B is for...

Boston!

I have to say, that of all the major American cities I've been in, I think I liked Boston the best. I was lucky enough to be sent there in February 2007 for a job site nearby, so I took advantage of the time and saw a few highlights.  Please note - I'm saying I was lucky to be sent there, not that it was in February particularly.  It was freakin' freezin' while I was there, honestly, but I was determined to get out and see the town.  I missed the worst of the cold front though - 7 degrees in Boston the morning I flew back home!

I liked that the town was eclectic architecturally.  One of the things I liked about San Francisco too, actually.  In Boston, it wasn't just interesting architecture, but also the very old and the very new.  About as close as I've seen to London (my favorite major city) in the US.  Being a history buff, I like seeing the 300 year old churches and halls tucked away amidst the modern office buildings and townhouses.  And the parks and green spaces too (like the Boston Common, where I'm standing above).  A nice mixed city, not just an overwhelming oppression of skyscrapers.

I also liked that the town was so very walker-friendly.  There was a lot downtown on The Freedom Trail which was very easily accessible.  I know I only saw a tiny portion of the Freedom Trail, but the points on the trail were all within just a few miles of each other.  Tons to see, with good sidewalks to get there.  Granted, it was very chilly too, so it wasn't as crowded as it could have been, but it was still pretty convenient.  And it wasn't just the history that I walked through, but the North End (Boston's Little Italy) as well, as I was headed to Old North Church.  So many restaurants - the whole neighborhood smelled of garlic!  Awesome!

 

I realize that I'm saying that I liked the city based on a two and a half day business trip, but I did like what I was able to see.  And I know I still have tons to see too!  Fenway Park, of course, and  Harvard (yes, I  do know it's in Cambridge, not Boston, but they're adjacent towns, and I gotta see the 'competition' at least once...).  And the rest of the Freedom Trail, and Bunker Hill.  The Boston Public Library was the first large municipally funded library in America, so a professional interest there ;)  The New England Aquarium is one of the very acclaimed ones, and I am a sucker for a good aquarium.  The Boston Pops would be fun, and the Mapparium (a 30-ft globe you can walk inside of) seems like something Zach, the lover of maps, would enjoy too.  And the famous Duck Tours, and the Science Museum, and the MFA, and... I'm sure I could go on for ages.  Yes, yes, still much to see in Boston.  Gotta make it back there one of these days!

A is for

Appomattox!  Or, as my husband and his family drawl out, "Ap'mad'ox."  Location of Zach's family's farm!

I don't know if this really counts as "travel" since it's also considered Home for us, with Zach's folks still living there, but seeing as it's not where I grew up, I still think it counts as travel for me.  Certainly almost a foreign country sometimes to my little suburban self  ;)

 

And, strangely enough, I have yet to be to the Appomattox Court House, the town's (county's) whole claim to fame!  When we make it back east, we're too busy with family stuff (like learning to drive the tractors, as shown in the pictures above, Aug 2009) to spend time playing tourist!

Review: Goodfellas

For my Valentine's Day movie review, we have a syrupy-sweet romantic comedy.  Nope, not here.  How about a tragic romance?  No again.  Instead, I present you my thoughts on Goodfellas.

Plot:  Based on a true story, Goodfellas follows the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a small time gangster in 1960's and 70's New York, along with his friends Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito.  Jimmy and Tommy, more unstable and more ambitious than Henry, gradually climb the ladder from petty crime to bigger and more violent ventures.  After an extended jail sentence, Henry begins to sneak around the back of the local mob boss, Paulie Cicero, venturing into the drug trade and starting on the slippery slope to his downfall.  

I also liked the IMDB summary provided by Dustin B.  

The lowly, blue-collar side of New York's Italian mafia is explored in this crime biopic of wiseguy Henry Hill. As he makes his way from strapping young petty criminal, to big-time thief, to middle-aged cocaine addict and dealer, the film explores in detail the rules and traditions of organized crime. Watching the rise and fall of Hill and his two counterparts, the slick jack-of-all-trades criminal Jimmy Conway and the brutish, intimidating Tommy DeVito, this true story realistically explores the core, blue-collar part of the mob. 

A perfect date movie, right?  

I like crime movies, but this one was so-so for me.  I dunno, I liked it but I don't think it's one for the shelf.  It's definitely one to see, though.  There's just so many quotes that come from this movie!  Most notably the famous " I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh?" scene, which has been referenced by everything from Hannah Montana to MST3K.  But the narration and some of the camera work too have been referenced and imitated by movies to follow.  I guess that's really the biggest reason to see it, to see the starting point for so many movies to follow.

For the acting, overall it's very solid.  Robert DeNiro is a little heavy handed, but that's been known to happen.  I still think my favorite movie of his is The Godfather II, but his Jimmy is another memorable character.  Ray Liota's transformation from wide-eyed petty crook to paranoid drug addict is very well done.  Henry has an innocence and often tries to play mediator between regular people and his more violent acquaintances, but at the same time, fits the darker world there, like when he beats up Karen's neighbor.  Liotta does a very good job balancing the two.  And it is his narration which holds the movie together.  As a negative note, I do have to say, I don't like his laugh.  Nothing he can help, I know, but it just bugged me...  But it's Tony DeVito, Joe Pesci's character, he of the "Am I funny?" fame, who's really, really worth watching.  I really liked the scenes with Spider, especially the second one.  The way he doesn't react at first is colder, scarier, creepier than some of his other outbursts.

Like Scorsese's other crime movies, this isn't an 'upper' of a movie (think The Departed).  The mafia and violence isn't glamorized. It starts out that way, as Henry starts out as a teenager and twenty-something.  He has backstage passes to clubs, the airport is "just like Citibank," and anything they want, they take.  But as Henry ages and sees more of The Business, you get to see as well how dirty it all is, and how dirty he becomes.  Especially by the end, when he's paranoid and strung out... certainly not an image to aspire to.

Thinking about it, I think there needs to be at least one or two relatively sane characters in the dark movies I like.  Here, I just didn't like any of the characters enough to want to revisit them often.  Violent psychopaths, uncharismatic drug addicts, murderous thugs... just nothing drawing me back to this world again.  I think that's really why I don't see this one on my shelf anytime soon.

Overall:  3 of 5.  I liked it, and it's well done, but not one for my shelf.  I liked The Departed and the Godfather trilogy better for my serious gang movies :)  Still, it's very well done, well acted, and if nothing else, you need to watch it to see the original source of so many pop culture references.

A little belated, but here we go again!

Am tackling the ABC-along again this year - I just have too much fun with it!  It's a little belated start, but January kinda got away from me, so we'll have a few letters squeezed in quickly and then back on schedule :)  Again, the goal is to try and stay on track (I know I had a bunch of back-dated posts to the end of last year, as the holidays closed in on me!).  

This year, my theme will be travel!  Very appropriate as we finish up our time in CA this year and head to a new state this summer!

A January 1 -January 14

B January 15 -January 28

C January 29 - February 11

D February 12 - February 25

E February 26 - March 11

F March 12 - March 25

G March 26 - April 8

H April 9 - April 22

I April 23 - May 6

J May 7 - May 20

K May 21 - June 3

L June 4 - June 17

M June 18 - July 1

N July 2 - July 15

O July 16 - July 29

P July 30 - August 12

Q August 13 - August 26

R August 27 - September 9

S September 10 - September 23

T September 25 - October 7

U October 8 - October 21

V October 22 - November 4

W November 5 - November 18

X November 19 - December 2

Y December 3 - December 16

Z December 17 - December 31

Well, that's the schedule.  Since we're already in February, though, A-C will be posted in the next few days, and then rest, following as planned :)

Off we go!

Review: The Mouse that Roared

This one is a more obscure on that popped up on Netflix recommendations, one of those 'you like those, so why not this?'  So, here you go:  The Mouse that Roared.

Plot:  The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the world's smallest country, is being run bankrupt when their sole export, Pinot Grand Fenwick (their local wine), is undercut on the US market by a CA knock-off.  Their solution to the problem?  Declare war on the US!  What will  happen to Grand Fenwick  when they declare war?  And what would happen should they win?

As you might imagine from the plot summary, it's a pretty silly movie.

Peter Sellars is hysterical.  Another movie where he's playing multiple roles - practice for Dr. Strangelove a few years later? :)  Tully Bascombe (Seller's 'main' character) could have been very slapstick, but he's played really very normally, which makes it even funnier when he wins the war ("The dear boy meant well")!

There are a few points where the movie drags a little, and the special effects and cinematography aren't much to write home about, but that's not really the point of the movie.  Overall, it's a mix of some subtle writing and some surreal moments (20 men in chain mail walking around NYC, anyone?).  In short, a good British comedy!

Like I've repeated, it's a very silly movie, but it's even funnier when, watching it 50 years later, you realize how much is still applicable! "There's nothing better for a country's economy than to lose a war with the United States."

Overall:  4 of 5.  Not as consistently funny as some classic comedies, but definitely more good moments than not, and several laugh out loud moments too. Definitely worth seeing at least once!

Another test knit

Another test knit from Ravelry.  I thought I wouldn't do one this month, as I have other projects I'm trying hard to finish too, but this one was just too good to pass up.

 

First thoughts:  This hat is so cute!!

Second thought:  My eyes look very green in this picture.

