Tree Hugging Gone Wild

I ran across this image on a blog today and I followed the trail to the creator of this cute little number. In a Seattle magazine, Erika's tree sweater was featured. I am posting the link to the pattern and I am resisting the urge to make one of my own. I figure I better finish my ribbed scarf first! By then summer will be here and our trees will be warm enough.... Still I love it.

Writer's Conference

Each year for the past thirtish years our local university hosts a writer's conference which has seen authors such as Truman Capote and Allen Ginsberg ...... Tennessee Williams and Tom Wolfe .... Louise Erdrich and Marilynne Robinson ..... this year was Barry Lopez (though I didn't make it to his presentation)... I went to a few of the events but the one I enjoyed most was Mark Salzman, author of Lost in Place: Growing up Absurd in Suburbia, Iron and Silk and a book I recently read, True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall. Of course he's written a number of other books and I suspect if they read anything like he speaks I'll enjoy them immensely.

As a teacher, True Notebooks was a book that hit a chord with me. Of course the students in our alternative school look pretty tame when compared to the kids Salzman works with in the Los Angeles juvenile hall where he volunteers as a creative writing teacher twice a week as part of the Inside-Out writing program. The book is a quick read that challenged my thinking on youth, crime and redemption... it moved me to tears again and again.

The theme of the conference was on crossing borders.... and Salzman felt that in his life the border that he'd faced the most was in the gap between who we are and who we hope, or once hoped, to become. His talk then went on to tell in rather humorous fashion (a sort of self-deprecating humor) the ambitions of his life and how it unfolded for him...

How at 13 he longed to become a "kung fu master enlightened zen monk." Salzman tried to learn everything he could to make this dream a reality... of course he had to resort to the World Book Encyclopedia... but that image brought at a smile to my face as I thought about how many times I researched things in our own 1980 set of encyclopedias .... Ahhh... the days before Internet.

Then later when that dream began to dwindle he sought to make his mark on the world by becoming a world renowned cellist... until he heard Yo-Yo Ma perform and he realized he could never compare.... all his efforts were simply a "joyless exercise in eliminating mistakes."

He immediately changed his college major to something much more useful.... "Classical Chinese Literature." He was convinced the reason he never really became enlightened in his youth was because the translations from Chinese to English were poor and something was lost in the process... What he learned after years of college? Existing translations were adequate!

His education led him to accept an job in China teaching English for two years and then upon his return to the US he would discover he had stories to tell and that he could write them... before long a book emerged and upon his first favorable review... he realized "that he ALWAYS wanted to be a writer!"

Of course this is the ridiculously shortened, rather humorless rendering of Salzman's talk... but I think you'd get more of him from his books or by taking an opportunity to hear him speak if you ever have the chance.

Something You Just Don't See Every Day! ..... Yowza!

"Natasha, Peter, Zack and Imogen pose against a garden trellis, bathed in the soft light of a spring afternoon. Man and wife, with one boy and one girl, they are the very embodiment of the wholesome nuclear family...except that they're all naked. Sort of.

In fact, they're clad head to toe in hand-knitted mohair bodysuits, from which sprout gender-appropriate appendages and thick strands of body hair. Naked suits, if you will. Mom stares blankly ahead, her pillowy pink breasts askew, as her little girl reaches over to poke at dad's fuzzy knitted member. Father and brother look on, grinning. Somehow, perhaps because the suits are so goofy and the subjects so clearly delighted, this scenario manages not to be creepy.

In Anna Maltz's new series One Size Fits All, families of various configurations don the same suits and pose for conventional portraits, to riotous effect.....Whether Maltz is challenging traditional definitions of family and gender, exploring societal taboos or simply having a ball dressing up her friends, these images aptly convey both the tension and liberation of slipping into a costume to become someone new."

Anna Maltz: One Size Fits All was on display at Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery, 49 Geary Street, 4th floor, San Francisco, CA in 2004. taken from this review.

In Search of the Trail

Through Looby Lu, I discovered a blog on reading children's lit .... and recognizing that you might not obsessively follow MY preferred blog trails, I decided I just had to reprint this list....

