~:L O V E * F E S T:~

Yup. This is what happens at our house when everyone's happy and feels emotionally and physically generous. I had a craptastic weekend but now all is well. As you can see.

~:K & EMORY:~
Have graduated from Portfolio Center!!! Their folks came to town and the night before, joined Hank at Fratellis down the street. They invited Doug and me to join. We had a great time making each other laugh. Er, um, watching Emory laugh and listening to Hank talk and talk and talk all about the South. I must say that K's father looks like he spit her out. Beautiful. Her Mother's a warm and inviting person. Her Dad was wearing a custom-made shirt which made Doug drool..."Honey, c-can I get one?" We are, sadly, addicted to Good Will, where we buy other people's hand-tailored clothing for reeeel cheeeeep.

Emory's parents were also delightful. Having come from a place where it was under something like UNDER TWENTY degrees, Doug and I looked like fools wrapped up in wool and cashmere, shivering. Emory shares the same mannerisms as her Mom, while her father, too, looks as if he spit her out. It's the same with my father and me. I've read somewhere (in some scientific study of human behavior, etc.) that daughters typically favor their father's likenesses so that their Dads literally will think twice about eating them. How could one eat oneself and feel ok about it, right? Interesting to say the least.

And of course, Hank was a dream guest - who educated us all about world history, the dawn of man, quantum physics, racial segregation, our nation's political history, and why wearing socks is a ridiculous idea. Where would we all be without Hank-ster? Watching TV, I guess. He is a magnificent man. Inspiration to so many people and optimism at WORK. Hank's grounded firmly in the possibility of where one can go and how one can achieve enlightenment. Mostly - how we can share in that experience. I love him as if he were my own.

I got a very good feeling and taste of why these two women are so special. After meeting their parents, I can see how much discipline and love they grew up under. Little girls grow up to be strong women when they know they are loved and are challenged to find themselves. K, Emory and their families are testsment of that fact. Having had these two women as students - they are honest, dependable, hard-working, emotionally generous and very brave souls. They are amoung the very short list of the most emotionally mature students I've had. And to top it off - they're funny. Emory's entertaining and engaging volume of ideas and stories far exceed my own, while K draws you in with the spell of quite contemplation which invites you to listen and absorb her thoughts. I find being in their presence highly addictive and equally so. Probably why they are so find of each other. If you want to find out more about K, read her ever-growing bee-log. And if you want to know more about Emory (who has PROMISED us to start her own bee-log as soon as she's settled into life beyond grad school), ask ANYone at PC, and they'll have lots of stories to tell.

Thanks you to Doug, who also made us laugh - naming the check (the waiter so politely placed in the center of the table at sunrise), a flaming pit a fire - calling our attention - and prompting us to leave. Thank you Doug for taking so many pictures of this fun night. And to K and Emory - sorry we missed your actual graduation - tell us all about it in yer blogsters. And thanks to their parental units for treating us to drinks and chocolate cake.

XOXOXO,
~Anne (who will miss you)

~:N E W * U C L A * S T U D Y:~

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

If she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and duct tape over his mouth while he is on fire. No further studies are expected.

~W I L L * K N I T * 4 * W E B S I T E:~ Would you like a handknit hat, scarf or fingerless mits? I need help designing/publishing my wesite. I'm trying to teach myself GoLive and need someone to sit with me, one on one for a little bit. I guess I need a tutor of sorts. I can knit you something in return. Anyone interested? For now, this is my temporary, yet slow, solution: Anne Elser Design.

~:B J O R N W O O D:~ Well it looks as if a new season of Deadwood is upon us soon. We here at the Elser household are very, very excited. I got a sneek peak at some of the new cast members to join the group in season three. Remember how I was talking about the softer side of Al? Well it looks as if they've taken it a bit further. Pitter pat and all of that. Looks like BjornMouse is in the hiz-ouse. he he

~:H E L P:~ Can anyone tell me why my African Violets are drooping? This is not, (I repeat) NOT a test. They've had plenty of water and droop no matter how much. An ideas? I thought maybe it was too cold by the window this time of year or maybe that they don't want any kind of fertilizer this time of year, or... I dunno. Oh heavens, I am in agony.

