Episode 7 -- It's Eric! At the FotS.

It's Eric, so I have to. New clip for Episode 7: Some detective work at the Fellowship of the Sun. Is that Jason and The Lukenator down there?

Playlists -- Nerd Songs

Tonight's playlist is all Nerd Songs, in honor of my post on Jean-Claude in the Anita Blake comics. It's Marvel, not DC, but it's still a tad bit nerdy.

The Lineup:

1. "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake" by Art Brut (Live at KEXP)

2. "Mr. Spock" by Nerf Herder (Official Video)

3. "And I Was a Boy from School" by Hot Chip (Official Video)

4. "Supergirl and Superboy" by Tullycraft (Live)

5. "Flickr" by Jonathan Coulton (Official-ish Video with Pictures)

Video. "Japan is an Island" by The Spinto Band (Atari is for nerds!)

Quest For the Perfect Indie Girl Haircut -- Envy.

My quest for the perfect indie girl haircut usually falls short of the ideal. I don't really have any horror stories, or that bizarre phobia women have with shortening their hair an inch. But what I do have is a case of the blahs. I can never force myself to be adventurous enough to change my style drastically.

One band girl that always colors me green? The Pipettes' Rose Elinor Dougall (previous links to MySpace). She really does have the best hair. In 2007, she sported this rocker chick look at Ruisrock and in the video for the Brit band's "Pull Shapes." (below)

The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
Uploaded by Cooperative-Music. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Rose Elinor Dougall (previous links to wiki) has since split from The Pipettes, and is working on the release of her single, Start/Stop/Synchro, out this past June. Dougall's new solo material is less vintage-inspired pop and more of a dark ethereal pop. And it suits her well, much like her choppy rocker hairstyles. More recently, Dougall goes with this shorter style, a sweet look with bangs. Still pretty cool.

I first read about the solo carrer move and saw the new cut in this issue of Under the Radar back in February. The magazine reviews her new record here, an article from June.

Below is a pair of R.E.D. tracks a la YouTube for your listening pleasure and to admire the awesomeness that is Rose's hair. I'm quite envious. I'm sure you are too. I can only hope that mine'll look that good when I finally take the plunge and get that famed cool girl haircut.

True Blood's Back! -- Werewolves, GRR.

The Vault posted this link earlier today. True Blood's back for a third season! Club Dead is my personal favorite of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, so this is happy news for me. Watch out for werewolves! Can't wait to see who they get to play hunky Were Alcide Herveaux. I'm never opposed to an excuse for attractive men.

And just for fun, here's Sam Trammell explaining werewolves on TV Watercooler. And I quote, "Werewolves are the homeless kind of animal." Better not tell that to Alcide!

A bit more on Werewolves below, from season 1's tenth episode, "You'll Be The Death Of Me." Hey, if Sam says they're "dangerous nasty creatures," what does that mean for our Sookie?!

Note: This video contains four-letter words. Beware.

Playlists -- Love ...ish Songs

These songs are about love, but there's not always a happy ending to these tales. So I like to call them Love ...ish Songs.

The Lineup:

1. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura (Official Vid)

2. "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" by Stars (Official Vid)

3. "Shift" by Grizzly Bear (In a bathroom!)

4. "Shadows" by Au Revoir Simone (Live)

5. "Sweet Memory" by Melody Gardot (Jools Holland)

Video. "I Know We'll Never" by Rose Elinor Dougall (Live)

Twitter -- I can conquer the world now.

Well, it's official. I'm on Twitter. I never felt like a Twitter person, mainly because I grew so tired of the every media outlet known to man going completely apeshit over something I equated to updating your Facebook status. But that's in the past now. I think the ability to make a super cute color-coordinated layout with a nice picture has convinced me. The picture I chose is of my WIP Knit.1's Heart Vest and Dead and Gone, so it's Record Cozy approved!

One cool thing about Twitter is that you can follow True Blood and Southern Vampire Mysteries characters and here their little updates in very Bon Tempsy ways. There's Pam and Eric, Sookie, Bill, Jason, Tara, Sam, Lafayette, Claudine and everyone else you can think of to the most minor of characters.

On the knitting front, Vickie Howell and Stephanie Japel have one, as does Redshirt Knitting (famous for the tree sweater), Roxycraft, Knitty, and Ravelry. Of course there's more, but I can not type any more tonight.

Twitter Updates will be located on the sidebar and a direct link to my Twitter profile will be under the "Random Cuteness" links.

