A sach mentshen zehen, nor vainik fun zai farshtai’en: Many people see things but few understand them.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21—FEBRUARY 20):

Ruled by wild and erratic Uranus, Aquarians are associated with inspiration and originality. Your symbol, the water-bearer, is a bit misleading—you’re not, in fact, a water sign, but rather an air sign. But unlike fellow air signs Libra and Gemini, Aquarius is a fixed sign, meaning you possess the intellectual acumen and curiosity of the others but aren’t nearly as mercurial.

Aquarius is also the sign of contradictions. Before the discovery of Uranus in 1781, Saturn was your ruler, representing order and conformity. Uranus, with its unusual rotation and orbit, rules rebellion, risk, and individuality. The planet is associated with invention and innovation, as well as a latent ability to perceive the future—which is what it means to be at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

Aquarians are patient, intuitive, devoted, and dependable, yet drawn to the unconventional. Your clear-headed determination and knack for reason make you an excellent reformer. But your detachment from your emotions and dispassionate approach to relationships—as well as your keen memory for detail—often cause you to hold grudges. Your understanding of human nature runs the risk of being purely intellectual. Feh!

The new moon in your sign on February 9 favors innovation, exploration of the unknown, and experimentation. With Saturn in retrograde from February 18 until July 8, consider reexamining any outmoded ways of thinking and dealing with unfinished business—you can do so much more than you thought possible. The love planet Venus is in your sign until February 25th, so expect the thrills of freedom and independence. You might not find your beshert in time for Valentine’s Day, but some trial and error may be enough to awaken those dormant romantic impulses.

Famous Aquarius Jews: Gertrude Stein, Martin Buber, Michael Bloomberg, Neil Diamond, Paul Newman, Seth Green, Louis Zukofsky, Carole King, Philip Glass, Felix Mendelssohn, Jack Benny, Stella Adler, Paul Auster, Jonathan Lethem, Art Spiegelman, Betty Friedan, Darren Aronofsky, Judy Blume, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jerry Springer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Pauly Shore, Regina Spektor, Zosia Mamet

PISCES (FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 20): Things may get worse before they get better—Aider es kumt di nechomeh, ken oisgaien di neshomeh. Mars and Mercury move into your sign in February, making compassion and dreaming the order of the day. Pisces can be gluttons for punishment, but if you stand up for yourself without equivocating, the people you need most will rush to your side in solidarity.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20): It seems like the universe is conspiring to put all of your plans on the back burner. During February your ruling planet Mars will be transiting through Pisces, the planet of compassion and empathy, which doesn’t exactly jive well with your typical warrior stance. However, ven men darf hoben moiach, helft nit kain koiach—when brains are needed, brawn won’t help.

TAURUS (APRIL 21-MAY 20): You may be feeling cautious in romantic pursuits for fear of rejection, making your prospects appear stalled and limited. But reality is more of a give-and-take than you realized. Before you can experience mekheye, you’ll need do some serious assessment about what you really want out of love.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): While you’ve been trying to focus on your career, mental Mercury’s move into Pisces on February 5 ignites your fantasies and dreams. Practicality may seem boring—if not hazardous—but rather than voglen (wander around aimlessly), be honest with yourself and others about what’s going on in that head of yours.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 20): Cosmic energies are insisting that you broaden your horizons. So ease up and let yourself go—your sanctimonious tendencies often push others away. An epiphanic moment may be in store for you, transforming the way you view your place in the universe.  

LEO (JULY 21-AUGUST 20): Although it seems like everything is working against you right now, this trial by fire could be a blessing in disguise. While domestic matters may take center stage, you’ll be strengthened by the realization that you’re a light that won’t go out. You’re the richtiker chaifetz (the real McCoy), you feisty felines—just hang in there and the method to this madness will eventually reveal itself.

VIRGO (AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 20): As charming as you can be, you’re often guilty of haken a chainik (talking for the sake of talking). The only way to get close to people is to interact with mutual regard and empathy. Try listening for a change and the rest will follow.

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 20): A wise man once said, “the world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.” Since Libra is the sign of balance, you would do well to find a way to mediate between thinking and feeling. After all, heaven and hell can both be had in this world—ganaiden un gehenem ken men baideh hoben oif der velt.

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 20): You’ve been oysgemutshet (worked to death, tired out) for far too long. Don’t hate the player, hate the game: examine the source of your frustration. The truth has many faces—der emess hot a sach ponimer—and admitting that the past just isn’t through with you will help you make the changes you need for a brighter future.

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 21–DECEMBER 20): Freud interpreted the dual nature of Sagittarius as the ego’s way of navigating the warring id and superego. For fiery Sagittarians, it is often oder gor oder gornit (all or nothing). Rather than force something that just wasn’t meant to be, try to rise above the shtuss and learn to love the dueling sides of yourself.

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 21–JANUARY 20): With your ruling planet Saturn in retrograde from February 18 to July 8 and planets moving out of your sign, you may feel a particular sense of loss and confusion. For now, focus on your health—mental, spiritual, physical—rather than gesunte tzores. Gather your strength, for soon you’ll regain equilibrium.

What’s Your Sign?
Capricorn, the Cardinal Earth Sign
Sagittarius, the Adventurous Archer
Stinging Scorpio
Lovely, Lawful Libra
Virgo, the Anxious Maiden
Leo, King of the Jungle

(Art by Margarita Korol)

***

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The post Jewcy Horoscopes: Aquarius, Sign of Contradictions (Jan. 21—Feb. 20) appeared first on Jewcy.

The New York Times reports that Benjamin Millepied, better known around here as Mr. Natalie Portman, has been named the new Paris Opera Ballet director in a surprising appointment. That’s because he’s something of an outsider, having spent most of his time away from his native France, most recently choreographing the Oscar-winning Black Swan and marrying Jewcy’s patron saint, Natalie Portman.

Congratulations, whatever. The real story here is that he’s taking Portman and their super-baby, Aleph, with him to France: “Mr. Millepied said he planned to continue running the L.A. Dance Project until he began his new job, when he would move to Paris with Ms. Portman and their son.”

Not cool, dude. We are nothing without the possibility of a downtown NYC Portman run-in.

Paris Opera Ballet Picks Outsider for New Director [NYT]

The post Natalie Portman’s Husband Named Director of the Paris Opera Ballet appeared first on Jewcy.

Upon hearing the biblical casting news out of Hollywood this summer that Russell Crowe was cast as the title character in Darren Aronofsky’s epic film Noah, I immediately thought that Crowe was a great choice. His skill set and experience—both in B.C. and A.D.—qualify him to build the ark on the big screen. However, after seeing a picture of Crowe in character, I started to question whether he was the right choice visually.

I’m skeptical because Aronofsky’s vision of Noah doesn’t really match with my vision of Noah, shaped over years of hearing and reading the story of the biblical ark builder. The first images of Crowe in character reveal a middle-aged Noah: a man of thick stock who’s a bit muscular and rugged, with a beard that’s not quite biblical length. (I define biblical length as a very long beard. I know that’s vague, but it makes sense to me.) My vision of Noah is a much older man, lean with a long white flowing beard, dressed in a white tunic or a cloak-like outfit (I think it may have been more of a brown color when I was younger.)

In Aronofsky’s defense, it’s possible that as the film progresses, Crowe ages and develops into the Noah I’ve always imagined. Another possibility is that my vision is just that: my own conception of a biblical figure. Better yet, maybe Aronofsky’s characterization will ultimately change how I picture Noah. But for now, something just seems off.

If Aronofsky and I have such a major difference in our visions of Noah, what does it say about the personalization of Biblical figures on a wider scale? What roles do our Jewish upbringings and imaginations, as well as outside forces, have in developing and influencing these images? My biblical visuals are rooted in a combination of Hebrew School lessons, d’var Torah passages, and good old-fashioned daydreaming. I remember being a kid listening to the stories told from the bimah and the front of the Hebrew School classroom. As the details of the story were read aloud, I would begin to visualize everything: I would picture the people, in varying degrees of detail, and the settings.

