Month: March 2019

Paris, Kentucky, will never be Paris, France, no matter how great the Kentucky Horse Park and Bluegrass Bourbon may be. But you do score some undeniable bonuses with close-to-home travel: No airports, no TSA, no exchange rate, and no translation. Part of the joy of blooming where you’re planted is the spontaneity of flipping open…

Luis Diego “Luzo” Zumbado was loved in San Rafael, Costa Rica. As a member of the skateboarding group San Rafael Extremo, he encouraged local children to skate and tried to establish safe places for them to do so. Locals saw him as a protector of youth, and through skateboarding, he had hoped to provide a safe haven…

Panorama of the operational area of Yanacocha. La Minera Yanacocha is the business that exploits this area in which the largest gold mine of Latin America can be found. Wikimedia Commons. Public consultations as a means to determine the future of a territory is a constitutional right in Colombia, but now it’s in danger. This…

There are few things more nerve-wracking than watching an officer slowly walk up to your car through your side-view mirror. Especially when you’re not sure why they pulled you over. Are my registration and proof of insurance in the glove compartment? You ask yourself.  Oftentimes, as the officer walks up to your window, he or…

This story is a runner-up in our 2019 Great American Fiction Contest. See all of the winners.  It’s warm for late October, Amy, and there’s a moon, not quite full. The lake is still, no wind, and I can see the Big Dipper. It reminds me of the nights we used to sit out here…

There’s nothing wrong with paying a visit to New York’s wonderful Metropolitan Museum or the LA’s Getty, but what happens when you go home? Try to tell your neighbors about what you saw and you’ll be lucky if you get a suppressed yawn. (Don’t even try to cue up the video!) Want to give your…

This time of year, Biltmore is ablaze with holiday decorations, the front lawn covered with sparkling evergreens and softly lit tulip poplars, its centerpiece a tall Christmas tree trimmed with twinkling stars. A fantasy-like scene, perfectly suited to this evening’s program, “Candlelight Christmas Evenings,” an annual holiday celebration that extends from November 6 to January…

When we look at prominent leaders who stride across the world stage projecting unflappable confidence, we never consider they may be fighting major insecurities. There’s no question that most people in positions of power deal with self-doubt, but the good ones are able to hide it. Former first lady Michelle Obama opened up about the insecurities…

This article by Abdullah Amin Al-Hallaq forms part of a special series focused on Oral Culture and Identity in Syria. It is the outcome of an ongoing partnership between SyriaUntold and openDemocracy’s North Africa West Asia in a bid to untangle the roots of sectarian, ethnic and other divides in Syria.   For better or…

I’m on my hands and knees scouring the beach for diamonds. It’s a picture-perfect summer day: sunny and warm, with practically no humidity and maybe the biggest blue sky I’ve ever seen. The beach is heavenly, with that sugar sand you find in the tropics, framed by a dune forest protecting the scrub-shrub habitats of…