Democracy and Knitting

Tuesday I spent the day as an Election Judge. I'll bet most of you here in Minnesota didn't even know there was voting this week. It was the primary election, so not every city and not even every ward in St. Paul had enough candidates to hold a primary. For those that did, turn out was extremely low. In the precinct that I worked, only about 8.5% of the registered voters showed up. Of course, there was just one race to vote in, so not everyone thought it was worth the trip to the polls. Since the turnout was so low, I had plenty of time to knit. I had started a new sock on Monday night and I finished the leg and got through the heel on Tuesday:



These are my purple socks for the last Project Spectrum go around. Also Summer of Socks socks, even though it doesn't feel like summer any more. I don't think I'll be able to finish them by the end of September, but who knows. The yarn is Jojoland and I love it. It's as dark as night in my house right now because we're having a little hailstorm, so the photography conditions aren't perfect. But it is a lovely yarn with very subtle variegation. The pattern is a Jojoland leaflet, Pineapple. I'm not crazy about it - it's called Bramble Stitch - it's a textured stitch that is a little bit lacy. I put it on a string last night and tried it on and it's really tight on my legs, so these will probably be donated or maybe I'll see if they fit my sister.

I did finish my last pair of socks:



Bad lighting again, since I took the picture inside. Sorry :-(

Project Name: Drops Socks with Cable Pattern
Designer:
Pattern Source: Garnstudio
Yarn: Sweet Socks
Yarn Source: The Sweet Sheep
Date Started: 7/4/07
Date Completed: 9/5/07

Comments: These socks were knit as part of several knitalongs: Project Spectrum, Summer of Socks, and the Sweet Sheep Knitalong. I followed the pattern as written except for making the legs a little shorter, as is my preference. I used the Sweet Socks yarn that I got in the Project Spectrum Sock Club from Sweet Sheep. It's the Vampire colorway, but it wasn't quite as dark as I wanted, so my very kind friend over-dyed them a darker, beautiful red. I love how they came out. They fit really well, even though they look small when they're off my feet. I have quite a bit of yarn leftover, enough for a third sock or a pair of children's socks.

Summer TV

If you sit down and knit, you actually get things done! What a concept. I finished the first of my Drops Alpaca Socks:



They fit really well, but I'm afraid they're a little too small and the tension when they're on the foot is too much. Here's the side view:



When they're off the foot, they look so incredibly skinny. I tried them on several times while I was knitting, which is really unusual for me, because they looked way too skinny for my feet. I think it's just that they draw in on the sides when you switch from reverse stockinette for the top of the foot and regular stockinette on the bottom of the foot. Plus the cabling of course draws in too. I have no problem getting them on and off, so they're probably ok.

I knit the hat and this sock while getting caught up on my summer tv shows. I really enjoyed the Fringe Festival, but I missed my tv shows. I'm such an addict. Since the new fall schedule is starting up in about a month, I figured now would be as good a time as any to do my annual review of the summer tv schedule.

A couple of shows started this spring and finished earlier this summer that I enjoyed. On FX there was "The Riches" with Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard as a couple of Travelers, Irish American gypseys who run scams. They and their family run away from the rest of their clan and assume the identity of a suburban family called The Riches. It was a bit wacky, but I really liked it. Driver and Izzard were fantastic as very complex, full characters and despite the fact that they were scam artists, you really came to care about the family. I look forward to that one starting up again.

Speaking of Travelers, there was another show on ABC called "Traveler" that wasn't about a Traveler but rather a mysterious man called "Will Traveler" who sets up his two best friends when he blows up a museum. It was a pretty interesting show, but it's been cancelled, so don't worry if you missed it.

The Tudors played on Showtime - it's about King Henry VIII and the rest of the Tudor family. Henry VIII is best known for all of his wives and so the emphasis is definitely on the budoir, but there is also a fair amount of political intrigue thrown in. I love Historical Fiction, so this was worth watching for me. It sparked an interest in learning a little more about some of the characters and Jonathan Rhys Meyers was a very sexy King Henry (Meyers is an Irishman, but I don't think he's a traveler).

A show I sampled and didn't care for on Showtime was "Meadowlands". It was a dark and spooky show about a community of people who are all in witness protection. I think it wanted to be like "Twin Peaks" or something of that ilk, but it just didn't work for me.

Another show that I didn't care for this summer that has now been cancelled is "John from Cincinnati" on HBO. It was written by David Milch, whose done fantastic stuff like Deadwood and NYPD Blue, but this one just didn't click with me. It was about a family of surfers and this stranger who comes into their life. Lots and lots of wackiness ensues and it was all just too weird and nonsensical but still boring for my tastes.

