Knitting Friday
A messed up day. I had a routine blood test early this morning. Early for the lab, that is, (at their opening, 7:30 a.m.) but late for my early rising of 4 a.m. Not to get hungry (no food since dinner last night) I didn't awaken till after 6 a.m. Therefore, my blog, which is is usually written in the wee hours of the morning, wasn't.
It's amazing how humans get into routines and then get so messed up when they change. But I'm back in the normal world now (well, I was back by 7:45) and here's my Knitting Friday.
I got an e-mail for a 40% off coupon for one regular priced item at Border's last Friday. That one I printed out. Usually, I leave the 20% or 25% off ones since we have a 7% sales tax in NJ and Amazon is usually cheaper until you get to 30% off or more.
Borders by me (central NJ) was pretty dreary looking last Friday. Open areas, ballroom size; scads of products not book related; empty shelves. I didn't know then that they were in bankruptcy but I knew something wasn't right.
My first swing around the knitting books section was not very successful. They were missing a lot of the staples like Oberle's shawl book but full of the basic stuff like one million basic knitting stitches.
There was one shawl book which I had seen and left at A.C. Moore months ago. There were two scarf books: one had very avant-garde scarves and the one was Ocean Breezes: Knitted Scarves inspired by the Sea. It had a couple of strikes against it. First, it was scarves and I wear shawls (the scarf/shawl length may be the same for me but the width is at least 18") and second, it sold retail at $24.95 and that was too pricey for a scarf book for me. I walked away.
I got about half way through the store and maybe the desolation of the place hit me because I decided: What the heck. I went back and told the other woman looking at knitting books: Well, I guess I'll save the economy. I bought the book and it turned out to be a great decision.
A review of Ocean Breezes:
Some particulars: The author is Sheryl Thies; it's a softcover book and not spiral bound (the only minus); it's 80 pages; it has 23 scarf and 2 shawl patterns; and there is an error in the Mermaid MESH pattern with a correction to be found at the publisher's (Martingale Company) website.
Why did I buy this book? Because every pattern except Snails comes with the stitch multiple for the pattern and this means, every pattern, except Snails (and I'm going to work on that one) can be modified into a shawl. So, I got 25 scarf and shawl patterns. You can't beat that.
The patterns all come with an explanation on how they were inspired by the sea; Green Seas Turtles does look like their bony outer shell; Fish Scales (which I am making from a variegated Homespun-type yarn) does look like scales; and you can see a wave pattern in Ocean Currents.
Patterns have both airy and tightly knit qualities so you can easily find but summer and winter wear here.
There are no charts (which I know is a big negative for some) but the pattern row instructions are short or medium-short and none come even close to the length of lace pattern rows.
While this is not a beginner's book, it's also not a distant dream wish book. Nothing looks experienced plus.
Amazon.com sells the book for about 33% off retail price at this time.
If you're into scarves and shawls, give this book a look. It's worth a place in your library.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Website Wednesday
I got to watch On The Beach the other day. It’s one of those movies in my TV movie package. I was surprised how powerful this 50-year old movie still is. Powerful in spite of the fact that it’s chocked full of the Hollywood A-list of the day (or the just off the A-list or soon to be on the A-list of the day): Astaire; Gardner; Peck; Perkins. This can easily be a casting “kiss of death.” Here however Kramer got some subdued, potent, and poignant performances from them. I was ever more surprised at the favorable reviews on IMDB.com. People are still connecting with this movie.
Shute was a good middle-of-the-road novelist and Kramer had artistic misses (It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.) However, to use the sports’ cliche, they hit this one out of the park. Go take a look at it. But, as they say, spoiler ahead: it’s not a happy ending.
Then I got to see/hear snippets of Obama’s speech last night. Only snippets because I sleep during the hours politicians appear on TV (7 p.m. to 12 a.m.) and then I’m wide awake. Talk about a wacky sleep pattern.
As you know, I’m not wild about heroes but I understand the need for them in the human drama. After the fiasco of Bush, we do have the hero in Obama. His speech had the right tone and the determined optimism which people on the brink of economic disaster need. (Though Krugman says we’ve left the brink and are over the cliff.)
Whether he can turn our huge American capitalistic armada around and change our ways will be determined soon. Whether he will only give us a breathing space to return to our rampant capitalism will also be determined soon.
But for now, you need some laughs. Get to this site fast:
http://thewhitehouseplumber.blogspot.com/ because it may have a short duration.
Its blogger, Dan Rosa, is a college student who is in between classes and sleep. I’m afraid if he starts taking classes or getting some sleep this witty treat might be ended.
This is satire as good as The Onion and as funny as Saturday Night Live. One headline: A Modern Art Critic Mistakes An Empty Warehouse for A Profound Contemporary Work is followed by an 8-paragraph short story by Rosa which is mockingly right on point. A picture of Czar Nicholas II of Russia has a caption saying how disappointed he was that Obama has dropped the idea of a “Car Czar.” To keep you informed, while laughing, Rosa has link to the Crooks and Liars web site where you can read an article about the car czar and download the video of David Axelrod discussing it on Fox News.
Rosa also links you to other great sites like The Onion, Wonkette, Jesus’s General, and 538.
Much to his amazement,“Sully” Sullivan learned in that great 1941 movie, Sullivan’s Travels, that laughter can lighten the heart in the midst of despair. And my take on this is: laughing satire is even better.
So go take a look at The White House Plumber. Laugh a little; it's good for you.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Movie Monday - Or Is It?
Huffington Post, The New York Times online, The Record online; I bet every news website has the Oscar night coverage on the front page.
The Huffington Post lets you scroll through their choices of the best and worst trends in Oscar gowns. Wow! Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have loved it. The yards and yards of delicate and dry cleanable fabric arranged into gowns of utter uselessness. What a fitting marker for the fin de siècle of the United States and perhaps the world. After all, it was supposedly Louis' great-grandson, Louis XV, who coined that pithy phrase: Après moi, le déluge (After me, the flood).
There’s a lot of jumping for joy with the win of Slumdog Millionaire but it’s such a typically American picture that no one should have been surprised with its win. You have the poor boy, separated from his true love, overcoming adversity, achieving great wealth and his true love.
Isn’t that how we all live in the United States? And what a great economic time to remind us of the joys of living poor because we know, we really know in our hearts as we tackle this march into poverty, that one day our dreams will all come true. That’s what makes capitalism the best economic system ever. Hollywood told us all this during the 1930's depression with its plethora of movies showing rich people “seeing the light” by the final credits - but still remaining rich. Why not tell us again during this depression? You know how Hollywood loves sequels.
Which brings me to my movie to review: Sicko by Michael Moore.
Sicko, which is not a new movie (2007), compares the health care system in the United States with the enlightened national health care systems in the rest of the industrial world.
Michael Moore is a visual Studs Turkel and hated because his visual medium is so effective in driving the wingnuts crazy.
I have a lot of trouble watching this movie straight through since the anger level it achieves in me is not healthy. I marvel at the stupidity of the American people in accepting their profit-driven health care system and also accepting the scare-tactics drivel offered by opponents of a free, national health care system paid by taxes. It’s not comforting to watch that B-actor, Ronald Reagan, who became a D-level U.S. president, intone about the danger of the U.S. becoming like the Soviet Union if we accept free universal health care. Nor is it comforting to watch Hillary and Bill Clinton make an attempt at reforming our health care (and a pretty feeble one at that) and then pragmatically walking away from this issue when a multi-million dollar insurance/pharmaceutical/medical advertising campaign was mounted against this reform.
Then Moore shows us free, national health care in Canada, England and France. Oh, the horror! They get sick; they go to the hospital; they don’t have to pay. America can’t allow that. These countries are filled with people lacking the doubled angst an illness brings when coupled with the fear of being unable to pay the medical bills. That’s what makes America great. We have the freedom to worry. And, what makes it even greater in this country is the fact that we don’t have to pay the taxes other countries do for their free, national health care. Screw basic human rights. We ain’t paying no stinking taxes. (Except to bail out banks, Wall Street.......)
And so, Americans will be marching into this great depression, free to lose not only their jobs but any health care insurance these jobs provided. If the statistics are correct and 14,000 Americans will lose health care coverage every day (NYT) we are going to face an ugly and sicko sight very soon.
I guess you can understand why I only watch Moore in small doses.
See this movie: rent it, catch it on TV; but see it. Then go to:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/health-care-proposal/
and read Moore’s simple proposal for health care:
1. Every resident of the United States must have free, universal health care for life.
2. All health insurance companies must be abolished.
3. Pharmaceutical companies must be strictly regulated like a public utility.
If you want take action, here’s a way to contact your representatives:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Just click on your state and you’ll get electronic correspondence hyperlinks for your representatives.