One of the posts was on the ten books kids should read before they finish school... all sorts of people had lists... I'd read some of the books... the lists looked pretty decent... Then I discovered Ben Okiri's list and I liked it a lot... (you can check out the rest here!)

BEN OKRI (10½ Inclinations)
There is a secret trail of books meant to inspire and enlighten you. Find that trail.
Read outside your own nation, colour, class, gender.
Read the books your parents hate.
Read the books your parents love.
Have one or two authors that are important, that speak to you; and make their works your secret passion.
Read widely, for fun, stimulation, escape.
Don’t read what everyone else is reading. Check them out later, cautiously.
Read what you’re not supposed to read.
Read for your own liberation and mental freedom.
Books are like mirrors. Don’t just read the words. Go into the mirror. That is where the real secrets are. Inside. Behind. That’s where the gods dream, where our realities are born.
10½) Read the world. It is the most mysterious book of all.

Dig it?

I seem to recall the idea of "digging a hole to China" as a child. I never tried, but it was mentioned from time to time. Looking at a globe it seemed that might be where we'd actually end up too... It turns out that's not quite right...

Instead of leaving a frozen wasteland for some enchanting new locale, it appears that I would instead be chiseling away at more frozen ground! If I dug a hole straight through the earth from where I now live... I would end up in Antarctica.
Try it out!

From the metal-pedal to the microchip....

About a month ago I took a "Get Intimate with Your Sewing Machine" class. It wasn't as sexy as it sounded. Still I learned how to thread the bobbin, thread the machine, load the bobbin, do a hem stitch, change the stitches and the width and length of the stitches, and finally change the "feet" on my machine (in case I want to install a zipper or do a button hole which we also practiced).

This led to the startling realization that the technology that has developed in the area of word processing is much like that of the sewing arena. Back when I was first playing with words, I used a pencil and paper. And my first sewing ventures were with needle and thread.... I did both these tasks "by hand."

Then my mother taught me how to sew using her treadle machine. I think it was a Singer. This could possibly be compared to the sort of typewriters that had the thing that "dinged" and you had to move the thingy (shuttle?) and the paper back to the start. My first typewriter was a blue and white one for kids that had "issues" (or perhaps it was the 10 year old attempting to operate it).

In junior high I took a Home Economics class (back then we called it "junior high" not "middle school" and we had Home Ec not Family and Consumer Sciences. In that class I learned how to sew on an electric sewing machine. My mother decided to get with the program and bought a Sears Kenmore machine. In my typing class (it was typing.... not keyboarding) we learned on electric typewriters that had a "return" key rather than an "enter" key.... (I sometimes confuse kids by calling that key the wrong thing on the computer keyboard).

In college I didn't have a computer... Oh no. I had a Brother Personal Word Processor with built in LCD and it used floppy discs on which I saved everything. It looked a lot like an electric typewriter and could be used that way. For most of college this was how I did my essays. There wasn't a sewing equivalent for me at that level... At the tail end of the college years I got wise to technology and discovered the computer. This new sewing machine that my mother generously bestowed upon me is nothing short of amazing. It IS a computer. I am stunned by the capabilities and how "user friendly" it seems to be so far.

My first project was to sew up a little comforter of sorts using some fabric I bought awhile back. My sewing efforts were fairly minimal but it was good for me to start with something familiar before I attempted something like zippers or elastic or patterns even. For more cool vintage fabric like this.... check out Michael Miller fabrics.

The 100th Episode

This post is my 100th post! It seems like it should be a monumental thing... not some recap of the Oscars and how I did on my picks.... (14/24.... Woo Hoo!) But that's too much creative pressure. Something under which I might crack.

I have just experienced what might actually be the longest week of my life. I am not sure why.... I have ideas ... what is certain is that this work week lasted at least ten days... This morning we had an inservice on digital photography (very helpful, actually) and so it is fitting that I might post a couple pics... completely unedited... (I swear I did learn a lot, really... I just don't have the software yet!)

