March 2007 Archives

I've joined the party that is Sundara's Eye Candy Friday. The following are images from a Maple Canyon (Central Utah) trip: perfect weather, friends galore, and some really good climbing. Always a great combination. Have a good weekend.

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You may remember a post I wrote about Little Miss Sunshine a few weeks ago. Since then, I've exchanged a few emails with Pamela, who happens to teach film studies (and watches quite a few movies in the process). Since we rarely watch movies in the theater or have a tv, we're unaware of what's good on dvd, so I asked Pamela what she'd recommend. Knowing my taste in film (foreign, quirky, witty, occasionally silly), here's what she suggested. WOW, Pamela, thank you very much!

By director (all men, geez):

1. The Coen Brothers: Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou (watched this, very good. mj)


2. Wes Anderson: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic


3. Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show (saw this too. mj), A Mighty Wind


4. Charlie Kaufman: Being John Malkovich (and this) Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind


5. Mike White: The Good Girl, School of Rock, Orange County


6. Hayao Miyazake: Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving
   Castle


7. Tim Burton: Edward Scissorhands (and this), Ed Wood, Big Fish


8. Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing, Girl 6, Inside Man


9. Stephen Chow: God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle


10. John Waters' later stuff: Hairspray, Crybaby, Serial Mom, Pecker

Pamela wrote, "Some of those lean more toward the comedy (John Waters), or toward the quirk (Charlie Kaufman). Hayao Miyazake's movies are animated and amazing. Stephen Chow's movies are good if you're in the mood for something totally ridiculous and don't mind subtitles or violence. If you like Jack Black, he's in both School of Rock and Orange County. :)

"Otherwise, here's a list off the top of my head of movies that I find quirky, witty, and interesting (in no particular order):

Me and You and Everyone We Know, The Good Girl, Lost in Translation, The Slums of Beverly Hills, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Ghost World, American Splendour, Three Kings, Election, Boogie Nights, Dr. Strangelove, Office Space, Election, Secretary, Bring it On, Legally Blonde, Saved!, Amélie, Millions, Waking Ned Devine, Trainspotting, The 40-Year Old Virgin (really!), Y Tu Mama Tambien, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Monsoon Wedding, Four Rooms, High Fidelity.

"This year, I loved Pan's Labyrinth. And I recently saw and enjoyed Letters from Iwo Jima, The Prestige, and Monster House."

Thank you for the comments on the shawl, everyone! It made the recipient very happy indeed. I had me a good little cry just now because our friends--our upstairs neighbors--just left. As in, they're moving into their new house in Northern Utah. As in, they're going to have breakfast tomorrow in their new kitchen with a view of the mountains. As in, we're not going to hang out and play scrabble and go on night hikes and walk to dinner anymore. Ohhh, I'm going to miss them and their little boy! *sniff*

Another finished object. Can you spot it in the picture? (Note: I'm usually color-coordinated and my pants aren't rolled up in preparation for the monsoon season. And normally I carry a pink hobo, not a 25-pound, bright blue backpack. But it's the outdoors. And if I'm ever lost in the wilderness, I want Search and Rescue to spot me from far, far away. [Note note: You should see my chartreuse green down jacket. In my outdoor gear, I could pass for an Ishihara color blindness test.])

Can you see it yet? (BF took the pictures. He obviously follows the philosophy of spontaneous photography, so I've had to sift through a bunch of images of me eating "trek" mix to find one where I don't have my mouth open, or puffed full like a blowfish. Sometimes I wish he'd coordinate his shots with me, like this duo, you know?)

There! No, it wasn't that thong-like harness. Let's leave that stuff to the Interweave team, shall we? Hee hee. Joke, okay?

Pattern: It's very similar in style to the hat featured in Rowan Plaid, but it's my little recipe: knit from the top down, with a 3-stitch knit column and 4-stitch front cable cross separated by 2-stitch purl columns. The increases were made in between the 3-stitch knit columns; can you see how the cable starts off from a point? Six repeats all around, knit until the yarn ran out.
Yarn: Rowan Plaid in 163 Soft Kelp
Needles: US10.5 bamboo dpns
Finished Size: To fit my 21" head

A few notes. This is a loosely plied yarn of 3 6-ply yarns. The tweediness comes from the light blue, heathered brown, and sage green yarns. It's soft. And quite warm from the alpaca content (the heathered brown yarn). It wasn't difficult to knit with three separate yarns, but I suspect that it may be one of the reasons that it was discontinued. Still, if you want to try it, the entire color line is available at Webs.

