The Show, Gun & Otherwise

As the cold weather sets in I've had to hunt for old and re-acquire new armor against it. This is about my normal cold-commuting outfit, although I have on a helmet and longer shorts. Yep, those are long johns. The arm warmers I just picked up, and wool truly is the way to go. I have some wool socks and a ninja ski mask on the way to keep my other extremities warm. If I could just get a rain jacket and a wool top, I think I'd be completely set. Cotton is bad for sweatin' in the cold.

I'm going to subject you to the same torture Kasey has to endure on a daily basis and talk about my cycling a bit more. I've been keeping my GPS receiver on me and feeding the resultant numbers from the ends of my commute into a spreadsheet. Just for fun, to see how fast I'm going, how long I'm actually pedaling during the twenty or so minutes it takes, stuff like that. The cold weather seems to increase my performance, and I'm proud to say that this little one hundred and thirty pound dork has reached a new max speed of thirty six miles per hour, with an average speed of over eighteen. I have a (scary) project in mind for a bike video, and these numbers are very promising.

In non-chain-driven news, the gal and I recently had a chance to view The Darjeeling Limited. Kasey and I both have a profound and thorough love for Wes Anderson and all that he do. I had sadly never been able to see one of his films in theatres (The Royal Tenenbaums, my favorite, would have been lovely) and previews off this new surrealistically-hued film had me very excited. Plus Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman are the stars, and they're playing brothers. We went on a Thursday night, and besides one other boy in the row in front of us, we had theatre to ourselves.

Visually the movie is full of exotic colors that could only exist in cultures and places taken from your dreams, in addition to the beautiful style that is Wes Anderson. The dialog, acting, and tiny details (it's time to buy some very specific Louis Vuitton) that are crucial to that style were all there as well. A few props were more modern than in his other films, but they didn't subtract from the vintage feel all his movies give me. Also, Wes does this certain thing were he lets action unfold just off camera (to great effect) and I think he's perfected that in Darjeeling. His slow motion signature was in full effect, as well.

A few scenes threatened to start my waterworks up (coming out of the river and walking back to the village, reading the end of the short story in the bathroom, both involving Adrien Brody) but I was able to hold back. (I think Kasey heard the nearly-silent noise my throat makes right before, though. People always look to my face when they know I'm crying, it makes it hard to act manly.) I'm sure we'll be buying this soon after it comes out, along with another copy of The Life Aquatic. It was either lost or taken from me this time last year. For anyone interested, my top three Wes Anderson films are The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, and Rushmore.

Currently I'm in a Barnes & Noble while Kasey is attending a work "meeting" in which they sample all the new foods coming out for the season. Somehow I'm in the Romance section, with dozens of glistening, impossibly chiseled torsos staring back at me with titles like "The Mane Event" and what I'm assuming is "Sexy Beast III". I'm not even making this up.

I think I'll give the new soundtrack I've "acquired" my full attention. I had plans to write more on the other, not-so-fun events in my current incarnation, but devoting my attention to pleasant things like peppermint mochas and pretty music seems a better choice for my mental resources.

Have a wonderful night.

- David