Comment Control

It's still raining here, but I got to see the sun briefly during my morning run. It was quite exciting.

New responsibility at IHT: creating discussions. I created this one about the U.S. response to Iran's missile test launch. We have to create a discussion in order to allow readers to comment on a story. The majority of stories do not have discussions, and thus do not allow comments. We also have to go through each comment, and approve it before it appears on the site.

Coming from the blogging world, this is strange to me. We allow comments on every post, and they're automatically published (though we do have to occasionally unpublish a comment if it's offensive). Comments allow readers to interact with the story and each other (and are also a great driver for web traffic). At the end of the day, journalism is all about sharing information and creating a community through the creation of common knowledge. Online news sites should embrace reader comments. But I'm a blogger... what do I know?

I know that the comments were hilarious on this post we did on Above The Law. A reader sent us to a North Carolina law firm's website, which has serious and fun bios for all of its attorneys. I did some photoshopping to combine the images (see left) and added some commentary, but the images really spoke for themselves. What a fun firm.

Though the comments on that post are mainly humorous/fun ones, there are some ATL posts where the comments contain really interesting debates and raise serious questions about the law and the legal industry. Comments are important for more than just building community.

Food victory of the day: I went to a grocery story in IFC mall and found mochi, one of my favorite foods in the world. It's a Japanese snack made of glutinous rice pounded into paste with a sweet red bean filling. So good.

Forecast: Rain, Rain and More Rain

Today marks the elapse of one week spent in Hong Kong. It is also day five of almost-constant rain, with no end in sight. See the forecast from weather.com:

Apparently, 60% translates to "all the time" in Hong Kong.

My newest duty at IHT is laying out the scores for the sports section of the newspaper. This is bizarre to me, due to my relative lack of interest in sports and the expected death of the physical page in journalism. (I have noticed that the Tampa Bay Rays haven't been doing so well, Dad.)

It's kind of quaint though, and nice to catch the tail end of this form of journalism (assuming it is the tail end). It's good to have "I remember when" stories. Mine will include, "I remember when..." there was no e-mail or instant messenger, people didn't have cell phones, call waiting was a novelty, Facebook didn't exist, we had to register for classes in person (high school) and by phone (college), gas cost 99 cents per gallon, and there was such a paper as the International Herald Tribune and I worked there.

For the web part of my internship, I have moved from finding one image per article to finding lots of images and making slideshows. See this series on a new world heritage site in Cambodia. The Preah Vihear temple sits along the Cambodia-Thai border; Thailand originally backed Cambodia's application to UNESCO, but then changed its mind at the last minute due to internal pressures. Too bad for them. Update: Thailand's foreign minister has been forced to resign over the hullabaloo. (I tracked down the photo of Noppadon Pattama for that article.)

The internship doesn't have built-in writing opportunities, but I would like to work on a few pieces while I am here. Some folks back in the States expressed interest in my freelancing for them and the IHT is open to pitches for possible online publication. The problem is coming up with ideas. All I can think about at the moment is the incessant rain.

Traveler vs Tourist

In preparation for NYU, I am reading The New New Journalism by Rob Boynton, my dean in NYU's magazine journalim program. He's a big part of the reason I chose NYU over Columbia and Northwestern. I received a personal e-mail from him back in February about my admission. We talked on the telephone in March and he answered all my questions about j school and whether it was a good move for me at this point in my career.

In contrast, Columbia and Northwestern were much colder, sending the standard "you've been admitted" letters in March/April and encouraging me to learn more through attending their open houses. Don't they realize that I'm Gen Y and expect to be loved and coddled? Columbia's initial admission e-mail was actually addressed to "firstname lastname" due to an administrator's misadventure with Microsoft mail merge. NYU's personal touch in the admissions process meant a lot to me, as an indicator of how I will be treated as a student there.

Anyway, so I am reading this book, which is a series of Boynton's interviews with "America's best nonfiction writers on their craft." The first conversation is with Ted Conover, a specialist in undercover journalism. For various books, he has ridden the rails with hoboes (Coyotes), worked as a Sing Sing prison guard for 10 months (Newjack), traveled around with Mexican illegal immigrants (Coyotes), and studied Aspen celebrities as a local cab driver (Whiteout). Boynton has since recruited Conover as a part-time professor; I met him when I visited NYU and found him inspiring and soft-spoken.

Boynton asked Conover about his need to live among and as the subjects of his stories, rather than gathering information solely from interviews. Given my current adventure in Hong Kong, I found this passage from his response particularly resonant:

I suppose what I am getting at is like the distinction between tourist and a traveler. The tourist experience is superficial and glancing. The traveler develops a deeper connection with her surroundings. She is more interested in them-- the traveler stays longer, makes her own plans, chooses her own destination, and usually travels alone: solo travel and solo participation, although the most difficult emotionally, seems the most likely to produce a good story.

I visited Hong Kong last summer for a few days, as a tourist. Settling into the city this time around feels very different, satisfying in that I expect it will become a comfortable place by the end of my two months here, but also intimidating as I don't have the luxury of breezing through without really getting to know it.

Being separated, emotionally and geographically, from friends and family is difficult, but I am appreciating the opportunity to leave my comfort zone. At least for a short period. I feel a sharpened awareness and increased sense of observation, as so many things are new and different, or, alternately, striking in their familiarity.

Speaking of my surrounding's familiarity, I met a friend this evening in Lan Kwai Fong, one of Hong Kong's nightspot districts. With people spilling out of its many bars and wandering the streets under the influence of alcohol, it bore a distinct resemblance to 18th Street in D.C.'s Adams Morgan. I've been known to compare 18th Street to one of Dante's circles; Lan Kwai Fong is not that bad-- it's just a little too heavily populated by expats for my taste.

Food victory of the day: Dim sum for lunch at Maxim in City Hall. My taste buds were in heaven. Fried taro, steamed pork buns, dumplings galore, some crazy ginger tofu soup... a dim sum dream come true.

Not Just Fetching Coffee and Dumplings

I spotted another great public service announcement/directive today on a digital sign on the Hong Kong MTR (aka the Metro). "Live healthy. Make sure you get adequate rest and sleep." I found it amusing, but it's certainly sound advice.

Day 2 of the IHT internship. My hours are going to be 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. I'm excited for long morning runs, though I was thwarted today by rain. I met the two editors with whom I'll be working on Olympics coverage. I admitted to them that, in the past, the sports section has been the only part of the newspaper that I immediately discarded. They just laughed. I will still be admitted to the "Olympics pod--" we'll be claiming an area of the newsroom for our team. My hours may be pretty crazy come August, as we'll be working with a 1 a.m. deadline for the Hong Kong edition of the paper.

As for the web part of the internship, my main responsibility so far has been finding photos to accompany stories. It's pretty fun, and reminds me of image searching for Above The Law posts... without the opportunity for creative Photoshopping. I chose a migrant worker/pollution/Bird's Nest photo from Reuters for this story on the month countdown to the Olympics. My second choice was a bunch of industrial excavators scooping algae out of the sea near Qingdao for the Olympics sailing regatta (See the New York Times story on this).

Food victory of the day: I've discovered a tasty Indian restaurant around the corner from my apartment building: Indian Village. I introduced myself and let them know they'd be seeing me frequently in the next two months. I doubt I'll be doing much cooking on my little two-burner countertop plug-in. And yes, our fridge really is two feet tall.

"Stay safe and have fun"

It's a rainy Sunday in Hong Kong. I went out for brunch (ricotta pancakes with strawberries and mango-pineapple juice) with my roommate, but am planning to stay in for the rest of the day. Brunch at the Peak Cafe was delicious, though I am definitely eating more Western food than I expected.

Being jetlagged has been good for my running. I woke up at 7 a.m. both days this weekend and went for loooong runs, as a result of getting lost a desire to explore. I found a great 5-mile route on Bowen Rd., with overlooks of the city and tons of other runners.

