Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

“They all knew.”

When we show up, we win.

“woke” is the new caravan.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Because of wow. / Respite Long Watch Open Thread: Hokkaido Master Craftsman Builds A Desk

Reader Interactions

147Comments

  3. 3.

    Justin

    I love a good process video, but I no longer have patience for narration and editing that’s annoyingly slow and self-indulgent. Fewer shots of Japan from the airplane, more footage of actual

    Seriously: everyone making a video like this should watch Clickspring’s process videos where he machines a clock out of brass, or the Antikythera Mechanism or a card press. Incredibly tight editing that shows everything about the process without every dragging its feet. He has the time to describe how and why an ancient greek would figure out how to make a gear with a prime number of teeth, and you still don’t get a chance to get bored.

  4. 4.

    satby

    After speculating on the morning thread that we wouldn’t get frost for another week or so a chance of frost is predicted overnight tonight.
    I covered the front bed and brought several pots up into the covered porch. Everything else will have to fend for itself. Now considering making an adult milkshake with mudslide mix and settling in with a Martha Grimes novel.

  6. 6.

    Yutsano

    @satby: I like the cut of your jib.

    My washing machine died, so I had to huff two bags of laundry over to my parents house to get that done. At least this way I don’t have to worry about dinner.

  7. 7.

    oldster

    1) Canadian accent?
    2) Nice to see a craftsman who is comfortable using both hand and power tools. People can get kinda fetishy about using only hand tools, when to my mind, they are all just tools, different ones for different purposes.
    3) Did we ever learn where that walnut tree grew? I know Japan imports a lot of wood, eg a lot of Doug Fir from the Pacific Northwest. It wouldn’t surprise me if that walnut was an import as well.
    4) yup, beautiful desk.

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    @satby:

    I covered the front bed and brought several pots up into the covered porch.

    Did you read it a bedtime story before tucking it in?

  10. 10.

    RAVEN

    Another Boolebark Doggie Parade in the books. The preliminary word is that it raised at least as much as the $7500 it did last year and the rain stayed away!

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    As a respite addendum, repeating from this morning, for the evening crowd: 1980s music, 1930s style.

    Just sneaked out to check on whether some (relatively) quick fix handiwork I performed earlier today for landlady on something in her garage is holding. Looking good.

    *cautiously pats self on back*

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I always want to respect the respite/non-political threads for those who enjoy them, but the last political thread is like eight hours old. AL, if you’re out there? Betty? Adam? Does anyone know if Cole ever reads this blog anymore?

  15. 15.

    Leto

    So in keeping with the theme (woodworking), I’d like to recommend this woodworker’s channel: Ishitani Woodworking. I have been watching him for almost two years now and he’s been an absolute inspiration to watch. He utilizes both hand tools and power tools, mainly traditional joinery, and just a superb attention to detail in everything. Most of his videos are about 13-15 mins long, plus most of the videos show his adorable shop doggo.

    If you have Netflix, I’d also recommend Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Again, absolute master craftsman showing his skill in everything he does.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    Reminded of a segment on the program Soko Ga Shiritai about a Japanese craftsman who made nothing but wooden ear cleaning picks. And only from wood recovered from houses that were more than 100 years old.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    So-so movie overall but the few woodworking scenes and the construction of some of the structures shown are of moderate interest. A Simple Curve, available on Prime.

  20. 20.

    Starfish

    What type of really long YouTube videos are you watching?

    I like Matthias Wandel who makes five-minute videos that I can pay attention to as opposed to whatever is going on in these long videos the rest of you are watching.

  21. 21.

    satby

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I discovered the best used book store today! In an historic Craftsman house with two floors of rooms of books. I could have just stayed for days. Picked up three Grimes books and one on women travelling solo. I may accomplish nothing else this week. So: classic music, my mudshake, and Grimes with a ? on my lap.

  22. 22.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @RAVEN: Excellent! Doggie parades are the best.

    @japa21: I had a good time. People were friendly and wanted to talk about writing and books. Seven of the people there were from my writer group, so I had a chance to socialize with them too. I hope you and Mrs. Japa had a good day in the nice weather.

    And then I came home to find a book blogger had reviewed The Wind Reader even though it’s been out a year. So it was a good day.

  24. 24.

    tomtofa

    OT – The election results are in for Hungary, and they are stunning. The opposition won the districts and overall mayoral positions in Budapest, a result no one saw coming, and the opposition also won 10 of the 23 mayorships in the largest cities/towns in the country – last election they won 3.

    Big defeat for Orban and the Fidesz party.

