Extreme Craft

Hurricane Garth

There's never even been a tropical storm Garth.  That's going to change when I bring the Extreme Craft Roadshow to Louisiana State University to lift everybody's storm-battered spirits.  I just found out that the lecture is part of their "Distinguished Lecture Series".  I didn't have the heart to break it to them about the "Distinguished" part.  SO!  Put up the storm shutters again and take Mike the tiger to his indoor habitat, because Baton Rouge, HERE I COME!

Wednesday, September 24 @ 5pm
Design Building, Lecture Hall 103

Crocheting the Line

That last post reminded me that I hadn't checked in on "What Not to Crochet" in a while, and boy, did I miss some doozies!  First of all, witness this bit of ill-advised finery that Bonnie St. Claire and Unit Gloria are wearing on their album.  I should have realized that there was once a market for chrocheted Western flamenco hippie garb (check the doo rag on the guy in the middle and add "gangsta" to that list).  According to the blog, the music isn't half bad (but apparently not as showstopping as the costumes).  I like to think Bonnie St. Clair went to her grandma with some pictures of mid-70's stage costumes, gave her some Percoset, a budget of $5 and some Red Heart acrylic yarn and told her to get to work.  You can see the results.

Secondly, the normally witty and verbose folks at What Not to Crochet were rendered speechless by this little number.  I think I'll refrain from commenting and not destroy the magic of it burning itself onto your retinas.  Still, you have to admit that it shows a better level of taste than the outfit that got Blaine kicked off Project Runway.  Pooping fabric indeed.

LINK

Gee You-Knit

I've been mourning for a couple of years about the passing of "You Knit What??", the original knitting fug blog.  "What Not to Crochet" keeps me up on inadvisable (not to mention inexcusable) crochet madness, but YKW??'s passing left a huge void.  Finally, somebody's stepped up to the plate and started a proper bitchy knitting fug blog.  Why Would You Knit That?  Has been going strong for a couple of months now.

Already, they have featured the lovely "Coat of Many Colors" on the left, a knit vagina Kleenex box cover (you read that right...I remember reading a description in a kids book once comparing an orgasm to a sneeze, but that's neither here nor there) and more-comprehensive-than-you-would-generally-think-possible round-up of Halloween sweaters for middle-aged lonelyheart cat ladies.  If you've got a knit crime to report, you can get in touch with the good folks at Why Would You Knit That? HERE.

LINK via Neatorama

Yoni Pie

Like husbands all over the world, dutifully spending time in fabric stores is my cross to bear.  I usually make the best of it, though, scouring pattern and bolts of fabric for extreme-ness.  My diligence paid off big time this week when I found this suspiciously Judy Chicago/Georgia O'Keefe/Larry Flynt-esque Autumn-themed fabric.  Cheers to whichever nameless fabric designer snuck this bit of goddess energy into our local Jo-Ann fabrics.

Shooting Stars

Admit it!  You're drawn to fine collectibles, but nobody can ever know about that stash of Franklin Mint unicorn plates (that you slyly refer to as your children's college fund) you have stashed under your bed.  No sir!  You're too manly for such things.  Embrace your inner Sarah Palin by patronizing a collectibles company the red states can really get behind.

America Remembers was formed in 1993 when Paul J. Warden acquired the antique firearms division of the United States Historical Society.  He's spent the past fifteen years honoring that history by churning out commemorative firearms honoring such American heroes as George Jones, Travis Tritt and ELVIS.  Check out the blurb for the "TCB" model Smith and Wesson service revolver:

Craftsmen commissioned specifically for this project by America Remembers decorate each working Smith & Wesson revolver in sparkling 24-karat gold and nickel artwork, a perfect canvas to capture the likeness of this remarkable musical legend. Prominently featured on each Tribute is the special “TCB”® logo Elvis shared with his closest friends and associates. With a lightning bolt striking from the bottom, the logo translates to “Taking Care of Business in a Flash,” an idea that encapsulates both the charisma and character of this magnetic entertainer.

How can you resist 24-karat gold and old world craftsmanship like that?  If you've got $2200 burning a hole in your holster, you can purchase one of 500 TCB revolvers.  Right now my television is quivering from fear that I'm going to shoot it!

Blinking at Terrorism

BoingBoing TV just ran this interview with Star Simpson, the MIT student who was arrested at Boston's Logan Airport last year for the crime of wearing a hoodie with a blinking LED device on the front when she picked up a friend at the airport.  Simpson was arrested, subjected to a series of court dates, practically disowned by MIT and accused of creating a "hoax device" by the same vigilant Bostonians that went after the Aqua Teen Hunger Force guerilla marketers.

Simpson was sentenced to community service and ordered to give the people of Boston a public apology.  As somebody who has plenty of fashion faux-pas to apologize for, I can feel her pain.  Stay vigilant for a follow-up article in the next issue of MAKE!

LINK

RonCo

Dammit.  The good guys are dropping like flies while douchebaggery proliferates on a massive scale.  This morning's New York Times had an obituary for Ron Rivera, a member of "Potters for Peace", an unfortunately named group with an amazing mission.  In the early 1980's Rivera learned about a simple clay water filter designed by a Guatemalan chemist.

Initially, Potters for Peace manufactured the filters, which eliminate nearly all harmful bacteria from gray water.  Quickly, they found it was much more helpful to show communities in developing countries how to manufacture their own filters.  In the past decade, Rivera helped set up 30 factories across the globe--in countries like Ghana, Cambodia, Yemen and other developing countries.  Rivera had set a goal of starting 100 factories, but stopped short of his goal when he died of malaria in Nicaragua.

Potters for Peace is making a real difference.  Water filters may not be as sexy as adopting African babies or holding a celebrity tel-a-thon, but they have saved countless lives.  Visit the Potters for Peace website to find out how to donate your time or money.

LINK to NY Times Article LINK to Potters for Peace

Finite Jest

I try not to go off-topic too much, but I've gotta this time out of a broken heart.  David Foster Wallace, one of the favorite writers in the Extreme Craft household, hanged himself last night.  Both Claire and I are longtime DFW readers...in fact, I've been re-reading some of his articles this month.  I once picked up a copy of Everything and More, a Brief History of Infinity, his book-length treatise on the number zero, but it melted my mind into a puddle halfway through the prologue, and I had to put it away.  His essays and novels were completely brilliant--I just reread his account of John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, which is (obviously) as relevant today as it was when it was written.

I'm too sad to write some smarmy faux DFW long-sentenced prose, so I'll refer you to "David Foster Wallace and Gromit" by Michael Ward.  I'm off to pour a container of tennis balls on the curb.

Body of Knowledge

Crisis averted!  While I was taking a web wander this morning, I clicked on my bookmark for Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium.  Much to my horror, the ol' "site no longer exists" page came up.  Nooooooooooo!  Where would I get my geek tattoo fix?  Did Carl Zimmer's teenager come home with an inappropriate tattoo?  Did he get modest or prudish all of a sudden?  I needen't have worried.  He simply went pro.

Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium has now hung out its shingle at Discover Magazine's website.  All of your favorite tattoos have been preserved for posterity (heh heh) on the new site.  Do you have a tattoo of a formula, theorem, diagram or tribal armband made from the numbers in pi?  I'm sure Mr. Zimmer would love to hear from you.

LINK

You've Got to Know When to Fold 'Em

Okay.....so it's not as extreme as, say, oragami from your own surgically removed leftover skin after a massive weight loss, but Netflix oragami solves annoying problem....what to do with all of those removable flaps from Netflix mailers.  Even though they usually make it into my recycling bin, flaunting my oragami skills with the flaps would serve the dual purpose of impressing people with my mad folding skills and letting them know that I had the good taste to rent Police Academy 5:  Assignment Miami Beach.

LINK via Gizmodo