"...and we dance, we smile, struggling to learn each new day through the haze."
photos © Lonely Planet and International Center for African Culture & Arts
Tools for Making Sense of It All:
- Cahiers du Cinema
The expansive realm of artful international cinema as presented in the most respected journal of film criticism. Many of my idols of the French New Wave, including François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, were among its early critics. The magazine reinvented the basic tenets of film criticism and theory.
- Cineaste
Another fantastic American film magazine. Whereas Film Comment focuses on in-depth critical reviews of films, Cineaste is comprised of conceptual pieces and political arguments about filmmakers’ oeuvres. It gets the brain all tied up in a most wonderful fashion.
- CounterPunch
A fabulously muckraking leftist newsletter offering paranoid alternatives to what’s considered “news” these days. And like Woody Allen said, “Paranoia is merely reality under a microscope.” Very fun and hopelessly eye opening.
- Green Anarchy
A radical, far leftist, anti-civilization journal about how to completely destroy and build back up our current culture. Some of it is a bit zealous, but overall, it turns a keen eye onto the ills of society and it’s hard to avoid being motivated to act after reading its well-written pages.
- Couchsurfing
I spent many years as a frequent boho traveler…and well, *ahem*…those days are far from over for me. So, I must recommend this site, which is a community of fellow travelers from all over the world offering their couches as a free place to crash for folks coming through town. There are several levels of membership, and people can tailor their involvement to either include or not include the offer of a couch, merely offer a friendly hangout or provide a leisurely tour of the city apart from his or her home. People can also sign up just as a "surfer." It’s a beautiful network whose aim is not being some sort universal shelter for broke people, but rather to be a way to foster deeper connections between travelers and the lands they are passing through. It has saved me thousands of dollars in lodging, afforded me dozens of amazing new friends and permanently emblazoned a shining array of memories onto my brain. It is karma in action. If you’re a traveler who can do without traditional accomodations, check it out.
- News of the Weird
Real news items from around the world that will remind you of how fragile, strange and hilarious our species is. Founded in 1988 and updated daily. Readers can get lost for years in the site’s overflowing archives.
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