Thursday, April 17, 2008
Misc thoughts
On American Idol eliminating Kristy Lee Cook seemed weird. Even the judges thought she sang pretty well this week. Heck, Dial Idol even showed her safe - not just highly unlikely to go but actually safe. As I've said a million times, either the voting is at least slightly rigged or the voters are so more whimsical than predictable.
The Clinton-Obama debate on Wednesday was ho-hum and just served to continue the ridiculousness of this year's election cycle. Lost almost entirely are the actual words and meaning being spoken, as the commentators and follow-up analyses jump right on the bandwagons of whatever preconceived notions they either already have or want to perpetrate. It's very frustrating because we voters are such total losers in all this. What Obama actually means dissolved into the ephemera, as often happens, as nuances are simply ignored.
On both Wednesday and Thursday this week, I attended a dinner and two knitting classes taught by Lucy Neatby, a knitting teacher about whom I waxed ecstatically rhapsodic here after last summer's classes. The subjects were intarsia, edge bands and buttonholes. Her techniques are marvelous for the specific subjects and she also conveys tricks and tips that apply to knitting in general. And somehow one even gleans life lessons from Lucy's classes.
Finished Five Days which I wrote about here. Some people were disappointed with the ending and I think what they meant is that the solution was less psychologically bizarre than the build up would have led you to expect. On the other hand, it was a more true-to-life ending than many shows would use, and that was refreshing although much more disturbing than the extreme endings would have been because they'd have been less likely in one's own life. The real impact of the story is realizing the life-altering and shattering effect on so many (not necessarily obviously connected) people of a quick, unthinking reaction to an almost unnoticeable moment. Brilliant.
The Clinton-Obama debate on Wednesday was ho-hum and just served to continue the ridiculousness of this year's election cycle. Lost almost entirely are the actual words and meaning being spoken, as the commentators and follow-up analyses jump right on the bandwagons of whatever preconceived notions they either already have or want to perpetrate. It's very frustrating because we voters are such total losers in all this. What Obama actually means dissolved into the ephemera, as often happens, as nuances are simply ignored.
On both Wednesday and Thursday this week, I attended a dinner and two knitting classes taught by Lucy Neatby, a knitting teacher about whom I waxed ecstatically rhapsodic here after last summer's classes. The subjects were intarsia, edge bands and buttonholes. Her techniques are marvelous for the specific subjects and she also conveys tricks and tips that apply to knitting in general. And somehow one even gleans life lessons from Lucy's classes.
Finished Five Days which I wrote about here. Some people were disappointed with the ending and I think what they meant is that the solution was less psychologically bizarre than the build up would have led you to expect. On the other hand, it was a more true-to-life ending than many shows would use, and that was refreshing although much more disturbing than the extreme endings would have been because they'd have been less likely in one's own life. The real impact of the story is realizing the life-altering and shattering effect on so many (not necessarily obviously connected) people of a quick, unthinking reaction to an almost unnoticeable moment. Brilliant.
Labels: 2008 election, a.i., a.i.7, knitting, politics, reflections
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