Rufus and Martha

Tomorrow night I am going to see Rufus Wainwright! I am going alone but I hope to make friends with my fellow Rufus fans. Kathryn has agreed to meet me for dinner before the show so I'll make a whole night of it.

Rufus' sister, Martha, will be opening for him and I am really excited about that, as well. She performed with him when I saw him in Pittsburgh a few years ago but didn't perform solo. Her music has grown on me over the last year or so and I think she has a gorgeous voice.

Seating Plan

I have discovered that a great way to keep someone from sitting next to you on the train is to knit. There is just something about a person wielding pointed sticks and yarn that discourages anyone from sitting next to her.

As a rule I try to be a courteous train rider. I put all my belongings on my lap and try my best to keep my feet where they belong. I don't blast music from my headphones, I don't litter or leave a Red Eye in my seat, etc. What I hadn't noticed, until today, was the effectiveness of knitting. I was feeling quite cocky about my new discovery and decided to employ it on the way home (generally considerably less crowded) and see what would happen.

I made it to Lawrence (3 stops left to go) before anyone sat next to me. This person had apparently caught on to my ploy and was having none of it. He countered my knitting needles with his newspaper. Things got uncomfortable. He was a bit too close and I found myself smushed up to the window with his elbow invading my personal space.

Needless to say, I finished the row I was working on as quickly as possible in order to re-adjust myself in my seat. This had no effect on the "gentleman" who now seemed to be dozing off and was distinctly leaning on me. To my relief, a minute later we got to my stop and I extricated myself from the situation little worse for the wear but, perhaps, a bit wiser.

The moral of the story: If you knit on the train you may get lucky and ride solo, but be prepared to share a seat with the least picky passenger.

Market Days

I went with Kathryn and Cis today to Northalsted Market Days. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but it turned out to be We Love Erie Days with a splash of Pride. (Okay, more than a splash, it was about 50/50) It was something like 4 or 5 blocks of vendors selling mostly food and drinks with a few scattered random booths. Some of my favorites.

1. Hepatitis Vaccination Booth

2. Mexican Wrestling Masks

3. Lifeguard Chair (apparently selling nothing but a free glimpse at a guy in a speedo, which, to be honest, nobody else at the market required a lifeguard chair to wear a speedo)

There were also a number of stages with bands performing. We unfortunately missed the Chicago Spirit Brigade, but did get a chance to meet Jujube.

She was one of my favorites this season (I'm a Pandora girl at heart, though) and I thought she should have won. She was wearing platform heels and towered over us and looked super-cute in a very non-drag dress. RCN Cable put her under these low, dark blue tents and it was really hot. I think she told someone that she was looking forward to dressing as a boy in an hour or so! I couldn't imagine having to stand around in those heels, a dress, a huge wig and all that makeup to meet people. She was pretty natural looking for a drag queen and much prettier than she looked on the show (I blame lack of sleep and stress).

All in all, it was a fun afternoon of people watching and girl talk.

The Colbert Diaries

This segment appeared on last night's Colbert Report. It is cringe-inducingly wonderful. I can't believe Laura Ingraham agreed to go on the show, she was visibly uncomfortable and had to be offended.

You can view it here

I had some trouble embedding the video, so I apologize that I couldn't have it right on this page.

I loved how she thought they were playing together but he wasn't going to let her get away with that tripe. Talk about disrespectful, she has Obama writing at about a 3rd grade level. And what was that about "banshee" being racially charged because of Native Americans? I think she has her mythologies a little mixed up. As my mother knows, that is an unforgivable sin with me. At worst, she can accuse him of being anti-Irish (which is unlikely, he's actually anti-shrieking Conservative). It is almost as though she was unaware that he is just playing the part of a Conservative Pundit on the show. It is really his job to make people laugh and to send up the absurdities of politics in general and right-wing politics in particular.

The Music Within

July 26 commemorated the 20th anniversary of the American's With Disabilities Act. It is amazing to me that until 1990, disabled people were not guaranteed any sort of accommodation or even fair treatment.

A while back I saw a really good movie about the man behind the A.D.A. It was shocking and funny and unfathomable to me that I was 10 years old before the events depicted in the film had taken place.

I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested.

Quintessential

This weekend I watched Reality Bites, the film that (in my mind) defined Generation X. It was released in 1994 at the height of Grunge and I was 14. I loved the movie and owned the soundtrack. Stay by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories was our anthem. You couldn't listen to that song and not sing along.

Imagine my shock when I mentioned my walk down memory lane and neither of the girls I work with had any idea what "Reality Bites" is. One actually asked: "Is it a band?". I was aghast. I said that it is the St. Elmo's Fire of the 90's. That response got me nowhere.

Granted, these girls were 4 and 9 years old when "Reality Bites" came out, and not even born in time for "St. Elmo's Fire". I have made them swear to watch both movies.

This all made me wonder about the defining "coming of age" movie of the first 10 years of the new Millennium. What was it? American Pie? Superbad? Certainly not Knocked Up!

"America Pie" has to be eliminated because it was released in 1999. "Superbad" may be a contender, but it is about High School kids, not twentysomethings. I need your help. What was the defining movie of 2000-2010? It can be a comedy, drama, whatever. My only criteria is that it is set in the present and deals with the concerns of young people of the 21st century. Oh yeah, it has to be a good movie, too.

Zig-Zag

I certainly haven't had much to write about recently. This is due largely to my relative inactivity. For example, this weekend I spent most of my time watching the BBC miniseries Bleak House and knitting away. I have a couple of largish projects going right now (one which will never be completed on time) and used this weekend to get some work done.

Most of the work has been to the blanket I am making for my friend Jody's baby. She is expecting in September, so I don't have much time left to get it done. If it were a normal project, I would be knitting on the train, but it requires so many different balls of yarn that it would be impractical to try to do so. In fact, I have probably spent a good two hours just in weaving in the ends for each stripe and it is barely 1/4 finished!

Here is my progress so far:

I am quite proud of the way it looks, but I've got plenty more to do. Back to work!