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Criterion Craving

I just noticed two of the newest titles added to Criterion's ever impressive catalogue are Godard's Breathless and Malick's Days of Heaven! I need a job if only to buy a large bundle of Criterion discs. I wonder if they have in-house designers there...

posted by Jason | 11:19 PM
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Missing the Midwest

I can honestly say a trip like this last weekend really made me want to move back to Kansas City. Originally, I had just bought a ticket to have a few days of celebration wrapped around Jules' birthday. Then I noticed The Pomonas were having what will most likely be their last shows that weekend as well. Then I discovered that both my brothers/sis-in-laws would be in town as well! So it was looking like a wall-to-wall weekend extravaganza and it more than fulfilled those expectations. I even forgot to mention that I somehow was able to land first class seats on the flight back to Cowtown. I had never been able to sit in the money seats, so I was a bit curious as to how they would turn out. Visions of Seinfeld flashed in my head with champagne and laughter all around...but I was happy to settle for free gin & tonics and some extra elbow room.

After a good night's slumber, I spent the morning playing with my dog (who I desperately wish I could bring with me to Seattle) and my nearly-1-yr-old niece- whom I promptly dubbed Pineapple due to her miniature mohawk. She's definitely a bundle of energy these days and was preoccupied with my afore-mentioned (8 yr old) puppy and some little toy records. Future profession: DJ Veternarian. Then it was over to the Cockus Familia to let Jules open her presents and out to dinner at the Cafe Trio for a steak that would give a Hindu second thoughts. A short jaunt out to Lawrence to watch the Pomonas rock the Jackpot and then rock an after-party at some stranger's home (unbeknownst to him as he had taken the quick rout to comatose). I sleepily stumbled into my parents' basement around five and joined the land of slumber instantly.

I awoke what seemed to be ten minutes later to Pineapple banging her records and my dog licking my face and crawled upstairs to have lunch with the whole clan followed shortly by an always raucous and hilarious game of Pit. I took the afternoon off to reacquaint myself with the couch and geared up for a night out Downtown. A small group of us pinned down a spot on the sidewalk outside The Cashew and kicked back. I was happily surprised, shortly thereafter, to find Brad and Chris walking up with Joe shortly behind. It was such a blast being able to crack jokes and catch up with those guys and I realized how much I missed being able to hang out with them and Jules. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up again soon! I took a paltry number of photos of all this, so felt a more thorough description was in order. Anyways, here's to the best mates around and a great time in the middle of the West!

posted by Jason | 11:17 PM
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Flexing my Car Muscle

Not having a set of wheels can be a hassle at times when I'm looking to pull a major haul from some store or just looking to get outside the city for a while. So, I was stoked to find a letter from Flexcar a few weeks ago for a free membership. I'd seen the cars around the city lots with the large electric blue stickers slapped on their sides and wondered what they were. Upon investigating, I found a company that mirrored in many ways the sort of plan Moshe Safdie proposed in his book The City After the Automobile: An Architect's Vision. (A worthy read for anyone willing)

Basically, this company has a fleet of cars around Seattle (and eleven other major US cities) that can be rented for a low hourly charge that covers everything: gas, insurance, maitenance, the whole bit. They range from Minis to Minivans and are sprinkled throughout the city for easy access. All you have to do is reserve a car (by phone or email), use your ID card to unlock the car, and then return it when done. Super simple and effortlessly efficient - not only for my own personal financial needs, but also for traffic congestion and a cleaner environment. Hopefully more people start to utilize this cool company and help make cities less car-heavy.

posted by Jason | 5:26 PM
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Coastal Adventures with Jules

Jules pointed out to me the other day that I somehow forgot to ever post the plethora of pictures taken on her visit upon arrival back into the United States in February. That being said, take a gander at this 'small' sampling of the images from a thoroughly exhausting and incredibly enjoyable week...

posted by Jason | 4:00 PM
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Drive, Eat, Sleep, Wait


After hearing about the San Juan Islands from a number of people up here, I finally decided to venture up there to see them for myself. I found some fellow curious compatriots in my buddy Barney, Sarah and her co-worker also named Sarah (dubbed Sarah 2- inventive, huh!) Our planning for the trip was started Friday night over some delicious Belgian brew at Brouwer's and mostly consisted of this:

- Drive to Ferry in Anacortes as soon as we could get up in the morning.
- Go to Islands
- Do things on Islands
- Return

Foolproof to the core!

