Looking for Jake

a book of short stories by China Mieville, one of the most inventive fantasy writers I have read. Labeling what he writes as "fantasy" brings up visions of wizards and sword-fighting, which is not what Mieville writes about at all. He creates new worlds or takes small aspects of our real world and unravels a totally unique, but somehow universal, tale around new species, undiscovered laws of physics and undiscovered human talents. One story in this collection is set in New Crobuzon, the world he writes about in his three fantastic novels (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council), expanding on a minor character from them. I love the stories where he takes an ordinary and mundane from our world an tells of the whole other world hidden within. In one story one old window pane, bought an installed on whim, shows the narrator an entirely different scene than the original window panes, populated with scary, ghostly children. The last story tells of the creatures that live in reflections, their hatred of humans as mirrors became ubiquitous and they were forced to take our shapes and mimic our actions, and war against humans as they discovered how to subvert the laws of physics and stop being reflections. This collection is a good introduction to Mieville's talented world building.

The Dutchess and the Duke

Janelle Monae

hoyt st apartment

 

finally, here are some pictures of our new apartment. when the sun is out, like today, it just streams in our second floor windows, making lindsey very happy. we are adjusting to apartment living (bass from our downstairs neighbors incessant reggae music, slamming doors, and only shared outdoor spaces), but so far we love the apartment.

Driving to Portland

we made it to Portland in 3 long days of driving. along the way we stopped in Cedar City to say hello to some of my aunts uncles and cousins, took a quick dip in a hot spring, and stopped in Boise to hang out with the Neves family. we didn't take many pictures, but here are a few for your enjoyment.

 

almost everything we own is now packed up into 5 feet of trailer space. we leave for Portland on Saturday. it still hasn't quite sunk in and I am wavering between excitement, sadness and sheer terror. we have a place to live, but are still working on finding jobs. my house in Flagstaff is in the process of being sold, but is still not quite in the bag. I am excited about the drive, which will take us through Cedar City, UT, where my aunts Jackie and Janet live, and Boise, ID, where my good friends Joe and Carolyn live. It should be a beautiful drive. I also just want to get there, finally see what our new apartment looks like, and get settled in so we can start exploring. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates as we go off on a new adventure.

leighatard

lindsey's sister leigh paid us a visit this past week. she arrived just in time for the pisces party in honor of lindsey and douglas having been born.



after a sufficient period of recuperation, the riibe's were accompanied to the Essence of Tranquility hot springs (near Safford) by douglas and cynthia. the healing waters, sparks and thrift stores worked wonders for the group's psyche.





the climax of leigh's visit took place in the Red Room at The Grill, or more specifically in the photobooth in the Red Room at The Grill. we started with happy hour drinks at the Congress where leigh made a friend...

we made it to the Red Room before the sun set and didn't leave again until nearly 1 am. twenty-two (22, people) photobooth strips are the product of the long hours of drinkin' smokin' dancin' and posin'. here is just a sampling of the goods.

some other phun photos from leigh's visit can be viewed by clicking here