A Strange Crossroads

I am the first person to admit that I have always watched way way too much television. It's been like that for a long time, and I tend to get pretty emotionally invested in most (if not all) of the onscreen universes that I visit each week. While I suppose I have my definite preferences in genre or format, I also think I've got a pretty broad range of what I enjoy. I also just unilaterally stay away from anything "unscripted"* (generally considered "reality" television) unless it is Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune (which to me are much, much more real than anything that falls under the "reality" umbrella). I think overall the common theme for me when it comes to what I consider good (or at least enjoyable) television is the characters. I can handle a lot of different ridiculous plots if I care about what happens to the people experiencing them.

Probably a lot of people would still say I watch too much television, but I have noticed a steep drop-off in my regular programming over the last year or so. Probably a lot of that has to do with my daughter--she gets dominion over the television until after Sesame Street most days and I have been making a concerted effort to leave the television off for most of the afternoon. Spending time with her doesn't leave me a lot of time (or the luxury) of sitting around watching a lot of television during the day. So yeah, there's that. But I have also noticed that the shows I do watch regularly have been coming to an end with more frequency of late. Series I watch ending this season (that we already know of) include: The Closer, Eureka, and In Plain Sight.

Yet I am finding in myself no real desire to replace them. As new shows launch, each season, there just isn't that much any more that sounds interesting to me. I used to give many new series a try every season, checking it out if it sounded even remotely intriguing or had a actor I liked or a science-fiction flavor. But those things really aren't enough to draw me in any more. Even the stuff that does sound interesting from initial previews or descriptions, or that has an actor I really do like to follow, will end up being left off my viewing schedule because I just don't feel like trying to get invested in something new.

That isn't to say that I don't still try new shows. I absolutely loved both Terra Nova and Alcatraz this season (though I am pretty sure neither is returning this fall), and USA has a new cop dramedy coming out next month that looks kind of amusing to me. But still, there are a lot of shows currently on the air that I suspect I would really like, but just never got into and don't really feel like making the effort to do so now (examples: Community, The New Girl, True Blood). Part of this, I am sure, is that there is so much crap to wade through nowadays that finding those few gems without watching everything is just impossible. It's not worth the effort, and so you make your gamble and roll the dice. Sometimes you win, sometimes you miss out. Then, the internet people try to tell me "OMG you have to watch this show it is fantastic!" and I dig in my heels and just refuse (even though I also do this same recommendation flail to my friends about shows I love all of the time). I am getting cantankerous in my old age, apparently.

So I find myself wondering just what it is that actually convinces me to try a new show these days. Again, I think it is the characters more than anything else. When I first hear about a show or see that preview, there has to be something there in the people on my screen that grabs my attention and taps on either my funny bone or my curiosity nerve. Still, it seems like it is getting to a point where every season there are more shows going off the air (or that I make the decision to walk away from) than new series I decide to try watching. This is probably a good thing in the long run. As much as I hate that feeling of knowing I am missing out on some great stories and shared experiences, it's not like it's gonna hurt me to do so. My life is still pretty awesome. It's not devoid of meaning because I missed out on getting into something my personal or online community all loved when it was new and fresh (or ever).

It just feels weird to me. Part of me is really looking forward to not having to try to find the time to watch nearly so much television--maybe I can use that time to read the quite literally impossible** pile of books I have stacking up (both physically and digitally). But...I don't know. I am not even sure what the point of this post is, other than this is something I have been thinking about for a while now and I wanted to get it out there.

I think...I think I am just starting to realize that as a culture we are getting way too damned creative, in that we are creating so much stuff that there's no way not to miss something great.

It's a weird sort of problem to have, isn't it?

*That "unscripted" title is crap, by the way. That is such a huge lie. Those people are so coached about what they are saying. Gotta enhance the "drama" dontcha know?


**Impossible in that I honestly do not know when I will ever find the time to read all of them but oh my goodness I so do want to find that time. I want to read them all! Then read some of them again. Sigh. And I keep adding books to the pile.

Delightful New Goodies

Well, I had a pretty good time in San Francisco last week with my sister and her family and my mom. It was a really great visit. Of course, given everyone involved, you know there were a few trips to yarn stores on our itinerary. We actually only made it to two stores, the third one we could never quite manage to make it to during business hours. Still, that was more than enough. I thought you might like to see the lovely items I picked up in my travels.

The first store we visited was The Yarn Boutique, pretty much right in my sister's back yard. It was a fun little shop with lots of wonders, although I felt it was a bit small and crowded. That could have just been because my daughter was with us and was getting into, well, everything. The employees were very friendly and patient and knowledgeable though, so that makes up for quite a lot on in my book, I have to say. 

Funnily enough, I didn't actually get any yarn there. But neither did I leave empty-handed. Here is what I procured from that store:

Jane Austen Knits 2011

I have been drooling over this pattern book for a while now, so when I saw a copy on the rack in the store and picked it up to flip through, I knew it would be going home with me. I am going to have to do some serious leveling up in my knitting skills before I can attempt to make pretty much any of these patterns, but oh my goodness the gorgeousness. I am looking forward to getting to try these out.

Namaste Bag (baby not included)

This gives you a better idea of the shape. It is the Laguna style bag in Peacock.

Oh I am in love with this bag. Never in my life would I ever have dreamed of spending so much money on a bag but as I chased my daughter around the store this gem kept catching my eye. Finally I had a moment to pick it up and look at it and there was no going back. These pictures don't even start to do it justice. It is ginormous, able to hold a ton of stuff (knitting, diapers, and other), but it doesn't feel like a big clunky bag. It has already replaced my regular purse. I'll admit I've been drooling over the Namaste bags in my Knit Picks catalogs for a while now, but I never considered actually buying one until I saw this one in person. I guess to touch it is to love it...