  25. 25.

    satby

    @RAVEN: pics please!
    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I get it, but the political threads are burning people out. It’s way too early for the level of acrimony we have, and I think it’s because we’re all marinating in this toxic political environment. Respite is needed.

  28. 28.

    lgerard

    For anyone still awake at 4 AM EST, the episode of Peter Gunn featuring Diahann Carroll will be on MeTV

  33. 33.

    JPL

    @RAVEN: Can’t wait until you share the pics. The day was cloudy and dank, but that held back the crowds at the food fest that I went to. I’m not a fan of crowds so that was a good thing.

  34. 34.

    JR

    It’s interesting that butterfly joints — a modern invention of Japanese-American George Nakashima, have made their way back to Japan.

    They are quite pretty and primarily used for aesthetics.

  36. 36.

    gene108

    My nephew’s turning 15 this week. Pulled pictures of when he was a baby, on my laptop, to show him.

    He and my niece really enjoyed the photos.

    But what really shocked me is how much younger I and the other adults – brother, SIL, mother, aunt, cousin, etc. – looked in those pictures.

    15 years really does age an adult.

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @RAVEN:

    That’s great! I hope you took (and will share) lots of photos.

    Congratulations to the princess bride for another job well done!

  41. 41.

    Leto

    @JR: Nakashima’s shop, run now by his daughter, is about 30 mins from where I live. I have his big book sitting on my shelf and it’s one I’ve read through multiple times. On Saturdays they have an open house, of sorts, and in the coming weeks the wife and I will be headed over. Can’t wait!!!

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m glad your event went well; if Avalune and I are ever out your way, we’ll be sure to stop by. If you’re ever near Philly, make sure you let us know! ?

  52. 52.

    Martin

    @oldster: I have a friend who is a hand tool purist. He’ll text me a photo of his latest creation – a box that he spent 6 months making to hold a chisel or some shit. Fuuuuuck, dude, I do not have that kind of time. I use a combination of power and hand tools solely because I don’t own or have space for all the power tools I would prefer to have to work with. Give me room for that surface planer and I’d have it.

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Millard Filmore:

    For real, or is someone snarking the Congressman to make him look stupid? Never heard of Brian Mast before now. He was Army, not Navy. And although he’s both a Republican and a Floridian, I’m not going to rag on him too hard, as the dude stepped on an IED in Kandahar and lost both legs. His politics are probably 180° from mine, but that’s a helluva sacrifice no matter your voting record.

  65. 65.

    Leto

    @Martin: When I joined the service in 1997, most military bases still had wood shops. Full shops with basically any tool you could think of. You’d pay $5 an hour to use it. Most of those shops have been closed now due to a combination of not enough people using the places and budgetary cuts (Bigger reason; most of the “hobby” shops were closed, regardless if they were profitable or not). You couldn’t run a production shop out of it (couldn’t make stuff to sell), but you could do just about whatever you wanted. Some of our Airmen magazines featured stuff that people made it was amazing.

  66. 66.

    Ruckus

    @Justin:
    OTOH, I liked the tempo of the video. It gave an insight as to how the typical Japanese craftsman works, making sure that each step is done properly and in whatever time it takes to complete. As someone who crafts metal this concept is important to getting the job done correctly, not just in the shortest time. I’ve built steel and titanium bicycles and that making sure process is vital.

  67. 67.

    Kent

    For some world-class woodworking, watch these modern Norwegian craftsmen build an authentic Viking longship. Impressive to think that the Norse shipbuilders did this 1000 years ago without any modern power tools at all youtu.be/29mOXuVoE3o And you can click through to their channel to see this ship navigating storms in the Labrador Sea.

  68. 68.

    HumboldtBlue

    @satby:

    I’m with you 100 percent. My Nan would be howling with a highball in one hand and a Winston in the other.

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    @Leto: I’ve been to Budapest once. There’s an excellent museum called the Terror House that covers lots of detail about the horrors committed by the Nazi occupation and previous governments, monuments to the Jews massacred at the river’s edge near the fabulous Parliament building, a large, historic synagogue, a famous Jewish cemetery, etc., etc.

    It’s tragic that a country with such a powerful history that is easy to discover has gone back down such a dark path under Orban and Fidesz. Here’s hoping they’re on the road back.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  70. 70.

    Martin

    @Leto: There’s a modern equivalent now. Privately owned shops/clubs that work essentially the same way. Many do metalwork and other forms of fabrication. We have a contract with a nearby one for our students.

    The main issue with running them is liability.

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:
    That ISHITANI FURNITURE site is great.
    I’ve found a number of interesting Japanese woodworking videos on ytube and they can be incredible. I’ve also run across a few from Scandinavian countries about building wooden homes which are fascinating.

