More on the song here.

Below are my photos used in the video and the locations and artists when I know them.

Found in Brooklyn from Gaia Street Art, on flickr

Ame 72 in Inside Out Exhibition at Tel Aviv Port

Resistance is Fertile sticker found in Amsterdam

Jerusalem Street Art / Stickers

We’re All Custom Made Tel Aviv Street Art / Stencil

Tel Aviv, Smiling Bag Productions, on flickr

C215 in Amsterdam

Tel Aviv Stencil

C215 in Amsterdam

C215 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

C215 in Amsterdam

Inspire Collective in Jerusalem

Tel Aviv Street Art / Stencil

Postdesigner in Tel Aviv

Amsterdam

Tel Aviv

Hanna Skull Head by Dreck in Tel Aviv

Ame 72 in Inside Out Exhibition at Tel Aviv Port

Tel Aviv Street Art – Golda Meir and Theodor Herzl

Jerusalem Street Art – Dexter

Amsterdam – Black Money at Wolf & Pack Gallery

Inspire Collective in Tel Aviv

Amsterdam

Inspire Collective in Tel Aviv

Dreck in Tel Aviv

Amsterdam

Brooklyn

Tel Aviv

Kufsoshor by Kufsened in Tel Aviv

Warsaw

Ame 72 in Inside Out Exhibition at Tel Aviv Port

Jerusalem

Know Hope in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv, Smiling Bag Productions, on flickr

Zero Cents in Tel Aviv

Know Hope in Tel Aviv

Amsterdam

Tel Aviv, Buy Nothing Day

My favourite photo was this pre-parade snap of Santa and his elves.

For more info on Christmas 2010 events in Middlesbrough see:

http://visitmiddlesbrough.com/christmas

My photos of the day below there are additional photos here.

The drive to the Sage was a bit dicey. At one point there were sheets of rain coming down with hardly any visibility. Many cars were stopping on the shoulder to wait it out.

We listened to the Cathy Davey CD from last night still really good.

I’d been listening to Ellipse for a good chunk of the day at work. Could have also been listening to Frou Frou’s Details - happy making she sang Let Go based on the crowd’s votes for 12 songs on the setlist via her website.

She was plugging her new DVD which was just released on the 1st. It sounds interesting Imogen Heap’s Everything In-Between: The Story of Ellipse [DVD].

The bright  lights on the stage meant I couldn’t take decent pics on my phone the way I did last night but couldn’t resist trying to capture her with the Keytar :) Also in cartoon format here.

The tree in the set was beautiful, lighting up in different colours with instruments hanging in the branches. She uses a head mic plus mics on her wrists so she can brush up against random instruments and also briefly used wine glasses as in Miss Congeniality.

On of the best bits of the gig was three part harmonies with the crowd on Just for Now. We were in the middle section and I got to hear Kev sing * swoon* . Video below is of a sing along at Webster Hall in NY.

Setlist for the Sage Gateshead is available on Imogen Heap’s website »

Then we went to Angelo’s Ristorante for excellent Italian food which  Richard got to order with a silly Italian accent – good fun.  For appetizers we had Formaggio di Capra e Rosti di Patate Croccante and Camembert. The main event was Ravioli alla Pizzaiola and Tagliatelle con Vedura e Zafferano.

For desert we went to Stardust which has a cute and crafty gift shop downstairs and a pretty cafe upstairs. Picked up the ring at left from the gift shop. Under £4 and a bit of fun. Upstairs, it’s a shame there weren’t more people there – the couches are the kind you sink into and the coffee and lemon cake were yummy. It seems like a perfect spot for students to camp out in with laptops and to just hang out.

I then attempted to recreate the artwork on the wall of Stardust, a photograph of a sculpture just outside.  It is a 2008 sculpture called Seachange by Laura Johnston.  It is meant to recall the hull of a ship and the shipbuilding heritage of the area as it transforms into something new. [Part of the Sunderland City Centre Public Art Trail]

Unfortunately it was raining so we didn’t want to spend too much time attempting to get the shot. You can see my few attempts on flickr.

I got distracted from the original mission of recreating the photo in the cafe because I loved the trees being reflected in the steel:

Seachange sculpture in Sunderland

To get out of the rain we headed into Primark and picked up some cheap and cheerful shiny, pretty things – a sparkly bracelet for £2 and some pillar candles for £1.75 each. The little charge you get from picking something up for £2 and £10 is really the same and lasts about the same amount of time (and £100 doesn’t really last ten times as long) – it’s a good thing to remember. We then stopped off at Richard’s to pick up the cute and stinky Florence and set off for Hartlepool.

I am a terrible navigator. Hopefully this will change when I learn how to drive. After a number of phone calls to Kev to set us back in the right direction we had a nice relaxed evening with some gewurztraminer from Chile via Morrisons and a quick sweet and sour chickeny bits with rice dish a la Kev.

Mostly it’s just the two of us but it was nice to have company too.  It’s easy to forget when you get into you routine.

The video is shot by Kev from our living room window.  I looked out the window and asked him what it was, he had no idea. Turns out the woodcock is a shy, nocturnal bird so it is rare to see one. We used the excellent RSPB bird identifier to figure out what it was.

One of the things I have enjoyed about living in Hartlepool and having a garden is learning the names of birds. Our garden gets visits from starlings and blackbirds, woodpigeons, robins and sparrows. We get loads of seagulls too.  This past year we had a bunch of baby seagulls on the roof. Growing up in Brooklyn and reading a lot I could tell you that robins and sparrows are small birds…I couldn’t pick them out of a birdy line-up.

We have a friend who is really into birds.  When we go out with him and his wife we look to him to help identify birds. He asks us questions like what did it look  like and what did it sound like…we respond (like Mrs. Swan on Mad TV’s “he looka like a man”) it looked like a bird, it sounded like a bird.

We’re getting a bit better.  I bought a great book for kids about identifying birds in your garden. It’s meant for kids to keep a log of the birds they see and includes stickers. : ) And, it seems like I am enjoying part of a trend.  A comedian we love Bill Bailey (from the brilliant Black Books and his own standup) now has a show about Bird Watching.

Other birds from our garden:

I don’t know what year these photos were taken. I have no idea if these were considered high end intellectual newspapers and if this was a style at the time. Would be happy to know if anyone can translate anything from the photos.

Also love the casual reading a newspaper on a hillside photo.

