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ADDENDUM: FROM PAGE TO SCREEN

As is my way, I saw The Company You Keep at a preview screening, then I read the novel, then I saw the film a second time before writing this review. (I try to do this every time I want to write a serious review of a literary adaptation.)

Conventional Wisdom says "the movie is never as good as the book," but this is one case where CW is simply wrong. Neil Gordon's novel is OK (too many characters, too many coincidences, too much melodrama), but Robert Redford's film is very powerful. Working closely with screenwriter Lem Dobbs, Redford has extracted the best elements of Gordon's novel, and added some essential connective tissue. In Redford's hands, a story about the past becomes a catalyst for the future.

All of which is fine with me, except for one thing: where are the Jews?

Ironically, all of the names novelist Neil Gordon gave to his huge cast of characters (Jed Lewis, Mimi Lurie, Henry Osborne, Sharon Solarz, etc) have all stayed the same except for three: reporter Ben Shepard (known in the novel as Ben Schulberg), and the Sloan Brothers (known in the film as Nick Sloan and Daniel Sloan, but known in the novel as Jason Sinai and Daniel Sinai). So on the page, both of the protagonists-Ben Schulberg and Jim Grant/Jason Sinai-are clearly Jewish, but you would never know that if you had only met their onscreen counterparts.

Tzivi reviews The Company You Keep

After 35 years in Chicago, Jan Lisa Huttner (Tzivi) is now living in Brooklyn, completing research for her book on Fiddler on the Roof. Follow Jan's adventures on her Blog www.SecondCityTzivi.com.

Tzivi reviews The Company You Keep

onthehunt

"Thank you for listening."

In the opening moments of Robert Redford's wonderful new film The Company You Keep, a middle aged woman pulls into a rural New York gas station, where she is immediately encircled by police cars and arrested by the FBI. Although she looks like an ordinary suburban matron, it turns out that this seemingly respectable person is actually "Sharon Solarz," a member of the Weather Underground who has succeeded in living below the radar for almost 30 years.

Frazzled editor "Ray Fuller" (Stanley Tucci) assigns the story to "Ben Shepard" (Shia LaBeouf), an ambitious young reporter with minimal knowledge of the Sixties and no sympathy for Solarz whatsoever. But something in the first article Ben writes sparks Sharon's interest, and she asks to see him. Hoping she will reveal useful information during the interview, the FBI agrees. And that's how we come to see Susan Sarandon, pale and drawn under harsh lights in an ugly orange jumpsuit, deliver one of the greatest performances of her distinguished career.

Turning wedding dresses into works of art

By CHERYL JACOBS

You know that one house where all the kids want to play after school because they have the best toys?

In my case, it was my friend Cara's house. Her mom, Diane Bronstein, created the best art projects for us to do and she would let us rummage through her art collections. We spent hours in her mom's jewelry studio in the basement making necklaces and bracelets out of her "extra" beads and playing with art materials that were deemed "too messy" in my own home.

Diane is the cool mom. A painter, photographer, jewelry designer, and all around artistic maven, she fills her home-and businesses with art and creativity.

"My loves are painting, drawing, photography and design," Bronstein said. "Somehow I manage to always incorporate that in every business."

Bronstein has had an eclectic career. From heading up advertising for a decorative accessories company, to owning several of her own business, including Mrs. B's Quality Kits, to painting furniture, she has traveled extensively and studied art throughout Europe

Keshet offers yoga to individuals with developmental disabilities

The goal of Jewish Disability Awareness Month is to unite communities and organizations for the purpose of raising awareness and supporting meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities and their families in every aspect of Jewish life.

Keshet, the premier provider of educational, recreational, vocational and social programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities operates according to traditional Jewish values and accomplishes this through their specialized yoga program, created and run by Keshet parent, Randi Heichman.

Heichman received her 200-hour yoga instructor certification from Blue Sun Yoga, and certificate from the Special Child program at the Taste of Yogakids. "I started this program because I had been practicing yoga for ten years and was able to see how much yoga helped me relax during stressful times," says Heichman. "I knew that yoga was a natural way for children with special needs to also receive those benefits. You don't need to use or understand language - you can't do yoga incorrectly."

Yoga sessions can be tailored to incorporate student's Individualized Education Plans, and the benefits of yoga for children with special needs include allowing the student to follow a schedule, enhance posture and muscle tone, use eye contact and language, aid in speech development by using breath work, help develop motor planning skills, and so much more.

In my words ... (Guy's story)

By GUY JOSIF

Guy survived the Darfur genocide and found refuge in Israel.

What I have been through is not something one can ever forget. I come from a very poor family, but I believe I have a future: I want to help my people and make Darfur a safer and better place for all people from that region of Sudan. It was my dream to study since I was kid, but I have faced many challenges along the way. I survived the genocide in Darfur.

I came to the United States as a student both because I wanted to study and because I needed a safe place to do so. I was born in 1986 in a village called Mara in Darfur with the name Abdelhamid Yousif Ismail Adem. I am the second of four brothers and three sisters. I recently discovered that one of my brothers is alive, but I do not know whether the rest are alive today. After seeing people being killed in the name of religion, I converted from Islam to Christianity. With this change, I decided to change my name to Guy [JOSIF].

My parents were farmers who cultivated fruits like citrus. We owned cows, goats, sheep, horses, and camels. We were self-reliant. There were around 2,000 people in our village; all of us were farmers. Before the genocide happened I used to help my father and mother in the farm when I returned from school. Unfortunately, I had to stop attending school after grade six. My parents could not afford the fees.

