The Long Absence

A full-time job, a part-time cycling obsession, journalism job applications to painstakingly craft, a wedding to plan and a house to refurbish. I have lost all sense of time and, unfortunately, all time to write. I have notepads full of half-developed ideas sprung from newspaper articles, real-world observations and things that came to mind while cycling, [...]

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People Perspective

You just never know…
A few years ago, as a college sophomore, I had lunch with a couple of my elementary school teachers. It was a surreal experience; teachers are people we never really get the chance to understand or appreciate. One of them I adored as a child. The other, a former nun, I generally [...]

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A new model for investigative journalism

American University to address the high cost and near-extinction of investigative journalism
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Washington state’s oldest newspaper, was put up for sale on the 11th and will close if no one buys it in the next 58 days. This is the extreme of what has been happening in the newspaper business as budgets are [...]

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Tips for Schmoozing (from a Washington insider)

I can’t tell you where I got this, but the author is a veteran political operative in Washington, D.C. Enjoy:

Tip 1: Have something to say
Tip 2: Hopefully the something you have to say is at least a little bit funny or interesting (note: interesting does not mean weird or shocking. That is an [...]

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Money to Erase Love

On the front page of the San Antonio Express News yesterday was a story about a teacher fired from the city’s all-boys Catholic high school after marrying a divorcee. The reasoning given for her dismissal was that her husband’s previous marriage had not been annulled, meaning he wasn’t “officially” un-married from his first wife.
I have three close [...]

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News Anarchy

Why, not how, do we consume news?
With the advent of news blogs, specialty magazines and partisan Web publications, much has been made of how people are consuming news in the 21st century. The choices available to tailor our experience have exploded beyond FOX or CNN, beyond NPR or Rush Limbaugh. But few are asking why. [...]

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Nothing says “Christmas!” like your face

Now, what’s the meaning of the season, again?
Ahh, the Christmas cards. As early as last week, they began arriving in droves, wrapped in brightly colored envelopes and embellished with gold and glitter. Almost all of them featured a photo of the sending family on the cover. I never thought much of it until today, when a [...]

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The Aftermath

So not ready for life outside the bubble - The personal, political experience of an ex-Washingtonian
The election gave me great pause to reflect on the American political experience. Witnessing the campaigns from Texas was somewhat eye-opening, considering I attended college in Washington, D.C., at a university often ranked the most politically active in the nation. It [...]

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Re-Gifting

“…Thank you for a voice to sing, ears to hear the music, each other, and your words … This season, we return these gifts to you in thanks…”
Those words were part of a prayer spoken by the music director at church last Sunday, as he led a full orchestra and choir through a beautiful service [...]

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Imperfection, Humility, Uncertainty

One of my longstanding struggles with religion is its obscuring of faith. I have trouble finding comfort in something that mires itself in details, dogmatism and judgements. I have trouble signing up for something that professes an adamant certainty - a certainty that allows its followers to discard their free will, and one so strong that it allows a religion to look down [...]

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