So, I downloaded somehow attained a copy of the new Tribute to Joni Mitchell CD. I've only listened to a few of the tracks (I cannot yet bring myself to listen to some of the soft rock artists on the album, so I've not heard the KD Lang or James Taylor tracks), but I'm enjoying some of them. Especially the Dreamland cover by Caetano Veloso. Yes, I do have an obsession with Brazilian Tropicalia musicians. Yes, his place on this compilation is "token world music guy", and he redoes Dreamland to sound more South American. But it's still good!
Dreamland - Caetano Veloso (mp3)
I was disappointed by Sufjan Stevens' Free Man in Paris. It's just... so... Sufjan. The overdone trumpets kill the original melodic progression, which was a little choppy in the original, so it totally falls apart.
Free Man in Paris - Sufjan Stevens (mp3)
Anyhow, back to cleaning my bathroom.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Music time!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Book It! 2007
Book 8, finally: The Thirty Years' War by C.V. Wedgewood.
This is a really good book. This is a really long book. This is a big, long, depressing book about a war that didn't really solve the problems that started it, despite killing loads of people, causing immense suffering, and dragging on for so long. Maybe that's why it took me so long to finish it. But again, a good book. C.V. Wedgewood (of the china Wedgewoods) was one of the most prominent women historians of the early part of the 1900s, and I'd love to find some of her other books.
So... back to reading about rock music. Or maybe some Calvino.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
In belated celebration of Shakespeare's birthday...
Sunday, April 22, 2007
FO: SKB
Pattern: Simple Knitted Bodice by Stitch Diva/Stefanie Japel
Yarn: Eternal Diva Soie De La Mer (Sea Cell/Silk blend) from kpixie.com
Needles: Addi Turbo US#7
Modifications: So very many. Changed the arm circumference, took out some of the midsection purl rows, changed the number of repeats of the lace motifs.
I probably started the waist shaping too early, but other than that, I love this sweater. I also love this yarn--it's softer than just plain silk. I know this to be true, because I've been making a mystery project with Tilli Tomas's plain silk at the same time as this top.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Further notes on the CTA Leave Early/Leave Late/Alternate tests
I will not be posting on this every day, as you may have noticed from the lack of blogging recently. Is this because I’m waiting until I have a crappy El day? Nope, it’s because I’m lucky enough to have a boyfriend who lives very close to where I work. When I stay with him, I walk to work and avoid the CTA altogether.
The default train-based route to work is Brown line to Belmont, transfer at Belmont to Red line, Red line to Grand. An alternate train-only option would be Brown line to Merch Mart, and walk over. It might take longer, but I would be almost guaranteed a seat, since I board so early in the Brown line run. Also, Jamba Juice right next to the station. Mmm, Jamba. But still: the main trade-off would be avoiding the wait at Belmont but dealing with the extra stops south of there on the Brown, as well as the increased walk to work.
Bus or bus-and train alternatives:
The 148 Bus.
Pros: Stops three blocks away. No transfer. Express from Irving Park to Michigan/Delaware. Drops me off closer to work (by one block) than the Red line. According to the CTA’s website, 7:05 bus will drop me off at 7:45 where I need to be at 8:00.
Cons: Completely dependant on traffic situation on LSD, unlike partial-rail routes. According to experience, 7:05 bus will get me to where I need to be sometime between 8:10 and 8:45, depending on traffic issues. But perhaps an earlier bus will avoid the traffic bottlenecks onto and off of LSD.
Montrose Bus to Red line.
Pros: Shortest trip to a bus stop/train station. No Belmont transfer wait. More likely to get a Red line seat if I get on north of Belmont.
Cons: Flax suggested this route, so I’ll try it, but it wasn’t one I initially considered to be a great idea. I’ve had bad experiences using a bus-to-Red method on the north and south sides (Belmont and Garfield Ave). One of the delay factors on the Brown line-Red line route is waiting for the Red to show up at Belmont, especially when a northbound Brown cuts off the southbound Red. Taking the Red from Montrose won’t make the train run faster, though I will avoid waiting around outside for the connection. Because the official three-line slow zone is on the Red line track between Addison and Armitage, this route maximizes my time in the slow zone.
