Drums, books and bookcases

[gurdymonkey]

On the drum front: A second coat has been applied to the cardboard drum shells. I will give them plenty of time to dry as the alley is in shade. I don't dare move them out into the sun as the contractors are still taking apart and putting back together the house next door and they're at least semi-sheltered from blowing dust and debris where they are.

Strapping tape has been acquired and after I have a bite of lunch I will wrap the rest of the djembe rings. IIRC, either didjiman  or karisu_sama  told me that their dojo's cardboard drums also had a layer of x-ray film between the tape drumheads and drum shell. I'll stop at Tap Plastics after work tomorrow and see if I can get some plastic sheeting of a similar thickness. This means that tying the heads on will have to wait until I get that plastic and cut it to size.

EDIT: Bachi (drum sticks) are cut and sanded. Two 3/4" x 48' and two 5/8" x 48" poplar dowels yielded six pairs of 16" bachi. I love my new pull saw, went through poplar like butter! I rounded the cut edges off lightly with the mouse sander.

Pics are up. http://flickr.com/photos/70104978@N00/sets/72157612677186409/

2. cayswann  sent me this fascinating link to the BibliOdyssey blog as it has engravings from Arnoldus Montanus' 1670 edition of 'Denckwürdige Gesandtschafften der Ost-Indischen Geselschaft in den Vereingten Niederländern an unterschiedliche Keyser von Japan'. I'd seen a couple of these reproduced in Giles Milton's Samurai William.
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2009/01/conjuring-17th-century-japan.html
If this is not a cautionary tale against "I read it in a book so it must be true," I don't know what is. (The Japanese  worship Hindu gods? There are orangutans there?) It looks like the artist was working from verbal or written descriptions, hearsay, myths and the theory that Oriental = Turkish.

3. If you get up really early and get to Swedish Hell IKEA by 10 AM on a Sunday, you may survive the trip with your sanity intact. I picked up the makings of another IVAR unit for the garret as my library is growing and it's time to move the reference books I use most to the desk side of the garret. 

Comments

[cayswann.livejournal.com]

Re: "it must be true, I read it in a book" ... I was thinking the same thing! Totally cracked me up. *grin*

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

It cuts both ways too. There was a great East-Meets-West themed exhibition at the Asian a couple of summers ago, featuring art from Asia depicting or influenced by the West and vice versa. I recall a woodblock print of "London Bridge" that featured a very Japanese looking bridge over a very Japanese looking river with "Londoners" in odd hats.

It's a fascinating insight into perceptions and how we are all naturally drawn to identify things with what we already know - or think we know.