From the category archives:

Special Interest

An Extraordinary Life: Hobo Nora Chucks "Normal Life" For The Adventure Of Full-Time Travel

by Alan Rider

Since deciding to chuck all the trappings of a so-called “normal” life back in 2006, Nora Dunn has been traveling the world and chronicling her experiences on her blog The Professional Hobo.  Seeing as how this is an extraordinary experience an awful lot of people aspire to, I thought it’d be interesting to look at the full-time vagabond life Nora’s created for herself to see what we can all learn about living out our dreams:

What prompted you to do this? Does this lifestyle choice reflect a deeper philosophical outlook?
I was on the brink of my 30th birthday, running a successful financial planning practice in Toronto when a [...]

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Magic Man: 2 Places Where The Spirit of Houdini Lives!

by Alan Rider

Trolling around the internet last week, I noticed that today is Harry Houdini’s birthday.  Which got me thinking about the state of “magic” in our culture and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke’s famous quote:

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

In an era of computer-generated trickery ranging from software-doctored photos in magazines to entire computer-generated worlds in movies like Avatar, the idea of someone performing old-school prestidigitation seems almost quaint.  Just the same, anyone who’s ever been wowed by updated versions of these traditional magic acts as performed by the likes of David Blaine or Penn & Teller understands that there’s some part of the human psyche that truly [...]

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Into The Blue: 7 Of The World’s Most Unique & Unforgettable Diving Adventures

by Alan Rider

If you’re a scuba diver, it’s a pretty safe bet that you spend a fair amount of time dreaming of new underwater worlds to explore.  The problem, of course, is that with so many spectacular dive sites around the world, you may have a hard time deciding where you want to go next.
Fortunately, there are a handful of dive trips that qualify as truly extraordinary experiences. The kind of once-in-a-lifetime aquatic adventures you’ll be talking about to anyone who’ll listen for many years to come.
So to give a little focus to your wetsuit wanderlust, I’ve pulled together this list of what many dive travel experts believe to be the world’s [...]

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Blues Travelers: Memphis’ American Dream Safaris Offers A Chance To Really FEEL The Blues

by Alan Rider

If you’re more than just a casual fan of the blues—someone who can trace the connection* between blues legends like Lead Belly and Muddy Waters, for example—sooner or later you have to make the pilgrimage to the land where this distinctly American art form was born.

While you could certainly explore the area on your own, I’ve discovered an alternative that will help you get a lot more out of your visit.  Namely a plugged-in local guide by the name of Tad Pierson, a one-man college of musical knowledge whose decades of experience can help you develop a much greater appreciation for the music and the landscape [...]

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Fashion Designer Dreams: 4 Fab Ways To Make Your Fashionista Fantasies Come True

by Alan Rider

Not sure how to put this delicately, so I’ll just come right out and say it: I don’t do fashion.  Unless, of course, you consider cargo shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops to be valid fashion statements.
That said, I have a niece who reads every issue of Vogue cover-to-cover and has even started sketching out and stitching up some of her own creations.  Add the success of long-running television series like Project Runway and What Not To Wear and I’ve come to realize that there are an awful lot of people out there who share her passion for fashion.
Which got me to wondering if there was a way all these style-savvy folks [...]

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