Damen bus to Chicago bus.
Pros: Won’t have to worry about highway traffic. Very short walk to bus stop. If I leave early, I can check out some of the new cafes in West Town. No relying on red or brown line.
Cons: Ass out of the way. I mean, really ass out of my way. Bit of a walk from Chicago Ave to work (though not as long as it is from the Merch Mart to work). I have no clue how regular the Chicago bus is. Based on how packed I've seen it on the weekeneds, I suspect Chicago Avenue can be a hot mess in the morning.
But hey, I initially didn't believe that heading into the heart of the city and using two buses to get from Lakeview to Hyde Park would be quicker than the Red and the 55 bus, and you know what? The 146 to the 2 or 6, connecting at Lake and State were WAY faster than the Red and the 55. So I'm hoping for a surprise here.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Notes on a list, and a new project.
So I contributed to my friend's column this week (and next week) at DeadOn (it's a group of Deadspin commenters writing about pop culture) about music made by women in the 90s (thus the thoughts about it earlier in this blog).
Thoughts:
-Part I of the list was mostly compiled by the time I got involved. My main input on this part of the list was insisting that he mention Elastica stole their song from Wire and suggesting that including Veruca Salt without the Breeders was kinda insane, since Veruca Salt lifted the Breeder's deal wholesale.
-I do like "Connection" and some Veruca Salt well enough, though.
-My suggestions for Part II (and maybe III?) of the list included Liz Phair, P.J. Harvey, Throwing Muses, Cibo Matto, Bjork, Luscious Jackson, and a number of other folks I've now forgotten. I know a song from one of these will be in Part II, because I wrote the blurb for it.
Now onto far less exciting matters: Mass Transit! In case you don't live in Chicago: the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority, though I usually replace the first word with "Clusterf***") will be drastically reducing capacity on one of the most-navigated portions of its track for the next few years, with the intent of making the several stations along this corridor shiny, new, and capable of carrying more people around. This starts next week; the CTA has been using the slogan "Leave Early, Leave Late, Alternate" to encourage people to avoid peak transit times or take the bus. Nobody in Chicago thinks this is going to work.
So I will be running a series of tests of this slogan. It will be hard for me to leave late, since I have to be at work at 8, but I can do the other two.
Clusterf*** Transit Authority Experiment
Hypothesis: The CTA is completely screwed, and it's going to take forever to get anywhere no matter what you do.
Trial 1, "Leave Early".
Notes:
According to the CTA's own maps, transit from my apartment (nearest to the currently-closed Montrose Brown line stop; three blocks from Damen Brown line stop) should take about 30 minutes. I decide to leave my apartment around 5:55 am, figuring that if I do manage to make it downtown in 30 minutes, I can just go to the gym.
The construction that is supposed to substantially increase travel times has not yet begun; this is just an intial trial before the whole mess starts on 4/2/07.
According to the CTA's travel planner, I should get on the 6:12 am Brown line train, transfer at Belmont to the 6:22 am Red line train, and arrive at Grand and State at 6:36 am. Plenty of time for cardio!
Results:
6:05: I see what may be the 6:04 southbound Brown line pass as I enter the station. Note that I should try to catch this train in the future.
6:28: Next southbound Brown line arrives at Damen. Two northbound trains had arrived in the interim.
6:35: Brown line arrives at Belmont, which is faster than estimated by CTA trip planner. Two stations between Damen and Belmont are currently closed, with another closing soon; this could explain the accelerated time.
6:55: Southbound Red line train finally arrives. Multiple trains from almost all the other lines pass by during this time.
7:15: I arrive at Grand and State (20 minutes instead of CTA's predicted 16 on the Red; brief delay at Chicago stop). Just enough time to do 10 minutes of pilates and then go to work.
So far, not so great. I figure 6:05 is earlier than rush, right?
