Goin' Mobile

"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." 

-From Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

I was asked if I wanted to drive to Germany this weekend. I had 15 minutes to decide and pack. I said yes...glad I did. ROAD TRIP.

Drove over the French border, past the Ligne Maginot and into Germany...something too fascinating for my brain to comprehend, as I have been studying the World Wars for years. For the history of this region is the reason I chose to live near Strasbourg.

'History!' writes Bokonon. 'Read it and weep!' 

-from Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

In sum, 'twas a great weekend; I heart Germany and war makes my heart hurt.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" Street Style

Blogs capturing street style. They let me do what I've always wanted to do without seeming like a complete creep...take that second look at the people who catch your eye on the street. The ones you pass you by, wishing you could stare just a little bit longer than "socially acceptable" at their fashion, their walk, their je ne sais quoi.  Who are these people?

"[B]ecause the streets were crowded, I bumped

 into a googolplex people.  Who were they?

Where were they going? What were they

looking for? I wanted to hear their heartbeats,

and I wanted them to hear mine."  

From Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (one of my all time favorites)

 

Who are these people? What's their story? You both want and don't want to know. It's a paradox, like when you say learning about your favorite actors' personal lives ruins their movies, but you read gossip magazines anyway (or is that just me?). In the end, you like looking at people you don't know, mesmerized by their beauty from a distance without knowing their insecurities and heartaches. Instead, all you see a fashionable enigma. You think to yourself, "This one might just have it all figured out." (especially with pics like these on The Sartorialist)

So I went over to the mosaicist, watched him for a while, and then I told him, 'I envy you.'

    "I always knew," he sighed, "that if I waited long enough, somebody would come and envy me.  I kept telling myself to be patient, that, sooner or later, somebody envious would come along."

    "Are you an American?"

    "That happiness is mine."..."Do you want to take my photograph, too?"

    "Do you mind?"

    "I think, therefore I am, therefore I am photographable."

    "I am afraid I don't have my camera with me."

    "Well, for Christ's sake, get it!  You're not one of those people who trusts his memory, are you?"

    "I don't think I'll forget that face you're working on very soon.:

    "You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I.  When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything-- and I advise you to do the same."

Excerpt above from Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut