The usual...

A random update...

• I've been a little sick for a week or so... I thought at first that it was the crazy wet and cold weather we had last week, and then I thought maybe it was the weather and/or indoor allergies, which would be unusual but not unheard of, but it was just too annoying and persistent. It's probably a sinus infection, according to the nurse at the clinic... and now that I have antibiotics, I think it's getting better. I'll know better by tomorrow afternoon, as I've only been taking them for 24 hours and while I think I feel better, I couldn't say for 100% certainty.



• We just heard today that my brother is moving home from California to go to school. He'll be here on Monday. Not totally sure how I feel about that yet... I hope he does well.



• Meanwhile, I've been preparing my application for the Graduate Certificate program I want to do to get certified. It's due by March 15th. I have everything finished and together and sitting on my desk in an unsealed envelope, except the letter of interest/statement of purpose. They are quite vague about the requirements for it, and in fact, somewhat contradictory in the instructions, other than the very limited "250 words or less" specification. I've emailed the program requesting a clarification of instructions, but I have yet to hear back.



• I'm loving work... I find it rewarding and enjoyable and I feel valued, competent and helpful. I think that's important.



• I've been knitting a little bit. I just need to finish up a few decorative touches and I'll have two baby hats done for a friend who is expecting. She's a Firefly/Serenity fan, so I've made her a Jayne hat, as well as a hat for which I just happened to have yarn in my stash. I've also given her booties... Next is a blanket, but I haven't completely decided on a pattern yet. I have until mid-April. Other than that, I want to work on a few things for myself. I need a new pair of fingerless mitts. I think I want them to be a little longer than the Fetching mitts that I have already. The only problem with the Fetching mitts is that they aren't quite long enough to cover my arms to where my coat sleeve ends whenever my arms aren't just hanging at my sides, you know? I might make cuffs too. I also want some anklets, and another hat.



• I need to send my Hitchhiker to be converted into a double-treadle. I keep forgetting to pack it up and send it...



• I want to spin. My unspun fiber stash continues to grow unabated and is so very tempting. I'm running out of room for it too... I can't wait until I'm able to get to VA to try out a Mach II. The more I think about it, the more that little number is #1 on my list of potential new wheels.



• I'm obsessed with Star Trek again. I'm a Trekkie. I'd never deny it, just like I would never deny being a huge and hardcore fan of Jane Austen and the works of JRR Tolkien. I liked ST: Voyager for a while there, until it started to get silly toward the end. DS9, since it ended, has been my favorite ST series for the execution of the overall story (frankly, I thought it was masterfully done)... I remember using the philosophical concept of IDIC in some capacity in a paper during my sophomore year of high school. Never watched Enterprise because I thought it wasn't very well done. The writers of that show just weren't particularly interested in going along with previously established canon and just made things up as they went along if it served the story - lazy, tsk, tsk. And I was never into TOS very much until the new movie came out last Spring, but now I've watched every episode of TOS on YouTube (it's up there under CBS's shows) and I would be lying if I didn't say that I want to get some Vulcan ears and go to conventions. It's a sickness and I don't want the cure... Couldn't make it to DragonCon this year, when Shatner, Nimoy, Stewart and Mulgrew, among others were all there. It was unfortunate, but it was just too expensive for me. I'll get there eventually though.



• The garden needs doing, but the weather was awful for a while there, so I'm behind on that work. Hopefully, this weekend, I'll get a lot of work done. Can't plant things yet, but I need to redefine the planting beds and put in the soil amendments and figure out what I'm going to plant.



• I can't remember if I've written about it yet, but I'm taking Hebrew lessons on Wednesday evenings. I really like it and it's about time I learned...

No, really?

Just another German trekker: Some passages in the movie seem to indicate that there’s still some kind of monetary economy in the Star Trek Universe. How else could, for example, McCoy have “nowhere else to go” after his divorce?
Have you been aware of the fact that mainly this plot point (along with other, less crucial, ones) couldn’t withstand close examination given the fact that there is no money in the Star Trek Universe? (I mean: He’s a [physician] - how could he NOT be of service on earth?)

BobOrci: And Kirk offers to pay for Uhura’s drink at the bar, There’s money, or some kind of credit system in this universe.

