Landlore: Alternative Travel Lifestyles

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Today's road news highlights a guy crazy enough to walk the world, as well as a little piece of technology that has earned its praise, and finally a bit on the new site Wikivoyage. Pull up a stump, set your onesies down for a few minutes, and have yourself a gander... Wait. Did he say "walk"!? : Yes, Chili Pie, el hombre did indeed say "walk". Paul Salopek already has almost two decades of experience in travel. He's currently 19 days into his seven-year journey, walking from "The Cradle of Life" and following the primary migration pattern that humans followed out of Africa, across Asia, into North America, and down to the tip of South America. You can see an estimated path for his trip that I drew on the map above. As I write this, Salopek's just north of the Horn of Africa, nearing the crossing that will take him into Saudi Arabia. Color me envious. Bastard! Mad shout out in thanks to Gaea for sending me the story. For others who are inte...

People still email me about this short story I wrote in 2002: "Homelands". Even in a fantasy setting like this story, where magic and armies dominate the environment, the story's driven completely by the most essential human emotions: confidence, fear, doubts... love. I ended the story with the same words that started the story: "There was a man and a woman in a garden." You could say I'm a bit of a romantic. Ok, more than a bit... I burn and I burn hot and my passions are animal and very thirsty and, yes, at the end of the day it is one woman I desire in my arms. On any given day, I work with some incredibly attractive artists, models, musicians, and side-by-side with some frakking hot creatures who are tribe to me... and no matter how many women, or what the day brings, or how attractive, there is still this romantic idea and desire for a "one". It is worth loving and trusting and burning completely to find that woman... and it is worth dying a...

The year comes to an end, and the Day Out of Time is tomorrow on the 21st... and then the Year in a Day the day after, a day that comes only every four years. There is so much that has happened in the past four years I need to reflect on.... and, looking to the future, so many things to work towards in the next four years. I am in the country of Andorra, too far from the woman I love, but fighting for ways for us to be together. I have learned more about the laws of the Schengen Zone in the past month than I think anyone should know. Before, I ignored those laws like many others... but I am no longer alone, and ignoring them could mean being exiled more than 10,000kms from my woman.. and other dangers also. Level of everything-hell-the-frakked-up at well over 1000% and killing me. Tomorrow, on the Day Out of Time, I will walk and climb into the mountains of Andorra and away from the world... returning in a few days. There are many, many mountain refuges here in Andorra. I will be h...

You heard that right: "You can only be married on Saturdays." * Now, this is France I am talking about, and I am going completely on word-of-mouth.... BUT, the word is: you can only be married on a Saturday. Divorced? ANY DAY!!! Ooooh yeaaah! Laugh now, but I think that this could be a very very good idea. Listen! France has 10% (or more) less divorces than America. W00T!!! AND, France also has about 30% less marriages than America. Win again!! Less money going to the government for a legal paper that says "I love you", and less money going to the government for a legal paper that says, "I hate you". Why do we need these government-signed pieces of toilet paper anyway? You see!?? This is all win! I think it is time to experiment with this "only married on Saturday" concept in other parts of the world. Any takers? America, I'm looking at you. But that's not all, I also need to talk about a very special beer, specifically to those poo...

No, the title is not a joke. In fact, it's even worse than the title suggests. My sister Gaea sent me an article that (at one moment) literally dropped my jaw... and I can tell you the moment: when I read that a homeless mother who had tried to get her child education was charged with first degree larceny, and that the woman who tried to help the mother and her child was, herself, evicted for trying to help them. This is not some third world country. This is America... "the land of the free". 10 Unbelievably Sh**ty Things America Does to Homeless People ( AlterNet , April 5, 2012) Here are some summarized snippets from the article (and with one of my own thrown in): It's illegal to feed people It's illegal to go to school It's illegal to walk * It's illegal to sit down It's illegal to sleep It's illegal to clothe people It's illegal to donate money * The article mentions jaywalking, but it does not mention the laws in almost all...

1 week and 1 day, and here I am across the ocean avec the woman I love, and time to take a brief moment to update everyone. Yesterday, my woman took us near the center of Paris and to the Eiffel Tower, including and especially the nearby super-fountain, as well as the parks, the monuments, and the beautiful weather that came to Paris on Saturday. And best of all, passing the day with this incredible beautiful creature in my arms. [ Watch the Video on YouTube ] Note : Daylight Savings time is being fired!! I lost one hour in America before I flew over the ocean. Now, because Europe changes the time later than America, I lost 1 MORE HOUR on this side of the ocean. Can't we stop this Daylight Savings craziness already?? Song of the Day : San Jaya Prime - Watch Me [ Download ]

This Friday, I get on a plane to cross the ocean. Normally when I'm packing, I tell all of you what I'm packing and why I'm packing it. Not this time. This time's different. This time I am not flying to a place, in so much as the place is inconsequential, because this time I am flying to a person. I am flying to the woman I love, and who fucking loves me. I am flying to a woman who also hears the call of the horizon. And this is not a trip or a visit, but something entirely new. Since I won't be covering "the list" this time, let's look back on other lists. The easiest is from my journey into Mexico with my brother Zero in 2004. Other than the clothes I was wearing, this is all that I took with me: Yes, I took juggling balls with me. My passport, a compass, a Swiss Army Knife, a book that I will not name here, and a bag with items that I will not disclose here. We were riding on the winds of fate, and we were well taken care of. Mad love for Mexi...