We grabbed some coffee somewhere in the earlier hours of the morning (at least they are for me), loaded up Sarah's hatchback, and took the highway north to Anacortes. We got there early enough to check out a Farmer's Market and pick up some scrumptious Ranier cherries (Operative adjective: meaty). The ferry was running late, so we camped out in the parking lanes and threw a frisbee around while a thick blanket of fog covered anything visible. Eventually the ferry puttered into dock and we clambered up unto the front deck to look at thick fog which we eventually emerged from into a spectacular view: deep blue water with boats criss-crossing around it, thick forested drops of islands dotting the surface, and gorgeous snow-crested mountains framing the background. The wind was fiercely cold, but we ignored its frigidness just to soak in the surroundings.

Upon landing, we grabbed some maps and sped off to find something to suit our fancy. After cruising around the backroads of the main island for a bit (they're all rather small- maybe 10-15 miles at the longest) we came upon a large lavender farm nestled in the hills. It felt a bit Oz-ish to be walking around a hill covered in vivid flowers and the giant Pi sculpture only added to it. I was surprised to find out just how many things you can make out of lavender as well: 'my canine only prefers the best lavender dog bones.' We then jetted over to the waterside to hopefully catch a glimpse of some Orcas. The island is well-known to be a favourite spot of Killer Whales in the summertime, but alas, we were only privy to a few shy seals. After Sarah doled out a light veg lunch (We have too much Tabouli!) we dodged our way around tourists on mopeds, dropped by a winery for a quick drink, and jumped on another ferry to another of the smaller islands in hopes of avoiding more tourists.

Orcas island was slightly less crowded, but apparently the campgrounds were snatched up rather early and we faced the dilemma of illegally trekking off somewhere to find a spot or asking for a hint from the locals. After talking a young park attendant named Flood, we were directed to one of the last campsites available on the Western edge of the island that ended up being a real find. The site had an ocean view of the sunset, along with showers and a real bathroom, and our campsite happened to be the most secluded spot; most of the others were occupied by RVs and families crammed within 10 feet of each other. Doing our best to not annoy the rest of the camp (Overheard by me on the way back to camp with firewood: 'Honey, we don't even have a maid here!') we pitched camp, built a nice fire, and cooked up a feast: fire-roasted salmon, tilapia, and corn on the cob, with green salad, baked beans, garlic-peppercorn bread, and sauteed spinach and squash. A quick dip in the cold waters of the channel was followed by some campfire stories, whiskey, and cheap cigars.

My main aversion to camping has always been that I get next to no sleep and the kind I do get is uncomfortable and short. However, a recently purchased inflatable air mattress (along with previously mentioned whiskey) lead to a relatively successful slumber, except for one bizarre but funny occurrence. If anyone knows me fairly well, they know my dreamlife, and thus nocturnal state of mind, is rather odd. That being the case, Barney was somewhat shocked to awake in the middle of the night to the sounds of me pummeling him with my arms and fists! In my dream, it seemed like the most natural thing that I was supposed to be doing, but his beleaguered pleas to stop eventually jolted me into consciousness and then back into sleep.

The next day we drove to the top of Mt Constitution - you know, where we fought in the second World War and then signed the Constitution - where I hoped to fly my kite from on high. Alas, the wind speeds were oddly topping out at about .2 mph, so we just gawked some more at the landscape as I cursed the wind gods. Some delicious gelato was purchased at a local store while we puzzled at the oddly curt and rough demeanor of the counter lady: 'Stop leaning on the counter!','What do YOU want?', and my favourite 'Don't use our trash!' The gelato debacle prevented us from catching our ferry and we were thus forced to wait three more hours that were taken up with soaking in some sun and listening to the always enjoyable comic stylings of Mitch Hedburg (Every book is a children's book if the kid can read!) and Jim Gaffigan (I drink a lot of coffee, but you know what's really addictive? Heroin). That about wraps up (in a completely non-abridged way) the last 48 hours of my existence. Now I must spend the next 2,160 working on my portfolio...

posted by Jason | 4:37 PM
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