RWPK

[arguchik]

READING: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I also started Jon Armstrong's Grey last week, but haven't gotten past the first chapter. Ishiguro's novel is a beautiful and haunting story that is gradually and deliberately revealed--first-person narration, told in flashbacks. Each flashback contributes to an emerging picture of exactly what is going on in the society depicted in the novel. The answer to that question is horrifying, both in the savaging of basic human rights and ethics that are being outlined, and in the mundanity (is that a word?) with which these "crimes" are perpetrated and culturally produced as something other than "criminal." The novel illustrates how a population can be set apart, its members groomed into complying with their own horrific exploitation, and resistance to that exploitation managed. I decided to read this novel for 2 reasons: 1. it was recommended to me by someone whose taste in literature I value; and 2. I loved Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. It was an easy sell, is what I'm saying, and I am not disappointed. I'll post more fully about it when I'm done reading it, with spoiler warnings of course. I have questions about the world of the novel--primarily the conditions of possibility for the specific cultural/biomedical practices depicted in the novel--that have not yet been answered.

WEARING: At the moment, jeans and a floral t-shirt (white with multicolored flowers on it). I'm barefoot, though I was wearing shoes earlier.

PLANNING: I might be going to the College Inn tonight, not sure what after that, if anything. I also want to bake a cake tonight, so I might just stay home and do that. I'm feeling ambivalent on the out vs. in question, especially since tomorrow is going to be an "out" day. Tomorrow I'll be doing some stuff around the house in the morning (including frosting the aforementioned cake), followed by my second yoga class, followed by the "solstice thing" barbecue/gathering that glaucon and I are doing at our place. You'll notice that I'm not planning to go to the Fremont Solstice Parade. My yoga class hits right in the middle of that, and I don't want to skip the class since I paid "good money" for it (heh--good money...as opposed to what?) Sunday I'm going to marinate in the deliciousness that is a free day! Monday I get to do a bunch of prep work for the class I'm teaching this summer (it's actually one piece of a much larger program through the UW Medical School).

KNITTING: I'm almost done with my Green Gable Tee. I will probably finish that this weekend, and I can't wait until it's done, because I want to wear it, because I don't particularly enjoy working with this yarn (Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece--it's OK, but it tires out my hands), and because I want to work on something else! I also did a lot of work on my second rendition of the Lace Ribbon Scarf--which I'm knitting with Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in a lovely terra cotta color. I am very happy with how it's knitting up. So...next up: I am playing with a cardigan design in my head, which I want to knit with some Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a nice deep aquamarine color (the yarn is tweedy, and the silk and wool fibers take up the dye slightly differently, so the resultant yarn is somewhat variegated--it's really pretty, and lovely to knit). I also have some old 100% cotton yarn that I bought a long time ago, that I want to use for some kind of a shell that I can wear in the summer. I also have plans to knit a cardigan for my mother, but that is going to have to wait for fall, I think--I'm going to knit it with wool, and I just don't relish the thought of a lap full of wool knitting in the summer.

OK, that's all for today. Back to the tasks at hand...