A-Maze-ing Challenge

As one who can never turn away a challenge, I find myself embroiled in yet another one. A few posts ago, I mentioned being a member of Knitting 20th Century Novels on Ravelry, and this ‘round’ we’re reading Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose. Also part of this group is to knit an accompanying work, if so desired.

Already, very early in the reading (by the first chapter), a labyrinth is featuring prominently in the reading. There’s constant reference to the idea of the monastery library being a labyrinth (more a maze really, but the theory is the same in this case). Discussion on the project board centered at first on some brave soul who wondered aloud on how to incorporate semiotics into her knitting. Semiotic is, in really, really, really shorthand terms the study of signs and symbols, a huge sub-plot of the book and is, in fact, Eco’s area of expertise in the collegiate world.

From this first brave (in my opinion) board post, discussion gradually moved to the idea of creating an afghan or blanket based on a labyrinth, and me being me, I had to add my two cents about Latin text and hidden meanings. Now, the project is blooming into a life of its own.

Further discussion and research had one member discover Eco actually based the library labyrinth from the maze on the floor of Rheims Cathedral in France (1211 destroyed 1779).

Conveniently, it has places to place some secret symbols, and my imagination is going full throttle.
At this point, everything is still in my head, but I do have plans to put it in ‘fit for public consumption form’. I hope. I’ve already resigned myself that this is not a project that will be completed upon the specified time limit of the book group. However, I’m not deterred. I thought there might be some here who were interested in watching this unfold.

Did Tina Fey Out-Palin Palin?

If you have to ask, you haven't watched the SNL opening skit from last night (9/13).

HIL-F*@&ING-ARIOUS!

I happened to find the whole skit at the Chicago Tribune. Even if you don't like politics, or Palin, or Clinton, or whatever, it's still a freakin' funny skit.

Coming to a Theater Near You

As often happens in a house where the adults are true Gen-X’ers, conversations are often peppered with cultural references and many video, movie and television quotes. Today, for some strange reason, conversation revolved (as it often does when Necropolis is involved) to matters of….how shall I say….adult humor (not strange), when I came back with a line from a movie I haven’t thought of in years (the strange part).

During our college tenure, we watched some of the most eclectic movies and videos I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something. And, no, I’m not referring to porn. This particular reference was to a Troma movie known as Redneck Zombies. I could probably go all into the plot, subplot, etc of this movie, but from Wikipedia (and yes, I was more than a little startled to see that RZ had its own wiki entry):

The film is set in rural Maryland, where a 50 gallon drum of radioactive waste, misplaced by the military, is discovered by a group of rednecks who decide to use it as part of their new moonshine still. The resulting toxic mixture turns the simple townsfolk into ravenous zombies, who attack a passing group of nearby campers.

No, Citizen Kane, it ain’t.

Funny? Oh, yeah.

What’s also funny are the reviews on Amazon. For whatever reason, Nec and I found ourselves on there and just about messed ourselves laughing at some of the reviews. Some of our favorites (with errors):

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WATCHING THIS MOVIE, GET REALLY HIGH OR DO SOME KIND OF DRUG BEFORE YOU WATCH IT

One of the greats of all time; look for Ferd Murtz, Elly Mae, Perky the Pig, and the two guys sitting on the couch waiting for their moonshine shipment. Sample dialogue: "I'm a-goin' fishin'." "Have ya got worms?" "Yeah, but I'm a-goin' anyway." Must be seen to be appreciated (and believed). Great theme song by "The Poison Squirrels from Hell".

Ok ill keep this short dont buy this peice of crap go and spend your hard earnd
money on 13 $1.00 hookers. The herpes you contract is fare more pleasant than
this hunk of dirt farming inbred trailer park trash movie.

If you hate yourself, I recommend you watch this movie.

And, my personal favorite:

If you like bad acting combined with a whole lot of chicken blood, this movie is for you! THIS NEXT LINE WILL CONVINCE YOU TO SEE THIS MOVIE: You get to see a guy get stabbed in the eye with a corncob.

If you’re interested in what weirdness entertains the adults in the McD home, you can go to YouTube for a RZ trailer. Warning this trailer contains graphic violence and should not be watched by people under the age of 18 or with a weak stomach.

Might Not Be Bartlett's, but the Point's the Same...

I'm not really a political person. At least, not in the way it seems to be some type of homecoming pep rally. I supposed I just have a different view of government and service. I have my beliefs and others are free to have theirs which I'll defend to the death for them to have (this IS America, after all), but I'm not so interested in hashing them out.

I've been asking myself a question lately, though. Because I have a vagina, does one of the major political parties really believe one is as good as another and I'll vote for any? What kind of election whore does that make me? Is that *really* what they think of us? How totally insulting and degrading is this?

