My quest to watch as many Treasure Island adaptations as humanly possible continues apace, although I'm beginning to believe there may be such a thing as too much Treasure Island. (Gasp!) So, I'm going to save you the trouble of watching all these by telling you all about them behind the cut.

( Click for Ben Gunn's Amazing Dancing Goat Troupe! )

So, that's my adventure so far. I'm coming close to exhausting my resources on Netflix--I'm trying to get Animal Treasure Island, and I'll probably rewatch Muppet Treasure Island and Treasure Planet for completeness, but once I'm done with that, I'm not sure what I'll do. I don't think I'm ready to start in on the realm of bad children's cartoon adaptations, of which there are plenty . . . my soul can only handle so much abuse.

My brain amazes me.

I knit while I do things, like read websites and watch movies. And, sometimes I'll be working in a simple pattern, like a ribbing, but with one or two spots when I need to pay attention and do something different. In this case, I'm working on a slip stitch rib, but in four places around the hat, I have to break that pattern because I have little columns of garter stitch going.

(That paragraph probably made no sense to those of you who don't knit, but all you need to know is that in four places, I have to do something different that requires paying attention.)

So, I'll be just blowing along, not looking, and suddenly, my brain will go, "HANG ON! There's a problem!" And I'll look down, and, sure enough, I've blown past the garter stitch.*

This happens a lot when I'm knitting--I'll just be breezing along, and suddenly a tiny little alarm will go off and I'll look down to discover I need to fix something. Maybe I'm trying to knit into a stitch that was split on the previous row, or maybe I'm trying to knit something that should be purled.* But, it's always a little weird. Just, knowing how much my brain has internalized the knitting, that not only can it do the mechanical stuff, it can tell there's a problem, all without any conscious attention.

Brains are awesome.


* My fingers do get a clue, on that one because the purl stitches are oriented differently on the needle than the knit stitches. If you're curious, it's called combined knitting.

Um. So.

I just decided I need to watch as many of the film adaptations of Treasure Island as humanly possible. I'm not entirely sure what brought on the urge. It could be that Muppet Treasure Island was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I also really liked Treasure Planet . . . I dunno. But, dammit, I'm going to do it! Why the heck not?

According to Wikipedia, there are over 50 film adaptations. I'm okay with only seeing the ones on their 'notable' list, but that still leaves a pretty hefty number. (I am particularly excited about the number of Soviet adaptations on there, though I have no idea how I'll get my hands on any of them.) I'm firing up Netflix now!

. . . somehow, I'm thinking it might be a little difficult to accomplish this, but I'm going to give it a go. I will keep you all updated on my progress.

Hey guys, I need your help with something.

A couple years ago, when a close friend came out to me as transgender, I sent an e-mail to About.com asking them to create a site devoted to transgender issues. As the site is currently structured, the few, sketchy articles there are about transgender issues are scattered across the Gay Life and Lesbian Life sites, which makes them difficult to find and much less useful than they could be. (And, I mean, seriously, if you're going to separate "Gay Life" from "Lesbian Life", you're obviously not that devoted to lumping all GLBT issues into one spot, so why isn't there already a site devoted to this?)

I received a response, and was instructed to watch this page--if it was accepted as a possible topic, a listing would go up there to find a guide for the topic. Well, it's been a while, and I've seen no progress there. Now that I'm done with college, I think it's time to make some noise again.

Here's what I need you to do. Go to About.com's Customer Care problem form. Choose, "Be a Guide" from the "Subject" dropdown, and explain the following (it'd be great if you'd use your own words):

> Although the social problems involved with gender identity are similar to the ones involved with sexual preference (primarily eliminating discrimination and promoting tolerance), they really are two separate issues that give rise to a different range of problems, and deserve separate treatment.

> About.com is an important source of information on the Internet, and it's a lot of people's first stop for information about new topics. People confused about gender identity (whether in their own life, or that of someone they love) could use a good, visible source of information like that.

> In addition to providing information to people who need it, a dedicated topic on About.com would increase visibility and hopefully promote tolerance and understanding.

Then, go and ask your friends to do the same thing. Keep an eye on the Be a Guide page to see if we manage to make any impact.

Thanks guys!

I'm at that place where my head is full of blog topics, but I can't find it in me to write any of them. I wanted to write about my road trip with Jessica, which was a TON of fun (there's something very satisfying about camping . . . facing all these tiny challenges like gathering wood and lighting a fire and cooking dinner)--I decided I want to live in the Southwest for sure eventually. (I'm already kind of Southwest, but I'd like to be south-er and west-er.)

