You have finally knitted your scarf.  Now you have to bind it off or secure the remaining stitches on the needle so that it does not unravel.

To do this, you will knit the first 2 stitches.  Then you will take your left hand needle and slip it into the first stitch you knit (from left to right) and pull it over the second stitch and off the needle.

Then you will knit the next stitch from the left hand needle onto the right hand needle.  Again, you will bring the first stitch over the 2nd stitch and off the needle.

When you have reached the end, you will have one stitch remaining on your right hand needle.  Cut the yarn a few inches out and bring this end through the remaining stitch, slipping the needle out.  Weave in this strand of yarn.

Almost eight years on, a continued lack of focus and resolve in Afghanistan will be NATO’s undoing, Canada’s former top general warns in a new book.

Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier. The splits inside NATO over the Afghan war have turned the alliance into a rotting corpse that will be virtually impossible to revive, says the former head of Canada’s armed forces.

Retired general and former Canadian chief of defense staff Rick Hillier wrote in his autobiography to be published next week: “Afghanistan has revealed that NATO has reached the stage where it is a corpse, decomposing” and in need of “lifesaving” or “the alliance will be done.”

He said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is vulnerable to “any major setback” in Afghanistan and faces extinction unless it can “snatch victory out of feeble efforts” thus far.

In the book, “A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats and the Politics of War,” Hillier says no Western country had predicted an Afghan resurgence following the early success of the US invasion in 2001.

When Hillier took command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) years later, “It was crystal clear from the start that there was no strategy for the mission in Afghanistan,” he wrote.

“NATO had started down a road that destroyed much of its credibility and in the end eroded support for the mission in every nation in the alliance.

“Sadly years later, that situation remains unchanged.”

Hillier lamented “pie-in-the-sky ideas for Afghanistan” that were not backed by firm strategies, clear articulation of goals, political guidance or combat forces. “It was abysmal,” he said.

At the start of the conflict, European countries rebuffed Canada’s joining ISAF. “We were shunned,” said Hillier. “They did not want us as part of their alliance.”

The British in particular believed Canada had “lost its ability to be a war-fighting nation.” They had “no faith that Canada would pull its weight, especially if things got tough.”

Eventually, Canada was offered a chance to join a US division in southern Afghanistan, deploying in early 2002 and earning the respect of US commanders as they helped rout Al-Qaeda militants.

When a second ISAF force was sent to rout an insurgency, “the Europeans had suddenly warmed to the idea of Canadian participation after realizing the challenges of generating the ISAF force.”

Canada sent 2,000 troops to Kabul in August 2003, and assumed command of ISAF in February 2004. Some 2,800 troops are now deployed in volatile Kandahar province until 2011.

Hillier accused NATO of being “dominated by jealousies and small, vicious political battles,” adding its “lack of cohesion, clarity and professionalism was ominous” at the start of the Afghan mission.

He lamented that many alliance members are focused on “building their own little fiefdom” instead of preparing troops for deployment.

In the book, Hillier described the Iraq war as a “distraction” for the Americans. “Perhaps more importantly, the war in Iraq gave the Taliban heart at a time when it was largely beaten.”

Most Taliban who would later form the Afghan insurgency were hiding in Pakistan, their leadership almost entirely killed or captured, militants “soundly beaten” in battles with US forces and their source of funding from Muslim world supporters drying up.

But the Taliban saw from the few successes of “ragtag insurgents” in Iraq that “Western military forces could be hurt and maybe even have their will to fight destroyed.”

“They watched, learned and soon began applying the tactical lessons from Iraq in successfully attacking Western forces,” Hillier wrote. The Afghan insurgency got its second wind.

Hillier also lamented too few NATO troops in Afghanistan, what he described as a “minimalist approach to Afghanistan that severely constrained the mission there.”

It was only with a top-up of American troops this year that the alliance has reached the minimum 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers NATO has said is required to defeat the Taliban, he said.