I hope to scan all of my old family photos.

my grandfather posed reading newspapers with friends bottom right corner reads E. LIEPINS TUKUMA

my grandfather posed reading magazines with a friend reverse side has the word Argenta

my grandfather posed reading a newspaper

Photos include a reenactment of the Hartlepool Monkey Hanging Legend (Read more: 1, 2, 3).

Some of my favorites are below:

Hartlepool Dockfest - Natural England

Hartlepool Dockfest - Monkey Legend

Kev fave - Hartlepool Dockfest - Break Static - Turbo Jones

Hartlepool Dockfest - Break Static - Turbo Jones
I want to be the woman in the flowered skirt when I grow up.

Hartlepool Dockfest - The Lightning Seeds - Ian Broudie

Ivri Lider

Went to see Ivri Lider perform at Ivri Lider at Avalon in NYC 2006-11-11. Photo set here.
Video from that gig on youtube.

Ivri Lider performing I Kissed a Girl. (I prefer his version of Barbie Girl. Leave a comment if you want an mp3 of him performing Barbie Girl.)

Rita’s “Bo” performed in English as “Your Soul” accompanied by footage from Yossi and Jagger. Two guys kiss in the video so you have to confirm you are over 18 to youtube to watch it.

Link to a short radio show he did on Galei Tzahal 13-November-2008 with the band as it is on the album and touring: Gilad Shmueli – Drums, Amir Rosiano aka Jango – Bass, Yehonatan Fridge – Guitar, Adi Goldstein – keyboard. Songs only download of the radio show here.

Setlist:
Beketzev Ahid Betnuot Shel HaGuf – בקצב אחיד בתנועות של הגוף
Mitorer – מתעורר
Metayel Australi – מטייל אוסטרלי
Yoter Tov Klum – יותר טוב כלום
Hadrachim Ha’arukot – הדרכים הארוכות
VeUlay – ואולי
Hakos Hakhula – הכוס הכחולה
Aluf Haolam – אלוף העולם.

More Ivri Lider on Israboot here.

Ivri Lider online – official site, myspace, facebook, youtube, wikipedia, emusic, amazon mp3.

While I was scanning I took the opportunity to finally scan some fantastic photos I have of my mom’s parents visiting California. They have so much style. Even though the photos were taken in October 1977 – the photos were printed in November 1977 – so they make a perfect NaBloPoMo post.

I love the slightly-out-of-focus photo of my grandparents with 1977 Pooh at Disneyland in California. I added it to the Vintage Disneyland group on flickr.

The following links are Pooh at various theme parks through the ages in snapshots. Many features change over time. 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1981b, 1998, 1998b, 1999, 1999b, 1999c, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2003b, 2004, 2004b, 2005, 2005b, 2005c, 2006, 2006b, 2006c, 2006d, 2007, 2008. Here are a few more without an exact year: 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6.

Winnie the Pooh in costume also featured on Disney postcards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Pooh also ran for president in 1976. Happy Election Day! US people go out and vote. There are perks beside making sure the person you want gets elected – there’s free coffee at Starbucks, free Krispy Kreme star-shaped Election Day donuts, and a free scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (between 5 and 8 p.m.). As usual with these kinds of things – participating locations only. via. If you’re in NY or Seattle you can also get a free sex toy from Babeland. The Babeland offer is good until the 11th.

My grandparents visiting California in 1977 (top two photos)
and holding me in Israel in 1976 (bottom photo).

My grandparents visiting California in 1977.
In all their 70s glory.

Happy Election Day!

Based in Paris, Patrick Zachmann has been a freelance photographer since 1976 and focuses on “long-term projects on the cultural identity, memory and immigration of different communities.” The exhibition at the Hartlepool Art Gallery focuses on China from within and in its diaspora.

There are larger, moody, black and white photographs inspired by Chinese cinema of the 30s. There are also smaller postcard-like color photos full of smiles. As he described it last night, one set (the black and white) exposes the seedier face of China that which they do not want shown. The mafia, prostitutes and drug dealers, protesters in 1989 Tiananmen Square all feature in eye-opening, visually stunning photographs. The other set (color photos) feature the public face of China and it’s communities in the diaspora. These are glossy photos of proud moments and cultural celebrations. They are his vision as a “Long Nose” an old nickname for Westerners in the region.

He seemed pleased and somewhat bemused that the exhibition was hung in a (former) church. His work deals with reality and illusions and facades and he felt it appropriate to the setting.

He shared that he worked on this project from 1987-1995. He spent 6 years shooting the photographs and 2 years working on the book of the exhibition and the show. It was shown in 10 countries in Asia, though not in China.

He traveled to China for the first time as a journalist wanting to write a story on 1930s Chinese cinema. During that visit his interest in the region grew. He was determined to return through unofficial channels in a private exploration of what lay to the side of the spotlight the country shines on it’s achievements and was able to do so with the assistance of a man with underworld ties whom he refers to as W.

I asked him if he ever felt in danger while taking some of the photos. At first he responded in the negative but after giving it a few moments of consideration could think of at least 4 or 5 dicey situations he had been in that should be classed as dangerous. The resulting photos are an amazing document.

He is currently working on another project dealing with China called Chinese Confusions. He feels that people feel lost at this moment. Older people feel lost as older districts are razed to make way for modernity. Younger people feel lost as society moves so very quickly, and while feeling an attraction toward Western models, still maintaining a Chinese identity and a duty to their traditions.

Ying Zhu, Ph.D describes the cinema that intrigued him initially as follows, “If China today is in the midst of a massive and massively ambivalent transformation, it is not the first time. In the 1920s and 30s, China was similarly engaged in a great identity crisis, and Shanghai was at its forefront. Shanghai was the city where Western influences were most keenly felt even as anti-Western (anti-imperialist) nationalism also thrived, and where China’s richest and poorest people lived side by side…Shanghai came to symbolize the allure of modernity and cosmopolism [sic]… Shanghai ushered in Chinese cinema’s first golden era, producing many of the Chinese classics, including Goddess (1934), Song of the Fishermen (1934), Street Angel (1937), and New Women (1934). The Shanghai depicted in these films was corrupt and promising at the same time.”

The China and Chinese depicted in Patrick Zachmann’s photographs can be described similarly.