And then I wanted to write about my first day on my new job (proofreading the local newspaper). It's pretty cool, because it's basically like being a Classics major, except I get paid to pay attention to tiny details and talk about grammar. I think I may be a little over-educated for the job, though. I got teased for writing "STET", and when I started talking about serial commas, people just kind of stared. On the other hand, all the people who work there are really nice, so I think I'll enjoy the job. If nothing else, it's nice to have a job that actually uses my skills.

And then I wrote most of an entry about the memorial service for the man who was my youth pastor, but couldn't bring myself to finish it. I don't really want to talk about it here, either, because it feels strange and sort of wrong to lump that in with the other little inanities that I've been thinking about. Suffice it to say that it was very sad (he was only 37, with three young kids), but also very inspiring.

And now, if I wanted to, I could write about spending the past few days at the Palisade Bluegrass Festival, where I was delighted to discover that I wasn't the only fiber-lover who skipped the Estes Park Wool Market this weekend--there were two alpaca farms in a booth, and I scored 7 oz. of beautiful brown alpaca, which I've been spinning rabidly all day. I'm super excited about it.

(By the way, this entire post is an example of praeteritio. Cool, huh? And they tried to convince me I wouldn't use my Classics major!)

My friend Jessica from school is visiting me. It's really cool to have somebody from Sweet Briar out here in Colorado! Tomorrow, we embark on a four day camping trip in the southwest--mostly in southern Utah, with a little visit to the Grand Canyon. It should be a lot of fun! We are all packed, and should have lots of good food to eat along the way. I'm really excited about the whole thing.

Today, in addition to preparing for our trip, we sort of hung out in town. (I'm trying to give Jessica the Small Town, CO experience, which involved hanging out in my brother's coffee shop and visiting the Egyptian Theater. We saw UP. It was awesome. The dog was the best part.) I interviewed for that proofreading position with the local newspaper. I start Tuesday! And, well, only work Tuesdays, since it's only a one day a week job. But, it's good experience, and any income is positive.

We will be returning from our camping trip on Sunday, but I will not resume my normal internet presence until Tuesday, which is when Jessica has to leave. Until then, I'm going to go have FUN, and I hope you all do the same.

Sorry for the lack of real posts here, guys. I think that what happened was that I wrote SO MUCH in the months and weeks before graduation that I can't find the energy to really do a lot more writing. Hopefully that will be better soon. I kind of miss writing, even though I'm burnt out on it.

On the other hand, I've been doing a little more roleplaying lately, which is a good, low-energy creative outlet. Speaking of which, hey, fishlanterns, now that school's out for the summer, would you have any interest in picking up some more RP? Let me know.

I'm happy to be back in Colorado. It's surprisingly green here right now--apparently it was a rainy spring while I was gone. But the weather is just starting to warm up, and I'm sure things will get dryer soon. I finally have carved out some space of my own in my mom and stepdad's house. The other day, I finally got all my books out onto shelves, which was a wonderful feeling. I haven't had all my books out and available since high school. So, that's good.

I'm stuck on dialup at home, which is another reason for the lack of posts--I don't get online until the end of the day, and by then I'm too tired to do much but slog through my webcomics and blogs in Google Reader. Unfortunately, my mom's house is in this weird little low-income neighborhood, which means that the only broadband available is satellite. The phone lines aren't good enough for DSL, and the cables aren't digital, and while there is wireless broadband available in our area, this neighborhood is tucked away at the base of a mesa that conveniently blocks access to that. (As well as cell phone reception. It's not a great location, although its proximity to the river makes it pleasantly more humid than the surrounding area, and a few degrees cooler.)

Once I get a job, maybe I'll decide it's worth it to shell out the $60 a month for satellite internet, but since this situation is fairly temporary, I'm not convinced it would be worth the startup fees. So, for the time being, I can't watch videos or listen to streaming audio at home, which is frustrating. I'm spending a lot of time in the library, as you can imagine.

A few final pieces of housekeeping: First, now that school is over for good, I'm easing back into the whole instant messaging thing. I've abandoned AIM, but I'm on Google Talk most nights as museofastronomy. (I figure most of you probably at least have Gmail accounts.)

Second, amberdulen, I finally found those printouts I had from RWOnline. I'm happy to send them your way, if you want them--just e-mail me your address. (I should've saved it when you sent me those delicious cookies, but I didn't have the forethought.)