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Stitching Time

It has been a year since the tear began.
An unraveling at first; the picking
apart of a seam that no one noticed.
Discomfort, uncertain anxiety,
frayed the edges of a relationship.

Unconscious – the rift, the elusive shift
in balance away from the steadiness,
the rhythm of years past – didn’t they see
it coming, did they each ignore the signs?
as if dismissing pain would heal the heart?

How long does it take to heal the injured?
Is it to be measured in years – or less?
Learned behaviors construct a shield of strength –
stitching time together to repair love.

Siobhan
09-03-09

I don’t know what happened today – I fell apart. Though I was not alone.  I watched someone else scream and yell, offended and teary, yet I fell apart. Something that had seemed so strong so quickly busted at the seams and before you knew it, it was all unraveling. Some people left, most people cried, everyone was upset – how did we ever get this way?? Through my blurry tear-filled eyes it suddenly seemed so clear. Maybe each one of us individually had acted so strong but was really unraveling at our own seams.  I am anyways, I need help.  I’ve held on for so long by my final strands are breaking, I’m not sure there will be much to hold me up anymore. I just keep letting things weigh on me and I think I can carry it – little did I know I’ve been slowly breaking under the pressure.  Is that what’s happening with everyone else? I don;t want to say I have the worst of it, that’s not fair. But these are MY worst days, MY worst struggles, the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with, and yours may be rough too – but you can’t take my worst from me.  Sadly, I’m certain you can’t fix my worst either – just like I can’t fix yours.

You can download 4 new My American Heart demos (“Unravel”, “Pain”, “Lost Inside Of You” and “Circa”) right here.

Wild Mystical ….Ray

A little wild ray of light
Outstretches its feet to reach
From the violet forests where stars still sleep
Lifts her long veils as it touches with its glow
I look as white and beautiful as snow
The stars far are melting away
Ruffled water lilies rustling their wings
Crystal pearls springing in the moss
To welcome the morning breeze
A pink sphere matching; Oh flower-flesh!
Arrives with its coolness; to dawn upon the earthly beings

A little wild ray of light
Outstretches its feet to reach
Beguiling and Enthralling; Always in endless flight
Mounts in my soul so simply without revealing
Like magically paving ways that never before existed
Draws me within as it delves deep inside
So Solitary and Subtle, with invisible Pace
Full of Solace and infinite Grace
The rivers let me sail, and distance from the time
Till scented twilight falls upon the pearl skies
Droppings of indigo entrancing in delight
Dances away the yellow to make it more bleak
A wild ray of light still sparks till I seek

by Zuellah Huma Ahmed

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It happens to the best of us: unraveling locs. Whether it’s at your root or your ends, it’s a hassle. What to do, what to do?! How can I lock my locs if they don’t stay together?! You’re right, it’s going to be difficult if your root unravels or the ends unravel. But before we dive in, be aware that this happens to just any type of locs (exception: those who use the latch method and such). This is especially true if you have younger locs. Don’t fret, my pet… Your locs will lock if you persevere. Let’s get to it:

