Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings  
Tax the Rich 

Website Wednesday (6 pm, I went in to edit this post about an hour ago, missed the error I was looking for and thought I was perfect. I wasn't. Now, I'm back to really fix it.)

The girl's essay topic for advanced freshman high school history is: Was the French Revolution worth the human cost? It's in a second-chance re-write stage now because the first essay was returned for revisions.

You think: What a nice teacher.  OK, hold your kudos for a minute. I never saw the first paper but I did get to look at the teacher's comments when it was returned. He was right, the paper did digress. Then I got to look at his outline for writing it:

Intro
-historical background
-explain historical debate
-thesis=position I'm taking plus 3 reasons why

Body Paragraphs (3)
-topic sentence
-evidence (research)
-analysis
-two quotes per paragraph 

Conclusion
-Refute the opposing argument
-Summarize arguments
-linger into future

And I thought: WTF? and I got to thinking more about this topic. You see, the girl chose to answer: No, The French Revolution wasn't worth the human cost. If she had chosen "Yes." the paper would have written itself since the human cost which came with the 10 month Reign of Terror, 1793 - 1794, killed tens of thousands and imprisoned hundreds of thousands but to paraphrase Harry Lime in The Third Man: Look what it produced. The changes to French government and society after this revolution were, well, revolutionary. I don't think the US Congress in this modern day (OK, there are a bunch of Yahoos in Congress) would even vote to pass them.

But the teacher gave the topic as a question and the girl decided to go the "less traveled road." It is not easy for a 14 year old to prove this question for the negative. Hell, it's not easy for me except in a tangential sense because even with the witch hunt executions of the Terror included, the French Revolution did change the western world, and mostly for the better.

So I'm thinking the teach was disingenuous by phrasing this essay topic as a question. I'm thinking what he really wants is: The French Revolution was worth the human cost. Prove it. 

But what saddens me the most is that the girl, mired in books trying to prove her "No.", is wailing: I hate history. Thanks, teach.

http://www.tekzoned.com/games/miniputt/miniputt.swf 

OK, let's have fun. You play what looks like miniature golf here. The graphics are great and, if you like golf, it would be a good diversion during lunch hours.

http://www.noupe.com/inspiration/40-terrific-works-of-art-made-from-common-trash.html 

I eat a lot of Healthy Choice Asian Chicken. Not that I like it (it's not bad) but because it only has 13% of sodium (most are at 20+%) and 17 grams of protein. But each time I finish one package (and there have been many), I'm left with two "dishes" in sturdy plastic which are just too sturdy to chuck since I know, one day, I will find a use for these suckers.

Which is an intro to the above link of 40 terrific works of art made from common trash. Take a look for inspiration; I know I'm going to. 

http://www.coachcalorie.com/food-advertising-tricks/

I thought this would be a good website to share with kids as a lesson to not believe everything you see on food packaging. Then you could have a field trip around the kitchen for food products and see if you can catch any advertising tricks there.
 

 http://www.taglineguru.com/survey05.html
 

And finally, some more taglines. I haven't read all of them but they go way back to the 1940s. It's fun to see if you remember these products. After all, big bucks are spent developing the perfect tagline to sear its product into your memory for eternity.

That's it for this Wednesday. It's pretty easy reading for everyone today. We all deserve breaks like this. See you next week.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings 
Tax the Rich

 

 Movie Monday

I know you don't want to hear me grouse but I've spent the last 1/2 hour editing my Friday post. I had a few things I wanted to clarify better and some errors like "aware" when I meant to say "awkward." But then I discovered that every time I used "&" instead of "and" like in W & T, the code "amp" got put in mysteriously. Like, 15 times. I can't believe I missed this when I proofed the published copy on Friday and now I'm wondering if it's only on this computer which is different from the one I used on Friday. Talk about conspiracy theories! 

 

Maybe I should just go on grousing because I saw so few movies for reviewing last week. I do have an Ewan MacGregor movie, Perfect Sense, (2011) recorded, which looks interesting. He's a chef and she's an epidemiologist during a virus which is mysteriously robbing people of their senses, one at a time. It sounds like something to think about but it'll have to wait for another week.

 

Disney/Netflix/Starz etc., etc., are really lousing me up with all the deal making and breaking going on. At one time, Starz had a new, "hotish" movie early Saturday. Now, I'm lucky to get this once a month. HD Net which seems to have before-theater flicks twice a month is beating them out, and that's a basic cable channel.

 

Well, I'm too lazy to be driven into the movie houses by this move so I may be doing a lot more reading or thinking about making the Monday posting focus on a whole new topic. But I love movies and have since I was a wee tot. Oh, well.

