Socks and Movies

Two of my favorite things!

I started the 2nd quarter STR Ravelry group KAL a little early:



I couldn't capture the beauty of this yarn - it's much more muted changes and is absolutely gorgeous. I think it's my favorite STR colorway. The pattern is the Shur'tagal pattern.

I'm almost done with my Elsabeth Lavold sweater, too. I think I'll probably have a post about that next time. Here are a few more movies I've seen:



This is a Swedish film about a family at the beginning of the 20th century. The narrator is the oldest daughter, and she's primarily telling the story of her mother, Maria. Maria is married to an alcoholic and they have a large family. Maria won a camera and at a point of financial crisis, she tries to sell it to a professional photographer, but he convinces her to "keep it for him" and she falls in love with making photographs. It also seems like she's fallen in love with the photographer, too, but the story is really about Maria and how she finds meaning in her life, not some Hollywood love story. It's probably not a surprise that a film about photography would be gorgeous. The film really feels authentic - you can just imagine that this is a story that's been passed on down through the family. I wouldn't say it's anything groundbreaking, but it's really an interesting story, told well.




This is another interesting story, told well. The director was once the travelling manager for The Amazing Kreskin and this film is based on his experiences at that time. John Malkovich plays the Great Buck Howard, a mentalist best known for his numerous appearances on the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was the host. Colin Hanks plays the part of the travelling manager, a law school drop out who isn't quite sure what to do with his life, much to the disappointment of his father, played by Colin's real-life father, Tom Hanks. The film feels very authentic and I'm sure a lot of the events are based on real events. Malkovich gives a fantastic performance as a past his prime entertainer, who alternates between charming and self-absorbed. There are other great small parts such as Steve Zahn and Debra Monk as Ohio siblings who host Howard during his performances in their town. Colin Hanks is sweet and sympathetic, but doesn't have the same magnetism as his dad. If you like magic and old Hollywood stories, you'll enjoy this film. If you see this in the theater, make sure you get there on time, because the opening credits are really unique and worth seeing.



Finally, this is a Belgian film that was an award winner at Cannes this year. It's about a 41 year old woman who is separated from her husband, while he explores his feelings for a 24 year old student (he's an art teacher). She's convinced he'll be coming back, so she's just marking time until she can get the life she used to know back. She has two children - a 17 year old daughter and a younger son, about 12 or so. One day she backs up in the grocery store parking lot and collides with a semi-truck. The truck driver is a 29 year old guy who blames her for not looking before backing up and she blames him for having such a big truck in a grocery store parking lot. They argue loudly and with sharp words, but something clicks. Eventually they start to date and the woman begins to wonder whether she really does want to return to her old life. The truck driver is not necessary Prince Charming either, as we begin to suspect when the police arrive at the accident scene and the police officers know him by name. I really enjoyed the film. The acting is so well done. The lead actress just blooms from a depressed, lonely woman at the beginning to a fully alive woman at the end. The oldest daughter, who behaves exactly the way the smart, funny teenage girls you know behave, is a great character. I would definitely recommend this film.

More Movies

I finished up the Harry Potter/Hedwig socks for my nephew, Michael, but I didn't have time to take a photo of the second one. But you know what, it looks pretty much like the first one. I didn't do anything to try to make them match exactly, but they're pretty close to the same. I guess if I had wound off a few yards, I would have been able to match them up, but I am never that concerned about having them be the same. I didn't take a picture because I wanted to get them to Michael when I saw him on St. Patrick's Day, while there's still a need for wool socks. Spring is definitely moving into the Twin Cities.

I am also making progress on my Borghild sweater. I've finished the first sleeve:



and I'm almost ready to start the decreases on the second sleeve. This is a very long project for me. As usual, by the time I get it finished, it'll be too warm to wear. I seem to do that every winter/spring.

And, trying to catch up on my movie reviews, again, I watched three more nominees before the Academy Award ceremony:



I liked this one, but as you saw earlier, it didn't make my Top Ten. As you probably know, Mickey Rourke stars as a past-his-prime professional wrestler. He was gigantic in the 80s, but that was 20 years ago and now he's getting old and his best days are behind him. It's a pretty searing performance by Rourke, and just like Robert Downey Jr. brought so much of himself to his role in Iron Man, I think Rourke's own history makes this a role of a lifetime for him. The regret, loneliness and longing on Rourke's face is quite real, I'm sure. I think the reason the movie didn't totally resonate with me is that I'd already heard so much about it and seen clips before I saw it. There's a very emotional scene where Rourke's character has a conversation with his daughter, who he's estranged from after pretty much abandoning her in childhood to pursue his own dreams. I'd seen the climax of that scene in clips dozens of times before I actually saw the movie, so I think it lost some of its power for me. It's coming out on DVD in a few weeks and I'd definitely add it to your list.



