Category: Life & Tradition

Good Reading Is the Cure for Gullibility

The other day, a friend of mine posted on social media a picture of her three children, sitting in the living room, each with a nose in a book. She was having a proud mom moment, noting that she couldn’t believe the day had finally come when all her children were able to read on…


‘This Time for Keeps’ (1947): Traveling Back in Time to Mackinac Island

Few films ventured out of the soundstage during Hollywood’s Golden Era, since the major studios found it more cost-effective and efficient to film in the comfort of their atmosphere-controlled lots. However, a rare film would supplement its studio footage with some choice sequences shot in a unique location. One film that did this is MGM’s…


What Is Heaven Like?: Retired Professor’s Book of 50 Near-Death Experiences Gives a Glimpse

A retired computer science professor has complied the near-death experiences (NDE) of 50 people into a book. Using his research expertise, he has compared their moving testimonies of both heaven and hell to existing descriptions of what lies beyond our mortal lives, giving the readers a clearer picture of heaven than perhaps ever before. Dr. Jacques LaFrance,…


2023 VinFast VF 8

The newest player in the EV space that you probably haven’t heard of is VinFast, which was founded in Vietnam in 2017. But start-up isn’t exactly the right term – the automaker is a subsidiary of Vingroup, which is the largest private conglomerate in the Southeast Asian country. And Canadians will soon be able to…


King Charles I and the Innovative Bust

In 1636, Gian Lorenzo Bernini received an unusual painting—Anthony van Dyck’s “Portrait of Charles I in Three Positions.” In the center, the king faces forward. To either side, he is depicted in full and in three-quarter profile. An eccentric demonstration of talent? A whim? No. The painting is a highly unconventional means of preparing to…


Pineapple Tepache Is the Vibrant, Fizzy, Fermented Drink You Need This Summer

One of the greatest gifts in cooking at home is the ability to make something from almost nothing. It’s an ingenious trick if you can manage it. In a well-managed kitchen, bacon drippings are saved, scraps become broth, and nothing goes to waste. This isn’t new; good cooks have always managed to conjure up healthy,…


Medieval Moments in the Perfect Tuscan Town

Twice a year, the Piazza del Campo thunders. Normally a picturesque place and rather serene, the square is lined with tables where al fresco dinners end and diners tarry with their last drops of espresso, or limoncello. The irregular, shell-shaped, sloping oval of the square spreads out under medieval buttresses and Torre del Mangia, a…


Mom Empowers Daughter Born With Rare Birthmark, and Shares Her Unique Beauty With the World

The mom of a toddler born with a rare birthmark covering almost half her face has been empowering her little girl. She has also been actively sharing about her daughter’s condition in hopes that the child doesn’t have to explain her whole life to others in the future. Nicole Hall of Macon, Missouri, is a teacher….


Searching for the Perfect Pizza, in the Birthplace of Pizza

Is there a dish more beloved, the world over, than pizza? Whether you’re pulling up your chair to a checkerboard tablecloth in a small Cambodian village or popping off the train for a quick snack at a Trans-Siberian railway station, I’ve seen it everywhere. That savory combination of meat, cheese, and dough is ubiquitous—and, usually,…


Nymphenburg Palace: A European Gem of Bavarian History

 Historic, mythical, beautiful. These three words describe an architectural gem located west of Munich, Germany that is the Nymphenburg Palace, a once-popular summer residence of Bavarian rulers. In 1662, elector (ruler elected by the people) Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria offered land outside Munich to his Italian-born wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, to commemorate the birth…