climate change – The Dilettante's Field Manual

Swimming Against the Current

Two days with two National Geographic photographers on the edge of a salmon stream.

It’s hard to say where stories come from. It’s a sort of archaeological game that we tend to play if we’ve ever taken a literature class and made the wildly speculative assumption that such origins exist. The online journal Failbetter.com published my novella @SharkGirl79 earlier today, so I guess if there’s a moment to spendContinue reading “Searching for Shark Girl”

Hope and resilience in Bangladesh

I expected to travel to Bangladesh to portray stories of climate victims. I expected to see a graphic illustration of a nation that is dealing with climate change problems that they had no hand in creating. I expected to see frustration and maybe even righteous fury. But instead, I found hope, grit and determination. WhenContinue reading “Hope and resilience in Bangladesh”

In post-fact America, stories still win

A blog post from Inside Higher Ed about how we can fight the decidedly un-enlightened vision of the incoming regime.

Back to Burgundy – Three Days of Glory

Heading back to Burgundy to make a film about a tough year and a great wine celebration.

Zester Daily – Burgundians dig deep to face climate change

I returned to Burgundy for the first time since writing my novel Vintage.

Home for the holidays

Some food, travel and social notes from holidays in Central Europe.

Eating Poisson Cru in the tropics

Poisson Cru is French for raw fish. But as the local Mo’orean who told us about the best restaurant that serves it says, “the only thing French about it is the name.” It’s the traditional dish of the Society Islands, and much of Polynesia. We tried it in a restaurant run by a woman named Irene who, weContinue reading “Eating Poisson Cru in the tropics”