Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Levi Stubbs' Tears - Billy Bragg

I have almost all of Billy Braggs' music on vinyl and several cds, including the retrospective Must I Paint You A Picture. The man can write a song and this one tells a story with the image of a tearful Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops. Always thought he was a great guitarist as well. This video was done in a continuous shot from start to finish sans editing.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Boubacar "Kar Kar" Traoré & Ali Farka Touré

Ali Farka Touré and Boubacar "Kar Kar" Traoré sing "Diarabi" while walking through a ruin in what seems to be Mali. This clip is from a dvd called "Je Chanterai Pour Toi" (I will sing for you) and is both haunting and inspiring. Wonderful, meaningful location and outstanding talent.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

American Social History website

Briefly from the website itself:


"Aquifer American Social History Online - Find and use 19th and 20th century primary resources from unique historical digital collections. * search diverse digital content from 175 American Social History research collections * find more than 514,708 digitized objects in 9 formats, including images (photographs and cultural materials), books and pamphlets, journal articles, maps, sheet music, videos, data sets, political cartoons and posters, and oral histories."

I have not fully explored this site but it seems to be one worth mentioning and bookmarking. The browsing shortcuts to the right offer sections for time periods, places and subjects. The material would be useful for local research and general historical interest.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Winnie Pooh in Russian - Part 4

Eeyore's birthday has sent Pooh and Piglet on a mission. Pooh decided to give Eeyore a jar of honey and Piglet will give Eeyore a green balloon. Of course, the honey jar was soon empty so Pooh goes to Owl (Caba - Savvah) so that she could put his name on the jar. At Owl's house he finds a bell ringer suspiciously like a donkey tail. Meanwhile Piglet has a slight accident which leaves the green balloon no more.

All works out though, and Eeyore receives his gifts.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Winnie Pooh in Russian - part 3

First off, the voice acting is superb. Eeyore has a touch of melancholy and hypochondria.

I think it is Eeyore's birthday and Pooh decides to get gifts. I like the way Pooh rubs his nose...the ripples on the water. He runs to his house and rings his bell for Piglet. No one answers and he kicks his own door. Pooh is going to give him a jar of honey and Piglet decides to give Eeyore a balloon.

And, once again, Pooh likes to rhyme.