And now, I must go forth and conquer the world with my many broadcasting mediums! People need to know what color Alexander Skarsgard's socks were at Comic-Con! Woosh! (That's me flying like Superman, btw.)

Playlists -- The Darkly Peppy

The Darkly Peppy playlist, to match my gloomy mood from packing boxes for school with my need with an upbeat tempo. I don't need happy lyrics to get moving. Now, neither do you.

The Lineup:

1. "Become a Monk" by Modey Lemon (last.fm)

2. "Golden Skans" by Klaxons (Official Vid)

3. "You and I" by Cut Off Your Hands (Official Vid -- Moving Picture Prints)

4. "Your Beauty Is a Knife I Turn on My Throat" by Eagle Seagull (Live and Free Download here)

5. "Funny funiculaire" by Les Breastfeeders (Official Vid -- French and Carnival= Fun stuff)

Video. "This Is Where We Are" by Ravens and Chimes (Live version's a bit weird, btw.)

Regina's Maryann: Lusty Porcupine or Female Dog?

Blood Work "True Blood" vlog 2.6: "PussyCat Blues"
Uploaded by campbloodbuzz. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

Normally, I don't do a whole post on Blood Work, but this week's episode mentioned a great Music-True Blood connection and I just couldn't resist. At about marker 10:28 Brian mentions a song of Regina Spektor's (who happens to be one of my favorites) which has the lyric, "Mary Anne's a bitch." It's from her album, Soviet Kitsch and is called "Sailor Song."(Skip to 1:50 below if you're antsy.)

Either Regina Spektor's a precog or our favorite people at True Blood are doing what they do best and taking one line of a chorus and turning it into two seasons worth of hellbitch. (Note: Harris' "Maryann" never had a name.) That's using music to it's full advantage, in my book.

It's time to find out if our bull monster Maryann is Regina's bitch or maybe the murderous food and lust porcupine from 11:11's "Marry Ann." (Listen here or watch a fan cover here.) After all, it was Stan who had no antlers. Maybe Marry Ann had them all along, or maybe a nice pair of bull horns. Wink, wink.

Any way you slice that chicken breast and meatloaf, the names are typo-rrific and could mean everything or nothing to True Blood's Maryann Forrester. I'd like to think they mean something.

As always, bravo, Blood Work! Your powers of observation prevail where mine do not. And a little Regina Spektor lyrical connection says it all.

Playlists -- Down Tempo

Just some down tempo songs for when you need to reach that inner calm without the aid of pan flute music. Don't get me wrong, pan flutes are great if you're a goat man, but this girl needs some Beirut.

The Lineup:

1. "Ansel and Emily Desader" by Blitzen Trapper (Sound Only)

2. "Bahamas" by Sibyl Vane (last.fm)

3. "Pale Star Land Line" by The Trolleyvox (last.fm)

4. "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes (Official Vid)

5. "My Night With the Prostitute from Marseille" by Beirut (Live)

Video. "Stay Golden" by Au Revoir Simone

Episode 7 -- "Grr grr grr. I Heart Godric."

Promo for Episode 7, "Release Me."

Just some thoughts about the preview for next week's True Blood: One thing that the show seems to be ready to address is the fact that there's a traitor in the Dallas Area. Of course, Sookie says as much and it cuts to Eric telling Stan, "You killed Godric for his title." This makes me think that the show's writers may be creating an explanation for Stan's rise in position from Sheriff (in Living Dead in Dallas) to King (in All Together Dead, I believe it was). Something Charlaine Harris didn't get to explain fully, mostly because Sookie wasn't privy to the information.

This preview kind of squashes the cliff hanger of the last episode, where we see Sam held down while Carl presents a knife to Maryann. So, maybe there's a little bloodletting, but nothing final.

Poor Jason! He never gets away with anything. He tries to do right, and he's punished. He tries to do something he knows is wrong, and he's held at knife point.

Sookie's not going to have a very nice time next episode, it looks like. And of course, there goes Bill making threats again. The theme of the year so far? Bill: "Don't hurt Sookie or you'll be sorry!" and Eric: "Grr grr grr. I heart Godric."

What About Eric?! -- He's Nobody's Baby.