As Sandy relief moves into its second phase, volunteers are critical

Hillel students from Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Chicago during their winter break.

The snow may be melting and temperatures rising, yet thousands are still enduring chilling homeless nights, months after Superstorm Sandy. Join the Jewish United Fund Tikkun Olam Volunteer (TOV) Network for a spring mission in partnership with NECHAMA-Jewish Response to Disaster: Sunday, April 21-Tuesday, April 23.

"I considered it a genuine privilege to be able to contribute to the rebuilding of these communities, which, in other circumstances, could very well be my own," said Adam Hyman, a young professional who volunteered in December on the community mission. "This relief mission was the epitome of tikkun olam. I was proud to be a part of it and proud of JUF for organizing it."

This past December, TOV sent two relief missions to New York, in response to the destruction. One mission consisted of local community members, a second of Hillel students, taking time out of their winter break to assist in the massive clean-up effort. Volunteers were tasked with removing debris and gutting the foundational structure of The Jewish Center of Brighton Beach, a historic landmark and one of New York's oldest synagogues, preparing it for reconstruction.

For Once-Mighty Sears, Pictures of Decay

One of 18 photos of scenes inside Sears stores that Brian Sozzi, chief executive of Belus Capital Advisors, posted on his blog to show the state of the stores.

Brian Sozzi One of 18 photos of scenes inside Sears stores that Brian Sozzi, chief executive of Belus Capital Advisors, posted on his blog to show the state of the stores. "It's just badness throughout," he said in an interview. "Every store has something fundamentally wrong with it."

Updated, 8:46 p.m. | When Brian Sozzi, the chief executive of Belus Capital Advisors, visited Sears locations in New York and New Jersey this month, he said, he found barren shelves, haphazard displays and badly stained carpets.

Also missing: customers.

"It's just badness throughout," Mr. Sozzi said in an interview. "Every store has something fundamentally wrong with it."

Photos of the stores that Mr. Sozzi posted on his blog attracted more than a quarter-million views and captured the sentiments of customers dissatisfied with the company. The website Business Insider titled a post: "18 Depressing Photos That Show Why Nobody Wants To Shop At Sears."

Yet it is these core Sears stores that Edward S. Lampert, the hedge fund manager who is Sears's majority owner and chief executive, believes represent the future of the retailer.

To help raise cash for that future, Sears announced on Tuesday that it was looking to split off its Lands' End and Sears Auto Center brands, two of the company's best-known assets. It also said that Sears Canada, which it controls, had sold five store leases for $384 million.

Azerbaijani ambassador discusses close relationship with U.S. and Israel

By STEVEN CHAITMAN

Lindsey Bissett

Ambassador Elin Suleymanov of Azerbaijan (left) and Dan Mariaschin of B'nai B'rith.

Israel and the United States have a little-known ally in an equally little-known region of the world – Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan stands as a friend of the United States and a friend of Israel in a very difficult neighborhood," said Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States. Suleymanov was the guest speaker at a lunch meeting of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago on Nov. 21.

Azerbaijan, which gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, is a secular-run country bordering Iran and Russia with a majority population of Shia Muslims. It has also supported a longstanding Jewish community, today numbering about 20,000. Suleymanov said that Ashkenazi Jews live in major urban centers such as the capital, Baku, and a Sephardic community has existed in Quba since before record.

Dan Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B'nai B'rith, which has long worked closely with Suleymanov and Azerbaijan, introduced the ambassador and later said that the American Jewish community has long seen the country as a potential friend in the Middle East, as it was one of few safe havens for Soviet Jews

Fun Team Building Activities Strengthen Corporations

One of the toughest parts of running a successful corporation is creating an environment in which people with vastly different personalities and ideologies can work well together. It's in a business' best interest to employ a diverse workforce in order to have a variety of strengths, skill sets and ideas. However, if a company can't create a cohesive unit from these individual employees, long-term success is virtually impossible to achieve.

Smart executives recognize this and take several steps to ensure that the people who work for them also work together. Generally, this begins during the hiring process; team work questions are standardly worked into the initial interview and all pre-hire testing models also evaluate the trait. Just because a person CAN work as a team member doesn't necessarily mean that they WILL, though. Fun team building activities can help with that.

Click here to watch Subject expert Josh Freedman talk about whether or not team building exercises build a stronger team.

How Can Team Building Exercises Help?

Employees must learn to know and trust each other before a true team environment can develop. Under normal circumstances, not everybody may be inclined to be social at work. This could be because they're introverts, because they're too busy, or because they don't feel as if they have anything in common with coworkers.

Google to remove Maps image of slain teen

Google says it will replace a Google Maps image after a California father complained it shows the body of his teen-age son, who was shot to death in 2009.

Jose Barrera, of Richmond, California, said he discovered the image, visible on Google Maps' satellite view feature, last week.

"When I see this image, it's still like that happened yesterday," Barrera told KTVU-TV in Oakland, a CNN affiliate. "And that brings me back to a lot of memories."

Kevin Barrera, 14, was shot and killed in 2009. Police discovered his body near a railroad track in Richmond on August 15 of that year, at an address that roughly matches the one of the scene in question.

His killer has not been found.

$A satellite image of this area on Google Maps shows what a California man says is his son\'s dead body.$

A satellite image of this area on Google Maps shows what a California man says is his son's dead body.

"Our hearts go out to the family of this young boy ...," said Brian McClendon, vice president of Google Maps, in a written statement sent Monday to CNN and other media outlets. "Google has never accelerated the replacement of updated satellite imagery from our maps before, but given the circumstances we wanted to make an exception in this case."

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