What I've neglected to mention is that overnight our lamb-like March turned into a lion... well maybe a "lion-cub." Though it's REALLY snowing right now, it's gentle, warm, wet snow. And then as I was leaving work something possessed me, and I found myself on my knees in the parking lot crafting the first snowman I've built in a decade using candy I found on the floor of my car as the face and buttons! This deserves an Academy Award... okay, maybe I exaggerate.

Oscar Picks

Time to predict the winners for the 2006 Academy Awards. If you are in need of a ballot, you can print this one.

Now I just need to decide, based on my limited viewing and the media buzz just who I think will win these awards. I did find this NPR article which has each of the three songs nominated for best song.

Read, Watch, Listen..... February in Review

What I Was Reading in February

Expletive Deleted a good look at bad language by Ruth Wajnryb
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
1421 The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies

Books completed in February

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Zen and the Art of Knitting by Bernadette Murphy
The Resilient Self by Steven J. Wolin, M.D., and Sybil Wolin, Ph.D

Two of these completed titles were for book groups. Frank McCourt's book was an easy read and it really flowed. Much of that reading was done in the bathtub... (Oh. Was that too much information?) Another book group meets next week and I haven't even STARTED that title... I am enjoying the two I am actually reading more for "pleasure".... Ella Minnow Pea (a reread) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance... I've recently had new motivation to pick up the book. More on those when I complete.

What I Was Watching in February

On TV
Project Runway
Grey's Anatomy
The Bachelor in Paris
Dancing with the Stars
Related

It is time to bid goodbye to The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars and soon to Project Runway... as it is season finale time. Sigh. I was shocked by the fact that Stacy K was "kicked out" of the competition before Jerry Rice. I know, I know... I voted for him once. But it was a "pity vote" he really didn't wow me like Drew and Stacey. Frankly, I am glad Drew won. He and Cheryl were my favorites. On The Bachelor.... well, it was so obvious that it had to be Sarah by the end that it was almost a bit anticlimactic. However, I did think his final speech to her as he presented her the ring on a string... was "not so hot." It was ridiculous that he actually did the "but" in there... I guess it proves that there is some "reality" to this stuff and no one is "on" all the time. Project Runway.....has one final week. From the look of things Santino has it in the bag. I usually love Chloe's stuff and this time, not so much. Daniel's line wasn't wowing Tim and that seems to be saying something. I guess next week will tell.

Related is a WB sisters drama that I 've actually taken a liking to... I think a big part of that was Jennifer Esposito who I saw in Crash. Then there is the second sister who reminds me of Kate Winslet in an odd way.... I really don't have a favorite sister, but enjoy the chemistry between all of them. It's almost like the relationship between Sarah Jessica Parker and crew on Sex in the City, only not R rated and they are family. I am not here to recruit.. or defend my crazy viewing habits. I am here mostly to confess....


On DVD (owned and rented)
Libeled Lady
Singing in the Rain
Woman of the Year
Casino Royale (1968)
L'Auberge Espagnole
Just Like Heaven
Crash (2005)
Me and You and Everyone We Know
The Man Who Would be King
Junebug
Cinderella Man
Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
In Her Shoes
North Country
Playing by Heart
Strictly Ballroom

Theatre
Walk the Line

Normally February is my catch-up month for watching all the Oscar nominated films I can get my hands on... This year I watched a few but I am afraid I'll be going into the Oscars with little invested. I usually like to have a few to root for, you know? Well, I did love Walk the Line and as far as biopics go this one captured my heart much more than Ray or De-Lovely. I didn't expect to like it so well. Reese Witherspoon was terrific.

Corpse Bride and Wallace and Gromit were a couple of animated films which were nominated. Both of these come from a tradition of film I really like. I thought Corpse Bride was okay but nothing compared to Nightmare Before Christmas. And Wallace and Gromit was very entertaining. I loved all the little puns, and the nonstop creativity of Nick Parks always amazes me.

Pride and Prejudice is a film that I was very eager AND very reluctant to see. The 1996 BBC A&E miniseries version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle has long been a favorite film of mine and I was not sure what I would think of this one. I needed have worried. This 2005 Pride and Prejudice was a delight. It may not replace my love of the 1996 version but it ranks highly and proves that the story is really the key factor anyway. Yay... Jane Austen. Well done.

