The New Atlantis - Shop Class as Soulcraft - Matthew B. Crawford Editor’s Note: The original essay below, by New Atlantis contributing editor Matthew B. Crawford, was published in 2006. Mr. Crawford has expanded the essay into a bestselling book — Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work — published in 2009 by Penguin. Matthew B. Anyone in the market for a good used machine tool should talk to Noel Dempsey, a dealer in Richmond, Virginia. At the same time, an engineering culture has developed in recent years in which the object is to “hide the works,” rendering the artifacts we use unintelligible to direct inspection. A decline in tool use would seem to betoken a shift in our mode of inhabiting the world: more passive and more dependent. So perhaps the time is ripe for reconsideration of an ideal that has fallen out of favor: manual competence, and the stance it entails toward the built, material world. The Psychic Appeal of Manual Work Hobbyists will tell you that making one’s own furniture is hard to justify economically.
Artspace | Visual Art Center Make Blank Books, Sketch Books or Repair Paperback Books with a Simple Japanese Bookbinding Technique -- a Tutorial Make or repair books with this easy technique. Adapted from an article in Boys' Life (October 1991) by Brook West. Does your "Boy Scout Handbook" look as though it has been read by a grizzly bear? Are pages falling out of your favorite novel? Has the cover come off of your copy of "The Hobbit?" You don't have to buy new copies. To rebind a paperback you will need an awl or thin wire brads, heavy thread (eight times as long as the book 's height), a needle, pencil, and ruler. Here's what you do: 1. 2. Making these holes should not damage the text in the book. 3. 4. Go around the back and back up through the starting hole, then down through the other middle hole. Around the back again, then up through the top hole. Around the back, then... ...around the top of the spine and up through the top hole again. Around the back again and... ...around the bottom of the spine and back through the bottom hole. To finish, tie off the thread so the binding won't come loose. back to Brook's bio back home
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Notes from the Typist The Wizard of Oz: A Parable on Populism has ended up being a wonderful article with an influential effect on my life. My high-school History teacher (Dan Christner) taught this to us in High School....as a side benefit, we got to watch The Wizard of Oz in our History class. ;) It started me on a journey re-reading books looking at them for more then just their literal meaning. I lost track of this amazing History teacher, who managed to make History a interesting and entertaining subject, when he lost tenure at my old High School. (They should be shot for letting an inspiring instructor like him go.) It's been five years since I originally put up this article. This article is copyrighted, and contains long passages from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz within it. Footnotes and some other links to follow the essay by Henry M. On the deserts of North Africa in 1941 two tough Australian brigades went into battle singing: Hector St. Trouble intrudes.
p r i m e - n u m b e r . c o m -- everything is temporary Project #273 – Red Hat Posted in: projects, sewing | Comments (0) A red hat! Designed for the desert! I have a little visor to keep the sun off of my nose and forehead, and it’s a bright enough color for Clark to find me if we get separated someplace crowded. I do this sometimes, wear a bright, improbable color, when it comes to crowd situations. So, when we arrived we waited in a field in a block of oh…about 20,000 people waiting for there to be room in the building for us. Luckily, I decided to wear a eye-bleedingly neon green striped sweater, so each time the crowd split us apart Clark was able to follow the green glow and find me again. As a lesson from that day I tend to try to wear things that will help him find me if we go somewhere crowded. Anyway, the pattern is Vogue 7981 and my full review is here. By the way, Clark still apologizes for that first day. Alison @ November 1, 2009 Project #272 – Milk Carton Halloween Costume Posted in: projects, sewing | Comments (0)