One of My Ears Is Higher Than The Other.

snow season again; Regretsy and Craft Fail

2009-11-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

It snowed today--didn't stick, but it's just a matter of time before the snow is here to stay. And when it does stay, I am looking forward to kicking snow clumps out of my wheel wells.

I thought I was the only person who finds this activity immensely satisfying! Apparently not.

Lately, I have been very amused by Regretsy and Craft Fail. Regretsy is a collection of the most bizarre stuff for sale on Etsy; Craft Fail is a community blog where people can post their own crafts that have gone tragically awry. Regretsy is not for the weak of heart or stomach. (Click at your own peril on the "art" category!) Craft Fail, on the other hand, is just a good place to commiserate with all the other people who, like me, have ever thought

"Hmm, that looks easy. I bet I could make that."
"I don't need to follow the pattern exactly."
"Measuring before you cut is for wimps."
"This doesn't seem to be working out quite how I thought it would...but I'll just keep going because I'm sure it will turn out OK eventually."

I'm ready for some retirement living

2009-10-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

So the other day I came home to find this advertising card, personally addressed to me:

As you can see, I am being offered the opportunity to check out a local retirement community for a whole weekend--for free!

I guess it could be a mass mailout, but really, I am the only person I know who received one of these. I would bet money I'm the only thirtysomething who has gotten one. I have interrogated the various jokers in my life (well, OK, mostly just one) to ask if they are responsible for signing me up for this invite. So far all have denied responsibility. ("I swear I didn't do it, but I wish I could take credit for it!")

As it happens, my lovely friend D's octogenarian parents are residents in this retirement home. The other day at D's birthday celebration I told her and her sister about my invitation. After they picked themselves up off the floor from laughing, they encouraged me to cash in my invitation for my 3-day mini vacation. I told them that I am seriously thinking about doing it, but warned them that afterwards their parents and I would definitely be BFFs.

It's a mystery. I have no idea why I received this, but I must say the idea of spending 3 days being waited on hand and foot by the Chateau staff, with all the time in the world to hole up in my guest suite and knit and read books and most importantly NOT MARK PAPERS sounds pretty good at this point in the semester.

jook

2009-10-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is jook, pronounced similar to "choke" but not quite. This was the Chinese comfort food of my childhood; it is made with rice and broth, topped with sesame oil, chopped green onions, and shiitake mushrooms. Sometimes my mom would put cooked chicken in it, or dried fish, or preserved crunchy turnip bits. I had never made it myself before but I made some tonight and it turned out pretty much as I remembered it from my childhood. I don't know why I've never made it before; it was so easy.

Basic jook recipe:

1 cup short-grain rice
10 cups stock of your choice (I used 8 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water)

Combine in a big pot; bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Top with a splash of sesame oil, chopped green onions, and reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms, diced with tough stems removed.

Some people add soy sauce, but I recommend you taste it first, because I found it salty enough as it was. Other people like to add chilli sauce.

Enjoy!

lentil soup with roasted kale

2009-10-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

I highly recommend this roasted kale recipe. The temperature here dropped very quickly and very harshly this past weekend, so I harvested the last surviving remnants of the kale from the garden--it was the perfect way to use it rather than let it go to waste. It made a crispy, tasty topping for lentil soup.

um

2009-10-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

WTF?

dear grade grubbers

2009-10-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Please stop it. Your grade is not a starting point for negotiations. I know that 66% is "only 2% away from 68%" and that it is a C+ but "it's only 2% away from a B-." I KNOW THAT. I did put some--no, quite a bit--of thought into marking your essay. Did you read the comments I wrote on it? Did you read the big paragraph I wrote at the end, summing up those comments? There is a reason you are "2% away from 70%." There is a reason you are "2% away from a B-." It's because your essay is a C+ essay. That's why.

new kitchen blind

2009-09-26T14:17:00.001-07:00

So when I moved into this house, there was already a Roman blind in the kitchen. The woman who owned the house before had sewn it herself. It's perfectly functional but it is now kind of faded and worn...it's seen better days. Anyway, I have discovered a lovely Toronto-based online fabric store, Tonic Living, who not only have a great selection of retro reproduction fabrics, but also do custom sewing jobs. Since I am a novice sewer (I am very slowly working on making a tiny reversible knitting project bag), I think the best thing is for someone else to do the sewing.

I've e-mailed for a quote, and Janine, their salesperson, promptly sent me some very reasonable estimates on what it would cost to reproduce this blind in a new fabric. Now the question is, what fabric to choose?

Our house was built in 1954, so I guess you would call it mid-century modern. Even when updating--new flooring, new paint--we have tried to keep true to the 1950s spirit. So it's in this vein that I have been trying to find a good fabric for the kitchen blind. The walls around this window are painted in a neutral off-white, and the flooring is a medium brown, also quite neutral, so I figure a busier design won't be a problem.

Here are some that I've liked so far:

"Klimt" in Taupe

"Boomerang Beat" in Cocoa

"Round About" in Aqua

"Feeling Groovy" in Spa

"Mod Squad"

creamy zucchini-mushroom soup

2009-09-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

Makes two large servings; easily doubled.

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups zucchini, diced with skins on
1 cup button mushrooms, diced
2 cups broth of your choice (vegetable, chicken)
1/2 cup evaporated milk
pinch each of ground cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and sugar
pinch of ground chipotle pepper
salt to taste
grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Heat olive oil in pot. Saute garlic until translucent. Add zucchini, mushrooms and spices and sugar, and saute for about 4-5 minutes. Add broth and milk, and adjust salt to taste (you may not need it depending on broth).

Bring to a simmer, cook 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Puree with (immersion) blender. Top with grated Parmesan or Asiago and serve immediately.

zucchini boats

2009-09-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made these zucchini boats [found via Tastespotting] for dinner, and to my delight they not only resembled the photo in the recipe, but also tasted good.

Of course, me being me, I made quite a few substitutions. I substituted Yves' Ground Round for the turkey sausage (and reduced the amount of salt accordingly) and used one tbsp Calvados instead of the two tbsp of dry white wine the recipe called for. I also added a tablespoon of hot sauce instead of using ground pepper.

I give this recipe a thumbs up. It was easy, inexpensive, and tasty.

I ended up with a lot of filling left over, so I baked the leftovers in ramekins and will bring some to work for lunch and dinner tomorrow (it's my long teaching day).

tastespotting

2009-09-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my officemate, I now browse Tastespotting on my breaks. (Don't worry, Cute Overload, you're still my breaktime bff.)

Today I finished my prep early and I've got a few minutes before my last class of the day, so for the last 15 minutes I have been obsessively clicking on beautiful photos of food and collecting recipe links into my newly created Delicious recipe bookmarks folder.

If you are interested, you can check the folder to see what kinds of foods appealed to me today. You should know it's not like I was browsing on an empty stomach! I scarfed down two pieces of leftover pizza and a bowl of Greek salad for lunch. I feel like I have a hollow leg.

you could faint from the cuteness

2009-09-18T15:10:00.001-07:00

Make sure you are sitting down! Here is a picture of my adorable nephew (and his doting auntie).

oh Drew

2009-09-16T18:45:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I came across this photograph of Drew Barrymore. It wasn't until I saw this one today that I realized she had applied black dye to the bottom two inches of her blonde hair. WTF! I do not know how I missed this in the original photo, but it makes me think I need new glasses or something.

As for Drew B's hair--I think if she cut it off where the black starts, it would look quite cute. I'm pretty sure she dyed her hair like this to give her red-carpeting a little je ne sais quoi at the TIFF premiere of her roller derby movie (which by all accounts is quite good), but come on, Drew! It makes my fingers itchy for the scissors.

what's on my iPod

2009-09-09T19:04:00.001-07:00

Earlier I mentioned that I was going to put "While You Were Sleeping" by Elvis Perkins on a "walking to work" playlist, but I was inspired by my friend Tricia's post about what music she runs to, so I decided to post the whole playlist:

"We're Going to Be Friends" - The White Stripes
"Perpetuum Mobile" - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
"While You Were Sleeping" - Elvis Perkins
"Hard Road" - Sam Roberts
"Weighty Ghost" - Wintersleep
"On the Radio" - Regina Spektor
"My Only Offer" - Mates of State
"Time to Pretend" - MGMT
"New Soul" - Yael Naim
"1234" - Feist
"Chicago" - Sufjan Stevens
"Us" - Regina Spektor
"Bad Kids" - The Black Lips
"Sweet Disposition" - The Temper Trap
"More Than This" - Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music
"New Slang" - The Shins
"The Only Living Boy In New York" - Simon and Garfunkel
"I Wish You Love" - Blossom Dearie
"The Wings" - Gustavo Santaolalla

ETA: Thanks to my friend Mark, I have now added Basia Bulat's "In The Night" to this playlist. I am so happy because I heard this song a while ago on CBC Radio and immediately loved it, but I never caught the name of the song or the singer. Now I finally know what it is and can listen to it as much as I want!

response from Totes/Isotoner

2009-09-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received this reply to my previously mentioned e-mail to Totes/Isotoner:

Thank you for your note and concerns regarding the Ohio Supreme Court Ruling regarding the termination of a temporary employee.

As a matter of policy, totes»ISOTONER is not able to provide specific information surrounding the employment circumstances of any employee. What we can share is that based on the circumstances involved with this specific temporary employee, the totes»ISOTONER employment decision has been supported by the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the 12th District and the Ohio Supreme Court. And while we cannot specifically address the Ohio Supreme Court Ruling, we can share several of our workplace practices:

· totes»ISOTONER absolutely supports employees, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary, who are also nursing mothers.

· totes»ISOTONER does provide time for nursing mothers to pump their breast milk and many employees have taken advantage of this accommodation. In the case presented to the Supreme Court, we did provide this accommodation.

· totes»ISOTONER is a company committed to supporting our employees. Because females account for approximately 70% of our work force, we are very attuned to and supportive of the needs of working mothers.

