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SPEAKING OF BOOKS WE HAVE FIVE: Shop Class As SoulCraft An Inquiry into the Value of Work Matthew B. Crawford, TO GIVE AWAY– For some, high school shop class was a rite of passage: required study of the manual arts, a break from text books to actually make and fix things. Today, shop class has all but disappeared from the mainstream educational landscape, replaced by the necessity of turning everyone into a ?knowledge worker.? This imperative is based on a misguided assumption that there is a separation of thinking from doing; the work of the hand from that of the mind. Matthew B. Crawford offers an inspired manifesto that will restore the honor of the manual trades in his bestselling book SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT: An Inquiry into the Value of Work (Penguin Books; April 27, 2010; $15.00), now available for the first time in paperback.
Crawford, an accomplished philosopher, electrician, and motorcycle mechanic, believes the manual trades offers the best hope of self-reliance and satisfaction at a time when all of us increasingly feel out-of-touch in an abstract world. The person who works with his or her hands is judged and rewarded by the standards inherent in the work itself: the motor starts or it doesn?t; the lights go on or they don?t. Craftsmanship, and the art of making things and fixing things, is work that can not become obsolete or outsourced. It requires careful thinking, and offers intrinsic satisfaction and cognitive challenges that should be celebrated and cultivated. In a time of economic uncertainty, the trades offer security as well as the pride that comes from doing work that is genuinely useful.
Featured on the cover of the NYT Magazine when it was first published last year, SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT hit a nerve with the American public by arguing for a very new (and very old) answer to what ails us as a society ? a return to manual work that is both rewarding and soul-inspiring. Now in paperback, this is sure to be one of the most talked-about releases of the summer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matthew B. Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia.
~visit www.matthewbcrawford.com
Penguin Books
256 pages * ISBN: 978-0-14-311746-9 * $15.00
To win a free book just head over to the free door prize area and fill out the shit:
RIVER RAT AND CRAWDADDY REPORTS FROM THE DESERT– Bandit – The 2010 Laughlin River Run ended with a bang and not a whimper. All over town, bikers got in, what was for most, their last hard hours of down and dirty partying. The casinos were packed to the gunnels where the one-armed bandits waz doin’ they job. Outdoors the vendors were vending while some riders made one final pass down Casino Dr. The theme of the night over at the tattoo tent was “girlz, girlz, girlz.”
Over at the Edgewater Hotel and Casino, the Bedroom Babes contest heated things up nicely. Don’t take my word for it, check out the photos. As for us, we gotta figure out how ta all our crap back on the Electra Glide for a 600-miler back home sweet Delta home.
–CrawDaddy
PRESS RELEASE: bikernetMetric to unveil new website May 3rd and FREEDOM OR DEATH MACHINE at Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally Event– On Monday, May 3rd, 2010, bikernetMetric will launch its new website at www.bikernetmetric.com. Gone is the old blog format in favor of a clean and modern design.
Instead of a steady stream of blog posts there will be separate pages for custom builds, parts and accessories, tech tips, motorcycle manufacturer and biker news, interviews, and babes. Also, for the first time anywhere online, bikernetMetric will host a forum for builders of all custom Metric motorcycle brands to share their work and experience. The bikernetMetric Forum will be the place where guys can find help with their own garage-built stuff and meet others who are doing the same thing.
To assist in promoting bikernetMetric as the #1 source for custom Metric motorbike bobbers and choppers, we are building the Yamaha XS650-based FREEDOM OR DEATH MACHINE with the help of many talented American builders and parts manufacturers. The bike is being built by Saint Motorbikes, with parts from Elswick Cycles, Rock?s Chops, 7 Metal West, After Hours Choppers, Working Man?s Customs, Limeybikes, and others.
The FREEDOM OR DEATH MACHINE will be unveiled at a downtown party during the 40,000-strong Republic of Texas Motorcycle Rally on Friday, June 11 in Austin, Texas, at the Dirty Dog bar on 6th Street. Bikes, babes, beer and free stuff!