Although I thought Mickey Rourke's performance was fantastic, I did think the Academy got it right in giving the Best Actor Oscar to Sean Penn. He plays the first openly gay man elected to a major office in the U.S. The movie starts at Harvey Milk's 40th birthday, when he realizes he really hasn't done much with his life, so he moves to San Francisco and starts living out of the closet, in the Castro. He organizes the neighborhood and runs for a position on the Board of Supervisors a couple of times and eventually, after he starts running on a campaign of hope, he wins. I don't think it's spoiling anything since it's fairly well known, but he's eventually killed, along with the mayor, by another member of the Board of Supervisors. Although it's a tragic story, you really get a sense of what a difference Harvey Milk made in his short time on earth and you feel energized and hopeful. The whole cast does a great job, including James Franco, James Brolin (who is fast becoming one of my favorite actors), and Emile Hirsch. This one is already out of DVD, so if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.



Continuing the theme of great acting, it's no breaking news to say that Meryl Streep is amazing. She completely inhabits the role of a tough nun in 1964. She's suspicious of the new priest, played by the always fantastic Philip Seymour Hoffman. Is he just progressive and a new kind of priest, or has he done something completely inappropriate with the one black child attending the church's school? Caught between them is a young nun played by Amy Adams. The acting was really great, including a small part of the black student's mother, played by Viola Davis. The cinematography and writing is really well done, but it's a bit cold and I didn't think it reached a level of greatness, but it really is worth seeing.

New Stash and Movies

My best friend Bill and his wife recently had a baby, so I've been doing a little more baby knitting. The big project I'm working on for baby Sam is the Festive Fish blanket:



As you can see, I'm not even close to done. I didn't even start until after he was born, because he came a lot quicker than I thought he would - even though I knew the due date. Sometimes I'm just in denial about how much I can get done in any given amount of time. I'm using the Knitpicks Shine worsted and absolutely love the yarn and the colors I chose.

I also had a special request for some hats for the little guy (although we're suddenly having spring, so maybe he won't be needing them much longer!). I already had a couple of hats knit up, but I made one more especially for him:



I used the Jailbird hat pattern from MinnowKnits, Too just so I didn't have to do any math and used some of my leftover yarn from the mitred square blanket.

In other knitting news, I have some new additions to my stash. Kerry was nice enough to be my personal shopper at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival again. Even though I don't need any more yarn, I felt a little bit ok with this because I actually have knit up all but one skein of the yarn she bought for me last year (yay for me!). Once again I mostly concentrated on the Blue Moon booth. I got some fantastic colors of Socks that Rock:



From left to right, that's Spawn of Braun, Never on Sunday, Jubilation, and Alley-oop.

Absolutely in love with them all. I'll be casting on the Jubilation soon, though, because I'm joining the latest KAL on the STR group on Ravelry.

I also got a skein of Luscious Single Silk in Spinel:



And because I fell in love with a skein Kerry brought back last year, I had her get me a skein of Cashmere laceweight from Just Our Yarn:



Catching up on a few more movies I saw this winter:



I was really surprised by how much I liked this movie. I'm not a huge Ron Howard fan (a lot of times I find his movies just too sentimental, too clean and pretty). I was just fascinated with this one though. As I'm sure you know, it's about David Frost's famous interviews with Richard Nixon, after Nixon left office. Both Frank Langella and Michael Sheen give amazing performances. You just are pulling for both of them. I mean it, it makes Nixon sympathetic. I'd really recommend this one, especially for people like me who love politics.



I AM, on the other hand, a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I have loved pretty much every movie he's directed, some more than others, of course. I wouldn't put this one at the top of my list, but I did really like it. Clint plays an old guy (shocking!) living in Detroit, the last white guy living in a neighborhood now populated primarily by Hmong immigrants. He's old and set in his ways and still remembering his service in Korea, so not so keen to be living among Asians. Because he's so angry and removed, he's pretty much estranged from his children and grandchildren. But somehow he ends up getting involved in the life of his teenage Hmong neighbor. I don't want to give away the plot, but it's a really good story and the ending was totally unexpected. I recently saw Changeling on DVD and can't believe he directed both of these movies this year. He clearly has more energy than most men half his age.



I saw this one before Joaquin Phoenix's recent strange appearance on David Letterman, thank goodness. I would have hated to have that in my mind while watching his sensitive, subtle performance. The movie is based on a Dostoevsky story. It's about an emotionally stunted guy who is living with his parents after his broken engagement has left him emotionally fragile. His dad owns a drycleaning business and he's in negotiations with a big businessman to buy him out. Phoenix meets the businessman's daughter and there's clearly a connection. They seem perfect for each other - they're both Jewish, down to earth and she clearly wants to take care of him. And obviously joining together would help the business deal too. So they start a relationship, but Phoenix is also drawn to his neighbor played by Gweneth Paltrow. She's blond, a party girl and as screwed up as Phoenix. The film is somewhat predictable, but more in an indie film way. I liked it, but it won't be on my Top Ten list next year.