Now for additional thoughts :)

The pattern is Carom, by hunter over at Violently Domestic.  It's available as a Ravelry download.  The pattern includes 2 variations on the same stitch pattern - this one, where the pattern is worked over a larger number of stitches, and another one with a narrower version of the pattern, repeated more times around the hat.  You can see pictures of both variations on the Ravelry pattern page.

My project is raveled here.  I used Rowan Rowanspun DK on US 6 needles, with a gauge of 5 st/inch.  I worked a medium hat in pattern A (the larger stitch pattern of the two variations in the pattern).

The pattern is very intuitive.  That's really the best word to describe it. It flows beautifully.  I used the chart for the first 12 rows or so of the pattern, and then the next 36 were just reading my knitting.  This might not be a great project for a beginner, as all the YOs and twisted stitches might make it harder to keep an even gauge, and it does require comfort with chart reading.  For an advanced beginner or intermediate knitter, however, it'd make a great project to practice how to read one's knitting (looking where the YOs and decreases are to remind yourself what comes next, instead of constantly depending on the actual chart).

 

Rowan Rowanspun DK is unfortunately discontinued.  After working with it, I definitely second the thoughts of a lot who are asking "why the heck discontinue this yarn??"  It was available in a nice range of tweedy color, and is a good, non-itchy wool.  I used the lavender colorway.  I found this in the sale bin at the yarn shop in Cambridge during my last trip to the UK a few years ago.  This hat was a perfect use for a 'one-skein wonder' like this lurking in your stash!

This yarn is a little thinner than I might have used otherwise, but it shows the stitch definition beautifully, though a little more open that I'd thought it would.  Still, it works as a nice lightweight hat, and I'm very pleased with it.  The only thing I think I still need to do is re-block the hat to see if I can settle the stitches a little more, even out those YOs.  I kinda rushed the first blocking so that I could have it finished to take pictures for the test knit deadline - my own fault entirely.  But it's a wool yarn, so re-blocking is easy :)

The Rowanspun comes in a 218 yd skein, and this hat used about half of it.  I say about, as I do not have a detailed scale to tell me more precisely how much I used.  I think I still have a little less than half a skein left.  I am thinking of working a cowl to match this hat.  I like the travelling stitch pattern, and this hat pattern would transpose well to a cowl, methinks :)  I shall post the results when I've actually worked it!

DIY Knitting Accessories: Yet another stitch marker post :)

Wire stitch markers this time!

Inspired by the winter stitch marker swap for Recycled/Repurposed Items, I felt inclined to give wrapped wire stitch markers a try.  I'd seen this post on wikiHow on how to make stitch markers (non-beaded) out of wire which is available on spools, with a little side note on how paper clips can also be used.  In an end of the year, office supply special, I found a box of brightly colored paper clips, so felt inclined to give it a try.  Personally, the paperclips are better than the wire spools, as they are very cheap, brightly colored (so therefore much more fun) and you don't have to deal with the hassle of cutting them.

So, here you go, my own little tutorial version.  I apologize for blurriness of some of the pictures - it's very hard getting my basic little point-and-click to focus that zoomed in, when the other hand is holding whatever I'm trying to get a picture of.  :\

Supplies...  Very simple.  About as simple as it gets :)

• Paperclips (obviously the metal kind)
• Pliers
• Large knitting needle

Directions

1.  Unfold paperclips. 

2.  As you can see above, just unfolding the paperclips does not yield a straight piece of wire, but a mostly straight one.  I took my pliers and GENTLY used them to straighten out the folds a little more.  I wanted the wire as straight as possible.

3.  Gripping the very end of the former paperclip in the pliers, wrap the wire closely around the tip of the pliers.  You are creating a curly-cue at the end of the wire.

4.  Repeat on the other end of the wire.  Try and make these curls as tight as possible.  The tighter they are, the less space there is for your yarn to snag on them.

5.  Using a large, solid knitting needle, wrap the paper clip around the needle to create the main 'loop' of the stitch marker.  Bring the curls together as you wrap it around the needle.  You want them relatively close, as this will help reduce snagging on the yarn when you use them. Try and center this fold between the curls at the ends of the paperclip - just helps to balance the marker as it hangs on the needle.  You want to use a needle several sizes larger than the size you want the markers to fit on (here, I used a US 15 needle, as I wanted my markers to fit on US 7-11ish needles)

6.  In all the wrapping and folding, the stitch marker may not lay flat.  If this bothers you (as it does me), take the pliers and GENTLY press the curls of the marker flat. 

7.  Tada!  Step back and marvel!  The needle the markers are hanging on in the picture below is a US 11.  As you can see, there is a nice amount of movement for the stitch markers on this size needle.  And remember, these are paperclips, so it's easy to bend them to adjust sizing as needed.