#miriam 20th anniversary

[voca-song-a-day]

Today's featured song is: "Loveless Last Dance" by Lystrialle feat. MIRIAM!

(Also, today is the 20th anniversary of Miriam's release!!!)

[anidrawsfanart]

Miriam! 🖤🎶

[hoshizoralone]

my piece for @vocalostalgia-zine - miriam and lola on a fun night out ! happy 20th anniversary to vocaloid :)

[theresawritesstuff]

Prompt: The one and only time their kids do stand up is for Lenny and Midges 20th wedding anniversary in 1982.

So...this clocked in at around 5k words. I had fun 😅 Written as something that could be compliant with Guess Who's Coming to Yom Kippur but not necessary to have read the fic.

Enjoy! (It's long. Seriously. You've been warned)

"You both comfy? Having a good time?" Susie tutted uncharacteristicly.

"We're great, Susie," Lenny assured her, his arm draped contentedly across the back of Midge's chair.

"Everything is perfect," Midge agreed.

Susie nodded. "Okay good. Now do me a favor and sit tight. You aren't going to want to miss this."

"Miss what?"

Midge looked up curiously as the jazzy baseline of a familiar song began to play, announcing her youngest daughter's ascent to the stage she'd been told just happened to come with the venue. 

A hush fell over the room as the teenager cleared her throat, taking her place at the microphone. 

"You might be wondering…" she drawled with a mischievous smirk. "Who throws their parents an anniversary party then gets up on stage to make fun of them? I mean, who does that?

"Who stands in the middle of a ballroom in front of friends, family, colleagues, caterers, social acquaintances we've never heard of but Mama insisted should be invited–You know who you are–and decides to do a mediocre version of what they're known best for world wide? Who does that?"

She shrugged playfully to the crowd of guests.

"Apparently we do."

She smiled as a ripple of chuckles made its way through the room.

"Did you know about this?" Midge whispered to Lenny.

Her husband shook his head, watching their daughter work the room.

"Good evening everyone. I'm Lilah Weissman-Bruce and my siblings and I, with some assistance from Susie Meyerson and Associates, are your hosts and entertainment for the evening.

"Tonight, as you know, we are gathered to celebrate the twentieth wedding anniversary of Miriam Weissman-Bruce, AKA Mrs. Maisel to the comedy world, and her forever lover Lenny. Her words, not mine. Blechhh!"

Lilah mimed gagging over the phrase briefly before winking at her parents, subtly gauging their reactions.

"But seriously folks. My parents are so in love with each other even after all these years. And I can tell you first hand…It's as adorable as it is nauseating."

Susie barked a laugh in agreement while Midge shook her head, smiling proudly.

"I'm not saying they can't keep their hands to themselves but fair warning Mama is three–three?" She looked to her mother for confirmation on the number, then kept going, "Three glasses of champagne into the evening and just got back from a week of shows on the west coast so, you know, make sure to knock before you get your coat from coat check. Or use the bathroom. Or refresh some of the hors d'oeuvres in the walk-in fridge and I'm giving them ideas…"

The laughs grew at her daughter's deadpanned horrified realization. "Great…"

Lenny smirked, pressing a kiss to his wife's cheek.

"Please don't get randy in the walk-in. Please," Lilah begged, earning another laugh.

She took the mic from the stand so that she could move about the performance space a bit more, grinning to the crowd.

"Like I said, for those who don't know me, I'm Lilah Weissman-Bruce. Those of you that do know me probably know me as Birdie or better yet, the answer to the question 'what would happen if we left Lenny and Midge alone together for a weekend?'"

She held up an arm, waving in a jazz hand fashion.

"Ta-da! Mystery solved!"

She smiled to herself, taking in the laughs.

"Yes, I am the youngest of the Maisel-Weissman-Bruce horde. The progeny of not just one but two stand up comedians. Please take a moment to marvel at how mentally stable I am."

She held for applause, waving it off in mock modesty after a moment of reveling. "Thank you! I'm stunned too."

She shook her head, slowly pacing the stage. "In all fairness, Mama and Dad have always been very conscious about how their careers impact our family and made sure we knew growing up that we could choose whatever career paths we wanted. Just as long as it wasn't comedy."

The friends they'd made in show business over the years laughed especially hard at that punchline.

Lilah waved a playful finger. "That didn't stop other people from suggesting it though! I think I was about two or three years old the first time I remember visiting Mama on set and having a sound tech hand me a microphone out of the morbid curiosity to see what I would say.

"It was one of those big ones with the foam cover on top like the most perfect scoop of ice cream. You know the ones…"

She turned thoughtfully to the microphone currently in her grasp.

"I remember looking at it. Holding it in my hands. Feeling the weight of it. Contemplating the gift I'd been given…

"And then I put it right in my mouth."

She mimicked taking a big bite of the microphone in her hand, earning a guffaw from Ethan near the dj station.

"It did not taste like ice cream!" she informed them. "Anytime anyone came within ten feet of me with a microphone after that I just screamed NO THANK YOU and ran."

She shot out her arm to illustrate the memory, grinning at her own joke.

She let out a sigh, shrugging. "So the fact that I'm holding this now should tell you what a rare treat this is. We've managed to avoid doing any sort of stand up over the years, my siblings and I. No school talent shows, no anonymous open mic nights, no multi generational acts for fundraisers. Nothing! 

"But then this party started to come together and we started talking about ways we could make it extra special and we realized…these two are really hard to shop for. Like really hard to shop for.

"So then we decided, what the hell, just this once. For Mama and Dad. And all the people that have pestered us to do this since we were kinder…And only because Billy Joel was on tour when we called to try to book him for tonight. Man that would have been something, wouldn't it?"

She considered the microphone in her hands again.

"Although now that I've gotten over this not being ice cream, this isn't so bad…"

She smirked teasingly at her parents, breaking a little.

"No, no, I'm kidding. Promise! None of us kids are quitting our day jobs," she assured them. 

For the rest of those gathered, she added,"Granted, I just wrapped up my senior year of high school, so I'd need to get a day job first, but if I had one I would not quit it to be a stand up comedian."

Lilah leaned an arm on the mic stand to confide in her captive audience for her next bit, waiting out the laugh.

"You know, people always have asked me 'So what do you want to be when you grow up?' Weird question, honestly. What do you want to be?

"When I was really little I told everyone I wanted to be a unicorn. 

"Then as I got a little older, a little wiser, a little more understanding of how the world works I realized what a great opportunity I had…" she grinned wickedly to the crowd, "to utterly mess with people. So I started telling folks that I wanted to be a proctologist."

Lenny let out a sharp laugh, having forgotten that particular antic of years gone by until that moment. It was one she'd mainly saved for Midge's colleagues over his own.

"No one expected that from the cute little seven year old hanging out in mommy's make up chair! I always loved when I could get an old guy to ask me too. I'd be laughing for days from the looks on their faces. Weeks if they asked me when Susie was in the room!"

