Archive for the Popular Culture Category

Pointilism

By on October 22, 2010

Two things:

  1. Susan Boyle has covered Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. On Oprah.
  2. Neil Finn and I are officially over.

Today was a bleak, rainy Friday, so my partner and I headed out to Mini-Sweden for some Scandi-style retail therapy (and quite successful we were too; I came away with supplies for a secret project of mine). We also helped ourselves to some pseudo-Scandinavian food and all was right with the world. I like Mini-Sweden. It’s clearly an expat-Scandi thing because I never used to be this enthused about heading there. Maybe it is just because I enjoy feeling smug about knowing what the product names mean..

Afterwards D and I swung by a nearby shopping centre to get a few Christmas presents sorted for our Danish family and friends. Whilst caught in retail hell, I decided to try on a few cardigans in preparation for future knitting projects. I’m that glad that I did – and I’m glad that I was yet to get the yarn for a certain crocheted shrug because the shape was really unflattering on me. I have an hourglass figure but cascading fronts + big collar = ‘sack of potatoes’ figure. D has a great eye for what I should wear (I’d hire him to be my personal stylist but he claims he doesn’t want the job) and he had me try on this top instead. Holy moly. I would never have thought I’d look anything but chunky and boxy in that sort of style.. but I looked sexy, stylish and seriously cool. That’s a first.

A few links for your perusal:
+ The first real teaser trailer for Attack of the Herbals. Watch out for the “German” priest – I know that guy!
+ Something nasty is happening in Malmo, Sweden. Sadly I had thought something like this would happen at some point but I had pegged Denmark as the spot. I’m also concerned that it has taken this long for the news to hit the headlines. Bad show, very bad show.
+ Don Paterson on Shakespeare’s sonnets. I’m not fully sold but I’m intrigued.
+ Grading the flags of the world. Hilarious stuff and also a bit educational.
+ The best of the web, fershure: The Ages of English. Super-fabulous look at the development of the English language. Interestingly I can sort-of understand the English spoken circa Viking Settlement. I also like the glimpses into Scots English.
+ Paulina Porizkova, 80s ‘supermodel’, on aging. Very much worth a read.

This entry is filed under linkage, News, Personal, Popular Culture and tagged , . | 2 Comments

Book Cover Versions

By on October 13, 2010

A good friend of mine wondered if she should read Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (coming later this year to a multiplex near you). I warned her that I found the book unbearably bland, despite its good premise. “If there were cover versions of books, could this one benefit from being retooled by another artist?” My friend then asked.

I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of book cover versions.

Going back to Never Let Me Go, I would have liked to have read Iain Banks’ version of it. Not only does Banks understand genre – but crucially he knows how to combine so-called literary fiction and genre fiction. His books are full of messy human emotions, empathy, dehumanisation and raw anger. Banks would write a Never Let Me Go which I would happily read and re-read.

On the same topic: David Mitchell’s version of Tom McCarthy’s C would probably be closer to the “experimental mind-bender” the novel is being marketed as than the actual book is..

Any book cover versions you’d like to read?

A few random links for your perusal:
+ The Future is Now – according to William Gibson
+ Is social media being monitored? Time to rethink all that time you spend trolling the acrylic vs natural wool threads.
+ How to Slice A Bagel Into Two Linked Halves – mathematically correct breakfast, y’all.
+ British artist Banksy’s take on the Simpson’s intro.
+ Necropolis. A webcomic set in an alternate reality Glasgow. What is it about my hometown and alternate realities?
+ Most Unnecessarily Over-dramatic quote Found in the NYT. Ever.

This entry is filed under linkage, Literature, Popular Culture and tagged , , , . | 3 Comments

Geeky Thursday

By on October 7, 2010

I could not resist.

In case you cannot read what it says on the cover: A New Zealand sheep farm .. espionage .. and death.

It does not get better than that – except it does: one of the main (human) protagonists is called .. wait for it .. Flossie.

I know I said I was going to read David Mitchell’s latest next, but that was before I came across this gem. I actually do not think it will as bad as it looks. Ngaio Marsh was an acclaimed female crime writer of the same ilk as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Just don’t ask me how to pronounce her first name as I had been reliably informed by a New Zealand friend it was “Nyree” but the internet claims it is “Nie-oh”. Huh.

The Nobel Prize in Literature is due to be announced today. Nobody really knows what to expect and I am so far out of the literary buzz loop these days that I won’t even offer an opinion. I’m just mildly amused by the number of journalist clinging to whichever name they actually recognise out of the many names bandied about.

