Librarian, knitter, rocker, reader.
Starting this fall, there'll be a new knitting (and crochet) TV show: Knit and Crochet Today. It'll be airing on select PBS stations. (I couldn't locate a list of which actual stations that'll be, but I'm sure the info will be out there sooner or later.)
Interweave Press has started a new website, Knitting Daily. The site is off to a great start, with free patterns (including the legendary [by Internet standards anyway] Icelandic Lace Shawl), tips and tricks (a really nice Basics of Blocking was just posted earlier this week), and more. You do have to subscribe to get access to the free patterns, but subscribing is free.
The long-awaited return of one of comics' best characters ever has arrived! Lenore #13 is in stores! It's a special issue to celebrate Lenore's 10-year anniversary with SLG. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be listed on the SLG site yet, but it is available elsewhere on the web. Check it totally out!
Rock for Reading is an initiative with the aim "to fight the rising trend of illiteracy and renew interest in reading." I hadn't heard of it before and thought it was new, but apparently it has been around for several years! RFR uses the funds it raises (through concerts and other means) to provide grants to organizations undertaking pro-reading projects. Sounds cool to me.
Whew! It's been a really busy last week or so. I of course was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my very own copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and was thrilled to find it waiting for me at home when I returned from work last Saturday (I was happily helping with the brary's teen Wizard Rock HP celebration featuring the outstanding Tom Riddle and Friends and Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls. They were all so awesome [totally wrocked, as the WR hipsters say] that it made me want to start my own WR band). Of course, we had an Angie O' show that night so I showed remarkable restraint and didn't crack the book (or open the box, even) until Sunday. I finished the book midday Monday and immediately handed it to Karl so I could say spoilery things out loud in the house. I'm not going to post any spoilers here, at least not for awhile, but I will say that I really, really liked the book. Several things that I thought might happen did, which was satisfying, and many things I didn't see coming also happened, which was equally so.
$4340.00
Labels: Cadaver Calculator, quiz, speculating about death can be fun, Susan of All Trades
Labels: douglas coupland, Harry Shearer, plastic, Seven Deadly Sinners, the future, youtube
I was going to recap some of the highlights (and there were so many!) of VH1's newest venture into Celebreality: Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. However, I found this hilarious recap from fourfour's Rich Juzwiak (whose Project Runway recaps are the best), which is so awesome that I'm just going to direct you there. I will say this: I watch way more crap reality TV than I should, and this puts just about everything else to shame. Bret Michaels is aware of the ridiculousness of these women, and seemingly of his own willingness to overlook (or perhaps just live with) that craziness in order to have access to boobs. That and the squirting vomit we saw in the season preview will definitely keep me watching.
Labels: Bret Michaels, Project Runway, recap, Rich Juzwiak, Rock of Love, TV, VH1
The terrific Ned Vizzini has a short story at The L Magazine. Don't miss it!
Labels: Blog of a bookslut, cupcake, ned vizzini, short story, The L Magazine
So Boston Terriers are widely known as some of the cutest dogs in the world, and these two are no different. Joe Stains blogs about his life as an angry, old BT. His brother Tanner (AKA Doofus Face) occasionally creeps in as well. Joe and Tanner have some pretty hilarious photos to share and I highly recommend checking it out.
Labels: awesomeness, blogs, boston terriers, cute, Doofus Face, Joe Stains and Tanner, photos
Just days ago, 7-Imp treated us to an interview with Hank Green, and now PopMatters has an interview with John Green! Click through to read John's opinions about so-called controversial topics, what constitutes young adult lit, and (of course) the awesomeness of nerdfighters. Check it totally out.
Labels: 7-Imp, hank green, interview, john green, John Green's weblog, nerdfighters, PopMatters
Glorious news! Frank Portman has announced that King Dork Approximately will be published by Random House. Woot! It'll be out sometime after Andromeda Klein is released. Can. Not. Wait.