Monday, March 26, 2007
My indie-rock book title: "All Downhill from Here"
Problem: I am not reading many books lately.
Cause: Recent magazine obsession (Real Simple! Interweave! Rowan! Vogue Knitting! Back issues of the Believer! Gourmet! Good Mag!); incessant, crazed knitting; loss of book weight that allowed me to read while knitting; desire to walk around while weather is nice.
Solution: Read more books, I suppose.
Problem: Those books that I am reading are all about rock music.
Cause: Rock is awesome. Books about rock music are quite frequently also awesome.
Solution: Back to reading C.V. Wedgewood’s The Thirty Years War, which is awesome in its own way.
Problem: C. V. Wedgewood’s The Thirty Years War is wonderful, well-researched, well-written, and interesting, but is not optimal travel reading. I was on an airplane or in an airport for massive amounts of time this weekend.
Cause: It’s dense! It’s heavy! I doesn’t stay open on my lap! Half the people are named the same thing, and there are a bazillion people in the book!
Solution: Back to reading about rock music.
I saw John Sellers’ Perfect From Now On (woo, Built to Spill reference!) in the window of a bookstore in Harvard Square early Saturday afternoon, and I finished it as our plane landed in Chicago on Sunday. It is quite entertaining if you’re the sort that listened to crappy music in early adolescence and eventually moved up to indie. It is also especially entertaining if you like GBV, as it covers the last few months of that band’s existence. Summary review: think Chuck Klosterman, only with even better taste in music (these days, at least) and less bitterness about past girlfriends.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Rocking While Knitting: Camera Obscura
Angora sweater: Done! Done! Sweet fancy Moses, done!
Here's some detail on the tasseled midsection, which I am not entirely thrilled about (it's the only shaping for the waist), but is cute in and of itself:
Details:
Pattern: Tiffany from Louisa Harding Winter Muse Collection
Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, bought at Nina
Needles: Size 6 Addi Turbos, with some work done on Crystal Palace size 3 bamboos
Adjustments to pattern: None. May have made it one size too large, but it's comfy.
Now for the rocking. Something about this sweater kept reminding me of Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura (and Camera Obscura in general) for some reason. I listened to a good deal of Camera Obscura while making it. If you don't know them--think a little Belle & Sebastian (their songwriter produced CO's first album), and a lot of female spunkiness. And therefore, I offer you two songs to go with my sweater pics, both from the latest CO album (good for the next 7 days):
Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken
Let's Get Out of This Country
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
This month in knitting.
I have been knitting. Really! Here's the evidence:
FO: Mini-Clapotis
Pattern: Clapotis, of course!
Yarn: Tilli Thomas Disco Lights, 1 skein
Needles: size 7 Inox
Mods: Only two increase/decrease rows; I knit the straight rows until I ran out of yarn.
Clapotis is the famous Kate Gilbert pattern. I only had one skein of this yarn (which is lovely, but not cheap), so I only did 2 pattern width repeats and made it very, very short. Still, the recipient likes it, so I'm happy. I enjoyed getting the chance to work with the yarn, without the guilt of keeping the result.
Works in Progress:
Angora sweater
I also have a sleeve for this sweater floating around. I'm halfway through the second sleeve, which means I should be done... just in time for it to be seasonally-inappropriate!
Bamboo Jacket:
So yeah, that's about it for now. Coming soon, though... My review of the Colourmart sample kit! Look at all the goodies I got for $5:
Organization, Music
I'm almost done with the soon-to-be-seasonally inappropriate angora sweater. That's all I'm gonna say about knitting for now.
Random act of memory: Susan is owed a 33 1/3 book from the M*****F***ing contest. Susan, which do you want?
Moving on: I have a new computer! I can load music onto my iPod again! I'm in the process of putting my stacks and stacks of CDs onto my iPod, and it's just in time for spring, when a girl's thoughts return to when she used to be a malfeasant pre-teen (if the girl is me). Perhaps it's because I can finally listen to it while walking around, but I'm beginning to suspect that The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America is just as much a spring album as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a winter one.