~:D E A D W O O D:~ I am in love with this man. Al Swearingen. He's a grimy, slimy son of a bitch whose great gift is making a profit. But underneath his crude exterior, he's no better or worse than any of us. That's how we see most of the other characters of the show. We see how they struggle and sometimes do the right thing. But mostly the wrong thing. I find that fascinating. I'm talking about HBO's DEADWOOD.

To truly appreciate the story of Deadwood (or the struggle of our own lives, for that matter), one must first understand and appreciate the mistakes we all make. And no one said it better than H.G. Wells: "Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo." After finding that quote, my life was changed for the better, I believe. No shit. It changed the manner in which I asses people. And that is to NOT do it in the first place.

David Milch, director/creator/executive producer, etc. is a genius. The way he uses language is fascinating. It took us about three episodes to get into the rhythm of their speech and understand just what the fuck people were saying. It's like going to see a Shakespeare play and getting used to that way of speaking. Or watching a film with subtitles. It's laborious at first, but once you get the hang of it - you're really into it.

The characters of Deadwood use the most foul language imaginable. Cocksucker is the term most used to refer to anyone in the least bit annoying. Cunt is the second - to describe either male or female. And pussy or twat is used to refer to the many whores who live there. Any time one wishes to emphasize absolutely anything they're talking about, the term fucking is used before or after the word or situation needing emphasis. Having said all that, being able to stop flinching at the foul nature of the language was tricky, too. David Milch talked about how language was one of the few resources people had at that time. Hence, the long-winded, flowery and frequently foul manner in which people expressed themselves. It was a way to say either "Don't fuck with me - I'm smart." Or "Don't fuck with me - I'm dangerous." Achhh. I fucking digress.

Back to Al. People flock to him because he is a strong leader. He is both loved and feared. There is a charm and wisdom about him that one can easily ignore. But once you get past his faulty exterior, there's a humanity in him. I see myself in him - with all my flaws and defects out there for everyone to see. There is a desperate criminal in all of us. I truly believe that. And every "monster" has his virtues. Monsters are not all bad. None of them are. Fear and self-righteousness keeps us from really knowing them, identifying with them, seeing ourselves in them. Find their humanity. I grew up with one such monster. Tommy would have ended up in prison, had it not been for his dying. He made a choice. Learning to respect that choice tops my new year's resolution list each and every year.

But back to Al again. The one thing I admire most about Al is that he TRIES. He works at it. Though his motives and manner may be undeniably flawed, he is still motivated to move, to make things happen, to try and try and try again. I think that is the lesson in this series. Trying is how this great, noble and flawed nation of ours got goin'. And it is through that continuous trying that we will adapt and survive.

I will leave you with one more quote from H.G. Wells: " If you fell down yesterday, stand up today."

Here endeth the god damn fucking lesson.

~:L E T T U C E * K N I T:~

Good morning all. This is my new project. A Spiral Lace Capelet from WRAP STYLE by Interweave Knits.

At $3.29 a ball, this Andean Silk from KnitPicks.com is a great deal. The beautiful green color is called Lettuce. It sort of looks like the real thing anyway, with all the twists, ripples and turns. Kinda neat.

The creature you see is Olaf, my youngest cat, who is shown carefully inspecting my gauge. He's a stickler for details and has a head for numbers, unlike myself who never learned my times tables. I actually have not gotten far enough to check gauge, so I may be ripping this one out before long.

I am a slow knitter, so you might not hear from me for a while or you might find my updates rated for the turtle group rather than the hare. Does anyone else find their hands and wrists aching if they knit too much or too fast for too long?

Wish me luck! And many thanks to Deborah Newton, the pattern designer.

~Anne

~:K N I T * M E:~

Dougie Fresh has a new sailor cap thanks to the many chores he has done at home to allow more time for me to knit it for him. This is an easy 2x2 rib stitch pattern whose SSK decreases create the beautiful coiling star pattern at the top of the hat. The cuff/brim/whatever, can be rolled as loosely or tightly as you'd like. Doug's not a hat person, but he loves this one. He says all hats give him a headache as his head is larger than average (NOT kidding). But this one feels like he's not wearing anything. The wool is Cherry Tree sock yarn, knit on no. 2 circulars. The pattern is from Interweave Knits. I am now knitting a green lace stitch wrap for myself from the Interweave Press book "Wrap Style." There's a knit-along-blog for it here, which I want to post to soon.