I asked him what he thought of the Olympics. He was very against China hosting the Olympics. It seems to him like China has won in every respect. Not only is China an economic superpower the Olympics has allowed them to win hearts and minds in the international community. Additionally, with support from Asia Societies in the U.S. many schools, from elementary schools to universities, are now teaching Chinese in language curricula (1, 2, 3) Also see this Beijing Evening News summary of a NY Times article on the Olympics. As the blogger who did the side-by-side comparisons of the article puts it, “every single statement that could possibly be seen as negative – and there’s quite a lot – has been expunged from the Beijing Evening News article, and almost every nuanced phrase that carries any negative connotations has been turned into one of unqualified praise.” It would be the equivalent of looking at only the glossy photos in Patrick Zachmann’s exhibition.

While walking through the exhibit my overwhelming sense was of the universality of the issues he is dealing with in his photography. Migration, wanting to build better lives for families and how we are perceived as individuals and communities are struggles common to the human endeavor. If you are in the Northeast this exhibition is definitely worth a special trip.

Patrick Zachmann‘s Eye of the Long Nose is on at the Hartlepool Art Gallery 13 September – 9 November, 2008.

I have been away working in NY, Poland and Israel and am now back home with Kevin. Today is our one year wedding anniversary. The photo was taken a year ago today by the amazing Chris Armstrong. This year went by really quickly and it seems strange that we have been married for a year. A wonderful year, looking forward to many more without so much time away.

King Creosote

The opening act King Creosote was really good. The reason there are more pictures of them is because a dumb usher thought my camera was a DSLR because it had a zoom on it, I tried to explain but he threatened to take my camera away so I could only take pictures of Squeeze during the first song.

Never mind that my picture-taking is way less disruptive than other people around me since I don’t use flash and I don’t use the LCD display. All the cell phones and small cameras taking videos and pictures are way more annoying.

It was a great show. My husband, while he loves my photos, was happy I was free to dance with him.

Glenn Tilbrook

Chris Difford

Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford will each be on UK tours in 2008. I kind of enjoy them more separately and hope to see them again then. I would also enjoy seeing King Creosote again. Live performance is one of my favorite ways to be exposed to music I don’t know so I try to make it to shows in time for the opening acts.

Squeeze Setlist:

Stephen Large

Take Me I’m Yours
Up The Junction
Piccadilly
I Think I’m Go-Go
Love Circles
Is That Love?
Third Rail
Electric Trains
Slightly Drunk
In Quintessence
Maidstone
Some Fantastic Place
Labeled with Love
Messed Around
Melody Motel
Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken

Setlist

Buy on Amazon »

I am baking challahs for the first time for the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashana which starts tonight. I am using a great book, The Secret of Challah by Shira Wiener and Ayelet Yifrach.

Many of of the recipes are for baking multiple challot (plural of challah) so some of them call for 2 kilos of flour! I found a nice recipe calling for 1 kilo of flour that should make 10 small rolls. It doesn’t have any sugar in it, instead calling for 2/3 cups of honey. I am waiting for the dough to rise and I hope it will come out ok – I forgot to put the honey in with the liquids at the beginning and only added it after the flour bit :-)

At the end of a chapter on the art of braiding challahs, is a list of various customs for assorted shapes for holidays. The Rosh Hashana list is also on their website (which also has some of the recipes):

* Rosh Hashana round challah: It has become the widespread custom in many communities to bake round challahs in honor of Rosh Hashanah. The round shape symbolizes the yearly cycle and the “wheel of time,” the ascents and descents that a person experiences during his life. It also symbolizes perfection and infinity, expressing our hope for a perfect year, free of troubles and tribulations, a year of unlimited blessings.

* The traditionaly round challah of Rosh Hashanah is sometimes adorned with a “crown” made of a small braided ring of dough, commemorating the prayers of Rosh Hashanah proclaiming G-d King over the universe.

* Eastern European Jews used to bake challah in the shape of a ladder to symbolize that on Rosh Hashanah G-d decides “Who will be humbled and who will be elevated,” as is stated in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah.

* In some European communities, the custom was to bake round challah reminiscent of a bird peeking out of a nest (known as “foigel challah,” bird challah, in Yiddish). The reason for the custom: Just as G-d shows mercy to birds, so should He have mercy on us.

* Lithuanian Jews had the custom to bake challah shaped like outstretched palms of the hand. The shape was meant to symbolize the hands of the kohens raised to bless the people during the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim).

* The Jews of North Africa used to bake challah in the shape of a fish or a “chamsah,” a five-fingered hand, symbolizing good luck.

I will try making a few of the shapes…pictures to follow if I am not ashamed of the results. Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy, joyous year filled with love and laughter.

Challah dough

Freshly baked challah out of the oven

my flickr: Swimming in Auschwitz Set

Went with Jason to see the NYC / East Coast Premiere of Swimming in Auschwitz at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan.

It is a documentary about six vibrant, amazing women who survived the infamous Nazi death camp of Auschwitz.

Director Jon Kean was in attendance along with Renee Firestone one of the women featured in the film. [Photo above.]

It was really magnificent, I highly recommend it. Editor Anne Stein did a fantastic job seamlessly blending stock footage and the stories of these women so that their narratives kept a collective, cooperative flow.

Director Jon Kean prefaced the screening by stating his view of the difference between how men and women tell stories. A man will tell you the facts of what happened. Women will recall the quirky details.

After the screening the pair came on stage and answered audience questions – my notes below.

Renee Firestone describes the first time she ever spoke about her experience. (She is an educator for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.) It was at a Mormon Temple and they screened the very graphic French documentary Night and Fog (1955) [I remember seeing it in high school.]. She was hoping people would leave. She was surprised that nobody moved and was told by Rabbi Cooper that she must speak. She started to talk and has no idea where the strength came from.

In response to a question about seeking retribution she states that there was very little retribution. They just wanted to live lives. And, telling stories is revenge.

An Israeli woman asks how she feels about 70,000 Jews marching to Washington to protest Darfur but not protesting Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, who has called for Israel’s destruction. The woman, it seemed, equated this to ignoring Hitler.

Renee Firestone responds that she has been involved in protesting every single genocide. We have lived in the bloodiest century. When she sees footage (of Darfur), she sees herself in Auschwitz and asks her interlocuter what she has done?

[Jewish organizations have protested Ahmadinejad. Others have kept busy with other issues, feeling that to protest him on a grand scale would be giving him power and more of a platform on the World stage or that it might be viewed as inflating the risk for political purpose.]

