I seem to have struck on a theme in my recent distractions: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lolita, The Psychopath Test and American Psycho.
The correlation between the pieces and their exploration of the darker facets of the mind was accidental (two of the books were recent recommendations from friends and the film just happened to be on at the Prince Charles cinema at the weekend), nonetheless, I've enjoyed wandering through the connections. Instead of putting down a book, reflecting and moving on, the reflection I've had recently has been more of a flow, an interaction between the pieces. I've dissected Dorian Gray in a more meaningful way since reflecting on whether he'd be deemed a psychopath using Robert Hare's checklist. All the main protagonists are antiheros, and the 'other' - both in the sense of the antihero's disconnection from societal norms, the darker side of the human mind, and society's outcasts as other e.g. prostitute, criminal, pedophile, murderer - he darker side of society.
Even as I'm writing this I'm linking it to Frankenstein, which I saw at the National Theatre last year and have in a pile of books waiting to be read - Frankenstein is swimming in an exploration of otherness, detachment and alienation.
I like that instead of having isolated experiences with these pieces, my interactions are nourished, impacted and coloured by the previous reading/watching. The integration of these unconnected pieces into a paradigm of thought has been far more pleasurable than experiencing any of the works in isolation.
I don't propose to stringently apply themes to future reading lists, because although thematic links between pieces appeals to me, it's even more pleasurable when the connections are stumbled upon somewhat accidentally.
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Sunday 6 May 2012
Easy peasy knitting squeezy
KNITTING
I can't just sit still and do nothing - I mainly knit when watching tv in the evening. It makes me feel less of a slob if I'm doing something productive while vegging out. Although you have to concentrate when you're first learning, it soon becomes automatic.
Having a project and creating something feels good. I love making things - cooking, painting etc. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment. Plus it's awesome being able to make a unique gift for someone, I get real pleasure from that.
I just finished the scarf in the photo. I did it slowly over a couple of years (I had other knitting projects on the go and went back to this one whenever I wanted to do something more simple).
It's really easy peasy, here's how it's done:
Cast on however many stitches you like, but make sure it's an odd number.
Then knit one purl one knit one purl one all the way to the end of the row.
On the next row, knit one purl one knit one purl one - always start with a knit stitch on every row.
Because you have an odd number of stitches and you always start with a knit, you'll get a lovely bobbly textured pattern.
I won't bother describing casting on and off, or how to do knit and purl stitches, because there's so many good YouTube clips out there for those things.
I always use Rowan yarns. They are a bit more expensive, but the best quality. I go to John Lewis for mine, the staff are really well informed, and are especially helpful if you tell them you're a beginner. Choose your wool and then ask the staff to show you what needles to buy - it does state what size on the wool packaging, but there's UK and US sizing, I've got it wrong before!
For your first project use a chunky wool as you'll get quicker results. Oh and use bamboo needles, they are much lighter than metal ones and won't make a loud 'clacking' noise when you knit.
Knitting's also good because if you go wrong you can just unravel a couple of rows. Although I think a few imperfections are good!
Finally, take your knitting with you on long train/car journeys, it really helps pass the time - it's sort of meditative. I knitted a big chunk of this scarf on the way back from the Edinburgh festival a couple of years ago.
I can't just sit still and do nothing - I mainly knit when watching tv in the evening. It makes me feel less of a slob if I'm doing something productive while vegging out. Although you have to concentrate when you're first learning, it soon becomes automatic.
Having a project and creating something feels good. I love making things - cooking, painting etc. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment. Plus it's awesome being able to make a unique gift for someone, I get real pleasure from that.
I just finished the scarf in the photo. I did it slowly over a couple of years (I had other knitting projects on the go and went back to this one whenever I wanted to do something more simple).
It's really easy peasy, here's how it's done:
Cast on however many stitches you like, but make sure it's an odd number.
Then knit one purl one knit one purl one all the way to the end of the row.
On the next row, knit one purl one knit one purl one - always start with a knit stitch on every row.
Because you have an odd number of stitches and you always start with a knit, you'll get a lovely bobbly textured pattern.
I won't bother describing casting on and off, or how to do knit and purl stitches, because there's so many good YouTube clips out there for those things.
I always use Rowan yarns. They are a bit more expensive, but the best quality. I go to John Lewis for mine, the staff are really well informed, and are especially helpful if you tell them you're a beginner. Choose your wool and then ask the staff to show you what needles to buy - it does state what size on the wool packaging, but there's UK and US sizing, I've got it wrong before!
For your first project use a chunky wool as you'll get quicker results. Oh and use bamboo needles, they are much lighter than metal ones and won't make a loud 'clacking' noise when you knit.
Knitting's also good because if you go wrong you can just unravel a couple of rows. Although I think a few imperfections are good!
Finally, take your knitting with you on long train/car journeys, it really helps pass the time - it's sort of meditative. I knitted a big chunk of this scarf on the way back from the Edinburgh festival a couple of years ago.
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