guilty pleasure -this shirt

Channeling Mayor Larry Vaughn here a bit... I don't think there are any materials in this shirt that exist in nature... a blend of banlon and imported Italian polyester. Love pockets on s/s shirts or t-shirts.. have to load them up with your wallet, a few scratch tickets and maybe a set of glasses... really test the strength of the stitching.





Whether building sandcastles w/ the young or propping up the bar at The Ritz (Oak Bluffs, MV) this shirt is a serious GP... Purchased to be part of Popeye costume about 10 years ago, and it might be 20 years older than that, it somehow got in my summer rotation haha.

yard sale -his n hers

the neil young archives

Remember when you first got an iPod and realized "hey I have 2 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes of music on here"... it's like that. Where do I sign...

"This is the first volume of the Neil Young Archives series of box sets, produced by Neil Young himself. Volume I covers the period from his earliest recordings with The Squires in Winnipeg, 1963, through to his classic 1972 album Harvest and beyond, including studio and live tracks with the legendary Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Neil Young with Crazy Horse."

From The Independent; "...if the rest of Young's career is covered in similarly exhaustive fashion, his fans will not just be able to immerse themselves in it, they will probably be able to build a home from the boxes and live in it."

that rural librarian look

Harris Tweed jacket and tattersall shirt. Elbow patches optional. If available, I say yes.
Yes also to a bow tie. Not all the time but definitely not afraid of them.
Often go for the hi/low, so here going with well worn older Carhartts. These from an amazing selection at workers.
No salt water for 3 hours in any direction from southern Vermont, but that doesn't stop the nautical theme; monkey fist keyring.
No fuss belt. Under $60. Orvis shot-shell, or maybe farrier's style or Narragansett Leathers or similar.
Quality pocket square/bandana. This is Japanese dyed chambray from The Hill-Side (found via Secret Forts).
Liking these JCrew/Sperry chukka creations.
Estwing axe. Just because. It is a thing of beauty anyway.

Box of donuts. From Mrs. Murphy's Donuts Manchester Center, VT. Blueberry cake for the win. (Image via RoadFood, a new find for me.) What do donuts have to do with being a librarian? The inspiring reference tutor Allen Smith was fond of saying; "Show me a town that denies funding to a library, and I'll show you a librarian who stays in the office. Show me a town that funds its library, and I'll show you a librarian who takes donuts down to the fire department. Who goes down to the city hall and goes into offices asking if they need anything. You have to be proactive. It might come as a shock to some of you, but a large part of the success of that library is your personality and the way you treat people." Take that to the bank.

Airstream Bambi equipped with a satellite internet access set-up like the Datastorm G74 or similar (download speeds of up to 1MB!) Stay with me folks... rural libraries do not all have internet access, forget about access being available to all rural homes (take Vermont for this example, Vermont has 182 public libraries, 174 of these libraries have Internet access; 160 of these have high speed access. That’s 14 libraries with dial-up and eight with nothing, more detailed info from a post at librarian.net.) So, load up the internet-enabled bookmobile and head out to serve the community.

Reading list if you need something.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky.
Where the Rivers Flow North by Howard Frank Mosher.
Tall Trees, Tough Men: A Vivid, Anecdotal History of Logging and Log-Driving in New England by Robert E. Pike.
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (read today via Gutenberg Project.)
Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie

old jokes home

Q: What time does Sean Connery get to Wimbledon?

A: Tennish.

kids music -johnny cash

Released in 1975, on The Johnny Cash Children's Album this is how you sing ABCD.... ah bos cee dah...genius. You know Johnny isn't going to sing any wiggles-whiny kid's songs, just thoughtful originals or folk songs including; One and One Makes Two, Dinosaur Song, There's a Bear in the Woods, The Timber Man, Old Shep and an early version of Nasty Dan (later version with Oscar as below). Highly recommended.

restock the hives -details

Prepping. You can see dead bees at top left on floor of the old hive.
Frames visible with winter honey still there.
Here comes the queen. Out first.
Try that again, maybe use gloves this time...
Leave the workers to wiggle down into the frames and get settled.
Mason jar is full of sugar water to keep bees close.
Run inside...
The frames hold the honeycomb or brood comb within the hive (each level of the hive is a "super"). The frames are a key to the modern hive since they can be removed to inspect the bees for disease or to extract honey.
Further reading on the construction. Shallow supers, deep supers, movable hives, etc...