Source

Come on, is that the only answer we're going to get on this? "Oh, there's money in this universe"? WHY is there money in this universe? Since that's something that really shouldn't have been effected by Nero's interruption/destruction of the known timeline if the change only effected things from the day the Kelvin was destroyed onward. Unless things have rippled all the way back to First Contact and changed everything... In which case, Enterprise isn't even canon anymore as it was (Not that I would really mind that because I hated Enterprise and thought that they did a lot of really cracky, inconsistent things with that series. For example, T'Pol experiencing pon farr because oh, female Vulcans go through that too? Uh, no they don't! Everything we ever had about Vulcan physiology in TOS and Voyager indicates that pon farr was something male Vulcans had to deal with, not female. The females generally just had to deal with being mauled by their husbands for an indeterminate amount of time every seven years until the males got it out of their systems. The writers were obviously just lazy about coming up with a reason T'Pol and Tucker would be getting it on. Fail, writers, fail.)...

We do know that there was some kind of credit system in the Prime universe (that's what I'm going to call the original timeline until given a better name for it), but it wasn't money as we know it today. The first thing that comes to mind is that the Ferengi have gold-pressed Latinum. And obviously, Starfleet personnel sometimes buy things from them... (I'm thinking specifically of Quark's dealing with Harry Kim in ST: Voyager episode "The Caretaker" here, and Harry would have been able to pay him had they struck a deal, so obviously there's some way to exchange their Starfleet credits for Latinum.) But I don't remember anything that is ever really clear on the subject. I hope in subsequent movies, this ambiguity is cleared up somewhat and that we DON'T see someone whip out their VISA card! 'Cuz that would be so ridiculous and upset me greatly (and I know I wouldn't be the only one)! I think something like that would be far more ridiculous than the presence of "Bud Classic" and "Nokia" in this universe. And those product placements were bad enough. (In ST: First Contact, we saw that human society as we know it in the present completely broke down during the 21st century. Knowing that, I have a very difficult time as it is buying that major multinational corporations would survive such economic upheaval to still be doing business in the 23rd century, and I'm not sure what the writers could tell me to make me buy that the corporations are still operating in Star Trek XI's present)...

I just don't like Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman's answer to this question.

*cough, cough*

Well, I feel as if I dropped off the face of the earth of late. I can't sit here too long, but I want to write something so I'll be brief.

I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*

As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...

My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.

In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.

The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.

The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D

Yay! Yarn! And Pie!

I made pie tonight... Pumpkin pie... Two of them. With this recipe. I didn't have any evaporated milk on hand, so I made some myself on the stove... Took about an hour and a half to slowly boil 3 cups of milk down to 1 1/2 cups... Next time, I'll just run out to the 24-hour Super Walmart. Still. YUM!







I spilled the filling of one of them just a bit, so that's what the darker places are on the crust edges.

I just tried the first piece... It's very custard-like and the pumpkin flavor isn't very strong (although it still tastes good), and I added an extra 1/2 cup of pumpkin. I may need to strain the pumpkin better, or it could be because my pie crusts weren't large enough for the entire filling. I made the same amount as the recipe calls for, but the pie crusts weren't deep enough for it all. Deep dish pie crusts are obviously a must.

And I finally uploaded pictures of the yarn I made for Jensen and Jared's socks.

Jensen's color... worsted weight, superwash merino:




The main color for both pairs of socks... worsted weight, superwash merino-alpaca:




Jared's color... worsted weight, superwash bfl:




I also just uploaded the pictures I took the weekend before last when I went out to a park in Pasco County with my mom and her friends from dog training class. They have a doberman. A very well trained doberman. Far better than our Maxie.

Maxie:

Come on up for the risin'...

I've been watching Inauguration festivities coverage on CNN all day. I'm very much looking forward to Tuesday, though I won't be able to watch the Inaugural coverage live because I'll be in training to be a sub on Tuesday (O.O FIRST DAY!!! O.O) Right now, I'm listening to Springsteen singing with a gospel choir on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (points to subject line)...

Earlier today, one of the CNN correspondents got a bit... editorial... I guess, and said that there's the Washington Monument and there's the Lincoln Memorial, and the reason that it's the Lincoln Memorial and not the Lincoln Monument is because Lincoln is a more human figure in the American imagination and not this distant figure of the past like Washington. Ahem. *rolls eyes a bit* Acktuly, it's the Washington Monument because its construction was planned during Washington's lifetime and he knew it was to be built before he died, and it's the Lincoln Memorial because its construction was planned after Lincoln's untimely death, so he never knew that it would be built. Really, these are technical terms and have nothing to do with the historical figures' place or characterization in the collective American consciousness. See, I paid attention to the tour guides during my eighth grade trip to DC.