I’m sure they’ll all be sympathetic. Who can quarrel with the angst of an illness? But don’t expect any action. Have you taken a look at the contributions the insurance, pharmaceutical, and medical industries make to Congress?
You don't stand a chance.
Huffington Post, The New York Times online, The Record online; I bet every news website has the Oscar night coverage on the front page.
The Huffington Post lets you scroll through their choices of the best and worst trends in Oscar gowns. Wow! Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have loved it. The yards and yards of delicate and dry cleanable fabric arranged into gowns of utter uselessness. What a fitting marker for the fin de siècle of the United States and perhaps the world. After all, it was supposedly Louis' great-grandson, Louis XV, who coined that pithy phrase: Après moi, le déluge (After me, the flood).
There’s a lot of jumping for joy with the win of Slumdog Millionaire but it’s such a typically American picture that no one should have been surprised with its win. You have the poor boy, separated from his true love, overcoming adversity, achieving great wealth and his true love.
Isn’t that how we all live in the United States? And what a great economic time to remind us of the joys of living poor because we know, we really know in our hearts as we tackle this march into poverty, that one day our dreams will all come true. That’s what makes capitalism the best economic system ever. Hollywood told us all this during the 1930's depression with its plethora of movies showing rich people “seeing the light” by the final credits - but still remaining rich. Why not tell us again during this depression? You know how Hollywood loves sequels.
Which brings me to my movie to review: Sicko by Michael Moore.
Sicko, which is not a new movie (2007), compares the health care system in the United States with the enlightened national health care systems in the rest of the industrial world.
Michael Moore is a visual Studs Turkel and hated because his visual medium is so effective in driving the wingnuts crazy.
I have a lot of trouble watching this movie straight through since the anger level it achieves in me is not healthy. I marvel at the stupidity of the American people in accepting their profit-driven health care system and also accepting the scare-tactics drivel offered by opponents of a free, national health care system paid by taxes. It’s not comforting to watch that B-actor, Ronald Reagan, who became a D-level U.S. president, intone about the danger of the U.S. becoming like the Soviet Union if we accept free universal health care. Nor is it comforting to watch Hillary and Bill Clinton make an attempt at reforming our health care (and a pretty feeble one at that) and then pragmatically walking away from this issue when a multi-million dollar insurance/pharmaceutical/medical advertising campaign was mounted against this reform.
Then Moore shows us free, national health care in Canada, England and France. Oh, the horror! They get sick; they go to the hospital; they don’t have to pay. America can’t allow that. These countries are filled with people lacking the doubled angst an illness brings when coupled with the fear of being unable to pay the medical bills. That’s what makes America great. We have the freedom to worry. And, what makes it even greater in this country is the fact that we don’t have to pay the taxes other countries do for their free, national health care. Screw basic human rights. We ain’t paying no stinking taxes. (Except to bail out banks, Wall Street.......)
And so, Americans will be marching into this great depression, free to lose not only their jobs but any health care insurance these jobs provided. If the statistics are correct and 14,000 Americans will lose health care coverage every day (NYT) we are going to face an ugly and sicko sight very soon.
I guess you can understand why I only watch Moore in small doses.
See this movie: rent it, catch it on TV; but see it. Then go to:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/health-care-proposal/
and read Moore’s simple proposal for health care:
1. Every resident of the United States must have free, universal health care for life.
2. All health insurance companies must be abolished.
3. Pharmaceutical companies must be strictly regulated like a public utility.
If you want take action, here’s a way to contact your representatives:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Just click on your state and you’ll get electronic correspondence hyperlinks for your representatives.
I’m sure they’ll all be sympathetic. Who can quarrel with the angst of an illness? But don’t expect any action. Have you taken a look at the contributions the insurance, pharmaceutical, and medical industries make to Congress?
You don't stand a chance.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Knitting on Friday
I’m busy working on my green trinity stitch shawl, my pink mohair shawl (what was I thinking?) and my yellow summer shawl. I’ll get the most wear from the green one. It’s wool and warm but it takes forever. Plus, it's from an afghan I’m unraveling. It’s all crinkly like the old-fashioned phone cord and it’s full of frayed sections. I’ve gotten to the point where I carry a spray bottle around when I’m knitting this so I can splice the pieces together. Did a moth(s) “feast on its flesh” at one time (many times?) Or was this sun damage? Whatever; wool is very durable, and, the main reason I’m fooling with this project, very warm.
But the big news is that the brown yarn (25% wool) is now a brown vest and I’ve worn it twice and....... First the news about the yarn: I think I had so many false starts with this yarn because I really don’t like it. It’s Berella Special Canadian Worsted and I got it long ago when a store was closing. I remember eying it at regular price and not being interested so they must have made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I should have. While it was easy to knit up (finally), I’ve noticed pilling already on the inside.
The second problem is the pattern. While I don’t say it makes you look like a bear (no pun intended; brown - bear) a waffle stitch and *P3, K2* ribbing gives you the “big” look when knitted in double weight yarn.
Having said that, I think it’s a good pattern so here it is:
(First, the disclaimer: I “invented” this pattern in that I combined some pattern stitches. Use and enjoy it. Sell the finished garment. Please don't copyright it. That wouldn't be nice. Oh, and I’m only giving you what I did so you’ll have to adjust for your size.)
Waffle Stitch Vest (I’m calling it waffle stitch, I don’t know if there is such a stitch.)
Equipment: double knit weight yarn, about 4 50g balls; US 10 and US 11 needles;
darning needle, row counter, marker, yarn holder - the usual stuff you need
Size: Small - less than 36" bust. The vest body is stretchy.
Special Stitch: crochet crab stitch (backward single crochet)
Gauge: I got about 3 1/2 stitches to 1 inch in pattern which should have given me a 40+inch width. But it didn't. I got about a stretchy 36 inches, which is why I hate gauging.
Skills Level: Advanced beginner
To Know: knitting even means no increases or decreases in that row; live stitches means stitches ready to be worked, not bound off; Kitchener Stitch and the three-needle bind-off - google these for very good explanations.
Waffle Stitch in the round:
Row 1: P 2 stitches together (P2tog) around
Row 2: Knit in front and back of each stitch (Kfb)
Row 3 and 4: Knit (K)
Waffle Stitch in rows:
Row 1 RS: Purl 2 together (P2tog) around
Row 2: Purl in the front and back of each stitch (Pfb)
Row 3: K
Row 4: P (all your increases and decreases are done on Rows 3 & 4 when you get to the armholes.)
Ribbing: With US 10 needles, cast on 130 stitches (sts). Join, mark beginning of round, and *K3,P2* for 4 to 5 inches. The ribbing should be this long or longer.
Change to US 11 needles.
Next round: Knitting around, increase one stitch (Kfb) in every 8th st then every 10th st to about 146 sts. Next round: Begin your waffle-stitch pattern in the round and continue to the armholes.
At armhole: Divide the vest in half (73 stitches each half) and put one-half on a spare needle.
Front Section: Working with 73 sts, switch to the waffle-stitch pattern in rows, starting on Row 3. Decrease 3 stitches at beginning of Rows 3 and 4. Knit Row 1 and 2 even and then decrease 1 stitch (do this decrease 1 stitch in from edge) both sides of Row 3 (K) and Row 4 (P). You have decreased 5 stitches each side. Continue knitting even to the neck, ending after Row 2. This was about 8" for me.
Divide your stitches in thirds (1/3 shoulder – 1/3 neck – 1/3 shoulder.) My stitches worked out 20 – 21 – 20 – obviously I lost stitches somewhere.
1st shoulder: Starting on right side (RS) at armhole edge on Row 3, work across the 1/3 shoulder stitches (20 for me.) On Row 3: K across to 3 sts before neck edge, K2tog, K1. Turn and work back in Row 4: P to 3 sts before neck edge, P2tog, P1. Turn and work even on these stitches in the waffle-stitch pattern to top of the shoulder ending after Row 3. Put the live sts on a holder. (About another inch for me.)
2nd shoulder: Attached yarn to RS neck edge at and bind off the 1/3 of the stitches for the neck. Don’t do this too loosely since it’ll sag. Then continue knitting across the 2nd shoulder with Row 3 as K1, K2tog, then K across. Turn and working Row 4, P to three stitches before the edge where you P2tog, P1. Turn and work even in pattern to the shoulder, ending after Row 3. Put the live sts on a holder.
Joining shoulders: Join the live stitches from the front and back shoulders using the Kitchener Stitch or the three-needle bind-off in purl.
