Welcome, Interweb Travelers
It was about time I gave this site a makeover. The old one was looking pretty dated, and I was pretty unhappy with the content management system (Drupal). I rebuilt everything from scratch in Joomla 1.6 and even wrote some custom modules to give it the look I wanted. Summer in the Garden
The other day I realized I spend so much time gardening but I never really mention it on here or Twitter. I don't think it's because society tends to equate gardening with "things women do," as real men only cut grass and barbecue large chunks of meat when they're outside. That's simply not true (and stupid). So here it is: I like growing plants. Strange Places: The Capuchin Crypt
Whenever I travel, I have a habit of seeking out really weird, sometimes creepy, tourist attractions. In Rome, I hit the jackpot. Just outside the Barberini metro station, where tourists normally exit to head to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, sits the church of Santa Maria della Concezione. Led by a group of Franciscan friars called the Minor Capuchins, it was the first Roman church "dedicated to God in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary," according to the group's website. The story behind the church — and the story of Father Mariano, a friar who lived there and is being considered for sainthood — is interesting, but I was there because I had heard stories about the crypt. Book Review: The Emperor of All Maladies
Not long ago I received an email forwarded by my dad on cancer prevention tips from "Johns Hopkins." While some of the facts in the e-mail were true, like how chemotherapy devastates your immune system and cancer cells can adapt to treatment, others were blatantly false. (For example negative emotions like bitterness only help cancer and cancer cells hate oxygen.) It was easy to tell 1) the e-mail was not from an oncologist or a doctor associated with Johns Hopkins and 2) a lot of people still don't understand what cancer is. "They Tell Me You're a Peep with True Grit"
The deadline for submissions to the Washington Post’s famous Peeps diorama contest was March 14, 11:59 p.m., so it’s safe to disclose we threw our Peeps into the ring this year. After geeking out over submissions year after year, it’s only fitting that we — me and the amazing talents of Amanda Wolfe and my wife Kimberley Lufkin — gave it a shot. |
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