"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Movie Monday and Miss M

I think Miss M is playing with her lion here, another real object she better not meet in real life (Remember? No toys of actual objects allowed.) She sleeps the night and seems housebroken. At this point, only the gate into the hall works in the kitchen; the one into the dining room just leans there. Which means she'll be out of the kitchen in a flash if left alone. I can't see the purpose is buying another working gate. Jenny, another, earlier, lab, didn't allow you to trap her in the kitchen as she got bigger. How do I know this? Did you ever see a door frame after a dog eats it? Or window blinds? Miss M and I play "peek-a-boo" around the kitchen island. In time, she'll just look over the island to find me.

And now, a movie: State of Play. The more I see Russell Crowe, the more I admire him as an actor. I think L.A. Confidential was my first view of Crowe and I didn't like him (that is, his character.) During the 1940s, for all you film buffs, there was a "bad guy" actor named Lawrence Tierney. He had star roles in B movies and had the reputation of being a real life bad boy.

I thought I was watching a reincarnation of Tierney in Crowe's L.A.C. role and Crowe's real life arrest for assault (threw a phone) against a hotel worker just reinforced this. However, there's a fine actor behind whatever Crowe's real life personality is.

He didn't win an Oscar for The Insider, when he deserved it but did win one the next year for Gladiator. It was a typical Hollywood "making up for a mistake"award for an angst-filled swashbuckling role they have no qualms rewarding.

I really haven't followed his movies as a look at the list on IMDb shows me. I forgot he was in Proof of Life, which I did see and forgot. I missed Cinderella Man - don't like boxing - and A Beautiful Mind. Ron Howard lacks the cutting edge as a director which I like, but, hey!, he's Opie after all.

Once again, I picked up State of Play about 1/4 through the first time but did return to watch it twice straight through.

Crowe plays a newspaper reporter on a paper which is bleeding red and to staunch the hemorrhage has introduced a blog presence. And this problem and conflict (thoughtful worked-out stories vs. instant blogging) is one of the many themes which run almost sub rosa through the plot; which is basically a murder mystery who-dun-it.

First, a black kid and a pizza delivery man are shot (we see the shooter.) Then, a Congressional researcher is pushed?, jumps? in front of a subway. Within minutes, we learn that the Congressman was having a affair with this researcher and that he is investigating a Blackwater-type Iraqi contractor. If you have lived on Mars, you may not realize that all these plot points are going to converge. They do, of course and amazingly for this type of movie, the explanations in the end are plausible, though perhaps not emotionally satisfying.

I'm not going to give away the ending since this is a 2009 movie but you won't come away with a "Ah, the good guys won." feeling. You will come away with thinking and talking points since this movie touches on important current events and important timeless moral dilemmas.

What I liked:
1. Almost no extra scenes except some short red herrings as in a lot of mysteries. It told a basically linear story without fluff.
2. No sex. No, I'm not a prude but this was a mystery. I knew people were "doing the naughty" I didn't need to see this distraction.
3. Good professional relationships: among reporters, bloggers, editors, cops, Congressmen.
4. No car chases. OK, Crowe jumps on a car to escape but this scene happens within a short distance in a parking garage.
5. People call the cops! What a novel concept.
6. Excellent performances. From stars like Affleck, Crowe and Mirren but also side roles like Bateman's sleazy cameo and Daniels' unctuous Congressman.
7. Crowe's appearance. That's an actor's presence not a star's posturing.

And a final big like: "Put a candle in the window" from the song, Long As I Can See The Light, by John Fogerty and sung by Credence Clearwater Revival. Wow! This song plays at the end of the movie as the paper is being printed (great real printing scene) and the credits roll. Just wow!

I'm listening to the song as I type. So, I'll end with: see this movie. And, stay for the credits and the song.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Knitting Friday

It was one of those shining moments last evening when you have a moral decision to make in a split second and this decision may cause you some social discomfort.

We were at a dinner/lecture on nanotechnology. The speaker was a nice guy: knew his stuff, affable, relaxed. Everything was going well until he got to the section where he was explaining how different countries had laws controlling the use of this technology. His approach was: Canada enacted a law......Britain enacted a law....Japan enacted a law....and in the US (pause) we got a health care bill.

What followed was his throw away line: Which apparently no one wanted.

At which point, immediately, instinctively, and forcefully, I call out: No!

And he looks up surprised (and I'm sitting right in front of him) and says: Oh, someone wanted it.

And I say forcefully: Yes!

He says good-naturedly: Well, I guess I shouldn't go there. And everything ended affably.

Not really a big deal but how could I, after months of blogging in favor of a Medicare health package for all in the US just sit there and allow this off-handed comment to go unanswered? This subject has never been a cocktail party joke to me, folks, as you all must know by now.

On Monday, I teach my knitting class so I spent today: shopping. I still have the cuff to finish on my final knitting sample for this class but I went shopping.

I got the cutest clothespin octopus from Ikea. You hang it over a rod and put light wash on his clothespin legs (more than eight) which revolve out from his body. I got another wooden Lazy Susan (and just who was Susan and why was she lazy?) [Edit: Lazy Susans date from the 1700s - thank you Wikipedia.] The first one holds the computer by my bed so I can listen to Libri Vox. I got 6 bars of Ikea dark chocolate which was 21 ounces for $5 - a bargain.

