my time is short

i want to mention a few books,and a movie, that have been rocking my world lately

"hobo" by eddy joe cotton - supposedly true account of someone who has been hopping trains for 10 or so years, seems to have a high b.s. to truth quotient. enjoyable and inspiring nonetheless.

"assassination vacation" by sarah vowell - not only was she the voice of violet on "the incredible", but she has also written several books - this one is about her infatuation with assassinated presidents and an on-going pilgrimage to the holy places pertinent to them. and she's also friends with "they might be giants".

if anyone out there hasn't seen "science of sleep", you simply must! directed by michel gondry ("eternal sunshine of the spotless mind") he's also directed some of the best videos ever seen by the human eye, his collected videos are available on dvd too - his interview is worth watching on that disc too, it gives insight into this new movie which is pretty autobiographical i suspect.

obee kaybee

Mutts

I´ve recently come to love the cartoon strip Mutts check out the website.

I first ran into them in an Icelandic newspaper where they appear every weekday. Since then I´ve read several collections of Patrick McDonnell´s work and totally fallen in love. I really love the art and the creators view of his pets lives. As a cat "owner" myself I can understand the tendencies to give your pets human emotions but the Mutts creator does not fall into that temptation a lot instead he points out the simple pleasure in life through the eyes of the Mutts without giving them to much human motivation.

Last Christmas I gave my mother a children´s book about the Mutts called "Just like heaven" I highly recommend it. It´s very simple but has a beautiful message that everyone can benefit from.

My first post on Lisbeth's Fruit Basket

I picked up Colin Angus' Lost in Mongolia in a discount bin at a bookstore a few months ago. Once I started reading, I could hardly put it down. A story of ultimate adventure, from the Yenisey’s headwaters in the wild heart of central Asia to its mouth on the Arctic Ocean, Colin Angus and 3 friends travel 5,500 kilometres of one of the world’s most dangerous rivers through remotest Mongolia and Siberia.
When I was done reading Lost in Mongolia I bought his previous book Amazon Extreme. Its the story of the first team to raft the entire length of the Amazon river.
This crazy Canadian adventurer has since completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. His newest book Beyond the Horizon tells the story. It was just released last week and I will be buying it as soon as it comes out in paperback.
Have a look at his website: http://www.angusadventures.com/index.htm

New Flags?

vote for your favorite

Shalom Auslander

Read a story in New Yorker by this guy when we were in Mexico, I probably never would have discovered him otherwise given the shortage of reading material we had there.
He reminds me of Douglas Adams, his short stories are absurd and entertaining.

Guy Delisle

We love this guy, his travel observations are hilarious. Highly recommended. (Also the author of Pyongyang, our comments on it posted here on Dec. 13, 2005).