Truing up the end blocks on a dulcimer so they can receive the end caps later on. It takes a little longer doing this by hand, but why let a machine have all the fun!

It's beginning to look like a dulcimer! Unfortunately, I was trying to make a concertina. Only joking, or am I? 🙂

"Republicans are so outspoken against Sharia law because Christian Nationalists hate the competition." - a comment someone posted.

This would be a good time for Klaatu and Gort to make an appearance.

I think of the binding highlighting the shape of the dulcimer somewhat like putting a frame around a painting. The binding also helps prevent the edges of the soundboard from getting banged up, so it is also functional.

"The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images." - Guy Debord - "Society of The Spectacle" (1967).

I have long loved Stephane Grappelli's tone and the fluidity of his playing. ❤

Perhaps the Andrew formerly known as Prince could buy US citizenship as offered for sale by the Trump administration. The Republicans would consider him worthy of a cabinet appointment at the least, and all future crimes would be pardoned.

Say cheese!

"Wisisi (also called iniki one) is a musical tradition of the Lani and Dani people of the Papuan highlands. Though it takes its instrumentation from the Melanesian string band tradition, wisisi's brilliance is in its radical deconstruction of this form."

This is wonderful. ♥️

Is the Pope Catholic? Does Mike Johnson shit in the woods?

"The work of art of the future will be the construction of a passionate life." - Raoul Vaneigem

Alert: ICE is drawing weapons on legal observers in Minneapolis.

Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow And Predicts Three More Years Of Fascism

The healing power of music. "Nothing ever burns down by itself; every fire needs a little bit of help."

The healing power of music. Zazuka · Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

Public Service Announcement For Republican Men: While sitting through multiple showings of "Melania," make sure to keep a coat or a briefcase on your lap. What happened to Pee-wee Herman could happen to you. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

The pious family values party just threw the disabled and the elderly under a bus in exchange for a bribe.

"You cannot bargain with the State. The State recognizes no coinage but power, and it issues the coins itself." Ursula K. Le Guin - "The Dispossessed"

Things are getting worse. ICE is abducting people and forcing them to attend screenings of "Melania." Only joking. Or am I?

When this horror is over, "I never supported Trump" will be the MAGA version of "I had a lot of Jewish friends before the war."

Tucked in the southern province of Adana's Seyhan district, the Kahve Evi Müzesi has emerged as a quiet powerhouse for cultural preservation — welcoming almost 50,000 visitors in two years to explore the storied world of Anatolian coffee. www.hurriyetdailynews.com/museum-showc...

"Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness." - Chuang Tzu

For #PenguinAwarenessDay 🐧: Paul Manship (USA, 1885-1966) King #Penguin, 1932 Bronze, 10¾ in. (27.3 cm) high on a 1¼ in. (3.2 cm) lapis lazuli veneered base www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti... #BirdsInArt

Owl carving from the medieval chancel stalls of St. Mary's Church at Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire. 📸 My own. #Woodensday #HighamFerrers #Northamptonshire

♥️

Two reels beautifully played on a one row melodeon.

🕵️ TOMORROW! Crack open the case as newly liberated books, films & music enter the #publicdomain. From Betty Boop & Pluto’s debut to “Georgia on My Mind," join us for clips & conversation with artists, librarians & scholars. 📅 Weds Jan 21 🕙 10:00 AM PT 📍VIRTUAL 🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/the-case-o...

“ICE isn’t the Gestapo. The Gestapo was…” (proceeds to describe qualities that apply to what ICE is currently doing)

Federal agents are pulling over off duty cops based on the color of their skin. This is not a serious operation to enforce immigration law. It’s a performative show of force and it’s gotten way out of hand.

President Trump has signed an executive order to replace tap water with Brawndo. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

When words lose their force, when we don’t know what to say, neutrality starts to feel tempting. If we can’t add anything to the conversation, if it’s all been said before, then why should we raise our voice? This, too, is how violence advances.

#OtD 20 Jan 1934 Nazi Germany introduced a law designating capitalists as "fuhrers" of their enterprise and requiring "employees and labourers [to] owe him faithfulness". Along with other measures it helped funnel income from workers to big business stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9269...

"Man eats them, man drinks them, man uses them; these are the Sparks that dwell in the things. Therefore, one should have mercy on his tools and all his possessions for the sake of the Sparks that are in them; one should have mercy on the Holy Sparks." - The Baal Shem Tov

One of my musical heroes; a pioneer who paved the way for others who had far more success than he did.

"Nothing said in words ever came out quite even. Things in words got twisted and ran together, instead of staying straight and fitting together." ~ Ursula K. Le Guin - "The Dispossessed"

Kirtan with the lovely Nina Hagen.

I'm finally getting around to fretting a prototype dulcimer that's been hanging on the wall of the shop for a month or two.

"He is locked into a world of his own, determined to “win” every encounter, whether in an imaginary competition for the Nobel Peace Prize or a protest from the mother of small children objecting to his masked, armed paramilitary in Minneapolis."

I'm going to make big money writing poems!

Keith Christmas - Forest and the Shore [UK, Folk Rock, Baroque Pop] (1971) https://redd.it/1q0dcm1 https://youtu.be/-Qy1V1qLnT4

GOP is pro murder. Good to know.

This is deeply disturbing, especially after reports of growing concerns about the conditions at this facility. An investigation must take place. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

The Edo Fude brush, handcrafted in Tokyo by Houchikudo, still shapes Japan’s art and calligraphy traditions. Watching the making process is fascinating. @xmuse_ #globalmuseum #brushes #JapaneseArt