Then I went to Marshalls and discovered that skirts are back! I got two which promised to suck in my butt. In fact, they even came with pictures of a butt being sucked in (OK, I know that sounds vile but I'm too tired to figure out the nice way of saying this.) However, I didn't notice any difference in the size of my butt once the skirts were zipped up. I also discovered size 4 and size 6 felt exactly the same so I think this skirt really comes in S, M or L. I did put back the Carole Little black skirt. That fit was horrid. But I did buy a summer skirt in deep brown, yellow/orange and cranberry. Unbelievably, it works and I have three cranberry tops. How is that for luck?

So for me, this was a shopping marathon. But I do have a picture of the last variation of the top-down shell to show you, minus the second cuff.

The color is darker black, but in that picture you can't see the detail on the cuff ribbing.

Who would have thought that such simple directions as: CO 80 sts, join, *K1bl, P1* for 4". K, front and back in every stitch for 160 sts...... would be the start of so many shell, pullover and cardigan variations?

I'm gotten to the point where I just pull out the needles and yarn and start another top.

Next week, I'll show you the lone shawl (and who would have thought that would have happened?) I'm working on. Now it's time to go and finish all these samples. See you next Friday.

Happy knitting.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Website Wednesday

I guess I might as well talk about some random thoughts today, as if I've never done that before.

• I was so smug about today's website pick since I had picked two beauties for today over a week ago. I was so organized because I sent them both to my mailbox. However, when, in total smugness, I checked to see if I had posted either before (I am thorough, if not too smart) I found I had posted both already. Talk about a balloon popping.
• I don't know if any of you have been following the battle royale between the NJ Gov, who's a bully, and the NJEA, which got to be the most powerful teachers' union in the US by also being a bully. If it weren't that this conflict is really only the first battle in an attempt to move NJ from Blue state to Red state, it would be a hoot. Why? Because, the NJEA needs some very serious reform. It represents professional workers in good, old-fashioned unskilled worker union fashion. However, they did not become a nightmare alone. During the time they were demanding and getting out-of-line raises and benefits, they were negotiating with mostly private sector employees/employers (Boards of Education) for these benefits. Neither side wanted to understand the consequences of these contracts. It's obvious now, with an anti-union Gov, that resentments were sub rosa against this union for a long time. (Just read some of the comments to articles on this topic.) What I find amusing (in a wry, cynical way) is that if this Gov had an ounce of savvy, he could perform a slam dunk against the unions. But he doesn't. He's just antagonized all but a rabid base with his stumbling loudly into areas which are not the purview of a Governor - telling voters to reject school budgets in towns which don't accept a pay freeze and, off the subject but related, telling Bergen County voters to overturn their Blue Laws. Who could have imagined that the NJEA bully would be pitted against another bully? Who would have thought this might be their salvation?
• As I type, I'm watching Angels and Demons. It's really better than The DaVinci Code; which is really faint praise but I can sit through it more than once and I love that theme music.
  

OK, I know you must be thinking: She has nada for a website pick and she's stalling. But you would be wrong. Here it is:

http://www.onlineschools.org

You know that I'm a sucker for lists. They make for easy reading and fast learning (when they are accurate, of course.)

Online Schools says of itself (on this site; you'll see why I'm saying this in a minute):

Our goal is simple - to create a series of curated schools by producing, collecting and cataloging the vast array of visually stunning academic content circulating throughout the Internet.

This is a labor of love - we hope you enjoy it.

On this site, you have a list of "Schools of" sites to click for things like: How 3-D works; Facts about the IRS; The Facts about Poop (that one is very interesting), etc.

This is pretty light reading. But then click "contents from our old site" at the bottom for:

http://www.onlineschools.org/content.html

and you enter a different web world. It seems that Online Schools started out helping people decide if online learning was right for them. On their original site (much less glitzy than their current one) they hyperlink over 50 informative sites. Just a few: 100 Best Book Blogs for History Buffs; 100 Must-Read Blog Posts on the Future of Learning; 100 Blogs Every New Teacher Should Read; or 50 Best Blogs to Learn All About China. You can see you that you now have 350 sites to peruse.

My only caveat is: I can't tell if this is a current website; no date listings except a copyright in 2009. But take a look at Online Schools; it's worth a long visit.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Movie Monday & Miss M

Miss M spent most of the week sleeping so I thought this picture would be appropriate. She's gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks and except for her play times, she spend a lot of time asleep. If it's like kids, I'm expecting a really big growth spurt.

She's been to outdoor dining at restaurants and has been welcomed into retail stores (carried at this age) wearing her Service Dog in Training bandanna. One task in this first year is to acclimate her to as many out-of-the-house settings as possible.

I, when I act as alpha dog, wind up being "walked" by her from the back lawn to the front lawn. She likes to walk me by grabbing my skirt hem and pulling it as a leash. Oh, I can see Ceasar Millan (the great Dog Whisperer) shaking his head in disapproval.

And now, on to Movie Monday.

Watching State of Play (Crowe, Affleck, Mirren) in the very early hours of Sunday, I thought that would be my review today but I'm going to stay with my first choice: New Moon.

First, as the movie world probably knows, Catherine Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz as director on this second movie in the saga. And, I found out late that Twilight editor, Nancy Richardson, was replaced by Peter Lambert.

Not only did I watch New Moon last week, but the girl and I then found time to sit through the director and editor commentary on movie. You know, when they replay the entire movie with voice-over how-it-was-done comments but no movie dialogue.

Weitz, who directed The Golden Compass, and Lambert seem like OK guys, but did any see Weitz's Golden Compass before hiring him?

Visually, TGC is stunning but its theme is seriously lacking a soul (and no pun intended in that Pullman [the author of the book] is an atheist.) Things happen in TGC but you are never drawn into the angst.

Weitz brings the same failing to New Moon.

When I first encountered Twilight, as I've said, I knew very little about the story yet Hardwicke and Richardson carried me through the plot and made me care about the protagonists.

Weitz and Lambert carry me through the plot (and carry me on and on and on through the plot) but I just don't care, except when.........

Fellows, the story belongs to Edward and Bella. OK, I know that Jacob plays a crucial role in the saga but the fanstsy romance is not his. Yes, I know that Pattinson and Stewart are too young to have the acting chops to carry this fantasy but they seem to have a physical chemistry (hey, guys, don't start on sexual orientation rumors; that's why they call it acting) which makes their presence together riveting.

That's why the beginning and end of New Moon work. Edward and Bella meet only at these sections of the movie; in the middle Bella and Jacob interact and does that middle section drag. (Even the girl, who is Team Jacob, agreed - so using Republican statistics that one person who dislikes Obama is equal to 5 million people who like him, you've got your proof.)

Now, I understand after reading Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that really not much happens in the entire 2000+ page saga. Action-wise, in Twilight you have James stalking Bella; in New Moon, you have Laurent threatening Bella and Edward at the Volturi; in Eclipse, you have the battle with Victoria and the newborns; and in Breaking Dawn, you have Bella's pregnancy (OK, I'm including this because of its oddity) and the non-battle with the Volturi when they come to the US for a visit.

Outside of that, for plot/theme, you have Edward's lips on Bella's and the saga's continual cliff-hanger of: Will she seduce him before she marries him?

I'm not going to go into the logistics of how Bella maintains her virginity through three novels especially since she 's eager to lose it but I think you'll agree that with such a plot/theme you need Edward and Bella together because you need SEXUAL TENSION.

Let me tell you the few things I really liked about New Moon:

1. Edward and Bella together.
2. The room pans to show the months passing after Edward leaves and Bella sits catatonic in her room.
3. The shots of the wolf's eye (really Jacob) after the morphing. First, when Edward is away, you see only the reflection of Bella. In the end, the eye reflects both Bella and Edward. That was a great touch.
4. The Volturi scene. Michael Sheen (with no trace of his David Frost role) ate up the scenery. (Dakota Fanning was adequate; I can't see the praise for such a small role.)
5. The disturbing scene when the tourists are led in for the Volturi's lunch. It reinforced the fact that these vampires were in no way Carlisle's "vegetarian" types. But fellows, there were kids in that happy meal - not funny.
6. Jacob's first morph into a wolf.
7. Jessica. Anna Kendrick is such a natural and a scene-stealer.
8. The Cullens.

And now, what I disliked: the "watching paint dry" middle of the movie when Edward does the noble thing (when doesn't he always knowingly do the noble thing?) and leaves Bella so he won't hurt her except unknown to him this gives her a whooper of a nervous breakdown.

That middle section really needed a good editor. Take a look back at Twilight. Hardwicke/Richardson didn't have an extra scene yet they were able to avoid the tableau-style scene progression; the story flowed. In New Moon, the Jacob/Bella/biker-danger seeking/back to school/werewolf/Laurent/etc. section was soooooooo long.

And that's sad because I really think it only needed a faster pace. As I said, the room pan scene was right-on so the ideas were there but not their execution.

So, in case, you're still confused about my reaction to New Moon - I think I'll only be watching this movie again while using the scene selection feature on the menu.

I'll leave you with some, perhaps, good news: Nancy Richardson is returning as an editor for Eclipse. Chris Weitz has been replaced by David Slade (30 Days of Night) and Howard Shore (LOTR!!!!) is scoring Eclipse.

That's it for the Twilight Saga until Eclipse opens this summer. Though I think I'll tackle Breaking Dawn, the final novel, soon from the angle: How do you present sexual intercourse to pre-teens? Obviously, not in the way you would present it to adults, I think. Though to be sure about that I may have to finally crack the spine on Nora Roberts novel.

See you next week.

Oh, me bad!

This is not so much a posting as an apology for not posting either Website Wednesday or Knitting Friday, because......because.....wait for it.....I just finished reading Eclipse and Breaking Dawn starting Wednesday and ending at midnight Thursday. And, I saw New Moon on on Tuesday!

What a Twilight saga week!

I'll talk about the movie and the books on Monday but right now I'm decompressing and about two, three paragraphs are all I can manage typing right now.

On top of all this, I have to get ready to teach my knitting lesson (top down shell with variations) a week from Monday. I seem to be knitting every variation possible. I think I have enough samples now but I also seem compelled to knit more.

I'm past my three paragraphs. Have a good weekend. Back Monday.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Movie Monday and Miss M

Since Miss M's last picture, I think we've been giving her "big" pills because in this picture she looks twice the size. I'm happy to report that in two weeks she seems completely housebroken - we're at the stage when she barks (well, it's still little dog soft in sound) when she needs "park time." I'm also well trained in always stroking her haunches as she "delivers."

Bad news in that the girl is exhausted. As you know, she is the alpha dog (ha!) here and she's fantastic with Miss M - and completely wiped-out. Two weeks ago, pictures show her as a carefree child; now, this kid needs some serious R & R!

And now, on to the Movie part of this Monday. I know, you thought I would make my feeble excuses again.

On Friday, I got to see the beginning of New Moon and I've blocked time to see it all straight through tomorrow. And yes, I'm hooked. I know I'm the salmon swimming the wrong way when it comes to most moms' opinions about this vampire series. You know the feminist line: girl dangerously chooses a potentially abusive partner, etc. And you know my line: Chill!

