Starbucks comes to Crescent City, CA

   Starbucks has it’s grand opening in Crescent City on 20 March, but today they were having an open house (with free drinks and goodies), and in a town this size it didn’t take long for word to get around.  EVERYONE was there. 

Starbucks is on the north end of town, on Hwy 101 at Cooper.  The fairgrounds is across the street on Hwy 101 (which is probably where this guy came from with his horse), and there is a Home Depot across the side street (Cooper).  Am not a coffee drinker, but when I can have caffeine again (in July), you can bet I will be in there for a venti iced green tea (unsweetened). 

“Knitting Rules!”

    When one of my friends sees me posting blog entries again, she suspects I am avoiding the thesis.  She may be right.  I prefer to think of it as writing therapy, or maintaining contact with the outside world.  Actually, my REAL daily therapy is the knitting.  I’m doing something useful and creative, and when I focus on the knitting I am less likely to have that mental tape going that reminds me of my failings, things I need to do, et cetera.  Weaving used to do the same thing for me, but it takes much longer to warp a loom, and they aren’t nearly as portable. 

A couple months ago I discovered the Yarn Harlot’s blog( http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ ).  I enjoy Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s dry humor, and admire her beautiful knitting.  So I ordered a copy of one of her books: Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot Unravels the Mysteries of Swatching, Stashing, Ribbing and Rolling to Free Your Inner Knitter (Storey Publishing, 2006).  Not only is it fun to read, but I learned a LOT!  Being a beginning knitter, my only other knitting book is Knitting for Dummies, which actually has a lot of good information.  (And they don’t assume I know anything about knitting, which helps.)  Stephanie’s book is the sort of thing you need to read once you know at least a little bit about knitting, because what she really supplies is inspiration.  And little tricks of the trade.  I was already knitting hats by the time I read Knitting Rules!, but Stephanie gave me insight into making the hat look better.  And her stories about managing your yarn stash had me laughing enough to scare the cat. 

I bought the book initially because one of her blog entries mentioned it contained her receipe for A Good, Plain Sock.  So far, most of my projects have not required much effort in the guise of measuring gauge or specific fitting.  But a sock!  After reading her chapter on socks, and seeing some of the beautiful knitted socks online, I may just have to try knitting a pair.  (After I finish several hats for other people, and another table scarf.)  I love Stephanie’s lists of reasons, such as “Ten Reasons to Knit Socks.”  Her list includes such things as 1) socks don’t require much yarn (and cost less to make), 2) they are a very portable project, 3) they wear out, so you can never knit too many, 4) they feel better on your feet than the store bought ones, 5) you can make them many different ways, and so forth.  I may actually get brave enough to knit socks. 

And that’s the beauty of her book — it gives you courage to try knitting things that seem scary.  Or to vary some of the things you already know how to do.  Experiment!  On one of the last pages in Knitting Rules! Stephanie writes, “Wool is reusable, your mistakes are your own, they can all be fixed, and nobody dies or is fired when you make them.  It’s only knitting, and it’s one of the few times in your life when there are no bad consequences to a mistake” (p.211). 

Next payday I’ll invest in another one of Stephanie’s books, probably At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much.   Or maybe Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting, or maybe Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter.  Or, this week she has a new one coming out: Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not).  And, she is currently writing a new one, which maybe comes out next September and is titled Free Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again.  It makes me happy when someone can make a living doing the things they love, which in her case are knitting and writing.  And she does both so well!

Okay, now I’ll go work on my thesis.  :-(     Oh, and Happy St. Paddy’s Day, everyone!

The human cost of the war in Iraq

Click this link for a news article about the war in Iraq.  The article is titled “For few, Iraq war has changed everything.”  I think the only thing I would argue with is that it is only for a few.  I think it has changed things for many, many people.  I cried on the morning of 9/11 first of all because I knew it would mean the U.S. would go to war, but even then I didn’t imagine it would mean two wars.   Since then I have heard stories from people who have been in Iraq, and from people who have family over there.  The human cost of this war is FAR greater than anything you will ever read or hear in the media.  Individuals and families are paying the cost on a daily basis.  And it will last for many, many years.  We need to get out of Iraq.