Finishing. Work the crab stitch around the armholes and the neck. (I worked two crab stitches for every Row 3 and 4 and this brought in the natural sagging of the pattern edges nicely – you’ll see what I mean.)
That’s it. You get a very nice looking vest. A vest was about all I could do with this yarn. It just seemed too bulky for a full sweater. However, if you have finer yarn, sleeves in the ribbing might look attractive. I wouldn’t recommend sleeves in the waffle-stitch pattern since you get a horizontal strip which should be matched to the body .
Another variation of this vest is the jerkin. After the longer ribbing section, separate the front and back and knit the waffle-stitch pattern in rows to the neck/shoulders. Continue with directions starting with the 1st shoulder. This gives a very open look on the sides. The crab stitch up the sides will tidy up the look or you may like the pattern edge look. If you try it that way, let me know.
Note: Writing this pattern was an interesting experience since I made the vest without a pattern – just on the fly. No, I’m not bragging about how accomplished a knitter I am – it is a very easy pattern. But what surprised me is how much I had to write in the directions since I wanted to be sure even a beginning knitter could follow it. It really can become a tedious job because you’re constantly tweaking it to make it easy to follow; and I probably still made mistakes. Just one more reason why I admire people who put up lace patterns – and for free!
Final note: I wore the vest yesterday in order to get a picture to put in today. However, I spent the day hunting down a discrepancy on a bank statement (about which I may blog later) and it took the entire day. OK, I may be very slow when it comes to math but this one was a killer. Even the vest was frowning by the end of the day.
I’m busy working on my green trinity stitch shawl, my pink mohair shawl (what was I thinking?) and my yellow summer shawl. I’ll get the most wear from the green one. It’s wool and warm but it takes forever. Plus, it's from an afghan I’m unraveling. It’s all crinkly like the old-fashioned phone cord and it’s full of frayed sections. I’ve gotten to the point where I carry a spray bottle around when I’m knitting this so I can splice the pieces together. Did a moth(s) “feast on its flesh” at one time (many times?) Or was this sun damage? Whatever; wool is very durable, and, the main reason I’m fooling with this project, very warm.
But the big news is that the brown yarn (25% wool) is now a brown vest and I’ve worn it twice and....... First the news about the yarn: I think I had so many false starts with this yarn because I really don’t like it. It’s Berella Special Canadian Worsted and I got it long ago when a store was closing. I remember eying it at regular price and not being interested so they must have made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I should have. While it was easy to knit up (finally), I’ve noticed pilling already on the inside.
The second problem is the pattern. While I don’t say it makes you look like a bear (no pun intended; brown - bear) a waffle stitch and *P3, K2* ribbing gives you the “big” look when knitted in double weight yarn.
Having said that, I think it’s a good pattern so here it is:
(First, the disclaimer: I “invented” this pattern in that I combined some pattern stitches. Use and enjoy it. Sell the finished garment. Please don't copyright it. That wouldn't be nice. Oh, and I’m only giving you what I did so you’ll have to adjust for your size.)
Waffle Stitch Vest (I’m calling it waffle stitch, I don’t know if there is such a stitch.)
Equipment: double knit weight yarn, about 4 50g balls; US 10 and US 11 needles;
darning needle, row counter, marker, yarn holder - the usual stuff you need
Size: Small - less than 36" bust. The vest body is stretchy.
Special Stitch: crochet crab stitch (backward single crochet)
Gauge: I got about 3 1/2 stitches to 1 inch in pattern which should have given me a 40+inch width. But it didn't. I got about a stretchy 36 inches, which is why I hate gauging.
Skills Level: Advanced beginner
To Know: knitting even means no increases or decreases in that row; live stitches means stitches ready to be worked, not bound off; Kitchener Stitch and the three-needle bind-off - google these for very good explanations.
Waffle Stitch in the round:
Row 1: P 2 stitches together (P2tog) around
Row 2: Knit in front and back of each stitch (Kfb)
Row 3 and 4: Knit (K)
Waffle Stitch in rows:
Row 1 RS: Purl 2 together (P2tog) around
Row 2: Purl in the front and back of each stitch (Pfb)
Row 3: K
Row 4: P (all your increases and decreases are done on Rows 3 & 4 when you get to the armholes.)
Ribbing: With US 10 needles, cast on 130 stitches (sts). Join, mark beginning of round, and *K3,P2* for 4 to 5 inches. The ribbing should be this long or longer.
Change to US 11 needles.
Next round: Knitting around, increase one stitch (Kfb) in every 8th st then every 10th st to about 146 sts. Next round: Begin your waffle-stitch pattern in the round and continue to the armholes.
At armhole: Divide the vest in half (73 stitches each half) and put one-half on a spare needle.
Front Section: Working with 73 sts, switch to the waffle-stitch pattern in rows, starting on Row 3. Decrease 3 stitches at beginning of Rows 3 and 4. Knit Row 1 and 2 even and then decrease 1 stitch (do this decrease 1 stitch in from edge) both sides of Row 3 (K) and Row 4 (P). You have decreased 5 stitches each side. Continue knitting even to the neck, ending after Row 2. This was about 8" for me.
Divide your stitches in thirds (1/3 shoulder – 1/3 neck – 1/3 shoulder.) My stitches worked out 20 – 21 – 20 – obviously I lost stitches somewhere.
1st shoulder: Starting on right side (RS) at armhole edge on Row 3, work across the 1/3 shoulder stitches (20 for me.) On Row 3: K across to 3 sts before neck edge, K2tog, K1. Turn and work back in Row 4: P to 3 sts before neck edge, P2tog, P1. Turn and work even on these stitches in the waffle-stitch pattern to top of the shoulder ending after Row 3. Put the live sts on a holder. (About another inch for me.)
2nd shoulder: Attached yarn to RS neck edge at and bind off the 1/3 of the stitches for the neck. Don’t do this too loosely since it’ll sag. Then continue knitting across the 2nd shoulder with Row 3 as K1, K2tog, then K across. Turn and working Row 4, P to three stitches before the edge where you P2tog, P1. Turn and work even in pattern to the shoulder, ending after Row 3. Put the live sts on a holder.
Joining shoulders: Join the live stitches from the front and back shoulders using the Kitchener Stitch or the three-needle bind-off in purl.
Finishing. Work the crab stitch around the armholes and the neck. (I worked two crab stitches for every Row 3 and 4 and this brought in the natural sagging of the pattern edges nicely – you’ll see what I mean.)
That’s it. You get a very nice looking vest. A vest was about all I could do with this yarn. It just seemed too bulky for a full sweater. However, if you have finer yarn, sleeves in the ribbing might look attractive. I wouldn’t recommend sleeves in the waffle-stitch pattern since you get a horizontal strip which should be matched to the body .
Another variation of this vest is the jerkin. After the longer ribbing section, separate the front and back and knit the waffle-stitch pattern in rows to the neck/shoulders. Continue with directions starting with the 1st shoulder. This gives a very open look on the sides. The crab stitch up the sides will tidy up the look or you may like the pattern edge look. If you try it that way, let me know.
Note: Writing this pattern was an interesting experience since I made the vest without a pattern – just on the fly. No, I’m not bragging about how accomplished a knitter I am – it is a very easy pattern. But what surprised me is how much I had to write in the directions since I wanted to be sure even a beginning knitter could follow it. It really can become a tedious job because you’re constantly tweaking it to make it easy to follow; and I probably still made mistakes. Just one more reason why I admire people who put up lace patterns – and for free!
Final note: I wore the vest yesterday in order to get a picture to put in today. However, I spent the day hunting down a discrepancy on a bank statement (about which I may blog later) and it took the entire day. OK, I may be very slow when it comes to math but this one was a killer. Even the vest was frowning by the end of the day.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Website Wednesday
I'm having a lot of trouble getting my font size right in these blogs. While I seem to have options regarding the type of font I want to use: Arial, Courier, etc., like Goldilocks, I have only a few choices with size: small, large, largest. But sometimes Largest is really Papa Bear size and sometimes it's more like Mama Bear. There are some hyperlinks which will take me to Settings and Layouts but I get that dreaded box "Are you sure you want to navigate away from this site?" when I click them and I'm too chicken to say "Yes."
Oh, boy. I just lost my option to change the fonts; that is, that function just disappeared from the top tool bar. What did I do?
OK, I'm going to cut and paste this into Word Perfect and finish it there.
I’m in Word Perfect now, not that you probably care, but if I forget to save this, I’m going to be caring - and screaming.
Talking about formatting brings me to my website pick for this Wednesday:
http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/
since it’s really about the nitty-gritty of talking and writing.
