We aren’t responsible for our own safety the way we used to be. In the industrial world we’re safer from attack than ever but still live in daily fear. Fear is an excellent way to keep the masses at bay.
Man vs. Feind!
Thoreau says:
Profound.
Simple but Ingenious
Tying your own shoes –
Before looking at the ethnographic literature I experimented with tying up some simple sandals with mixed success. It turns out that it’s not as simple as one might think. Now I’m a connoisseur and am always making mental notes when I see old depictions, or in the old world, images on statues. For simple, soft lace sandals, the Tarahuamara style works perfectly. A single lace does everything you need.
Learning from the past may save us from losing our future.
Colonel Thomas H. Monstery and the Use of the Quarterstaff
When this came to my attention I was very interested as I do generally carry a staff when hiking these days. It has lessened the tension when encountering stray dogs, allowed me to poke into brush, distract rattlesnakes, etc. but I think it is severely underestimated as a tool and weapon of self defense in the modern era. In America, we have an obsession with guns where anyone in possession, and I mean anyone, can slaughter a large number of people with little to no effort. The fear mentality (from a people who allege to not fear for an afterlife) has grown to epic levels with inundation of “news” and violent entertainment disguised as media.
The staff, sword, and bow come from a little better era before we handed over our self protection to hired gunmen and made our own liberty. The humble walking stick is a force to be reckoned with in the wild if you choose to learn to use it.
Have a look and learn some great stuff from Another Century.
Source: Colonel Thomas H. Monstery and the Use of the Quarterstaff
How to Travel at Home
This is a very well-written and insightful piece. Recommended reading.
There are many travel blogs out there . . .
A lot of them will tell you about what it’s like to walk off a plane into some remote culture. The bliss that comes with eating fresh coconut on a beautiful beach in the Caribbean. You will read these things, and you will feel jealous. Wanderlust, itchy-feet, maybe you will relish their experience because it brings you back. It reminds you of the time when you were on a beach, eating a coconut, in the Caribbean.
These accounts are enthralling, informative, and entertaining. And if nothing else they can be a great gauge of privilege. Something the travel industry is steeped in. At times a piece will be riddled with outright prejudice and even more so with unacknowledged biases. All too often it seems that we are doing little more as ‘travel writers’ than unconsciously assisting neoliberalism in it’s attempt…
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Replication
I study the technology of prehistory. Because of this, I believe strongly in the benefits of experiential archaeology. It gives perspective on a very deep level. We can walk in the shoes of our ancestors, so to speak.
Bagpipes Gone Baroque
As if traditional bagpiping weren’t enough, here are the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards going all Pachelbel for your listening enjoyment.
A view of the amazing Scottish country of Scotland. All these photo’s were taken by friends on the Isle Of Skye.
Accompanied by the music Canon by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
Music Available @itunes.
Happy Birthday
To my beautiful daughter.
Bookcase-Progress 1-Design
As usual, Greg Merritt at BY MY OWN HANDS has again shared a great project with his beautiful drawings to illustrate the work. Check out this nice little bookcase below.
As we continue the never-ending unpacking of boxes and putting away of stuff, it has become apparent that the Hillbilly household is in immediate need of a bookcase. This of course means that the nightstands have been bumped from the top of the list to the #2 position. In either case, neither of these projects can be started until I have the new shop space up and running. I’m getting close on that front and might even post about it as early as tomorrow. Anyway, back to the bookcase.
We currently have a standard, tall bookcase that was purchased many years and holds quite a few books. That piece now resides in my office and holds all of my woodworking and craft related tomes. It’s full. Additionally, there are a few built-in shelves in the new house and they hold several books. They too are full. We own a lot…
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Anyone?
Where have you been all my life. Lady Florence Norman on her Autoped; another interesting Internet find. This is what I found about it:
“Lady Florence Norman, a suffragette, on her motor-scooter in 1916, travelling to work at offices in London where she was a supervisor. The scooter was a birthday present from her husband, the journalist and Liberal politician Sir Henry Norman.”
1917 est une année cruciale pour la France en guerre : révolution russe et entrée de l’Amérique dans le conflit. En attendant cette aide décisive, il faut bien soutenir le moral des troupes… de l’arrière. L’hebdomadaire coquin La Vie Parisienne du 12 mai s’y emploit de son mieux et, à l’affût des dernières nouveautés, découvre un véhicule venu des États-Unis : l’Autopède. De quoi railler gentiment une nouvelle mode sur une double-page intitulée : “Le dernier cri ! La patinette automobile” … un engin que la France connaîtra quelques décennies plus tard. Vous vous souvenez ?
(Les légendes de ces dessins de G. Léonnec sont celles de La Vie Parisienne)
I’m glad to know that, in the near future, no one will walk at all. Oh, it must be the future!
This one’s not quite the same, being gasoline powered but is an interesting little piece nonetheless.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 