All right world, it's unofficially official: I am going to Mexico and Nicaragua! After much contemplation, conversation, and reflection, I have created a plan that will allow me to do the most things (teach, travel, build, and go to school). Here it is:
Aug 17- Leave for Mexico. I'll be teaching English for about four months. http://www.institutoheslington.org/files/flashsite.swf
Dec 7- Semester ends. Hang out, host visitors, travel around Mexico.
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/Primary/Region/NORTH_AMERICA/Mexico
Jan 3- Leave for Nicaragua. I'll be helping to build homes in La Prusia, near Granada, Nicaragua. I'll stay until I get tired, run out of spending money, or something else compels me to move on.
http://www.casas-de-la-esperanza.org/ECDV.html
I'll probably go to graduate school in September 2008. I requested a deferral of my acceptance to Simon Fraser University, but I haven't submitted a deposit yet.
http://www.sfu.ca/internationalstudies/newmasters.html
I bought plane tickets this morning, so I am pretty committed to the plan. Whoo hoo!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
"Clarity" continued...
In Bill Bradley's most recent book, The New American Story, it is reported that in June 2004, CNN, Fox News, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS collectively ran fifty-five as many stories about Michael Jackson as they did about the genocide in Darfur. In 2004, ABC covered the crisis in Darfur for a total of 18 minutes. These statistics are clear evidence that 24 hours of news is a lot of time, that the news networks have plenty of air time to report the stories their producers feel will draw the biggest audiences in the key demographics.
It's a damn shame.
I believe that the desire to attract the biggest-paying advertisers is what is driving these news networks to report fluff stories -- stories that are supposed to draw the young, middle class consumers that advertisers crave.
I believe that 24 hours of news is too much, that the 24-hour news cycle entices news networks to focus on providing reactions to breaking news, rather than thoughtful analysis of current events. And I believe that unless the way people get their news changes, humanity will continue its movement away from feeling and thoughtfulness and toward numbness and ambivalence.
It's a damn shame.
I believe that the desire to attract the biggest-paying advertisers is what is driving these news networks to report fluff stories -- stories that are supposed to draw the young, middle class consumers that advertisers crave.
I believe that 24 hours of news is too much, that the 24-hour news cycle entices news networks to focus on providing reactions to breaking news, rather than thoughtful analysis of current events. And I believe that unless the way people get their news changes, humanity will continue its movement away from feeling and thoughtfulness and toward numbness and ambivalence.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Road Trip Retroactive Journal
I left Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 2:00 in the hopes of beating most of the rush hour traffic upon arrival in DC. It surprisingly worked. I got to Jess' house in Mt. Pleasant at 6:20 and had dinner with her and Adam. We hung out, traded travel stories (they're headed to Turkey on Friday for a week), and I stretched my legs. I go to 1619 Espey Lane (Quinn's house a.k.a. "the Speasy") around 10:00/10:30 that evening, watched some baseball, and went to sleep early. The next morning, all the regular residents of the Speasy went to do the work thing, so I took a monstrously long walk all over McLean in search of something redeeming about the place. I didn't find anything outstanding.
At 5:00, I picked up Greg from the Metro, and then he and Rachel and I went on a torrid shopping spree at Giant for much needed RV-style snack foods. We settled on a plethora of elementary school-style packed lunch items (chips, cold bagels, snack packs, etc.). When we returned to the Speasy, the RV had arrived. It was enormous.
When you walked in, the driver and passenger seats were to your right. Mounted in the ceiling above the center of the dashboard was a 13" flat screen TV with a built-in DVD player. Immediately behind the passenger seat, there was another chair that could swivel to face front or face the couch across from it. That couch folded out into nearly a queen-sized bed. Three people could sleep on it together. Beside the couch was a set of booths ("the dining room"), with a table centered between them. The table folded down and the booths folded out into a bed for two. Across from the dining room, there was the kitchen, which featured a double sink, tons of drawers and cabinets, a microwave and oven, a refrigerator and freezer, and a pantry. This whole area expanded out when the RV was parked to allow for more floor room, so someone could sleep on the floor. Past that, to the left was a big closet and across from that was the sizable bathroom with an enclosed shower, toilet, sink, and more cabinets and drawers. Behind the bathroom was another drawer/cabinet/closet-filled room with an enormous bed. This bedroom also expanded when the RV was parked, and the bed could sleep four people across.
