Tag: Bright

How Social Media Affects Your Memory

The explosive proliferation of social media platforms, and their use by billions of people each day, shows us that this novel form of interaction between human beings and technology is having a profound impact. This technology has allowed practically everyone, all over the world, to connect with neighbors near and far, and instantly share everything…


Righteous Determination Forges a Pathway to God’s Kingdom

Our environment is filled with things that test our character. Sometimes, we successfully overcome these things, and other times, we fall short and fail. Yet failure isn’t necessarily the end of the road; through determination, we can still find ourselves favorable to God. We continue our story of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” Raphael has finished…


Waterfalls Worth Seeing in Person

By Lynn O’Rourke Hayes From FamilyTravel.com Make a scenic waterfall the centerpiece of your next getaway. Here are five to consider. Death Valley National Park, California Darwin Falls, Death Valley National Park, California. (Doug Meek/Shutterstock) It’s a land of startling contrasts. In this expansive, hot, dry, and diverse landscape, rare rainstorms manifest fields of wildflowers,…


Potatoes Au Gratin

View the print-ready version of this recipe. Why I Love This Side Dish Feels fancy, but it’s Easy – Only 4 steps and 20 minutes of prep! They feel more elegant than say, mashed potatoes, and they’re easy enough for anyone to make. Pantry Ingredients – You only need potatoes, cheese, butter, flour, milk, cream, and spices! Crowd Favorite –…


See Much of Europe in What’s Being Called the ‘World’s Longest Bus Journey’

By Mia Taylor From TravelPulse A new 7,500-mile bus journey will take passengers to 22 countries. For more than a few travelers, a two-month-long bus trip may sound like a bit of a nightmare. But that sentiment might change perhaps, if the bus in question is luxurious and the two-month itinerary includes plans to stop…


Comfortable Cruise Makes Exploring ‘Down Under’ Easy

Among multiple choices one can use to navigate the Down Under countries of Australia and New Zealand is a 14-day cruise aboard Holland America Line’s 1,918-passenger Noordam that my wife and I found to be a most comfortable option. Arriving several days early in Auckland gave us time to explore New Zealand’s most important city…


Heavenly Flute: ‘An Angel Playing the Flageolet’

Some famous writers have played a woodwind instrument known as the flageolet: Hector Berlioz, Frederic Chalon, Samuel Pepys, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Composers such as Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel wrote pieces for it. Musicians began to play this recorder-like instrument in the 1700s in France, and it began to be known as the…


Photographer Is Accompanied by an Adorable ‘Assistant’ While Taking Photos in the Wild

A North African wildlife photographer who took the cutest and most unexpected “assistant” to a photo shoot in the wild has wowed netizens. Wildlife photographer Djamel Hadj Aissa from Ghardaïa in Algeria, is a member of the famous family that founded the first zoological park in Algeria. Today, the Hadj Aissa family has six zoological…


Gerard Manley Hopkins’s Sonnet: ‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’

When we look at a landscape, we probably aren’t thinking about it as a clamorous system of self-proclamations. Gerard Manley Hopkins saw it that way. For Hopkins, each thing in creation is continually proclaiming itself just by being. In the unconscious flutter of wings is the dramatic force of a being dealing out its inmost…


‘God’s Crazy Bricklayer’: This Man Spent His Life Building a Cathedral by Hand—Check Out the Interiors

Spaniard Justo Gallego Martinez (1925–2021) spent his entire life building a cathedral and he did it on his own. But this enigmatic man—who gained renown as “God’s crazy bricklayer”—from Mejorada del Campo, a small town close to Madrid, was not a lofty architect. Rather, Don Justo (his honorific name) was raised in a humble, devout…