~Anne

~:W O R K * W I T H * M E:~

I love teaching. Love it. I love listening. Love it. And the poem below describes why. I am sick of whiners and complainers. I hate anything that isn't productive. I love and admire a push forward. I am inspired by people who search. Who listen. Who absorb. Who question. Who ask. A new quarter has begun at Portfolio Center. Monday I'll meet the new batch of first quarter students. It is such an event to meet them. Giving them a positive and hard-working invitation to plunge could not be more exciting. Doing it with them is even better.

To Be of Use
by Marge Piercy -

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

~:B L O O M:~
My christmas cactus is blooming and all the world shall know.

~:N E W * W O R K:~

These are recent bodies of identity work Anne Elser Design completed in my first year of official business. Wow. I feel like a grown-up or something. It's ridiculous. It has been a fabulous year, I still can't believe I'm getting paid more to work for myself. I feel so undeserving. Woo hoo!!! Thank you God. Thank you thank you thank you God.

~:N A U G H T Y or N I C E:~

If your holiday was not as perfect as planned or if you have a flexible sense of humor, this christmas card will please you. :-)

~:B I G G E R * T H A N * A * B R E A D * B O X:~

This Christmas my Aunt Jacki got us a vintage bread box. Cool, huh? Use the above photo as a reference. I have conveniently labeled each image so you know who is who and what's what. I know, I know - I manage to think of everything. ANYhow...

My stylish Aunt Jacki is tuned in to the environment set in our house (and everyone elses), which in itself is a real gift. It's a skill like conversational listening - which most people don't know how to do. One can walk through my house and see all the cool things she's given us. After a tour, it's clear that her presence is there and that I have an aunt that loves me and knows me. Her generosity is wayyyyyy bigger than a bread box.

~:C L A Y T O N * C R E E S M U S:~

We spent our Chrsitmas up in Clayton, Georgia. Mom and Dad have a new vacation hizouse up there. They are slowly furnishing and decorating it, etc. It's got Frank Lloyd Wright references in the architecture all over the place. Makes it fun to decorate with a base like that. We get to be minimal, which is hard for our family, who puts great value on THINGS, great and small. Mom and Dad got bikes for each other for Chreesmus. Peter even bought her a Harpo horn to go with it.

SO! Remember those boots I was so hot over? My seestor-in-law Gloria bought them for me! Here they are in one of my other coziest spots in the world. And my luvin' husband got me a beautiful rang and a cool chunky pair of silver earrings from James Avery. Little BjornMouse got to watch the whole affair. We had a great time opening gifts......

We took many more photos if you'd like to see them. Please excuse this hasty blog... I'm a little drunk and we're just about to go out and get more drunker.

Murry Chreesmus everyone,

~Anne

~:Heeeeeeeeere Knitty Kitty!!:~
I found the pattern for this fabulous knitted kitty toy on the knitty.com website. The designer, Jess Hutchinson has my eternal gratitude for her witty inspiration. This will be a Christmas gift for my niece Mia Dusenberry. I took more photos of this pretty kitty if you wish to see them.

~:D R I V E W A Y * L O V E:~
Doug borrowed Dad's pressure washer. And look wat he did!

~:B R A I N * P A T T E R N S:~
Anne has a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. She has the ability to stay forever entertained with her thoughts. People may say she is hard to read, but that's because she is so internally focused. But when she does share what she's thinking, people are impressed with her imagination. What Pattern Is Your Brain?