As I've said before: be sure to get in unobtrusive "lessons" re: the danger in such relations . But then just look at this series as a rite of passage event. I'll discuss the movie in a minute but first the books. I've only read Twilight and I've only read 100 pages of it. After 30 pages it became like looking for that proverbial pony. Meyer starts out with a universal teen problem: shy kid in a new high school and community. Wow! I thought, let's see what she does with this. Well, she put me to sleep.

When Stephanie Meyer started this series she had a fundamental problem based on her religious beliefs (she's Mormon): she did not want sex before marriage between her protagonists. However, I think she was savvy enough to realize that she would be hooted and booted out of the publisher's office with such a premise unless she was only aiming at a very narrow audience.

So, she came up with vampires. I know it's a hooky and hackneyed premise but I think it works well with her intended audience. OK, on first viewing of Twilight, I'm silently laughing myself to death when Edward spouts such lines as: I can never lose control...... But getting beyond my cynical, liberal scorn I think this "If I allow my carnal desires to succeed, my vampire lust for blood will be triggered and I'll kill you." works.

Shoot me now, but I can even see a metaphor here (well, I can see a metaphor anywhere): We all have desires that will give immediate pleasure but can lead to unfortunate consequences.

OK, let me move on to the movie, Twilight, which I think is far superior to the book. I know that's damning with faint praise but here's the deal: I walked in that movie with the only this background: I knew Edward was a vampire and Bella was a human and they were (or soon would be) in love.

It was going to be up to the director, screenwriter and editor to present a story I would be interested in and be able to follow or present a story like Identity (2003) where I'm still wondering: what the hell happened in that movie?

I think that Hartwicke (director), Rosenberg (writer) and Richardson (editor) tell the story very well. And (shoot me now, again), I think there is some very good acting in this movie. Hartwicke (and I'll only use her name since it's faster) seems to be a vignette type of director. As an example, take the scene where Edward is introduced. Forget the music cue as he enters telling us: this guy is important but look at Jessica and Angela's reaction when Bella asks: Who's that? Watch how they turn their heads to see and then answer. It's completely natural.

Or go back one scene where Mike sits down at the lunch table between Jessica and Bella. After he runs off to chase Tyler, Jessica moves closer and takes his seat; he's not coming back and sitting next to Bella.

Or, much later in the film when Bella and Edward are in the truck fleeing from James and she passes her friends laughing and enjoying themselves. Nothing is said but you get the message: Bella's future with Edward demands a lot of unpleasant changes.

Now, I'm sure most people have not watched this movie a zillion times as I have unless they are in love with Edward and/or Bella and then they probably are not interested in any of this stuff anyway. However, "white noise" movies (that accompany my knitting) get a lot of viewing and analysis from me and unlike other white noise movies, like The Other Boleyn Girl (pretty, but nothing there), there's a lot to catch in Twilight.

Another theme is the portent mini-scenes.

Just two examples: Edward's first appearance in the movie in the school lunch room. You move from his walking silently to Jessica's explaining about him. When she says something like: No one here is good enough for him, you get a shoot of his face with a slight smile. Later, this all makes sense when you learn that Edward can read minds.

Or, when Laurent says to James: James, don't play with your food, when James taunts Waylon. Small point but important because logically James should kill Bella immediately in the ballet studio but he "plays" with her giving Edward time to rescue her.

I guess my appreciation of Hartwicke increased after reading those 100 pages of the book. Meyer has Jacob tell Bella the complete story about the Cullens immediately thus destroying any dramatic suspense. (That tells me never give Jacob a secret to keep.)

Hartwicke fleshes out the vampire theme and the movie by having Bella make this discovery on her own. And then, the next scene, when Bella walks past Edward into the woods with its' "right-on" musical accompaniment and the looks on his face that he knows she's figured it out, works. As does the revelation in the woods scene which immediately follows.

Finally, just a bit about the acting. I've already said that I liked the supporting acting. This can be a real movie maker or breaker when the story just revolves around two actors. And, start throwing the tomatoes but I also liked Stewart and Pattinson. Vampires have been interpreted in so many ways and I think that Pattinson with his height and skin coloring captures the look. Also, I think for his age (21 - 22) at the time of shooting, he captures the mood of this undead creature who is 108 year old vampire captured in a 17 year old's body finding love for the first time. Stewart acts awkwardly and it works (if this continues into New Moon, I might react differently) for a young, shy girl who captures the heart of Edward Cullen. I know, I know, this is such old fashioned and pre-feminist thinking. But, again, chill. If I had married my first love, it would have been a disaster. I get it. But I still needed that first love. And no, he wasn't a vampire - or abusive.

That's it. I started this post in the dark and now the sun is shining. Like a good vampire of old, with the sun it's time to move on.

See you next week.

Knitting Friday

For some people, this is religious day. I'm fascinated by the role of religion in human life. I like to go back to study basic beliefs without factoring in the existence of a deity and try and figure out how those particular memes came to be.

Right now, I'm listening to The Golden Bough by Frazier. His thesis is that religion came about so humans could understand death. That sounds plausible to me.

No pictures today. My photographer has just returned, tired, from fishing with tales of enormous bass and carp (the later got away; the former was released, as usual.) I really can't ask him to take pictures for my "picture palette" - the dining room table - is being used to block a summer shawl.

Not one recently made but I spent the morning going through my summer tops and shawls. Most of the shawls I didn't block and that was a mistake with about 8 of them. Since I only have the one table for blocking this is going to take a while.