It’s not a slickly professional web site but it serves a very useful purpose.
It says: Find that word that you've been thinking about all day but just can't seem to remember. You plug in parts of the word you are looking for and the dictionaries do the searching for you. I see this an a boon for crossword addicts or lousy spellers, like me.
I used the Word Meaning function to look up spangled since I was using that on a 6th grade worksheet yesterday. I got the definition of the word but I also got definitions of: aventurine; banner; bespangle; goldstone; Key (Francis Scott) and sunstone; all of which contain “spangle” in their definition.
If you’re adventurous, click Projects along the top and then “Name that Color” where you learn the names of all those color shades the paint store wants to sell you and you get to see the actual color. Ever heard of the color Sinbad?
Or under Projects go to “Prez Tag Cloud” which shows: ....the popularity, frequency, and trends in the usages of words within speeches, official documents, declarations, and letters written by the Presidents of the US between 1776 - 2007 AD.
It’s interesting just reading how this site was prepared. Did you know that the most frequently used word in the 1927 State of the Union address of Calvin Coolidge was “agriculture”? Or that the most frequent word in Harrison’s 1891 State of the Union address was “Indian” but in the next year address it was “import”?
Some people may consider sites like this wonky (and no, I did not find the colloquial meaning for this word as I am using it in Tip of My Tongue) but I think it's sites like this one that make the Internet so fantastic. Someone has an interest and dedication to do the research and then prepare a website to share it with the world.
Go visit. You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and don’t forget to look at his writings.
I'm having a lot of trouble getting my font size right in these blogs. While I seem to have options regarding the type of font I want to use: Arial, Courier, etc., like Goldilocks, I have only a few choices with size: small, large, largest. But sometimes Largest is really Papa Bear size and sometimes it's more like Mama Bear. There are some hyperlinks which will take me to Settings and Layouts but I get that dreaded box "Are you sure you want to navigate away from this site?" when I click them and I'm too chicken to say "Yes."
Oh, boy. I just lost my option to change the fonts; that is, that function just disappeared from the top tool bar. What did I do?
OK, I'm going to cut and paste this into Word Perfect and finish it there.
I’m in Word Perfect now, not that you probably care, but if I forget to save this, I’m going to be caring - and screaming.
Talking about formatting brings me to my website pick for this Wednesday:
http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/
since it’s really about the nitty-gritty of talking and writing.
It’s not a slickly professional web site but it serves a very useful purpose.
It says: Find that word that you've been thinking about all day but just can't seem to remember. You plug in parts of the word you are looking for and the dictionaries do the searching for you. I see this an a boon for crossword addicts or lousy spellers, like me.
I used the Word Meaning function to look up spangled since I was using that on a 6th grade worksheet yesterday. I got the definition of the word but I also got definitions of: aventurine; banner; bespangle; goldstone; Key (Francis Scott) and sunstone; all of which contain “spangle” in their definition.
If you’re adventurous, click Projects along the top and then “Name that Color” where you learn the names of all those color shades the paint store wants to sell you and you get to see the actual color. Ever heard of the color Sinbad?
Or under Projects go to “Prez Tag Cloud” which shows: ....the popularity, frequency, and trends in the usages of words within speeches, official documents, declarations, and letters written by the Presidents of the US between 1776 - 2007 AD.
It’s interesting just reading how this site was prepared. Did you know that the most frequently used word in the 1927 State of the Union address of Calvin Coolidge was “agriculture”? Or that the most frequent word in Harrison’s 1891 State of the Union address was “Indian” but in the next year address it was “import”?
Some people may consider sites like this wonky (and no, I did not find the colloquial meaning for this word as I am using it in Tip of My Tongue) but I think it's sites like this one that make the Internet so fantastic. Someone has an interest and dedication to do the research and then prepare a website to share it with the world.
Go visit. You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and don’t forget to look at his writings.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Moorings on Monday
Autism and MMR Vaccine
In the movie, I, Robot, the detective played by Will Smith gets to question the hologram of the slain James Cromwell. Smith asks questions but the hologram tells him that he is only programmed to answer the right questions and Smith is not asking them. By the end of the movie, Smith does realize the right questions and gets answers. However, I don’t think we’re anywhere close to asking the right questions about autism and the MMR vaccine.
I know there is a lot of buzz in the news regarding autism and the MMR vaccine due to a recent federal court ruling against the plaintiffs which did not find a relationship between autism and the mercury in the vaccine.
Additionally, the current research seems to suggest a genetic component in autism. And why not? It’s so much easier to put more guilt and pain on parents than to admit, or even do research into, a link between multi-billion pharmaceutical companies’ vaccines and autism.
My experience with autism is teaching special education; my experience with the MMR vaccine is what happened after it was given to a child I day-care.
This leads me to my anecdotal story about two children and the MMR vaccine:
I was day-caring a bright, lively, talkative 18-month old when she got her MMR vaccine. By the end of the week, I noticed that her talking was almost down to zero. Within a few months she was tested by a Special Services team from the state and it was discovered that her verbal skills were slightly less than 6 months below normal. (Six months is the cut-off for getting Special Services therapy.) In all other areas, she was fine. We went to art museums; read 20 library books together each week; did science experiments; baked cookies; but the road back to her verbal communications was slow.
(Ironically, if this child had developed autism after the MMR vaccine all my suspicions of a link to the vaccine would have been discounted by professionals. I would have joined the chorus of parents who believe there is a link to the vaccine but are refuted by health and insurance professionals at every turn. But she didn’t develop autism. All I knew was that right after receiving the MMR vaccine, something bad happened to her verbal skills.)
From 18 months to 4 years, she was periodically tested by Special Services and at 4 years she was given extensive testing; no problems were found with verbal skills; the case file was closed; and she entered kindergarten a bright, happy, talkative 5-year old. End of story. But.....
Her antibody titer level was tested before she was given the mandatory MMR booster at 4 years and it was discovered she was at the immune level for measles; meaning that even without the booster vaccine, she still had an immunity to the disease.
Fast forward to her brother who is 3 years younger. When he was ready for his first MMR vaccine at 18 months his mom demanded to have his antibody titer level tested. He also had a titer level which showed immunity to measles. His mom was able to find another pediatrician who gave the vaccine unbundled (3 shots over 3 visits) and he never received the measles part of the vaccine. When he was four years old and ready for his MMR booster, his titer level was tested again. It was still at the immune level for measles.
Unfortunately, this is not a Hollywood movie where we can tie the ends together but here are some things I wonder about:
1. Their mom’s OB/GYN tested her before she became pregnant and discovered that she did not have an immunity to rubella. He gave her the MMR vaccine. Did she pass immunity on to both children in utero?
2. Is it possible that a lot of children have the high antibody titer level of immunity at birth, passed on from their mothers, many of whom get the MMR vaccine again at college during a measles/German measles outbreak? These children at 18 months get a double whammy of protection with their own MMR vaccine. Could that affect their systems and cause damage? (Remember the 1st Bush’s invasion into Iraq when the soldiers were complaining about health problems - Gulf War Syndrome - due to all the vaccines they received?)
3. Do we know the effect of double/triple doses of immunity from vaccines in the body - especially tiny bodies? We don’t tell people: Take as much of this medicine as you want; more is always better. We have limits on dosage for over-the-counter and prescription medication. Why would vaccines be different?
4. New Jersey has an Antibody Titer Law. A little girl named Holly Stavola died 7 days after receiving the MMR booster from encephalopathy. No one can alleviate the sadness of losing a child but her parents took action and got this law passed. The law allows parents to seek testing to determine a child’s immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella, before receiving the second dose of the vaccine. And most importantly, the state brochure informs parents that: If a person has developed a sufficient level of antibodies, they may not need the second dose of vaccine. (Here’s the law: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2002/Bills/PL03/257_.PDF)
5. While the NJ Antibody Titer Law is a good first step. The next step must be to allow antibody titer testing before the first MMR vaccine.
6. As I understand it, it's getting more difficult to get the MMR vaccine unbundled. Why not have the unbundled vaccine as an option? That’s how it used to be done. It won’t harm the children. It may harm the profits.
Autism is not like getting a bad cold; it can be a lifetime of hell.
I don’t know the answers but I know we must start asking the right questions.
Autism and MMR Vaccine
In the movie, I, Robot, the detective played by Will Smith gets to question the hologram of the slain James Cromwell. Smith asks questions but the hologram tells him that he is only programmed to answer the right questions and Smith is not asking them. By the end of the movie, Smith does realize the right questions and gets answers. However, I don’t think we’re anywhere close to asking the right questions about autism and the MMR vaccine.