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    Went to see Rosemary’s Baby today, from 1968, on a big screen.

    I know it was a sensation at the time of its release. (I was way too young to see it.) It is kind of tame today, but was a very good film, with the building of suspense.

    Got to say, Ruth Gordon grates on me. Always. (And she won an Oscar for this role.) The other older character actors were much better.

    Rosemary was from Omaha; her husband was from Baltimore. And she seemed to be entirely dependent on him, financially. At that time, could she even have gotten credit in her own name?

  78. 78.

    Leto

    @Another Scott: Reminds me of Poland and Germany. The re-emergence of fascism is disturbing and has to be met head on. When I was coming back from Iraq in 2008, our plane broke and we had to stop in Hungary. The US Embassy arranged for us (roughly 180 service members) to stay at the Hilton in Budapest. After spending a year deployed, staying in a basically 4-star hotel was just luxury beyond compare. We were given a strict “2 drink” limit for the bar area. I think everyone had their second drink at least eight times ?

    @Martin: Yup! I’ve seen those advertised around the Philly area. It was nice for us because almost regardless of where you went, there would be a shop there. I definitely understand the liability part, but for ours it was simply budget reasons. Just about all of the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) areas were cut. Either scaled back beyond bare bones, or just simply cut. Right-wing budget thought and needing to spend every dollar on our adventures helped guide that.

    @Ruckus: Same! So many videos about Japanese craftsmen who do absolutely incredible work. Bowl makers, pen makers, all sorts of things. I’ll keep an eye out for the Scandinavian videos because I love their style too.

  83. 83.

    Leto

    @eric: Dear rabbit hole… Thanks for the links! I’m perusing them now and there’s so many interesting things to watch!

  85. 85.

    eric

    @Leto: I have tons more….lol

    plus, science, math, and more.

    one of the benefits of an ADD / OCD cocktail :)

    also: if you like special effects, Corrider Crew are great…

  86. 86.

    MoCA Ace

    Loved the video. Woodworking is my go-to activity for mental renewal in these dark times. I like how the video goes into the relationship between the maker and the piece being made. As a woodworker I think there was ample detail in the video to let one know how the piece was made. None of the joinery is terribly difficult. The mastery is in the precision and finish. If you want more detail on making live-edge furniture there are ample videos and magazines out there.

    I also liked to see the designer sketching out the piece… I’m not much for detailed drawings and often make pieces using nothing more than back-of-the-napkin sketches.

    Now its out to the shop for a while… I’m working on a simple chest with hand-cut dovetails.

  87. 87.

    NotMax

    @RAVEN

    From one of the captions –

    A dog wears a small hat and a lay

    Triple boo. Writer in dire need of a trip to the woodshed.

  88. 88.

    Jeffro

    Looks like Pompeo and Barr are ‘birds of a feather’, in terms of being absolute Dominionist religious nuts, and so no wonder they are “all in” on supporting trumpov, holiest of holies.

    This…is not going to end well. Hopefully just ‘not well for them’, but whew.

    The trumpov cult is digging in. Stay strong, congressional Dems, and don’t back down one bit

  90. 90.

    Millard Filmore

    @Ruckus:

    Is that another fine example of trump excellence?

    It must be the effect that is beautiful big brain has on those around him.

  92. 92.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax: Helzbelz, as a gainfully employed male I applied for my first credit card through my bank in 1975, & was turned down for having no credit record. What, I said to them on the phone, you’re rejecting me for having been too responsible to go into debt?? Guy suggested I buy something, anything, on time, anywhere, pay it off & then reapply. I told him I’d been their customer literally since the day I was born (Dad opened up a trust fund in my name) but if they couldn’t give me a card I’d be happy to move my savings to a bank that would, & here’s my account number, why don’t you look up my balance? Guy came back on the line coughing (I had a nice chunk of $$ in there) & offered a low-limit card, “but I’m sure we can increase it in a couple of months.” Which was OK by me, I wasn’t aiming to buy any big-ticket items in the immediate future anyway.

  95. 95.

    Elizabelle

    @RAVEN: No, thank dog. Ruth Gordon again. Was expecting that to be an American International picture.

    Brings to mind Otto Preminger’s Skiddoo. Skiddon’t.

  96. 96.

    Mary G

    @RAVEN: Bohdi looks a bit tired and grumpy, but still great. Lots of cute costumes! Ithought the Wonder Bread wrapper was cute and easy.

