Happy Holidays

An homage to the Romps who can be found on Jane and Eighth as we speak. This was taken at their lovely bed &breakfast in Vermont.

Happy Holidays and wishing everyone the best new year ever!

Orange Trees

Cincinnati, OH
'through our windshield'

Cold in a Truck

Pennsylvania, Interstate 180
'through our windshield'

During what should be the busiest time for us freight carriers, we see firsthand the slowdown of our economy. Been driving less and less these days and finding ourselves closer to home than usual. Freight is scarce with too many drivers sitting around waiting for loads. No loads mean no miles which means no pay. It was a good and bad time to become truck drivers. Right now nobody seems to be hiring, let alone accepting applications for new drivers. When a driver gets frustrated with their company, they usually can just jump to another company who'll gladly take them. With today's economy, you better be glad if your company even has miles for you......which we are. Though we haven't been down south or in the central states for some time, running back and forth from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana suits us just fine. As long as we don't sit still! So here we are, trying to stay warm and fight the colds we both have. Being sick in a truck with living space no bigger than a queen size bed isn't ideal. Especially when more than half that space is your own twin size bed, leaving you two feet of moving room.

30 Americans

While we're in the winter wonderland of Ohio driving all over hoping these eighteen wheels won't skid, we dream of warmer places, specifically Miami so we can head down and see this show!!

The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic Club (Thurgood), 2008

© Rashid Johnson 

"As the show evolved, we decided to call it “30 Americans.” “Americans,” rather than “African Americans” or “Black Americans” because nationality is a statement of fact, while racial identity is a question each artist answers in his or her own way, or not at all. And the number 30 because we acknowledge, even as it is happening, that this show does not include everyone who could be in it. The truth is, because we do collect right up to the last minute before a show, there are actually 31 artists in “30 Americans".”

30 Americans is now on view at The Rubell Family Collection.
We've been huge fans of many of these artists for quite some time now and are thrilled to see them collectively showing from a museum that only shows work they own.

CB Talk

Being a truck driver, your CB becomes many things to you. Among the many items you can put in your truck to make it feel more like a mobile home on wheels (satellite radio, flat-screen tv with dish network, laptop, refrigerator, microwave, ps3, xbox, etc), your cb is by far the most important. You can go 11 hours straight (maximum legal driving limit per day) without any human contact except for on your cb. It becomes your friend to talk to, listen to, laugh at, cry to, gps, look-out, mentor, basically your all around good friend. The anonymity of it all makes it all the more interesting. Here's some cb lingo we've picked up and learned along the way!

10 - 4 - Ok... or Copy
10 - 33 - Emergency
10 - 20 - Your Location
10 - 36 - What's the correct time
Alligator - Rubber of blown tire in the road
Ankle Biter - Children
Antler Alley - Deer Crossing
Baby Bear - Rookie Policeman
Back Door - Behind You.."I've got your back door"
Back `em Down - Slow Down
Bear - Policeman
Bear In The Air - Police Helicopter
Bear Bait - Speeding Automobile
Bear Trap - Parked cop with radar
Beaver - Woman
Bean Popper - Person who pops pills
Big Hole - Top Gear
Big Road - Interstate Highway
Bird Dog - Radar Detector
Blew My Doors Off - Passed you at a high rate of speed
Bobtail - Just the tractor (truck) with no trailer
Brake Check - Traffic has come to a stop ahead
Break - Need to have everyones attention.
Break 1-9 - Need to have everyones attention on 19
Cash Register - Toll Booth
Catch Ya On The Flip-Flop - Return trip
Chicken Coop - Weigh Station
Chicken Lights - Lots of lights on a truck
City Kitty - City Cop
Clean Shot - I didn't see any cops
Coloring - To write in log book
Comedian - Median - section between traffic lanes
Comic Book - Log Book
Coming In Loud & Proud - You are sounding strong on CB
Covered Wagon - Flatbed trailer with the load covered
Crotch Rocket - Motorcycle
Deadhead - Tractor & trailer with no load. Empty
Diesel Cop - DOT Cop
Dispatcher Brains - Light load or empty trailer
Double Nickel - 55 miles per hour
Dragon Fly - Truck dragging up hill & flies down hill
Dry Box - Trailer that hauls dry products only
Evil Kenevil - Motorcycle Cop
Four Wheeler - Automobiles with 4 wheels
Freight Shaker - Freighter liner tractor
Georgie Overdrive - Put gear in neutral to go faster down hill
Good Buddy - Homosexual
Granny Lane - The slow lane on interstate. Right Lane
Ground Pressure - Getting the tractor trailer weighed
Hammer Lane - The fast lane on interstate. Left Lane
Hammer Down - Go Faster
Hand - Truck Driver
Home 20 - Your Home
Large Car - Large and nice truck
Left Coast - West Coast
Lot Lizard - Prostitute
Meat Wagon - Ambulance
Motion Lotion - Diesel Fuel
Parking Lot - Truck hauling cars
Pickle Park - Rest Area
Radio Check - Is my radio working?
Reefer - Trailer that hauls cold products.
Salt Shaker - Snow Plow
Sesame Street - Channel 19 on the CB
Shake The Bushes - Lead truck looking for cops in the bushes
Shooting You In The Back - A cop hiding and clocking your speed
Short Short - Short amount of time
Sleeper Leaper - Prostitute
Taking Pictures - Cop using his radar gun
Travel Agent - Dispatcher
Yard - Trucking Company Terminal
Yard Stick - Mile Marker on Interstate
Wagon - The trailer behind a truck
What's Your Handle? - What is your CB Nickname
Wiggle Wagon - Double or Triple Trailers behind a truck

Flak Photo & We English

Yesterday we were featured on Andy Adams' Flak Photo. It is an image from our current body of work. Have a sneak peak here. Andy also has some new exciting approaches for Flak Photo and we shall all stay tuned to see it unfold.

Also, Simon Roberts was kind enough to post about our journey on his We English blog here with two more images from this work.

Hope everyone is well and staying warm with greetings from Middlesex, NJ, Raleigh, NC bound!!