my first ribbed hat

I caught a flick of Mr. Mustachio wearing the new beanie that I knit. Doesn't the hat compliment his dastardly scheming?

felt menagerie

I've finally gotten some pictures up of samples of some of the felt animals that I've been making. They're much tougher than they look - I swear.

Film Review: Marie Antoinette

Okay so pretty much all the movies I see are long gone from the theaters since we do the Netflix thing. Just watched Marie Antoinette and I have to say that it was the biggest waste of two hours in a long time. The fact that Ron left the room to shave his beard and sculpt his mustache and my anticipation over waiting for him to come out was the peak of the evening says a lot.

The film is visually stunning for sure. It was actually filmed in Versailles and the costumes are incredible, but that definitely does not make up for enduring the rest of it. There was essentially no plotline except to show the difficulties that Antoinette had in getting her husband to get erect and her shallow, boring life. Add on to that a soundtrack that made no sense in relation to the content. I never thought that I'd be bummed to hear The Cure, New Order, and Gang of Four, but the fact that they were used to in the context of celebrating the existence of such a useless individual was sacriligious. Finally and worst of all, we are robbed from the pleasure of seeing the woman's head cut off!

All in all, don't bother unless you feel like putting it on mute and just want to see the scenery.

Oh! How fun!

I love that librarians are getting pop culture props....

The Illustrated Librarian Temporary Tattoos
Librarian stereotypes are as old and outdated as microfiche. Nowadays you're just as likely to see your local librarian driving a Harley as a Honda Accord. This 3-1/2" x 4-1/2" hard-cover book contains twelve non-toxic temporary tattoos ranging in size from 1-1/2" to 3-1/4". Put one in a prominent place to prove once and for all that "smart" and "cool" are not mutually exclusive! Also great for bibliophiles and bookworms. All colors follow FDA cosmetic regulations.

For you creative types

If you're feeling creative and want a challenge, try designing a tshirt design for Threadless. It's open to anyone to submit a design. The designs get voted on in 7 day cycles and if yours is chosen to get printed, you win $2000.

Even if $$$ can't inspire you to get crafty, you can still feel good about shopping there because you're supporting independent artists and businesses. And you're getting a limited edition t-shirt at really reasonable prices.

Two actions in response

I'm still thinking about global warming - and still about that polar bear - after seeing "An Inconvenient Truth". In response, I'm taking the following two actions:

1. Recycling in Savannah. As absurd that I find it that we don't have municipal recycling and that the city considers selling the energy created from incinerating all our trash as "green", I'm having to pay for a recycling service. For $15/month, I can have a service come and pick up my recycling and bring it to local recycling centers for me.

2. Replacing my lightbulbs. After an initial investment into CFL bulbs, I can actually save money on my electric bill and the cost of replacing bulbs in the future. They should last about 10 years and take almost $.75/month off the cost of running each light fixture.

An Inconvenient Truth

This weekend I finally watched An Inconvenient Truth. I know that I'm slow on the uptake with this one, but our tv only just recently got fixed and I only recently got it on Netflix. In any event, I watched it Sunday morning before getting ready to go to a friend's for the superbowl. I spent the whole rest of the day stewing. Now I definitely fall on the Green side anyhow, but I don't think that I ever realized the state of how awful the situation is and I am just infuriated. Since watching it I can't get the image of that polar bear out of my head. I really would like to move beyond my outrage to actual action, but there's a challenge that I face....

Savannah does not recycle. I've never lived somewhere that didn't provide it as a city service. I've written my councilwoman several times to express my outrage about this issue and she hasn't even acknowledged my emails or letters. There are several private recycling centers but none of them accept all recyclables and they are spread far and wide so that I'd probably counteract the good of my recycling with the use of gas in my car. It's ridiculous. I'm not sure what my next step will be, but action of some kind must be taken.

memoirs of those on the outside looking out

I was cataloging atoday and came across a series that I found really exciting. Subterranean Lives: Chronicles of Alternative America is a series published by Rutgers University Press dedicated to reprinting memoirs and first-hand accounts of individuals of stigmatized subcultures including

memoirs by men and women who lived, whether by circumstance, inclination, or design, outside of the bounds of normative bourgeois experience. They include tramps, sexworkers, cultists, criminals, drug addicts, physically disabled people, sexual minorities, bohemians, revolutionaries, and other individuals who have survived on the margins, within the interstices, and across the boundaries of American society.

Ask your library if they've got any of these books in their catalog and encourage them to order them in the future.

1st post.

so...I've been considering a blog for awhile now, but have mixed feelings about it. i mean, who am I that my thoughts, interests and experiences need to be published for the rest of the world to read? And yet, I find that this could serve two major purposes for me - first, to keep my own projects and interests somewhat organized and retrieveable and second, to keep my friends and family updated on what I'm what I'm doing. I've come to accept that I am a really terrible correspondent and that asking them to read my blog is a way of putting the onus on others to keep updated.

The plan, then, is to post any and all things that are interesting me of late. I'd like to commit to writing at least one book review a month, showing off at least one creative project, and including some fun and interesting links to things that interest and inspire me. With all that in mind, I will not be treating readers to any of the gossip that might be a part of my everyday life. Maybe some anecdotes about my cats, but I swear that's really as personal as it will likely get.