My most recent foray into research on weddings is Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding. The occasionally inaccurate references to the Disney version of the fairy tale made me wonder if the authors had ever actually seen it, and the book itself is very dry and academic, but overall not a bad read. On the other hand, the authors offer some excellent insights on the difficulties of the lavish wedding.

The lavish wedding has far more significant consequences when it comes to ideals of female beauty. ... [I]t now permits -- and practically requires -- a woman to make her face and body a "project" in order to be beautiful on her wedding day. ... The question remains whether today's woman is able to realize the ideal of being beautiful on her wedding day without subjecting herself to impossible demands for perfection.

Wendy McClure, whose Weight-Watchers cards annotations nearly made me wet myself a couple years back, is interviewed at Zulkey.com, and says lots of funny things, including about crafts! I'm psyched about reading her upcoming book.

How did you get your column in Bust?
There was a test. BUST makes all their columnists prove that they are
savvy enough with the woman-friendly sex toys and DIY culture, so I had
to knit a pair of legwarmers using two Hitachi Magic Wands instead of
knitting needles. That was really hard. Then there was hazing.

Thanks to the Librarian In Black, I didn't miss the 30th birthday of Dungeons & Dragons. Soon, the game freaks out about commitment, dumps its long-time mate, meets someone new, gets married, and has baby games. Then it has a midlife crisis and buys a convertible.

For my sister, I present the Oracle of Bacon, which can play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with you, against you, or all by itself, all night long. [via Kempa Dot Com]

My wedding research is uncovering new, hilarious articles every day. Thank goodness for Lexis-Nexis. From the New York Times, on June 6 of this year, we have "Recipe for the New Perfect Wedding: A $5,000 Cake and Hold the Simplicity," by Cathy Horyn. A few seminal quotes:

Far more troubling to her is the message that the media, and the wedding industry, now give young women. ''The message is: 'Spend time on yourself, not on your moral or intellectual development, but on displaying yourself,''' Dr. [Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University history professor] said.

However, wedding professionals in the trenches tend to view this development more harshly. ''I wouldn't want my clients to hear me say this,'' a retailer said, ''but I think it's because we've raised a generation of spoiled brats. Everything is about them -- 'me, me, me.'''

A very astute and succinct comment. Also, here's the real damage of the Big Wedding:

The average American couple spends $22,300 for their wedding, according to a 2002 survey by Fairchild Bridal InfoBank. In New York and Washington, the average is $35,000 (and, in reality, say caterers, closer to $50,000). Even though more and more couples are paying for their own weddings or pooling family resources, credit management companies have seen a rise in wedding-related debt.

And Ms. Barrett, of the Bridal Mall in Connecticut, said: ''I think some of the franticness I'm seeing in brides is because they know they're overextended. Their credit cards are maxed out.'' [Barbara Barrett, the owner of the Bridal Mall in Niantic, Conn.]

I wish someone could explain to me why web sites that advertise tiaras and veils have so many pictures of depressed-looking models. These women look suicidal.

Here we have, "These arranged marriages make me sad," "I know you had a stripper at your bachelor party," and, "My diamond is too small. I hate you."

If you're around my age, and sufficiently girly, you probably remember with fondness the animated feature The Last Unicorn, based on Peter S. Beagle's beautiful novel of the same name. The movie is a musical (you can only buy the CD in Europe, unless you import it, which I have done) with an incredible cast and truly inventive animation, particularly in comparison with most of the lousy stuff Disney puts out.

Now there is a new film of the book in development, with Beagle apparently doing the screenplay, and some of the original cast returning to reprise or take new roles. It appears to be a mix of live action and CGI, much like The Lord of the Rings.

I haven't any idea where I saw this linked, but these comic misadventures of medical students are so funny I burst into hysterics at my desk at work. Be prepared. Don't try to avoid laughing, or you may wrench something, and lord knows you probably don't actually want to see any of these doctors for medical attention.

As if the books I've been reading about the history of American weddings haven't been convincing enough, here's a great example about how we brainwash innocent little girls into believing that a bride always wears a poofy white gown and a shiny tiara. Check out the Princess Tea at the bottom of this review for a visual representation.

Not that I didn't see the Princess Diaries 2, and enjoy it, but the message I took away from the film (granted, I'm an adult) was not that a girl's value is only how impressively she gets married off. Actually, that's the polar opposite of the message I took home. I can only hope most little girls learned the same lesson.

However, I did fall desperately in love with the gorgeous lace veil worn by Anne Hathaway in the wedding scene in the movie, which goes to show that even adults can be gullible twerps. Here she is, in an image borrowed from anne-hathaway.com. The veil was approximately fingertip length, or maybe I projected that as it is my preferred length, and was anchored with the aforementioned tiara. I like tiaras. Honestly. Just not quite this big.

I must be the last to know that Johnny Depp will be starring in Tim Burton's remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Normally I would be horrified than anyone would remake such a delicious morsel of bizarre childhood goodness, but considering the major players, I have high hopes.

