During June and July 2013 my wife and I took our children, both born in China, back to see where they came from. It was an incredible trip for all of us. For my children it made a very abstract part of their lives real. For my wife and I it completed a circle we began in 1997. This is the fifth post in a series of stories about our trip. But if you know me, you'll know I'm attracted to the fringes of any narrative. That's where the memories are. I won't be giving any interminably long and boring...
Fairly Odd Parents-Present, News Outta My Control / 04.10.2013
Furlough: Day 4
On Day 4 of my forced time off I woke up to our local Fox affiliate's morning news program. First, a disclaimer. Fox 5 here in DC is not Fox News. Their connection is in name only. And our local Fox station has a much more professional approach to the news. A crew interviewed me last year when I had my ads in the DC Metro and that was one of the first questions I asked. It's clear the people on the Channel 5 morning news like each other and that...
News Outta My Control / 01.10.2013
Furlough: Day 1
I'm a Federal worker, working for the Smithsonian as a new media producer. And like all federal workers we have been furloughed because Congress has not appropriated any funding for this new fiscal year. This morning we were supposed to go into work to clean up, create "out of office" emails, and close up shop. It's often hard to describe what it's like working in Washington, DC. We are at the center of politics and everything that goes with it. It permeates our daily work lives. And, of course, these...
Commuting with Nature / 24.09.2013
Excuse Me Please
I had a wonderful commute on the DC Metro this morning. A few stops into my ride a group of teenagers boarded the already crowded car. Listening to them speak German, I discovered they were from Austria (picking up the word "Österreich" in their chatter numerous times). I took German in college. While I'm not fluent in any language other than English and Pig Latin, I can often know a phrase and can say it with such a good accent that people think I'm fluent. This is often problematic when they start talking with me and I have to admit...
A Trip Back Home to China, Fairly Odd Parents-Present / 25.08.2013
China: The Search is the Holy Grail
During June and July 2013 my wife and I took our children, both born in China, back to see where they came from. It was an incredible trip for all of us. For my children it made a very abstract part of their lives real. For my wife and I it completed a circle we began in 1997. This is the fourth post in a series of stories about our trip. But if you know me, you'll know I'm attracted to the fringes of any narrative. That's where the memories are. I won't be giving any interminably long and boring...
During June and July 2013 my wife and I took our children, both born in China, back to see where they came from. It was an incredible trip for all of us. For my children it made a very abstract part of their lives real. For my wife and I it completed a circle we began in 1997. This is the third post in a series of stories about our trip. But if you know me, you'll know I'm attracted to the fringes of any narrative. That's where the memories are. I won't be giving any interminably long and boring...
A Trip Back Home to China, Fairly Odd Parents-Present / 11.08.2013
China: Good Kitsch is Dead, Long Live My Good Kitsch
During June and July 2013 my wife and I took our children, both born in China, back to see where they came from. It was an incredible trip for all of us. For my children it made a very abstract part of their lives real. For my wife and I it completed a circle we began in 1997. This is the second post in a series of stories about our trip. But if you know me, you'll know I'm attracted to the fringes of any narrative. That's where the memories are. I won't be giving any interminably long and boring...
During June and July 2013 my wife and I took our children, both born in China, back to see where they came from. It was an incredible trip for all of us. For my children it made a very abstract part of their lives real. For my wife and I it completed a circle we began in 1997. This is the first post in a series of stories about our trip. But if you know me, you'll know I'm attracted to the fringes of any narrative. That's where the memories are. I won't be giving any interminably long and boring...
My wife and I are taking our girls back to China at the end of June. Now that they're old enough, we think it's important for them to see where they came from. That being said, where they came from is not what China is today. However, I have no doubt they will be amazed and, well, more amazed. This will be the first time we've been back since we adopted our youngest in 1999. So, many of the changes will be apparent to us. Yet, I want to experience the country through my daughters' eyes at least part of...
My revised illustration of writer Turley's four branches of the federal government. My version has an important addition. Jonathan Turely, public interest law professor at George Washington University, writes in today's Washington Post about the rise of the fourth branch of the federal government: the numerous agencies which administer and support many of the policies implemented by the traditional three branches of government. Turely, states at the beginning of his piece: The growing dominance of the federal government over the states has obscured more fundamental changes within the federal government itself: It is not just bigger, it is dangerously off kilter. Our...