www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qhcsaVaTVA

Notes from this week’s Video of the Week:

• I continue to get back to the basics by concentrating on a few key things: cooking, physical activity, and expression.
• Challenge for you: What would your month-long self-discovery experiment be?

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bYTbqXX5Vs

Notes from this week’s video:

• Musing #1: Reinvention
  • Have you ever become a person you don’t recognize?
  • Do you take advantage of the easy opportunity for reinvention when traveling?
• Musing #2: Anonymity.
  • How does your anonymous presence on the road affect your attitude, behavior, mind, etc.?
  • Have you experienced the overfamiliarity of the small town or close-knit region? How does this change your state of mind or activity?
• Musing #3: Constant Travel
  • Is re-experiencing your own town/city as valuable a teaching opportunity as perusing a new place in another country?
  • If home travel is considered “travel,” where is the line drawn between travel and not? What differentiates the two?

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4b-c15vkZI

Notes from this week’s video:

• ProjectExplorer.org is in post-production stateside after a fantastic filming session in Mexico.
• I’m moving out of my parent’s house for a month for some seclusion in my hometown.
• I have four goals for the month of July.
  • Crank out stellar videos, images, and work for ProjectExplorer.org
  • Write personal travel narratives in hopes of publishing or at least having them for myself.
  • Learn how to cook basic vegetarian meals well. I don’t know how veggies are supposed to taste. Sad.
  • Enjoy my hometown for the first summer in a decade and reap the benefits of relative seclusion from distraction.
• It’s time to reformat/redesign Nomadderwhere, just like I did last September. A lot has changed in my life and path, and my website needs to reflect that.

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Go, China, Go, China, Go!

Don’t speak. Don’t think. Don’t even type. Direct your attention below.

Go Tourism, Go Tourism!

Brilliant!

Go, Remote Locations…and Disclaimers!

This article on the most extreme and isolated places to live in the world is mildly interesting, but what I found most humorous was the ending disclaimer. Gotta keep it PC!

Disclaimer: As a brand, Tripbase are accepting of all global cultures. This article is written from a Western perspective and is meant for humorous purposes only. No offense is intended.

Said about The Pitcairn Islands:

Notable also for the sexual assault trial of 2004, in which 7 men living on the island went on trial. With all but one of the defendants being found guilty of some charges, this incident had the unfortunate side effect of pretty much tying up most of the area’s workforce (which consists of roughly 15 people in total). Seriously, sexual assault on an island that small? Not to mention the fact that most of them will be related…

Said about Tristan da Cunha:

Another interesting fact is that in the entire community there are only 8 surnames and 80 families, most likely leading to a horrific dating scene.

Said about Oymyakon, Siberia:

Other interesting facts include that it’s so cold, that some birds can freeze solid mid-flight, plummeting to the ground like a rock. Spit will also freeze solid before it hits the ground at -50°C and a glass of water thrown into the air will freeze before it hits the ground.

Alright Undercover Reporting in North Korea! Go! Go! Go!

Even though this article was written in August of 2009, I still find it interesting. I’m enchanted by mysteries.

It took them two hours to inspect our luggage when the group entered the country and four hours to go through every picture on our cameras—and to delete the ones they deemed improper—when we left. They apparently didn’t know that it is easy to switch out memory cards.

…On one occasion, I drew a banana on a piece of paper and showed it to a waitress; she had never seen one. She knew about apples, but she had never eaten one. I brought 150 Kit-Kat bars into the country, and I always took several out of my bag when I was alone with a North Korean. They would hesitate for a few seconds, look around to make sure that no one else was watching, and then stuff the Kit-Kats into their pockets.

Other Discoveries

Someone recently asked me if I saw Kevorkian’s side, based on my newly appointed personal stance on pain and life. Interesting…

Can’t post a Consume & Update without tips from Problogger: The Secret to Long-Term Blogging Success and Creating Facebook Landing Pages

Update on Nomadderwhere

Happy Independence Day, ‘Mericans! I’m back to mental stability and a regular routine! Yesterday, I moved from my parent’s home in Indianapolis to my hometown of Wabash. I’ll be in a home sans TV, constant internet, and…well, furniture. It’ll be Hermit-ville. It’ll be lovely. Tomorrow’s Video of the Week will fill in the blanks.