At 8:00, we departed the Speasy with 10 in tow.We crossed the Tennessee state line some time around 12:30 in the morning and continued straight through the night into Alabama and Mississippi, and we finally got to Louisiana in the early afternoon on Friday, May 4. It took 18 hours and 9 minutes to get from McLean to New Orleans. When we arrived, it was raining like an Indian monsoon. Upon entering the city, we followed the directions to City Park, where we were told there was RV parking. We found City Park, but it was the most deserted place I have ever seen. We saw only 2 cars parked in the three or four miles we drove around the area. We went back into the middle of the city, looking for more parking, but we found nothing. We passed the park where Jazz Fest was taking place, and it looked like it was happening, despite the downpour. Finally we asked a cop where to park and he said, "City Park." We decided that having the hookups for plumbing in the RV was something we could do without, so we pulled along side the curb behind the art museum in the middle of City Park, and settled in for the weekend.
As we began to file off of the RV, the rain stopped -- a miracle! Still confused as to why the park was so deserted, we began walking to the Jazz Fest, beers in hand. We passed lots of people going the other direction, looking depressed and talking about how there was no music. Aaaargh. We had not come all this way for Jazz Fest to be canceled. But it wasn't! We got in easily and grabbed food on our way to the main stage. We were late, but not too late to see Better Than Ezra and the Counting Crows, the two headliners. On the way to the stage, I got a craw fish and gator po' boy sandwich (awesome!), and happily sloshed through the mud. I have never seen a place as muddy as New Orleans. What people say about the land being like an over saturated flower pot is true - with every step water seeps up from the ground. But it was hot and having cool, wet feet felt good.
The music was awesome, although BTE didn't play "Good' as we all thought they would. The Counting Crows had a New Orleans love fest and during their fantastic encore sang "Holiday in Spain," but Adam couldn't bring himself to sing the last line ("this city's a drag"), so everyone just cheered until our throats hurt.
After the Fest, we got a cab to Bourbon Street. Well "cab" is a loosely used term, I suppose. We jumped into some guy's pick up truck (which he called the Truckin' Cab) and got jostled until we thought we were going to die as he sped through the streets of Nawlins at an unbelievable rate. At one stop light, he got out and started talking about Tai Chi in the middle of the road. What?! When we finally stopped near Bourbon Street, he jumped out of the truck and ran away. We hadn't even paid him yet! I don't know if he stole that truck or was just crazy, but we found him in a souvenir shop and gave him his $30, despite the fact that the cops were looking for him (we didn't ask why. I don't even want to know.)
We went to Bourbon Street and did the drinking in the streets/seeing lots of crazy people/dancing like maniacs thing for a while. But it had been a long day and we were all exhausted, so no one felt bad about going back to the RV around 1:30am.
The next morning, we awoke to find City Park packed with cars. The skies had cleared, and people were back in the mood for the Festival. We didn't have more tickets (each one is only good for one day), so I spent the day in the French Quarter with Quinn, Rachel, Ross, and Anna. We went to the flea market, listened to the music on the streets, did some sight seeing, ate awesome food, etc. We went back to the RV around 5:00 to drop off the goodies we had purchased, but all 5 of us ended up sleeping for like 2 hours. We got ourselves out of bed in time to head over to Frenchman Street (we took the trolley down Canal) to see Washboard Chaz at the Spotted Cat, a small blues club. It was fantastic. Surprisingly, he has a MySpace page, so check him out if you can.
We spent most of the night on Frenchman, talking to the locals who were cooking food on the street. One guy sold 1,000 BBQ drumsticks the previous night! And another had been making roadside BBQ for 12 years! We saw more live music, including a punk band (which was a surprise), and just chilled out. I was so impressed with how welcoming and good-spirited all the locals were. Everyone was so freakin' nice and the vibe was awesome. I never say this when I travel, but I think I could live in New Orleans. Sure there were a lot of areas that were still very devastated by the hurricanes, and some houses still had the markings on them to announce how many bodies were found inside, but the vibe was unreal. Positive energy flowed from the people like the raging Mississippi through the Delta. Everyone was chilled out, happy, looking for fun and good food. Their priorities were in line: fun, food, and family. Young and old, rich and poor: everyone partied together. I've never been anywhere like that before. And I've been a lot of places!
We went back to Bourbon Street to meet up with the rest of our gang, but it was so intensely crazy that we didn't last too long. That night, I slept on top of the RV in my sleeping bag and awoke with the sunrise, which was spectacular. The sky glowed orange almost like a Caribbean sunset. We departed New Orleans around 7:00am, but just outside the city ran into a huge traffic jam. In a way that I had never before witnessed, the jam cleared itself out -- all the cars and trucks ahead of us drove clear over the median strip and exited the highway. Not knowing how to get back onto the highway if we followed suit, we just pulled forward until we were only about 30 cars back from the accident. From my perch on the edge of the passenger-side window, I could see the cops and tow trucks working to clear the scene. We were on our away again after 45 minutes.
