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August 31, 2004

Can vagabonding be dangerous for gay travelers?

Over at the Vagabonding.net Q&A, John B. from New York writes: "I loved Vagabonding and it has pushed me to...
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August 30, 2004

David Sedaris on how cultural stereotypes cut both ways

"I'd never thought much about how Americans were viewed overseas until I came to France and I was expected to...
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August 27, 2004

The Olympics craze, old-school style

As the 2004 Athens Games wind down, I wanted to share a few more notes on the ancient Greek games,...
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August 26, 2004

Success means controlling your own time

"Success means controlling your own time. If you can gain control over 60 percent of the time in your life,...
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August 25, 2004

Pointers on writing an unoriginal story

The following riff on the cliches of creative writing (and science fiction writing in particular) was featured in the "Readings"...
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August 24, 2004

The world has fickle expectations of the United States

"American leadership seems to be required even in cases -- such as Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 -- where the...
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August 23, 2004

Gina Ochsner fiction in The New Yorker

I was happy to discover this morning that my college classmate Gina Ochsner has a piece of fiction in the...
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August 20, 2004

"Wealth" is a relative thing

“Look at advertising: its sole function is to make us feel that certain things are missing from our lives. So...
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August 19, 2004

In ancient Greece, the Olympics would be over by now

Though far more culturally important to the Greek world than the modern Olympics, the ancient games took place over the...
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August 18, 2004

Remembering Laurel Lee

My favorite writing teacher from my college days, memoirist Laurel Lee, died of pancreatic cancer last week in Oregon. She...
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August 17, 2004

Edward Abbey on the pleasures of simple reality

"For my own part, I am pleased enough with surfaces -- in fact, they seem to me to be of...
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August 13, 2004

Historical Time-Line of the Ancient Olympics

Those of you following the Athens Olympics of TV will see a lot of travel-writer Tony Perrottet in coming days,...
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August 12, 2004

In the event you'll be vagabonding in Kansas...

Those planning on vagabonding through Kansas on late-summer road-trips might be interested to know that my father, George Potts,...
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August 11, 2004

Western ideals won't necessarily wash in the East

"At a superficial level much of Western culture has indeed permeated the rest of the world. At a more basic...
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August 10, 2004

Travel, pilgrimage, and the Greek Olympics

The Athens Olympics are due to start any day now, and -- amidst all the hype -- I wanted to...
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August 06, 2004

Sarah Erdman interview at RolfPotts.com

This month, my travel writers page at RolfPotts.com features an interview with Sarah Erdman, whose book Nine Hills to Nambonkaha...
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August 05, 2004

William Dalrymple on the close historical links between East and West

"So one of the things that I hope to achieve with White Mughals is to present an image of how...
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August 04, 2004

I have become a Republican

Well, after 15 proud years of voting as a non-affiliated Independent, I have now become a Republican. Sort of....
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August 03, 2004

Is beer the cornerstone of civilization?

"In addition to being at the heart of Mesopotamian culture, beer may even have been the foundation for the whole...
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August 02, 2004

It's Mother Goose gone wild!

The "Readings" section of the August Harper's contains a selection of ribald children's songs from around the world. I've listed...
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