ARDIRI

Bonnes Vacances!

Ah, tres bien!  This bonnes vacances (good holidays) deal working at a French school is a good thing, indeed.  Five days off in May, although it was supposed to be 4, luck and coincidence of fieldtrips made it five off for me!!  Yippee!

• Today/Monday--Bezerkely!  I mean, Berkeley to meet with my friend Amber for beer and lunch at Jupiter's and a stroll up to Cal to lay on the grass in the sun and talk.

Amber-Lambs:

Me:

UC Berkeley's Campanile and Library:

• Sunday--Oysters and wine at Eos, again!  Followed by one of the BEST MOVIES EVER Donnie Darko (the Director's Cut).

• Saturday--working out, cleaning house, applying for jobs, a million other little things, ending with The Simpsons Movie  (which was actually was funny and well-done).
• Friday--Slept in like there was no tomorrow!  And then off to the dermatologist to get a small bump by my ear checked out. Non-malignant--Yay!  Surgery quite likely--Definitely Not a yay! Here's the lovely view from my dermatologist's exam room (which looks exquisite on a sunny day):

And then a trip to Union Square area to make some exchanges on an article of clothing and a book.  Got to see the Anonymous folks:

hand out fliers in protest of these folks (whom I dare not name since they're very litigious!):

• Thursday--I played faux Project Runway and worked on turning a pair of ill-fitting Lucky Brand Jeans (Low Rider style) into a jean skirt (Season 4, Episode 9 is based on refashioning Levis jeans into other clothing).  Still working on it.  Definitely need a fit model (human) shaped just like me or a fit mannequin (a dressform) to shape the backside.  The frontside is looking awesome, IMO, while the backside is having some issues.   Before and after pictures will come when product is finished.

If only Japan itself wasn't so damn expensive...

At this point in my 3/4 of a year living in the 7x7 parameters of San Francisco, I believe that I have come to love Japantown--of all the touristy places--the best.  Here are some of the things I love:

Eating sushi at Isobune--"The ORIGINAL Sushi Boat Restaurant" (in March):

Going a little consumer-frenzied, blotto-minded at the prospect of a gazillion Totoro and other Hayao Miyazaki film-related tchotkes (Image from Totoro.Org/The Camphor Tree):

Perusing the books--almost all in Japanese--at the bookstore Kinokuniya and wondering who the hell (including--or perhaps that should be excluding?--Kate Moss) could pull off these tops (from sewing pattern books):

And spending way too much money on stationary and pens/pencils in KSG (the bookstore's entirely separate pen/pencil/stationary-orgy store).

I would so love to live in Japan, but it is too expensive and teaching abroad there pays crap. 

Starstruck! (I met Robin Williams!)

Who would've thought a visit to the dentist could be fun? 

Yesterday, while getting a cavity filled, I got to meet Robin Williams at my dentist's office!  He was kind--especially considering that I was all silly-starstruck about meeting him.  I told him that my favorite movie of his was One Hour Photo, to which he replied that it was quite a creepy movie (and indeed it was, but very well done).

Although I had my camera with me, I didn't want to be rude and ask him for a picture.  I'm sure he wants to live a life of semi-normality and no one (including me) really wants to get their picture taken after a visit with the dentist.  Thus you get a publicity photo from Fest21.com:

He essentially looked just like the above (even down to the fact that he was wearing a black t-shirt.)

The Winner of Destash Contest #2 and a Small Buffet of Entertainment

The winner of Destash Contest #2 is:
Raven of Trampled by Geese!  (~Raven, I'll need you to email me your address!~)

Film
If you can handle gore and love a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor as well as a tightly-crafted movie*, get yourself to the theater to see Eastern Promises.  It is well-worth the $10.50 ticket price.

*This movie is exceptionally well-done overall, but loses its ooomph in its conclusion.  I honestly think that this movie would have been better as a serialized show on HBO, Showtime, or the like.*

Food
If you live in the Bay Area, or happen to find yourself in San Francisco, make time and your way to ZaZie in the Cole Valley Neighborhood of San Francisco. 

The Weekend Brunch is d-i-v-i-n-e!  John had the French Toast Tahiti (stuffed with caramelized bananas and walnuts) and the Egg Dish which had the most amazing home potatoes with roasted garlic cloves.  I had the Gingerbread Pancakes with roasted Bosc pear and lemon curd.

An important thing to know about this place is the breakfast portions are pretty big--a pancake and one over-easy egg was way more than enough for me!

 

Divine Dinner and a Horrible Movie

Last night, John made a divine dinner, a la Jacques Peppin's Fast Food My Way,of Smoked Salmon Timbales:

Layered are goat cheese with chives, onions, smoked salmon, Gala apples, surrounded by capers, chopped cucumber, drizzled with olive oil, and accompanied by lightly toasted baguette.   Yum!

