"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Knitting Friday

OK, it's Saturday. I lie.

I finished the beige cardi/shrug, pictured right, since my last Knitting Friday. It's in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and I used one skein and about 1/3 of a second. However, I made it long both body and sleeve wise. Even with that I probably have enough yarn left for a vest. At the bottom, of this post I'm reprinting the generic pattern for this cardi.

You'll notice that the first point in the directions is: If a CO of 50 sts works, use it. If not, just CO the amount you need and increase 20 sts at the end of your collar.

I find that works with DK weight (which I consider yarn that works with US 10.5 needles.) Right now, I'm making a summer one in gray cotton/acyclic and I'm using US 5 for the collar with a CO of 80 sts and then an increase of 20 sts to 100 sts to use with US 6 when I start the yoke.

The second picture shows a blue cardi/shrug with a row of seed stitch every 5 rows on the P side. This sweater is the trial run; that is, done in my "not really for prime time" yarn of Red Heart with Wool (I bought this yarn at a Smiley's hotel sale thinking it would be as nice as Wool Ease - it's not) and it's turning out well. I don't know if I'm going to put rows of seed stitch by the cuff; that could be overdoing it.

I've made three cardis in st st and I decided it was time to add some pattern to this top-down pattern. Top-down patterns are tricky with yoke patterns because every RS row has the increases. You can work cables, lace, etc. in the middle of each section but a complete row pattern is trickier. However, you can work in a one row, 2 stitch pattern if you work it on the P row.

I got this idea from a top-down cardigan which ran rows of garter throughout the yoke. Since my front bands are seed I changed my rows to seed. Next time, I want to work the P row in *YO, K2tog* followed by a P row of *K2tog, YO* (to prevent a slant.)

You can probably tell that I love these cardis (hate the name, though.) They are the first garment I have made, beside shawls, over 2 years. I had given up with pullovers some time ago and concentrated on shawls (still my best love) but these cardis are so easy, so addictive and so versatile.

Try one, you'll see what I mean. See you next Friday. Happy Knitting.

Generic Cardi/Shrug - I think I posted this before but I can't find it
(Note: I got the inspiration for this pattern from the Cali Cardi which is still listed on Ravelry but the link to the pattern doesn't work. Plus, the pictures shown on Ravelry are not of the Cardi I first saw at the flyhoney.com site [now defunct.] So I guess the closest representation of the original is now my pattern.)

All I copied from the Cali Cardi pattern was the CO 50 sts and the increase to 70 sts at the end of the collar. After that, I didn’t follow the directions. Here’s what I would recommend.
1. If a CO of 50 sts works, use it. If not, just CO the amount you need and increase 20 sts at the end of your collar. Be sure the increase leaves you with a multiple of 5.
2. I worked about one and ½ inch of collar in seed stitch (Seed is very “giving” so you don’t need to make a buttonhole.) before I increased to 70 stitches.
3. I did my increases in a purl row so I was ready to start the body and raglan increases from the RS.
4. I used US 8 needles for the collar and the bottom hem and US 10.5 for the body with Paton Classic Wool. (I used 3 skeins for a sweater length (not short) and regular sleeve length.
5. After your collar increase, divide the stitches by 5. That amount will be your front stitches, one less than that amount will be your sleeves and 2 more will be your back for:
6. 14 front + 13 sleeve + 16 back + 13 sleeve + 14 front = 70. Put markers between sections.
7. The first and last 5 stitches of the front are done in seed. The body of the cardi is stockinette.
8. I make raglan increases this way: Work to 2 sts before the 1st marker, K f&b in that stitch, K 1, slip marker, K f&b in 1st stitch after marker. Repeat these increases at every marker on your K (RS) rows.
9. Work this way increasing every RS row to your armhole. 8.5 inches for me.
10. Next RS row, work across increasing as usual, to 1st marker, put the sleeve stitches on a holder, work across the back increasing as usual, then put 2nd sleeve on holder, work across 2nd front increasing as usual.
11. Work body to length. Change to US 8 and work hem in seed. Bind off and then work a crochet crab stitch up one side, across the neck and down the other side. Don’t do the bottom hem. This makes a nice edging. Cut yarn.
12. Put sleeve stitches on holder to dpn US 10.5 needles and pick up 2 stitches at the underarm (to match the 2 stitches you increased in the body on #10.
13. Work in the round in K to cuff.
14. Change to US 8 dpn and work your cuff.
15. I work *K1b, P1* for about 3 inches but anything goes here. A short seed cuff would look nice.
16. Steam lightly and you’re done. Add a button to the collar.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

Website Wednesday

I'm going with this banner until I track down its source.

Two things come to mind re: my website choice this Wednesday. First, from the past: I was at a small party when I was a teenager (couldn't drive yet) and we wound up sitting around talking (I was in the artsy/brainy [at least we thought we were] gang) about trains. That was it, trains, and more trains.

The boy who drove me home said: I guess it was pretty boring if you weren't interested in trains.

Second, converts to a religion are usually much more devout than original believers. This is what I've heard. It sort of makes sense. Original believers just grow up doing what the rest of their herd does; converts, coming late to the game, make informed choices (usually.)

And, here's the website:

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/

Now why did I mention those two small items as a preface? Because I have become a fanatic for audio books and you may not share my interest so this may be one big bore to you.

You must realize, however, that two weeks ago, I would go to bed with my knitting and the TV. During the day, I would sit at the computer knitting, reading. and typing Or, very occasionally, I would sit in front of the big TV and knit.

You would think that I liked TV. I sure thought that I liked TV - but I didn't. However, I do love audio books. I would even be corny and say I "heart" them.

It's like the convert who sees the light. I saw the light and it told me that I like to use my ears and not my eyes.

Now, I have mentioned audio books before, I think on a Movie Monday, and the site I cited is:

http://librivox.org/

This is a Libri Vox streaming site (I don't know if that's the right term) but you don't download the books.

