It pains me to write these words, but silence is even less an option. I am ashamed to be American. Today I should be writing a piece for Travel Medford about my experience in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. But here I am, sitting at my desk, and I can't do it. Too much else needs to…
Two plastic chairs hastily set up in a food storage room behind the storefront of a family farm. It doesn't seem like the place where, suddenly, inspiration will strike. And yet, it did. As a traveler, I have learned that these unexpected epiphanies are to be cherished. "Nowadays, people are so focused on the consumer…
In today's day and age, it seems everything is polarizing. Calls for boycotts of companies, people, movies, and even countries are prevalent. For those of us with strong political and ideological feelings, it can be a difficult set of circumstances to navigate. Can one eat at Chick Fil A, shop at Wal-Mart, see a Mel…
The air here is dry, and the wind that has whipped constantly since my arrival blows sand and dust into my face and eyes, making it seem even dryer. I shield my eyes from the sun and sand, and look out across the valley in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Eastern California,…
Singapore is a huge contradiction. Western, yet eastern. English is the official language, but you'll most often hear Chinese dialects spoken. It is incredibly modern, yet traditional. Ultra expensive shopping and dining sit alongside kiosks and street food. Gambling and prostitution are legal, but drug possession can carry a death sentence. It is a capitalistic…
It's hard to describe the feeling at that first look into North Korea from the Dora Observatory, just outside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. Through coin-operated telescopes, tourists can gaze toward a North Korean empty propaganda village along the border, and farther to the city of Kaesong, North Korea's third largest.…
A couple of weeks ago, I had a fascinating conversation with my best friend Ari. We talked about the emergence of Hulu TV as a possible industry-shifting change for cable companies, and the need of other companies to shift their business strategies or possibly risk going out of business. We discussed this new competition as…
There are many ways to travel, and as many kinds of traveler. There is the outdoor adventurer, the partier, the beachgoer, and the foodie, just to name a few. Most people fall into several categories. And then there is the deep thinker. So what makes a deep thinking traveler, and how do you know if…
Today, we are strong enough and honest enough to... admit that the Treaty has been imperfectly observed. I look upon it as a legacy of promise. It can be a guide to... all those whose collective sense of justice, fairness and tolerance will shape the future. In 1990, Queen Elizabeth II visited Waitangi and admitted…
[We] acknowledge New Zealand as a Sovereign and independent State... the admission of their rights... is binding on the faith of the British Crown. The Queen... disclaims... every pretention to... govern the Islands of New Zealand... unless the free and intelligent consent of the Natives... shall first be obtained. This excerpt from the instructions of…