Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

OK, I guess I'm in the nesting mode because what attracted me to this section of the iVillage website:

http://www.ivillage.com/home-organization-ideas/7-b-328549#328549

was their 50 unique organizational ideas, with comments. I love to look at how others store their stuff. Take a look at the 5th slide: that is one neat office. Of course, I wonder how much work gets done there, outside of constant straightening. Or the library in number 6. Look at all those neat books and extremely uncomfortable chairs. There are 52 slides and every type of room seems to get representation, even a three-bed small attic dormer bedroom, with storage.

You probably know that iVillage is owned by NBC Universal, gets about 34 million unique visitors a month and is the largest community-driven website for women. (Wikipedia) Sorry guys.

So you also probably know that iVillage ain't only about storage ideas. So grab a cup of coffee, (I would love to add: and grab a bagel and butter but, their Diet and Fitness section is shouting: NO! NO!) and click away along the top bar. You won't be disappointed.

Gotta go. Knit and Crochet Today is back on the PBS Create channel in a few minutes. I have become such a nester this week! Enjoy.

Next week: How about: Preparing your backpack for a trip down the Amazon in a canoe?

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Thoughts on Tuesday

When I read yesterday (Huffington Post) that Obama considers himself the underdog in 2012, I nearly lost it. He's the underdog? Wow! And how could he have possibly gotten there? It reminds me of that classic defense when the boy who killed him mom and dad throws himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan.

I remember vividly the angst I felt almost three years ago to the day when the presidential election was a month away and specter of a McCain/Palin victory was still a possibility. Of course, I didn't know until well after the election that the Democrats knew from polling that by October 2008 they had captured the presidency. So, I dutifully donated even more money that October for as my husband said: How will we feel if we don't donate more and he loses?

He should have said: How will we feel if we do donate more and he wins?

During the Bush/Kerry election cycle, I spent so much time waiting for Kerry to respond to accusations. For example: he got "swiftboated" and didn't mount a vigorous denial and counter-offensive. So I said: Well, it's summer. The news cycle is dormant during the summer. Wait until after Labor Day. Then Labor Day passed and I said: Well, voters have short memories. He's going to mount a blitzkrieg publicity offensive in October. I guess we all know how that election turned out.

I was excited when Obama got elected. I thought his election night speech was electric. But it didn't take me long to realize he was great with speeches but even greater with appeasement. And I mean appeasement, not compromise. Whether it was his insane belief that he could work with the medical/pharmaceutical establishment and achieve a health plan beneficial to the average American, or his "making nice" with a Republican congress both before and after the 210 mid-term elections while looking for a payback, or his bluster speech to Israel telling them it was about time they got serious about Middle East peace; when things got tough and push-back was needed, he bailed.

His recent speech before gay rights groups where he condemned the booing of a gay soldier at the Republican event was an easy pot-shot at his opponents. That didn't take any balls.

Making a lightening visit to the Occupy Wall Street protesters, shaking some hands and saying he understands their problems would have been ballsy. Of course, it didn't and wouldn't happen.

So Obama will just keep lamenting his hard road to reelection. Bemoaning that the progressive base of his party just doesn't understand him or is just too radical to have its views considered. Never understanding that when you lead with the personality of a golden retriever all you get is your belly rubbed and a ball to chase.

What a pity. Not for Obama, but for any hope this country had that Americans, other than the rich, would have a representative government.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

I'm posting without the promised picture but with a boring explanation and also, as a bonus, I hope, some knitting thoughts of value.

First, the explanation: Well, I'm discovering my shawl pattern design (2 stitch increase, each side, every row) works better with crocheting than with knitting. My original knit pattern of just rows of *YO, K2tog* produced a very tight and puckered edge. Which, of course, makes sense since the 2 K edge stitches produce a much tighter gauge than rows and rows of *YO, K2tog.* So that pattern, which was going to be my picture for today, returned to the frog pond.

Then, I began again on the old reliable trinity stitch and worked along quite well until I found a P3tog which was picked up as a P2tog some rows down. So this became another trip to the frog pond. (More on this below.)

Finally, I found the Vogue pattern Symphony. No, I'm not going to link because it's really the old stitch pattern I use in so many sweaters: 3 rows K; 1 row, *YO, K2tog.*

That pattern is working finally and I promise a picture next week. (It's too little right now to have it's picture taken. )

And, now on to a few random knitting/crocheting tips:

1. For waits in MD offices (or in my my case, DDS offices) bring crocheting (if you can crochet) not knitting. Not even simple knitting. Why? Because for all the faults knitters may find with crocheting, it's an easier craft to rip out. And, believe me, because I know from much hard experience, that you will make mistakes knitting in public. Especially in situations where you move from one area to another, dragging your project along.

2. Knit Picks nickel-plated interchangeable needles are really nice but P3tog needs lace tip needles. You can do P2tog,, K2tog, or ssk on regular tip needles but working lace without lace tip needles on combinations of three or more stitches joined together can lead to disaster. You must be very, very careful to gather all three stitches together and I don't look as knitting slow as knitting fun.

3. If you are a serious knitter and can afford it, buy the best needles you can. You don't have to go the whole 9 yards and buy every size in expensive needles (good needles are not cheap but they do range from moderately priced to high-priced.) Just get good needles in the sizes you use. For me, that would be US, 8, 9. 10, 10.5, and 11. Though I use US 13, 15, and 17, I think I can make do with the big store brands here. I would also get a US 6 in a lace tip and I would probably start with the US 8 through 11 sizes in lace tips though I might add the regular tips to these sizes also. Tomorrow, I'm going to AC Moore to check out the new Susan Bates line. I know it's a Big Box store but with my coupon (the new Susan Bates run $12 and that's moving up to Addi needles prices), I'm going to try only one size to start.