Again, thank you for your note and expressing your views on this issue. We take great pride in our culture of being a family oriented company, and can only indicate there were other factors involved in this particular situation which led to the company’s decision in this case. We appreciate your having been a customer in the past and hope you will reconsider your decision in this regard going forward.

Sincerely,

Vickie Fightmaster
Human Resources Manager
totes»ISOTONER

You know what? I think it's commendable that someone at Totes/Isotoner has taken the time to reply to my e-mail and that the reply, while essentially a personalized form letter, actually addresses the particular situation I wrote to them about. Because Ms. Fightmaster (and by the way, is that not the best name for an HR manager ever?) doesn't go into detail about the case, we still don't know what the hell happened, so I continue to reserve judgment. There's still something off about this whole thing.

amusing seagull

2009-09-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

Your typical pushy Vancouver seagull.

while I was walking

2009-09-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

I've been making playlists of new music for my iPod for my walk to work (I'm going to try to walk on the days when I don't have an 8 am class). So far I'm really enjoying the song "While You Were Sleeping" by Elvis Perkins. It's beautiful.

why I won't be buying Totes/Isotoner products from now on

2009-09-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Totes/Isotoner:

In the past, I have bought your products for myself and for others as gifts. I’ve found your slippers and umbrellas to be comfortable and of good quality.

However, after today, I will no longer be buying your products any more, for myself or as gifts.

Why? Because today I read an article in Salon.com (“Lactate on Your Own Time, Lady”) that described how your company terminated an employee for taking “unauthorized breaks” to pump breast milk. I am absolutely disgusted at Totes/Isotoner’s anti-woman, anti-mother policies. The fact that the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the decision does not change my mind in the least. You should never have fired this woman in the first place.

Just for the record, I’ve never breastfed a baby, I’m not a mother, and I’m not even pregnant. But just because I’ve never experienced what LaNisa Allen experienced doesn’t mean I can’t recognize that expecting a lactating mother to go for five hours without expressing breastmilk is cruel and discriminatory.

I am sure I am not the only person who has read about this and decided that your company’s values do not reflect her own. You won’t be able to count me as a customer any more. Not only that, but I’ll also be sure to tell my friends, family, and blog readers why I won’t be buying Totes/Isotoner products from now on.

P.S. I find it ironic that you are the same company who purports to care about women and their health with your Comfort for a Cure breast cancer donation program. In light of LaNisa Allen’s termination, it seems to be nothing more than cheap lip service.

I should mention that there was a dissenting voice on the Ohio Supreme Court decision, and that was from Justice Paul Pfeifer, who wrote, "There is no evidence in the record about any limit on the length of unscheduled restroom breaks and no evidence that employees had to seek permission from a supervisor to take an unscheduled restroom break. There is evidence only that unscheduled bathroom breaks were allowed and that LaNisa Allen was fired for taking them. What made her breaks different?" Well, I think we know the answer to that. She was expressing breastmilk, which is a different bodily function than urinating or excreting, but equally urgent and important to a lactating mother.

If you would like to send Totes/Isotoner an e-mail about this issue, you can contact their Media Representative, Ashley Walters, at awalters@northlich.com. Their consumer affairs e-mail address is customeraffairs@totes.com.

Lucky the turtle gets new legs

2009-08-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

Lucky the turtle gets new legs: A few weeks ago, Lucky the box turtle had his front legs bitten off by a marauding raccoon. The vet who operated on Lucky after the attack came up with the idea of attaching tiny disc-shaped furniture sliders to Lucky's shell so he could propel himself around with his back legs. Check out the video! Go Lucky go!

Lucky's owner, Sally Pyne, is happy that her turtle survived, but is philosophical about the nature of the attack: "He was just being a raccoon."

[via]

if I read the phrase "playing the race card" one more time I am going to scream

2009-08-22T02:59:00.000-07:00

I'm up with a toothache and am reading the CBC website while waiting for the codeine to kick in. I'm grumpy as hell (why do dental problems always have to manifest on Friday night, when the dentist's office doesn't open until Monday morning?) and this post isn't going to be a nice one.

I was reading this article about the Canadian woman who was detained in Kenya and accused of identity fraud. (For those unfamiliar with the story: This woman was stopped by KLM airline because they felt she didn't look like her passport photo; despite producing reams of documentation to prove she was who she said she was, it was not enough for Kenyan officials and she was thrown in jail for nearly three months. While the Canadian government should have been helping her, instead "Canadian consular officials called her an impostor, voided her passport and urged Kenyan officials to prosecute her, even after Mohamud handed over numerous pieces of identification, offered fingerprints and finally demanded that her DNA be tested." [from the linked article])

Anyway, the end of this sorry episode is that DNA tests proved she was indeed who she said she was, and she recently was allowed to return home to her 12-year-old son. Now she is suing the Canadian government for the way she was treated. Today she stated in an interview that she believed race had played a factor in the way she was treated, both by Kenyan officials and the Canadian government. I think this is not only a possibility but a probability. The Canadian government does not have a good track record on this issue.

What do a shocking number of comments on the CBC website say?

"She's playing the race card." ARGH. I cannot express strongly enough how much I hate it when people accuse others of "playing the race card" when they are pointing out the racism in a situation. It is dismissive, belittling, and insulting.

My favourite one is this mindbreaking gem:

"everyone always plays the race card. maybe it's because she wants to sue canada. i am white and i dont have a cakewalk through life."

OH SNAP YOU ARE WHITE BUT HAVE A HARD LIFE THEREFORE RACISM DOESN'T EXIST GOT IT

Frankfurt

2009-08-10T14:21:00.001-07:00

butterfly near our hotel in the West End

view from bridge over the Main River

maple leaf outside the Museum of Applied Art

Darmstadt

2009-08-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

gauge from antique printing press in the Museum of Typecasting, Typesetting, and Printing

metal type at the printing museum

"Waldspirale" (Forest Spiral), an apartment building by the architect Hundertwasser

ducks at Waldspirale

Strasbourg

2009-08-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

houses along the canal

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg

view of Strasbourg from cathedral roof

Avignon

2009-08-05T18:25:00.001-07:00

plaque commemorating the spot where (legend has it) Petrarch first saw his muse, Laura

Pont Saint-Bénezet (le Pont d'Avignon)

Sur le pont d'Avignon, well, this guy dances, anyhow.

posters for Avignon's theatre festival

Super hero seeks people of all ages to save.
Motivated, serious, and dynamic, you can count on me in all circumstances (unless I'm very scared).
Available starting at 11:30 pm at the Theatre des Beliers.
04 90 82 21 07
Serious enquiries only.

Provence

2009-08-03T22:46:00.001-07:00

Pont du Gard (ancient Roman aqueduct, approximately 2000 years old)

800-year-old olive tree near Pont du Gard; tree was a gift from Spain

gecko on a tomb in Les Alyscamps (ancient Roman necropolis along the road outside Arles)

2000 year old bridge near Roussillon; this bridge was still in use until the new replacement was built only a few years ago

sunflower field near Gorde

Barcelona

2009-08-03T22:43:00.001-07:00

the roof of La Pedrera (Casa Mila), an apartment building by the architect Gaudi; the towers are said to have inspired the design for the Storm Troopers from Star Wars

window detail, Casa Batllo, another building by Gaudi

statue of Jesus on Sagrat Cor Cathedral, Mount Tibidabo

not OK computer

2009-06-12T15:33:00.001-07:00

!@#$%^&*!

My hard drive at work just kicked the bucket and the IT people had to wipe it and reload Windows (have I mentioned I can't stand Windows XP?). Thank goodness I usually save everything to my network drive, which I can access from anywhere. Of course at the end of the day before my stupid computer bit it, I cleaned up my e-mail and saved some files on the desktop, intending to save them on my network drive when I came in the next morning. The one time I do this and it turns out to be Death Day Eve for my computer. Sigh.

Oh well! I'm nearly done for the day and my holidays and professional development start Monday. So I'll be putting my holiday settings on my e-mail and an extended absence greeting on my phone, and then I will happily bid adieu to my office for two months! Yay!

Then We Came to the End

2009-06-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm halfway through Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End and so far I am really enjoying it. I think it's the only book I've ever read that employed the plural first person ("we"), and while it takes a little getting used to, it works quite well with the subject matter (office life). There is one section that is in the third person, and although this could have been clunky, I found it entirely appropriate.

It's hard to explain what the novel is about; mostly it's about the intricacies of office relationships--friendships, rivalries, romances, personal traumas. On the surface it can read as quite fluffy and inconsequential, but the author does actually address surprisingly big issues like mortality, loneliness, what makes for a meaningful life, bullying and groupthink.

I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a pretty easy summer read that is just unusual enough not to feel like brain candy.

welcome Baby J

2009-06-03T01:42:00.000-07:00

Introducing my new nephew, Baby J:

He weighs 7 pounds, 14 ounces and he and his mom are doing well. My brother is finding new things to worry and obsess about on a minute-by-minute basis, but other than having New Dad Syndrome, he is doing well too.

Welcome baby!

already much adored and hasn't been born yet

2009-05-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

So my brother and his wife are expecting their first child (first grandchild on both sides, my first nephew) any time now, and because I happened to be in town for work, the families scheduled the baby shower for them yesterday so I could be there too. I met my sister-in-law's family for the first time and it was great. She is very sweet and easygoing, and now I see where she gets it from. It was a laid-back, fun get-together with food and cake and pictures and non-lame games. [The last baby shower I went to before this was pretty stressful: my friend's mother-in-law is a bit of a drill sergeant and she had us all doing a different activity every 2 minutes, and there was a bit of a YOU WILL HAVE FUN air about the whole thing, so it was nice to be at one that was so different.]

Oh and presents. Well, as my SIL's grandma commented, this kid is going to have the biggest wardrobe ever. Ever since I found out I'm going to be an auntie, I have been possessed with the urge to knit cute baby clothes on overdrive and buy adorable accessories. I didn't even bring ALL the baby items I have gotten to the baby shower because there are so many. I am normally not like this so I surmise that being an auntie has addled my brain.

tried to make me go to rehab and I said oink, oink, oink

2009-05-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Gwyneth Paltrow and Peeps

2009-05-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

I once read somewhere that there is nothing as boring as hearing about someone else's dream. Too bad! I'm going to tell you about the one I had last night anyway, because it was totally bizarre.

