EXT. HOLLYWOOD - PRODUCTION COMPANY OFFICE - EVENING

A half-empty cup of coffee sits on a cluttered desk. Beside it, a laptop glows faintly, the screen displaying a draft of a screenplay—unfinished.

Outside the office, a car sits abandoned, its engine idling.

NEWS VOICE OVER (OVERLAY)

Rising screenwriter’s mysterious vanishing act—foul play suspected?

MONTAGE

• INT. AGENT’S OFFICE – A worried AGENT on the phone.

• INT. TEXAS HOME – A MOTHER posts desperate pleas on social media.

• EXT. TMZ HEADQUARTERS – A headline flashes: “Witness Protection? Burnout? Hollywood’s New Mystery!”

CUT TO: EXT. BALCONY - MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA - SUNSET

The vibrant skyline stretches into the horizon. A hand clasps a steaming cup of coffee.

The view pans up to reveal EDWARD — ME — looking out over the city.

ME (Voice Over)
Here’s the thing about disappearing—sometimes the most obvious clue is the one everyone misses.

FLASHBACK - A HAZY MEMORY

• Hollywood producer’s office.

• Glances exchanged over scripts.

ME (V.O.)

I was already three thousand miles away. Sippin’ on coffee that made Starbucks taste like dishwater.

INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT

A phone lies on a table, untouched. The screen is dark, gathering a thin film of dust.

ME (V.O.)

Let the world spin its theories. 

EXT. MEDELLIN STREETS - DAY

The bustling, colorful life of the city. Market vendors. Street performers. A completely new world.

ME (V.O)

Because I wasn’t running FROM somethin’. I was running TO somethin’.

CLOSE-UP: ME

Eyes determined, alive, and unburdened.

ME (V.O.)

And now, for the first time, I’m breaking my silence. I’m gonna tell you what REALLY happened.

BEAT

ME (V.O.)

Fair warning—once you hear this story… You might be tempted to disappear, too.

EXT. BALCONY - NIGHT

The city sparkles below. Edward turns, walking away from the railing.

ME (V.O.)

Because what I found here in South America, in the “City of Eternal Spring”…

BEAT

ME (V.O.)

Makes those Hollywood dreams look like small-town community theater.

TEXT ON SCREEN: TO BE CONTINUED…

Welcome to the FIRST edition of A Texas Nomad! 🎉 

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Since this is our very first newsletter, let me take a quick moment to introduce what you can expect from A Texas Nomad.

This space is dedicated to sharing the tools, stories, and inspiration to help you reinvent your life🌟—just as I’ve done.

Here’s a taste of what’s to come today and in the future of ATN:

• 📦 The GEAR, WEAR, and STREAM Guide: Handpicked recommendations to enrich your life, from travelcore ✈️ to a Gabriel García Márquez masterpiece or a book on creativity that’ll spark new ideas.

• 💪 Tips on Reinvention: Practical, step-by-step guidance to transform your health, mindset, and finances 💵—helping you build the life you deserve.

• 🛠️ The Texas Nomad Toolbox: A curated collection of strategies, hacks, and resources to help you, whether your desire is changing your physical location or redefining your current space.

• 😄Good Old Fashioned Fun and Pretty Pictures: Cause that’s rad, too. 📸

YouTube's data shows the 40-60 age group is their fastest-growing demographic. This isn't surprising – you've built careers, gained expertise, and have real knowledge to share.

Let's be clear: the market is tired of 20-something "gurus" selling surface-level advice— “coaching” people how to digitally draw six-pack abs into their dating profile. (hint: Body Tune).

Many of us are hitting that sweet spot – kids heading to college, decades of professional experience, and finally, time to create. And, say it with me, so much room for activities.🕺

We want depth, from people who've actually faced challenges, managed teams, and built real success.

You might have thought YouTube was for younger generations. The data proves otherwise.

If you've got expertise and have considered creating content, now is your time. Whether you're 40, 60, or 80 – your knowledge has value. 💡✨

I'm doing it. You should too. I’ll show you. 🚀

The Most Versatile Item in Your Travel Arsenal 🗺️

There's something magical about finding the perfect travel companion. Sometimes it's not your significant other, your expensive gear, or your latest tech gadget – sometimes it's a humble scarf.🧣

As a Texas-born traveler and someone self-described on social media as a “Cultural Drifter,” I've discovered that this basic piece of fabric might just be the most versatile item you can pack.

The Many Lives of a Travel Scarf

Picture this: You're catching an early morning flight out of George Bush Intercontinental, and the air conditioning is cranked to arctic ❄️ levels.

Your scarf becomes a cozy wrap, keeping the chill at bay.

A few hours later, you're walking through a sunny plaza in Oaxaca, and that same scarf transforms into a stylish sun ☀️ shield, protecting your neck and shoulders from the intense Mexican sun.

But that's just the beginning. Let me share some creative ways I've put my trusty scarf to work:

• Emergency Bag: Tie the corners together, and suddenly you have an impromptu market bag 🛍️ for those unexpected purchases at a local mercado.

• Picnic Blanket: Spread it out on a patch of grass in Zilker Park 🌳, and you've got yourself a perfect spot for an afternoon snack.

• Privacy Screen: When that hostel bunk in Hat Maya doesn't quite offer enough seclusion, your scarf can become a makeshift curtain.

• Sand Shield: A quick shake, and it's a barrier between your camera gear and the sandy shores of Roatan 🌴.

• Mojo Rizzer: Feeling a little down in the step? Add a scarf as flair 💃 and watch it rizz you up instantly.

• Pillow: Roll it up tight, and you've got neck support for those long bus rides through the Hill Country 🚌.

The Perfect Travel Companion 🎒 

What makes a scarf truly remarkable is its negligible weight and space footprint in your pack. It won't weigh you down like specialized gear might, yet it can solve dozens of problems you'll encounter on the road.

It's the ultimate example of minimalist travel philosophy – doing more with less.

A Note to Our Readers 📩;

As ATN grows, we look forward to bringing you detailed reviews of specific brands and products.

While we're currently independent, unsponsored, and remain unaffiliated (keeping our reviews as authentic as the Texas spirit 🤠), we're excited to partner with craftspeople and companies who share our passion for quality travel gear in the future.

Are you a maker or brand representative with scarves or other travel accessories that you'd like us to review? We'd love to hear from you. 💬 

Our readers trust us for honest, hands-on recommendations, and we're always looking to discover and share exceptional travel gear with our community.

Until then, we'll continue bringing you our real-world experiences and practical travel insights, straight from the road, no strings (or should I say threads?) attached. ✨ 

Netflix Finally Nails the "Unfilmable" - A Texas Nomad Take on 100 Years of Solitude 🎥 

Look, I've got a confession: Before Shakira taught us all that hips don't lie, my introduction to Colombian culture came through Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."

(Though Shakira, if you're reading this, I'm still available for that coffee.)

Netflix just dropped their adaptation of this masterpiece, and for once, they didn't screw it up. In fact, they threw $100 million at it and somehow managed to capture the magic that made so many of us fall in love with the book.

Here's the deal: Magical realism isn't just Harry Potter in Colombia. It's where weird supernatural stuff gets treated like it's no big deal, while everyday things become mind-blowing.

Márquez (or “Gabo,” as he’s affectionately called) didn't invent this style, but damn if he didn't perfect it.

What's got me excited is how my Colombian friends are reacting. These folks, who normally roll their eyes at Hollywood's attempts to portray their culture—we all know what dark subject matters are usually tackled—are actually stoked.

They're pointing out details about folk magic and superstitions that might seem like Netflix making stuff up, but are actually deep cuts from real Colombian history.

There is nuance, and in nuance is art.

The casting is spot-on. José Julián Gaviria and Carmen Villalobos bring the young Buendías to life without making it feel like a telenovela, and Jorge Alí Triana as the elder José Arcadio brings some serious theatrical gravitas to the screen, while ever popular Colombian actress Viña Machado gives enigmatic edge to Pilar Ternera.

Sure, it’s an old book about an old time. But here's why you should care in 2025: This story about isolation and family drama hits different after our recent global timeout.

The Buendías dealing with their town's isolation? That's us trying to maintain human connections in a world where everyone's face is buried in their phones.

Their struggles with progress versus tradition? That's us wrestling with AI and trying to keep our humanity intact.

The technical stuff is mind-blowing. Those yellow butterflies that appear throughout the show? They look real enough to make you want to swat at your screen.

And they filmed it in Colombia's Caribbean region, which means every frame looks exactly like what Gabo was writing about.

Here's the kicker: This shows that streaming services can actually handle complex, culturally significant stories without turning them into generic global content.

They let Colombians tell their own story, magical butterflies and all, and it works beautifully.

For those of you who haven't read the book (no judgment, it's a beast), this series is your way in. For those of us who've worn out multiple copies, it's like seeing an old friend in some fancy new clothes.

Bottom line: Watch it. Not because it's "important literature" or because you want to seem cultured at your next dinner party, but because it's a damn good story, told well, about a family that might remind you of your own – minus the levitation, probably.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being - An Intentionally Unfinished Review 📚 

I know what you're thinking. The FIRST (!!?) Newsletter, and Edward hasn't even read the book yet 📖🤔, just like back in school. But no, this is intentional—an intentionally unfinished book I'm about to review.

READ – Rick Rubin’s Creative Manifesto

I learned to speed read during college. In Paris, at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore, I once asked for a book on speed reading.

The clerk didn't appreciate that question, lecturing me about how "reading isn't a race" and how "Americans rush through everything."

She reluctantly sold me four cassettes in a plastic case, like one of those old Disney VHS cases—probably the first speed reading course ever available.

She shooed me out before I could explain that I wanted to speed read the mundane so I could slow read the magnificent—works like Brothers Karamazov or A Feast of Snakes. But that's Paris for you.

Enter Rick Rubin's book. For those unfamiliar, Rubin is that bearded Buddha figure with the duster in the Jay-Z video.