OK, gotta stop. I've been writing this blog since before lunch; just too many interruptions. See you next week.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

As I tell everyone who will listen (or at least pretend that they're listening), I worked hard for the election of Obama almost 4 years ago because I was hoping with his election, I won't have to emigrate to Canada.

Now I'm four years older and I might be revisiting such a move since Obama may be a one-term president. That's one reason Obama is not on my "invite him to the party" list at present.

He, like Corzine (previous NJ gov who lost to Christie), fought hard to get to the position in which one failed and one has (as a former adviser said) a Titanic struggle to win reelection. Corzine left an oh-so-safe Senate seat to run for NJ gov and Obama fought hard against Hillary Clinton for his party's nomination.

Then, they both governed like they knew nothing about the art of power. They squandered achievements, ignored necessary political sound bites and watched a sea of red politics engulf them lacking the wherewithal to stem this tide.

Now, everything is converging into perfect symmetry as Christie, acting like the shy virgin at her first prom, insists he is not running for the Republican presidential nomination while making speeches with bon mots like: (Obama) still has not found the courage to lead.

Wow! Even this non-candidate knows how to eviscerate a potential opponent. Christie, bully that he is (and I don't dismiss that as a minor fault), has reduced Obama to the defensive mode, and the battle hasn't even started.

So that's where I am, folks. I haven't been a happy camper for a long time. Forget about climate change wiping out our species; Americans are going to dumb themselves to death long before that happens.

But I do have a great website pick:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

This is the Smithsonian Magazine online and it's a treasure trove. And assuming Smithsonian = federally funded museum vs. tax-phobic Congress = budget cuts, you'd better take long looks at this site before it becomes a slashed line on next year's budget.

Where do I begin? Currently, you can read about the jaguar (that is one magnificent animal) freeway proposed from Mexico to Argentina. It's a five page article with pictures (not a USA Today summary article) written as a first person feature article so you get the folksy tone with a lot of facts.

Or read a retrospective of Willem de Kooning and be sure to click on View More Photos for over 30 examples of his work. On the last page you'll learn that the author of this article, Mark Stevens, is the co-author of a Pulitzer Prize book on de Kooning.

Check Trending Topics in the right column. One topic lists 38 articles on the US Civil War. Be sure to go through all the categories listed at the top of the page and then check the Editor's Picks (right column) for each category.

OK, if you've read these Wednesday picks before, you know the drill. Just click around and enjoy the reading and the pictures. You won't be disappointed.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

OK, not to beat a dead horse (what a horrible image!) though I'm about to. I'd like to revisit The Other Woman, this time with spoilers. I watched it again yesterday being mad at myself again for crying; not tearing up but just this side of bawling.

I guess I want to look at this movie for a second week because I think it shows what's wrong with American establishment cinema: the lack of character development, the plot moves and the actors just follow.

In bad movies, you see these flaws immediately but good actors can take you along for the ride and you find yourself giving a rating of 5 stars without even knowing what happened. (Let me clarify something: I can like a bad movie. I can watch and enjoy one; in fact, I've done so many times. The Land of the Lost comes to mind.)

It's not that American movies don't have important themes; it's just that these themes seem to be hammered into you with too many examples or just allowed to float into the ether without a second glance.

Let's take some themes from TOW: infidelity. Jack is as "guilty" as Emilia here. She's attracted to him. She visits his house and walks into the room where his son is watching TV. She knows she's breaking up a family. Soon, we discover Jack will accompany Emilia out of town for some routine law work (Why is a partner doing this type of work? Emilia asks - my paraphrase) and then he accompanies her to her hotel room (But we passed your floor. Emilia says.) So both conspire to betray Jack's wife.

There's a theme here, folks: young woman pursuing/being pursued by an older, wealthy married man and only considering their immediate pleasure. OK, I'm not planning to moralize about this but I do wonder: Jack blithely betrays his wife with a 20-something. Only once? Doesn't anyone think he'll be betraying Emilia in time? Does Emilia (Harvard graduate and attorney) even once think about this possibility?

Then there's the wife, Carolyn. Lisa Kudrow nails the professionally successful, bitter, spiteful woman, who is a very good mother. A fact which is lost in the cloud of her bitterness and hostility towards Emilia. But, why shouldn't she be? This young woman arrived and destroyed her marriage and she now has to share her son with the bitch. However, she is the only adult who is able to rise above her feelings. When her son is upset because Emilia thinks she smothered her 3-day daughter, Carolyn, goes out of her way (and works past her intense dislike) to research the autopsy results thoroughly and then meets with Emilia to put to rest her fears. She still loathes the young woman but she is able to think of her son's needs.

And that's more than Jack does. The movie never explores the tremendous guilt and grief a SIDS mom feels. We see the motions - looking at Isabel's pictures, participating in a walk of hope - but when Emilia, still filled with grief, lashes out at her father in front of everyone, Jack's reaction is not one of understanding. And, Jack's lack of understanding just escalates when Emilia realizing she is not guilty in Isabel's death wants a reconciliation, Jack refuses.

Wow! Infidelity Infant death. Grief management. Anger management. I'm not even going to go into the step-family dynamics and much more. All powerful themes, yet all treated like a Lifetime movie (not that there is any wrong with those.)

But some much of this is what's wrong with American cinema of this genre. We haven't moved out the 1930's mode of problems, angst, resolution, and a happy ending. We're still rewriting that script for the zillionth time.