Three more hours of driving took us to Jackson, MS where we parted ways with Anna, who had to catch a flight to Baltimore so she could get back to school for a final on Monday. A few hours after that, we arrived in Memphis. I wasn't nearly as impressed with that city as I was with the first. It looks all right, but the people weren't that great and the Beale Street Music Festival seemed to be a the happenin' hang out for drunk high schoolers. The crowd wasn't very diverse, and the vibe wasn't that great. But the food was delicious and the Barenaked Ladies played the best set I have ever seen on the main stage. They were followed by (who else?) the Counting Crows, who talked more about New Orleans than they had two nights earlier in that very city. They were fantastic as usual, and once again sang "Holiday" as the encore, but this time Adam belted out the last line.
We left Memphis that very night and drove straight through 'til morning. I slept and slept and slept as Dennis, who was pumped full of No-Doz just kept on driving. We arrived in McLean around 2:30 and stopped for gas so we could return the RV with a full tank. The gas station dude was an idiot, so filling up took forever, but we were still back at the Speasy by 3:15.
This past weekend was a blurry haze of fun, music, beer, and adventure. I feel like I packed more into it than I had in many weekends past, and somehow still managed to travel 2,310 miles. I still have to get myself back to Pittsburgh today, and I return to work tomorrow. We're all dumping our pictures on a shared Flickr website, so go here if you want to see them. Don't be surprised if one of my future posts is written to you from New Orleans, I'm fighting the urge to drop everything and go there: what's one more option in my wide open future? I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but at some point, I will make myself go back there. Top three towns in the U.S.A. (no particular order): Pittsburgh, PA; Boulder, CO; New Orleans, LA. WHOOOO HOOOO!
At 5:00, I picked up Greg from the Metro, and then he and Rachel and I went on a torrid shopping spree at Giant for much needed RV-style snack foods. We settled on a plethora of elementary school-style packed lunch items (chips, cold bagels, snack packs, etc.). When we returned to the Speasy, the RV had arrived. It was enormous.
When you walked in, the driver and passenger seats were to your right. Mounted in the ceiling above the center of the dashboard was a 13" flat screen TV with a built-in DVD player. Immediately behind the passenger seat, there was another chair that could swivel to face front or face the couch across from it. That couch folded out into nearly a queen-sized bed. Three people could sleep on it together. Beside the couch was a set of booths ("the dining room"), with a table centered between them. The table folded down and the booths folded out into a bed for two. Across from the dining room, there was the kitchen, which featured a double sink, tons of drawers and cabinets, a microwave and oven, a refrigerator and freezer, and a pantry. This whole area expanded out when the RV was parked to allow for more floor room, so someone could sleep on the floor. Past that, to the left was a big closet and across from that was the sizable bathroom with an enclosed shower, toilet, sink, and more cabinets and drawers. Behind the bathroom was another drawer/cabinet/closet-filled room with an enormous bed. This bedroom also expanded when the RV was parked, and the bed could sleep four people across.
At 8:00, we departed the Speasy with 10 in tow.We crossed the Tennessee state line some time around 12:30 in the morning and continued straight through the night into Alabama and Mississippi, and we finally got to Louisiana in the early afternoon on Friday, May 4. It took 18 hours and 9 minutes to get from McLean to New Orleans. When we arrived, it was raining like an Indian monsoon. Upon entering the city, we followed the directions to City Park, where we were told there was RV parking. We found City Park, but it was the most deserted place I have ever seen. We saw only 2 cars parked in the three or four miles we drove around the area. We went back into the middle of the city, looking for more parking, but we found nothing. We passed the park where Jazz Fest was taking place, and it looked like it was happening, despite the downpour. Finally we asked a cop where to park and he said, "City Park." We decided that having the hookups for plumbing in the RV was something we could do without, so we pulled along side the curb behind the art museum in the middle of City Park, and settled in for the weekend.
As we began to file off of the RV, the rain stopped -- a miracle! Still confused as to why the park was so deserted, we began walking to the Jazz Fest, beers in hand. We passed lots of people going the other direction, looking depressed and talking about how there was no music. Aaaargh. We had not come all this way for Jazz Fest to be canceled. But it wasn't! We got in easily and grabbed food on our way to the main stage. We were late, but not too late to see Better Than Ezra and the Counting Crows, the two headliners. On the way to the stage, I got a craw fish and gator po' boy sandwich (awesome!), and happily sloshed through the mud. I have never seen a place as muddy as New Orleans. What people say about the land being like an over saturated flower pot is true - with every step water seeps up from the ground. But it was hot and having cool, wet feet felt good.
The music was awesome, although BTE didn't play "Good' as we all thought they would. The Counting Crows had a New Orleans love fest and during their fantastic encore sang "Holiday in Spain," but Adam couldn't bring himself to sing the last line ("this city's a drag"), so everyone just cheered until our throats hurt.