The site I'm recommending this Wednesday seems also to be a Libri Vox site but here you download the books.

Why am I recommending this new site? First, the book selections at BooksShouldBeFree download as iTunes or MP3.

I think a lot of people would like this feature. I don't but I'll still recommend it for others. Why don't I like downloading? Because I download to a laptop and it takes sooooo long. However, the audio quality is so much better with downloads as opposed to much of my streaming which often comes across as a recording caught at an extremely slow and wrong speed.

Now, you're not going to get copyrighted books here. In fact, all the recording start with: All Libri Vox books are in the public domain. (If you are interested in copyrighted books, most public libraries in the US allow you to hear these books for a limited amount of time.) But the assortment of public domain books (on both sites) is fantastic.

Right now, I'm hooked on Jacob Abbott, a prominent children's author from the 19th century.
Children's author? His biography of Charles II of England tracks at college freshman on Flesch-Kincaid! I'm reading his biography of Charles I of England (the other ones' son.) You know my dislike of the modern turn in biography where the author is practically "in bed" with his subject describing his thoughts and environment in minute detail. None of this with Abbott. I guess you would call him an old-fashioned biographer but definitely not an expurgating one.

So take a look at either site (streaming or downloading) for a great selection of audio books. You may become a convert.

"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"

I'm trying to source this banner quote. A commenter called Captain Bat Guano mentions it in one blog but I don't think it's original with him. Thorstein Veblen comes to mind but that's going to need more research. I like the quote. Unlike God, it explains a lot.

I guess I have two choices: bemoan my not posting on Knitting Friday or moving on. OK, let's move on but not before saying: my photographer was working, my newsletter was due, I was depressed, the dog ate my homework.

Move Monday

My movie package had The Reader on for the first time last night but I chose to watch the PBS Masterpiece Classic of Persuasion by Austen.

First, a tiny bit about The Reader. It will be on again, and again probably, so I can catch it later. I did channel switch to it for one minute where Winslet was sponge bathing a naked teenage boy. WTF?

But my viewing choice of Persuasion was a disaster. Now, Persuasion is the only Austen book I do like and I've seen the fine production with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root. That production took time to develop the flirtation Louisa Musgrave had with Captain Wentworth. That production showed the crucial denouement scene when Wentworth writes Anne a letter as he overhears her talk about who carries breaking-up heartbreak longer, men or women. In that production you understood the anguish Anne feels and watch her relationship with Wentworth develop anew.

But last night? Remember the scene in A Night at the Opera with the Marx brothers where Chico and Groucho are negotiating a singing contract? By the time they're finished the document has been reduced to one line.

That's how Persuasion felt. Blink, and Louisa has jumped from the wall and been injured. Blink, and Anne's brother-in-law, Charles, has delivered Wentworth's pivotal letter to Anne and Anne is reading it. Blink, and Louisa is engaged to another man leaving Wentworth without any obligations. Blink, and Anne's invalid friend is walking quickly through Bath telling Anne what a rat Anne's cousin and her father's heir, Mr. Elliot, is. (This scene is truly annoying because in the novel, Mrs. Smith is an invalid and remains in her home with her nurse bringing Bath's gossip in to her.)

Simple, but effective scenes are either eliminated or tweaked to be false. For example, in the Root/Hinds Persuasion, Wentworth notices how Anne is tiring on the long walk the family is taking. When his sister and brother-in-law's carriage appears, he asks them to give Anne a ride. A small scene but it shows the stress Anne is under and that Wentworth is concerned for her. However, in last night's version (2007), Anne stumbles and falls and lags way behind the walkers. The carriage appears, Wentworth whispers something and Anne is offered a ride. It was like: How do we get from point A to point B as fast as we can? Oh, I know, it'll be quicker if Anne stumbles and falls.

I think this commenter on IMDb says it best: The film moved along at such a speed, that it was hard for me to feel like I really cared about the characters.

That's a major problem especially with a classic which is so well known. It is impossible not to compare it with other productions and also with the original novel. I can make allowances for different interpretations of novel points but changes like having Anne chase after Wentworth (who abruptly leaves her home) through the streets of Bath and suddenly come upon Charles who hands her Wentworth's pivotal letter. Why, when and where did Wentworth write this letter you wonder? All this production makes you feel is that the letter will put Anne in Wentworth's arms and end the damn thing. (Edit: Thinking about it further, I don't think it was Charles who handed Anne the letter since after reading it, she runs into Charles and Wentworth. Or maybe it was Charles and he moved on and Anne caught up with him and Wentworth. See the problem? Everything happens just to advance plot points and therefore becomes quite forgettable fast.)

It was very disappointing.

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege?

Website Wednesday

Last night, I was watching a Sundance documentary about a famous graphic artist; once you see his work, you'll recognize his work even if you didn't know his name. And I got to thinking: there's a great difference between design art and fine art. Design art (logos, advertising, graphics) tells you what it wants you to get from it (the message) while fine art opens up the world of your imagination. I was happy I finally figured this out, though I got bored and switched channels.

My website pick may not be examples of fine art but you'll get your share of interesting graphic/design art and photos at:

http://visboo.com/

I did some detective work but there doesn't seem to be an "About" section for Visboo. From a cached page, I get: At visboo anyone can become popular, just create an account and start posting....We have already 716 members....syndicated content powered by FeedBurner. Plus, an account sign-up area.

However, the current site (2/17/10) has none of this information. All you get on this page is a "Mail us" link.

Whatever.

Mystery site or not, this is a great site for fun and information. Currently, the How the Horror Photos are Made entry shows you, well, how horror movie shots are made. You know that screaming kid who awakens to the monster in her room? Apparently, she and her worst nightmare are not even in the same shot. Click "Read more" and watch set designers and make-up artists prepare this type of shot. (I like the fact that many entries walk you through the "how it's done" process.)