Oh, silly humans. Your terms of endearment do not amuse ancient Viking vampires. In this week's episode of True Blood, (Episode 7: "Hard-Hearted Hannah," Eric Northman shares a less-than-romantic "dinner" with a blood hooker at Hotel Carmilla (named after this vampire story, btw). Although he's quite unsatisfied with the girl's attempts at making this an enjoyable experience, Eric tells her to give a good report to her boss. Isn't he just a sweetheart? Looking out for the working girl. Just don't call him "baby."

Another key Eric moment was during Lafayette's basement time flashback, where the vampire was wearing Andy's clothes and speaking in his voice. The general consensus was that this was creepy and weird. But it's Eric, so I'll take it.

It was especially sweet the way that Terry helped comfort Lafayette and tell off his cousin. And if that wasn't enough, Pam instructs Lafayette to continue selling "V." (While having really strange hair. Plus the sunglasses were a nice touch.) Whose blood is in that vial? It's possible that it's any one of the Louisiana vamps in Eric's Area, but more likely, it's Eric's. He was willing to share it with Lafayette before, and that was only for an open-ended favor, not for any direct monetary gain.

One of the biggest revelations of the episode was the flashback to 1926 Chicago with Bill and Lorena (Guillaume and Fabiana... if I'm not mistaken) and a really kind of disturbing and gory scene where Bill is hardly a gentleman and revels in the bloody, lusty moment. He's kind of evil and a lot cozier with Lorena than when we last saw them together in the past, after Bill was turned. I kind of love Bill's codename. Guillaume is French for William. Perfect.

Sarah Newlin finally bedded Jason, in a church, no less. And there's sure to be consequences from that one. Sookie's comment that Sarah "looks like vanilla pudding" was pretty hilarious, considering the earlier line, "Sarah doesn't just whip her pudding out for just anyone," from the Reverend himself. There seems to be a pudding fixation when it comes to Mrs. Newlin.

And do I need to mention the giant orgy in Sookie's backyard and Sam being held for some kind of sacrifice? I hope not.

The Pitt News A&E Staff -- Summer Picks

I thought that in order to give a broader view of what's out there in Arts and Entertainment besides a few of my favorite things, I'd share a few favorite things of my colleagues at The Pitt News. Do you have to ask what my pop culture fave was? I didn't think so. Read my pick below and the rest of the staff's picks here.

Television, “True Blood”
Leave it to Alan Ball to take something great and make it better. Season two of “True Blood” is perfect summer fare. It’s got Southern heat — a steamy cast with no shortage of shirtless buff men and girls in short shorts. But most of all, it’s got blood. There’s gore to spare as vampires rip the hell out of people and quench their thirsts with fang-filled smiles. “True Blood” writers excel at punctuating horror scenes with laughs, romance and social commentary. Need one say more than, “Do I have blood in my hair?” Oh, Eric.
-Alison Smyth, Staff Writer

Oh, and it's actually "Is there blood in my hair?" Well, Pam is going to kill me for getting that wrong... And in honor of that now-famous quote... a little scene we all love. Enjoy the gory splendor.

Comic-Con Parts 4-6 -- No Human-Vampire Babies for Trubies!

Audience questions for Alan Ball and Alexander Skarsgard (pink and turquoise socks!), Sam Trammell and Rutina Wesley, Stephen Moyer (Prince Valiant), Anna Paquin including taking their characters from novel to screen.

Same question as above, starting with Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer. Audience questions for Deborah Ann Woll, Alan Ball and Alexander Skarsgard, "The Vampires on the Panel" about fangs, Deborah Ann Woll on Hoyt and Jessica, Twilight sucks! according to panel attendees.

Audience questions for Charlaine Harris (Who is Alex waving to?), Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris on target audiences, Alan Ball's career, Michelle Forbes on what attracted her to the role, Funny set moments, "V" versus Vampire Blood.

And a little snippet of the after panel autographs here.

Comic-Con 09 Parts 1-3 -- Tru Blood is real!

This is the True Blood panel from Comic-Con 09 on Saturday, July 25. I've assembled these clips from YouTube with captions for quick and easy viewing. Enjoy! (Parts 4-6 to follow.)

Cast introductions and announcement of a real Tru Blood beverage (blood orange soda, available here).

Cast introductions, Individual character questions (Anna Paquin to Charlaine Harris across)

Individual character questions (Sam Trammell to Alexander Skarsgard), Audience questions for Charlaine Harris, Alexander Skarsgard, Alan Ball - including some talk about Season 3 and Club Dead characters.

Best. True Blood. Clip. Ever. -- 80% Eric.