My Summit shawl from Knitty in blue fingering wool is such an easy knit BUT, at least for me, marking whether you are making a right or left curve is an excellent idea. I was away from knitting it for only two days but I couldn't figure out which way I was heading and, of course, my choice was wrong. But, as I've said, repairs are very easy with this pattern.

From my "summer survey" today, I need cotton tops but I'm eying this shawl:

http://www.spinningmartha.de/WebRoot/Store11/Shops/61920259/MediaGallery/Pimpelliese_english.pdf

It's called Pimpelliese; it's garter; and you make the edging as you go. Happy days!

However, its' a small shawl so I have to work out if I can enlarge it with repeats and/or use much larger needles; US 3 or 4 is called for.

Well, that's it for today. Happy holidays to all who observe. And happy days to everyone.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Website Wednesday

Miss M. is sleeping the night now and seems pretty housebroken. How's that for 4 days? And, she has quite a yowl for such a little puppy.

I read that our new Gov in NJ is down 9% in popularity (when the poll question was about his proposed budget cuts) in just two months. Now since he only won with less than 6% do you think if he had mentioned these budget cuts during the campaign the outcome of the election might have been different?

Not that we don't need some real changes in NJ (500+ municipalities? Talk about mini fiefdoms) but you make your most lasting changes when you work with people, not brand them as the enemy. Did we ever have a federal prosecutor as Gov in NJ before? Not a good fit.

Three sites today:

http://www.zefrank.com/youngmenowme/

It's pictures of people as Young Me and Now Me. With some you can see the resemblance; with others you say: No way! Both photos are supposed to be with the same expression, background, clothes, etc.

Click on "How to submit your pictures" for an easy way to submit your photos if you're interested.

And here's a mahjong game for you here:

http://www.freemahjong.org/

OK, for work if you turn off the sound. I like it because it's not an instant win. In fact, it's usually a loss. You can use the Find Moves feature but you still lose.

The tiles look authentic. No fish or dog tiles here which makes it more challenging since I didn't see at least 5 moves because the screen flashed my defeat with "No More Moves."

And finally, a site which doesn't need me to tout it:

http://www.life.com

This is the website for Life magazine (are they still in business?) known for great photos.

It's an interesting site to cruise but two items are really neat:

1. Scroll down to Photo Fun and click "Real or Fake?" Click on each picture to enlarge it and then vote if it's real or not. You'll get an instant answer and the % who guessed correctly.
2. Click on "Would you rather see?" You get two choices of pictures. Click the one you want and see the picture and the % of people who chose as you did.

There's a lot of pictures on this site; a lot of eye candy and a lot of real news.

Enjoy the sites.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Movie Monday or Not?

What? You say: Where is the director/screenwriter/editor review of Twilight which you promised?

Well, what do you think of this as an excuse:



or this:









This adorable pup is 7 weeks old and arrived last Friday. She will one day be a service dog but for a year she will be lazing her days with us (and apparently doing a good deal of praying if that picture is any indication.

For this blog, I'm calling her Miss M (not a singer like Bette Midler, but very divine.)

Her real training begins when she leaves us in a year (there won't be a dry eye in the place) but we're learning some things we have to do even now. One thing is that her toys can't be objects from real life, like a telephone. So she has a gingerbread man doll. When did you ever come across those guys walking down the street? Unless you're a hungry fox.

Also, you can't use the word "out" for potty time. Once again, that word is ubiquitous so we have to ask "Park time?" Oh, that is going to be a real memory challenge.

I think 7 weeks is too early to be weaned from mom but then dog is not my species, so what do I know?The first couple of nights were without sleep for everyone and the times in the cage (boy, that's a real nice cage) were pooh and pee fests. As the boy said: The gingerbread man had real issues. That is, gingerbread man, the fleece mat, the whole cage and Miss M. had to be bathed - many times.

The girl, who has primary responsibility for Miss M. (the boy's turn is with the next one) has been a real trouper. Coat and shoes ready for midnight and later Park times; exhausted but content and caring.

This is going to be a developing story and I think I'll blog about it occasionally - look at the popularity of TBogg's beagles.

I know I find it interesting as to how service dogs get initially trained and now I'm in on the ground floor. I hope you will interested too.

Now, I ask you: How can I sully those adorable pictures with a movie review?

I'll just leave you to savor them and I promise my review will come next Monday. I know you're saying: Liar! Liar! Pants on fire! I guess I deserve it. But isn't that a cute puppy?

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Knitting Friday

This is the pattern you must try:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTsummit.php

and here is a picture of this Summit shawl on practice yarn:
This sample is not blocked.

In fact, the sample was coming out so well that I stopped the sample and started on the "real" shawl with US 5 needles and Knit Picks Palette (fingering) in a royal blue, a color similar to the Knitty shawl.

I have to tell you that these instructions are so well-written. If you follow them religiously, I don't think you will make a mistake. But, if you make a mistake, it seems you can fix it more easily than regular shawl knitting since you seem to be knitting in separate modules which are joined as you go along.

If you look at the Knitty Summit shawl, you can see the horizontal threads which you achieve by dropping stitches at intervals. Just a tip: if you have to rip out a section and you have already dropped the stitch (you'll understand this once you start the pattern), just use a crochet hook to work the dropped stitch back up to the needle. Then rip out to your mistake, rework the section and drop the stitch again.

