Some of the folks who work at Entertainment Weekly look like normal people. They aren't want-to-be starlets who pretend to like Battlestar Galactica because it's somehow trendy. These people are my people and they really do like what any decent person would like (although, I think they did say negative things about The Fountain, but they can't be perfect).
They actually believe in the complete logic behind the absurdity of wanting Joss Whedon to be interviewed by the fiber arts community (specifically the crochet part). And if I knew folks at EW, I would make them a hat.
And my sister is a bigger geek than she would ever admit to being. Guess who arrived first for the IMAX screening of The Dark Knight at 7:30 last night? Guess who wanted to be there by 4:00 PM? Not even the folks who look like geeks were there at 5:30 PM. But let me add, the Watchmen trailer on IMAX is glorious.
Oh, and, why does the new Harry Potter trailer just not do it for me? I want to see the movie, but that trailer doesn't make me want to buy a ticket to the new Mummy movie, which we all know we were supposed to do just to see the trailer big. And why's Ginny in a robe? Also, why's Ron on the floor? (I should probably re-read the book.)
On a separate note: off to Denver today to be bitter about losing my weekend to work and training.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Attention: Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris
Dear madam and sirs,
I feel I must call attention to the plight of one of my people*: Kim Werker. Recently, Mr. Whedon made a statement in an interview that he was waiting for a piece on Dr. Horrible in "Crocheting Monthly". Regrettably, there is no publication with that title as far as I know. Even more regrettable is the fact that the world of crochet has so few regular print publications. We are a large and growing faction, and then there are the knitters, spinners, and weavers.
But more on point is that Ms. Werker is the editor of a particular highly esteemed crochet magazine (Interweave Crochet) and the keeper of a crochet community . And she's one of your fans. She has even extended a gracious invitation to interview Mr. Whedon for Crochet Me (her reasons why are here).
If you doubt her affection, she has mentioned you and your work repeatedly on her blogs. She even wrote a lovely post all about Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.
Now, Ms. Day, Mr. Fillion, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Whedon, I ask all of you to contact Kim (or me because I'm a good swooning fangirl if you want or need one) to make good on this "desire" to see Dr. Horrible buzz in a crochet publication. I know an offer of designing a sweater for Mr. Whedon and selling the pattern to benefit Equality Now, but I'm going to add to that (although, I'm not a fiber celebrity, so I'm sure that no one would really care want to buy anything of mine, but I'm sure that Matt can attest to the fact that I know how to use a crochet hook effectively). If Mr. Whedon agrees to be interviewed by Kim, I will give 60% of my crochet/knitting time to charity works. Example charity works include: working at the local food bank at least one evening every other week, crocheting hats and booties for hospitals, planting trees with Friends of the Urban Forest monthly, crocheting at least three blankets for Project Linus or Warm Up America by the end of the year, and all carpool crocheting time will go to scarves to be donated to a charity that will take them. This is ignoring the scarf I will be making for the Red Scarf Project and the afghan we make at work for a currently unspecified charity. And that's a lot of my free time, folks, and I don't have as much as you might think.
Please consider the offer. I might even make a ripple afghan to match Willow's.
Sincerely,
Marikka.
*My people are crocheters in this case. My other sets of people are those with naturally curly hair, those with red hair, and those who make a living cleaning up the environment.
I feel I must call attention to the plight of one of my people*: Kim Werker. Recently, Mr. Whedon made a statement in an interview that he was waiting for a piece on Dr. Horrible in "Crocheting Monthly". Regrettably, there is no publication with that title as far as I know. Even more regrettable is the fact that the world of crochet has so few regular print publications. We are a large and growing faction, and then there are the knitters, spinners, and weavers.
But more on point is that Ms. Werker is the editor of a particular highly esteemed crochet magazine (Interweave Crochet) and the keeper of a crochet community . And she's one of your fans. She has even extended a gracious invitation to interview Mr. Whedon for Crochet Me (her reasons why are here).
If you doubt her affection, she has mentioned you and your work repeatedly on her blogs. She even wrote a lovely post all about Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.
