Think Snow!

Tweet These were taken in February '07 in Ala Archa Park, in the mountains, outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Big Boat Little Boat

Tweet A US Navy warship off Dili in late June and a Timorese fishing boat. These little boats can be spotted all around the coast.

Frank Rich on McChrystal

Tweet Here's a great opinion piece on last week's Rolling Stone article.

MTV in TL

Tweet MTV came to Timor-Leste tonight to generate awareness about human trafficking. Half a dozen bands and musicians played to a crowd estimated at 20,000. The main event was an Indonesian rock band -- Superman is Dead.

Intense Look

Tweet This guy lives in a cage with four others on the grounds of the Posada in Baucau -- the nicest hotel in the country.

Fallen Statues

Tweet The last time I was in Baucau, these statues were still standing -- at least I think they were. Now, they're a place to rest.

Brackish

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Water and Sky Just Off Baucau

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Stroll on the Beach

Tweet This man is taking a walk on a beach near Baucau -- Timor-Leste's second largest city. Baucau is about a three hour drive east of Dili, the capital. The road is not bad.

Sailing

Tweet I had the pleasure of joining a dozen colleagues on board the Vega to watch the sunset last evening. The sailing ship, built in Norway in 1893, is a beauty -- as you can see. The mast is actually older than Vega. It was taken from another sailing ship when Vega was constructed more than 100 years ago. Vega's currently anchored in Dili harbor.
Captain Shane Granger says his mission over the next two weeks or so is to provide humanitarian assistance to Timorese people -- in the form of medical and educational supplies.
The ship is 85 feet long and has three suites. Its cruising speed is 6 to 8 knots.
For more than a 100 years, Vega ferried cargoes of bricks, building stone, iron and cement.Hans Peter Christophersen, the head of mission at the Norwegian Embassy, presented Captain Granger and his partner Meggi Macoun with official Norway caps. Granger says his dream is to obtain Norwegian registry for his vessel.

Romain Gary aka Emile Ajar

Tweet I'm reading Promise at Dawn and it just might be the most beautiful book I've ever read. I don't write these words lightly.

The book, which is autobiographical, is a love story between Gary and his mother -- and yet so much more -- philosophy, adventure, self-discovery and lots of humor.

Romain Gary's descriptions are so unique. For instance, he recalls the first time he sees the sea and the profound effect it had on him. "I am unable to think of the sea as a mere 'it' - for me she is the most living, animated, expressive, meaningful, living thing under the sun. I know that she carries the answer to all our questions, if only we could break her coded message..." Page 104.

The book is full of observations like this.

At times, I laugh out loud -- as he finds humor even in tragedy.

Gary paints with words. The book is a work of art.

Juxtaposition

Tweet I was bouncing around in a pickup truck on a dirt strip along the Timor coast last weekend -- listening to the music on my flash key as I was dodging mud holes.

One of those songs, that I had forgotten was on the flash, was by Toni Childs. So, here I am driving right by the seashore when her song "Where's the Ocean" comes on. She just kept singing "where's the ocean, where's the ocean, where's the ocean."

I guess it was the juxtaposition of the song and where I was at that moment -- I suddenly burst out laughing. It just seemed so ridiculous.
Why the ocean is right here! You can see the white pickup in the distance.

Flickering Lights

Tweet Each afternoon, shortly after lunch, the florescent lights in the office begin to flutter. The UPS units, which provide a few minutes of battery power to the PC's, begin to beep and suddenly the office is plunged into darkness.

Life in Dili, lately.

The power interruptions are becoming more regular -- and are lasting longer.

Saturday, one line into the compound was off seven hours -- which meant no water. I also noticed the refrigerator was off -- so I re-routed it to a working outlet.

Today, the power went out and the generator worked, but it was sickly. It was belching smoke and whining most of the afternoon. I expect it will need replacing. When it runs, all the air conditioners must be turned off -- most computers don't work and we're lucky if the server -- which supplies internet -- keeps working.

Yet....we're lucky. These power interruptions are nothing compared to what people living outside Dili have to contend with: no power -- all day, every day. It comes on each evening at 6pm and goes off around midnight. Like I said -- we're lucky.

An American Tragedy

Tweet I had never read Theodore Dreiser's book "An American Tragedy." I don't even remember it on any reading lists from high school. I'm not sure why. It's a pity.

The book is a classic.

With his narrative, Dreiser's able to paint his characters in such a way as they leap off the page. I felt sympathetic toward each of the characters -- even Clyde -- I didn't want him to get away with what he'd done, but I still felt for him.

Dreiser, in some ways, reminds me of Dostoevsky, particularly "Crime and Punishment." Both books are powerful psychological dramas -- with the element of redemption-through-religion -- playing a role. Although in "An American Tragedy" Clyde is unable to make the leap to faith.

By the last few lines of the book, you realize Dreiser has come full-circle.

Tumble Weeds

Tweet You find this plant along the beach. The seeds are in the center of these spoke-like needles. When they turn brown, they break away from the main plant and roll across the beach and start life anew. They almost perform a dance as the wind moves them first one way and then another. This plant was photographed east of Dili at a place nicknamed "dollar beach." Locals, apparently, used to charge a buck to expats who wanted to use this beach. Today, it's free.