In the stream

Something that came across the Twitter feed and made me laugh...a lot:

I suppose what one finds funny says a lot about the individual.  This very short piece--"E-mail Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying To Give Out Over the Phone"--made me laugh like a maniac and then laugh harder the more I thought about it and reread it.  Seriously, I'm shaking with laughter having just read it again.  So there's some insight into what makes me tick.

Something that came across the Twitter feed and made me almost tear up:

A pair of Canadian teen girls are trying to draw attention to their school and its impending closure, so they sang a Neko Case song, posted it on YouTube, and got the artist's attention.  I'd ignored it but for some reason followed the latest link and their performance, which features excellent use of reverb from the stairwell.



It compares respectably to the great, haunting original.

'Tis the season

Social media introduces one to the sorts of things that may not be stumbled upon in the normal course of things.  Today that saves my blogging bacon and keeps me on topic.  So, here you go: knitted gnomes vs. snowmen.

In the stream

The day's already almost over?!  OK then, a couple items recently in my Twitter stream:

-Anonymous art left around Scotland.  (Seriously, take a look.)

-How to make kids hate you on Halloween. (I got a pretty good laugh out of this.)

The night before

The night before leaving for a trip never fails to be far too busy.  While I get ready (and try to get into bed for a good night's rest) for my trip to Texas, let me point you toward a local effort via a knitting clinic to show support for a Girl Scout leader with a form of leukemia.

The right attitude

Not much to say other than this longtime knitter certainly has the right attitude.

Let's hear it for the boys

Here's a nice story about boys at a grade school in London who have taken to knitting.  The most surprising part to me is not that boys have taken to it but that the school's name is Dog Kennel.

Cosby sweater

Now this what I call a Cosby sweater.

A Sunday read

Amid the frantic pace I've been keeping I find that Sundays are best as prescribed: a time of rest.  And watching (or sleeping during) football games.

Still, I want to blog something, and since I've been light on the knitting content, I thought I'd dig up a link to something that applies to it.  So, here you go: the daughter of The Clash's Joe Strummer talks about handcrafting and knitting in the punk tradition.

Marking time

The details are sort of fuzzy, but best as I can determine from this article, there are male inmates at a New Zealand prison taking part in a knitting program.

You'd think I'd have more to add regarding a story about men knitting but I don't. Just another entry to tide me over for a day. Something substantial tomorrow. Promise.

Minding one's knitting manners

What might Miss Manners say about knitting in public at events, whether in church or at recitals? Now you can find out.

Inventive persistence

Imagine inventing things week after week, year after year, and not having any success to show for it. Finally, in your mid-80s, you find a buyer for one of your creations and have it honored as the best of the year.

So goes the story of an 84-year-old Brooklyn man. After decades and at least 80 rejected inventions, he came up with a board game that not only is being sold in stores but also was given a Game of the Year award.

I admire how he has plugged away doing something that brings him pleasure but has surely borne its share of frustration from rejection. He says, "I guess some people think I'm crazy for spending so much time down here, but this is what I enjoy doing." Sure, it's taken him a long time to receive some form of external validation, but if you're that dedicated to doing something, I have to believe that outside acknowledgment isn't the primary factor.

What I'm saying is this: cool story.

Cool things

-The time lapse video "The City Limits"

-Guess My Word! and Guess My Word! 2

-AV Undercover

Sock knitting ban

I stumbled upon a newspaper article from 1942 about the war board requesting socks no longer be knitted for soldiers overseas. Going by this piece, it seems that knitters have always been a feisty bunch. I highly recommend you check it out.

Rainbow

It's been a gray, soggy spring so far 'round these parts. I could use some color. Check out these spectacular shots of Dutch tulip fields. I don't expect the Midwestern landscapes to look like that when I hit the road this week, but something other than rain that announces spring would be nice.

Designer room

Remember how I said things would slow down a few weeks ago? I could not have been more incorrect.

So, while I scrounge for time, here's an amazing, specially designed boy's bedroom to gawk at. I can't imagine what it must have cost.

Keeping the streak alive

Since I've been strapped for time, I'm really tempted to break my string of consecutive blogging days, but the streak is getting close to four years. I can't quite give that up.

I did find a CBC Radio piece about a knitting club at a school that has been uploaded in its entirety to YouTube. (For some reason the version on the CBC site is abbreviated.)

Hopefully that tides you over for today.

Open to interpretation

I ask you, is the story of a pizza delivery person possibly saving an elderly woman's life happy, sad, or both?

Initially I decided to post this because it was an extra-long work day and I didn't want to write anything, but now that I consider it, I'm genuinely curious what you make of the story. It seems like a good candidate for testing one's worldview.

So, what say you?

A life in stitches

101 years of age, 92-plus years of knitting.

I have to think that kind of longevity with the needles is hard to top.

The very same bikers

The big work project that has been looming over me has been completed. Phew!

While I don't have any gas left in the tank today, I did receive an e-mail pointing me toward a photo of bikers knitting. It's presented free of context, so who knows what it's documenting (if anything real).

Thanks for the tip, Daniel!

Invisible

The pictures of a Chinese man painted to blend into the background are pretty astounding. Although the photos aren't huge, I didn't have much trouble seeing him until I ran into the seventh in the slide show.

So what does this have to do with anything? After a long day, I felt pretty much like I faded into the background. Like that guy. Follow?