film: sex and the city and potluck

I'll probably end up seeing the Sex and the City movie even though I was never a devotee of the show. I liked it, but it never resonated for me the way shows like Gilmore Girls did. I have a more prep bohemian ethos than a designer one. At any rate, my friend SC is and her birthday is this weekend, so we'll more than likely see the show.

Funnily enough, a point made in the Washington Post review about the show spawning gaggles of women imitating the show struck home. We had a potluck birthday last week and two of the girls who only come occasionally really seemed to want to make it more salacious than a potluck event usually is. Potluck, even at a restaurant, is more about being silly and giving than about being fashionable or anything else. Group dynamics in such a large collection of women (roughly 12) who are all at different stages of life is odd at best.

radio:npr's marketplace

I listen to NPR a lot. It's the only thing on the radio that I can stand when driving into work. Most pop music drives me up the wall (overproduced and sugar coated); I can't stand radio dj's; I hate commercials, particualrly radio commercials; and I really don't want to listen to shock jocks. So, NPR or the ipod is about it. Heck, even NPR during pledge drives are more entertaining than most of what consists of modern radio. (True story: I was having a tense December, and I actually found a NPR pledge drive listener challenge to be the most soothing thing on the planet. Did I mention that I was having a tense December.) Because my teaching scheduled was a little later than it usually is last fall, I began catching the Marketplace report on my drive in and the full half hour show on my drive home. It's the most informative and scariest half hour of radio on the planet. I know more about business than I ever have and, well, it makes me a more informed consumer but a much more paranoid one in today's market. I start thinking about things like how the current high price of energy costs means that food costs go up, and this chain reaction means that healthier choices, which can cost more, are even further out of the range of low income families. This fact, coupled with the new Farm Bill, which subisidizes foods like corn disporportionately to foods like apples, means that unhealthy choices like white bread or corn syrup laced foods are cheaper. Meaning that our current obsesity problem is only going to get worse. Ack. And this freaky thinking is what listening to marketplace report does. Not being an economist, I'm sure I've oversimplified here, and I may be assuming causal relationships where there are none.

corporate america: receptionist

I usually temp during the summers. I like the change of pace, and teaching even one summer course--if you can get one--really burns you out for the fall. I, at least, need to switch gears. I like temping because I get met lots of people, work in places I would never normal go to, explore downtown (most of my jobs are in downtown Dallas), and not get involved in office politics. The downside is that most of my jobs are receptionist positions. Now, I don't mind answering phones, but I'm not the best at it. And, these jobs tend to be a lot of waiting and hurry up. The job is at its worst when it's a one day gig. You aren't there long enough to really help the receptionist who is out, so all you can do is sit there and wait for the phone to ring and read or surf the internet. It's not bad, but I always hate just sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. The real receptionist has a whole slew of duties that are going undone, but because you are only there for 8 hours, no one expects you to do any of them. I had one job where the receptionist had a whole system of task reminders set up on the computer. It was really nice because it meant that at the very least I knew when to go and clean up in the kitchen and set the coffee pot up for the next day. The best positions were the one at a foundation and as a backup receptionist. The backup job meant I only answered phones during lunch and breaks. Otherwise, I was doing work for HR. I love HR work. The foundation was the best pure receptionist position. I was supposed to be the first person that anyone who walked in the door saw, so I had to look sharp. When guests came, I actually got to be a host, offering coffee or snacks and setting them up in one of the elegant meeting rooms. The phone system was a dream; it was computerized, so I didn't have to muck around with looking up people's extension numbers. I could read during the times when it was quiet. I actually had a lovely day answering phones and reading North and South while it poured buckets outside. However, there was enough going on that I didn't feel like I was just occupying a chair.

reading: blogs I read and why

The first step in entering the blogosphere is the lurking step. At least it was for me. You begin small; you read one or two blogs on a regular basis. Then you get sucked into other blogs because the writers you like read these other people. Or, in my case, your brother sends you enough links from these other blogs that you end up reading that blog to avoid the email overload. At any rate, your one or two blogs becomes a lot more. Then, you starting posting. And, in my case, you begin your own blog because you want to be part of this strange virtual conversation. It's Burkean, to be sure.

All of this to draw your attention to the updated blog roll on the Crafting Authority page and to say that my blog reading is relatively eclectic. I read a number of political blogs: Andrew Sullivan, Matt Yglesias, TPM, the Plank, and Swampland. I also read a number of television blogs: Michael Ausiello, Matt Rousch, Watch with Kristin, and Zap2it.com. Then there are the odd little blogs. I'm passionately fond of Maxwell Eaton III's blog. He's a children's artist, and I love his daily drawings. During the dissertation process those drawings were a bright spot. I also cannot say enough about Quiet Bubble, which is the blog of an old friend of mine. I've always loved his writing, and I'm esctatic that he's sharing his voice with the blogosphere. There's also my brother's blog, The Oddity Odyssey. Be warned, he's a cranky man, but he always has the coolest tecnology links. I so want to do a kitchen floor of recycled marmoleum.

television: How I Met Your Mother's website funnies

So, I am a devoted How I Met Your Mother watcher. One of the things I love about the show is the fact that when they mention a website that website actually exists. It makes the show interactive. A listing below:

Websites mentioned last night:

http://www.guyforceshiswifetodressinagarbagebagforthenextthreeyears.com/

A montage of a married couple where the girl is actually wearing a tall kitchen garbage bag. I'm wondering how long she's forcing her husband to wear the awful sunglasses.

http://lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com/

A website that auctions off stuff from the show for charity.