• Tie your hair up nightly or during idle time at home with a satin scarf. Be sure to sleep on a satin pillowcase if you don’t have or don’t want to use a scarf (but I highly recommend using one!).
• I’m sure you have read this throughout my blog. Don’t use, what? That’s right. Don’t use petroleum/petrolatum products to twist yours locs. It will attract lent, dust, dirt and whatever else and mix with the product. This will create a buildup. Clean locs lock quicker than dirty ones.
• Beginner locs: do not wash your locs as frequently. The minimum, once a month. Heck, bi-weekly if you’re careful.  But before you let a lick of loc touch any water, put on a stocking cap. I have instructions washing on washing your locs in my other posts (loc maintence, starting your locs).
• After washing, do not vigorously towel-dry your hair. Blot and squeeze. Pin or clip your locs after twisting. 
• Be sure to twist/palm-roll your locs teh same way every time. Doing otherwise will just undo the process.
• Don’t scratch wildly scratch your scalp. If you must, be conscious of where you are scratching and do it as little as possible.
• You may want to get a water bottle to spray water, oil, moisturizer, or whatever on your scalp. This especially useful when your locs and/or scalp is dry, when your head is itchy, et cetera. Also, using the spray bottle will mist the product on your locs rather than you using your hands to slather it on.
• Believe or not, dying your hair will assist in locking your locs. Please, don’t dye your hair as a desperate attempt to get your hair to loc. Do it because you want color.
• Some people put rubberbands on the ends of their locs to keep them from unraveling; however, if you are not careful, it will pull hair out of the locs.
• I used a little hair glue to keep my ends from unraveling. (I got this tip while sitting in court with a client, lol). At first, all is well. On the other hand, as weeks go by, little beads of hair glue started to appear everywhere! It helped out, but what a pain…
• If your ends are unraveling and you have more mature locs, maintain the split as two different locs (even if they are attached to the original loc). If the split goes to the root, retwist the root and follow the tips above and other loc maitenance. Or if you want, combine with another loc.
• Email me some of your tips I would love to post them! Don’t worry. I’ll give you the credit! Email me at: locd4life@yahoo.com

si video-ul original…

President Obama has been in office just over 120 days and has already begun the process of unraveling, sidestepping, and reversing his campaign promises and positions. Mr. Obama built his Presidential campaign around two simple premises, hope and change. During the primary and the general election campaigns, he called his rivals out on issues like Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, torture, transparency, fiscal policy, healthcare, the economy, and more. He said that if elected, he would alter America’s course and bring hope and the promise of a brighter future to the American people. He has done everything but since he took office.

The change that Barack Obama promised the American people ended up being a change for Mr. Obama rather than a change for the country. In every respect thus far, President Obama has demonstrated that he is not the man we met on the campaign trail. He has, through his swift and decisive actions, revealed two key facts about himself. The first is that change has not arrived in Washington. Perhaps change was left on the train that brought him to the inauguration. The second is that he will not be honoring his campaign promises. He might honor some or parts of them but in total, he won’t honor what he promised.

It can be understated that Barack Obama ultimately won the election because of his positions on Iraq and the state of the American economy. Yet, on both issues, President Obama has altered his positions and reneged on his promises. He promised to bring our troops home from Iraq and end the war in Iraq. Thus far, he has merely promised to have all but a small contingent out of the country by 2011. On the economy, he passed a nearly $1 Trillion stimulus package designed to revive a devastated economy. To date, roughly $40 Billion of the nearly $1 Trillion has been spent and the economy is merely puttering along rather than recovering and people are still losing their jobs and their homes.

There are other promises President Obama has reneged on. One was transparency. This week, the Obama Administration refused to release the White House visitor logs. If that is his definition of transparency, it would be interesting to see what his definition of opaque would be. Another promise was to restore justice. During his short tenure, President Obama has blocked the release of photos that would prove that the United States, under President George W. Bush, tortured prisoners. Not only that, he granted a blanket pardon to the very people who tortured and authorized the torture of those prisoners. And yet another promise was to restore fiscal accountability. No accountability has been restored. Pay-go rules have not been re-implemented, and President Obama has spent trillions, not billions, of the people’s money.

In all so far, President Obama is not a man of hope, nor is he an agent of change. The frightening part about this is that he is our President and without his campaign promises and positions to use as a guide, the American people have no idea who he really is or what he will really do. Unless he plans on reversing course at some point, he has outright lied to the American people. What is worse is that we didn’t have an alternative in the election; John McCain and Sarah Palin would have been just like Obama. At some point we, as Americans, are going to need to claim our country back. I’m afraid, however, that we might have seen our last great hope in Election ‘08. Fool us once, but not twice. How can we get the trust back when the very person we elected to do so does not and probably will not? No one is going to want to believe someone claiming this in the future, will we? Although it has only been four months, one thing is clear: President Obama is not Candidate Obama. We should all be outraged and horrifically saddened. Shame on you Barack Obama.