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    @Uncle Cosmo

    Dunno if still the case but it was a thing in those thrilling days of yesteryear* for freshmen (and women) to receive solicitations for credit cards in the mail box, and I can’t recall hearing of a single instance when someone was turned down. Got a very rarely used Diners Club card that way.

    *When Mastercard was known as either Interbank or Master Charge, and Visa was known as BankAmericard.

  100. 100.

    Elizabelle

    @RAVEN: Bohdi and Little Bit are in 2 and 5. Lookin’ good.

    Looks like it was a success. Good turnout.

    Long Beach CA has a great dogs for Halloween parade. Miss it.

  101. 101.

    NotMax

    @Elizabelle

    Much as Jack Nicholson forswore acting in favor of always playing Jack Nicholson, on the screen she settled into playing Ruth Gordon (albeit later in life).

    The Actress, based on her autobiography, comes around on TCM from time to time (Gordon portrayed in the movie by Jean Simmons).

  108. 108.

    Mary G

    @RAVEN: Much livelier. And Countdown to Ecstasy is one of my all time favorite albums. I think I’ll put it on now.

    @satby: Possibly my favorite movie of all time. I was born Harold and want to grow up to be Maude.

  109. 109.

    NotMax

    @satby

    Tailor made for her peculiar delivery, and a variant of her Oscar winning role in Inside Daisy Clover.

    And boy oh boy, Bud Cort showed up in some weird movies. Ever see Brewster McCloud?

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    @NotMax: Inside Daisy Clover. The movie that killed William Frawley. (He died shortly after seeing it. As in, within hours.)

    Ruth Gordon won a Golden Globe for Daisy; was nominated but did not win the Oscar. And I do remember her in that film, and liked her there. She was poignant.

    But jeez was Natalie Wood miscast.

  118. 118.

    trollhattan

    Will just leave this here.

    A Ukrainian-born businessman indicted in a campaign-finance scheme along with two associates of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, is an officer in a Sacramento cannabis dispensary controlled by a local businessman with a considerable share of the city’s pot business, records show.

    Andrey Kukushkin was among four men indicted last week in an intricate plan to funnel foreign campaign donations to U.S. politicians and enter the legal pot business in Nevada and “other states.” Two of the defendants, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, are associates of Giuliani and were reportedly helping him investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, one of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son.

    Now, that international scandal has unraveled a considerable subplot in Sacramento.

    City and state records show Kukushkin’s partner in Sacramento is Garib Karapetyan, a permit holder for a total of eight dispensaries in the city. Karapetyan and his associates have become the de facto pot kings of Sacramento, controlling far more licenses than anyone else and papering the city with billboards and ads for their dispensaries.

    Karapetyan, 35, has for years quietly and systematically expanded his pot-selling business throughout the city with the consent of Sacramento regulators, controlling nearly a third of the industry here. He has donated to the campaigns of local elected officials, including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and purchased a $1.1 million condo in the luxury Sawyer Hotel near the Golden 1 Center.

    Small cities everywhere, dream big!

  120. 120.

    JWR

    Damn, those machine shop videos take me back to a profession I truly loved. (Yes, I’m one of the few who actually enjoyed going to work everyday.) Started as a drill press operator, and left 26 years later as a full-fledged mold maker. ~sigh~ That’s very basic machining, but it still takes me back.

    Also, all the snowflakes in the last thread worrying over something Warren said in answer to a RWNJ, I give up. I have no time for nervous nellies anymore.

  123. 123.

    Jay

    As the political ice has been broken:

    From @Isikoff in July: whatdoesitmean "is a frequent vehicle for Russian propaganda" and "attributed its claims to “Russian intelligence,” t.co/CsqKWJNYPj— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) October 14, 2019

    Yup,

    The Seth Rich Murder CT was Putin’s Chef CT, picked up and run with by RWNJ’s

    Now:

    NEW: The graphic video of Trump shooting people inside a church was posted by an account connected to Russian intelligence. The account posted a conspiracy theory video in 2016 about the DNC hack and then linked to "whatdoesitmean" – a suspected Russian intelligence front pic.twitter.com/OvuiuISHCJ— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) October 14, 2019

    The Rethugs have gone from drinking Putin’s koolaide,

    To injecting it directly into their eyeballs and between their toes, (so the track marks won’t show), while shareing dirty needles at mass drug parties.

  124. 124.

    Ruckus

    @HumboldtBlue:
    That recording was great. I noticed that most everyone was laughing. If ya gotta go out, and of course you do, you might as well go out in style.

