Gunsmoke, knitting, felting, explosions, blades . . . Thanks to Rethoryke for this reference to a show at Present Company in Brooklyn called “Threat: Objects for Defense and Protection.”
The show features artist designed objects for self-defense – some whimsical, such as the felted guns, and some that are less playful, such as the coat hanger with a built in switchblade. I really liked the doormat with the legend, “the neighbors have better stuff,” and the Molotov cocktail lamp.
Several places, actually. Started out with breakfast at Big Al’s – home of the awesome corned beef hash, beloved by Cleveland’s Iron Chef, Michael Symon.
This is not corned beef hash, but it is a typical Big Al’s breakfast with hash browns made with fresh – never frozen – potatoes and a huge omelet. The coffee is great, too. And the servers.
Next stop Penzey’s. I don’t know why I love Penzey’s so much. I have to go through the store and smell everything – like a dug addict – I have to get my hit of cinnamon (5 kinds), vanilla (3 varieties), curries, barbeque seasoning, herbal blends, spice blends, cocoa and hot chocolate, mulling spices. I covet the $50 bottle of double strength, Madagascar vanilla, but made do with the 4 oz. bottle. Scored some Fox Point seasoning, mulling spices, dried ginger for marinades, Italian salad dressing blend, and Mural of Flavor herbal blend. In addition to being an addict, I usually act as a pusher when I am in the store, encouraging other customers to try my favorites. My other favorite is the Turkish seasoning – I still have some left from the 55 gallon drum of it I purchased earlier.
After Penzey’s, shopping continued at Miles Farmers Market, home to model fruits, vegetables and meats, wine, exotic cheeses, 10,000 kinds of olive oil, prepared foods, fancy bakery, samples, and some strange things – see below.
I’m going to get out my colored pencils and make a drawing of this.
I just don’t understand this one.
There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat. – T. Hohoff
These mittens from ALPACA yarn from RHL Farms. I wish you could feel how soft they are. Did you see my post on the alpacas here? This is yarn from these critters. The white yarn is from Pinky and the dark yarn is from Black Diamond – two of the girls on the farm. I believe both skeins are sport weight yarn and I used size 5 needles. Thirty two stitches for the cuffs, increased to thirty-six stitches for the body of the mitten.
This comes under the heading of geeky, science knitting. It is a double helix scarf. The pattern was developed by June Oshiro and can be found here. I made one before – this is my second one – I may finish it some day. The first one I made from worsted weight wool – it turned out great. I wanted to try one with a little more definition, so I started this one from 2 strands of fingering weight wool on size 3 needles.
It will need to be blocked, but is fun to knit.
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I guess when you build them right, they last. To fill the void in the program to build a new long-range bomber, the U.S. Air Force has turned to the B-52. The first stratofortress made it maiden flight in 1952 and was the backbone of the Cold War (cue Dr. Strangelove.)
Tricked out with new radar, brakes and electronic equipment, these planes will carry advanced cruise missiles that will run the interference on air defenses. The story here predicts that the planes in this program will fly through 2040 – almost a century of service – wow.
Neil deGrasse Tyson. I heard him yesterday on NPR talking about his new book, Space Chronicles: Facing the ultimate frontier. While I love space fiction, deGrasse Tyson defines the field of space exploration in practical terms. He holds that not only is the field full of wow, it is,
“. . . a force of nature unto itself that no other force in society can rival. Not only does that get people interested in sciences and all the related fields, [but] it transforms the culture into one that values science and technology, and that’s the culture that innovates. And in the 21st century, innovations in science and technology are the foundations of tomorrow’s economy.”
From the man who says, “Pluto is no longer a planet – get over it!” He also advises:
“What [the president] needs to say is, ‘We need to double NASA’s budget because not only is it the grandest epic adventure a human being can undertake, not only would the people who led this adventure be the ones we end up building statues to and naming high schools after and becoming the next generation’s Mercury 7 as role models, not only will there be spinoff products from these discoveries, but what’s more important than all of those, what’s more practical than all of those, is that we will transform the economy into one that will lead the world once again rather than trail the world as we are inevitably going to be doing over the next decade.’ “
Remember Zepharim Cochran High School? I think it’s time to lobby our representatives to make that happen in this reality.
Well, not me actually, but I did come across this little orange guy the other day. I think his creator cheated on the rules, however, listed here.
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 