Even though climbing is all rough and tumble, and I can never keep a mani/pedi intact for more than two days, I still get to be girly and have my Pink Quickdraws. (BF is going to have a cow when he sees this picture, because you can practically identify him.)

Fab Five Friday: Europe

1: While in Germany 2 years back, BF and I smirked at these license plates.

2: Cute little Smart cars. In downtown Munich it took us 45 minutes to find a parking spot for his mom's Beemer 3 Series (considered a big-sized car in Europe). Then we found one. As soon as we stepped out of the car, one of these pint-sized Smart cars zipped into the 3-foot space behind us. It is *tiny*.

3: Speaking of tiny cars. Do you have a Mini Cooper? I've seen these "Actual Size" stickers on a few cars down the road. Too cute! Too cute for you?

4: I'm drooling over Danish designer Hanne Falkenberg's Diva jacket, in colorway #7, dark olive and cyclamen. It turns out there's a knitalong, too. UK-based Cucumber Patch has the best price for it, about $133 with shipping. Belgian knitter Dominique blogged that Miss Falkenberg's yarn is very similar to Jamieson's of Shetland's Spindrift yarn. Useful to know if you already made a HF design and want the same in another color. Hmmmmmmmm......... should I or shouldn't I break my stash diet?

5: Greengate is a Danish "lifestyle" site. Very pretty stuff. Cath Kidston, too; this is her English/American site.

Pattern: Generic neck-down triangular shawl in stockinette stitch and yarn overs.
Yarn: Henry's Attic Kid Mohair dyed by Stitchin' Girl Toni, gifted last year. About 300 yards?
Needles: US10

Here's the answer to "What can I do with 300 yards of mohair?" This shawl was made last year and finally blocked. I've given it to my brother-in-law's mother, who has been feeling sickly. I imagine she's draping it around her shoulders to ward off the evening chill. Even if it is hot outdoors, inside it can be downright cold for someone who's elderly...

It's pure stockinette, with the last 4 rows in garter stitch to prevent the omnipresent curling typical of stockinette. My eyelet pattern went like this: yarn overs every 9th row 4 times; yarn overs every 5th and 9th row 2 times; yarn overs every other row 4 times. Then cast off. It took about 4 days, mainly because I debated on adding a more intricate border. I think it looks better like this. As you know, I'm a fan of simple lines.

This shows off a bit of the color. God, I love the color: pale, watery, silvery blue with streaks of purple. Toni did a fabulous job, don't you think? Thanks, Toni!

Fab Five Friday: All Over The Place

1: There's a bit of a long intro to Tokyo Plastic's Drum Machine, but worth the wait. Turn up the volume!
2: A good Banana Bread recipe. Read the comments for additional tips. Mine were: substitute 3/4 cup brown sugar, substitute cinnamon and nutmeg, 325°F and check after 50 minutes. The neighborhood babies like it very much.
3: It's really all about portion control: why French women don't get fat. Here you go, the Healthy Body Calculator.
4: Cute, soft shoes from Robeez. Makes me want to have a kid. Almost.
5: Quilter's Buzz posted an entry on the Gammill $100,000 Quilting Challenge Winner, an incredible beauty in whitework. Additionally, here are the 2007 winners of the Road to California quilt competition.

It's about time I used my handspun. Three skeins of blended merino and tussah silk dubiously called Rose Quartz are in the process of being knit into another shawl.

Rose Quartz turned into a dusky sort of pink, grey and burnished copper penny mix. But I should find fault with my spinning and not the fiber, right?

With the plethora of lace shawl patterns out there, it's hard to pick one that would do this particular handspun justice. I mean I want something simple enough to let the yarn's color variations shine; something that's not overly lacy, but at the same time something that's not just holes. In addition, it's my first time knitting with my own handspun. Take all that into consideration, plus the time it took to look through a few lace books and online pattern sales. In the end, I stayed with my first pick: the Shetland Triangle shawl. Unassuming on the needles, it opens into an exquisite ogee pattern, points and curves with a rhythmic setting of eyelets. I love a good offset lace, don't you?