Now, here's where it's great to be on the Internet: Arthur Robbins' name seems to be hyperlinked at the top of every entry. Clicking his name gets his other contributions to Visboo. Googling his name you'll find, among other sites:

http://www.flickr.com/people/peinturatu/

and from here you can go on to see Robbins' art and read all about him. (Some zany stuff here.)

Is Visboo the creation of this Arthur Robbins? Either this fact is buried so deeply on the site that I'm missing it or my Sherlock Holmes skills have failed me or this is just a mystery I may never solve.

Take your pick for an answer; it really doesn't matter. This is an easy site to get into and enjoy. You get a variety of topics with more than just surface information. Bookmark Visboo for repeat visits; you won't be disappointed.

Note: Some entries are child-friendly; some are not.

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege?

Movie Monday and why there was no Knitting Friday

First, some technical stuff: I have no idea why, when I click on a posting from 2009, I get a black page. Now perhaps I am the only one in the universe who experiences this but I have been trying to fix it with no success. So, apologies if you too are greeted with the Black Screen of Doom.

And now: why no Knitting Friday?
1. It is my birthday month and I like to celebrate a lot.
2. We have had a really big snow storm in NJ so it's shovel time!
3. And finally the most immediate reason for no Knitting Friday, I'll tell to you as a mini-lesson: When you go to the MD for a routine visit and you get told you have an unexpected ailment, even though you probably go into mini-shock mode, be sure to get the correct name of your ailment before you leave the office. Really, don't forget to do this or else you may be spending an anguished amount of time googling a very, very serious condition. While if you had heard the word "pseudo" when your condition was mentioned you would have saved yourself a great, great deal of angst. (I didn't even know that ailments [outside of hypochondria that is] could even be pseudo!) 'Nuff said.

I also got a knitting shock early Friday morning - long before the shit hit the fan - when I laid out my blue shawl to take one more look just as I was binding off the final stitches and - I had a wrong row 3/4 down the shawl! Yes, I ripped it out back to that point because like Poe's purloined heart it would have hounded me until eternity if I hadn't. Knitting does teach you patience.

Movie Monday might have to be tweaked since I'm spending so much more time listening to audio books. I'm really hooked on LibriVox, which really pronounces much more easily as Liver Box. For Valentine's Day, I started listening to Persuasion. It is my favorite Austen probably because I see a darker Austen in this novel, though I do think she probably could have used a good editor midway.

My movie pick is: Nochnoy dozor* in Russian or Night Watch in English. Made in 2004, this is a mind blowing experience. I look at this film as a layman film critic and think: This is what movie making is all about. It's quirky with some ragged edges but it draws you in and drags you along for an unbelievable cinematic ride. I know, that sounds (and is) so cliched but once you see the movie you'll understand what I mean.

The plot has the "Others", forces of Good and Evil (ever heard that plot line before?) battling each other in Moscow through the ages. How formulaic, you say. Definitely - but then again, it isn't. It's vile, funny, satirical, outlandish; a feast for the eyes and the mind.

Be sure to take a look at it. It's on IFC and it's available in Netflix on DVD and Blu-ray.

*This movie is apparently part of a trilogy, like the Matrix. Another movie in the series is Dnevnoy dozor or Day Watch.

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege?

Website Wednesday and More Random Thoughts

1. I changed my banner. I guess this is a fundamental question to where you stand on the human empathy scale.

2. Tomorrow is my birthday. Today, we're awaiting the second wave of a blizzard. We may end up with 2 feet of snow. I've been going around the house moaning: Oh, I need milk. Bad joke, but what is it with people who jam the food stores the day before a storm? Eliminating those with small kids who may need milk, don't people have enough food in their homes for a one-day snowstorm? Don't forget, I just saw the PBS show on the Donner Pass fiasco. Now, there was a group of people who really didn't have food. (Though I guess you could say they improvised.)

3. Yesterday, I was typing in the office and Obama's press conference was on in the next room. He was answering questions about dealing with the Republicans. It was obvious that he still wants to negotiate with them; still feels they could be reasoned with. And, like a flash, it came to me: He sounds in tone just like Neville Chamberlain.

Here is Chamberlain after the Munich Agreement with Hitler (1938) which was after the UK had allowed him to take over Czechoslovakia and other parts of Europe:

After everything that has been said about the German Chancellor today and in the past, I do feel that the House ought to recognise the difficulty for a man in that position to take back such emphatic declarations as he had already made amidst the enthusiastic cheers of his supporters, and to recognise that in consenting, even though it were only at the last moment, to discuss with the representatives of other Powers those things which he had declared he had already decided once for all, was a real and a substantial contribution on his part.
http://www.nevillechamberlain.com/speechpages/neville-chamberlain-0002.html

And from the report on yesterday’s Obama’s press conference:
During his news conference, the president spoke about the concept of bipartisanship, insisting Democrats, who hold huge majorities in both the House and Senate, have to win concessions as well as make them. Mr. Obama noted, for instance, that Mr. McConnell had praised his support for nuclear power, clean coal and offshore oil drilling in his State of the Union address.

"Of course, he likes that. That's part of the Republican agenda for energy, which I accept," Mr. Obama said. "And I'm willing to move off some of the preferences of my party, in order to meet them halfway. But there's got to be some give from their side as well."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704820904575055480248706828.html

And no, I’m not comparing Obama to Chamberlain nor the Republican Congress to Hitler, I’m just saying I hear that same tone of resigned conciliation of “Hey, let’s at least meet our “enemy” half way. He’s got some good points.”

Once more back to the late 1930s and Hitler discussing his adversaries and agreements he had signed in the past:

"The enemy did not expect my great determination. Our enemies are little worms, I saw them at Munich. [...] Now Poland is in the position I wanted. [...] I am only afraid that some bastard will present me with a mediation plan at the last moment." (meaning he wanted to invade, period.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement

So much for Chamberlain's conciliation. As I remember that all ended very badly.

