Archive for September 2008

Do You Taunt Me On Purpose Or Do You Just Roll Like That?

By on September 9, 2008

Parcelforce, the bane of my British existence.

2005: Box with my collection of Alasdair Gray First Editions goes missing. Parcelforce either forgot to attempt delivery or to leave a collection card. Boyfriend bravely battles his way to a remote depot, doing excellent postal kung-fu and leaves with my precious books in his arms.

2006: Christmas presents go missing, Parcelforce insists they’ve been delivered when I phone them for the fifth time (the other times the presents didn’t exist on their system), December 29 our downstairs neighbour comes home from holiday to discover that our presents had been left with her for no apparent reason. No card or notices, of course.

2007: Another overseas “surprise” present goes missing. Parcelforce claims incorrect address when confronted with tracking number. Another delivery attempt obviously not attempted. We have to paid for extra special delivery – and our correct address is printed in big, black letters on the top of the box. We are not amused. Especially not me who may have given Parcelforce the URL of the Danish postal service, just for kicks.

2008: Where is my red alpaca-silk yarn, you freaky Parcelforce people?

Stay tuned.

This entry is filed under Personal, yarn and tagged , , . | 3 Comments

Patrick Wolf- Danzing

By on September 7, 2008

Patrick Wolf does Eurovision! (the 2007 offering from Ukraine, worryingly enough)

This entry is filed under Asides and tagged .

And So the Football Season Picked Up Its Golden Armour..

By on September 7, 2008

Can we agree on an ban on the word “epic” in the following context: “Cousin, however, scored an epic goal..”?

Let’s look at the definition of “epic”:

Pronunciation: \ˈe-pik\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos word, speech, poem — more at voice
Date: 1589

1: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic (an epic poem)
2 a: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope (his genius was epic — Times Literary Supplement)

Thus, a football season of normal duration or a regular goal cannot be described as “epic”, dear BBC Scotland football commentator. And I’m going to hit you with a hardback copy of The Iliad next time you employ the word incorrectly. And that will cause you epic pain, believe me.

This entry is filed under Scotland and tagged , , , . | 4 Comments

Put Those Fangs Away, Mr Propp

By on September 5, 2008

I’m toying with the idea of reading a couple of articles in From Homer to Hypertext: Studies in Narrative, Literature and Media. And I’m very amused that Amazon recommends ‘laurell k. hamilton’, ‘paranormal romances’ and ‘dark hunter series’ as similar products. I now have a vision of narratologists sinking their sharpened fangs into the alabaster necks of unsuspecting guest lecturers..

.. okay, no more coffee for me today.

Ps. I accidentally ordered some red alpaca/silk worsted weight the other day. First yarn purchase in a month! Any good ideas for cardigans or sweaters?

This entry is filed under Popular Culture, Print Culture, yarn and tagged , , . | 1 Comment

Old Boys’ Club

By on September 4, 2008

Aspiring authors of the Anglophone persuasion, take note:

Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin, (..) gets four or so [manuscripts] a week – despite a note on the website that declares “Sadly, we’re unable to consider unsolicited manuscripts. The best way to find a publisher is through an agent.” These four are given to people in the office for a week or two on work experience; if they think there’s any merit in the submission, it goes to publishing director Simon Prosser or one of his permanent colleagues. Yet nothing in the past 10 years has actually ended up in print that way. The only books that have been published and not arrived via an agent were recommended by friends in the publishing industry, or by Hamish Hamilton’s writers, “which is slightly different, because there is some connection,” says Prosser.

Aida Edemariam, an editor, has something to say about authors, agents and the publishing industry. The rules are slightly different in Denmark but not as different as you might expect.

This entry is filed under Literature, News, Print Culture and tagged , , .

“Antimatter’s Sort Of Matter’s Evil Twin..”

By on September 3, 2008

Via my Other Half, I bring you The Large Hadron Rap. Yes, the wacky nice physicists at the CERN project have written a rap which explains what exactly it is that the Large Hadron Collider does.

I tell you, physicists rock. And throw some ace moves too.

This entry is filed under Music, Science and tagged , , . | 2 Comments

Hurricane Season

By on September 2, 2008

For some reason this escaped my attention: three years after Hurricane Katrina, Banksy visits New Orleans.