Previous Websites:

http://www.tedmosbyisajerk.com/

Spend 20 minutes and listen to the whole song. It's freaking hilarious. Also, she really hates Barney, but Barney was using the "I'm Ted Mosby Architect" line.

Slap bet countdown. There was a countdown clock, but Barney got slapped by Marshall on Thanksgiving. That makes three. There are two more slaps coming Barney's way. CBS so better renew this show.

UPDATE: According to Deadline Hollywood, CBS has renewed HIMYM. Whee!

knitting: my bathroom rug

My summer goal (I make these things, and for the most part, keep them) is to finish all the projects I have on needles. So, here is one thing I finished, a new bathroom rug.



Rug with/cat



I'm also learning how to use a digital camera. So, these pictures are not necessarily the best. The rug is from the Classic Knits at Home book. Unlike the pattern in the book, I choose to use Lion's Brand cotton ease in grey and stone. I also did it on size 9 needles instead of size 7. I wanted to it have a slightly looser weave, and I have something on my size 7 needles that I didn't want to finish before starting this. At any rate, if anyone wants to duplicate what I've done, they'll need to knit two additional short row panels. It's not long enough, otherwise. Once you get the hang of knitting short rows, which the book explains pretty well, the rugs knits pretty fast. It probably took me two weeks, but I suspect it's a weekend project for someone who doesn't just knit for an hour or two at a time. The only hard part is grafting it together. I'm still not sure if I did that part right.

crafting authority: main purpose

Well, I did say I was going to post my purposes for this blog at some point.

I envisioned this blog as a space for discussing the things that I've learned outside of the academy. I spend so much of my time reading the work of others and learning about things within the red brick walls of the academy, where theory double speak reigns, that I wanted a space where I could discuss and mediate on the things that we learn for ourselves. Admittedly, some of what I learn is related to my work as an academic. I mean, reading biographies for fun is a decidedly academic thing to do. Not all of my interests are so book bound, however. I'm a tv fanatic; my friend Mouse thinks the way I watch tv is a little scary. I'm picky about shows, but I'm a wholehearted fan when I find one I like. My current obsession is McLeod's Daughters and watching Richard Armitage in Robin Hood. I like learning about politics and the way the news works or doesn't work, as the case may be. I'm in this whole 1970s film mode. I'm a music snob, as C tells me. Ironically enough, I have no problem reading trashy mystery novels or teen vampire fiction; I'm currently a fan of Melissa de la Cruz's vampire series. I taught myself to knit, and I'm an ok sewer. I like painting even though I'm really terrible at it. I love to cook. I'm a hair product junkie, and I'm a good stalker of sales. ($130 Banana Republic dress for $50.) Most of these are things I taught myself. So this blog is, for the most part, about the things we craft authortiy about, the things we find interesting, the things we delve into.

television: Grey's Anatomy's groove

I resisted watching Grey's Anatomy at first, in part because they used The Postal Service song "Such Great Heights" in their promotional ads. Being a long time fan of the band--I had a bootlegged copy before the cd even came out--I was a little miffed at their music being used to sell a show. At any rate, I did get hooked. I will admit, however, that the show had hit a rough patch since the ferry boat/ Meredith nearly dying incident last season. As a fast paced drama, the show was always in danger of burning too quickly through story lines. A conventional prime time drama would have drug the Meredith/George tension for at least another season, for example. Grey's had dealt with it by the middle of season 2. While the pacing of the show means it goes through some plot points quickly, it also is a slow moving soap opera. It took 2 and half season to progress a year in the time line of the show. The balance between churning through narrative and exploring season long narrative arcs is always a delicate one. I think the problem with the episodes post ferry boat incident was four-fold: 1) Rhimes saw a way forward for Addison's character, but it meant spinning her off into a different show. 2) Rhimes wanted to explore George and Izzy's relationship, which meant moving them forward in some respects, but not in others. Hence, both of them are now stuck in a repetitive low self-esteem loop, that Izzy, at least is working out of. George, I'm not so sure about. I do have to say, I love his loopy interactions with Lexie. It reminds me of how goofy our little interns were at the start of the series. 3) Rhimes had to write Dr. Burke out of the show, causing all sorts of narrative momentum problems since soap operas, by nature, don't do well with wrapping up story lines. 4) Rhimes has problems with season long narrative arcs. She can churn through small plotlines well, but she can struggle at times with the large continuous ones. This inability is why she keeps on breaking up and putting Meredith and Derek back together. (I think a lot of show runners have this problem actually. See Luke and Lorelei from Gilmore Girls.) The best parts of season three were when Derek and Meredith were trying to be a couple. I loved her snoring problem, and the interactions with her stepmother. Here was a woman who was trying to grow up and figure out what being with someone meant, step by little step. It was cute, and good for Derek too because it meant that he had to figure out how to be a partner in a relationship rather than just being with someone. Then, we get the ferry boat incident. Sigh. I hate what sweeps will do to a show. One of the best by products of the writer's strike, from a viewers' perspective, is that it has caused the writers (of all shows) to write the best episodes possible without the stunt stuff usually expected during sweeps.