This is either the best True Blood clip ever or I'm completely spazzing over the fact that we're finally going to see something of the Eric-Sookie relationship. I think both. Take note of the scene around 1:20 where a very Eric-like dude and Sookie are looking mighty close. Evidence that it's Eric: He's touching Sookie's shoulder in the same way he touch Lafayette right after his release from Fangtasia and there's blond hair. Hopefully it's Eric, even though that's speeding up the book plot a little. Even if this extreme, well, awesome development isn't exactly how it looks, the two are also getting closer with Eric even suggesting that Sookie may become a vampire some day! (SPOILER sort of: Book people know that Charlaine Harris has said that Sookie won't become a vampire, but that may change and that goes double for the increasingly unpredictable True Blood show.)

This isn't Eric's best day ever, though as we also see him get socked by Bill, and chained by the Fellowship of the Sun. Ouch. And we'll get to see a harsher-looking "pretty blonde vampire lady on T.V." (according to Eric), Nan Flanagan. I'm intrigued by this mainly because in the Facebook Fan Page for True Blood, the link to this video says, "Are you ready to meet the Queen?" So, does that mean Nan is the Queen of Texas? I think so. I was wondering what the heck she was doing there and that explains it.

Plus the much anticipated (by me) 1930s flashback with Bill, Lorena and a vampire version of Nathan Barr, the show's music guy. I'm convinced that this is the best thing ever. There was about 80 percent Eric in that clip. I approve. Yes indeed.

Note: If video doesn't play above, click here to see it on HBO's True Blood website. Titled: "Comic-Con Exclusive"

Thank You Alexander Skarsgard's Scarf Knot

I've been accumulating a few projects that I want to tackle eventually. I've done small mods and designs based on patterns in hats I've duplicated in scarves and mittens, for example. I haven't done as much from scratch work. I'm just working up the nerve to really get down to brass tacks and sketch something, swatch something. This is the summer, and therefore the last of my relatively carefree days for a while, so it's probably now or never. Or at least now or not until winter break. So this is a little preview of my design goals to keep me motivated.

1. Urban Outfitters Beret -- To Be Named the "I'm Swedish." Beret in honor of The Skarsgard's frequent interview response.

This is a now out of season beret from Urban Outfitters that came in a few colors, none of them right, and cost $30-$35 for a wool-acrylic blend. I decided then and there to attempt a design based on this one with better quality, more reasonably priced yarn. I chose Knit Picks Cadena Yarn in Neptune. I hadn't made many berets before this so I made quite a few in preparation. These included several with this free pattern from The Purl Bee, the Chunky Cabled Tam from Knit.1 Fall/Winter 08 and one yet-to-be-completed beret based on a pattern in Vintage Knits. I'm still not 100 percent comfortable with the design elements to get them exactly right yet, but almost.

2. Stockholm Hooded Scarf -- To Be Named the "A Little Red" Riding Hood

The discovery of this item from Coal Considered was a complete accident due to my obsession with True Blood, and more precisely, Alexander Skarsgard. I was reading a recently translated article from EricNorthman.net (read here) which happened to mention what the actor was wearing for the interview. His ensemble included a soccer ("football") scarf tied in what the reporter called a "Stockholm Knot." Of course, as a knitter, I was intrigued by this new scarf knot sported by the handsome man and dutifully looked it up on Google Images. No real joy of finding an actual picture of someone with a scarf knot, but I did find this awesome hooded scarf. The actual scarf-thing, called simply, The Stockholm costs $70 and is a "wool blend." This most likely means wool-acrylic to me because they wouldn't neglect to mention cashmere in the mix! Even though this seems to use one yarn weight (worsted, I'm guessing?) throughout, I'm thinking for my version, I'll use a combination of the worsted weight Lion Brand Cashmere Blend in Red which I got on sale a while ago and TBA bulky weight yarn (maybe Cadena?). I'm also seriously considering naming my creation after Mr. Skarsgard in tribute to his magical powers. I read about True Blood and I get knitting ideas. Abra Kadabra.

UPDATE: This is very possibly a Stockholm scarf knot. Mystery solved? Or possibly something more like this knot knot?

Images are taken from UO website and Google Images.

