The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 31 their presentation but give readers access to their day-to-day activities. Photos and accounts of mountainous excursions and popular local festivities are among the interesting things that can be expected on an ambassadorial blog space. Tabbies in Tow One of the more unusual blogs around, this one chronicles a couple and their three tabby cats as they serve at a Mexican consulate. It is an archetypical example of the unique Foreign Service journal, this one by a traveling couple, who live not-so- average lives abroad and bring a familiar part of their domestic lives—their cats—along with them. GlobeHoppers Some spouses put up with more challenges than others. This wife of an FSO has travelled the world with her husband and four children for 10 years, having documented their adven- tures throughout. Her blog details the difficulties and rewards of being an FS spouse and raising a family in such a dynamic and demanding environment. DiploPundit Domani Spero, a pseudonym meaning “tomorrow, I hope,” is responsible for this extremely popular, critical blog pertaining to any and all dilemmas facing the Foreign Service. This former globe-trotter, self-proclaimed Foggy Bottom worrywart and now-full-time blogger calls on readers to submit their thought- ful rants for publication and is often cited and quoted by other, well-known blogs and websites. The World According to Bill Fisher Regrettably, William Fisher, a retired FSO who worked with the State Department, USAID and the United Nations, passed away in June. His blog, however, lives on as a wonderful source of stories by a man with a lifetime of experience with the Foreign Service and foreign relations of a past generation. More than 1,000 posts dating back to 2003 trace the life of this accomplished diplomat. — Jesse Smith