There must be a middle ground worth exploring between saccharine and life's a bitch and then you die. It's called the middle ground where real people live but America cinema is not ready to go there. Pity.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

Not a picture today. In fact, not much of anything because I just realized that September does indeed have only 30 days and if I don't work on my October newsletter ASAP, I can probably kiss that month goodbye.

However, I do have some random knitting thoughts to share:

1. My top-down wool vest in a very simple lace pattern (*YO, K2tog) using four different colors of KP Palette is coming into the home stretch. (Oh, how I love those sport allusions!) I started with the darkest color for the neck band. Then I followed that with stripes of white, very, very light beige, light beige, medium beige, and then the darkest color (dark beige) again. This wool is a dream to work it and when I finish this project, I'll only have 92 full skeins of Palette left.

2. I realized that as long as the pattern has a resting row (an all K or all P row), I can work a multiple of a 4 stitch pattern for the shawl I posted last week.

Last week, of course, was a crocheted shawl with 2 increases each side on every row. Here's a quick pattern for the same type shawl in knit which I'm making now.

CO 8 stitches.
1. K in the front and back of the first and last two stitches of every row until the shawl is as long as you want it.
2. When you reach your length, just K (no increases) the first two stitches at the beginning and end of every row.
3. When your shawl is the width you want, bind off loosely.
4. And what about the shawl pattern in-between? Right now, I'm working a variation of the trinity stitch which is:
Trinity Stitch Variation: Multiple of 4 sts.
Row 1: *(K, front, back, front in one stitch), P3tog* Note: this row can be worked with the P3tog first.
Row 2 RS: *P*
That's it. Just be sure you don't increase within the pattern. That is, if you work an extra (K, front, back, front in one stitch) at the end of a row. If you do that, your pattern won't line up properly and your shawl shape with be wonky. Be sure that your P3tog "bobbles" line up on every other Row 1.

Row 1: xxx B xxx B xxx
Row 2: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Row 1: B xxx B xxx B
Row 2: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Row 1: xxx B xxx B xxx
Row 2: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Row 1: B xxx B xxx B

See how it should look?

While this knit version seems to be working well, it is much slower, especially in lace. Now, I want to search for more 4 stitch patterns and practice with heavier yarn and larger needles.

Next week, I'll post a proper pattern and a picture.

See you then. Happy knitting!

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

Lately, I've been thinking (not always a good thing to do) that the human species really has no value except perhaps as a stepping stone genetically to a species which does have some value. Of course, by saying this, I'm talking about human moral values which I believe provide a glimmer of a "soul" we may truly possess one day. But evolution is a tricky thing and the next step for mankind is a genetic crap-shoot. I can hear baboons saying as they look at man: This is an evolutionary step forward?

Of course, being an atheist I can have this thoughts. That is, I can look at the world humans have created and sink into massive depression while religious people would have to look at the shit-hole so much of the world is and just offer up another prayer. Thank god I'm an atheist!

Along the thread of this thought process, let me present my website pick:

http://www.infocobuild.com/books-and-films/social-science/terry-jones-medieval-lives.html

It's a series of videos on groups of people in the Middle Ages: peasants, damsels, minstrels, knights, outlaws, etc. It's narrated by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame so it's rather light but it looks historically accurate. Jones starts out with peasant life and then segues into the Peasant Revolt. If you remember that scene from MP and the Holy Grail where the peasants discuss philosophy and then offer the observation that you can tell a king from a peasant because he doesn't have any shit on him, you'll understand the tone and purpose of these videos: breaking down some medieval myths with humor.

Americans are long on opinions but short on historical knowledge. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever taught a kid who came into class liking history. The closest I ever got to wonderment about history was when a student was stunned that I knew so much about the Middle Ages. Implied in that astonishment was the feeling: Why bother about stuff that's not in your present world? (Except for help in passing tests, of course.)

So take a look at these videos. They're about 30 minutes each do don't forget to bookmark the site unless you have a large chunk of free time ahead.

Look at these videos as an easy way to brush up on your history. Since, like it or not, you'll living history right now and what you and I do here will affect our children's and the world's future. If we learn about our past we may be able to avoid those historical blunders which have unforeseen consequences. (Repeal of Glass-Steagall ring a bell?)

Enjoy.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

This should be a month when we remember Richard Gere in Chicago (where he literally tap dances around the evidence in Roxie's diary in order to convince the jury she's really innocent) as we watch the USA tap dance around the facts trying to convince the rest of the world that the Palestinians don't deserve statehood.

Remember when I commented that Obama's seemingly even-handed speech re: Israel and Mideast peace was a good start but we had to watch for the follow-up? Well, folks, the follow-up never came or rather did come in the form of more Israeli illegal settlements. I guess Obama can add the Mideast peace process to his list of "Things I'd Rather Not Tackle During My Presidency." It must be a very long list by now; I hope he has enough paper.

But let's approach two indie films, one USA and one Australia, where we can see even here how the US is out of touch with the rest of the world. The first film is The Other Woman starring Natalie Portman; the second The Japanese Story with Toni Collette. Both deal with emotions and sadness, but there the similarity ends. For in the American made TOW, we get a Lifetime channel soap-movie. It deals with family problems - infidelity, loss of a child, the step-mom - but it seems to tell us only to listen to the the female characters - Portman as the step-mom; Lisa Kudrow as the first wife (who is given the only dialogue with an edge) and Debra Monk as Portman's mom. The men just appear to be acted on. In fact, the only male who makes a difference is Portman's pre-puberty step son (no way do I believe that kid was an adolescent as stated in the blurb) who proves the deus ex machina ending American directors seem to love.