Last night I dreamed that Gwyneth Paltrow had decided she should be friends with me, so she phoned me up and invited me over. I went to her house and we had tea and talked about clothes.

In my dream, she was actually quite nice, although she was a bit clueless about what it was like to be a non-rich, non-famous person. Also, she was a little bit snobby. But surprisingly nice on the whole.

Normally I do not think about Gwyneth Paltrow at all, so it's puzzling why I would not only dream about her but dream that she and I were friends. However, I did eat a marshmallow Peep for the first time ever last night while watching an episode of Homicide. Coincidence?

marking; procrastinating; The Book of Negroes; The Torso

2009-04-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be marking; therefore, of course, I am finding many other urgent and compelling things to do. In addition to marking the occasional essay, I have spent a lot of time cleaning up my desk, knitting things for my nephew to be, and researching swine flu so that I can ramp up my anxiety levels to super-high.

I finished reading this year's Canada Reads pick, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Well, actually, I listened to the unabridged audiobook which was broadcast on CBC and then archived on the Between the Covers podcast. Very gripping stuff--the story pulls you along but it is also well-researched and contains a lot of historical detail. I sort of wish I had read the book, but the audiobook was very well narrated and above all, convenient while I was travelling; I went to Vancouver for professional development last week and then the morning after I returned I had to do a 4.5 hour drive out to a community program. I was grateful to be able to listen to 10 chapters on the way there and back, which kept me from falling into a coma and driving into the ditch.

I read a piece by the author about how he had to change the title for the US publication of the book. Instead of The Book of Negroes (which is also the name of a real, historical document), it's called Someone Knows My Name. SO generic. Hill says, "At first, I was irritated, but gradually I've come to make my peace with the new title," but honestly, could the publisher not have picked a better alternative?

I'm not sure what my book group is reading next, but this was a good pick. We did a quick tally of the books we've read since December and realized that they've all been downers. I like dramatic stuff as much as anyone, but since September we've read about

war, torture, poverty and exile from Ethiopia
poverty, abuse, and murder in the Maritimes
war, poverty, Nazis and collaborators during WWII in France
war, poverty, starvation and Nazis during the siege of Leningrad
kidnapping, slavery, rape, and murder in Africa and the US colonies.

I suggested we read Angela's Ashes for a little levity.

Our librarian friend is going to make an executive decision and choose a book for us from the book club sets at the public library. I'll be interested to see what she chooses.

At the moment, I'm reading The Torso by Helene Tursten--it's the second in her Detective Inspector Irene Huss series. It's translated from the Swedish, and it loses nothing in translation but is a nice shift for me from the British mysteries I normally read. I find that a well-written mystery provides a lot of opportunity for meaningful social and cultural commentary. I realize I'm not really getting away from the heavy, depressing stuff here--and it's fairly gruesome, I mean just look at the title--but it's well-written and I don't have to think too hard. That suits me fine because I need to conserve my mental energy for reading student essays.

he was born with the gift of a golden voice

2009-04-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dad and I went to see Leonard Cohen while I was in Vancouver. (Thanks to filmguy for the tickets--he couldn't go, but don't feel too bad for him because he got to see Leonard in Rome!). Leonard and his musicians played and sang for 3 hours and they were every bit as good at the end as at the start. I'll be happy if I'm able to sustain any sort of activity for three hours at the age of 74, never mind playing a sold-out concert.

The last time Leonard Cohen came to Vancouver was 1993, and although he played at the Orpheum I didn't go because I had a night class. Ah youth. What was I thinking? I suppose it's telling that I don't even remember what class was so important for me to attend that I missed out on hearing LC sing. I'm glad I didn't miss out this time though.

And yes, he did sing "Chelsea Hotel No. 2."

HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY

2009-03-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

Confidential to PM:

LVOE WOL

they thought God had left the museum for good

2009-03-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

I'm reading The Madonnas of Leningrad right now; it's about a woman's memories of hiding from the Nazis in the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad.

When we were at the Krakow film festival, there was a Russian filmmaker who had spliced together footage from the recently released archival reels of the siege. It was all images, little if any dialogue. It was really arresting, just one stark black and white image of suffering after another.

Last night I was reading a passage in the book where the main character and her colleagues (she's a docent at the Hermitage) are working around the clock to pack up all the artwork so it can be shipped out to safety, when I suddenly remembered the lyrics to an old Tragically Hip song, "Scared":

you're in Russia
and more than a million works of art
are whisked out to the woods
when the Nazis
find the whole place dark
they'd think God's
left the museum for good

I've listened to that song many times before, but I never realized what those lines were about until I read that passage.

Grey Gardens

2009-03-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm really looking forward to the new Grey Gardens movie:

When I first saw the original Grey Gardens I was concerned that the Maysles brothers had exploited these two women by documenting their eccentricities and sad state for everyone to see. About halfway through the film I realized that Big and Little Edie actually had a lot more agency than I had originally thought, and that what was going on here was much more complex than a callous filmmaker exposing two dotty old ladies. Even though they're undeniably strange, the Edies are unwaveringly true to themselves in Grey Gardens, dramatic and wounded and defensive and joyful.

I've seen some of the stills of Little Edie in the beautiful prime of her life, and I've read about her childhood and youth, but I am really looking forward to seeing them played out in this film. In the trailer, Jessica Lange seems to be doing a fine job of Big Edie, but I think this movie will turn out to belong to Drew Barrymore. I bet Little Edie would have been delighted.

Mr. Sandman

2009-03-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

What do all these scenarios have in common?

a) My parents get arrested and have to go to jail. Suddenly I have to take over all their financial and personal responsibilities and also try to figure out a way to get them out of jail.
b) I am driving along minding my own business when suddenly poisonous fertilizer rains down on me and I develop enormous welts and sores on my skin. I am beside myself trying to figure out how to find a cure.
c) My brother is getting married and I am supposed to be a bridesmaid, but I just can't seem to get to the wedding--first I can't find my dress, then my ride doesn't show up, then I forget where the ceremony is being held.

If you guessed that they're things I have dreamt in the last week then you would be right. Isn't the point of sleeping to be better rested when you wake up, not more anxious from all the problems you were trying to solve while you were asleep?

Maybe I should just focus on the enormous sense of relief I feel when I wake up and slowly realize that my parents aren't in jail/I don't have a toxin-induced skin disease/I didn't miss my brother's wedding (well, actually I did but only because they did a quick one at City Hall).

don't tempt me

2009-03-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm on the sale notification list for Air Canada, so every once in a while they e-mail me about deals on airfare or special promotions. Today's e-mail had the subject line: "Up to 40% off! Fares so low you may never come home."

reading The Flying Troutmans

2009-03-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

I was the world's worst guardian of children. I was like the neighbourhood cat lady, but with kids. They were filthy, broken, and eating themselves, and soon they would feed on my old corpse.

From Miriam Toews' The Flying Troutmans

BOOM!

2008-12-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Well I'll be damned if this country hasn't exploded in the last few days. Here I haven't even posted anything recently except envious congratulations to the Americans on their excellent new president-elect, not even bothering to post the pathetic results of our own election. Sure, I've been busy, but really I've just kind of felt depressed about 1) our horrible same-old same-old government, and 2) the horrible apathy of the non-voting Canadian population. I didn't have a lot to say about our dear leader Stephen Harper that didn't involve endless ranting about his utter prickishness.

But! All that has changed in the last little while because politics are getting exciting again. Yarn Harlot describes it all so much better than I can, so it's best to check out her blog for a quick, coherent rundown.

One thing that has surprised me about this whole uproar is the sheer staggering number of my compatriots who seem to have no clue at all about how our political system works. Repeat after me: I do not personally get to elect my prime minister. Also: the Bloc Quebecois cannot be part of the coalition, though it can support the coalition. So everyone needs to shut up about separatism. And furthermore, all the bellowing about treason and unconstitutional and undemocratic and blah blah blah shocks me. Really? Unconstitutional? Undemocratic? Odd, then, that Stephen Harper himself not more than a few years ago composed a letter stating that he thought avoiding a confidence motion was a "violation of the fundamental constitutional principles of our democracy."

Screw you, Harper. You've shown over the last several years that you are unfit to govern. You're a sneaky asshole--blackmailing the Opposition by threatening to turn every vote against you into a no-confidence situation? WTF. And now to be such a big baby and throw a tantrum and say you're going to go home and take your toys with you, prorogue, prorogue--GOD I am sick of you. Admit your fundamental unsuitability for the job and move over for some people who at least have a hope in hell of running the country properly.

A coalition government is perfectly legal, perfectly democratic, and has functioned just fine in many other countries. It would be no less stable than what we've got now: a government held hostage by a petty tyrant. Bring on the coalition and get on with it.

dear America

2008-11-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

Dear America,

Thank you for doing the right thing this time.

Love,

The rest of the world

Election Day tomorrow! (aka "Don't vote? Don't bitch" day)

2008-10-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Well, happy Thanksgiving! Another year with no snow on the long weekend. I remember when I first moved here and it almost always snowed at least a little bit on the Thanksgiving weekend. Ah, global warming.

I've been very meh about this election, but as it creeps closer to election day tomorrow I am getting more excited about going to cast my ballot.

Fun facts about my riding (Prince George-Peace River):

From 1966 to 1976, it was called Fort Nelson-Peace River.
It covers one quarter of the province of British Columbia.
Its area is 237,174 km².
Voters in Prince George will choose from the same candidates as voters in Fort Nelson. The two are over 800 km apart.
This riding has been held by a right-wing party (Progressive Conservative, Reform, Alliance, Conservative) since 1972.

As a left-wing progressive, it is really hard to feel represented by my MP when this riding has been conservative for the last thirty-six years. However, I do think that the Conservative incumbent is going to have more of a run for his money this election than in the past. I'll be watching the results with interest tomorrow.