"You and me both, kid," Susie muttered proudly into her drink.

Lilah let out a contented sigh, growing more serious.

"I'm starting college soon though so I've had to give my career options some real serious consideration…And you know? I think I've finally decided."

She paused, drawing up the suspense.

"I think I'm gonna go with being a unicorn."

She grinned to herself, giving a little bow as the laughter erupted around her.

"Thank you so much. Now give it up for the real future Doctor Weissman-Bruce. My sister Esther!"

The applause swelled as the sisters exchanged a hug and passed off the microphone for the next set.

Esther looked around the room, exhaling her nerves. "Hi," she chuckled, shaking her head at her little sister. "Hi, I'm Esther."

Her siblings let out a loud whoop from the side of the room along with the applause of their guests.

"Thanks," she smiled, checking the note card in her hand.

"Um… You know…It's a funny thing growing up having everyone think your parents are super cool. Because they're really not.

"I mean, okay, they are," she conceded, "but also they're not.

"To everyone else out there, they're the Marvelous Mrs Maisel and the Legendary Lenny Bruce. To me, they're just my dorky parents."

She fought back a smirk at the rumble of laughter, starting to get more comfortable on stage.

"I remember when I was really little, before these two even got married, I was out somewhere with Mama, probably shopping, and this woman, this fan, came up to us for an autograph.

'Mrs Maisel! Mrs Maisel!'

"And I remember I just looked up at her like she was crazy and said 'She's Miriam Weissman now' and kept walking."

Her smile grew as she picked her mother's laugh out of the crowd.

"I didn't know what a stage name was. But I sure as hell knew Mama had changed her name back after the divorce and no one was going to undermine that on my watch."

She waved a dismissive hand at the laughs, segueing.

"But no, weird fan encounters aside, I think these two love birds did a good job raising us, giving us a semi-normal childhood. Or at least as close to normal as this family can really get.

"It was more perplexing than anything else really. The fan stuff.

"Friends would always be so starstruck by people that I knew as my parents lame work friends. Sorry to those of you that applies to. I'm sure you were very hip," she apologized, getting another laugh.

"But seriously! Think about when you were a kid and your parents got together with their friends and every adult would just awkwardly start their conversation with you with 'Wow you've gotten taller since I last saw you. How old are you now?' while trying to mask their horror as they come face to face with the passage of time and the fact that they too are growing older…"

She paused, letting the melodramatics sit for a moment.

"Now add in more gin and talks about contract negotiations and you've got every barbecue that Mike Carr has ever hosted."

Mike slapped the table, shaking his head fondly at the call out while those that knew him laughed along.

"See? Now we're on the same page," Esther beamed. "And don't get me wrong, these two are very funny individuals. I get that. But they're still my parents. Do you laugh at everything your parents say? No! Because we're not supposed to! The parent child dichotomy negates so much of what other people find hilarious.

She flipped the card in her hand, continuing.

"Everyone always assumes that every family dinner is this big laugh fest.

"And yeah sure, we joke around when we're together but it wasn't like there was a tight ten happening every night over the brisket. We still had a 'no dick jokes at the table' rule growing up. Although I guess that rule isn't usually for the parents but other than that they're surprisingly normal, I swear!"

She smiled at the uproar of laughter, deciding to pocket the cards.

"Yes, they are famously filthy comics, professionally. But our home life was it's own weird brand of wholesome. Dad still tried to help us with our homework and took us out for ice cream when we had a bad day. Mama still threw us birthday parties and did the mandatory PTA carnivals and took us shopping for school clothes.

"Speaking of which, can I have a brief moment of sympathy for my teenage self for having to go up against Mrs Maisel in arguments about what was cool in the world of fashion? I mean come on!!! The woman is so well known for her sense of style that before any of us borrow something from her closet we need to check to make sure the Smithsonian hasn't already called dibs on it."

Lenny gave Midge's shoulder an affectionate squeeze, chuckling softly.

"We've come to understand one another a little better on that front now that I'm an adult but as a kid it was like oil and water. She would always try to find us these ritzy designer clothes and I just wanted the bargain bin tie dye and the cheap earrings from the school craft show!"

Esther looked over to see her mother wincing at the memory as she laughed along with everyone.

"I know! It's amazing we both survived," she smirked. "Poor Dad had to referee so many arguments he had no strong opinions on either side of at all. And that's an achievement in and of itself really. Finding something Lenny Bruce is the neutral party on.

"Politics? Nope. Literature? No chance. Should people be allowed to put ketchup on a hotdog? You'll be hearing about it for at least half an hour! But put him in the war zone of a Weissman fashion smackdown? He's suddenly the calmest, quietest mediator there is. If wars were fought over the pros and cons of pattern mixing, we could send that man in and have world peace within the week! He certainly saved our household from going ballistic multiple times between 1970 and 1975.

"Forget all his humanitarian work, that alone should win him the Nobel Peace Prize!"

Midge reached over to pat his knee and whisper a silent Thank you, resting her head against his shoulder.

Esther continued, once the laughs and applause died down. "Tensions over my teenage fashion foibles aside, it actually has been really incredible being able to call these two my parents. They helped me believe I could achieve anything I set my mind to, with enough persistence of character. They showed me what it means to stand up for what's right, even when everyone else is sitting down. They taught me how to laugh when things don't go to plan.

"And most importantly, they taught me that love, that family will see you through any season of hardship or heartbreak... Even if you still insist on wearing the craft show earrings."

Midge shook her head, meeting her daughter's eyes across the room with love.

Esther returned the gaze in kind, placing a hand gratefully over her heart.

"Alright, Ethan, it's your turn. Get on up here and get it over with. You can finish your cake later! There's like five of them."

She smirked to herself as her brother meandered up from the dj station, swiping the plate of cake from his hand.

Ethan sighed dramatically as he took the stage, adjusting the mic stand height to his level.

"Hi. I'm Ethan. Most of you probably knew that," he began, getting his bearings. "Being the oldest, I actually remember a little bit of what it was like back when these two were first dating. Back when we still lived with my grandparents.

"I remember the day I met Lenny. It was notable even back then because Mama never brought any of her prior romantic prospects into our lives. Never invited any dates for a family dinner. Wouldn't even talk about them in front of us really. But Lenny was different.

"I remember I was nose deep in an issue of Detective Comics and Grandma Rose came over and said 'Ethan, say hello to your mother's friend Mr. Bruce'..."

Lenny covered a smirk, knowing full well where his son was going with this.

"I looked up. Saw this tall, strong jawed, dark haired fellow in a dark suit. 

"I looked back at my comic book. Back up at Mr. Bruce…

"And thought 'Holy shit! My mom is dating Batman!'"

Ethan smiled to himself, listening to the distinct laughs of those who knew the story and those who did not.

"They tried to deny it, but the more I learned about the guy, the more I was convinced this man was the caped crusader.

"No, seriously! Stay with me on this. He only worked at night," Ethan said, counting the list of evidence on his fingers. "He always wore black suits. Sometimes he had those dark circles like he'd been up all night, fighting for truth and justice.

"I actually caught him on our fire escape one morning changing his clothes. Clearly solid proof–I could only assume he'd already stashed his costume. Heroes do that sort of thing, you know. Totally plausible. No other reason he would have been out there, just outside Mama's room at seven AM. Clearly this was the crime fighter I'd been reading about."

He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Oh to be five again…

Lenny covered his face with his hand, fighting back a laugh, shrugging sheepishly.

"Then there was the whole name thing! Mr. Bruce. Master Bruce. Grandpa Abe had told me about how sometimes they change people's names in the media to protect someone's identity. Their secret identity. I had a solid case!

"Mom's new boyfriend is Batman. Sweet. Can't wait to tell my friends.

"But then I started wondering… Is my mother a former supervillain? 

"I mean, Batman is always going up against folks like the Joker, the Riddler… Mama goes out late all the time, doesn't talk about what she's doing and people keep calling her the Comedienne. 

"Plus! I overheard my grandparents saying Mama got arrested again.

"My mother. Arrested. For crime!

"It was a distressing revelation. But then I remembered…Batman doesn't hang out with Bad Guys. Clearly the power of love had brought my mother back to the light. She couldn't be a villain. Not anymore at least. And that was good enough for me. If she hit up a bank or two and got away with it, yeah, okay, I can get over that. More toys for us and maybe she might stop yelling at the milkman.

"And if she wasn't a supervillain…that meant she must be Robin!

"I still don't know where they hid the batmobile but I'm gonna find it one of these days. There's only so many places you can park a car in Manhattan."

He cleared his throat, looking at his feet as he gathered his thoughts.

"I know now that back then a lot of people didn't see Lenny quite so heroically. But I always have. In more than just the way that most kids see their dads as heroes. Because he really was out there standing up for truth. For justice. Not in the nice, tidy, easily palatable way everyone liked to read about in the newsprints, but out of a genuine, heroic belief that we could do better as a nation. As individuals.

"And even more importantly to me, he made Mom smile again. Really smile after God knows how long. Nothing could be more heroic than that."

Midge reached over, taking Lenny's hand.

"I think these two have saved each other quite a bit over the years they've been together. They're the real dynamic duo, if you ask me. And I couldn't be prouder to call them my parents.

"Happy Anniversary you two."

He took a deep breath as applause filled the room, working through the swell of emotions in his chest.

"Okay! I'm gonna go circle the block one more time just to make sure today wasn't the day they brought the batmobile out of storage. In the meantime, give it up for my sister Kitty!

Kitty took the stage, patting Ethan on the shoulder as she passed him on the steps.

"Fuck, Ethan, you weren't supposed to make us cry. Jesus…" she admonished, wiping at her eyes. "That was my plan!"

She grinned at the chuckle from the equally emotional crowd.

"Hi, I'm Kitty. I'm the closer for the evening. Hey let's give these two another hand, am I right? Twenty years!"

She shook her head, exhaling as she collected herself, moving the mic stand back down.

"I remember when Dad first told my grandma that he was moving back to New York with me, she thought he was nuts. 

"He hadn't really done the whole single dad thing on his own before. The obscenity laws were still their own levels of obscene. The lawyers didn't come cheap. He was still in his first year of getting clean. It meant moving me across the country, building a whole new life.

"It was a lot.

"But I was all in on the idea. I couldn't wait. I was so ready to be a Weissman! 

"He hadn't even proposed yet but I knew he was going to. I just knew it. And not just because I really, really, really wanted him to so I could play dress up in Mom's closet anytime I wanted. Back before we had to fight the Smithsonian for some of the good stuff."

She winked at her parents, fiddling with the mic chord.

"No…You could tell just looking at the two of them that they were meant to be together. Or at least I could.

"I remember it was like this light had turned on inside them anytime they got together. They just radiated this…magic. They still do. I hope that makes sense. I've never been fully able to put it into words…Which is why I brought slides!"

Those that knew her as the family shutterbug murmured a mix of chuckles and good natured groans.

"Oh come on now! You're gonna love this," Kitty teased.

She pulled up the first slide, a snapshot of a much younger version of her parents in a midtown club, chatting over drinks, the energy between them clearly flirtatious.

"I did a little digging for this set," she admitted. "Being that this is an anniversary party, it felt appropriate to build a sort of visual history of their love story. So let's start here. In 1959. 

"I found this in a collection by an old club photographer who worked at one of the spots Dad had played around that time. Now I think we can all agree these two look pretty smitten."

She held up a finger, grinning in amusement. "One small hiccup though…"

Midge ducked her head while Lenny smirked impishly, recognizing the night it was from.

"Dad was not Mom's date that particular evening in 1959. He was the entertainment."

She clicked to the next slide, revealing a shot of her father performing on stage with Midge visible in the audience, watching enraptured.

"This handsome stretch next to her, however, was her date. Poor guy…I grilled Susie for the details because I was desperately curious. She said this guy was a doctor! Like top of his field, owns a brownstone and a Picasso kind of doctor. Not bad, Mom.

"Didn't stand a chance though, did he? Not with Lenny 'steal your girl' Bruce smoldering at her from behind the microphone."

She clicked back to the previous slide. "I mean look at this! You knew she was on a date, mister! Shameless."

She tutted in faux exasperation, rolling her eyes. 

"Like I said. Meant to be together. It's pretty obvious looking back, isn't it?

"And it wasn't just Mom looking for a better date."

She clicked a few slides forward, revealing another club shot, this time of Midge and Susie looking positively miserable.

"I'm pretty sure this was New Year's, 1961. Rough night, from the looks of it."

She clicked to the next slide, a snapshot from the same night, possibly taken only minutes after, with Midge smiling brightly in Lenny's embrace.

"That is until Dad pulled a sneak attack and surprised her by flying back early. See what I mean? Magic! Look at those faces!"

"We were pretty cute," Lenny murmured.

"Were?" his wife teased, earning a smirk.

Kitty leaned on the mic stand, addressing the room.

"I gotta tell you, I owe some of you here the nicest gift baskets for capturing these next moments way back when and for sharing these with me over the last few months on the sly. But until I get around to it…"

She clicked to the next slide, revealing a shot of the pair lounging, mid conversation on the stage of an empty Carnegie Hall.

"After Dad's famous midnight show at Carnegie, graciously provided by Alan! Not much of a runner but he was quick with a shutter. I'd say the bail money was worth it."

Lenny barked a laugh at one of his oldest friend's expense.

Kitty grinned cheekily at her adoptive uncle in the crowd, moving on.

"Skating outside 30 Rock. Ethan, Esther, and I were there too. Also my first memory of snow! Thank you, Mike, for pulling this gem from the archives. 

"A quick aside, I believe that's Gordon drunk off his ass on the ice in the background there. Who let you out there without skates, man?"

