As you go to or home from work today, possibly dealing with rain or very cold temperatures, trying to protect yourself from the swine flu or thoughts of the looming end of the world, think about what a little laughter can do.

The video starts off a bit slow, but give it a minute:

I love how the annoyed faces can’t help but start to smile. Hopefully it’ll do the same for you. Happy Friday!

What are some other ways to get people smiling? Share your thoughts below!

Feature photo: adobemac

Community Connection

Need some more laughter to take you into the weekend? You can’t help but bust a gut when you read Tom Gates’ piece, The Five Worst Pizzas In the World. And maybe it’s time to be reminded of why Southwest Airlines is Still Cool After All These Years. For more great travel videos, check out the brand spankin’ new MatadorTV.

Photo: gadl

It’s a tough day for travelers who like to explore outside of “acceptable” countries, as Iran charged the three American backpackers detained in July with espionage. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them.

So I was glad to come across something a bit positive happening in the world.

Project Explorer, who provides free cultural education programming for kids and teens, is posing the question, “What does it mean to be a global citizen?” They are asking that people make and upload a video answering this question with their own thoughts or experiences.

So far, the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Russell Simmons, and Ziggy Marley have posted their answers. Also, many other lesser known – but just as important activists – such as Scott Harrison of charity: water and John and Charles of…well, Chelsea, add their two cents on “possibility and action” and the importance “being nice.”

Find more videos like this on ProjectExplorer.org’s Good Global Citizen

Now comes your turn. We’re challenging BNT readers to make a video and add their own take on what it means to be a global citizen.

Where To Go For Answers

Need some inspiration? Beginning with desire in the form of a journal entry or a video can ultimately lead us to answers. As Valerie Ng explained in her article, Why I Disobeyed My Family and Traveled the World:

I documented my grand plans for international travel in a Spanish essay in high school…[after traveling abroad] it became increasingly apparent that the world was a fascinating place, and I wanted to acquaint myself with the myriad of cultures inhabiting the earth.

Or, look no further than Daniel Harbecke’s piece, How Travel Will Save The World. In it, he explains, “The belief that humanity is encompassed within a single community is called cosmopolitanism…[it] has come to mean “worldly” or “sophisticated,” but in the original sense meant a universal love for all people that rejects borders.”

And, if you have kids in tow, or plan having them in the future and hope to make them a global citizen, check out Karen Banes’ piece, The Educational Value of Long Term Travel with Kids. In it, she notes:

Kids on the road learn naturally. They learn about physical and human geography, world history, religion (although not just the dominant one in their country of birth), wildlife, nature, environmental issues, campcraft, cooking, art and science. They also learn manners, tolerance, and respect for other cultures. They learn to make friends, and say goodbye.

After you make the video and upload it to Project Explorer site, be sure to post the link in the comments section below.

Many thanks goes out to Matador member Linda Golden for alerting us that ‘The Colbert Report’ referenced a BNT article on last night’s episode.

The piece, Overweight Charged For Second Seat On Airplanes: Is “Fatism” To Blame?, was shown as part of Colbert’s introduction of Professor Amy Farrell. Farrell is the author of the forthcoming book, Fat Shame.

Colbert talked about the current US healthcare bill, which has an amendment that mandates lower premiums for people who lose weight. Along with the baby who was denied health insurance for being too large and Ralph Lauren’s dismissal of an “overweight” model, Colbert showed the BNT article and asked,

Oh, they [the overweight] can’t use the same seat as everyone else? You know who that reminds me of? Rosa Parks. [Looks left off stage] Oh, she’s thin? Then why couldn’t she sit up front?

Here’s the clip (article is shown at 1:31):

Canadian visitors can watch the clip here.

Unfortunately, Colbert grabbed the trademark for “weightism.” Damn you, Colbert! Then I’m trademarking “fatism.” Oh, that’s already taken, too.

Any time you see BNT in the news, please share it with us. We really appreciate it!

Here’s a previously unlikely combination of two of my favorite things, that I’m sure will come together more often in the age of organic açaí-infused energy drinks and late-night yoga jams:

Buddhism and Gangsta Rap. Hells, yeah.

What can the Buddhists say? Recruitment has hit the skids along with the economy. Can always use a llama-turned-woman-in-a-bikini to get the troops motivated.

Go total consciousness Lama Boy.

Community Connection

Buddhists aren’t the only ones who can rap. Southwest Airlines is still keeping it real as Julie Schwietert notes in Southwest Airlines: Still Cool After All These Years. And it’s not just about rap when it comes to Buddhism; alcohol may also be involved, as Ian MacKenzie ponders in Buddha Booze: The Practice Of Mindful Drinking.

