Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for?...

We are SO all over the upcoming Litquake Opening Night at the Regency Center, Friday, October 6. Written word and music kept us sane in our dork formative years, and continue to sustain us. While we used to hope those dork years were behind us, we have learned to embrace it. We can't think of a better way to celebrate and acknowledge these two cherished forces than Between the Bridges, a homage to literature with a fabbo lineup of Bay Area musicians. It's a known fact that almost all writers listen to music, now it's our turn to find out what writers musicians READ and in some cases, incorporate into their work as inspiration. ...

Hark! Do you hear the hosannas of angels wearing roomy striped ponchos and the clicking of bamboo sticks? That's right -- the hipster goddess of knitting, Debbie Stoller, is in town promoting her new book, Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, a sequel to her massive hit, the original Stitch and Bitch: The Knitters' Handbook. Stoller, who also edits the zine Bust, is all about bringing knitting to the new millennium: reclaiming knitting as a feminist art, organizing knitting circles (or Stitch 'n Bitches), encouraging a community of online knitters and crafters, and now, writing a new book that features even more contemporary knitting patterns from contributors across the nation, such as snazzy rasta caps, yoga mats, bags with pictures of Jim Morrison on them, and Henry Rollins dolls, among others. Stoller will be bringing her intarsia mojo to San Rafael's Dharma Trading Company tonight. Tomorrow, she'll be launching a new program with Amtrak, Stitch-n-Ride, where knitting circles can take Amtrak from Oakland to Sacto every Tuesday (and free patterns from Stoller's book will be distributed -- you can find them online too). If you're a knitting commuter, meet at 5:30 in Oakland, take the train to Sacto, and then triumphantly carry Debbie aloft a carriage made of knitting needles to Rumplestilskin's for another reading. Those of you who don't commute by train, Stoller will be back in SF on Wednesday, for an appearance at Urban Knitting. And hey, can someone teach us how to knit with double-pointed needles? Thanks to Rebecca G for the tip!...