I just needed to get this out and it’s going to take more then 140 characters. With the protests happening in Cairo and Yemen – and considering the fact that I will be in both places over the next 48 hours – I have (understandably) had multiple people ask me if I’m planning to document any of it. My honest inclination is that I have no desire to cover these stories. Yes, they are worthy stories to be told, but not by this storyteller. There are plenty of photographers covering the event and to be honest, the role I’ve been playing over the last 2 months has been to try and dig beneath headlines and find the stories that are underneath.

As much as Americans love to hear about peaceful assembly and democratic exercises, I’m also aware (with these things happening in front of my nose) of the way in which the Western media sensationalizes and plays up such events. I want, in my heart of hearts, for peace and prosperity for the beautiful people of Yemen. And if they want to organize and protest their (corrupt) government – I’m excited that they’re leaving their khat behind and doing that. But I guess I just feel a little… tired. Tired of seeing Yemen in the New York Times only when there’s an excuse to start the headline with Al Qaeda in the first sentence. And with Uganda – where they only make headlines when there’s a reason to show how corrupt and undeveloped they are. It’s not just that I’m an idealist – I promise - it’s more that I’m afraid we in the West are just going to believe the insipid lie that the only thing that makes a Ugandan a Ugandan is war and poverty. And the only thing that makes a Yemeni a Yemeni, is that he may or may not have strong ties with Al Qaeda. These are lies – and they are pervasive. These are people, not headlines.

I don’t know why this is effecting me so much. As I said, I’m tired. I’m at the end of a long two months of filming. And things that seem so black and white from across the Atlantic, are not only gray – but shades of every color in the rainbow when you look at them from a stones throw.

I guess I’d rather hear about the war in Uganda from my friends at Invisible Children – people who are not only informed about the war, but entrenched in the battle to end it – and deeply connected to the real people and culture of Uganda. Or my dear friends from Discover the Journey, who eat, sleep, and breath the stories of injustice they’re telling. These storytellers KNOW and COMMUNICATE that these wars, diseases, and corrupt governments are most certainly NOT what define these people.

CNN, The New York Times, God bless ‘em because I know journalism is a struggling field, they’re in many ways hustling. They’re selling an angle. And as one who holds Truth up as something to strive after, I’m looking for the real stories in the places I’m visiting and the people I’ve come to love.

“We want to hire a social media whiz (your title will be “Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent”) who will report on the cool lifestyle of Sonoma County Wine Country and, of course, tell people what you’re learning about winemaking.   Did we mention that the compensation was $10,000 per month Plus accommodations in a beautiful home in picturesque Healdsburg, a popular vacation destination in our neck of the woods. Working hours are flexible. And all you have to do is experience wine and good living…”

Now out of around 2,000 applicants, I was selected as one of the top 50.  But it only get’s more competitive from here.  So I need your support in a couple of ways so that I can get this amazing job!

1.  Please please please Watch and favorite my video.

2.  Follow me on twitter if you don’t already @LooseLuggage and RT about my video.

3.  Subscribe to this blog.  Tell your friends about LooseLuggage.com

4.  If you have a blog, re-post this link to your blog.  I can use all the publicity I can get.  Not that people need an incentive, but any blogger that posts this link to their blog will get a bottle of wine and t-shirt on me IF I GET THE JOB.  Just let me know you posted it so I can add you to my wonderful list (first 20 bloggers I should say…

5.  And lastly— if you really believe this would be the job for me, tell your friends, loved ones, enemies, co-workers, etc. etc. to watch my video as well.  If you can’t remember all this information, just tell them to go to www.tastethegoodelife.com (that’s GOOD with an E).

Big gigantic thanks to the Pelz’s for pushing me to do it and believing in me like crazy and to Marcy Guevara for her amazing encouragement and camera-holding ability in the production of my video.

And remember, you can just tell people to go to TASTETHEGOODELIFE.COM.

While I was in London, the siege on Gaza was just making headlines.  On the day after 360 Palestinians were killed from Israeli retaliation, a group of people gathered at the Israeli Embassy in London to make a stand and demand that their voices be heard on the issue.  I went over there with some friends to document the rally and show some solidarity.  At times it grew violent, with cones and police helmets being lit ablaze, fireworks being tossed from the crowd, and angry words being chanted.

My friend wrote an article the night of the protest (the first of many protests over the next month).  You can download it here.  Ben studied American Studies and wrote his thesis on American foreign policy in the Middle East.

As this is a very politically charged and complicated issue, and this blog is never meant to be a forum for argument (nor is it very conducive to it), be thoughtful about what response you might have.  But at its very core, hopefully the images help reflect some of the passion and anger that is aroused (regardless of how complicated the situation is) whenever one sees their homeland, and especially their friends and family, endure such suffering.

I got off at 72nd street and began exploring the tree-lined paths. I was amazed at how many lampposts there were. They were like stars when I stared ahead through the trees.

After walking for a bit and taking some pictures, I heard what sounded like a choir in the distance. I continued down the path until it opened up and I realized what I was hearing.

As big a fan as I am of the Beatles, I was not aware that it was the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. As is tradition, a crowd of young and old had gathered at 72nd street, Central Park West, “Strawberry Fields,” near the Dakota, to sing songs, and mourn the death of the walrus himself.

Now, I realize John Lennon was just a man, and a flawed one at that, but boy do I love his music. And there’s something about Beatles music that brings people together… I stood for an hour in the crowd belting out Lennon and Beatles favorites. We sang, among a lot of obscure songs, “Imagine,” “Give Peace a Chance,” “Happy Christmas! (War is Over)” and at the tale end “Hey Jude.” There was a band of several guys (young and old) with acoustic guitars, but when “Hey Jude” began, I swear, tambourines and shakers emerged throughout the crowd, and, I’m not kidding, the stillness of the trees was interrupted momentarily by a gust of wind that shook the last of the leaves from the trees which came showering down on our “Na na na nas.” My sore throat is more hoarse this morning then it was last night, but I don’t care. I will never forget last night.

I walked down a mostly culturally-mixed street, turned right and walked onto the property of a mostly non-white elementary school, and then followed the fluttering paper signs taped to a chain-link fence, between two dumpsters, and into a dingy, dimly-lit school auditorium to cast my vote in a wide-open little kiosk. I felt like i was voting in Botswana. And I loved it. I was a minority voting alongside diverse Americans. It was enough to make this generally-unoptimistic-unpatriotic-freedom-loving-American smile as I walked back from the polls.

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