Favorites

As part of his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series, my favorite San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll said, "Each week I am aware that one column is going to be the worst column of the week. I don't set out to write it; I try my best every day. Still, every week, one column is inferior to the others, sometimes spectacularly so." In maintaining my own daily blog, I've had my fair share of bad apples, many of the "spectacular" variety. But on occasion I get lucky.

Here are a few of the diamonds in the rough (in chronological order).

saturday, april 18, 2009
Akanese and Fipe
The secret lives of Samoan girls.

friday, june 26, 2009
That Darn CAT
The frustrating (in)formalities of administering the computer studies Common Assessment Test.

saturday, july 18, 2009
Waiting for Gālo
A Samoan-flavored homage to Samuel Beckett.

friday, august 14, 2009
Unintentional Poetry as Means of Killing Time
The fascinating things my kids write about when they have nothing else to do.

friday, september 18, 2009
I Made a Girl Cry
What a crisis. Public diplomacy at its finest.

friday, october 02, 2009
Up to the Maumaga
In the aftermath of the tsunami, I ride along with a family to a makeshift camp at their taro plantation.

tuesday, february 9, 2010
Sing-Along
The fun of teaching music without a safety net.

tuesday, april 13, 2010
Cultural Exploration 40: X-ray Stencils
Stencil art proves an unlikely-but-accurate cultural barometer.