In other news, this week I made it to the top of the Glasgow Necropolis for the first time in three years. This is a personal triumph for a number of reasons – but realistically I think I could have done it ages ago. The climb through Mugdock Park was steeper and longer and I managed that without problems. I do not know what held me back from ‘scaling’ the Necropolis because the ascent is really just a gentle slope. Some things just linger in my head as “insurmountable challenges”. Silly, silly Karie.

Finally, if you want to feel stupid, have a go at BBC’s Only Connect quiz. It is a Monday night staple here at Casa Bookish and thankfully(?) there is an online version so you can try the ‘connecting wall’ yourself.

The idea is simple: you get a wall of sixteen clues which you need to sort into four distinct groups. The execution is far less simple because you need to think in all sorts of directions at the same time; clues which may look as though they belong together are simply red herrings. The actual TV quiz is entertaining too and often attracts people quite well-known in their fields. This week saw Geoff Ryman appear (to my Other Half’s geeky delight) with Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell (to Stuart‘s geeky delight).

Enjoy the quiz and do not blame me if you suddenly feel significantly less smart.

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

Guilty Pleasures #231

By on August 21, 2010

My Other Half told me that not everybody remembers the German 1979 Eurovision entry. Which is totally a shame as you are about to find out..

Apparently my mum sprained her wrist trying out the dance moves back in 1979. The apple does not falls far from the tree.

This entry is filed under eurovision, Music, Popular Culture and tagged , , . | 3 Comments

Saturday Muddle

By on August 21, 2010

This is pure unadulterated lust. 1300 yards of peridot green with hints of bronze. Alpaca/merino/silk. Lace. Lust. My brain is galloping through all the relevant patterns. My heart is beating fast. You non-knitters, you have no idea how a knitter’s pulse can race just by looking at some yarn. It is a heady feeling.

Thankfully the yarn is already mine as I actually dyed it myself yesterday afternoon. Woo.

Isn’t it funny how I can always make time for lace knitting even though my knitting schedule is already full? Is that similar to how sock knitters think? Just one more skein of laceweight sock yarn? Just one more shawl pair of monkeys? Maybe I can relate to the sock knitters after all.

I really did not mean to make this yet another post about knitting, but somehow I succumbed. I do have links to share, but first: more knitting!

I finished the first of my The Vicar’s Mitts and I’m overjoyed. Most glove patterns run too big for my ludicrously tiny hands. They are much too wide and then paradoxically too short for the upper part of my hand (“this bit”) which therefore must be longer than the average hand. Witness the joy of designing a pattern that fits you like a .. erm .. uhm .. er..  glove!

If I were to be critical, I’d probably want to extend the corrugated ribbing cuff for added warmth, but I’m thinking a longer cuff would ruin the look. And I love how it looks and fits. I should do this self-designing lark more often. It’s very gratifying.

(I do apologise for the photo. it is the oddest thing: on Ravelry the photo is crisp and beautiful; uploaded to Flickr, the same photo turns overly sharp/defined; here it turns blurry. What gives? And no, the glove hasn’t been blocked which is why it is slightly lumpy.)

So, links.

  • Firstly, a knitting link. I love Patsy. I think a red Patsy & I are meant to be. I have a cunning plan.
  • Persnickety Snark has posted its Top 100 YA Books. Funny how so much YA literature is superior to so-called “grown-up literature” (Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is one of my all-time favourite reads. Ian McEwan’s much-praised Atonement isn’t. ).
  • One of the few sewing blogs I read had a fantastic entry: We Live in a Good Body. I have my own reasons for having assorted body issues, and I found it strangely .. affirming to read Gertie’s entry: “I think so much of our culture is built around the idea of somehow getting another body, as strange as that may sound.(..) I’ve certainly spent plenty of time buying into the idea that I could somehow have a “better body” if I just did something differently. There’s no upgrading to a better body in this lifetime. I already have a body, and it’s a good body.”
  • This Air New Zealand in-flight video made my day. I don’t even think you’d need to be a Kiwiphile to get a kick out of it (although if you are, yes the soundtrack is The Exponents)
  • Karl Lagerfeld amuses me endlessly. I don’t know why. Or maybe I do.
  • AfterElton.com looks at obsessive fandoms. I’m long out of ‘fandom’, but I still have scars to show from my brief journey into X-Files fandom all those years ago. Although I’ve met some great people through my fannish years, I’ve also seen quite a bit of scary behaviour. Really scary behaviour.

