More on How to Make Clear Ice

...stly, I want to leave you with one of the most satisfying videos I’ve ever watched, Tokyo bartender Hidetsugu Ueno carving ice into diamond shapes (note the use of what I think is a soba noodle knife for the initial ice cutting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRlnkyIhbeU&t=1s Having a bad day? Just watch that video ten times and you’ll calm right down. And a correction to my original post: it is both air bubbles and impurities that cause cloudy...

Read…

Gray Miscellany

...ay Lake! But then, I suppose, we’d have the grey vs. gray problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D-Z9rUvlqM While we’re on the topic of local news, the band Yacht, in their latest video, has included the beloved “happy foot/sad foot” characters from the rotating podiatrist’s sign that defines and delineates us from greater Silver Lake. Have a great weekend and please enjoy this chicken playing Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro“: https://www.youtube...

Read…

Coppicing and Rapping

...s a website, books and lots of videos. Here’s a tour of his house: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgduN7uNGOY Valee: Rapper and Homesteader A New York Times profile of rapper and DIY enthusiast Valee notes the musician’s DIY tendencies which include the skillful use of a sewing machine, building koi ponds, carpentry and electrical work. The article contains this gem: Backstage at a private show for New York University students, Valee’s D.J. and p...

Read…

Music and Math by Hand

...ponding note. Here’s a video describing the method in more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBq-S_QdU2U Should you want to learn a handy and similar method of using your hands for mathematical calculations there’s a whole video channel devoted to a method popular in India. Please enjoy this room full of kids demonstrating the Indian method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kViU12ocTkU I distinctly remember, in school, being discouraged from...

Read…