Lil' Kims update

Hello Friends!
We've hit a milestone here in Seattle: Phoebe is two months old. I've been minding the homefront, Emma is learning her p's and q's (she 's taken to reading out signs while we're driving. Example: "Mommy, what does 'P-O-R-N' spell?" and Phoebe's favorite activities are eating, staying up late into the night and peeing while on the changing table. Doug's working hard at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/home/index.html, cooking amazing meals and getting peed on while changing Phoebe at the changing table. Life is good.
Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy. I hope you're not getting too overwhelmed by the holidays. Stay sane, stay safe.
Hugs,
The Kims

Mystery guest in Alaska

Whose eyeball IS that?
It's Karl Vick's. The Alaska corruption trials lured him north. See the FBI surveillance videos yourself, as seedy as can be, taken in Room 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, the state capitol. An oil guy bribing state legislators to hold down state taxes on oil companies.
But that's not the news. The news is, Karl Vick is visiting us. The first night, we met at Humpy's, a divey kinda place with decent food, cold beer. Another night, we managed to feed him at home, with Pete's marinara sauce. He's off to Iliamna to check out the Pebble Mine controversy. We hope to see him again before he heads south to sunnier, and warmer, climes. He's lookin' good, fellow Knights. And writing up a couple of good stories out of the far North. We sat around our kitchen table, dialing phone numbers to Knights, but only succeeded in leaving a phone message or two. Wishing you all well!/ Pete, Kathleen, and for a brief time, Karl

PS: Here's a better picture of us.

A name for Lentil

OK, we have a name. Actually, lots of names. Officially, our girl is Phoebe Keahi Ka-Young Kim. Unofficially, she has several more names. Her full Hawaiian name is Keahi Lanakila o Keola Mau Loa, which means the fire that will live on forever. And she also has a Bhutanese name, Dechhen, which according to the Bhutanese elder in our midst, means supreme bliss. As with Emma, these names have been given to us by respected elders, including Kale's mother, aunt, my parents, and of course, our friends in Bhutan. We picked Phoebe, although Emma voted against it. But when we mentioned it to the baby when she was still in Kale's belly, she kicked rather vigorously, so we figured that was the deciding vote. At home, we will probably just continue to call her Lentil.

There are more pictures on the flickr website.

User name = knightfellows2007, password stanford2007

International friends, if you have trouble getting to flickr, e-mail me and I'll send them to you individually if you'd like to see them. Again, thanks for your good wishes, which have poured in from all across the globe. It feels wonderful to know that our new baby has admirers in so many places.

More Lentil

thanks everyone for the kind messages...here are more photos....

Lentil meets the world

Hello dear Knights, we have some good news. Lentil is a girl! She was born on Oct. 2, 9:22 p.m. 6 lbs, 11 ounces. Kale is doing very well, she had a very short labor, and is now getting some well deserved rest. Lentil is sleeping on my chest as I write this, we just got home from the hospital tonight. We are all very happy (and tired), Emma is thrilled with her new baby sister. We miss you all and are thinking of our extended Knight family. Personally, I am very, very thankful that everyone is safe and healthy. We still don't know what we're naming this baby, but we should figure that out pretty soon. I will post more pictures soon...

Wired slams Rheingold

I was thumbing through my Wired Magazine this week when I saw a very funny piece on creating a sellable name for your next book.

At the very bottom, the writer totally slams Howard Rheingold. Some of you should remember Howard, since many of us took one of his classes (William took two of his classes).

If you're unsure of your premise, run it by Howard Rheingold. If it's any good, he'll claim to have been thinking the same thing since the 1980s.

Wow, that was harsh. Sounds like this author has had some dealings with the master in paint-drippy shoes.

check this out

Hey gang, we just published a series that you might find interesting. It's about the Gates Foundation's fight against malaria, and it's got a great deal of interactive storytelling devices. Note: I had absolutely nothing to do with this project. But I think it does a lot of interesting things to illustrate the problem and the solutions underway. I also hope we can use this blog to share things that we think are cool, either our own work or stuff we discover.

click here

McBride in Bhutan

McBride in Bhutan

Not Out Yet

Kevin wagered that Lentil would arrive on September 20th. Well, I'm glad the Chron has been treating you well buddy, because unfortunately this gamble didn't pay off. We are still one unit, Lentil and myself, moving slow and low, waddling around the house trying to make sure our check lists are in order.
Our due date is October 13, and although I thought Lentil would want to be more of a back-to-school baby than a Halloween baby, it is nice to have some extra time to adjust to the idea of the four of us--while I sit in my La-Z-Boy eating Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter.