I know there is a lot of buzz in the news regarding autism and the MMR vaccine due to a recent federal court ruling against the plaintiffs which did not find a relationship between autism and the mercury in the vaccine.
Additionally, the current research seems to suggest a genetic component in autism. And why not? It’s so much easier to put more guilt and pain on parents than to admit, or even do research into, a link between multi-billion pharmaceutical companies’ vaccines and autism.
My experience with autism is teaching special education; my experience with the MMR vaccine is what happened after it was given to a child I day-care.
This leads me to my anecdotal story about two children and the MMR vaccine:
I was day-caring a bright, lively, talkative 18-month old when she got her MMR vaccine. By the end of the week, I noticed that her talking was almost down to zero. Within a few months she was tested by a Special Services team from the state and it was discovered that her verbal skills were slightly less than 6 months below normal. (Six months is the cut-off for getting Special Services therapy.) In all other areas, she was fine. We went to art museums; read 20 library books together each week; did science experiments; baked cookies; but the road back to her verbal communications was slow.
(Ironically, if this child had developed autism after the MMR vaccine all my suspicions of a link to the vaccine would have been discounted by professionals. I would have joined the chorus of parents who believe there is a link to the vaccine but are refuted by health and insurance professionals at every turn. But she didn’t develop autism. All I knew was that right after receiving the MMR vaccine, something bad happened to her verbal skills.)
From 18 months to 4 years, she was periodically tested by Special Services and at 4 years she was given extensive testing; no problems were found with verbal skills; the case file was closed; and she entered kindergarten a bright, happy, talkative 5-year old. End of story. But.....
Her antibody titer level was tested before she was given the mandatory MMR booster at 4 years and it was discovered she was at the immune level for measles; meaning that even without the booster vaccine, she still had an immunity to the disease.
Fast forward to her brother who is 3 years younger. When he was ready for his first MMR vaccine at 18 months his mom demanded to have his antibody titer level tested. He also had a titer level which showed immunity to measles. His mom was able to find another pediatrician who gave the vaccine unbundled (3 shots over 3 visits) and he never received the measles part of the vaccine. When he was four years old and ready for his MMR booster, his titer level was tested again. It was still at the immune level for measles.
Unfortunately, this is not a Hollywood movie where we can tie the ends together but here are some things I wonder about:
1. Their mom’s OB/GYN tested her before she became pregnant and discovered that she did not have an immunity to rubella. He gave her the MMR vaccine. Did she pass immunity on to both children in utero?
2. Is it possible that a lot of children have the high antibody titer level of immunity at birth, passed on from their mothers, many of whom get the MMR vaccine again at college during a measles/German measles outbreak? These children at 18 months get a double whammy of protection with their own MMR vaccine. Could that affect their systems and cause damage? (Remember the 1st Bush’s invasion into Iraq when the soldiers were complaining about health problems - Gulf War Syndrome - due to all the vaccines they received?)
3. Do we know the effect of double/triple doses of immunity from vaccines in the body - especially tiny bodies? We don’t tell people: Take as much of this medicine as you want; more is always better. We have limits on dosage for over-the-counter and prescription medication. Why would vaccines be different?
4. New Jersey has an Antibody Titer Law. A little girl named Holly Stavola died 7 days after receiving the MMR booster from encephalopathy. No one can alleviate the sadness of losing a child but her parents took action and got this law passed. The law allows parents to seek testing to determine a child’s immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella, before receiving the second dose of the vaccine. And most importantly, the state brochure informs parents that: If a person has developed a sufficient level of antibodies, they may not need the second dose of vaccine. (Here’s the law: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2002/Bills/PL03/257_.PDF)
5. While the NJ Antibody Titer Law is a good first step. The next step must be to allow antibody titer testing before the first MMR vaccine.
6. As I understand it, it's getting more difficult to get the MMR vaccine unbundled. Why not have the unbundled vaccine as an option? That’s how it used to be done. It won’t harm the children. It may harm the profits.
Autism is not like getting a bad cold; it can be a lifetime of hell.
I don’t know the answers but I know we must start asking the right questions.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Knitting Friday
And now for something completely different. A “true” fairy tale, as I remember it:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess with 12 brothers. Now, as usual in these stories, there was a wicked sorcerer in the kingdom and he put an evil spell on the princes and turned them all into swans. The swans promptly flew away and weren’t seen again.
Their human sister was distraught and searched for a wise man (or woman) to find out how to turn her brothers back into humans. She was told that she must knit 12 sweaters for them.
That’s easy, she thought. But the wise person added: During the time she knitted, she must never speak.
So the princess began her silent task and all went along well until a king from another kingdom saw her and wanted her for his wife.
The princess married the king but she remained silent and kept on knitting.
She may have been able to finish the sweaters if not for the wicked sorcerer. Yes, he was still around. He convinced the king that this wife was a witch and unfortunately, since the princess had to remain silent, she could not refute this charge.
So the silent princess was put on trial, convicted of being a witch, and sentenced to burn at the stake.
As the tumbrel led the princess to her doom, she was just finishing the sleeve on the last sweater. Suddenly, 12 beautiful swans appeared in the sky and flew down in front of the princess.
Quickly, she threw the 12 sweaters at the swans and instantly all of them turned back into handsome princes; except that the youngest prince got the half finished sleeve and had to live with a swan’s arm.
With the sweaters finished, the princess told her story; the sorcerer was punished and the king and his queen lived happily ever after.
Ok, I know this sounds like a lame entry for Knitting Friday but it is about knitting and the dilemma of the half finished sleeves hit home for me this week.
The honeycomb reversible shawl, which was the pattern last Friday, got finished this week. Well, it really didn’t get finished since I ended up with 40 stitches on the needles and the tiniest ball of wool left for finishing. There was no way I was going to have enough yarn left.
I was as frustrated as the knitting princess when she came to the last sleeve. I worked out all sorts of work-arounds and finally one almost worked. I made a drastic decrease in every other stitch for one row and then two K2togs at the beginning and end of each decrease row until I was comfortable that I would have enough yarn. (Remember, I told you that you could decrease more rapidly than instructed towards the end? Well, apparently not as rapidly as I did.)
I finished with one corner as an acute angle; the other three were correctly right angles. It didn’t look that good, but the yarn was dark and the pattern on US15 needles was very airy.
I always felt bad for the youngest prince and could imagine him beating his sister with his swan arm, saying: Why didn’t you knit faster?
Speed wouldn’t have helped me but a trip to Michael’s did. It had been months since I bought that dye lot but they had one skein left which was only off by the last number in a multi-numbered code. I even had a 40% off coupon. Happy days.
Last night, I ripped the shawl back to where I started my rapid decrease, proceeded to knit it correctly and even made a crab stitch edging.
Lessons I have learned:
Happy knitting.
And now for something completely different. A “true” fairy tale, as I remember it:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess with 12 brothers. Now, as usual in these stories, there was a wicked sorcerer in the kingdom and he put an evil spell on the princes and turned them all into swans. The swans promptly flew away and weren’t seen again.
Their human sister was distraught and searched for a wise man (or woman) to find out how to turn her brothers back into humans. She was told that she must knit 12 sweaters for them.
That’s easy, she thought. But the wise person added: During the time she knitted, she must never speak.
So the princess began her silent task and all went along well until a king from another kingdom saw her and wanted her for his wife.
The princess married the king but she remained silent and kept on knitting.
She may have been able to finish the sweaters if not for the wicked sorcerer. Yes, he was still around. He convinced the king that this wife was a witch and unfortunately, since the princess had to remain silent, she could not refute this charge.
So the silent princess was put on trial, convicted of being a witch, and sentenced to burn at the stake.
As the tumbrel led the princess to her doom, she was just finishing the sleeve on the last sweater. Suddenly, 12 beautiful swans appeared in the sky and flew down in front of the princess.
Quickly, she threw the 12 sweaters at the swans and instantly all of them turned back into handsome princes; except that the youngest prince got the half finished sleeve and had to live with a swan’s arm.
With the sweaters finished, the princess told her story; the sorcerer was punished and the king and his queen lived happily ever after.
Ok, I know this sounds like a lame entry for Knitting Friday but it is about knitting and the dilemma of the half finished sleeves hit home for me this week.
The honeycomb reversible shawl, which was the pattern last Friday, got finished this week. Well, it really didn’t get finished since I ended up with 40 stitches on the needles and the tiniest ball of wool left for finishing. There was no way I was going to have enough yarn left.
I was as frustrated as the knitting princess when she came to the last sleeve. I worked out all sorts of work-arounds and finally one almost worked. I made a drastic decrease in every other stitch for one row and then two K2togs at the beginning and end of each decrease row until I was comfortable that I would have enough yarn. (Remember, I told you that you could decrease more rapidly than instructed towards the end? Well, apparently not as rapidly as I did.)
I finished with one corner as an acute angle; the other three were correctly right angles. It didn’t look that good, but the yarn was dark and the pattern on US15 needles was very airy.
I always felt bad for the youngest prince and could imagine him beating his sister with his swan arm, saying: Why didn’t you knit faster?
Speed wouldn’t have helped me but a trip to Michael’s did. It had been months since I bought that dye lot but they had one skein left which was only off by the last number in a multi-numbered code. I even had a 40% off coupon. Happy days.
Last night, I ripped the shawl back to where I started my rapid decrease, proceeded to knit it correctly and even made a crab stitch edging.
Lessons I have learned:
- If you are knitting an diagonal rectangular shawl you have to weigh (or mark) your yarn. When you come to the half way point you must be at least halfway through the shawl. No exceptions. If you don’t or can’t weigh or mark; don’t make a diagonal shawl. (Except if you follow #3.)
- 440 yards, even on US15, will not make a 25” x 65” shawl in double knitting weight. You need at least 500 yards.
- Buy that extra skein.
- The honeycomb reversible shawl pattern worked up very nicely. After I bought enough yarn, I didn't have the fudge the decreases to prevent wonkiness. It's is very light and airy and I'm going to make another with smaller needles.
- And finally, I really don’t see how the components of that fairy tale mesh. OK, it makes it alliterate: silence, swans, sweaters. But why would you knit sweaters to stop a curse? And why swans? And finally, did that youngest brother spend a lifetime in therapy and did his brother-in-law, the king, pay for it?
Happy knitting.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Website Wednesday
My first choice for today’s website was the archives of the New York Times which go back to 1851. Many of the articles are free.
For fun, I typed in “Titanic” and brought up a contemporary account. Then I copied the first paragraph and plunked it into the online Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level found here:
http://www.editcentral.com/gwt/com.editcentral.EC/EC.html
and discovered the grade level was first year college.
Curiosity reared its head and I then took two paragraphs from yesterday’s NYT and got grade levels of high school freshman and sophomore (9 and 10.) I was now on a quest.
It was my search for the reading level of Civil War period articles that got me deeper into the site and made me realize either I or it needed some work before I posted it on Website Wednesday. If I finally get the hang of navigating this site smoothly, I’ll post it. At this point however, it seems to have some user-unfriendly features.
So my website recommendation is:
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/soc/anthro.html
This site come from Louisiana State University and it links you to other sites of anthropological, cultural, geographical, historical, archaeological interest - the list seems endless.
My first visit was to the bog people in Juteland, Denmark:
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/index.html
It was fascinatingly spooky to look at two skulls: one, a part of the skull from 3500 B.C.E. where you could see the trepanation and the other, the full head skull of a 25-year old woman from 8000 B.C.E. It was here that I learned that most of the bog people had met violent deaths.
Back on the main site, I clicked on Bandelier, New Mexico and got taken to website of the Bandelier National Monument Park which contains hundreds of ruins of Anasazi cliff houses. It’s a semi-commercial site with rules and regulations, fees and accommodations. But scroll down to the Desert Directory and start clicking, say on “People of the Desert” - you’ll be reading for hours on that topic alone.
Also, be sure to check out the hyperlinks at the top of the main web page. For example, under Geography Pages you can work your way to old maps of colonial America or come to the climate map for major U.S. cities and plot their climatology since 1961. Under Archaeological Sites you get to see a aerial view of the Temple of Isis in Egypt.
This is an excellent, user-friendly site worth many, many casual or research-driven visits.
My first choice for today’s website was the archives of the New York Times which go back to 1851. Many of the articles are free.
For fun, I typed in “Titanic” and brought up a contemporary account. Then I copied the first paragraph and plunked it into the online Flesch-Kincaid reading grade level found here:
http://www.editcentral.com/gwt/com.editcentral.EC/EC.html
and discovered the grade level was first year college.
Curiosity reared its head and I then took two paragraphs from yesterday’s NYT and got grade levels of high school freshman and sophomore (9 and 10.) I was now on a quest.
It was my search for the reading level of Civil War period articles that got me deeper into the site and made me realize either I or it needed some work before I posted it on Website Wednesday. If I finally get the hang of navigating this site smoothly, I’ll post it. At this point however, it seems to have some user-unfriendly features.
So my website recommendation is:
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/soc/anthro.html
This site come from Louisiana State University and it links you to other sites of anthropological, cultural, geographical, historical, archaeological interest - the list seems endless.
My first visit was to the bog people in Juteland, Denmark:
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/index.html
It was fascinatingly spooky to look at two skulls: one, a part of the skull from 3500 B.C.E. where you could see the trepanation and the other, the full head skull of a 25-year old woman from 8000 B.C.E. It was here that I learned that most of the bog people had met violent deaths.
Back on the main site, I clicked on Bandelier, New Mexico and got taken to website of the Bandelier National Monument Park which contains hundreds of ruins of Anasazi cliff houses. It’s a semi-commercial site with rules and regulations, fees and accommodations. But scroll down to the Desert Directory and start clicking, say on “People of the Desert” - you’ll be reading for hours on that topic alone.
Also, be sure to check out the hyperlinks at the top of the main web page. For example, under Geography Pages you can work your way to old maps of colonial America or come to the climate map for major U.S. cities and plot their climatology since 1961. Under Archaeological Sites you get to see a aerial view of the Temple of Isis in Egypt.
This is an excellent, user-friendly site worth many, many casual or research-driven visits.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Moorings on Monday
I was so excited at the end of last week. Someone linked to my Website Wednesday blog of Finding Dulcinea. I thought I won the Pulitzer. No exaggeration; I was psyched. It’s like I went from teaching a course in cursive writing in elementary school to a chair at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton (where, since they are all scientists, they may need a course in cursive writing.)
Then the unemployment figures came out and over one-half million Americans had lost their jobs. Thinking about the dearth of social services in this country and the angst these people must be feeling with no job, no health care and diminished unemployment benefits, my heart cringed.
And it’s not going to get better. Some yahoo Senator from Alabama is on TV decrying the stimulus bill as a descent into socialism; what we need are tax cuts. I can’t believe a variation of “Better Dead than Red” theme is playing its way into the opposition to the stimulus bill. (Not that I think this bill is even close to the answer we need; but I know tax cuts, which always benefit the rich, are just the way to modern day feudalism.)
Then I thought about the children in the families where parents have lost their jobs. Kids worry. Kids worry nightmare style and many times they don’t communicate these fears. (The most horrible literary example of this is the actions the son takes in Jude The Obscure.)
I don’t think you can always allay kid’s fears but there is a great book which may be helpful. It’s called Zen Shorts, a Caldecott Honor Book, by Jon J. Muth.
It’s about three young children who meet Stillwater, a panda who carries a large, red umbrella. Each one visits and befriends Stillwater and is told a short zen parable: A Heavy Load; The Farmer’s Luck; and Uncle Ry and the Moon. (In these tough economic times, it’s good to know that these parables are free on the web, though the book is so much more delightful.)
Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive with parents saying that children as young as 4 enjoyed the book. One review: I read this to my children last evening. It resulted in a lengthy discussion about anger, giving, forgiving, wealth, and life. The only negative review was that it’s a great book for adults but not a page-turner for kids. I agree with that. This book should be read with the child for maximum benefit.
Stillwater teaches the children about letting go of anger; letting go of possessions; and accepting the good and bad of life.
It has all been said before: Matthew 19:16-22 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Or in All Things Shall Pass Away by Theodore Tilton:
...’Mid the revels of his court,
In the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests,
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried: “Oh, precious friends of mine,
Pleasure comes, but not to stay —
Even this shall pass away.”...
But all platitudes, wherever you find them, can use charm and a large panda.
I was so excited at the end of last week. Someone linked to my Website Wednesday blog of Finding Dulcinea. I thought I won the Pulitzer. No exaggeration; I was psyched. It’s like I went from teaching a course in cursive writing in elementary school to a chair at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton (where, since they are all scientists, they may need a course in cursive writing.)
Then the unemployment figures came out and over one-half million Americans had lost their jobs. Thinking about the dearth of social services in this country and the angst these people must be feeling with no job, no health care and diminished unemployment benefits, my heart cringed.
And it’s not going to get better. Some yahoo Senator from Alabama is on TV decrying the stimulus bill as a descent into socialism; what we need are tax cuts. I can’t believe a variation of “Better Dead than Red” theme is playing its way into the opposition to the stimulus bill. (Not that I think this bill is even close to the answer we need; but I know tax cuts, which always benefit the rich, are just the way to modern day feudalism.)
Then I thought about the children in the families where parents have lost their jobs. Kids worry. Kids worry nightmare style and many times they don’t communicate these fears. (The most horrible literary example of this is the actions the son takes in Jude The Obscure.)
I don’t think you can always allay kid’s fears but there is a great book which may be helpful. It’s called Zen Shorts, a Caldecott Honor Book, by Jon J. Muth.
It’s about three young children who meet Stillwater, a panda who carries a large, red umbrella. Each one visits and befriends Stillwater and is told a short zen parable: A Heavy Load; The Farmer’s Luck; and Uncle Ry and the Moon. (In these tough economic times, it’s good to know that these parables are free on the web, though the book is so much more delightful.)
Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive with parents saying that children as young as 4 enjoyed the book. One review: I read this to my children last evening. It resulted in a lengthy discussion about anger, giving, forgiving, wealth, and life. The only negative review was that it’s a great book for adults but not a page-turner for kids. I agree with that. This book should be read with the child for maximum benefit.
Stillwater teaches the children about letting go of anger; letting go of possessions; and accepting the good and bad of life.
It has all been said before: Matthew 19:16-22 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Or in All Things Shall Pass Away by Theodore Tilton:
...’Mid the revels of his court,
In the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests,
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried: “Oh, precious friends of mine,
Pleasure comes, but not to stay —
Even this shall pass away.”...
But all platitudes, wherever you find them, can use charm and a large panda.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Knitting Friday
In case you remembered my projects from last week, well, they are no more. The Berroco pullover:
http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/rectangela/rectangela.html
which I was going to knit from the bottom of the yoke up was a disaster. I think it can be done but I’ll have to swatch first and the question is: When did I ever swatch? (Knitters, around the world, are booing.)
The brown shrug was frogged at the Superbowl party. The body of double moss was fine but the K2, P2 ribbing looked homemade (as opposed to handmade) so back to the frog pond with it.However, I am using the brown yarn. I cast on 110 stitches, joined them and started in double moss for a bottom up pullover, knitted in the round. This should work.
Here’s a very simple pattern for a multidirectional rectangular shawl.
Honeycomb reversible shawl
Equipment: US15 needles; double knitting weight yarn (Paton variegated wool, 2 skeins 400+ yards.); row counter
Size: I’m shooting for 25" x 65+”.
Skills level: Easy; except for very end (see final note)
Finished look: honeycombed, light and open; reversible
Some preliminary notes:
1. This pattern has not been fully-tested. However, I am now working on the second section and I’ve found that if you have no problems with the increasing and decreasing in this section (and you see them fast) you’ll be ok for the rest of the pattern.
2. Notice that the increases and decreases equal EOR but are done in two consecutive rows out of a four-row pattern. It works.
3. In the second section, the decrease is done at the end of Row 3 and the beginning of Row 4.
4. Although this pattern is reversible, mark Row 1 side as RS for reference.
5. I'm always afraid when I only have 2 skeins that I won't have enough yarn to finish. With more yarn, I would have used smaller needles - perhaps US10.5
6. For the first section, I did 60 rows to get to 25" in width.
Pattern: composed of three sections
First section: CO 2 sts. Set-up row: Kfb, Kfb (4 sts)
Row 1and 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1Kfb *K1
Row 3 & 4: Kfb *K* end Kfb
Continue Rows 1- 4 to your desired width. (Measure the bottom of the right angle from the right side of your knitting.) End after Row 4.
Second Section:
Row 1 and Row 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1
Row 3: Kfb *K* end K2tog
Row 4: K2tog *K* end Kfb
Continue Rows 1- 4 to your desired length, (rule of thumb is the length should be at least your height). End after Row 4.
Third Section:
Row 1 and Row 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1
Row 3 & 4: K2tog, *K* K2tog.
Decrease to 2 or 3 stitches. Just knit them together and pull through yarn.
Final Note: Multidirectional shawls have a reputation for looking wonky at the second edge (third section.) That is, you get a slanted not straight edge here. When you get to around 20 stitches on your needle, look at how the edge is going. If it’s slanting you can make more than two decreases on Rows 3 and 4. Ex: (K2tog 2xs) *K* (K2tog 2xs). Or add some K2togs across the row. It works and will eliminate or lessen any slanting.
Some thoughts on variegated yarn:
I love it. It’s like a box of your favorite chocolates or a large bag of crispy, slightly salted potato chips - you love them, you buy them, you eat them all (sometimes in one sitting) and then.....
It’s the same with variegated yarn. I buy it whenever I see it on sale. I check out all sorts of patterns. I find one that will show off its shadings and then I start. What disappointment! It’s like after eating those forbidden treats; you feel so fat and unhappy. At least, I don't eat the yarn but I do feel unhappy since I never get the results with variegated that I want.
However, this is the first shawl made in variegated yarn in a modified garter stitch that I really like. Give it a try.
Enjoy your knitting.
In case you remembered my projects from last week, well, they are no more. The Berroco pullover:
http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/rectangela/rectangela.html
which I was going to knit from the bottom of the yoke up was a disaster. I think it can be done but I’ll have to swatch first and the question is: When did I ever swatch? (Knitters, around the world, are booing.)
The brown shrug was frogged at the Superbowl party. The body of double moss was fine but the K2, P2 ribbing looked homemade (as opposed to handmade) so back to the frog pond with it.However, I am using the brown yarn. I cast on 110 stitches, joined them and started in double moss for a bottom up pullover, knitted in the round. This should work.
Here’s a very simple pattern for a multidirectional rectangular shawl.
Honeycomb reversible shawl
Equipment: US15 needles; double knitting weight yarn (Paton variegated wool, 2 skeins 400+ yards.); row counter
Size: I’m shooting for 25" x 65+”.
Skills level: Easy; except for very end (see final note)
Finished look: honeycombed, light and open; reversible
Some preliminary notes:
1. This pattern has not been fully-tested. However, I am now working on the second section and I’ve found that if you have no problems with the increasing and decreasing in this section (and you see them fast) you’ll be ok for the rest of the pattern.
2. Notice that the increases and decreases equal EOR but are done in two consecutive rows out of a four-row pattern. It works.
3. In the second section, the decrease is done at the end of Row 3 and the beginning of Row 4.
4. Although this pattern is reversible, mark Row 1 side as RS for reference.
5. I'm always afraid when I only have 2 skeins that I won't have enough yarn to finish. With more yarn, I would have used smaller needles - perhaps US10.5
6. For the first section, I did 60 rows to get to 25" in width.
Pattern: composed of three sections
First section: CO 2 sts. Set-up row: Kfb, Kfb (4 sts)
Row 1and 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1Kfb *K1
Row 3 & 4: Kfb *K* end Kfb
Continue Rows 1- 4 to your desired width. (Measure the bottom of the right angle from the right side of your knitting.) End after Row 4.
Second Section:
Row 1 and Row 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1
Row 3: Kfb *K* end K2tog
Row 4: K2tog *K* end Kfb
Continue Rows 1- 4 to your desired length, (rule of thumb is the length should be at least your height). End after Row 4.
Third Section:
Row 1 and Row 2: K1 *K2tog, YO*, end K1
Row 3 & 4: K2tog, *K* K2tog.
Decrease to 2 or 3 stitches. Just knit them together and pull through yarn.
Final Note: Multidirectional shawls have a reputation for looking wonky at the second edge (third section.) That is, you get a slanted not straight edge here. When you get to around 20 stitches on your needle, look at how the edge is going. If it’s slanting you can make more than two decreases on Rows 3 and 4. Ex: (K2tog 2xs) *K* (K2tog 2xs). Or add some K2togs across the row. It works and will eliminate or lessen any slanting.
Some thoughts on variegated yarn:
I love it. It’s like a box of your favorite chocolates or a large bag of crispy, slightly salted potato chips - you love them, you buy them, you eat them all (sometimes in one sitting) and then.....
It’s the same with variegated yarn. I buy it whenever I see it on sale. I check out all sorts of patterns. I find one that will show off its shadings and then I start. What disappointment! It’s like after eating those forbidden treats; you feel so fat and unhappy. At least, I don't eat the yarn but I do feel unhappy since I never get the results with variegated that I want.
However, this is the first shawl made in variegated yarn in a modified garter stitch that I really like. Give it a try.
