The first one caught my eye because it is about a guy who lives in a cave in Moab. It’s called “Could you survive without money? Meet the guy who does.” It was in the latest issue of Details. It is basically about a guy named Daniel Suelo who used to be a college professor before swearing off modern capitalism, and reverting to living off of the land.

The author follows Suelo around Moab, documenting the way that he subsists from dumpster diving, eating road kill, and sleeping in a cave.

I confess that the main reason that I was interested in the article is because it involves Moab. Frankly, I would be very surprised if Suelo is the only guy in Moab who lives in a cave. As I was reading it, I thought that his ideas also probably seem pretty tame compared to some of the other philosophies that abound in that region. It certainly is a beautiful place to be homeless though.

I also thought that the idea of swearing off money was an interesting one. It is a quick read, so even if you hate it, you won’t be wasting more than a few minutes. Christopher Ketcham is the author. The photo is by Mark Heithoff. Here is the link.

The next article that really grabbed me, this week is called “Never Forget,” by Michael Patemiti. The article ran in the latest issue of GQ. I am not sure how to best describe this article. I want to call it deeply disturbing, but it is also a heart-breaker. Definitely only read it, if you have a strong stomach. The story details the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

The author focuses on one labor camp specifically, called S-21, where roughly 15,000 Cambodians were tortured and murdered. The story also catches up a couple of the seven people who survived the camp, as well as telling the story of the former Khmer Rouge operative who was in charge of running the camp.

I definitely recommend this story, not only as an extremely moving story, but as a fantastic piece of journalism. Here is the link.

When I say hate, I mean loathe, in the strongest sense. I firmly believe that the irresponsible sensationalist TV journalists talking heads, are directly responsible for a lot of the economic problems that we are currently experiencing. I was in the firm dining room today, when I happened to catch a snippet of a promotional spot for a special news report called “America’s broke.” I can’t even tell you how angry it made me. Yes, it is annoying that political leaders are trying to downplay the direness of the situation. But, making the statement “America’s broke?” What is wrong with these people? To dumb down the current economic atmosphere into the phrase “America’s broke,” is a misleading oversimplification, at best. Is the television news media attempting to incite pandemonium? Irresponsible garbage like saying “America’s broke,” is precisely the reason that JPMorgan’s stock dropped today, despite the fact that it announced is earnings early, to dispel rumors that it wasn’t doing so well. I don’t intend to libel Tom Brokaw, his picture was just an easy one to grab and post. But honestly, the American television news is sinking to new depths with their current campaign. I can just see all of the less sophisticated Americans, who rely on this bottom-feeding medium for information hearing the phrase “America’s broke,” and making a run on the bank. With the economy being so fragile and susceptible to perception right now, it is mind blowing to me that television news is shamelessly trying to put the nail in the coffin. Everyone is so up in arms, trying to hold “irresponsible” fund managers liable for losses. The most responsible fund manager in the world cannot do anything about a run on the bank and serial short-selling, both of which are motivated primarily by perception. So why don’t we instead, hold accountable, the sensationalist douchebag who came up with the tag line “America’s broke?” [descending from soapbox].