Culture Archives - The Culture Mom

23May

A First Time Theater Experience for Newly Arrived Immigrants at the New Victory Theater: “Pss Pss”

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This past weekend I had the unique experience of watching a newly arrived family from Afghanistan watch their very first theatrical play, in the very first theater they had ever sat in - on Broadway, but not a Broadway show. Still, the effect of watching them enjoy their first show was moving, and quite magical. It also helped that it was at one of my favorite theaters for children in NYC, the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street. The show we would see, "Pss Pss," hailed from Switzerland, as the bulk of their programming is from around the world. Like Read More

23Dec

Netflix: My Year in Review and Shows I am Thankful For

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Disclosure: As part of Netflix’s Stream Team, I get inside access to Netflix's programming and share my thoughts on their programming with my readers often. But as always, my thoughts are my own. Netflix just gets better and better. I've been a member since its humble start and am continuously impressed with its original and bold slate of programming, both original and acquired. It keeps my entire family occupied at various times of the day and night. My teenage daughter is obsessed with its offerings, many of which I used to watch at one point in Read More

31Jul

Where You Can Find Me: A Summer of Introspection (and of Course, Travel and Culture!)

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There has been a bit of radio silence here on this blog as of late. It's been an unexpected summer of introspection, and I've taken time out in very real way. My kids went to sleep-away camp for the first time in our lives, so there were a few weeks of utter bliss. I've also been quite the world traveler this summer - it started in Turks and Caicos back in May, which I wrote about here and elsewhere. I went to Boston and back, where my son was in camp, and spent time in Salem, Mass and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I also spent nearly a week in Texas, which Read More

01Mar

Where You Can Find Me

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Well, I've gone quiet again. It has been two weeks since my last post. I must admit that since 11/8, my heart is in other places and I've become quite the activist. Between work, graduate school and my advocacy work (for refugees in particular), I am up to my ears but I am still the Culture Mom! I'm still going to shows, traveling on assignment (London, Boston, Washington, DC, and Orlando, Florida most recently - yep, Disney!), reading (currently A Man Called Ove), seeing films (most recently Moonlight and LaLa Land - twice for each and two Read More

18Dec

Film Review: A Monster Calls

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When I was invited to screen the new film A Monster Calls, I knew very little about it. As the film started, I worried for a moment that I was out of my element in viewing the film. After all, I'm not a fan of horror movies and given its name, clearly I was in for something in that category. I was both right and wrong. A Monster Calls is a beautiful story that does its have its share of monsters, one in particular, but more importantly, it's about a boy and his mom. She's dying of cancer, and he left to pick up the pieces, as he realizes there is Read More

02Sep

Guest Post: Review of Off-Broadway’s Stomp

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Guest writer Liat Ginsberg is a mother and former journalist for the Israeli newspaper, Maariv. She has taught at the Film and Media Department at Hunter College. When your kids take pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets and you think, “No, not again. I had enough of this horrible banging noise.” The show Stomp will give them even more legitimacy to drive you crazy and tell you, “Why can’t we do it? You are killing our creativity!” Also throw into the mix: Zippo lighters, push brooms, wooden poles, hammer handles, garbage cans, inner Read More

24May

An Early Look Inside “Me Before You”

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When Jojo Moyes walked into the room during a press junke for "Me Before You" a few days ago, the first question didn't come out of my mouth; it came out of hers. She asked, "Did you cry?" The funny, or not so funny, thing was that I had just had this very conversation with others about the film and whether it had made me cry. My answer was yes, absolutely. I was as spell bound and smitten with the characters as when I read the book a few months ago, and my fondness for the leads grew even more intense after seeing the film. However, since I had Read More

22Jul

Where You’ll Find Me

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Sorry if I've been quiet here as of late. I have been mulling over the state of blogging since attending BlogHer last week - it's an event that used to be a big deal for me as I was once "a big fish in a little pond". That is no longer the case - the tides have changed in this universe, and it left me contemplating my place here. More on that later. I'm still nursing my broken wrist but I've done a lot of writing with one hand! Lots of healing taking place and I'll be traveling again soon. Check out where I've been writing: Huffington Post Exploring Read More

06Jul

Giveaway: Woman in Gold Blu-ray & $50 Visa Gift Card

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Update: This giveaway is closed. Available on July 7th, Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars in Woman in Gold, the incredible story of a Jewish refugee who was forced to flee Vienna during World War II, and the paintings that were left behind. When I saw Woman in Gold early this year, I was spellbound. The film had a poignant intensity about a particular time in history and it's a story that demanded to be told. In the film, Mirren plays Maria Altmann, a Viennese-born resident of Los Angeles, who in 1998 battled the Austrian authorities for Read More

22May

Grace and Frankie Gets Growing Older Right

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I've been lying in bed, recovering from an injury and have had time on my hands the past few days, so I decided to binge the one show I've been waiting to have time for: Grace and Frankie on Netflix. (If there are typos in this post, I may offer the excuse of having one hand, but I promise to proof-read before I hit "publish".) There is just too much to love about this show. Not only do you have Jane Fonda, who plays Grace, and Lily Tomlin, but also Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, who play their husbands who reveal they are gay and love each other. Read More