I'll admit I only watched Cinderella Man and North Country because they had Oscar nominations. North Country is a lot like Norma Rae (I've heard.. I haven't seen the Sally Field film) but I would compare it to Erin Brockovich, only it wasn't quite as good. Cinderella Man was a decent film but it didn't overwhelm me or say anything particularly profound. I was mostly excited when I later watched Woman of the Year, a Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn film, and a character kept talking about his fight with Braddock. I always feel a little special kick when I pick up on an allusion I missed time and again in the past.

Woman of the Year wasn't the only classic film I watched this month. I also watched Libeled Lady staring another favorite pair... William Powell and Myrna Loy. This wasn't one of the famous Thin Man films but a delight nonetheless. It reminded me a bit of Guys and Dolls, but that may just be me. Singing in the Rain is a film I was convinced I'd seen and seen again... However, I now realize it was one of those films that I'd seen bits and pieces of. The entire movie is smashing. One of my favorites. You just have to love Debbie Reynolds. Casino Royale was part of my Bond journey and I will say it's not quite the same thing. I already blogged briefly on this... I am anxious to see what the new Casino Royale will be like. The Man Who Would Be King seemed a natural choice since I'm on my Michael Caine kick too. I am not sure I loved this film but I did enjoy it. It had grand sets and exciting scenes and good dialogue especially between Sean Connery and Michael Caine. I wasn't familiar with the Rudyard Kipling story but I liked the way they included him in the movie.

Just Like Heaven is another Reese Witherspoon film and in this one she's paired with Mark Ruffalo. I have never been a fan of "ghost stories" or "angel stories" but I guess as far as they go this film was decent. After all, Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) makes an appearance and his role left me with a smile.

Two movies that left me a bit confused as to how I felt about them were the ones that were centered around "family." Junebug was a fairly realistic, somewhat dismal story about a newlywed couple who go to North Carolina to close an art deal and visit the husband's family in the process. What makes the movie anything at all is the performance by Amy Adams as she portrays pregnant Ashley, a neurotic girl who one can't help buy love. The movie raises good questions and provides a basis of discussion but it's not one I'd like to watch again. In Her Shoes, based on a book by Jennifer Weiner, is more of a light hearted film but it's definitely about the relationships between sisters and within dysfunctional families. I can't say I loved this film either, but the parts set in Florida when Cameron Diaz crashes her estranged grandmother's (Shirley McClaine) world are wonderful. Toni Colette plays the other sister who remains in Philadelphia struggling with her own identity. Two mouth watering moments in her life... her shoes (actually her closet which showcased her shoes!) and her boyfriend's knack for describing food. It was downright orgasmic for the food lover in me.

L'Auberge Espagnole is my foreign film of the month! I looked forward to this film because I knew that Audrey Tautou was in it. Unfortunately for me, it was no Amelie. The film was entertaining and for me it was fun to watch because it was set in Barcelona, a city for which I have fond memories... Of course none, to compare to those of the young man in this story as he studies Spanish in order to improve his chances in a career in economics. He learns far more than that in his apartment and essentially finds himself.

Another family movie was Playing By Heart... a film that taught me to love Angelina Jolie. I've seen this film time and again and I'm pretty sure that the first time through I didn't realize they were all related. There were clues... "anger ball" and all those pets... This time around I realized I didn't LOVE it as much as I thought I did... usually a good sign is when you actually want to fast forward parts of it.

I also rewatched a dance movie from my past--Strictly Ballroom. This is an early Baz Luhrman and though it's not THAT great it does still make me smile. I have said before that the film seems to be a cross between Dirty Dancing and that skating movie, The Cutting Edge. It has its moments.

What I Was Listening to in February

Did I say, less movie obsessed? Yeah. I still focused on film and TV this February. Sorry, Bruce. It's breaking my heart too... but each day seems to get used up one at a time and it never seems that bad until an ENTIRE MONTH has gone by and we've just not spent any time together... I do turn the radio on to 90.7 (the local NPR station) but it's not the same... I know... I know.