For more information and press inquiries, contact
trent@bikernetmetric.com
BIKERNET TREE HUGGER ANNOUNCEMENT– We have to stop cutting down trees. This is getting serious.
–from Chris T.
Purdue student’s ‘boobquake’ ignites Web sensation– This scientific experiment is raising some eyebrows. A Purdue University student is asking women around the world Monday to show a little cleavage, or some short shorts, as a humorous test to disprove an Iranian cleric?s theory that immodest dress has the power to make the Earth shake. She calls it ?boobquake,? and it has become an Internet and international sensation in just a few days.
Jennifer McCreight, a double major in genetics and evolution, was incredulous when she read news reports Monday that Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi said promiscuous women were responsible for earthquakes.
?Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,? Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
?As a scientist I had to challenge it,? McCreight said. ?It started out as a sarcastic joke that I fired off before I went to watch ?House.? ?
Not expecting a major response McCreight, who writes frequently at her Blag Hag Web site, created a ?boobquake? Facebook group to ?help fight supernatural thinking and the oppression of women, just by showing your cleavage.?
Immediately, the joke positioned the 22-year-old senior as an unwitting spokeswoman for women?s rights and rational thinking. It?s also attracted some backlash because of McCreight?s testing methods.
In addition to more than 105,000 Facebook members by Friday evening saying they would partake in the experiment Monday, media from CNN, BBC and around the world have caught on to the craze.
— By ERIC WEDDLE , journal courier
–from Rogue
ALERT FROM BIKERNET FAMILY COUNSELING CENTER SPONSORED BY DANNI ASHE– A young man is frantic, his wife has disappeared and been gone for two days. He calls the police and they have no idea where she is. As he sat at his kitchen table, fearing the worst, his back door opens and in walks his wife, looking a bit worse for the wear.
?Honey, where have you been? I?ve been so worried.?
The wife says ?You wouldn?t believe it??I was kidnapped by a motorcycle gang, they took me back to their hangout to have their way with me for a week.?
The husband says ?But, you?ve only been gone two days.?
The wife says ?I just came back for my toothbrush.?
–Karen Marie Chan
–From Pete in Florida
Another Bloomberg-MAIG Lie About Gun Shows– This week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun control advocacy group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), began running television ads urging Congress to “close the gun show loophole.” Page 34 of MAIG’s Blueprint for Federal Action on guns says that the group supports H.R. 2324 and S. 843?bills that would require NICS checks on private sales of firearms at gun shows, and which also contain provisions designed to drive gun shows out of business.
MAIG’s ads claim “The Columbine school massacre … killers got their guns because of a gap in the law, called the ‘gun show loophole.'” And in a related press release, MAIG claims “All four guns used in the Columbine shootings were bought from private sellers at gun shows.”
The claims are lies, of course. For starters, one of the Columbine criminals’ four firearms was not acquired at a gun show. More to the point, however, the other three firearms, while bought at a gun show, were bought for the criminals by a straw purchaser?a woman who was not prohibited from possessing or acquiring firearms, and who therefore would have passed a NICS check, if she had bought the firearms from a licensed dealer.
Furthermore, Bloomberg and MAIG are not telling the whole story about H.R. 2324 and S. 843. Both bills define “vendor” to include any gun show customer who brings a firearm to a show?even for the purpose of selling it to a dealer?or who doesn’t bring a firearm, but who mentions to someone at a show that he might be interested in selling a firearm.
And, H.R. 2324 would impose a “vendor” requirement with which no one could comply. The bill would require show operators to notify the Attorney General, in writing, no later than 30 days in advance of the show, of the name of every “vendor.” Of course, there is no way that a show promoter can know 30 days (or 30 seconds) in advance who is going to attend a show, or who might bring a firearm to sell, or who might have a conversation with someone about selling a firearm.
Both bills also seek to register gun owners. Because of how the bills define “vendor,” a gun show promoter would be forced to have everyone who attends a show sign the ledger. And the bills require that the “vendor” ledgers be available to BATFE inspectors. Many Americans would refuse to sign a ledger just to walk around a show, which would reduce show attendance.
