etc.

Thank you to all who wrote with sympathy, empathy, and advice for my computer troubles. It looks like a hard drive reformat is inevitable, so now begins the difficult and tremulous process of back-ups and data gathering. Updates here as progress warrants.

In the meantime, stripes:

This is Leftovers from the current Knitty. I’m using a bunch of Mission Falls 1824 Wool from a variety of yarn store bargain bins. I always knew I’d enjoy knitting random stripes, I did not realize that I would enjoy it this much. In every round, a new adventure! It’s hard not to love a jaunty stripe.

I am fervently resisting buying a new computer and it is taking every ounce of self-control in my little being.

I’ve had it in mind that the troubles began last year, and I have been consistently blaming those troubles on spyware and the injurious ways of Internet Explorer. When I took to using Firefox full-time last Fall, it seemed, for a while, that all was well in the world again, but the truth of it is that my fearless little warrior is 4 and a half years old, and computer-years are a bit like dog-years, aren’t they? In which case, I am working with a 31-year-old laptop bloated with enough application scree to render it almost unusable.

I spent four infuriating hours on it last night, running Spybot, SpySubtract, Norton, ScanDisk, a defrag, uninstalling programs I don’t use anymore, and doing a general clean-up (pesky tmp files and deposits, be damned). I stopped just short of completely reformatting the hard drive (which I would very much like to do, but cannot, for various reasons) before throwing up my hands in despair. The truth of it is, I only really play at being a tech-type, I’m not so very good with hardware, and would very much like a micro-computer-specialist-angel to arrive at my doorstep, offering up his/her services with reckless abandon.

Failing that, I will continue to troubleshoot, since a new computer has not been budgeted for this fiscal year (nor the next, likely). If you have any experience with this sort of thing, or know of a magical fix-it that can be applied, or a priest or Wicca who might be able to help, let me know?

Public service announcement: organic, cocoa-rich milk chocolate is the most wickedly delectable chocolate you will ever eat. It’s a party in my mouth, and no one else is invited.

Samuel Pepys was born on this day in 1633 and I feel the need to pay some sort of homage to him because I might never have become the keen diarist/blogger I was/am if it wasn’t for him. A glass of red wine, then, in your honour, Sam.

Also, feast day of Milburga, 8th Century Benedictine nun who had a way with the birds. Word had it that earnest exhortation from Milburga kept the birds away from crops. She is, as a result, the patron saint of birds, and troubled farmers everywhere would do well to give her a kind nod to-day.

In knitting news, I worked through to the very last row of the back of the Ribby Cardi before realizing that it just wasn’t the cardigan for me. This led me to I believe that I might have reached some sort of adolescent stage in my nascent knitting career. I am well past the excitement of yarn variety and being able to follow a pattern, where buying yarn and knitting a garment just because I can is simply not enough impetus to actually do so. Lately, I go into yarn shops and leave empty-handed; I paw through new editions of knitting magazines and then I put them back down and walk away. A few months ago, I would never have thought this possible. I have become a project planner, buying yarn with specific projects in mind, and only knitting things I know I will be able to sustain interest in, even after they are complete.

Common sense, really. Still, it feels like I’m a big girl now.

Treats! Thank you, secret pal, your timing is impeccable. There is no better salve for the common cold than organic chocolate, real British Cadbury, and gummy candy. To be sure.

Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture, Sherrie A. Inness

One of the things I love most about academia is that there is always at least a handful of academics pouring their efforts and grant dollars into researching the bizarre and obscure interests of oddballs like me. That is not to say, however, that this book fits into either the bizarre or obscure categories, since pop culture feminist theory is about as mainstream as, well, pop culture, but it is to say that this book is just one of the half-dozen or so that I have piled on my nightstand that appealed to me on some fundamental level. Some of the other books in this pile? One about reading interactive narratives and another about people who live in abandoned subway tunnels. Have I told you, lately, how much I love working in an academic library?

