In the March/April 2010 issue of AFAR: a feature about a dessert sushi I created in northern Laos in 2002, its ensuing popularity in the rural village of Muang Ngoi and immortalization in Lonely Planet, and my return last year to reclaim my legacy. For the opening spread, AFAR hired LA editorial photographer Jeff Minton to shoot me in San Francisco with the “falang roll.” Fun gig!
In the November/December 2009 Mother Jones I wrote about Paul Stamets, a charismatic mycologist, and our sailing voyage through the coastal islands off British Columbia looking for a rare mushroom he has found to be highly active against flu viruses, TB and smallpox. Stamets functions as an ambassador for an entire taxonomic kingdom, and has been elevated by some to a kind of cult figure. He’s listened to in a variety of unexpected corners—from the Defense Department and academic research institutions to environmental groups and Hollywood. His intuition of fungi has yielded a range of inventions, including a cellulosic ethanol fuel and a pesticide that kills termites.
http://motherjones.com/environment/2009/11/paul-stamets-mushroom
As I experienced working on this, you may not think of mushrooms the same way again…hope you enjoy!
I wrote and photographed the cover story, on Tajikistan, in the December 20 Travel section of the New York Times. I spent three weeks last August crossing the Pamir Mountains, along the Afghan border, a region known for centuries as the Roof of the World that figured along ancient Silk Road trade routes. Stupendous and fascinating.
The World, a weekday radio news magazine (a co-production of WGBH/Boston, PRI, and the BBC World Service) today aired a segment I recorded from Tristan da Cunha:
http://www.theworld.org/2009/10/28/most-remote-inhabited-island-on-earth/
In the October 2009 issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine I wrote a feature about ocean engineer Graham Hawkes and the sub that he secretly built with famed aviator and millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. Fossett died in a plane accident and Hawkes has continued developing his lightweight subs that fly like underwater aircraft. Also includes some of my photography.
Currently (through mid-October) I am in the South Atlantic on the world’s most remote inhabited island, Tristan da Cunha, for National Geographic Traveler Magazine. So remote and isolated that I had to ask a passing ship two months ago to take this message to the Internet.
It’s been a busy summer in movement: Algeria, Barcelona, Ireland, Vietnam, Laos, Tajikistan, Riga and Prague, with several returns back to San Francisco and New York in between.
Here is a story and photographs from the August 2nd, 2009 New York Times Sunday Arts section about a film festival held in a refugee camp in southwest Algeria. I had to take a charter plane from Madrid, and then drive 3 hours across the Sahara Desert with other festival goers to a very dry, hot and isolated camp of 25,000 Saharawi refugees. We were put up in homestays, ate lots of camel, drank lots of tea. The festival was organized by Spanish filmmakers to raise awareness about the conflict over Western Sahara, which the Saharawi people and Morocco have been embroiled in for three decades. A little known issue, a rather sad situation, and deserving of more ink than I was allowed to give it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/movies/02isaa.html
I like undeveloped, natural hot springs. So I wrote about that in the March 20, 2009 NY Times Escapes Section. An ode to soaking:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/travel/escapes/20Rituals.html
Iceland may be bankrupt, but at least there’s still pizza.
For the annals of food history, I give you – told now for the first time – the abbreviated story of how pizza first arrived in Iceland:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/15/TRL815SDNC.DTL
I have a cover story in the March 8, 2009 NY Times Travel section about a wonderful cross-country train journey I took last month. I also shot the pictures - The Times has posted 35 of them online - and recorded passenger voices that the paper turned into a nice multimedia feature. Check it out:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/travel/08amtrak.html
I’ve posted many more photos of the spectacular coast-to-coast trip here:
http://www.worldwebeyes.com/Amtrak/index.html
