Armour of Light – Page 8 – All Things Good

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Jennifer and Katharine Rose Armour of Light April 1, 2015April 11, 2017April fools day 1 Comment

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are the 100th person to have viewed our website today. Click below on “All Things Foolish” to receive our April Fool’s giveaway.

Whether you like April Fool’s Day or not, certainly we’ve all been “fooled” at times, acted “foolish” toward others or have caused others to think: “what a fool.”

The definition of the word “fool”*, however, is wide ranging and can be used in a light-hearted, jokingly way – “you blockhead”, says Charlie Brown or, as Buddy the Elf put it, “I’m a cotton headed ninny muggins” – or in a more serious tone, it can indicate someone who is deceiving or impious.

So, be careful on this April Fool’s Day not to be such a dolt or dunderhead as to think that All Things Good is foolish enough to give anything away! (…just kidding…except we really aren’t giving anything away!) Read more

Quotes to Add a Little ‘Spring’ to Your Step

Happy Spring! Add a little “spring” to your step with ATG’s top 10 inspirational quotes from the book, Life’s Journey According to Mister Rogers:

1. “’Someone else’s action should not determine your response.’ It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And yet what if someone else’s action should be shouting angry words at us or hitting us with a rotten tomato? That doesn’t affect what we do in response? Not if our compassion is genuine. Not if our love is the kind the Dalai Lama advocates.”

2. “’The outside is never as much as the inside…’ As you may know by now, that’s one of the major themes of our work: The invisible essential. Oh, the outsides of life are important, but the insides are what enhance so much of the rest.” Read more

Charming Billy: Alice McDermott’s Irish American Novel

Katharine Rose Armour of Light March 18, 2015April 11, 2017Alice McDermott, Charming Billy, Danny boy, Danny boy lyrics, Irish America, Irish American culture, Irish american novel, Irish Catholics, Irish traits, Irish virtues 0 Comment

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish.” Below is a book review of the Irish American novel Charming Billy by Alice McDermott.

Alcoholism. Loyalty. Generosity. Poverty. Catholicism. Redemption. And love. These are the central themes running through Alice McDermott’s award-winning Irish American novel, Charming Billy (1998), which tells the story of the life and trials of one Billy Lynch – an enigmatic Irish American man from Queens, NY who seemingly succumbed to alcoholism after “losing” the love of his life.

Full of insight into the culture, values and struggles of Irish Americans, McDermott also offers glimpses into the stereotypes associated with the Irish, such as references to “Paddy,” Irish policemen, and the song “Danny Boy”*, while sprinkling episodes of humor throughout, giving this novel a distinctly Irish American feel.

As one might expect of such a novel, faith and Catholicism – and the subsequent guilt that is so characteristic among Irish Catholics – play a prominent role as the story unfolds. “I was certain I was going to hell…”, says Billy’s love interest, Eva, during their childhood. “…don’t all children think they’re going to hell?” Read more

A Daily Dose of Irish Luck

Laura O'Neil Armour of Light March 13, 2015April 11, 2017100 Happy Days challenge, Irish blessing, Irish luck, Irish potato famine, Irish shamrock, Saint Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, The Luck of the Irish 3 Comments

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below ATG contributor Laura O’Neil reflects on the meaning of the “Luck of the Irish.” Stay tuned for more!

Familiar especially to those of Irish descent, both young and old, is the Irish Blessing displayed in part as a photo in this week’s Rose’s Ridge post about Irish American culture:

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand

These words adorned not one but two walls in my grandmother’s house. They never really meant that much to me when I was younger, but with each passing year, they have come to be a calming source of inspiration, reminding me to keep on moving along, to continue hoping, and to have faith that even if it doesn’t seem possible, things will fall into place. Read more

The Irish: Fightin’ For Respect

Katharine Rose Armour of Light March 11, 2015April 11, 2017Fighting Irish, fighting irish stereotype, Gaelic, Gaelic Revival, Great Potato Famine, History of Ireland, Irish America, Irish americans, Irish emigration, Irish history, Irish Language Movement, Irish proverbs, Irish stereotypes 0 Comment

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below we debunk the “Fighting Irish” stereotype. Stay tuned for more!

For all of their well-known and esteemed attributes, such as hospitality, loyalty, friendliness and humor, the Irish have never been able to escape the “fighting Irish” stigma – the stereotype of being drunkard, hotheaded and “barbaric” people.

