Volunteering at a turtle conservation project in Matapalo was simply incredible. A couple of reflections and photos from the experience after the jump.
Archives for category: Journalism
I took some of my favorite photos of the trip at the white-sand beaches and lush jungles of Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.
A photo diary of my trip to Mal País on the Nicoya Peninsula, featuring beautiful beaches, horseback rides and gigantic waterfalls.
PBS MediaShift has just published a new guide to online privacy, and I’ve written a chapter on big data (or, I wrote an article that has been republished as a chapter). Chapter 14, to be precise.
Proceeds go toward two very deserving organizations: The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Freedom House, both of which fight for freedom of speech both at home and abroad.
You can buy the book now on Amazon, Apple iBook, Google Play and Kobo.
I already bought a version for my Kindle, and you can be sure I’ll be buying a print copy when it’s ready.
You can find the rest of MediaShift’s e-book offerings on its website.
For those of you who don’t have permission to see my Facebook (sorry), I posted plenty of the pictures from some of my more recent trips to:
- Downtown San José for El Día de la Independencia (complete with adorable children in more adorable costumes),
- Two trips to el Zoológico Simón Bolivar, Costa Rica’s famous downtown zoo (which may soon close)
- And a program trip to Parque Internacional La Amistad, which features beauitful vistas of Costa Rica’s eastern most jungles, great coffee and a baby goat.
And you can now view ALL my pictures from Costa Rica on my dedicated photography page on IFSA-Butler’s blog. With finals around the corner, captioning every photo is not a luxury I have. However, if you have questions, comment here, or comment on a specific photo. I’d love to answer them.
Just like the States, choices between cell phone providers are limited. Here, Claro, Movistar and Kölbi reign supreme.
I bought a Claro cell phone one of the first days I was in Costa Rica. And for months, I’ve been trying to get them to stop harassing me with promotions and ads in the form of text messages multiple times a day. Buy these minutes! Two for one minutes today! Buy today!
This is a story of lies, doublespeak and corporate incompetence.
Read the rest of the story, most of which is in Spanish.
Midterms were particularly hard this year for me. That’s not to say they weren’t par for the course at a national university. They mostly included in-class essays and short answers based on the readings, presentations, etc.
What’s changed is that none of this is in English anymore.
WASHINGTON – When Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn told his former congregants that he was opening a medicinal marijuana dispensary, they were nothing but supportive.
“The cannabis plant was created by God on the second day of creation when God created all the other plants, and touching this one isn’t forbidden,” Jeff said in a June interview.
Read the rest of the story here.
This was a really fun article to write. Jeff and Stephanie were absolutely phenomenal, and they’ve really got a great story to tell. I wouldn’t have put in the time and effort into this piece that I did if I didn’t believe that.
I interviewed them in June but didn’t get a chance to hand it into the editor before I went to Costa Rica. There was a transition between New Voices editors (welcome, Derek Kwait! My old boss, David A.M. Wilensky, is off to bigger and better things at the Jewish Outreach Institute), so I ended up publishing the piece here, and it was one of the more popular posts I’ve ever published on this website.
I’m glad I now get to share it with the New Voices audience, whom I haven’t written for in well over a year.
If you’d also like to publish this story, please contact me.
UPDATE Sept. 25 12:04 p.m. MT: ABC News’ Susan D. James quoted the story:
“The cannabis plant was created by God on the second day of creation when God created all the other plants, and touching this one isn’t forbidden,” Kahn said in a June interview with New Voices, a national magazine for Jewish college students.
@Zachary_Cohen @New_Voices_Mag @TakomaWellness @ABC Thanks for the lead, Zach!
— SusanDonaldsonJames (@SusanDJames) September 25, 2013
67 days.
67 days I’ve been in my new home of Costa Rica.
67 days until I go back home the U-S-of-A.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about that revelation, some of them clichés but all genuine.
Read the rest of the post here.
I’d also like to name this the theme song for last week, as it was also the High Holy Day week, the most sacred week of the year for Jews.
Ladies and gentlemen, Bon Jovi.
“We’re halfway there, livin’ on a prayer.”
Zach C. Cohen 