves as headquarters to the peace-seeking Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation, which she co-founded.
For a good couple of minutes I was in shock,” said burgeoning ballerina Hana Goldstone, a light giggle punctuating her otherwise grown-up voice.
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