Wolf Headdress - Finished!

The Headdress

[In Esperanto]

Well, it's done.   I'm going to increase my estimation of its difficulty to "intermediate - challenging" or perhaps "expert" based on how hard it was to piece together.

Then again, it could simply have been because I just really, really, really wanted to get it done and didn't take the time to be very careful when doing the final construction.

One ear is pretty mangled - that's the one I burned.  I think I put it on with a slight twist; also, I don't think that I filled them enough.  Recommendation on the ears: fill them very full.

Eyes: I went with sew-in plastic eyes.  If I could do it again, I'd make the eyes entirely out of felt.  It'd safer for smaller children, and these eyes came out of the wolf's head three times after I'd sewn everything up.  I ended up sewing them directly to the white felt backing, which isn't as secure as I'd have liked.  If they come out again, I'm going to rip them out and embroider on fully felt eyes.

One other thing I did differently: the plaits.  Instead of braiding three 12" strands and then sewing them into the bottom of the falls, I ran two 24" strands through the bottom of the falls and then did a four-strand braid (link to T.J. Potter's site, which is how I learned how to do it).  It takes more yarn, but I had a lot left over (the falls only took one skein of boucle).

The hardest part was the fact that the head is not a standard stuffed animal head.  No, it's sitting on a hat, which is convex inside the wolf's head.  I didn't have a form with which to work; instead, I put it on the impatient girl-child and worked as quickly as I could.  Recommendation: have a head form to which you can pin this thing when you're doing the final stuffing and construction.  I didn't use pins to hold it together -- I tried, but because it was a floppy bunch of cloth, the pins didn't work very well.  With a head form, I could have pinned it without too much trouble.

So, I'm thinking that I would like to do another one of these -- a Yinepu (Anubis) head out of black yarn, with Hawai'ian eyelash lei yarn for the insides of the ears (so they're fuzzy), or a Set head out of shades of red.  But I won't contemplate it without a head form!

Louise Walker's Wolf Headdress

Louise Walker's Wolf Headdress
link: Ravelry page

[ In Esperanto ]

At the request of the Next Generation, I've been working on this project from Louise Walker's book, Faux Taxidermy Knits.

Assumptions
You've got the book in hand.

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
The work is rated "intermediate", and I think that between the Fair Isle multi-color knitting and the final construction, that's about right.

Typos
The book contains some typos, or what I think are probably typos:

1. Materials list: calls for a set of US 11 (8mm) straight needles.  In the "Boucle Falls" section, the instructions call for you to knit using US 10 (7mm) needles.  I did it with the US 10 needles and that's what I'd recommend.
2. "Top Wolf Piece", row 56: it should be "p20b, k5b, p24a, k5b, p20b."
3. "Boucle Falls": after you've obtained 6.5 inches of knitting, you're instructed to knit 22 stitches and put the remaining 23 on a stitch holder.  This is the new row 1, but then you're given instructions for rows 2, 4, and 5.  There is no row 3.  I recommend that you simply knit all stitches for row 3.
4. Then, in the next section of "Boucle Falls", it tells you to knit the other section, referencing rows 1 through 4.  Then it tells you to repeat rows 4 and 5.  Repeat rows 3 and 4 instead.  Knit until the entire piece measures 16" (not 8" as instructed) -- in essence, so that the second fall is the same length as the first.
5. "Front Ears", row 4: it should be "p7a, p4c, p7a".

Hat Base / Bottom of Snout

In the "hat base" section, round 4 tells you to "place 20 sts onto scrap yarn, k1, p1 across the remaining 6 sts."  Then on the next row, you're supposed to "[knit] over the scrap yarn."  This part confused me greatly.  I think that it would be a lot easier if you did it like this.

First, don't place 20 stitches onto scrap yarn.  Knit 20 stitches using the scrap yarn and make sure it's a contrasting color and texture.  Leave a long tail and don't tie it.  On the next row, k1, p1 using the original yarn all the way through.  Finish the hat base pattern.

Knitting using scrap yarn

Knitting over the scrap yarn

Now for the "Bottom of Snout" part, what you're going to do is pick up the stitches on either side of the scrap yarn.  Louise recommends using US 6 needles to do this, because it's easier, and I'd recommend it too.  You'll end up with 20 stitches on either needle, and they'll be slightly offset: if you've got the top of the hat facing away from you, the top needle will have the left-hand-most stitch (look at the picture on page 46 to see what I'm talking about).

Stiches picked up

So now you can pull out the scrap yarn and you'll have a big hole in the hat as per the picture on page 46. 

The gap

Turn the piece around so that the top of it is facing you and follow the instructions (put the right-hand-most stitch that's on what is now the bottom needle onto the top needle and then purl it and the next stitch on the top needle together).  You'll end up with this:

Gap purled together

And you can continue with the rest of the pattern as indicated.

Lessons Learned

The biggest issue for me (as a high-level beginner) besides the hat base/bottom-of-snout situation was the Fair Isle knitting.  I used the yarns for which the pattern called, which were Rowen yarns - mostly an Alpaca cotton mix, but also a Boucle yarn that was British sheep wool.  Side note: the Alpaca yarn is amazing.  Soooooo soft.  I don't usually work with high-end yarns like this.  It was expensive, but worth it.

At any rate, the yarn likes to cling to itself.  So the primary thing I learned was that when it came time to twist the yarns behind the work, that I needed to stretch out the work flat on the working needle and make sure I twisted very loosely.  The first piece I made was the hat/underjaw, and because I didn't twist loosely, the jaw ended up being puckered.  I was able to smooth it out with blocking, as I did with the ear that ended up being smaller than the other ear (but be careful with that iron: I ended up burning the one ear a little).

I haven't made up the final headdress, including the stuffing, yet.  I'll finish up this adventure with another blog post, provided that it turns out to be educational, which I am absolutely sure it will, because I've only ever knitted one other stuffed item (a bear) and it was terrible. Onward!

Knitting

Whew!

Okay, so it's been a while again.  The problem with blog posts is that they take a long time to do properly, and I just don't have the time.  But I've got a little while on a day off to talk about something I don't think I've talked about here: knitting.

It's fun.  It's not too terribly hard and yet is complex enough (depending on what you do) that you're always learning something.  And a lot of the time, it requires intense concentration.

I like this, because when I'm intensely concentrating on something, it means that I am not thinking about work.

In Esperanto green, of course!

If you hadn't heard about it, there was a terrific campaign, "25 000 Tuques", to knit hats for Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada in winter.  I can only imagine what it would be like coming from Syria and stepping off of the plane in Quebec in winter.  What a shock!

Generally speaking, this campaign was organized around local groups who'd knit and then take hats to drop-off points, but as you can imagine, there were a lot of international knitters, so there was an address to which people (like me) or groups not in Quebec could mail hats.  It got crazy; the lady in charge, Danielle Létourneau, had to go to the post office every day to clear out all of the boxes.  I sent eleven hats.  It would have been twelve, but the Next Generation wanted one of them, which will come in handy if we ever leave Hawai'i.

The campaign's closed out now for the season (the first group of refugees finished arriving in March), but if you're interested, check out the website above (or the Facebook page).

Cable-knitted Easter Egg

Next project: Easter.  I saw a Facebook link about Arne and Carlos, who are two fantastic textile designers in Scandinavia. They posted a blog post (complete with embedded YouTube tutorial) on how to knit easter eggs.  I love this idea: I (and eventually we) could knit one or two each year and eventually have a basket full.  Instead of a standard row-by-row description of what to do, they posted a chart, which I liked a lot.  It involves Fair Isle knitting, which requires some gentleness, so my first egg turned out pretty puckered (in short, you're switching between colors, and to keep the yarn from drooping or catching in the back, you occasionally twist the yarns together, but if you do it too tightly, it puckers the cloth.  I knitted a couple of those, then thought, "hey, I just did a cabled hat for 25000 Tuques, what if I did a cabled egg?" and ended up adapting their chart to make a pattern to knit a cabled egg for my husband as an Easter gift.

Well, next up: I bought Louise Walker's book Faux Taxidermy Knits because, of course, how could I resist a book with "taxidermy" and "knit" in the titled?  As expected, the Next Generation paged through the book and immediately requested a wolf headdress, which is one of the intermediate patterns.  "Well," thought I.  "I'm probably an intermediate knitter by now."  Well, I'm not, but I'll blog about that separately, because Ravelry doesn't have a blog function, and I've got a lot to write about this pattern and what I've learned from it.  Onward!

This is a test post, as I haven't posted here in a while and weird things are going on.

Photo of the Day - 09 Aug 09

Flat Stanley and the Fu Lion

Shrine Guardians

 

An online acquaintance asked me to help out with his son's "Flat Stanley" project. For those of you unfamiliar with "Flat Stanley", it is a book about a boy named Stanley who is accidentally flattened and then is able to visit his friends by mailing himself to them. It's been used as the core of a letter-writing and cultural exchange program called The Flat Stanley Project, in which kids send photocopies of a "flat stanley" to people around the world and ask them to document the adventures of their "flat stanleys".