When asked about the reaction of German audiences to the film Renee Firestone describes her involvement with One By One an organization that facilitates dialogue between descendants of victims, perpetrators, bystanders and resisters. She spent a week together with a Nazi in Berlin. She was glad she went. She learned how easy it is to be indoctrinated, brainwashed or just give in to peer pressure. She does not know what she would have done and relates that one can never know unless placed in a situation. Similarly, one doesn’t know how much strength they have until it is called upon.

Director Jon Kean recommends seeing The Last Days, another documentary that Renee Firestone is featured in. During filming, they found documentation related to a doctor who experimented on her sister and she finds and confronts him at the end of the film.

A young woman who is reading Elie Wiesel’s Night asks if she ever has flashbacks to her experiences. Renee Firestone replies, all the time, plus she speaks about her experiencees every day. Sometimes a flash of an experience will hit her out of nowhere. Director Jon Kean adds that when Survivors agree to be interviewed they relate that the next 2 or 3 nights after an interview will be especially difficult.

He is asked how he came to the project and responds that he began the project to study laughter as a survival tool. Men would say sometimes there was humor, and they would laugh, but could not pin down specific details for him. He became enamored of how these women told stories.

She is asked her opinion of God’s role and about faith. She responds that she has so much faith she doesn’t believe God had anything to do with the atrocities. She relates the story of Noah and the Flood and the promise given by God that he will never destroy the world again…she quips that it’s a shame he did not extract the same promise from Noah / Man.

She responds to a question about survival saying it was pure luck. Director Jon Kean adds three elements that helped people to survive according to Michael Berenbaum based on previous events they had done together. [Berenbaum was supposed to be moderator for the evening but couldn't make it due to bad weather.] Assessing Risk, Finding Meaning, Having people to support you are three elements that repeat in tales of survival. They’re not bad things to have in general.

One man in the audience whose father was a survivor originally from Muncacz [Hungary] asked about the responses of former neighbors after the War. His father’s experience were incredulous responses of “You’re still alive?!” “Can’t Believe they didn’t get you!”…Her husband is originally from Muncacz and there is footage in the film of people dancing from Muncacz…Renee Firestone relates meeting her next door neighbor after the war who was about 10 at the time and wondering what his family said about her family being taken away. He said they were sorry her sister died. But, she relates bitterly that nobody asked at the time. Nobody cared. This is one of the only points in the evening that this amazing woman gives in to negativity. Director Jon Kean adds that some may have been sorry their neighbors were gone but it did improve their lives economically.

A woman in the audience asks about the cruelty of female Nazis which is not depicted in this film about women. Renee Firestone agrees that the capacity of women for cruelty was worse and recalls a guard from Auschwitz C Lager who was hung after the war. I believe the reference was to Irma Grese who was hung at the Belsen trial.

To conclude the evening the question of retribution is raised again and how she felt when one of the other women in the film relates that at liberation she was given the chance to kill one of her persecuters but does not take it…Renee Firestone replies we are not killers though she wouldn’t be sorry if someone else killed them. This last bit said with the smile of someone who has survived, amazingly, with her sense of humor intact.

I overheard a woman in the bathroom complain that the film made light and didn’t show what really happened, children being torn from their parent’s arms. She may have been a Holocaust survivor and I would not try to dispute her response to the film. My take on it was quite different. It was a unique perspective on the horrors that occurred. I hope I would never have to confront such horrors and if I did I hope I would be able to keep my humanity intact via my sense of the absurd. Also, there actually is some very graphic documentary footage in the film. You are not hit over the head with the brutality that occurred but the footage is there and it is a subcurrent running throughout the film which should be viewed in advance before showing it to young people.

Upcoming screenings are taking place in London, England and Salt Lake City, Utah. You can check the official website for additional screenings or just buy the DVD (there’s a link for purchase on the site) for $20 via Paypal.

I am torn about writing a summary of the film as opposed to the evening because I think it should be viewed so for now am not going to do so.

Article on the film here.

Woke up at 5:00 AM. Registration was between 6:30-7:45AM according to the website and ride was supposed to start at 8:00AM…I could have woken up at least an hour later. Since I had my vest already I just had to show up – even getting there at 7:30 AM was early – since the ride didn’t start until at least 8:15 AM.

At the beginning and at some points in the middle there was so much congestion with 32,000 riders that you had to walk your bike, and generally the ride is a slow one. While this might suck for an experienced rider this was perfect for me. My mom went to the Salute to Israel Parade and ran into a family that decided to leave the ride because of how frustrated they were….she didn’t mention that what frustrated them was actually ideal for me :-)….

There was some entertainment at the beginning of the ride and along the route in the form of flying inflatable balls being passed along the crowd during the wait for the ride to start, some folks on stilts, Cousin Brucie announcing where people were from, a man in little girl drag with blond pigtails sitting on a large tricycle wishing people a good ride and some jugglers. One bus shelter along the route held a steel drum band and Commerce Bank who sponsored the ride had people in sections to cheer.

The rest areas also sometimes had music and food for purchase. Being given out foodwise there were bananas and oranges being handed out. Drinks were slightly more varied with water and different juices. Tour de Brooklyn rules with their peanut butter and jelly bagels.

People in groups decorated their helmets to make them more visible. Attached to helmets were flowers, ribbons, stuffed animals, beer / energy drink cans, palm trees, arrows and flags – nationality and sports teams. My favorite were a group that had furry rats attached on little platforms, each rat wore a little fluorescent bike helmet.

The basic route info can be found on the Bike New York website. The detailed route is on the NYC.GOV website. It is really neat to ride on highways and bridges without cars.

Anyone considering doing the ride who is intimidated shouldn’t be. You might feel ridiculous for feeling scared when you see little kids doing the ride on their tiny bikes with even tinier wheels (I did, a bit.). There are parts where you walk because of congestion and there are plentiful rest areas (5 before the end.) The pace is really comfortable / easy, partially because of how many people there are. The ride was capped at 32,000 this year and was sold out before ride day. Definitely register before ride day to ensure you will be able to ride and there may be a discount for early registration.

On my way to the Staten Island Ferry I ran into Steve. Hung out with him at his place for a little while. The stopping moving made it very difficult to move later when I walked the 2 miles to the ferry. He accompanied me and either way don’t think my body was willing to get back on the bike. I was completely stiff. To make things worse we went up the ramp to the regular ferry entrance only to be told we would have to go all the way around – bikes (and their riders) were being loaded on the lower level (that used to be for cars). From the ferry caught the R train and then transferred to the Q. Then the hardest ride of the day was the 1 mile from the train station home. I’m hoping my ass will forgive me someday soon :-) or at least before June 3rd.