~:S U R V I V A L * V S * L O V E:~

We saw Peter Jackson's KING KONG Thursday night. I still can't stop thinking about it. For me, the moral center of the film was about love versus survival. Which is more important? Kong is the last of his kind on Skull Island. He becomes enchanted with Ann (sadly she doesn't have an "e" at the end of her name) simply because she decides to stop acting like a victim about to be eaten. Kinda neat when you think of how empowering that is for us. Once she runs from him, confronts him, performs for him (she at one point juggles and dances and falls and really makes him laugh) he respects her. She's different. After a while, she gets tired of performing and gives him a firm "NO" when she doesn't want to play the game anymore. Kong goes into a rage and has a tantrum right in front of her. The he's off to pout and leaves her on her own. Her flight to safety in the perilous jungle, away from Kong's captive clutch becomes way less appealing once she runs into giant raptors and t-rexes. Oooftah. When she screams out, Kong's there to defend her and the love story begins. I get it. These 2 creatures take care of each other for the rest of the film, against all odds and better judgement. "I will take care of you even if it means I die". That kind of higher-brain thinking, feeling and logic doesn't quite make sense in our dog-eat-dog world. Emotions to me always get in the way of logic and I frequently question the usefulness of their purpose UNTIL I saw the documentary (recently rented from Netflix) called Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry. This 2-hour film explored the emotions of animals, which happen to be just like ours. Truly amazing. I had had another epiphany. At the core of our brain is the oldest, most primitive and communally aware part of our brains. Our reptilian brain. The part that says, "Oh shit, I better run faster from this lion unless I want to be eaten." We share this with most other creatures on this planet. It's what ties us to each other.

So, if emotions like fear help save my life, well then I'd say they're pretty useful. What about love? Well that's where the tie between mother and child comes in. Without love, we wouldn't get so much pleasure out of taking care of our babies, would we? Let alone each other. Or ourselves. So if babies aren't loved, they aren't taken care of, nurtured, and then they eventually die. We all die. It would then be up to some other species to adapt and do a better job of thriving than we did. We are still here because our emotions DRIVE us forward TO survival. Having watched this documentary, the meaning of Kong fell right into place for me. I walked out of that theatre feeling pretty OK about my wild emotions, their purpose and my purpose. We are here together for a reason: to be together. And why would I want to be with you if it didn't make me feel good? I guess love's selfish that way.

Back to the movie. There are quite a few other things I enjoyed about Kong besides its moral center:

1.The obvious parallel evolution of the two main cultures: ours and that of the inhabitants of Skull Island. Both are in peril. We're in the midst of the Great Depression and things are a mess, everyone just trying to survive, to eat, etc.. The natives on the island are doing the same. It's such a hostile place to live - nature's against you in every way possible. Yet they survive, killing each other all the while (that's where the human sacrifices to Kong fall into play). The oversized creatures are fighting a similar battle - more against each other than the environment itself. It's eat or be eaten. Just like our us. Interesting.

2. The depth of character of all creatures.

Jackson and his crew did a lot of animal behavior research and it really shows. The manner in which Kong and the other creatures of Skull Island interact puts even the creatures of Jurassic Park to shame. Previous depictions of Kong look more like a man in a gorilla suit (sometimes that was the real case) than a true gorilla. The t-rexes behavior looked like that of wolves. The ritual dance Kong did before he ate his prey felt very authentic. At times when the animals are fighting, there were funny moments. When Ann catches a t-rex off guard in the middle of his lunch, he gives her an almost innocent "hey, what's up?" look until he realizes she'd be a tasty dessert. At one point, 2 t-rexes, Kong and Ann are all trapped swinging from giant vines. Ann is swinging back and forth and can't seem to stop herself. A t-rex realizes if he just hangs still, he can open his mouth and she'll swing right into it. It just struck me as funny. There is also a sweet scene where Kong and Ann are skating on a lake of ice in NYC. They're slipping, sliding, gliding - playing and laughing with each other. It was beautiful.

3. Excellent craftsmanship. The scene where part of the crew is being attacked by giant insects. This was the scariest part of the film for me. The worst of these creatures looked like giant uncircumcised penises. They are called Carnictus, a 7-13 foot long "Vile Meat Weasel". A slow-moving slug with no face or features, other than a hole with layers of teeth surrounded by a phallic carnivorous muscle. I had the pleasure of witnessing this creature and its kind slowly swallow a seaman's arm, the other arm, and lastly his head, all the while listening to him moan and scream, until his head was slowly swallowed and his scream muffled under layers of the creature's smothering muscles. It was awful. Horrible. Wonderful.



At the official Kong website, you can read in more detail the variety, purpose and manner of survival of the many inhabitants of Skull Island. Fun to read all that stuff and even more wonderful that the creators of the film went into such depth to create this fantastic environment. Each creature created had its own evolution and purpose. Technically, they were all programmed with a range of movement that dictated how each would interact in every situation. I am amazed the layers of thoughtfulness and depth.

