Inspiring Excitement and Passion about History and the Humanities
I’ve been reading The Men Who United the States by Simon Winchester, a history of the US told through the elements of wood, metal, water, fire, and air, which is an interesting lens through which to view history. The wood chapter, for example, was all about when wood was the primary material; the homes the early…
Since this blog is sort of like the curated museum of Heather’s Mind, I need to start posting more about music. One of my favorite early music groups is Stile Antico, a polyphonic vocal ensemble founded in 2001. They have a new album out, The Phoenix Rising, which is getting a lot of regular rotation…
I’ve been watching the ITV show, Mr. Selfridge, about Harry Selfridge, the American who transformed British retail, and it got me curious as to how much of the salacious tale was actually true. He was one of the retail magnates that dominated the changing world in the late Victorian period, along with Macy and Marshall…
Just to be up front, I was diagnosed as bipolar in May (after thinking I was battling some kickass Post Partum Depression). I’m now on meds, sleeping through the nights (thank you, hubby), and doing all the things I’m “supposed” to be doing – meditating, yoga, journaling, etc. But from time to time, I…
I’m reading a book called Growing Into God, a Beginner’s Guide to Christian Mysticism right now, and I just finished a chapter on Meister Eckhart, the 13th century German theologian (who has the wonderful quote, “if the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, it will be enough”). In the chapter, the author,…
I’ve been reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin the past week or so (it’s a fast read, but it competes with the other books – I’m not a “one book at a time” kind of girl) and I’m noticing that one common thread throughout his life was his constant striving for self improvement. He managed to…
I love pens. I absolutely adore pens. Gel pens are my favorite, specifically the Muji gel pens that I discovered while living in London. They were cheap, came in lovely colors, and were so nice to write with. I used to have a pen blog, where I’d post about my favorite writing and stationary products. I…
I’ve had several signs pointing me to the writings of Julian of Norwich lately. She was a fourteenth century anchoress and Christian mystic, who, when she was 29 years old, was deathly ill. While on her sickbed, she had sixteen visions of Christ, starting when she saw the garland wreath in her room literally bleed,…
The introduction to Kuratory; starting out as an Artist’s Way project. Who knows where it will go…
On October 12 2010 I became a statistic when my previously-perfect pregnancy ended at 21 weeks in a horrific miscarriage. While I fretted and worried from the moment I found out I was pregnant (was that frappuccino I had the other night really bad? I had a hot dog at the baseball game – will…