Pandora's Box

Well-behaved women rarely make history.
Washington, DC remains one of the most beautiful cities to walk at night. That black marble at the Korean (pictured) and Vietnam War Memorials is incredibly beautiful. Reflecting on Flickr.

Washington, DC remains one of the most beautiful cities to walk at night. That black marble at the Korean (pictured) and Vietnam War Memorials is incredibly beautiful.

Reflecting on Flickr.

Note to self: install fire pit in future backyard. Campfire on Flickr.

Note to self: install fire pit in future backyard. Campfire on Flickr.

…if we believe in liberty, if we want the air we breathe to remain plentiful and breathable, this is the art whose right to exist we must not only defend, but celebrate. Art is not entertainment. At its very best, it’s a revolution.

—Salman Rushdie on censorship, at our new literary blog, Page-Turner (via newyorker)

Yesterday I held a baby hawksbill sea turtle, refrained from soiling myself while diving with sharks, and swam in a lake full of jellyfish. I also watched a German air traffic controller sing a flawlessly convincing version of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry.’ What a great country. Photos coming soon, but in the meantime: Full moon over Koror on Flickr.

Yesterday I held a baby hawksbill sea turtle, refrained from soiling myself while diving with sharks, and swam in a lake full of jellyfish. I also watched a German air traffic controller sing a flawlessly convincing version of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry.’ What a great country.

Photos coming soon, but in the meantime: Full moon over Koror on Flickr.

Sunset in Koror, Palau. It’s going to be hard to leave this island. Sunset + Moonrise on Flickr.

Sunset in Koror, Palau. It’s going to be hard to leave this island.

Sunset + Moonrise on Flickr.

Amongst the Majuro expat community, themed cake-baking is a bit of an extreme sport. I’ve previously posted the toilet bowl and the kiwi-sheepshagger cakes, but the cake I received for my birthday last night might be one of the best yet. They managed to capture my love for cheese, Scrabble, the Gators, cool whip, and comprehensive sex education, all while embodying my overarching nerdiness. Amazing. 

Amongst the Majuro expat community, themed cake-baking is a bit of an extreme sport. I’ve previously posted the toilet bowl and the kiwi-sheepshagger cakes, but the cake I received for my birthday last night might be one of the best yet. They managed to capture my love for cheese, Scrabble, the Gators, cool whip, and comprehensive sex education, all while embodying my overarching nerdiness. Amazing. 

Reason #58283 I love living in the Pacific.  Eneko on Flickr.

Reason #58283 I love living in the Pacific. 

Eneko on Flickr.

When Mac & Cheese Attacks

I’ve plugged this blog before, but it remains the greatest Peace Corps writing coming out of Ethiopia and makes me ashamed of the thousands of words of drivel I produced during my service. Also, his photos are incredible. Seriously. Stop reading my crap and head over there instead. And maybe send the man a care package while you’re at it.  

Armchair Critics, Moral Authority, & Agency

Excellent Atlantic article from @WrongingRights about #Kony2012 (in case anyone outside the realm of ‘armchair critics’ still cares…). 

It seems that the difference between an armchair critic and a person of moral authority is that the latter possesses a personal narrative that includes an eye-opening discovery of suffering in distant lands, followed by the decision to forgo the comforts of the developed world and risk life and limb to help…Kristof is lauded for a commitment to investigative journalism that doesn’t flinch from threats to his personal safety, but female journalists who put themselves in dangerous situations sometimes meet with very different reactions. Consider the case of Lara Logan. When the CBS reporter was sexually assaulted while covering the protests in Egypt last year, variations on the theme of “what was an attractive blonde woman doing there?” were a common response. Not only was there a conspicuous dearth of praise for her bravery in pursuing an important story in a difficult context, but many reactions denied her agency entirely, asking why her editors “sent” her to such a dangerous place.