Start the week with flakes and tunes

I have two flakes this week, mostly because the first one was so simple and quick that I decided I could get a leg up and pad my flake stash. I've made the first one before and i really kind of like it. The second one I had not made before, and I was a little afraid it wouldn't look very good. The pattern is written as a beaded snowflake, which I always think look really nice in pictures, but I can't figure out how you get the stiffener completely off the beads when you block.
Mine would look like crap, I know. So, I decided to make a picot everywhere they called for a bead. It turned out all right. I like the "arms", but the center seems a little dense for a snowflake. Or, I'm totally over-analyzing this.

Last Thursday, in the midst of hyper-presentation-preparation, I did what any good graduate student would do: I went to a concert. Now, to be fair to myself, the tickets had been purchased before my presentation was scheduled. So I went. New Friend Veronica had seen the band, Girlyman, before and had really liked them. I had not heard of them before, but I'm always game for a reasonably-priced live music experience. Some of my favorite bands-nobody-has-heard-of are the result of blind concert-going. They describe themselves as "Delicious Acoustic Harmony-Driven Gender Pop". It is, in fact, acoustic and harmony-driven, but I don't know what the other two descriptives mean. In terms of music, anyway. I hate to think that there might actually be something legitimately called "gender" pop. WTF?? I'm not going to start a tirade about the stupid use of words, I promise. Though I could really go to town on that one. But I'm not going to, because I really liked Girlyman. Their songs are melodic and the three-part harmony lends a complexity that makes their songs much more interesting to listen to than those of a lot of bands today. The overall mood is cheerful, but there are a few beutiful ballads that are sad and mournful. I would recommend them to anyone who enjoys new folk or tight harmony and to a few people who don't. But if your idea of a great new-ish band is Lamb of God or Avenged Sevenfold, they may not be for you (Hi, Sweetie!!)

You can check out some Girlyman songs on their MySpace page (I recommend "Speechless" and "Young James Dean").

And now, another week begins. Please send warm, sexy thoughts to my little Tetrahymena so they will mate well! They seem to need a little help, lately.

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