FO and movie update

I am happy to report an FO - and it was a gift, so I have never even mentioned it before, so here's the surprise!



Project Name: Scandinavian Jacket
Pattern Source: Knits for Babies and Toddlers by Fiona McTague
Yarn: Knitpicks Merino Style
Yarn Source: Knitpicks
Date Started: 11/16/08
Date Completed: 2/20/09

Comments: As I said, this was a gift, so I kept it under wraps while I was working on it. I really enjoyed it, though. Believe it or not, the pattern is written to be knit back and forth instead of in the round, which I had never done with fair isle before. So, I tried it and it wasn't bad. I would never do an adult sweater that way, but a baby sweater was ok and I was glad not to have to do steeks. It's big, but I wanted the baby to be able to wear it next winter, when he probably will be out and about a lot more. The mommy is a knitting friend, so she was very appreciative. I really love the yarn, Merino Style, but I'm sure it would pill like crazy on something that gets a lot of wear, because it's so soft. Such a nice, pretty, soft yarn, though.

I'm less happy to report that the Koolhaas hat I showed you last time is now suitable for wear with this sweater. Yes, my brother threw it in the washing machine and he shrunk it down nice and small - you know how great Malabrigo felts. I should have warned him, but I hardly ever wash my hats, so I didn't really think about it. Plus, he felted a sweater I knit for him once, so I thought he was clued into the whole washing machine and handknits thing. I think this is a pattern that's cursed for me, so I don't know if I'll be knitting him yet ANOTHER one any time soon.

I've also been working on a pair of socks for my nephew, Michael. It was a birthday gift for his 13th birthday and I wasn't sure how much he'd like them, but he actually said, "they're awesome."



I only finished one before his birthday, but he tried it on and it fit perfectly, so now I just need to finish the mate. The yarn is the Opal Harry Potter yarn in the Hedwig colorway. Michael LOVES Harry Potter and especially Hedwig. I knit the Quidditch socks last year in Slytherin colors just because he likes gray and green, so I thought this yarn was perfect for him. I'm using the Quidditch pattern again for this pair because I know it fit him well.

Ok, I've got a lot of movies to blog about because I was trying to get a bunch in before the Oscars. Here's just a start:



I wasn't crazy about this one. It was ok, but it's one of those movies where the characters all treat each other like crap and I just don't enjoy watching that. It stars Anne Hathaway as Kym, an alcoholic/drug addict and Rosemarie DeWitt as her sister, the Rachel who is getting married. It's sort of a slice of life movie, showing this family coming together for Rachel's wedding and all of the old hurts and disappointments surface. The acting was great all around and it felt very real, but like I said, just not fun. The film has a real documentary feel because there really isn't a big plot and structure. Stuff just happens, just like in life. It's filmed pretty much entirely with a handheld camera, which adds to the cinema verite feel, but it was way too shaky for one of the friends I saw it with.



This is another slice of life movie. I saw it the same weekend with Rachel and they went well together. Michelle Williams stars as Wendy and Lucy is her dog, her only companion in life. The film opens with Wendy on the road with Lucy. They're pretty much living in the car and then things go badly. Wendy is down on her luck and lonely and lives in a totally different world than Rachel and Kym, but they both show the lives of women in the our country today and neither one is a happy, joyful story. Williams filmed this movie right after she and Heath Ledger broke up and she made good use of whatever sadness and loneliness she may have been feeling at the time. Another great performance, but you need to be in the right mood to watch the film.

OK, long post. More movies next time.

Best of 2008

It's been a month since my last post, so I've got a bunch of movie reviews I want to post, but instead I'm going to stick with tradition and post my personal Best Movies of the Year list around Oscar time. I liked the changes they made to the broadcast this year and enjoyed the show. It was fairly predictable, but I'm pretty happy with the winners. So, without further ado, here are my favorite movies of 2008:

1. In Bruges
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. The Visitor
6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
7. Wall-E
8. Burn After Reading
9. I've Loved You So Long
10. Frost/Nixon


My favorite documentaries for this year were:

1. At the Death House Door
2. Young @ Heart
3. Man on Wire
4. American Teen
5. Gonzo
6. Up the Yangtze
7. U2 3D
8. Encounters at the End of the World

There were a bunch of other movies that I really liked a lot and quite a few that I liked, but didn't love, so overall I'd say this was a good year for movies, for me.

On the knitting front, I finished up one more preemie hat in January, using Chelle's preemie hat pattern. I guess I forgot to take a picture of that one.