As for the federal results (i.e. who forms the government), well, my prediction is Conservative minority. I'm hoping to be wrong (and I DON'T mean that it turns out to be a Conservative majority!). We'll see.

Plagiarism, Mr. Harper, is a serious offence.

2008-10-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Every time I teach a course that involves writing essays, I talk to my students about plagiarism. I tell them that it is a serious offence, that plagiarism refers to using others' ideas and/or words without proper attribution, and that it does not have to be intentional to be considered plagiarism. Because it is a serious offence, the college treats it as such, and the consequences for students caught plagiarizing range from a zero on the assignment to an F in the course, or possibly expulsion from the college.

So it is with great interest that I have been following the charges of plagiarism (two so far this week) that have been dogging our current prime minister. In the first instance, Stephen Harper is accused of having copied sections of a speech by former Australian PM John Howard; in the second, he is accused of having copied part of a speech by former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.

Harper and the rest of the Conservative Party have spent a lot of time denying and downplaying the seriousness of these accusations, although in the first case, the staffer who had written Harper's speech resigned after the story had been in the news for a day or two.

From the CBC website:

Conservative spokesman Dan Dugas dismissed the matter in an interview with the Canadian Press, saying it was an attempt by the Liberals to "deflect attention from their lack of an economic plan." "Here, they've identified 44 words out of a 4,956-word speech that are similar — not identical — to a speech by another conservative," Dugas said. He refused to identify the speechwriter.

I have failed students for copying far fewer than 44 words in their essays. The point is the copying without attribution, not the percentage of the essay that was plagiarized.

Just so you can see for yourself, here are some side-by-side comparisons:

Howard: It is inherently dangerous to allow a country, such as Iraq, to retain weapons of mass destruction, particularly in light of its past aggressive behaviour. If the world community fails to disarm Iraq we fear that other rogue states will be encouraged to believe that they too can have these most deadly of weapons to systematically defy international resolutions and that the world will do nothing to stop them.

Harper: It is inherently dangerous to allow a country, such as Iraq, to retain weapons of mass destruction, particularly in light of its past aggressive behaviour. If the world community fails to disarm Iraq we fear that other rogue states will be encouraged to believe that they too can have these most deadly of weapons to systematically defy international resolutions and that the world will do nothing to stop them.

Howard: As the possession of weapons of mass destruction spreads, so the danger of such weapons coming into the hands of terrorist groups will multiply. That is the ultimate nightmare which the world must take decisive and effective steps to prevent. Possession of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by terrorists would constitute a direct, undeniable and lethal threat to Australia and its people.

Harper: As the possession of weapons of mass destruction spreads, the danger of such weapons coming into the hands of terrorist groups will multiply, particularly given in this case the shameless association of Iraq with rogue non-state organizations. That is the ultimate nightmare which the world must take decisive and effective steps to prevent. Possession of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by terrorists would constitute a direct, undeniable and lethal threat to the world, including to Canada and its people.

Speech #2

Harris: Thinking about things from a new and different perspective is never easy. It takes courage, conviction and the strength to know that in taking a new and innovative course, you are making change for the better. Genuine leaders are the ones who do the right thing.

Harper: Thinking about things from a new and different perspective is not about reading the polls and having focus group tests. It is never easy because it takes courage, conviction and the strength to know that taking a new and innovative course is going to make change for the better. Genuine leaders are the ones who do the right thing.

the space race is over

2008-09-22T10:28:00.001-07:00

Kevin Sylvester can read my mind! He's playing "The Space Race is Over" by Billy Bragg on Sounds Like Canada.

I will not cease from mental fight

2008-09-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

I have a strong belief in socialism; I have a deep admiration for Billy Bragg; I have a secret affection for the Anglican hymn/Blake poem "Jerusalem." This lovely rendition of one of my favourite pieces of choral music combines all three of these things.

I went to the local Take Back the Night march tonight. It was very well-attended and it was a joy to be there. Sometimes I get kind of down about all the frustrating inequality and injustice in the world, and it's good to see real, live evidence that people care and are trying to do something to fight against all the crap. It was great to see so many women and men united together against the systemic problem of violence against women.

One of the women walking behind me had brought her little boy, Cameron. He was SO excited to be there that he kept trotting ahead of her, chatting away happily to whomever he happened to be beside. At one point my friend and I were befriended by him, and he exclaimed to the two of us, "We're walking on the ROAD!" We were both charmed because clearly he was excited to be doing something so transgressive (that he has probably been warned against repeatedly). Then he said, "I have a CANDLE! And I didn't burn myself. And I'm only THIS MANY!" (holds up four fingers).

Cameron, I hope you are still attending Take Back the Night marches twenty years from now. Or, better yet, that you don't have to, because we don't need them any more.

and now commence with the jokes about how much healthier Amy Winehouse looks when she's an inch tall and made of plastic

2008-09-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its minifigure, LEGO is making special celebrity versions, including Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and David and Victoria Beckham. Unfortunately for LEGO enthusiasts, however, they won't be available to the public. [originally via]

she really doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is

2008-09-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

So I've been sort of following the Sarah Palin hoo-ha, but sort of not, because sometimes I get annoyed at spending so much time following another country's politics. But it's hard to avoid, it's SUCH a train wreck, and to be honest, whoever gets elected over there has the power to affect me and MY country. I resent this, but that is the way it is.

I'm certainly not the first person to come to this conclusion, but I have to say it: This woman is a moron. She is ill-informed and in way over her head.

Watch this if you aren't convinced:

.

SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE BUSH DOCTRINE IS. I AM NOT AN AMERICAN AND I KNOW WHAT THE BUSH DOCTRINE IS.

This woman is making me type in all caps! That can't be good.

In that video, she reminds me of a student who hasn't studied for the test but is now trying to BS her way through it. I know it when I see it.

Seriously though, if McCain gets elected I am going to be really scared. I should probably start building a bunker in the back yard.

I can see Russia from my house!

2008-09-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

As predicted, Tina Fey played Sarah Palin last night in a kick-ass Saturday Night Live sketch: "A Non-Partisan Message from Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton." (Amy Poehler played Hillary Clinton.)

Fey/Palin: Tonight we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign. Poehler/Clinton: An issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about. ... Poehler/Clinton: I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy. Fey/Palin: And I can see Russia from my house! ... Poehler/Clinton: I don't agree with the Bush Doctrine. Fey/Palin: I don't know what that is.
Brilliant.

"A Jury of Her Peers"

2008-09-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

I've just finished preparing my lecture for the short story "A Jury of Her Peers." If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The ending makes me want to cry every time.

There's a beautiful reading of it by Cori Samuels here.

Beijing Olympics: panem et circenses

2008-08-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Globe and Mail ran an interesting piece by Geoffrey York over the weekend on the ultimate achievement of the Beijing Olympics: a huge show of China's power on the international stage and a reconfirmation for Chinese citizens that the Party is powerful and righteous.

York's piece is as cynical as I am about the whole spectacle of the 2008 Summer Olympics. I simply cannot enjoy something that comes as a result of a government's suppression of dissent and is aided and abetted by the international media's determined focus away from such silencing. Sure, there was the occasional news story here about China's arrest of protesters. But on the whole, the focus was on the warm and fuzzy, favouring stories of struggle against personal adversity on the way to triumph.

And I get that, really I do. After all, this is the Olympics, where athletes push their bodies to do things that I can barely comprehend and would never be able to do myself. And they deserve the acclaim for these feats. However, even the international athletes were prohibited from commenting or criticizing China's handling of human rights around the Olympics--they were threatened with expulsion from the games if they mentioned certain off-limits topics during media interviews. I can't help but wonder if this left a certain bitter taste in the mouth for some of these athletes, who after all are not just bodies but individuals with brains and hearts.

One of the most interesting quotations in York's article comes from acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who was in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies. In the quotation, Mr. Zhang discusses why these ceremonies were possible in Beijing but would have been difficult to achieve in the West, where pesky things like human rights concerns would surely get in the way:

"I have conducted operas in the West, and it was so troublesome," he said in an interview with Southern Weekend, a Chinese newspaper. "They only work four-and-a-half days each week. Every day there are two coffee breaks. There cannot be any discomfort, because of human rights. ... We do not have that. We can work very hard, we can withstand lots of bitterness. We can achieve in one week what they can achieve in one month. Other than North Korea, no other country in the world can achieve this."

I am having difficulty deciding if Mr. Zhang is being serious in his favourable comparison of his own country with North Korea, or if it is a subtly deadpan, cloaked critique of China's determined end-justifies-the-means approach to putting on a dazzling international spectacle at the expense of so much human dignity. I would like to think it is the latter, but as with so many things having to do with the Beijing Olympics, I am just not certain of the intent behind the words.

What kind of policy is that?

2008-08-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

I think the moderator of the CBC comments forum must have a wicked sense of humour.

This is the featured comment on the CBC British Columbia main page:

"Maybe those who make pubic policy should LISTEN to experts. I am sick and tired of the ignorant being handed portfolios." -unruly, Vancouver

Politics is apparently a lot more exciting than I ever imagined!

cake wrecks

2008-07-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Cake Wrecks is a blog dedicated to showcasing professionally decorated (i.e. bought from a bakery, not made with love by a family member) cakes that elicit not squeals of delight but rather shrieks of horror (or laughter).

Witness:

bad spelling

random, inappropriate punctuation

really unfortunate misspellings

oh God my eyes

and

THE MOST STOMACH-CHURNING CAKE EVER

[via Pop Culture Junk Mail]

Time to Pretend

2008-07-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

I was catching up with past episodes of All Songs Considered and they played "Time to Pretend" by MGMT on their Best CDs of 2008 show. God damn! I cannot stop listening to this song! I actually bought it from iTunes, that's how much I like it. I can't put those AAC files on my MP3 player, so I don't usually buy stuff from iTunes, but in this case I had to have it NOW.