And on a final note, I have definitely become Middle Class with a capital Em and Cee. I went out shopping for booze (long story) and I came home with organic ginger beer from a local brewery. Well then.

This entry is filed under Knitting, linkage, Popular Culture, Purls, yarn and tagged . | 3 Comments

Changing

By on August 9, 2010

Ever played the casting game? You take one film or TV series and try to recast it using a specific criteria. One of my favourite ones was the “Lord of the Rings gone Hollywood bad” challenge. That one had Dolph Lundgren as Aragorn and Pam Anderson as Eowyn. My latest recasting involves the Inception cast. Apparently Christopher Nolan presented the idea to a Hollywood film company in 2001. So, if the project had been greenlighted in 2001, who would have played the various characters?

The central character, Cobb, a charismatic action hero with underlying trauma? Tom Cruise, of course. He did Vanilla Sky around the same time and was at the height of his career. As a result, I’d say that Penelope Cruz would be a shoo-in to be the 2001 version of Marion Cotillard. Julia Stiles might work as the young architecture student, now played by Ellen Page, but I struggle when it comes to the other actors. Who would have been the 2001 equivalent of Tom Hardy? Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Cillian Murphy? It’s a silly game but I have been playing it in my head ever since I saw Inception last week (which is a peculiarly fitting way to think about the film, I suppose).

And now for some knitting.

I cast on for Kim Hargreaves’ Opal shawl/scarf last night. I had some Kidsilk Aura in my stash from one of my recent stashing downfalls. The colour is really interesting – it is grey but with a blue undertone. It looks a lot like wet asphalt(!) and also like the colour of the haematite gemstone. Normally I would not touch a colour like that, but I think my Scandinavian minimalist wants out at the moment.

The pattern is incredibly easy – so easy that I decided to mess it up three times by not paying attention to the instructions and just playing it by ear. I find easy patterns the most difficult ones, actually. I got back on track, though, and the shawl is zipping along merrily. I am going to up-size it slightly as a I had a brain-blunder when I ordered my needles. For some reason I ordered 8mm needles instead of 9mm .. and can I just say that the KnitPro acrylic tips are not my favourite? The actual tip of the needle is wonderfully pointy, but the needle itself feels cheap (like bog-standard plastic needles) and the acrylic makes the yarn drag a bit. If I had known, I would just have gone for regular circulars and not expensive interchangeable needle-tips.

Hopefully I will finish it today or tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll stop raining so I can post a photo. Hopefully.

This entry is filed under Knitting, Popular Culture, Purls and tagged , , . | 2 Comments

Midway

By on July 6, 2010

The 4-ply cardigan has been pushed aside for a little gratuitous shawl knitting. The shawl has been worked on and little now and then, but I feel so frustrated with my cardigan that I thought I would give Mosswell (i.e. Aeolian) some love. As always, a shawl actually works up quickly once you pay it some attention. I zipped through the Set-up Edge Chart and am now midway through the Main Edge Chart. Another few rows and I will have a finished object. I feel almost faint.

Still not head-over-heels with the pattern. It is exceedingly well-written, well-charted and well-explained, but it does lack a certain oomph. Perhaps I expected too much from the woman behind Laminaria (still my favourite shawl pattern), but I thought the stitches would flow into each other far more than they are. This is not to say that I am not enjoying knitting my Mosswell (because I am) but it is a different experience to what I had anticipated.

It is also very green which is why Mosswell will be given a little dye-bath once I have bound off. I hope to give a slightly more, er, “mossy” look. If not, I’ll just rename the darn thing. Blackwell. Brownwell. Mudwell.

Oh, I nearly forgot.

Come autumn I will be releasing a couple of patterns for some scarves (just in time for Christmas knitting – you’d think I had planned this).One of the scarf patterns is currently with test knitters, but I thought I would let you catch a glimpse of my swatch. Once Mosswell comes off the needles, I will start working on the scarves in earnest and write more about the design process.

Oh, but for more hours in the day.