Lining Up for the Bike Tour

Bjork at Radio City

Randomly had a hotel room not far from the show for the night through work. Watched some Bravo before going, an episode of Project Runway [Finale of Season 2] and Shear Genius which I had never seen before. Headed over to Radio City,

Bjork at Radio City

Row F in the orchestra is way further back then it should be because Radio City is one of these venues with double letter rows before single letter.

Konono N°1 were the opening act. They were ok if a bit repetitive by the end of their set. Made me yearn for the Afro-Cuban All Stars.

Björk was great but the venue was really wrong for her. I remember seeing her at the Tibetan Freedom Festival and much prefer seeing her outdoors. A lot of the crowd was dead and the energy of the hardcore people got lost.

One of the more bizarre points in the evening was when I told the guy next to me I think she has a wooden leg attached. The beats were really cool and I literally could have sworn for a bit that she had a third leg on that she was using to bang on the stage and create the extra beats. I took a bunch of photos focusing on her legs to prove / disprove the notion. It was actually a bit of fabric hanging form the dress that I was misinterpreting. It’s kind of funny that I didn’t think it too weird for her.

RCMH setlist is below. I am a bit jealous of those who saw her at United Palace theatre because they got Hunter and Immature (and Bachelorette and Hyperballad). Though we got All Is Full of Love and Jóga so I guess it balances out.

Setlist:

01 Earth Intruders*
02 Venus as a Boy
03 Aurora
04 I See Who You Are**
05 Oceania
06 Dull Flame of Desire***
07 All is Full of Love
08 The Pleasure is All Mine
09 Pagan Poetry
10 Jóga
11 Where is the Line
12 Army of Me
13 Innocence
14 Wanderlust
15 Pluto

Encores:

16 [encore break]
17 [band introductions]
18 Anchor Song
19 Declare Independence

*With Konono N°1
**With Min Xiao-Fen
***With Antony Hegarty

After the show I was hanging out by the stage door, at first in hopes of taking a photo of the setlist under the false assumption that the hardcore folks who nabbed it would be hanging out.

Saw Idan Raichel waiting around too. Normally I wouldn’t go over to someone famous but what the hell Bjork wasn’t coming out…Ended up talking to him about the Bjork show – he was really impressed by Antony Hegarty [Antony and the Johnsons] and about seeing him perform in The Idan Raichel Project’s very first show in Tel Aviv. I had even seen him perform back in the day when he was the keyboard player for Ivri Lider. It seems he is in NY a fair bit these days because he’s got a gorgeous NYC girlfriend.

Idan Raichel with fans

I channeled my mother for this picture. These two fans came over and told him they were fans. Without asking him if it was ok I asked them if they wanted a picture with him. Then, I said – if that’s ok with you….it would have been assholic for him to refuse just like it was assholic for me to do what I did….It was a bossy, Israeli, Jewish mother – the matter was settled before he was consulted, like I said assholic thing for me to do. The girls got a cute picture…Sorry Idan….it was ridiculous. The price of fame I guess…

Didn’t end up waiting for Bjork. Had a great salad to go from Metro Cafe and got back to my hotel room to watch some more Bravo. I really don’t get the show Work Out.

Sidewalk Cafe has free live music (2 drink minimum, not too strictly enforced plus they pass a bucket around for the artists – suggested $5). I used to go all the time in college to hear Matt Sherwin play on Monday nights. The Trachtenburg Family Sldeshow Players are playing next Friday! I will be in Chicago though.

Ivan Sandomire's Guitar

It is difficult to shoot photos at Sidewalk Cafe because it is really dark there.

Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche is a really fun performer. This is the second time I have seen him…the first time with the Faces Down. It was extremely difficult to google the names of the members of The Faces Down for labeling photos so here they are…I had to dig out the CD insert to Duper Sessions…: Guitar: Kato Adland, Bass: Morton Skage, Drums: Ole Ludvig Kruger. The vibe was very different at the solo Hiro Ballroom gig which was all goofy and acoustic. This was full of energy and creativity, full-on rock. And he is so cute! and married (Sorry Lee!)

Thomas Dybahl, one of the opening acts (sorry I missed them), dressed in a ridiculous outfit and danced on stage for Phantom Punch. I thought he might be Captain Morgan of the rum for the alcoholic punch. Most songs came from Phantom Punch with some older songs thrown in for good measure.

After the show Sondre sat in a corner signing whatever people brought him. There was a long line. Lee offered to pretend to be going into labor so I could skip the line…Asaf, Ofer’s friend suggested I use the Holocaust as a reason, no, six millions reasons. Israeli humor…The Faces Down also roamed the crowd happy to chat and sign things for fans including bassist Morton Skage trying to sign a towel that a cute Asian girl had gotten from the stage from one of the roadies. (See my flickr set for photos.)

I ordered the tickets in advance from ticketweb. You have a choice of getting them delivered in advance for $14 or doing Will Call (for some reason I don’t recall regular mail being an option for the show). If you like to collect ticket stubs you’ll have to pony up the $14 because at willcall they just cross your name off of a list. If anyone has a ticketstub from this show, I would love to have it.

Setlist:

Airport Taxi Reception
The Tape
The Curse
All Luck Ran Out
Well Well Well
Minor Detail
Dead Passengers
Tragic Mirror (solo)
Modern Nature
Everyone’s Rooting For You
Face the Blood
Hello Headphones
Track You Down
She’s Fantastic
Phantom Punch
Say It All
—
Sleep On Needles
Two Way Monologue
John, Let Me Go

Photos and CDs below. The new Phantom Punch for alterna-dance-fun-rock, Duper Sessions for jazzy goodness, The others for more acoustic rock and gorgeous lyrics (the great lyrics applies to all of them.). The Don’t Be Shallow E.P. has a beautiful cover of Night and Day.

Setlist:

01. O Santo De Polvora (Milladoiro)
02. Wayside (Back in Time) (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)
03. Stay Away
04. Blind Leaving the Blind (Four Movements)
05. Recreation of the first time they played it
06. How to Grow a Woman from the Ground (Thomas Anderson Brosseau)
07. The Beekeeper
08. Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground (White Stripes)
09. Watch ‘At Breakdown

Encore 1
10. If The Sea Was Whiskey
11. The Eleventh Reel

Encore 2
12. Ophelia (The Band) (Gabe Witcher, Main Vocals)

Banter before Stay Away:

Thank you.

