The Sanctum Sanctorum, or The Madman's Workshop
It may look messy, but I know right where everything is.
The little red lathe is a toy I found at a thrift shop. After many, many hours of frustration, I was able to finally jimmy it so it didn't either; 1. wobble uncontrollably, making any work impossible, or 2. wobble uncontrollably before flinging the object set into it unerringly at my face.
It had very little power originally, but as you may be able to see I took an old vacuum cleaner motor and rigged it to turn the lathe. Now, it has loads of power. Painful power.
The little red lathe is a toy I found at a thrift shop. After many, many hours of frustration, I was able to finally jimmy it so it didn't either; 1. wobble uncontrollably, making any work impossible, or 2. wobble uncontrollably before flinging the object set into it unerringly at my face.
It had very little power originally, but as you may be able to see I took an old vacuum cleaner motor and rigged it to turn the lathe. Now, it has loads of power. Painful power.
The Study / Music Room
The acoustics are, in no particular order: Steel strings: Silvertone, Norma, Takamine Jasmine, Harmony, and one other whose brand I disremember. The nylon strings are: Hondo, Gremlin, Black Horse and others which, again, I disremember. All but the full size orangey finish are either Korean or Japanese made. The orangey one is Spanish made and makes me sound like Segovia when I play Stairway to Heaven. The Bass is of an utterly unknown brand. It works and sounds fine, which is all that matters.
There are a couple of ukeleles and a few small and medium sized hand drums around somewhere.
T
I read far less fiction than non-fiction, but when I do I love Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, H.P. Lovecraft, Pearl S. Buck, Flannery O'Connor, John Wyndham, Sylvia Plath, Franz Kafka, etc. Oh, and I think Stephen King is tops.
As a reference book that's more fun than the Oxford Dictionary, a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is indispensable. Of course, any pre-1920 Dictionary of the English language is great for finding arcane words that irritate everyone.
The electrics are, from left to right: Washburn, Harmony, and Washburn again. All are HEAVILY modded. I play through a Samick 20w, and an ancient AT&T 1940s era tube amp. Also, I have a Sunn)) 100w monster, but currently it's not working.
Scattered among the books are various objects, mostly religious or military (strange combo now that I think about it). The Russian Icon Egg and the Monk figurine are both hand carved and hand painted, the egg being done partially in real gold ink. If you look closely, you can see my Letters of Abelard and Eloise on the center shelf, far left. It's the one with the Spitfire resting on top of it. Not shown is a turn-of-the-century Hindu monstrance of brass. The delicate metalwork is amazing.
These two guitars are wittle-bittee.
This is my Buddhist Altar, set up in the Gelug Tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. The man in the center picture is Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama or the reincarnated Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or Chenrezig. Also sometimes called the earthly manifestation of Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Wisdom and Mercy. Always a religious skeptic, Buddhism took my breath away. It teaches an incredibly beautiful way of approaching both the now and the after.
My books overwhelming fall into five rough categories: 1. World War II history 2. Metaphysics and Occult 3. Ancient/Medieval History and 4. Beautiful old (pre 1920) books. 5. Everything else.
I have a small, first edition of the letters of Abelard and Eloise, bound in blue morocco, pages gilt edged and printed on real vellum, published in London in 1814 which is my pride and joy. In second place is a 1849 (pre-Darwin) copy of The Works of Creation, in deep green cloth with gilt stamping on cover and spine, and a number of hand-coloured plates. It is in virtually pristine condition. The marbled endsheets are amazing.
My Heroes and those I admire.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Sir Winston Spencer Churchill
Robert Oppenheimer
Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel is seventh from the left on the center row. This picture was taken in Buchenwald. Elie survived Auschwitz/Birkenau/Monowitz as well as Buchenwald. His father was put to the flames shortly before the camp was liberated in 1945. Elie's faith was stolen from him in Auschwitz. That he can smile even so many years later is nothing short of miraculous.
If you have doubts about the veracity of the claims of those who physically survived the Holocaust, then visit this site www.ushmm.org, and pray it never happens to you. Karma is a bitch.
Karol Jozef Pilsuzski Wojtyla: Pope John Paul II
Francisco Goya
William Blake
Fr. Malachi Martin
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Sylvia Plath
Paul McCartney
Carbon-based Wastage, or, Human Waste.
Fred "Fuck me" Phelps. No way does he get the title Reverend. He's soon bound for Hell, and Satan's got a hard-on.
Amy Winehouse. Blech...I feel dirty just looking at the picture. As I do with the following picture...
Christina Haguilera. It looks like she has two nasty bellybuttons. I think that's a symptom of nastyhobagskankitis.
Courtney Love. I can't say her husband was much better. At least he knew when to exit.
Enema-em or whatever. Is it just me, or does anybody else think he's just so cute when he twies to be all gangsta? You just wanna peench his wittle cheekie...and then kick him in his mathernads and tell him to shut up with the (c)rap. Too bad that dynamite's not real.
Jerry Falwell. I don't even want to know why he's making that face.
Ted Turner. He needs more fiber in his diet. A healthy person shouldn't have to strain like that.