Category: All (-ish)

Essay: Let us Resurrect the Letter

Let us pause in our collective texting, emailing, tweeting, Facebooking, what-have-you-ing, and take a moment to appreciate the letter.  I am a fan of all forms of communication, though I am a more enthusiastic fan of some forms than others. It won’t surprise many of my acquaintances to learn that I’m the greatest fan of the letter.

Except for a brief resurgence in 2008, when I pledged to write one letter per day for the entire year (and mostly met my goal) my era of letters came to a close at the end of the last century, when email accounts became ubiquitous and communication became instant.  Here’s what happened. My letter writing
dropped off tremendously.  Friends from high school and college who were regular correspondents of the page became correspondents of the email.  At first,
letter-like emails were exchanged.  Eventually that correspondence faded as email’s true nature came to light:  a quick way to arrange details.  An unfit way, really, when you get right down to it, to exchange the longer narrative form that is the letter.
And I’m here to say I want the letter back.  I want regular correspondences with
people.  And I propose the following guidelines to encourage correspondence.
1.  Your letter is interesting.  Whatever you write about in a letter?  It’s pretty interesting.  This is the magic of the letter.  When someone has taken the time to transcribe something on paper, find an envelope, address and stamp the envelope, and get the whole thing in the mailbox, the contents of the letter automatically become more interesting than if we were chatting or emailing.  So you could only think to describe your errand-running for the day?  In letter
form this is fascinating, I kid you not.  Don’t wait around to write a letter because nothing is going on.  Are you reading a book?  Have you seen a movie lately?  Are you excited about a TV show?  Put it in the letter.  Your life is happening all the time, so why not share it in letter form?
2.  Make them short.  I myself am guilty of going on and on in letters because I tend to blather about whatever quite easily (see point number one), but I have decided to turn over a new leaf because short letters are easier to respond to.  If you have a collection of notecards Great Aunt Ethel gave you, get out one of those
and start writing.  When you’ve filled up the notecard, you are done.  Although if
you are really going strong, I say you can add one more sheet of paper.  But not much more than that.  Aim for some general chit-chat (again, see point number one) and one or two questions for the recipient and call it a day.  Or, see if your letter friends want to exchange postcards.  Those are even shorter, and cost less to mail.
3.  Respond quickly.  See how point three builds on point two?  If you are just dashing off a quick note (which will be interesting to the recipient—remember point number one) you have many more opportunities to dash off that letter than you will if you plan to write something much longer.  And when you respond quickly (and with a short letter) it’s more likely that your letter companion will also respond in kind.  I would say try and respond within a week of receiving the letter, though sooner is even better.
4.  Have a letter system worked out.  When I wrote a letter per day I had a letter box which held my main correspondents’ addresses, as well as notecards, postcards, stamps, a favorite pen and some return address labels.  That way the “hardest” thing I had to do was find a mailbox when I was done writing.  When you have to find the pen and find the notecards and turn on the computer for the address and go to the store for a stamp and an envelope it’s likely that you will not get that letter out the door very quickly.   Spend a few minutes organizing yourself and your correspondence will be much easier.  Also try to automate the most odious task of letter-writing.  For me that’s writing return addresses, so I have pre-printed labels to stick on.  Maybe you hate addressing envelopes?  You might try what Matt’s mom does.  She runs full pages of labels with Matt’s address information and sticks them on the many letters and postcards she mails him.
Are you excited to reclaim the letter from the detritus of the twentieth century?  Great!  Get out your pens (or computers. I’m not opposed to receiving letters written on computers and then printed and mailed if that’s what works for you) and write.
If you would like to engage in regular letter correspondence with me, write a comment of how to get a hold of you and we can work out details.  Note also that I’m not opposed to an in-town correspondence. It’s so nineteenth century, it’s cool!

Three sentence movie reviews: Silver Linings Playbook

Because I was able to overlook the age difference between the two leads, this was an amazing movie.  Both Cooper and Lawrence nimbly portrayed people who aren’t quite walking the normal line of “sane” in our society.  It was a fun, funny and dramatic film which hit all the right notes at all the right times and I’m so glad I went to see it.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2012/silver_linings_playbook.html

Books read in December 2012

Five books!  Only five books!

Read
Othello
Shakespeare
For once the “modern analysis” at the end of the book gave me a very interesting insight into the play.  As usual, I enjoyed the performance much more than reading.

The Fault in our Stars
John Green
Matt and I read aloud
John Green makes for good read aloud.

Liar & Spy
Rebecca Stead
Read for Mock Printz
I enjoyed this book, the last I read for the Mock Printz Workshop, but I think it’s not a YA book. In fact, the library agrees with me, shelving it in the Juvenile section.  The prose was lively, the characters interesting.  I even put aside things so I could finish the book, which is always a good sign.  Also, two boy characters.   Always a good thing for the boy readers. 

