well, i have got bad news, the unemployed crafter was overlooked on the washingtonian's list of the best dc blogs. i know you are all in shock, i am having trouble coming to terms with this myself. i am thinking that the main cause of the problem may be the fact that they didn't have a best craft blog category (i would have clearly been on that list). here is my strategy for making next year's list: 1.update my blog more regularly 2.go to different dc social events, tell everyone i am a blogger, and look shocked when they have never heard of my blog 3.increase my following among dc's young & hip 4.meet someone from the washingtonian and get them to take a look at my blog - it is always handy to have someone on the inside.
i finally finished let the right one in by john ajvide lindqvist. i had first heard about the novel when the movie adaptation of the same name came out late last year. the novel was originally written in swedish and the movie was done by a swedish director. the rights of the film have now been bought by one of the major hollywood companies. it is set to be directed by the same person who directed cloverfield. it took me much longer than i expected to actually finish the novel. the story is essentially about the relationship between a young boy and a neighborhood vampire, but beware this is no twilight knock off. on the cover, there are comparisons to stephen king, which i think probably ring true. as i have never read a stephen king novel, i do not know for sure, but it certainly had the dark overtones that i suspect a stephen king novel would contain. this novel dealt with some pretty gritty subjects - pedophilia, violent school yard bullying, revenge, and murder. while there were also some heart warming moments in the novel, most of it raised the hairs on the back of my neck (there was an especially awful moment that involved a number of cats towards the end). i would only recommend this novel to vampire-stephen-king-lovers, the story is just not compelling enough for those of us that do not enjoy a good scare. i still have not seen the film, but i have high expectations (it got rave reviews when it first came out).
on friday night, i went to see thao with the get down stay down at black cat (a local dc music venue). her latest album, we brave bee stings and all, was critically acclaimed and she is now starting to make it 'big' in the states. thao, who is now 25, went to thomas jefferson high school (tj, to us northern virginians) and to william & mary for undergrad. it is nice to see a local gal doing well on the national scene, even if she has relocated to san fransisco. i was a little disappointment by the concert. first of all, the second opening act, sister suvi, was awful. they took themselves far too seriously and just didn't sound very good. i think thao and tgdsd sounded great, but they did not interact with the audience as much as i would have liked. there was great energy in the crowd, so i am not sure why they did not play it up more. even if she didn't do as well as i had hoped, i still highly recommend her music. the washingtonpost had an article on her yesterday.
what a disappointment. i finally saw the last episode of battlestar galactica and it definitely did not meet my expectations. i was looking forward to a few final plot twists and surprises and i got none. instead, they tied all the knots, but also left gaping holes and inconsistencies. the two-hour long finale felt more like the end of one of my brother's intergalactic video game than a tv show. i thoroughly enjoyed the series as a whole. it was not just for sci-fi lovers, but for people who enjoy a good story and interesting characters. i hope that the prequel (set to be released on dvd later this month) will make up for the poor series finale.
yesterday was day 10 for my amish friendship bread, that means it was baking day! the bag had been unrefrigerated & fermenting since i received it. so, when i opened it, the dough smelt a lot like glue - not very appetizing. i didn't actually read the recipe before i started putting everything together, i assumed that since the recipe is from the amish there would be no surprise ingredients. of course, i was wrong. apparently, the amish use vanilla/chocolate powdered pudding (who knew?). luckily, i managed to find a box in the cupboard. it expired october '07, but i still used it. it tasted and looked perfectly fine. after adding a ton of sugar and and chocolate chips it was ready to bake. one of the loaves is already finished and i plan on bringing the other one with me to work.
not sure what my obsession with broken ceramics is, but i am really into using them in my photos. i have been keeping bits of broken ceramic mugs/cups/pots for a while now in the hopes that i will do some mosaics. i tried to incorporate a few shards in my jewelry (a la broken plate), but was not successful. below are some of the better pictures i took today:
on friday i was given an amish friendship bread starter. according to the pamphlet that came along with the starter, it originated with the amish and only they know the recipe. of course, i managed to find starter recipes all over the internet. there is a ten day process before baking the bread. the first five days consist of 'mushing' the bag, on the sixth day i add several ingredients. i then continue 'mushing' the bag until day ten when i add more ingredients and throw it into the oven. before i add the final lot of ingredients i need to take four cups of the batter out and put each into a separate gallon bag. i am then suppose to give away each bag to a friend and they continue the cycle. i am only on day two, so i still have a bit of time to contemplate who my lucky four friends will be...
