It’s interesting to me what we consider important enough to keep in our backpacks and bags. What are our motivations? How much of it is superstitious–or even talismanic? Where does our subconscious think we’re going? What are we preparing for–and what are we prepared for?

I like inanimate objects that tell stories and what we choose to carry with us can tell us who we are, our sum and measure. (It can also be totally meaningless. Depends on the case.)

For the first part in a new series here at the Asthmatic Kitty Sidebar, this is my travel bag. It’s an old mini Samsonite, one strap, dark blue fake leather, about a foot and a half tall and a foot wide. I have no idea where it came from but I know I didn’t buy it in a store.

If you look close enough you’ll see “ADAM GNADE” written in all-caps Sharpie and, closer still, a drawing of a charm for warding off demons that I found in a book on symbology.

This bag has been all over the country, coast to coast. It’s been on a lot of train trips and a lot of tours and it has crossed a lot of borders.

Here’s what’s inside…

Copy of The New Yorker (latest issue, from subscription)

Composition notebook with “Property of GLENN DANZIG” written on it in all-caps

Pentacle hardback writing notebook

American Scholar Steno Book notebook, green tint, gregg-ruled

Slingshot organizer with “ADAM GNADE” sticker left over from tour merch box

Paperback copy of Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Card-stock Dutch Boy paint sample (saved because the color is inexplicably called “Go Away”)

No-name tape walkman with headphones (bought at truckstop in Utah)

Two Will Oldham mix cassettes made for me by Dan Bryant and Connor Kirkwood the night I left Portland

Postcard from my grandparents in La Selva Beach

Unused bar of Dr. Bonner’s Magic Soap (lavender)

Knife with a sailing ship on the handle (bought at Texas roadstop, first US tour)

Unused postcard with Dusty Springfield on the front

Various scraps of paper, notes to self, half piece of paper with unfinished song lyrics–song title, “The Wild Homesick”

Create, Scheme, Remember notebook (made by 1984 Press) used for writing down dialog for stories

Wallet, camouflage, canvas, Velcro with Microcosm Publishing company credit card, three BOA debit cards, Dillion’s Plus Shopper’s Card card, AAA card, expired California driver’s license, keys to storage space in Portland, key to Hard 50 farmhouse, unknown gold key, Chinese money (yi yuan), fortune cookie fortune reading, “Keep your courage up and it will keep you up.”

Battery charger with two AA batteries

Two-prong-to-three-prong plug adapter

Various stolen pens (Ramada Hotel, Hampton Inn, Greyhound/NW Trailways)

Small temperature gauge

Small, round compact mirror (merch from the band The Locust) given away by the band at Locust show/film premier of John Waters’ Cecil B. Demented, Hillcrest Landmark Theater, San Diego

Gloves (gray cotton with skull print)

US passport

BIO: Adam Gnade's (guh nah dee) work is released as a series of books and records that share characters and themes; the fiction writing continuing plot-lines left open by the self-described "talking songs" in an attempt to compile a vast, detailed, interconnected, personal history of contemporary American life. Check out recent writing here and songs here. Contact: adam@asthmatickitty.com

1. Raymond Carver. Bart got me into Carver’s stories and then I picked up his great What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Right now I’m editing a book I finished in January and Carver’s minimalism (or as Bart writes, his editor’s minimalism) puts me in the right headspace for the cuts I need to make.

2. Waffle House. I rarely feel more American than when I’m at Waffle House getting breakfast at a million o’clock at night. In case you were wondering, when the waitress asks you if you want your hash browns “smothered, covered, or scattered,” the answer is YES. For full immersion go to the one by my place, out on the interstate by the Whisper’s gentleman’s club and the liquor store. Get on the 70, head toward Kansas City, and follow the sounds of ever-lovin’ satisfaction.

3. My friend Megan McIsaac’s photos. You should go check out her photography Tumblr page. She has a new zine out (a split with her friend Renee, pictured below). You can buy it here.

BIO: Adam Gnade's (guh nah dee) work is released as a series of books and records that share characters and themes; the fiction writing continuing plot-lines left open by the self-described "talking songs" in an attempt to compile a vast, detailed, interconnected, personal history of contemporary American life. Check out recent writing here and songs here. Contact: adam@asthmatickitty.com

The 1922 Revised Lectionary. Ordered according to the church calendar, yet still comprehensive. “It constitutes one of the many examples of the coherence of the daily office lectionary and the Sunday office lectionary within the comprehensive doctrinal structure of the ecclesiastical year.” (David P. Curry from this essay.)

