Without a doubt, this year was a “recovery year” in terms of running. Though I ran three marathons and finished a year-long streak of everyday running, my total miles were way down and with eleven days left, it is unlikely I will hit 2,000. I spent a significant amount of time in 2021 working on …
We are looking at the Spanish Civil War in my 20th Century History Class and it still seems remarkable to me that Franco remained in power and pivoted to an internationally respected (or at least tolerated) status. Here is a conversation I had with an expert on Spain on the Hour of History Podcast:
December was always the month that traffic would go down at the Hour of History Podcast. People are much busier and the days seem shorter, so they consumer less entertainment. It reminds me of conversations I have had about the New Year being the worst time to make life changes. The days are short and …
Playing the violin, I learned that almost all of the scales you practice and tunes you learn are never performed for others. I still practice scales and plan to keep learning tunes.
Today, I joined a monthly peace walk in the Poplar neighborhood of Philadelphia. We started the walk at Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center and walked from Marshall to Girard and 7th to Poplar and back. The folks at the TBC walk for peace the second Saturday of each month, led by the Dharma in Action Committee. …
It is always exciting to get an email from a publisher who wants to promote a new book. It wasn’t until about a year into the creation of the Hour of History Podcast that publishers started reaching out to me about new books. Before the pandemic, they would say that a book was in the …
This was the credencial I carried with me when I walked the English Route of the Camino de Santiago. At every cafe, albuergue, restaurant and church I stopped at along the way was another stamp that marked my journey. Not only did it feel like an achievement at the time, but it is also one …
I have often brought tea into the classroom discussions, especially during our unit on British Imperialism and the Opium Wars. Many students at my school take Chinese (I took two years in college myself before teaching English in China) and are interested to study the links between British tea drinking and the Opium Wars. Along …
Some days are busier than others, today was pretty busy. Here is what I’ve done so far: 4:00 AM – Wake up. I set an alarm for five, but rarely sleep-in until the alarm wakes me up. A quick cup of coffee. 4:30 – Out for a run. My phone said 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but …
When I was at Temple University I taught a class called the Global History of Soccer. It was mostly a class on globalization, a world history class, that focused on how one can see history through soccer. Students liked the course and it was a great primer for the 2018 World Cup. I still use …