Now for the real reason I wanted to post something this evening...

I've been spinning this weekend. For Jared and Jensen's socks.

These first two photos are of the yarn I've made for Jared. It's custom dyed superwash wool from Blue Faced Leicester sheep.




I wanted a dark midnight blue-vaguely purple in certain light sort of color. Since it was hand-dyed, and hand-dyed things can never be completely and uniformly solid, there were some bits that didn't take the dye as completely as others, making some bits appear more gray than blue. To me, it sort of looks the way wispy clouds do in the night sky, so it works for me.

The last two pictures are of the batts I bought for Jensen (to be clear, both pictures are of the same wool, just at different angles to show what I'm talking about with the lighting). This is the first time that I've spun fiber from batts instead of roving, and I actually found that the batts were much fluffier than I expected they would be. The color is gorgeous and hard to capture. The pictures don't do it justice, but I did try. It shifts from periwinkle blue to a spring sky blue kind of color, depending on the light, but always it's a very deep, strong kind of blue. It sort of reminds me of Forget-Me-Nots. And it's superwash Merino.




I've spun about half of the amount I bought for Jensen, but that's drying after being set right now and so a picture wouldn't show the color at all accurately so I haven't bothered to take one yet. Will do that asap...

Updates and New Years...

It's almost New Year's Eve, today being December 30th... Today is my sister Heather's birthday. She is 13. YAY! Happy birthday, Heckie!

I've been spinning my "wine" Ashland Bay merino. Another 98 yards of worsted. It's all yarn now, no more of that roving left. I think a beret/slouch hat for myself... But this seems to be my answer for every bit of yarn I get my hands on nowadays, so who knows what it will end up being. If I'm not careful I'll spin all my stash before NaSpinMoMo on Ravelry... That's a lie... I don't think it's possible with the leaps and bounds my stash has grown by in the last month, and will continue to do so for at least a week longer, most likely (keep reading)...

I brought three knitting projects with me on vacation - I can't remember if I mentioned this before - and when I sat down to start at least one of them last week, I found I have no needles with me for any of them, despite the fact that I've brought all my knitting needles with me. And despite the fact that there is an LYS somewhere near here, I've yet to get over to it when it's open to buy some needles of the correct type and size. Fail, Rachael, fail.

But that's okay because I've found other things to do with my time. Like trolling etsy and ebay for pretty things. I've ordered four rovings, and alchemied another one on etsy (because i just couldn't find what I wanted in the right color/fiber). *facepalm* What was that about not increasing my stash until I had knit it down? That's okay though (*shifty eyes*) because this stuff is for very specific projects. At least that's the intent. I want to make socks for the boys... Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, that is. In their favorite colors. Stripes. Some thick socks to wear on cold days in their trailers or in their house while playing Guitar Hero or whatever it is that they do... Why not. I'm going to aim for a dk or worsted weight and I don't expect that to be too very difficult. I'm also making them matching hats (hats that will match their respective socks, not hats that match each other's). Yes, more hats. Don't judge me. Of course, I have no idea when I'll finish these or when I'll give them to the boys because I don't expect to go to any more conventions any time soon. Susan wants me to come with her to the Vancouver one perhaps, and while Vancouver is beautiful, I have no money for a con that expensive in my hometown, let alone one that will require the addition of round-trip cross-continental, international airfare costs. So maybe I'll give them to Jared at EyeCon again. A day ticket there, I can swing that if I really want to... I just wish they'd up their security and have the damn thing at a time of year when Jensen would maybe want to come too... But I totally understand why he doesn't and if I were him, I don't think I would either. Not that I fault Jared for coming... I guess what I mean to say is, I can see why Jared wants to come to the EyeCon conventions and I can see why Jensen doesn't and I totally support their decisions and think it's perfectly right for them to do what they do... So, yeah... Superwash roving for socks, regular roving for hats. Ordered and on its way here...

Other than that, today I'm just waiting for my parents to get here. They're on their way back from the cabin to where we live in Florida and on their way through SC, they are stopping by the Burough. They should be here any minute...

And that's about it... So if I don't get a chance to say so before then: Happy New Year! May it be a year full or rewards, love, understanding and peace.