Sometimes it's better to trust your gut, something that can be applicable to both knitting and climbing.

Fab Five Friday: Spring! (Themed linkage.)
1: Luisa Beccaria's dreamy collection of dresses.
2: Lilies of the Valley from Getty Images. I should be looking for client images, but it's Friday.
3: Riotous color in this Floribunda Deliciosa quilt.
4: Koigu colors from Kaleidoscope Yarns.
5: Croissants aux Amandes. Perhaps tomorrow we'll go to Café Bonaparte for breakfast; their almond croissants are so not greasy and sooo very good.

I was halfway through Mort Rosenblum's Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light when I told BF we should go shopping for some chocolate. "But it's 7 in the morning," he whined from beneath the covers. "Fine," I replied. "But that's our agenda for today."

My taste has gone from milk to dark to milk again. As kids, my sibs and I were lucky enough to fly to Europe every other year where, for two months, we'd tour and eat our way through two or three countries at a time. While I don't remember all the places we've visited, I do remember that we always had *really good chocolate.* It made me think of the little stores in Paris, or Geneva, or Madrid, or Brussels, where all we had to do was point out what we wanted to the ladies behind the counter and moments later we'd have a little bag of treats to keep us satisfied until the next day. ("You three were always so picky," my mother sighed. "The quality was always good, but sometimes I wish you just ate Smarties or Cadbury's.") Yet our childish lust for chocolate could swing from La Maison du Chocolat and Fauchon to Perugina Baci and even KitKat. And so it is today when I drive up to Comparte's in Brentwood for gelato, Leonidas in Santa Monica for truffles, or Teuscher in Newport Beach. I could just as easily pick up bars of Villars Swiss milk chocolate or Valrhona 65% Dark at Trader Joe's, Vosges and Milka at the nearby imported goods store..

Aside from the history of chocolate, Mr. Rosenblum touched on the side seldom seen by the public: the violence and corruption in those areas where one of the world's most favorite foods are grown. Hershey, Cadbury, Nestlé, and others were mentioned as "industrial chocolates" as opposed to fine chocolate giants such as Barry Callebaut and Valrhona. Then there are the smallest and the finest, the handmade chocolates that should be eaten the moment they're made. One such company, Amedei, gave Valrhona a run for their money with their chocolate. It turns out that Amedei and Valrhona sourced their chocolate (In the case of Valrhona, part source only) in Chuao, Venezuela. That a little company could push the buttons of a giant, and get away with it, only made me more curious.

I have to admit that there aren't a great many specialty shops in the middle of suburbia (albeit beach suburbia), and the first place I thought of was Whole Paycheck. You know who I mean. It doesn't have the most extensive chocolate selection around, but what they had should get me through the next couple of weeks, or is it days?

Clockwise from the center it's Green & Black's Organic Milk Chocolate (34% cocoa content--creamy but a bit sweet); Lake Champlain Chocolates' Dark Spicy Aztec (55% cocoa content--nice aftertaste); Scharffen Berger's Semisweet Dark Chocolate (62% cacao content--mellow dark, not too sweet); Endangered Species Chocolate Milk Chocolate with Rice Crisp (52% cocoa content, plus a good cause, plus rice crispies); and finally, a chunk of Chuao Bark Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts and Cherries. Finding that was a pleasant surprise, and the lady at the counter gave me a broad smile when I scooped up one of the chunks. "You'll definitely come back for more of that," she said.

Would you like to share some chocolate favorites with me?

Food Blogworthy:
◊ I'm not familiar with the website Cooking with Color, but the chocolates they review in this post are some of the ones Mr. Rosenblum mentioned in his book. Should you be so lucky as to visit Paris, you'll find most of those chocolatiers there.
◊ David Leibovitz, former Chez Panisse pastry chef, blogs about life (and cooking) in Paris.

Photo Blogworthy:
◊ Construction of the World's Highest Bridge in France's Tarn Valley. Interestingly enough, there's world-class climbing and an annual climbing festival sponsored by Petzl there. You bet we're going.
◊ Incredible pictures of the Sumela Monastery, which was built into a cliff.
◊ Giant Frozen Waves. Scroll down. Amazing, eh?
◊ Beautiful images of Iran.
◊ NSFW? or SFW? Kama Sutra poses.
◊ Animal babies. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Baby meerkat!!!