Peter Jackson did the same thing for Lord of The Rings. Layers and layers of research, character and creature development.
There is a reason for everything you see on screen. So its animation is solid and believable. George Lucas should have his technology taken from him. He has no idea why the first three Star Wars films were vastly superior than the most recent three. Technology doesn't stand a chance without meaning. It should be icing on meaningful conceptual layers of cake, otherwise it's all foam and no beer. A charade of fluff and money, not an expression of a real idea.



4. Kong's humanity.

He's so damn human, it's scary. Odd that he looked more like a gorilla than all past depictions of Kong. Yet we believe him more this time. I get that he's noble, lonely and capable of love and empathy. He's lost. His life ends in defense of Ann. One could argue that he's simply defending what he believes to be HIS, which is pretty selfish. And if that's true, then take a good look in the mirror to understand why it's so. The physical presence of Kong was quite powerful. His grunts, moans and breathing were so real and emotive. Darth Vadar unplugged, I'd say. Beautiful.


5. Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann team up again in this film.

Kretschmann as the ship's captain Englehorn and Brody as writer Jack Driscoll. The first time I saw them together was in Roman Polanski's film, The Pianist. I was moved. Kretschmann played the Nazi soldier who secretly fed the starving polish hideaway Wladylaw Szpilman, played by Brody, saving his life while risking his own.

If you haven't, read the book about the real polish pianist, Wladylaw Szpilman and his story of survival. At the end of the book, you can read diary entries of the Nazi soldier, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, who secretly assisted many survivor's of the Holocaust. And the film itself - oh my god is it good. If you like historical, tragic movies, stuff-of-life themes, the human will to survive and Chopin, you're in for a heavy treat. It was masterfully performed and directed.

There were a couple of things I did not like about the film. The beginning of the film was set in NYC. I get it that we're witnessing what the depression did to make us hungry and needy human beings... and that this is the force that ultimately drives the director and crew out to Skull Island in the first place. Greed and hunger. OK. Curiosity, too. The music felt very heavy-handed and forced to me. Instead of emotionally motivating me, it annoyed me. I felt like I was being pushed to feel and manipulated. I felt a little of this in LOTR, but was and am generally willing to overlook this klunkiness. I get the big picture.

The second thing I did not like about the film was the jump from the island back to our turf. When we're first on the gritty ship set to sea, I'm anticipating the trip back with that giant gorilla below. HOW are they going to do this? And won't it be cool!!?!?? Well they skip over that part. Not only did I miss out on the fun here, but the literal jump from one place to the next felt really abrupt. My guess is that it was supposed to feel refreshing. Ah well. I'm sure once the DVD is out, the special features might touch on what's missing.

I'd like to say two words to all the critics who said that the film was too long. FUCK YOU. A movie is only too long when it's boring. There wasn't one boring moment in this 3-hour film. And who wants a good movie to end? It could have been 5 hours long and I still wouldn't have wanted it to end.














Bravo to Peter Jackson for doing something well done. With heart, discipline and vision.
~Anne

~:M A R Y ' S * T R U F F L E * R E C I P E:~
Mary Kraft has e-mailed me this yummy-sounding recipe for truffles. Wanna try it out? I told her I felt as if I'm not quite fat and puffy enough yet to appear in all the christmas pictures we'll be taking this holiday season. Seriously - I wanna make them! Her notes read: I'd imagine any sort of nut/nut liqueur substitution would be great with these. We actually HAD hazelnut liqueur, but no hazelnuts, so I used the liqueur, but used toasted pecans/walnuts on the outside.

Hazelnut Truffles

1 cup hazelnuts
3 1/2 ounces good bittersweet chocolate
3 1/2 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur (recommended: Frangelico)
1 tablespoon prepared coffee
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Chop the hazelnuts and place them on a sheet pan. Roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. (If the hazelnuts have skin on them, roast them for 25 minutes.) Set aside to cool.

Chop the chocolates finely and place in a bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it boils. Immediately pour the hot cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with the chocolates. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes just until it melts.) Whisk in the hazelnut liqueur, coffee, and vanilla. Cover and chill for 45 minutes to 1 hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.

With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres. Roll the chocolate in the chopped hazelnuts and chill again. Truffles are best when they're allowed to set overnight in the refrigerator.