This is not the regarded Carnegie Hall. This is Zankel Hall.

We’re not nervous in the least and uh and very actually amused that you all decided to show up in nothing but underwear.

Kind of ridiculous though what were you thinking?

We got dressed up. Looking pretty sharp for all of you.

So Ok.

So we started with a song called O Santo De Polvora and despite the title and despite that it was written by a Spanish band called Milladoiro um we kind of feel that it’s fitting to play it on St. Patrick’s Day.

First of all it sounds Celtic. But also because again the title O Santo De Polvora we’re almost sure that it’s a tribute to the great Cubs thirdbaseman Ron Santo and he was a Chicago Cub. Chicago, might be the most Irish of all American cities.

And he played Of course at Wrigley Field, Chicago which had the Ivy League of Green.

And it’s a baseball field so actually there’s a lot of green.

So we feel like that one was completely appropriate.

The song after that less appropriate and we will continue to play less and less appropriate songs and music

That one was called Wayside and the parenthetical title which I mention only because I like saying parenthetical And that is Back in Time. That was written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

And Dave, Dave always dresses sharp. So does Gil. He would have shown up in a suit and tie if he were playing.

At this point someone’s program drops from the second balcony up. Chris offers by gesture to throw the used tissue on the stage near him that he has just been using. The offer is declined.

Intro to Blind Leaving the Blind:

Alright, so we’re going to play this piece that I wrote for five of us to play.

Quintet, quintet

A stringed quintet as the preferred term for our instruments and three of us will sing and we’re very very excited.

And it’s in Four Movements. It may sound like six depending on how you count.

There will be three complete stops. During which we’ll tune no doubt. All of us.

See there are two stops where some of us will tune you may think that that’s a new movement.

You would, sitting there in your underwear. We love you people.

That’s what the whole problem is. We love it here.

This song is called

This song?

a nice tune.

a nice tune.

A lttle long, It’s a little long. Really.

We hope you like it.

It’s called the Blind Leaving the Blind.

And it’s in V??

[Lights go blue]

That’s why it’s Carnegie Hall.

There’s a vibe, there’s a vibe if you play in here.

Blue for Bluegrass.

After Playing Blind Leaving the Blind:

CT: Thank you very much.

(From Audience: Thank you. That was nice.)

CT: Ok, we’re gonna do a couple more normal songs now.

CT: Oh dear, I’m not ready to come down yet. Is everything 15 BPMs too fast?

NP: The first time that we tried playing certain sections of this piece It was about a year and a half ago. We got together for about a week. And the first thing we started learning which was the final movement the hardest part. Which I think that’s Chris’s style, of course, to do the hard part first We tried playing that, certain sections of that last movment. After three days of rehearsal in the Living Room in NY about a year and a half ago And I don’t know how we had the idea that we could get through it but we told ourselves we’ve got to just still play it This is the only way we’re gonna get better at it And if anyone makes a mistake It’s no big deal But if you make a mistake that you can’t recover from Just scream out “What?” in the middle of the song And we started the piece And about 40 seconds into it Critter (Chris Eldridge) yelled out Who-What.

CT: We’ll recreate it for you. Ok now And then I was actually so incredibly nervous it really was like 15 beats per minute too fast and we’ll recreate that part as well

[Reenactment of first performance including the yell]

(From audience: We love you critter.)

CT: It was awesome.

He then suggests the recording of that first time should be secret track on the new record with Critter making some extra royalties on it or something.

Beekeeper Intro:

This was the last bit of banter where Noam Pikelny explains where the title for “The Beekeeper” comes from. Not because of the current crisis with bees rather people ask what it’s like to play with Chris Thile all the time and the best way to describe it is that he’s a Musical beekeeper, he gets an idea and then just runs with it and goes crazy messing things around, speeding things up and then telling them where to play it, how fast to play it, play it faster, and then they have the piece. They started rehearsing it and then Gabe came up with an idea, Chris ran with it and came back 15 minutes later and had all these very difficult, very fast parts to play. Musical bees and he told Chris he wouldn’t play it unless he called it The Beekeeper, and a deal was struck.

my flickr: Chris Thile and The Tensions Mountain Boys

CDs from amazon:

Punch Brothers - Punch

How to Grow a Woman from the Ground

Nickel Creek - Best Of

Aqualung were fun as ever with a mix of old and new songs and cute banter. Pressure Suit is available as of today. I finally have a women’s aqualung shirt….damn American Apparrel….some of their XLs fit and some of them don’t….the cute Memory Man shirt fits! Lee and I both wanted shirts, the trouble was they didn’t take credit cards and we didn’t have cash so we ran out to get money from a nearby ATM (at the bodega where I ran to get batteries during the Robyn Hitchcock/Mark Pickerel gig)….the stupid machine wouldn’t take my card but did take Lee’s card. We ran back and the doors to the venue were closed….we weren’t too worried because the drummer was outside smoking a cigarette but I had left my camera with Jason and Kate and we definitely needed to get back in there….thankfully Jason thought to come out to open the door for us….

We then got to talk to Matt and I asked him to sign the Strange and Beautiful poster I got at the closing Tower Records (R.I.P) for me and Kevin….Kevin sent me their music originally and Strange and Beautiful and Brighter than Sunshine were a part of our soundtrack for our long-distance relationship. We used to listen to them together/apart.

Below are photos and videos from the show and a link to their CDs on Amazon:

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Strange and Beautiful (Music) Artist:Aqualung Manufacturer:Sony Released:17 January, 2006

Memory Man (Music) Artist:Aqualung Manufacturer:Sony Released:13 March, 2007

Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video Art

Went to a preview of Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video Art at The Jewish Museum. Got free tickets through Dor Chadash. Went with Jocelyn and we both agreed to go in quick, check out the stuff, and leave before anyone gave a speech.

The image in the postcard is Pavel Wolberg‘s “Qualqilya (Outskirts)”, 2002. It is a small exhibit with some quality stuff. Though “New” is a bit relative here, most of the works are from the early 2000′s, I had seen many of the works in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem when I was living in Tel Aviv from ’99-’03. Among the artists featured are Pavel Wolberg, Miki Kratzman and Gillian Laub. I was surprised not to see any works by Adi Nes and I’m pretty sure I was at the protest featured in the film by Amit Goren.

The museum has free admission on Saturdays if you want to check it out through August 5th, 2007.

