When people die, they leave behind a life that must be closed out. The funeral must be planned, bank accounts closed, pets rehomed, final bills paid. When someone you love dies, the job of handling those personal and legal details may fall to you. It’s a stressful, bureaucratic task that can take a year or more to complete,… Read More »
In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan is a major figure of the narrative. The poem’s intense focus on his temperament presents a psychological profile of someone with a conflictive personality. Among his fellow fallen angels, he is a rebellious leader with no regrets, but in private his deeper thoughts come forth. As revealed in Paradise Lost, the true Satan is… Read More »
With around 200 countries and more than 7.8 billion people (plus plants, animals, and other organisms), the world is full of interesting, fun, and fascinating facts. In the land of the Kiwis, for instance, you’ll find the highest concentration of pet owners on the planet. And over in Nicaragua, you’ll find one of the only two flags in… Read More »
Someone sent this story to me. I don’t know if it’s true (I hope it is) but in any case it’s a wonderful story about stories. At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her… Read More »
Once upon a time — that is, back in the 1990s — a lot of smart and serious people believed liberal political orders were the wave of the future and would inevitably encompass most of the globe. The United States and its democratic allies had defeated fascism and then communism, supposedly leaving humankind at “the end of history.… Read More »
When it comes to marriage and age, there’s a serious double standard for men and women. Men are often told to wait to get married until they feel ready — until they’re mature, financially secure, established in their careers and comfortable with themselves. My own husband was counseled by both of his parents to not even consider marriage until he was… Read More »
The phrase “knock on the door” usually uses “knock” as a verb. Knocking on a door is using the knuckles of the hand to hit a door to get the attention of someone on the other side of the door. The phrase “knock at the door” uses “knock” as a noun. A knock at the door is the… Read More »
Have you ever felt the daily sounds of Istanbul while wandering the streets? Every street has its own cultural elements inherited from its past. It might either be the sound coming from a coffeehouse, a mother’s voice calling the children for dinner or a street vendor yelling out, but with each step the sounds give you another insightEvery… Read More »
Parenthood: (noun) signing your entire peaceful sleep schedule away in exchange for dirty diapers, sticky hands and caffeine addictions. Even though you haven’t been able to close the bathroom door and have a minute to yourself for who knows how long, parenthood has its rewards. Like those tender moments when your kids falling asleep in your arms or… Read More »