Memoirs of Hadrian
Marguerite Yourcenar
Read for Kenton Book Group
I did not like this, Sam I Am, I did not like Hade-re-an.  The first person perspective made me feel as if I was trapped on an endless phone call with someone who never let me interrupt his soliloquy and ask clarifying questions.  There was a lot of surface and not much detail.  When I read historical fiction, I like to learn about the historic period in question. Hadrian’s endless blathering meant that I got a glimpse into things I might find interesting, but there was never any follow up on those things.   The book club member who chose the book began by apologizing for choosing it, because, though it is his desert island book, it is not a “book-club” kind of book, not being very linear.

Days of Blood and Starlight
Laini Taylor
Ah, the tricky “middle book” in a series of three where one must build plot, maintain characters, and juggle what happened in the book before this one with what will happen in the book after this one.  Taylor does a good job on all fronts.  We, who don’t have a clear memory to every plot point are looped back in with grace and there is inner struggle between the two ill-fated lovers.  Even friends manage to make the transition to the second book.  All in all, it was a pretty gripping read.  I’m a bit impatient for the third in the series.

Three sentence movie reviews: Freaks and Geeks

Perhaps the most perfect TV series ever made about high school which manages to encompass in 18 episodes what most shows don’t manage to convey over years of airtime.  This was just as good as the first time I watched it and I marveled again how each character–adults and teenagers–was fully formed and incredibly nuanced.  I also fell in love with Busy Phillips’ amazing portrayal of concrete-covered-marshmallow Kim Kelly.

Cost:  Free from library
Where watched:  at home.

poster from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193676/

*I feel it important to note that the teachers in this series are mostly of the grumpy and put-upon variety, not the “let’s make an inspiring movie” variety.

Three sentence movie reviews: Promised Land

I’m a great fan of Gus Van Sant, but I’ve noticed that his “blockbuster” style movies tend to wander a bit in the middle and this one was no different, giving me time to contemplate a variety of things.* But even with that meandering, I enjoyed this film: the plot, the acting, the Van Sant trickery of it not really being about the purported topic, but instead being about relationships.  There were a lot of authentic looking locals too, which is important, in my book.

poster from:  http://www.impawards.com/2012/promised_land.html

*such as:

  • What month is it, exactly?  It seems still cold, but kind of spring/no snow.  Is it March?  April?
  • I wonder if the suctioning sound my fancy hot tea mug makes when I press the button to drink is bugging the lady next to me?
  • Well, now that lady next to me is mouth breathing, so I guess if she was annoyed by my mug, we are even.
  • Nice effect of peeling paint on the basketball gym.  I wonder if they had to create that, or if it was there.
  • Where have I seen that Rob guy before?
  • I do enjoy that Rosemary DeWitt.
  • I’m not sure how the bartender could do that many shots and still stand up, let alone work in any sensible fashion.  It seems she should have cut herself off.  Don’t they have bartender training in Pennsylviania?
  • I think “Promise Land” would be a better title than Promised Land.  The former works on a few different levels the latter, not so much.
  • My mom (who was the person sitting next to me who was NOT mouth breathing) even had an observation. She leaned over halfway through and said, “I’m sorry, but  if he’s a farm boy, there’s no way he wouldn’t know how to drive stick.”  Very astute observation.

Three sentence movie reviews: Red Dawn

My expectations were EXTREMELY LOW for this film, low enough that I greatly enjoyed myself despite the fact the brother of Chris Hemsworth was a bit goofy-looking and the women didn’t have much to do other than bat their eyes.  There were some quite fun moments, it didn’t drag endlessly in the middle like the original and Peeta was in it!  I’m not sure why they felt the need to set it in Spokane, Washington when it was filmed in Michigan, but whatever, it was fine.

Cost:  $3.00*
Where watched:  Kennedy School

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2012/red_dawn.html

*I was bored while waiting in line to pay, so to kill time I got out my three dollars and fanned them aesthetically   The man behind me said, “It only costs three dollars?” in a voice of awe.  I told him indeed, that was the cost.  “But just for residents, right?”  Nope, everyone gets to pay only three dollars.  “Really?”   He was amazed.  I’m pretty sure he was not from around these parts.

Let’s talk handkerchief skirt construction.

As I said before, overall, I’m quite happy with this skirt.