So I've tried not to fall into the obvious trap and to be open minded and fair. I've tried to listen to positions and issues on both sides. But so far, all I've heard is Side 1: Change (which, admittedly, is a position albeit a rather broad and nonspecific one), and Side 2: The Change Side 1 is talking about isn't a position on the issues.

I have tried to get the substitute vagina thing. So far, all I've heard is lipstick, pit bulls, and The Bridge on the River Kwai Too Far to Nowhere. Of course, this is also the same person who said if the Pledge of Allegiance was good enough for the Founding Fathers it was good enough for her. Makes it a tough call.

This morning, I listened to the news on the radio, and as I listened to what was said by the candidate in question (who never did really answer the questions, now that I think about it) all I could do was shake my head and be reminded of the following quote:

You know, Ms. Gibbs, growing up in the rural part of Georgia, I've been around
compost all my life. I've seen it loaded onto wagons and tilled, hoed and spread
across fields far and wide. But until today, I must say, I've never seen it tied
up and gift wrapped in quite so neat and tidy and 'pretty' a package.
Congratulations. You're a very clever girl. But it's still compost. Now if
you'll excuse me, I leave you to dig your way out. You do know how to dig, don't
you? You just get down on your hands and knees, and shovel.

Thank you, Julia Sugarbaker.

BTW: I promise to get back to yarn, knitting, butterflies or stupid family stuff very soon.


Edited to add this Julia quote, because I forgot about this episode, but it applies somewhat as well, and Julia's always good for a harangue. From "The Candidate":

I do not think everyone in America is ignorant! Far from it! But we
are today, probably, the most uneducated, under read, and illiterate nation in
the western hemisphere. Which makes it all the more puzzling to me why the
biggest question on your small mind is whether or not little Johnny is gonna
recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning! I'll tell you something else, Mr.
Brickett. I have had it up to here with you and your phony issues and your
Yankee Doodle yakking! If you like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance everyday
then I think you should do it! In the car! In the shower! Wherever the mood
strikes you! But don't try to tell me when or where I have to say or do or
salute anything, because I am an American too, and that is what being an
American is all about! And another thing, I am sick and tired of being made to
feel that if I am not a member of a little family with 2.4 children who goes
just to Jerry Fallwell's church and puts their hands over their hearts every
morning that I am unreligious, unpatriotic, and un-American! Because I've got
news for you, Mr. Brickett. All liberals are not kooks, anymore than all
conservatives are fascists! And the last time I checked, God was neither a
Democratic nor a Republican! And just for your information, yes I am a liberal,
but I am also a Christian. And I get down on my knees and pray everyday - on my
own turf - on my own time. One of the things that I pray for, Mr. Brickett is
that people with power will get good sense, and that people with good sense will
get power... and that the rest of us will be blessed with the patience and the
strength to survive the people like you in the meantime!

Take a Sad Song and Make It Better

Every so often, the future of our youth doesn’t depress me.

Being a teacher in the elementary grades, I see things that would make a lesser person weep. The way adults treat their progeny often is criminal, not to mention the state of education. Why are children being left behind? Because first graders are doing algebra, but can’t do basic addition, 4th grade science lessons on sound is material I learned in a college level physics class, and I, the educator with a Masters Degree, have to go to teachers I know to get assistance with my elementary children’s homework.

But that’s not the point of this post.

Being a music teacher, a lot of what I see is children so burnt out on school by second grade, they can’t concentrate on the music education I’m contracted to deliver to them 30 minutes once a week. So, I somewhat circumvent the system. I teach the standards, but I do it my way. We may be working on beat, but we use Tooty Ta and Cha Cha Slide to do it. Bottom line, I don’t think there’s any reason for the kids to be stressed about music as well as academics in elementary school. But, this, too, is another post.

Last spring, as I got a little bored and ready for summer, I pulled out some of my lighter materials. Amongst and amid was a kids’ arrangement of The Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand. Being a major Beatles fan, I brought out some other things I had, including an old video of Bobby McFerrin doing Blackbird. I also took out one other song for the kids to learn. I wanted something from a different Beatles’ era, but something a little different and something they may not have heard (unless their parents were like me, and listened to Beatles A LOT). I chose Hey, Jude.

All my 2nd through 5th graders loved it. It didn’t matter if they were from upwardly mobile suburbans or subsidized housing apartments, the kids repeatedly asked for Hey Jude long after the lessons were over, and well to the end of school. The favorite part? Where the actual lyrics end and the “Na-Na, Hey, Jude” begins. Good Lord, those kids were loud.

