Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

The twitter feed for the Thoroughly Entertained post reviewing, among other films, World War Z, called it "tense and scary." I want to watch Krista and Scott's review, but first I'll give my own without being influenced by their opinions.

I am happy that I had the opportunity to see this movie on the big screen, and that I did not have to wait for Netflix, which could have taken years. 

What can we learn from World War Z? My top five: 

1. "Every human being we save is one less [zombie] we have to fight." This line really struck me. What kind of zombies are we talking about? I think this wisdom applies to more than just the creatures in the movie. 

Two seconds later, because we didn't seem to learn it from the Great Wall of China, Hadrian's Wall, the Berlin Wall, and the large fence between U.S. and Mexico (was that ever actually built?), 

2. a wall erected to keep invaders out is rarely effective. 

3. Possibly, when you end up the seemingly only survivor of a deadly plane crash, you might feel like a bit of a jerk. Until you realize you are also impaled. 

I kind of don't ever want to fly in an airplane again. But, not flying in airplanes conflicts with some of my important life goals, so...

4. When it comes to a baseball bat, a crowbar, and an axe: "Each has its merits."

Finally, I personally learned that

5. I should perhaps have married into the military. Then again...no, thanks. 

So. Go see it if you haven't yet. Whatever you expect it to be, it's a little different than that, and a little more than that. 

In just short of six months, it will be the holiday season. If the people on your gift list are zombie fans, I highly recommend buying them this movie, Warm Bodies [self-link], and the excellent novel by and about my homeland of Northwest Indiana, Dust [real link]. They will love you forever and possibly gift you with beastie stuff like juicers and hacksaws in the future. 

Now to see what Krista and Scott had to say. 

Rain, and Other Hazards

Since I haven't touched base since Springfield, IL, I'm sure that my other two loyal readers (besides the ones that I live with and/or constantly text) may suspect that I am dead. To assure you that I am not, I give you the following photo of one very awesome car:

I have made it extra large so that you can read the sign that says, "Continental Divide."
If you know your geography, which of course you do, you're aware that Alex actually took this photo well before I last posted. You can also tell that from the scrub on the side of the road, if you know your biomes. Nonetheless. That is the sexy back of my Subaru.

For your further amusement, here's a fun video link sent to us by Miss Gokey. It's a trailer for World War Z (which I haven't seen, and I will probably have to wait for Netflix), revisioned as a Ken Burns documentary.

"I'd like to see Miss Gokey fix a blower motor," said Dad, in his quest for a shout-out. To his credit, it is thanks to him that the above-mentioned Subaru will have AC and heat for wherever the road happens to take it next.

This post is really too short, I realize, but I'm coming to you from the McDonald's on the corner of Columbia and 165th. It is amusing to watch the other people in the restaurant, especially the little old ones. One man was in here when I got here, and I'm sure he'll be here until well after I leave. I suspect he comes here every day for coffee. A woman came in, they greeted each other and chatted a bit, then instead of joining him, she sat in the next booth. Not too long after that, another older man who is very animated came in and joined the first man, who informed the 2nd man that, "My father always used to say, 'Don't do what I do. Do what I say to do!'" Haha. Indeed.

I'll likely be back Friday, and then return you to your regularly scheduled blog, next week.

The Things You Should Have Known and Thought You Knew

So...for someone who spent a year preparing for the apocalypse, it is perhaps surprising (unless you know me) that until Alex found them yesterday, I had no idea where my PAJAMAS could be found.

I also forgot that rain existed until Sunday night, when the same Alex caught a tent which would have otherwise blown away and anyway ended up wadded in the back of a vehicle while he and Jodi and I slept in the relative comfort of the Motel 6 in Amarillo.

I would not have believed that insects could have nearly-human legs, or that I would ever see an armadillo as roadkill.

And who could have ever anticipated that Baptists would fill every hotel room in St. Louis on a Tuesday night? I can't speak for my friends, but I can say that I have had an amazing, and educational, experience crossing the country. Tonight, despite our lack of ability to stay there, we did have good views of the arch as we sped past at 8 p.m. on our way to Springfield, IL.

I have little else to say, as I am very, very tired, and I have NO idea what I'll say just two short days from now, but for the bit of public service my two loyal readers have come to expect, I give you this image of a few of Oklahoma's recently arrested citizens.

