Category: lifestyle
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Chasing After Banners
Not because it is election season, I have been thinking about Dante’s Inferno these days. In case you have not read it, the book is a depiction of Hell. It goes into great detail about the various punishments awaiting those who have sinned while they were alive. I would not say that I am a…
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My Ancestor, Tiernan O'Rourke, The Irish King
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so it is a good time to explore the Irish king in my ancestry, Tiernan O’Rourke. Tiernan (or Tigernan Ua Ruairc) was king of Breifne, a region that no longer exists, from around 1124 until around 1172. Breifne was where the current counties Cavan and Leitrim are. At the height of…
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Lotus Uprising
Over the weekend I attended a wonderful event that I wanted to share with you. It was called Lotus Uprising, and was part yoga class, part dinner party, part house concert.
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You Never Know
Last week, I took my 13 year old son and some friends to a paintball field. We had never been before. As we drove out, we shared about how some of us were a little nervous, but the overall emotion was excited anticipation. Like race horses trembling before the gate opens, we were ready to…
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What One Big Thing Will You Do Today?
Normally, I find articles about how to “minimize distractions in this distraction-filled world” to be unhelpful. They usually amount to: “Have more will power to avoid distractions, unplug, and do things in batches.” I sometimes get upwards of 200 emails per day. I have many filters in place, so the dross gets autofiled and ignored.…
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My 2011 Focus Areas For A Balanced Life
I believe in New Year’s resolutions, if only to focus my mind on the kind of person I want to aspire to be. (My friend Caryn has written a great article in praise of resolutions.) Typically, I focus on my shortcomings — things I want to improve. This year, I thought I would try for…
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Real-World Verizon Droid Review
My latest piece is posted at Public Square Today, my blog at Washington Times Communities: Mobile professionals are not the only ones who have discovered the usefulness of the smartphone. More and more public leaders are busting out Blackberrys and iPhones when they are out and about. At my recent talk at the National League…
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Are You Playing Restaurant?
When I was about eleven, I learned how to make my favorite cheese sandwich: white bread, mayonnaise, American cheese. Yes, I grew up in the midwest. Shortly after I learned this special skill, I developed a fun game to pass the time: I would play “restaurant.” More precisely, I would play short order cook. I…
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Leaving Time For Yourself
The hand wringing, eyebrow-raising, and joke-making over Mark Sanford’s trip to Argentina is beginning to run its course. Having read the emails between him and the Other Woman, it’s hard to mark this one down as just venal corruption and hypocrisy. The whole episode clearly filled Sanford and his love with anguish — moral anguish.…
Brad Rourke 