Written in 1889, the novel follows Hank Morgan, an modern day (19th century) engineer from Connecticut, who gets hit in the head and wakes up in the 6th century. Early in the story, Hank is captured by one of the knights of the Round Table and brought to the court of King Arthur and Lady…
Book Review: Neither Here Nor There
Bill Bryson, an American travel writer, recounts his travels through Europe in the early 90s. He journeys from Hammerfest, Norway to Istanbul, Turkey while retracing an infamous backpacking trip of the 70s with an unforgettable high school acquaintance name Stephen Katz. The story of the original trip is documented in Bryson’s, A Walk in the Woods (which I have not read)….
Book Review: Hamlet
Hamlet (1599-1601), one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragic plays, is a rhetorical narrative on the inherently destructive nature of struggles for power. The story picks up right after the King of Denmark dies. Presuming the death to be a homicide, his son and rightful heir, Hamlet, spends the entirety of the plot seeking revenge…
San Francisco | 2014
Less than three weeks after I returned from my year in Paris, I was on the road again. Over the course a month I traveled west for work, paused in the Midwest for vacation, headed east to visit family, and then flew down to the Caribbean for a volunteer trip. For the first stop on…
China | 2011
In order to get to China, I had to endure Air India once again. Not wanting to ruin my now positive impression of Indian cuisine, I wisely stuck with rice and cucumbers on the plane. We first flew in to Shanghai. Our time there was primarily spent doing touristic activities. As was the case in…
The Great British Bake Off
Compelling competition with delightful dignity There is an unfortunate lack of integrity on TV these days. Although HBO is finally removing its adult content (praise hands), shows like Jack Ryan and even The Crown demonstrate that producers still expect viewers to desire some level of lewdness in their entertainment. For years competition shows have been…
India | 2011
India was wonderful. Before arriving, I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t handle the heat, smells, culture shock, crowds, or food very well (mostly based on a terrible Indian airline experience in 5th grade). Although we still had to contend with airline food, I wisely chose the vegetarian option (always the safest bet in my…
Ephesians 3:20-21
The past few months of my life have been a mix of chaos, order, confusion, peace, busyness, relaxation, and anxiety. Although those adjectives seem to make my personal life significantly notable, I suppose that such a statement can sum up most people’s lives. While I know that my situation is not remarkable, in a long…
Fort Wilderness
For nearly 20 years my family has made a yearly pilgrimage to Fort Wilderness in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Each summer we have piled 70 hours worth of mosquito spray protection, 7 days worth of adventurous clothing, and 7 hours worth of car-riding activities into the family vehicle to spend a week in the northern woods getting…
England | 2011
I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that my first priority when we got off the ferry from the Netherlands and drove into London was finding coffee. I am slightly more embarrassed to admit that I was over the moon when we were directed to a Starbucks. We hit the ground running in England enjoying an…
L.M.Beatty 