25 September 2006

Reading Moby-Dick at 30,000 Feet

At this height, Kansas
is just a concept,
a checkerboard design of wheat and corn

no larger than the foldout section
of my neighbor's travel magazine.
At this stage of the journey

I would estimate the distance
between myself and my own feelings
is roughly the same as the mileage

from Seattle to New York,
so I can lean back into the upholstered interval
between Muzak and lunch,

a little bored, a little old and strange.
I remember, as a dreamy
backyard kind of kid,

tilting up my head to watch
those planes engrave the sky
in lines so steady and so straight

they implied the enormous concentration
of good men,
but now my eyes flicker

from the in-flight movie
to the stewardess's pantyline,
then back into my book,

where men throw harpoons at something
much bigger and probably
better than themselves,

wanting to kill it, wanting
to see great clouds of blood erupt
to prove that they exist.

Imagine being born and growing up,
rushing through the world for sixty years
at unimaginable speeds.

Imagine a century like a room so large,
a corridor so long
you could travel for a lifetime

and never find the door,
until you had forgotten
that such a thing as doors exist.

Better to be on board the Pequod,
with a mad one-legged captain
living for revenge.

Better to feel the salt wind
spitting in your face,
to hold your sharpened weapon high,

to see the glisten
of the beast beneath the waves.
What a relief it would be

to hear someone in the crew
cry out like a gull,
Oh Captain, Captain!
Where are we going now?

© Tony Hoagland

24 September 2006

Where is Emily?

I have been crazy busy with work and school and parenting so not much knitting has been happening around here. I've knit a few more rows on the Rainbow Brite socks and cast on a hat with some Fun With Yarn for a quick project but that's it. Once I get whip my schedule ino submission (or forsake responsibility for knitting) you'll be hearing from me.

15 September 2006

Christmas in October

The President of the college where I work sent this to me today, I told him I needed a raise...

Small Dog Electronics, New England'’s premier Apple Computer Specialist and a top five Apple Specialist in the USA, announces the opening of its first retail store in Chittenden County, located at 100 Dorset Street in South Burlington, one of New England'’s most popular shopping destinations. This will be Small Dog Electronics flagship retail operation, and will offer an unprecedented Apple Computer shopping, service, and education experience. The retail store plans to open in mid-October of 2006.

In blogging news, this is my 200th post! I will celebrate by eating cake at Elah's 6th birthday party tomorrow.

12 September 2006

Sheep & Wool 06

The VT Sheep & Wool festival was this weekend and I went with some fellow knitters. Go check out some pictures here:
http://web.mac.com/e_to_the_m/iWeb/emilysaid/swf06.html

I purchased 1 skein f yarn while I was there, 500 yards of an 80 wool, 20 nylon sock yarn from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm. She also has straight wool, wool/tencel blends and wool/silk blends displayed on a wall of socky goodness.

Emily Stoneking was home sick and we all missed her very much.

35goat

06 September 2006

Burn Your Bra

OK, so it's not a bra for Barbie nor Betty Boop. I'm knitting toe up socks with Regia Nation Fun. I don't know where I'll wear them; I must be having some kind of weird 1984 Rainbow Brite flashback. My original plan was to knit the 3 skeins I have until I ran out of yarn and hope it was enough for knee highs but Elah loves them so much I'll use 2 skeins for my ginormous feet and 1 skein for her.

School's started and my knitting is suffering but I hope to be done with these soon. In the mean time go check out the socks Jared just finished; I am totally in love (with the socks). Also go check out Cara, I'm pretty sure she's responsible for my knee high obsession.

2fer

02 September 2006

New Beginnings

So Scatter's been scrapped for now; she too short and too wide. I should have realized the problem earlier (and indeed did) but I was hoping against hope that the situation would magically rectify itself. I know better and have no one to blame but myself. I will reknit it eventually but not quite yet.

To make myself feel better I cast on a new project, can you guess what it is? *Hint: It's not a bikini for Barbie.

what

PS Did you listen to Cast-On this week? The intro if effing high-larious.