Be sure to use a row marker for angst-free work. The pattern, once you get started, is two rows (one K, one P) of a "pattern" - either dropping a stitch or YO and about 4 rounds in stockinette; except for the last column in each row. If forget which row you are on but you remember that every dropped stitch produces 9 horizontal threads (so if you drop a stitch and get only 7 threads you know you didn't knit enough stockinette rows) you can pretty easily find your place.

And finally, learn how to knit backwards for this project. It's a great plus. Here's a good site for learning:

http://www.wolfandturtle.net/Yarnpath/index.php/Yarnpath/knitting_backwards/

http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/secure-html/onlineec/instructionalArticle.asp?iaid=15

Each site has slightly different instructions. Here's how I knitted backwards.

1. You're looking at your work on the knit side with the left needle on the left and the right needle on the right (or their tips if you use circs) and the working yarn coming from the back of the right needle.
2. Take your left needle and put it left to right in the back loop of the first stitch on the right needle.
3. So now you have crossed needles - the right needle on top facing left ( \ ) and the left needle on the bottom is facing right (/ ). And, the first stitch "on" both needles.
4. With your right hand, take your working yarn behind the left needle, up between X of the two needles and around the left needle only. The working yarn will trail off to the right.
5. So facing the knit side of your work, you are looking at crossed needles with the original first stitch in the front and the yarn you just worked around the left needle in the back.
6. Now you are ready to make your backward knit stitch.
7. With your left needle as the guiding needle, take the yarn you just wrapped around the left needle through the middle of that original first stitch and onto the left needle as a regular stitch.
8. Now you should be looking at the crossed needles (facing the same way but the left needle may be on top now), with a knitted backward stitch as the first stitch on the left needle and the original first stitch as the first stitch on the right needle.
9. Since you have made your first knitted backward stitch and it's on the left needle, you don't need that original first stitch so just slip it up and off the tip of the right needle.
10. Keep repeating this for as many stitches as listed.

In the beginning at least, I found it helpful to say: In knitting backwards, the left needle does the work.

I would suggest purling regularly the first time you purl the just cast-on stitches. (Like Knit 12, CO 5, T. Purl back.) I found them difficult to manage in knitting backwards over them the first time. Of course, if I had better needles.........

And finally, here is a second picture of my recent spate of top down knitted pullovers and tops:

I made this cardi to check out patterns. Those are rows of seed stitch on the yoke and hem. Once I decided I liked that look, I made one in gray cotton for the summer. (Picture next week.)

And now, I must leave because the service dog arrives today! I will have pictures of a dog on my blog! Happy days!

Happy knitting.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Website Wednesday

I guess it's like going to a really good restaurant and eating something that's a "wow." and I'm feeling that way about a new shawl pattern from Knitty (more on this on Knitting Friday.) This is a pattern which is a "wow" for me so I'm trying to find as much spare time as possible to work on it. So, I'm typing very, very fast today.

The website for Wednesday is:

http://www.skepdic.com/

It says of itself:

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a website and a book:
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0471272426/roberttoddcarrolA/)

Each features definitions, arguments, and essays on topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies, and provides a lively, commonsense trove of detailed information on things supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific....The Web site was created in 1994 - thanks to the Davis Community Network - and is still evolving. The book was published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, thanks in large part to literary agent Ted Weinstein and former Wiley editor Jeff Golick.

I know I say this a lot, but this is really a neat site. No pictures this time; just verbal thinking.

The site is skeptical of things, wants you to be skeptical of things, and then lays out a very good case as to why a healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing to have.

This is not a Now children, we can have different points of view and still get along site. This is a Hey you, what that guy/gal is saying is full of shit and I'll tell you why sort of site.

For example, right off the bat in the Apollo moon landing hoax entry, they say: The Apollo Moon landing hoax is a myth perpetrated by many people and organizations, including Bill Kaysing and the Fox TV network. Kaysing and Fox TV are hyperlinked.

So if you're a "birther" or a "tea-bagger" this is not the place for you to stop.

But if you like to think, if you like to learn, if you like to use your brain, you can start scrolling through this page:

http://www.skepdic.com/contents.html#D

It's the table of contents and it's chocked full of good stuff.

Did I mention that they have a "What's New" section? So don't forget to bookmark it for return visits.

And now, I return to my knitting.

Happy learning.

Health Reform Law - The First Step

From today’s Crooks and Liars (http://crooksandliars.com/) here are some of the provisions of the health care reform bill passed yesterday:
1. Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday
2. Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions
3. No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage
4. Free preventative care for all
5. Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they’re still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insureds.
6. Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.
7. The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors.
8. Requirement that all insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.
9. Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.
10. AND no more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can't lose your insurance because you get sick.

It’s not perfect (but what is?) and I heard it’s chocked full of amendments which were added to sweetened the deal for congress people to vote “Yes.” We shall see.

A side note which just shows the anger and stupidity in many people today: We still have an Obama sticker on our car and yesterday morning we had just gotten on the Garden State Parkway in NJ. The traffic was moderately heavy, we were in the right lane, had entered without cutting anyone off, driving in a way which would make a driving instructor proud (important to know considering what happened.) I turned to my husband (the driver) and said: Be careful, the health care vote is today. I’m sure he was thinking: Yeah, right. Crazy lady. And with that, a green SUV passes us on the left, honks his horn and gives us the finger. Oh, if only we could be vindicated so quickly all the time!

I had sort of expected something since before the election our Obama sticker got a lot of negative finger waving.

