I'm Not There

In a comment on the 365 blog, Jeannie asked if she'd missed my review of the recently released Bob Dylan bio-pic I'm Not There.

Well, you missed it because I never posted one. Not a single opinion from me to you, due mostly to timing. Mr. Shrinking Knitter and I saw the film December 23, and the days from then until just a couple days ago have been a blur of holidays, outings, football and retirement.

We are, in fact, still getting used to the idea that he doesn't have to go to work! More about this later. First, the movie.

Frankly, if I weren't such a Bob Dylan fanatic, I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Writer/director Todd Haynes has structured the film around six characters, played by six different and diverse actors, each of whom represents Dylan at a different stage of his career.

It helps tremendously to know, for instance, that in Dylan's early years he was obsessed with Woody Guthrie, and that he later experienced a religious conversion.

Some of the dialogue – and even some of the visuals – are taken right out of song lyrics, which is surprising and delightful when you happen to catch one. Mr. Shrinking Knitter didn't catch any of them. Not that he didn't try.

The acting is superb, particularly Cate Blanchett, who deserves an Oscar for her dead-on portrayal of a chain-smoking, nervous Dylan at the height of his career. Although, really, every time you think he's reached his peak he comes up with something new and wonderful.

If you're a Dylan fanatic, that is.

I loved this movie and am looking forward to adding the DVD to my collection when it's released [no details on when that might happen – I hope it's before my birthday, though. Hint, hint. Heh.]. The film's music is wonderful; Dylan songs at every turn. The soundtrack, however, is a disappointment. I much prefer Dylan singing Dylan; the CD has lots of wonderful songs, all but the last covered by other artists. [The last song is by Dylan when he was with The Band, but the sound quality is very poor.]

If you're a Dylan fan, you won't be disappointed. If not, you might appreciate the cinematography, but will probably find the abrupt transitions from one character to the next a bit confusing.

Now to Mr. Shrinking Knitter's retirement, which technically began December 21. Since he would have gotten a lot of those end-of-year holidays off, it feels to us like he started retirement January 2nd. In the past three days we've both eaten healthful meals and worked out regularly and he's taken a nap each afternoon. He's lost four pounds and I've … gained one.

The only thing I can attribute this to is that I didn't eat dinner three nights a week when he was working. He left on Mondays to drive four hours away to the clinic where he practiced, and he came home on Thursdays. I cooked real meals Thursday through Sunday, and ate very lightly the days he was gone.

Not sure what I'm going to do about this. I'm certainly working out more consistently now that he's home. He doesn't pressure me at all, but I feel more motivated and am much less likely to talk myself out of hopping on the treadmill when he's here.

So, as usual, it's all about the food. I'm sure I'll work it out eventually. In the meantime?

Thank goodness for yoga pants.

Knitting update

Some of you may remember that I made two too-big berets last year, and that they remained too big even after deliberate shrinking. I donated them to Goodwill, and went hatless last winter.

Not this season. Isn't this cute?

I tried to take a self-portrait but couldn't get one that looked good. I ended up using a large can as a model, but the hat looks just as good on me. Well, almost.

The pattern is free, [you can get it here] and took less than two days to knit. Of course it was too big, but not so much that the shrinking process couldn't correct the fit. The only other modification I made was to tack the front part of the hat to the top of the brim.

Now I need to knit a sports car to go with it. Or a newspaper carrier bag. [There certainly should be a pattern out there for a newspaper bag, but I couldn't find one easily, so it shall remain linkless.]

As soon as I cast off the hat, I started a knitty pattern called Doddy. It's a soft ball; I'm going to bury a medicine bottle with a couple jingle bells in the middle of it before I stuff it. Because with three days left before Christmas, there's still plenty of time to make another gift! Heh. The ball is made of 12 pentagons, all linked together to become a dodecahedron. Or a ball. The designer used two colors throughout, but I'm using six colors and making each pentagon solid colored, two of each color. Five down, seven to go.

Today's the day that Mr. Shrinking Knitter and I are going to see the new film about Bob Dylan called I'm Not There. I had to be out battling Christmas shoppers yesterday afternoon, and I'm not too excited about getting on the road this weekend, but the movie is only going to be at the Grandin until Christmas Eve. If we want to go, today's the day.

I wonder if I should call this blog the Too-Big Knitter. Because that's how everything I knit seems to turn out. And, of course, it would also describe the general state of my body. Thanks for your comments and compliments recently on the too-big sweater. I'd probably wear pink whether it looked good or not, so I'm glad you think pink is a good color for me.

To combat the too-big-body issue I used the treadmill yesterday for 50 minutes. I'm not yet able to run on the treadmill without gasping for breath after half a lap. The difference between indoor and outdoor running – just speaking for myself here – is huge. I'm about ready to abandon the 20-week marathon training plan and start fresh in January with the 16-week one. There's so much going on this week and next that I can't really say I've been sticking with any kind of plan, be it running or food. And, of course, there's still this useless appendage I call my left arm.

Back on Monday ...

I'm not there [yet]*

Before I go any further – heck, before I even begin! – I'd like to encourage you to go read Erin's post from yesterday, if you haven't already. I guess if you have, you could read it again.

While I don't ever think I've wanted to dive into a plate of cheese fries – no offense if you love cheese fries, that's just not my thing – I have, occasionally, entertained the strange and enticing idea of living as if I was already where I wanted to be.

I think that's the same as accepting myself just the way I am.

In my past brushes with therapy and psychology and stuff, I've run into the theory that until one accepts what is, one cannot move on to what is to be.

Is that the same as what Yoda said? 'Do or do not. There is no try.'

Smart little guy, that Yoda.

I must admit that while in theory I believe that weight-training will maintain my bone density and running is good for my cardiovascular system, I still huff and puff and lift and grunt because I want to lose weight. I have a long way to go before self-acceptance kicks in.

But … I've been there before. I remember feeling perfectly okay with an imperfect body for at least one other extended period of my life, and at the same time enjoying exercise simply for the sake of moving and breathing and pushing myself.

I'd rather not think of all this as something else to 'work on.' I'd like to just do.

Don't forget to enter the contest for Gary Taubes' book – details at the end of this post. Don't be shy! Everyone wants to win something at least once in their life, right? This is your big chance; I don't think your odds could possibly be any better. Heh.

*This title also is a reference to the title of Todd Haynes' recently released film about Bob Dylan and which is coming soon to a theatre sort of near me! I'm kinda busy this weekend, but hope to get away next Saturday to see it.