crawl across the salt flats

last nite: The Reader & a late meal served by a dead ringer for eric stoltz at La Creperie. 

We were split on how we felt about the film, but I loved it -- an excellent morality tale, and far superior to Revolutionary Road, although both films showcase Kate Winslet's damn fine acting skills. She is a serious cinematic force, against whom DiCaprio appears puerile and amateur, but this kid in The Reader (above, David Kross) held his own pretty beautifully. And Ralph Fiennes, it goes without saying, is as handsome and full of grace as ever. Now I really want to read the novel.

I just finished Submarine, I'm sad. Now there's that listless in-between feeling, with books piled high next to my bed and not sure what to delve into first.

Tonight: Transamerica road-trip plotting with Kirsten. 5-6 days, Chicago --> Nashville --> Los Angeles by way o' the warm south, away from the snow and ice. 

oh, and here obama plugs dixie kitchen's corn cakes on a lost 2001 episode of Check, Please!