She clicked to the next, an image of Midge and Lenny standing cozily together, hand in hand outside a familiar Chinese restaurant.

"We could never figure out why exactly they liked this place so much, but thank you Imogene for capturing their go to anniversary spot. Even when they definitely could afford somewhere more upscale."

She clicked over to a shot of Midge and Lenny laughing on the front steps of the Weissman family bungalow, eating ice cream straight out of a multi-gallon tub from the Steiner soda shoppe.

"Oh I love this one! Here's Mom and Dad on our first trip to the Catskills just before they got engaged. And right after they got temporarily banned from the soda shoppe."

"I thought we paid for that," Lenny wondered to Midge.

"We did eventually."

Kitty clicked to the next slide.

"Their first dance at their wedding. I don't have a joke for that one, I just like it."

The next image to come up behind her was one of a hospital room, her parents both asleep, Midge half upright with a newborn in her arms.

"Oh here's when Birdie was born! So in love," Kitty cooed. "And so so so tired."

She laughed to herself, glancing up at the picture before turning back to the crowd.

"For those of you who are curious, no Dad was not the one responsible for the nickname. That one we can blame on our brother. When Grandma brought us to visit Ethan heard her cry for the first time and thought there was a wild bird stuck in the hospital. So not Dad's fault.

"Although he picked it up and ran with it pretty quickly, come to think of it. Dad I gotta ask... Kitty, Birdie…Did you really just want a pet? Is that what it was?"

Lenny let out a laugh, shaking his head at the call out.

"No, we know you love us, we've established this," Kitty assured him quickly, "but come on man! If we'd had a little brother what would you have called him? Fish?"

Kitty smiled at her parents, enjoying herself as she clicked to the next image.

"Moving on to 1964 with possibly the most colorful ensemble Dad has ever worn in his life…" She revealed a shot of both parents in near screen ready duplicates of the Jolly Holiday ensembles from Mary Poppins, all four kids completing the look with matching penguin costumes.

"Our first group Halloween costumes as a family! He looks good right? The blue bowtie is my favorite, honestly. Dick what do you think? I think he looks great."

Kitty grinned at the memory.

"We got so much candy that year. Grandma Shirley made those penguin costumes for us and put pockets all along theinside so we could use those when our bags got too full. Genius really. Until they got too heavy and then we really did have to waddle home."

She let out a sigh, segueing.

"In addition to actively creating some of the more notable moments of our pop culture, these two have also been caught canoodling during some of the more significant moments in our nation's history over the past two decades."

She brought up an image of the pair in a lip lock backstage.

"Here they are making out backstage at Ed Sullivan while the Beatles made their US debut."

"They were playing our song." Midge shrugged unapologetically.

Kitty pulled up an image of another kiss, this one of her parents hanging out of the window of the Steiner bungalow, holding a pair of makeshift rabbit ears under a full moon.

"And during the Moon landing."

The next image contained a celebratory kiss over a newspaper headline.

"And when Nixon resigned," Kitty smirked.

She pulled up another slide, this one of the pair outside 30 Rock in the mid-seventies.

"Here they are outside after one of the first episodes at SNL. The night we met Gilda!"

She beamed, hand over her heart as she looked out at their friend in the crowd.

She pulled up the final slide, her father kissing Midge's hair as they watched proudly from the bleachers.

"And at Birdie's graduation just last month."

She grinned over at her little sister with a shrug. "That last one might not seem significant to the rest of America but to us, to Mom and Dad, it was a big moment. Their youngest child graduating. And soon… they will be empty nesters…How will they pass the time?"

She took a bow as their guests applauded, blowing a kiss to her parents.

"Thank you so much. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed our act because we're never doing it again. Now let's eat the rest of that cake!"

[eretzyisrael]

by Shiryn Ghermezian

A one-day pop culture convention set to take place in New York City in November will be the first of its kind to celebrate characters, narratives and creators of Jewish comic books and graphic novels.

“JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience” is being organized by the Center for Jewish History, which is the comprised of five partner organizations: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

The convention will highlight the Jewish history of the comic book industry and the tradition of Jewish storytelling as it applies to the creation of comic books, and well as Jewish comic book and graphic novel narratives, themes, characters and creators. The event will include a minimum of 10 panels and workshops, the opportunity to meet 24 comic book artists and writers and other programming. Guests are also invited to visit the new Jews in Comics exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in advance of the convention.

“JewCE is designed to be an inclusive convention, celebrating an industry largely created by Members of the Tribe, and promoting diverse Jewish narratives in comics and graphic novel,” the Center for Jewish History said in its description of the event.

Tickets are already on sale for the convention, which will take place on Nov. 12, in-person and on Zoom, with a preview night on Nov. 11 in-person only at the Center for Jewish History. There will also be a JewCE Awards ceremony, to be held on preview night, that will celebrate diverse Jewish comics and graphic novels. Nine awards will be presented by a panel of judges from the industry. The honors include a Combating Prejudice Award, a Book Award in Diverse Jewish Representation and the Macherke Award for Career Contributions to Jewish Comics.

“The Jewish Comics Experience has what it takes to make it to the major league of comic conventions and I could not be more proud to be a part of it,” Fabrice Sapolsky — a comic book creator, publisher and co-creator of JewCE — said in a released statement. “Comic books, graphic novels, and sequential arts are amazing mediums to convey stories. This industry was founded by a group of young — mostly Jewish — creators in the 1930/40s. JewCE will keep honoring the past while promoting present-day storytellers and inspiring creators of tomorrow. It will be an inclusive journey into Jewish diversity through art and creativity.”

JewCE Co-Creator Dr. Miriam Eve Mora, who is also director of academic and public programs at the Center for Jewish History, called JewCE “a love letter to the creators themselves, Jewish and non-Jewish, who have worked to include Jewish characters in their stories, to demonstrate Jewish diversity across the pages, and to provide a visual and cultural home for Jewish readers of all ages to feel seen, included, and embraced.”

“At times only perceptible to those in the know, Jews have long had a home between the covers of comic books of all sorts,” she added. “JewCE brings that home to light, celebrating Jewish characters and creators of all ethnicities, nations of origin, religious observances, genders, sexual orientations, and political affiliations.”

[ivoneporpeta]

Stephen Moyer and Miriam Silverman to Star in Macbeth Off-Broadway | Playbill

[mythcreant]

John Cameron Mitchell’s brilliant rock musical, Hedwig And The Angry Inch – about a gender fluid punk-rock singer from East Berlin who tours the U.S., telling their life story and stalking the former lover who stole their songs – danced into theaters on August 31, 2001.

[astanleykubrick]

SK20/20/20, Day 1

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s death on the 7th of March, 1999, I will be posting never before seen photographs from his film sets and his private life. 20 photos in the next 20 days to remember it’s been 20 years without one of the great filmmakers. This is SK20/20/20, starting today with a photo from the making of A Clockwork Orange: Kubrick filming Miriam Karlin as the Cat Lady, in December 1970.