I distinctly remember envisioning Abraham when I was younger. I remember picturing him breaking his father’s idols as a skinny, average-height boy. Older Abraham has the ultimate biblical beard, though I’m not sure whether it’s salt-and-peppered or completely white. I think I usually give him a white beard, but I can’t remember for sure. He wears long tribal garb, and as of press time I still can’t picture his face. He’s more of a figure seen from behind or the side.

When it comes to Moses, there’s no need for imagination. Hollywood gave me Moses in the form of Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. There is no other Moses. When I hear the name Moses, I see Heston. His face, beard, build, garb, even his voice are as they should be. But are they as they should be because I have fully accepted and internalized director Cecil B. DeMille’s image of Moses? Or is there a chance that his vision supports a preexisting notion of Moses in my head? It’s so ingrained in my consciousness at this point that I can’t know for sure.

Since Hollywood has clearly had a profound impact on my conception of Moses, I wonder if Aronofsky’s blockbuster will have a similar effect with Noah. Will this Hollywood depiction reinforce aspects of my Noah or completely replace him? Moses was offered to me when I was young–DeMille’s film, released in 1956, had already become a classic by the time I was born—but I’ve had twenty-plus years of picturing some form of a Noah without any big screen influence. If anything, Hollywood only confirmed that vision with Steve Carrell’s Noah-esque character in 2007’s less-than-stellar Evan Almighty.

I’ll have to wait until Noah is released in 2014 to see if Aronofsky can replace my vision of this particular biblical figure. Perhaps when I see Crowe, staff in hand, leading the animals two by two into the ark, everything will change. There’s a chance that Crowe could even become my Noah. But I’m pretty sure that Crowe won’t ever be my Noah the way Heston is my Moses.

The post Can Russell Crowe do for Noah what Charlton Heston did for Moses? appeared first on Jewcy.

• July is National Pickle Month! But pickles, food staple of Jewish immigrants, were not always loved by all.

• The Catskills region is trying to rebrand itself away from “Simon Says, rimshot comedians and Dirty Dancing.” Rude.

• A walk through New York City’s changing garment district.

• The 10-year-old Orthodox girl behind a record-breaking 209.4-pound deadlift.

• Drake throws a (NSFW) pool party—but it’s no bar mitzvah.

The post Daily Jewce: A Catskills Makeover, Celebrate National Pickle Month, and more appeared first on Jewcy.

• Russell Crowe will play Noah in Darren Aronofsky’s biblically-inspired film.

• Larry David being Larry David.

• Jon Scheyer is out at Maccabi Tel Aviv after 46 games with the team, and has returned to the U.S.

• Former Backstreet Boy Howie D, however, is heading to Israel for a 10-day tour, and you can join him!

• Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin attended a Mad Men VIP screening.

The post Daily Jewce: Russell Crowe to Play Noah in Darren Aronofsky Film, and more appeared first on Jewcy.

We probably should have asked Jesse Eisenberg if he expected to be nominated for an Oscar when we interviewed him a few months back.  Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network netted him a  a nomination alongside fellow M.O.T. James Franco and Jeff Bridges — who isn’t Jewish, but seems to work pretty well with them.  The Coen Brothers, who directed Bridges in True Grit, and Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan, are all in the running for Best Director.

Hailee Steinfeld, who was fantastic as Mattie Ross in True Grit, is up for Actress in a Supporting Role, and even though the Jewish Journal says “Israel does not make the cut,” Natalie Portman looks to become the first Israeli-born actress to win the major award. We’re pretty sure that “Team Portman” will be in full effect on February 27th.

Look down the list of all the nominees.  It’s a litany of Jewish names among dozens of actors, actresses, writers, directors and other brilliant film people

The post Jewish Oscar Nomination Roundup appeared first on Jewcy.