Now, Ms. Day, Mr. Fillion, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Whedon, I ask all of you to contact Kim (or me because I'm a good swooning fangirl if you want or need one) to make good on this "desire" to see Dr. Horrible buzz in a crochet publication. I know an offer of designing a sweater for Mr. Whedon and selling the pattern to benefit Equality Now, but I'm going to add to that (although, I'm not a fiber celebrity, so I'm sure that no one would really care want to buy anything of mine, but I'm sure that Matt can attest to the fact that I know how to use a crochet hook effectively). If Mr. Whedon agrees to be interviewed by Kim, I will give 60% of my crochet/knitting time to charity works. Example charity works include: working at the local food bank at least one evening every other week, crocheting hats and booties for hospitals, planting trees with Friends of the Urban Forest monthly, crocheting at least three blankets for Project Linus or Warm Up America by the end of the year, and all carpool crocheting time will go to scarves to be donated to a charity that will take them. This is ignoring the scarf I will be making for the Red Scarf Project and the afghan we make at work for a currently unspecified charity. And that's a lot of my free time, folks, and I don't have as much as you might think.
Please consider the offer. I might even make a ripple afghan to match Willow's.
Sincerely,
Marikka.
*My people are crocheters in this case. My other sets of people are those with naturally curly hair, those with red hair, and those who make a living cleaning up the environment.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
There are certain days in a girl's life that make you proud. Today, I beat Comcast!* Huzzah!
I finally have a cable box that works with Tivo, the TV, and the VCR (the DVD player is a separate thing completely).** And I even managed to figure out to get the picture clear again even though the Comcast lady didn't suggest the solution.
But the match was a close one: Comcast with 6 points (no On Demand for almost four years, first missed appointment, second missed appointment, Motorola DCH70 that hates my Tivo, snowy broadcast stations); Marikka with 7 points (get cable box that likes Tivo [3 points], solve connection problem [1 point], last word [3 points]). Although, technically, considering all of the problems, I feel like they won. It's one of those things when the battle is so exhausting that when you win, you don't feel victorious.
Now, off to watch the Watchmen trailer.
I should note that in spite of my many issues with Watchmen, I do want to see the movie. There is one plot point that I will never be able to get over if they keep it as Alan Moore wrote it in the book, but I have hope that they changed it. But, I should acknowledge that the issue I have with Moore's work is the issue I've had with V for Vendetta and The Lost Girls (which I know is pretty much just glorified porn): Moore either doesn't get women or he isn't a big fan of women. Evey of the book is a wuss, she's almost absent from her life and the decisions she makes, which I don't think would be true of a young woman who is in her predicament. Evey could have been a tremendously strong figure, but Moore made her so annoying that it took me months to finish V for Vendetta (and in spite of him, the movie made her what she should have been). I'll acknowledge that I'm probably not the best judge of The Lost Girls, I just didn't like it or care or find myself interested, but I just don't think I'm the intended audience. But with Watchmen, Sally Jupiter is betrayed repeatedly. Maybe that graphic novel was revolutionary, maybe it did change things, but it continued the tradition of shitting on the female characters. Sally's an interesting character until Moore does a "but guess what?" manuever. Her daughter, Laurie, is pretty much dull all of the time, but maybe she gave up because she was essentially an old blue man's sex object for years. Who's interesting in Watchmen? The guys. Hell, even the boring Night Owl is more interesting than Laurie. Anyway, I have a glimmer of hope that someone changed the big betrayal or lessened it at least.
But why can't Moore be more like Neil Gaiman? Gaiman clearly gets women and likes us. Anyway...
*Yes, I pay them an exhorbitant amount for the limited service and damned crappy customer service (the lady tonight was holding a conversation with other people while pretending to give me instructions).
**No AV center. Yes, one might simplify our lives, but I beat the whole setup, so as long as we know how it works, that's all that's necessary. And I available to setup your cords to make five boxes work together without a sixth box.
I finally have a cable box that works with Tivo, the TV, and the VCR (the DVD player is a separate thing completely).** And I even managed to figure out to get the picture clear again even though the Comcast lady didn't suggest the solution.
But the match was a close one: Comcast with 6 points (no On Demand for almost four years, first missed appointment, second missed appointment, Motorola DCH70 that hates my Tivo, snowy broadcast stations); Marikka with 7 points (get cable box that likes Tivo [3 points], solve connection problem [1 point], last word [3 points]). Although, technically, considering all of the problems, I feel like they won. It's one of those things when the battle is so exhausting that when you win, you don't feel victorious.
Now, off to watch the Watchmen trailer.
