Grazing With Camels – Episode 1
Israel, 1999. Trules ventures south from Jerusalem, crossing the Israeli-Egyptian border at Eilot. He makes camp at “Ras Es Satan”, Head of the Devil, sleeping in a primitive “chousha”, just feet from the Red Sea. He swims with the neon-lit fishes and organizes a 2 day camel safari, overnight into the Sinai Desert, home of Moses, Joshua, and the first tribes of Israel.
Confessions of an Aging Traveler (Blog Only) – Episode 44
Sorry, amigos, 1- If you’re getting this story a second time, once previously from another mailing list. Lo siento. (I’m sorry.) If so, please email me back, so I can remove your name one time from this new mailing list. Or if you like,...
Bonus: Interview with Outlier, Matt Dartnell – Episode 43
I was leaning against a brightly-windowed wall, noshing on complimentary cashews, when I noticed a tall, bearded man standing next to me wearing a bright orange, Skylight Bookstore t-shirt. Now the Skylight is one of the few remaining independent bookstores still standing in LA, and it’s right next to the Los Feliz movie theater in Silver Lake. I’m a regular. “Hey man, are you a fan of the Skylight?” “Yeah, dude, I am. What’s your name?” And so began… another… podcast networking friendship between 2… outliers… one an Ex-Mormon, one an ex-clown (that is, if you can ever stop being a Mormon or a clown!).
Bonus! Trules Guests on “Podcast Junkies” – Episode 42
Today’s Bonus interview on “Podcast Junkies” is called: “Rebelling Against Conformity and Finding Freedom Through the Arts”, and in it, Harry and I cover my journey from pre-med college student to professional clown and recent podcaster. Along the way, Harry calls my work the “predecessor of flash mobs”. I’m not exactly sure that’s true, but it sounds good and it is Harry’s show.
Behind the Scenes with Travel Writer, Linda Ballou – Episode 41
My guest, Linda Ballou, is an accomplished travel and adventure writer – about whom world-wide explorer, Jim Dorsey, says: “Ballou takes the reader out of their armchair into the vast world as few travel writers can. Her eye for detail, combined with intimate knowledge of her surroundings, sets Ms. Ballou heads above most of the travel writing pack. In this age when everyone with a back pack proclaims him or herself a travel writer, it takes books like Linda’s- to re-define the genre. This is just plain, great, travel writing.” Listen and enjoy.
The Ghosts of Edinburgh, Scotland – Episode 40
Today we’ll be time traveling again – a long ways back… to 1988, when I ventured to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform for the first time in the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest arts festival, if not on the planet, then at least in the Western world. I was 41 years old, living in Santa Monica, and I was invited to perform my one man show as part of a theater troupe called “New Voices from America” that was created solely for the 1988 Edinburgh Fringe by KPFK radio theater critic Stefan Tater. I was the lucky invitee because I had been wishing and dreaming of going to the Edinburgh Festival for almost 2 decades. It had magic and wonder and international arts painted all over its Scottish kilts.
Behind the Scenes with Travel Wisdom Podcast Host, Ladan Jiracek – Episode 39
Ladan Jiracek, host of the Travel Wisdom Podcast, is my Behind the Scenes guest today because… I just love the question that his podcast poses: “Can travel be more than just a fun thing to do? Can it also provide a learning experiences for later in life?” Ladan believes it can be, and that’s why he’s traveled to over 100 countries… hoping to plant the seeds of wisdom from faraway lands in the hearts and minds of his listeners.
The Seedy & Glamorous Hotel Woodward – NYC Back in the Day – Episode 38
New York City — 1977 — “back in the day” — when Studio 54 was all the rage and the new TKTS half-price tickets booth on 47th Street and Broadway was still bright-eyed and bushy tailed. When my rent at the infamous and sometimes dangerous, Hotel Woodward was $55 a week, and I had to figure out a way to pay it. As you’ll hear, I was ingenious, and perhaps a little criminal, in the way I did so, but that’s what’s interesting about time travel, it allows you to look back on your life with perspective… letting you see the innocence and error of youth…. hopefully with a sense of humor.
Behind the Scenes with Travel Hacker, Jen Ruiz – Episode 37
Jen Ruiz is the author of “The Affordable Flight Guide”, has been featured in the Washington Post and on ABC news, and she documents her travel-hacking adventures on her website, jenonajetplane.com. She believes that too many people put off seeing the world until they retire, save up a small fortune, or find the perfect travel partner. She thinks that’s a mistake because those circumstances might never happen, and meanwhile, the world is out there waiting. So if you want to travel for less, and experience more, then speak to Jen. Or start – by listening to today’s episode.