Don't Get Too Excited... Nerds -- Comic-Con 09

Comic-Con 2009. The event starts today, July 23 and continues through July 26. My interests in this nerdfest are many, and most of those come from the fact that the True Blood cast will be in attendance (True Blood-related events listed here). Yes, I just indirectedly admitted I was a nerd. There will be a panel discussion for True Blood on this Saturday, July 25. Now, those of us who cannot fly to the west coast for in person encounters must wait until the panel discussions and highlights are posted on YouTube. Luckily, G4 will be doing a live broadcast from Comic-Con for 5 hours, starting at 2 p.m. EST. So, we might get a little preview of some True Blood buzz! The panel begins at 5:15 p.m., so that would be a good time to tune in. Otherwise, it's a waiting game for YouTube posters. (I'll link to any panel videos once they're up.) Below is part one of many of a really shaky video of the True Blood panel from last year's Comic-Con. I like it. So should you.

Doomed Pets -- They all look alike.

Today I watched Pet Sematary for the first time. This seems like a horrible horrible thing, with the reputation of the classic horror movie, but considering I was a baby when it came out, I hope all can be forgiven. There were a couple things I noticed about the movie that were very interesting.

The first one being the remarkable resemblance of the dead, then undead cat, Winston "Church" Churchill (marvel at that for a moment) and Tina, Sookie Stackhouse's cat. They could be twins. The cats, that is. They have a nice picture and mini article about Tina, here from Loving True Blood in Dallas. Below is a clip of Church: The Doomed and Undead.

See, those pets all look alike. Aside from being an interesting look at gruesome late 80s gore, bad parenting skills and poor judgement, Pet Sematary has super cool music. There's a rather entertaining song by The Ramones of the same name. It's too good to describe. Thank you YouTube. You say volumes when words are not enough.

Discovery -- A Little Vampire, A Little Riot

This little polygon of awesome (above) came from Discovery's website. You can hear several tracks off of the new album, LP. I've linked to Amazon to hear a sampling, as well as to good ole MySpace for Discovery's page. Amazon's charging $8.99 for a digital download now, when I bought my copy it was only $3.99, so watch out for a price change if you're thrifty, and paranoid.

Discovery is the collaboration of Vampire Weekend's piano/synth player, Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's keyboardist/vocalist Wes Miles. What Discovery means is remixes, an R&B feel with all the warm fuzzies attached to your already favorite songs. For example, The Rhumb Line's "Can You Tell" (below) becomes LP's "Can You Discover?" Now, I can't say that it's altogether an improvement on the original, but it's different. It has that synth-rich sound, the beats and the repetition. It's just not RRR's strings and romance. The same lyrics carry a completely different meaning, just proof there's more to music than lyrics alone. But really, this is my only criticism, and it's not even a very good one.

Other tracks feel better, more right, as Wes sings in "Orange Shirt" about familiar R&B themes. Blah blah crushes, let me in for... you know, I'll leave before your mom wakes up... yeah. What's not the usual: "I'm sitting at home sipping this miso." I kid you not, unless I am completely hearing it wrong, but odds are, I'm not. This is the side that brings up VW and their fondness for lyrics that mention obscure foods (Milk-like Middle Eastern beverages, "Campus"?).

It's got your guest appearances, like Angel Deradoorian from The Dirty Projectors and Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend.

It's fast-paced and intelligent without hurting your brain. It doesn't hurt that the songs are catchy (C'mon chorus of "It's Not My Fault" = PARTY) and from the members of great bands. All that spells a new take on the familiar and greatness that grows on you.

That's what happens when New York state bands meet and form awesome super alliances. Smart, beaty musical offspring. Oh, yeah. Discovery: It's an LP!

Episode 6 -- Eric... The Deception Continues

Promo for Episode 6, "Hard-Hearted Hannah" is up and ready for your viewing pleasure. I can't say I like that Lorena very much, but I suppose that's the point. What do I like about this clip? E-R-I-C! Yay! That was necessary. This week is going to be juicy. Or bloody.

What About Eric?! -- The Viking Edition

What About Eric?! Well, thank you True Blood. In this week's episode, "Never Let Me Go," we see the story of Eric's human death and making, as a vampire. You know what that means! Viking outfits and Old Swedish. I never thought I'd be giggling at something in Old Swedish. You've gotta love it. The most memorable line this week: (From Eric) something like, "Wherever I am there will be women." That is so Eric.
But there were some interesting things happening with Jason at the Light of Day Institute. There was a little Mary Magdalene stuff going on with Sarah Newlin and Jason in the role of Jesus. Oh, boy. That was a bit strange. With Jason's limited knowledge of the Bible, that woman could trick him into anything, the poor boy.
I'm glad Tara finally said something to Maryann about her making herself at home in Sookie's house-- for about five minutes. There's something not okay about that whole situation. Plus there was the weird Maryann-Gran stuff. Ew.
Lorena's back and looking to get Bill away from Sookie in an aggressive way, orders and all that -- maker-style. So that'll be fun. But why is she there?! Well...
The promo for next week (will post when available) where we see that's she's striking up some kind of deal with Eric... Yay! If that means clearing the way for Eric and Sookie, then I'm all for it. You don't have to convince me that that's a good idea. More Eric, right?