I watched the video to see what the band looks like, and must say I was taken aback by how frickin' young they are. It made me feel very old all of a sudden. [ETA: better, hi-res video link now. Also: I discovered the reason they look so young to me is because they are ten years younger than I am. GOD I AM OLD. Also, I have been listening to this every morning on the way to work.]

I am pretty much not in the loop when it comes to new music, but I think All Songs Considered is helping me a little. Anyway, this song is fantastic and I am currently blasting it at top volume which is something else I never do. The animals are all very alarmed.

literacy work and possibility

2008-07-30T19:08:00.001-07:00

I recently mentioned that there is the possibility I'll be able to take on some literacy work in the fall. Although this is an area of interest for me, and I have done some work and research on literacy, it would be quite different from the job I'm currently doing and it would be a new challenge for me. In a possible fit of counting chickens before they hatch, I've been doing some research and reading on the subject in case the position does become available to me.

Taking on new challenges at work can be stressful, and I have no doubt that this would be the case with this literacy position. However, it can also be wonderfully motivating and inspiring, and despite my exhaustion and frustration this summer, I am finding myself more and more engaged and excited about the possibility of getting into this kind of work.

What interests me about literacy work is the opportunity for social justice activism within the field. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that within the larger framework of social justice, literacy plays a part. When I taught a sociology course on women and society, I researched a women's coop in India that has as one of its major goals literacy for all its members. The idea is that no one can truly be self-sufficient unless literate.

So my feelings on this sudden, surprising, and unwelcome upheaval in my work life have changed from frustration and resentment to recognition that it may actually be a real opportunity to take my career in another direction. The best thing is that I can take my background in women's studies and my experience teaching ESL and use them to good effect in another setting. The most difficult thing will be going from a job where I feel confident that I know what I am doing and am good at it to a job where I will be finding my feet for a while. I'm not good at not being good at things. But I think I'm going to have to learn to be.

Microsoft Word 2007

2008-07-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

I just wrote an expletive-filled screed about the newest version of MS Word that has been loaded onto my work computer, but I deleted it. I have chosen not to post it because I re-read it and it made me seem like I was five seconds away from an aneurysm. It's true, I have had a less-than-wonderful day, and words can barely describe my hatred of this version of Word, but I'm hoping my brain isn't that close to exploding.

The Late Show with Gordon Pinsent

2008-07-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Radio One right now and they're playing one of their summer replacement shows, The Late Show hosted by Gordon Pinsent. It's a show about the lives of ordinary Canadians who actually lived extraordinary lives, and it's fascinating and moving. I think Gordon Pinsent is a great host and I love his voice. (He was fantastic in Away From Her.)

I've been listening to it, or bits of it, for the last few Sunday mornings (it comes on at 11 am and is rebroadcast Tuesday mornings while I'm at work). Anyway, something that's been puzzling me since I first started listening to it is why it's called The Late Show when it's always on in the mornings.

Today is the first time I realized that the title is a reference to late as in, dead.

Duh.

I'm not usually that slow on the uptake, I swear!

Anne Shirley wouldn't have approved either

2008-07-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

There is a big-ass controversy brewing in Summerside, PEI. Apparently, the manager of the local Legion booked a Las Vegas male stripper group into the venue. The event was very popular--they sold over 200 tickets--but several people objected to this type of act being allowed in the Legion.

Chief among the offended was Wallace MacAusland, 28,whose great-great-uncle was a war veteran. MacAusland says he is going to tear up his membership if the Legion doesn't apologize to local veterans. MacAusland admits that he didn't actually see the act, but some of his friends did, and one of these friends "was so disgusted, she left after 40 minutes."

Now that right there is the best part of the article. Just think, that woman was SO DISGUSTED it only took her 40 minutes to decide to leave!

Awesome. Anyway, Robert Palmer, the Legion manager, doesn't seem too repentant:

Legion manager Robert Palmer calls the event a success, and says none of the members he spoke to had a problem with it. "We have to survive the same as any other venue in Summerside, and to do that, we have to generate revenue. It was put on with the best of intentions, and it certainly wasn't to insult anybody." The Legion will likely rebook the event down the road, said Palmer.

I love that little jab at the end. That's an "F-U" if I've ever heard one.

Is this going to help my insomnia or make it worse?

2008-07-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep (what's new), so I'm reading the CBC news website.

Here is the story that confirms and (to my mind) justifies my phobia of lightning:

Couple's tent struck by lightning while camping in Quebec

Ye gods. This is the freakiest part of the article:

"I was feeling a tingling sensation through my arms and legs. I felt I'd been shocked and it wasn't painful, but it was a sensation that I have felt something," she said. A nearby tree was scorched in the storm. "Then it started to get scary," McNairn said. "I'm screaming and you can smell burned hair. You think, I'm so close, I'm smelling this, this is it, this is it." The two lay in their tent, worrying about another strike, the condition of their hearts, and whether the campsite was going to burn.

Then there is this article about a couple of geniuses in New Zealand who decided to name their daughter Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. (No word of a lie, that's her name. Check out the link.) Unsurprisingly, the girl, who is now 9 years old, was mortified by her name. She thus petitioned to become a ward of the state so she could legally change her name. Also unsurprisingly, the judge ruled in Talula's favour, adding that he thought the parents had exercised "extremely poor judgment" in choosing her name and that "[i]t makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily." Um, yeah!

However, what did surprise me was learning that Talula actually appears to have fared a little better in the parent lottery (though not by much) than her poor compatriots Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Number 16 Bus Shelter, and Violence.

Also surprisingly, only the first three of those five names were deemed unacceptable by the courts. Poor old Number 16 BS and Violence were presumably stuck with theirs until they had the wherewithal to legally change them.

swatch carnage [warning: graphic display of yarn mutilation]

2008-07-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

What the hell happened to my swatches in the washing machine?? This is some Superwash Bamboo from Elann that I had made into two swatches so I could send them to my aunt and she could pick which colour she liked for her Christmas sweater. As you can see, I haven't sent them to her yet, so I decided to throw them in with a load of laundry to see how "superwash" they really were. [Note: I didn't just throw them in there to fend for themselves. I put them in a zippered mesh bag to protect them.]

Witness the gruesome results:

I am totally perplexed, not to mention perturbed. The merlot swatch on the left seems to have had one corner chewed up by a rodent, but the chocolate brown swatch! My God, it looks like one of my cats got at it and unraveled the whole thing. It is utterly bizarre. I will have to re-knit the swatches and do this again, because I want to find out if this was some freak accident, or if Superwash Bamboo needs ultra-special treatment. Damn.

fantasy yarn shop

2008-07-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today my friend Darlene and I went to check out the sales at The Willow Basket, a local yarn shop that is closing down soon (owner is retiring). Of course, we both found some AMAZING yarns for sale:

Elsabeth Lavold Silky Wool in a russet tweed

Lily Chin Park Avenue in a deep plum

Mission Falls 1824 Wool in a dusty teal

Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in pale green and pink

While we were there, Darlene and I were reminiscing about how we had talked in the past about setting up our own yarn shop one day. Although I'm seriously loathe to own my own business (I watched my parents work 20 hour days, 6 days a week with their cafe, and it has put me off, I must say), IF I were to have my own yarn shop, I would try to stock only yarns that were either eco friendly (organic, undyed/naturally dyed, or from easily renewable crops like hemp), fair trade yarns, or indie Canadian yarns (or some combination of all three). I think 1) it would provide access to yarns that are difficult to find outside of major urban centres; 2) it would be both socially and environmentally responsible; 3) there is an increasing interest in and demand for these kinds of yarn among today's knitters.

So! What yarns would I stock in my fantasy yarn shop?

Cascade Eco Wool and Eco+
O-Wool and O-Wool Balance
Blue Skies Organic Cotton
Green Mountain Spinnery yarns
Pakucho Organic Cotton
Manos del Uruguay Wool
Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria
Malabrigo Wool
Malabrigo Cotton
Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy
Louet yarns
Sweet Georgia yarns
Koigu yarns
Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns

Aaaah, I'm drooling just thinking about it.

annoying inaccuracies in TV and movies

2008-07-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

I was reading the Defective Yeti when I came across his post about how annoying it is to see a scene in a movie or on TV that you KNOW is totally unrealistic because of your job or area of specialty. For example, his wife is a botanist, and botanical inaccuracies drive her crazy. It's the same with lawyers and law shows, or doctors and nurses and medical shows. I remember my cousin, who is a nurse, saying she actually didn't mind ER except that they were always intubating every damned patient who came in.

My ESL colleagues and I have talked about this before, and there are two biggies that annoy us:

1) The character whose English is supposed to be really poor, but who actually speaks grammatically accurate English, just with a heavy accent. Having an accent isn't the same as not being able to speak English. As one work friend says, "Just once I'd love to hear some supposedly ESL person speak without using any articles, or using all root verbs without conjugating them. You know, the way a real beginning English learner would speak." No kidding. Although I was watching something recently--what the hell was it?--where I was impressed at the realistic nature of the grammar mistakes this second language learner was making. They were exactly the kind of things my students do. Very authentic.

2) The character who arrives in an English speaking country with no English, but whose English improves dramatically within a ridiculously short period of time. If only it were so easy!

Goodbye Olive

2008-07-14T20:17:00.001-07:00

Last year, I wrote a post about a 107-year-old woman whose friends had helped her set up a blog. The woman was Olive Riley, and she had a spirit and a joy for living that, frankly, I wish I had now, never mind 70+ years from now.

Olive passed away today at the age of 108. I know there is no way one could say she didn't live a really long, full life, but it's still sad for the family and friends she left behind, including Mike Rubbo, the person who helped her with her blog. And I'll tell you, I for one will miss reading about her exploits.

Goodbye, Olive. You were a really cool old lady whose blog charmed the pants off me.

Slings and Arrows

2008-07-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Before the weekend, I received in the mail the first season (2 discs, 6 episodes total) of Movie Central's Slings and Arrows, about the world of classical Shakespearean theatre.