One last show I tried this summer and didn't like was "The Starter Wife" on USA Network. Debra Messing played the newly separated wife of a Hollywood producer who's trying to start all over alone. The writing was just awful.

New shows that I did like and would recommend are:

Damages on FX. Glenn Close plays an attorney who hires a fresh young associate played by Rose Byrne. Their big case is a shareholders lawsuit against a rich businessman played by Ted Danson. I like Glenn Close and Ted Danson's work in this show where no one is quite who they seem to be. There are all sorts of little twists and turns that keep me coming back to this one, although it's really a dark and depressing view of human nature. I like it, but don't love it.

Mad Men on A&E is also a little dark and sad. It's set in 1960 in the world of advertising. That's a period of American History where things were starting to change in a huge way. The production values are fantastic - the costumes are gorgeous, the sets are beautiful and everything is shot like a little movie. It's fun to see little differences in the way things used to be - like the smoking of course. The characters in this show are also deeply conflicted and I'm still interested in seeing what will happen next. Another one that I like, but don't love.

A show that I do love is Flight of the Conchords on HBO. It's about a novelty song duo from New Zealand and they're sad little lives in New York. They are truly fish out of water and they express themselves through their hilarious folk songs. This is really an odd show, but I think it's really, really funny and always look forward to each episode.

Burn Notice on USA Network is another show that I really like. It's about a CIA agent who has been "burned" - basically kicked out of the agency. Since being a spy is pretty much your entire life, when you're burned, you don't have much left. He's dumped in his home town of Miami to contend with his ex-girlfriend, who is an ex-IRA member and rather fond of explosives, his mother who he has a conflicted relationship with and another ex-agent who just wants to drink and sleep around and have fun, but is willing to help out every now and again. It's a fun summer show. It fits in well with the other USA shows I've been watching this summer - Monk and Psych.

The other new show I've watched this summer is one that I actually can't stand, so don't ask me why I've watched it. It's called The Lot and is on Fox. I don't generally like reality tv, but there are a couple of shows that I do watch. Since this was basically set up like American Idol (which I sometimes watch) except in the world of film, I decided to check it out. The films they made were not very good or fun to watch. However, there was one guy that I did think was pretty talented and one guy from Minneapolis, so I sort of kept watching just to see how they would do. They've both been eliminated now, but all that's left is the final show to see who wins, so I figure why not just finish it off. I don't think they'll renew the show next year, but if they do, don't waste your time.

The other reality show that I watch in the summer that I'm totally and completely embarrassed to admit to is "Big Brother". This is the 8th year it's been on and every single year I say it's a horrible show and I'm not going to watch it and every year I get sucked in again. This is the worst year ever, though, so this year I really mean it. I'm already sucked in and want to know who is going to win, so I'm going to finish up this year, but I really mean it. Next year I'm not watching!

I watched the second and last season of Hex on BBC America and it's also sort of a guilty pleasure. It's about a boarding school in England - one of the students is the son of Satan and another one is an angel sent to kill him and save humanity. Yes, it is as silly as it sounds. Some of these shows I would never give a second look during the regular tv season.

The other returning shows I've been watching are "The Closer" on TNT and Entourage and Big Love on HBO. This may be the best season of The Closer ever. I'm really enjoying it.

TGIF

Last night I went to The Old Arizona Theater to see a play called "Bush is Bad, The Musical". This is my first time at this theater, and I adore it! It's really a lovely space. It's attached to a coffe shop/wine bar that's really nice also. As you can probably suss out for yourself, the play is a musical Bush-bashing extravaganza. The cast is two men and a woman and a piano player. They sing a series of songs about how ridiculously awful/stupid Bush and his band of evil-doers are. If you want some good old-fashioned Bush-hating, this is the show for you. Unfortunately, things have gotten to the point where some of this stuff isn't really funny anymore, it's just sad and depressing. None of the songs are very suprising or unexpected - it's about what you'd think we can make of Bush/Cheney/Rove for - being stupid, policies that benefit the overlooked super-wealthy, the sanctity of life (until the life comes out of the womb, then you're on your own), anti-gay paranoia and hunting accidents. Ann Coulter, the rest of the Bush family, Scooter Libby, Condi Rice and Fox News all get jabs too. There was a piece on Alberto Gonzales which I didn't like because it was really racist. My favorite pieces were the one about Scooter Libby sung to the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber called "Scooter Libby Superstar" and the final piece, which is just a series of quotes from Bushy himself - like "put food on your family" and "raise the pie" and "if we don't succeed, we're setting ourselves up for failure". Nothing's funnier than Bush's own inability to put a sentence together.