I completely missed that little Hunter's project involved documenting food around the world, which is a real shame on my part because Japan certainly has some pretty interesting food. However, Stanley visited some places around Misawa, Japan, including a trip to see one of the local Shinto shrines. Here, Stanley has a photo taken with one of the shrine's stone guardian lions.

Photo of the Day - 05 Aug 09

Luck and Protection Geocoin

A Mystery SQUEEEE!

 

A little background for those who might not be in the know: geocoins are tokens, usually coin-like (but sometimes marvelously not) that are used in the game/sport/activity known as geocaching. Geocoins typically have a serial number engraved on them which can be registered (and tracked) using the tracking website.

 

Technically, the coin you see here is not actually a geocoin -- or, rather, it's not a trackable geocoin. The number you see there is a serial number, yes, but it is not a tracking number (as sold by, say, geocaching.com).

 

This coin is a mystery coin. There's a very active community of people who make, sell, buy, collect, activate, and/or release geocoins at the Geocaching.com Forums (message boards). Some of these people will, for some reason or another, occasionally mint coins that they then send, anonymously, to other addicts coin aficionados out of the goodness of their hearts (or because perhaps they really enjoy seeing the explosions of rapture on the message boards).

 

I went to the post office and found a parcel. I regularly order coins so this was not too terribly surprising. Still, I didn't recall ordering anything from the location indicated by the postmark and stamps (which I will not reveal here). What could it be? I ripped open the packet and lo and behold, out fell this coin!

 

I am particularly tickled because I have visited China (in 2000, before I joined the Navy). Note the "Great Wall" border. I have walked on that wall. I love the fu-dogs and am delighted that the coiner got this right: fu-dogs always come in pairs, one male and one female. The male has a globe under his paw, and the female has a baby fu-dog under hers. On the obverse are two beautifully-done dragons (I wonder if they, too, are male and female?).

 

I scored coin #78. Squeee! I've been carrying this around with me in my overshirt -- it goes everywhere with me, now. Thank you, oh Doubly-Lucky and Doubly-Protected mystery coin giver!

Photo of the Day - 01 Aug 09

Dubai, UAE - Bank Entrance

Bank - Glass-fronted Entrance

Here's another photo from my visit to Dubai in 2004; it is the front door of a bank in downtown Dubai. The use of this kind of glass is very common in Dubai -- entire buildings are covered in beautiful cobalt and dragonfly-green glass, with gold-colored ornamental metal tracery. It's a gorgeous city, a clutch of jewels laid out in the middle of the desert.

Contrasting with the absolutely stunning buildings such as this one are places like (not pictured) "T.G.I. Thursdays". To quote Dave Barry, I am not making this up. It makes sense, though, since Friday is the start of the weekend in Dubai. Some officers from the ship went there and I gathered from their stories that the place doubled as a brothel. I'm glad I was not there.

Instead, I was wandering throughout the city with friends and a camera, exploring the spice souk, the City Center Mall, and other interesting places. I didn't visit very many places in the Middle East, I'm afraid; Dubai really is the only one I'd be interested in visiting again.

Don't you think that the design on the bank's entranceway would make a great geocoin?

Photo of the day - 30 July 09

Dubai, UAE - at the Spice Souk

Spices, Spices, Four Bags Full

During my (one and only, so far) deployment to the Middle East in USS McFAUL (DDG-74), we visited the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is an amazingly beautiful city. I and my buddies checked out the spice souk (bazaar). There were beautiful bags of spices -- and minerals, too -- everywhere.

One guy pulled us (women) into his store and tried to sell us breast-enlargement cream. Oy, weh! Still, Dubai was my absolute favorite of the various Middle Eastern places we went.

Photo of the Day - 28 July 09

Summer & Pat explore Hachinohe Park

Summer & Dad at Hachinohe Park

 

All weekend long, the Air Force weathercasters teased us with the notion that Monday would be clear. Since that was my (single) day off this week, we planned to go check out the Hachinohe Park & Children's Land. Of course, come the day itself, it was definitely threatening to rain. But we went anyway.