Labels: Andromeda Klein, Frank Portman, King Dork Approximately, Random House
Labels: Finding Wonderland, Fred and George, Harry Potter, quiz, Weasley Twins
Okay, when I create a blog post via Flickr, it creates a nice little credit line under the photo ("name of photo originally posted by username"). This is great until I add labels in Blogger, at which time that credit line just disappears. The code is still there, but it will not friggin' show up on my blog. I've tried a variety of tweaks to get it to still be visible, but it just doesn't want to work. Anyone have any suggestions?
Labels: annoying glitches, Blogger, flickr, HTML, labels, techie questions
Labels: Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice, Jeffrey Donovan, TV, TV squad, USA
Awhile ago I mentioned that Dead Like Me might be coming back. More news has come to light. According to Ellen Muth's MySpace blog, if the made-for-DVD movie sells well, the series might be resurrected (haha). Mandy Patinkin is one of the things that made the original so good, so it'd be interesting to see how it works without him (theoretically he couldn't do both a Dead Like Me series and continue with Criminal Minds - although that appears to be in question at the moment).
Labels: Criminal Minds, Dead Like Me, Ellen Muth, Mandy Patinkin, movies, myspace, TV, TV squad
Car Talk is one of my favorite programs on NPR (though admittedly not one I make time for every single week). You can always depend on Click and Clack for that certain flavor of humor, it's entertaining to hear about other people's (car) issues, and occasionally you learn something useful. Apparently PBS is going to spin off an animated series featuring the Tappet Brothers, picking up where the radio show leaves off. I'm not sure that's really necessary, or even a good idea (I'm particularly wary of the animated comedy concept), but anything's possible.
Labels: animated series, Car Talk, Click and Clack, NPR, PBS, Tappet Brothers, TV squad
More details are being released about the forthcoming movie version of Chuck Palahniuk's book Choke. Sam Rockwell (great in Hitchhiker's Guide) and Anjelica Huston (great in the Royal Tenenbaums) are the two biggest names set to star, and Clark Gregg (wrote the screenplay for What Lies Beneath) is writing the screenplay and directing. Choke is, in my opinion, one of Palahniuk's best books (and I'm an admitted fan of his work), and I think it'll translate well to the screen. Here's hoping that it doesn't wimp out.
Labels: Anjelica Huston, Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, Cinematical, Clark Gregg, Hitchhiker's Guide, movies, Royal Tenenbaums, Sam Rockwell, What Lies Beneath
Not only are librarians suddenly hip, crafters are, too. All this positive attention to things I care about is awesome, but it really seems pretty obvious. Still, though, better this than less flattering views.
Labels: AlterNation, crafting, hipsters, librarians, New York Times
Holy crap! This is pretty impressive.
Labels: awesomeness, guitar, Simpsons, tapping, theme song
I've been reading and hearing about the bee shortage this year, but it appears that there are a whole mess of 'em hanging out in our veggie garden. The crookneck squash is blossoming (there are a TON of blossoms! More than I could count) and this morning there was at least one bee in every single one! This one had two bees, even.
Labels: bees, blossoms, crookneck squash, vegetable garden
Like so many people, I'm a fan of Harry Potter. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the Order of the Phoenix this weekend, and I recently finished re-listening to the first six books in preparation for the release of book seven. (I'm also geeked that we're having a couple of Wizard Rock bands play at the 'brary on the 21st!)
Labels: Alison Hansel, Charmed Knits, harry potter and the deathly hallows, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, knitting, Weasley Sweater
I haven't done much sock knitting before, but I keep thinking about it. I've tried and like the two-circular-needles method (I don't mind using dpns, but I feel more comfortable with circs) and I've been thinking about making a pair of socks but haven't found a pattern that really jumped at me. Favorite Socks has a ton of great patterns, including one that is designed for circular needles. Anne Woodbury's Merino Lace Socks combine four eyelet and lace patterns to achieve a subtle, elegant effect.
Labels: Ann Budd, Anne Woodbury, books, Favorite Socks, Interweave Knits, Jennifer L. Appleby, knitting, Merino Lace Socks, Mock Wave Cable socks, socks on two circular needles, Uptown Boot Socks
The notion that libraries are magical places and that books are magical things is nothing new, but it's always a treat to find a new vision of that idea. In The Little Red Fish, a boy visits his librarian grandfather's place of work, bringing with him his small red friend. The boy is left alone and of course has adventures beyond expectation. The story may be familiar but what sets this book apart are the unique and captivating illustrations. They remind me a little of Edward Gorey's work, but mostly in tone and not at all in a derivative way. The Little Red Fish is one of those great books that the reader can read and re-read, noticing new things each time.