As for other music I'm listening to: for reasons I won't divulge right now, I have been listening to a lot of music that is (1) 10ish years old and (2) made by women. I'm gonna link these to YSI files tonight, but for right now, descriptions:
Know Your Chicken and Sugar Water by Cibo Matto. I think KYC was more popular, but I like Sugar Water better, and it has a great Michel Gondry video. Everything sounded like Cibo Matto a couple years after this album; possibly because M. Hatori worked on a lot of records, including the first Gorillaz album.
Bright Yellow Gun by Throwing Muses. This was their biggest single when I was listening to college radio in the mid-90s. I had previously been a big fan of a lot of antiseptic, asexual folkie-type lady-music (hello, 10,000 Maniacs); this was all nice and good, but as a teenage girl realizing just how much trouble I could make, it was also quite revelatory to hear K. Hersh's amazing, dangerous-sounding voice. Also, they named an album The Real Ramona. Mad props for that.
(Aside--Tanya Donnelly left/got kicked out of Throwing Muses and Breeders before each of their biggest commercial successes. Poor thing. Belly did fairly well, though, and hers was one of the two Seventeen interviews I remember finding interesting during my grandmotherly-imposed subscription to that magazine. The other was Jon Stewart, back when he had a talk show on MTV.)
PJ Harvey--just in general. I love the production on To Bring You My Love (am I right in believing Down by the Water was her biggest single in the 90s?); I guess the term differentiating it from Rid of Me and Dry would be not-scary. But the two earlier albums are great, too.
So yeah... talk to me about your spring-celebration music, or music made by women ten years ago, or whatever.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
More for my reference than anyone else's...
Here's the list of sweaters I would like to make for the Sweater-a-Month KAL. I am, of course, already behind schedule.
Jan: Hourglass (done)
Feb: Men’s Raglan (nearly done)
Mar: Tiffany Angora (partway done)
Apr: Glade (yarn on the way)
May: Serrano (yarn in stash)
June: Bamboo project (yarn here)
July: Basalt (1/7th done)
Aug: TBD (Picovoli? If so, have yarn)
Sept: Lichen (yarn here)
Oct: Sorrel (yarn here)
Nov: Cabled pullover for Stepmom (have the yarn)
Dec: TBD (but if I make it out of Black Andean silk or Silk Garden, I have the yarn already, sigh)
So yeah... I have a lot of yarn. This doesn't count any yarn not currently allotted to a project or yarn in quantities smaller than sweater-level. Therefore, I am going to make the following non-binding stash-controlling vow: I shall not buy more yarn until the Knitting Workshop summer sale.
Unless it's a really good deal.
Or I really want it.
Bold, I know. But I will try. Unless Loopy gets that sock knitting circle going. And... umm... roving's not yarn. Yeah.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Oscar Party 2007: The Food
(At least the food I made. Everyone else made fabulous stuff, too.)
So, on the theory that I should make at least as much food as my friend Susan, who was coming from many miles away on public transit, I made candied bacon (from Gourmet last month; meant as a garnish, but I used it as a nibble), bacon ganache truffles (have to do something with all that bacon fat), and lavender-vanilla cupcakes with meyer lemon buttercream.
Candied Bacon:
I tripled the recipe, which meant a lot of standing in front of the stove mid-day on Sunday. However, I got to break in my new cast iron skillet. Hooray, cast iron skillet! I may be getting a cast iron dutch oven soon.
Main hassle: Pouring the fat out of the skillet one-handed. That's a test of forearm strength.
Bacon Ganache Truffles:
Really easy, and shamelessly stolen from Schwa, a restaurant Mr. Z and I went to last month. Basically, make a 1-to-1 ratio ganache, but replace 2/3 of the cream with bacon fat. These truffles are more solid than my usual ones, because bacon fat is solid at a cool room temperature. I rolled them in demarara sugar and paprika. Smoky and yum.
