Childish

Since when did it become an adequate defense of a bill to say "well I won" every time you can. It seems that this is what Obama and the Democrats seem to be doing. So they add more and more pork to this "stimulus" bill, making it look more like a big spending and huge leap towards socialism, and all they have to say is "well we won." For example, the Republicans make suggestions and they're pushed away because "they lost." This could be a big generalization, but I'm really peeved off about it. I'm glad the Republicans in the house didn't sign on to the bill and I really hope they do the same in the Senate short of fillibustering it.

"It's like magic to me"

This is what a man I was sitting next to while waiting for my car's tire to be fixed (it had gotten bowed out and could cause a problem in the future if I didn't get it fixed) said in commenting about my knitting. His wife apparently crochets and he doesn't really know what the difference is, and as far as I'm concerned, I could explain it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he would remember. But it definitely made my day.

So apparently, I know magic. My magic is knitting. And I'm so much more patient when I have my knitting on my lap.

I meant to blog so many times, but I'm a very forgetful person and I get wrapped up in a lot of things to do... projects, games, books, work, the list continues. So I am finally getting around to posting again and I will give y'all a catch up.

Stargazer
I finished my very first shirt/sweater project. It took me quite some time, but in the end I like how it turned out. I'm also quite amused about taking my own picture in my bathroom mirror and making interesting photos. Well, except for my hair, which doesn't normally behave. But that's not the focus of the picture. The focus is that I made my own shirt that actually fit me quite well. It's a little tighter on the bottom part, but that's one of the things about making ribbing. It makes things slimmer. This shirt is made from alpaca yarn and is slightly itchy against my skin. I attribute that to the fact that is now summer and such things should be put away until the fall. It's a pity though. I guess that's what usually happens you begin a project and it isn't finished until it's out of season. Oh well.

Glamour Capelet









I started a new project back in May. I started with making the capelet in the taupe color (I am using NaturallyCaron's Country for both of these). Then I got it in my mind that I must of messed up. So I pulled the cape off my needles and started the red one. I started the red one on May 28, better known as my birthday (old age of 26). I'm a lot further along than I was on the taupe cape now. THE END IS IN SIGHT! But thinking back, I don't think I actually did make a mistake on the taupe cape. I think what I will end up doing when the red cape is done is picking the taupe one back up, counting the stitches to make certain that I really didn't goof up and then finally finish that one. So I will have two glamour capelets in the end...

I really like the pattern. It's pretty easy at this moment and nice enough to do my editing job while working on it. At least the part where I'm reading the documents and looking for grammatical errors. I hope to have the red one finished by June 21st, where I will be wearing it for part of SimTerra. Most likely the beginning and then at night, because, after all, this yarn is part wool. Wool in summer? Yeah, I'm insane and want to wear my hand knits. Can you blame me?

Don't answer that.

Yosemite
I've been wanting to start the short sleeve pattern for a while and I've been holding onto the KnitPicks Comfy yarn in two colors (dark purple and red) for sometime to make two of these (yes for myself... I'm stingy when I'm not Christmas knitting). So, being my silly self, I started up the project before I finished the Glamour Capelet (a feat that my boyfriend is frustrated about... he's all about me learning to finish projects I start instead of starting and not finishing and starting new ones and the like. Now Yarn Harlot encourages this (and more yarn buying)... and I like her ideas better, but that may not be conducive to a healthy relationship... *shrugg* I will try to find a happy medium. I hope)...

I started this to get my mind off of the tornado warnings that were all over the place here in NoVA on this past Wednesday, but I put it down in lieu of the capelet when I went to roleplay on Dasaria later... When just standing around Cear, I might as well keep my hands busy when not typing or attacking wild mean animals.

Birthday Loot!
Perhaps the most exciting thing for me this past week was the accumulation of new yarn and "birthday loot". I ended up getting some yarn for my birthday directly from friends. The big balls I don't know what to do with yet, but the Jitterbug yarn I will make some simple socks with... once I find some 2.5 mm needles (hard in stores, easy online). Everything else I bought on my own, I knew what pattern I was going to use. The orange yarn on top (Cascade 220 Quatro) I am going to make a sweater from the pictured book with. I look forward to that. Hopefully by the time I finish it, needing to wear it won't be so far away. The red and purple yarn in the middle I will be making the Honeycomb vest with. Oh and don't forget the d20 knitting needles. I so want to use them once I figure out a good pattern for them.

Anyways this is my sum up of what I've been up to. Hopefully I'll try to be more regular. Depends on the traffic, which despite Obama being at Nissan pavilion, wasn't as bad as it normally is for a Nissan event in the rush hour. Part of me wonders if that was just a bunch of hype or what....

Liberal Elitism

I've ceased being suprised about today's liberal elitism. I could have many comments about the Obama "bitter" controversy, but after much thought and web surfing, I think my opinion is better clarified in the following Townhall.com column.

Xenophobia: San Francisco Style

On a different note: I have no Weekly Review from last week yet. I "finished" a couple projects, but they still have finishing touches left. There should be a weekly review for this week (and last) coming up.

Punished by a Baby?

Obama said the following quote in a town meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.” (emphasis added)

To equate a baby to getting an STD is ridiculous. And punished? This just does not compute in my mind.

I am a firm believer in personal responsibility. Every action has a direct reaction. Everything one does has a "consequence". I don't see a baby as a punishment but as what happens when you decide to have sexual intercourse (especially if you are doing it unprotected). This is supposed to be an understood sort of thing. If you don't want a baby, either be informed and be protected, or simply don't do it. To call a baby a "punishment" makes it sound like you don't want to take responsibility for your own actions even though you know what you did was wrong.

The Audacity

Ever since I was reminded of this word's existence when some of my players suggested we name our ship that in my game, I have been quite fond of it. But it's relevance to today's political scene never quite hit home until the last few weeks.

I admit that I have gotten annoyed by the constant talk on the radio and tv about Barack Obama's pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright, but I knew there was something up with his church long before it started making the mainstream media. It is important for us to know the people who are running for president. We really don't know Barack Obama as he's been relatively new to the scene. I have not really been impressed by his "sweet talk"... I nearly fell asleep during his 40 minute or so Chesapeake Primary Victory Speech that was littered with big government socialist dogma. I never understood why the masses go for that. Perhaps the public is just a sucker for a good speaker.

Which George W. Bush really has never been.

But this brings me to my muse for the day. I have always found it important for us to know what sort of man (or woman) is running for the highest office of the country. It boggles my mind that he would sit in a church for 20 years with a pastor who he "disagrees with". When I had left for college and my old church got a new pastor, my parents found disagreement with him over his lack of belief in the inherancy of God's word. So they left the church. When you live in a big city like Chicago, there has to be plenty of other churches to choose from, so why that church?

I don't profess to know what is truly his heart and mind, but it does throw a bit of doubt into his message of "hope", "unity", and "change." If he sat for 20 years under a pastor who spewed messages of hate and racism, things that don't reflect a true understanding of Christ, how can we really expect him to be the person he claims he will be?

Those are just my thoughts...

Other articles/blogs on this subject for your perusal (i do not deny having a bias, no indeed):
"Audacity of Hype" campaign soldiers on
More points from yesterday's "Audacity of Hype" speech on race
It's not Compassion -- It's Wright-Wing Racism
Throw Grandma Under the Bus
Wimping Out: Obama's Squandered Chance at Post-Racialism
Is Obama Ready for America?
OK, Sen. Obama, Let's Have the Race 'Talk'

I realize the majority of this topic is a little late, but I've been pondering over it for a while, and with Rev. Wright's latest comments about Italians, this particular issue for Obama doesn't seem to be going away.