Labels: 2007, books, children's literature, Dial, Edward Gorey, picture books, taeeun yoo, The Little Red Fish
EcoGeek has a featured "EcoGeek of the Week" and this week it's Ishmael author Daniel Quinn. Ishmael is one of those books that I've given to a myriad of people and have read and reread numerous times myself. It sort of slipped off my radar for the past few years but it just recently came to mind again and I've put it in my queue to reread again soon.
Labels: books, Daniel Quinn, ecogeek, Ishmael, Literary Gas, queue
Designer Noah Scalin is creating a skull a day for a year. What a freakin cool project! Scalin is part of Another Limited Rebellion, a "socially conscious design and consulting firm dedicated to creating high quality communications in a sustainable manner." How cool!
Labels: Another Limited Rebellion, Craftzine, Noah Scalin, skulls, social conciousness, sustainability, tea
Michigan graphic novelist extraordinaire and all-around great guy Paul Sizer recently guested at everyone's favorite library comic strip Unshelved, with a story about his experience at this year's ALA Conference. As always, Paul kicks ass!
Labels: ALA Annual Conference 2007, kickass, michigan, Moped Army, Paul Sizer, Unshelved
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (AKA 7-Imp) features awesome interviews with awesome people on a fairly regular basis. They've interviewed a number of the contemporary greats of teen and chidlren's lit: Cecil Castellucci, nerdfighter John Green, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and karaoke allstar M.T. Anderson.
Labels: 7-Imp, brotherhood 2.0, cecil castellucci, children's literature, ecogeek, interview, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, john green, MT Anderson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, teen literature
So, Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld are two of the top teen lit writers out there, and they are coming to Detroit in January! They'll be the author guests of honor at something called ConFusion (run by the Stilyagi Air Corps, an Ann Arbor-based sci-fi fan group that's apparently doing some damn cool stuff without a whole ton of fanfare). Sign me up!
Labels: Ann Arbor, ConFusion 2008, Detroit, Justine Larbalestier, michigan, Scott Westerfeld, Stilyagi Air Corps, teen literature
Kickass illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi has started to blog! The Spider and the Fly is one of my favorite picture books ever (totally robbed of the 2003 Caldecott - should've been the Medal winner) and I'm really interested to read what he's got to share.
Labels: blogging, Caldecott Award, JJK Blog, picture books, The Spider and the Fly, Tony DiTerlizzi
The New York Time has an article about how librarians can be hipsters these days. Not a bad article, though to me it seems a given - I suppose it still seems novel to many people. Hurray for busting stereotypes (I guess it'll be awhile before the hipsters become the stereotype?) at any rate.
Labels: hipsters, librarians, New York Times, stereotypes, tattoos, Unshelved blog
Broken has been awarded first place in the Crime Drama category at the Indie Gathering Festival 2007. Indie Gathering is "the alternative for independent, underground and experimental film and video." Hurray for Broken! Good jorb, everyone!
Labels: broken, crime drama, David Gries, first place, Indie Gathering Festival, movie, teaser, trailer, youtube
Make your own Simpsons character!
Labels: avatar, character, Off the Rack, People.com, Simpsons movie, StyleWatch
The sweet peas are blossoming, as are the cucumbers. I'm really geeked to see these blooms, as it means that veggies will be on the way soon. The crookneck squash plants are crazy huge so I'm antsy to see some blooms on that one. I did a little relocating this morning - the squash plants were overshadowing some other things and they weren't looking too hot, so I decided that it was better to attempt to move them than to just let them die underneath the leaves of the squash. The lettuce is also big enough to start harvesting - I need to do some reading up to find out how to go about that.
Labels: crookneck squash, cucumber, green, lettuce, sweet peas, vegetable garden
