Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

This is going to be short review since my neck is killing me. You know the pain you get which makes you hope that driving in the near future will not demand much turning of the head. I've heard that the autobahn is a straight run.

My 6 and 1/2 pound handbag + my zillion pound knitting bag probably haven't helped the situation. How do I know the handbag weighs so much? I weighed it; all by itself and it registered. An event which only happens over 5 pounds. So I got a Kipling bag. Very light, nylon, looks like a dollar store buy but I googled it and found out the brand is expensive and can look bag lady chic. (A denotation I think is condescending and crude but, boy, that bag is a dream to carry; and filled, it doesn't register on the scale.)

My review is for a "little" foreign film: Valentin (2002). Set in Argentina, it tells of an 8 year old boy in the 1960s who dreams of being an astronaut, has a runaway mom, distant dad and lives with a devoted grandmother. Nothing much happens to the boy for a long time, except very ordinary things but as you watch he starts to understand the world and move away from primal bigotry which can plague so many families. Rodrigo Nova plays the boy with such charm and honesty that you're hooked early on in this simple story.

I'm a sucker for foreign films usually because they know that not saying something is many times more powerful than dialogue. For example, in the charming scene where Valentin meets his father's wife-to-be, he says something in all innocence which becomes the deal breaker for the marriage. He nor the audience is ever told what it is. The young woman with him says nothing except becomes sadder and sadder. With simple gestures, you learn something has just occurred to change all their futures. Any observant viewer understands what just happened but the script has the actors never verbalize any of this. It's so much more powerful this way; and so "un-American."

Alejandro Agresti is both writer and director so he must take a double bow. He just shows us Valentin's world; he doesn't judge or pontificate. So when Valentin finally realizes that what he has been taught to hate may not be deserving of it, it happens quietly and silently. Again, so un-American.

A charming movie. Well worth a viewing. In fact, I could watch it again.

Final note: And this is always disturbing. I got on the IMDb forum where someone posted his/her dislike for this movie. Within a few replies, the postings became hateful, calling the OP an idiot, pure evil and worse (some posts had been removed.) JHC! It's only a movie! Ironically, all the hate-filled posters were defending a movie which had as one of its themes, the foolishness/hurtfulness of bigotry.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

Samurai Knitter and Ravelry had discussions of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) this week. It was Samurai Knitter who mentioned that if SOPA is passed in the US, a violation of copyright by a member on Ravelry could shut down that entire site. Jon Stewart explained (and it shows what shit we're in when a satirical comedian becomes the explainer) that SOPA doesn't remove the "offending" site; it just prevents anyone from accessing it. What was even more disturbing (and once again from Jon Stewart), I saw clips of the SOPA US House hearings and watched the pathetic understanding of the Internet displayed by both Democrats and Republicans. In 2011, with the ubiquitousnessof the Internet, I shudder to think that this country (and we know it is the greatest country ever!) should be run by such clowns. I try to put in only calming posts on Friday, but SOPA is really too onerous to ignore.

On to knitting. Finally, a picture of the Advent Scarf. This is not a great picture but it's 100" long so you miss a lot. Having said that, I am soooo happy with the results. It 's 16" x 100" so I can fold it in half to make a loop and once the loop is around my neck, the ends are long enough to see the beauty of the design. As I've mentioned before, I reduced the stitches for each pattern from the 90+ range to the 50+ range. That lesson alone made this project so worth it.

Here are some notes on the scarf which I sent to interested friends and I'll probably post with the picture on Ravelry:

What the pattern calls for:
1. Lace weight Yarn
2. First stitch of every row is Slip 1 as purl. Last stitch of every row is knit.
3. Every row begins: Sl1P, K3 and ends K4.
4. The scarf starts with a spacer section which 8 K rows.
5. Row 5 of the spacer section is a beaded row.
6. If you don't want to use beads you can just K the stitches which are labeled "P" for "put a bead with the stitch" in the spacer sections.
7. After the first spacer section , you work Day 1 of the pattern, then another spacer section, than Day 2, etc.
8. The 1st row of the spacer section may tell you to increase or decrease a few stitches since the spacer section should always be 91 stitches.
9. Usually, the 8th row of the spacer section will tell you to increase or decrease a few stitches across. That's because patterns differ in number of stitches they need to work.
10. You begin and end the scarf with a spacer section.

What I did differently:
1. I worked in fingering, not lace yarn. Since this would make a shawl width as written I decreased my stitches from the 90s to the 50s for each pattern.
2, In order to keep all the patterns around 54 to 57 stitches, I used the Twisted Stitch (K in back loop of 2nd stitch on LN, then K 1st stitch in front loop - uses 2 sts) and/or the R stitch (K stitch in back loop - uses 1 stitch.) Example: Say the pattern and extra stitches add up to 49 stitches. After the edge stitches, I would work 1 TS and 1 R stitch and do the same (1 R stitch then 1 TS) at the end of the row to give me 49 sts + 6 sts = 55.
2. I used a US 6 needle.
3. I only worked 4 K rows for the spacer section (not 8.)
4. I didn't use beads so Row 5 was just K and I didn't have to increase or decrease stitches on Row 1 of the spacer section. (I did have to on Row 8 sometimes for the next pattern.)
5. I didn't follow the order of the days and I didn't use all the days.
6. I changed Row 5 in the last spacer section, the pattern row, to the pattern row in the Feather and Fan stitch (just google for it.) The first spacer section has a Row 5 pattern row to give in a scallop but I found that last spacer section pattern row just gave me a straight edge. I'm sure, with research, I could have found a better solution but F & F gave me enough of a scallop that blocking made even better.
7. My scarf is 100" x 16".

And finally, if you are just a beginning knitter you may want to check out this pattern on Ravelry. It's also an Advent Scarf but so much simpler with the most difficult stitch being a double decrease:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lace-holly

There are six short patterns to work and a cute gimmick of rolling a die every day to see which pattern to make that day.

Happy Knitting.

Next week: This winter, I'm making hats....... and spirals. Get the pattern here.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

The black, large masthead above is my feeble attempt to protest SOPA - Stop Online Piracy Act - which would allow corporations or government to shut down websites immediately; no hearing, no trial. It has tremendous corporate support and Congressional support, including big-time Democrats. Obama has made a swipe at opposing it but in the end, true to form, he'll support it. No guts.

This is a day of protest of SOPA and, as you cruise the web today, you'll see much more effective "blackouts" by Google, Wikipedia, etc. Apparently SOPA started because movie/music types just do not like copyright piracy and have the clout and inclination to use draconian methods to stop it.

To me, SOPA is manna to governments throughout the world since the ubiquitous Internet is the fastest Pony Express in history. But what an annoyance! At one time, the lapse time between governments' enactments and citizens' awareness was huge. Today, pass a bill and seconds later, the world knows. What a bother! A point so well illustrated by use of the Internet and the success of the Arab Spring. (Something Obama profusely praised and aided when it occurred "there" but profusely ignored when the US equivalent took place in the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement.)

And what a political bonus SOPA is! Congress can vote for it to help their biggest donors and also put the lid on future protests at the same time. They don't come much neater.

So, also in protest, I ditched my original website pick for today for these:

First: https://www.popvox.com/

Pop Vox (short for the Latin "voice of the people") allows you to choose the bill you care about and send your message to Congress. It says of itself: POPVOX bridges the gap between the input the public wants to provide and the information Members of Congress want and need to receive. You should bookmark this site; it's simple to use and important to do.

Then there is:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/explorerflash?timeregion=7#/object_gJpTVBtSSh-rRq2QFraNMA

I'm sure I've posted BBC sites before but this link takes you right to the simplest map of history through the ages. There's a time line scroll bar on the right. Click on a time period you want and the screen will fill with links to that time. It's not your dry look at history by rather it uses social and cultural images to give you the flavor of the time.

Your first click on an image will bring up the image and a short caption. Then clicking "More about the Object" will bring you to a new page with more info and sometimes even comments from other viewers.

Do try both websites. The first in order to keep your representative governance active; the second to keep in touch with the history we are all a part of.

Enjoy.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

Well, not quite. This is a national holiday in the USA which means we have a day off to honor Martin Luther King. Unfortunately, being the USA, this holiday is unofficially called the Martin Luther King Shopping Holiday for while state and federal offices are closed and politicians attend ceremonies to pontificate about how they honor this man (some do, some don't), the rest of the country will be gobbling up store sales.

So I thought this would be a good time to bring a book to you; in fact three books: Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge. All about Martin Luther King and his times, written brilliantly by the whitest-looking white man, Taylor Branch.

I hate the term "must read" but it definitely applies to these books. Here for the first time, I learned that Rosa Parks was a active member of the civil rights movement which planned the now-famous confrontation on the bus when Parks refused to move to the back. This was not a spontaneous incident of a tired black woman just refusing to move but a well-thought out plan. (It's interesting that the "myth" of this incident makes it just a serendipitous occasion while the truth of it portrays blacks as smart and savvy about their plight.) In keeping with this incident and its true genesis, I learned that Parks was not the first choice but that was the young girl who became unmarried pregnant and the movement didn't want any such distraction/controversy - smart move.

This incident is just one illustration why these books are must-reads. I know that when truth and myth clash, myth wins. But we must keep trying to get it right. Branch, in his Pulitzer Prize works, plays an important role in trying to do just that.

Below is a link to the first book on Amazon and you can get to the other two from this page. However, I'm sure they are available in most libraries across the country.

http://www.amazon.com/Parting-Waters-America-Years-1954-63/dp/0671687425/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326716838&sr=8-2

And finally, on a day the USA remembers a man who played such an important role in the civil rights movement (but, of course, not the only role), I'm wondering if racial hatred has finally succumbed in this country. Hell, no! Haters seem to have discovered new "hatees" to join their old favorites. Visceral hatred is tough to eradicate. Maybe we can never do it; it may be bred in the bone for many. But this is a good day to remember it's a goal worth trying to reach.