This play is showing until mid-August, then it's moving to a 10:00 timeslot for another musical and eventually they hope to move it back into the prime time slot. It's been fairly well-received and successful, so they're hoping to run it right up to the '08 elections. The play originated in New York shortly after the '04 elections and the material has changed as time has gone by, so I'm sure they'll continue to add new material and take out other stuff. There's even a piece just for us called "Norm Coleman Just is Not That Funny", sung by Al Franken. It's a good one and the actor did a great job playing Franken.

On the knitting front, I'm continuing my Drops Alpaca Socks KAL - which is also a Project Spectrum project and a Summer of Socks Project. I've finished the heel and am just starting the foot:



I was afraid it was too small, because I am getting a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for, but I think the heel fits pretty well. As usual, I adjusted the pattern to make the legs shorter for my short and stubby legs. These are shaped legs, so I just started the decreases earlier. Here's a look at the back cable and the heel flap:



And the front cables. The side cables stop once you start the heel:

Combo Platter

I have a couple of mop up topics to post on, so it's a combo platter for you.

Knitting

I joined the Summer of Socks KAL again this year. I'm a little late getting started because I'm very disciplined about not starting new projects until I've finished another project. I'm also a slow knitter, so I won't be in the most socks contest, so there was no real need to get started immediately. But, it's fun to knit with everyone else and fun to see the hundreds of different socks being made in the KAL. My first sock is also a Project Spectrum project, in lovely red for June/July. I also joined a KAL of this pattern. So, three birds with one stone, as they say:



Red is always hard to photograph, for me. I'm using some of my PS Sock Club yarn from the Sweet Sheep Shop. I really like the feel of this yarn. The slight varigation looks pretty with the cabled pattern, too.

Theater



I saw Chicago at The Ordway on opening night. It was a fun show and if it's a musical you enjoy, I'd say this is worth seeing. Probably everyone has seen this musical either in the theater or the film version. So, you probably know the great songs. The cast was all costumed in skimpy little black numbers - low cut blouses, body suits, mini skirts, etc. Very sexy. I really liked the performance of the actress playing Roxie Hart - Michelle Dejean. She had a nice, strong voice and danced well. She was very winning as the desperate for fame Roxie. I wasn't as fond of the performance of Terra Macleod as Velma Kelly. She had a strong voice and good moves, but she seemed just a little too hard and brassy for me. The great Melba Moore played Mama Morton and had a few good songs in there. Gregory Harrison, who you may be familiar with from his extensive tv work, played Billy Flynn and really captured his slick and charismatic character. My favorite performance, though, was Eric Leviton as Roxie's husband, Amos Hart. His performance of "Mister Cellophane" was hilarious and spot on. Overall it wasn't my favorite show, but it was an enjoyable way to pass the evening. It's playing at the Ordway until 7/15 if you want to catch it.

Books

It took awhile, but I finally finished my last book club book, only about a month after our book club meeting. Ugh. I wish I wasn't such a slow reader. Anyway, this is the book:



This book won the Pulitzer Prize and it's so complex, it's hard to explain what it's about. In very sketchy terms, it takes place mostly just before the Civil War in a fictional Virginia County. There are a lot of characters in the book and it's sort of an ensemble story, so it's hard to say there's a main character, but I guess the story that kind of links everything together is about a freed slave called Henry Townsend who owns his own plantation and slaves, much to the disappointment of his parents who bought his freedom after buying their own freedom. The book includes their stories as well as the stories of their former owner, the most powerful man in the county, the stories of many of the slaves working Henry Townsend's plantation and the stories of the county sheriff and some of his deputies who patrol the county for runaway slaves. There are so many different characters in the book that for the first 1/3 or so, it was really hard to follow. I kept forgetting who everyone was and eventually had to make a little cheatsheet for myself. However, eventually the focus narrowed and I figured out who was who and eventually I really cared about the people in the book and what was going to happen to them. As you can imagine from a book of this nature, a lot of it is heartbreaking. Many of the characters are really complicated and you don't particularly like them, although you may understand them. The story isn't told as a straight narrative - there are times where a particular part of the story will be followed through to the end, before you return to the main timeline. It can be somewhat confusing and sometimes I was disappointed to know what was going to happen to someone - for instance, a character would do something and then the author would say something like, "that's the last time X walked that rode before he was killed in a boat accident" or something like that. Because there were so many characters, sometimes characters would just disappear from the story. Overall, it was definitely well written and worth reading, but it was very frustrating at times.