Tea party

A tea party is a formal, ritualized gathering for the small meal called afternoon tea.

Formal tea parties are often characterized by the use of prestige utensils, such as porcelain, bone china or silver. The table is made to look its prettiest, with cloth napkins and matching cups and plates. In addition to tea, larger parties may provide punch, or in cold weather, hot chocolate. The tea is accompanied by a variety of foods that are easy to manage while in a sitting room: thin sandwiches, such as cucumber or tomato, cake slices, buns or rolls, cookies, biscuits and scones are all common.

History

Formal teas

The afternoon tea party was a feature of great houses in the Victorian and Edwardian ages in the United Kingdom and the Gilded Age in the United States, as well as in all continental Europe (France, Germany, and above all in the Russian Empire). The formal tea party still survives as a special event, as in the debutante teas of some affluent American communities.

In the older version, servants stayed outside the room until needed. Writing in 1922, Emily Post asserted that servants were never to enter the room unless rung for, to bring in fresh water and dishes or to remove used dishes. This was partly due to the rigidity of social convention at the time, but it also reflected the intimate nature of the afternoon tea. Proving the truth of 18th-century author Henry Fielding's quip that "love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea", the custom of banning servants from the drawing room during tea shows the hostess's desire to encourage free conversation among her guests. Most of the formalities of that age have disappeared, particularly since World War II, when economic changes made household servants a rarity, but afternoon tea can still provide a good opportunity for intimate conversation and a refreshing light meal.

Tea Party protests

The Tea Party protests were a series of protests throughout the United States that began in early 2009. The protests were part of the larger political Tea Party movement.

Among other events, protests were held on:

Most Tea Party activities have since been focused on opposing efforts of the Obama Administration, and on recruiting, nominating, and supporting candidates for state and national elections. The name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, whose principal aim was to protest taxation without representation. Tea Party protests evoked images, slogans and themes from the American Revolution, such as tri-corner hats and yellow Gadsden "Don't Tread on Me" flags. The letters T-E-A have been used by some protesters to form the backronym "Taxed Enough Already".

Tea Party (song)

"Tea Party" is a song by Estonian recording artist Kerli. It is featured on the album Almost Alice, a multi-artist compilation album which features music that is inspired by the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland released on March 2, 2010.Almost Alice debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and topping Billboard's Digital Albums and Soundtracks charts.

"Tea Party" was released as a single from the Almost Alice soundtrack through a maxi single featuring the song and six remixes that was released on June 15, 2010.

The music video, which is directed by Justin Harder, premiered on March 10, 2010.

Composition

Kerli stated she wanted to create something "psychedelic [and] twisted" and inspired by the Alice in Wonderland film.

Release

Kerli stated it was intended that the song would never see its proper release as a single as she feels her upcoming second studio album is better and she "didn't want the label to fully go with something like 'Tea Party' as a single and then not push all the other stuff if 'Tea Party' didn't do everything they needed it to." However, a remix single was given a digital release on June 15, 2010.

William Lee

William, Will, Bill or Billy Lee may refer to:

Business

Arts, entertainment and literature

Bill Lee (singer)

Bill Lee (21 August 1916 – 15 November 1980) was an American playback singer who provided a voice or singing voice in many films, for actors in musicals and for many Disney characters. He was born in Johnson, Nebraska, and like his dancing colleague Bobby Van died in 1980 in Los Angeles, California, of a brain tumor.

Lee was part of a popular singing quartet known as The Mellomen. In The Jungle Book's soundtrack, it was mistakenly assumed that fellow Melloman member, Thurl Ravenscroft, provided the singing voice of Shere Khan in the song, "That's What Friends Are For". However, Richard Sherman confirmed on the audio commentary on its 2007 DVD release, that it was Bill Lee who provided Shere Khan's singing as George Sanders, Shere Khan's voice actor, though an accomplished singer, was not available during the finalized recording of the song.

Lee also provided the singing voice for Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music.

Partial filmography

Bill Lee (musician)

William James Edwards "Bill" Lee III (born July 23, 1928) is an American musician. He has played the bass for many artists including Cat Stevens, Harry Belafonte, Chad Mitchell Trio, Gordon Lightfoot, Aretha Franklin, Odetta, Simon and Garfunkel, Ian & Sylvia, Tom Rush, Burt Bacharach, Peter, Paul and Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Carolyn Hester, John Lee Hooker, Josh White, Duke Ellington, Malvina Reynolds, Eric Bibb, The Clancy Brothers and Bob Dylan. On the original release of Dylan's classic song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," Lee, on bass guitar, is the only musician performing other than Dylan himself. He is the father of Spike Lee.

Biography

Lee was born in Snow Hill, Alabama, the son of Alberta Grace (Edwards), a concert pianist, and Arnold Wadsworth Lee, a musician. With his first wife, Jackie, he had five children, including the famed film director Spike Lee (born 1957), still photographer David Lee (born 1961), actress Joie Lee (born 1962), and filmmaker Cinqué Lee (born 1966) and has composed original music for many of his son's films, including She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing and Mo' Better Blues. With his second wife, Susan, he has one son, Arnold Lee, who plays alto saxophone.