Lavender-Vanilla Cupcakes:
Used Donna Hays' cupcake recipe, doubled, which is basically "throw everything in electric mixer, walk away for four minutes". I used vanilla sugar, doubled the vanilla, and tossed in 2 tsps of food-grade lavendar buds.
Meyer Lemon Buttercream:
I used Jacques Torres' Basic Buttercream (cut in half), with some revisions: I added the cold butter in smaller batches, and at the end I added a ton of Meyer lemon rind, a little juice, and a dash of lemon extract.
Frosted the cupcakes, sprinkled more lavender buds on top. Ta-da!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Reading, drinking, knitting
Finished the 33 1/3 books on Loveless and Neil Young's Harvest.
Loveless: Maybe it's best/to get a little rest/and not drug up while making your album.
Harvest: Neil Young sure is crazy/and Harvest may be lazy/but it sure has some mighty fine tunes.
Moving on, time to introduce:
Not that there are many details right now (look for the topic on the Knittyboard if you want to join in), but isn't the pic nice? My lovely roommate rigged it up in no time flat. Isn't he talented? He's also a lawyer! But nice! I know!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Knitting update!
FOs:
I finally wrapped up my first sweater of the year, Hourglass from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in Rowan Kid Classic. As I mentioned, major surgery was needed. Here's a before pic:
As we can see, HUGE neckline. What you can't see in the photo is that the sleeves are beyond wrist-length, and have moved right into the realm where they skim the second knuckle of my middle finger.
So, I ripped out the hem on top, reduced a lot more, bound off regularly. Ripped out the sleeves to 3/4 length, crochet cast-off. Just for kicks, I also took the hem out of the bottom and bound it off regularly, because I don't mind the rolling and wanted it to match the top. And so...
There! First finished sweater of the year.
Also, I finished my first pair of socks.
Pattern: Anastasia Socks
Yarn: Nova Socks by Fleece Artist
Needles: Well, I meant them to be US 2's, but the LYS didn't tell me Addi US 2's are actually 3.00 mm, so... 3mm dpns
This was a nice, easy toe-up pattern. I recommend it for beginners. I switched to Figure 8 cast-on and just built the toe up from there instead of doing the provisional cast-on with short rows. I also took 4 stitches out (one between each eyelet repeat, two from the bottom) when I realized I was knitting with bigger needles than I should've been. Bad local yarn store! You are there to give me information!
I also learned to spin this weekend. My first batch was really bad, but the silk I spun (thanks, secret pal, for the roving!) was much better. I also bought some yummy Fleece Artist roving at Loopy, but I'm going to save that until I'm better at spinning. I'll be getting a nicer spindle and some undyed training fiber on payday, I think.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
First off: Almost done with the 33 1/3 book on Loveless. Halfway through City of Glass by Paul Auster. Waiting for Jan to finish the nifty-looking NYRB Press book about the Thirty Years' War.
But back to knitting.
It is rather difficult to do yarnovers and decreases in the blind dark, while sleep deprived, but I managed to do it. I have a full hexagon done on the Basalt tank, all of which was completed at B-Fest. I also have several more inches on the monotonous but cute angora sweater, although I coat myself in fuzz every time I knit on that. I have two socks above the heel flap; they aren't from the same pair, but hey, two socks, right?
Right now, though, my main focus is de-Flashdancing the Hourglass Sweater. Taken in 5.5" from each sleeve: Check. Crochet cast-off sleeves: Check. Pulled hem line from bottom hem: Check. Now, I have to cast off the bottom in a regular fashion, then pull out the top hem, knit it up higher, and crochet cast-off up top, too. Nice and tight, that crochet cast-off.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Sweater/Knitting Update.
Not much progress on the sweaters this week. Well, I’m still working on the interminable yoke for the Men’s Sweater, and have allegedly hemmed the top of the Hourglass. Problems with further progress on these two:
- Both of them are so large now that they are burdensome to carry around and knit in public.
- It is hard to knit a sweater for a person you don’t want to see the sweater when you’re always around the person.
