like a Virginian

Not abandoned!

Many apologies errrone, I know I promised I'd try to be back on the ball and have essentially fallen into the epic fail category, but I'm back! Pinky swears and polar bears.

In recent news, I've been (willingly) kidnapped and shuttled across the border to where folks not only over share their personal lives, but do so in decibels that are comparable to sound of planes taking off and landing at the Buffalo airport. We have yet to reach the promised land of Holden Beach, NC and are currently enjoying (albeit cagedly) the peace and quiet of a typical Virginian 'burb. Seriously, if Mr. Rogers were alive he'd be living next door.

Having spent the major majority of my life in various cities, I have yet to fully understand the purpose and/or appeal of living in uniform houses that require you to drive for half an hour to pick up Lactid fat free milk. The nearest Starbucks is practically in the next county- for serious, picking up lattes is a borderline field trip that requires car seats and just-in-case snacks.

The last time I lived in a 'real neighborhood' I wore rompers, light-up sandals and liked my hair in braids. Being here, even for a few days, is very reminiscent of that part of my childhood. The part where we could come and go as we pleased as long as the street lights were still on. Less than a year later we lost some of that independence to the theoretical creeps and cajolers of the city.

I recently came across yet another fragment of my suburban childhood. Where the Wild Things Are was a book I didn't so much read as devour. I loved the images, the characters and, most of all, the little wolf suit that Max wore on his adventure. At first, learning that the picture book might be made into a feature-length had me worried that it was just the media crying...ahem..wolf.

Many months (and full moons) later this wonderfully capturing trailer hit the internets and frankly, I'm excited:



Very different from the earlier, cutesy Disney cartoon version, this one, directed by Being John Malkovich's Spike Jonze, has already been criticized as being "weird and creepy".

I don't know about others who have read the book, but those words just about sum up why I loved it.