Captain America

So... I love comic book movies. I'm not crazy for them, I don't analyze them, I don't freak out if they mess things up (generally speaking), I don't read the comic books they're based on, but I see pretty much every one that's released. I enjoy them. My favorites are The X-Men Trilogy (pretty much only because of Hugh Jackman - he saved it I think - and the amazing Patrick Stewert and Ian McKellan), Spiderman 3 (cause I thought it was a really good way to end the trilogy and that they knocked it out of the park), and Iron Man (cause Robert Downey Jr. is completely AMAZING! in it and I adore him to pieces).

Iron Man, of course, started something new though... It was the first of the many films that studio will produce about The Avengers. The second, of course, was The Incredible Hulk. The next will be Thor and then in 2011, Captain America. The Captain hasn't been cast yet. Fan boards are abuzz with suggestions and speculations. I have two suggestions... I'm sure neither will be listened to... as is usually the case, but until official word comes down from the studio, I hope anyway. I've heard that they want someone younger than both of my fav's, but honestly, I can't imagine anyone in their early-to-mid twenties playing the part. We're not talking Private America... it takes a little time at least to get promoted to Captain, you know. Early 30s seems more reasonable to me than early-to-mid 20s.

So Jensen Ackles would be beautiful and amazing, and he's my number 2 choice.

But my number one - simply because he exudes this amazing energy like he does CO2 when he exhales and just as easily and I find that incredibly hot, I don't care what, and I think that would serve him well as Captain America - John Barrowman. For real and true. I know he's 41 years old, but I defy anyone who doesn't know that to guess a single day over 33 on one of his bad days! Seriously, he's so young looking, it's superhuman.

And when I first heard they were doing Captain America as a movie, I thought of John Barrowman in the role instantly. Jensen is freaking gorgeous and amazingly talented too, and would do an amazing job. I don't mean to slight him in the least by picking John Barrowman over him. I wanted him for the young Captain Kirk in Star Trek 11 so bad and was so disappointed that he wasn't cast. But yeah, John Barrowman for Captain America. *nods*

Seriously, check him out:



Isn't he SO Captain America?!?!?! He is. *nods sagely* And he said at ComicCon when asked that he would love to do it, so yeah... *hoping so much*

And this gorgeous man can sing too (not that that has anything to do with Captain America, but God I love to listen to him sing!):


*passes out from his smokin' hotness*

Ilana, avert thine eyes...

There be beaucoup spoilers for Supernatural Season 4 here...

And this is going to get very weird and be of no interest to anyone who doesn't watch Supernatural.

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k... So there's a question of whether or not Sam has been having sex with Ruby off-camera this season. Now, personally, I doubt it. I mean, yeah, it's possible, but it hasn't been at all confirmed, only very vaguely suggested by circumstantial evidence and in ways that could have completely different explanations, and until it is confirmed - either by Kripke himself or because it's said or shown directly on-screen - I won't believe it. Sam doesn't show any kind of affection toward her. He just won't let Dean send her back to Hell. She doesn't show any particular affection toward him, unless one can take a sympathetic tone of voice as affection. And I've heard many plausible explanations for why Ruby was walking around Sam's motel room in her underwear and a tank top in "Lazarus Rising" (and btw, Sam was nonplussed and fully-dressed himself). It seemed like roommates to me, friends maybe, but not friends-with-benefits.

Even though Jared said this. Actors are often wrong about assumptions they make about their characters and where story lines are going. For example, several years ago Daniel Radcliffe said he thought JK Rowling would kill Harry Potter in the last book and that's how it would all end, which obviously didn't happen. And Orlando Bloom thought that Legolas was younger than Arwen and that Boramir's death was the first time he'd ever had to deal with someone he was close to dying, even said that's the way he was playing things, with these character details in his mind, even though there is nothing in The Lord of the Rings, related novels or movie scripts that would suggest either of those things. In fact, the strongest evidence, found in The Silmarillion, is that Legolas is actually even older than Elrond, Arwen's father, and that he's been battling evil things in Middle Earth since at least the First Age (The Lord of the Rings is set in the time period known as the Third Age). Jared could be just as wrong in his assumption about what Sam and Ruby have been up to in the interim between seasons.