A few months ago here at Jewcy, we wondered if Black Swan was going to be the best film of the year?  At that point, we only had a few indications on which to base such a sweeping prediction.  There was, of course, Darren Aronofsky’s trajectory as a filmmaker up to that point: four films equaling a body of work that rivaled the early efforts of any filmmaker and a bag of trick’s at his disposal that had the ability to astonish any viewer.   Other than that, a short trailer had been released that didn’t tell us much more than we already knew: Black Swan was a film about ballet dancers starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, but it subtly hinted at something more, something dark beneath the surface that in it’s subtleness and restraint, intrigued and titillated us more than some kind of fast cut, special effects light show, or gore fest.  Still, the question lingered, can Aronofsky pull off the visceral attack on the senses that he’s so beautifully executed in Pi and Requiem For a Dream or play to our empathy and tap into kind of humanistic venerability that he did in The Wrestler?  could he possibly pull of what we’ve come to expect as a “Darrenofsky flick” about ballet?  If so, it seemed safe to say that our prediction from this summer would hold as truth, Inception not withstanding.  Having witnessed the 107 minutes of unrelenting, often punishing film that make up Black Swan, it feels quite safe to say that, indeed, Black Swan is the year’s best film.

Black Swan revolves around a New York based ballet company’s production of Swan Lake, and follows around, Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman, as she struggles through the demands of being granted, and subsequently performing the shows lead role of the Swan Queen, which demands a dancer portray two characters, one that represent light and beauty, and another that represents darkness.   Mila Kunis plays the role of Lily, a new edition to the company who is the black swan to Nina’s white swan.  Nina neglects the social life of a pretty young woman living in the city entirely to spend every free minute practicing and preparing herself to dance by not eating and manipulating her body in various ugly ways.  Lily on the other hand, only practices when she’s at work, choosing to spend the rest of her time hitting the bars and clubs, getting drunk and getting laid, which she can do because her grace is natural, she doesn’t even warm up.  Barbara Hershey plays the role of Nina’s mother, a former dancer whose life centers around the care of her daughter, living vicariously through her career, keeping her daughter in something of a box, much like one that she keeps by Nina’s bedside, with the tiny spinning dancer inside.  Winona Ryder plays the role of Beth, a dancer who used to play the Swan Queen until Thomas, the company’s director, played by Vincent Cassel, decides to recast a younger, fresher swan.   Ryder, who’s chosen her roles carefully and sparingly since the shoplifiting incident so many years ago, plays this small yet seminal role beautifully, portraying a character whose every move is motivated by darkness.  A series of events unfold that prod and jar the viewer so as to feel plopped into the position of this desperate woman in coveted spot where potential threats lurk around every corner, many of which come from within.   Think of the The Shining, Nina Sayers is an amalgamation of the roles of both Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duval.

Simply put, Black Swan is the most visceral film to come out since Requiem For a Dream and in a many ways it’s a return to form for Aronsofky to the kind of out of the box creativity that he introduced in Pi and honed in Requiem. Only, in Black Swan the neurosis that he deals with is much more complex. Physical and emotional dependence, the kind he illustrates so beautifully in Requiem is something that most of us can identify, if not empathize with.  In Black Swan, it’s an obsession with perfection that drives our protagonist to the inferno that’s in store for her, the kind that drives anorexic’s and cutters, as much as it does Olympic athlete.  Nina ripping apart her fused toes, cracking and shoving different body parts in and out of place and peeling away at layers of her skin is akin to Jared Leto shoving a needle into the puss-filled purple crater in his arm at the end of Reqiem for a Dream.  His evocation of the grotesque in frighteningly real circumstances, in this film, feels like an unequivocal nod to Cronenberg, a surprise, coming from a director who rarely nods — unless Kubrick is at the opposite end.  His take on eroticism, purity and gender in this film, also goes a level deeper than he has in the past.   Aronsofsky also revisits the kind of creative trickery that tempered his first two films.  It’s the kind of thing that would have many critics writing off a director as being gimmicky or overly stylized, but Aronofsky executes them with such control and restraint that it never feels that way.  When Portman spins early in the film to practice for the finale of Swan Lake (in which a dancer spins around at least ten times in a row) the camera spins with her, swinging and stopping, swinging and stopping, which somehow never has a “look what I can do” underpinning.  Importantly, Aronofsky also incorporates the over-the-shoulder biographical storytelling style of The Wrestler, a film that for the most part lacked the stylized photographic tricks of his earlier films.  Black Swan has the best of the three films, at the same time incorporating the mind bending, cerebral intricacy of The Fountain.  We know from very early on in the film, as Nina waits on the subway and a ominous sound effect jangles our bones, putting us in the shoes of a young woman alone on a creepy subway, that we are watching a film in this directors body of work.  It’s warning for what is to come, a final onslaught of madness that mirrors the dizzying over the top conclusion to Swan Lake.

