In my lap

On My Lap

Projects

I read this in the Sunday Paper 2007: Are we turning the page on reading? By CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI BLADE STAFF WRITER Which got me thinking, as we look back on 2007 and consider the year in books, has print finally turned a corner? Two of 2007's biggest publishing events left a wildly divergent picture of the future: On the positive side, the year's unquestionable blockbuster was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - which sold 10 million copies in 24 hours and left wags wagging about how Harry created a generation of readers. On the negative, the National Endowment for the Arts released a study, that America is reading less for pleasure than ever before - particularly young America. But don't feel bad: The French published How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, which became a hit over here, too. (I bought this book for my roommate) What you saw less of this year, thankfully, were bitter polemics - though Stephen Colbert had a huge hit with a parody of one. One could argue, however, that O.J. Simpson's If I Did It, finally released, is bitter and polemical; it's also a hit, having sold more than 100,000 copies since October. That said, so concerned are we that kids are overly obsessed with celebrity and not getting out from behind computers that another hit of 2007, The Dangerous Book for Boys, was more or less a manual for being a child. My favorite book of 2007? They asked me to pick one. Three books come to mind: Alex Ross' The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, an unlikely, engrossing history of classical music and how it shaped rock and hip-hop and how we hear in general; Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End, a moving first novel with a keen understanding of hive mentalities (written in the cultish "We") that, after The Office and Office Space, rescues office novels from the usual satire. And the best: Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a buzzsaw of an immigrant novel that skips from high culture to low, from its hero's family legacy in the Dominican Republic, back to his pitiful life in the States as a fat, virginal, Lord-of-the-Rings loser. Funny and moving, told in a zippy combination of Spanglish, pop-culture shorthand, and literary flourish, Diaz's first book in a decade is so vibrant it's likely to force a reconsideration of the immigrant saga - and America. Contact Christopher Borrelli at: cborrelli@theblade.com What was your favorite read of 2007? On my lap at any given time you will find my belly, having gained quite a bit of weight this year; a ball of yarn; a kitty; or a good book. This Year, I have read or heard. Books 1 through 4 of the Vampire Huntress Series. Books 6 and 7 of the Southern Vampire Series The entire Harry Potter Collection Pornology Right now, I am finishing up two yarn projects. The knitted cape has completely worked my nerves but I am finally down to the last two buttons. The yarn-stash blanket proved to take more time that I had allotted for it. It will be complete this week. Thank god. It is driving me crazy. The wrap has suffered because of the baby blanket. But it will be on my lap today. Happy New Year

Frizzy Hooker Yarn Stash Afghan Blanket Now if I could just finish this one! I B Knitty Great Escape Cape I finally finished the collar and now I need to add the buttons and it is done. Knotted Openwork Shawl Should be getting back to this one this week. Frizzy Reader

Entry for December 26, 2007

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Still Very Busy

Enjoy the Song
Online Videos by Veoh.com

Very Busy This Week

Enjoy the son

The Strangest Things Happen to Me

Strays

Projects

This is what I want you to consider. I drove 2 hours immediately after work to attend a training from 8 pm to 10 pm. Paid $20 for materials and probably $60 in mileage. The next day the training began at 8 am. The second half of the training began at 2 pm and ended at 4 pm. This video was used to illustrate the roles of those being trained. The trainer received the official PowerPoint a few days before the training. She informed us that she had been forced to scale it down by 50% for our time frame. She would use interactive exercises so as not to bore us with the PPT. For this, I was appreciative. Death by PowerPoint is not what I want my obituary to read. The woman represented the (let's say) HR director where you work. The little girl is the manager. The man is the reference/person/policy that would disrupt the hiring process. The police car represents the regional manager. The man at the end of the video represents that district manager (who reports to the regional manager). Now watch the video. What did YOU learn from the video about the role of the HR director? I am not making this up. People were actually engaged in discussion. Others were laughing so hard their eyes were watering. I was appalled. Someone told me that she wished she had been a fly on the wall when the trainer sat in front of her computer and said to herself, "I have the perfect video for this portion of the training." I ripped the trainer up in my evaluation and made a phone call. Just to make my week just as interesting as my weekend, I found a stray kitten that had been trapped in my garage while I was gone. Monday night it begins howling. I tried to catch in order to get rid of it for good. Lydia, my neighbor, who keeps feeding the strays has been catching them and getting them fixed at the Vet's or taking them to the Humane Society. Well, it bit me and bit me good. I had to go to the emergency room ($50 co-pay) in order to get a script for antibiotics. I talked them out of a rabies shot. She has been feeding them for two years. They have no need to go roaming around and catching rabies. Of course, I let Lydia know that she has caused me harm. Her daughter and I pleaded with her to stop feeding the strays out of her garage. To illustrate my point, I bled on her rug. No more knitting/crocheting for me for a minute... :: Update Lydia informed me today when I arrived home from work that the cat is still in garage. She heard it howling today. Funny, when she told me this she had cat food in her hand and was on her way to her garage. Do you see the irony? This is all her fault..... Today, I was in my car doing things that might make a man stare while sitting at the railroad crossing. They were the type of gestures, I will do when I am alone or with really good female friends. I looked to my right and I see this guy staring, wide mouthed at me. I politely smile and drove off. At the next traffic signal, he aligns his car with mine and holds up his cell phone. He is mouthing some words......Riyeeet...... I turned my head and began applying lotion to my hands in the sexiest manner possible. That was worth my $120 weekend.

Frizzy Hooker Yarn Stash Afghan Blanket This one is coming along. I am excited to have found a way to get rid of my yarn stash and have fun with it. I B Knitty Great Escape Cape I am forced to redo the entire collar. So much for my following the directions. Knotted Openwork Shawl This is really wide. Might be more of a blanket.

It is That Serious

Article published Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Former University student pleads guilty in bank robbery

News STAFF

READING, Ohio - A former University of City student has pleaded guilty for his role in robbing a bank July 17 in this Hamilton County city, authorities said.

Andrew Butler, 20, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of aggravated robbery and six felony counts of kidnapping and is in the Hamilton County jail in Cincinnati without bond. He will be sentenced Dec. 27 and could face up to 20 years in prison, according to a bailiff for Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Steven E. Martin.

Butler, a former U freshman majoring in theater, was on summer vacation at the time of the incident, according to U spokesman. His mother has contended that her son needed money for college tuition and other expenses.

"He just really was struggling, working two jobs here, you know, temp jobs, two jobs and trying to get the money," Franki Butler said this summer.

About 12:30 p.m. July 17, two men robbed the Valley Central Savings Bank of an undisclosed amount of money, Reading police said.

After the robbery, the men were seen changing vehicles in the Lincoln Heights area about two miles northwest of the bank. Later in the day, Cincinnati police officers spotted a vehicle matching the description of the one the men used last.

Officers stopped the vehicle and found Butler and Christopher Avery, 22, also of Cincinnati, inside and took them to the Reading Police Department for questioning. During the interview, both admitted to the bank robbery, Reading police said.

Still later, Reading police served search warrants at the men's respective residences and recovered a handgun and a shotgun believed to have been used in the robbery as well as most of the money taken in the robbery, officers said.

At the time of the incident, Avery was a student at the University of Cityb, according to his attorney.

Avery, who also pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of aggravated robbery and six counts of kidnapping, is also being held in the county jail without bond, pending his sentencing in court Dec. 27, the bailiff said.