Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

elvis costello - what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?

noro striped scarf

at the risk of actually finishing a project (see: 1 charade sock, keyhole top), i've started a new project. i love knitting largely for the chance to work tactically with color, and so noro yarns definitely are my favorites.


this striped scarf idea is all over the place, but i tried to mix it up a bit by randomly defining the length of the stripe. i'm not really pleased with how the edging is working out (pulling the alternate yarn up is a bit messy), but i'm liking the product so far.

still a ways to go, but i'm looking forward to bundling up with some new colors this winter.

eric hutchison - oh

my heart breaks without this

i miss bike&build.

orhan pamuk - snow

snow || orhan pamuk || 4.0/5.0 stars

i have a thing for nobel laureates of literature. kipling, sinclair lewis, steinbeck, jose saramago, hemingway, neruda, garcia marquez... you really can't go wrong. i love them all. so i was excited to try out mr. pamuk, the 2006 laureate "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".

i liked the book, but i was expecting more. its always hard to read a novel in translation, and i'm hoping that may be the cause of my discontent here. i'm very much a reader for language, and i didn't love the verbiage in snow. certainly a good story, and a very timely one. the novel hinges around the 'headscarf girls' - supporters of the political islamist party in kars, turkey. the plot unfolds over a three day period, in which the town is cut off by snow, and during which a short coup is made by a visiting theatre personality.

i've put my name is red, one of pamuk's earlier novels on my list & will give him another shot sometime - hoping to enjoy that one a bit more.

the girl effect

one of the most difficult things to grasp about the UN's millennium goals is the focus on women and girls. its an important point, however, and the focus of the targets is supported by the realities of data and of ground experience. you owe it to yourself to learn more about the issue if you're not convinced. check out the resources made available through the girl effect's website and peruse the UN site as well. or visit the center for global development. there's lots and lots of work to do - billions of reasons why.