February 04, 2010
Bubbles From the Brunnens of Nassua
The following is a tale nearly 200 years old, told on pages 134 – 146 of Sir Francis Bond Head’s “Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau.” The text is from Google Books, where each page, scanned from the original, can be viewed or searched through the computerized OCR reading (which explains some of the oddities you’ll encounter below).
Head is a very entertaining writer and brings the scenes of Neider-Selters to life better than any I have read and I am excited to share it with you now.
_________
...Descending, however, into valleys, we occasionally passed through several very large villages, which were generally paved, or rather studded with paving-stones; and as the carriage-wheels hopped from one to another, the sensation ( being still too fresh in my memory) I had rather decline to describe : suffice it to say, that the painful excitation vividly expressed in my countenance must have formed an odd contrast with the dull, heavy, half-asleep faces, which, as if raised from the grave by the rattling of ray springs as well as joints, just showed themselves at the windows, as if to scare me as I passed...
Continue reading "Bubbles From the Brunnens of Nassua"
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
Feed My Info Porn Addiction: Enter My Online Bibliography
Last Fall I wrote about being amazed at how much research has changed since I first began this project. Five years ago my challenge was finding the slightest reference to seltzer, seeking the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Now, with Google Books, they've given me a new problem. Serving as a magnet pulling the needles all together, I have TOO MUCH information. Thus, feeding my info porn addiction, it's hard to know when to say "I have enough."
I imagined at the time that in the future people who write books and papers will be expected to link to their collection of resources on Google Books. I didn't realize it would come to pass in just a few weeks!
So, with little further adieu, here is the start of my public bibliography of primary and secondary sources on seltzer. Enjoy. And then, if you write fast than I, write your own book on seltzer (and thank me in the credits for the groundwork).
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2010
When Zaidy Was Young
I am finally relistening to my original podcast series, which oddly enough has become a great source of research for me. The irony of course is it's my research, but I did it so long ago I have already forgotten the details!
One of the interviews, yet to be aired, was with an Orthodox woman speaking of the role seltzer played in her very religious home as a child. In it she mentioned an album all the Orthodox boys and girls loved to listen to, called When Zaidy Was Young, which is all about life on the Lower East Side.
I am still tracking it down - as one of the tunes is about the seltzer delivery man - but in the process I found this outrageous video with the same name - a sort of Yiddish Muppets. It's about a grandfather telling his grandson about how "it once was" on the Lower East Side.
But starting at around 14:30 it's all about their love of seltzer! And then jumping to about 25:00 until the end it focuses on the use of seltzer to put out a fire and how, as a result, it helps the dad to maintain his Jewish identity in the face of assimilationist pressures while supporting his family - once again, seltzer both celebrated and saddled with so much responsibility. Check it out!
Here is what happens when you tell Jewish children: No seltzer for shabbat!
And here's how to put out a burning building with seltzer bottles... and a song!
And here's the full 30 minute video:
Part of what I love about this video is that seltzer is associated with so many different things: being Jewish; refreshing; humorous; seltzer business; and putting out fires. If it only had health and cleaning carpets it would have summed up nearly all popular associations with the drink. I wonder if in my research I will come across something else with containing all of the associations. What have you seen?
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2010
"The English drink Seltzer water like fish"
Another fun find in Google Books, from some magazine called The New Monthly Magazine, in 1837.
This is about some street urchins trying to have one over on the man selling seltzer. "The English drink Seltzer water like fish in the dog-days." :-)
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)
January 07, 2010
German Spas of 1804 and Medicinal Purposes
I am currently having a blast on Google Books, which is Google's efforts to digitize and make available the word's books. It's pretty remarkable.
I can download as PDF or to text search online for this important study from 1804: A treatise on the internal use of the natural and factitious waters of Carlsbad, Marienbad, Ems, &c. &c
Author Friedrich Ludwig Kreysig
I am specifically interested in this work as it documents the medicinal uses of spas. That is, to what extend doctors, the write included, used spas as a form of medicinal treatment, and for what exactly.