And now for the website:

http://www.metmuseum.org/

This is the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) website and it needs absolutely no plugging from me; I’d assume it gets zillions of hits a day. It is a treasure trove for art, art history and history.

What you shouldn’t miss:

Now on View: http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp

You get to see the current exhibits and hear an informative audio.

Timeline of Art History: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/

This is the treasure trove where you could spend all your waking hours for months.

Here, be sure to click on the top bar: Thematic Essays and Works of Art. This are definitely a Wow! sections. Be warned that this is no elementary school level reading. One reading section leveled at Grade 12.4 on the Flesch-Kincaid scale.

But if you have any interest in how our species represented itself and the world throughout the centuries, this is the place to go.

Enjoy.

Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege?

Movie Monday and Random Thoughts

A lot of thoughts today, some of them in regard to movies:

1. My cream puff chocolate ganache tart (recipe last Friday) was "to die for." Some people still too full to eat again. I would not use 70 creams puffs nor 2 cups of chocolate and heavy cream next time. Next time, I'm thinking about using a rectangular pan, spreading the ganache on the bottom, placing the layer of cream puffs on it and then covering that one layer with more ganache. Also, I would use orange extract: orange flavor and good chocolate, perfect together!

2. I spent the weekend listening to audio books. I had mentioned this last week and I seem to be continuing with this form of entertainment: audio, not visual.

I've listened to all of Book I and the beginning of Book II of Emma and I still don't like Austen. Oh, I did like the chapter where Emma with the insouciance of the rich explains why Mr. Martin will just not do for Harriet (she sorrowfully expands this theme again later when Mr. Elton, her pick for Harriet, doesn't pan out.) And I did like the chapter where Austen discusses Jane Fairfax's past. But saying that, to me, Austen is so superficial. It's the old question of: if these were your last 6 hours on earth how would you like to spend them? Well, not with Austen.

I did listen to all of Wilkie Collins, Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice; all 28 chapters plus postscript. This book was read by multiple readers which was refreshing. Haunted Hotel "talks" the mystery until almost the end when you get some gruesome bits (pun intended.)

Right now, I'm on chapter 11 of Candide. I think you get the satire in a much sharper form when Voltaire is read aloud; and what a quick read it is.

3. So, I'm being to realize that knitting and audio books go together much better than knitting and movies.

4. Which brings me to two movies: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Twilight.

I was watching HP on Friday night (these movies are turning very dark, beginning with HP and the G of F.) There I am, watching HP and thinking: I know that bright Hermione is going to wind up with that dorky Ron. But why? And then I'm wondering: I get the metaphor of the abusive relationship in Twilight but how does a bright girl marrying 'beneath her' in HP send a better message? Isn't this just another variation on the anti-feminist meme that every girl needs a boy in order to be complete? (Full disclosure: Ron was much smarter in the first HP. Remember? He was the one who played that wicked chess game at the end.)

OK, I'm not going to beat this into a bloody mass but it does bring me back to Twilight which got a royal trouncing from many critics and feminists.

I get that you could have a great drinking game for every time Edward worries about "killing" Bella. I get it, it's right-wing mantra of ex before marriage = death. That's pretty clear and cringe worthy to anyone much past pre-teen.

But why does every movie have to pass the litmus test for the feminist woman? (And another full disclosure: I am a feminist woman)

Maybe it's because I remember the goofy, stupid "bodice rippers" I read when I was so, so innocent. I didn't care if those male heroes were abusive. I just cared that they were male. Oh, it is such a innocently-sensual time; and it lingers so fleetingly.

I know it sounds crazy but I think from the outlook of that pre-teen I once was and all the pre-teens who now are, Twilight is perfect. Yes, it's wackily out of touch with everything we want our daughters to aspire to. Yes, it glorifies the magical anticipation which is never matched by the final realization. But, as I've said before, folks: Chill. (I've been told by an 11-year old girl that New Moon is so much better. Can't wait!)

And that is the last word I'm saying on Twilight.

See you Wednesday.

Knitting Friday

A very late post for Knitting Friday. Tomorrow is my birthday party and at 2 am this morning I figured out what I wanted for a b-day cake. So for this birthday, I'm the one who will know what the cake looks like and every one else will be surprised.

Of course, this was not a cake to be bought but to be made. So, I tootled down to Sam's Club because that's where I knew I could by a mother-lode of whipped cream filled, really, really good frozen mini cream puffs. They sell them in packages of 70 and I used every one of them.

Here's my very easy recipe: (Remember, no one has eaten this beauty yet.)

Chocolate Ganache Cream Puff Cake

2 cups of very good chocolate in small pieces
2 cups of heavy cream
70 mini cream puffs

saucepan, whisk, stainless steel bowl, spoon, spatula. large ceramic tart plate

1. Butter the bottom and sides of a large fruit tart ceramic plate.
2. Place cream puffs solidly around the bottom of the plate and then mound the remaining puffs on top of these cream puffs, starting at the second round. With the very few you'll have left, shaped in the middle of the plate - like a wide, small hill.
3. Place two cups of good quality chocolate pieces in a stainless steel bowl. (I use chocolate chips.)
4. Place two cups of heavy cream in a sauce pan and bring to a full boil (watching all the time) over a high flame.
5. Remove from heat as soon as the cream boils.
6. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk the mixture until it's smooth.
7. Cool slightly till it's no longer hot.
8. Start to drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cream puffs until all the cream puffs are completely covered.
9. Refrigerate till the chocolate is firm then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till serving time.
10. Whip up some more heavy cream and serve it on the side.

That's it. Rum would taste good in the chocolate but we're having kid guests and I don't want to answer the question: Say, what's that great flavor?

OK, I know all this has nothing to do with knitting but we're under a lot of suspense on the East Coast: we are going to get pummeled by a wicked snow storm in just a few hours. (You can't believe how crowded Sam's Club was with everyone getting de-icing stuff and staples; not so much with the Super Bowl party type stuff though.

I do have a hat/headband pattern I want to share with you but I'm going to wait until I get pictures. For now, I'll leave you with a link to a shawl from Knitting Pattern Central. Finally, a shawl I might knit:

http://tanglesandmud.blogspot.com/2010/01/first-pattern-ever.html

Got to go. I'm so psyched about this snow.

Happy knitting.

Movie Monday and Website Wednesday

OK, you figured it out. I’m taking Wednesday off. Well, it is my birthday month and I like to get as many “off” days as I can in this short, short month.

Plus, my web pick for Wednesday sort of fits into Movie Monday. Here’s how.

I like to multi-task. In the past, it’s been watching the tiny index card sized TV on the computer screen, knitting, and reading blogs. Yesterday, I found:

http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search.php?title=&author=&status=complete&action=Search

This is a site for free audio, non-copyrighted books. The readings are quite good. Some books have different readers for each chapter and all the selections only run one chapter when you have to click again to continue (a small inconvenience.)

I started with two chapters of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. I’ve read a lot of Dickens but there is something special about hearing the cutting, bitter satire in Chapter 2 when Ralph Nickleby and his cohorts petition the city their United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company should take over the existing muffin business and run out competition. It’s such a silly topic to use as the microcosm for Dicken’s real targets but just because it is such, it’s most effective. There is no question as to the bitter disdain the author holds for Ralph and his ilk.

Last week, I mentioned that I’m watching Emma on PBS so I decided that my second audio book would be Emma (No, I didn’t finish NN but that’s the advantage of separate chapters; I can just pick it up at Chapter 3) because I wanted to see if my dislike of Austen was based on my movie introduction to her since though I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, I’ve seen the movie/TV version of those two, plus Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park.

Nope, it wasn’t; I still don’t like Austen. With Austen, it’s like: Wait, wait, wait....it’s coming....ah, here it is, one line of mild satire. The good, the bad and the ugly in Austen all seem to walk the same straight line. Oh sure, there are slight bumps in the road but all is righted at the end. Mrs. John Dashwood may have to acknowledge Elinor as a sister-in-law in the end of Sense and Sensibility but she is still Mrs. John Dashwood with all her wealth and disdain.

Dickens is so different with his characterizations. Take Mrs. Elton from Emma and Uriah Heep from David Copperfield. Both horrible people but Mrs. E. just moves along oblivious to the contempt around her while Heep, unctuous and cloying, is given a past (who can forget his mom?) You’re not going to like Heep anymore in the end but he is fleshed out beyond caricature.

Having said this however, the PBS production of Emma is good, albeit too long. Why have an hour and a half first episode followed by a 50 minute second episode? The Emma of PBS questions a lot of her motivations. Is this a sop to modern audiences? I would have to read the novel to find it. Not going to happen.

Other prize coming from all this is:

http://www.fancast.com/movies (click "N" then Nicholas Nickleby)

a free online version of Nicholas Nickleby with limited commercials. I haven't seen it so I don’t know how faithful it is to the novel.

And finally: Twilight, again. This movie has come onto Showcase and that's part of my movie package so I have watched Twilight about four times in the last week and a half. I've discovered it's a great white noise movie to accompany my knitting. I've also discovered that this is not a bad movie for the pre-teen, early teen girl who needs some variation of "bosom ripping" entertainment before entering the adult world. I'm liking the way Bella and Edward are played by older actors but still I see the angst of senior high school here. I know it is metaphorically (does it cheapen the concept of metaphor to mention it with Twilight?) laughable and that we're looking at a typical abused woman mentality here but I guess I'm lightening up.

It's like the kid who asks: Mom, where did I come from? And, after mom gives the big sex lecture, she discovers he only wanted to know if he was born in Chicago.

So, moms, don't write off Twilight. It's there for girls to dream and it's there as a good talking points for moms and daughters.

Before I say: See you on Friday, I know I promised a review of Towelhead. Am I procrastinating? Probably. I've seen the whole movie by now but I'm thinking about skimming Lolita again before I post a review. Short review before a longer one: See it. It's flawed (Aren't we all?) but it'll make you think.

See you Friday.

Knitting Friday

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
Howard Zinn, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A personal history of our times”
http://www.rightsaction.org/newsletters/RAnewsletterMarch06-USA.pdf

A short post today because it’s a traveling day. A picture of the hat will follow once the camera gets out of the suitcase.

But before I give you a short hat pattern, I want to mention Howard Zinn who just died.

Remember I told you I’m still trying to figure out what Voltaire meant with “Let us cultivate our garden” at the end of Candide?

Well, after reading Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, you’ll feel like taking the shovel and burying yourself in Voltaire’s garden.

It’s that depressing. But it is a necessary read for every member of our species who wants to be a good ancestor.

Zinn was not alone in his belief that Americans were being spoon-feed rose-colored U.S. history (Native Americans [or fill in your favorite villain] bad vs. U.S. citizen/government saintly) but he did something about his concerns by writing his classic, anti-establishment account of U.S. history.

Zinn is important as a first history read because he slams you over the head with his brutal realism. If you are ready to accept this, Zinn is a drug-free, mind opener.

Right now, Zinn’s book is available free on-line at:

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html

Since the selections include the 2000 US presidential election debacle some must be based on works after A People’s History (1980.)

Take a look at it. It’s not a happy read. It’s a essential one.

And now, on to a pattern. I decided to make a knit hat though I never wear knit hats except for knit, thick headbands which attach with a button so my hair gets flattened, not frizzied. However, since I’m starting a needlework group in a week I thought a short pattern handout might be nice for the first meeting.

Ever mindful of copyright laws, I designed my own pattern using crochet and knitting. The reasons for the crochet: 1. It is so much easier to start the top of a hat with it’s small amount of stitches in crochet. 2. A crochet brim in neater, more dressy?, than a knit rib.

