the quacking fiber addict

“If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me! If I do wake, some planet strike me down, that I may slumber in eternal sleep!”
William Shakespeare

Let's see, I have three movie reviews for you. Plus too many pictures and too little sleep. Yippee, this is gonna be strange. First things first, I'll answer Tamara's questions:

1. Yep, the whole darn house (yet I still have a cardboard window). Bloody &^$#, this is insane, I tell you.
2. The whole family is expected to move. I say expected, because I retain some hope that I might actually finally get hired for one of the jobs I've applied for and get to stay in Eugene.
3. The family (Mum, Dad, Emmett and quite possibly I) are planning to move to Olympia, WA.
4. Mr Fishy will be mine until I am forced to give him up (i.e. I get taken abroad by the Peace Corps or join the French Foreign Legion... hey, is that still around?). Dad'll definitely take him, since he's the one who feeds him for me when I'm away, anyway.

Next, per Laural's question about The Last Mimzy. Okay, bear in mind that I am very critical of movies. I wasn't impressed, nor was I enthralled. Emmos seemed to enjoy it, but agreed with me that the editing was atrocious (very choppy and a lot of things we left unexplained), the plot thin, the research nonexistant about the Pacific Northwest, and some of the acting weak (other than, of course, Rainn Wilson who saved many a scene). It was also a bit trite. It would be alright for children, I suppose. It wasn't bad, just mediocre. If you want something light and fluffy, it's a good movie to rent. That said, don't spend $8+ on an adult ticket to see it.

I know, I'm cruel.

Anyway. After that, Emmos and I went to Barnes & Noble to try and get a copy of Cast Off. Nada. Apparently they're still in transit. A copy has been reserved for me. We spent a good hour laughing ourselves silly over some of the more esoteric knitting books released recently. We were finally kicked out (well, nearly) and went home (well, Emmos').

After getting into sleep over mode, we put on The Black Dahlia. After less than half an hour, I made Emmos change it to An Inconvenient Truth. It was that bad. If it had been in B&W I might have forgiven the flagrantly film noir style of story-telling (protagonist narration, for G-d's sake), melodrama, character angst, and just plain campy-ness (because then it would have actually been a film noir, and really you can't get away with certain facial expressions in colour). Several things were left unexplained (read above comments on bad editing), and the fight scenes were so obviously choreographed that I actually wondered if the cast was going to suddenly break into song and dance a la Gangs of New York.

I was very disappointed, since I am a hardcore fan of nearly every actor in the movie, but it was bad. It also didn't "grab" you the way a good movie should. Paying attention to a film shouldn't be difficult, I'm sorry. But, since I am not a professional film critic, I doubt you want my full (read: lengthy and unflattering) opinion.

Back to An Inconvenient Truth. I liked it. Some of it was pointedly manipulative, but most of it was interesting, to the point, and caught you within the first five minutes. Emmos loved the graphs. I liked the pictures (I'm pathetic, I know) of the glaciers and suchlike. But, the point was made whether or not you like/ dislike Gore, dis/agree with him, despise him, or have issues with his home in --- (I have no idea where he lives, alright?).

After the 3 movies (well, 2.15 movies, technically) Emmos and I went to bed well after 1 am. Emmos then woke me at 10 am (hrrmph) and we went to get milk. She got me to try Cocoa Puffs (*shudder* oh, the sugar!) for breakfast. Then we found out that Emmos' plan for the day was shot, for various reasons. I ended up staying over for a bit and helped with the garden. We turned weeds like this:









Once it started to get cloudy and very windy, we gave up for the day. Well, I had given up some time before since my cramps had returned and I was feeling decidedly peaky. But, much was achieved, and Emmos was pleased. We then, on the way to my home, stopped at a furniture store and found a chair for Emmos to refinish and reupholster. We stopped at the nearby animal rescue store where I found two knitting magazines (from 1952 and 1961). I remembered that there was a slim chance that Creative Hands would be open (twice I had gotten there after closing, hrmph, but 10 minutes before the closing time), so we decided to try them out. On the way, Emmos showed me the warehouse her grandfather had owned and nearly burnt down:


We annoyed the young men working in the Xtreme Sports store inside, but eh. After wandering around inside (just because) we went on our way. And, wonder of wonders!, the shop was open:


St M and I had tried on Monday, and Emmos and I had tried last night before the movie. Third time's the charm, I guess. The selection is interesting. They have some spinning and knitting supplies (more felting than anything), but since it's a local shop and they carry locally produced products I got a single batt of rose coloured wool (does that count? it shouldn't, it's only 2 oz). It's so pretty. After that we hit "that Greek place" in 5th street for an extremely late lunch, but wow were they yummy. Great gyros.

And the last stop, before I got to collapse at home, was Econo Sales fabrics so we could find fabric for Emmos to put on the chair tonight. After an hour of looking (Emmos can be so damn picky I tell you), I finally found a great satin damask in pale sage. We got a yard, a new foam cushion cut, and lining. Emmos was already planning to get her Mum's staple gun on the way home to fix the seat up tonight. I can't wait to see it, I think I'll like the chair a bit more, then (I didn't like the form, I admit it).

Once I finally got home, I collapsed and napped for a bit. After dinner, I cast on for the reformed version of the Spox. I'm using my Panda Wool I got from Purlescence Yarns. No picture, sorry, since I want to publish this one. And that's everything. Now I need to check my email, I am so woefully behind.

Labels: cast on, friends, movie review, socks