Ow

In my pursuit of activities where I could possibly meet people who I don’t already know, I joined a volleyball group. It’s pretty much for beginners, and I’m more advanced than that, but I haven’t played in 5 years, and would definitely like to brush up before I participate in a serious volleyball league. So yesterday was our first meeting. Right now, I’m one big ouch. My shoulders, forearms, my lower back, and my upper legs all hurt. A lot. I’m not complaining though, because every bit that’s getting worked will just end up being awesome, right? That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway. The people are pretty nice, too, although I’m trying to recruit some more participants, since the group is for up to 20 people, and we didn’t have nearly that many yesterday. Too bad most of my friends live outside of New Jersey.

Scary thought

I have a confession to make: even though I’m a librarian and the first thing that people usually associate with my job is the Dewey Decimal system, I don’t KNOW it by heart. I mean, I’m good; a lot of the time, if you tell me what you’re looking for, I’ll give you the number right off the top of my head. Still, I will admit to sometimes not knowing where I can locate specific subjects. I get a silly rush of glee every time I do know something off the top of my head, but if I were back in my cataloging class and had a test on the Dewey Decimal system, I know that my score would not be perfect.

I guess my new goal is to know more of this off the top of my head, but it got me to thinking: what other professionals forget this sort of core knowledge once they’re no longer in school being tested? Doctors? Pharmacists? It’s kind of frightening; I know that if I forget where something is located, I can just look it up in our catalog. Despite what some impatient, huffy patrons think, a lack of instantaneous knowledge on my part is never a matter of life and death. If a doctor or pharmacist makes a mistake, somebody could die. I salute the medical professionals of the world for even entering that field, because I would not like to perform a job that had the potential to determine others’ lives.

Wait, really?

I haven’t spoken about the Biden – Palin debate that took place the other night, which is a rather glaring omission. This was likely the most-watched political event EVER, and it definitely bears some consideration. I will say this: it probably wasn’t the debate that most people were expecting to see. It wasn’t a train wreck. Sarah Palin’s performance was neither crash-and-burn bad, nor did it reach the levels expected by those who believed that she was lulling Biden into complacency and setting him up for a massive trouncing. This actually bears repeating: it wasn’t a train wreck, but there were signs of a less-than-stellar performance by Palin. She pretty much immediately pitted herself against Biden and moderator Gwen Ifill, so that if and when she did not fully answer their questions, it would appear to be intentional and not due to ignorance. She stuck like glue to her talking points, but did it in such an obvious way (repeating the same MAVERICK! phrases ELITE! a lot WASHINGTON INSIDER!) that she did not come across so much prepared to debate as she did rehearsed to perform.  Biden did a good job of answering the questions put to him without looking like a bully, which is impressive, since he came across that way a bit when he was responding to Obama during the Democratic candidate debate. On the whole, I doubt that either candidate influenced anybody who wasn’t already inclined to be on his or her side. A transcript of the debate can be found here.

Today, I ran across this funny chart a couple of times, and thought I’d share it:

If you’d like to read more from the man who created this flow chart, click here.

Oh, to have a Johnny!

I’m off of work today, and I’ve spent a large part of it working on the baby blanket I’m knitting. I like to have something on the TV when I’m knitting, so that I don’t get completely bored during the repetitive parts of the pattern. So I was flipping channels and came across Dirty Dancing. Dirty Dancing!!! I love this movie so much, it doesn’t even make sense. It’s one of those movies, like The Cutting Edge and The Princess Bride, that I will watch whenever I come across it, no matter how far in the movie is. Patrick Swayze was amazing in this movie. I mean, I have to give Jennifer Grey her due, too, because her baby is so moving, but this was all about Swayze. He’s tender, hot, tough, and pretty much the reason that good girls go after the bad guys. We’re looking for Johnny Castle.