Oh yes, I cried during TOW; not teared-up, I cried. It plays on the fear of all moms but that doesn't make it a good movie. Perhaps a happy ending is so ingrained in the American psyche, especially when dealing with our sacred cow, the American family, that even with indies, if you're making a typical family drama, you had better end it happy or at least with the hope of happy.

The Japanese Story doesn't go that route. While we're not dealing with mom and apple pie here, (Collette plays a pissed off geologist who is given the job of chauffeuring the scion of the Japanese family which owns her Australian employer around the outback.) this is still is human emotion story. And when the wallop comes about 2/3 in the film, I thought: OK, that was scary. How are they going to fix it? But, of course, they don't. No deus ex machina appears. A relationship which was advancing suddenly stops dead. Shit happens and we have to deal with it.

Of course, it doesn't hurt the movie that we're treated to breathtaking scenes of the Australian outback. Perhaps that scenery was the sucker-bait; we're lulled into the beauty and danger of the country (they almost die when their jeep gets stuck in the dirt) as these two people of different cultures grow to like each other. So, while we're expecting a troubled ending (the guy is married), it's not the troubled ending we get.

Maybe that's why I can sit through foreign films, subtitles and all; foreign realism is realism (Oh yes, I know that foreign films are not immune from the boredom odometer); while US realism is just hurdle on the way to a happy ending.

How did we culturally get there? That's a field for deep study, but I do know our movies spent the Great Depression (1930s) presenting a lot of sophisticated fluff when the world was on fire and today, as the US sinks into second world status, we're keen on producing over-the top CGI movies or adolescent boys' frat movies.

So take a look at The Japanese Story. It's a small movie and worth the look. Skip The Other Woman or wait until it comes to Lifetime.

Final question: I watched as much of The Green Hornet this weekend as I could before heaving. The question: How do these dogs get financing?

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Knitting Friday

What a lousy blogger I have been! Do you want excuses? Or how about a pattern? Let's go with the latter:


The picture on the left is the shawl I have been heralding for some time now. It's my own pattern, but it's so simple that I'm ashamed to call it such. I was working along with a typical top-down shawl pattern with increases in the center and at the ends. I always have trouble with those because by Row 7, I'm forgetting if this is the row I increase both center and ends or just the ends.

So, out of laziness, I said: What would happen if I increased two stitches each side on every row?

My first project was with thin cotton crochet thread in beige and I got a summer shawl which I wore all summer. Then I bought a skein of Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton in black. I wasn't happy about this purchase because Aunt Lydia and I had never been BFFs (no problems with her products, I just didn't know her) but she was a dream to crochet. You're looking at the shawl done in 1 skein of AL on the left. As you an see, I got the crescent shape and wonder of wonders, it stays on your shoulders.

My latest crochet version of this shawl was done in Coats and Clark nylon thread. Pictures of that on another Friday but with that one, I added picots along the bottom and the crab stitch along the top.

I've made this shawl also knitted but at this point only with US 17. I want to work it out with smaller needles before posting the knitted version.

But on to the Easy Lace Crocheted Shawl:
Materials: 1 ball Aunt Lydia mercerized cotton #10, 350 yards
H hook, (Note: I was interested in making an open summer shawl. If you want a winter shawl, you can adjust the hook size to match the yarn.)
20" middle depth, 51" from tip to tip; makes a stay-on-your-shoulders, crescent shape
Increase Section:
Row 1. Ch 5 and join for a loop.
Row 2. *Ch 5 & work 1 single crochet (sc)* in loop, 2 times (xs). You have two loops. Turn
Row 3. Ch5 & 1 sc in each loop, 2 times. You have 4 loops. Turn
Row 4. Ch5 & 1 sc in 1st loop 2 times, *Ch5 & 1 sc* only one time in each loop across. Last loop: ch 5 & 1 sc 2xs. Turn. You increase (inc) 1 loop in the 1st and last loop every row. Work Row 4 to 76 loops. End your last row with 2 increases in the first and last loops. Turn
(Try the shawl on and if it's the length you want, proceed to the straight knitting. If not, continue to increase each side as above until you are at your desired length.
Straight (no increases) section:
All rows: *Ch 5 & sc* in each loop across. Turn (No incs in the 1st and last loop.)
Continue this straight section until your shawl is the width you want.
You can end the shawl by just finishing the last row or you can add picots or any other edging you want.
Blocking:
I blocked my shawl on an ironing board by stretching it out over a towel and wet blocking it with a soaking wet linen handkerchief and a hot iron which barely touched the shawl.
Once the entire shawl is blocked this way, work blocking wires or flexible tubing through the top of the shawl and hang from a clothes line to dry completely. (Note: Blocking really opens the loops. I didn't block with my nylon shawl because the weight of the thread opened the loops.)
Weave in the starting and ending yarn and it's ready to wear.
This is absolutely the easier shawl in the world to crochet. Also, it's a great traveling project and gift project. Enjoy.
(If you find any mistakes in the directions, please tell me.)

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Website Wednesday

Autism.

No, my pick has nothing to do with autism. In fact, until about 10 pm last night, I didn't even have autism in mind. Then I saw a segment on autism on HD Net. I have no idea about the philosophy of this channel, though my husband watches a lot of very good travel show there. The segment on autism was part of a 60 Minutes type show. The segment seemed current and also even-handed since it did not dismiss the autism/MMR connection but rather it presented creditable reports from both sides of this issue.

