Put Those Fangs Away, Mr Propp

I'm toying with the idea of reading a couple of articles in From Homer to Hypertext: Studies in Narrative, Literature and Media. And I'm very amused that Amazon recommends 'laurell k. hamilton', 'paranormal romances' and 'dark hunter series' as similar products. I now have a vision of narratologists sinking their sharpened fangs into the alabaster necks of unsuspecting guest lecturers.. .. okay, no more coffee for me today.

Ps. I accidentally ordered some red alpaca/silk worsted weight the other day. First yarn purchase in a month! Any good ideas for cardigans or sweaters?

Old Boys' Club

Aspiring authors of the Anglophone persuasion, take note:

Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin, (..) gets four or so [manuscripts] a week - despite a note on the website that declares "Sadly, we're unable to consider unsolicited manuscripts. The best way to find a publisher is through an agent." These four are given to people in the office for a week or two on work experience; if they think there's any merit in the submission, it goes to publishing director Simon Prosser or one of his permanent colleagues. Yet nothing in the past 10 years has actually ended up in print that way. The only books that have been published and not arrived via an agent were recommended by friends in the publishing industry, or by Hamish Hamilton's writers, "which is slightly different, because there is some connection," says Prosser.

Aida Edemariam, an editor, has something to say about authors, agents and the publishing industry. The rules are slightly different in Denmark but not as different as you might expect.

"Antimatter's Sort Of Matter's Evil Twin.."

Via my Other Half, I bring you The Large Hadron Rap. Yes, the wacky nice physicists at the CERN project have written a rap which explains what exactly it is that the Large Hadron Collider does.

I tell you, physicists rock. And throw some ace moves too.

Hurricane Season

For some reason this escaped my attention: three years after Hurricane Katrina, Banksy visits New Orleans. I still remember my friend E. sitting in her Copenhagen flat with the post-Katrina issue of Newsweek/Time. She opened the magazine, looked at the aerial photo of New Orleans and put her finger on a completely devastated area: "That is where I lived until just recently." She had worked in New Orleans during Hurricane Ivan and had decided not to endure another hurricane season.

io9 has an interesting photo feature on Hurricane Gustav: "New Orleans is fast becoming one of the most disaster-prepared cities in the world.."

Where To Go From Here

When I was a teenager, I had to rely on the local library for instructions on how to knit sweaters. I never did make one, although I crocheted a rainbow coloured top out of granny squares. Nowadays there are a plethora of sources, both on the internet and in my local magazine pusher. Knitty is the mother of all free pattern sites. It features young designers and designs that are both versatile, wearable and fairly easy. Clapotis has become ubiquitous, it seems.

MetaPostModernKnitting is quite new and I love it. I love how they have a clear fashion editorial style, how they think about emerging trends and how they pull it all together in trend reports. It's clever, it's fashion forward and it's very cool. I'm seriously considering their Prism sweater although the construction is unlike anything I've attempted before. The designer kindly mailed me to say that a) she liked my projects file on Ravelry (!) and b) she knew I could pull it off. Thank you, Caroline.

Knotions is a UK-based site designed to replace an earlier one called Magknits which was inexplicably pulled down one day in an apparent hissy fit by its Hipknits owners - I quickly decided never to deal with the Hipknits people after seeing how poorly they handled that situation (as well as other situations). not associated with anybody but itself. US-based but feeling international, Knotions is currently on its second issue. I'm considering making Autumn Leaves in red grey with a few modifications.

Popknits is a completely new site with vintage inspired garments. I'm waiting to see where they take this 'vintage inspired' site before deciding whether or not I like them. Yes, I'm on the fence.

The Twist Collective does not offer free patterns, but it offers some very, very nice patterns. Little Birds is gorgeous (although I probably wouldn't be able to wear it).

Any I have missed?

Ripping Back..

Word to the wise: never knit whilst talking to your mother over Skype. You may think you'll be able to easily knit the gull lace pattern of your cardigan whilst going "Mmm.." and "Oh, really?" but afterwards you'll need to rip back your three rows. But other than that, my cardigan is coming along nicely and I'm still ignoring that fateful row on my Tracks & Trails shawl.