I do think the best thing I read though was the explanation from our Congressman Scott Garrett, Mr. Lock-Step Republican, for why he was voting “No.” You see, he explained, the bill was unconstitutional! What a dipshit excuse! Though I, even looking for the pony under the manure, reasoned that perhaps he had gotten so many “Vote for this bill” phone calls and e-mails (Hubby tried calling but only got through once because his mailbox was always full as they got closer to the voting.) that he felt he had to give some sort of quasi-sane excuse. Not that I believe a word of it.

I guess you may have noticed I didn’t even mention Movie Monday yet and, folks, I’m not going to. You see, I haven’t seen a good or bad movie in the past week worth reviewing. I am going to revisit Twilight as I promised from the director/screenwriter/editor POV; but not today.

Yesterday’s vote may have been historic or maybe not because the vultures are at the door and they are royally pissed with this loss. (And, I’m not even factoring in that they know a mixed race man got the first significant health care reform through in over 40 years!!!) So I’m not going to savor in this victory (???); I’m going to think about it awhile though.

But I’ll leave you with this little story:

On Reporter’s Roundtable (NJ reporters talking about NJ news; every Friday on PBS at 7 pm) they showed a clip of our present NJ Gov, Chris Christie, talking about being a “real” New Jerseyan (so am I, Chris) and returning NJ to the state he remembers from his youth.

Whoa now, Chris. I hope you don’t mean this as this sort of statement is often used: to return the world to the time before we had those pesky problems like minorities living by us and working with us.

Not even going there, I checked Christie’s age. He was born in 1962 which makes his cognizant childhood years in the late 1960's and into the 1970's.

He wants to return to that! Drugs, bad clothes style, riots, overt prejudice against “those people” like gays - the list is long.

I just don’t get Republicans. Why can’t they work together to make the world a better place for all of us? Oh wait, I’m walking into Aragon’s coronation speech again. Silly me.

See you next Monday. Or Wednesday, if you want a neat website to visit.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Alfred P. Doblin, a columnist in The Bergen Record (yes, even though they wish to be slickly known as The Record, they are incorporated as The Bergen Record) ends his column today on NJ's future with: We don't need to tax; we need to build.

WTF? Those two ideas are not antithetical. You can tax and build. You can build when you use the money wisely you get from those who can be taxed, the rich.

I am so tired to witty, TV bite phrases. Pithy does not put "bread on the table" nor solve problems.

And since I'm on a tear this a.m., I looked at two pictures from the scrolling picturama (I think I made that word up) on the left side of The Record website today.

Picture 1: 200 protest at Steve Rothman's office against health care reform. It's a sea of gray and white.

Picture 2: Union protesters march against NJ budget cuts. OK, we only see about five faces but they are all "minority."

Talk about a disconnect. Unfortunately, I don't know if the good guys are going to win this one. Let's not forget: Money talks, bullshit walks.

Now, that's a pithy saying.

Knitting Friday

Oh, this is excitement time! The service dog will arrive next Friday. She is a 9 week old golden lab and she will stay for a year and a half before she goes off to be trained and eventually be “of service.”

The kids are very excited. The house will need a thorough “pick up.” You can’t drop stuff on the floor without an immediate pick-up from now on unless you want to spend a lot of time at the vet for x-rays.

Caring for a service dog warms the cockles of my liberal progressive heart. Dogs are a part of the meme of the US; dogs are a very big part of our selfish meme: Have you priced doggy vet bills lately? But dogs are part of human psyche going back to the first feral puppy who charmed a caveman’s kid so he/she asked: Daddy, can I keep it? What better way for an interaction of species than the care of future service dogs?

And I promise, pictures will follow.

By now, most of you have probably realized as I ramble on that I have nada for Knitting Friday. Before I give you an “I.O.U.” and a promise to be better next week, here are a few random knitting items:

Item 1: I am finishing up my second top-down sleeveless pullover for my lesson at our Needlework Group. This one is in winter wool and I’ll demonstrate it as a vest.

Item 2: I’ve started my third T-D pullover for the class. I’m completely changing the pattern in this one. I’ll have a ribbed neck and long sleeves so it won’t be a straight knit run from the top to the bottom hem since I’ll have to pick up for the sleeves.

Item 3: I just have one sleeve left to do on my cotton gray cardi/shrug. I hate the yarn. Not only is it splitty, it’s slippery and it’s heavy. It’s Luxor D.K and I would recommend only using long double-pointed needles on the sleeves unless you want to do a lot of cursing - and ripping out.

Item 4: A knitting tip: At the end of Item 1, I was just about to start the hem when I noticed a very loose section of stockinette stitch about 4 rows back. There was no missed stitch at the area, just loose knitting apparently. Do I rip back? Nah. So I unraveled the offending stitch back to the problem and pulled it back up with a crochet hook. I still had the loose area. Crap! The solution: Unravel at least three stitches and then work then back up, distributing the looseness among the three stitches. It works.

That's it for today. Oh, did I mention this is a traveling day, the first in a long time?

Happy Knitting.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Website Wednesday

I can't tell you much about this pictorial website:

http://www.etoday.ru/2010/03/ozhivshie-predmeti-terri-borde.php

I think the language may be Russian but pictures speak all languages. What's not to love about the current first picture? A metal frame of a a horse carrying a box of Trojans and....... Well, just take a look.

A banana, an egg, a candle, such simple objects but how they are used here. Take a look. Get a laugh, or smile. But be warned, some of them are not that simple to decipher - at least to me.

Here's another website:

http://www.coverbrowser.com/

I'm being pretty lazy today since I'm giving two choices of eye candy.

However, I do have an "About" with Cover Browser, which I can read!

