Kim's Video, St. Mark's Place

Saint's Alp 006
Originally uploaded by mariacallas

It's mean of me, but I'm trying to make you jealous today. This is the window of my video rental shop. Notice how you can rent or buy everything from American Gangster to The Hands of Orlac. Then you can pick up the German Expressionism collection so you can become really morose, snort cocaine, and feel like you're living in 1920's Berlin. Or not.

Ok, now I'll be really mean. You know those snacks in the last photo? The supermarket that sells them is around the corner from this video store, so you can dine on squid-flavored chips with extra wasabi while watching M. And then you can call someone, like, say, Smirky McSmirkersons, and tell him how hard it was to decide between a weekend-long Gordon Liu marathon or a mere night of Jacques Tati, and whether you should have just bought some okonomiyaki from the stand down the street from the supermarket, or just been satisfied with your weight in green tea ice cream. And listen to him cry like a three-year-old girl you just beat at Candyland. Again.

Egg Cozies!

Egg Cozies!
Originally uploaded by mariacallas

My sweetie is a Shriner. I happen to love France. therefore, when I found an egg cozy pattern from the 1950s that included a rooster with a fez and a hen with a French sailor hat, I couldn't resist. I used scrap embroidery floss for the bills and the sailor hat- the pompom on the hat is made of dental floss. You can't see the tassel hanging off the fez, unfortunately. And yes- my boyfriend has a big head, and he's barrel-chested. That wasn't a mistake.

Ravelry: 'lazy, stupid, and godless'

There was a bit of a fracas on Ravelry recently. A member asked the musical question, 'Is swearing allowed on Ravelry?' Hilarity ensued as people who believe grownups should use swearboxes were pitted against lovers of naughty words. This being Ravelry, the conversation was pretty polite and well-mannered, and didn't devolve into nastiness. However, several people implied that those who use Anglo-Saxonisms are none-too-bright, morally suspect, and lacking in industry.

I will be honest- I took the swear side. I won't repeat what I said here, as I used language that in a PG-rated world is still fairly unprintable, albeit funny. However, an idea was born; what if a Ravelry group existed where hardworking, highly intelligent, and often spiritual crafters could meet and let their hair down and be as free-thinking as they pleased? A place where using a hook or two needles wouldn't matter, and spindles would be welcome, too? And so at around 2pm today, a new Ravelry group was born- the 'lazy,stupid, and godless' group (the lower-case spelling is intentional, since members are presumably too lazy to use a shift key). It's is now 8pm ET, and the group is seven shy of the century mark.

What does this all mean? I think it means there is a hunger among crafters to join together, regardless of equipment, and have fun. The segregation in the crafting world is silly anyway- we are all trying to bring beauty into our lives. While this group has had a silly beginning, I hope that it will lead to more groups not preferring knitting over all other crafts. The group will soon be working on charity projects and other mutually-approved past-times while, with luck, becoming the home for some of the crown princesses and princes of the crafting world.