But this question has started some of the most angry and impassioned debate this fandom has ever seen, I think. And if Sam has been having sex with Ruby, I do agree in a very general sort of way with those who have said that Sam would then be raping the woman Ruby has possessed, and indeed, helping Ruby to torture the poor woman. And that is unequivocally wrong and so not cool and Sam should be beaten about the head and neck for not realizing it, and even more so if he did realize it and did it anyway. A swift kick in the balls would be nice too. And if Kripke and the other writers didn't realize that that's essentially what would be going on here if they took this route, they need to have their laptops confiscated for a while and have a time-out to think about what they've done, followed by an appropriately contrite apology for being impetuous and not thinking things through. And if they did realize that Sam would be raping this woman and did it anyway and on purpose, then they just went way darker than I ever thought them capable, and I'm not sure what an appropriate punishment would be in that case because I'm far too shocked by that possibility to come up with one.

Because by Supernatural's own mythology, a person who is possessed by a demon can be conscious of what's going on around them, and to them, but they are entirely trapped and unable to do anything to help themselves or anything or anyone else. Therefore, a woman (or man for that matter) who is possessed is incapable of consenting to anything. And even if the woman whose body Ruby has possessed has been killed, as the Katie Cassidy version of Ruby turned out to be, as we saw in 3.16, if she wasn't dead at the time her body was possessed, her soul and consciousness could be kept alive and trapped inside her body by the demon, as we saw with Meg in Season 1. Even if she dies instantly or within minutes of Ruby leaving her body because of damage incurred while she was possessed, like Meg in "Devil's Trap," that doesn't matter. She still would have been in there while all this has been going on.

However, if the body that Ruby is possessing is essentially an animated corpse, as the FBI agent in "Jus In Bello" and Isaac after he died in "The Magnificent Seven" both seemed to be, if the woman's soul and consciousness is no longer there and she wasn't killed or pushed out by Ruby in order that Ruby could possess her body, I don't have nearly the problem with it. In fact, I don't think I would have any problem with it. Other than, ew, Sam, did you have to? She's a demon! And before anyone brings wank here about it being necrophilia in that case, I disagree. The body isn't dead and rotting as long as Ruby is in it. She lives and breathes inside that body, and eats french fries and pizza, and her heart beats and her brain thinks, so essentially, it would have become Ruby's body, and it's alive as long as she's possessing it.

Furthermore - on the ever-growing list of reasons why I don't think Sam has had sex with Ruby - since Sam has been possessed himself and made to do horrible things he didn't want to do by the demon who had possessed him, I can't for one minute believe the feelings and perspective of the person being possessed by Ruby wouldn't occur to him before he did something stupid. No, and I don't care that it might have been out of blinding grief over loosing Dean. Sam has been shown to be too freaking up tight about such things time and again, even while his opinions on other subjects have changed drastically. He always has seemed to keep his physical needs under tight control, bolted down, and he internalizes more than he seeks outside comfort. I'm not saying it's healthy, but that seems to be what he does. I think it would have been far more in-character if he went out and killed some evil things and then went back to his motel room - alone - to bury himself in a bottle of Jack in order to deal, than that he at any point fucked the grief away with Ruby in the body of a poor possessed woman.

Also, Sam is and always has been shown to be what I would call an exceptionally Good Boy when it comes to how he conducts himself around and toward women. He's entirely sincere with no pretense or ulterior motivation with both Jess (yeah, that's different because that was a long-term relationship) and Madison, and as much as he can be with Sarah Blake. He doesn't flirt casually, even with women he finds attractive. He seems to see that women are not objects of any sort at all and each is a unique and complete person unto themselves, and when he talks to them, it's in a straight-forward manner. I'd argue that while Dean is not a misogynist - that he loves and respects women in general and in particular - he also has a tendency to objectify and put females into nice little boxes without necessarily seeing very far beyond the label he's given them, or they've given themselves, especially if he sees them as a focus of sexual desire, because boy doesn't think with his upstairs brain enough to do otherwise. (It's cute though... in fiction, anyway. Despite myself, I have to admit that. But I also think what Sam does is just as cute and would have a lot more real-life success, at least with me.) Dean has almost nothing else but pretense and ulterior motivation when he talks with women he's attracted to... he wants to get in their pants and he'll say just about whatever he needs to to get there. Now, I won't say he's wrong to do this (he only seems to do this with women who know the score and aren't likely to be offended by his attempt or surprised when he kisses them good-bye), I'm just saying that he's very different from Sam.

