“Freedom Is Not Free”: Memorable Words for Memorial Day
Month: May 2017
ATG’s Thinker Thoughts: “Homo Prospectus”
Welcome to ATG’s “Thinker Thoughts”, an initiative intended to help us THINK more deeply and deliberately amid the hurried pace of life’s existence.
Every Friday, we’re posting our “Thinker Thoughts”, a short quote to reflect on from a recent commentary. Give it a think and let us know your thinker thoughts!
This week’s Thinker Thoughts comes from a May 19, 2017 op-ed in The New York Times, “We Aren’t Built to Live in the Moment“, written by Martin E.P. Seligman – professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania – and John Tierney, who writes the Findings science column for The New York Times:
Through the Realms: Tales from Dubrovnik, Croatia
“Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik.” –George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright, 1856-1950)
We’re excited to continue traveling “Through the Realms” with Becky Sparagowski, another world traveler who has lived abroad for the past three years in Poland, Sicily, and is currently residing in Edinburgh. In fact, Becky and I first met each other while studying abroad in Rome in 2012, where we shared our love of food and travel, and enjoyed exploring bellissima Italia together (also with Katie Christensen, who recently told us about Cuba). Little did we know that our love of travel would reunite us over four years later…at the University of Edinburgh, where we unexpectedly ran into each other!
While Becky has spent most of her time traveling in the places she’s lived during the past three years, she’s also visited Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and earlier this month, went on a weekend excursion to Dubrovnik, Croatia (a city located in the southern part of the country, famously dubbed “the Pearl of the Adriatic” and known for its Old Town, which is encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century).
Becky’s documented a lot of her adventures on her travel blog, Aspar Adventures, where her motto is to “Read, Eat, Travel” – everything we love to do!
We asked her to share a bit of her experience from Croatia with us, and here’s what she had to say: Read more
ATG’s Thinker Thoughts: Names & Identities
Welcome to ATG’s “Thinker Thoughts”, an initiative intended to help us THINK more deeply and deliberately amid the hurried pace of life’s existence.
Every Friday, we’re posting our “Thinker Thoughts”, a short quote to reflect on from a recent commentary. Give it a think and let us know your thinker thoughts!
This week’s Thinker Thoughts comes from the article in The Atlantic (May 5, 2017), “All the Other Julie Becks and Me: What a quest for my namesake taught me about the meaning of names in the internet age“:
A Memory of a Mother’s Love
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” ―C.S. Lewis
Every night growing up, my brothers and I would curl up next to my mother as she read us a bedtime story with a gentleness and nurturing spirit that only a mother can provide.
She introduced us to the kind and imaginative Boxcar Children, took us through the mischief and mishaps of Curious George, The Berenstain Bears, and Corduroy, kept us questioning with Goosebumps, and entertained us with the rhyming cadences of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See?, Jamberry, and all of Dr. Seuss’ classics (Go, Dog. Go! being a particular favorite), in addition to other beloved stories, such as Make Way for Ducklings, Goodnight Moon, and the many enchanting tales of Walt Disney. Read more
Thinker Thoughts: “Lifelong Learners”
Welcome to ATG’s “Thinker Thoughts”, an initiative intended to help us THINK more deeply and deliberately amid the hurried pace of life’s existence.
Every Friday, we’re posting our “Thinker Thoughts”, a short quote to reflect on from a recent commentary. Give it a think and let us know your thinker thoughts!
This week’s Thinker Thoughts comes from The New York Times op-ed, “Owning Your Own Future” (May 10, 2017), written by Thomas L. Friedman:
Through the Realms: Tales from Cuba
“Much have I traveled in the realms of gold, and many goodly states and kingdoms seen.” –John Keats (English poet, 1795-1821)
Here at All Things Good, our love of traveling, exploring and embarking on adventures is grounded in our belief that a curious mind can not only stimulate the senses, but transform our sense of self in relation to the world at large. In fact, it was ultimately our love of seeking and exploring the world around us that led us to launch this blog.
Since then, we’ve had some fun adventures, including to the land of Hula Honeys, the birthplace of Harry Potter, the traditional music capital of Ireland, the oldest teashop in Europe, and a sailing adventure in the Florida Keys (to name just a few!).
We’d now like to turn to the adventures of others – you! – to hear your own stories as you travel “Through the Realms.” We love all the beautiful photos of exotic destinations and spirited excursions you can find on the social media landscape, but want to hear what you learned, who you met, and what you’ll remember about the realms you travel, too! Read more
“Always Dreaming”…of Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
“…you dream about food – not just any food, but perfect food, the best food, magical meals, famous and awe-inspiring, the one piece of meat, the exact taste of buttery corn, tomatoes so ripe they split and sweeten the air, beans so crisp they snap between the teeth, gravy like mother’s milk singing to your bloodstream.” –Dorothy Allison (writer, 1949–)
Thinking of the Kentucky Derby this weekend – where “Always Dreaming” made two Brooklyn boys’ Derby dreams come true – Mother’s Day next weekend and The Blue Coffee Pot restaurant where I had the best biscuits and sausage gravy I’ve ever had in my life.
What made this unexpected, out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere breakfast on an Indian Reservation in Kayenta, Arizona something to dream about? The scrambled eggs and the sausage gravy were like taking a bite out of a perfectly seasoned feathery light pillow of deliciousness. Never, in all of my biscuits and sausage gravy travels, have I experienced such genuine affection for what typically is a heavy lump of a dish that favors the appetite attentions of hungry men. Read more
“Circus XTREME”: The Last Greatest Show of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
“You must have always a great and progressive show and also one which is clean, pure, moral and instructive. Never cater to the baser instincts of humanity…and always remember that the children have ever been our best patrons…” –P.T. Barnum’s last letter before he died (1891), written to his “well-loved” James Bailey
“Circus XTREME”, which is making its very last appearance in Providence, Rhode Island this weekend, is Xtremely entertaining and there is no doubt that P.T. Barnum would have been proud of this very “Xpert” creation for having lived up to his life motto “Excelsior”, a Latin word meaning “ever upward” and “still higher.” Read more