frisbee folklore

These photos from fall and summer are included here as an incentive for you to check out and read the legend of the frisbee poet, a short tale inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Langston Hughes and multiple visits to the disc golf course.

Deconstruction (photo) Diaries: Nov. 24

Here are a couple more views of 4832's demise, complete with a shot of Bean-dog on the turkey-day game gridiron. As for the new residence, it feels less like a temp home and more like an old aristocratic cabin, thanks to the paintings of my great-grandmother's, antique furniture and the sounds of my parents and sisters playing the piano and singing selections from Les Miserables. On Monday, the old home comes down. And just because we're sad doesn't mean we can't take the bulldozers for a joyride or two.


Bean Dog: All-time cherry-picker


Sweatlodge Studios recording artist Laura W.

All photos by Jennifer Brothers

of dream homes and destruction

"A perhaps overly dramatic end to tonight's Skittles fight. Breaking down the door felt good. It looked so sad, the Star Wars poster still on it. It was a statement, I suppose, more violent than the kind I usually make. Laura was laughing uncontrollably, and I laughed a little, too, but afterward I just wanted to go outside and cry."

-Excerpt from the Oct. 2nd entry of LW's Deconstruction Diaries

Right now there is a bulldozer in front of the house I grew up in. I'm not speaking poetically -- it's true. Though the house has been wonderful, it's been through a lot and was plagued by a few structural problems, and the family all agreed it was time for a complete overhaul (as long as the cold-war era bomb shelter remained intact).

In memoriam of 4832 Adams, I've included a lone entry from my journal of the house's deconstruction process, as well as this old photo taken by my aunt Joan in which the front yard almost looks like a Japanese print.



It's a bit of relief for everyone that the process has begun, even if it looked like it might not really happen until the last minute. Pookie Thornhill and friends had threatened to form a human chain barring the wrecking crew from the property, but they didn't follow through, and I kind of figured they wouldn't. I didn't, however, expect that the person operating the equipment would be none other than Sam Stepp.




Sam Stepp: Homewrecker

As traumatic as I imagined all of this would be, it hasn't been so bad, and it's not like I don't have my own apartment. Even so, I've done some surveying of the region and found a home that I think would be suitable once I decide to take up turnip farming and start a family. I first drove by it on the way to a cousin's graduation party at a barn outside of Lawrence. It's made of stone and quite lovely.


dream home


miles and miles from nowhere

I eventually picked up the Douglas County Historic Building Survey from a few decades ago and identified the home in question.


VERMILIA HOUSE
1 mile north, 1 mile west Jct. 24-40
This stone house was built by Ed Vermilia for himself and a sister in the 1860s. The coursed stone walls probably come from the hills just to the north of the home. The home is vacant but owned by area residents.

So, if you happen to be the area residents in question, please know that I am very interested in your property. I'm not so handy with stonework or home repair, but I am willing to do what it takes. You can reach me at mossby at gmail.com.

my myspace treatise

While dusting off my old quill pins and shaking the loose German phrases out of my head in preparation to write about my most recent European adventure, I went ahead and finished up my sociological treatise about making sense of life on MySpace. In this essay, I make sure to ask and attempt to answer all the big questions, such as "Why are we here?" and "If half of your top 8 friends have profile pictures featuring perverted/fictional bunny rabbits, what does this say about you as a person?" Whether you abhor the social network or are a MySpace veteran, I encourage you to read my take on the whole affair and possibly even chime in with your own observations. Together, we can make sense of our online world.

bin jetzt wieder da

It's a sunny day on Sonnenallee. I am about to venture out into the Grünewald region outside Berlin and see if I can find this little museum at the edge of the forest park. I have been back in Germany for a week, and will not be here much longer. Last night I had a dream that I was stunt-diving off the top of the Berlin Fernsehturm and broke a bunch of my teeth. So I guess I have acclimated, on some level. Things have been rather lovely here, and if it weren't for love, employment and certain Mexican restaurants along SW blvd, I probably would not return to Kansas City. But return I shall, and when I do, I'll give an update on my brief foray into the Teutonic. I have been taking a lot of photographs, but mostly they are of the odd little mannakins and puppets in store window displays. Until I post this slideshow of Schaufensterpuppen, you can check out some recently posted 2005 europicks by my flickr mistress/lady-in-waiting, Natalya B. Until then, ich wunsche Euch einen wunderschönen Tag.