In a most recent example of this kind of difference between the two of them, Sam was disgusted when Dean called the barwench a "barwench" in episode 4.06, and he seemed not a little disgusted that she let Dean get away with calling her a "barwench." Now, in the barwench's defense (and yes, I know her name was "Jamie" and that she was a perfectly lovely person), I myself in a similar situation - dressed as a St. Pauly Girl barwench, serving drinks in a bar during Oktoberfest - wouldn't blink at being called a "barwench" by a patron either. It's part of the costume and the persona in that case, and it's all in good fun to play along and go with it. Dean just was being harmlessly flirtatious, he was playing and she knew it and played back (though he was entirely sincere in his desire to pick up said barwench for some after-hours nookie, and he got shut down cold that time too, though he was eventually successful). It's as my friend Karina pointed out, guys who call their brothers out on the inappropriateness of calling a woman dressed as a barwench a "barwench", like Sam did, are not the kinds of guys who would have sex with a woman who can't consent. It does not jive (to borrow the usage from television production) track.

So yeah, I think if anything indecorous was going on with this Sam and Ruby situation, without the writers walking us down the path with Sam to let us know just why and how things have been turned on their head in this area of his character as well, which they have not, it would be seriously, seriously out of character for him. Saying that Sam was trying to be more like Dean wouldn't cut it here. If it were just anonymous one-night-stands, that would be very Dean-like and very anti-Sam-like of this supposed new more Dean-like Sam, but Ruby wouldn't be a one-night-stand, she sticks around, and that she's a demon in a possessed body would go against both Sam and Dean's characters.

Okay... This was weird. I know. But I wanted to post it here because this is the most likely place where I post such things that Kripke and Co. might find it, if (and that's a very big "if") they ever would.

Supernatural next week...

Next week, Supernatural season 4 will start! OMG! O.O I can't wait! Too exciting!!!

Two clips (yes, they're spoilers & yes, they are different from what was shown at ComicCon):





*hyperventilates* OMG! One! Week!

Joss Whedon's new little project...

Yes, oh, yes, this will be awesome. I believe it will be anyway...

What is it? Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

What Joss has to say about its creation in his own words from whedonesque.com:

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

The program of events may be found here.

And be sure to pass this news along and get yourself a banner for your own site... It will be epic! LOL!

Crafty things... :D

Since the cabin being finished keeps being delayed, and now we can't leave Tampa until June 30th at the earliest (ARGHH!!!), I've had to keep myself distracted and busy so as not to loose my mind with frustration and idle waiting... So... I've been crafty...

I finished the hat that I'm making for Jared Padalecki...



It's done with the same pattern I used for the hat I made for Jensen, but I changed colors, as you can see... The black is 100% fine natural black merino wool, and the green is Colonial wool that I got from coppermoose on ebay. I had to keep the green off areas that would touch skin because it's kinda itchy, though the color is lovely... so that informed how I arranged the colors. The black is also double-knit above where the brim folds over, so the hat should be pretty warm, in a good way. Overall, it weighs in at a hefty 6 ounces, due to the heavier merino that is double-knit.

I also made pillows...



They are done with cut-out pre-printed pillow shapes. All I had to do was take batting, quilt each side by machine and then put the sides together and stuff them. I used Nature-fil Bamboo fiber... and I wonder if the left over is spinable... *is plotting* It's about $12 - $14 for 12 ounces of the stuff, so if it is spinable, that is really good. :D

Finally, I made onesies for my niece, Sophie. (And by "made," I mean I ironed on t-shirt transfers.) Her birthday is coming up in August, and like the good aunt I am, I plan to spoil her with presents...

These first two don't have designs on the back.



But the rest do have backs...




YAY! :D

Random stuff...

Got nothing particularly interesting to report... We lost power the other day and since then my computer won't turn on. I'm taking it to get looked at by professionals today. Hopefully, they'll figure out what's wrong quickly. I'm sorta getting used to this laptop my parents are letting me use, but I miss my computer and all my files.

We all know that Jared Padalecki's having a hard time right now, so if you haven't already, go give him your love and support over here. He will read it. *nods, nods* We think...

Also, I cannot find the yarn for making Jared's hat! This is not good. I need to find it. I wanted to have it all finished by the time they go back to set so I can send the hats to both of them at the same time. I also need to get my computer back because the patterns are all on there. I might have printed out the one that I was going to use for Jared's hat, and if I did, it's with the yarn. But I've been looking for it all night and I can't find it anywhere. Will continue searching...