Crochet/Knit Hat - Medium Size Woman w/ US 9 DPNs, H or I hooks, 150+ yards DK yarn
Crochet Part: Ch 4 and join in ring. Ch 2, work hdc sts in ring to fill ring but keep it flat.
Round 2 & following: Ch 2, inc around with hdc sts (ex: one round of: *2 hdc st in each st* then *2 hdc in one st, 1 hdc in next st* then *2 hdc in one st, 1 hdc in next 2 sts*, etc. You will always end the round with a sl st in the top of your first hdc of the previous round and begin your round with a Ch 2. Your goal is a 6 ½ inch hdc circle, fairly flat, of about 65 sts. At this point, stop crocheting.
Knit Part: With US 9 DPNs, pick up your end loop and one st in each crochet st around. (65 sts on needles) Work round in K to desired depth of hat. (Don’t make it too long; shorter is better.) Bind off.
Crochet Brim: With H hook (or smaller if brim looks floppy) work a round of hdc sts. Join with sl st, Ch 2 and work another round of hdc. Continue these rounds till your brim is as wide as you want it. Work 1 round of crab st, if desired. Cut and weave in end of yarn.
Variation: End the Knit Part with ½ inch of P in the round so when the crochet brim is turned up you see the public side of the st st.

You may notice that I used a lot of abbreviations in this pattern. That’s because when I give it to my needlework group I’ll be able to tell the level of the group. A novice knitter/crocheter will have trouble but it’s pretty straight-forward for slightly experienced needlecrafters.

Here’s a list of abbreviations if you need them:
http://www.needlepointers.com/displaypage.aspx?ArticleID=25497&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.knitting-crochet.com%2fabb.html

Happy knitting.

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Website Wednesday

So there I was, 3:30 am this morning, wide awake, knitting in bed and watching a 1935 Gene Autry movie - yes, I was desperate. (Did you know that Encore restores these old westerns?) Of course, it was your typical formula western with singing. But at one point, Gene is reading a letter which says that someone needs an operation and as soon as they raise the money.......you know the rest.

And I got to thinking: This is 1935 and people were having to raise money before they got a needed operation.....

And then my mind really went off (as if it never does) and I thought: In finance, when the credit cards charge usurious rates and the banks pay no interest and Wall Streeters get million dollars in bonus, there is an outcry. The cheats! The bastards! The low-lifes!

But when panels come out and say that medical procedures are not warranted (mammogram before 50, etc.) because they are just ineffective, costly, and physically damaging, the outcry goes the other way. Few people shout: The cheats! The bastards! The low-lifes!

No, when the medical profession gets called on its costly and unnecessary procedures which just line the pockets of the health care system, the bilked public rushes to their defense. Like in our over-the-top capitalistic economy, health care gets a pass. Go figure.

However, my website pick today is really neat:

http://www.cracked.com/

This is just fun. You know that I love annotated lists and here you get a shitload of them.

You learn about the nature of Cracked, not in an About section but in the Advertise section:

Not all of you realize this, but the comedy at Cracked.com is not produced by a team of Hollywood professionals in a big comedy headquarters surrounded by comedy supercomputers. Cracked articles and videos are made almost entirely by people like you: fans of Cracked.com who have a great idea and the ability to deliver on it.

So, are you funny? Want to get internet famous, and have your stuff read or watched by hundreds of thousands of people? And be paid money for it? We don't care if you don't have tons of comedy experience. We want you on board.

So, I guess I’d say: You are Cracked.

Right now, there Home page has a “Where Are They Now?” list or in Cracked’s lingo: The 7 most WTF Post Fame Celebrity Careers. I didn’t know that Peter Weller, RoboCop, is presently working on his Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art at UCLA. I’m impressed! I like that career move. Unfortunately, Jason Hervey’s (The Wonder Years) career change didn’t turn out as well.

Or, you can click on: 7 Classic Star Wars Characters Who Totally Dropped the Ball for a very detailed list of these bozos. Or, in the archives: 7 Bullshit Police Myths Everyone Believes (Thanks to Movies). I cried here when I discovered Gil Grisson (CSI) was not a DNA god.

Then click Craptions and stroll through captioned pictures which get that way though contest submissions. Many of them are really funny and there are zillions of them to explore.

And, who can’t love a place with a forum titled Pointless Waste of Time?

I can’t promise a PG rating here but who cares? This is fun, cracked fun, and it looks like basically factual cracked fun.

So enjoy. It may be pure fluff like that spun candy you get at state fairs but it’s sure good while it lasts.

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Movie Monday

First, something about governance. Does Obama get it? Eric Alterman was on Bill Moyers Journal with a Melissa Harris-Lacewell from Princeton. Alterman basically said that Obama was bringing a knife to a gun fight. Well, really he's bringing marshmallows and pillows and fluffy kittens to a gun fight. The Harris-Lacewell disagreed and said that the Democrats must engage the Republicans civilly.

Jesus H. Christ! Here's a poem from Stephen Crane:

"It was wrong to do this," said the angel.
"You should live like a flower,
Holding malice like a puppy,
Waging war like a lambkin."

"Not so," quoth the man
Who had no fear of spirits;
"It is only wrong for angels
Who can live like the flowers,
Holding malice like the puppies,
Waging war like the lambkins."

Crane got it. Human life is a battle. Not a happy thought but a realistic one. US presidents can be good people; they can't be angels.

I was going to review Towelhead today but I still haven't seen the movie straight through. It's on at 8 pm tonight and that's a respectable hour to be awake so I'm hoping my review will be in next Monday.

But I did see the PBS production of Emma and The Secret Life of Bees. First, Emma. Jane Austen is not a fav or mine. Oh, I hear the legions of JA fans preparing for battle. I know she's supposed to be satire but her dripping with wealth settings rile me. Only with Persuasion, where the setting is still the same, do I have some affection for the hero and heroine. Here, the satire seems to knock you over with a brick (apparently, I'm also not a fan of subtle satire) and Anne winds up, not in a luxurious home with her true love, but on a rocking ship.