Here's what our September looks like

One of the artists in Scott's department is working on a full-page graphic on sand castles, so she invited the whole gang to the beach for some "research".

From Alaska

The snow is here. Nope, that white expanse in the sky is not a cloud. It's
"termination dust," as we call it. The very first snow.

These aren't dramatic photos unless you live here. We know what's coming, despite the benign beginnings. That white line will just keep creeping down the mountain until it's all over your yard and your car. September 15, it is legal to put on your studded snow tires. No one does it until about October 15, when the smell of real snow is in the air. Or better yet, wait until the first big snow fall and one unnerving slip 'n' slide to work. That night, in the cold and dark, you will put on your studded snows.

This entry is absolutely just an excuse to say hello to all you 2007 Knights.

interesting reading

Hi all! I think this woman was in a couple of my classes and that some other Knights knew her too. Gotta run, throwing a Labor Day bbq using the bbq I inherited from the Kims and the Mexicans. Ms. Teresa Dunbar is expected to attend. Miss you all.
Justine

Stanford student journalist under fire in Uganda

BYLINE: By David Gauvey Herbert, The Stanford Daily; SOURCE: Stanford

LENGTH: 772 words

DATELINE: STANFORD, Calif.

Stanford University senior Katherine Roubos stumbled into a storm of controversy this week more befitting a Hollywood movie than a first-time journalism internship: religious leaders and hundreds of protesters rallied in the Ugandan capitol Tuesday, calling for her deportation because of her controversial articles on gay rights.
"I knew I was taking a risk writing about the issue, but the extent of the response has been totally unexpected," said Roubos, who has been interning at the Kampala-based Daily Monitor since July 2.
The backlash began after Roubos -- originally from Minnetonka, Minn. -- was assigned three stories on gay and lesbian Ugandans, who have become increasingly vocal in their demand for equal rights. The articles examined an ongoing gay rights court case, evaluated why police do not arrest gays and covered a press conference in which gay activists called for equal rights.
Homosexual acts are illegal in the East African country, and offenders may face life in prison if convicted. Many Ugandans are suspicious of gays and lesbians, and conspiracy theories that Westerners are working to repeal the ban on homosexuality abound. While other media organizations covered the press conference and court case, Roubos' nationality made her an easy target for anti-gay activists.
Tuesday's protest drew religious leaders, politicians and more than 200 of their supporters to a local rugby field, where they called for the media to stop covering LGBT issues. Protesters targeted Roubos along with the Aga Khan -- leader of 20 million Ismaili Muslims and owner of Nation Media Group, which publishes the Daily Monitor. A student band from a nearby primary school played drums and brass instruments to fire up protesters, who waved signs that read: "Deport Catherine (sic) Roubos" and "Agha (sic) Khan - fire Catherine (sic) Roubos - the homo propagandist."
Standing under a multicolored banner reading "Interfaith Rainbow Coalition against Homosexuality" alongside pastors, priests and imams, organizer and pastor Martin Ssempa railed against Roubos -- and he had done his homework. Ssempa said that he had performed a Google search and discovered that Roubos was involved with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Resource Center at Stanford, which led him to decide she must be a lesbian herself.
"This is not journalism, but rather criminal propaganda," said Ssempa, who held a young boy in his arms as he rallied the crowd.
Minister for Ethics and Integrity Nsaba Buturo was also on hand to represent the ruling party. Amidst the cheers of supporters, he assured the crowd that the government has no intention of repealing the ban on homosexuality before denouncing foreign journalists who advocate for gay rights.
"Allegations that homosexual elements have penetrated our media are being investigated," Buturo said before going on to describe homosexuality as a "weapon of mass destruction."
For Roubos, the experience has been profoundly frustrating. Stories about the protest have been syndicated in dozens of newspapers and on MSNBC and the BBC Web sites, winning her kudos from American friends and gay activists worldwide. But the local notoriety has been wearing on her.
"There were a few days where I was pretty nervous," said Roubos, who is working in Uganda this summer through the Rebele Internship Program in the Communication Department. "But I don't feel like there's any imminent physical threat to me."
Roubos said one of the most exasperating aspects of the controversy has been the implication that she arrived in Uganda with an agenda. While she is active in human rights issues at Stanford -- where she will return in the fall for one quarter -- Roubos stressed that all three articles were assigned to her by editors.
"I came to Uganda with absolutely no intention of getting involved in LGBT issues," said Roubos, whose editors have publicly defended her reporting. "When I got assigned the articles I was happy to do it, but I didn't expect to get embroiled in hefty political issues."
Perhaps worst of all, Roubos said the recent outcry has obscured the real issue: the Herculean efforts by Ugandan gays and lesbians to change the law.
"I can't say I'm surprised, but I am disappointed that the real news -- that people are debating the laws surrounding homosexuality -- could not catapult this into the spotlight," Roubos said. "I think it's too bad that you need an American martyr as a hook to make it an international issue."
EDITOR'S NOTE: David Gauvey Herbert is interning at the Daily Monitor this summer through the Rebele Internship Program.
(C) 2007 The Stanford Daily via U-WIRE