Feature photo: utpala ॐ.

Need a little bit of a Baptist jam for your Friday? Check out this video:

I love about mid-way through when the guy is seriously busting out and the woman has to pull her kid back. Reminds me of when I dance in crowds.

Now that it has been sanctioned by the church, go on and rave your way through the day!

Community Connection

Learn how to start your very own dance party in HOW TO: Start a Massive Dance Party and what it means to break through cultural barriers through the common language of dance.

Feature photo: Michael (mx5tx)

Buddhism remains exotic for some, misunderstood by many. But the truth of the ideas discovered by the first Buddha 2500 years ago remain unmatched in their power to transform.

My own introduction to Buddhism came in the form of rubbing a pocket-sized Buddha’s belly before our high school basketball game. But since then, it took a chance encounter with a book to introduce me to the dhamma (teachings).

Recently, while browsing for SNL’s Motherlover educational video clips, I came across an entire series offering an excellent primer on Buddhism. And best of all… the online version is free.

Watch the entire 13 part series here.

Have you found any other great Buddhism resources online? Share in the comments!

Feature photo: natashalatrasha

This is simply too funny not to share.

Free Range Studios, the creative team behind such classics as The Meatrix, put together this clever parody of Star Wars. Their aim is to promote organic food instead of the industrial, chemical-laden food that has come to dominate most grocery stores.

Looking for more food articles on BNT? Check out these classics: The Ultimate Vegan’s Guide To Finding Food On The Road, and Dumpster Diving: The Easiest Way To Find Free Food.

If you didn’t know your passion in life, would you throw everything aside to search for it? Such is the premise for my friend’s One Week Job project.

Since February, he’s been traveling around Canada working a job a week, meeting new people, learning new skills, and generally experiencing continual uncertainty. It’s like traveling…on steroids.

And recently, he managed to drag me along for the ride.

I’ve taken on the role of filmographer – shooting, editing, and producing weekly episodes based on his jobs. We’ve spent the last few weeks in Toronto and it’s already been a wild ride: working at a brewery, a tattoo parlour, and now the largest cancer research hospital in Canada.

Episode #2 from New Tribe Tattoo Parlour was just published today. Have a watch, and if you like it, it would help both of us greatly if you spread the word. Any feedback is also appreciated!

We’re all familiar with the idea of traveling across geography, but what about time?

Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku presents his case in the above video clip. He also writes more about the idea in an article “The Physics Of Time Travel”

“Not surprisingly, time travel has always been considered impossible. After all, Newton believed that time was like an arrow; once fired, it soared in a straight, undeviating line. One second on the earth was one second on Mars. Clocks scattered throughout the universe beat at the same rate.

Einstein gave us a much more radical picture.

According to Einstein, time was more like a river, which meandered around stars and galaxies, speeding up and slowing down as it passed around massive bodies. One second on the earth was Not one second on Mars. Clocks scattered throughout the universe beat to their own distant drummer.”

If you want to go deeper, watch The First Time Machine and read the fascinating article Timeline Dynamics.

What do you think about time travel? Possible or wishful thinking?

Often more than writing, video can paint a picture of a destination guaranteed to inspire rabid wanderlust. For this reason, we’ll be incorporating more video clips into our mix.

Courtesy of Travelistic, here’s their top viewed travel videos from the week (including Japanese Meal above):

• Bali Spa & Massage
• Guide To Havana, Cuba
• Diving With The Sharks
• The Map in Jost Van Dyke

Any brilliant travel clips you’ve seen lately?

These days, everyone seems to agree the planet is warming up. What we don’t agree on are the reasons why: human caused or natural?

Personally, I figured the resounding consensus among the world’s scientists fingering humanity as the cause was reason enough, but what do I know?

Anyway, the short video above aims to silence this largely irrelevant debate in favour of the more pressing issue: what are the consequences if we choose a course of action…and we’re wrong?

Travelistic recently sat down with Michael Mandiberg, creator of Real Costs, a web plug-in that hopes to raise traveler consciousness by defining carbon emissions resulting from air travel comparative to other forms of transportation.

For more information visit www.therealcosts.com. (via Gadling)

While browsing around Youtube I came across this great video tutorial from Lee LeFever of TWINF and the previous RSS tutorial, who put this together last November near their end of their own year long adventure.

Lee walks you through the essentials you’ll need, such as a digital camera and a laptop, along with the various websites he used to publish his online travel journal, like Flickr, Drupal, and Bryght.

This option for a self-managed travel blog is for the tech-savvy, as it requires a certain amount of web knowledge and initiative to learn how it all works. If you’d rather keep your travel blog with a travel community instead, here are 5 good reasons.