I still remember my friend E. sitting in her Copenhagen flat with the post-Katrina issue of Newsweek/Time. She opened the magazine, looked at the aerial photo of New Orleans and put her finger on a completely devastated area: “That is where I lived until just recently.” She had worked in New Orleans during Hurricane Ivan and had decided not to endure another hurricane season.

io9 has an interesting photo feature on Hurricane Gustav: “New Orleans is fast becoming one of the most disaster-prepared cities in the world..”

This entry is filed under Art, News and tagged , , .

Where To Go From Here

By on September 2, 2008

When I was a teenager, I had to rely on the local library for instructions on how to knit sweaters. I never did make one, although I crocheted a rainbow coloured top out of granny squares. Nowadays there are a plethora of sources, both on the internet and in my local magazine pusher.

Knitty is the mother of all free pattern sites. It features young designers and designs that are both versatile, wearable and fairly easy. Clapotis has become ubiquitous, it seems.

MetaPostModernKnitting is quite new and I love it. I love how they have a clear fashion editorial style, how they think about emerging trends and how they pull it all together in trend reports. It’s clever, it’s fashion forward and it’s very cool. I’m seriously considering their Prism sweater although the construction is unlike anything I’ve attempted before. The designer kindly mailed me to say that a) she liked my projects file on Ravelry (!) and b) she knew I could pull it off. Thank you, Caroline.

Knotions is a UK-based site designed to replace an earlier one called Magknits which was inexplicably pulled down one day in an apparent hissy fit by its Hipknits owners – I quickly decided never to deal with the Hipknits people after seeing how poorly they handled that situation (as well as other situations). not associated with anybody but itself. US-based but feeling international, Knotions is currently on its second issue. I’m considering making Autumn Leaves in red grey with a few modifications.

Popknits is a completely new site with vintage inspired garments. I’m waiting to see where they take this ‘vintage inspired’ site before deciding whether or not I like them. Yes, I’m on the fence.

The Twist Collective does not offer free patterns, but it offers some very, very nice patterns. Little Birds is gorgeous (although I probably wouldn’t be able to wear it).

Any I have missed?

This entry is filed under Purls. | 2 Comments

Ripping Back..

By on September 1, 2008

Word to the wise: never knit whilst talking to your mother over Skype. You may think you’ll be able to easily knit the gull lace pattern of your cardigan whilst going “Mmm..” and “Oh, really?” but afterwards you’ll need to rip back your three rows.

But other than that, my cardigan is coming along nicely and I’m still ignoring that fateful row on my Tracks & Trails shawl.

This entry is filed under Purls. | 1 Comment

Tell Me What It’s All About*

By on September 1, 2008

Monday. So far this Monday has brought me blue skies, sunshine, absolute silence, an important letter and a book which I finished in less than two hours. I like this sort of Monday.

The book was Scarlett Thomas‘s Going Out which easily summed up as a light UK version of early Douglas Coupland novels. I do not know why I’ve read three Scarlett Thomas novels because if you take away the colourful packaging of a) metafiction (“The End of Mr Y”), b) anti-consumerism (“PopCo”) and c) popculture (“Going Out”) you get pretty much the same novel.

New Age health solutions? Check. Schrödinger’s cat? Check. Main protagonist being into her math puzzles? Check. Slightly deviant sexual orientation painted in a fairly vague way? Check. C-category drug use? Check. Vegetarianism or some variant upon it? Check. Internet featuring heavily? Check.

But I still like her novels – particularly PopCo – even if they feel like a Linda McCartney meal. You know, easily digested vegetarian fare with a touch of celebrity to it? Perhaps it’s just because I can see myself being firm friends with the people populating her novels. Perhaps I just want to go for (organic, herbal) tea with Ms. Thomas?

Next on the reading list: I need to finish Iain Pears’ An Instance of the Fingerpost (which isn’t a chore to read, it is just really long) and then Andrew Sean Greer’s The Story of a Marriage. I also have a strange longing for something non-fiction.

* title taken from Supergrass‘s “Going Out” (which I bet Scarlett Thomas has heard once or twice).

This entry is filed under Literature and tagged , , , , . | 1 Comment

« Newer Entries