Follow this Tumblr and join the celebrations.

SK20/20/20, by Filippo Ulivieri in collaboration with Martin Pope. This photo likely by Dmitri Kasterine.

[usnatarchives]

Firefighter Paul Bardo with others at Ground Zero, 9/14/2001, NARA ID 5997302.

We Remember - 20th Anniversary of 9/11 By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. The National Archives safeguards and continues to provide access to many 9/11-related records, including those of the 9/11 Commission, the 9/11 FAA investigation, and the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

See Remembering 9/11 for online resources including:

Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry render honors as firefighters and rescue workers unfurl an American flag at the Pentagon on 9/11/2001, NARA ID 6527847.

9/11 Fireman’s Son Sees Dad on National Archives Instagram “I just came across this picture that you posted and the firefighter in the middle is my dad. Is there any way you can send me the original photo?” Read the National Archives News story to discover:

How did the Archives connect with firefighter Paul Bardo?

What was his experience as a first responder at Ground Zero?

How does he feel about his picture being in National Archives?

What's the scuba connection? (see Bardo's profile in Alert Diver)

In our New York office: A day like no other, National Archives News First-person account by then-director of National Archives at NYC Robert C. Morris and images by then-archivist John Celardo. See Celardo's other images from that day online.

9/11 image from the National Archives at NYC by archivist John Celardo.

9/11 Commission Records - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (aka the 9/11 Commission), was an independent, bipartisan commission created by Congress with a mandate to provide a “full and complete accounting” of the attacks and recommend ways to prevent such future attacks. When the Commission closed on August 21, 2004, it transferred legal custody of its records to the National Archives. Learn more about the 9/11 Commission Records. 9/11 Photograph Collection - White House photographers took over 50,000 photos in the days following the 9/11 attacks. See 9/11 photographs from the George W. Bush Presidential Library on Flickr. 9/11 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Records - The FAA compiled records from its staff and aviation facilities to support internal and external 9/11-related investigations - more than 126 cubic feet of textual, audio, and electronic files relating to the attacks, the FAA’s involvement in the monitoring of United Airlines Flights 175 and 93 and American Airlines Flights 11 and 77, and the Federal Government’s subsequent actions. Learn more about the 9/11 FAA Records and view the Finding Aid. DocsTeach Education Resources for Teachers and Students

See teaching Activities related to Rick Rescorla, who helped thousands of people to safety in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

More 9/11-related primary sources.

9/11 Remembrance: Col. Rick Rescorla, full event video online.

Remembering 9/11 Featured Document Exhibit Cards & Letters received by the American Red Cross 9/11 Recovery Program.

9/11-related resources on HistoryHub

Constructing the World Trade Center, 1972, NARA ID 58975.

See also:

We Remember: 20th Anniversary of 9/11, AOTUS blog

Shutting Down the Sky: The FAA on 9/11, Text Message blog

Remembering 9/11, The Unwritten Record

[zamgoods]

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING Codes

I love this show.  It’s just so smart and funny and interesting.  It involves all of the senses.  And Selena Gomez reminds me of how great an actress she was in Wizards of Waverly Place.  Star cameos in every episode, is alluring.  But there are blaring horns that I just can’t ignore.  No Matter how much I try to deafen my ears.

Only Murders in the Building released 8.31.2021 the 20th anniversary of Aaliyah Dana Haughton’s funeral in 2001 as well as Princess Diana's 23rd death anniversary in 1997.  Also R.Kelly’s fake marriage with Aaliyah in 1995.

It’s all about Tim Kono.  not a SPOILER...The trailer tells you this. Seems like conspiracy theory bait,  but look at the first episode and get drawn in at the seemingly mundane to the uninitiated.  You have to have the right perspective.  We will look at this with 2020 lenses.  That’s right Corona/Covid-19.  

Episode 1.  A fallen star and fallen theater director.  The first is approached by a gen x fan whose baby boomer dad has ALS (High God) .  The latter almost gets hit by a car.  He referenced his purple coat.  Royal purple.  They are joined in the ELevator (God /Cubit) that seems to take a life of its own throughout the series.  URSA-la (bear) is the deliverer.  They lure us curious folk in by the sponsors for the podcast of All is not OK in Oklahoma.  Rand Corporation, Milton and Miriam Swann Foundation for the Arts of Dissolving the Federal Reserve, Royal Crown Cruises,  Royal Prince of Dubai and Trader Joe’s.  Tongue and cheek it may be.  Their shared love of this podcast brings them to share a table at LIBRizzi’s.  Putnam recounts a show called Claire de Lune (moonshine) about a man trying to go up a staircase, falling off, and bouncing back up again. 

The Fall of Zoe plummeting from the roof to the ground without the Emerald ring, New Years Eve 10 years ago. Lives on 11th floor

Gemini...Stunt Double...Twins also mentioned by Officer Williams for hating twins (randomly)

God pushed Life over the edge  Theo and Zoe

Brazzos is arm... Cubit... Maltese Falcon The Black Bird 

Charles AKA Brazzos was Poisoned paralyzed breathing into toxic napkin handkerchief for his nose bleed.  Neighbors though he was inTOXICated with the Irish FLU.

Silence due to deafness.  Silencing truth.  Silence Do Good Letters to decode map of treasure on the back of Declaration of Independence.  Revolutionary War. July 7th 1776.  Harpo, Horus as a child.  Black Bird.  Isis Son.  

Elevator  encounters...Prince died in one.  The Devil.  Lift up and down.  

Oliver, Mabel Moro, Charles Haden Savage

Emma Lucy 7 family fun, Evelynold cat, Sevelyn new cat. .CAT

Tim (TIme) poisoned before shot (vaccine). 9A   Fireplace back on after Tim died.  (heath.. aronia).

Zoe 11th floor

Time-Life 9/11   11/9LifeTime   HaySaturn/Chronos-

Bunny ( rabbit hole) dead by knitting needle to the Chest.  Jab to the Chest.  Reminds me of the Epinephrine pin or Adrenaline injection to the heart during emergency Overdose.  Needle Narcone.

Deli Sub Greek Grave robber for treasures Black market dealer Angel inc yaya

Jewels (green emerald ring Zoe stole)  St Corona patron saint of Treasure hunters.

Bassoon player Wind instrument named Jan Bellows.  Ventilator Respirations

Jan 6th floor.  Insurrection at Capitol on 1.1.2021.  Jan’s lil toxins Heart.  Love Venom Love potion I knew she stabbed herself.

Loneliness/ alone...imprisoned

J notes.  J key ( 2020 movie Flora& Ulysses)  I found that J key is a military device used to send Morse Code Messages.  Perhaps there is Morse code in the series.  

J is the newest letter in English ABC.  10th letter in ABC order. Roman Numeral X= 10.    Eagle Eye movie, little boys trumpet hit the_F_ Key to activate the jewel on mom’s necklace.  