This movie is so amazing. It seems like a bit of fluff, but if you stop to think about it, Dirty Dancing tackles issues such as class and gender issues, generational changes, AND has a kickass soundtrack. I actually stopped knitting a bunch of times to sigh, smile, squee, and then get up and dance my butt off. SO GOOD. Here’s what I’ve been working on today:

The one where everybody cries

So Project Runway may not be leaving Bravo for Lifetime. Hallelujah! I don’t want my fashion tainted by association with women in danger and endless Tori Spelling movies.

The four remaining designers were really stressed out this week, in their final runway show before New York Fashion Week. Their challenge was to create an evening gown, and everybody felt the pressure. There were tears and mini breakdowns and bleary eyes and glasses instead of contact lenses, and it was pretty much awesome. All of anti-Kenley hostility that has been simmering for the last several weeks kind of exploded tonight. Leanne, Korto, and former Mean Girl Jerell all made very little attempt to hide their contempt for Kenley. As usual, it was pretty impossible for me to feel bad for her, since she caused a lot of this with her poor attitude and misplaced sense of superiority.

The other designers and the judges all made mention of her attitude, and she basically acted as though the lot of them were making it up. Top American Designer* Michael Kors had it right – how well is Kenley going to in an industry where one’s creative vision may not be appreciated or shared by those on whom one depends for one’s livelihood? Not everybody is going to agree that Kenley is a genius, and she should probably be prepared to think about criticism and evaluate its relevance before dismissing it completely. I like how the guest judge this week, Georgina *married to one half of the bazillionaire duo who produces this show* Chapman was like, “I do not see what I thought I would,” about Kenley. There were no floral prints or 50’s shapes, but the defensiveness was there and Mrs. Bazillionaire still seemed singularly unimpressed.

So what did I think about the way the judges chose to end this challenge? I thought it was pretty darn awesome. Why? Because it’s tv! Drama is always appreciated, as long as it’s is somehow justifiable and not just for the sake of being dramatic. Kenley and Korto have made enough great things on this show that it makes sense that neither of them would be easy to send home. I think that I have been inspired by Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Top American Designer Michael Kors, who have been on the receiving end of several of Kenley’s eye rolls, sighs, and ridiculous responses, and still thought that she deserved a chance to compete for a spot at Fashion Week. I also like that nobody gets to rest on his or her laurels. It would have been easy to do what they did last year and only have two people compete for the final spot, but this adds intrigue and an extra bit of motivation that Jerell and Leanne might otherwise be without.

I always like to see what the designers can come up with when they have much more money, time, and sleep to bring their vision to life. I can’t wait for next week, because it’s always fun to see how time away from each other and watching the episodes at home influences how the designers interact when they reunite for the clip show.

The designers:

I really am impressed with how un-ridiculous Jerell’s stuff is of late. Sure, his dress tonight did need a bit of work, but compared to what he was cranking out the first few weeks of this season, his improvement is nothing short of inspiring. Like Kenley, Jerell has been known to talk smack and offer a mean running commentary about others’ work. Unlike Kenley, Jerell’s work mostly backs up that talk.

There’s a special place in my heart for Leanne, who managed to fight her way out of thin, brunette anonymity to become recognizable not only by her face but also by her interesting designs. She’s another one whose first few weeks of work definitely didn’t seem promising, but I’m glad that she’s stuck around. Her designers are infinitely wearable and show a lot of thought and work. Plus, she seems to dislike Kenley quite a bit, which only makes me love her more.

Nobody needs to be told that I am rooting for Korto, right? I love her sense of color and style, and would happily wear whatever she chose to put me in. She’s funny, but knows how to shut a person up when that is called for. I think it’s telling that Kenley hates Korto’s stuff, since the things that Korto makes often seem like they did actually originate in the twenty-first century.

