In 2011, I…

(An accounting)

In the year 2011, I…

…lived in 3 time zones and on 2 continents and visited 3 new countries.

…made dozens of new friends, tried dozens of new foods, took thousands of pictures and wrote thousands of words.

…made my first website and infographics, and was published in newspapers (or on their websites) in at least 10 new states.

…earned a Masters degree.

…rode a motorcycle for the first (and second and third) time.

…traveled by myself to foreign places (although not always in foreign countries).

…spent too much money and didn’t earn enough.

…joined a gym.

…played with tiger cubs.

…got a little better at recognizing and appreciating kindness in others, and a little less naive about recognizing evil in some.

…got a little better about staying in touch with friends far away, but not good enough.

…rekindled a few old friendships left alone too long.

…got a little better at conquering some of my fears and bad habits, but not good enough.

…didn’t do enough cooking or baking for myself.

…didn’t capitalize enough on some of the opportunities I had.

…enjoyed the hell out of the opportunities I had, even when I wasn’t always taking full advantage.

…slept too much.

…watched too much TV.

…caught up on my reading list, at least a little.

…finally got an iPhone (even if it was used, and won’t work at home).

…walked. All over. For the hell of it. Usually with my camera.

…rode a bicycle, for the first time since I was a kid.

…fell in love with new places, new ideas, and new experiences.

…learned that it was just fine not to make too many plans (but having some is nice).

Happy New Year to you, wherever you are. May you look back on 2011 with no regrets, and forward to 2012 with all the hope the future can hold.

C@mbodia D@ily | Boat Carrying Aid for Flood Victims Sinks

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

C@mbodia D@ily | The Fall and Rise of the Phnom Penh Cyclo

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

C@mbodia D@ily | Land Disputes Center Stage At Conference

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

C@mbodia D@ily | Direct Flights to Australia in Sight, Official Confirms

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

Keeping score

I sent a version of the following lists to a few friends a little while back. Thought it would serve as a good update on how things are going here in Cambodge.

In my first month and a half I:

• Watched Prime Minister Hun Sen play in a friendly soccer match where the teams comprised of officials from Cambodia and Thailand’s governments, and where the PM would plant himself in front of the goal, wait until someone gave him the ball and attempt (often poorly) to make a very straightforward shot while everyone else watched and then wildly applauded. But mostly, a bunch of old, out-of-shape SE Asians on a soccer field. Just… picture it.
• Stood thigh-deep in rotting rice and floodwater to photograph a farmer whose entire crop has been destroyed. My accompanying story, which ran in last weekend’s paper, is definitely my favorite piece I’ve done since arriving at the Daily. (The Daily has no website.)
• Eaten:
  

C@mbodia D@ily | USAID Increases Funds to Fight Human Trafficking

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

C@mbodia D@ily | International Rugby Matches Come to a Close in Phnom Penh

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

C@mbodia D@ily | Legends Cinema Takes Aim at Controlling Pirate Movies

The strange title of this post is due to a no-internet policy by the Daily’s publisher. Still, this work is now several months old, and I’d like to share some of my hard work with my friends and family.

A rant on fairness, credibility and bias in journalism

I disagree with a lot of what The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf (the author of the quote on the sign that got Caitlin Curren fired from her WNYC job) says in his political posts, but this commentary is spot on.

That ought to be the pitch that newspapers and public radio stations make to their audience. It might go something like this: “Yes, the field of journalism attracts more liberals than conservatives, more Occupy Wall Street participants than Tea Party ralliers, more urban dwellers than rural Americans, more college graduates than people without degrees, more Democrats than Republicans, more English majors than math majors, more secular people than religious people — and although we value diversity of thought, experience and world view on our staff, the core of our value proposition is that we’re accurate in our reporting, fair-minded in setting forth arguments and perspectives even when we don’t agree with them, transparent about who we are, attune to our biases and constantly trying to account for them, and insistent that we be judged by our output, not our political or religious or ideological identity, or what we do on weekends. Judge us by our work, and if you challenge it in good faith we’ll engage you.”

[Read the rest of his piece here, it's excellent.]

Journalists are the most widely informed people around because it’s in the job description. So when journalists as a rule coalesce around an idea, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s right, but there’s a good chance that it is (there’s no excuse for pack reporting though… that’s laziness), assuming that the reporters are doing their homework. And I’ll bet that they are.