Hello from Brooklyn

Hi all, it's labor day morning, so quiet around here. Liz is still sleeping and the kids are in New Jersey with their dads, soaking in a last few moments of summer and the big New Jersey attraction, the drive-in, which I think is Jonah's favorite thing in the world right now. The threat of not getting to go actually got him to clean up the toy room.

I've been back at work about a week and a half. Some things about it are fun -- I love my colleagues and some of them were so happy to see me I got huge hugs upon my return. (Of course, some people don't even know I left, like the woman from finance I ran into in the bathroom who looked at me, surprised, and said, "did you get a new haircut?")

It's kind of a kick to be working on such a big story. It's also strange, since the candidates are spending all their time in New Hampshire and Iowa (and California!) and just about none in New York. So even though I'm in the thick of it I feel strangely out of it. Guess I'll be travelling myself soon.

And then there's all the bad stuff about WNYC, which I conveniently surpressed while I was gone -- like the inability to make decisions, or at least decisions about the newsroom. My job is supposed to be director of political coverage, which I'm doing, but I haven't got sign-off on new title or salary yet, which is frustrating.

Also, we were supposed to move to some nice new studios while I was gone, but the whole move has been delayed about a year, so we're still in the decrepid municipal building in Lower Manhattan, where we are practically hanging from the rafters theres so little room. It's about as far from Stanford as you could be.

And then work, a schedule, yuck. I'm really missing the Santa Cruz mountains, the Avery aquatic center, the main quad, and of course all of you right about now. Don't know how I can face Monday nights with no back stories.

blog e-mails

OK, I've set up the blog to e-mail posts automatically to everyone on the knights2007 email list. Let me know if this gets annoying at some point, we can try something different. (Posts get e-mailed, comments don't). And really, that's the last of it. I'm not sending out any more messages about the blog. Really.

Backyard Pics

The raspberries look yummy, Kathleen. Check out what's growing in my backyard:



Yup, that's a pineapple! I planted a bunch of them about three years ago, and finally I've got my first fruit. Some of the plants came from tops of supermarket pineapples that I stuck in some dirt to see if they would root. Others came from a friend who is a retired horticultural researcher. I don't know how long it takes pineapples to mature, but Mary says you can get them to ripen by sticking some apple slices around the plant. Not sure how my 7-year-old knows so much about gardening....



The orchid bloomed again. I discovered this plant hanging on the back fence about 6 years ago when I noticed a flash of color somewhere I had never seen anything but green. I've never done anything to it except hang it where I'm less likely to forget it exists. It would probably bloom more often if I sprayed it with orchid food once in a while.

Audrey has some flowers for you:

question

Folks, notice a new feature on the blog now, the little envelope which allows you to e-mail posts. Maybe this is one way we can get ruichun to see it. I'm also testing a feature that automatically e-mails new posts to her. I can set it up so that it automatically e-mails new posts to everyone who wants that feature, but I need to know who wants that.... can you let me know by leaving a comment here?

Test for Ruichun

This is a test to see if it gets to Ruichun. Ruichun, can you see this post to the blog?