- Stupid, stupid me! I must always remember to Google “(pattern name) problems” before I start into knitting it. I should’ve especially known better about the Hourglass from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, since I knew there was a problem with the Men’s Raglan Zip-Up pattern as written. But noooo, so I got all the way to hemming the top and learned of the “Flashdance Problem”. That is, the neckline is difficult to keep on both shoulders. Sure, the 80s are back, but I’d like my wool/mohair sweaters to keep me covered. Cranky Uncle Greg actually laughed at me when I tried this sweater on over my shirt at Pub Trivia. This is becaus CUG is a DICK.
And so... I’m ripping it out, back to the turning row for the hem at least, and will knit in a ribbed neckline of some sort. I now have to decide whether I should match the ribbing on the lower hem and cuffs, too. I’m glad I did a provisional cast-on with both of those, so this choice won’t involve ripping out my cast-on.
Also, I discovered socks this week. Bad.
I’m going to a 24-hour B movie marathon from tonight to tomorrow night. I have a bag full of knitting projects to work on, with a range of difficulties so I can move to a 2x2 rib scarf by the time I can no longer function fully. This bag includes the Tiffany angora sweater and the Basalt tank, so I’ll get some sweater work done.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
2007.4: Highway 61 Revisited (33 1/3) by Mark Polizzotti
A good book about my favorite Dylan album. This is one of those basic 33 1/3 books, with lots of background stuff about the recording sessions, and gossip about the likely subjects of many of the songs. It makes me want to delve further into the Dylan Encyclopedia I received at Christmas.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Sweater a Month/Knit Update
I have no pictures right now because my computer's busted and JZ took his camera with him out of town, so it's a text-only update.
Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts: I have precious little to go on this one, actual-knitting-wise. A couple more rows on the yoke, the turning row for the hem, a few more rows there, and then it's on to the finishing, which mainly entails hemming everything.
Man's Raglan Zip-Up: I'm on the 2nd sleeve, after which it's the yoke. And... I also need to get around to buying the zipper to sew into it, but I'm waiting to block it out before I do that.
Angora pullover: Stopped working on this to focus on the first two, so still about 4" into the first side.
Many, many other projects: Pretty much same as I was (aka, did nothing on them this week).
I'll be going to a movie marathon tomorrow, and will then be going to a BIG movie marathon the weekend after that, so I'm going to try to crank out some easy projects while there.
Monday, January 15, 2007
2007.3: Consider the Lobster, David Foster Wallace
Well, I really like DFW's essay work, so I really liked this. I was amazed that the essay about lobsters, which featured many paroxysms of conscience about eating animals, actually ran in Gourmet. Also, the John McCain story, while entertaining, is still incredibly long and hard to get through, even the second time around. Randomly enough, a company briefly mentioned in his article on talk radio (Arbitron, a Nielsen-style radio ratings system) just called the office this morning, thinking this was a private line.
Are you bored with reading what I'm reading? Would reading the same kind of list, only by a famous dude with a killer Jewfro, be more fun for you? If so: What Art Garfunkel has been reading, 1968-present (found on Bookslut).
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Reasons Consider the Lobster was not the first book I read in 2007:
- Holy (insert expletive of choice here)
. The John McCain article is this long? I already read an abridged version of this monster in Rolling Stone seven years ago, and it was super-long then. - I left it at my apartment and instead read other things before I went back there.
- The airline tickets I’m redeeming for AAdvantage miles are my bookmark, and I can’t redeem them online until next week.
Anyhow, moving on:
2007.1: The Female Thing by Laura Kipnis. It was fun, it was bitchy, it was smart. I like her work and don’t quite understand the people who complain that she offers no answers. She does offer an answer, it’s just that her answer seems to be the adoption of a Marxist-Socialist regime.
2007.2: 69 Love Songs: A Field Guide (33 1/3) by LD Beghtol. It’s written by one of the vocalists on the album. It includes a crossword puzzle and features two references to Nancy Mitford. I don’t understand how Susan hasn’t read this yet.