This week’s thin herd of postings:

• Reviewing David Lida’s First Stop in the New World: Comparing David’s perceptions of Mexico City with my own

Things will be changing soon. The content tsunami cometh…

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Guillebeau Talking for TED

If you’re a fan of Chris and his charisma, check out renowned non-conformist’s TED talk from Carnegie Melon University. He discusses fear with some intriguing metaphors. What do you think about his message?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=unxL5RRhNb0

Most Celebrated Travel Books

Though I believe Frances Mayes should give it a rest with her lists of flower types and Italian herbs…and Ernesto Guevara could have cut his diaries a couple weeks short…and Elizabeth Gilbert got a wee too much publicity for her travel trifecta, I think this comprehensive list of travel books covers some great titles. Check out the entire list on World Hum and let me know which ones you would recommend to fellow narrative-hungry travel readers (cough, cough…me).

Why We Call It Soccer

Thank you, Nat Geo Traveler, for finally solving the mystery. Why do we call football soccer (or, inversely, why do others call soccer football)? Alas, we have an answer:

After some digging, I’m happy to report the following: Apparently American’s word for football is a shortened version of Assoccer, an abbreviation of “Association Football,” the term given the game as it was played at elite British boys’ schools in the 1860s. “Assoccer” became “soccer” and the name somewhat stuck as it served to distinguish it from rugby-rules football.

As players, coaches, sailors, and the enthusiastic exported the game around the world courtesy of the British Empire, local languages appropriated “football” as a loan word. For example, the Spanish fútbol doesn’t literally combine the Spanish words for “foot” and “ball” but is an approximation of the British word for the ever-popular game. The game came to U.S. shores in the late 19th century and was called “football” in the U.S. until after World War II when the increasing popularity of the National Football League (NFL) prompted a change in name. Where English is a country’s first language, “football” often refers to the most popular form of football in that country. Only three English-speaking FIFA countries refer to the game as “soccer”: the U.S., Samoa, and Canada.

Now we know.

Tony’s New Book and 100th Episode

I compulsively document Big T’s new blog posts, this one being no exception to the rule. I love the flow of his travel writing -- even his travel writing that isn’t about travel per se. After releasing his second book, entitled Medium Raw, he reflects on the tiresome, yet pivotal, regimen of self-promotion across the country, as well as the ambiance during production of his 100th episode (in Paris).

I’ve heard Tony didn’t necessarily meet the expectations of various travel bloggers with the new book, and I’m sort of glad. If he’s a cook, a traveler, and a writer, why can’t he write about cooking (and the unexpected celeb chef phenomenon) without focusing about travel? Why would people assume his book would be about his travel tales and woes when the blurb on the front reads:

A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

Lay off, people. He’s still a better writer than the vast majority of us.

Other Discoveries

Lion Burgers? Really, Arizona? Strike two.

This guy’s just walkin.

The Michael Palin interview with World Hum

“Backpackers aren’t the bad guys. It really boils down to how we travel, and what the legacy is of that. We are guests in another culture, so the issue isn’t how do we stop tourism, the issue is how do we get it right.”

Problogger: 8 Habits of Highly Excellent Bloggers

Update on Nomadderwhere

Judging purely by my intense slumbers upon returning to Indiana, you’d think I slept not at all throughout production in Mexico. I was entirely pooped, and to compound it, my mom dragged me to the Indy Night Ride, which started at 11pm and took us for 20 miles around downtown Indianapolis by night. My butt bones hate life today.

Since I was too busy to read up on the gems of the internet over the past three weeks, I also wasn’t able to recap the work I churned out. Hence, here are the pieces I wrote (or photoblogs I compiled) over the course of production with ProjectExplorer.

• Video of the Week: Preparing for Mexico, a Webcam Special
• Journeys of a Lifetime in June
• Photoblog: First Day on the Job
• Update from Mexico City
• Photoblog: Xochimilco and Frida
• Quick Trips from Mexico City
• Update from Oaxaca
• The Frida Transformation
• Photoblog: Oaxaca
• Photoblog: Merida and the Yucatan
• Q&A: Picking Up and Traveling For Good

Bear with me, people. I’m hoping to get back on schedule soon!

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And as my internet is being wonky, I’ll supply the link to the embedded video above, in case it doesn’t show up. What did you think? Have you been watching the World Cup? Instead of asking who you’d like to win, who would you hate to see reach that victorious final bracket position?