After the Fest, we got a cab to Bourbon Street. Well "cab" is a loosely used term, I suppose. We jumped into some guy's pick up truck (which he called the Truckin' Cab) and got jostled until we thought we were going to die as he sped through the streets of Nawlins at an unbelievable rate. At one stop light, he got out and started talking about Tai Chi in the middle of the road. What?! When we finally stopped near Bourbon Street, he jumped out of the truck and ran away. We hadn't even paid him yet! I don't know if he stole that truck or was just crazy, but we found him in a souvenir shop and gave him his $30, despite the fact that the cops were looking for him (we didn't ask why. I don't even want to know.)
We went to Bourbon Street and did the drinking in the streets/seeing lots of crazy people/dancing like maniacs thing for a while. But it had been a long day and we were all exhausted, so no one felt bad about going back to the RV around 1:30am.
The next morning, we awoke to find City Park packed with cars. The skies had cleared, and people were back in the mood for the Festival. We didn't have more tickets (each one is only good for one day), so I spent the day in the French Quarter with Quinn, Rachel, Ross, and Anna. We went to the flea market, listened to the music on the streets, did some sight seeing, ate awesome food, etc. We went back to the RV around 5:00 to drop off the goodies we had purchased, but all 5 of us ended up sleeping for like 2 hours. We got ourselves out of bed in time to head over to Frenchman Street (we took the trolley down Canal) to see Washboard Chaz at the Spotted Cat, a small blues club. It was fantastic. Surprisingly, he has a MySpace page, so check him out if you can.
We spent most of the night on Frenchman, talking to the locals who were cooking food on the street. One guy sold 1,000 BBQ drumsticks the previous night! And another had been making roadside BBQ for 12 years! We saw more live music, including a punk band (which was a surprise), and just chilled out. I was so impressed with how welcoming and good-spirited all the locals were. Everyone was so freakin' nice and the vibe was awesome. I never say this when I travel, but I think I could live in New Orleans. Sure there were a lot of areas that were still very devastated by the hurricanes, and some houses still had the markings on them to announce how many bodies were found inside, but the vibe was unreal. Positive energy flowed from the people like the raging Mississippi through the Delta. Everyone was chilled out, happy, looking for fun and good food. Their priorities were in line: fun, food, and family. Young and old, rich and poor: everyone partied together. I've never been anywhere like that before. And I've been a lot of places!
We went back to Bourbon Street to meet up with the rest of our gang, but it was so intensely crazy that we didn't last too long. That night, I slept on top of the RV in my sleeping bag and awoke with the sunrise, which was spectacular. The sky glowed orange almost like a Caribbean sunset. We departed New Orleans around 7:00am, but just outside the city ran into a huge traffic jam. In a way that I had never before witnessed, the jam cleared itself out -- all the cars and trucks ahead of us drove clear over the median strip and exited the highway. Not knowing how to get back onto the highway if we followed suit, we just pulled forward until we were only about 30 cars back from the accident. From my perch on the edge of the passenger-side window, I could see the cops and tow trucks working to clear the scene. We were on our away again after 45 minutes.
Three more hours of driving took us to Jackson, MS where we parted ways with Anna, who had to catch a flight to Baltimore so she could get back to school for a final on Monday. A few hours after that, we arrived in Memphis. I wasn't nearly as impressed with that city as I was with the first. It looks all right, but the people weren't that great and the Beale Street Music Festival seemed to be a the happenin' hang out for drunk high schoolers. The crowd wasn't very diverse, and the vibe wasn't that great. But the food was delicious and the Barenaked Ladies played the best set I have ever seen on the main stage. They were followed by (who else?) the Counting Crows, who talked more about New Orleans than they had two nights earlier in that very city. They were fantastic as usual, and once again sang "Holiday" as the encore, but this time Adam belted out the last line.
We left Memphis that very night and drove straight through 'til morning. I slept and slept and slept as Dennis, who was pumped full of No-Doz just kept on driving. We arrived in McLean around 2:30 and stopped for gas so we could return the RV with a full tank. The gas station dude was an idiot, so filling up took forever, but we were still back at the Speasy by 3:15.
This past weekend was a blurry haze of fun, music, beer, and adventure. I feel like I packed more into it than I had in many weekends past, and somehow still managed to travel 2,310 miles. I still have to get myself back to Pittsburgh today, and I return to work tomorrow. We're all dumping our pictures on a shared Flickr website, so go here if you want to see them. Don't be surprised if one of my future posts is written to you from New Orleans, I'm fighting the urge to drop everything and go there: what's one more option in my wide open future? I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but at some point, I will make myself go back there. Top three towns in the U.S.A. (no particular order): Pittsburgh, PA; Boulder, CO; New Orleans, LA. WHOOOO HOOOO!
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