In 2020 Soul movie, Joe and 22 kept meeting at the half note. And the Moondance guy spun a 50 % off sale sign on 14 &7th.  In Morse code a dit is half of a dash.  At the Half Note Jazz club, 22 in Joe’s body wearing a blue suit, the signs together say Rot whole note symbol looks like a J.  In  the Alphabet Rotational Cipher, ROT stands for rotation, where you shift the alphabet by half.  13 letters.  So if j key is rotated you get this.

So weird because, the spin is just like the Caesarean Cipher of 13 shift at M. 

  Also the frequency that vibrates Venom/ parasite off of the host is 4000-6000 hertz. 

   5G= 57 or EG or VG Wi-Fi frequency.  The 7 note in major scale  cdefgab, G is the 5th note..   7th letter of English Alphabet is G.    The major 7th note name is G# .

Soul Easter egg the Tina Fey Character, 22, kept saying OKAY repeatedly so Joe told her to stop so she said “got it.” Interestingly Tina Fey’s character,  Cindy Canning, renown podcaster All Is Not OK in Oklahoma. THis reminds me of Men In Black 3, Agent O loved Agent K and Agent J.   

Steam/pneuma spirit  In the Basement Mabel was placed adjacent to a STEAM sign.

Trojan Horse-Ulysess. Sack of Troy.

Arconia...Archonians  House. Maisons

Sting...Vaccine, Turkey, dog (winnie), Irish Flu (drunk).  Sting Police I’ll be watching you Fields of gold.

 Ending Police car 6164 Mabel Moro stabs/jabs bunny with knitting needle  Hardy boys falls after being on roof.

How many floors in the Arconia?

Who tipped the police and oliver & charles?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-adrenaline-injection-for-cardiac-arrest-may-cause-more-harm-than-good/

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of OT and someone created this twitter thread with the worst (and hilarious tbh) moments of the editions since OT 2017 and holy shit it's been a RIDE.

Like, here's like a written version of some of the stuff the thread says:

When in OT 2018 África was the second expulsed because everyone thought she was bullying Damion and they started dating when the program ended (they're still together) sjdsjd

When in OT 2020 they showed Gèrard and Anne a video of them kissing (nobody knew they were together at this point) RIGHT BEFORE they had to sing together 💀

When in OT 2018 María refused to say "mariconez" (means "stupid thing" but it literally translates to "f*ggot thing") in a song and every stupid celebrity started to shit on her

THE OT 2018 REPRIMAND where Noemí fucking read them tweets and made them cry cause they decided to camp outside the bedroom.

Anne sleeping in class 💕

Noemí calling Alfred "a brat" when she thought they couldn't hear her in OT 2017

Samantha in a wheelchair during a gala in OT 2020

In OT 2017 when Manu and Noemí reprimanded Aitana and Ana cause they didn't want to sing reggaeton lol

BRUNO'S NOTEBOOK IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW

Estrella Morente singing some random pro-bullfighting verses unpromted on live television when she had to sing another song with Nia in OT 2020

Tiptoe by Carlos Right aka whatever the fuck was this

When almost no one in OT 2018 wanted to go to Eurovision cause it was hosted on Israel but then Eurofans started shitting on them

Cepeda's Christmas present sjdsjdjsjdjsd

Julia singing Sober by Demi Lovato with a bar full of bottles as the background 💀

When all OT 2020 contestants tattooed themselves BEFORE THE CONTEST HAD EVEN STARTED

Aitana's Gala 0 "Bang Bang" performance

LUIS MAS

When Hugo went live on Instagram to tell everyone he had indeed cheated on his girlfriend with Eva during quarantine (after which the program resumed)

When some fans convinced Ana that her cover of La Bikina was the third most streamed song in Spotify in the whole world 💀💀

Alfonso's bilingual performance of All Of Me 🧍‍♂️

Cepeda saying "yo te cUERO Más" trying to be romantic or something

When one of the judges said that Mimi - who was in a dancing contest and worked as a dancer in China before OT - wasn't a dancer, "but she looks like one"

When Ana was almost crying saying how she was heartbroken that a judge told her she was inferior to all of the other contestants and Amaia said "only vocally" sjdjsdjs

The iconic moment of Thalía saying "a mí... me gusta" (I... like it) while Miriam was giving her THOSE LOOKS

THALÍA BEING HACKED BY A TURKISH MAN ON TWITTER FOR WEEKS I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED

When someone shouted "Cepeda calvo" (Cepeda baldie) in a Skam España clip

When in OT 2020 Eva had some kidney problem but all the fans thought that Rafa had gotten her pregnant because of the secrecy and the fact that Noemí only spoke both with her and with Rafa about it

When in the final of OT 2018 during Somos only Marta's mic was on and we could hear EVERYTHING SHE DID

Thalía just not paying attention to the gala's host and passing by him instead

It looks like the thread is gonna be updated more tho so feel free to go through it in a couple hours to see more of it

[plannedparenthood]

Resources for Teaching Your Children About Sex and Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic

If school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic left you homeschooling your kids, or just having more time together at home, you may be looking for opportunities to talk with them about sex, sexuality, and relationships. But where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Tip Sheets

Using TV to Talk With Your Children About Sex

While you’re watching TV, you can use storylines about sex and relationships to spark conversations and find out how your kids might make decisions if they were in the same situation. It’s a good opportunity to share your values, expectations, and hopes for them, as well as understand their values, perspectives, and needs.

Talking About Consent and Healthy Relationships at Every Age

This tip sheet gives you specific ways to talk with your children to help them have healthier relationships (and sex, if they’re older).

Glossary of Sex Education Terms (March 2020)

In March, the Future of Sex Education (FoSE) Initiative — a partnership of Advocates for Youth, Answer, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)  — released updated National Sex Education Standards to support K-12 educators in providing sex education. The standards are very helpful for schools and sex educators, but a lot to go through for busy parents. So, we’ve highlighted the glossary, which includes real-world definitions for modern terms related to sex and relationships.

Activities

Healthy Relationships Bingo

Watching a show with your kids? Try playing this bingo card to spot when the people on screen treat each other in healthy ways (BINGO!). You can each play on your own card, and then compare your cards to see how your ideas of healthy relationships are the same and different as a way to spark conversation.

Sex Education Word Find

Young people can learn while they search for words and phrases like birth control, clitoris, consent, and safe sex. You can ask them if they have questions about any word they find. Then, you can answer — or if you don’t know the answer, you can look things up together on plannedparenthood.org. 

Websites

PlannedParenthood.org/Parents

Our website has a ton of information on how to talk about different sex and relationship topics to kids at different ages, including videos and other resources in both English and Spanish.

SIECUS: Sex Education, Homeschool-Style

SIECUS is a national sex education advocacy organization. They’ve got a great resource list to help parents and educators who are social distancing and serving as sex educators at home or virtually. 

