Easy Lessons in Psychometry

With enough practice, in a mere 56 pages you too can become an occult master.






"I sense a bill...an unpaid bill. It has to do with flames, heating... Yes, it's my utility bill!"

Posted By: Paul - Sun Feb 26, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1900s

Six Boys in Trouble

This album features jams on homemade percussion instruments by six 11- and 12-year-old African American boys living in New York City public housing, about 1955. These young, untrained musicians improvise the tunes and tales of their upbringing on this rhythmic release and draw inspiration from family folk traditions and popular radio and juke box hits of the era. The group’s enjoyment is apparent in their school yard musical expressions, as is their self-identification with the community in which they live. The album is divided into three parts: Percussion Ensembles, Rhythms with Voices, and Rhythms with Verses. The liner notes provide a deeper look into each section, as well as a subsequent transcription of the lyrics.

Playlist for the rest of the album here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 23, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Amateurs and Fans, Hobbies and DIY, Music, Juvenile Delinquency, 1950s

Vasilisa & The Hungry Doll

Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 18, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Family, Hobbies and DIY, Movies, Rituals and Superstitions, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Myths and Fairytales, Dolls and Stuffed Animals

Mobile Irish Pub

Unlike Alex's pub patent puritans, these guys endorse wide pub access!

BOSTON GLOBE article here (possible paywall).


Contact for rentals.

Their Instagram page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 24, 2022 - Comments (7)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Regionalism, Bars, Saloons, Pubs, and Other Drinking Establishments, Alcohol

Andy Saunders and his Custom Cars

His homepage.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 08, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, United Kingdom, Cars

USA-Issued “Explosives and Blasting Procedure Manual”

Despite a Federal history of discouraging DIY explosives handbooks, the OFFICE of SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION and ENFORCEMENT is happy to host their own explosives guidebook online.

Read it here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 11, 2021 - Comments (6)
Category: Explosives, Government, Hobbies and DIY, Industry, Factories and Manufacturing

The Mimi Award

The Wikipedia entry for MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED tells us:

A long-running feature of Mechanix Illustrated was "Mimi," a shapely young woman dressed in skimpy overalls with blue and white vertical stripes; and, in the early sixties, a matching railroad engineer's cap (later discontinued). She was in a picture holding, standing beside, sitting on, lying on or just in the picture with a new product each month. Each "Mimi" held the job for a year. Their names were never given except for the announcement of a new "Mimi" in the January issue. One Mimi did, however, hold the job for a few years in the sixties. An actress from Southern California, she left to live in Hawaii, and a readers' poll was conducted to choose a replacement from a short list. The readers' choice only lasted a short while, and was replaced by one of the runners-up. "Mimi" was discontinued with the change to Home Mechanix.

Ten more Mimi's after the jump.



More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 09, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, Magazines, Technology, Sex Symbols, Twentieth Century

Perry Submarines

Hobbyist submarines are pretty oddball. (Not even getting into the territory of drug-smugglers with homemade subs.) Here's a forerunner from 1962.

Apparently the company is still going strong. Although they don't make subs anymore.



The restoration of one sub.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 07, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Hobbies and DIY, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1960s

Clint Bolin, Rock Collector

Clint Bolin collected rocks. That, in itself, isn't weird. However, Bolin made it weird by hoarding massive amounts of rocks of absolutely no value. He also collected chunks of concrete and slabs of cement.

When he vacated his Long Beach apartment in 1975, he left behind 60,000 pounds of rocks, all neatly boxed. There were about 600 rock boxes, each weighing over 100 lbs.

Strangely, no one had ever seen him carrying any of these boxes in. And he was only a frail man, weighing about 150 lbs. Plus, he had only lived in the apartment for four months. So how he managed to accumulate so many boxes of rocks in his apartment remains a mystery.

I haven't been able to find any sources that describe what became of him after he made headlines in 1975. It's as if he disappeared into thin air.

Los Angeles Times - May 8, 1975

Posted By: Alex - Thu May 21, 2020 - Comments (5)
Category: Hobbies and DIY, 1970s

Medieval Illustration Re-enactors

"A Group Of Czech Students Recreate Weird And Strange Scenes From Medieval Books"

Many more at the source.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 08, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: History, Hobbies and DIY, Humor, Performance Art