The other thing about academic research is that it’s pretty easy to fall prey to a shiny new book about an obsure topic that ends up being some sort of lacklustre rewrite of a PhD thesis. Not so with this book! In this collection, authors tackle the usual suspects like Xena, Lara Croft, Buffy (yes, Buffy!), Dark Angel, Barbie, and Sidney Bristow, as well as the Powerpuff Girls, Carmella Soprano, Aeryn Sun (Farscape), and Emma Peel (yes, Emma Peel!). And while this collection certainly has enough depiction-of-women-in-pop-culture scrutiny for your average undergrad paper, there’s also a lot of solid exegesis on gender roles and what it means to be a “tough chick” within a predominantly male paradigm. Worth a cover-to-cover read.

Achey bones, stiff neck, muddled brain, cold meds, socked feet. I really don’t like being sick. Last week I said to the mister, all earnest and proud, “do you realize that neither of us has been sick since November?”

Happy birthday, W. H. Auden. I hope there is sunshine where you are.

Last time I jumped in on a meme was July 2004, it might well be time for another. And so, since I was tagged by Andrea, and also, since I am, in fact, just another sheep with a blog:

1. How much space is left on your TIVO or Comcast box?

This is Canada, so no TiVo here. But, as far as I can tell, the closest we come is the PVR, which does all the same pause/rewind-live-TV-record-your-favourite-programmes thing, and yes, we have one of those. As for how much space is left? Well, we just ran through all of Season 5 of Angel (thanks, Space) and deleted those, as well as much of series 3 of MI-5 (thanks, A&E), and deleted those as well, so we’re damn near back to full capacity (save for an episode or two of Footballer’s Wives which we have yet to get through).

2. Have you ever bought a DVD of a tv series and if so which one?

Well, yes. Buffy and Angel. We have all but season 5 of the former, and all but seasons 2 and 5 of the latter.

3. What was the last tv show you watched before reading this message ?

E.R., last night. That Cynthia Nixon storyline was very good, but very difficult to watch. It made me feel strangely claustrophobic, amongst other things.

4. List five shows you won’t miss:

The Amazing Race, when it’s on. Lost, when it’s new. NYPD Blue, because it’s wrapping up. Everything else is quite miss-able.

5. Three peeps to pass this on to?

Anna and Carol, because they both manage to say astute things about teevee. And Rebecca, because she really needs to close that book and turn on the television.

And now, it’s over to you: Peruvian Collection Highland Wool from elann.com.

Used it? How does it feel? Does it knit well? Would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment or send me a message?

Thanks!

Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
Audiobook, 2004

I would do well to remember to not listen to David Sedaris in the car. Apart from looking like a raving lunatic to the drivers around me, I can’t imagine that maintaining highway speeds, laughing uncontrollably, and wiping streaming tears from my cheeks is the safest possible way to get myself to and from work. David Sedaris makes me want to be a writer of comedy, and while I am happy to be a writer of any sort, comedy has never been at the very top of my genre list. He also makes me wish I was a better raconteur, a skill I have an infinite appreciation of, but grievously lack. In this collection, he tackles more Sedaris-family wacky contrariness, as well as a number of other topics (hunting, paedophilia, St. Nicholas) you probably wouldn’t find in your average stand-up routine. Really, you can’t expect me to explain how funny (and astute, and quick-witted, and linguistically deft) this man is, just go listen to this book.

Feast of St. Valentine, patron saint of love. But you already knew that. Did you also know that Valentine is the patron saint of greeting card manufacturers? I wish I was joking.

Also, feast of the innaugural issue of Spun Magazine, go have a look.

I did not get a trip to the ROM on Saturday after all, for which I blame the threat of a cold. The cold did not materialize, thankfully, which I attribute to a lazy day spent on the couch knitting & watching season 3 of MI-5, thank you PVR (BUT! Tom! Zoe! It cannot be!)

But there was a new cardi (click for a slightly larger picture):

Pattern: Weekend Jacket, Knitting Pure & Simple.
Yarn: Wendy Pampas in Cream (#201), 30% wool 70% acrylic, 7.5 skeins

All told, this cardigan took about 8 hours to knit. The pattern is a top-down raglan so there is no seaming at all, just some ends to weave in when it’s all done. The pattern provides three options for closure: zip, buttons, snaps. At first I thought I’d go without closure, but it looked rather unsightly when I tried it on. So I have decided to have a go at a zipper. I’ve never zippered anything before, but it should be good practice for the Ribby Cardi, for which I cast on yesterday.

And so, into the breach. I’ll report back as progress, or lack thereof, warrants.