“Vantage Point”

   We needed to get out of the house yesterday, so on a whim checked out what was on at our local cinema.  The timing was such that “Vantage Point” was the next available movie, it looked interesting, so we saw it.

Wow.

The premise is that the President of the U. S. is attending a very public conference on terrorism in Spain, and gets shot.  In movie time, the story covers about 45 minutes of the event.  BUT, you see that time frame from the vantage point of eight different people: A Secret Service agent (Dennis Quaid), a news executive (Sigourney Weaver), the President (William Hurt), a U.S. tourist (Forest Whitaker), a Spanish police officer, and three terrorists.  And you see those vantage points one at a time (mostly), so there are repeats of events, but seen as the character sees them. 

While I don’t think there will be any Academy Awards out of this movie, for its type it is very well done.   Tension and plot builds quickly and continuously, and believe me when I tell you that you’d better not sneak out to the bathroom during this one.  Without spoiling the plot for you, I can say the President acts like I wish the President of the U.S. would act.  If you do go see it, give some thought afterward to who were heroes in this story.    I count three.

“Vantage Point” has a PG-13 rating (for things like violence and intense action) and runs 90 minutes.    I give it a 4. 

“L.A. Story”

   As mentioned much earlier, I enjoy romantic comedies.  I also enjoy Steve Martin.  This is my favorite Steve Martin movie.  He plays the protagonist, and the female lead is played by Victoria Tennant (who was Martin’s wife at the time).  Sarah Jessica Parker plays the too-young-for-him temporary interest, and there are a host of other actors who often play character parts (Marilu Henner, Richard Grant, Susan Forristal, and Kevin Pollack, to name a few).  Be sure to watch for the surprise appearance of Patrick Stewart (well, it surprised me the first time).  And see if you recognize Terry Gilliam’s role. 

But the primary character is Los Angeles.  I left L.A. in 1976, but when this movie came out in 1991 it was so much like the L.A. I knew that I could smell the smog while watching it.  It’s got everything: the traffic, everyone’s favorite shortcuts, the incestuous fascination with the entertainment industry, the shopping, the little birds chattering in the trees, the pretentious attitudes, the art galleries and museums, the earthquakes, and it is always 72 degrees.  Martin plays a wacky weatherman, Harris K. Telemacher, and in one scene he is interviewing an Angelino about the record-breaking cold spell of 58 degrees, which turned the weekend into a real “weenie shrinker.” 

Did I mention Steve Martin wrote the screenplay?  He has witty word play and broad humor all through the movie.  It begins with him in an exercise park, quoting Shakespeare about how wonderful L.A. is.  In the background you see a woman collapsing from the rowing machine she has been using; as the paramedics lift her onto a gurney, some other person in sweats runs to take her place on the machine.  Shakespeare shows up a lot in this movie.  Such as:

“Sitting there at that moment, I thought of something else Shakespeare said.  He said, ‘Hey — life is pretty stupid, with lots of hub-bub to keep you busy, but not really amounting to much.’  Of course, I’m paraphrasing: ‘Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’”   (Did you know Shakespeare is buried in an L.A. cemetery?  He lived there from 1612 to 1614, while he wrote “Hamlet, the Revenge: Part 8.”)  (I’m kidding.)  There is also a great scene in the cemetery where they co-opt part of the graveyard scene from Hamlet.

I remember seeing an interview with Martin about why he wrote “L.A. Story.”  Everyone talks about how Los Angeles lacks culture, or is an irrigated desert, or whatever, but he wanted to show how it can also be a magical place, if you look at it with the right eyes.  There are deer eating the clipped grass in the Hollywood Hills, and hidden walkways with stone lions, and freeway signposts that truly care about you.  :-)    (I forgot to mention The Freeway Sign, another character.)  There is a lot of music by Enya in the soundtrack, and that adds to the magic.  Oh — and it begins with a slip of New Moon and ends with a Full Moon, as the story waxes to . . .   (Nope. Don’t want to spoil it for you.)

The movie is rated PG-13 (probably because of sexual humor) and runs 98 minutes.  I give it a 4.5.   And if anyone can explain the scene to me where Martin asks, “What’s that clanging sound?” and Grant answers, “It’s a nuisance.  It’s my damn testicles,” please do so in the comments or send me an email?  :-)   Thanks!