On the other hand, sometimes fabulous people make terrible movies. For instance, Jeanne Crain and Cary Grant made People Will Talk, an abysmal and pedantic tale of unlikely romance between a doctor (who once posed as a butcher so his backward patients would visit him for assistance) and a wayward young lady (impregnated by a soldier who died in battle without learning of her delicate condition). Seldom humorous (except unintentionally) and littered with ridiculous plot twists. Two hours of my life I will never get back.

If you haven't already, you must drop by Windy City Scrapbooking, the first scrapbooking store to open within the city limits. It's only a short walk from the Fullerton el stop, and filled with lovely, lovely tools, papers, and fancy embellishments. Plus, the owner (forgive me, I didn't catch her name) was very nice. They also offer classes. Hurray!

Leave it to NPR (and my stellar fiance) to point out Ugly Dress.com. Mm, fabulous ideas! Just kidding. The people who forced others to wear these monstrosities were clearly unhinged.

I'm a bit behind the curve here, but the Librarian in Black was kind enough to alert me to the fact that the Daleks will, in fact, be on the BBC's new incarnation of Doctor Who. Also, this excellent fellow will be portraying our favorite Gallifreyan.

Karen Schneider sounds off on Web4Lib on the "Check Shevles" designation in some library catalogs.

I have never been an advocate of "Available," at least with respect to books, but in many situations when I'm using an OPAC, "Check Shelves" might as well be "Touch Your Toes and Pray."

"Probably available, give 'er a go" is what we really mean, except in those cases where we mean "Who Knows" or "Not My Problem" or "Dream On."

Utterly wrong-headed title of the day, found in Worldcat while searching for home medical guides of all things: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Your Civil Liberties.

Looking for a nauseatingly twee introduction to wedding traditions? Look no further!

A charming Victorian social custom grew out of this heightened interest in the bride's wardrobe trousseau: the trousseau tea. ...There, amid bracing cups of Assam tea and trays of petits fours and meringues, the bride not only exhibited her gifts, but was coaxed to show off selections from her newly acquired wardrobe.

Stewart's A Bride's Book of Wedding Traditions spends a lot of time on charming Victorian traditions (she appears to be utterly enamored of the Queen herself, having written other books about Victoria) and with the ancient tradition of kidnapping women in order to marry them.

In addition, It's All About the Bride. Brides should have as many attendants as they like, even at a tiny wedding. They should feel free to wear yards of tulle and cathedral trains, even if they wed in their parents' garden. Pages may be employed to hold up said train. Gah.

The Kelly Girls knit like mad last week, mostly on newish projects (although the shawl is still my albatross. A pretty albatross, but hey, still a big old bird).

Leila, beginning what appears to be a new baby sweater, also showcased her new booties. I must own this book. As soon as possible.

Larissa swatched for a hat.

Nancy's sweater is finally starting to take shape.

Kim's sweater is coming along nicely, too!

My new bag is rather floppy, but I hope it will be less so after I line it with this funky fabric, and pad it with batting. Or, as my pattern says, wadding.

Harry Potter & the Revenge of the Sith. Has a real ring to it, don't you think? [Beloved Unshelved]

Apparently it has just occurred to J.K. Rowling that there are parallels between the attitude of the Death Eaters toward Muggle-born wizards and Nazi discrimination against those with Jewish blood.

Ms Rowling then explained how she had discovered that this fictional prejudice held by some wizards against non-magical people [muggles] bore a strong resemblance to the way the Nazis thought.

[via LISNews]

Yarn alert! Yarn alert!

The Knitting Workshop summer yarn sale is this weekend: All summer yarns will be 40-50% off Weds. August 4- Sun. August 8.

I shop vicariously though all of you, due to the moratorium on new yarn purchases around here. Think of me as you gorge on nubby cotton!

SOCK MONKEY! Must be seen to be believed.

Rockford received national attention Thursday thanks to the help of a monkey. Nelson, a seven-foot tall sock monkey appeared on Good Morning America on WTVO Channel 17. The monkey is a promotional idea by the Midway Village and Museum Center to show the importance the knitting machine industry in Rockford.

Amy Carlton & Cinnamon Cooper are reprising the DIY Trunk Show this November. You really don't want to miss this fab opportunity to stock up on hand-crafted objects in time for the gifting holidays. Volunteers and those who wish to market their wares can get more info at the web site.

There's also going to be a knitting event held on the stage in the auditorium. If you're interested in sitting and knitting, or maybe even teaching a newbie a thing or two that would be wonderful.

Rachel Singer Gordon is my hero!

I'm glad someone bothered to respond to the ridiculous American Libraries article about important library leadership qualities.

Current administrators' views of the qualities needed by future leaders hang heavily on their own experiences moving up the ranks*in a much different environment. For example, a sense of humor, interpersonal skills, and commitment to explaining decisions are listed among other bottom-ranked personal leadership qualities in a May American Libraries article. This is how directors and assistant directors at larger academic and public institutions see it. Oddly enough, NextGens are frustrated by their current administrations' lack of just these types of qualities, which largely boil down to skill in building relationships and encouraging participation at all levels.