Sippican Cottage
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The King Of The King Of Trades

October 27, 2012 7 Comments

My kinda guy.

Britain’s longest-serving blacksmith is still forging iron in his workshop – at the age of 84. Hardy Fred Harriss, 84, first picked up a hammer and tong aged ten in 1938 and is still working every day 74 years later. He has worked back-breaking 12 hour days fixing steam engines and aircraft, as well as making railings and ornamental iron pieces. And the hardy blacksmith – who refuses to wear gloves for the blistering work – claims he will NEVER retire from the job.

I am having trouble adapting to a world where this man is unusual.

My Sons Can Learn Music Faster Than Anyone That Can Learn It Better

October 22, 2012 34 Comments

So yesterday, reader Dave left a message for my boys on The Drummer’s Only Nine And He’s Gone Hollywood On Us Already:

If they played requests and took Paypal they could make money right now
$20 for “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees

Dave, who isn’t kidding

Well, my boys have always been instructed to come home with their shield, or on it. Here ya go:

Well, there you go. The boys are homeschooled, and they practice in a room with no heat or permanent electricity. They made the video themselves, using only the ambient mike on a flip camera and Windows Movie Maker on an old computer. I’ve added a Tip Jar to the top of the right hand column, serviced by Google. All you need is a credit card and an email address. [ Updated: Due to overwhelming demand, we’ve added a PayPal option] Who wants to give them a few bucks to buy some proper musical equipment, or perhaps a hundred-watt lightbulb? The widget auto-fills five bucks. Give what you like.

The original, serviceable, but somewhat inferior version by the Neon Trees, if you’re interested.

Pitch-And-Putt With Joyce And Beckett

October 21, 2012 12 Comments

Fair warning: lots and lots of swearing.

I found a somewhat dog-eared copy of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man on my older son’s night table recently. No one’s making him read it. If you have books around, children read them. It’s as simple as that.

I once gave a copy of it to my wife, who is not Irish. After reading it, she asked, “What the hell is wrong with you people?”

I dunno.

Month: October 2012

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sippicancottage

A Man Who Has Nothing In Particular To Recommend Him Discusses All Sorts of Subjects at Random as Though He Knew Everything.

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