With this production of Emma, you really don't like Emma (supposedly, Jane didn't either.) She's sort of a rich ditz who messes up the love lives of others. I think I'm finally going to have to read the damn book because I don't know if the screenwriter based the script on Austen or Alicia Silverstone in Clueless.

Last night was only the first part of Emma's story. I'm hoping Emma's moment of final self-awareness is more substantial than the entertaining fluff of the Emma (1996) with Gwyneth Paltrow, who was much more Oscar worthy in this than Shakespeare In Love.

Looking back at last week and my review of Local Color and then up to this week and next with The Secret Life of Bees and Towelhead, I realize that I'm into a lot of "coming of age" movies. Even Emma is a late stage coming of age story.

I had two major problems with The Secret Life of Bees and one underlying problem which pervades the whole movie. (And apparently, the book since over 10% of the Amazon book reviewers globbed onto this criticism: it was a two-dimensional look at a four-dimensional (I know that's hyperbole) time.

First, I really liked the actors: Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, Dakota Fanning; Jennifer Hudson - the list goes on - and Paul Bettany as the dangerous yet troubled father. But I really disliked the plot points.

My two major problems were:

1: The portrayal of the father. Maybe I'm too inculcated into the memes of my time but I was very uneasy about the relationship between Lily and her father. I couldn't imagine a father being so physically abusive (Lily's punishment was kneeling in grits for an hour) not also being sexual abusive. And that spooked me. Like waiting for the proverbial other shoe to fall.

2. In that time in the South, Zach would never have been found alive after he was kidnapped from the movie theater. Even June says this, but then like a miracle Zach reappears only slightly beaten. Cripes, whites beat and wanted to kill Rosaleen early in the movie. What was the screenwriter smoking to believe white men wouldn't do worse to a black boy who angered them?

Except for the good acting, the movie walked a very superficial line. But there are still good talking points for parents and teens here and that's another reason the movie shouldn't be dismissed.

For example:
1. Lily accidentally kills her mom. What happens if something bad happens in your life which you can never change?
2. Lily runs away. What should you do if you are in an abusive situation? Or if you know that a friend is?
3. The movie is set in 1964 just after Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. What was the Civil Rights Act? Why was it needed? Are the times different today? How?

See what I'm getting at. I know, I know, the teacher is coming out; but as Roger Ebert once said, he learned how to act socially (with girls specifically) by watching movies.

Movies can open the door of communication between parent and child. The Secret Life of Bees is not a bad place to start.

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Knitting Friday
Well, I would like to say this has been a productive knitting week but I was so lazy and stupid. The shawl I was knitting got frogged and is now being remade into a cardigan.

A little background on this disaster: I have a lot of wool, sports and fingering, left over from the Super Mario blanket. Some I had to buy to get to my $50 minimum on free shipping but some comes from the fact that the wool was bought when I was making a much bigger blanket. So, I have been looking at 6+ skeins of light blue Knit Picks Pallette (fingering) and wondering if I had enough for a sweater. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the “Eureka” moment until I had knitted a good portion of the shawl. Then I realized I should type in “Knit Picks Palette” under the yarn section at Ravelry and check through cardigan projects (Side Note: If you don’t belong to Ravelry, you really should join. It’s great and free.) I discovered that indeed I could knit a cardigan with 6 skeins of Palette using US 6 needles.

Right now, I’m 5" down from the neck of a top-down raglan cardigan. It’s going to be very light but I think with the yarn amount, I’m OK. I’ll post the picture (you know how great I am with posting pictures) and directions next week.
(Continued)

My photographer took the pictures I needed for today and went to work. Never one to waste time, I worked on my monthly newsletter and pretty much finished it. Plus, I worked on the light blue cardigan. It takes forever in fingering yarn. I'm only at 5.5 inches and this has to be at least 9 inches before I can start the body. Tedious but simple.

And now, the pictures I promised last Friday. You know before my photographer (I must get a pithier name for him) clunked his head on the car and got an black eye and the flu within 12 hours.

Would you look at these pictures and tell me if you can see the difference between them? The first one is blocked and it's 73" x 25". Here it is: You can see that the ends are folded in to show you that it's wider than the table. This blocked one is airier than the unblocked which means it would do well into the cool spring while the unblocked one is denser; more winter wear.
The second one is unblocked and that one measures 62" x 25". OK, that means the blocked one is 11" longer. But do I need this? The unblocked one is denser and definitely big enough. (No, it's not misshaped. though it definitely looks that way. It's a bad angle.)



I guess what I don't understand is: why block a stitch which doesn't need it? The trinity stitch doesn't need blocking. Now, if I had gotten a fantastic width with blocking, that would be different. However, the width stayed the same.
The plus side is that both shawls were the second tries and were knitted from very crinkly wool which I did not have to prepare first since the trinity stitch tells no tales. As you know, it's my favorite lazy day stitch.

That's it for today. Next week, I'll share my defunct shawl pattern (the one that got frogged for the blue sweater.) It's one of the very few simple lace patterns I can do and not make mistakes. That alone makes it worthy of posting.

Happy knitting.

Pass National Health Care With Public Option Now

Website Wednesday: and Substitute Teaching

I’ve done a lot of substitute teaching, primarily in grades 7 through 12, and almost full time for one school system (It was because I was either very good at it or I never said “No” to the 5:30 a.m. call.)

I really enjoyed being a sub. It always kept my teaching fresh and I was never bored.

The only part I didn’t like (but it was essential for this age range) was that I had to come in like “gang busters.” That is, I came in tough, strict and no nonsense. “Sit down, be quiet, here’s how we’re going to do this.”

I hated that part and it usually gave me a headache but in a short time the class and I were in sync. They were learning, we were liking each other, and they had figured out I wasn’t such a meanie.

This part always amazed me: that they took to my no-nonsense initial strictness. I gave them direction and they followed.

