Up The Road (http://new-wp.uptheroad.org/?cat=67&paged=2)
Said it before and will surely say it again: Hostels are among the best travel bargains around, for travelers of all ages. And hosteling now, during the off-season, is ideal for Californians. You won’t meet as many international travelers, always an appeal of hostel stays. But you’ll have an easier time getting reservations where and when you want them—with the possible exception of special events such as whale-watching and the annual return of the elephant seals. (more…) Continue Reading →
At seven in the morning hundreds of blackbirds and several dozen crows forage on the grass in the field I walk and jog around for exercise. I’ve gotten to know their ways, a bit. Glossy black male Brewer’s blackbirds hop, cock their tails up, or send them straight back. Some drop their wings as in courting displays although nesting season is well past. The brownish females, dark-eyed, fluff up as round as English robins; at other times they affect a sleeker look. Continue Reading →
One scene alone in Chris Paine’s film The Revenge of the Electric Car is worth the price of Netflix rental. The occasion is the big spring North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Paine, behind the camera, is chatting up Elon Musk, CEO of the upstart Silicon Valley electric car (EV) company Tesla Motors. Serial entrepreneur Musk has rumpled the fenders of auto industry pros by betting his entire PayPal fortune that he can beat them at their own game. (more…) Continue Reading →
Not just “youth hostels” anymore, California’s classy low-rent accommodations welcome travelers of all ages, and certainly anyone with a mild sense of adventure plus a willingness to toss sleeping bags onto bunks. But these days, fresh linens and towels are the rule rather than the exception (no need to BYO bedding anymore) along with the option of couples’ and family rooms. (more…) Continue Reading →
Some people called it a murder mystery, others, an infuriating call to political action. Star of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Director Chris Paine’s documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? told this shocking tale in the form of a classic whodunit. The story began in California, where in 1995—inspired by news of General Motors’ groundbreaking EV1 prototype—the California Air Resources Board (CARB) created the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. (more…) Continue Reading →
Gasoline-powered cars stink. Just ask Chuck Alldrin. That’s no philosophical or political judgment. It’s simply an observation. It wasn’t until Alldrin started driving electric cars that he noticed how bad other cars smell. “You just don’t think of it,” he says. Continue Reading →
British and American people may jokingly refer to the Atlantic Ocean as “the pond,” but I’ve yet to hear American or Asian people make a similar joke about the Pacific. In fact, given the cultural differences between the United States and the Asian countries bordering the Pacific, it had not occurred to me that there was any such unity. Ming-Yi Wu’s novel, The Man with the Compound Eyes (translated by Darryl Sterk), changed this perspective for me. Set mainly in Taiwan, Wu’s story features a mix of cultures, including Han Chinese, European, indigenous Taiwanese and Pacific Islander. Ming drew my attention to the continuity of island cultures around the Pacific, and demolished my preconceptions of Taiwan. Continue Reading →
It was a natural step for Andrew Heben, the transition from the Occupy movement into creating collaborative housing for homeless and low-income populations. He became aware of the need for more and better housing options for the homeless during his Occupy days, in fact, as they drifted into encampments seeking safety and shelter. An urban planning student at the time, he was taught to “value the input of the people you’re planning for.” So for his senior thesis in urban planning he set out to find out just what the homeless want in the way of housing, by visiting tent-city encampments across the country. “What I found is that these camps are a lot more organized than they are portrayed in the news media,” Eben recently told a group of nearly 100 gathered at Bidwell Presbyterian Church several weeks ago to hear his thoughts on alternative housing options for the homeless. Author of the book Tent City Urbanism: From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages, Eben discovered “sustainable dynamics” in the camps he visited—direct democracy, economic self-management, mutual aid, and resourcefulness among them. Continue Reading →
Once Jay Shafer gets done explaining the virtues of tiny houses, you feel embarrassed living anyplace larger than, say, an obscenely spacious 500 square feet.
A key reason to live small – or at least much, much smaller – is that it represents the biggest step most people can take to minimize their environmental impact and live more sustainable lives. “The average American house consumes about three quarters of an acre of forest and produces about seven tons of construction waste,” says Shafer. “It emits 18 tons of greenhouse gases annually, and, at more than 2,349 square feet, it would most definitely not fit into a single parking space.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Surprisingly appealing, this self-satisfied city is so sure of its essential worth that it sees little need to primp and pimp for the almighty tourist dollar. Pasadena is low-key about its attractions, which are legion. Southern California boosterism played its part in Pasadena’s past, sure, but these days heavy-handed hype is notably absent. Pasadena simply allowsguests to enjoy its fairly civilized pleasures. And what a pleasure that is. Continue Reading →