2 weeks 2 go

i have discovered that keeping my hands busy is the best way to make the time go by. that has translated into knitting, crocheting, doing crossword puzzles and reading, and has, for better or for worse, relegated television and movie-watching to the times when the medicine makes me jittery enough to keep me from creating. fortunately, it's not that often.

i read a phenomenal book called here, there and everywhere by chris roberson. quite intriguing. it takes the concept of time travel and expands upon it a thousand-fold. every decision we make leads to alternative "life threads" to be explored--and one woman has been given the power to explore them. it's really fascinating, and a very quick read.

my sister-in-law dropped off diana gabaldon's outlander series for me to explore. it was slow going at first but is gaining speed. brain candy, in the historical, somewhat-trashy romance genre.

on the movie front, i took in Les Choristes the other day and loved almost every minute of it. it was playing in london the last time i visited and i knew better than to attempt to convince dh to see it with me. a small film, called somewhat sappy by the "professional" critics, but the production values were very good and i enjoyed being transported off my couch for a while.

Anchorman, on the other hand, was one of the worst pieces of crap i've seen in a long time. so shlocky and stupid. my brother raves about will ferrell and his comedic genius, but honestly, as much as i enjoyed some of his other films, like elf and... and... well, i know i've watched him in other things, this film was just insipid. sorry, js....

my thoughts are still with the london victims of the tube and bus bombings. fortunately, none of my family there was directly involved, but it provided, like it did for almost everyone else, a wake up call that all of them are at risk, just like all of us are still at risk. i was pleased to see that the stoicism that resides in the backbone of england came forth and business went on as usual--especially in the financial sector. hopefully that sent a message to the terrorists who tried to "hit westerners where it hurts." and i was doubly pleased that cable mass media stopped carrying the story for hours at a time two or three days after the bombings occurred. the sensationalism that pervades cnn, msnbc, foxnews and the other 24 hour news channels is just sick. why can't npr have a news channel? i'm guessing it wouldn't be popular enough to compete and survive, especially with the lack of commercial support that has always been the hallmark of public broadcasting.

we now have a name for the bambino, but we're keeping it to ourselves until he actually makes his appearance. still, it's comforting to cross that task off my ever-growing list of things to do.

cincinnati entertainment awards nominees are out now in citybeat. i'm glad that john, rick and the rest of the crew decided to separate music and theatre. talk about polar audiences! fans get to vote on 12 of the 19 awards. i was happy to see that new stage collective's kimberly akimbo picked up two nominees--sue breving and anthony darnell for their respective roles. it would be wonderful for the company if they win, but the nominations are a coup, especially since nsc's season has two more shows in it this summer. not that i'm trying to influence the votes....

discovered two new yarns this week--blue sky alpacas' alpaca and silk yarn and rowan's denim yarn. the alpaca and silk is a joy to work with; it's so nice to have yarn that doesn't squeak when you pull it off the needle. fiberge stocks both--though it's a bit of a hike from my abode, it was well-worth it. what a neat yarn shop.

i'm looking forward to getting back to running once the bambino is out and i am considered well-enough to start back. i've my eyes set on the thanksgiving day race, a great 10K through downtown cincy and covington that's relatively flat. i'll have to see how training goes, though. if i can start running again in september, that should give me eight weeks at least. i'm not setting my hopes yet.

two weeks to go... i'm counting!