I should note that in spite of my many issues with Watchmen, I do want to see the movie. There is one plot point that I will never be able to get over if they keep it as Alan Moore wrote it in the book, but I have hope that they changed it. But, I should acknowledge that the issue I have with Moore's work is the issue I've had with V for Vendetta and The Lost Girls (which I know is pretty much just glorified porn): Moore either doesn't get women or he isn't a big fan of women. Evey of the book is a wuss, she's almost absent from her life and the decisions she makes, which I don't think would be true of a young woman who is in her predicament. Evey could have been a tremendously strong figure, but Moore made her so annoying that it took me months to finish V for Vendetta (and in spite of him, the movie made her what she should have been). I'll acknowledge that I'm probably not the best judge of The Lost Girls, I just didn't like it or care or find myself interested, but I just don't think I'm the intended audience. But with Watchmen, Sally Jupiter is betrayed repeatedly. Maybe that graphic novel was revolutionary, maybe it did change things, but it continued the tradition of shitting on the female characters. Sally's an interesting character until Moore does a "but guess what?" manuever. Her daughter, Laurie, is pretty much dull all of the time, but maybe she gave up because she was essentially an old blue man's sex object for years. Who's interesting in Watchmen? The guys. Hell, even the boring Night Owl is more interesting than Laurie. Anyway, I have a glimmer of hope that someone changed the big betrayal or lessened it at least.
But why can't Moore be more like Neil Gaiman? Gaiman clearly gets women and likes us. Anyway...
*Yes, I pay them an exhorbitant amount for the limited service and damned crappy customer service (the lady tonight was holding a conversation with other people while pretending to give me instructions).
**No AV center. Yes, one might simplify our lives, but I beat the whole setup, so as long as we know how it works, that's all that's necessary. And I available to setup your cords to make five boxes work together without a sixth box.
Marikka and the Battle for a Cable Box
Yes, I know that cable boxes should actually be called set top boxes, but my Tivo box is also called that technically, and that means that everyone gets confused by it.
My archnemesis was revealed this weekend to be Comcast. Perhaps they were showing me the truth last month, but I was too busy battling soil and water to notice (hard to explain).
Here's the boring recap because I have to call them to see what's gone wrong this time:
1) Late June, Comcast never showed for an appointment. I didn't call and yell at them because I had to catch a flight two hours later.
2) On Sunday, Comcast missed another appointment window. The complaint call reveals that instead of putting the right phone number on the work order, they put the old one on there. No real apology, ends with me so frustrated I watch Peep Show on Youtube for the rest of the day. I decide to go into an office to exchange the cable box.
3) On Monday, a line of 10 people takes 40 minutes. I get a new box that my Tivo can't talk to because no one knows the code for the IR blaster (if you aren't TV tech initiated, you aren't alone). Comcast doesn't know what I'm talking about when I'm asking for the blaster code. Tivo tells me on Tuesday that no one has a solution for this new box (Motorola DCH70), so I should go get a different model.
4) Tuesday, I have another version of my previous cable box, but it still isn't talking to Tivo, so I need to end here.
4)
My archnemesis was revealed this weekend to be Comcast. Perhaps they were showing me the truth last month, but I was too busy battling soil and water to notice (hard to explain).
Here's the boring recap because I have to call them to see what's gone wrong this time:
1) Late June, Comcast never showed for an appointment. I didn't call and yell at them because I had to catch a flight two hours later.
2) On Sunday, Comcast missed another appointment window. The complaint call reveals that instead of putting the right phone number on the work order, they put the old one on there. No real apology, ends with me so frustrated I watch Peep Show on Youtube for the rest of the day. I decide to go into an office to exchange the cable box.
3) On Monday, a line of 10 people takes 40 minutes. I get a new box that my Tivo can't talk to because no one knows the code for the IR blaster (if you aren't TV tech initiated, you aren't alone). Comcast doesn't know what I'm talking about when I'm asking for the blaster code. Tivo tells me on Tuesday that no one has a solution for this new box (Motorola DCH70), so I should go get a different model.
4) Tuesday, I have another version of my previous cable box, but it still isn't talking to Tivo, so I need to end here.
4)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Absolutely pathetic, I know, but hey, only three people might on occasion see this, and no one was asking if I'm okay or finding out if I got trapped in black hole or anything, so, no one really cares.
However, if you do by some freak chance read this, I've decided to update this with the cool stuff I've encountered of late:
Everyone's doing it, but so am I...Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is marvelous. First, I am quite loyal to Neil Patrick Harris since discovering that he's absolutely hilarious. Second, Nathan Fillion is charming and shockingly underappreciated, and the writers at EW need to realize that they were wrong to say he didn't have movie star good looks. Third, Joss Whedon. If you don't know his name, you haven't tried hard enough. (Although, I confess I haven't watched any episodes of Angel.) Oh, and it stops being free tomorrow, but I'll confess that the $3.99 for the season pass was so worth it. I mean, it's less than a fancy coffee and the enjoyment lasts so much longer. Not to mention, your fancy coffee won't sing for you.
