What should be the first thing that pops into your mind about India? Apparently, an expensive version of ‘The Biggest Loser.’HERE’S A NEW way to sell India: it’s like boot camp.Instead of your regular calming, relaxing (or at least eye-opening) yogic/meditative/slum experience in the country of Buddha, the Taj Mahal, and Bollywood, apparently the latest way to get Westerners into the country is to make it seem as if they have signed up at Gold’s Gym.

Human towers in Spain. Photo: flydimeMale oil wrestling in Turkey. Gingerbread craft in Croatia. Human towers in Spain.THESE PRACTICES, along with the Mediterranean diet, the French meal, and 41 other cultural traditions were recognized as 2010 UNESCO Intangibles.The Intangible Cultural Heritage Program was created in 2003 to protect the world’s endangered traditions, including songs, festivals, performances, arts and crafts, and local knowledge.

Nathan Myers takes us behind the scenes of his latest project, which looks at the lives of 25 different pro surfers, all filmed in a single day.THIS PROJECT IS A TESTAMENT to how small the world has gotten. How fast it is spinning. How cool that is.In late April, I watched a YouTube documentary called “Life in a Day,” in which people around the world submitted footage from their everyday lives and talented editors turned it all into a movie.

“So…what do you do?”IT’S A QUESTION I often fear to answer. I’ll be out, in a bar, at a party, wherever, and feel that strangely comfortable awkwardness come over me when I realize I’m about to meet someone for the first time. We’ll exchange names. We’ll play the name game to see if we know so-and-so through so-and-so or if they’ve ever been to this or that place.

Dostoyevsky can transform a dreary train ride into a downward spiral of hopelessness and despair.1) Notes from Underground by Fyodor DostoyevskyI read Notes from Underground while on my way back via train from a bike trip in northeastern Bohemia. The train ride covered about 100 kilometers, a perfectly bikeable distance, but I had decided that I was feeling lazy, so I bought a cheap train ticket.

Did you know there’s a website you can go to to anonymously vent or listen to someone vent?IT’S CALLED Compassion Pit. It’s simple. You don’t have to register or log in or post anything about yourself. You simply go there and choose to be either a Venter or a Listener.I’ve worked hard on being an understanding person.