 

One of the things about driving using an atlas is that the atlas simply marks where the streets & roads are. It tells you nothing about the character of where you'll be driving -- and the map that I have is decidedly uninformative about the width of the road, too. So we drove through some highly entertaining portions of Hachinohe, including along what appeared to be Hachinohe's main city street. We'll definitely try to go back there before we leave; the street featured several interesting bronze statues of which I'd like to go back and get photos.

 

We arrived at the Hachinohe Park & Children's Land and, lo, it was closed (closed on Mondays). But we still got a chance to wander around before the rain really started coming down. Not pictured: the extensive small-scale amusement park (complete with ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and other fun stuff for children), the petting zoo, or the botanical gardens. That'll have to wait for a sunnier non-Monday-or-Tuesday-after-National-Holiday.

Photo of the Day - 26 July 09

View of an Engine

This is a photo taken while working on one of my favorite geocaches, "USAF Museum Tour. I am afraid that I forget what in which aircraft (plural) this engine was the prime mover, but the engine itself was absolutely fascinating and beautiful. This geocache is called a "multi-cache" (tho I think it could more properly be called a Mystery cache) and requires you to tour the entire museum, collecting clues, in order to figure out the coordinates to the actual cache. It was one of the best days caching I've ever had!

The Train Wreck that is Sylvia Browne

You just can't stop reading about Sylvia Browne -- it's unbelievable, like trying to look away from a train wreck, isn't it?

Sylvia Browne: Sightings - Ghost of Brookdale Lodge (2)	Sylvia Browne: Sylvia Browne Transcript
Sylvia Browne: Terrence Farrell Reading	Sylvia Browne: Browne’s Trump Taj Mahal Engagements
Sylvia Browne: TVTalkShows.com - A Report on My Session and Dealings with Sylvia Browne	Sylvia Browne: TVTalkShows.com - Disappointed in Sylvia Browne “Trance Reading"
Sylvia Browne: Email - My Reading With Sylvia’s Son Chris

But it's over. Until Robert's back at his keyboard!

Ye Gods, I am So Sick of Sylvia Browne!

Are you sure you want to keep reading about Sylvia Browne?

Sylvia Browne: Browne Says She Never Charges for Missing Person and Homicide Cases...	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - A Matter of Control
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer?	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer (2)
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - An Aramaic Prayer (3)	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - A Prelate Responds
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Canada Breaks Away	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Delaware Breaks Away
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Delaware Breaks Away ()	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Jewelry Quality Issue
Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - Jewelry Quality Issue (2)	Sylvia Browne: Novus Spiritus - “These Freaks Only Come Out at Night"
Sylvia Browne: Open Letter to Montel	Sylvia Browne: Open Letter to Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne: People Vs. Brown	Sylvia Browne: People Vs. Brown - Documents
Sylvia Browne: Annual Predictions - 1996	Sylvia Browne: Response to an Attempt to Silence
Sylvia Browne: Richard Kneebone Reading	Sylvia Browne: Sightings - Ghost of Brookdale Lodge

Can't Stop Posting these Great Articles by Robert

If you aren't sick of Sylvia Browne by now, here's some more reading material to turn your stomach:

Sylvia Browne: Larry Beck	Sylvia Browne: Louise Hay
Sylvia Browne: Montel Response to Open Letter	Sylvia Browne: Montel Show Cancelled
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Amanda Berry Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Anthony Urciuoli, Jr.
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Christopher Reeve	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Civil War Energy Implant
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Dana Chyleen Satterfield Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Dark/Light Skin
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Eve Brown Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Explaining the Levels
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Holly Krewson Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Jamie Barker Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Johnia Berry Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Lynda McClelland Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Outburst in Savannah	Sylvia Browne: Will Her Parents Be Around Her?
Sylvia Browne: Psychic Show Participation Release	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Requin/Nelson/Desvergnes Reading
Sylvia Browne: Montel - Ryan Katcher Reading	Sylvia Browne: Montel - Shawn Hornbeck (2)

Part Three in the List of Great Articles by Robert Lancaster

But wait! There's more to read about Sylvia Browne!