When I haven't been searching for the yarn, cleaning or doing dishes, I've been watching videos from the Dallas Convention on YouTube. LOL! Looks like everyone had a real good time, as usual. And I hope being with the fans helped Jared at least a little bit.

I wish I could go to EyeCon in September. We'll see if that works out...

In other news, I think I'm addicted to this yummy organic chai Ilana sent me. And I usually hate chai, but this stuff is really good. It's called Numi "Golden Chai". Really good stuff... and I've used it all up... *sad face* On a happier note, I've been using the soap Ilana also sent, and it is yummy. I love how much it lathers, and it really does work very well as shampoo! I'm ashamed to say it, but I was really surprised at how well, never having used a solid shampoo before... Very cool, Ilana!

EyeCon videos...

I know since the Dallas Convention was this last weekend, pretty much everyone is going to be watching those videos and reading those reports, but I just got my camera functional again so I finally got my videos and pictures uploaded to my computer so I can share them with the world now (Yay!!). So these are videos from the Q&A's at EyeCon in Orlando last April, which I was lucky enough to attend.

(A note for Ilana - there are technically some spoilers in Jared's and Jim's videos, but they are so out of context and so far away from what you're watching right now and they have so little explaination that they aren't *really* spoilers... LOL! I think I just want you to be able to watch them anyway.)







This one is Jim Beaver answering the question he was asked about pranks that have been played on him on set. He's so cool... I <3 Bobby...



And this last one is of Sandy, talking about when Jared asked her to marry him. :-( I'm very sad to report that Jared and Sandy both confirmed in the last several days that they have broken off their engagement and are no longer together. It was a mutual decision, they both said, and they came to the conclusion that they are at different places in their lives right now, and that this is what's best for them. (The "rumors" that have been posted on the internet at imdb.com, lj and elsewhere are absolutely NOT TRUE. They are lies that some psycho person has been posting. Do not believe them or spread them.) I'm very sad about the news and for them because... well, I just am. I have no right to be at all, since I don't know them, but I am anyway. But, happily, there aren't any spoilers in this video at all...



Also... pictures...

Jim Beaver ("Bobby Singer"):


Samantha Ferris ("Ellen"), Chad Lindberg ("Ash"), and Alona Tal ("Jo"):


Sandy McCoy ("Crossroads Demon" #3):


Gabriel Tigerman ("Andy"):


Steve Carlson (who is awesome! Check him out!):


Chad and Gabe, getting ready to play "Guitar Hero" at the Platinum Party (Gabe was warning us that he sucked at it... which is okay... after all, we don't love him for his ability to play video games... :D)...


Jared Padalecki (... "Sam Winchester"... tell me that you knew that...):

O.O

Due to Ilana not having seen it or anything leading up to it, I will not spoil the Season 3 Finale of Supernatural here. I will say that is one of the most amazing episodes EVER! And one of the most amazing hours of television EVER! (Despite the outrageous abundance of commercials, including the %%*&$%$!%#$%@#$#$!#@$ FIVE MINUTE commercial break with less than 10 minutes left in the hour! Those of you who watch on DVD, be glad you won't have to endure that...)

If you don't watch Supernatural, this summer is the perfect time to start and catch up because next season could be the most amazing yet. Kripke & Co. keep upping the ante and it is impressive!

Supernatural news!

The Season 3 DVD will be released August 26, 2008.

Look how pretty:



In other news, there's tonight's episode and then only one more new one and that will be all they wrote for Season 3!

Just a reminder:

Made by dodger_winslow on livejournal... who I do not know... but look at the pretteh!

'Cause, seriously, our fandom does Win at Life. It's very true.

In other news, I got my yarn from KnitPicks. It's awesome! And I can't wait to get into it... There will be a post later with pics...

And KnitPicks is evil! OMG! Look they have new lace yarn samplers!! The downside to these is that there are no patterns for each skein, so one would have to come up with their own idea for each different color. Which to me is a major downside.

Today was the greatest day of them all...

Okay, so maybe not, but that line from the Smashing Pumpkins song just went through my head when I was trying to think of a title for this post.

But.

Today was AWESOME! Just so you know...

I got to class. A major plus. Afterward I got together with Stacey and we went to the College of Education and got info on their Masters of Arts in Teaching programs in the fields we're interested in. It would be so amazing if she and I get to go through the MAT program together! I think neither of us would feel so alone doing that if we have each other.