Created in 2006, Cover Browser displays galleries of comic book (and book, pulp, games, DVD or magazine) covers for comic book fans like myself to explore & enjoy (there's also links to buy comics). At the moment, there are 455,613 searchable covers from 2,923 different series available. Most of the covers and associated data have been assembled using the nice Yahoo Image API, eBay, the Google Web Search API, the Amazon API, the Yahoo Term Extraction API, different homemade crawlers, and manual sorting. I'm also working with collections you send in or homemade scans.

This site really looks like a labor of love. It’s just a collection of book and magazine covers. I should really eliminate the “just” because it is a fascinating collection of covers.

I clicked on Girl’s Love Stories. Did girls read this stuff? I know, I’m judging a book/magazine by its cover, like a movie by its trailer. But, I’ll ask again: did girls really read this stuff? “Working in a bridal shop, I dreamed of one day becoming Kirby’s bride.” or “It was only a game he was playing. He doesn’t love me. He never did.” And everyone is sooooo beautiful - and white. And they complain about Twilight!

There are current titles, like Harry Potter, but so many are a trip down memory lane, though it’s your grandparent’s (great-grandparents?, great-great grandparents?) lane. But it is fun to click “Pocket Books” for a look at really old (and really valuable) paperbacks

Or click Popular Library and see possibly the only black man - a very young Bill Cosby from an I Spy book. (Obviously, the segregation of the times carried into everything.)

OK, enough of my talking. You have two choices: witty, imaginative pictures or an exploration of popular culture from another age. Both sites are worth return visits.

When Did Health Care Become A Privilege?

Thoughts on Tuesday

In a couple of hours, the NJ governor is going to give a budget address and he is proposing dire things for any type of worker he can harm (state, municipal, etc.) so he can eliminate the state deficit. You know how I feel about going after the working stiffs and not the rich cats but this post is not a rant about that.

Apparently, the one thing we know pretty much for sure with this speech is that the state will be eliminating $800 million in aid to schools. That's going to have a ripple effect and at the end of the day I'm sure art, music, afternoon programs - all types of stuff which give the soul to life - will be eliminated as will be their teachers.

But that's not even my point.

Since this announcement, I've been following the comments to news articles on this subject. Wow! Talk about some very angry puppies. Obviously, hatred of teachers' pay and perks has been simmering sub rosa for a long time.

Now, I have always been dismayed when teachers' contracts are negotiated for large pay increases, especially during bad economic times (truth be told, even during good economic times.) But I don't blame union greed as much as I blame B. of E. culpability. Boards of Education are so many times the first step for a lot of local politicians. Most of them have kids in the school system so they go along with the negotiations. I guess I never heard of a B. of E. drawing a line in sand with contract negotiations in NJ.

However, even that's not my point. Here it is: it's the anger in these comments. These commenters are royally pissed. After all, as they tell us, they learned with 50 kids in a class. They don't have pensions like teachers . They don't have job security. The litany of woes is endless.

It spooks me that there is so much anger out there just waiting for "pay back" policies which won't solve anything except give temporary succor to tremendously negative feelings.

I didn't hear it from Obama; I'm not hearing it from Christie. One is "lay-backing" his way through; the other is bullying his way through.

Neither is saying to ordinary citizens: Hey, we're all in this together. Let's work together to make things better.

Wait a minute! That's a paraphrase of Aragon's coronation speech!

I guess I am still proverbially digging through the shit to find the pony.

Oh, and that excessively angry guy who did so well in the 50 kid classroom. Maybe if the teacher had had fewer kids she/he could have given him the hug he so desperately needed.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Movie Monday

A late and short posting. I spent the day working on an information sheet for my community. It's working name is Moving Out/Moving In Information Sheet. Like its name says, it's here to help new residents entering and current residents leaving our community. Some advice includes: if you pay your Association fees by direct deposit be sure to stop this service when you leave. Oh, yes, people forget and the bank keeps cranking out those checks.

Thought I spend most of the day on this project, it started to flow into place pretty early. I spent the time working to get the right balance since I didn't want this to become an "Everything you want to know about Association living but didn't know where to ask." I wanted to leave them some reasons to go and talk with their neighbors.

I still have a long lead time to finish this project so I guess part of the reason for my spending the day on this is that I really have nada for Movie Monday.

I did see a good portion of I've Loved You So Long which is the English name of a French film. You know I'm a sucker for subtitles. It was worth watching just for the scene where the younger sister listens silently on the phone to the truth about her nephew's fatal illness while the her child, through subtitles, reads a fairy tale which mirrors the pain the woman is feeling. That was one of those magical moments.

But what I have really been sloughing my way through is Bram Stoker's Dracula in audio version. I read Stoker long ago but I don't remember his ironic humor. Like when Harker in his journal in eastern Europe reports he ate something and he must get the recipe for his finance, Minna. Oh, the silly man, is he going to get a very big surprise, very soon!

And then I'm still watching Twilight. I know, I know, I'm nuts. But I have weird reasons for watching movies. I feel bad that Catherine Hardwicke was "fired" after this movie. She made a damn good movie. Forget the acting (and really that wasn't dreadful) and concentrate on the story which is being told. She and her editor and her screenwriter have to get every viewer from A to Z with an understanding of what was going on in a story with a pretty absurd premise: teen girl may have a future with a vampire. But she does it.

Just like Edward says to Bella: I think I'm going to take you to meet my family, I think I'm going to explain just what I mean next Movie Monday. No, I won't punk out like I did with Towelhead (I never did a full review of that.)

See you next Monday. It's time to go find something in the fridge worth eating.