take the money and stay home

Slow travel expert Ed Gillespie blogs at Futerra about the Ashden Directory DVD and tells a similar story about declining an invitation to fly to Chicago to take part in a conference on art and activism. He offered:

to take the money they would have coughed up for my hotel and air fare and instead make a film for them, with the option of a teleconference phone-in for post-presentation Q&A.

They agreed. His YouTube film is here.