So, now I’ve started a new school year, and on the first week of school, without fail, the song I was most often asked about? You guessed it…Hey, Jude.

Now the key to this story is that I only taught this lesson to the older grades, students in 2nd through 5th grades. At the end of last week, a new 2nd grader (who was in 1st grade last year), asked, "When are we going to 'do the Beatles’."




Long live The Beatles.

A Novel Without A Hero

Once Upon A Time there was a blog entitled Knitting the Classics. It's now defunct, but it's purpose (at the time) was to read some great books and knit inspiring piece of works based on said book. Unfortunately for me, I discovered this little gem too late.

Being the voracious reader I am, I have no lack of books in my dining room/studio that have been sacrificed at the altar of my literary muse this summer. Perhaps my greatest accomplishment was in reading the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series. Yes, I read all 6 book, incompassing some 6800 pages, in less than two weeks. And, I broke up the monotony of Claire and Jamie's story with Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. I was a busy girl.

The trouble, if you want to call it that, is that I read for myself, but generally have no avenue of discourse regarding these books. I read, digest and internalize these books. Most often, this isn't an issue. My ideas would probably set people's backs up and frighten small children. But, every so often, I have the desire to read, discuss and exchange.

A book club doesn't really appeal, and isn't all that conducive to my life, given The Things. If I want to have a discussion about The Spiderwick Chronicles, I suppose I'm set. But, if I want to talk Pride and Prejudice, I'm a little short on method and opportunity, despite the motive.

Enter Knit the Classics. It would have been the perfect balance and compromise. If it still existed. Luckily for me, there's a fair compromise. On Ravelry, there are two groups, Knitting 19th Century Novels and Knitting 20th Century Novels which hold basically the same function as KTC: Read a major work every two month (and discuss in the forums) and knit a project inspired by the novel.

I've picked up my first two novels, Vanity Fair by Willam Makepeace Thackery, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I'm reading along and already have the beginnings of knitting inspiration for Name of the Rose, as you can see by the photo below. I'm thinking ideas along rose windows. Not sure how, exactly I'm going to pull this off yet, though.


So, now I can discuss and talk, as time allows, and not worry that my ideas are strange or weird or whatever. I have the time to really think about what I say before I type my ideas out, and I can pose these theories in the best light. Right?

Well, you would think so, but apparently, I'm just that much of a freak. When I brought forth a point in Vanity Fair, where one of the characters is labeled a misanthrope (a word that's popped up repeatedly for me this summer), I somewhat challenged it. I asked what others thought. And only one person replied with a sort of wishy-washy response.

Maybe I'll just go back to lurking and keep my mouth shut.

It's 90 Degrees and I'm Knitting With Wool!

Yes, I'm still a knitting fiend.

I've been knitting around the house and everywhere else I go. Not to mention, as I unpack boxes and run across various works-in-progress, I've been doing my best to wrap them up. Of course, that doesn't stop me from starting something new.

Out with the old:

I finished the stole for DT. I'm pleased with it, and she loved it. It's in her classroom right now. She wears it around the school when the A/C is cranking at meat locker levels.

I ran across the Blue Jean Lace Leaf Shawl I was planning to give to the Mother-In-Law for last Christmas. Obviously, I didn't finish, and I didn't give it to her. However, I may do that this year, since it's now complete. It's made of Handmaiden's Sea Silk yarn, so it's really, really yummy.

I did finish the Alpaca Sox that I was working on. Now I can't find them. When I do, I'll take the requisite photo.

The new:

I've been watching an obscene amount of Firefly and Serenity lately. I think it appeals to the absurd in me. At any rate, I was inspired by one of the characters, River Tam, to design a pair of socks. I'm still in the knitting/figuring it out stage, but so far, so good. The red thread is to denote where I plan to put an afterthought heel. I didn't want to have to worry with carrying a pattern and working a short row heel at the same time.

Here's the beginnings of "Hey, Teach!" from Knitty.com. I've just started, but I had some CashSoft in the stash, so my sweater isn't going to be the right weight. But, the yarn is so soft, and so light, I think it will be a good sweater for the area.

So, that's the current in progress. Of course, there's the "projects that may spontaneously begin at any moment", and I have been fondling yarn all weekend. Not to mention, there are a couple of special upcoming projects in the works.

It's amazing I ever get anything completed.

Today's Visitor

Look who's visiting today!

A friend who's into beasties and such says she thinks it's a yellow garden spider. What I know? It's freakin' HUGE! It must be at least three and a half inches long, and it's spun an incredibly large web on my front porch. She's not bothering anyone, and The Things think she's pretty cool, but she's still a bit unsettling.