But this book transcends music—it's about creativity as a way of being. We all need creativity, and many of its principles defy common sense: slowing down 🕰️, deep understanding 🌊, knowing when to follow rules 📏 and when to break them 💥.

The book was written in collaboration with Neil Strauss, a longtime Rolling Stone writer (before his infamous pickup artist phase caused him to stare too long into the abyss).

While I joke that Rick might have just meditated upstairs while Neil did all the writing, the result IS something rare these days—a book meant to be savored. It's a compliment to say this book is NOT a page-turner.

Like the Tao Te Ching or a collection of poetry, its lines demand rumination. 🌀 

Following this philosophy, I've limited myself to a page or two a day, at 2 PM sharp. Around this book, I've built a meditation practice and created a meditation and visualization room, complete with a zen garden.

It's become my daily sanctuary—a master control room, a HQ, a cockpit for the brain 🧠. From my padded floor, I run my mental empire, each day reading a couple of pages of Rick's book, using them as somethin to chew over.

Two passages particularly resonate.

From page 1: "Creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It's our birthright. And it's for all of us."

And from page 114: "The artist actively works to experience life slowly, and then to re-experience the same thing anew. To read slowly, and to read and read again."

There are deeper insights and practical advice within these pages, but like meat in a crab's claw 🦀, they're better when you have to work for them. I'll leave you to find your own treasures at your own pace.

From the Hollywood Hills to the Colombian Peaks.

After years hustling stories through Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca, I've jumped into my most ambitious production yet – reinventing my own life.

I traded those studio lots for street markets, pitch meetings for mountain trails. Right now, I'm writing to you from a sun-soaked balcony in Medellín, Colombia 🌞🇨🇴, and let me tell you – this ain't your typical digital nomad story.

Look, this newsletter isn't another "quit your job and travel the world" manifesto.

It's about reinvention, whether you're dreaming of working from a sidewalk cafe in Split, Croatia, or just want to shake things up local style in Houston.

Because here's what I've learned: transformation can happen anywhere – it just wears different outfits depending on where you are.

Coming from Texas, where everything's bigger (it's not bragging if it's true), I thought I knew abundance. But Medellín? They've got their own Texas-sized spirit that feels like home wearing exotic cologne.

Take their hot dogs 🌭 – and y'all know I don't throw around food comparisons lightly, being from BBQ country. These "perros calientes" come loaded with everything: sauces, crispy onions, even a whole egg on top 🥚.

It’s my new life philosophy on a bun: say yes to everything, keep what works, toss what doesn't  🥳.

And the characters? Every corner store's got its version of local chismosos – characters out of Márquez arguing with the intensity of a writer's room during pilot season. A Melquíades a meter.

But let's get real. This jump from Hollywood producer to digital nomad wasn't just swapping one business card for another. It's about using today's tech to build something sustainable, whether you're in Medellín or Marfa.

These tools we've got now? They'd blow my younger self's mind 🤯.

Just a laptop and WiFi, and you can build empires, learn salsa from actual Colombians (I did that!), or run a global business from a café in El Poblado while eating buñuelos that make people come to try from miles around.

In Medellín, my mind was constantly flipped. Gargantuan, non-GMO avocados for fifty cents 🥑. The delicious coffee – they call it tinto – comes in tiny paper cups for pocket change, making Starbucks taste like that Michael Bay remake nobody asked for.

Every day here teaches me something new.

This newsletter? It's my new production, but y'all aren't just the audience – you're potential collaborators  🤝.

Whether you're planning to go nomad or just want to bring some adventure to your front porch, I'm here to share the tools, tactics, and knowledge to make it possible.

We'll dive into everything: building income streams that actually work, finding your people in strange places 🌎, staying productive with digital tools, and finding the best darn street food wherever you land.

Because if my years in filmmaking taught me anything, it's this: the best stories don't always follow formulas, and the most meaningful changes rarely stick to the script.

Sometimes you've got to embrace the chaos, say yes to that over-loaded hot dog, and trust that your next scene will be better than the last.

Until next time, y'all

Edward

P.S. And yes, there's a story behind why I chose Medellín. But no spoilers at ATN! 🚫📖

The Texas Nomad is my bold, and unapologetically Texan take on rebuilding life as a digital nomad 🤠, reinventing myself in a whole new country, and figuring out how to thrive when the rules don’t make sense anymore 🔄.

Expect these handcrafted, Wi-Fi-enabled gems  💻✨ in your inbox once a week—or as often as I can muster from wherever I am on the map 🗺️.

We’re just getting started, so stick around,  🛑, share the love ❤️, and feel free to forward this to someone who could use a little inspiration 🌟.

Here’s to the journey,

The Texas Nomad

And trust me, you're going to want to know how this one ends.

FADE OUT….🎬

P.S. PLEASE Donate to Los Angeles area charities if you are able in the wake of the tragic destruction🙏🙏🙏🙏For those who have asked, thank you, my house is still standing and ok, but so many friends and citizens have lost everything.

HERE IS A LIST OF LEGIT CHARITIES to get your help into the hands of those who need it.