It does really matter what your living situation is or who you are, this is a book for everyone. Most of us are guilty of being a little lazy when it comes to doing certain things ourselves for different reasons: lack of knowledge, lack of confidence, laziness or who knows what, but this is a book that can help us all through it. It’s a much less expensive and much less dry version of those “how to fix everything” books, but can be almost as valuable. Make It Last is broken down into three chapters: Clothes, Food and Home, then each chapter is broken down into subgroups in order to help the reader jump straight to whatever they might need to patch, pickle or repair. While having fairly detailed step by step instructions and quite a few diagrams, I did find some of the projects a tad confusing at times, but as long as you have even a bit of common sense you’ll be just fine. The first chapter walks the reader through many of the simple annoying little things that tend to plague us at the worst times. We’ve lazy zippers, split seams on skirts/pants/shirts and reattaching buttons. And before jumping in, there’s a basic supply list and how tos for basic knots and stitches. Chapter two is where it gets more interesting(for me anyway). It’s about food. More precisely, preserving food. Starting off with some harvesting tips and planning a root cellar, then a lesson on drying herbs, canning, fermentation, jerky making and much more! The third and final chapter is no less important and some might say it’s more so. This is where we learn tips and tricks and skills to repair things around the house. Cover it up with duct tape? Put an out of order sign on it? Hang a poster in front of it? Nope! Here you’ll learn to patch that hole in the wall that your drunk friend put his foot through while playing drunken air guitar to DRAGONFORCE, fix a squeaky door hinge, basic plumbing and repairing a hole in a screen from a door or window(no doubt caused by the same drunk guy). Plus this is easy to carry around. It’s 1/4 size and only 128 pages. Get this and keep it handy. (Jake)
Microcosm Publishing / 636 SE 11th Ave. / Portland OR. 97214
microcosmpublishing.com
Damn! This cd is just so raw and energetic from the second you hit play. These guys play a sort of timeless rock and roll driven punk that draws from 70s acts like MC5 and THE STOOGES, while at the same time I can hear bits of DEVO stylings in the rhythms. Their set up is a basic five piece complete with a keyboardist that really adds a nice bit of dimension and depth to the over all sound. The guitar is slightly overdriven, but not very distorted and is played in a way that it’s percussive at times, but not in a way that interferes with the bass. They work in great harmony as the bass rumbles and climbs through each riff while being pushed forward by Andy’s creative skin banging. OPPOSABLE THUMBS have created a great sound for themselves out of the blueprints of great rock acts, but at the same time are not mimicking anyone. From the opening track, She Roll It, straight through to the tenth and final track Miss Represented, they roll like a train car that has derailed and it on a crash course to oblivion. The recording sounds like it was done “studio live” which gives it more a gritty feel that adds to the overall character. Besides the live shot on the back and a little drawing on the insert, the artwork is minimal. Under the disc tray is a picture of what looks like somebody’s parents. Kinda sweet, but not sure if there’s a connection that I’m missing. Either way, these guys play some fine rock and roll. (Jake)
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