The pilot starts with the contrasting stories of two theatre companies: one is a hardworking group of actors with lots of artistic integrity...who are housed in a dilapidated building with non-functioning toilets, no phones, and the occasional electrical fire. The other, The Swan, is a posh, plush theatre that panders to the "grey-haired set;" it is the official home of the New Burbage Shakespeare Festival (based on the Stratford, I'm assuming). Whereas the first theatre is scrambling to cover basic expenses, The Swan is comfortable, complacent, and corporate-sponsored.

During the pilot, the first theatre is trying to a) fix the plumbing, and b) come up with the back rent that they owe the landlord. The other theatre is preparing for the opening night of the festival--a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

As the pilot continues, the tension at The Swan builds: Richard, the general manager (Mark McKinney of The Kids in the Hall), is in a tizzy about keeping their corporate sponsors happy, while Oliver, the artistic director (Stephen Ouiemette), is self-medicating with the bottle to avoid the glaring fact that he has allowed his productions to become boring and soulless in order to stay afloat financially.

So far I have watched the first and second episodes, and I'm already hooked. The writing is excellent: subtle and witty with some amusing in-jokes for those familiar with the world of the theatre, but not so many that it would alienate viewers not familiar with what goes on backstage. And although we do see characters that could definitely be "types" (the diva, the ingenue, the drunk, disillusioned director who has sold out his artistic vision to The Man, the clueless suit who doesn't really understand the arts), the acting skillfully avoids caricature.

A very young-looking pre-Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers Rachel McAdams is charming as a newbie actor who is paying her dues playing the "maids and fairies" roles.

Paul Gross is also mesmerizing as the crazy director of the impoverished theatre company who seems to have a mysterious past relationship to Oliver and Ellen, The Swan's leading lady (Martha Burns).

If you like warm, intelligent, engaging drama with comedic moments, I highly recommend Slings and Arrows.

tentative good news

2008-07-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

So I think it's OK for me to write about this...I found out the other day that there is a strong possibility my layoff from the college will be rescinded. I won't be able to continue teaching ESL, but if all goes well I'll teach a section of women's studies, do some work in the writing centre, and also--this is the part that kind of makes me nervous, because it will be a brand new position--be a regional literacy coordinator.

IF this happens, IF it is approved, then it'll be an interesting challenge for me. I've done some literacy research over the past year and had been considering getting into adult basic ed if my layoff ended up being permanent. The only thing is that because our college is responsible for not just Prince George but the central interior region, this position would be split 40/60 between the north-eastern central interior and the south-eastern central interior. So the north-eastern coordinator would be responsible for Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Fort Fraser, and Fraser Lake, and the south-eastern coordinator (that would be me) would be responsible for Prince George, Quesnel, Mackenzie, McBride, and Valemount. Whew. That is a lot of driving. If I do get this position, I will try to take the Greyhound to as many of these communities as possible. Winter driving on the highways up here freaks me out, especially after my big-ass accident. Unfortunately however, several communities up here have no Greyhound service at all.

Anyway, there's lots of uncertainty surrounding this fall, but it looks like I have a really good chance of staying employed at the college, at least until December.

linen scarf

2008-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

I bought this shirt on the last day of my Paris holiday in April. I was so enamoured with it that I wore it the very next day on the airplane home. It was great! Comfortable, cool, pretty. What more could I want? Well, after wearing it for 24 hours straight, I got tired of readjusting the neckline every 15 minutes and realized that I had bought something made for someone with much wider shoulders, or maybe a bigger bust. Or both. Sigh.

But I really like the shirt and it's a good one to wear to work (other than the Flashdance effect, of course), so what to do?

Voila!

My new lace linen scarf is here to save the day.

Yarn: 1 skein of Linus by Elann (100% linen; 114 yards/104 metres) in Green Tea colourway
Pattern: Easy Ribbed Lace Scarf by Dorothy of Knitting Stuff and Going On and On

It took me 11 days to knit this, but I would say actual knitting time was more like 6 hours or so. It was SO easy that I could knit and watch TV at the same time. And I love that the pattern is reversible.

I highly recommend this pattern and the yarn, too. The linen has a nice sheen and is sort of crisp, but I have heard that it softens up in the washer and dryer.

I'm going to wear this to work tomorrow.

unsatisfying

2008-07-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day since the cafeteria closed for the summer that I didn't bring a lunch from home. I knew I wouldn't last till the end of the day without eating, so I went to the bookstore and bought one of those instant lunch things. I had a choice between a Mr. Noodles bowl and a Kraft Dinner cup. I chose the Kraft Dinner because it seemed marginally more nutritious and I could use our department microwave to make it, rather than having to beg a kettle from someone to get some boiling water.

Here is what it looks like:

It's not the worst thing I've ever eaten, but that's about the best I can say about it. It's very orange and quite salty, and it doesn't taste as good (?) as the regular Kraft Dinner that comes in a box. However, the thing that annoys me most is best summarized by that old joke that Woody Allen tells in Annie Hall:

There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of them says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions."

bad idea

2008-07-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hey! You know what's not a good idea? Deciding at the video store that a TV show called Supernatural would be the perfect thing to watch while you are alone in the house. It turns out it's about two boys whose mother was murdered by ghosts and whose father has now become a vigilante ghost hunter.

That's not a good idea. I mean, if you are planning on sleeping at all.

House

2008-07-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I do almost all my TV-watching on DVD, which I prefer because that way I don't have to watch ads. I am also slightly compulsive, so I like being able to watch five episodes of something in a row if I want to.

Usually I prefer HBO-type shows such as Deadwood, Carnivale, Six Feet Under, Weeds, Rescue Me and Big Love, but the pickings were slim at the video store the other day, so I decided to try out some network shows I had never seen before, including two medical shows: House and Grey's Anatomy.

I watched the first few episodes of House and I must say I just don't get the appeal. Man, was it boring. It was predictable and formulaic--1) patient comes in with weird disease; 2) House or one of his junior doctors makes a guess as to the diagnosis; 3) they're wrong; 4) they try something else and are wrong again; 5) then they're right but no one believes them; 6) patient recovers.

OK, whatever--I happen to really enjoy CSI and Law and Order, and it's not like either of those exactly breaks the mold. But the really disappointing thing about House was that the dialogue was only so-so and most of the characters are bland and vague. I love Hugh Laurie, but I find his character to be so obnoxious and drawn in such broad strokes that his snarkiness is repetitious and annoying rather than clever and amusing.

I'm hoping Grey's Anatomy is better.

It's Canada Day Up Canada Way

2008-07-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day!

And...congratulations to Dr. Henry Morgentaler for his induction into the Order of Canada. He deserves it for all the incredible work he has done to protect women's reproductive rights--often at great personal cost.

restoring my faith in humanity slightly

2008-06-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

I am frequently frustrated by the reader comments on the CBC news website. I am astounded by the levels of ignorance and bigotry I see there on a regular basis. It disappoints me because, to be honest, I like to think the majority of CBC listeners are progressive, earnest lefties. I am probably being naive in thinking this, but there it is.

So it was with pleasant surprise that I read the comments on today's story about how this year was the first time gay Canadian Forces soldiers had been allowed to march in Toronto's Gay Pride Parade. (The story is accompanied by an utterly charming photo of three uniformed soldiers grinning happily as they march in the parade.)

Yes, there were some comments about how homosexuals are a perversion, the Bible says this, blah blah blah, but to my surprise, the overwhelming majority of the comments were extremely supportive of gays and almost all of the harsh condemnation was for the homophobic posters!

What a nice surprise.

reason number one million why I prefer the train

2008-06-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Every time I go through airport security, I experience some level of frustration. Sometimes it's fairly low-level, like when I make it through security with only a belt-removal. Other times I experience practically Hulk-like levels of rage, like the times when I get "randomly" selected for a feel-up by a security official. I love it when they ask if I will agree to being "patted down." WTF am I going to say, no? Uh, generally I like to actually get on my scheduled flight, so what option do I have? And by the way, I am not so sure any of this is random since I get pulled out of line A LOT. My theory is that it's not because I look like a terrorist but rather because I look fairly compliant, non-stinky, and unlikely to punch someone out for touching me. This way, the security people can do their required job of looking like they're protecting all of us without actually having to deal with some passenger freaking out on them.

So I don't even know where to start with this new 3-D body scanner they're setting up at the Kelowna airport. Kelowna! Jesus Christ, who in their right mind thinks Kelowna is a magnet for terrorists? Yes, I'm sure if I were planning world destruction/domination, Kelowna is the first place I'd go. And do I want some CATSA official looking at an image of me without my clothes? No thank you. This whole thing sounds like it was dreamed up by some people who spent their childhoods yearning for a pair of those x-ray specs advertised in the backs of comic books.

back to the garden

2008-06-18T17:37:00.001-07:00

Knitting Pattern--Take-Out Coffee Cup

2008-06-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

Recently I've started making hand-knitted play food for my friends' children to use with their doll tea sets and play kitchens. Inspired by ilikelemons' knitted ice cream cone pattern, I decided to design a knit take-out coffee cup.

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I enjoyed designing it.

Knit Take-Out Coffee Cup

MATERIALS

DK or worsted weight yarn in the following amounts and colours:

• Dark brown—20 metres
• Light brown—20 metres
• White—40 metres

Set of double-pointed needles to achieve a tight gauge with the yarn you are using (I used 2.75 mm needles with a DK weight yarn). Exact gauge is not important, but gauge should be tight enough that stuffing does not show through stitches.

Small, flat round object the same size as bottom of cup--I used a pill bottle lid about 4.5 cm in diameter. This will fit inside the bottom of the cup and help keep it flat so it can stand up.

Stuffing of your choice: wool fleece, cotton batting, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

Cup

Using white yarn and one dpn, CO 6 sts.

Knit as for i-cord.

Divide sts onto 3 dpns and pm to indicate beginning of round.

Round 1: Kfb into each st. 12 sts total.
Round 2: K all sts.
Round 3: K1, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 4: K all sts.
Round 5: K2, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 6: K all sts.
Round 7: K3, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 8: K all sts.
Round 9: K4, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 10: K all sts.
Round 11: K5, kfb. Rep to end of round. 42 sts total.
Round 12: P all sts.

