welcome.
If you're curious, crazyknee.com is:
a personal Web page (a blog, even) created by Leanne H. Milway. The page was launched Nov. 1, 2000, the day she had ACL/meniscus repair performed on her right leg.
Hence the "crazy knee."
This page will be updated in some weekly way.

24 december 2001 . 01:45 am PT
Culture update: I just saw "The Royal Tenenbaums" (which was one NYTimes critic's top pick for the year). It was good, and it's strangely dark. Odd. There's probably too much going on and Gwyneth doesn't smile once. I tried to avoid the record store today, but I ended up in the tragically long line anyway. I found Rufus Wainwright's "Poses" used, and it's on the critics' year-end lists as well (I love the critics) and now >I< can highly recommend it. AND this past week? Bonnie and I saw "Proof" (it won the Tony and the Pulitzer this year) and I was way taken in by the first half. Second half not so strong, but it's good! good! good! Film music theater! art!

So the year is almost over ... 2001, goodbye. Goodbye shoulder-length hair, goodbye to life without a litter box. Goodbye to limps, goodbye to ever thinking I can get it all done. Remember life when I didn't spend all my cash on CDs, sushi, movies, concerts? Or when terrorism, evildoers, bombs and burkas were just . . . words? Goodbye goodbye.

I've been working for Microsoft for 365 days, and now my contract is up. Goodbye, Bill! Nice to know ya!

I may never have my name on a door again. Interviews are lined up for the next chapter in my working life (*keeps fingers crossed*), but FIRST I'm returning east for two weeks.

It's Christmas Eve and I'm usually in my baby bed in Maryland, mulling over the loss of faith (in Santa Claus). This year, I'll be on an airplane, a flying death trap, arriving at BWI at 10:13 pm ET. No candlelight service for me! Woo! I'll be singing carols on the car ride up I-95 instead. I hope that will do. Gloria in excelsis.

Happy holidays, friends. Merry New Year. I'll see you all in 2002.

19 december 2001 . 11:06 pm PT
One of the (countless) joys of the Internet (for me) is collecting & processing the (limitless) recommendations of friends & strangers. Columnist Mark Morford swears I should read W.G. Sebald's "Rings of Saturn." Mark's column (yes, we're on a first-name basis. We should be, anyway, with all the e-mail stalking I do) reveals his passion about good words ... and that's all it takes. The "Rings" author died this week, and doesn't death make everything we leave behind a little more important?

More: Hidden in Whitney's top 100 people of 2001 are several good album recommendations. And she's funny. Looking. Ha! I am so kidding.

Great story: "Jason, the Orgasmic Foot Masseur." Marcellus Wallace better watch out. (That thought just led me to this INTENSE examination of that incredible film by none other than Roger Ebert. Cheers to you, Internet!)

I participated in a paid focus group last week -- $90 for 1.5 hours of my time, giving feedback on a health Web site. I got a call tonight asking if I would like to discuss BEER for $50. Jackpot! I have found my new calling.

18 december 2001 . 05:16 pm PT
Great fun: reading through Google's timeline of memorable Usenet posts. Go back to the days of Chernobyl, New Coke and Rodney King. My only contribution to Usenet was a teeny post on alt.books.stephen-king. Go fig. Google -- once again proving that anything and everything we (carelessly?) send out on the Internet will be forever remembered. Hello world! (oh, and the new image search is also extremely valuable.)

Do you want to know what Bob Dylan said about losing George Harrison? Here: "George was a giant; a great, great soul with all of the humanity, all of the wit and humor, all of the wisdom, the spirituality, the common sense of a man and compassion for people. He inspired love and had the strength of a hundred men. He was like the sun, the flowers, and the moon, and we will miss him enormously. The world is a profoundly emptier place without him."

The sun, the flowers, and the moon. Wouldn't it be nice to know someone thinks about you like that? Well, someone does. I promise.

There's just GOT to be more links I have for you, but, uh. Instead:

13 december 2001 . 12:56 pm PT
For lack of anything better, I now present: Recent Movies I've Seen.

1) "Amelie." This French film is practically perfect in every way. Inventive, exciting, delightful. Go see it. You'll laugh and feel tingly. You'll want to collect stones for skimming. I saw it last night with the always fabulous Christa, who was kind enough to fix dinner. Lucky me!