So I think I'll ask a question using The 39 Steps as my background. First, T39S in 1915 was one of the first man-fleeing-from-police-to-prove-innocence books which later became an early Hitchcock classic (don't miss his 1936 Sabotage for another classic) in 1935 and a PBS Modern Classic about two years ago. The book synopsis reads like a "man's book"; that is, a quick read of the plot brings up no major female characters. In 1935, Hitchcock may have pandered to the movie draw of a love angle by adding Madeline Carroll as the beautiful blonde who helps and hinders Robert Donat, as the beleaguered Hannay, in his flight from the police. However, he also adds some master touches to this movie version such as Peggy Ashcroft as the farmer's young wife and realistic pacing of dialogue  in the opening music hall scene. (There's more; watch it.)

However, the PBS version is the horse of a different color. Here, we have the modern day, PC (politically correct) version of T39S. Not only is Hannay's female companion bright, clever, resourceful and emancipated (as much as she could be at the time since, as the novel, it's still set just before WWI) but she becomes the linchpin of the story, not Hannay. So much so that the final revelation (and there are earlier ones also) concerns her, not him.

So my question is: Should period piece source material be updated to fit the sensibilities/memes of the contemporary world? There is no question the PBS T39S is a rousing adventure, well-acted and paced but what about John Buchanan's original work? OK, writing in 1935, he understood that Hollywood changes things but did he, who didn't ever include a heroine in his work, want the audience to come away from the movie thinking "clever woman" instead of "clever man"?

And I guess the second question would be: Would it have been possible for Hollywood (and remember I use that word generically) to remain true to Buchanan's purpose and still make it palatable to a contemporary audience? Of course, I'm removing money making from this question and just asking if you could make the movie, not caring that w/o tremendous CGIs or modern day tweaks no one may come.

 

Hitchcock was able to do this in the 1935 version but he was a master director who could take dross (Torn Curtain and the farmhouse oven scene) and find pearls.

 

Just something I think about time to time.

 

Let me leave you with some tag lines from movies:

 

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/66-great-movie-taglines-past-30-years-130595?page=1 

 

Tag lines identify an individual or organization, or a movie. Reading them I do remember the movie plots so I think they're pretty good. What do you think? Oh, and I'm reading this as "66 great movie taglines" not "66 great movies."

 

See you next week.

 

 

 

 

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings 
Tax the Rich

 Knitting Friday (edited Mon., 1/28)

Finally! After an hour, I remembered the correct password to get in here! What a jerk!

About two weeks ago, I was winding down to no WIP on my needles; now I'm inundated with stuff including two time sensitives projects: a gift scarf and a winter scarf, (which really has to be done before spring).

But I promised a mini-lesson on the wrap and turn procedure, for sure, this week. I've taken all new, and I hope correct, pictures, so here goes. 

What is wrap and turn (W & T) and is there more than one type:

Wrap and turn is an intermediate knitting procedure and it's used to create short rows. Short rows are a way to get more fullness in your garment, say in the bodice area. You can W & T in knitting or purling but today I'm only going to talk about it in stockinette stitch. That is, the W & T occurs on the knit side of your work.

Expanded directions for w & t might look like this (I'm expanding them because most of them use a short hand you may not understand yet.): CO 20 stitches and work in st st for 6 rows. Row 1: knit 10 stitches, wrap the 11th stitch. Row 2: Turn your work and purl back to the beginning of the row. Row 3: Knit to the wrapped stitch and K it and its wrap together, then K to the end of the row. With these directions, you have completed a wrap and turn and created a short row.

#1 W & T swatch, w/fullness

 In #1, you see the w & t swatch from last week. You can see the fullness at the middle top and you can't see any holes in the swatch (you eliminate the holes with Row 3 of the W & T procedure.) That's because I knitted my wraps and the stitches they were wrapping together. If this were a bodice area, you may want to get fullness there with w & t. Note: W & T also help shawls stay on your shoulders, etc., etc.

I mentioned types of W & T. There are three:

1) The simplest is where the directions just say "K 10 stitches, T and work back." You are just making short rows here, no wrapping. This would work on boucle yarns where holes would be hidden naturally.

2) Wrapping your stitch and turning but on Row 3 you would just knit past the wrapped stitch and not bother to knit it together with its wrapping. This is often done with garter stitch W & T.

3) Wrapping your stitch, turning and on Row 3, knitting the wrap and the wrapped stitch together.

Today, I'm going to explain the 3rd type above on the knit side of the stockinette stitch. Although #3 is the most complicated method, it is so, so easy with just a little practice.