Turn work inside out. Continue to work in the round (now you will be going the opposite direction).

Knit in the round in stocking stitch for 1 inch.
Increase round: K until last st on each needle, then kfb last st.

Continue to knit in stocking stitch; do an increase round after every inch three more times. 51 sts total.

Knit another inch, then do two purl rounds. BO knitwise.

Put a flat, round object such as a bottle lid into the bottom of the cup. The object should fit snugly and allow the cup to stand upright. Stuff the cup with the fibre fill of your choice and set cup aside.

Coffee

Using dark brown yarn and one dpn, CO 6 sts.

Knit as for i-cord.

Divide sts onto 3 dpns and pm to indicate beginning of round.

Round 1: Kfb into each st. 12 sts total.
Round 2: K all sts.
Round 3: K1, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 4: K all sts.
Round 5: K2, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 6: K all sts.
Round 7: K3, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 8: K all sts.
Round 9: K4, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 10: K all sts.
Round 11: K5, kfb. Rep to end of round.
Round 12: K all sts.
Round 13: K6, kfb. Rep to end of round. 48 sts total.

BO all sts knitwise and set aside.

Cardboard sleeve

Using light brown yarn, CO 9 sts. Do not join in the round—you will be knitting flat in seed stitch. *K1, p1 across row. Turn*. Repeat from * to * until the strip of knitted fabric fits comfortably around the stuffed cup.

Stitch the strip together so that one end overlaps the other slightly to form a visible seam. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

Whipstitch the coffee, reverse stocking stitch side up, to the inside top of the cup using brown yarn. It is easiest if you don’t stuff the cup to the top before seaming. When there is one inch left to seam, stuff the cup until full. Finish the seam as invisibly as possible, knot, and hide the end by pulling it inside the cup with the needle.

Slide the sleeve onto the coffee cup until it fits tightly.

You’re done!

NOTE: This pattern is for personal use only--please don't reproduce it elsewhere, try to take credit for it, or make money off it. Thanks!

ridiculous anti-drug ads

2008-06-14T18:51:00.001-07:00

Who in heaven's name is in charge of the federal government's new anti-drug campaign? Their print, radio, and TV ads are all ridiculously, earnestly awful. I cringe every time I have the misfortune of seeing or hearing one. Has anyone else had this reaction, or is it just me? I think they're terrible, but I can't quite put my finger on why.

I'm aliiiiiiiiiive!

2008-06-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I am still among the living. I have been wretched about posting for a while, mostly because as soon as I returned from my fabulous trip, I got hellishly sick and then started work. And although I have really, really wanted to, I have refrained from posting about work, although it is just about all I've been able to think about for the last four weeks. It is just not a wise idea, as many who have been fired for writing publicly about their jobs can attest. I think, however, that it is safe for me to say that I have been laid off (yes, again), effective the end of this semester, and that this semester has been incredibly stressful so far for a variety of reasons, the layoff being only one of them.

But there's not much I can do until September, when I find out if my layoff can be rescinded. So I will just keep ploughing ahead and trying to appreciate my nice, hardworking students and my kind, supportive colleagues.

Here. Have an ice cream cone:

I've been knitting feverishly in an effort to de-stress, and I came across this great pattern, Scooped, from ilovelemons. It is fast and easy and makes a good knit toy for a baby or toddler. I have made four of these so far, all different kinds of cones and ice cream scoops (I made two soft serves). I have also knit a banana and I saw a pattern for a knit beet that I would like to try.

Paris

2008-04-25T20:41:00.001-07:00

view of Paris from the top floor of the Centre Pompidou

Notre Dame

looking up through the pyramid at the Louvre

RIP, Anthony Minghella

2008-03-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

I was sad to hear that Anthony Minghella died today at the age of 54, of complications following an operation for cancer of the tonsils and neck.

He was a fantastically talented director and Truly, Madly, Deeply and The English Patient are two of my favourite movies. Truly, he was an excellent filmmaker. RIP Anthony.

Sex and the City movie

2008-03-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Has it really been four years since Sex and the City ended? My God.

So I am really unreasonably excited about the new Sex and the City movie. I just watched the extended trailer and I cannot wait to see it. I have to say though that Patricia Field has really gone off the deep end--Carrie always wore strange getups but some of these new ones really take the cake.

SATC has always been one of my guilty pleasures. When it first came out I refused to watch it because I thought it would be utterly stupid, vacuous, and sexist. I don't even know why I started watching it, but once I did, I found myself slowly getting hooked. I do think it improved a lot over the six seasons; by the end of the show's run, I was actually impressed at the way it addressed some of the issues that women face, such as infertility, pregnancy, child care, career choices, infertility [ETA: gee, I guess the infertility storylines really made an impression on me], and elder care. Most of these issues, of course, were explored through the character of Miranda, and I don't think it's any coincidence that she's my favourite character. Her storylines always seemed the most down-to-earth and meaningful.

But I do have a secret soft spot for Carrie and Mr. Big. I REALLY want to see them get married. Ah, I'm such a mushy-headed romantic.

I KNEW there was an up side to being short

2008-03-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

YESSSSSSSSSS!

advice on child-rearing

2008-03-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine has just become pregnant. [Congratulations to M and I!] One of my cousins is due to have her baby within the next few weeks. I do not have children, and thus my hat is off to these intrepid souls who are about to venture into this scary but exciting territory. These words of wisdom from Jeff Vogel of Irony Central are for them:

For almost every possible question you can have about parenting, you can find two books which will tell you, with no room for argument, two completely opposite answers. People who write about parenting, myself included, are busybody douchebags with control issues. To hell with the lot of us. When we took Miranda home from the hospital, we were given a handout to tell us everything we need to know about raising a baby. What and when to feed it, how to clean it, and so on. This handout was two sheets of paper. And one side of one of the sheets was blank. That’s right. How to raise your kid? Two pages. Anything beyond that is opinion. Do you feel guilty? Kid use a pacifier? Watch hours of Teletubbies a day? Sometimes let it cry itself to sleep? I absolve you. There is really very little we know for sure about what does and does not help or hurt a child’s development. Give food, shelter, clothing, and affection. And when some supposed expert comes on the local news comes on to tell you how stupid you are, flip him the bird and switch to Jeopardy.

Winnie the Poop

2008-02-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

I was just listening to the CBC and they had a news story about a woman in Gander, Nfld., who had bought a Winnie the Pooh snowsuit for her granddaughter and after getting it home, discovered that it read "Winnie the Poop." The snowsuit was sold as an official Disney product, so the retailer has taken it back and refunded the purchaser, and the matter is "being looked into."

The grandmother sounded quite miffed about it, but personally, I would have kept it! Hilarious.

lipreading puzzle

2008-02-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

This puzzle is from Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles, Tricks, and Conundrums. I wish I had had this when I was working with my student teachers on pronunciation teaching techniques; a lot of pronunciation teaching involves showing students what their lip positions should be (along with tongue position, but that's harder to illustrate in a drawing).

Here is a class of a dozen boys, who, being called up to give their names, were photographed by the instantaneous process just as each one was commencing to pronounce his own name. The twelve names were Oom, Alden, Eastman, Alfred, Arthur, Luke, Fletcher, Matthew, Theodore, Richard, Shirmer and Hisswald. Now it would not seem possible to be able to give the correct name to each of the twelve boys, but if you will practice the list over to each one, you will find it not a difficult task to locate the proper name for every one of the boys. The puzzle, of course, is to guess the names of the twelve boys correctly.

[via Ed Pegg Jr. on the Mathematical Association of America website]

Yael Naim

2008-02-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

Who knows if this is going to make me seem more in the loop than I am, or more out of it--maybe I'm the last person on earth to learn about the delightfulness that is Yael Naim. Anyway, I love her song "New Soul." Very Feist! (Whom I also love.)

online knitting stitch catalogue

2008-02-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a handy online knitting stitch catalogue, searchable by stitch name, browseable by alphabet or thumbnail photo gallery.

I found it while searching for this pattern for daisy stitch handwarmers from The Purl Bee. I think the daisy stitch is my favourite new stitch. It produces a fabric that lies flat and does not curl. It's not reversible, but the non-daisy side just looks like the back side of stockinette (i.e. perfectly serviceable and attractive).

most ecumenical

2008-02-04T02:02:00.000-08:00

I think this may be one of the best comment exchanges I've ever read on a blog. It's from Sister Julie Vieira's A Nun's Life. She has a page on her blog called Ask Sister, where people can ask questions about what it's like to be a nun or about Catholicism in general. Occasionally people make prayer requests.

RedheadedCyclone, on November 2nd, 2007 at 5:40 pm Said: If I could ask you a favor, please pray for Jimmy Page… yes, that Jimmy Page (from Led Zeppelin). He has broken his finger. He also has a reunion with the other members of Led Zeppelin in the near future. My True Friend, Mark, has been salivating over this event since the band broke out. So… really, I am asking you to pray for my Friend so that Mr. Page will be able to heal and be healthy so he can play at the high level of his skills. I know it sounds weird, then again, maybe not, either way… If you would, please, it would be greaty appreciated. Blessings! Elizabeth Sister Julie, on November 3rd, 2007 at 1:36 pm Said: It’s never weird to ask for prayers! God is in all things including Led Zeppelin! My prayers are with Mr. Page and your friend Mark.

it's going to be a real cold one this time

2008-02-01T18:04:00.001-08:00

I heard this song on the radio today and I cannot stop singing it.

Outside it's still snowing
Looks like winter's here
And I know it's gonna be a real cold one this time
("This Winter I Retire" by Vancouver band Said The Whale)

It is so damned cold. It's been -30 to -20 here over the last week and I am tired of it. The snow is beautiful, but I feel like it's been winter for a year.

it was twenty years ago today

2008-01-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

On January 28th, 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canada's abortion law contravened Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Abortion is no longer against the law in Canada, but neither do women have equal access. This interview with Dr. Henry Morgentaler in the National Review of Medicine discusses the issue.