What About Eric?! -- Gun Show.

I thought long and hard about what to call this section, based on my reactions to HBO's True Blood and Charlaine Harris' novels. In the end, I came up with the best title possible, which is exactly what I scream at the TV screen like an old man during every episode and interview. "What About Eric?!" -- since I know myself and the topic this section is going to focus on most, it just feels right. Here we go.

True Blood has become my obsession. Not only does it have an incredibly attractive cast, but it's well written, acted and based on my favorite books of all time, The Sookie Stackhouse Novels (or Southern Vampire Mysteries) by Charlaine Harris. Not since Buffy the Vampire Slayer have I loved a show so much. But, True Blood... I love it more. Eric Northman has it all, and the show could not have found a better Viking vampire than they have in Alexander Skarsgard (of Generation Kill fame or Zoolander, but that's beside the point). The vamp is famed for his guns and that comically intimidating stare. Let's not forget the best line of the season by far, "Do I have blood in my hair?" It's not easy to rip apart a redneck in flip flops, track pants and foiled hair while being mighty scary... but cute. That's Eric at his best.

Anyway, my main complaint of the series is their downplaying of the Eric-Sookie relationship. Supposedly they will get to the stuff that has repeatedly been slated to "make Bill jealous," but I don't see it. So far, we've seen a lot more of Eric, but the most suggestive scenes with Mr. Northman are between he and Lafayette. A girl can't help but get a little nervous. But let's not dwell on the criminal lack of Eric scenes in True Blood.

With Episode 4: "Shake and Fingerpop," the series continues to follow the plot of the book on which Season 2 is based, Living Dead in Dallas, one of my favorites. Where it diverges, however, I am a little happy and a little, well, bored.

The happy: The relationship never explored in Harris' books-- that of Eric and Lafayette. Or as Brian Juergens of Blood Work phrased it: LafayEric. (Which was brilliant, btw.) Anyway, this is very interesting. We see two personalities that we suspect would have hit it off, but never met due to one's untimely death. So there. True Blood writers have really done fans proud keeping Lafayette around, a colorful book character, but one not so round and charismatic as Nelsan Ellis and Alan Ball have created. For Charlaine Harris' purpose in the series, the cook was fine. One of the best things about her books is that she creates a world that's full of color, and that includes your chopping block minors. But what this show Lafayette-Eric connection brings is one thing that no true Sookie fan would contest: More Eric. You know, I always laughed when Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords talked about "showing arm" on their dates, but when you take Alexander Skarsgard... I think there may be something to that theory. The Eric-Lafayette scene showed off that arm admirably. Plus, the minute Lafayette starts dancing and humping the furniture like he's in a viral video, it's clear that nothing but good can come from book to show changes.

The bored: Anyone who's read the books knows without a doubt who Maryann is. And so, the Maryann scenes, which largely consist of clue-dropping as to what she is exactly are a snoozefest. Even with the Tara-Eggs relationship to liven things up, there's still something to be desired. Again, I have to reference something mentioned on Blood Work-- We're missing the old "sassy Tara." And it's true. Sure, we all want people to be happy, but not at the expense of interesting personalities and depth. For the Maryann scenes, the rule seems to be: Who doesn't like looking at drunken orgies? Well, me. That would be with one exception. There is a scene in the book, which is important to the plot and is done wonderfully and humorously by Harris, actually showing the best sides of her characters, showing their strength and convictions in the face of immorality. The show scenes so far have been really dark and maybe not as entertaining as I would like them to be if they won't have the book scene layers. A little dialogue peppered in and I'm all set. Some of the best Tara moments this season have been her comments on other's behavior, and isn't that what we love about Tara?

Now since this post is somewhat late, Sunday's just around the corner, so fingers crossed for a little Eric arm!

Joel McHale... is awesome.