I also knit up another Koolhaas hat for my brother:



I just couldn't capture how beautiful this yarn is. It's the regular Malabrigo in a very dark green. It was my first time knitting with Malabrigo and I loved it. And this time, I actually made it big enough to fit before I ran out of yarn:



And I finally blocked out my Chevron scarf:



Project Name: Chevron Scarf
Pattern Source: http://www.domesticrafts.com/Clog/2007/03/12/HitchingARideOnTheBandwagon.aspx
Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Wool in Red Hot Chili and Sonne
Yarn Source: Wollmeise
Date Started: 10/18/08
Date Completed: 12/3/08

Comments: When I placed my first Wollmeise order (back when the Wollmeise was dyeing to order and you could order any color she carried at any time) I knew I wanted to get two colors to make a chevron scarf. I thought these two colors would look really good together, and the scarf turned out pretty much exactly how I thought it would in my mind. There is one shade of orange that is present in both skeins, so the transition from one skein to the other isn't as abrupt as it could be, but I kind of like how gradual it is and that it reallly looks like it's just one skein of yarn with a lot of variation. This was the first time I knit or even saw Wollmeise knit up at a little bit looser gauge and I love it. I knit it on size US 3 needles and after I blocked it out, it's just really drapey and soft and warm. I'm very happy with how this project came out. I only used about 1/4 of each skein for the scarf, so I easily have enough for a pair of socks in each color left.

Here's a closeup view:

Don't you just feel better?

What a great day yesterday was!! Unfortunately, I had to work, so I couldn't stay home and watch the inaugural, but I got to see enough of everything to be absolutely elated. After so many disappointments over the last 8 years, especially the death of Paul Wellstone, I feel such great hope.

I did spend part of MLK Day watching the fantastic concert on the mall and knitting preemie hats. I got three hats done:



Project Name: Spiral Preemie Hat
Pattern Source: http://www.geocities.com/bbcrafty_17//SpiralPreemieCap.html
Yarn: Artyarns Handpaint Stripes
Yarn Source: leftovers from a hat and scarf set - stash!
Date Started: 1/19/09
Date Completed: 1/19/09

Comments: I wanted to use up some leftovers in my stash and figured a worsted weight hat would go pretty fast, so I found this cute pattern on the internet. It went really fast but was still interesting to knit. And the ribbing-type will fit a wide range of headsizes. The pink one in the middle is Chelle's basic preemie hat pattern in some Plymouth Dreambaby DK I got in a yarn exchange at a knitting retreat I went to a couple of years ago. Look at me using up the stash for service knitting!!

I also took my nephew, Michael, out for a movie on MLK Day:



I would describe this one as mildly amusing. Neither Michael or I laughed a lot, but it wasn't a horrible way to spend a couple of hours. I think Kevin James is funny enough, but all of the jokes in the movie are pretty much exactly what you see coming. James plays a mall security guard who takes his job way too seriously. He's a single dad and has a big crush on the pretty girl who works at the hair extensions cart in the mall. On the day after Thanksgiving, thieves take over the mall so they can steal the credit card machine codes and the pretty girl gets taken hostage, so Paul Blart refuses to leave the mall without first rescuing his lady love. The movie is an obvious tip of the hat to Die Hard, but there are a few too many fat guy jokes and nothing that happens is in the least bit realistic. But Michael said he liked it and we had fun together. I'd say save the money and rent it or catch it on cable.

Hey, it's 2009!

Thanks for coming back again, friends! I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. I went back to South Dakota for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and enjoyed spending time with my family. I put in some overtime at work and did a lot of baking, but had to forgo the Christmas cards this year. I only had two knitted gifts this year. I gave the Little Bunny Foo Foo socks I knit last summer to my sister, Laura. She LOVED them and was really excited to get another pair of socks, so she'll be on my list again for next year. I also started but have not even yet completed a hat for my brother. Once I finish that up, I'll post a picture. I made a few other beaded jewelry items for gifts too, but I didn't take a picture of any of them.

Since it's been so long since I last posted, I have a lot to catch up on, so I guess I'll start with the movies. I saw a couple of foreign films:



In English, that's "A Christmas Tale". This film stars Catherine Deneuve as the matriarch of a pretty dysfunctional family. She has two sons and one daughter. The oldest son is played by Mathieu Amalric who starred in my favorite movie last year, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He again plays a man who is deeply flawed and selfish. His sister has cut him out of her life and effectively the family after he's nearly bankrupt their family. After the mother finds out she has cancer and needs a blood marrow donation, he joins the family for Christmas when it turns out he's a match and could donate to her. All of the old grudges come out and the family seems to feel free to say whatever pops into their heads. It's very smartly written and well-acted, but that kind of mean, dark humor never sits well with me, so I admired it more than I liked it.



If you're in on the vampire bandwagon, this one is worth checking out. This is a Swedish film about a 12-year-old boy who is picked on and lonely until he makes a new friend one night outside his apartment building. Turns out his new friend is a vampire. It's a good mix of drama and "horror", though I think if you're a horror film nut, this isn't going to be scary enough for you. A lot of the film takes place at night (the vampire can't just walk around in the daylight, of course) and the snowy landscape, so it's really beautifully shot. There is a lot of suspense and some gruesome scenes, but it's not overly gorey.