A couple of links:

  • The early reviews of Christopher Nolan’s Inception are in – and they are frighteningly GOOD.
  • I chuckled at this list of imperfect Romance heroes/heroines. Oh no, Lady Alys is tall and odd-eyed! Prudence Lancaster is bespectacled and plain!
  • ‘Till Derrida Do Us Part’ is the loveliest thing I read for some time. Other Half read it and said: “your mother would kill you”. I replied: “I’m pondering if having a wedding ceremony just to interrogate the idea of “the vow” would alter the contextual meaning-making of the vow to such a degree that it could no longer be said to be a vow but rather an avowed non-vow?” Then he threw me out of the living room. Men.
  • This method of making iced coffee looks very inviting – and possibly also a bit too daunting to someone whose idea of a good cup o’ java is wholly dependent upon how much sleep she has had.
This entry is filed under linkage, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Purls and tagged . | 6 Comments

Away for the Day

By on May 31, 2010

As today was a Scottish bank holiday, we both had the day off and decided to spend the day in a semi-productive way. We took the bus thirty minutes out of Glasgow and spent the best part of the afternoon walking a tiny part of the West Highland Way through fields of bluebells, hiking up fairly steep slopes and catching our breaths underneath old, gnarled oak trees. A beautiful sunny day with a defiant breeze added to our enjoyment, as did spotting several buzzards flying high over the Campsie Fells.

Next time we will plan ahead, pack a proper picnic basket and maybe even check the map before we head out. We ended up on a bit of a detour involving a massive 19th century water reservoir (pretty, but not what we had in mind) which I’d be quite keen on avoiding on our next adventure.

PS. Eurovision? Wasn’t it exciting?! Congratulations to Germany (who can almost afford to host the event unlike most of the other participants) and a big congratulations to Norway, a fabulous host.

PPS. I have cast on a shawl.

This entry is filed under eurovision, Popular Culture, Scotland and tagged , , . | 2 Comments

With A Slice of Cake & Heaven

By on May 28, 2010

I could not resist showing you a proper photo of how my Harmony cardigan is progressing. I finished the last bit of lace today, so it is all stocking stitch (and sleeve shaping) now. I have trawled Etsy and eBay for some suitable buttons – I know I am only halfway through the first of five pieces, but I have my eye firmly on the end result. I am thinking along the lines of these buttons or possibly these – I will start rummaging through my button boxes(! – it is true. I now have more than one big button box) once I have an idea of just how ornate the cardigan itself will look.

Oh, I love planning.

I think Harmony might be keeping me company during the World Cup in football (i.e. soccer for you non-Europeans). I really liked the Olympics knit-along earlier this year, and Harmony, being both a labour-intensive project and a relatively straightforward knit, would do me just fine as a World Cup project as I cheer for the Danish football team and weep bitterly into my cold buttermilk soup when they lose.

A brief, brief interlude into Eurovision-land: I am going out on a limp here but I think Armenia might be marching towards glory. It is a tentative prediction as this year’s contest is really too close to call, so call this “my gut feeling” prediction more than anything. I would also watch out for Albania (a great slice of electro-pop), Turkey, Georgia, and this year’s surprise contender from Cyprus. Other pundits are leaning towards Israel, but I’m really not getting it,  while the early frontrunner Azerbaijan has come across limp and forced, so surely that is out of the running..?

Finally, there is nothing quite like being pigeon-holed with sweeping generalisations.

Also, this On the Rocks cover is one of the best Lady Gaga cover versions I’ve heard alongside that Paparazzi cover version (stay tuned all the way through the video – it gets better and better). Speaking of Gaga, have you read the Caitlin Moran interview? I had my own heroes when I was seventeen, living in Nowheresville and feeling completely Other, but my heroes were males writing songs from a male perspective (though Otherness arguably did play a part as core members of the band were gay). Later I discovered Polly Jean, of course, but I would have loved to have a prominent woman in pop culture playing hard and fast with mainstream gender perceptions (no, Madonna doesn’t count for several reasons).

Now, excuse me, I have a date with a slice of carrot cake from Auntie M’s Cake Lounge, my new home away from home.

This entry is filed under eurovision, Knitting, Personal, Popular Culture, Purls and tagged , , , . | 1 Comment

Fools Gold

By on May 17, 2010

Despite my fears, my hand is slowly getting better. I managed a bit of knitting yesterday before settling down to watch Worried About the Boy, a BBC2 drama about Boy George’s pre-fame  life (warmly recommended, particularly if you liked Velvet Goldmine. WATB is not as heady nor anywhere as clever as VG, but it explores similar ground).

Completely unrelated, I have decided that this track is going to be the soundtrack to my summer..

The rest of my day is going to be spent doing chores, seeing some friends and hopefully my hand will keep on getting better. Thanks for all the well-wishes!

This entry is filed under Personal, Popular Culture and tagged , , , . | 2 Comments

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