A reddit user, backforward24, took the first stab at compiling the most beloved/popular novels for every country in the world, creating a world map that features the cover of each book on top of each country. He crowdsourced it through reddit because, as he noted, "I'm struggling to find great books for over 150 locations! … Continue reading The Most Beloved/Popular Novels for Each Country in the World →

Apparently January 4 is National Trivia Day. In honor of such a momentous occasion, the web site Mental Floss compiled 60 amazing pieces of trivia, and I thought I would share a dozen of my favorites from that list. I also added one item to the end of the list - something that I should … Continue reading Happy National Trivia Day! (and sharing my bewildering lack of knowledge) →

We’re sitting at JFK airport, three hours before our flight to London. While David Kanigan would have a field day in such a situation, given his gift of observation and the beautiful way he describes his travel adventures, I’ll take the easy way out and just post this video of The Clash singing their classic song, … Continue reading London Calling! →

The time has finally arrived. Tomorrow, my wife, our youngest son, and I depart for a three month trip to London where I will be teaching as part of a Villanova study abroad program. We are quite excited about the opportunity, and we've spent a good deal of time getting ready for it. But it … Continue reading Getting Ready While Getting Old →

Many people set a New Year's goal to exercise more. Like many other New Year's goals, people start off gung-ho by hitting the gym several times a week, but within a month or two are barely making it to the gym once a week. So what are some things you can do to keep that … Continue reading How to Motivate Yourself to Go to the Gym →

I've written before how happy I was when Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, since I consider songwriters to be the poets of my generation. I love listening to a song with good lyrics, using words that make you think or feel or remember or hope or cry. Well in the car today, … Continue reading Getting Sentimental with John Denver on New Year’s Eve →

Those three words greet me each time I go to write my daily blog. Most days, it does not take me too long to figure out something to write about, but other days, like today, it is a struggle. I just sit and stare at the blank screen you see above, the blinking cursor taunting … Continue reading Add New Post →

One of the places in a Wall Street Journal story about places to visit in London caught my eye - The School of Life. The School was co-founded in 2008 by Alain de Botton, a Swiss-born British author whose books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. The School describes … Continue reading The School of Life →

My wife and I were walking around a Goodwill Thrift store today, seeing if we could find anything that might be useful for our upcoming trip. As I was walking down one of the aisles, the mug shown in the picture above caught my eye. Here's a closer look: As I looked at the mug, … Continue reading A Store Full of Stories →

Three months ago I wrote about turning 60, and mentioned that one of the gifts I received was the 23andMe Health + Ancestry testing kit from my three sons. In that post I noted how excited I was to see what the results of the test would be in terms of my genetic health risks, my … Continue reading Let the Waiting Begin →