For those who have no reason to follow the alarming growth rate of autism in the US (2010, CDC: 1 in 91 kids with autism spectrum disorders), signs of autism usually appear about 18 months, just at the time most children receive the combined measles, mumps and rubella shot (MMR.) And, for those who don't follow the MMR shots. Originally, all three diseases were vaccinated against individually. Your kid got the measles shot and the physician said: Call me if he/she gets a reaction. Then your kid got the mumps shot and the physician said......, well, you get the picture. Many parents say that the problem of autism began when the pharma companies decided to bundle three shots into one since the pharmas/MDs felt that this was a way to assure kids got all three shots.

And then, after receiving the MMR, parents began noticing that living with happy, healthy children changed almost overnight into lifetimes of hell and sorrow for all concerned. Pharmas have always pushed back with their data and studies saying: It's not our MMR, it's genetics, it's the environment. Genetics, which come from the parents; environment, which is established by the parents. they should just say: Hey, we're immune from liability, live with it, after all, it's all your fault.

Yes, I am bitter. Perhaps because we, as a family, have credible evidence that the MMR is a factor in the autism spectrum. (This is a story for another day and it does have a happy ending which is what makes our experience even more creditable.)

This autism/MMR controversy is a bitter, fighting issue. So much so, that when someone on the Off-Topic forum at Ravelry asked for any stories regarding autism and the MMR and I told the story I alluded to above, the responses to me were so heated (cripes, they were asking for our stories!) that not only did the moderator close the thread (which sometimes happens when things get heated) but Ravelry totally eliminated the Off-Topic forum and replaced it with a closely monitored Adopt-A-Topic forum.

The argument has always been by pharmas and their health official allies, that unbundling the MMR would lead to a rise in these childhood diseases since kids wouldn't get all the shots. Well, there is a such a rise in these diseases now since parents are opting out of the MMR in fear. So why don't they do a study of bundled shots vs. unbundled shots and track the autism rates? Why don't they blood test toddlers because giving the MMR to make sure they don't already have an immunity to one or more of the diseases? (And, yes, this immunity is real.) And finally, autism groups have got to get a PR shark and change their campaign to something like: Autism, a modern American genocide.

But my website is a fun one. Since I need some fun and you do too:

http://lokwi.com/

Lokwi is filled with silly, primitive (arrow use) games, silly pictures (not all child friendly) and wacky videos. Watching the videos on the out-of-control kiddie duck car ride was a hoot. And I do think the video of the guy hitting his head with a guitar multiple time was real. If he wasn't insane before the video, he sure was after it. The Close Call Compilation has to be seen to be believed. Talk about luck!

So why did I post my autism comments and this website pick? Because I guess it just emphasizes that our world can be cruel and senseless but we have to find pockets of smiles and laughter or it will all just become insanity. Enjoy.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

Movie Monday

I'm thinking about taking the summers off from blogging. The days are really just too hectic and I'm just too lazy.

Before I get to my movie(s) pick, here's a comment from Eric on Deus ex Malcontent. He's talking about Steve Jobs but it's a fantastic generic answer to all the rich and wanta-be rich who bitch about paying taxes:

Even so, it is morally right that Jobs ought to pay higher taxes. Sure, he's earned his money; but this is something he was able to do because he received the benefits that go along with living in a stable, functioning republic in which there are good roads, an educated and mostly healthy public, and little chance of a revolution or invasion. He has benefited more than most people from the civilization he inhabits, and he had more to lose than most people and he has more to lose if it all goes to hell.

But instead of holding up a mirror to those-who-can-pay when it comes to their contributing to the general welfare, we get cute pictures of the Obamas on a date night.

Jesus H. Christ! We're hemorrhaging here, folks.

C-Span had an author talking about the fact that the "culture" centers DC, (He obviously has never gotten off the tourist roads in DC if he's calling it that), NYC, etc., have bounced back better economically than the rest of the country so our political and financial gurus really don't get what the heartland is experiencing.

But enough of my general grousing, let me get to the movies and my cinematic grousing. Remember I reviewed The Tourist and didn't find it as ghastly as the rest of the world? Well, I still think it's watchable (unlike The Road which is vastly superior movie but I still can't sit through what I will call the "shoes" scene.)

Then I caught Anthony Zimmer last Saturday afternoon on my movie package. What a title! Folks, Anthony Zimmer here and I have a set a knives for you which are sure to become your culinary favorites.

Anthony Zimmer (2005) pre-dates The Tourist (2010.) and both visit the same plot. So now I find out that The Tourist is another Hollywood knock-off. AZ is in French and it's with people who can act reading dialogue that sounds real.

Watching the passionate make-out scene at the end of AZ, I realized that Jolie and Depp couldn't pull this scene off at this stage in their careers. They have both become plastic icons way beyond playing the nitty-gritty roles that were so promising for them earlier on.

No feature film is real but good ones give you that empathy lifeline which is so necessary between the movie and its audience.

Take a look at Anthony Zimmer. As you know, I'm fascinated by the pull of foreign films on me. Unfortunately, I see the metaphorically significance in all this: It's just another example of America's proclivity for dross. What a pity.

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Website Wednesday

I'm pretty depressed right now. Sunday night, I was watching Inside Job, a documentary about the worldwide financial collapse of 2008 and ten minutes before the end I get a call from the Obama campaign asking for money. Well, I was going to post the movie for Movie Monday but the call sort of added a new dimension to my review. (It was quite a call!) So I packed it in Monday and started to think about puppies and flowers.