" Old Man and The City " by burningmonk (Lukasz Kazimierz) [ CC BY-NC-ND ] A Most Interesting Story from [ Here on Snopes ] A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him alo...

This bit o' RoadNews is gonna be a bit different, as I wanted to update everyone on how far Miss Tuesday Cain's " Zombie Haiku " has spread, as well as send thanks and updates to everyone who voted in the Daft Punk Remix Contest . Let's talk zombie... It's been months since Miss Tuesday Cain first got into trouble at school for turning in her "Zombie Haiku" as homework. What's changed? Gaea Qandromeda, who first turned me onto Tuesday's poem, has written her own tribute article explaining how all this happened. It's a fun and insightful diatribe that shouldn't be missed. Check it: Tribute Post: "Zombie Haiku" by Miss Tuesday Cain . Also, Ryan Mecum , the author of the book "Zombie Haiku", has supported Tuesday... going so far as comparing her to Stephen King. Thank you Ryan! You're a rock star... in that lurching "please don't bite me" kinda way. One of the better discussion threads about the ha...

She texted. We kicked her out. : Reason #7,202 to Love Austin : The standing "No A55H0L3$" policy. If a peep wants to make an ass outta themselves, they need to go to a national franchise where it's allowed. In Austin, our "Keep Austin Weird" culture owns too many stores, making weird versions of almost any chain you can imagine. A$$holez ain't allowed here, and it can border on violence when those worlds collide. The Alamo Drafthouse is Austin's weird version of a theater, and it's consistently listed as the top theater in the nation. This is an actual recording of a customer who got herself ejected from the theater for texting during the movie. That's right, chica, welcome to the pavement... and get outta Austin. Note : We also have signs in weird shops that state things like, "There is an additional $10 charge for being an a55h0le." There are also buttons on our registers to back these claims. All the tattoos and piercings you...

As it turns out, all my efforts to learn French have been unnecessary. I needed only a single word. If you want to learn French and/or want to go to France, then you need this word as well. Mad thanks to Lili, who's been trying to drill this word into me and who tipped me off to this excellent video: Learn French in One Word by The Observing Participant

This talented 12 year old girl handed in a Zombie Haiku for her assignment... and got into trouble with her school over it. Read for yourself, this is awesome! Zombie Haiku by Miss Tuesday Cain Murder of the mind, ...all the zombies will have died. Blood will fall like rain. [poster version below] Spread the word. If you love creativity, individuality and/or zombies, get this out to others who share the same love. Let peeps know that this is NOT trouble, this is talent! Just no biting! ...unless you're already a zombie. Also on: [ Tumblr ] [ Facebook ] [ Twitter ] [ Twitpic ] [ reddit ] This image is under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, so feel free to tweet it, blog it or even modify it. While I designed it for her, I would prefer attribution go to Miss Tuesday Cain. It's her poem and her story. Click on the poster to go to Flickr. Note : This week's RoadNews is a bit different, but creativity, individuality and self-expression are ...

" Regrets of the Dying " from Inspiration and Chai: Working with patients in their last weeks of life, Bronnie Ware collected the five most common regrets that they told her about. No matter whether a traveler or not, these are lessons to take to heart now... right now... and not look back on them on your death bed. I, myself, am at great risk of falling into #2... at least in my life over these last four years. Read the full article, as it goes into much more detail than this small list: 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 2. I wish I didn't work so hard. 3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. 4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. Sending thanks to my lovely Faerie for sending this to me... and to Lili for reminding me to "take it easy". Everyone could use this reminder.

© Global Images, LLC. I make no joke when stating that this man has literally lived out of a teepee in the heart of winter. When peeps ask me if there's anyone out there who's more hardcore than I am, Sharif is the person I point to. When last I heard from him, he was hitchhiking from one boat to another across the Atlantic Ocean... on his way to Antarctica. He made it as far south as Argentina before turning back. When I heard from him again, he was collecting votes for a contest on mountaineering. This wasn't the first time he's flexed the power of his community, nor will it likely be the last. No, the first time was when Cloudveil held a contest for who had the best skid crib. Sharif's video tour of his home in the teepee on the side of the mountain has since become legend... and it won him the contest. The Teton Village Teepee When I first met Sharif, he and his two friends had hitchhiked into Reno to meet up with my sister Gaea 'n I. My sister and I ...

Tim Ferriss is gearing up to release "The 4-Hour Body", which means an insane number of quality posts on his blog. Because travel is one leg of his holy trinity, he's been on a roll lately with travel tips 'n stories that require sharing. This time, he's invited Tim Leffel to guest post on his blog. Leffel runs the Cheapest Destinations Blog and, true to form, covered eight different exotic travel spots that you can afford... but that you can't afford to miss. Here's the article: 8 Exotic Destinations You Can Afford by Tim Leffel, hosted on the blog of Tim Ferriss