We followed this lovely dinner by attending a free screening of Right at Your Door, which is from the producers of A Scanner Darkly, Waking Life, and Requiem for a Dream.  It was advertised as an "apocalyptic thriller" (Anthony Breznican, USA Today) and was far from thrilling.  Rather it was quite a slog to watch and could be best described as a good student-made film.  There was solely one emotional tone to the film--despair--and it lacked any sort of climax till the last few minutes of the film.  Perhaps it would have fared better as a short film rather than as a full feature-length film?  Who knows?!  Thankfully we did not pay for this film as I would have been quite bloody pissed in that case. 

Reviewed

• The Pesthouse by Jim Crace--this is a quite enjoyable read.  A vision of an apocalyptic (in the non-religious sense) America whose inhabitants are eager leave the barren, gang-riven land for the shores of Europe where the pigs are eager to be food and allow one to strip meat for food from their sides as they (the pigs) walk along.  Machinery and its metal workings are a story of a distant past, of one's great-great-great-great-to-the-nth-degree grandparents, and are considered the work of the devil by a new religious group, the Finger Baptists.  Beautiful tale, not the best dystopic story ever, but a good read.

• Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer--I loved this book and the honesty with which Kathrine tells her life story.  Although she wasn't the first actual woman to run the Boston Marathon (that title belongs to Roberta Gibb), she was the first woman to register to run it and was nearly kicked physically out of the race.  Marathon Woman really opened my eyes to the issues and barriers woman had to face in the sports arena prior to Title IX, as well as the issues faced less openly after its passing.  I guess when it comes to feminism, I wasn't all that interested in sports issues, rather I was more intrigued/infuriated by things such as the non-passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the fact that a woman could not get a credit card on her own prior to 1975.  Also interesting was to read about the lack of amenities--water or porta-potties--during marathons and other races till the mid-to-early 1980's.

• Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot--This one was in the shelves at my library and I was kind of hesitant to pick it up because I didn't enjoy her book At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit to Much as it seemed to dwell too much and too gleefully on overtly-excessive yarn consumption which I am trying to avoid (see The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need by Juliet B. Schor).  Nevertheless,  I enjoyed reading this book and think it would make a good book for a knitting gift for someone who is in the beginning to intermediate stages of learning to knit and could use some great tips and tricks, as well as overall reference.

• Notes on a Scandal--with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.  This is marvelously strange movie; a bit off-setting and disturbing, but wonderfully acted.

• Frontline's The Meth Epidemic--Whoah! Scary shit!  I had only read about what meth did to its addicts and actually seeing the visual destruction of addicts and their families was horrifying.  I used to complain about having to buy psuedophedrine from pharmacists (for my massive, chronic sinus problems) but--after seeing this program--I am committed to never complaining again!

• The Good Shepherd--hmmm...I'd have to honestly classify this one as boring and way too long for its own good.  Too bad, because I love me a good spy, thriller, CIA-type of movie.

• Mocean Worker, song "Tickle It"--this sounds like good subway music to me, perfect for watching the madness of the 5 o'clock commute and knitting away like a madwoman.  I am thinking of getting the entire album.

• Destash--Sell your yarn stash for cash.  Wondermous!  I bought some sock yarn--Trekking XXL colors #185 & #186 (pics below)--off of the site for $13 a skein including shipping.  Wa-hoo!  I do believe I have finally caught the sock bug and am currently infected with a feverish addiction to sock knitting.

 

A Colossal Waste of Money (and Time)

Just a warning:

Do NOT spend your money to see the film 28 Weeks Later*. 

28 Weeks Later is horrible, terrible, and excruciatingly boring.  It has nothing on it's predescessor, 28 Days Later, which--although flawed in some aspects--I absolutely loved.

Again, do NOT waste your money to see this movie.  Buy yarn instead or see some other film.

*(How it got a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and not a 7% or 11%, is completely beyond me!)*

Random Ramblings of a Sinusitis Sufferer (and Knitter)

Here are the random ramblings of a student presenting with major Sinusitus symptoms and who cannot sleep because she just downed an Excedrin (which has caffeine):

• The Troll Family that resides inside my head and that occasionally have violent Mama and Papa Troll arguments (i.e. Migraines) have decided to give birth to at least four lovely baby trolls.  Mama Troll has decided that the Maxillary and Frontal Sinus Cavities make perfect wombs for her Baby Trolls and those trolls are growing at a lovely and painful rate.  Sinus irrigation, psuedophedrine, advil, and excedrine,  have not induced the birthing of these monstrous little baby trolls.  Stat!  Must consider seeing a doctor!  Must also consider watching less of Grey's Anatomy--way too addictive and distracting for a grad student who should be studying every waking moment and also causes said student to start somewhat talking as if she is a doctor. (BTW--I am in mid-season of season 2 and yet to see any knitting.  When does the knitting occur?  When do I get to put up a button that says "I knit with Greys"?)  In summarization--in the end, or rather, right now--bloody hell, just make this pain go away!


