Author: LaShawn

I am a African-American speculative writer in Madison WI. I've written short stories and poetry, and I'm working on my first fantasy novel. I'm the editor of Giganotosaurus and a book reviewer for Lightspeed Magazine. I also enjoy reading, knitting, and anime. Visit me at my blog, The Cafe in the Woods, at tbonecafe.wordpress.com.
Fantasy, Television7 Comments

The Wiz Live! Wrap Up: Brand New Day

LaShawn

I had so much fun watching NBC’s airing The Wiz: Live! on network television. Having grown up with the original, I was curious to see how the new version would stand up. And now I’m going to slip into gush mode because you guys. YOU GUYS. IT WAS AWESOME. We sooooo needed this, especially in this time where most news about blacks are seeded with shootings, protests, micro-aggressions, and fear. The Wiz: Live! was a welcome — and very much needed —  celebration of black culture in all its forms.

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Anime, Music, Television1 Comment

Hatsune Miku Confuses David Letterman

LaShawn

Last week, late night viewers were treated to a performance by none other than Hatsune Miku, the Japanese pop star that’s actually a hologram. Making her American television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman, the virtual idol left the Ed Sullivan theater dazed and confused.

I have mixed feels about this.

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Anime, Cosplay, Origins7 Comments

So I Knitted Myself a Totoro Hat

LaShawn

ImageI found the pattern for free on Ravelry. For the stitches I didn’t know how to do, I looked up how-to videos on YouTube, i.e, how to do knit with two colors and decreasing stitches. The pattern was easy once I figured it out: knit stitch (no purls), following the pattern around four times, and then changing over to double-pointed needles for the decreases. You can see the Totoros along the bottom, and above them, the sootballs. Add a puffball at the top, and I had a Totoro hat. Not bad for someone who’s only been knitting for a couple of years now.

My grandmother knits, but I never had the patience to do the large afghans and blankets that she loves to do. It was only when we moved to Wisconsin that I discovered that hats and gloves and scarves are a given up here. I got a Stitch and Bitch book as a Christmas present and thought, well, why not. So far, I’ve knitted scarves, fingerless gloves, and a sort of shawl which could be a poor excuse for a Snuggie. But this was my very first hat, and I’m proud it turned out well.

But that’s not what this post is really about.

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