Daniel Schorr Image c/o Gawker.com

Today I was going through my listserv emails (which I am terribly behind on), and one from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) featured a link to an obituary in the New York Times about Daniel Schorr.  I had never heard of Schorr, but the presence of his obituary on the SEJ listserv meant he must have been a big deal, so I was inspired to check it out.

Below is an excerpt from the obituary:

At CBS, Mr. Schorr won three Emmy Awards for his coverage of the Watergate scandal and took pride in his often blunt reporting on the administration. In one instance he hurriedly began broadcasting after acquiring a copy of Nixon’s notorious “enemies list” only to discover in reading the names aloud that his was No. 17.

Nixon was so angered by Mr. Schorr’s reporting that he was said to have ordered the F.B.I. to investigate him.
“I consider my presence on the enemies list,” he said in a 2009 interview with The Gazette of Montgomery County, Md., “a greater tribute than the Emmys list.”

What Schorr said about being on the enemies list really struck a cord for me.  Schorr was right- his presence on the enemies list was a sign of a job well done, a testament to his aggressive reporting, and telling a story that needed to be told– no matter the cost.  Veracity, accuracy and intellectual honesty are some of the founding pillars of journalism.  Although journalists may have a bad rap nowadays because there are those who do not abide by these principles, I believe very strongly in journalism in its purest form.  Call me an idealist.

Joan Root Image c/o Adelaide Now

Schorr’s attitude makes him a hero in my eyes.  He believed so strongly in a story, that he pursued it, no matter the cost, no matter the consequences.  It is the mark of a great investigative reporter.  It is the mark of a hero in my eyes.  Growing up as a kid interested in the animals and environments of our planet, I read a lot of magazines and watched a lot of TV shows that featured the work of conservationists.  I saw stories on people like Joan Root and Dian Fossey- people who died because they wouldn’t give up on a cause they believed in, no matter how many threats they received, or how dangerous it was to continue their work.  Nothing could deter them from what needed to be done, what they believed in.  It became the sign of a hero for me.

Dian Fossey Image c/o CenterBlog

As I now find myself straddling journalism and conservation, I find that the ideals I most revere in both disciplines are one and the same.  Tell a story that needs to be told, uncover wrongdoings and expose those responsible, and pursue what you believe in no matter the cost.

Dear Doctor,

I think I have the nerd infection.  As I am writing you, I am in lobster pajama pants and an African bush prints t-shirt.  I wish I had a pair of fish pants.  I’m pretty sure I’ve had the infection for awhile, the Nerdicus contagium maritimus variety.  I attended Zoo Camp at the Bronx Zoo as a child, and spent several summers at Seacamp in Big Pine Key, Florida.

I’m pretty sure I have been to seven zoos and 17 aquariums.  In fact, I’ve seen the world’s only two live kelp exhibits (one at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, and one at the Two Oceans Aquarium in South Africa).

I am either a joy or a nightmare to take to an aquarium.  If you want to learn, then I am your girl, as I can identify 90-something percent of Caribbean reef fish and know facts about many of them.  If you like to speed through an aquarium….well, you would probably flee.  My cousin is guilty of having done this.

In fact, I am definitely an aquarium bum.  I interned at the Florida Aquarium, and logged over 270 hours in under 6 months.  If I wasn’t at class, I was at the aquarium!

I have pet penguins, been spit on by a walrus, been grabbed by an octopus, and have had fish or shrimp and their juices in my hair, on more than one occasion.  I’ve owned fish (freshwater and saltwater), hamsters, guinea pigs, frogs, lizards, snakes, cats and dogs….what can I say?  I love animals.

Nearly every place I have travelled (Caymans, Grenadines, Fiji, South Africa) has been because of a desire to see the natural world of that country.  All of the places I want to go (Tanzania, Great Barrier Reef, Belize, etc) are because I want to explore the environment there.

My bookcase speaks for itself:

In fact, I got so excited when I saw the “Little Book of Pandemics” book, I’m certain if there was video footage of that moment, the diagnosis would be very fast.

My TV habits also tend to veer more towards the sciences as well…CSI, Eleventh Hour, Bones and NCIS are my favorite shows!  I have crushes on fictional characters from many of these shows….Greg Sanders, Dr. Jacob Hood, Timothy McGee.  And I would definitely be friends with Abby Sciuto and Dr. Temperance Brennan!

My nerd-love extends into my real life too.  I have developed crushes based on the fact that someone was a fish-nerd.  Nerds are hot!!!

Please report back quickly, as I hope to be diagnosed as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Allie Wilkinson

P.S.  I think my friend Christie is infected as well. After all, she started this site.

Below are the rest of the photos from my trip to St. Maarten.  Click any image to enlarge it.

For those who don’t know, Marigot is the capital of French St. Martin.  There is a fort overlooking the town, which has all these gorgeous old-fashioned lamps, and a gazebo and cute buildings (some of which look like they belong in New Orleans).

Here’s the first batch of photos from St. Maarten, from my snorkel session off of Dawn Beach on Day #1.

Can you find the barracuda?

Long-spined sea urchins

Pretty!

I was wrong. They're not cuttlefish, they're Caribbean reef squid.

Oh no! It's getting away!