I saw a few English-language movies, too:



This one is getting a lot of Oscar talk, but it's another film that I admired more than I liked. Kate Winslet plays a 40ish woman who has a summer-long affair with a 15 year old boy in the late 1950s Germany. Years later, the boy is a law student and is surprised to see his ex-lover is a defendant in a Nazi war criminal trial. Ralph Fiennes plays the grown up boy, struggling with his feelings about this relationship and how it has affected the rest of his relationships. The film also is showing three periods in German history - the post war period, the late 60s and the 90s. The film explores a lot of themes of guilt, too - personal guilt, community guilt. The cast does a wonderful job, especially Winslet with a character who could be very unsympathetic. I just didn't care about any of the characters as much as I felt like I should have. Also, I really wasn't comfortable with the way they portrayed the affair between Winslet and the teen boy. I guess it's my years as a Guardian ad Litem, but I just am not comfortable seeing that type of relationship as a plot device.



This was a film that I loved whole heartedly. Dustin Hoffman plays a guy who writes jingles, but he's quickly becoming irrelevant to his ad firm. His daughter is getting married in London, so he flies in for the wedding and meets Emma Thompson, a single woman who spends most of her time taking care of her mother. Both of them just perfectly capture the feelings of loneliness and isolation that you sometimes feel as an older single person. Yet somehow, miraculously, they find each other and spend an amazing day together. It's sort of a Before Sunrise movie for middle-aged people. Yeah, there's a lot of romantic comedy cliches, but there are also some real surprises. I would whole heartedly recommend this film for anyone that's been through a heartbreak or two.



I'm not quite as enthusiastic about Yes Man. I should caution that I'm not a huge fan of Jim Carrey. If you love his mad antics, I think you'll find this one quite satisfying. Carrey plays a guy who is still trying to get over his divorce and just barely makes through each day as a bank loan officer. His friends try to get him out and having fun, but he's resistent. Until he's talked into taking a self-improvement seminar and makes a commitment to say "Yes!" to everything life offers him. Because of his new optimism, he ends up meeting a charming young woman played by Zooey Deschanel. There are some funny parts, but in general I thought it was pretty predictable and bit too silly for me. I'm not sure what the line is between the silliness of Jim Carrey and the silliness of Will Ferrell, but for some reason Ferrell cracks me up and Carrey doesn't. I did really like Rhys Darby as Carrey's boss, though he's playing a character who is almost identical to Murray from Flight of the Conchords.

And last:



I'm sure you've heard plenty about this one. Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a guy who is born as an elderly infant and ages backward throughout his life. Cate Blanchett plays his true love, who he meets in childhood, when he appears to be an old man. It could have been super creepy, but Pitt does such a great job of convincing you that this really is a young guy who just looks old, that you don't even think of it as an old man and young girl. The special effects that "age" Pitt in his younger years and make him look even younger as an older man are amazing. And he's ridiculously handsome when he actually looks his current age. It was a great, tragic love story. The special effects make the story believable but the acting makes it real.

There are a bunch more movies that I want to see still. I hate that it's always feast at this time of year and famine in spring. Next time, I'll update you on my knitting progress.

Movie Catchup

Ok, you saw the little bit of knitting I did. I also didn't see that many movies. But the ones I did see were good:



OK, you know I love the Coen Brothers and my boyfriend George is in it, so what's not to like? George plays Harry, a Treasury agent who is having an affair with Tilda Swinton's character, who is married to Osborne Cox, played by John Malkovich, who has quit the CIA and is writing his "memoirs", except his notes are accidentally lost and found by Chad, a personal trainer played by Brad Pitt, who thinks he and his co-worker, Linda Lipsky, played by Frances McDormand, can use them to extort money from Osborne Cox, or maybe the Russians, so Linda can get plastic surgery because she's having an affair with Harry too. Yep, it's totally convoluted just like it sounds, and I thought it was hilariously funny. All of these characters are as idiotic as they sound, and yet I loved watching them. The acting and crisp writing are what set this film apart. I think whether you like it or not will depend on how much you like the Coen Brothers style. It's not Fargo, but it's still pretty good.