2) "Apocalypse Now Redux." This was only the second time I've seen this film, and that first time I didn't get much out of it (I kept falling asleep. That really doesn't help.). But NOW? On the big screen? Hoo boy. This is it. Horrific and intense. War! Down with war! Amazing. Of course, the extra 45 minutes (45 minutes!!) are quite unnecessary. (Review supplied by CNN.com's Paul Tatara. I often forget about him, but he is right on.)

3) "2001." Oh yes. In 70mm. At the best theater in the city, which was packed (always makes it more fun). You're also treated to a stunning performance by an organist before screenings at the Castro. What more could you ask for? Great buttery popcorn? That too. Kubrick's "Space Odyssey" is essential viewing for any film lover. NO ONE has done anything close to this, and it came out in 1968. Who knew that 12 minutes of flashing colors on the screen could be so damn cool? Among other things. And you never know what it all really means. Ahhh. (The link is a line-by-line analysis, filled with who-knew trivia.)

In other words, I've done quite well with the cinema in the last week. Question is, do I now go see "Ocean's 11"? Everyone says Clooney is looking sooooooooo hot.

But first, I suppose I should watch OBL's new video. And I want to read this New York Mag profile of Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick. I saw him speak and weep after 9-11. He lost 657 employees, including his brother (link via the pulpypants).

09 december 2001 . 11:36 pm PT
We spent the day touring "wine country." This entails driving an hour or so north of the city, stopping at various wineries along the way. You get out of the car, cruise the gift shop, and "taste" several varieties of wine. That's the most important part, of course. We all bought bottles of the Coppola Syrah. The guy behind the tasting counter claims it's a "fruit explosion" in your mouth, and he buys at least six bottles a week. Well, can't beat that. Did you know that the darker red wines spend months fermenting, while the lighter wines only sit for a day or two? True. For visitors to Napa Valley, I recommend the Niebaum-Coppola Winery. It's this huge amazing cellar and mansion, AND you get to see artifacts from Francis Ford's movies. The desk from "The Godfather," the surfboard from "Apocalypse Now." His Academy Awards are there too. Closest I'll ever get, huh.

Wine country:

It's been an Old 97s weekend. All the albums, multiple times. And it feels so good. I tried to mix it up by listening to Whiskeytown's "Pneumonia." But Ryan Adams versus Rhett Miller? Awww, no contest. Rhett! Rhett! Rhett! We also listened to "A Chorus Line" while driving around Napa today. There's nothing like good show tunes, and wine. Take my word for it.

I've been playing the guitar so much that my fingers tingle while typing! Progress! Just WAIT till you hear my three-chord rendition of "Amazing Grace."

I was blind . . . but now . . . I see.

04 december 2001 . 12:06 pm PT
I've spent the last three nights at the Fillmore with Jeff, John, Leroy and Glenn (aka Wilco). Oh what beautiful music. After three nights staring up at the stage it gets to feel like you should be doing this every night. So: the new "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" material (due in April on Nonesuch Records) is exceptional (so dark! and true! love it) and the new drummer kicks major drummer ass. It's something special to see Tweedy contort his face while jamming on the guitar, or whistling, or screaming "I want to thank you all for nothing at all" or confessing how he was "saved by rock and roll."

*takes a moment for silent reflection on the glory of it all*

"There's more religious expression going on in our public schools than at any time in history." Yup, the threat of terrorism is now serving the push for prayer in schools. And no one seems to be objecting.

Hey Betsy! What is your 3,867-word novel about? And it's my theory that when they don't include "scenes from next week's show" it means they will be airing a rerun. Which is the case for tonight's "Buffy."

Tom "A Man in Full" Wolfe doesn't dig the Internet, according to this article. It is worthy to note how he's currently composing an epic novel set in academia. Which makes me think I really do need to start "Infinite Jest" at some point. Right?

Where was I that we were trying to remember what the word "stentorian" means (yes, I hang out with nerds)? Well, it's a good one. Stentorian = extremely loud. Who knew, who knew.

I'm not going to comment on IT, except to say that this guy I know who works for NASA? He used to work for that inventor Dean Kamen, and he saw the nifty wheelchair in action, so, uh, an eyewitness verifies the potential for coolness. And insulin pumps were also way revolutionary (claims the diabetic).

George is dead (you knew that already). And we're all sad, and we're all downloading his solo stuff off the Internet and realizing that it was quite good. The Chicago Tribune explains a lot of things about pop music, aging, and death. It's not like there was any hope of the Beatles getting back together, anyway. But every time one of the great rockers bites the dust we realize that it's coming, no matter what. And every moment is a little bit later.

Memento mori!