And as I am commonly late to the game, I discovered The Guild tonight. In all honesty, I discovered it because I am an IMDB junkie and discovered that Felicia Day wrote it and was intrigued. But I should say that I am not a gamer, I just never got why videogames and their spawn were enjoyable. However, there's something oddly perfect, relatable, and honest about it. Because you know you've met those people if you aren't one of them. And it's a labor of love, and as a crafter, I get the labor of love aspect.
Emusic posted the top 100 albums list recently and fascinatingly enough one of my favorite albums ever got #1: In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. Part of the write up on the album says that people remember when they first heard it, and I am one of said nerds. I was in college, and in my junior year I had downloaded Napster when Napster was awesome, and somehow I began to obsess over bands with weird names, and Neutral Milk Hotel was one such band. I downloaded a few songs of theirs in senior year (I imagine the delay was being away all summer) before the evil Metallica sued my university (I've never liked Metallica, but I hated them after that and forevermore). And I was addicted, except that addiction never cropped up when I was at Cutler's looking for new CDs to buy and instead always expanded my Pulp and Blur collections. Anyway, a few years ago, I finally bought the album and I would like to note that "King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1" is my most played song on iTunes. (Although, Wolf Parade is sneaking up on NMH. And I'm offended that Arcade Fire is ranked higher than Elliott Smith on emusic's list. Smith wrote perfect songs and probably really deserves to be #1.)
And then there is Digital Detroit Radio, which I am shockingly behind on, but I was behind on a lot of internet-ish things of late. Hi Matt if you find this. And if you find this, yes, I've moved shop.
More later and maybe some fiber stuff.
ETA: Nothing more because my archnemesis decided to ruin my Sunday and my Monday, and now my Tuesday.
However, if you do by some freak chance read this, I've decided to update this with the cool stuff I've encountered of late:
Everyone's doing it, but so am I...Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is marvelous. First, I am quite loyal to Neil Patrick Harris since discovering that he's absolutely hilarious. Second, Nathan Fillion is charming and shockingly underappreciated, and the writers at EW need to realize that they were wrong to say he didn't have movie star good looks. Third, Joss Whedon. If you don't know his name, you haven't tried hard enough. (Although, I confess I haven't watched any episodes of Angel.) Oh, and it stops being free tomorrow, but I'll confess that the $3.99 for the season pass was so worth it. I mean, it's less than a fancy coffee and the enjoyment lasts so much longer. Not to mention, your fancy coffee won't sing for you.
And as I am commonly late to the game, I discovered The Guild tonight. In all honesty, I discovered it because I am an IMDB junkie and discovered that Felicia Day wrote it and was intrigued. But I should say that I am not a gamer, I just never got why videogames and their spawn were enjoyable. However, there's something oddly perfect, relatable, and honest about it. Because you know you've met those people if you aren't one of them. And it's a labor of love, and as a crafter, I get the labor of love aspect.
Emusic posted the top 100 albums list recently and fascinatingly enough one of my favorite albums ever got #1: In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. Part of the write up on the album says that people remember when they first heard it, and I am one of said nerds. I was in college, and in my junior year I had downloaded Napster when Napster was awesome, and somehow I began to obsess over bands with weird names, and Neutral Milk Hotel was one such band. I downloaded a few songs of theirs in senior year (I imagine the delay was being away all summer) before the evil Metallica sued my university (I've never liked Metallica, but I hated them after that and forevermore). And I was addicted, except that addiction never cropped up when I was at Cutler's looking for new CDs to buy and instead always expanded my Pulp and Blur collections. Anyway, a few years ago, I finally bought the album and I would like to note that "King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1" is my most played song on iTunes. (Although, Wolf Parade is sneaking up on NMH. And I'm offended that Arcade Fire is ranked higher than Elliott Smith on emusic's list. Smith wrote perfect songs and probably really deserves to be #1.)
And then there is Digital Detroit Radio, which I am shockingly behind on, but I was behind on a lot of internet-ish things of late. Hi Matt if you find this. And if you find this, yes, I've moved shop.
More later and maybe some fiber stuff.
ETA: Nothing more because my archnemesis decided to ruin my Sunday and my Monday, and now my Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
