Pottery and Titanic

Bookseller, Bookseller, why are you mad?

The Bookseller

Bookseller, Bookseller, why do you weep?

Because I must sell my books far too cheap.

Bookseller, Bookseller, why do you grin?

Because an old lady is just coming in.

Bookseller, Bookseller, why all this joy?

Because she requires a nice book for a boy.

Bookseller, Bookseller, why do you cough?

Ahem! Well, the discount forgot to come off.

Bookseller, Bookseller, why are you gay?

Because it's my best of business to-day.

Bookseller, Bookseller, why are you mad?

Because the half-sovereign I changed her is bad

This rather rare children's book of poetry and lithographic illustrations relating to various kinds of employment - some quite unusual - was first published in Fleet St in London in 1900. Text by JJ Bell. Illustrations by C Robinson.
via BibliOdyssey

Ligo,Jani and Skandinieki

The annual celebration of the summer solstice, known as Jani is generally viewed as the most important Latvian holiday. Jani is celebrated on June 23 and 24. The traditions and rituals associated with the celebration of Jani are deeply rooted in ancient Latvian folklore and continue to have deep symbolic meaning for the celebrants. Participants gather flowers, grasses and oak leaves which are used to make wreaths and decorate the farmstead, house and farm animals. Jani night activities include the singing of special Jani songs (Ligo songs) around a ceremonial bonfire. Home-brewed beer and a special Jani caraway seed cheese are an essential part of this colourful holiday ritual.
Skandinieki is a collective of singers and instrumentalists (a total of 23 are credited on this recording) that marked its 27th anniversary last November. The core of Skandinieki is the Stalts family. Dāvis, Helmi, Julgī, Marga and Ričards Stalts perform on their new CD(Dzied un spēle Skandinieki) Of note is that the Stalts are of Liv descent. Though their numbers have fallen through the years, the Livs are still alive and well in Latvia
Today there are only about 300 Livonians, most of whom have become Latvianised. Approximately 70 of them understand Livonian partially, maybe ten speak it as their mother tongue.
(read more...)

Tony Blair's Ein Hod Connection

SEEKING TO confuse the paparazzi who were not among the invited guests, supermodel Esti Ginzberg and property developer Adi Keizman sent out wedding invitations that listed the venue as a villa in Zichron Yaacov. Only on the night before the wedding did guests receive notice of the correct address, which was in the courtyard of the home of fashion photographer Ron Kedmi, who lives in the Ein Hod Artists’ Village. It was Ginzberg’s first wedding and Keizman’s third. At the time that he and Ginzberg started keeping company around two years ago, he was still married to Ofra Strauss, who chairs the Straus Group. Strauss was previously married for 18 years to Dan Lahat, son of former Tel Aviv mayor Shlomo Lahat. Her name has since been romantically linked with that of Middle East envoy Tony Blair, with whom she enjoys a close friendship. Both Strauss and Blair have denied that their relationship is more than platonic, but neither the Hebrew nor the British media have accepted the denials. Keisman, who is more than a decade younger than Strauss, is 16 years older than his 22 year old bride. via JP

Jugs Full of Secrets

Archaeologists in the eastern Mediterranean region have been unearthing spherical jugs, used by the ancients for storing and trading oil, wine, and other valuable commodities. Because we're used to the metric system, which defines units of volume based on the cube, modern archaeologists believed that the merchants of antiquity could only approximately assess the capacity of these round jugs, says Prof. Itzhak Benenson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Geography.
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Women Potters of Hamer

The Hamer tribe is an indigenous group of people in Africa. Their home is in the beautiful Omo Valley located in the south-western parts of Ethiopia. They are a semi-nomadic, pastoral people, numbering about 42 000.

Saw yourself ? Get Tagged ! j.viewz

2000 photos, 300 fans (no computer fakery..) Saw yourself? Get Tagged (and free mp3): http://goo.gl/u2bTw Taken from the album rivers and homes: http://www.jviewz.com Directed by Shelly Carmel, Eran Amir, Jonathan Dagan. DOP: Hunter Baker | Editing: Elan Golod | Styling: Karin Elgai Production: Matt Leiderman (USA) | Eran Amir (Israel) Color Correction: Jonathan Dagan | Color Correction (Photos): Yair Cohen Post: COPA Network | AC: Sam Pyra, Peter Steusloff, Taylor Baker Lighting & Grip: Mark Solomon, Zach Stoltzfus | HMU: Liz Furlong

Watch Online The Best Jazz Movie

Jazz on a Summer's Day

Features one of the rare film appearances of two of the greatest jazz artists of all times: New Orleans-born trumpeter Louis Armstrong and Texas-born trombonist Jack Teagarden. When Armstrong formed his six-piece All Stars in 1946 Jack, who was white, was asked to join. The obvious affection these two great performers felt for each other's singing, clowning and playing is particularly evident in their classic performance of "Old Rocking Chair." After Armstrong was invited to return his home town after many years away, he insisted Teagarden join him on the stage. The city refused to let a white man and a Negro play together. Armstrong vowed never to return to New Orleans and kept his word until the day he died.

"Louis Armstrong and his band kitted out in matching blazers with Mother of Pearl buttons. Anita O'Day in her marvelous hat and white gloves. Thelonious Monk and his bamboo sunglasses. In the audience there's the beautiful girl in the red sweater chewing gum. Ascots. Bermuda shorts. Straw hats. Capri pants. And young couples having some real fun. I felt like crying."

"I caught this film about 10 years ago while idly flipping around the cable minefield. It had already started as I began to watch, so I didn't know anything about it till it was over. Like you, I was mesmerized. And suddenly clued in to the magic of my parents' heyday. This was their milieu - jazz, cocktails, effortless style, genuine optimism. All the moments you site in the film are priceless. The juxtaposition of the America's Cup trials, crowd shots and epic performances is very unique and more than holds up today. It was very near the end of an era. The end of jazz as more or less mainstream entertainment. The end of an era of populist panache. The end of optimism. This film filled in a lot of gaps for me. It gave me a window into the world of my parents, at a time when they were just becoming my parents. I've been urging people to see it ever since - and everyone who does see seems sincerely grateful. I wish I'd been able to see the restored print at Lincoln Center. That must have been a treat. "

Cast (in credits order)
Jimmy Giuffre ... Himself
Thelonious Monk ... Himself
Henry Grimes ... Himself
Sonny Stitt ... Himself
Sal Salvador ... Himself
Anita O'Day ... Herself
George Shearing ... Himself
Dinah Washington ... Herself
Gerry Mulligan ... Himself
Big Maybelle ... Herself
Chuck Berry ... Himself
Chico Hamilton ... Himself


Louis Armstrong ... Himself
Jack Teagarden ... Himself
Mahalia Jackson ... Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Baily ... Himself
Danny Barcelona ... Himself
Bob Brookmeyer ... Himself
Buck Clayton ... Himself
Willis Conover ... Interviewer
Bill Crow ... Himself
Eric Dolphy ... Himself
Eli's Chosen Six ... Themselves
Art Farmer ... Himself
Harold Gaylon ... Himself
Nathan Gershman ... Himself
Terry Gibbs ... Himself
Urbie Green ... Himself
Jim Hall ... Himself
Peanuts Hucko ... Himself
Jo Jones ... Himself
Ray Mosca ... Himself
Armando Peraza ... Himself
Max Roach ... Himself
Rudy Rutherford ... Himself
Martin Williams ... Jazz Critic in Audience
Patricia Bosworth ... Disgruntled redhead in audience (uncredited)
Directors:Aram Avakian
Bert Stern
Writers:Albert D'Annibale (writer)
Arnold Perl (writer)