I thought W. was just ok. I wanted it to either be hilariously funny or deeply insightful, and it was neither. Most of the funny lines we already saw in Fahrenheit 9/11 or just in the nightly news. The story is familiar to almost everyone who watches the news, too. W. was a disappointment to his daddy and jealous of brother Jeb. He partied it up in his young adulthood, but then he found Laura and Jesus and changed his life. He and his cabinet were not too worried about the facts leading up to the war, because Cheney wanted to consolidate power and get access to oil in the middle east and Rove thought it would be just great for re-election time. Colin Powell was the lone voice of reason, but eventually was a good soldier and went along. Yep, I kinda knew all that. The movie goes back and forth between Bush's early adulthood and the lead up to Gulf War II. I'm not sure that style of editing/storytelling was especially effective. And there's not really anything else about the Bush administration - 9/11, the war itself, Katrina, etc. I think we're just too close to all of this to have any good perspective, too. So, overall, it didn't totally work for me. I did, however, think the acting was amazing. Josh Brolin is far, far too good looking to be W., but if you close your eyes, he sounds just like him. I think he really captured the essence of the man and makes him fairly sympathetic. Everyone else is great too. Thandie Newton does an over the top portrayal of Conde Rice, but for me it worked because it gave it a little comic relief. I'd say this is probably worth renting if you're into politics and interested in seeing the performances.



In English that's "I've Loved You So Long". Boy, I don't even want to say too much about what this is about, because I think it sort of ruins the film. I've read a couple of reviews and they've given away too much, I think. My advice would be to just trust me and go see the movie and don't read any reviews. The beauty of the film is you are introduced to Juliette, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, at the beginning of the film and you don't really know who she is or anything about her. She looks beat down, sad and lonely, so you know she must have a story. As the film goes on, you learn more and more about her story and it unfolds like a flower - as does Juliette. Kristin Scott Thomas gives an amazing performance and you're just sitting there, fascinated by this woman. It's a French movie, with subtitles, so if that's not your cup of tea, fair warning. But otherwise, I'd highly recommend checking this out.



I'm going with the banned poster on this post for a reason. If you are offended by that poster, this movie is not for you. If Seth Rogen's face makes you giggle a little, check it out. I'm not the biggest Kevin Smith fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Seth Rogen plays Zack and Elizabeth Banks plays Miri, lifelong friends and roommates who decide to make a little porno film in order to make some money to pay the rent and utilities. BTW, Elizabeth Banks also played Laura Bush in W., so that was quite a contrast in my mind! The film is really dirty and has Kevin Smith's usual fascination with bodily fluids, but I laughed pretty much the whole way through. It ended up being a very sweet romantic comedy, sort of in the Camp Apatow tradition.



This is another film that I don't want to say too much about so as not to ruin it. I'm going to describe the basic plot, and it's going to sound really cheesy and lame, but trust me when I say it's not. The movie is about a young Indian man, Jamal, who grew up on the streets of Bombay/Mumbai and then goes on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." There are flashbacks between Jamal's life and his appearance on the tv show. There are three actors who portray Jamal throughout the years and they all are really good. Directed by Danny Boyle, you really get to see what life is like for an orphan trying to make his way through Mumbai. There are all kinds of connections throughout the movie and the story itself is such that it could have been just unbelievable, but for me, it totally worked. I think Boyle flirted with the line between art and schlock, but never crossed it. Stay for the credits, which features a wonderful Bollywood dance sequence.

End of Summer

I know it's not officially the end of summer yet, but Labor Day weekend always feels like the end of summer - the State Fair closes, school starts, football starts for real and the days are getting shorter and cooler. I love fall and I'm excited about it, but I'm also a little sad because this summer just zipped by and I don't feel like I made the most of it.

Another sure sign of the end of summer - the end of Summer of Socks. I finished up my second pair:



Project Name: Silk and Cashmere Ankle Socks
Pattern Source: Handmaiden Website
Yarn: Handmaiden 4 Ply Silk Cashmere in Sangria Colorway
Yarn Source: Simply Socks Yarn Company
Date Started: 7/27/08
Date Completed: 8/28/08

Comments: These are so incredibly soft and warm! I started with the pattern linked above, but I decided to skip the yarnovers on the edge and just do ribbing. Then I decided to carry the ribbing all the way down the top of the foot. This yarn has very little elasticity because neither silk nor cashmere do, so it probably won't stay huggy ribby very long, but I do like how it fits. After I finished the socks, I still had a ton of yarn left, so I undid the cast on and knit another inch on the legs, so the middle of the legs shift 1/2 a stitch. I still had yarn leftover at the end, so I probably should have just knit toe up socks, but at only 170m, I didn't think I'd have that much yarn. This is a gorgeous, special yarn and I'd definitely buy it again for a special project.

I had hoped to knit three pair of socks, but since it usually takes me about a month to knit a pair of socks, 2.5 pairs is about right for the time period. I'm also almost done with the first sock of my Obama Veterans knitting socks.

I also did a little beading. As I mentioned before, I got the Kit of the Month club from The Bead Monkey for my friend Florence for Hannukah last year and we try to get together periodically to do our kits together. Here's the latest:



Once again, it's really hard to get a good picture of your own wrist. There's a better picture of the kit at the link above. This project looks deceptively simple, but it's actually a bit complicated to keep the wires straight so you get the pattern right, without it looking like a big mess of wire. I finally got a system going and once I figure that out, it went pretty quickly. We also worked on another project, but that one required some time to set, so I'll show that one once we get it all finished.