However, now we will deconstruct it a bit.
It’s a handkerchief skirt, meaning two squares placed at 90 degree angles, with a circle cut for the waist. I got the idea from the book Bias-Cut Dressmaking by Gillian Holman.  The book itself was too involved for me in general, but I really liked the brief instructions for the skirt.  If you have interest in  bias-cut garments and some sewing experience, you might want to check out this book.  There is a huge section on all forms of underwear, which was interesting and which I will never make.  The book seems to be quite expensive right now online, but I got my copy from the library.  The author photo cracked me up, so be sure to take a look at that if you get the book.

 

The directions in the book were quite brief and glossed over how one would add a waistband.  However, I have just purchased the quite excellent Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch (still on sale at Powell’s for $24.50!) and in her instructions for making a dirndl skirt she covers waistband construction.  So that went off without a hitch.  The waistband came out quite well.
 
Something that did not work well is that the circle cut for my waist was much, much too large.  I suspect that my half circle I free-handed on the pattern was not entirely spherical in nature.  But I also might have fallen victim to something called “bias bag.”  In order to make the skirt fit, I had to take in six inches.  SIX!  I did this by making four pleats, which I feel just enhanced the two-color effect of the skirt.  I did, however, error in making the pleats face all the same direction  After I finished, I remembered that the two in front should have faced each other, as should have the two in back.  This is one of those errors that probably only I notice.
 
As mentioned in the initial post, this was my first time making bias tape.  It was pretty easy, especially with the taffeta  which wants to do whatever the iron is encouraging.  I was was leery of the orange material, though, afraid it would melt.  Instead of taking the time to test a swatch so I had good information (sewing really highlights how incredibly impatient and lazy I can be) I just sort of assumed it would melt and instead of nicely pressing, kind of just shoved everything into shape and through the machine.  I also made much too much of the orange bias tape, wasting a good hour of my time.  Learning from that, I measured exactly what I needed for the taffeta.
 
I took along my sewing friend Julie to pick out material, as it is the part I hate most about making something.  I sometimes get caught up in an idea and that idea doesn’t translate well to wanting to wear the completed garment in public.  Julie is fun to shop with because she likes to find bargain material and make wonderful things, and I’m a fan of that too.  I glommed on to the sheer orange early on, but the other layer was tricky.  Julie’s color palette is different than mine, so I resisted her initial pushing of the beige sparkly taffeta.  But when doing a side-by-side comparison, she was quite right and I love how the beige sets off the orange while the sparkly sequins shimmer from beneath   The material cost me $15.00 at Fabric Depot’s clearance room.  The zipper was about three dollars and the thread I bought was six dollars. 
 
Oh zippers.  You are the worst part of sewing.  Zippers aren’t hard, but there is so much room for error.  And I have a history fraught with improper zipper installation, see below.  This zipper was more complicated because I needed to put a zipper where there was no seam and I’d not done that before.  Happily, the internet is one’s friend for such things and I used this tutorial.  With a little background information from this post.  I think the technique worked pretty well for me, considering I was working with two layers of very slippery fabric.  I did err in marking my fabric with a Sharpie (again:  lazy!) and the opening at the bottom of the zipper was much larger than in the tutorial, but overall, I’m pleased with the fact I learned how to do this.  As for inserting the zipper, I was in the thick of “almost-done-finish-it-dammit” impatience.  So I just used the thread that was in the machine at the time, instead of re-threading the color suitable for the orange fabric.  And I kind of just jammed in the zipper, free-handing the seam.  So the border is wider at the bottom.

That said, the zipper does its job and I don’t think it’s something that most people (ahem, non-sewing people) will notice.   If they look too closely, I’ll just spin and distract them.
 

The other thing that happens with zippers is that I nearly always put them in backwards.  It has been that way since the very first skirt I made.  I think to myself, “now, make sure you put this in the right way,” and then some trance comes over me and the next thing I know I ‘m looking at my newly inserted zipper and it’s backwards once again!  If’ I’m not in that lazy/impatient stage, I will pick them out and put them in properly, but I was in that stage with this project and I figured tearing it out would cause more damage.  So I left it as it was. Happily, backward zippers still work.
 
My favorite part of this skirt is that I used a closure I inherited from my grandmother.  She had a pack of these in her sewing kit and I’m happy to install it in my skirt.  I love the adjustable closure and the metal is much more sterling than I would have been able to buy today.  I’ve made a mental note to harvest this closure when I eventually donate the skirt to the Goodwill.

Also, I should move the closure over about an inch as I have a lot of waistband overlap.  I may never do this, or I might be able to muster up enthusiasm for the project while watching a movie.  And this view shows that I should have given just a bit more to the short side of the waistband because the lack of extra fabric means that edge wants to fold back like this.  Happily, this is something only I will ever notice.
 

Also, I think the zipper isn’t straight.  But again, the way the skirt is constructed means not many people will notice.

Overall, I’m thrilled to have this skirt which I will wear multiple times this Holiday season.