See you next Monday with that review of Valentin.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

But first, Miss L. The picture on the right is deceiving because it took a week for her to go into that crate willingly. Now, she just walks in and starts to play with her toys. Though she is still miffed that she gets locked in. She's 6 weeks old in this picture and the next.

On the right, she's asleep in my arms. She's a good sleeper and seems to catch on very quickly. Like her realization that when we approach the deck stairs, we're going in and her multiple attempts to eat leaves is coming to an end. At which point she digs in her heels (not an easy feat on patio blocks) and tries to extricate herself from her collar. .

More pictures will be coming but I like to start the record when they are so young and just forming their personalities. Next week, she's down to three meals a day. Ah, they grow so fast.

A quick pick today because today I am finally going to block my Advent Scarf. Lately, I have discovered Sudoku (long after the rest of the world did) and I love playing it on the i Pad since I don't have all those pesky erasures.

A new game for me in Ken-ken. Which is Sudoku like except with the added feature of arithmetic operations which must also be performed before solving. For example: in a 4 x 4 Ken-ken, you must use numbers 1 to 4 only one time in each row and column but unlike Sudoku there are no interior squares which must also use that rule - only one number 1 - 4 in each interior square.

However, within the total Ken ken square are areas marked off with dark lines. The areas within these dark lines can consist of any number of small squares, some L shaped, etc. In each of these "dark" areas, there is a number and a mathematical operation. For example, if it shows 2 -, it means that you must have numbers (2 numbers for subtraction in the easy puzzles) in this area which when subtracted will equal 2. If the operation is 10 +, you must have the numbers in this area add up to 10. Of course, you still must obey the rule of only 1 unique number per row and column.

Now, after I've confused you completely, try it out on this site, it comes with instructions:

http://www.kenken.com/

I think you have to type in the numbers here but I'm going to look for a site where you only click on a list of numbers. I am so lazy. (Edit: My mistake, all the numbers magically appear when you click a square - no typing involved.)

Enjoy. Time to play with the dog.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

When I see blogs not updated for years, I feel less guilty but only slightly. Sorry to be absent for a week plus but it started with absolutely no movie worth reviewing on a Monday and then Miss L arrived. (Pictures have been taken but still reside in the camera.) It turns out she's only 6 weeks old which I think is too young for separation from siblings and mom. (Are dog papas absent dads?)

She is a lab/golden mix; so tiny and fluffy; all black with streaks of gold and tiny white dots over her eyes. (You can tell I really don't like this dog!) Smart as a whip. I know, every dog mom says that. But she is. She doesn't just back off when reprimanded sternly (remember these dogs are all in training); she backs off and tries to get out of her collar to run away. Right now, she's housebroken, unless angered (that is, you leave the room with the royal bowing) when she gets pissed and pisses. She sleeps a good portion of the night and takes about 3 separate naps in the daytime. And she is so hungry.

More on Miss L in a later blog. On to the movies. In keeping with the mood of the royal bow I just mentioned, I saw The King's Speech last night. A quick summary: we watch the stutterer and future George VI of England get help for his speech problem, culminating in his important speech to the English public on the eve of WWII.

Among the principals, Colin Firth did an admirable job as a stutterer-duke/king (of course, this appraisal comes from a non-stutterer), Geoffrey Rush did his usual theatrical turn in a quirky role of speech therapist, Helena Bonham-Carter played a "normal" person well but probably not the queen mum, and Guy Pearce exuded nastiness in a historically comprised portrayal of Edward VIII.

That said: why all the fuss about this movie when it was released? It was a competent drama about a "fluff" in history. As someone said after the hoopla: Did you think England was not going to go to war if George VI hadn't made that speech?

There was a human interest story to be told here, but it wasn't. They only touched briefly on the family life of the Windsors. Both Edward and George were raised by cold parents (to be honest, coldness between parent and child was the norm for the time) and one reacted with a stutter, the other with behavior which changed the line of succession. However, Edward was not the rake as portrayed here. There are photos of him visiting the poor and accounts of his caring about their plight. For a sake a a neat Hollywood (I use the word generically) package, only George is shown here stammering through speeches to the working man and Edward is shown as besotted by Wallis Simpson.

In many ways, The King's Speech finds its roots in the god-awful historical dramas (the dreadful The Robe is now playing on my movie package) Hollywood churned out in the 1950s and early 1960s. They too played fast and loose with history, honing in on only one POV and ignoring accuracy for pomp and splendor. Even the music of TKS harkens us back to them, when important scenes were heralded by important music.

Reading reviews in IMDb, I discovered that other viewers had disliked this movie also, although official movie critics (Rotten Tomatoes) approved it by 95%. I had to search hard on that site for a negative review. Hollywood Bitchin' probably says it best with: the film never shakes the impression that it was made only to win awards.

(Note: Having nothing to back this up, I think perhaps Michael Gambon (who plays George V) may have auditioned for the speech therapist role which Rush plays. If not, he should have. I think he may have been a better choice since Rush, like Johnny Depp, unfortunately carries his Pirates of the Caribbean persona into every role he plays.)

Next week: also a small, family movie but done as it should be.