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Adam’s Got Issues

I recently rented the 1949 movie Adam’s Rib, starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. I expected a classic romantic comedy, from a time when they knew how to make ‘em. Instead, it was, well, truly bizarre.

adamsribThe basic plot: Tracy and Hepburn are a married couple, and both are lawyers. They end up on opposite sides of a murder trial, with Hepburn defending a wife who shot her cheating husband to death, and Tracy trying to prosecute. Sounds like a recipe for a great movie, right?

Not right. First, the Tracy-Hepburn duo had no chemistry—in fact, their complete lack of chemistry almost seemed intentional, that’s how bad it was. I think the idea was that because they’re both tough, fast-talking lawyers, they show their affection toward each other by acting rude and talking really fast. Mixed in with the charmless hostility were also a lot of massages and crying jags, which just served to make everything more awkward.

Then there was the annoying neighbor. An obviously gay man to anyone alive today, the viewer in 1949 was supposed to believe that he is madly and completely openly in love with Hepburn’s character. He repeatedly professes his love for her in front of her husband, and at one point, even (very gayly) performs a love song that he wrote for her in their living room. I could sort of buy that he’s supposed to be a comical character, until he tries to rape Hepburn at the end of the movie.

The trial at the center of the plot was, of course, riveting in its utter lack of sense from either the prosecution or defense side. At one point, Hepburn calls a female weightlifting champion as a witness, and proceeds to instruct the woman to lift Tracy up in the air, in an attempt to prove that women can be just as strong as men. Which is to say, her client should get a fair trial.

As I hinted at above, things take a turn for the even weirder at the end of the movie. I won’t say anything more about it, except that it involves an edible gun.

Netflix asked me to rate this movie after I returned it, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. Its strangeness is near cult movie levels, so I encourage you to rent it if you’re into that kind of thing.

Announcing Ninjabun!

ninjabun_announce

A sneaky bunny just hopped his way into Mochimochi Land—it’s Ninjabun, with his two carrot friends and a knitted garden for them all to hide in!

buncarrots

This pattern promises minutes of interactive fun. Just ask super pattern tester Joan, who uncovered another covert operation in her own yard:

ninjabun_joan

Thank you for another fabulous test, Joan!

Also, I have to thank my wonderful husband John for ANIMATING Ninjabun in the Mochimochi Shop! (How cool is that??)

Update 9/27/07: Yay—Natalie posted about Ninjabun on the Craft blog! Thanks, Nat!

Ravel Me

ravelryI am very excited to have just joined the online knitting community that is Ravelry! I kind of feel like the last person ever to receive my invite, but it’s fun to see how much has been going on there already, and it’s awesome to find some Mochimochi Land patterns there as well. (Including several pics of just-made Woodins!)

woodins_elin

These little guys were made by Elin.

I’m currently asking the Ravelry people to make my patterns page accessible from my profile (so that I can add photos, new patterns as they become available, etc), so I’m holding off on uploading any projects for now. But I’m eager to see who has been raveling and what they’ve been making, so I hope those of you who have accounts will befriend me! My user name is Mochimochiland.

Ninjabun is Coming

ninjabuncoming

I’ve had a very uninspiring cold all week long, so today I thought I’d just briefly mention that a new pattern is coming very soon to the Mochimochi Shop! Ninjabun is his name, and he’s bringing top-secret friends and a top-secret hiding place with him.

If you would like to know the instant the pattern is available, please send an email to info [at] mochimochiland [dot] com to get on the mailing list.

Marc Jacobs Rodent Shoes

I noticed these Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes the other day at Bloomingdale’s:

rodentshoes

They have these little rodent faces on them—I think they’re supposed to be mice? Kind of cute, but also kind of creepy with the haircalf uppers. This vegetarian has nothing against wearing leather, but the cute animal faces made out of calf skin and hair is a little too morbid for me.

Kind of like those cat figurines made of rabbit fur, which have the distinction of being both icky and tacky.

rabbitcat