Ongoing Projects

While most of us are getting into the swing of work or getting kids ready for school, I've also been working on "Project Lentil," which has me bigger and bigger each day. It's a bit frustrating not being as energetic to move our stuff in as thoroughly as I'd like, but I did find a way to move stuff in while still sitting in a comfortable chair: home office files.
It's not the most enjoyable job, but it has to be done and I may as well do it with my feet up. Here's a picture of my neatly organized piles of files. Now, for the other four to five boxes still waiting to be sorted!


Oh, and here's a picture of that first project I mentioned. The due date is Oct. 13...any bets on whether he/she will arrive on time?

Hi again, a short note

So, I came home from work tonight about 9. Pete came home an hour later. I cooked up some pasta and we had his great marinara sauce and some cheap wine, "twisted zin" 2005, California. Then I went and sat on the back porch in the dark with the dog, and Pete played the piano. Some pics, a regular working night in Anchorage. The night temps were perfect, warm really. Clare wanted to chew a bone outside, and I sat on the porch and thought, "This night couldn't get any more lovely." Then I decided to take some pictures of it, but they don't do the job. Here they are, little ones so they will go by quickly.

Checking in from the chilly north

Sheesh. I've almost forgotten how to post a blog item.

Anyway, we sent Maeve back to college Friday night. We ate dinner at the restaurant she's been working at all summer. She seated people at the tables, a delicate balance of staying on the good side of the waiters -- they want all the tables they can get, but they don't want too many so they avoid disgruntled customers. The restaurant is called Ginger. Maeve, right at the front entrance, is asked many times every night: Are you Ginger? It's family owned and fusion-Asian with Indian influences. Will they make it here, land of moose stew and salmon? We'll see. But they were good to her all summer and we had a great send-off before her all-night flight back East.

Pete has been on night cops since he returned, murder and mayhem, up to 11 p.m. every night.

I've been launching interactive initiatives. Stuff like prep sports up the wazoo with lots of user-generated (read: proud parent) content -- fairly low-hanging fruit, actually; and some video editorials, and learning the web site from folks too busy to teach it to me. Many hours of frustration. I think I'm gonna restart my old blog and describe the current events inside one small northern newspaper.

Above and below are a few recent pics.

The raspberries are real, in my backyard, but just about spent now.
Maeve is on a hike we took up Bird Ridge her last weekend intown, you hike straight up but turn around in your tracks for a great view of Turnagain Arm. We stopped up top to eat our stash of cheese and triscuits. Those are Peter's knees in the gray pants on the left, and I'm behind the camera....Ummm, some wild flowers. The dog Clare, who did her fellowship year in Anchorage.

Re-entry has been serious and hard. But we're glad Maeve is doing fine. It's good to be back near my brother Kevin, here in Anchorage. But the winter, she's a comin'. We hope for a pretty September. We miss you all! Making travel plans.

I had a dream...

The other night, we all went back to the Fellowship, except this time we went back to high school...

Knights and food

So today, Justine, Kale and I got a treat, we went out on a restaurant review expedition with Seattle Times restaurant critic Nancy Leson. Nancy is a hoot, always an entertaining meal partner, even if she weren't buying (courtesy of the Times). I'd post a picture of her, but then I'd have to kill you. (we jealously guard her anonymity, so she can review restaurants without getting special treatment.) I'll post a link to the review when she writes it in a couple of weeks. We ordered tons of food, it was all beautiful and very tasty, although the service was a little spotty. The busboy took our order, forgot it and then sent over a real waiter. It was one of those moments where you think, "kid, if you knew who you were serving right now, I think you would have written down the order..."

Mini Knight reunion!

So Justine came up to see us in Seattle tonight! She's sitting next to me as I write this. It was kind of like the old days, we ate a lot of food, drank some wine, talked late... Tomorrow we're all going to get up and go to the Creamery for a malt... OK, I made up that last part... but we will get a coffee. We think it's perfect that Justine's first trip for work was to Seattle.

Last outpost pulling out

Hey there Knighties -- it's after 1 a.m., and Car and Moll and I just finished stacking all our stuff into the garage. We load a truck tomorrow night, and then move back to Walnut Creek Tuesday morning. It's been fun here, but I'm ready to go home and be with my house again.

I'm also actually looking forward to knocking out some stories, even in this ever-frightening atomosphere. I've been visiting my pals from the Chronicle, and everyone is either freaked out or depressed. I'm going to try to cheer them up. Been down this road before, unfortunately, and I learned that all freaking out does is get in the way of doing the work - and of enjoying the work. It's doesn't help anything. So it's a waste of energy.