I saw this film this weekend:



I always feel like I have to start reviews of Woody Allen films by saying I'm a huge fan. He seems to be one of those directors who either appeals to you or he doesn't and he definitely is one of my favorites. By the same token, I should also say that I don't like ScarJo. Obama supporter or not, she annoys me whenever I see her on film. I do think she's less annoying in Woody's films, which is good since she seems to be his muse these days. I still think she's a wooden actress and her performance in this film was no exception. She plays Cristina, an American in Barcelona with her best friend, Vicky. Cristina is an artsy, free-thinking woman who is always vaguely dissatisfied and searching for something better, especially in the love department. Vicky is her opposite in all ways, visually and temperamentally. Vicky is decisive and knows exactly what she wants and has her whole future, including her impending marriage to Doug, mapped out. Vicky and Cristina meet Juan Antonio, played by Javier Bardem at his most sexy and sultry, a Spanish artist known for his tempestuous relationship and divorce from his ex-wife, Maria Elena, played by Penelope Cruz. With a cast like that, there's a lot of sexy on the screen and your eyes just drink it in. The story of how these people interact and what they're looking for in love and in life is really interesting. It's not a laugh a minute and it's not earth shaking drama, but it's really well made and I loved spending every minute with this group.

I also finished up a book:



A friend of mine read this book for book club and now that I'm living the cubicle/office life, it sounded intriguing. I'm so glad I picked it up. It's about a group of people who work at an advertising agency that is slowly going down the tubes. It takes place in 2001, before 9/11, and everyone is gripped by the fear that they're going to be the next one laid off (which they call "Walking Spanish down the hall, from a Tom Waits song). The book is narrated in a first person plural voice - meaning it's not one person telling the story, but the whole group. It's an interesting device and I really thought it worked well. The book starts off very light and very funny - I could definitely see my coworkers and our office life in the characters and action. It gradually gets a little darker and more serious and there's a big shift toward the middle, where the middle section changes to one person's story. Then the last portion goes back to the third person plural narration and office story, but things aren't so light and funny any more. It's really different and I really enjoyed it. Even though the story is told through the voice of the collective, you get to know each of the people that work in the office, too, and they seem very real. The details are all spot on and really stay with you. If you've ever worked in an office, I really think you'd enjoy this book.

Catching Up

Oh good heavens! I didn't realize how long it's been since my last blog entry, until I sat down to see where I last left off. This summer is speeding by so quickly!! What have I been up to since then? Finished up with the Fringe Festival. I saw some more really great shows and a couple of groaners. I thought I'd really miss not having the ultrapass this year, but I still saw 15 shows and that felt pretty ok. So, maybe next year I'll skip the ultrapass again. I believe the Fringe starts the day after I return from my big trip, so I probably won't feel much like running around town anyway.

I saw Keb' Mo' again. He was just as silky smooth as I remembered. Such an attractive, talented guy. The show was at the MN Zoo Ampitheater and I may be getting too old for that venue. There was an opening act and after three hours with no support, my back was killing me. It's so pretty and the sound is so good, though.

I spent the rest of that weekend at the Irish Fair. It was such a gorgeous weekend, just perfect! I worked a couple of the ticket booths, but most of my time was spent in the volunteer tent, helping coordinate all the volunteers, so I had plenty of time for knitting and whipped up these washcloths for the Knitters for Obama drive:



I went out to the State Fair and enjoyed all of the gorgeous work on display there. As I do every year, I vowed to learn how to do rughooking because I love those pieces. I managed to not buy any yarn there this year, but I did get my annual pair of fleece lined slippers, so I'm all ready for the cool weather now.

I did get this yarn in the mail:



It's another Obama fundraising yarn (100% of the profits go to the Obama campaign) from C*eye*ber Fiber. This colorway is called Fired Up and it's gorgeous!!

I saw a couple of movies, too:



I was disappointed in this one. I am a huge Will Ferrell fan and I even liked Semi-Pro, but this one was just not that good. There were some funny moments, and I do have to admit I was in a theater with only a couple of other people and they weren't laughing, so if there had been more people there laughing it up or if I had been alone and could have felt more comfortable just laughing out loud whenever, I may have done so. As you've probably heard by now, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play 40 year old men who are still living at home - Will with his mom and John with his dad. The mom and dad get married, so the two men have to live together and blended families are even more difficult with men who suffer arrested development, I suppose. Since I'm 40 myself, I just had little patience for two characters who were so annoying and ridiculous. The laughs weren't that huge and the ending was played much more straight and cheesy than one would expect from the first half of the movie. I'd say rent it if you love Ferrell, but otherwise, don't bother.

