"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my pleasure to do for it whatever I can." - George Bernard Shaw

I was on a rantum scoot (a journey without a set destination) the other night in my Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle and saw the above quote engraved on a bench in a tiny park. On the other bench was inscribed, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” by our little friend M. Ghandi.

I got to thinking; since there is this whole push for “Transparency in Government” these days, I think it is only fair that Jack Will Travel is as transparent as possible as well. Therefore I'm gonna be honest with you because you’re probably going to figure this out pretty quick – this whole Jack Will Travel thing is kind of a half-baked idea. Wait...No...

You know what? Strike that from the record. I take that back...

I think the better choice of words would be a “half-baked social experiment”. A half–baked idea would mean that Bret and I have not been thinking and planning Jack Will Travel 2.0 since we left each other in Amsterdam two years ago (at the tail end of Jack Will Travel 1.0).

Since it’s already been proven that I am a shameless self-promoter, and since we are speaking of transparency in Jack Will Travel, I’m going to share our “social strategy” at the moment, which is to find “connectors”. These are the people within a social circle who will connect with this project on some level (whether it’s the writing, photography, videos, the story, or indulging in the fantasy of doing something like this themselves) and push the idea out to their friends. I am always amazed at the power of these people within a “tribe” to spread ideas, music, or whatever they might be into. I wish I could find a way to measure their power to share ideas to see just how far and wide they can spread them. I find it so fascinating how one person in a group can open up a whole new group of people to an idea. And I do believe that ideas are - without getting too new-agey on your ass - real living things. I don’t think there is anything more powerful in the world than an idea. Just look at the quote above from our little buddy M.Ghandi, as I like to refer to him.

So here’s the deal – for this to be most effective for both you as a viewer, as well as for us as entertainers/jackasses/idiots/knuckleheads, etc., this experiment is going to require people - and the more people that are involved the better it’s going to be.

I like to think of it like this; both Bret and I have been in bands, and while I can’t speak on behalf of Bret at the moment (since I believe he is in transit from China to NYC), when I was in front of the stage and in front of a crowd, the more people that were present and the closer they were to us, the more energy they fed us. And conversely, the more energy we were fed, the better energy we put off and the better a time/party everyone had. (Knowing now that I was in a band, do you now see the roots of my shameless self-promotion? Bottom line is, if you don’t put the word out, ain’t nobody gonna show up.)

The more people that are involved in this project, the more outrageous the many possibilities and outcomes are going to be. All we know at the moment is that we are flying into Madrid on June 22nd and around June 29th we will be in Haro, Spain. Around July 6th, we will be in Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. What happens in between these destinations is up to you, the viewers. In the mean time, you will tell us where to go, what to do, ask us questions you might want us to address, or tell us things you might want us to do. The only other thing we know at the moment is that our responses will be in the form of photography, video, and writing.

And as for the overall story – well, I like to call it a little something I coined called sensationalized nonfiction. It is art in action. It's Improv out in the world. It’s choose your own adventure. It’s a story we (collectively) are making up, and we (Bret and I) are walking into as caricatures of ourselves - agents of rogue fiction. This is really going to be a grand, social-networking, community building experiment.

I can not comment on where Bret is at in this moment of his life since I have not seen him in two, but I’m feeling pretty fucking good for the first time in a long time, and I’m feeling like I am an antenna for ideas and inspiration (and perhaps you the viewer are the signal). I am ready to throw my pack on my back and walk off a very challenging year, ready to rediscover a lot of things about myself and the world, and I am open to any possibility, even if that means putting my/our destiny in your – the viewers – hands.

The sky is really the limit on this one (well, I guess our measly budget actually is). While I said I don’t really know where Bret is at, I have a pretty good feeling he is right there with me, in the midst of feeling a creative explosion about to happen in our lives and ready to take this production from Jack Will Travel 1.0 to Jack Will Travel 2.0.

Since you are already a friend of Jack Will Travel, and since we have already established I have no shame, if you are digging the idea and like what you see, I’m asking you to proselytize on behalf of Jack Will Travel. Tell your friends. Have them sign up on Facebook. Help direct our show/adventure/production.

New Web site is coming within the week.

Chapter 3