We spent some time reading up on the Lemba people of South Africa, and then we watched a tape of some research on their prize ancestral drum, the ngoma lungundu. They mention that during battle the drum could paralyze opponents in the battlefield with the sound of it being beaten.

They mention that their migration from parts north, included time in the Yemen, and that they were part of the Jewish Diaspora. And we need to build a big drum of our own. But that is a project for when we get a larger workshop, most of the current workshop is filled with books right now.

We found a copy of "The Crying of Lot 49"  a few days ago by author Thomas Pynchon which we are getting ready for sale. We are reviewing the laws of thermodynamics, communications theory and the history of postal systems in medieval Europe in preparation. Unfortunately the prose style of Pynchon always makes our own writing style a little unpredictable, since we get caught up in all the 60s-style paranoia that he helped induce into many contemporary writings and even web page terminology. Just type in the semi-mythical corporation "Yoyodyne" mentioned in the book into your favorite search engine to see how it has interpenetrated the fabric of popular culture.

We are trying to remember if there were any clandestine communication systems in the book. Here is a rendition of one of the graffiti from the book that symbolized the delicate nature of communication: the symbol of the "muted horn". We can never fail to be baffled by the random phrases and clauses from the book as in:

"Did Baby Igor get to Constantinople in the good submarine 'Justine'?"

and why was Baby Igor disguised as a Turkish beggar boy? The answers to these questions can only be solved by returning to this blog when we actually post a copy of the book for sale.