Joel McHale is just adorable. And if you're like anyone I know, you live for your Friday helping of The Soup. The spin-offs (The Dish, Sports Soup, Web Soup) just don't measure up without Joel to brighten up the green-screen condo and play off our favorite Soup characters. I love Lou! The famed comedy ladler will be starring in Community this fall. Before you have a depressed moment, rest assured Joel will still be the host of The Soup. But your Thursday will be just a little brighter with this look into life at community college. It speaks for itself in the clip below, there's sure to be laughs with Chevy Chase and The Daily Show's John Oliver hanging around, right? But isn't Joel enough motivation to tune in? I think so.

Community premieres Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. EST on NBC
The Soup airs on E! Fridays at 10 p.m.

"Can You Tell" -- Highlander's Stole

So, ready to go with the next project I'm working on: the Highlander's Stole from Twinkle's Town & Country Knits. This piece is for my brother's wedding, to match the bridesmaid's dress. It was important to me that the accessories I chose really showed more of my style than usual because I'll be dressed the same as five other girls. The Highlander's Stole fit the bill. I checked the book out of the library in April and photocopied the pattern and pictures for later use.

The Stats:

The Pattern - Highlander's Stole (also pictured on page 11 of "Look Inside" on Amazon)

Yarn - (substitution) 2-3 skeins Knit Picks Suri Dream Yarn in Jade

Needles - Susan Bates Size 35 Straight Needles
Source - Twinkle's Town and Country Knits
Price - $21.45 on Amazon

[Songs]* rep to end. - "Can You Tell"

This pattern is stylish and romantic, and will be perfect for an October wedding. The song I chose for this project is "Can You Tell" by Ra Ra Riot from The Rhumb Line. A romantic song for a romantic wrap.

Let's Get Cozy - Highlander's Stole (CO 7/7/09)

Suri Dream Yarn is an alpaca, wool and nylon blend. Although it is super bulky weight, it is quite a bit lacy for this pattern. The book-pictured version is thick and woolly, which is appropriate for cooler weather. For my purposes, a more spidery version seems more fitting. This yarn has been somewhat difficult to work with, but I'm getting used to it. I've found that using a lighter, straight cable needle works well. The cast on used is Cable Cast On, a technique I don't use very often. Knitting Help has a helpful video if you need a refresher. We'll see how this one goes. I'll post updates as I go, so that's that. Below is a close up of the cable pattern, above is 6 rows worked in pattern.

Cable Pattern:

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on the new Discovery album, LP and my response to this week's True Blood. Plus, my progress on the Highlander's Stole.

"Go Places" -- Alpaca Sox Legwarmers

Hello there! So, welcome to Record Cozy, a blog which will combine knitting projects I'm working on with music and other media I feel fits the mood of the pieces. I'm a college student at the University of Pittsburgh and writer for The Pitt News, for the Arts and Entertainment section (Here's my latest). I'm also an avid, book-taught knitter and lover of all things A&E. Nice to meet you.

I fully intended to start this blog fresh, with a brand new project, but I've just completed a project I'm too excited about to ignore. Let's start things off with the stats.

The Stats:
The Pattern - Alpaca Sox Legwarmers
Yarn - (substitution) 3 skeins Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn in Porcini
Needles - Size 3 DPNs from Knit Picks in Harmony Wood
Source - classiceliteyarns.com
Price - Free

[Songs]* rep to end. - "Go Places"
Since this is the first post, I thought the most appropriate song for the job would be "Go Places" from The New Pornographers' Challengers. Like the song, the legwarmers are sweet, with their lace pattern and super soft yarn. Plus, it sums up the whole feeling of "The Journey begins..." Epic. Yes, I just described lace legwarmers as epic.


Let's Get Cozy - Alpaca Sox Legwarmers
The pattern is a free one offered by Classic Elite Yarns. I've substituted 3 skeins Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn for the recommended 1 skein Classic Elite Alpaca Sox. The fingering weight yarn I used is a blend of merino and silk that is soft to the touch and has a slight sheen. The pattern is super easy, but will not bore you (much) because of the repeating lace pattern. I can't wait until the weather cools off and I can wear these gems with some colored tights and a winter skirt. Legwarmers may not be the hot trend any more, but I just couldn't resist this unique pattern-- pretty and sweet with an interesting twist.

Lace Pattern:

Happy knitting and happy listening! Stay tuned for my next project: Highlander's Stole (also pictured on page 11 of "Look Inside") from Twinkle's Town & Country Knits.