The puppies part makes me sad though because today is the day Miss M is returning to the Seeing Eye trainer and she will start her training as a service dog. On Monday, we did a movie with her and the kids. I know we're going to be sad, but what about Miss M? You hear about dogs who travel miles to return to their former owners. How is she going to feel when after a week (she has been away from home during vacation times) she's not returned to us? Do dogs cry?

For my pick today, I decided to go to pictures because pictures can be so evocative and take your sadness to joy; and, of course, also do the reverse.

http://vi.sualize.us/

VisualizeUs says of itself: VisualizeUs is a social bookmarking website for visual contents - VisualizeUs (read visualize us) allows you to remember your favorite images from all over the web, and share them with everyone.

Sometimes, you are looking through pictures and one of them catches your eye. You know you want to remember it and been able to look at it again in the future, but it's not that easy: downloading to your hard disk is as useless as bookmarking the website in the usual way.

....The power of VisualizeUs resides in the possibility to share your bookmarks with the rest of the world. That's where the key of "social bookmarking" is. And at the same time it's the explanation of the term: bookmarks that you don't keep privately in your browser, but are shared with everyone.

This seems similar to the Ravelry feature where you can share your completed pattern pictures with the rest of the community

It looks like you don't have to register to see the pictures, only to post them. I checked the registration and it seems like a typical one: user name, password and e-mail.

Scrolling around I found Tumblr under Architecture. It's just the picture of a room but it's such a warm and cozy one that I'm sure my biorhythms (whatever that is) tilted to the positive side. Then I clicked on Funny and the first one, Bad Friend, removed all my frown lines.

Be warned: there is a Nude section where a lot of the pictures are labeled unsafe and fuzzed out so they need a second click to be shown, which I didn't give them

I enjoy seeing what the the world likes in pictures. Hope you do too. This is a good one-stop-shopping place for that. Enjoy.

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Knitting Friday

This is a travelling day and it's been so long since the last one that I've almost forgotten the drill. I was very good and got the picture of the shawl I wanted to show you today but it's on the other computer so I'm typing sans pictures. (Oh, I love to use one of the three French words I know!) So, I'll wait till next week for the picture and the directions for my mystery, oh-so-simple shawl.

I do have to say that if you want a lace summer shawl which could probably be crocheted (the knitted version will follow later) in one day of heavy work, get a H hook and one skein of Aunt Lydia mercerized cotton # 10, 350 yards by next Friday. Michaels sells Aunt Lydia (what smooth feeling cotton to work with) so don't forget the 40% off coupon. My black shawl cost me $1.79. Talk about a bargain!

I'll leave you with a Ravelry shawl pattern this week just because it's one of the very few I printed out.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amys-scarf-2

It's made up of lace squares and is listed as a scarf but the repeats are 34 stitches and I think it would make a lovely shawl.

Enjoy.

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Website Wednesday

I think you're going to say: What the.........? when you see my choice for today. Yes, it's all about the theater, its history, selected monologues, and a very small selection of full length modern (last century and up) plays.

It is, however, a treasure trove of theater history and well worth the read and then the re-read because, when you think about it, humans have been dramatizing their lives since almost the beginning of time.

http://www.theatrehistory.com/

But I do think you deserve some background info on my thought process for this selection. It all started when President Obama spoke to the nation the other day after Standard and Poor's downgraded the USA credit rating from AAA

The money quote from that speech, that is the one copied around the world was something like: The USA will always be AAA.

And I thought: Jesus H. Christ. Here's the president of the USA addressing our nation which is on the brink of dire economic changes and his memorable line sounds like a coach rallying his football team in a smelly locker room.

Now, perhaps other parts of that speech were as eloquent as I had a dream or Ask not what your country can do for you........ but it really doesn't matter if you pepper it with even one inane quote as he did. That's the one which becomes the shot heard around the world.

And that got me thinking: Words do matter. And what better place to understand the staying power and the carrying power of words but in the theater.

So start with the essay on the Egyptian "Passion" Plays under Ancient Theater and travel up to modern times. The essays are short but you're on the Internet so you have the world's largest reference book at hand for more research if you want.

A lot of humans used and use words very well. Enjoy this site.

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Movie Monday - The Tourist

I know that Starz and Netflix are having some sort of grudge match to the death but why does Starz have to spit on its movie package customers at the same time? I say this because my Starz/Encore/you name it movie package has reached the nadir in selections in the last 6 months. I'm lucky to eek out one movie a week which is worth watching. And this is from a selection of almost 50 movies. Reese Witherspoon as a washed up baseball player in How Do You Know!

Therefore, hearing the reviews of The Tourist, I was ready to pass on it. In fact, I gritted my teeth through the first 50 minutes, looking at it as a remake of Charade, which in itself was a barely watchable fashion-driven May-December thriller romance between Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.

The Tourist is in the genre of Charade: a classy thriller with beautiful settings and half beautiful people (Jolie is gorgeous; Depp seems always ready to slip into his Jack Sparrow demeanor.) At least, the age difference didn't glare and I like the touch of the note Jolie receives at the beginning of the movie: Board the train at Lyons. Pick someone who looks like me and make them (the police who are watching) believe it's I (they used "me" but I like to use good grammar when I know it and remember it.)

I liked that touch because the whole absurd adventure which follows and becomes the core of the film is given a reason. Jolie is the huntress and Depp is the hapless tourist whom we watch escaping killer Russians in his pajamas across the roof tops of Venice.

Really silly stuff with the de rigueur twists and turns necessary in such thrillers.

So I was able to stay tuned beyond the grinding teeth first 50 minutes and I was ready to write a C grade review - until I got to the end of this saga.

