Oh, Woody, ye of a thousand neuroses. You’ve gone and hit mine right on the nose: that romantic yearning to experience a particular place during a particular time that’s not my own. I’ve almost always felt a disconnect between the time and place where I grew up, the conservative port city of Jacksonville, Florida, and […]
“What’s Past is Prologue” Read More
Back in 2009, I took a three-month round-the-world trip to a planned five continents, and with the help of Fly Mother and some Zip-Lock bags, I was able to squeeze an adequate amount of clean underwear and other necessities into two very light-weight carry-ons. Observe: That would be: One dress shirt and a pair of
Packing a Lot of Crap into Two Small Bags: A Photographic Essay Read More
Does this move you? What about this? Of any place on Earth, Brazil probably comes closest to delivering on the hype – for vacationers, at least – and I’ve lived moments here that were pretty damn similar to those evoked in these (absolutely amazing) commercials. If you come with the right attitude – and the proper
Gaining Entrée into Paradise* Read More
When it comes to music that transports you out of the banality of your office cubicle, there’s no one like nuyorican house DJ “Little” Louie Vega, one-half of 90s music production team Masters at Work – not Lou Bega of that “Mambo No. 5” foolishness – to pilot you from Harlem to Havana to Harare
Global Juke Joint: Your International Starter Album Read More
As of January 2011, only 37% of all American citizens possess that little blue book with the eagle on the cover. That’s a whole lotta people not getting fly! By age thirty, everyone should have a government-issued passport. If you are over thirty and don’t have it, I won’t waste any time criticizing (triflin…). I’ll
Getting Your Walking Papers Read More
The third episode of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates’ four-part documentary, Black in Latin America, takes place in my current country of residence: Brazil. He uncovers part of the mystique of this exotic, exoticized country by visiting favelas in Salvador and Rio, beauty salons in Belo Horizonte, and historical sites in Recife and Diamantina, discussing
Thoughts on Part Three of ‘Black in Latin America’: Brazil Read More
Hello good people: I’ve been in New York this week taking a much-needed vacation and finally decided to stop trying to force myself to sit still long enough to finish my assessments on the last two episodes of Black in Latin America. I fly to Portland, Oregon, tomorrow evening to attend the World Domination Summit
