Stephen Colbert - I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

I admit it, I am a Stephen Colbert groupie. :D He is smart, cute, entertaining and sexy - what more can you ask for. :D And married. *huuuge sniff*



And he also knows how to rap! This video is so incredibly hilarious. :D



More from Stephen Colbert with his Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

Update on "Asian people and Down Syndrome" article

So, I'm one of the worst bloggers in the world, which is not really any news, but yesterday while trying to clean up the mess that is in the background, meaning all the drafts and unfinished posts I had started and that you have never been able to see, I stumbled over this post and I realized that I had not posted it (it's from 24 November 2007 - oh...). I think I need to go to bed earlier and sleep more. I'm such a scatterbrain.

That's the post and it's not up to date at all, because I did write an email to all the editors, but right now I think I'm a bit too tired to write anything longer and coherent, therefore I'll just post this old update now and write a new update on this topic as soon as possible. Stay tuned, I will tell you who is the nice guy and who sucks. :D Ok, just kidding, sort of. :D

--
Ok, I contacted Mr. Damásio who told me he had not been involved with this article at all and had no clue about, but was so kind to recommend me to contact the editor-in-chief, Dr. Bruce Charlton, who in his own words he considers "a reputable and serious scientist". Mr Charlton's answer was:

Thank you for your communication. I do not have any statement to make. The web site for Medical Hypotheses states: "In Medical Hypotheses, the authors' responsibility for the integrity, precision and accuracy of their work is paramount."

http://intl.elsevierhealth.com//journals/MeHy/

So, the authors of an article are responsible for their work. The Correspondence section of the journal is a venue for submission of scientific critique of articles we have published.

Sincerely, Yours, Bruce Charlton

That seems to be his usual response to anybody who asks about this article (by the way, he did not even bother about any kind of salutation). I was somewhat speechless... I've considered contacting all the editors in this magazine and informing them about this article, but I wonder if they would be interested at all.

Finished: Paisley Shawl

Pattern: Paisley Shawl by Kate Gilbert from the book Folk Style
Yarn: Rowanspun 4 ply, 100% pure new wool, 148 m/25 g
Color: Squirrel (very light grey)
Price: about 1.6 € per skein
Amount: 5 skeins
Needles: 3.5 mm
Gauge: perfect, although I have no clue how many stitches are in 10 cm :D
Dimensions:
Modifications: None

It took me a couple of weeks to finish this shawl, because except for the repeats in the rows, there is no real pattern repeat, every row is different. Which means you have to pay attention to the knitting instructions. People are always so afraid of lace, but a lot have nice pattern repeats that you can memorize well and even if it's not nirvanalike blissful mindless knitting, it's still ok. The Flower Basket Shawl or the Shetland Triangle consist of stitch patterns that are quite easy to memorize. After a while you realize that what you knit is related to the previous row, meaning the stitches in your previous row lead and guide you in your current row. This pattern though requires you to pay attention, you can memorize the repeats in the rows, but you can not really rely on the previous rows much to help you forsee the next stitch you have to knit.

Nevertheless, I have to say this is probably one of my favorite knitting projects, not so much for the knitting fun, but I love the end product. While I was knitting I was wishing a bit that I was knitting with alpaca, because the yarn was not as smooth and had some slubs, which slows the knitting down a bit. The grey was also not a true grey, but has a little bit of a yellowish base due to the natural color of the wool shining through. And all the grey was also boring me a bit. My Mystery Stole - light grey (I haven't posted yet, because I need to reblock it properly, my lazy approach with a few pins didn't work very well this time...), my Esther Williams hat - light grey. But after seeing the finished shawl I'm convinced, the yarn is perfect for this pattern and the color is great, I don't notice the yellow undertone anymore - what can I say, I'm blinded by the beauty of my shawl :D. It's perfect, it's flawless, it's simply lovely! :D And can you believe it? I get such a nice warm shawl for about 8 €! I need to stock more of this yarn, I really like it.

At the moment I have another Paisley Shawl on my needles, this time it's alpaca in a lovely dark green, but I think I will have to frog it. Alpaca is a heavy yarn and this is a big shawl that is mostly knit in stockinette stitch. I'm therefore a bit afraid that it will turn out too heavy. A more lacy project might suit this yarn better.

The World Of YouTube

I'm starting to discover the vast possibilities of YouTube. :D This is one of my alltime favorite songs: Top Of The World by The Carpenters. The Carpenters were a duo consisting of the siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. I just love Karen Carpenter's voice, she has one of these voices that you will just remember and recognize anywhere. I won't start bashing new singers and complain why they can't make music as they used to do, but I have rarely met a singer whose voice has moved me as much as hers. It's a shame she died when she was only 32 recovering from anorexia.



Another group I also like a lot are The Beautiful South. Unfortunately, they broke up at the beginning of last year due to "musical similarities", whatever that means. :( I love the band for the singers (Briana Corrigan, Paul Heaton, Jacqui Abbot, both in the Perfect 10 video), but also for their lyrics; they give these pop songs with their catchy tunes a certain funny and sarcastic edge. Just listen to the lyrics of this song, Song For Whoever. When browsing through YouTube I also found this video, Perfect 10. I just remembered it when I mentioned Karen Carpenter's anorexia. I guess, we all need to remind ourselves once in a while to love ourselves a bit more. It's also a really good song.