And here we get the final twist, and for me, it moved the movie up into a good solid B grade for this type of sophisticated thriller. For here I am, at the end of movie saying: I think I should watch this again. Which I did and that one piece of denouncement knowledge changed my perception of everything. It is worth watching two times.

If you're like me, you're going into this movie agreeing with the Rotten Tomato rating of 19% favorable. And the critics are probably right given the star power of this movie. But this genre, even done well, always insults reality so lower your standards and I think it might be an enjoyable hour and 43 minutes.

Grousing ahead: I was looking at IMDb and saw that remakes of Fright Night, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and new additions of Mission Impossible and Spy Kids will be released soon. These will be added to the mindless actions films which arrive each week. Is there not one original idea left in Hollywood?

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Knitting Friday - and where have I been?

Almost a month since my last posting. A lot of guilt but no energy to post. It's a long summer with the kids, who are very good, but the school day is an unspoken covenant between education officials and parents: give us your kids for our bureaucracy and we'll give you 5 days a week. Summer changes that.

Also, I'm pretty depressed because almost 4 years ago, I helped to elect Obama for not the least selfish reason being that a McCain/Palin election would have had me researching Canadian citizenship. Now, I'm almost 4 years older and I may be having to start that research.

I never thought we were electing H. Rap Brown with Obama though his stump speeches had some of the passion of the '60 black leaders. However, I never, ever thought we would wind up with Clarence Thomas. (OK, OK, I know Thomas is just an angry, small man; but what a waste of promise with Obama.)

I have been knitting though. I have a closetful of sleeveless, open weave summer tops to wear over camisoles. I'm working on a shawl design which is think is unique. It can be knitted or crocheted so that the shape is almost rectangular but the top curves to stay on your shoulders. I discovered the design by one of those famous "what ifs" of history. I just tweaked the increases on a simple shawl and amazingly I had the shape. Right now, I've only made these shawls in my typical *YO, K2tog* pattern variations or in *ch 5, join with sc* variations. I want to stretch my patterns a bit before I post anything. But it's sooooo simple. Like socks first, then shoes.

I'll leave you with this pattern to ponder:

http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/WebLetter/202/Issue202.php

Yes, it's a shawl but take a look at the Japanese Feather stitch pattern. It's 11 stitches on 28 rows and I like it because it has two sections of resting rows (just stockinette) which makes it easy to bind off and on for armholes. I'm thinking about using just this pattern in a top -down pullover or cardigan. What do you think?

Happy knitting.

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Website Wednesday

OK, I'm a very private person (and, just what does that mean, really?) but I'm going to share a guilty pleasure: I love reading reviews. Especially book and movie reviews. Not too guilty, I guess, but I love reading bad reviews because I do think you can learn so much more from reading the negative. Like the Twilight series whose reviews can be found as part of my pick for today:

http://www.goodreads.com/

The positive reviews are pretty gushy and teenager-like but the negative reviews go to the jugular of this pedestrianally written but phenomenally successful series. It's good to know that there are discerning readers out there.

Goodreads says of itself: What Is Goodreads? Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. We have more than 5,300,000 members who have added more than 160,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more. Goodreads was launched in December 2006. Our Mission: Goodreads' mission is to get people excited about reading. Along the way, we plan to improve the process of reading and learning throughout
the world.

Wow! I fell like I'm recommending a literary Habitat for Humanity! Take a long look at Goodreads and be sure to cruise away from the home page. It's all reading this Wednesday, no pictures, but if you enjoy reading books, you'll get a lot of good critical analysis here. Oh, and don't forget to hit "More" at the end of the review since usually you're only looking at the first part of the review.

And now, for a minute, back to The Social Network. I've seen it again and I still don't get its high rating (96%) on Rotten Tomatoes. However, I can flesh out one major criticism, the camera work. I think it contributed to my disengagement with the movie. For example, the scene where the Winklevoss (I love that name!) twins and Zukerberg's roommate realize and then discuss how he has royally screwed them. Director Fincher shoots the scene in close-ups. Instead of a wide-angle shot (and truth be told, I have no idea what that is but I think it's a shot which takes in all the actors in a scene) he focuses on close-ups. First, one twin speaks, then there's a closeup of the roommate speaking, then the other twin.....you get the picture. I know this is an easy way for pick-ups since you only have to call back one actor but you lose dramatic impact this way. These were young men who had been royally screwed by Zuckerberg; in fact, the ensuing lawsuit by the twins is a pivot point in the movie. It's a scene with good dialogue but it works like a TV scene, not a movie scene. TV just moves the plot along; movies, especially movies that want to be seen an intelligent, should work harder for empathy.

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Movie Monday - The Social Network

Why? Why 96% approval on Rotten Tomatoes for this movie? Why a rating which puts this movie up there with Pulp Fiction (94%), The Godfather II (98%) and Citizen Kane (100%) ?

For those in the world who know nothing about TSN, it's about the rise of Facebook, focusing on its co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and the lawsuits against the company in its nascent stage (circa 2003.). Though I do think the Winklevoss twins are still suing.

The movie is based on The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal,2009, (now there's a title which says it all) by Ben Mezrich.. So, I guess Mezrich's lawyers vetted for libel and I also realize I'm watching a fictionalized real story.

It's not a bad movie in any way. It's intelligent but not engaging; thorough but not boringly so. Based on the movie, I would say that Zuckerberg has Asperger qualities: very bright but lacking effective social skills. In fact, we're first introduced to him as his girlfriend is breaking up with him. Despondent, he starts blogging while drunk and blasts her to the Internet world. And at the same time, he starts posting pictures of girls with the question: Which one is hotter? He gets so much traffic that he crashes the Harvard network......and, yes, folks, this is the seed of the idea which will grow into Facebook.