Last, both in my affections and this wrap-up, is Kenley. The girl’s got talent; I’m not going to lie. And I’ve got the shape to rock a 50’s style frock, so I really do appreciate her designs. My main problem with her, aside from the fact that she only ever produces some slight variation on one pattern, is that she has the worst attitude of any Project Runway contestant ever. EVER! And this is the show that gave us Wendy Pepper and Santino Rice. I’ve never seen anybody so unwilling to accept criticism and responsibility for her own choices. Self-confidence is great. It’s necessary, and it’s how you advance yourself through life, but too much is just as damaging as too little. Why can’t she just think about what people say to her, instead of mouthing off? If I mute her while I’m waching the show, I am usually much more inclined to like what she’s done.

* I love this designation and will never again say this man’s name without using what is not doubt a contractually-obligated phrase.

Here they go again

In advance of tomorrow’s vice presidential debate, Gwen Ifill, the moderator, is being attacked for a book that she wrote called Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. This book is being published in 2009, and is not available to be read, yet some people have exercised their powers of precognition to determine that she is somehow biased in favor of the Obama-Biden ticket, and cannot possibly be fair. Now, to be honest, it’s not impossible to believe that personal biases or loyalties can influence how one moderates a debate; just ask George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson. I don’t think that anybody who was paying attention has forgotten how awful they were when they moderated a debate between the Democratic candidates earlier this year. They asked stupid questions, soft-balled Clinton (at least Stephanopoulos did), and took almost an hour to get to substantive questions regarding Iraq, Iran, and other issues meaningful to voters.

So, it’s not impossible to believe that a debate moderator can be too much for one side or the other. But it seems insulting to insinuate that, because she is a known supporter of Democratic politics, Gwen Ifill won’t be able to attain the level of fairness and bipartisanship required of a good moderator. Maybe the questions about Ifill are warranted and come from people who are genuinely concerned about witnessing a fair debate. But maybe not.

Let’s give a moment of though to what else could possible be fueling these speculations about Ifill’s fitness as moderator. Could it be fear? A lot of the furor over this issue has been raised by Republicans and others on the right. Perhaps concern about Sarah Palin’s prospects in a debate has also contributed to questions about Ifill’s commitment to a fair debate. Let’s face it: during her interview with Katie Couric, Vice Presidential nominee Palin did not shine. In one of the most difficult exchanges to watch, she demonstrated that she did not understand the causes of the current economic collapse, and could therefore offer no cogent or even coherent answer regarding what the country’s next steps should be. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe the slowing dawning realization that she’s totally unfit for the job she’s in the running for, but Governor Palin’s miserable performance definitely did not win over anybody who wasn’t already aligned with her.

Actually, pretty much every televised appearance by Sarah Palin that has followed her energizing, successful, nasty, and entirely scripted coming out party at the Republican National Convention, has shown her to be completely out of her depth. Like the current president, she has shown herself not to be a convincing, confident extemporaneous speaker. Like him, she also seems to have trouble grasping the details and nuances of issues of great national and global import.

Unless her peformances during the month of September were part of a carefully-orchestrated Machiavellian strategy to sharply lower expectations and lull Joe Biden into a false sense of security, she is in big trouble tomorrow. And what better way to negate unflattering day-after assessments in the press than by deflecting attention onto the moderator, before the debate even begins! If Ifill asks tough questions that Palin cannot answer intelligently, then this will be used as proof of Ifill’s supposed biases, and she will be called a bully. If the bruhaha makes Ifill ask easier questions that Palin can answer in a way that makes her seem more aware than she has in any of her recent appearances, then the right will be able to say, “Look! We told you that she know what she was talking about.”

I would love to be excited to see a woman excel on a national stage at such a high level in politics, but nothing I’ve seen so far has convinced me that Sarah Palin is going to be that woman.

Can he run? No he can’t. Why? Because he’s just a comedian!

I love Stephen Colbert, but I almost never watch his show. In much the same way, I love comic books but almost never read them. Now, my two ignored loves are joining forces for a partership I am almost guaranteed to miss! Spider-Man editor-in-chief Joe Quesada was on Colbert’s show in January and came out with the news that, in the Spider-Man universe, Colbert is still in the running for president. If only! Stephen Colbert will appear in the October 15 edition of Spider-Man.

Clothes!

Yesterday I accidentally discovered Uniqlo. Obviously, the store existed before I arrived in SoHo and, thanks to the many posts devoted to it on Gothamist, I did know that it was there, but I hadn’t realized that it was so close to my destination. I saw it immediately upon exiting the subway and was very curious, but wanted to get to Helen Wang before the store closed. I figured that Uniqlo was larger and on a main street and would probably stay open longer, and I was correct on all three counts.

I tried on lots of pretty, girly dresses at Helen Wang, but apparently Helen is not interested in the fact that some of us have boobs. The size 6s and 8s fit everywhere except for across my girls, which made me sad. A LOT of that stuff was gorgeous, and I guess it’s probably a good thing for me that I couldn’t fit into most of it. There were some sun dresses that fit okay, but I found them a little boring. I ended up getting a cute, loose-fitting dress that put me in mind of something that Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl would wear. I really don’t know what that says about me. I’m still putting things together in my mind, but if I go somewhere formal for New Year’s Eve, this is definitely what I’d wear.

So I meandered after leaving Helen Wang, and went into some other stores on Mercer. Lots of sales, but nothing that I would buy even for any reason other than the fact that it was a good deal. So off to Uniqlo I went, where the first thing I saw was really a cute cashmere pullover for $40. It really makes no sense that they can sell things so inexpensively (not that I’m complaining, just confused). Initially, I picked up one of those, but when I went to the fitting room for the first time, I saw that that shirt had some schmutz on it. I’m not picky, but I’d like to believe that my clothes are clean when I buy them (because it’s not like I wash them before wearing. Shut up). Also, my like for the shirt was closely tied to the high quality fabric at a low price, and I felt little admiration for the item itself, so I passed on getting a newer, hopefully cleaner shirt.

I tried on a cute white pea coat that put me in the mind of this Bailey 44 coat I tried on earlier that day, but which cost $341. It wouldn’t have been the most I’d ever spent on a coat, but that’s not exactly the best rationale ever for buying something, now is it? The skirts at Uniqlo were kind of cute, but the lengths did nothing for me. They were either too long and made me look stumpy AND frumpy or too short and made me look trashy. I did end up buying a cute corduroy pencil skirt that my mom cautioned me against wearing to work (as if I ever would). I was just about to leave when a cute, extremely personable salesguy came by and offered me his opinion on the pea coat (I was looking for it in black, but he thought the white looked better). He also talked me into trying on skinny jeans, which he said would look really good on me (he was right, damn him) and a pale lavender shirt, which I’m not completely sold on, but can appreciate in the abstract. I got that same shirt in several colors, but I did draw the line at the shade of green he tried to get me to buy it in; I’m not a fir green kind of person.

In the end, I got a lot of stuff that I like but didn’t necessarily need, so I decided that I should end my night by buying something that I did need: new sneakers. I have owned my Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars since the night in September of 2006 of the Heroes series premiere, and decided that the broken elastic and ripped side of my shoes meant I could go ahead and replace them without feeling wasteful. I got home exactly 30 minutes after boarding the bus at Port Authority, which was pretty sweet, and my evening only improved when I found out that Monday was the season premiere of Chuck and Life, and that this week’s Gossip Girl was everything I dreamed of. I watched Chuck while eating dinner, and then watched Gossip Girl during the changing breaks in the new fashion show of that I put on for my mother. I’m only halfway through Heroes because those people are kind of boring me right now, but I hope that I’m in a better frame of mind to watch it tomorrow.

This is the best picture my mom took

but this is the best picture of the dress...

Hispanic Heritage Parade

Here are pictures that I took yesterday at the parade. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well they came out, considering my astonishing lack of battery power. Click on any image to see it enlarged.