gabalog

slacking already

I feel as if I've already become a blogging slacker: it's been what, two weeks and I've I feel bad that I haven't posted enough.  I've set the bar high for myself (my self-imposed "bars" tend to be high- except in house cleaning) in terms of content, and I don't want to miss the mark so early (sorry about the over abundance of metaphors, or are they just mixed, or slightly conjoined, can you slightly conjoin).  So I'm blogging about nothing as Christopher has a "meow" chat with Vladimir in the background.  Let's see if I can inject some actual content- the secret knitting thing has all of it's knitting done and now only the writing is left to do.  I feel a good bit fuzzy headed from a cold (or maybe it's allergies).  So I'm going to stop typing and move to the living room- Metalocalypse first season is waiting (if you haven't watched it you must) and some dumb knitting (the second of the Zombie socks), hopefully between the two (which do seem to be rather a nice pairing) maybe my brains will rest (braiiiiiinnnnnnnnnssssssss the Zombies say) and I'll be able to make some progress and get the secret knitting thing off my plate.

the "infant phenomenon" phenomenon

I was watching "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" last week (while knitting more of the not-so-stealth knitting project) and this idea of the child star, encouraged to stay a child for a host of nefarious reasons,  not only brought to mind our current child-star disasters, but more importantly the much more blog worthy- Ninetta Crummles (I fess up, I did have to look up her first name) better known as The Infant Phenomenon from Dickens' "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby.  I've always like the IP (I feel I know her well enough to call her the IP) ever since my USC days when I stage managed the entire 8-hour show.  She appealed to me, her growth stunted by a diet primarily of gin--

"Language was not powerful enough to describe the infant phenomenon. “I’ll tell you what, sir,” he said; “the talent of this child is not to be imagined. She must be seen, sir—seen—to be ever so faintly appreciated.”... the infant phenomenon, though of short stature, had a comparatively aged countenance, and had moreover been precisely the same age - not perhaps to the full extent of the memory of the oldest inhabitant, but certainly for five good years.  But she had been kept up late every night, and put upon an unlimited allowance of gin-and-water from infancy, to prevent her growing tall, and perhaps this system of training had produced in the the infant phenomenon the additional phenomenon."

And although it is a thought I'm sure I've had every time I've seen Baby Jane (once every four-five years whether I like to or not) it came to me, once again, as if it were new.  I love the way Dickens persists in calling her the infant phenomenon,over and over again. In my minds eye, she is dressed as Baby Jane is dressed, all sausage-roll curls and white lace.  Although I am no literary scholar, it would be wonderful to trace back the Infant Phenomenon Phenomenon, and her many appearance is literature, drama and film-  so I've started us off 1838 for Nickelby, Baby Jane in 1962-- any other thoughts?  anyone?

oh how I wish

I watched the The History Boys two nights ago (in my great quest to finish the "secret" knitting thing, I've tivo'd a nice pile of movies to watch on the bedroom tv, but I digress).  I do wish sometimes I had studied literature, philosophy, the classics. Ah, the ability to quote Thoreau instead of Monty Python, Nietzsche instead of Eddie Izzard.  Well, nothing to be done about it now, other than to keep reading.  And on reading, knitting certainly gets in the way of it. But, the secret knitting calls (actually shouts loudly, cursing my name) I guess I'll save that for another post.

i'm making myself crazy (what else is new?)

So I'm making myself crazy.  I've created a new knitting "thing", let's call it a pattern for right now- since it is a secret.  And, I'm making myself crazy, everywhere I turn I'm sure someone else will figure it out before I can get it finished and submitted.  I sit here, knitting, knitting samples, taking notes, knitting nothing else...  I need to finish it so I can keep knitting, the fun things that is.

and another

Well I've just been back from CraftyPancakes house.  We had a lovely morning/early afternoon of knitting and chatting.  I'm pleased with myself, as I oft am, because her gorgeous Tokinese Mia seems to have taken quite a shine to me-- she doesn't run away and will actually deign to let me pet her.

let's just start blogging, shall we.

Well I've been waiting and waiting until the blog is perfect, and since that is an impossibility I thought I'd just start blogging and see who notices.