Both bills also would require registration of gun shows. S. 843 would additionally allow the Attorney General to charge an unspecified fee for registering a gun show. The power to set prohibitively expensive fees is the power to destroy, of course.
Both bills would also authorize the BATFE to conduct warrantless inspections of the required “vendor” (customer) ledger and all records of licensed firearm dealers while dealers are at shows to conduct business?a provision clearly designed to discourage dealers from participating in shows.
We’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating. Gun shows account for a very small percentage of criminals’ guns. The largest study of the subject ever conducted by the federal government found that only 0.7 percent of prison inmates who had used guns, had obtained their guns from gun shows. Furthermore, firearm sales have increased over the last several years, the nation’s murder rate fell to a 43-year low in 2008, and fell another 10 percent in the first half of 2009, according to the FBI.
And no one should be fooled into thinking that gun control supporters want NICS checks on private firearm sales only at gun shows. In December 2008, the Brady Campaign stated “We agree with the Obama transition agenda that the gun show loophole should be closed, and with Attorney General nominee Eric Holder that background checks should be required for all gun sales. Our national gun policy should be “no background check, no gun, no excuses.” (Emphasis in the original.) Their goal is to run all sales through NICS and thereafter change the law so that the FBI would be permitted to retain records of all firearms sales indefinitely. A step in that direction has been introduced in Congress by S. 843 author Sen. Frank Lautenberg. His S. 2820 would allow the FBI to keep records of approved NICS transfers for 180 days.
BIKERNET READERS INVESTIGATES FAMILY MOTORCYCLES– I sent my first e-mail with the picture a little too quick. I should have asked the name, model name or number and year of my dad’s bike motorcycle. And any anecdotal info that you have about it. I have an earlier photo. It is overexposed, but I can see that he added a headlight in the 2nd photo. They also tell me a lot more about our family history that would not interest you.
I am attaching a 2nd photo. Everyone is unidentified, but I recognize my Grossvater seated on the “Motorrad;” my Dad at the front; one of my uncles at the rear; and another uncle on the right fringe of the photo. This does not appear to me to be the same motorcycle as the one my Dad is sitting on.
My Dad was a very successful businessman and always had the latest and best cameras, cars, and airplanes as personal toys, in addition to his business equipment. This was in Danville, Illinois. He was a sales and service rep for Jaeger concrete mixers of Ohio, among other things.
….Pete
We reached out to the antique motorcycle master Don Whalen who reported that Pete’s dad was on a 1911 Excelsoir belt drive Made in Chicago By Schwinn. Granddad was fooling around with what Looks like a 1913 or 14 Indian Single chain drive with the more advanced gas light now were getting fancy. “How to build a better fire above your gas tank,” said Don. “The Ex has a carbide drip light like coal miners used….either one is scary as hell.”
BIKERNET 5-BALL RACING BONNEVILLE EFFORT NEW SPONSOR– Hey brother Bandit, I dug deep and was able to donate for your Bonneville project. Not much, but better than a sharp stick in the eye….. put it to good use buddy!
–pete(fromflorida)
I mentioned to Pete that we need to fix the brake lever on the Assalt Weapan, head to Bennett’s for tuning, and build or modify a trailer for the Bonneville run in September. Oh, and I need to bug the Departure Biker Works Crew on another 1940 45 report.–Bandit
THAT’S THE LONG AND SHORT OF THE SUNDAY POST–Hang on as I kick off my Motorbooks project on Monday with a trip to Hisperia to begin the interview process two days before my subject heads to prison. I’m going to take a camera, and start a series behind writing this book. You’ll witness the book writing process first hand on Bikernet.
I’m working on a generator tech regarding the ’34VL, and I discovered the problem with my precious Sturgis Shovel. One of my tappet rollers took a shit. You’ll see the replacement tech real soon. I need my main ride back.
Just to keep it interesting you’ll witness a unique Bikernet project. I just bought a 24-inch in diameter, solid brass 1940s ship porthole, which weighs about 150 pounds. We are going to clean off 60 years of paint, and install it into the side of this building. Hang on for that tech.
In the meantime, pour me a margarita.
Ride Forever,
–Bandit