The Beautiful South
Cakeshop
Ludlow Street
New York City, NY
6th November, 2006

01 Especially For You
02 The River
03 Pretty Things
04 Manchester
05 Old Red Eyes Is Back
06 Prettiest Eyes
07 Paul’s Poem
08 Rotterdam
09 One Last Love Song
10 Perfect 10
11 Let Love Speak Up Itself
12 Don’t Marry Her

Performers:
Paul Heaton – vocals
Dave Rotheray – guitar
Dave Hemingway – vocals
Alison Wheeler – vocals
Tony Robinson – trumpet/backing vocals
Gaz Birtles – backing vocals
Kev Brown – backing vocals

The Beautiful South’s new CD is really worth checking out.

Superbi (Music) Artist:The Beautiful South Manufacturer:Sony / Bmg Import Released:20 July, 2006

I’ve gotten a recording of the show at Cake Shop (thank you leohilarious – also for a correction on the last line of the poem.) and have transcribed Paul Heaton’s poem below. If you have any corrections please comment.

Paul Heaton’s Poem

When hip-hop’s selling perfume
And boy band’s selling grief
The blues man’s market life insurance just won’t flip underneath
Jazz just chucks its concrete into transparent handkerchief
Everything is anything to anyone

The butchers sell you pantyhose
The supermarket sells you land
And the news really likes to read the news but he’s also in a band
And feminism’s fast asleep with a cock in either hand
Everything is anything to everyone

Modern, modern man is a man of many lives
So we decorate, we imitate, we duplicate their lives
It’s the sound of octopuses giving infinite high fives
Everybody’s business is show business

And the indoors wants you Oliver
And the outdoors wants you Audi
The bank they want a Tex or Hank
And the mic wants Pavarotti
Kitchen, garden, wardrobe, property in the sun
Everything is anything to everyone

The newsagent sells you holidays
The travel shop sells you sand
The local vicar saves your soul
But he also saves the damned
Nothing’s black and white no more
Just permanently tanned
Everything is everything to everyone

Locate, locate, locate
Locate the victim’s house
Swap their wives
And take their lives
And turn them inside out
Nothing left in closet
Nothing left in doubt
Everything is anything to everyone

Modern, modern woman
Is juggling many lives
Duplicating, decorating, imitating lives
To the sound of a million whistling wolves
From the ground of a thousand building sites
Everybody’s business is show business

And the thin are getting thinner
And the big are getting bigger
Till 5 and 75 year olds worry about their figure
The big are getting bigger
The thin are getting thinner
Till everyone is looking at everyone else’s dinner
And we shave our heads to make us look thin
Till the whole fucking Earth’s of fat bald skin
To the fitness instructors and the owners of the gym
I see piling down from the balcony of the trim
And there’s your space, MySpace, their big mouth
Turns everything and everyone inside out
Your tube, Me tube, everybody spout
Everything is anything and nowt is fucking nowt

Videos found on YouTube below:

Robyn Hitchcock was in excellent form…during his banter he brought up the recent excellent story that has come out about elephants going crazy.

Mark Pickerel : Forest Fire

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Robyn Hitchcock : Snippet of Madonna of the Wasps
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Snake in the Radio (Music) Artist:Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands Manufacturer:Bloodshot Records Released:09 May, 2006

Olé! Tarantula (Music) Artist:Robyn Hitchcock, The Venus 3 Manufacturer:Yep Roc Records Released:03 October, 2006

Good Rockin’ Tonight – The Legacy of Sun Records (DVD) Manufacturer:Image Entertainment Released:08 October, 2002

Spoiler Alert: Midway through the film the title gets changed to “Home for Thanksgiving” An audience member asked if this was based on events that had happened to the panel. Response from Christopher Guest: These things have happened in Hollywood. Not many people know that “Star Wars” started out as “Home for Purim.” Yoda was a Mohel. There’s also a snippet in the film where they make fun of Charlie Rose‘s interview style. Christopher Guest is asked if he is worried about being on the show. His response is a deadpan “I’ve been on Charlie Rose…I’ve been on Charlie Rose.” The group also commented on the talent of fellow actor Fred Willard – let him do his thing and stand back. Parker Posey commented on the difference between working wiith Christopher Guest as opposed to a clueless director who asks you to throw in some random improv into a scene. The actors in the film came in their own costume and character development choices within the framework of the film and on occasion surprised their costars who had to work with, react, improv with what was brought. Another story about the evening here.

After that went with Nick to get 99 Cent Pizza on 41st and Ninth Ave. It is across from a homeless center and a homeless gentleman asked us for some spare change to get a slice. Nick gave him enough for a slice and a half or two. He then suggested I should marry Nick – a good catch. Nick is great and I hope he finds his special someone.

The Darien Dilemma

Then I went to see a great documentary, The Darien Dilemma, at Makor as part of their Reel Jews festival. A father and his filmmaker son explore the previously untold story of 1,000 Viennese Jews stranded on the frozen Danube River in 1941 as they awaited their would-be rescuer, Ruth Klieger, an agent of the newly created Mossad.

Erez Laufer weaves together interviews with the survivors, archival film, dramatic re-enactments (including scenes of the actors’ preparation – it seems like they stand in for the audience while they get inside the characters’ heads.) and footage of his father the screenwriter.

The director Erez Laufer was at the screening. He notes that the footage of a ship in the film is actually from a ship that set sail a few months prior to the Darien that was shot by a Hungarian sailor, but photos (of youth groups and a massacre) are original and directly linked to the story. Both in the film and in person he explains that his father started looking at archives to find out more about his own history and how his mother escaped Europe with him as a small child.

His father then became intrigued by this story of Ruth Klieger and partially with her reported beauty and alleged affair with David Ben-Gurion. She remained in Israel, worked as a PR person for shipping company ZIM and died in Tel Aviv in 1979.

The film is about her, and not less so about the filmmaker’s father. Through this film many survivors who were interviewed learned a fuller story of what happened when they were brought to Palestine.

It is worth seeing – it is made in an interesting way and tells a compelling and little-known story. Note to documentary filmmakers: Include your notes, interviews, arguments with your father the screenwriter…realize how much central characters may not know about what happened to them….You can buy tickets for December screenings on Makor’s website.

