Blog
Train Dreams: Why Rail Travel is the Journey We Need
I remember the feeling of liberation when I finally received my driver’s license at the age of sixteen. There is something special about the freedom to get behind the wheel and go anywhere one wants. I soon found that this freedom had a great deal of responsibility:...
Keep Rolling Under the Stars: How Travel Expands the Soul
Emily Dickinson and Henry David Thoreau may have flourished in their sequestered lives close to home. Dickinson: often not leaving her room. Thoreau: not far from Walden Pond. There is nothing wrong with staying in your sanctuary, particularly if one is not pulled by...
How Virtual Reality and AI Are Reshaping Human Connection
In SimCity, people get the opportunity to live a simulated existence in a virtual civilization, an ironic sub-reality. Facebook’s Farmville users play the role of virtual farmers, planting crops, tending to livestock, and harvesting produce. People now have the time...
Work Smarter, Not Harder: Why You Don’t Always Need to Give 100%
The other day while I was working out at the gym, I saw this muscular guy wearing a t-shirt saying, “Always Give 100%.” This got me thinking, “Do I agree with this premise?” The answer was surprisingly, NO. Upon deeper contemplation, this is something I have been...
The Power of Failure: How Mistakes Fuel Creativity and Innovation
Although Thomas Edison remains a hotly debated character, he is generally considered a creative genius. He is also considered by many the greatest inventor ever to live. He once said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ― Thomas A. Edison...
Jay McInerney: Blending Wine and Words in His Writing Career
Jay McInerney has had a successful writing career in both fiction and non-fiction. It is particularly fascinating how this celebrated novelist decided to turn to wine writing later in life. He has an interesting perspective on how wine has influenced his writing and...
Turning Pro: Overcoming Resistance and Embracing Your Passion
Sometimes when poking around a used bookstore, the right book finds its way into your hands. Recently, I found Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro. Several people had recommended that I read his first non-fiction book, The War of Art, so when I found this I decided to...
Liberation Through Verse: How Poetry Sets You Free
Poetry has been a part of my life most of the way. While working on Subterranean Mixtape, I exhumed some of my earliest poems, and it has been a trip looking back at them. Here is one poem that I wrote in seventh grade: See Me As I Am Paint me red, Paint me...
Philip K. Dick Meets Blade Runner 2049: A Journey into Perception and Truth
The remake of Blade Runner, which is loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? reminds us of the man’s brilliance.Moreover, it is astounding the prescience of a man who initially set his novel in 2021 (it was written in 1968) to...