AMAZE Parents

AMAZE offers a great online library of sex education videos for middle-school-aged kids and their parents. It just launched an Askable Parent Challenge, offering resources to help you navigate kids’ questions about sex and relationships while at home and social distancing.

Articles

Rewire: “Are You Home Schooling Your Kids? Don’t Forget Sex Education”

This article includes a great list of books about sex, puberty, and relationships for kids of different ages.

Huffington Post: “So, Your Kid Is Masturbating While Your Family Isolates. What Should You Do?”

Toronto-based sexual health educator Nadine Thornhill shares how to deal with your kid masturbating while everyone is home together, which can both be tricky, and an opportunity to talk about masturbation with them. 

Books

For Parents

“Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids' ‘Go-To’ Person about Sex” by Deborah M. Roffman

This book helps parents become the most credible and influential resource about sexuality in their children's lives. 

“Making Sense of ‘It’” by Alison Macklin

This book is for both parents and teens, and it offers trustworthy, gender-neutral advice on how to be safe, informed, and honest about sex and sexuality. 

”There’s No Place Like Home… For Sex Education” by Mary Gossart (for ages 3 to 18)

This book offers a friendly and practical guide for conversations about sex and sexuality from the experts at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. 

For Children

”What's in There? All About Before You Were Born” by Robie Harris (for ages 2-5)

This book follows the stages of pregnancy and childbirth in a matter-of-fact and comfortable way.

“Sex is a Funny Word” by Cory Silverberg (for ages 8-10)

This cartoon book provides information about all things bodies, sex, and puberty for kids, as well as their parents.

”Let’s Talk About Sex” by Robie Harris (for ages 9 and up)

The 20th anniversary edition of “Let’s Talk About Sex” provides information on texting safety, birth control, and LGBTQ topics.

For More Information

Visit our Resources for Parents to see more resources about sex education, and visit our COVID-19/New Coronavirus page for information about the pandemic. 

—Miriam at Planned Parenthood

[itsarttome]

Armenian Women in Visual Arts

I took a class on Armenian culture and history in university that exposed me to this beautiful country and people and opened my eyes to the undeniable tragedy of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

 I’m not Armenian, but I’m Greek on my dad’s side which I found out is very similar. We both love our dolma’s and hate the Turks. But in all seriousness, we share a lot of similarities with Armenian culture, including its political history, which has helped me to further empathize with the current struggles they are facing as a country. It's heartbreaking to see that, just five years after the 100 year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Armenians appear to be facing a second genocide. Armenia’s neighboring country Azerbaijan has been ensuing deadly attacks against them for some time now with the aid of Turkey  and the issue continues to be mostly ignored by the international community. Protests have been raging on both in the nation and diaspora. In no way do I consider myself to be an expert on this subject, but I feel responsible at least to educate myself and do my part as a citizen of the world. 

There is no civilization in the world that, given it possess the resources and will, doesn’t have artists, doctors, lawyers, chefs, musicians, poets, farmers, accountants, etc... The meaning of this to me is that it is proof we are all valuable people, no matter where we come from or what we look like. Just think about how sand is made from millions of tiny parts but looks like one uniform blanket on the beach. If you were to put a handful of sand into a jar, and another handful into another jar, you’d find that each jar is made up of entirely different rocks. But somehow, both have all the elements needed to still look like a handful of sand. That’s how I view culture. Every culture is a handful of sand; they all have necessarily found their own way to explain the universe (religion), their own way to communicate (language), their own way to nourish themselves (diet), and so on... and each way is original and different. But somehow, all of the elements add up to create a civilization, a culture, and a people with a shared identity. The only thing that makes us different is that we’re arbitrarily placed into one jar and not another, but when you look at the big picture, we’re all the same. 

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I think by human nature it’s much easier to care about someone else’s journey in life when they have something in common with you. What I love about art is that when you meet another artist, no matter who, you feel a sort of magical connection to that person and are bonded over your mutual appreciation of it. I am a woman and I am an artist, and because of that, I feel lucky and unworthy in saying I have something in common with these incredibly talented Armenian women that I’m about to share with you. 

I. Zabelle Boyajian (1872-1957)  

Zabelle C. Boyajian was a poet, painter and playwright of the Ottoman Empire, born in 1872 in Diyarbakir, one of the ancient Armenian capitals, ‘Tigranakert’. After the murder of her father during the Hamidian Massacres of 1895, she, her mother and her brother immigrated to London. She travelled extensively throughout her lifetime and learned to speak eight languages fluently, including Armenian, English, German, Italian, Greek, Turkish and Russian. Being skilled in so many languages, apart from the arts, she was a great contributor to the translation of many great Armenian works. For example, in 1948, she translated Avetik Isahakian’s epic poem “Abu Lala Mahari” and published it for the world to read. In 1938, thanks to her wide travels, she published several illustrations from her visit to Greece, entitled “In Greece with Pen and Palette”. Exhibitions of her art were held in London, Egypt, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. She was close friends with Anna Raffi, the wife of the well-known Armenian novelist, Raffi. One of the leading female trailblazers of art, literature and translation, she published her first novel in 1901, entitled “Esther”. She is well known today for her gorgeous storybook illustrations. 

II. Miriam Aslamazian (1907-2006) 

Miriam Aslamazian, sometimes called the Armenian Frida Kahlo, was born on October 20th, 1907 in Alexandropol in the village of Bash-shirak. She was was a Soviet painter of Armenian descent recognized for her exquisite ceramic plates. In 1929, she graduated from the Yerevan Art-Industrial Technicum and later in 1933, from the Leningrad Academy of Art. In 1946, she became a member of the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union). Her work is often described as decorative, flat still-life pieces as well as possessing dramatic, colorful themes. Many pieces of her artwork can be found today in the Aslamazian Sisters’ Museum in Gyumri. She was honored as People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR 1965 and People’s Artist of the Soviet Union in 1990. 

III. Gayane Khachaturian (1942-2009) 

Gayane Khachaturian, born May 9th, 1942 in Tbilisi, Georgia, was a Georgian-Armenian graphic artist and painter. She studied at the Nikoladze Art School and the Secondary School of Working Youth, where she graduated in 1960. Sergei Parajanov, who she was close friends with, was a major inspiration for her. Some of her works are permanently displayed and can be seen at the National Gallery of Armenia, the Yerevan Museum of Modern Art as well as the Sergei Parajanov Museum in Yerevan. Her works have also been purchased and are included in several private art collections. Her first informal solo exhibition was at Skvoznyachok Café in Yerevan in 1967.

IV. Sonia Balassanian 

Sonia Balassanian is a mixed media artist, art curator, founder and Artistic Director of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art in Yerevan, Armenia. Born in Iran of Armenian descent on April 8th of 1942, Balassanian uses her artwork to advocate for human rights and women's emancipation issues. In 1970, she obtained a BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the following year worked on an independent study program at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1978, she completed her MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. The following year, however, the 1979 events in Iran caused her to turn to “political art” as self expression. She is also a skilled writer, publishing several works, including, “There Might Have Been An Insane Heart” (1982), composed of selected poems written in the Armenian language, “Portraits” published in New York in 1983 and “Two Books” (2006), a publication of two books of poems in one combined. 

