amigurimi

Lately I've been amusing myself by making amigurumi, which means "tiny cute thing made of yard" in Japanese. Think I'm joking? So far I've made a Humpty Dumpty, a robot, a carrot, a rabbit and an apple. Cute, huh? If you want to give it a try, here are some patterns. I didn't use a pattern for these, I just got started, and then the creature emerged from the yarn.

Trust Women

This year's Blog for Choice day theme is Trust Women. Look, I get furious, fast, that safe and accessible reproductive health care is not available to Americans, so, when someone asks me, "What does Trust Women mean to you?" my answer is What kind of effing a-hole doesn't believe women should be trusted to make their own GD choices about her own body?

I suppose rage and fury aren't exactly the most useful techniques for battling ignorance and prejudice, but that's how I feel. The alternative to safe and accessible reproductive health is not no abortion, it's unsafe abortions.

Honor women, honor her choices.

Blog for Choice Day (coming soon)

Blog for Choice Day is Jan. 22 - will you be writing?

In honor of Dr. George Tiller, who often wore a button that simply read, "Trust Women," this year's Blog for Choice question is:

What does Trust Women mean to you?

Skinny

So, over on my book blog, Bookish, I wrote this review for a YA book called Skinny, and it's probably the most popular thing I've ever written. It's almost two years old, but it still gets comments. If you would like to read something very amusing, I encourage you to go there, and read said comments, who appear to mostly by young woman who have a book report due tomorrow.

I mostly avoid giving away endings on my book blog because I assume that someone might read my review and perhaps be inspired to read it themselves and I don't want to spoil it. Writing my book blog has drastically increased my memory for the books I read, but not necessarily the endings (which I specifically don't write about). So, actually, I can't even remember how it ends, but if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell them! What does they think teh internet iz? Gawd.

Is it over?

Today we took down the tree and put away the Christmas decorations. Sad. Now we just have to slog through the rest of winter and hopefully squeeze in a trip to a warm-weather location during the intolerable month of February.

Thought I would share a few fun things from our decorations - a gingerbread house and a happy little sugarman. I love the Necco wafers as shingles!

And here's our method of displaying xmas cards - hang two decorative ribbons in the hallway and attach cards with wooden clothes pins. I couldn't bare to take them down yet - I love looking at the cards from everybody we love (and loves us!)

Movies

Over Christmas break we saw several movies in LA - Sherlock Holmes, which was very amusing and fun to watch. So what if the plot's kind of dumb, Jude Law and Robert D. Jr. are in it! It's directed by Guy Ritchie, but, you can still understand it. Mostly. I also saw Young Victoria with and old friend and my sister. It's very pretty to watch and has a somewhat boring plot (highlights include a dull bit on the so-called "Bedchamber Crisis" which is the sort of thing Victorians get in a knot over) but it was quite romantic and had gorgeous costumes and a lot of kissing, the kind with both hands on a persons face and is uh, very nice. Victoria's husband is super-hot, in an Orlando Bloom kind of way.

Sure, those movies suffered from perhaps too much focus on style and less on story-line, but after watching Daybreakers this weekend they rise considerably in my winter-movie estimation (is it Oscar season yet?) Now, you know I love a zombie apocalypse movie, but this one, I can tell you, is NOT worth watching (baring a booze- and shenanigan-filled evening, the result of a dare, mayhaps.) In it, the world is populated mostly by vampires, who live somewhat civilized lives as businesspeople and truck drivers and gardeners and whatnot, only they drink human blood, and almost all the humans are extinct because ... you know. So, the vampires are going to die too. Except for this one vampire? Ethan Hawke? Who's a pathologist? He's looking for a cure. Willem Dafoe's in it too and he has this accent that was surely based on Foghorn Leghorn.

What's really funny is, I'm pretty sure they were going for some kind of Mad Men thing with the costumes and the attitude, but everyone just comes off looking like a maître d'. The ending was so moronic everyone laughed and pointed. But, not as loud as we did during this preview. It actually has a taglines that reads, "Terrifying! Will do for skiing what Jaws did for swimming!"

Holiday Recap Pt. 3

On the last few nights of our trip, thanks to the arrival of our parents, we were able to do something heretofore impossible since the arrival of the beloved nephew: go out at night. So, we stuck those two suckers with baby-sitting duty and hit Tiki-Ti (the tiniest tiki bar I've ever been to with amazing drinks).

And then hopped over to the Dresden. You may remember the Dresden from Swingers - this couple, Marty and Elaine, have been playing there for something like 20 years. Their rendition of Norah Jones's Don't Know Why remains stuck in my head (no matter how hard I try to get it out!) The restaurant is totally Mad Men, and I said next time we should hit the thrift store first, get all Joaned-out, and go for dinner.

On New Years Eve we had the opportunity to watch L play while we noshed on a great food whilst drinking bubbling libations. What a fine evening! New Years Day was rounded out with a nice brunch and two (!) celebrity sightings (that guy from Blink 182 and Gary Sinese.)

Holiday Recap Pt. 2

When we left Lake Arrowhead and went back to the city, we went to the Griffith Park Light Festival, which, perhaps pales in comparison to my hometown's annual light show at the city park (organized by my uncle), but is nevertheless an extremely amusing adventure.
We also satisfied a long-held desire to hang out on the Standard rooftop and lounge around.

Holiday Recap Pt. 1

Just got back from a marvelous trip to LA to visit my sister, brother-in-law and Nephew. We had a marvelous time despite poor M being sick (he's a good sport, that one) that I cried big, embarrassing tears almost all the way home. We rented a cabin for Christmas in Lake Arrowhead which is just a few hrs drive from my sister's place - very beautiful and we found a cozy little spot...