 (Note: There are many videos and written instructions for W & T on the internet. I found tips in all of them but finally had to tweak them and finalize my own plan which is below.)

Wrap/Turn/K together How-To
Definitions:
Wrapping the stitch means you "circle" the designated stitch (the wrapped stitch) in yarn. Just wrapping this stitch in yarn is only part one of this procedure.
Turning means you turn your work and work in the opposite direction (if you are knitting, you turn and purl back and vica versa) You never work your wrapped stitch on this row (Row 2).

K together: Knit the wrapped stitch and the wrap at its base together.

Abbreviations/Symbols/Terms:
W & T = wrap and turn,
CO = Cast on,
K = knit and P = purl and Y = yarn
b = back and f = front
LN/RN = left needle & right needle (On circs, this refers to the tips)
sl = slip and st = stitch
T = turn
\ = to

WT st = stitch you will be wrapping

W = wrap at base of WT st
You read all this as it appears so:
sl st LN \ RN means Slip stitch left needle to right needle.
 

Extra: Cut a long piece of contrasting color yarn and lay it across your work just before the wrapped stitch. This will help you find this stitch on Row 3.

#2 1st st on LN will be wrapped

What do you do  in W & T:
1.You usually work a few or many rows in your pattern and then you'll come to a section where you will work W & Ts. In #2, you can see that I knitted about 6 stitches. The first stitch on the LN, to the left of the dark strand, will be wrapped.

2. First, I'll slide the 1st st on the LN to the RN as P, still keeping the strand in place. (#3)

#3 St to be wrapped now on RN

#4 working yarn to the front

 3. With the WT stitch on the RN now, I'll bring my working yarn to the front of my work. (#4) This is part one of the wrapping. Notice I'm marking the WT st with an attached marker because I didn't want to confuse you will both the working yarn and it. I'm put this strand back later.

#5 WT st back on LN

4. Bring the WT st back to the LN. OK, now I'm using the marker and the strand. The yarn is still in the front of my work but the WT st is now back on the LN. (#5)

#6 wrap complete, Y in back

5. Bring the yarn to the back. In #6, you can see that the yarn is now at the back of my work and the wrapped stitch is officially wrapped.

#7 WT st now on the R of the strand

6. Turn your work and purl back to the beginning of the row. Look at #7 and you will see that the yarn is on the correct side for purling and that now the WT st is to the right of the strand and the 1st stitch on the RN. Do not purl the WT st on this row.

#8 back at WT st

7. Once you reach the beginning of your row, turn your work and knit back to the WT st. (#8)

8. Look at #8 and you can clearly see the stitch you wrapped. It's the 1st stitch to the left of the strand and the 1st one on the LN. The wrap is the "circle" around its base. This stitch is obviously different from the others.

9. You are going to knit the wrap and the wrapped stitch together now. (This is the hole prevention stage.) You are going to move this stitch back to the RN (you can remove the strand.) Then, with the tip of the LN you will go through the wrap first and then the WT stitch and put them both back on the LN. In this position, you will knitting them regularly together with the RN. (#13 & #14)

#10 still on RN

 10. In # 10, you see the WT st back on the RN.  You can see the wrap at its base which you will pick up first with your LN, followed by WT stitch. (#11 & #12)

 11. These two stitches may look/feel awkward as they sit on your LN ready to be knitted together but just do it, it works.

#11 LN picking up the wrap

#12  LN holding wrap & WT st

 12. You can see in #11 and #12, the LN picking up first the wrap and then the WT stitch. (Note: knitting a wrap and its WT st together is really very easy and not tricky at all.)

#13 Wrap & WT st on LN

#14 RN ready to K them together

 #13 In #13 and #14, you can see the final step almost completed. (OK, I forgot to take a picture of them knitted together.) Once you knit those two stitches together in #14, your WT st will be done and you'll be ready to finish the row by knitting across to the end.

#15 no holes

14. #15 shows a done WT st with a marker and you can see that there are no holes.

15 In my swatch in #1, I made two WT stitches on each row but you can practice this procedure any way you like.

Or, you can use this practice swatch:

1. CO 10 stitches and work 6 rows in stockinette. (You can add some garter border stitches to keep the swatch flat.

2. End ready to work a K row.
3. Knit 4 stitches.

4. Wrap the 5st stitch and turn to purl back. Turn

5. Knit back to the wrapped stitch and knit it and its wrap together.
6. Continue knitting to stitch 8.

6. Wrap the 9th stitch and turn. (Rep. #5)
7. Knit to the end of the row. Turn and purl back. Turn.

7. Continue wrapping and turning the 5th stitch and the 9th stitch for practice.  

I'm going to leave you will a Cheat Sheet for wrapping stitches on the knit side of stockinette.

