Nine months later — and I can still hardly believe it’s true — I’ve finished. Here’s the proof:

Here I am with some pals before the main Columbia commencement ceremony yesterday morning:

And below — and on YouTube here — is an especially fun moment from the conclusion of the event.

Once things had ended, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blasted from the loudspeakers. And then came this more contemporary New York-related anthem…

Yesterday afternoon was the Journalism School commencement event, which included a talk by Errol Morris and remarks by Nicholas Lemann, our outgoing dean, and others.

You can find more details about that gathering on the Journalism School’s site.

So what comes next for me? Stay tuned.

For now, I can say this: I won’t be blogging for the next couple of weeks. But you can find me, as ever, on Twitter. You can also subscribe to my public Facebook updates.

Thanks, as ever, for reading.

1. Oklahoma Tornado Survivor Finds Missing Dog During Live Interview — Gawker
2. Myanmar’s Mandela Moment — Bloomberg
3. High-Intensity Circuit Training Using Body Weight: Maximum Results With Minimal Investment — ACSM’S Health & Fitness Journal
4. Complete Broadcast Day: “WJSV Complete Broadcast Day On September 21, 1939…” — Archive.org
5. Diaries, the original social media: How our obsession with documenting (and sharing) our own lives is nothing new — Nieman Journalism Lab
6. North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns — Aschmann.net
7. 60 thoughts about turning 60 — Ian Martin, The Guardian
8. Video embedded above and on Vimeo here: “London in 1927″

(Previous link round-ups are available via the links tag.)

Well, the first two episodes have been broadcast, and they’re now available online.

Embedded above on online here is episode one, “Artistic Freedom,” about music and the arts in the country.

And embedded above on and online here is episode two, “Saving Yangon,” about the city’s architectural heritage.

There are several more episodes to come. You can see them live on Channel NewsAsia on Mondays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Singapore time.

Embedded above and on YouTube here: “Space Oddity,” by Chris Hadfield.

But I also found another element of the issue to be notable — for a reason that should come as no surprise given my previous posts about stateside reminders of Thailand.

So: What happens when you combine the often inscrutable New Yorker cartoon aesthetic with a parody of exclusive New York City ethnic dining?

You get this:

Get it?

One thing, if you’ll forgive my pedantry: Even allowing for the cartoon’s cryptic nature, we all know that except for eating some soups, chopsticks aren’t typically used in Thailand. Forks and spoons are the norm.

But let’s not let that stand in the way of the joke…

Warren is in the house.

— Warren Buffett (@WarrenBuffett) May 2, 2013

Bloomberg has the story.

Here’s a recent photo, supplied by our friend P, of our beloved adopted street dog, Ashley, previously discussed here and here.

Ashley turns five in August, so she’s technically a middle-aged pooch. But, as you may be able to tell in this image, she still has a youthful face and many puppy-like traits.

Normal programming will resume shortly.

Rene Auberjonois read from some of Wolfe’s work, then Wolfe chatted with Richard Wald.

Here, in chronological order, are my Tweets (and re-Tweets) from the event.

]]> http://newley.com/2013/04/30/tweets-from-tom-wolfes-talk-last-night/feed/ 0 http://newley.com/2013/04/30/tweets-from-tom-wolfes-talk-last-night/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewleyPurnell/~3/xMYRlc93Sao/ http://newley.com/2013/04/29/anasuyas-new-documentary-series-on-myanmar/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:39:00 +0000 Newley http://newley.com/?p=8869 Here’s the trailer for a new Channel NewsAsia documentary series called “The New Myanmar.”

The series is hosted by Anasuya Sanyal, otherwise known as my amazing wife.

The first show airs Monday, May 6 from 8:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. Singapore time, and the series runs through June 10.

Keep an eye out if you receive Channel NewsAsia, or try to catch the show live online when it airs.

(Note: The trailer, as embedded above, may not display properly on a mobile device, but it should be viewable on a laptop or desktop computer.)

Despite the silliness of the concept, the ad is pretty convincing, since it’s done very much in the style of many local NYC subway ads. (Dermatologist Dr. Jonathan Zizmor‘s ads come to mind.)

However, a quick visit to PuppyLift.com, the (hilarious) URL mentioned, reveals that the “ad” is actually for Comedy Central’s “Kroll Show.”

Pretty clever.