This process of installing new bees does not require the use of a smoker, that is for slowing down/pacifying bees during any inspection/work on the hive/stealing honey...

anatomy of a 10engines post

2 parts personal recollection.
1 part current event.
1 part dad comment (may substitute rural comment)
ebay or barn_score to taste.
shake and serve over ice.

restock the hives

Our bees died last winter, so last weekend Pops dug out the ICI suit and restocked the hives, shots below. (First get the queen and any guards into the new hive then shake the workers out.) The smaller hive is infront of an outbuilding that we have our eye on to redo as a no-electricity-guesthouse (well, guestroom maybe...) Woodstove, white plaster walls inside, a big old flag... you can imagine. Anyway, 2 hives make more honey than you can possibly use... regift!

repost

Was listening to this record (yes record...) w/ the wee boys this morning so had to bounce it to the top of the posts... Sean Connery reads Peter & the Wolf. Gratuitous brogue action... Listen. The boy is just old enough to follow along, and using the turntable makes it seem like an occasion. The other side is a guide to the orchestra again narrated by Sean. "Thish is the shtring shecshion" etc... brilliant.

bookmark -repeat to fade

Discovered via ACL's blogroll, Repeat to Fade is a gateway to the world of Japanese (or Americana repro) denim and vintage denim shopping and similar. Fantastic. Old news for the serious collector no doubt but has been a great find for me. Want to know all about wear patterns and wash counts? Check. Looms and dyes? Check. Street shots of denim afficianados? Industry types? Scans of catalogues and lookbooks? Factory visits? Pffft. Grabbed some shots as below, hardly scratches the surface. Serious commitment. Try his denim quiz.... no chance.

sin

This Chevelle (?Camaro?) was parked outside the door this morning. Is the name plate referring to the addition of a tailfin and induction hood? Think it is a 1970?? (single headlights). Edited these straight digital photos with a crafty online tool, Tiltshift Generator.

pinewood derby -update 2

This is the 10engines&Sons entry, before decals and shine. Super ugly paint job, the way we like it. Secret weapon is running on 3 wheels... cut friction by 1/4. Don't tell anyone. The countdown to June 13th is on.

newspaper

Tom Waits says newspaper sleeping bag. I'm going newspaper tablecloth. Lobbies from James Hook. 2x2lbs.

yard sale -4

happy birthday -sir arthur conan doyle

Hear him talk about the creation of the Sherlock Holmes character via the British Library's Spoken Word series. Serious Edinburgh accent. Morningside area?? Bullet-proof tweed above, awesome. (i know, that 'hear' link is flaky. it worked earlier...)

marco pierre white on organic farming

To quote Gerard Depardieu (?-ed.) "I'm not (right) wing. You are the one with the wing. All your ideas are from the same place."

I like MPW because he is practical and from the trenches of buying and selling food but at the same time can still romanticise it (he uses the word "romantic" in several interviews about the lifestyle of a farmer). The interviewer seems to expect one answer but is basically told to buck up. Been sitting on this one for a while, thoughts??

quotable -evel knievel

Photo: David Ashdown/Keystone/Getty"Anybody can take off; it's landing that's tough. I never missed a take-off."

Check the Field Guide to Evel Knievel's Injuries on Steve Mandich's site. Plenty of other Evel stuff there too.

carhartt europe

Overkill?? Hell no.

opening - assemble & conquer

Skate company RAW is opening a shop steps away from the 10engines kitchen, in Teele Square, Somerville.

"Assemble & Conquer will serve as the venue for all of our design. It will be the hub for shipping to our supporters worldwide. Patrons of the space will have direct access to RAW, RAW Private Stock and The Positive Kit, as well as products from a handpicked lineup of brands that we respect. Our inspiration comes from those we’ve read about or met along the way, as well as those who are a part of the family we’ve created. This spring, our worldwide skateboarding family will have a place to assemble." -via their 3/29/09 post.



As before, I'm not a skater atall, but appreciate the clean aesthetic, upright and breathing collabs (Western Edition x RAW Marvin Gaye Tribute... out of sight) and community involvement.

The Aquarium from READY AMONGST WILLING on Vimeo.

"The Aquarium, also known as Long Wharf, devised its namesake as a skatespot from its adjacency to the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts. The land upon which the spot sits was once the center of Boston's shipping industry. Today, because of it's cracked marble tiles and 100 plus year old ledges, it serves as the proving ground for present and future generations of the city's skateboarders." - Kevin R. Susienka for RAW