May 28, 2004

A drawing by my other nephew, Luke Oak, who is 2

lukemar04.jpg

[Luke Oak's latest artwork, which he tells me is a "camel".]

My youngest nephew, Luke Oak Van Tassel, is not quite old enough to be as verbal as his big brother Cedar — but he has taken quite a shine to drawing pictures. Above is a recent piece (no doubt influenced by the Dada movement of the early 20th century) that Luke Oak has entitled “Camel”.

[Many thanks, bu the way, to all of you who sent postcards to Cedar on his birthday. Notes arrived from as far away as Japan, and Cedar loved them!]

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (2) 
Category: Writings by my nephew Cedar, who is 4
Related Posts: A monster poem from my nephew Cedar, Excerpts from a book written by my nephew Cedar, who is 4 years old, Excerpts from another book by my 4-year-old nephew Cedar

May 27, 2004

Travel resources for college students

A reader at the Vagabonding.net Q&A writes: “I was inspired by your book and I am planning a trip to Europe for a few months. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, however, by how much it all might cost. Any advice for a budget oriented college student dying to see new and wondrous things?”

College students, I told her, have many great advantages in Europe. Your student card alone should save you lots of money on museums and historical sights around the continent. You should also check and see if your campus has a student travel office with information on travel discounts and overseas work opportunities. The Student Travel Association, for example, is a great resource for saving money and generating travel ideas for the road. Student Traveler magazine is another great resource worth checking out. Also, as a student, you

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (2) 
Category: Travel Advice
Related Posts: Paris writing workshop students debut new works in print and onstage, Updating the “Vagabonding” resources: Week 4, Chapter 4 part 2, Resources to help give your kids the travel bug

May 26, 2004

Jonathan Raban on the definition of travel

“Travel. It was an intransitive verb. It didn’t involve any destinations. It was going to the going’s sake, to be anywhere but where you were, with motion itself as the only object.”
–Jonathan Raban, Old Glory (1981)

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (1) 
Category: Travel Quote of the Day
Related Posts: Jonathan Raban on the advantages of traveling alone, Jonathan Raban on neocon foreign policy, Philip Caputo on the modern definition of “adventure travel”

May 22, 2004

Next stop: New York

bajasunset.jpg

[No, that's not New York: A shot of the sunset in northern Baja, where Rolf was holed up for the last week.]

After a little over a week of working on writing projects amidst the gorgeous deserts of northern Baja (and some down-time in San Diego), I’m now headed to New York to see friends and talk to some publishing folks. With any luck, I’ll have new word about my next book within a month or so!

I’ll be back and blogging by late next week…

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (3) 
Category: Rolf's News and Updates
Related Posts: The perks of speaking in front of drunk people — Book tour stop #10: New York, February 24, Rolf’s Authors@Google talk in New York, The New B Movie: My story in today’s New York Times Magazine

May 21, 2004

“Signspotting” contest at Bootsnall

Voting is underway for the best snapshot submitted in the last year to Doug Lansky

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (0) 
Category: Readings from Around the 'Net
Related Posts: Compulsive Travel TV: great videos and contest, Matador Travel sponsors writing contest, Glimpse Foundation sponsors writing contest

May 20, 2004

Ravi Zacharias on the trappings of wealth

“In a culture where the possibility of wealth and the acquisition of things is so defining of success, we end up pursuing things that, even if we are successful, can never deliver what we envisioned they would. The reason riches become such a snare is because we end up evaluating life in mercenary terms and being seen by others in such terms, and life is just not so.”
–Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder (2003)

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (3) 
Category: Travel Quote of the Day
Related Posts: Time is a form of wealth, Finding a prison in wealth: a warning from the Bible, “Wealth” is a relative thing

May 13, 2004

Mexico-bound

I

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (1) 
Category: Rolf's News and Updates
Related Posts: Europe-bound backpackers sought for MTV documentary, Something was bound to go wrong eventually — Book tour stop #8: St. Louis, February 13, Celebrating Dia de los Muertos in Mexico

May 12, 2004

Jack Nicholson on the importance of leisure

“I don

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (0) 
Category: Travel Quote of the Day
Related Posts: Leisure travel is still the privilege of those from rich countries, Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, unedited and raw, The lost Jack Kerouac Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

May 11, 2004

Pico Iyer and the end of my West Coast road trip

I

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (2) 
Category: Rolf's News and Updates
Related Posts: Pico Iyer talks travel with Rolf, Pico Iyer on quitting, Pico Iyer on McDonald’s

May 10, 2004

Charles Plymell on the secret of youth

“It is hard to notice age in those who dream.”
–Charles Plymell, “In Memory of My Father” (1977)

Note: Though a minor figure among Beat writers, Charles Plymell is the reigning counterculture poet to hail from Wichita, where I grew up. His book The Last of the Moccasins, a fictional recounting of Wichita fringe culture in the fifties, was published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights books in 1971.

About ten years ago, when I was still writing short stories, I lifted a few of Plymell’s lines about Clark Kent from Forever Wider to help set the motif for a Wichita tale of my own, entitled Jane Room Superman, which was published a few years later in Ecelectica (and remains one of the few public proofs of the fiction writing I did in my early twenties). Though self-consciously hard-boiled at times (I think I was trying to emulate Denis Johnson), I still enjoy going back to read “Jane Room Superman” — a tale that is not all that far-removed from the reality of a completely different period of my life.

After the piece was published in Ecelectica, I tracked Plymell down and sent him an email, confessing that I’d stolen a line of his for my short story. His reply was fairly complimentary of the story, but he was mostly interested in talking about Delta 88s (a car that features in the story). He even offered to send me a photo of a Delta 88 he had recently restored. Last I heard Plymell was living in upstate New York.

Posted by | Permalink | Comments (3) 
Category: Travel Quote of the Day
Related Posts: Charles Kuralt on working overseas, Charles Bukowski on the dubious allure of beaches, Richard Halliburton on freedom and youth
Main

Bio

Stories

Essays

Interviews

Books

Images

Writers

Guide

News

Paris

Vagabonding.net

Contact

Marco Polo Didnt Go There
Rolf's new book!


Vagabonding
   Vagabonding


RECENT COMMENTS

Penis Enlargement: Penis Enlargement Pills, How to Suck Cock, Sex Secrets, Woman...

Bob Holdsworth: Alison, I just faced the same dilemma - had a little extra time, could...

Penis Enlargement: Penis Enlargement Pills, How to Suck Cock, Sex Secrets, Woman...

Silvia: I think that it’s very important to enjoy your own reality whatever it...

jquaglia: Thanks for the commentary about being of fragile emotions both now AND right...

ida bibbs: i agree very much i have gone to organization adn get the run around i am...

Renato Losio: Well, they are often the most vivid you have even after a while. After...

Irish polyglot: I’m also working over the Internet as I travel,. I love it!

Zach M: Thank you for this great post. I am a anthropology and antiquities major...

dokken1: “Pre-Order Rod Stewart’s “”The Definitive...

SPONSORED BY :



CATEGORIES

TRAVEL LINKS

ARCHIVES

RECENT ENTRIES

Americas in Cuba? Perhaps someday soon…
What’s it gonna take for you to go?
Lessons from a couchsurfing nightmare
Handling the transition: Back to reality?
Getting dumped
Bad experiences have a different resonance when you travel
TrekEarth: a global photography community
Living the Indiana Jones fantasy
Can couchsurfing go corporate?
Book Review: Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?


Subscribe to this blog's feed
Counter