I liked this film much more:



This is a French thriller based on a mystery novel by Harlan Coben, an American author. I haven't read the book, so I'm not sure how different they are, but the film is really well done. It was really suspenseful and kept me guessing all the way to the end. It really has the feel of a Hitchcock film, so if you're a fan of that type of film, you must see this. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so I'll just say it's about a pediatrician whose wife is killed one night while they're at their lake house. Eight years later, new evidence surfaces that may implicate the doctor in his wife's murder and he starts to wonder if she is even dead at all.

FO!

I finally finished my first pair of Summer of Socks socks:



Project Name: Leyburn Socks
Designer: Mintyfresh
Pattern Source: Pepperknit Blog
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug
Yarn Source: Needlework Unlimited
Date Started: 6/21/08
Date Completed: 7/27/08

Comments: I like these socks quite a bit. The pattern is kind of neat and easy to knit. I was afraid about the fit, because it doesn't have much stretch, but they fit me perfectly. It is my first time knitting with Jitterbug and I really like it. Beautiful colors and very soft. I had only a small ball of yarn left, so if you have larger feet or want long legs, you may want to pick up an extra skein. It was also my first time knitting with Knitpicks Harmony needles and I love them too! Very smooth wood with a nice sharp tip, but not as hard on my hands as the Knitpicks Options DPNs. Here's the obligatory sole to sole pose:



and a top view:



I also saw this last weekend:



Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE X-Files fanatic. Like, top five all time favorite show fanatic. I love, love, love Mulder and Scully. So from that point of view, I enjoyed the movie. Duchovny and Anderson slipped right back into their old roles and it was thrilling seeing them interact and hearing some of the old dialog. The story itself was decent, though a bit out there (no pun intended). There is nothing from the alien mythology of the show in the film - it's a stand alone monster episode. It was like a pretty decent episode of the show. But I really would have loved it more if it had explored the mythology and continued from the first film. I'm sure they wanted to draw in people who didn't watch the show and make it watchable to that audience. They were fairly successful - I think you could enjoy it as a summer matinee if you'd never seen the show before and had no idea who these characters were. But if you're in that position, I don't think it's anything special. Not bad, but not fantastic either. I think this will be last X-Files movie, because there were a grand total of 12 people in the theater I saw the film on opening night. Not good box office. I guess it's time for me to put away all those X-Files action figures, books, trading cards and posters for the last time....

More of the same

More knitting for KFO group done, this time a ballband washcloth:



I also finished up a pair of socks, but it doesn't count as part of the official Summer of Socks total because they've been in progress for quite a while:



Project Name: Feather and Fan Socks
Designer: Judy Sumner
Pattern Source: Socks, Socks, Socks
Yarn: Panda Wool
Yarn Source: Needlework Unlimited
Date Started: 5/10/07
Date Completed: 7/17/08

Comments: These were my "car knitting" project for the last year (knitting I keep in the trunk of my car for when I need something to work on when I'm out and about). As you may recall, I've been working my way through the Socks, Socks, Socks book. I knit them mostly at CLEs and watching the kids at the park on Tuesday nights. These are constructed a little differently than your basic sock and I think they fit pretty well. It was my first time using Panda Wool and I really liked it. Very soft, but the bamboo gives it a little shine. I bought three skeins because the balls are pretty small, but with the lace pattern and my preference for 4" legs, I only needed two balls. I would definitely use this yarn again, either for socks or for baby garments.



and the obligatory sole-to-sole shot:



I also saw one of the films I've been looking forward to all summer long:



It lived up to my expectations. As you've probably heard, it's the sequel to Batman Begins, with Christian Bale returning as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker. Gary Oldman returns as James Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Besides Joker, we get Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. There was one cast change - Maggie Gyllenhal takes over for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. I mention everyone because this truly is an ensemble effort. Of course it's a Batman movie and Batman/Bruce Wayne are the lead and Joker is the primary villain, but you really get a lot true ensemble scenes and really, really strong performances all around. Oldman is exactly as I pictured/heard Lt. Gordon when I read "Batman: Year One". Bale is fantastic as the dark and depressed Batman as well as the playboy cad putting on a show for the world, Bruce Wayne. But the most amazing performance is of course, Heath Ledger at The Joker. He's just incredible. You don't want him to ever leave the screen, because he's magnetic every time he's on there. It's pretty much a lock that he'll be nominated for an Academy Award, but I really wouldn't be surprised to see the film nominated as well. It's really a good, gripping movie that's got some great special effects, but is also intellectually satisfying. If the lead characters weren't in a bat costume and crazy makeup, this would still be a fantastic action thriller. I also have to warn the parents out there. It's pretty dark, violent and scary. I think if it wasn't a Batman movie, it'd be rated R instead of PG-13. I think it's probably too intense for younger kids and borderline for 10-13 year olds, depending on how sensitive your child is. This Batman is about as far away as you can get from the old Batman tv show and even most of the previous Batman movies.