1. Use a crochet hook to pick up any dropped stitches in stocking stitch.
2. Note what you did wrong and make the other side to match
3. Started with a small needle – add extra increases to get to the right size.
4. Stop and admire your knitting regularly – mistakes are picked up quicker.
5. Crossed a cable the wrong way – knit to the edge of it, rip out the cable and reknit using a pair of needles one size smaller.  Just make sure you pick up the strands in the right order.( I know this is still frogging but 8 rows of 8 stitches is better than 8 rows of 100 stitches)
6. Turn an accidental  purled row into a stripe by repeating the mistake at regular intervals.
7. Continue the pattern the way you started it, who cares if  it is different to everyone elses.
8. Found a drop stitch after casting off – darn it.
9. Knit in the round so that the length is always the same on back and front.
10. Knit the sleeves at the same time – the shape will be the same on both.

The other day I wrote a post about my final project – projecting my ideas farther into the future than I am quite ready for.  But, before that comes another opportunity to present work at Laban.  At the end of June we have performances of pieces that we are working on with our “Performance Research and Development” module.  For this module I am working on two projects.  First, is a collaborative performance with a few of my fellow MADT’s (MA Dance Theatre), Elena, Antje and Stella.  Secondly, is an individual project, which I am presenting as a first attempt at leaving liveness out of the event.  This is the one I want to tell you about today.

For this I am back (did I ever even depart from?) crocheting.  I am thinking about documentation, and questioning when the performance takes place, what it consists of, and the boundaries of the mundane.  Firstly I am crocheting large piece of fabric.  I have managed to obtain (thanks Antje) a polaroid camera, and will take my project with me everywhere I go.  As often as possible, I will ask someone to take a photograph of my activity of crocheting.  Current count of photographs: 4.  In these moments the mundane and private will suddenly become something public and of arbitrary worth.  I am also thinking of these moments as performances; a brief time in which someone’s attention will be focused on me creating and performing.  The images will be then performance documentation.  They will also be used in the final piece as an integral part of the presentation.  The strangers will be documentors, spectators, and collaborators.  The photos will be documentation, props, material.

A second part of this project, which I am just starting to figure out, is what I think of as obsessive documentation.  Each day I crochet I record how much I made.  Each photo is labeled with the time and date it was taken.  Rows are counted.  The fabric itself is traced onto paper.  Much of it will be private – will happen in my home, in my bedroom.  So in some senses it is a meeting of public and private, artistic and domestic, documented as though forensics, brought out to the light of day and allowed to become something else.

I’m not exactly sure yet what of this material will be included in the final presentation, or more to the point, what won’t be.  But this is my idea.  Briefly.  I will post more (images, ideas) as the project becomes more concrete.

Like so many
With these years
unraveling from the chest,
Until our internal structure
That was blue from captivity -
But with rich oxygen
Seethed crimson -
Becomes our forward state.
I’ll be from now on,
Everything I was
In hidden, shameful fiction;
But won’t devour it as such.

– Post From My iPhone

My American Heart have posted 2 new demos on their myspace entitled “Lost Inside Of You” and “Unravel”. Check them out here.

I feel as if a pile of rocks fell on me last week, and no matter how hard I try to dig myself out, more keep sliding down and piling on, trapping me beneath.

All I want is to be out from under it all.

I knew March would be tough.  I sensed it from the beginning.

Now I’m worn out, and beat up.  The past week, I haven’t slept much.  I try, in fact all I fucking want, is to sleep.  I just can’t.  I’m too tired.

As for the recording, a ton of work was completed last week.  But I think pushing myself so hard physically, mentally, and creatively for it, that messed me up a bit, and I’m paying for it now.

I’m so tired of laying in bed, not sleeping, and unable to keep my thoughts from unraveling.

The last four days, I’ve been on the edge of tears.  I’m fine around people, but as soon as I’m alone, the smallest thing will make my eyes well up.  A country song on the radio, a little kid playing football with his dad, an adorable and happy couple walking down the street.  Shit like that’s been getting to me.