Third, I'm going to turn off the twitter dump to this journal. It's got to be annoying some of you, and it's just plain depressing that the last several weeks of posts are nothing but Twitter. Besides, my Twitter account (middlemuse) has an RSS feed, so even if you're not on Twitter, it shouldn't be that hard to keep up, if you desire.

• 22:47 Just spent three hours in Goodwill. Spent $55. Got a lot of good clothes, though. Now I'm in Barnes and Noble leeching someone's wireless. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 17:03 Glad to hear all of the support coming out for Aung San Suu Kyi, but desperate for more good news. Shape up, Burma! 64forsuu.com/ #
• 22:28 Today's Starslip Crisis is the first time I've laughed out loud at a webcomic in a while. www.starslip.com/archive/20090527.shtml #
• 22:29 Oh, right, except it's just Starslip now, not Starslip Crisis. Oh well. #
• 23:22 Knitting a shawl out of recycled wool yarn. I'm going to use it for camping this summer! Nothing beats shawls for camping in the mountains! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 21:13 I walked home in the rain, about a mile . . . I was barely wet by the time I arrived. Damn, I love this state. #
• 00:58 Next week is going to rock! #
• 00:58 Also, today I dropped of a resume at the local newspaper . . . it would be a really great place to work, if they'd hire me. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 17:25 My right wrist is killing me, which is seriously messing with my plans to knit all day. I did make more bread though. Mm. #
• 22:50 The dialup is being PARTICULARLY ANNOYING tonight. My kingdom for broadband! #
• 23:12 Also, it's downright chilly here in Colorado, especially at night. That's unusual, this far down (~5000 ft.). I'm wearing fingerless gloves! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 15:04 I made the bread. It looks incredible, but I haven't tasted any yet. #
• 21:02 The no-knead bread was freaking amazing. I brought it to a party this afternoon, and it was a big hit. I have another batch in the works. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 17:17 One week since I graduated . . . I'm bored already. I've gotta get a job. #
• 01:03 Today I bought knitting needles since I lost almost all of mine in the move. Now I'm knitting again! Still bored, though. #
• 01:11 The plus side of being at loose ends: I'm cooking a lot. I made curried lentils today. Yummy. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 13:49 Going to try making no-knead bread today! #
• 21:24 Actually, too tired to try the bread. I did put together a tasty chicken noodle soup for dinner, though. And did most of my unpacking. #
• 00:16 When you're in Mountain Time and all your friends are on Eastern, life gets really boring after about 11pm. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 12:48 Why do other speculative fiction writers think worldbuilding is so fun? I HATE it! It's possible I've chosen the wrong genre. #
• 13:21 The USPS will only let you change your address online if you're okay with them charging your credit card $1 to confirm your identity. Bah! #
• 13:38 I have *finally* broken through the backlog of unread entries in Google Reader. Now that I'm caught up, I can feel like my life is in order. #
• 23:53 No idea what to do with myself now that college is over. I hope that soon I'll regain the energy to at least *write*. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 15:25 Hanging out with my awesome brother in a coffee shop! #
• 21:51 The brother and the stepdad are playing fiddle music on the front porch while I leech the neighbor's wireless. Life is good. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 15:44 Picked up a weak wireless signal sitting on the train in Glenwood Springs! So, instead of doing something useful, I'm updating my twitter. #
• 23:03 Home safe and sound! Had a heckuva time getting the Internet running, though. Now I'm trying to read 300+ RSS items at 48 kbps. Ah, dialup! #
• 23:22 Holy crap, it's been ten years since The Phantom Menace? That means I've been a complete nerd for a full decade now . . . #
• 02:21 Hating dialup something fierce. I can't do ANYTHING on this connection. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 23:04 I graduated from college today! Tomorrow, I get on a train, and I will be incommunicado until Tuesday. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 22:27 Had a fantastic dinner that involved fire baked pizza and wine. Now struggling to sober up so that I can pack and/or hang out with friends. #
• 00:49 Decided to party. We went to the lake. There was skinny dippy, but I couldn't take part because of my fresh ear piercings. #
• 00:49 Tomorrow I graduate! Then pack frantically to get out of the dorm by 5. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 13:28 I LOVE SENIOR WEEK! #
• 14:07 Getting in one last bit of procrastination before college ends forever. (Ungraded comprehensive exam. I shouldn't've had wine with lunch.) #
• 15:40 Screw it, I'll do it tomorrow. #
• 18:34 I am FURIOUS about what Burma is doing about Aung San Suu Kyi, the only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner. tinyurl.com/puhlc7 #
• 00:34 Very stressed out over packing. Tomorrow is INCREDIBLY busy. Day after that, I graduate! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter