Matador - Thinking Out Loud

The real cunsumption question:

TravelJeff — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 15:24:08 -0500

In a day and age when the majority of news casts, political debates and personal conversation involve some type of Global Warming talk, be it based on believing or discrediting the entire idea, I have often wonder if it really matters if its real or not. Should we, as responsible people, simply lower...

A Healthy Dose of Sketicism

Olivebeard — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:43:33 -0500

I'm not a particular fan of the Wall Street Journal. I'm also not a fan of global warming rhetoric. As the saying goes, my enemy's enemy is my ally.

Yellow Science

Quote:

Nevertheless, over the past several decades an increasing...

Economic Crisis

Olivebeard — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:20:20 -0500

When I decided to start writing for a living (or, "stop making excess cash", depending on how you look at it), some of my old brethren cast a bemused eye upon my perceived plight. In the months following that decision, I would be the butt of a great deal of innuendo about my new status as "poor".

I...

Come to my Beach Party, Memorial Day Weekend!

Ross — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:00:06 -0500

Hi Guys!

I know most of you are hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the Bay Area, but to those of you who live close to here, I'd like to extend an invite to a party I'm throwing over Memorial Day weekend, May 24th, 11am to whenever, at a house in Stinson Beach, CA.

There are so many...

Socialism and Other Dirty Words

deva — Fri, 9 May 2008 08:49:46 -0500

People like to joke about Canada being 'the 51st state', 'America Jr.', etc. And as I've traveled more in the States (and met more Americans abroad, too), I've learned just how much we do have in common. But there are plenty of differences, too. Here's one:

Socialism.

It still seems to be a...

Global Warming Nonsense

Olivebeard — Tue, 6 May 2008 07:05:58 -0500

Watch the web for climate change truths

Quote:

So a German study, published by Nature last week, claimed that, while the world is definitely warming, it may cool down until 2015 "while natural variations in...

Language Lovers

novoarte — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 11:08:37 -0500

For those of you interested in languages, there was a fascinating article in The New York Times a few weeks ago about Suriname that's worth a read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/americas/23suriname.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Longing vs. Belonging: one's sense of place

David Miller — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:23:05 -0500

This was from Mei-Ling's excellent blog "Another Bridge to San Francisco," about returning home:

"What I’ve learned through my hundreds of comings and goings, is that it is okay to feel an easy kind of belonging."

Indeed. That distance from longing to belonging--is what so many of us, it seems,...

Creative Generalist or Specialist?

geotraveler — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:16:56 -0500

Found this very interesting post - http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/blog/2008/03/11/is-it-better-to-be-a-creative-generalist-or-a-specialist/ - via Liz's WriteToTravel Blog - http://writetotravel.blogspot.com/

Same concept could be applied to travel writing

Check it out and share your thoughts

How did YOU find Matador?

novoarte — Fri, 7 Mar 2008 20:11:24 -0600

Share your story... how did you stumble on to Matador?

Treason is now the new AT & T

Olivebeard — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:55:34 -0600

In lieu of traveling, I read. Not travelogues though--I've found that they just depress me and make the relative comforts of my currently static situation seem unbearable. No, I instead read things that just p**s me off.

[url=http://www.thelegality.com/archives/26]Wiretapping, Telecom Companies, and...

Is BA/BS just a load of BA/BS?

Olivebeard — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:30:23 -0600

Seven years ago, I thought college was an option--literally, I thought that I had the "choice" of whether or not to go. This was based of two things: 1) the people who had degrees did not consistently exhibit any advanced level of critical thinking and 2) In the United States of America, hard...

How to: Defend America

Olivebeard — Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:11:19 -0600

My Notes: The following is an email I received from my brother. He is a distinguished Army Captain, currently attached to a Chemical unit in Chicago. More importantly, he's a talented musician/artist, a connoisseur of fine foods/liquors/beers, and a astute world traveler.

[i]His wisdom...

Super Tuesday

novoarte — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 22:21:13 -0600

If you're a US citizen and you live in one of the states where presidential primaries or caucuses are being held tomorrow, PLEASE consider exercising your right to vote.

HOW DO I FIND MY PRECINCT?
In Colorado (caucus):
http://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/voterHome.do

In California...

'Separate but Equal'?

deva — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:16:41 -0600

Troubling times in Toronto... This week, after a long campaign and a lot of debate, the Toronto District School Board voted to create an 'Afro-centric' school, aimed at tackling the high drop-out rates, gang violence, and other afflictions of the city's Jamaican-Canadian (and other Caribbean-Canadian)...

United States Presidential Election - Fool's hope?

Olivebeard — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:06:11 -0600

Almost eight years ago, my wife told me she put a checkmark next to "Bush" because "He looked cuter" (cute...in the "beanie babies and puppies" sense).

Back then, I hung my head in shame and almost called off the wedding.

Today, the roles have reverse. "Obama took South Carolina" she tells me as...