After the film I met Jocelyn and Lee at Bistro 60 for dessert. We had Tarte Tatin – Apple tart with crème fraîche. This is an amazing dessert. We devoured it – moaning all the way. Learned that Hebrew for “to moan” is גניחה – Geniha. Lee was shocked we didn’t know this word. Jocelyn’s response – I’m more of a screamer.

my flickr: The Beautiful South at Cake Shop

I have sent an email to Donald Wiseman, editor of the website of Kehilat Middlesbrough Newsletter and Archives.

It is a useful site for people researching Jewish life and geneology in the Northeast of England. They have a section about the Jewish Cemetery in Hartlepool. It is not always online so I have decided to reprint details here with links to my photos of the graves taken on August 20, 2006.

The photos I have uploaded so far can be found here as a group:
Flickr Set of Photos of Hartlepool Jewish Cemetery

There will be more uploaded. Below are details and links to individual photos. On Flickr when you are on a photo’s page you can click on “All Sizes” and get larger sizes of the photos and you can download them.

Individually:

Abraham Barnett and Freda Barnett (Father and daughter)

Gravestone for Abraham Barnett who died Jan. 23, 1918 (age 44) and for his daughter Freda who died Feb. 25, 1919 at the age of 14. His Hebrew name was Avraham ?? son of Dov. Her Hebrew/Yiddish name was Freda.

Grace Barnett

Died November 7, 1984 (age 87). Her Hebrew name was Gitel daughter of Avraham. (KMBRO doesn’t have the date listed on its site nor a record of the stone.)

Jacob Barnett

Gravestone of Jacob Barnett who died April 13, 1945 (age 70). His Hebrew name was Yaakov son of Shaul.

Yetta Barnett

Gravestone of Yetta Barnett who died December 7, 1957 (age 77). Her Hebrew name was Yetta daughter of Yechezkel.

Samuel Benjamin

Gravestone of Samuel Benjamin who died July 2, 1881 (age 50). His Hebrew name was Shmuel.

Israel Broady

Gravestone of Israel Broady, husband of Shiphrah Broady, who died September 16, 1902 (age 85). His Hebrew name was Yisrael son of Yitzhak.

Morris Cohen

Gravestone for Morris Cohen son of Solomon and Rachel Cohen who died August 30, 1877 at the age of 23 months. His Hebrew name was Meir son of Yehoshua Shlomo.

Wolf Golt and Fanny Golt

Gravestone in memory of Wolf Golt who died May 11, 1939 (age 67) and Fanny Golt who died June 10, 1923 (age 47). Their Hebrew names were Ze’ev son of Chaim and Fredel daughter of Tuvia.

Hyman Hirschfeld

Half of the gravestone of Hyman Hirschfeld who died September 24, 1877 (age 58). His Hebrew name was Chaim son of Yehuda.
Photo of Gravestone as It Was

Sarah Hush

Gravestone of Sarah Hush who died July 10, 1882 at age 3 months. She was the daughter of Isaac and Henrietta Hush. She was from nearby Middlesbro.

Abram Jacobs and Rosie Jacobs

Gravestone for Abram Jacobs who died Nov. 25, 1928 (age 68) and Rosie Jacobs who died November 16, 1930 (age 72). Their Hebrew names were Avraham Yaakov son of Chaim Shlomo and Raizel daughter of Arye. [Name listed on stone as Abram (not Abraham).]

Annie Kaufman

Gravestone of Annie Kaufman who died in 1932 at the age of 32. Her Hebrew name was Chana daughter of Yisrael.

Isaac and Rachel Kaufman

Monument to Isaac and Rachel Kaufman who passed away in 1907. Hebrew names were Yitzhak son of Shalom and Rachel.

Hinda Levi

Gravestone of Hinda Levi who died August 21, 1878 (age 59). Her Hebrew name was Hinda daughter of Yehuda.

Solomon Isaac (Sol) Levinson

Gravestone of Solomon Isaac (Sol) Levinson who died May 11, 1993 (age 74). His Hebrew name was Shlomo Yitzhak son of Yaakov. His wife Betty still lives in town and makes a nice cup of tea.

Annie Levy

Gravestone of Annie Levy who died November 10, 1883 (Date gotten from Hebrew date). Her Hebrew name was Chana daughter of Yitzhak.

Harry Levy

Gravestone of Harry Levy who died March 7, 1922 (age 49). His Hebrew name was Aharon Tzvi son of Shlomo Halevy.

Louis Levy

Gravestone of Louis Levy who died on April 15, 1876 (age 56) (or April 4, 1877 – depending on if the last letter of the year is a Vav or Zayin – based on Hebrew date). His Hebrew name was Yehuda son of Arye Halevy.

Marian Levy

Gravestone of Marian Levy (widow of Jacob Levy) who died Feb. 4, 1914 (age 84). Her Hebrew name was Miriam daughter of Elyakum Arye. (Kmbro has her listed as Miriam.)

Calmer Lotinga

Gravestone of Calmer Lotinga who died on June 25, 1904 (age 96). His Hebrew name was Klonimus son of Moshe Halevi.

Maurice Michel Michelson

Gravestone of Maurice Michel Michelson who died at the age of 6 months. His Hebrew name was Moshe son of Asher.

David Morris

Gravestone of David Morris who died Nov. 27, 1963 (age 67) . His Hebrew name was David son of Yisrael Moshe.

Kate Nathan

Gravestone of Kate Nathan (widow of Benjamin Nathan) who died October 30, 1883 (age 61). Her Hebrew name was Gitel daughter of Eliezer Hacohen.

Joyce Barbara Rachkind

Gravestone of Joyce Barbara Rachkind who died April 20, 1972 (age 46). Her Hebrew name was Shayna Basha daughter of Avraham.

Sidney Rose and Esther Rose

Gravestone in memory of Sidney Rose who died April 29, 1963 (age 61) [KMBRO has this listed as May.] and Esther Rose who died August 16, 1978. [Listed on Stone in Hebrew Date.] Their Hebrew names were Zussman son of Avraham and Esther daughter of Yaakov.

Louis Smith

Gravestone of Louis Smith of Middlesbrough who died January 8, 1880. His Hebrew name was Eliezer son of Yechezkel.

Jacob Stockton

Gravestone for Jacob Stockton who died in 1879 at the age of 12. The only legible parts are the name Stockton, The acronym for May his soul be bound up in the bond of life (from Samuel I, 25:29) and the Jewish year 5640 which translates to 1879.

Graves I can’t identify:

General pictures of the cemetery:

Update: Featured in Kehilat Middlesbrough Newsletter No 22 November 2006 page 12 (of 12)

my flickr: NYC Photo Set