"What we do with the connections we make online after we close our laptops and turn off our smart phones"

I've talked about these two a bunch of times. I've been following them basically every step of the way - both in the literal and Twitteral sense - and I'm always excited to hear about their adventures, discoveries, and revelations. Here's a particular revelation that really stood out for me.

It is obvious to me now as I collect real-life relationships like souvenirs along the course of my travels, that the potential of social media lies in what we do with the connections we make online after we close our laptops and turn off our smart phones.

Isn't that beautiful? And it is the truth. I'm not a pessimist about social media. I don't think it makes true friendship fall apart. In fact, it keeps us more able to connect, and easier. Rather than moving somewhere leading to losses in friendships, it means I can always see what my friends are up to, and vice versa. It has changed things, sure, but I don't think in a negative way.

Anyway, check out Alex and Luke. They're great!

T C B

First of all - talk about a thrill! Today I get a direct message from @alexandluke (remember them?) telling me that I've won their most recent draw, meaning I get to choose their next destination. I had to choose between Tennessee, Virginia, or Missouri. I chose Tennessee - purely on the basis that it has 3 sets of double letters in it. Why not?

Update on the Reading Challenge: With 2 bus trips of 1.5 hours each this weekend, I got to work on finishing some books, and I did! I finished Cynthia Lennon's bio of John Lennon, entitled John, AND Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. A short word on each...

John: Beautiful. Captivating. Upsetting. A tribute. The book sent me in a million different directions throughout. I mentioned before that John seemed to be much more loving with Cynthia than I would've first thought, and he was, but once I got to the divorce... Good God! It was hard to see my hero acting in the way that he did. Anyway, I won't get into a lot of details about it, but it was a great read! Cynthia wrote beautifully and honestly. I think for all of us die-hard Lennon fans, it's a necessary read. He's human, after all.

Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs: Oh Chuck Klosterman - you are a pretentious dork, but I love you anyway. A lot of his essays went over my head (I think because I was born in '87), but so many of them rung true to me, and often made me laugh hysterically. In many ways, Chuck is the male version of what I would aspire to be if I didn't have more than one passion. Anyway, I certainly plan on reading more of his stuff, that's for sure!

Now I've gotta finish Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. It's a great book, but seems a bit more sophisticated after what I just got through with. I'll get back there though. And, what happened to my love for fiction? I've gotta get back to that, too!

All work and no play makes Gravy crazy

Ugh... 24 hours until I'm writing the last exam of my undergrad. I cannot find the motivation.

Distractions include:
(1) Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
(2) Season 6 of Entourage - I'm re-watching the series in prep for 7th season
(3) Alex & Luke - their charm is still too much for me!
(4) Anything but studying

Gravy LOVES: Alex & Luke

THEIR STORY :

In September of 2009, after a few unexpected life turns, we started planning this project. Restless with our current positions in our respective lives, we set out to see what would happen if we used the power of social media to enable an exploration of North America.

Without a route or any preconceived idea of what we will see and do, we are calling on the communities behind the most popular social media websites to act as our compass (pointing us where to go) and our guidebook (telling us what to see).

Equipped with a small car and a trunk load of equipment, our goal is to travel through every state, province and territory while documenting and sharing the experience through web videos and other internet content available at our website, alexandluke.com.

We will be exploring the gap between real-time relationships and online relationships and it is our hope that connections between these two realms will be made in interesting and unexpected ways. Every individual who participates and engages with alexandluke, both on and offline will play a role in our journey. Sometimes these relationships will be formed deliberately, and other times by pure happenstance.

The desire to explore has been with us for thousands of years. The geography of North America is relatively the same as it has been for centuries. The need to collect and share the travel experience with others is as old as is travel itself. But never before has exploration been so accessible and sharing been so easy.

Who we will meet, where we will sleep, what we will see, and even the most fundamental aspect – where we will go, are all unknown. The notion of directionless travel may not be a new one, but this wanderlust is both facilitated and shared through new social technologies in an internet-empowered world

We leave it in your hands to help us experience the North America that you think we should experience and you can do this in a number of ways. Regular polls will be held on the home page of our website, but you can also interact with us through Twitter (where you can vote and make suggestions), YouTube (where you can vote and watch our videos), Gowalla (where you can check in with our current location and visited destinations) and on our Facebook Fan Page (where you can interact with us and our other followers). Click on the Interact button on our home page to learn more.

We can’t wait to see how the story unfolds, and how your involvement will affect our journey.

Alex & Luke are innovative, fun, smart, cute, and totally plugged in all the time! CHECK THEM OUT!!!