en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/306969 Comments by Sandals http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14351726 @Sarah: I'm gonna stick my neck out and take issue with your position :P I think when you refer to "travel" you're limiting your argument to a particular kind of traveling -- the kind that most of us are used to. Planes cost money, hostels cost money, restaurants cost money -- but getting from Point A to Point B? Totally free. I could walk out to the highway right now with the clothes on my back and the money in my pocket (all of $3, sadly), hitch a ride, and be halfway down the coast by Wednesday. I could work for food. I could probably even find a way to get across the ocean for free. Is traveling like that *practical* for most people? No way. Is it *possible*? Absolutely. I think the point of all those "Travel For Nothing" articles -- or at least what I take away from them -- is giving people a different way to think about traveling (although I'll admit that I haven't had a chance to read Tim's article yet.) Not to say that people should travel for nothing, or that it's easy, but that it's possible. Once you realize that, everything else -- the plane, the restaurants, the hostels -- is just gravy, and taking that mental load off makes getting out the door and on the road a hell of a lot easier, which is a good thing. Just my humble opinion, anyways. Please be gentle. :D Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:23:15 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14351726 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14288382 Hear hear! Well spoken. Group hug? :) Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:54:57 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14288382 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14279298 With respect: What was his point? Perhaps I misunderstood, but the point I got was "I've seen people die, I travel for volunteer work, therefore I'm a more informed and compassionate traveler than the people for whom this post was written, i.e. all of you" -- at best, a generic gripe about overprivileged trustafarians, with no clear, specific relevance to the post. Judging from the replies he got on his original comment, I don't think I'm entirely alone in that assessment. Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:12:44 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14279298 http://matadorlife.com/10-tattoo-cliches-to-avoid-at-all-cost/#IDComment14276654 I have two tattoos. I drew both designs myself. They both have a lot of personal significance. They are most certainly not, in my humble opinion, lame. If anybody lumps my tattoos in with a goddamn TAZ tattoo, I will take them out back and arm-wrestle them. To death. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:44:39 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/10-tattoo-cliches-to-avoid-at-all-cost/#IDComment14276654 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14276264 Look, Tim: I think there are very few people on this site who don't appreciate that the ability to travel is an immense privilege. Likewise, I don't think anybody doubts that there are a lot of overprivileged, irresponsible rich kids who fly around the world to resorts and hotels, completely oblivious to anything approximating local culture -- the one's who *don't* appreciate what an immense gift travel is. I don't suspect you'll find many of those people here. Yes, we're privileged, and yes, many of us probably travel for travel's sake, not just to Mother-Teresa our way around some destitute third-world country, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. Still, I get the sense that a lot of the people who frequent this site travel mindfully, with the intention of sharing a cultural experience with people abroad and bringing what they've learned back home. That does have value and should be encouraged. So, essentially, as well-intentioned as you might be, you're preaching to the choir -- and coming off as a bit of a self-righteous asshole in the process. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:23:10 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14276264 http://matadorlife.com/10-tattoo-cliches-to-avoid-at-all-cost/#IDComment14254567 Beautiful :) I've always looked at these miniature crimes against humanity with the same bewilderment as mullets (probably no coincidence they're often found together): Clearly the idea came from somebody else, so it had to be either a case of "GodDAYUM that looks good! Can't wait to get me one of those!", or "Look at that idiot. I bet I could pull that off way better." Either way, I can't believe people are still intentionally getting this stuff done in spite of the overwhelming, well-documented body of evidence that it turns you into a walking punchline. Boggles the mind. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:07:13 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/10-tattoo-cliches-to-avoid-at-all-cost/#IDComment14254567 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14248685 Frankly, I'd be careful who I was condemning as "arrogant" while flashing my Witness to Real Human Suffering credentials around. I'm not sure how much more compassionate the experience of pain and death could have made you if you treat it like a gold star on your travel resume. Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:14:52 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14248685 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14247829 All very true. You could even approach it from the perspective that Tyler as a character isn't even concerned with cultivating an ideal body image -- since, as he says, "Fight Club became the reason to cut your hair short and trim your fingernails": That could just be what you end up looking like when you spend enough time beating the christ out of people in a dark basement on a regular basis. Maybe I'll try to incorporate that into my next work-out plan. Or, since Tyler's a mental construct, what you *feel* like you look after street fighting on the weekends... the layers! Where does it end! :P Seriously though, I don't want to take the spotlight too much off the point of your article, which was excellent. That quote, "I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect... let the chips fall where they may" comes to mind a lot when trying to plan trips on a financially-handicapped college student budget. Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:32:56 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2009/01/20/what-tyler-durdens-philosophy-teaches-us-about-travel/#IDComment14247829