Remember, in the immortal words of Jeannette Winterson, "The map is not the territory."

Squares 2 and 9

Aha! This clever title is yet another reference to our long-ago Camping Basics Class, but it has nothing to do with camping and everything to do with touristing.

Everything else you need to know about the bridge you can find out at http://www.hooverdambypass.org/faq.htm.

I thought I would show you the safety tips you'll see when you get there, and the view you can expect. The one and only photo of myself (besides the super cute one with Amanda) makes for an ugly profile photo, but hey! Is that the greatest engineering marvel of the 20th century behind you there? Why yes! Yes it is.

Safety tips.

View. 

Two words: bathtub ring. 'Nuff said. 

I shall pass this way again on Saturday. Until then, loyal readers. 

Back to Square One

You may remember from our Camping Basics class at REI (shameless self-hyperlink) back in January 2012 that Step 1 is NAVIGATION: know how to stay oriented.

For you Vegasphiles, I challenge you to identify the famous Las Vegas landmarks in the following photos from Top of the World:

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

I am proud that Amanda and I were able to identify directions and landmarks, and it only took us a combined total of 14 years of living here to be able to do so.

The views were fantastic, and the marketing was clever. The restaurant rotates, but the tower doesn't. So a cart of faux desserts sits on the tower and twice in an hour-long lunch, you rotate past the dessert cart. Here was the view of my dessert:

And for the entertainment of everyone involved...

No skyjumpers flew by during lunch. But we did get to wave to some riders on the Insanity.

For your further photographic love of Vegas, see Krista's interpretation of the Boneyard (another self-hyperlink) over on the Wannabe.

It's a Lonely, Lonely Planet

After lambasting (yes, I used that word, just a tiny bit incorrectly, but this is still why Tom Skilling should propose to me) Lonely Planet for their weird-but-thanks-for-the-publicity-anyway report on the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, I later tweeted how happy I was that I had ridden on one of Lonely Planet's top 5 epic train journeys, the California Zephyr.

My lambasting is here.
Lonely Planet's story on the Springs Preserve is here.
The California Zephyr route is here.

Mere hours after that tweet, I was disappointed to find that I have stayed at ZERO of Lonely Planet's top 10 world airports. I had been confident that O'Hare would be on the list, but it wasn't. The airports are mostly in Asia, which is one of the four continents that I have yet to visit.

I have only been to one of their top 10 European train stations, too. I am disappointed that Barcelona Sants did not show up. The extremely expensive hotel there is where I stayed in the wake of September 11, 2001. Madrid Atocha didn't make the list, either. Neither did Zoo Station, and come on, when an entire U2 album is named after a train station, that station does deserve a mention.

This is why I should write for Lonely Planet. I judge them harshly now, but if they hired me, I wouldn't. Although...Oakland? OK, maybe not.

Admittedly, I am a collector of places (and things, but I'll talk more about things later in the summer). I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with it, although it's not advisable to compare your place-count (or your thing count) to that of other people, because we all have our own unique styles and experiences.

Top 10 lists, "best of" articles, and "1,000 things to do before you die" books are interesting because they are someone else's idea of what has value, and it is worthwhile for me to see whether I agree with the writers. It's fun to complain when I don't, and even more fun to congratulate myself when I do. More than that, however, they are motivational. For example, I have enjoyed both Venice Beach and the Mediterranean coast in southern France. If neither of them are on the list but the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare made it, exactly how amazing are those cliffs? And I resolve that one day, I will see them for myself.

Since I've only had five of Lonely Planet's 40 Amazing Experiences in Europe (requires a PDF download), I decided to turn my attention to National Geographic's "The World's Most Beautiful Places."

There are 100 of them on the list. I have been to 15, but two don't count, because they are the Mojave Desert and the Midwestern Plains. So, I have been to 13. The way I figure it, I have just a little more than half my life left. I should get to steppin'.

And I can.

Because check out what I took yesterday.

That's my INDEX finger, you cynics! 

And that, my lovely readers, is also The Chain. We have come a long way. Next stop (well, there may be some before then, but a stop that's coming soon): the Wigwams on route 66 in Holbrook. Watch for updates. xoxo