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Please give a short bio of yourself for our readers. The art of autobiography is always a tricky one -- what you reveal, even if misleading, may be terribly misleading. The interesting bits -- I'm vaguely descended from royalty on my father's side (http://malraux.diaryland.com/010712_32.html), but that's neither here nor there. I was born in Hong Kong after my parents swam there from China during the Cultural Revolution. (Well, technically they swam to Macao first before escaping in a ship to Hong Kong, shot at gunboats on the way -- the swim is shorter, but the waters were still shark-infested. Anyhow.) I came over to the U.S. when I was one and grew up in New York, which is now again my home after four years of college in the Sunshine State and two years of grad school in Missourah. I'm currently a science reporter -- my dad's an artist while my mom's a computer scientist, so I had both worlds growing up. (I studied both marine biology and Victorian poetry in college.) That and there's a library two blocks from my house, so I practically grew up in words (30 books a week borrowed on average -- my lost book fees were a nightmare). It's a nice old-fashioned one, save for the computers now inside, made of red brick. Why did you choose this username? That actually dates back to high school. There was a pencil-drawn 8-1/2*11 poster someone -- I don't know who -- put up with a figure yelling at the sky after graphitting on the sidewalk: "All art is a revolt against man's fate -- Andre Malraux." That always stuck with me. The day I graduated I took the poster and laminated it. I'm looking at it in my room as we speak. Why do you keep a diary online? An old flame of mine did (does), and so I started reading hers. Then I discovered someone I knew from high school did too, and hers is funny as hell (or was -- she never updates anymore). I discovered both when still in journalism grad-school, and I sorely needed a creative outlet, as opposed to just writing the news. How important do you think a layout is for a web-based diary? Would you also comment on yours? I've seen some truly hideous layouts, so while I try to keep mine plain vanilla, I think eye-catching-ness is definitely important, at least for personal peace of mind. My diary used to look a lot more spiffy on a regular basis, since I used to keep a lot of art pictures up (you can still see them in entries 50-150), but it's hard to find new paintings all the time. During your time as a journalist, what is the most exciting story you have > had the opportunity to write? Boy, that's a doozy. I've been a crime journalist, a science journalist, and just a plain spot-news journalist. I've interviewed a man on death row -- that was intense. (http://malraux.diaryland.com/010709_44.html) In terms of science news, I run across incredible things all the time -- sound-activated nuclear fusion and new forces of the universe in the last two weeks, for instance. I was one of three UPI reporters in New York during September, but I don't really want to talk about that. What affect did your time in Africa have on your career? On your life? Hmm... I wish I knew how to answer that. My time in Africa was stunning... staying in the Serengeti and hearing the lions roar outside your tent at night, or climbing Kilimanjaro and getting a mild case of poisoning two days in -- not going to forget any of that any time soon. I didn't go to write stories, but a large part of it certainly had to do with me trying to expand my view on the world. That's what anything, any art, any words, any music, anything that speaks true to a person ultimately needs a foothold in. Tell us about the many aspirations for you life, such as attributing to "the Great American Novel" genre. Mostly I want to write something dark and simple. There's a movie, "The Third Man," one of my favorites, where the ending is so tragic and funny and true at the same time that it gets you. That's what I want to do -- the sharp knife of strong ambivalence digging in between your ribs in a play of light and shadow. If you hadn't become a journalist, what do you think your career would be and why? Well, I always tell people that I want to be an ex-journalist, actually... the Twain and Hemingway route, and in modern example Neil Gaiman. I plan to write, and the toil of journalism really is a good training ground. But if not writing? I'm trained as a marine biologist, and to work by the shores of the sea... ah, I must have been a mariner in a past life. Interviewed by Brandi
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