David Jedeikin's Blog: Wander the Rainbow, page 8

"Two Years Ago Today…"

Hard to believe but it's already been two years since I first strapped on a backpack and jumped on a British Airways flight across the pond to begin my round-the-world odyssey.

A lot has happened in those two years — from a new American President to an economic meltdown to (in my own little world) a sister getting married and becoming pregnant with what will soon become my sixth nephew or niece. Oh, yeah, and that little book I wrote.

May the next two years be as momentous… though call me...

Celebrate Wander the Rainbow's Anniversary by Buying a Signed Copy!

Wander the Rainbow turned three months old today!

It's been an incredible three months, with sales both online and off, multiple book events, parties, and lots and lots of networking. And there's more to come: tour dates are being planned across the United States and, eventually, overseas as well. Check out our new Appearances page for more information.

Also, we're now offering those of you outside book-tour range the ability to buy signed copies of the book direct from the publisher...

To Burn or Not To Burn

I have something of a strange relationship with Burning Man.

On the one hand, the weeklong bacchanal out on the salt flats of the Nevada desert holds strong appeal — evoking paganism, Native American peyote-tinged personal journeys of discovery, and the myriad of music festivals common in the U.K. I first heard about it from a co-worker in Southern California some twelve years back — it transformed him from a somewhat uptight, opinionated sort to a mellower version of himself — and have...

Roads Not Taken

We are the sum total of our choices, say any number of books, movies, poems, and umpteen other forms of art and media.

I was reminded of that this weekend when two old friends, a couple around my age, came to town. I've known Alon and Devin for fifteen years, from my early coming out era when I was still an anxious, conservative, boy-shy twentysomething. The pair have been together since those early days and have remained in the same city — Toronto — that whole time.

I, on the other hand, have ...

Southern Comfort

Winging my way home from a solid week in the South… the longest I've been away from San Francisco since coming home from my round-the-world trip in April 2009.

Work was the impetus for this journey — in my day job as a user-interface software engineer I work at a startup in San Francisco with an office in the Atlanta suburbs. For a company of barely a hundred employees we're remarkably dispersed: in addition to the SF and Atlanta facilities, we have people in Austin, TX; Minneapolis, MN...

Eat Pray Love Review — and Thanks!

As promised, here's my review of Eat Pray Love on gay.com.

Whatever your feelings about the movie or book (no shortage of opinions pro and anti, it seems), I will say it boasts jaw-droppingly gorgeous locations and a few equally hunky guys. And Julia, of course!

Also a big thanks to all of you who showed up at Books Inc. last night; it was another very successful event and it led to some engaging discussions about travel and life changes. A special shout-out to a couple of guys who post on a

Reading TONIGHT… and We're in The SF Chronicle!

In between  all the news about California's gay marriage stay of execution, there also appeared this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle about Wander the Rainbow and the event tonight at Books Inc.

It's our first appearance in print media (and online of course as well)… for all the changes going on in that industry, it still holds relevance and sway… to say nothing of the feeling of seeing one's name in print!

Meanwhile, the Books Inc. counter (on their website) is ticking… we're looking...

Tomorrow Night in San Francisco at Books Inc.

The Wander the Rainbow road show continues — this time back in San Francisco!

Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 12) we'll be at Books Inc, 2275 Market Street at 7:30 p.m.

As the West's oldest independent bookseller, Books Inc. operates 10 stores in and around San Francisco — an example of an indie retailer more than holding their own during these transitional times in the bookselling business. We're thrilled to be holding an event at one of their stores.

More information about the event can be...

Wander the Rainbow Goes Hollywood! (Well, Sort-Of)

The folks at gay.com have deputized me once again — this time to go to the movies.

I'll be at a special advance screening of Eat Pray Love, the new Julia Roberts film based on the bestselling travel memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I didn't catch the book on its initial release in 2006, and only happened upon it midway through my own world journey. Gilbert's adventure differed greatly from mine — she did longer stays in a handful of countries, and her book is filled with the sort of spiritual...

…And Marriage for All

It seems a bit strange to be turning this book blog into "the gay marriage channel," but it seems that's the way current events are trending.

Barely a week after my own father married two men back in Canada, a court here in California ruled that the voter-backed ban on gay marriage in California, the notorious Proposition 8, is unconstitutional.

The play-by-play has been done to death so I won't get into it here, but suffice it to say that in spite of an election year that saw a Democratic...