Some people may not like Black Swan and I don’t think it’s unfair to say that –like  was the case with Stanley Kubrick– a lot of this director’s best work will take time to be appreciated.  The dialogue for some will feel awkward and borderline campy.  The motif of duality, the dark and the light, to some might feel like a clobbering over the head not unlike all six seasons of Lost.  In the theater while watching this film, after long stretches of intense psychic attack, the audience’s reaction tended toward the humorous, laughing after some of the most macabre moments in the film.  What most will fail to grasp is the mastery over emotions the director displays during these moments.  Some of the dialogue is somewhat absurd, yes.  In fact, it’s almost operatic in it’s grand, absoluteness.   It’s brash, like an aria by a fat lady wearing a horned Viking helmet, which is, indeed, the point.

There’s about a month left in the year, and yet, a lot might still happen.  This is just about when all the films gunning for this year’s Oscar’s are released.  Variables aside, there are few films thus far that have a chance at besting Black Swan.  Of course, Inception for many is first thought, and a fair one.  Nolan and Aronosfky are the most exciting directors in the world of mainstream film today. Aronofsky debuted with more of a DIY attitude, finishing Pi by simply asking everyone he knew for a hundred bucks.  Nolan’s major debut, Memento, was far more sleek, however comparable to Pi in tone and ambition. A healthy rivalry between these two could make for an exciting future for film, particularly now that both directors have passed the proving stage of their careers.  Between the two, Aronofsky is  more likely to go for broke to satisfy an artistic vision. Famously, Aronofsky told Nick Cage after he’d been given the lead in The Wrestler that Mickey Rourke was the only person who could play the role, knowing it would cost him his budget.  While his commercial sensibility exists, it’s not as honed as Nolan’s and it’s less of a drive, either a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Meanwhile, few other films thus far even come close to compare.  I Love You Philip Morris, soon to be released is a beautifully executed adventure to story, almost a gay Catch Me If You Can.  The Social Network, like Fincher’s Zodiac, succeeds as an experience, without the kind of staying power a great film demands.  There’s still time but there don’t seem to be any releases on deck that will make the difference.  Aronofsky in all his films, but especially in this most recent effort, does one thing better than any other director, he makes a film feel like it’s happening to you, he grabs you by the fucking collar and says, “Watch the pretty ballet!” and then he stabs you in the face.

The post The Verdict Is In On “Black Swan” appeared first on Jewcy.

• Foreign Minster Avigdor Lieberman calls North Korea “crazy.” Hate to say he’s right.

• Kazakhstan has finally issued their response film to Borat.  Hopefully Austria won’t make a follow up to Brüno.

• Apple posted an exclusive music video from Darren Aronofsky‘s upcoming film, Black Swan. (Via Flavorwire)

• Buffy is coming back.  Probably sans Jewish girl in the lead role, and definitely sans Joss Whedon.

The post Daily Jewce: Borat 2, Lieberman Talks North Korea, <i>Black Swan</i>, Buffy Comes Back, And More appeared first on Jewcy.

• The Forward unveiled their yearly list of fifty influential Jews. Among them, Supreme Court judge Elena Kagan, author Gary Shteyngart, Congressman Eric Cantor, and, oh look at that, Jewcy contributing editor Daniel Seradski.

• Bar Mitzvah boy gets Batmobile to park outside his party, and also writes a letter to the editor of L Magazine.  He is now more than a man, he’s a total dude.

• Jews who like guns vs. Jews who don’t like guns at The Huffington Post.

• Darren Aronofsky channels Dario Argento in new gothic thriller The Black Swan at Dangerous Minds.

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