Indeed, famous Irish proverbs read: “An Irishman is never at peace except when he’s fighting”, “Better be quarreling than lonesome” and “The Irish don’t know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it.”

A look back at the history of the Irish – particularly Irish immigrants in America – however, sheds some light on why, in many ways, the Irish just can’t help their “fighting” instincts. Read more

“Springing Forward” With Hope

Jennifer and Katharine Rose Armour of Light March 4, 2015April 11, 2017Daylight Savings Time, Emily Dickinson, Hope quotes, McSorley's Old Ale House, Poems, Spring ahead, Spring forward, Spring quotes, Springtime 1 Comment

“Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I hoped for you before

Put down your hat

You must have walked

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

–Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

“Hope is the thing with feathers-

that perches in the soul –

and sings the tune without the words –

and never stops – at all – …”

–Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

And so,while we await with HOPE for SPRING, let us enjoy a (McSorley’s Old Ale House) beer and toast to a season full of hope, happiness and sunshine!

And don’t forget to “spring” your clocks forward to Daylight Savings Time on Saturday night!

Tea Time With Podstakanniks on the Russian Railway

Jennifer and Katharine Rose Armour of Light February 26, 2015April 11, 2017 0 Comment

Once upon a time in Mari Vanna restaurant, on a cold winter day in the heart of New York City, we were served a hot cup of tea in a beautiful crystal glass encased in a silver-plated holder with a handle.

After not-so-subtly admiring it, we learned from the friendly Russian bartender that it was a real Russian tea glass holder – a “podstakannik” (literally “under the glass”) – which had previously been used for serving tea on a Russian railway.

As it so happens, podstakanniks have a very interesting history. Believed to have entered the tea community in Russia toward the end of the 18^th century (when tea drinking became common in this area of the world), they became increasingly more widespread, particularly on Russian trains and in the Soviet Union era when markets were flooded with podstakanniks made of copper-nickel, nickel, silver and gold. Read more

The Colorful, Contradictory, Crazy Comrade Khrushchev

Jennifer and Katharine Rose Armour of Light February 20, 2015April 11, 2017Bolshevik Revolution, Nikita Khrushchev, Russia, Soviet Era, Soviet Union, Stalin, USSR, William Taubman 3 Comments

With President Obama turning toward the mirror in the White House and Russian President Vladimir Putin turning toward Ukraine, in an apparent attempt to reinstate Russia’s “sphere of influence”, we at ATG turn to the book, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (2003), an entertaining historical account of one of Putin’s earlier, yet equally unpredictable and erratic predecessors: Nikita Khrushchev.

Written by William Taubman, it won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2004 and has been referred to as “one of the best books ever written on the Soviet Union” (Ian Thomson, Irish Times). It is a book that has retained a prominent position on our bookshelf, not only for the light it sheds on the fascinatingly complex character of Nikita Khrushchev, but for its easily accessible insight into the Bolshevik ideology and depiction of a communist society. Read more

King of the Winter Hill

Katharine Rose Armour of Light February 13, 2015April 11, 2017Boston, Snow, Snowstorm, Storm, Winter 1 Comment

“HE’S A SILENT GUARDIAN, A WATCHFUL PROTECTOR. A DARK KNIGHT.”

Boston snow record 2015 — Boston, MA, February 2015, Storm #7

A Glimpse Into Russia’s Imperial Romanov Family

Katie Moffett Armour of Light February 12, 2015April 11, 2017Autocracy, Book Review, Books, Russia, Russian Literature, Russian tsar, The Romanov Sisters 0 Comment

As part of our celebration of “all things Russia” for Valentine’s Day, be sure to read our post in Rose’s Ridge, “From Russia With Love,” and try our recipes of Russian dishes from Around The Table. Also learn some interesting facts and view beautiful pictures here.

The subject matter of Helen Rappaport’s new work, The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra (2014)*, is not a new topic. There are few families who are more well known or who have been the subject of more speculation, conspiracy, intrigue, and lore than the ill-fated Romanov family, the last imperial family of the tsarist autocracy in Russia.

There have been documentaries, films, books, and even children’s movies created around the hapless family and their untimely demise. The amount of interest in the topic is not surprising given that the narrative surrounding the Romanovs includes: an unstable mystic, a hemophilic heir, a royal family, a world war, a mass execution, and a potential secret survivor. Read more