Which brings me to last summer and Barack Obama.

I didn’t think about this until yesterday (before the Dems lost MA but after they lost NJ) but Obama played a Kerry summer and I missed it.

What is a Kerry summer? Remember the summer before the 2004 election when the swift-boaters grabbed the media headlines? All that summer, the dialogue in my house went something like this:

Well, Kerry will respond shortly.
Well, he’s not going to say anything now since it’s the July 4th weekend.
Well, he’s probably realizes that no one follows politics in the summer.
Well, wait until after Labor Day. He’ll come out swinging.

Well.......you know how all that turned out.

Kerry really never responded to the smears. Perhaps a few of his minions did but the damage was done and the meme became that brave soldier, John Kerry, was a fraud.

And so it went for Obama this summer with the nutty tea baggers and the birthers (and all the racists who are attracted to any anti-Obama movement.) They set the battle lines and the Democratic politicians, on the whole, didn’t think they were worthy of a response, let alone a battle.

Big mistake. Nature and politics abhor a vacuum. If reason doesn’t fill it; some idiot surely will.

I had two choices when I walked into all those strange classrooms as a sub: I could have wrung my hands and moaned: Oh, you bad, bad people. What can I do? Or I could have taken charge: I was there to do a job and we were going to do it the right way.

I took the second choice. Unfortunately for our nation, Obama didn’t make that choice.

Now on to Website Wednesday. I had a frivolous one picked out but after yesterday I’m pushing education:

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/

I know I recommended free online university courses before but this page is different. This is part of the blog of Online Universities.com and if you click on the Home page, you'll get the typical: what are you interested in studying, etc. and you'll be sent to suggestions for non-free degree programs.

Here, however, you'll just find out a lot of stuff. Like the first heading: 50 Important Facts You Probably Forgot Between 5th Grade and College. You'll review "i" before "e" and just what is a subject and an object. Or, under Social Studies you'll learn what Manifest Destiny means to the US or what are the state capitals in the US. A lot of this is simple stuff we have all probably forgotten or only remember vaguely. It's like instant learning but, hey, what's wrong with that? For answers, you'll get sent to Wikipedia, About.com or smaller websites like emptyeasel.com for the answer to What is Cubism? Definitely, this page fulfills the promise of "Something for everyone."

Before you leave, scroll down to: 100 Best (Free) Science Documentaries Online.

You can watch Super Size Me or learn about genetics, space, geology, nature, technology, etc., etc. etc.

Oh, and don't forget to scroll through the blog archives. Good stuff here also.

Enjoy learning as it should be: work and fun.

Pass National Health Care With Public Option Now

Movie Monday

For those of you who are waiting for the pictures from Knitting Friday, there's been a slight delay. My photographer was getting in the car by Sam's Club (not that this place is important but it wasn't like he was coming out of a B.Y.O.B. restaurant) and clunked his head on the door frame. Now, he knows why they have a rubber gasket around that frame; not to protect the door but your head. Well, it didn't knock him silly but he has a black eye and spent two days feeling pretty low (possibly the strain of flu which also going around) and I didn't have the heart to ask for pictures.

I know, I'm setting back women's lib 20 years by not being able to use a camera, but have no fear, I promise I will post the pictures.

And now some random thoughts before my movie pick:

1. Is Obama looking at his presidency as a constitutional law professor? That is, we have three separate branches of government and each, executive, legislative, and judicial, should operate without interference from any other branch. That's the way it should be; that's the way the founding fathers ideally saw and wrote it in our founding papers. But presidents like Lyndon Johnson knew how to use the iron hand in the velvet glove with Congress (OK, I'm sure many times the gloves came off) and he was able to get through historic and important domestic policy (Medicare, Civil Rights Act.)

2. Second thought: Does Obama not understand the Manichaeism view of the world? That is: human life is a battleground between the forces of good and evil. These two forces can exist in the same person or can exist ala LOTR as a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. I say this because he seems to want everyone to get along; have a meeting of minds where the "evil" forces (tea-baggers, birthers, etc.) will "see the light." Unfortunately, it ain't going to happen and he has given all who oppose him and his policies much too much time to get their messages out. At this late date, I think it might be too late for Obama to find his voice and use it effectively. It isn't all his fault though. This is what happens when you elect your hero. You project too much of yourself into him. He/she is the metaphor for what you might have been. You're always disappointed.

And now the movie: Local Color (2006)

This is one of those "small" movies where almost everything is perfection. Armin Mueller-Stahl plays a Russian master painter. Nicholi Seroff, living in the U.S. with a tragic past which has prevented him from continuing his art. Trevor Morgan is the 18 year old aspiring artist, John Talia, living with philistine parents who gets a chance to spend the summer with Seroff as an apprentice. Samantha Mathis plays Carla their neighbor during that summer. And, Ron Perlmann gives an over-the-top performance as the effete art critic, Curtis Sunday.

But it is the three players, Mueller-Stahl, Morgan, and Mathis who carry the picture to a bittersweet conclusion without pretense. For example, in the scene where the two actors, as artists, work with mentally retarded children (who are not actors) you feel a true rapport with these children; or the scene where Morgan walks Mathis home and they share a kiss. It has a sweet and right feeling; and thank goodness not an introduction to the Summer of '42 as one reviewer said.

One expects perfection from Mueller-Stahl but Morgan holds his own and more. I had my doubts at the beginning of the scene towards the end of the movie where he and Mueller-Stahl exchange angry and frustrated words about their lives and disappointments. It could have been played maudlin or superficial but it wasn't. You sensed the deep feelings from the old man at the end of his career and the young man hoping he could even have a career.

I learned that the director, George Gallo, is an artist and you see his artistic skill in the shot compositions. The movie looks like it had the thought process of a painter behind it but without this process in any way detracting from the film.

Savor this movie. Take your time with it. There is no CGI but there are heroics. In its simple, quiet way it gets to the soul of art and tells you how important it is in all our lives.