Sylvia Browne: Email - Lied To By Browne	Sylvia Browne: Email - Linda Rossi
Sylvia Browne: Email - More Ex-Browne-Fans	Sylvia Browne: Email - My Early 70s Experiences With Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne: Email - My Sister Margaret and Me	Sylvia Browne: Email - My Thoughts
Sylvia Browne: Email - Not a Good Woman	Sylvia Browne: Email - Psychic Baiting Browne
Sylvia Browne: Email - Request for Refund	Sylvia Browne: Email - Rosanna Montage
Sylvia Browne: Email - Sara’s Story	Sylvia Browne: Email - Shameless
Sylvia Browne: Email - Sylvia Browne Show - June 22	Sylvia Browne: Email - Thank You From a Soccer Mom
Sylvia Browne: Email - Their Blatant Disdain for Others	Sylvia Browne: Email - What Sylvia Told My Granma
Sylvia Browne: Go Sylvia Browne	Sylvia Browne: UK Guardian - Is He for Real?
Sylvia Browne: Interview - Gary and Ree DuFresnes	Sylvia Browne: I Speak with Browne (2)
Sylvia Browne: Janet McDonald	Sylvia Browne: Larry King - Caller from Japan

More Good Stuff from StopSylvia.com

More articles from the most excellent Robert concerning Sylvia Browne":

Sylvia Browne: Email - Ask Montel	Sylvia Browne: Email - A Story From 1984
Sylvia Browne: Email - Browne and a 9/11 Widow	Sylvia Browne: Email - Browne and the Campus Massacre
Sylvia Browne: Email - Clutched by The Claws	Sylvia Browne: Email - “Doofrane"
Sylvia Browne: Email - Duped	Sylvia Browne: Email - East/West
Sylvia Browne: Email - ExMinister’s Reading by Christopher	Sylvia Browne: Email - Face-to-Face
Sylvia Browne: Email - former Browne Fans	Sylvia Browne: Email - From a Disgusted Ex-Believer
Sylvia Browne: Email - He Will Live a Long Life	Sylvia Browne: Email - Jewelry Question
Sylvia Browne: Email - Jewelry Question2	Sylvia Browne: Email - Las Vegas at the Sylvia Browne Show

More Good Stuff from StopSylvia.com

Okay, thanks to krelnik (keeper of the terrific anti-pseudoscience/pseudomedicine site "What's the Harm.net"), check out this following list of great articles that Robert has written about Sylvia Browne:

Sylvia Browne: Affidavit Regarding Sylvia Browne	Sylvia Browne: Browne and 9/11
Sylvia Browne: Browne and Borrowing	Sylvia Browne: Browne and Christianity
Sylvia Browne: Browne and the Mentalizer	Sylvia Browne: Browne and the Pomeroy Bridge
Sylvia Browne: Browne - an Attempt to Silence	Sylvia Browne: Coast-to-Coast - Noory on Browne
Sylvia Browne: Coast-to-Coast - Sago	Sylvia Browne: Chris DuFresne
Sylvia Browne: Contradiction - Jesus’ Age at Death	Sylvia Browne: Contradiction - Meeting Francine
Sylvia Browne: Contradiction - Panther Totem	Sylvia Browne: Did Browne Save Reagan?

Favorite Articles about Sylvia Browne by Robert

Some of my favorite articles that Robert Lancaster has written about Sylvia Browne; this is an excerpt from a thread I started on the topic of favorite www.stopsylvia.com articles over at the James Randi Educational Forum:

I Speak With Sylvia Browne - Robert actually attended one of Sylvia Browne's lecture-shows, and ended up speaking with her. This article just really highlights what a class act Robert is. With all of the hoopla about the takeover of the old domain name, it's a real struggle for me to remember to try to keep calm -- to describe, for example, Kreiman's actions as those of a scumbag, without saying "Boris Kreiman, you scumbag". It doesn't seem that Robert would have this problem; it seems like Robert just comes naturally to fairness, or that he doesn't have to work as hard at it as I do. He's just amazing, and Sylvia Browne is -- oops, almost lost myself. She behaves despicably.

AC360: Sylvia Browne's Best Evidence? - Saw the show. It's just so telling. Robert takes a look at the individual claims made by Linda Rossi on behalf of Browne. It's not a complete transcript, though. I think my favorite part of the interview was when Randi leveled some criticism against Browne and Rossi's response was that Randi's an atheist. Kudos to Anderson for pointing out this very basic (and invalid) debate tactic.

Montel: Shawn Hornbeck Reading - If you know nothing about this, you really just need to read it.

Stop Sylvia Browne - The Story of a Domain Move

I know it's been a dog's age since I've posted last. My Jackalgirl website is also woefully out-of-date.

But I have to tell a story here.

I have posted before about Robert Lancaster, who runs a site called Stop Kaz. It's a site he researched and designed to post about the claims of one "Dr. Kaz deMille-Jacobsen", who claims to have been at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks and who claims that God saved her (for, of course, a very special mission to spread the word and love of God in exchange for handfuls of money).

