9

11.-1 P

A. J.,

ry

About

Book It!

Jerusalem as a his-
toric peace accord is
Local Jewish authors Jill Gregory
about to be signed.
(Greenberg) and Karen Tintori (Katz)
Note to book clubs:
explored the Kabbalah in their bestsell-
The
authors have
ing novel The Book of Names. In their
posted
a Readers'
(St.
just-released thriller The Illumination
Guide
on
their Web
Martin's Press; $24.95), the evil eye plays
sites,
jillgregory.net
a major role, as does the Temple Mount in
and karentintori.com ,
Jerusalem and a mystical biblical treasure
and are also available, schedules permit-
dating from the dawn of creation.
ting, to phone in for 10-15 minutes during
Mentioned by name in the Torah only
once — in the account of the flood story in book-club discussions.
The authors will appear at Borders in
Genesis — the treasure contains the power
Birmingham 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12
to transform, or destroy, the world. This
(248-203-0005), and at Borders in Novi 7
ancient artifact disappeared from the
Temple in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 (248-347-0780).
In other fiction news, the Jewish Book
razed the city, seizing
Council, administrator of the Sami Rohr
the Temple treasures
Prize for Jewish Literature, has announced
and taking the Jews to
the selection of five finalists for the Sami
Babylonia as captives.
Rohr Prize, the largest prize of its kind
In The Illumination,
in the Jewish literary world. This spring,
the authors conjecture
the $100,000 prize will be awarded to an
what became of this
emerging writer of fiction. The five final-
powerful treasure,
drawing upon the bibli- ists are Elisa Albert for The Book of Dahlia
cal stories of Daniel and (Free Press); Sana Krasikov for One More
Year (Spiegel & Grau), Anne Landsman
on the discovery of his
The Rowing Lesson (Soho Press), Dalia
for
Copper Scroll among
Sofer
for The Septembers of Shiraz (Ecco)
the Dead Sea Scrolls
and
Anya
Ulinich for Petropolis (Viking
found at Qumran.
Penguin).
With the fate of Jerusalem's Temple
Mount at stake, much of the action in the
Honest Abe
latter part of the book —lead protago-
nist Natalie Landau is a museum curator
"Once [Abraham Lincoln] died, the image
searching for answers about an evil-eye
of Moses who did not quite live to guide
necklace found by her sister Dana, who
his people to the promised land took hold
has mysteriously died — takes place in

of the public imagina-
tion," notes Jewish
Lincoln authority and
co-chairman of the U.S.
Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission Harold
Holzer, editor of Lincoln
As I Knew Him: Gossip,
Tributes and Revelations
from His Best Friends and Worst Enemies
(Algonquin; Feb. 10, 2009; $14.95).
"Public funerals in a number of
American cities, and mass mourning over
Easter and Passover cemented his emerg-
ing reputation. For decades, Lincoln was
above criticism. Which is why it is a good
thing that we have the reminiscences in
this book to remind us that the political
god was once regarded as a human being:"
Celebrating the 200th birthday of
Lincoln, Detroit Public Television-Channel
56 broadcasts two new programs about
Lincoln's life and death.
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,
airing 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, recounts two
months in 1865 when the nation, shattered
by the president's murder, mounted the
largest manhunt in its history.
Looking for Lincoln, airing 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 11, addresses many of
the controversies surrounding Lincoln
— race, equality, religion, politics, depres-
sion — while exploring how the Lincoln
legend grew.
Running through Nov. 4 at the Plymouth
Historical Museum, 155 S. Main in down-
town Plymouth, is "In the Presence of

Lincoln," an exhibit featuring photos, writ-
ings, furniture and a lock of hair belong-
ing to the 16th president, among other
artifacts. Hours are 1 - 4 p.m. Wednesdays,
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. $5, $2
ages 6-17, $10 families. Admission is free
during an open house 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7. (734) 455 - 8940 or
www.PlymouthHistory.org .

Short Cuts

When a young German boy's mother
responds to her son's question about the
whereabouts of his Jewish best friend
whose family has been put on a train for
the camps, she tells her son that his friend
has been sent to Toyland — and the boy
sneaks off to join him.
This is the plot of German director/
co-writer Jochen Alexander Freydank's
Spielzeugland (Toyland), a film about
lies and guilt set in a small town in 1942
Germany.
Already the winner of at least a dozen
film-festival awards and an Oscar
nominee for Best Live Action Short Film,
Spielzeugland will be shown at the Detroit
Film Theatre in the Detroit Institute of
Arts, along with the full slate of Oscar-
nominated live action and animated short
films, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4
p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6-8; and 9 p.m. Saturday
and 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14-15.
Recommended for those 17 and up.
$6.50-$7.50. (313) 833-4005 or
www.dia.org/dft . I I

FYI: For Arts related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to: Gail Zimmerman, JN Out &
before the scheduled event.
About, The Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax us at (248) 304-8885; or e-mail to gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com . Notice must be received at least three weeks
Photos are appreciated but cannot be returned. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change.

ews

OE

Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News

12 Grammy Time

1.

The Grammy Awards for musical
(11) excellence air 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb.
8, on CBS. The Jewish nominees, as
11 usual, are an eclectic group.
In the rock categories, there's
superstar Pink (a.k.a. Alecia Moore)
up for best female
tact pop performance
("So What"); the
band Disturbed, led
by Orthodox-raised
lead singer David
Draiman, for best
hard rock perfor-
David Draiman mance ("Inside the
Fire"); the veteran
rockers in Rush, including bassist

4

-

C6

February 5 • 2009

Geddy Lee, for best rock instrumen-
tal honors ("Hope"); and Maroon
5, with lead singer/guitarist Adam
Levine, up for best pop performance
by a duo or group ("Won't Go Home
Without You") and best collaboration
with vocals, with Rihanna ("If I Never
See Your Face Again").
Also, nominated is Rick Rubin, the
mega-talent who is up again for non-
classical producer of the year. He's
cited for producing four 2008 CDs,
including those by Neil Diamond and
Jakob Dylan.
Michael Feinstein (The Sinatra
Project) and Barry Manilow (In the
Swing of Christmas) vie for best tra-
ditional pop album.
Meanwhile, saxophonist Randy
Brecker (Randy in Brasil) is up for
best contemporary jazz album. Over

in country, jazz/bluegrass fusion art-
ist Bela Fleck is nominated for best
country instrumental ("Sleigh Ride"),
as well as for best
pop instrumental
album (Jingle All
the Way), vying with
Jay Beckenstein
and the other mem-
bers of Spyro Gyra
(A Night Before
Christmas).
Bela Fleck
In Latin, Uruguay
native and Oscar-winner Jorge
Drexler is up for best Latin pop
album (Cara B). Also, film composer
James Newton Howard is nominated
for his score for The Dark Knight.
Drummer Mickey Hart of Grateful
Dead fame is nominated for best
contemporary world music album

(Global Drum Project).
Funny guys Lewis Black and Harry
Shearer are two of the five nomi-
nees for best comedy album. Actress
Gwyneth Paltrow scored a nomina-
tion for best spoken word children's
album for narrating Brown Bear
and Friends. Maybe she'll show up
with husband Chris Martin, multi-
nominated in the top categories for
Coldplay's Vida La Vida.

Film Notes

Mickey Rourke, Oscar-nominated
for Best Actor in The Wrestler,
directed by Darren Aronofsky and
now in theaters, told the Web site
thedeadbolt.com that he enlisted a
former Israeli soldier and ex-cage
fighter to get him into shape for the
film. His coach, Rourke said, worked