I’ve been thinking a lot about slow moving events lately – things that take unthinkable amounts of time – and trying to imagine what it would be like to sit through these glacial events as a spectator.  Continental drifting, the lifespan of stars, Bush’s presidential terms… I’ve been doing this because…

Living in this abandoned vacation village in western Sardinia was exotic for about 12 minutes.  When I figured out that I couldn’t even buy bread out here and that it wasn’t going to be warm enough for topless sunbathing all winter, the novelty wore off rather quickly.  OK, the village…

I want to take some time out from the grim topics of homeless travel and travel writing this week and talk to you about something a little more lighthearted: your prostate.    I’ve gotten the impression in recent years through various awareness campaigns, often designed to send people racing in…

I get a lot of polite comments about my writing style. Sometimes people say “insightful”, often they say “accessible”, occasionally they say “Where’d you learn your grammar? The jungles of New Guinea?” But mostly they say I’m funny. I’m perfectly happy with this. Foremost because being funny can excuse one…

First the good news. My Italian is coming along molto f*cking bene (that’s really how they talk, I’ve found my place in the universe). I’ve decided to get gonzo with my ‘vanity language’ by attending free community Italian classes for foreigners five days a week at the local high school….

The Italian is not coming along as fast as I had hoped. I expected that I’d be speaking like Roberto Benigni in just a few days. Just review some grammar, get a fix on the accent, a few vocab adjustments here and there, zip-zop I speak Italian. But no. Unfortunately,…

I have a love/hate relationship with staying in hostels.  I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I tend to be 12 to 17 years older than most of my hostel-mates.  Hearing stories about spring breaks, or worse, their recent prom, has finally stopped giving me little embolisms.  What’s…

I kid you not.  I was in shorts just this weekend and this morning I wake up to snow!  It’s October 12th for chrissake! You may be thinking, “Yes, but Leif, you’re in Minnesota.  Derr!  These things happen.  Hasn’t 24 hour darkness set in already?  Don’t polar bears forage for…

Paris was everything I’d anticipated and more. In three days, I spent nearly $200 in food and drink, gained about five pounds and took innumerable pictures of quintessential Parisian scenery like the snap below. Now before you fly off the handle and write your congressperson condemning me for being a…

That’s right suckers, I’m calling dibs on this one right now. Chuckle if you want, but I guaran-effing-tee you that space tourism geared for the average schmuck will happen in our lifetime, thus the need for a space guidebook written with flair and authority. I’ll go out on a limb…