Enjoy your knitting.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Website Wednesday
Sometimes, I just like to get lost in a website and roam there until the next daily task rears its less attractive head. (Now, there’s a fractured idiom for you.) Other times, I’m out of a website in a flash. Nothing there; thank you; let’s move on.
However, the one I’ve chosen for today is one for which you make the popcorn, get the comfy slippers, and plan to stay a while.
http://www.archive.org/index.php
Their welcome says: The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.
That sounds so dry, but it is so good.
I first came across this site by goggling “free public domain movies online.” Under their feature films (a collection of more than 150,000 films which is updated daily) , they have a large collection of public domain movies.
It’s fascinating to see the silent films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, or the recently added Iron Mask with Douglas Fairbanks and narrated by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Many of the feature films are just interesting “dogs” but even they are worth the historic look. In The Death Kiss, a 1930's movie with Lugosi in a non-Lugosi type role, I saw an iceman (ok, an actor playing an iceman) take the block of ice up to a little door in the outside back wall of a house. He opened the door and put in the ice because the kitchen icebox was connected to that little door. I didn’t know they could do that. Or in another 30's movie where an actor said, in a throw away line, that everyone in his neighborhood was sick and he got the shot. What shot? Did they have flu shots back then?
However, this site is so much more than cheesy old movies. They also have live music, audio, and text sections with 60,000+ live concerts, 300,000+ audios and more than a million texts. The entire site is searchable for keywords.
The texts section has Flip Book feature where you see a clear, large picture of each page. (I found this very useful in reading books from the past to young children.) I enjoyed flipping through a 1843 knitting book and discovering this pattern: Cast on any even number of stitches. Bring the wool forward, knit two together alternately, to the end of the row. Every row is the same.
That’s *YO, K2tog* across row for every row. It’s still used today and makes a lovely pattern.
The site is also home to the Wayback Machine. This archives websites from 1996 to the present which are no longer on the internet. So if you come upon a site with that dreaded: Oops! The site you are looking for no longer exists, try the Wayback Machine.
Well, gotta go. On their movie site, under “This Just in” they’ve added all the episodes of Holt of the Secret Service. I’ve never heard of Holt but I’m sure he must be an early day Indiana Jones.
Enjoy the site.
Sometimes, I just like to get lost in a website and roam there until the next daily task rears its less attractive head. (Now, there’s a fractured idiom for you.) Other times, I’m out of a website in a flash. Nothing there; thank you; let’s move on.
However, the one I’ve chosen for today is one for which you make the popcorn, get the comfy slippers, and plan to stay a while.
http://www.archive.org/index.php
Their welcome says: The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.
That sounds so dry, but it is so good.
I first came across this site by goggling “free public domain movies online.” Under their feature films (a collection of more than 150,000 films which is updated daily) , they have a large collection of public domain movies.
It’s fascinating to see the silent films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, or the recently added Iron Mask with Douglas Fairbanks and narrated by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Many of the feature films are just interesting “dogs” but even they are worth the historic look. In The Death Kiss, a 1930's movie with Lugosi in a non-Lugosi type role, I saw an iceman (ok, an actor playing an iceman) take the block of ice up to a little door in the outside back wall of a house. He opened the door and put in the ice because the kitchen icebox was connected to that little door. I didn’t know they could do that. Or in another 30's movie where an actor said, in a throw away line, that everyone in his neighborhood was sick and he got the shot. What shot? Did they have flu shots back then?
However, this site is so much more than cheesy old movies. They also have live music, audio, and text sections with 60,000+ live concerts, 300,000+ audios and more than a million texts. The entire site is searchable for keywords.
The texts section has Flip Book feature where you see a clear, large picture of each page. (I found this very useful in reading books from the past to young children.) I enjoyed flipping through a 1843 knitting book and discovering this pattern: Cast on any even number of stitches. Bring the wool forward, knit two together alternately, to the end of the row. Every row is the same.
That’s *YO, K2tog* across row for every row. It’s still used today and makes a lovely pattern.
The site is also home to the Wayback Machine. This archives websites from 1996 to the present which are no longer on the internet. So if you come upon a site with that dreaded: Oops! The site you are looking for no longer exists, try the Wayback Machine.
Well, gotta go. On their movie site, under “This Just in” they’ve added all the episodes of Holt of the Secret Service. I’ve never heard of Holt but I’m sure he must be an early day Indiana Jones.
Enjoy the site.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Memes on Monday
Standing up during the national anthem.
Or rather Standing up during the national anthem which is being played on a TV in a clubhouse during a SuperBowl Party.
Or rather Standing up during the national anthem which is being played on a TV in a clubhouse during a SuperBowl Party where there is illegal gaming taking place (football pool - needs a 1-day state license) and alcohol is being served (without the A.B.C. special social events permit which is required.)
But everyone stood. They came out of the kitchen, the card room, wherever and stood fixed to the screen, listening at attention to yet another horrible rendition of that anthem which should have been replaced so long ago.
Everyone that is except my husband and I. We sat.
Now don’t get me wrong, while I think such displays of patriotism and respect are largely hypocritical I fully agree with Henry IV of France that sometimes “Paris is worth a mass.” (Google this; it makes for interesting reading.)
I have been at enough military events to know that you stand when the flag goes by and since that anthem seems to get played at the same time, you stand for that also.
There is a federal flag and national anthem code; you know the old standing and hand over the heart, except for the military, when the flag goes by and the anthem is being played.
This part is a hoot: Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
Children are being slaughtered all over the world; people die because they can’t afford health care and we have a flag and anthem code which tells you how to remove and hold your hat. The mind boggles!
But leaving aside this minutiae to details: when did the meme devolve into standing for the national anthem when it’s part of a TV show? And, this time, a TV show where the only really important thing was the network’s ability to sell all their airspace. Two headlines today in online news are: [Superbowl] Ads That Pushed Our Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons and The Best Super Bowl Ads. After all, the bottom line is always the bottom line for business. Even better when you package it with patriotism and sports for Americans.
It was a socially, gutsy thing for the two of us to remain seated. This is a small community; we are both active participants in it; and people talk, especially in small communities.
But, how could we not remain seated? We never got caught up in the Iraqi debacle; we never stopped protesting the “Patriot Act”’; we didn’t join the hysteria of flying the flag after the destruction of the World Trade Center; so how could we say now “Oh, let’s fit in. This is such a small point.” We have never accepted conformity without examining its background.
Gore Vidal once said: You become what you seem to be.
I guess, last night, in that room, in a small way, we all proved that true.
Standing up during the national anthem.
Or rather Standing up during the national anthem which is being played on a TV in a clubhouse during a SuperBowl Party.
Or rather Standing up during the national anthem which is being played on a TV in a clubhouse during a SuperBowl Party where there is illegal gaming taking place (football pool - needs a 1-day state license) and alcohol is being served (without the A.B.C. special social events permit which is required.)
But everyone stood. They came out of the kitchen, the card room, wherever and stood fixed to the screen, listening at attention to yet another horrible rendition of that anthem which should have been replaced so long ago.
Everyone that is except my husband and I. We sat.
Now don’t get me wrong, while I think such displays of patriotism and respect are largely hypocritical I fully agree with Henry IV of France that sometimes “Paris is worth a mass.” (Google this; it makes for interesting reading.)
I have been at enough military events to know that you stand when the flag goes by and since that anthem seems to get played at the same time, you stand for that also.
There is a federal flag and national anthem code; you know the old standing and hand over the heart, except for the military, when the flag goes by and the anthem is being played.
This part is a hoot: Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
Children are being slaughtered all over the world; people die because they can’t afford health care and we have a flag and anthem code which tells you how to remove and hold your hat. The mind boggles!
But leaving aside this minutiae to details: when did the meme devolve into standing for the national anthem when it’s part of a TV show? And, this time, a TV show where the only really important thing was the network’s ability to sell all their airspace. Two headlines today in online news are: [Superbowl] Ads That Pushed Our Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons and The Best Super Bowl Ads. After all, the bottom line is always the bottom line for business. Even better when you package it with patriotism and sports for Americans.
It was a socially, gutsy thing for the two of us to remain seated. This is a small community; we are both active participants in it; and people talk, especially in small communities.
But, how could we not remain seated? We never got caught up in the Iraqi debacle; we never stopped protesting the “Patriot Act”’; we didn’t join the hysteria of flying the flag after the destruction of the World Trade Center; so how could we say now “Oh, let’s fit in. This is such a small point.” We have never accepted conformity without examining its background.
Gore Vidal once said: You become what you seem to be.
I guess, last night, in that room, in a small way, we all proved that true.
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