Wicked. The Q&A went down tonight. I asked Wes and Jason about the occupations of a couple of characters in The Darjeeling Limited. Wes mentioned that Owen Wilson's character was the owner of a fledgling electronics company. Jason said that there were a lot of ideas and bits for back story floating around while they were writing the script, and although those elements didn't make it into the film itself, it dictated the way the characters acted and responded to one another. Wes told him that was more of a response than an answer. I flipped Jason the thumbs up and got one back. Wicked.

After the Q&A the two hung around for a bit. I was too shy to ask Jason for a photo, but I was able to snap the shot above. He was really nice about signing autographs and joked with everyone. All in all a very cool experience.


I sat beside a guy who wrote for IGN FilmForce. We chatted a bit about Orson Welles and he told me about trying to make his way into the television industry. Seemed like a nice enough dude.

I talked with Professor Columpar about my Dietrich presentation next week, so I now have a better idea of what to focus on. I'm a third of the way through Dietrich's biography, Blue Angel. Man oh man, did she sleep with a lot of folks. Scandalous. Tomorrow I'll watch her in The Blue Angel and take care of my Bibliography readings. I also rented a copy of Godard's Breathless, which for some ungodly reason I haven't yet seen; I need some inspiration for a piece I'm sending off to In/Words. One of the characters is a French New Wave anachronism who believes the only way to truly appreciate art is to despise most of it.

I hung out with Ren tonight. It was good to see him, since I haven't seen anyone from Ottawa in going on two months. He's in town working for Henry's and they've outfitted him with a hotel room and such. He's going to be moving to Toronto in a couple of weeks to take advantage of a more corporate full-time position with the company. We had a chat over pub food at a place called Hemingway's near the campus and then went to check out The Darjeeling Limited, which I really enjoyed. Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman are delivering a Q&A at the same theatre on Wednesday, so I bought a ticket. I still can't get over how many opportunities Toronto gives to see famous people in person.

I enjoy walking downtown. The buildings are enormous, often tiered to multiple businesses and restaurants, and the streets are always busy with people. It's hard to not feel connected with everything when so much is going on around you. I wish I lived a bit closer, but it's probably for the best as far as studying is concerned. I can't forget that I'm on a mission with the time I'm given here.

I'm caught up on my readings for tomorrow. I have a four hour break that I'd like to use to take some pictures. Ren and I talked about the value of keeping records; he's far more hesitant than I am to do so. I suppose I like the idea that images and words have the opportunity to be left in my wake. Indications of how I felt about the world, where I experienced it, what struck me as important. You can't take them with you, but you can keep them until it's time to go, and pass them on as a testament that you were alive and realized it.