Comedian Pete Holmes on adjacent experiences: Conversations relating to Travel, dreams and life

To commemorate the great news that Comedian and podcast inspiration Pete Holmes will be the new companion show for Conan O’Brien’s TBS show, I proudly present a crosspost from 'Loz in Translation'

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When people say "everyone should travel", I think they really mean "people should experience many things", further still "everyone should collect as many feelings". The reason people enjoy books and movies is that it allows them to experience other people's narratives, to identify with someone outside of themselves. That's what travels offers. Whilst we may never truly understand what its like to be on your first international Rock tour or live as a vagabond. We can experience feelings adjacent to it.

Ego tripping in Portugal, having a parallel experience

Comedian Pete Holmes has a very introspective personality which I identify with. I also find him hilarious and profound. The podcast format allows artists to share intimate details and find their true voice not unlike what's offered over dinner or on a blog. Below are posts featuring podcast excerpts of Pete Holmes ruminating on life, I relate it to my own experience and travels.

- Pete Holmes' official website
- Check out Pete Holmes' podcast: You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Zach Cregger: Being a kid again - Cave Clanning in La Perouse, Sydney

Matt Besser: Travel coincidences and Counting the serendipities

Duncan Trussell: Traveling, living the dream and remembering it

Kyle Kinane: Being excited everyday

The Sklar Brothers: Performing, possibly failing - That's living the dream

Marc Maron: A question answered with a quote

'Cloud Atlas' director Lana Wachowski on the value of making art

'Cloud Atlas' (2012) directed by Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer

'Cloud Atlas' co-directors Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer discuss the holistic value of making art to Chris Hardwick for the Nerdist Podcast

Nerdist Podcast #275: The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer
LANA WACHOWSKI: (19m 50s) The film was made entirely as an act of love in the exact same way that all young filmmakers begin. The film has a purity of almost amateur intent because we didn't get paid, we put our own money into it, we mortgaged the house to pay for it and when you talk about "What is the value of things?". The value of this film no matter what it paid, we don't even think about it really as a potential financial reward. It will never really be equal to the value of what we've experienced making it, the value of having our lives intersect for this period. The value of making this piece of art that is unique and unconventional and has so much of our lives woven into it.

I mean everyday we keep saying "Oh my God, its so much like the movie". We keep using lines from the movie to speak, we don't even have our own original dialogue anymore. No matter what happens I'm so grateful for the fact that it exists and it will be there forever, it will always represent to me this moment in my life that has been so important. Money is such a small part of measuring the value of making art...

Backpacking Round the World Trip - A modern day "Hero's Journey" (Joseph Campbell)

<< crossposted on the 'Loz in Translation' blog

Are you about to embark on a Round-the-World trip? Have you recently returned from an epic adventure and wondering what to do next? Do you have a yearning to travel, voyaging to foreign lands, exploring exotic cultures and meeting interesting people?

It's the classic template for 'The Hero's Journey' as elucidated by Joseph Campbell, found in myths around the world and mirrored in popular works such as 'Star Wars' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. Whilst our modern day travels might not have the magic of these mythical quests, what with our GPS, crowdsourced tips and online booking there remains the sense of wonder and discovery even if the roads are paved and well-trodden. Myself, I prefer traveling with as little foreknowledge of a place as possible, guided by my instincts rather than technology. Its my way of preserving some sense of adventure.

If you've read even a few travel blogs, you might be familiar with certain tropes. Posts addressing whether long-term Travelers are running away or towards something. Advice on how to free oneself from the shackles of debt or comfort. These themes recur because they are part of the human condition, torn between needing to branch out and being rooted with our comforts. A cycle that began at birth.

Comparing long-term travel and Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's journey"

Whilst our trips may not be as outlandish as those found in legend, to us they are still the stuff of fantasy. People often remark that the treasure at the end of the journey was finding themselves, for a lucky few they may have even snagged the Princess.

VIDEO: The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell (1987)

The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell (1987)
NARRATOR: (43m 30s) The 'Hero with a Thousand faces' was the synthesis of years of work. In his book, Campbell outlined the Hero's Journey he had seen repeated in cultures around the world. He saw the hero as a personification of a Culture's mythology. Traditionally the hero might be a warrior, the ideal of strength and courage. An explorer, a founder of civilisations. A philosopher, an adventurer of the mind. And in the modern world, Campbell would add the artist and the scientist to the pantheon of heroes but the journey is essentially the same - One shape shifting story of the vision quest that transforms the world.

Whether it is Odysseus, King Arthur or Luke Skywalker. The hero is the one who responds to the call to Adventure. The stories often open with the hero appearing restless, something is missing in life, there is a feeling of destiny. It is a time for separation, sometimes it takes a shock to make the final break from the past and gain the final courage to accept the call. But noone can go it alone, everyone needs a mentor to provide wisdom and magical power...

The descent to the underworld of adventure is often blocked by dangerous threshold guardians. They mark the point of no return. Beyond them is the region of the unknown, a dreamlike labyrinth of tests and trials. To pass his initiation, the hero must become a Dragonslayer - seize the treasure or rescue the Princess. But the decisive ordeal of the quest is when the hero confronts death, he is challenged to follow the wisdom of his heart....

Find some of my favorite Movie posts below:
- Read more about the "Hero's Journey" (aka The Monomyth)
- Coming Home from a year abroad. Reverse Culture shock and beating the travel Blues: The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Home Movies: 'Before Sunrise' - "I've never been anywhere" quote
- Find all my 'Movie' posts here

- Traveling life as a movie
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Adventure