I just checked my email, and my good friend Jerome Holloway just sent me this tune.  It’s him, recorded live at the Double Door.  It’s a Bjork song called Unravel.  God, could the timing be any better/worse?

God, and my poor Girlfriend’s been having to deal with me calling her at all hours of the night, freaking out.  She’s so patient, but I know I’m driving her crazy and annoying the hell out of her.  All I want is t0 hear her voice.  She calms me, like nobody else can.  I just want her to come home.

It’s like all my senses have been accelerated and amplified.  I feel everything, but can’t think anything.

Maybe I’m having some sort of post creative depression or something.  I’ve been pouring and obsessing over this album and these songs for months now, and these past few days that focus intensified so much, trying to get it all out, put every thought and idea and emotion into every bit of it.  Maybe I’m just empty now.

Maybe I’m just tired of going home alone.

Maybe I just need a nap.

Maybe I’m fine, and just actually losing it.

I miss hearing her heartbeat.  All I want to do is lay my head on her chest and feel her breathe.  Feel her warm skin pressed against mine, our legs all twisted together.  I want to smell her hair, run my fingers through it.  She always falls asleep so fast, and sleeps so soundly.  When I can’t sleep, I just hold her and match my breathing to hers.  She puts me to sleep.

I miss her.

I sound like a fucking lunatic today.  I suppose we all have lunatic days.  Or weeks.  Or months.  Maybe we’re all lunatics all the time, and we learn to keep the things that make us crazy far, far away.  Maybe I’m confronting my crazy.  March, March is my Crazy.

So Fuck You March.  I’m gonna win.  Your days are numbered, and there’s only 7 left.  I’ve made it this far, March, I’ll make it the rest of the way.  You can fight me, March, but I’ll win.

I have Time on my side.  You can’t fight Time.

Playing RIGHT now:  The Blower’s Daughter – Damien Rice

cuando tu estas fuera
mi corazón se deshace
desenredandose lentamente
en una bola de hilo
el diablo la recoge
con una sonrisa
nuestro amor
en una bola de hilo

el nunca lo devolverá

asi que cuando vuelvas
vamos a tener que hacer nuevo amor

fingernail loosening
it peals back impossibly
with it goes skin
around my bone, unraveling
up my hand (now bone too)
up my arm across my chest
spreads upwards, unseaming
my head falls apart.
cold small hand on
my cheek. she holds
my face together.

“I need your arms.”

kiss on my forehead.
hold together. i think
she must never let me go
i will unravel unravel
i will. i will unravel.
un
ravel

instantly, she’s gone
loosely I lie
on a quiet couch

The mindapples team would like you to tell us what you do to unwind. What advice would you give to someone who is trying to unravel their thoughts?

Posted by Lauren

slowly unravels in a ball of yarn. the devil collects it and, with a grin. our love in a ball of yarn.
you’ll never return it. when you come back we’ll have to make new love. you’ll never return it. when you come back we’ll have to make new love. you’ll never return it.
unravel -something corporate

indeed, this song is a bjork cover. i’ve never heard her version, the original version, so don’t be all like, “those lyrics are wrong! and it’s not something corporate!” yes it is. the lyrics are semi-different because they changed them. for the cover, that the did infact do. so, fucking shut up.

i’m sorry, that was pretty hostile wasn’t it?
whateverr.

so anywho, nothing’s really new.
found out henry’s got a thing for some chick.
’cause no one saw that coming.
honestly, i don’t mind all that much.
i know we’re just friends,
and i knew nothing will happen,
not right away at least.
i can’t tell the future.

uhm, so it’s nice outside.
spring weather.
i’m diggin’ it.
spring’s my favourite season.
mhm.

uhm, wow. i really have nothing to say.
i did go out on friday; my sister had girl scouts at her school,
so i made my mom pick up catie and we just walked around town.
went to subway, got her a sandwich,
went to carvel, got me a cookie dough artic blender<3

oh, i watched the sex and the city movie with my mom last night,
FUCKING FANTASTIC!
haha, (:

sigh.
well i guess that’s it. d:
-your monster is lame.