Quick Cheat Sheet
Abbreviations/Symbols: 

K = knit, P = purl, Y = yarn

b = back, f = front

LN/RN = left needle & right needle (On circs, this refers to the tips)

sl = slip, st = stitch

\ = to, tog = together, T = turn

W = wrap at base of WT st

WT st = stitch you are wrapping.
Read the symbols as they appear so: sl st LN \ RN reads: Slip stitch left needle to right needle.

W &T on K side starting at the stitch to be wrapped: 
1. Sl st P LN \ RN

2.. Y \ F

3. Sl st RN \ LN

4. Y \ B

5. T

6. PB

7. T & K to WT st

8. K WT st & its W tog

OK, that's it for today. I hope my directions are clear and that wrap and turn becomes your new BFF in knitting procedures also.

Next week: W & T on garter; very easy. Plus some projects in the works.

Miss L, we'll miss you.

6 more days and Miss L starts her second phase of Seeing Eye training.

 Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
 Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

OK, I'm going to make a dark confession: at the moment, my internet game of choice is............................bingo! Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame, but for the moment, I'm addicted and I love to play this baby during my daily 50 minute treadmill grind. Of course, these addictions are known pass quickly, especially since, with bingo, every site and every app want you to join with friends, enemies, strangers, the whole world, and play this game for money. And don't forget to get on Facebook and tell all your BFFs about your progress. Cripes! I just want the numbers to roll out at a slow enough speed so I can daub the Bingo cards in peace. OK, they can give me make-believe toy icons as prizes for my progress; but cash and conversation, Fohgettaboutit!

Didn't watch the inaugural speech on Monday but I did see a documentary on the last month of MLK's life when he traveled to Memphis to help the striking municipal garbage workers and where he was murdered. Disturbing to watch. Especially since the racism which was so blatant back in 1968  has largely gone sub rosa in the 21st century. And it was more disturbing to see cops by the hundreds, well-armed, ready to charge peaceful black marchers in 1968 and then think about the disturbing pictures of the OWS protesters and their treatment by cops in 2012. 

So staying with "disturbing" for the moment, my first pick is rather different:

http://www.gonzotimes.com/2011/05/nothing-brings-out-patriotism-more-than-killing-human-beings/

This is from the Gonzo Times which has been labelled a "radical left publication." This article has a very disturbing picture, so be warned. I was interested in it because I was not pleased that the US murdered Osama bin Laden. I know it would have been oh, so inconvenient to bring him to trial but if you tout yourself as a country where the rule of law is honored then you have to accept the inconvenience which may come from abiding by these laws.

Important to read. Disturbing to see. But just look at some documentaries from the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s and remember we also are a country of haters and very capable of committing horrific deeds.

And now let's go to the Smithsonian Institute's Archives, first to look at some archival myths:

http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/smithsonians-top-6-archives-myths 

And then to its home page:

http://siarchives.si.edu/blog 

SI Archives says about itself: The Smithsonian Institution Archives captures, preserves, and makes available to the public the history of this extraordinary Institution.....The history of the Smithsonian is a vital part of American history, of scientific exploration, and of international cultural understanding....Throughout this web site you will find the treasures of the Archives and the stories of the Smithsonian’s seriously amazing contributions to the history of science, technology, art, and culture. Come and learn more about the Archives and how you can use our resources, our expertise, and how you might work with us to further our mission.

 

With the Smithsonian museums which sit on the mall in Washington, DC, you see a classic example of when the US gets something right. This free resource is open to the world and it's the most satisfying, and exhausting, tour you'll make when you visit DC. Right now, the SIA blog is discussing how to photograph your family treasures and also discussing presidential inaugurations with photographer, Michael Barnes.

http://nexercise.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/new-years-fail.html 

The above link is dear to my heart since it discusses the millions of times promised, millions of times failed, New Year resolution to lose weight. A lot of fun facts here. NeXexercise sponsors this page and they are offering a free app. Don't know anything about that, but this page is informative and fun to read in a sad sort of way.

And finally:

http://www.kitchendaily.com/ 

OK, I'm hungry and their recipe pictures look so good. I'm eying baked banana oatmeal and I'm thinking about using canned salmon for the salmon clubs instead of salmon fillets. That would work. None of the ingredient lists nor directions look onerous. Be sure to click around other recipes for more good ideas.

OK, that's it. See you next week.