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Sure, I’ve been editing quick trips and question videos, writing blog posts, and researching the Mexico series. And since last summer, I’ve been exclusively using iMovie09, churning out some self-proclaimed impressive content. However, last night I cranked out a piece that will go down in history as my first official contribution to the meat and potatoes of this organization.

I love how the concept of this video became a reality. How does one capture a hugely famous, incredibly influential Latin American artist whose style created a new language in visual art? How do I find the proper way in which to dynamically convey the passion of Frida? Here’s one of the three segments we decided to create on the special lady, narrated by and featuring Vijaya Selvaraju.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBHKeeDL3gU

With hair by Nichole Dossous and make-up by Jazmine Da Costa (not to mention direction from Jenny Buccos), our Team Mexico whipped together an impressive segment. What do you think of our storytelling technique in this one? Check out the rest of the videos being pumped out by the team on the road.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMbrVSuAsZE

Jazmine talks about her molcajete, which is a traditional soup-like meal in a volcanic dish.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVjzuLINBLw

We had a little fun in a market at Xochimilco. Jazmine really likes puppets.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ETt00RVcs

While dining at the world’s 72nd best restaurant, Eduardo showed us how they use Yucatan river stones to keep bread and tortillas warm.

Many more soon to come. Any questions about our experience in Mexico with ProjectExplorer thus far?

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Also, I wanted to thank the awesome tweeters this week that have offered their great encouragement and stellar commentary.

Therefore, enjoy the first webcam special, in all it’s shotty, pixelated glory, followed by some lovely tweets!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hehLYITex28

@backpackingmatt After dinner check out Jimmy’s Corner! Epic pub! 44th ann broadway…Tweet a photo if you get there. And do. Go there. Cheapest pint in NYC I reckon! Hopefully Jimmy is there!

@nfisher01: Are you still in NYC? If so, head over to Brooklyn to Dumont burgers. Sooo good! Get the mac&cheese if you go. Happy travels!

@mytravelogue good luck in Mexico! Can’t wait to read all about it!

@justinspired ProjectExplorer.org — look forward to seeing more videos from them around the world (via @nomadderwhere)

@rtwdave steak au poivre + fries [in response to asking for suggestions at Les Halles]

Also thank you, tweeters, for your input on an impromptu poll: Does briefly visiting an airport en route to a new state qualify being in that state? Same with countries. What qualifies visiting?

@LandLopers It counts for state IMHO, countries eh, I usually go with passport stamp

@janelleeagle I’ve often wondered that. I don’t think it counts technically unless you leave an airport (a la Tom Hanks in “The Terminal”)

@MattBoggie yes, at least how the Century Club counts ur first 100 countries. Remind me to tell u story of 4 us time zones in 1 day.

@justinspired POLL Response: I wouldn’t count it if I stayed inside but a quick layover out&about 2 get a feel for the place then why not?

@a_rachel I only count a visit as leaving the airport, either state-wise, or internationally.

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I sent questions to be answered in written form and others as a video interview, and though I believe Casey and Natalie talked a little bit about their angles, I can’t imagine they collaborated enough to say some of these spot-on responses.

Check out my video interview with the two new STA interns, and see what you’re in store for, if you’re smart enough to follow their adventure!

The World Traveler Intern-view from Lindsay Clark on Vimeo.

The questions are as follows:

• You don’t have much longer before you meet your travel mate. What have you gotten to know about your fellow intern so far?

• The World Traveler Internship seems to blossom and improve every year. How do you plan on using your skills to make this year’s trip even more exciting and dynamic in the eyes of the viewer?

• What was your viewpoint on the application process? Was there anything you didn’t anticipate before going into it?

• Tell me about an experience (travel or otherwise) you’ve had that taught you a skill or a trait that will come in handy during the internship (I love the responses I got for this one).

• Do you have any fears, and if so, are you going to push yourself to conquer one or more of them on the internship?

• If you were to challenge your fellow intern to something on the trip, what would that be? State your challenge right now! (…also hilarious)

Do you have any questions for the 2010 interns? Comment below, and I’ll see if we can squeeze out an answer from these busy bees. And check out their written interview as well!

Follow the Internship

They meet in two days (May 26th), so be sure to keep up with the entire experience by:

• Watching for their blogs
• Following their tweets
• Checking out their videos
• and checking out their personal sites…

Natalie’s Twitter
Natalie’s Youtube Channel

Casey’s Blog
Casey’s Youtube Channel
Casey’s Twitter

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