Veselka. East Village standard.  Great integrity, but not haughty.  Fun.  Their bowl of borscht, with thick butter on challah, is one of the cheapest/best lunches in NYC.

Danny Stiles. He can be caught hit and miss, through static and wind, all over the dial and at odd and movable hours, but always from 8pm-10pm on WNYC 820 AM.  One time he gave me a signed photocopied photograph of himself, as well as a comb with his name on it.

1. Land–After living in the city these past few years, three acres in the country feels like three miles. There’s a point on my land where if you and I were to stand on either end of the three acre stretch, we’d lose site of each other. I like that. I also like that if my neighbor’s bull were to break through the fence separating our property I’d have a good head-start to get away from him. The last tenant on our land was a murderer. Got a hard 50 at the Leavenworth penitentiary just up the road. We call our place the “Hard 50 Farm.”

2. Kansas–The new home. Great Plains. The frontier. Good place to write and record songs. Good place to get your head straight. I call the part of Kansas I’m in “the Big Quiet.” It’s like every good country song you’ve ever heard… the wide open spaces, big sky, the no B.S. people, the clear air, clean earth.

3. Stained glass–There’s not enough of it anywhere. Give us more rose windows. Give us more light through stained glass.

BIO: Adam Gnade's (guh nah dee) work is released as a series of books and records that share characters and themes; the fiction writing continuing plot-lines left open by the self-described "talking songs" in an attempt to compile a vast, detailed, interconnected, personal history of contemporary American life. Check out recent writing here and songs here. Contact: adam@asthmatickitty.com

As a single woman, Valentine’s Day is a time for me to focus on reaching out to the people I love the most in this world, treating myself well and spoiling myself rotten!

1. A jojoba and lavender oil bath with beeswax candles – Baths are the best! Growing up, working class in the UK, we didn’t have a shower, so we had yummy warm splish sploshy baths. Once I moved to North America showering became the new mode of cleaning; they were quicker and faster, pretty much like most things in this culture, but I still love a nice relaxing, steamy bath once in a while. Jojoba, a lovely carrier for essential oils, is a great moisturizer and lavender is a calming fragrance. Beeswax candlelight is super cozy; it also improves indoor air quality, because as it burns it produces negative ions that have air purifying effects, much the same as some houseplants.

2. Pomegranate green tea – This is my go to tea during the winter months. I also enjoy it chilled with ice and honey in the summer. Both pomegranates and green tea contain antioxidants, and have a brilliantly refreshing taste alone and more so when combined.

3. A bottle of Jackson Triggs Delaine Vineyard, Riesling (06) – One of my favorite rieslings from Ontario under $20. This wine is a golden wheat color, has medium body, and sports the flavor of apricots and peach with slight petrol notes. Sounds gross, but tastes delicious!

4. A cup of Casi Cielo coffee and mini almond biscotti – Yeah, it’s a Starschmucks coffee… but it’s not acidic (most of their coffees give me gut rot!) and only comes out for a limited time in the winter months. It tastes like coco and blackberries and it’s smooth and mild. “Casi Cielo” means “Almost Heaven,” ’nuff said.

5. A snuggle with my coon hound/beagle cross – Brooklyn is my 2.5 year old dog. She’s energetic, mischievous, stubborn as all hell (just like her owner!) and is a super-duper suck, a 40lb ginger furred beauty with big, floppy ears  that are as soft as velvet. This dog is awesome. I’ve had her since she was seven weeks old and love her to bits!

Leanda is a writer based in Toronto. For the past 13 years she has hosted & produced music radio shows, managed bands & worked in online music PR. She now runs a music site & also writes for music & culture magazine `Relevant BCN`. Read more of her writing here - http://www.bloggertronix.com

1. My Wife: Who says running away to Vegas and getting married doesn’t work?!

2. Winter Olympics: Every four years, I end my patient wait to pour a glass of wine after a long night of studying or working to be blown away by a rebroadcast of the day’s snowboarding, speed skating, or cross country skiing until the wee hours of the morning.

3. When My Friends Become Successful: The past year or two has seen some hard working friends of mine get to the next level. It warms my heart.

4. Going Away to Spain on Holiday: Okay, it never happens, but… I love the thought of it.

5. The Echo Lab: I’ve recorded two albums there with Shiny Around the Edges and it is like being on vacation with the most awesome recording studio at your disposal. Tucked into the rolling horse country of Argyle, Texas, you can grill, shoot BB guns, enjoy a cocktail or two, engage fireworks, and have Matthew J. Barnhart tell you the story of what it’s like to try and transport lobster from Maine to Texas in a van while on tour in the middle of summer.