From the bits rolling in over email, people seem to be acclimating OK into their usual worlds again. I wish you all the best of luck!

For those who didn't see my desert pix via email, attached above is a photo of me and my brother Chris and his 17-year-old son Spencer at Pyramid Lake in Nevada. It's a wonderful desert lake in the middle of an Indian reservation; we had a blast swimming there. Great way to cap off my Fellowship year.

Take care, everybody. I look forward to more news from youse!

Hello from Alaska

We had a gorgeous weekend July 28-29, which had been preceded by many many days that were cloudy and overcast, if not downright rainy. Here's a few pix of our customary Sunday walk in the woods with dog Clare on one of the rainier weekends. That's Pete up ahead. I'm shooting from beneath an umbrella.















This black sky presaged the arrival of days and days of rain. The sky was almost this dark for about three days straight, only the streets were wet, too.

















But that didn't last, and finally, back in the park where we dog-walk, we enjoyed some gorgeous flowers. This garden is in a public park and dedicated to a boy who died running in the mountains of Chugach State Park at the age of 17. A vigorous mountain runner who slipped and fell, and died. His parents keep up this garden in the public park. You can often see his mom out there weeding. He's been dead probably 10 years or more now.
















In other news, Peter has been practicing the piano after we got it tuned (and is doing that right now, even). I've been riding my bike to work, 15 miles round trip every day. It's a very pretty ride. I ride on black-topped trails that go along Cook Inlet, Westchester Lagoon, and finally Chester Creek greenbelt. I only have to cross one busy street when I get to my newspaper. Below is Westchester Lagoon on a recent Friday evening on the way home from work.

















Here is a self-portrait of me on my bike at Westchester Lagoon. This reminds me of photos Ruichun showed me from her Stanford photography class when they were assigned to do a self-portrait. I stole her good idea.

















Kale will appreciate this next picture. (Because we talked about how hard it is to move back into your house and take possession of it again.) As soon as we moved home Peter had to change out our garbage disposal. About the third day, it went out. Kaput. As you might imagine, this is NOT something Peter likes to do.
















Here's Maeve, reading a book on the couch inbetween jobs on a Sunday. Mornings she makes lattes at Kaladi Bros. Coffee Company; afternoons and evenings she seats people at a new restaurant in town called Ginger. So the couch and a book are a welcome retreat....

hi gang...

Is anybody reading the blog anymore? I'm wondering if this is a good communication tool for us, or if we should just stick to e-mail. Kim family is doing well, I think we appreciated all the time we spent driving up here and getting settled, seemed good to just be together and watch Kale's belly get bigger. I've started work, second week now. Imtiaz had a story in our paper my first day back, and my co-workers were teasing me: That guy's already writing stories from Islamabad, what's taking you so long?

I think it's surprisingly easy to get back into the swing of things, I'm working in a new job, on the web site, in charge of the features pages. Interesting challenge, and I'm working really hard to apply my d.school training to the job. I've got postits up all over my desk, and I think people think it's a little weird, but that's good, right?

I asked one of my bosses to find a room somewhere in the building where I could really get in and get messy, paint the walls, throw silly putty around, whatever. They found me a room down by where the old, mothballed presses are. I'm looking forward to taking it over and using for a kind of training they've never seen before at the Times. We'll see how it goes.

Hope everyone's doing well, take care and keep us posted!

Doug

Alaska or bust

The weather on the ferry turned bad out of Bellingham. Here's a taste.


It didn't stay so nasty, thankfully.








During the bad weather, we had time to finish the NYT sunday crossword. Our digs looked more like this, a sleeping bag and sleeping pad spread out on a white plastic lawn chair, under the solarium where heaters in the ceiling kept us warm.

It's not Dead Skunk In the Middle of the Road, but ...

Here are the pieces I played on the chamber music recital. The guitar is pretty quiet in the recording, but we sounded much more balanced in real life. At, least, I think we did, but maybe it's just because I was sitting right next to him.

Posted by Ellen

Happy Knights dancing

Dance Revolution at John & Teresa's house

Crazy good barbecue and special rum drinks fueled a night of non-stop merengue and macarena with a little Devo and Long and Winding Road on the side. Out in the yard, acoustic masters played old folk and rock. It was a great night, with a big good bye to Margarita, who flies away Sunday.
>