Thursday, September 18, 2008

Central Booking

Since I'm on the road and not posting as much as I'd like, here are more pages from my black books... click to enlarge.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I knew you'd be back

At long last, Wes Anderson's (and co-writer Owen Wilson's) Bottle Rocket gets the Criterion treatment it so richly deserves this November. His most recent two movies (The Life Aquatic and especially The Darjeeling Limited) have been crushingly disappointing because of their focus on props (both inanimate and human props) over complex characters and their interactions – but that doesn't take away from the utterly life-changing genius of his first three (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums).

Here's the original Bottle Rocket short.


And here's one of my favorite scenes from the feature.


Related: This is our second cat, Inez. More about her another time.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Illinoise

I'm posting from my crackberry (as I believe the tag line below reports) so I'm not being very detailed, but suffice it to say we are making good, locally made beef jerky-fueled progress. Stayed in Rockford, Illinois last night and we're back at it this morning, the next goal being Gillette, Wyoming. Luckily we missed getting caught up in the hurricane through Indiana and Illinois and it's sunny and beautiful now as we cruise through Minnesota. Jeans is holding up well and has found a way to communicate when it's time for a bathroom break, which involves pulling his poop box out of the back of the truck in a rest stop or kwikstop parking lot, and surrounding it with our backs turned so he can step in and handle his business.



In other news, there's a road in Indiana called Fangboner Road. The heartland is so folksy.



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Wisdom from a Cookie

Monday, September 15, 2008

Ohio

Clevelands. Erie. (etc.)

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On the Road

This is Mr. Littlejeans.

This is my brother Sky and me a few years ago. Well, it might have been longer, but who's counting.

Today Sky, Jeans and I are leaving New York bright and early in a gigantic Penske moving truck, beating feet for Seattle. (Emily and Inez are traveling separately by plane—Jeans is too big to fly so he's riding with the boys.)

Stay tuned for photos and ruminations whenever wi-fi is available. There are a few random things I've scheduled to post as well, just in case I'm unable to post until the end of the week.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

A Sailor's Life for Jeans

We just finished packing everything up and are installed in Sky's apartment for the night. Littlejeans has had a rough day but some kibbles in the bowl are a small good thing. Tomorrow we light out on the somewhat open road at 4am with the goal of hitting Indiana. More as it all unfolds.

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Contemplating a Move

We're finished packing and today is the day we load the moving truck. All of this is a bit overwhelming, both logistically and emotionally. It's not like we're leaving New York because we don't like it—we love it here. I love my brother and my friends and I love the city itself as if it were a living thing. It's just: considering our larger goals in life—starting a family, owning vs. renting, spending more time outside, being closer to our parents as they get older—these things make Seattle attractive. I also feel a magnetic pull toward the Northwest...both of our families have been there since the mid-19th Century. I'm super excited to re-explore Seattle and bring the same sense of adventure to that as we have in exploring New York.

None of that makes this easier but all you can do is push on and, ahem, git 'er done.

I keep thinking about this Willa Cather quotation I picked up somewhere:

The end is nothing; the road is all.