A Blog Post, I Guess, Kind Of...?

I thought you might like to watch this or whatever...


Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

I'll admit, this stung the first time I watched it.  I often feel "aggressively inarticulate"- both in content and form (I actually had to look up how to spell "aggressively").  This next video helped boost my self esteem though.  I may not be the most bestest communicator "in like a really long time" but at least I'm not the worst...




Speaking with authority is great and all but it helps to also use proper spelling and grammar.

Another Blog Carnival

By the way, I'm participating in another Craft Critique Blog Carnival.  Go check it out.  I'm numbers 10 and 11 on the list.  Also, if you have something you would like to contribute, it's way easy to submit a link and it's a great way to show off your handy work to some new people.  Submissions close in ten days so get on it!

Oh, and one lucky participant will be chosen at random as the winner of these nifty markers...

I've never used these kind of markers but they look pretty slick- it would be kinda cool to win them.

Bright Orange Knit Munchkin Dress

I'm soooooo excited to check this one off my list.  This dress has been sitting at the bottom of my "to be completed" pile for about two years now.  I originally started knitting it as a possible baby gift for my niece but changed my mind and decided to make her something else.  I had resolved to finish it and keep it for my own daughter, hoping that it would still fit her by the time I got around to working on it again.  Thankfully, it fits with room to spare!

It's really not the best thing I've ever knitted.  The overall look of it is kind of boring (at least the color makes up for that) and I didn't know how to properly increase and decrease stitches back then so there are some pretty wonky parts here and there.  Thankfully, Sofie doesn't know the difference so, until she objects to wearing homemade clothing experiments, everything is fine.  The pattern for this dress calls for two little pockets to be sewn on the front but I kind of feel like, "Meh."  I'm pretty over it and ready to move on.

Oh, and in case you care, the yarn is Lily Sugar and Cream 100% cotton yarn in Hot Orange and Soft Violet on size 7 knitting needles.

What's In the Box?

Today a very fun box of goodies was delivered to my doorstep...

I'll be posting more about the contents of this box of fun soon!

Disney Animation Academy

Nearly a year ago my husband and I made the somewhat irresponsible decision to purchase Disneyland Annual Passes.  We figured since we had backed out of a trip to Scotland that would have ended up costing us a couple thousand dollars, Disneyland could be our much cheaper, year-long consolation prize.  I don't regret this "investment" one bit; however, our passes expire on May 7th and we have no plans to renew- not until at least one of us has a "real" job anyway- basically if my nearly three-year-old daughter wants to enjoy another year in Mickey's house, she's gonna have to start pulling her weight around here.

Anyway, as our time of fun and frivolity at the city of Anaheim's famous theme park winds down, we've been going out of our way to spend every possible moment soaking up the magic.  We've also been trying to hit any of the attractions we have previously overlooked due to time constraints, seasonal availability, or age/height restrictions.  Today, on a whim, we decided to attend Disney Animation Academy in Disney's California Adventure- we had just gotten out of Turtle Talk and the Aladdin stage show didn't start for another hour.

The way Disney Animation Academy works is you get to sit in a stadium-style classroom setting where a happy Disney person walks you through the necessary steps to drawing a Disney character.  Everybody draws along with the instructor on their own drawing board with their own Disney-supplied pencil on official Disney paper.  During our session, after the instructor showed us how to add Piglet's ears, he said, "So, now your drawing should look pretty much like Piglet."  To which an elderly woman sitting near us responded, loud enough for the whole room to hear, "I thought you were going to say Bugs Bunny, because that's who mine looks like."  The room erupted with laughter.  The instructor played it very well and joked that he wasn't allowed to teach us how to draw "he who must not be mentioned" for fear of a lawsuit.  It was all kind of awkward.

Anyway, we haven't bothered to try this until today because we weren't sure if our little munchkin would be able to handle it.  Well, she managed to at least sit through it but, as you will see below, it will probably be a while before she gets any jobs as an animator.

Josh's Piglet

My Piglet

Sofie's Piglet

Ah, good times.  It will be sad when our year of Disney is over but fun while it lasts for another few weeks.  I feel very blessed to have enjoyed these fun moments with my family in "the happiest place on earth."

Not To Put Too Fine A Point On It...

Well, the folks over at Think Geek have unveiled yet another piece of geeky merchandise that I feel I am required to purchase...

If you are any kind of self-respecting They Might Be Giants fan, you should immediately recognize this image as a "blue canary in the outlet by the light switch, who watches over yoooouuuuu..."  Yes, that's right, someone has finally done it!  There is now an actual, literal, blue canary night l-i-t-e to add to your collection of geeky things that glow when you plug them into the wall.

Back when my husband and I were dating, we agreed early on that "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants (TMBG) was the only song worthy of being "our song."  There wasn't really any deep logic that went into this decision, each of us had always considered it our favorite TMBG song (even before we knew each other) so we thought it made sense.  Before my husband and I got married, my mom scoured the planet and managed to find this...

She gave it to me and my husband as a wedding gift and it's been happily perched in our kitchen ever since.  Don't worry mom, we will cherish this night light forever (keeping with the family tradition of never getting rid of anything that has any hint of sentimental value) but we may relocate him to the bathroom and put the ducky night light that is currently in the bathroom somewhere else...I'm not sure where- maybe someday we will live in a place that can benefit from more than two night lights. 

Anyway, even though it's a little bit silly, to this day, hearing this catchy tune stirs my soul in a way I can't even really explain.  I love that John and John sing it with such conviction even though, according to them, it's a song about a night light shaped like a bird.  But is it really just a song about a night light shaped like a bird?  I'll let you decide.

Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants from They Might Be Giants on Vimeo.

Here's a bonus video from back in 1990 when John and John appeared on The Tonight Show.  I absolutely love this live version.

Okay, and just in case you're wondering what the heck they're saying, here are the lyrics...


Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants
I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
My story's infinite
Like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't rest

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

(and while you're at it
Keep the nightlight on inside the
Birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Fifty Years in Space...and Counting

Today marks 50 years since Russian Cosmonaut,Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.  Yuri's 108 minute journey around the world in outer space launched Earth into "the future" and paved the way for many space travelers who followed.  I just got home from a super fun gathering of space nerds (yes, true space nerds love being called space nerds) to celebrate this day in history.  The party was hosted by my friend Joi (the biggest space nerd I know).  We drank Tang, we ate astronaut  ice cream, we built a space shuttle out of Legos, and we shot foam rockets at each other.  There was also an attempt at some stargazing but the hazy sky didn't quite cooperate, oh well, we still had a good time.

Anyway, I thought this would be a fun opportunity to scour the internet for any space-related knitting or knitting-related space stuff.  Here are the items Google pointed me toward (most of them are knit but there are a few other art forms sprinkled throughout), listed in the order in which they were found...

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Found here

Yes, that last one is a rubber chicken wearing a knit blue flight suit.  Her name is Camilla SDO and you can find out more about her here.

I have to admit, I was surprised I didn't run across anything about anyone ever actually knitting in space.  I mean, I know there are much more important things to do in space than knit (oddly though, I can't think of any off the top of my head) but it seems like at some point, some astronaut must have brought yarn along to see what it would be like to knit in zero gravity.  So, if there happen to be any astronauts out there reading this, I want to hear your knitting stories!  If there truly are no existing stories of knitting in space, why not?  I would be more than happy to teach knitting techniques to any astronaut who is interested in being the first knitter in space.