Yesterday, I hopped on a bus and went to Repulse Bay Beach. It was not repulsive at all! Haha-- bad joke. Hong Kong consists of over 200 islands, so there are lots of beaches for me to discover. I was very amused by announcements that came over loudspeakers in Cantonese and in English. One announcement encouraged people to check that their large umbrellas were firmly planted in the beach so they would not blow away and hurt people. Another gave instructions on safe swimming (e.g., stretch, don't rely on flotation devices, wait to swim after eating). It ended with "stay safe and have fun."

The announcements made me think about the idea of "careful cultures." I think the U.S. is often thought of as having excessive rules and procedures, due to a fear of litigation. Hong Kong and China seem to have a similar style; I am noticing that there often seem to be elaborate instructions and directions on how things should be done.

In contrast, I was thinking back on my 2001 Europe trip with Kate. In Interlaken, Switzerland, we went canyoning (think shallow canyon river, wet suits, big jumps and zip lines). I don't think the Aussies who ran the operation even had us sign a waiver of our right to sue if we got injured. As we drove up the mountain, without safety belts sitting on the floor in the back of a big van, the guides told us about a group that died the previous year when a storm came and the canyon was suddenly flooded. I asked if they worried about being sued. The guide said something like, "It's not like in America. Here, you assume the risk when you do something stupid."

So I guess my idea of a careful culture is one in which risk does not rest solely with the individual. So it's in the interest of those in power to issue lots of directives to help people protect themselves. It could be fun to put a bunch of countries on a "careful culture" spectrum. Which I would do if I were into that. Instead, I'll just show you a photo of HK dollars. I love the Monopoly money that other countries use.

Goodbye, D.C.; Hello, Hong Kong

Happy Fourth of July from Hong Kong. After 29 hours (door-to-door) of travel, I have arrived at my little apartment in the mid-levels of Hong Kong. (That's my bedroom at right.) My summer roommate is a manager at the Four Seasons; her staff helped me out at the airport, assisting me in buying a SIM card and a train ticket. My Hong Kong cell is 6214 6693.

My roommate met me at the train station and walked me to the apartment on Peel Street-- it's just a block from the escalator and in the heart of a great restaurant and bar district. (The escalator=the world's longest outdoor escalator which runs from Central Station, up through the Mid-Levels).

The apartment is cute, though super-small. Our bathroom sink is in the shower (see photo); our refridgerator is smaller than the mini-one I had in my college dormroom; and the "stove" is a little countertop 2-burner plug-in. A NYC apartment is going to seem luxurious by comparison. But my bed is comfortable and I slept a good seven hours last night, waking up at 5 a.m. today. I consider sleeping in until 5 a.m. to be a sign of jetlag recovery (as opposed to waking up through the night).

I feel excited to be here, though it's strange to be so far away from all my loved ones. The week or so of farewell events in D.C. helped me mentally prepare for the departure. The reality of "Goodbye" eventually sank in. At the same time, the sad farewells were strange to me. In the E-age, even if you're on the other side of the world, you're still hyper-connected. I'll be keeping up with everyone via Facebook and likely chatting with folks frequently via e-mail, Google talk, Skype, etc. The distance seems imagined in a way. Though the 29 hours of travel made it seem all too real.

Time to get ready for my first day of work at the International Herald Tribune.

One Week Til Hong Kong

I leave for Hong Kong on July 2. The "when to go to Hong Kong" section of my Lonely Planet guide warns against traveling there from May through September, due to the oppressive heat and humidity. A friend of mine there now reports that his sunglasses fog over when he steps outside. I guess I'll be giving up running outside.

As my start date at the International Herald Tribune approaches, I am starting to wonder exactly what I'll be doing there. Hopefully, lots of web-related stuff. I also know I'll be working closely with the sports editor on Olympics coverage. And laying out sports scores for the newspaper. Hopefully, I will develop an interest in sports this summer. At this point, it's the section of the newspaper that I immediately discard.

Unfortunately, I won't be getting anywhere near the Games in Beijing. I have noted that the equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong, so maybe I'll get out of the newsroom to help cover those.

One week til take-off!