I finally received my invitation to the beta testing of Ravelry, a social networking site aimed at knitters and crocheters. Despite what I’ve said in the past about social networking sites, I can see this one being of actual use to me as it allows for sharing of patterns, tips, etc. Much like Deviant Art, you can view and comment on projects and offer advice. Being essentially self-taught, I am not totally confident in my skills so I am hoping that along the way I can pick up some pointers from people who actually know what they are doing.

I am proud that the hobby of yarn crafts is gaining popularity enough to warrant a site such as this. It is definitely no longer just a pasttime for grandmothers in rocking chairs.

I wish there was a way for crochet to be less damaging to my body. I have so much fun crocheting but despite any precautions I take, the following day my shoulder, neck, forearm, and head ache terribly. The only way I have been able to get around this is to work in shorter bursts and go days (or months!) in between sessions. That usually leads me to stagnate on projects or want to stop working on them altogether since I know only pain awaits me. I had the same problem when I painted frequently but it didn’t set in nearly as fast (I could go for 8 or 9 hours painting as opposed to 2 or 3 crocheting.) Does anyone have any advice on how to keep up my hobby without destroying my body?

This will likely be the next blanket pattern I tackle. It will be considerably smaller than anything I’ve ever done before, which will be a welcome relief. It also means I’ll be able to move on more quickly so I don’t spend two years working on the same project. I would like to become more prolific with my projects so perhaps this will help me change gears towards smaller, less extravagent endeavors.

Last night Jules and I went to a pre-screening of the upcoming 2-hour Battlestar Galactica movie called Razor. To preserve surprise I won’t divulge anything about its plot, other than to say it does not continue where season 3 left off, but rather focuses on a parallel plotline earlier in the series centered on the Battlestar Pegasus.

The event was sponsored by Microsoft so there were guys there pimping the Zune and the upcoming Mass Effect game for the 360. They gave away a bunch of prizes including 3 Halo 3 branded Zunes, an Xbox 360, and 10 Mass Effect branded sweatshirts, one of which Jules won! Surprisingly, it was a well-constructed garment and the styling on it was quite subtle, so it wasn’t totally obvious it was a piece of marketing material. There were many advertisements for the afforementioned products during the film, and although the Zune had only one commercial (which was HIDEOUS and played twice) its only redeeming feature was that the radio station the Zune was tuned to in the close shot was KEXP 90.3 FM.

The highlight of the evening occurred after they began presenting the Zunes, when they called down Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama) and Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Kendra Shaw, a new character.) They talked for a bit and informed the cheering crowd that the Seattle market accounted for the SciFi channel’s largest viewing audience in the world, making us the geek capital. Jamie said that in the five years he’d worked on the series this was the first time he’d seen the show on a big screen in HD, which was pretty interesting.

Even more interesting was the fact that the film was being broadcast to the theatre via *satellite.* Jules and I were pretty much expecting disaster to occur, but it was surprisingly uneventful in that arena. The sound was a bit overdriven at times and the contrast was a bit too high and the flying sequences were nothing but a blur, but otherwise it was really awesome!

Oh yeah, they also showed a preview for season 4. I’m not telling though. :3

Seattle mornings offer some of the most interesting sights when you cast your eyes to the sky…

Thank you, chicken. That was very considerate of you!

Here’s a few links to some rather infamous scary stories that have made their rounds on the Internets. (Beware the garish site designs, which appear to be a relic from ancient days (like 1997) and requirement for any site dealing with otherworldly phenomena. Why is that, anyway?) I’ll post more as I dig them up.

Dibbuk Box
Haunted Painting
Ted the Caver
Robert the Haunted Doll