Anyway, he turned his sites to another psychic con-artist (though I use the word "artist" lightly), Sylvia Browne. He has been researching her claims, following up to look for consistency and evidence that the various claims actually are factual. So far, she's failed on all counts.

He has done a great job, and is an extremely thorough and fair researcher. I say "and fair" because he's better than most people with serious beefs about other people (in this case, completely justified, IMO) would probably be -- he is always very willing to post the opposing side's view, and has an open offer to post any evidence that proves any of her claims (that he has not been able to find himself). So far, no evidence has been forthcoming.

This summer, though, he had a serious stroke. As of this writing, he has been moved to a physical therapy-intensive facility and is learning how to operate his body again.

While he was recovering from his stroke, the domain name for his site critical of Browne lapsed. A person by the name of "Boris Kreiman" snapped it up and replaced the content with a website of his own creation which, on its face, almost looks like it might be critical of Sylvia Browne, but then in its articles comes to the conclusion that she's the real deal. He appears to be attempting to use this site to increase the traffic on his own psychic-crap website, "LifePsychic.com".

In the meantime, this "Boris Kreiman" has offered to sell the domain name back to supporters of Robert -- for a mere $20,000 -- and has complained, apparently, that people should not speak out in an uncomplimentary fashion about him because he is, as he puts it, "one of the best chess players in USA".

As if being good at anything shields you from being lambasted when you are behaving in a thoroughly scummy fashion.

While all this was going on (that is, while he was offering the domain for private sale), "Boris" put the site up for sale on eBay, Marketplace, and SitePoint. If I am not mistaken, these listings have been removed by the associated administrators -- it's a serious breach of the rules to offer something up for auction in multiple places (and then to offer it for sale privately). One could easily accuse him of wanting to rip off the winners of the multiple auctions (and the private buyer), but it's just as equally likely that he's simply ignorant of how online auctions work. Chess skill does not translate into auction site saavy.

As mentioned above, he's commented in links that he didn't know that Robert had had a stroke. Okay, so here's his chance to prove he's not the scumwad everyone's accusing him of being: sell the domain back to the Lancasters for the price he paid for it (probably in the neighborhood of $19.95) -- that would be the right thing to do.

But it doesn't look like he's interested in doing the right thing; he posted a comment to one of the Randi.org articles about the domain takeover":

Hi My name is GM Boris Kreiman and I did buy domain Stopsylviabrowne.com. I dont know why you people writing this bs. I offered to sell it to the owner and his friends. There is NOTHING WRONG with buying GOOD DOMAINS. I am not pro or against Sylvia Browne. I tried to put up objective content but got many insults in the email. Please stop this harassment because I dont want to file any law suits. I hope we can call it as misunderstand and you guys put your money where your mouth is and BUY STOPSYLVIABROWNE.com

My response:

Boris --

The decent thing to do would be to offer the domain back to the Lancasters at the cost you paid for it. Were you to still insist on $20,000 -- after having found out about Robert's stroke, about which you claimed you knew nothing -- you would be acting like a scumbag. So are you a decent man or are you a scumbag? I'm waiting for your actions to show me which.

I'm not holding my breath. Especially since he's called JREF and threatened to sue (see Randi's comment, which is the one immediately preceding Kreiman's in the Randi.org article). Check it out.

Updated at 0915 Local: Kreiman snapped up "www.stopsylvia.net" and "www.stopsylvia.org". Yup, all the hallmarks of a scumbag, all right.

A Handful

I quote the following from Jack Seward's Outrageous Japanese: Slang, Curses and Epithets:

When then President Ronald Reagan visited Japan and addressed the Diet, he essayed a short sentence in Japanese. My guess is that he intended to say, Nichibei no yūkō wa eien desu 日米の友好は永遠です, or "Japanese-American friendship is forever."

I was listening to the speetch on sattelite television with several native speakers of Japanese, including the incumbent Mrs. Seward, who thought that what Reagan had said in his poorly enunciated Japanese was, Nichibei no yuna wa taihen desu 日米の湯女は大変です, which would have meant something like, "Japanese-American bathhhouse prostitutes are a real handful."

My wife, being of a literal turn of mind, immediately sang out, "I wonder how he found out so quickly. He's only been in Japan two days."

The book is available here on Amazon.com, and its ISBN is 978-4-8053-0848-6 if you want to find it elsewhere.

"Evil Dead: the Musical"

No, I am not making this up.