• You MUST SEE Children of Men.  I am going to put myself on the line and say that this is probably the best movie I've seen during the years of 2006 and 2007 (thus far).  Only Little Miss Sunshine comes close.  However, it could also be said that they are of a similar rating as they are definitely of different genres--one a Dystopic Tale and the other a Tale of Hilariously Dysfunctional Family.  Children of Men had moments of the oddness  similar to anime movie creator's Miyazaki's magic (Director of My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Monoke, and Howl's Moving Castle)--simple moments such as a deer running through an empty schoolhouse, among many others.  Mind you, I am not a big fan of anime, but Miyazaki is literally a magical-world-maker and his movies generally run thematically along pro-environmentalism, pro-feminist characters, political awareness, and are anti-war.  Children of Men was directed by Alfonso Cuaron who also did Y Tu Mama Tambien and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  No matter what you thought of those two movies, you must see Children of Men as it is near perfect.

• About a week and a half ago, I finished The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell.  Wow!  Did not expect myself to become so engrossed in a book about Jesuit priests visiting a planet inhabited by two odd, completely sentient species.  Deals with some major philosophical issues like the existence of god--i.e how to justify a belief in a god if s/he allows for such cruelty in the universe; yet, at the same time how to not justify a belief in a god because otherwise one must--or rather a faithful Jesuit Priest--must take/make a painful reverse Kierkegaardien Leap of Faith,  Anyways, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the requested transfer through my local library system of the second book, Children of God.  Nevertheless, I am also aware that there is a good possibility that the sequel will most likely disappoint.  I am so hoping not, as I really loved The Sparrow.

• In a similar vein, disappointing news: school has started and I have lost that "loving feeling" for devouring fiction.  I am going to have to shelve--till summer break (or maybe, if I am lucky, spring break)--all the lovely recommendations you wonderful readers have suggested.  Bah humbug!

• John, the love-dove, and I spent the evening last night watching the first two episodes of mini-series Tinker, Tailor, Sailor, Soldier (1979 BBC Production based on a Le Carre novel) and drinking a very indulgent  2002 Sauternes wine (Medaille D'Or Paris 2004 made by Chateau Haut-Bergeron) which we luckily got for an almost-reasonable price at Costco.  The wine was absolutely de-lish and the mini-series looks as if it has great potential.  However, it moves at a slow pace and you are simply thrown pretty much blindly into the middle of a spy house scandal wherein you must piece together the essential information as to what the hell is going on.

• And today, I will finally meet a local bloglandia friend, Elaine of Kim-Chi Crafts for a trip to her LYS,  Article Pract, and most likely coffee, knitting, and getting to know each other outside of the virtual world of the internet.  I am hoping to convince her to go and get Ethiopian/Eritrean food as there are multiple restaurants in the Berkeley/Oakland area serving such food.  And, by gods, I am a fool for Ethiopian food, but most people I know (such as the love-dove John) are repulsed by it.  They say the bread--injera-- reminds them too much of human skin.  As if!

Mamoko's First Bath & My Winter Break Plans

I'm sorry--I can't resist posting a picture of little kitten Mamoko getting a bath {Edited to add: This is a picture from when Mamoko was probably about a month old or less!  He was born in at the beginning of September and has grown A LOT since this picture!}.  I got it from his foster parents and I find it too funny and adorable all at once.  And, yes, I realize that I have been quite the crazy cat lady lately.  There just hasn't been much knitting to show since I've been super busy with school.  But school is out and I only have one school-related goal to achieve over the break: my 10-12 page thesis prospectus.  Other than that, I am going to gorge myself on dvds, listening to NPR, and hopefully soon I will finally reach the top of the waiting list (which I've been on since June!) at my local library for the audio book version of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.  All of the previously listed things will enable me to knit like a mad knitting woman and act not-so-much like a crazy cat lady.  Yay for that, right?! 

Also on the list of things to do over the winter break--till January 24th, Rock On!

1. Sew up Christmas gifts like a maniac during this week before Christmas.
2. Dye Yarn, YAY!
3. Finish up season one of Veronica Mars--which I've watched chronologically backwards; i.e. season 2 first, then season 1.  Veronica Mars happens to be an amazingly well-done TV show, especially for folks like me who love a good detective story and happened to be a big fan of Nancy Drew.  However, it must be noted that Veronica is is a million times cooler than Nancy and her daddy doesn't always get her a new powder blue convertible each time she wrecks it.
4. Read books for fun--not for school.
5. Breathe.
6. Try to take up the Slrog--that is, running--again.  Sort of fell to the wayside when Cyrano passed accompanied by the increase in cold weather and shorter days.
7. Substitute every single possible day I can during the month of January--without losing my mind or taking to downing shots of vodka (or rather Port or good wine) every day after school!

The Science of Sleep--Definitely 5 Stars

The Science of Sleep is a near-perfect movie.  In fact, it is so near-perfect that I can't actually think of a word or words to criticize it.  Beautiful images, hilarious (belly-laugh out loud, slap the leg hilarious), tragic, and a bit hopeful.  You must go see it.  It is definitely worth a non-matinee showing.