6. Huevos Rancheros: I could eat this everyday.

7. Recent Jam: Florene’s “Deal With It.” Our former rehearsal space mates released this jam on a new Waaga Records compilation. Like a lost Jean Michel Jarre track from the Oxygene sessions.

8. Intelligence: Canadian television never lets me down. This series inexplicably lasted for only two years. It utilized many of the actors from the Da Vinci’s Inquest series and a handful of X-Files regulars — as is the case with most Vancouver-based shows. My wife and I love this show and still talk about the characters on occasion. Unfortunately, despite strong fan support, it hasn’t been brought back for more seasons.

9. Temporary Art in Temporary Spaces: The urban landscape ebbs and flows in rhythm with capitalist accumulation. Why not allow local artists to have a voice and create temporary cultural spaces for the community?

10. Denton, Texas: It’s the small, Texas town full of music that your mother warned you about.

Michael is a doctoral student in urban planning and public policy at the University of Texas at Arlington. You can follow him on Twitter here, visit his website here, and listen to his band here.

I am in a band with my wife, Jenny. She is a Ph.D. fellow studying the history of borderlands, bakes a mean apple pie, and was born on the same day as Willie Nelson. As Shiny Around the Edges, we enjoy making music together and occasionally have a chance to collaborate on things non-musical because of the band. The kind folks at Popshifter asked what our “Top 10″ list was for 2009. We hadn’t even thought about this throughout the year, but had a good time putting a list together late one evening over a glass of wine. It should be noted that we would have had our bassist Kerm contribute, but he was on a vision quest exploring his roots in beautifully sparse west Texas. The resulting list is what my wife and I have listened to, watched, and read throughout the year that made an indelible impression. It is either hopelessly out-of-date or incredibly prescient depending on your personal politics. In no particular order:

1. Emma Goldman: Living My Life

A two-volume autobiography penned by one of the leaders of the anarchist movement of the 1900s. Exploring Emma Goldman’s life story is a first-hand look at anarchism, feminism, Marxism, and more in the early-to-mid-twentieth century. This is a great read and helps one understand from where much of modern counter-culture has originated. It is well written and full of wit and insight into the United States and Russia at the dawning of modernism.

2. Frank Sinatra with Antonio Carlos Jobim: Sinatra & Company

A forgotten masterpiece (and out of print in the United States) that is filled with standards like “Bein’ Green” along with bilingual gems such as “Drinking Water (Agua De Beber).” Like all of Sinatra’s albums, the arrangements are superb. Hearing Sinatra and Jobim collaborate is worth the effort to find the vinyl used or order the import CD. I believe it might also now be available digitally.

3. Dust Congress: Regurgitate Sunshine State

Broken down folk with marimba and trumpet from Denton, Texas. They live up the street from us and we never tire of hearing Nick Foreman’s contemplative wail while the notes supporting him waver and stumble in a beautiful procession. The 12″ vinyl is also worthy of coffee table display.

4. Mad Men, Seasons I & II

What started as a deft, retro look at the time when media and commerce began to intersect is now one of the darkest commentaries on the beginning of the end of modernism.

5. Castanets: Texas Rose, The Thaw, & the Beasts

We always enjoy hearing Ray’s new songs and this album is the perfect marriage between Rafter’s production skills and Ray’s songwriting: a sonic voyage greater than the sum of its substantial parts.

6. Leonie Sandercock: Cosmopolis II

This book looks at the questions urban planners will have to answer in a time of hypermobile global population shifts. The speed and diversity of immigration is creating neighborhoods, cities, and countries that are hybrids demanding new approaches to planning.

7. Sonic Youth: Confusion Is Sex

This is on our list every year, with good reason.

8. Russian Ark

Unbelievably (and spectacularly), this film is one entire shot from beginning to end. It takes the viewer through 33 rooms of what is now Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, involved literally a cast of thousands, and details events in Russian history in a non-linear way. The narrators are ghostly presences slipping between observation and interaction with a disquieting ease. The resulting effect is dreamlike.

9. Michel Foucault: History of Sexuality Volume 1: An Introduction

A philosophical staple that crosses academic disciplines, this book offers a new way of thinking about sexuality, knowledge, and power and the ways they are created and transmitted.

10. Black Sabbath: Paranoid

Our elderly VW Golf’s CD player stopped working at the beginning of the year. Inexplicably, this cassette made its way into our car and we have been revisiting it throughout the year. Our recently recorded collection of songs reflects this to some degree.

Michael is a doctoral student in urban planning and public policy at the University of Texas at Arlington. You can follow him on Twitter here, visit his website here, and listen to his band here.