Listen To This....

If you haven't discovered podcasts yet, you should. If there is ever a time when you just can't knit (and yes there are those times) and you MUST have your knitting fix, a knitting podcast can do the trick. There are several out there and more starting up. The two I download are in the sidebar listed under Ear Candy. Go to the sites, click on the episode link, then save it to your hard drive. Be warned; Brenda's podcasts are usually over half an hour long making for a long download. So if you have dial-up, don't have anything else running on your computer, make a pot of tea, and settle down with your knitting for a couple of hours as the megabytes slooooooooowly wend their way from Wales to your home.

Today was one of those days when I was so glad to have a podcast or two already downloaded. I had a nasty cold a couple of weeks ago that required antibiotics. Foolish me didn't start up my yogurt to replenish my gut flora right away so I've had to cope with the consequences these last few days. I was doing all right for a while today at work, but the strain of it caught up with me this afternoon and I had to go home. So after making a quick stop at the store for necessary supplies, I went home and to bed. I was tired but not sleepy. Too tired to read or knit but not tired enough to conk out. So I dug out my iPod and my headphones and listened to the latest Cast-On, this week hosted by Franklin Habit.

Now, I will try to keep my gushing admiration for Franklin restrained, but it's really hard to. The guy is erudite and eloquent and really really nice. A part of me wants to find the abusive ex that made his life hell because no one should have to put up with that. I learned about him through QueerJoe (who admits he's green with envy with Franklin's success) and saw his name on other blog lists and thought "Who is this Franklin guy?" Then I read his blog. I started with entry one and worked my way through the months to get a good idea of who he is. Do you do that? I feel like when I start reading a blog I'm starting a book in the middle, so I go back as far as I can to start. It's only then that I feel I have a right to comment on something without feeling like a dork. When I got up to his current entry, I was very impressed. I can see why people read his blog regularly. He's a writer, not just a blogger. And a very good one.

Franklin had done some wonderful essays on Cast-On, so I was interested to hear what his guest hosting on this week's installment was like. Today I had my opportunity and it was very pleasant. There are calls for him to do his own podcast, but I can imagine that he has a full enough schedule and podcasting on a regular basis would be tough. But I can see him guest hosting more than once.

Franklin, if you're reading this, you can be assured of this from me. I would never say to you "Are you learning to knit?" while you're working on a jacquard on a commuter train. I would kneel at your feet, not worthy of being in your godlike presence, and fetch you anything you desire: cowboys, wool, needles......