V. Nora Chavashian

Nora Chavashian is an award-winning production designer, art director and set decorator, recognized for her sculptural stage sets, born in Philadelphia, PA on October 25th, 1953. OMG we have the same birthday, no wonder I like her! There, she studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1974, Chayashian graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). In 1984, she married Joe Morton, an American actor, director, writer, singer and songwriter, with whom she has three children, Hopi, Seta and Ara, and one grandson, Moses. In 1988, she and her family relocated to the East Coast. Her sculptures often have organic shapes and are reminiscent of nature. 

VI. Anush Yeghiazaryan

Anush Yeghiazaryan is a painter, weaver and professor born on June 15th, 1965 in Yerevan, Armenia, known for her stunning tapestry creations. Hailing from the family of Karapet Yeghizaryan, patriarch of the Armenian school of art weaving, she has held up the traditional weaving techniques of her ancestors. From 1984 to 1990, she studied graphic design at the Yerevan State Fine Arts Academy. From 1991 to 1994, she worked on obtaining her PhD from the State Armenian Pedagogical University. In 1996, she became a member of the Armenian Union of Artists. In 2010, Yeghiazaryan joined the Pan-Armenian Painting Association. She has had her work presented in exhibitions around the world, from Yerevan to Paris, Moscow, Sankt Petersburg, Bouve, Plovdil, Tehran, Italy and Praha. Quoted for saying, “I have not chosen art, it’s in my blood. It’s my lifestyle and I love it up to sublimation degree”. Some of her pieces displaying masterful weaving techniques include,“If you live, create” (1998), “Once Upon a Time in Paris” (2003), and “Urbanization” (2006). 

VII. Taleen Berberian

Taleen Berberian is a modern Armenian visual artist, specializing in mixed mediums, crafted fabric, clay sculptures, drawing and the use of the traditional Armenian sewing, embroidery and crochet techniques in unconventional ways. She is especially recognized for her famous sculptures of shoes. Berberian has been on the forefront of women’s issues, a theme that can be seen through her artwork. She is an active participant in both Los Angeles and New York’s art communities. In 1995, she obtained a BFA in Sculpture from the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California and in 1998 she continued on to achieve a MFA in Studio Art and Art Education from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In 2009, she received her Initial Teachers’ Certification in Visual Art for grades K-12 and currently serves as a quilting and ceramics instructor.

VIII. Joanne Julian 

Found out artist Joanne Julian and I are both CSUN alum and native Angelenos!  Julian, who is of Armenian ancestry, says she has been highly influenced by her travels to Asia and thus became skilled in certain Asian techniques, such as mono printing and the “flung ink” or “Haboku” style. Her pieces possess a “Zen quality” to them, as portrayed in her “Zen Circle” series, illuminating the Yin and Yang of Taoist painting. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts and her Masters in sculpture and printmaking from California State University, Northridge. She later received her MFA from the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. She has participated in over sixty group exhibitions and twenty solo exhibitions nation-wide. Since 1973, Julian has served as the Chair of the Fine Arts Department and Gallery Director at the College of Canyons in Valencia, California. In 2008, from January 25th to February 23rd, she held an exhibition at CSUN’s Art Gallery entitled, “Counterpoints”. 

All of the female artists I mentioned have given people a better look into what it means to be Armenian and how the community and its diaspora are trying to solidify the Armenian identity to enable its rich heritage and traditions to live on. And they are just a few of the proud Armenians who have helped raise awareness of the issues Armenians face, as well as give Armenians their due respect in the realm of International Art. And to go one step further, my deepest hope is that one day, art will overcome the war. 

[buddiebeginz]

Daniel Radcliffe & Miriam Margolyes Reflect On 20th Anniversary of Filming Harry Potter The Graham Norton Show

[whatsonlatenight]

The Graham Norton Show : Daniel Radcliffe & Miriam Margolyes Reflect On 20th Anniversary of Filming Harry Potter

[writemarcus]

2022 Downtown Urban Arts Festival Announces 20th Anniversary Line-Up

The festival, which has previously presented new works by Dominique Morisseau, Martyna Majok, and more, will take the stage at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row.

BY LEAH PUTNAM

MAY 04, 2022

Downtown Urban Arts Festival will celebrate its 20th Anniversary at Theatre Row with a series of new works June 1–25, including four full-length plays and 12 one acts in addition to an extended engagement of James Earl Hardy’s B-Boy Blues The Play.

Based on Hardy's novel series telling a gay hip-hop love story, B-Boy Blues The Play will be directed by Stanley Bennett Clay and is set to run June 3–25.

The line-up also includes Phantasmagoria by Alethea Harnish June 8, which follows a young woman as she forsakes home, family, and faith during a university-sanctioned quarantine; Alano P. Baez's Soul Survivor June 15, a play about a imprisoned man contemplating his life, Sam Cooke, and the history of Black oppression in America while awaiting execution; For Colored Boyz on the verge of a nervous breakdown/ when freedom aint enuff by Bryan-Keyth Wilson June 18, exploring a Black man's perspective; and The Pride by Joy June 25, which looks in on the Baker family and their home where God is first and women are kings.

One acts announced for the first half of the festival include Marcus Harmon's 20th Anniversary, about two firefighters 20 years after 9/11, and Cris Eli Blak's The Hard Knock Lyfe, about a rapper diagnosed with AIDS, to be presented June 1; Socky Tells All by Rollin Jewett, following young mental institution patient Andy, and The Palmist by Sheila Duane, which asks if fortune tellers can see the dark corners of a person's mind, set for June 2; and Marcus Scott's Forever and a Day, following a young boy genius trying to combat violence against young Black people, and Jennifer Cendana Armas' The Love Not Together, following the struggle to make love work, to be performed June 9.

Following in the second half of the month, one act performances will include Run by Elle, a contemporary opera about a woman awakening post-revelation, and Adulting by Amira Mustapha, which follows 30-something Muslim Miriam and her friend Liz through the process of coping, both presented June 16; Zoe Howard's Midnight Mirage, featuring two strangers connecting on a subway platform as time warps around them, and Christin Eve Cato's The Good Cop, which presents civil rights journalist Anita's journey to break the blue wall of silence, presented June 22; and A Shot Rang Out by Michael Hagins, about a white police officer trapped during a protest with a scared Black teen and a disgruntled schoolteacher, and Stoop by Isa Guzman, a play about generational differences and coming out as Transgender within a predominantly Latino community, presented June 23.

In its two-decade history, DUAF has presented nearly 300 new plays by over 200 emerging and established playwrights including Dominique Morisseau, Martyna Majok, Nelson Diaz-Marcano, Carl Hancock Rux, Craig MuMs Grant, and Ming Peiffer.

Tickets and information are available at duafnyc.com.