    @satby:
    It must be my Irish blood because while funerals are sad, I always feel that one should remember the good times as well. At my sisters Quaker circle, several people told funny stories, our cousin did it the best but I at least got one in as my ending. It brings out one of the reasons you liked them in the first place. Not sure I’m remembering this correctly but
    “No matter what else life brings you, it always brings you the end.”

  127. 127.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary G: Possibly my favorite movie of all time. I was born Harold and want to grow up to be Maude.

    I saw that movie the first time when I was fourteen or so– in the early 80s, I think the guy who opened the first video store in my small suburb recommended it, and now that I type that, I wonder why, trying to remember what other movies my friends and were watching that made him suggest it*– and watched it I don’t know how many times over the next few years.

    * just kind of thinking as I type, again— maybe because we were watching Ruth Gordon and the ourangutan in Every Which Way But Loose

  128. 128.

    Jay

    Anybody want to buy a used car?

    My deal with China is that they will IMMEDIATELY start buying very large quantities of our Agricultural Product, not wait until the deal is signed over the next 3 or 4 weeks. THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED! Likewise financial services and other deal aspects, start preparing….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2019

    What a lying sack,…..

  130. 130.

    frosty

    @NotMax: I must have predated that era. I had to start with Shell and Texaco, then a couple of department stores, then the Visa. Can’t remember what bank that might have been either. Since then I acquired and cancelled a few.

  132. 132.

    tomtofa

    @satby: Sorry for the late reply, was celebrating my birthday ;-)
    The opposition is from the left – Fidesz is fascist-right, populist, nationalist, corrupt, the usual mix that’s been blooming lately. The opposition is made up of a number of left and leftish groups that have, until now, been unable to stop squabbling among themselves enough to accomplish anything. That’s why today’s results are so stunning. The newly elected Budapest mayor is young, charming, and smart; maybe not strong enough for the role…hope he grows into it.

    ETA: Fidesz also lost, among many others, the 2nd District of the city (each district has its own mayor and local government). Significant because the 2nd is the richest and most conservative district of the city.

  133. 133.

    Mary G

    @NotMax: I got a BankAmericard as a freshman in 1972 with a credit limit of $500 and thought I was rich. I was earning $1.85/hour and learned the lesson of interest piling up fast.

  134. 134.

    Aleta

    @tomtofa: Happy birthday! And thank you for the news, which I prob. would have missed. Full moon here on your birthday. It’s a beautiful night with stars out.

  135. 135.

    MoCA Ace

    @Leto:
    Since only front pagers seem to be able to post pics and I’m not signed up on any picture hosting sites I can’t. I’m damn near a Luddite so you will just have to take my word for it.

  137. 137.

    tomtofa

    @Aleta: Thanks. Same moon and sky here. We stopped to watch it for a while with the grandkids (4,5,8) on the way home from pizza; showed the 4 year old how to see the face in the moon – she was astounded.

  138. 138.

    TS (the original)

    @Jay: He wipes out the trade then pretends he is getting it back. There is nothing between his ears – just vacant space.

  139. 139.

    Jay

    What was left of the car of Syrian Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf, who was dragged out and killed on the road between Qamishli and Manbij by Turkish-backed forces yesterday. She was an advocate of co-existence, Turkish media is hailing her murder as a "successful operation". pic.twitter.com/BWervjLLqi— Jack Moore (@JFXM) October 13, 2019

  142. 142.

    opiejeanne

    @HumboldtBlue: I’ve watched that another one, Rescue & Restore, as well as the mildly silly Marty’s Matchbox Makeovers.

    Rescue and Restore primarily does children’s toys, and what got my attention was his restoration of Tonka toys. Usually it’s just music and ambient noises, There’s one that has a similar name but is some nutty person who covers their kid’s toys in mud and then “restores” them. Badly.

    Marty does Matchbox toys and his wife and his teenage son can be heard in the background and they’re hilarious. They’re his partners in crime. What stunned me was that Matchbox made models of so many things besides cars. Just tons of things that make you wonder if they’re really toys intended for kids.

  143. 143.

    NotMax

    @opiejeanne

    Collector’s market drives the manufacturing. Would any rational being have bought that awful, awful, roof-of-the-mouth-slicing bubble gum without the baseball cards?

  146. 146.

    opiejeanne

    @NotMax: I think that’s correct for the later models, because that’s when the odd stuff starts showing up. Some were undoubtedly produced for promotions by some companies and given to their customers. The detail on some of the models ranges from almost crude to incredible. Some of these toys are really works of art.

  147. 147.

    Central Planning

    @Leto: If anyone has seen Documentary Now!, the episode Juan Likes Rice and Chicken is a tribute to Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

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