The actors are all very competent with Justin Timberlake given the juiciest role of the bad boy, Sean Parker, founder of the infamous Napster, and early advisor to Zuckerberg. (His greatest advice probably being call it Facebook, not The Facebook.)

Jesse Eisenberg nails the distant, brain-always-churning look which fits how Zuckerberg is presented. Even at the end, we never learn if he is really as devious as others believe.

What bothers me throughout the movie is that I'm never really engaged with the characters nor their situations. It's like I'm reading a well-written news article on an interesting topic. At the end of the movie, it's thanks and good-bye. Not much more.

And that's why I can't understand its almost perfect critical acclaim. Movies with such ratings should be innovative (Citizen Kane) or out-of-the-box (Pulp Fiction.) I just wouldn't put TSN, a good, solid narrative of a cultural meme, in this category.

Now, if the screenwriter and director had tied in the metaphor of Facebook: worldwide human connections which, since they are only electronic, are really not "human" nor actual connections I could understand its ratings. Facebook and its ilk may have changed our social fabric for the foreseeable future. With its invention, we may be moving closer to the stay-at-home, pajama-clad society as seen in Surrogates. Now, there's a story. But watch TSN. Then go have coffee and discuss stuff.

Note: Two things I did bring away from the movie: I'm not joining Facebook and I'm not sending my kid to an Ivy.

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Website Wednesday - Good

http://www.good.is/

OK, even though I'm about to use the word good for a third time this week, this website was too good to pass up, for many reasons.

My Good choice today seems to be used as a adjective like in Good Intentions or Good Ideas. But in its About section, it just calls itself Good and says:

GOOD is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn.

What’s not to love? Currently, you can read about such things as the US annual hot dog eating contest, NASCAR and solar panels, and “shilling” the male birth control pill. Scroll down and you’ll see a headline saying that anti-war protests could be counter-productive.and the article goes on to discuss the sunk-cost effect based on recent research from psychologists from Washington University. They found that when people have invested in a lost cause (Afghan war) they don’t want to walk away from their investment (lives and money) but would rather pour more money and lives into it to prove their investment was worthwhile.

You get a lot of out-of-the-box articles like that from a video on how creativity can be nurtured to an article with 20 quotes on rape showing after the DSK scandal how different people around the world think about rape.

Good stuff here. (Damn, I can't get away from that word!) Go, take a look.

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Movie Monday - Good

I thought Good would be an appropriate movie review choice for the US holiday of July 4th. It’s not a perfect movie, probably no movie can be which has a best-selling book or play as its parent, but it’s a well-acted, adequately constructed movie which looks at the effects of Nazism without resorting to the sledge-hammer approach. (Note: I'm saying "adequately constructed" because there were scenes where I felt I needed to know missing back-stories.)

A general complaint first: the director seems unable to take this movie out of its stage setting. He allows a staged, static quality to pervade. Even when John Halder participates in Kristallnacht, the mayhem in the streets fails to capture us.

And then there’s the imaginary metaphoric music that Halder hears in time of stress. I haven’t read nor seen the play but I bet that music comes from there, probably as an identifying mark, like Rosebud in Citizen Kane. But it doesn’t work in the movie. It could work on the stage where the viewing venue even with the best plays always reminds you of your separation of the stage. There is a special power in movies however so that the best of them “join” with us. Unfortunately, the recurring music in the movie, Good, is the most glaring reason as to why I never connected to it.

OK, after damning this movie, let me tell you why I think it’s worthwhile movie to see. Remembering that I have no history with Good (no play knowledge), I watched it as a well-acted morality play. I watched John Halder, the everyman for all good people, get sucked into a vortex of a fascist government like the proverbial frog first placed in the cold water.

I didn't look at Good as yet another Nazi genocide movie, as many do, but rather as a movie which asks the question: When must good people take a stand? And I’m not talking about good people as heroic people, for John Halder is no hero. We meet him as an adequate college lecturer and slightly befuddled husband and son who assumes household duties as his wife spends hours piano playing and his terminally ill mother moans in the background.

The first scene shows him being driven to Nazi headquarters in the early 1930s. A frightened Halder assumes this summons bodes ill for him and then is relieved that Nazi official, Bouhler, (played by Mark Strong, who seems to be replacing Basil Rathbone as the “good to” villain) only wants him to write a position paper on euthanasia since Halder had written about this topic earlier in novel form.

Of course, the audience hears bells and whistles going off at this point since we know how WWII progressed. However, if you can remove that piece of information from your brain and just look at Halder’s situation as it’s happening you will just be seeing any educated citizen, in any country, at any time. The Nazis, at this stage in their power, want Halder for the cover his academic credentials give their policies and Halder is a man so needy in the areas of love and praise. Well, he gets both, and fast. The succubus of Nazism and Anne both appear at the same time and he lets them both in.

The best parts of the movie are the conversations between Halder and Gluckstein. Mortensen and Issacs are good actors and they both play imperfect people very well.

You’ll miss a lot if you view this movie in the context of Nazism. It’s really a movie about all of us, then and now. And that’s why it’s my choice for our July 4th. Celebration of your country’s representative government should not be flag waving events. They should be times of introspection. The Declaration of Independence was only a fledgling step (and a step only for an elite class.) What have we gained, what have we lost in our march to the present? The music is not the metaphor in Good; John Halder is the metaphor and as such, he is the metaphor for all of us.