'Travel' Category
Into the Wild
It is uncommon for a film to have a dramatic impact upon me. While I like film as a general rule and I enjoy discussing them with my friends and family, I generally reserve my highest praise with more than a little caution. To confess in public to a film having significant impact upon me […]
Leaving Las Vegas
Three years ago I almost died. Do not worry. The story does not have a bad ending. I would not be sitting here writing it if it did. Besides, I have already told the story a number of times, so repeating it once more would not be particularly interesting for anyone. Including me. So I’ll […]
On Time Travel
I am a time traveler. No, I am not talking about literally going back in time as numerous authors have speculated. Unfortunately— or fortunately, depending on which author you read— literal time travel is still unavailable. Rather, I am talking about the powers of sentiment and memory, coupled with conversation and photographs and more […]
On the Road
In 2005, TIME magazine chose On the Road by Jack Kerouac as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to then. This largely autobiographical work is based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. Many consider this book the definitive work of the postwar Beat Generation– inspired […]
Pittsburgh and the 53 Bytes
Work has sent me to Pittsburgh. I would not call Pittsburgh the most exotic of locales, but it has not been unpleasant. I’m here for a week’s worth of training on ATM. No, not that ATM. Not the machines that happily spit out currency from your bank account. I’m talking about the telecommunications protocol, ATM: […]
Way Off the Road
Bill Geist attended this year’s Printers Row Book Fair. He came as a guest author and signed copies of his new book, Way Off the Road. Whirl and I attended the book fair for two reasons. First reason, we had no choice. The fair sets up in our front yard. And it stays there for […]
Walk On
Clark Street cuts through a diverse section of Chicago. From north to south, Clark touches all of these neighborhoods: Rogers Park, Edgewater, Andersonville, Uptown, Sheridan Park, Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park, the Near North Side, the Gold Coast, the Loop, Printer’s Row, the South Loop, the Near South Side and Chinatown. Some of those areas are […]
Long Way Round
It’s spring of 2004. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are trying to decide what to do with their summer. They come up with an incredible plan. Both are motorcycle enthusiasts and they want to do something unique. They decide to take the summer off and ride motorcycles around the world. They plan to start in […]
Into Thin Air
In March of 1996, Outside magazine sent Jon Krakauer on an expedition to climb Mount Everest. Krakauer’s editors wanted him to write about the increasing commercialism of the summit. Krakauer stated he had given up mountain climbing long ago. He agreed to the climb for purely professional reasons. He later revised this statement, confessing a […]
On Love
It seems strange to be writing about love and Las Vegas at the same time. I can reconcile the ideas of lost love with Las Vegas, or betrayed love, or love of money. I can reconcile thoughts of lust, greed and gluttony– even wrath, sloth, pride and envy. But love? That just does not seem […]
