There has been some talk on Foreign Policy and in the New York Times about the prospect of a so-called “Cambodian spring,” an uprising of popular sentiment in this beleaguered Southeast Asian nation roughly equivalent to the democratic drama that has unfolded across the Middle East. Sounds nice. But could it ever actually happen? As Prime […]
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Pollo Guisado ala Faine: Thank You, Los Angeles
Making pollo guisado was one of my better life-choices of late. I recently spent a couple of weeks in Los Angeles, the Land of the Taco and the Taco Truck and Putting Things in Tacos Like Korean BBQ. It’s sufficient to say that people in Los Angeles are really pretty remarkably serious about their tacos, […]
The Times Picayune Dies When We Needed It Most – New Orleans Tragedy
The Times Picayune is dead. Allow me to rephrase. The Times PIcayune will produce a “more robust” expanded print version three days a week. Many staff members who won’t “have the opportunity to grow with the new organization” will be fired. Those remaining staff members will be offered much smaller salaries, and will be expected to […]
#Censorship Fail: Repressive Governments Are Scared of Social Media – UN Dispatch
Social media is incredibly scary to repressive governments because it is just about impossible to control. Many authoritarian governments even look to incredibly censored North Korea and Eritrea as role models, instead of cautionary tales. Although the US government has announced sanctions against countries that try to block Internet access, international disapproval is unlikely to sway these […]
Pakistan Blocks Twitter Temporarily, Nothing is Achieved – And So it Should Be
Twitter isn’t behaving itself – posting links to a “Draw Mohammed Day” competition – and Pakistan’s collective panties have been throughly bunched. Or, they’re testing a new URL filtering system. Both motives are malevolent. If the aim was indeed preventing the spread of blasphemous images, it didn’t work. In fact, it had the opposite effect, as many more Pakistanis are […]
3DStereoLab is Awesome, I’m in Los Angeles
I’d like to direct your attention to 3DStudioLab, a truly awesome 3D production studio (with rentals avilable!) in downtown Los Angeles. Please “like” their Facebook page. Do it for me. Why? Well, I’m down here in LA helping these genuinely nice people get their social media presence up and running. Also, I get to play […]
Last Days of the Green Goddess: New Orleans
My friend and fellow Simon’s Rock veteran Laura Byrne was until last week a waitress and bartender at the Green Goddess, a New Orleans restaurant that was surely among the most creative in the French Quarter. The restaurant is undergoing a change in management. (EDITED: I earlier heard it was closing, but it hasn’t! So […]
Cambodia and Facebook
Turns out if you measure Cambodia’s Internet penetration rate by Facebook users instead of individual ISP subscriptions, the outlook for this notoriously off-line nation gets a lot better. Check it out. I’m working on a piece on this and the stats are rather interesting. Cambodia’s Internet penetration rate is dismal. Well, that we know of. […]
nola lights
I’m looking for a job in New Orleans. On my way to Los Angeles for a while. Let me know if you hear of anything in the dark swamps of Louisiana.
Cocktails and Curds, New Orleans
Behold the pleasing geometry of fine cheese. I shot a whole bunch of photos at the Cocktails and Curds booze-and-cheese pairing competition at La Thai on Prytania Street in New Orleans, with the help of the rightfully beloved St James Cheese Company next door. My Simon’s Rock friend Laura Byrne competed, pairing her English Beat concoction with […]