OK who are John Mc and Bill B?

Inquiring minds...

On 12/24/06 10:34 AM, "Joy Hecht" <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> Hey, I once apprenticed to a craftsperson too!  To a bookbinder, at the
> Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Naah, we weren't working on the Gutenberg
> Bibles, or whatever they have in their rare book collection - just on the
> ordinary library books.
> 
> The most fun, actually, was her industrial paper cutter, for cutting through
> a whole book (used to trim edges and other things).  It was a rather
> powerful contraption, which could easily as a guillotine or for rapid
> amputations.  So the only way it would work was if you had each hand
> pressing down on a different lever, so you couldn't possible have one of
> them making last adjustments to the placement of the book before you made
> the cut.
> 
> I always thought that was pretty creepy.  I must have, if I remember it in
> such detail 33 years later!
> 
> It sounds like more of us are craftsy than artsy - I've also done a fair bit
> of sewing, quilting, graphic design, and layout and paste-up back when it
> was about x-acto knives and rubylith and transfer type and hot waxers.
> (Anyone else remember all that stuff?)  Lately I've been fooling around with
> photography (which you know, if you've read my website) and drawing and even
> water colors.  Those last two take a lot of skills I haven't yet mastered,
> though.  
> 
> Yeah, and writing, though I don't quite think of that as artsy.
> 
> Of course I make my living mucking with data (GREAT fun!) and writing
> analytical reports (definitely not artsy), mostly in weird places like
> Mongolia and Malawi and other countries beginning with M.
> 
> I used to what to be John McPhee when I grew up.  I've changed my ambition,
> though, now I want to be Bill Bryson.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Joy 
> 
>  
> 
> ****************************************************************
> Joy Hecht
> now living in a real house in northern Virginia
> and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon
> now living in the driveway and resting after two and a half years
> lugging Joy and her stuff around...
> 
> For musings about life traveling in the van or living in one place:
> http://www.joyhecht.net
> 
> ****************************************************************
> � 
> 
> 
> :::-----Original Message-----
> :::From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
> :::Of neil
> :::Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 12:55 PM
> :::To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> :::Subject: Re: Come out of the closet, all
> :::
> :::Oh yah forgot to mention this part of my art.
> :::
> :::I actually apprenticed (had already gained a few years experience in
> :::brass and some woodwind repair) with a local fellow making trombone
> :::bells. Yes it's true! This guy had actually designed and made his own
> :::mandrels for the bells and associated tubes, for a tenor/bass and
> :::trumpet bell. (the most crucial part of the instruments acoustically
> :::speaking) I mean talk about an artist. This guy (Joe) was a musician,
> :::designer, manufacturer, and repairman amongst other things.
> :::Anyway.......
> :::
> :::I learned to acutally make a trombone bell from scratch (with his
> :::tooling. Quite archaic. i.e. Drawing conical tubes through lead!).
> :::Trumpet bells were another thing. Hand hammered they were..........
> :::
> :::Although my memory of the manufacturing process is a little sketchy
> :::now, this knowledge has contributed a lot to my music, my skills as a
> :::brass playing instrumentalist, (my art) and in fact has helped with
> :::repairs to my Westy. I don't repair brass/woodwinds anymore, but would
> :::love to get a lathe etc. and keep what I learned alive.
> :::
> :::As for "artsyfartsy", I don't like that term. Especially coming from a
> :::layman. If another muso/artist used that with me, I'd understand that
> :::it was being said with "tongue in cheek". Or sarcastically.
> :::(musicians? sarcastic??) Hearing it from the layman is like hearing
> :::them refer to a "gig". Another term reserved for musos/artists.
> :::Anyhoo.......
> :::
> :::
> :::Cheers, and Merry Christmas/happy holidays all!
> :::
> :::
> :::
> :::--
> :::Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.
> :::
> :::http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
> 
>