Our next stop was a shop in Oakland that my mom wanted to check out because she met some of its employees during last year's Sock Summit. It is a lovely little store called A Verb For Keeping Warm (which I think is just a fantastic and random name for a store of any kind). In addition to yarn they also carry quite a bit of fabric. It was a nice open sunny shop, and they had a wonderful stash of books and toys for kiddos under one of the display tables. In fact, Baby Girl zoomed in on that as soon as we walked in, pulled out a Sesame Street book, and once placed in a nearby chair, spent the entire visit happily reading through that. This allowed me plenty of time to ooh and ah over all of the wonderful yarn on display. I made up for the lack of yarn purchased at the first store here. The pictures don't really do these beautiful yarns justice, but here's a gander nonetheless.

Wishing II in Chartreuse Sister

This is the store's own line of yarn, hand dyed using completely natural methods. It is a lovely silvery green multi yarn. I think this is only about half a skein, it was in the clearance bin, but it will work up to something small and lovely, I have no doubt.

Malabrigo Sock in Aguas

Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky

Malabrigo Sock in Indiecita

As you can tell, once I hit the Malabrigo section, it was pretty much all over for me. This yarn is so soft and gorgeous. My mom recognized the Indiecita and said she's used it before and it works up really prettily. I just can't wait to find some socks to make with it.

Speaking of socks being made by me...I did manage to start that pair that I took with me to work on during the trip, but I didn't get very far on them. 

Well, it's almost all of a cuff...

I was doing most of the driving and on the plane I really didn't want to get to into them in case my daughter decided to get fussy. Also, I was doing quite a bit of visiting. That's okay though. I've managed to finish the cuff and start in on the leg since I've been home, and that's all just straight knitting. These will be good to work on during Jeopardy! since the blanket I am making requires me to count every stitch, which I can't do while answering clues. They will be a nice side project while I get these next few blankets knocked out for sure.

So, those were my yarny adventures while I was on vacation. Next week I'll have a few finished projects to show off for you, so stop by then, won't you? 

TTFN!

Confetti!

By which I mean several small bits and pieces...

Realized that yesterday's blog was my 100th entry on Searching For Me. That's pretty spiffy, I would say. So, maybe some literal confetti is in order as well as the figurative kind. I started this blog mostly as a writing exercise--mainly to make myself write at least five days a week so as to keep in practice and hone my craft. I would say I have mostly done pretty okay so far. To those of you who are reading, thanks.

In other quasi-writing news, I am through chapter twelve of the read through of my first draft of Living Legend and still really enjoying it. I have also found one glaring contradiction that definitely needs to be addressed (it came about due to my frenzied writing schedule, I think, just a throwaway line that makes something that happens later a little fishy if I leave it as is). I also found a few instances of characters acting very unlike who they are in my head, so I need to try to establish valid reasons for the behavior or do some rewrites there. Of course, there is also the fact that about two-thirds of the way through writing I decided that one of my mains shouldn't speak in contractions. I am finding lots of early (and not so early) places of her using contractions though so my Big Pink Pen of Doom (it was going to be red, but I couldn't find my red pen) has been going nuts circling. That is probably something I will be continuing to search for through my next two drafts, I am sure. But it is progressing well, I think.

In a recent blog entry, Stargate writer Joseph Mallozzi listed what would be his dream team composed of characters from all three shows of the franchise. It consisted of Ronald Greer, Vala Mal Doran, Rodney McKay, and Ronon Dex, with Richard Woolsey holding down the fort at the base of operations. I have to say, I loved this team! I do think a few more additions would be necessary though: Daniel Jackson (mostly to keep Vala in check, but also because his linguistic and anthropological skills are good for first contact), Major Lorne as the team leader (Greer is awesome but he's got a temper and needs to be taking orders from someone a with a cooler head), and T.J. as the medic (because with Rodney and Ronon and Greer, they will need a medic available). It was a fun little thing to picture in my head this group of adventurers, all very different, and try to conceive of how their team dynamic would develop. I started wondering how I would get them all together, what with Greer and T.J. being stuck on the other side of the universe and all. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really want to write a story with these characters. So, unless I succumb to the urge to write this before November, this is going to be my fan fiction NaNoWriMo novel this year.

Watched the season finale of Human Target last night and absolutely loved it. Though I have to say it raised a lot more questions than it provided answers for me. I have my fingers and toes crossed that this show gets picked up for a third season. I really do enjoy it so very much, and the cast is just clicking like it is nobody's business. I really hope to get to see them work together for a long time to come.

I am still working my way through getting caught up on Questionable Content. I am now past strip 1,000, so I would say that is progressing nicely. I did finally catch up to where I started reading it (I was surprised that I have been reading it for so long), and now I am enjoying getting to read those strips all over again and getting the inside jokes and references to previous story lines. My poor husband is getting drowned in emailed links to strips I think he'd find amusing. He also has to listen to me giggle maniacally while I read them, since we share an office. But the guy's a trooper, and I am reminded once more how lucky I am that he loves me!

I took the Jeopardy! Online Test last night. I think I got maybe a third to half of the questions right. That's not great, but it's better than last  year, which is at the very least encouragement to keep trying. There were a few questions that I clearly had no clue about, a few that I think I knew the answer to, and at least three that I did know the answer to but couldn't pull it out of my brain in time. Grr. Still, I am glad I did it. As unrealistic as it is to think that I'll end up going on Jeopardy! and winning big, it is a quite lovely little daydream nonetheless.

Now, if only we can get Wheel of Fortune to come back and hold their next round of auditions when I am actually in town...