One of the amazing things about Google Books is that it will create a word cloud for you of the entire book, using only the most common phrases, making those most used larger. I was fascinated by the book's cloud below given all the numerous health conditions referenced. How many can you find?
Or click here to see a larger version.
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
The Strangest Seltzer Add Ever
As I have recently mentioned, there is a really gross ad in NYC encouraging people to drink seltzer and other healthy beverages by associating sugary drinks with fat, literally. The ad is a cup of fat. Yuck!
As if that wasn't strange enough, it turns out there's a 30-second PSA for it as well! Check it out below.
Still haven't had enough? Check out their facebook group.
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
Video Review by The Soda Jerks of Seltzermaker
As you know, this entire project began when I received a new kitchen appliance - the SodaClub (now SodaStream) home seltzer maker. Last week I decided, after five years, to update to the latest model. Seltzer has never tasted better.
I was going to make a video to show it off but it looks like the guys at The Soda Jerks beat me to the punch. Here's their video:
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2010
Egg Cream Zodiac?
Seth Front has created the The Jewish Zodiac, after a stint at a Chinese restaurant, with one featuring Egg Creams, as you can see below.
Lots of fun! In case you are wondering, 2010 is the Year of the Schmear: "This year, don't spread yourself too thin."
You can buy the Egg Cream t-shirt here. It states that those born in the Year of the Egg Cream are as follows: "You've got a devious personality since you're made with neither eggs nor cream. Friends find your pranks refreshing; others think you’re too frothy. Compatible with Blintz, who also has something to hide." And of course the shirt comes in one color: Chocolate (my wife, who prefers vanilla egg creams, might have something to say about that).
Personally, I am the Year of the Chopped Liver. You can check out the whole Jewish Zodiac at www.jewzo.com.
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 04:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2009
We've Been Tweeted!
Welcome Soda Stream tweeter readers who are visiting this site for the first time, having received the following tweet:
And thank you Soda Stream for the kind words! As the book will reveal, this project of mine would NEVER have gotten off the ground without you!
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2009
Seltzer seltzer everywhere
This morning I almost skipped my subway stop on the way to work, three days in a row, engrossed as I was writing away, but today I managed to notice it in time and get off at my station. Phew!
I mentioned in a recent post that my recent ability to refocus on this project was seeing seltzer everywhere. Specifically, I've seen it in three unexpected places that suggest that, damn, if only I'd had the book done by now I'd be moving them like latkes during a Chanukah bash!
First, there was a recent article in the journal Science, of which I am NOT a reader, documenting a study analyzing the "taste of carbonated water." Absolutely fascinating. I only learned of it through hearing it on my NPR Podcast.
The best image from the study, as it is so bizarre: what a rat's tongue looks like tasting seltzer! Specifically, sour-sensing cells and the enzyme lighting up a mouse tongue:
You can almost see the ads now - "This is rat's tongue. This is a rat's tongue on seltzer."
The second November appearance, which surprised me the most, was in Entertainment Weekly magazine, my source for all things movie, television and music. It lets me know what I need to consume to be cool. Well, according to their latest What's In and What's our report, I can now add seltzer to the list!
Believe me when I tell you, I can't imagine a more unexpected place to see seltzer come up and I sure wish I could find out why now, of all times, they choose to give their nod to the fizzy fun.
Finally, and this one is only a little more gross than a rat's tongue:
"Are you pouring on the pounds?" this NYC Subway ad asks, in both English here, and, elsewhere in Spanish. "Don't drink yourself fat." Instead, drink water, seltzer or low-fat milk.
It's hardly a surprise to see the health benefits of seltzer touted - that's one of it's most common cultural narratives. But it was still a surprise to see drinking it encouraged in a public health campaign, picture underneath a photo realistic image of... what IS that, anyway? I'm sticking with seltzer.
Posted by Barry Joseph, The Effervescent Jew (bjoseph) at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)
