strange radiation: the pool of radiance archive
Adventures with an unreliable narrator.
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Sep 18 06: yarn
Spent much of Saturday being Knitting Guy At Large, which was great. I started by going to The Point to meet the fabulous Amy Singer, editor of Knitty and writer of its attendant blog. It was a thril to meet one of the people whom I may conveniently blame for the way my putative novel is still just a big pile of notes. I also got to meet such charming fellow knitters as Kate and Ravi-who-seemingly-hath-no-blog.
When the meet-and-greet ended, I got to show Amy bits of our fair city, as we meandered through SoHo seeking inexpensive art and high-end granola. (Don’t ask.) I’m always delighted to show off the city, especially to people who are such delightful company. We also did a quick lap through the Housing Works bookshop before heading up to Kinokuniya. Amy had A Mission and found precisely what she was looking for among the Japanese knitting books. I was deeply virtuous and bought nothing. (I’d already made my impulse purchase for the day. I’ll reveal it when it is delivered.) (Although I was kind of tempted by the book of Pokémon-themed knitting projects, for sheer absurdist value. A spheroidal Jigglypuff hat! An elaborate intarsia Pikachu sweater! Whoa. Bonkers. Still, I don’t read Japanese and don’t care for Pokémon, so the urge could be resisted.)
Eventually, Amy needed to go dine with Kay, of Mason-Dixon Knitting. Oh, the glamorous life of the knitblog glitterati! But she encouraged me to head on down to the Yarn Harlot’s reading that night at the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope. She pointed out that it would (a) be great fun and (b) a chance to meet Kay and the Harlot, aka Stephanie, at a single event. Imagine the excitement: to meet the creators of my three favorite knitblogs in the same day. The knitblog trifecta!
So how could I say no? I was late getting there, but so was Stephanie, so it all worked out. It came as no surprise that the Harlot in person is freakin’ hilarious. Amy and Kay were nowhere to be seen, but I didn’t care because I had a good time and met many interesting people, all of whom were female. I bought books, which Stephanie signed for me, and then read them all the way back to Manhattan, giggling the whole way like one of them crazy subway people.
The never-ending Leo project may someday be the completed Leo project. A few more days like Saturday, and it will be for sure. Already thinking about cold, rainy afternoons with my feet up, and about what I’ll work on next, instead of the novel.
Sep 10 06: culture notes
Much going on at home, none of which I’ll be discussing here just yet. In the mean time, two things:
- High Culture New Yorkers should be aware that tomorrow at Carnegie Hall there will be a free community sing of Mozart’s Requiem, led by the Juilliard Orchestra and Chorus, as part of the 9/11 commemorative events. It’s at 12:30; grab your score (if you have the Bärenreiter edition, so much the better) and come on up. I’ll be onstage, the third tenor from the end, second row from the back.
- Pop Culture Ah, Japan. How do we love thee? The blog TV In Japan presents some mesmerizing videos advertising Tarako Spaghetti With Cod Roe. First there were the hypnotic kewpie dolls; then there were the cutie girls singing and dancing to the jingle. Apparently the cutie girls have attained national celebrity, in that way that people and/or memes do over there.
Check ‘em out.
Sep 6 06: dust
I’m back from Burning Man. I’ve been asked over and over what it was like, but I’m afraid I’ll need some days at least to process it before I can give an answer that will mean anything to anybody who hasn’t been there themselves.
It was strange, difficult, overwhelming, dusty, amazing. I wondered what the hell I was doing there sometimes; I had a marvelous time; I came back a different person in ways I can’t yet articulate. I got dirty, and didn’t get enough sleep. I saw cool stuff. I met many people.
Anyway, I’m back. When I get the various rolls of film—yeah, remember those?—processed, I’ll try to share the better results.