Do you have a message for Canadian doctors on the 20th anniversary of the decision? My message would be to treat abortion patients with empathy and good care and to allow them the freedom of choice and to provide good care. And not to be judgmental. The decision is not easy usually and once a request is made it is after due consideration and women deserve to be treated with respect and understanding. I think that's about it.

10 Knitting Questions

2008-01-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

1. What is your all time favourite yarn to knit with?

This is a very difficult question, but I guess if pressed I would say Malabrigo. It is SO SOFT and knits up so beautifully.

2. Your favourite needles?

My Denise circulars. Love 'em. I just wish they came in sizes smaller than US 5.

3. The worst thing you've ever knit?

Probably this.

It is hideously ugly and doesn't fit me properly. Hence, I have unravelled it and now have a million tiny balls of pink and purple yarn. God damn.

4. Your most favourite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)

Henry Bear.

He was the first teddy bear I knit and I was just amazed at how he turned out!

5. Most valuable knitting technique?

That would have to be a toss-up between magic loop knitting and knowing how to ladder down to fix mistakes without unravelling back several rows.

6. Best knit book or magazine?

I am very, very fond of Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I've knit many a pattern from that book.

7. Your favourite knit-a-long?

I've never done a knit-a-long.

8. Your favourite knitblogs?

Go Knit in Your Hat, Knit 'n' Tonic, Cosmic Pluto Knits, SillyKnit, DoveKnits.

9. Your favourite knitwear designer?
It's a tie between Stefanie Japel and Bonne Marie Burns.

10. The knit item you wear the most?

These days, it's this one (Malabrigo Top-Down Cardi, based on Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet).

nostalgia: Judy Blume et al.

2008-01-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Over at Jezebel, they're running a series about re-reading beloved kids' books: "Welcome to 'Fine Lines', the Friday feature in which we give a sentimental, sometimes-critical, far more wrinkled look at the children's and YA books we loved in our youth."

The latest entry is about Judy Blume's classic Then Again, Maybe I Won't, in which Blume writes about a boy's entry into adolescence. In the intro, the reviewer digresses for a moment about reading the female version, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret:

Judy Blume, at least for me, required an unholy amount of pre-Wikipedia diagram and explication. I still remember well -- WELL -- porting my instantly well-thumbed copy of... YES, WAIT FOR IT...Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret (you'll have to provide the clash of trumpets here yourself) over to my mother to ask her what a "period" was... [your own memory here]

So, here's my memory of reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret: I first read it when I was 8 years old, and the entire time, I was firmly convinced that "getting your period" involved kissing boys behind the grocery store. (In the book, Margaret feels envious of the girls who have gotten their period already and who have kissed boys behind the A&P. I suppose I must have conflated the two activities.)

The next year, my mother actually sat me down and explained what "getting your period" really meant (she didn't know I had read about periods in Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret). I was totally horrified. This was EVEN WORSE than having to kiss boys! Ah, memories.

Previous Fine Lines

A discussion of favourite children's/YA books.

knitting tutorial links

2008-01-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

3-in-1 tech join for circular needles

Invisible short-rows tutorial by cocoknits

Applied buttonloops tutorial at My Fashionable Life

Bind-off techniques tutorials from Knitty:

Part One: Flexible bind-offs (decrease BO, suspended BO, single crochet BO, sewn BO)
Part Two: 3-needle bind-off + some decorative bind-offs (double crochet BO, picot BO, i-cord BO)

Folded hem tutorial from So Much Yarn, So Little Time.

Making Beautiful Seams tutorial from My Virtual Sanity.

How to make your own dress form from packing tape

nationality rooms at University of Pittsburgh

2008-01-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

Apparently at the University of Pittsburgh there is a set of classrooms known as the "nationality rooms". Each classroom has a country/cultural theme: there is an Armenian Room, an Israel Heritage Room, an African Heritage Room, and many others. The architectural style, seating arrangements, and materials incorporated into the design are different for each room. You can take a virtual tour of these rooms, all housed within the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning.

From an instructor's point of view, I can see how some of these rooms would be more conducive to teaching and others would be beautiful but a pain in the arse (uncomfortable seating in an awkward, immovable arrangement), but the idea behind it is an interesting one.

not exactly stoic

2008-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

The other morning as I was staring into the bathroom mirror at the big grey circles under my eyes, lamenting the fact that I'd had only 4 hours of sleep, feeling ill with cramps, and wishing I didn't have to go to work, I thought: HOW ON EARTH would I ever cope with 1) pregnancy, 2) labour and childbirth, and 3) raising a child?

I'd probably be nostalgic for the days when I could get 4 hours of sleep in a row, cramps would seem like a picnic compared to labour pains, and there are no sick days or holidays when you've got a kid who depends on you. I don't know how people do it. I tip my hat to all of you parents who do it day in and day out, who raise happy, well-adjusted children without going crazy yourselves.

FO: puff-sleeved feminine cardi

2008-01-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

Oh man, the trouble this caused me the first time I knit it in a different yarn. But I love this pattern and this yarn. I wore it to work today, but it really does need a good blocking.

Pattern: Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardi from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK in Crush
Needles: Denise Interchangeable Circulars in US 5
Mods: Fewer raglan increases to accommodate narrow shoulders; a few mistakes in the lace pattern (shh!) and I knit the sleeves in the round using magic loop method rather than knitting flat and then seaming as the pattern suggests.

Verdict: I'm very happy with the way it turned out and will probably get a lot of wear out of it, because I'm a girly girl and I like to wear short-sleeved sweaters.

how I spent my Christmas vacation

2008-01-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

Why is it that every year seems to be going faster and faster? I guess it's really true that the longer you've lived, the shorter each passing year seems to be. I remember when Grade Two seemed to take an eternity. Now it seems like I just got used to the idea of 2007 and lo and behold, now I have to adjust to the fact that it's 2008.

[This episode of Radio Lab explores the concept of time as relative. Fascinating stuff!]

It was nice to see the family and friends over the holidays. Of course, it always seems like there's not enough time and too much I want to do!

I'm currently reading Sorcery and Cecelia: Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. Thanks to Miss L for lending it to me! I love it. It's a Regency romance told in epistolary fashion, set in an alternate universe London where magic coexists with lords and ladies and spencer jackets. Sort of like Jane Austen crossed with Harry Potter. It's well-written and entertaining. I'm really pleased that Miss L also lent me the sequel, The Grand Tour.

We saw No Country For Old Men while in Vancouver. I didn't know anything about the story before I watched it, which made for a good viewing experience, I think. I knew vaguely who was in it, and I knew it was based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, but nothing else. I had even forgotten that it was a Coen brothers movie. Anyway, it was really quite violent, but that said, it was a good film. Javier Bardem is especially effective in his role as Anton Chigurh, the psychopathic serial killer/hit man. You sort of want to laugh at him because of his terrible Prince Valiant pageboy, but he is so scary that you just can't.

While in Vancouver, we also checked out The Afghan Horsemen restaurant at the entrance of Granville Island. Great stuff! It used to be located at Broadway and Cambie, and I don't know how many hundreds of times I rode past the distinctive yellow sign while taking the bus down Broadway. I was a little confused when it seemed to have disappeared, but we managed to track it down to its new location on Anderson Street. We ate in the special room with the cushions on the floor--it's a little unsettling at first, because everyone sits on cushions with their backs to the wall, all around the room, so you're all sort of facing each other, even though you've got separate tables. I'd describe the food as a mixture of Persian, Indian, and Greek food, which makes sense if you think of how Afghanistan used to be a crossroads of sorts for all kinds of cultures. The oddest thing we had was a yoghurt drink with mint and salt called "dough"--it tasted a lot like tzaziki, and I absolutely loved it, but if you're not much for savoury drinks you'd probably want to skip it. It looks like Indian lassi, but it is NOT sweet.

I've nearly finished my puff-sleeved cardigan; I just need to knit on the buttonhole band. I am very pleased with the sweater on the whole, although I did manage to knit the button band on the wrong side (boy-style). I don't care, though--I am certainly not about to frog and re-knit the button band! I can learn to do up the buttons the opposite way. I don't even know why men's and women's clothes button up on different sides--there doesn't seem to be any practical reason for it at all.

[ETA: Actually, I checked it again and I hadn't knit it on the wrong side at all. I don't know what I was thinking.]

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T21:19:00.001-08:00

damn

2007-12-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

Here's what I learned today. If you drop your keys in the snow while you're walking the dog, the dog will heartily enjoy having his walk extended by 45 minutes while you retrace your steps multiple times. You, the human, will not.

meowy Christmas

2007-12-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here is what she's thinking: "Ho ho f*ing ho. I'm being docile now, but you'd better sleep with one eye open."

I keed. She just sat there purring and enjoying the attention from the humans and other animals. I couldn't believe how long she was willing to wear that!

Playmobil Macbeth

2007-12-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

stash busting; stash enhancing

2007-11-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

Since I've been pretty stressed lately, I've also started making record purchases of yarn. I'm usually fairly restrained, but hoo boy, not these days. In the last two weeks alone, I've bought five different kinds of yarn. Bad!

But every time I feel bad, I think about this lady's stash, and then I don't feel so guilty. Now THAT is a yarn stash. (Scroll down to see the full majesty.)

puff-sleeved mess

2007-11-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

So I finished all but the button bands of my Puff-Sleeved Cardigan from Fitted Knits, and what I have is a Knit that Does Not Fit. It is so big that I can wrap it around like a kimono, and yet...I still HAVE NOT ADDED THE FRICKIN BUTTON BANDS YET. That is two more inches of fabric. This is what happens when you notice a problem with row gauge and yet blindly persist in knitting the other 75% of a garment. That, folks, is called denial.

However, all is not wasted. I learned several important things while knitting this doomed item, namely that in order for a sweater to fit me, I am always going to have to modify the bust and shoulder sections, unless the pattern is specifically written for someone freakishly narrow-shouldered and small-busted. Like, uh, me.