Upward Towards Whatever

I think I can feel something coming. There seems to be an anticipatory nature to my thoughts and movements. Over the last year I have seen a sea-change, but where the roles of form and substance were reversed; the physical transformed while the substance for the most part remained the same. But I can't help but marvel, usually within the company of alcohol, at the significant impact the littlest things can have on ones outlook as well as the clarity of the mind's eye regarding the future. An eavesdropped conversation, a photograph, a sunrise that would have been better shared, or a sunset that would have been better alone. But all of this working towards what? Of that, dear friend, I seem to be unsure and it feels like most important part of all.

2013 was as important of a year as any, but it seems, looking back, as if it were more of a landing within a staircase; a step but also a means of changing directions or navigating obstacles, held to the previous and next by the risers of the obligatory New Year's Celebrations, and being just as mysterious and necessary as any of the others in its role leading us upward towards whatever.

While these steps can be counted, with defined edges, the lives held within are imprecise, unfixed, runny.

Sarah Connor said there is no fate but what we make for ourselves, and I think sometimes it is easy to forget while being carried by the current of our lives that we have the ability to swim within that current, to change our position within that flow. Albeit sometimes the slightest repositioning can feel like an impossibility due to the perceived strength necessary to achieve the movement, which is usually just our bullshit fears getting in the way of progress. Remember that. (Also, always remember to stretch before strenuous life repositioning )

We consists of being born, doing lots of in-the-long-run seemingly meaningless things, then dying. Piece of cake. So tonight, as we lift our collective feet to the next step on the stairway of physical existence let us say a toast and be happy, because tomorrow you will have a headache and none of this shit will matter.

-Alex, stroking towards greatness.

What the hell?

Never in Theatres!

Yes.

Merry Christmas.

Lists and maps and picked guide brains in full 4-color glory, oh my!

In the introduction to this book, Lefty Kreh begins by saying, "Tailwaters are the salvation of fly fishing." It would stand to reason, then, that if you feel the need to be saved, and you would like to know where to go, have a detailed and labeled map of the area, and have a local guide tell you what to use and how for maximum fishyness, then this handsome 272-page, full color softcover is what you are looking for.

Divided by region, each tailwater (actual number is 56! yay!) has a great map and the write-up is the work of a local guide, so you can be sure that the knowledge is sound. (Although I know attaining true G14-Classified Super Secret guide insight still entails multiple 30-packs and a sustained proven trust level higher than the standard boat fare, and even then if they are true to their craft you will only get a partial idea, and that is just the way it goes and the way it should be.) Each chapter also includes "contact information for local fly shops, outfitters, and lodges, along with suggested best bars, restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, and emergency medical services." But seriously- the maps...bacon-savers.

The Gunns are good people. I am always treated like family when I stay at their lodge up at the Ferry. This, truly, is a very nice book with lots of good knowledge that can be used on all waters, really. It would look damn good on a coffee table, too. I was given a copy in exchange for talking about it here, but I think we have known each other long enough for you to understand that I would never lead you astray for personal gain. Probably. I think. Either way, if you buy this book and feel like anything I have said here is bullshit, drop me a line and we can talk about how you need a hobby.

-A

Cue the lightning bolt

And he did speaketh unto his peoples, "read thyself these words, for they are total awesome sauce."

Pulp Fly: Volume Three

Introduction by Michael Gracie
with
Erin Block
Alex Landeen
Pete McDonald
Miles Nolte
Tom Reed
Tom Sadler
Bruce Smithhammer
April Vokey
Bob White
Steve Zakur
Jay Zimmerman
aka
Awesome Sauce


Available on:

Amazon Kindle
Apple iPad
B&N Nook
Kobo Reader
Android device (via the Kindle App for Android or the Kobo Reading App)
Mac computer (via iTunes + iBooks App, the Kindle App for Mac, or the Kobo Reading App)
Windows computer (via the Kindle App for PC or the Kobo Reading App)

Get it.

-Saucier Alex de'Awesome