After that, we got together with Mia for lunch in the Marshall Center (which is the Student Union), and very soon Chelsea joined us. I was so happy because I haven't seen any of them in months! Even though all of us, with the exception of Stacey, go to school there and are on campus just about everyday. You'd think we would see each other more, but no, we are all so freaking busy and our schedules completely conflict. So YAY!!! we had lunch, then went to the mall to get boba and chocolate (which might be why I'm so hyper now because chocolate turned into chocolate + candy and I's on a SUGAR HIGH right nao), and then Stacey had to head home so we said goodbye to her and then the rest of us headed to the used bookstore near school and moar fun tiemz ensued.

Came home, got my presents from Ilana, and finished Jensen's hat! YAY!!!! *runz arowwnd liek a crazy* (I told you - sugar LOL! *facepalm*) It only took me three days from when I cast on the stitches on Saturday...

Oh, and I has pikturez... Thank God for camera phones, 'cuz I still don't have the computer cable for my digital.

Looks way better on than it does not...


Yes, that is LOST on my tv in the background...


And the other side...


Has a neat little decreased top, it does... See the nice pattern:


And from the front... :D Tha's me...


This hat is so comfy. In my hands, it feels like it might be itchy because the wool is tough, not silky, but then when I put it on, it only feels warm and cosy, not at all itchy, not even on my ears. And if it's not itchy on me, I don't think anyone would find it so.


It's made out of 70% Corriedale wool and 30% mohair, handspun 2-ply that I made from roving from Yarns, Etc. in Greensboro. The hat pattern is the Cashmere Rib Hat by Jessica at Fig & Plum.

Hear my Squeals of Joy!!!

Yay!!! I got my wooly prize from Ilana today!! I danced around the living room looking for something to open the package with. And lo, what do I find upon opening? A lovely skein of lovely green Navajo churro wool, a wooly toy for my kitties and a bar of her yummy shampoo-body bar that she made not too long ago I think. *squeals of joy* The kitties are thusfar skeptical of the wooly toy, but I think it's too cute! The soap looks like a piece of candy, I think, and smells like yummy bread dough (I guess that would be the beer?). And the wool is just yummy! It is a single, I estimate at 188 yards. And I love the color! (What did you dye it with?) Kind of forest-y and mossy, and it changes subtly as I turn it around in the light. And it smells yummy too! Not sure what it smells like, but it's yummy...

Thank you so much, Ilana!!! *big hugs*

Also, my friend Phaedra now has a blogspot blog... It will be linked momentarily in the right-hand column.

And in other news, today was made of awesome! Because I got info on the MAT programs at school, had lunch with Stacey (and got my Supernatural Season 1 DVDs back from her after she had borrowed them and didn't give them back for four months - LOL!), Mia and Chelsea, and then went to the mall for boba and chocolate, then to a bookstore where fun ensued, only to come home to presents from Ilana, and then - to top it all off - I just finished Jensen's hat! (*squeals for joy*) Pictures will be up momentarily...

I'm home!

Jared did the exorcism for us:



For the eternal squee!!!!

EyeCon... Yes!

Two things...

One... my kitty being adorable, sleeping in the laundry...



Two... I've spun a lot of the stuff I've bought recently, in particular that stuff that I bought for Jared and Jensen's hats.

I need help choosing now. I think that the gray for Jared's is out. The gray that I got, stupidly, is too coarse.

For Jared's I was thinking the green, and for Jensen's the blue-gray. I need help choosing what will go with it. I've got natural black, natural brown and natural white (which is more of a slightly off-white). I'm not sure if it will be for the stripes or for the main color. But let me know what you think...







For further visualization, these are some of the patterns that I'm considering using... The Chocolate and green ribbed hat, the 1x1 Rib Hat, the Watch Cap, and the Simple Ribbed Cap. There are others that don't have pictures. But these are basically the two types, those with fold-up brims and those without. Which do you prefer? Which do you think the boys would prefer? Either way, they will have stripes.

I'm also thinking of making one for Sandy, Jared's fiancee, just because... For her, I'm thinking something with cables... maybe in white? 'Cause wouldn't she look amazing (like she doesn't already!) in a white cabled stocking cap? Something like Anna of Green Cables maybe... Haven't really started looking for patterns for her yet...

That's all... *hugs everyone*