Showing results by narrator "Michael Gilboe" in All Categories

Tiananmen Square, a large city square in the center of Beijing, can be said to represent the essence of Chinese culture, being the site of several important events in the country's history. It is characterized as being a vast open ground centered on and defined by a series of monuments constructed over a period of 500 years. Named after the Tiananmen gate, one that means the "Gate of Heavenly Peace", the square is located towards the north of the gate, separating it from the Forbidden City.

Next to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young is one of the best known Mormon leaders and perhaps the most important. After Smith's death, it was Young who led Mormon pioneers westward in a journey that the Latter Day Saints often likened to the Exodus, and Young became popular as "American Moses". At the same time, Young and his group were involved in a seemingly never ending list of controversies, both of their own making and the misconceptions of so many Americans who were unfamiliar with the religion.

Among all the various figures in 19th century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.

Cemeteries are by their very nature tragic places, as they would never exist were it not for the inevitably cold hand of death that will certainly take out each person eventually. Given that fact, each bears its own unique history, whether it be the Valley of the Kings in Egypt or a small family plot in rural Georgia. Naturally, Arlington National Cemetery, sitting as it does on the very edge of the nation's capital upon a hill across the Potomac River, bears its own tragic aura, but it's certainly ironic that it was never intended to be a cemetery at all.

Among all the various figures in 19th century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.

When Bertram Wiggly leaves his job as an appliance actuary - calculating the life expectancy of major appliances so their warranties expire precisely one day before they implode - he thinks he's found the perfect place to retire in Medville, with its town square, circled by brick-cobbled streets and quaint shops with bright red and white awnings. But then the town rezones itself for musicals. At any moment an invisible orchestra is apt to strike up a melody and the otherwise sane townsfolk of Medville burst into song.

The Olmec people are widely recognized as the first major civilization of Mexico and are thus generally regarded as the mother civilization of Mesoamerica, making them the people from which all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures derived.

Nobody spent more time in the thick of early American political debates than Thomas Jefferson, one of the most famous and revered Americans. Jefferson was instrumental in all of the aforementioned debates, authoring the Declaration of Independence, laying out the ideological groundwork of the notion of states' rights, leading one of the first political parties, and overseeing the expansion of the United States during his presidency.

The Toltec are one of the most famous Mesoamerican groups in South America, but they are also the most controversial and mysterious. The Toltec have been identified as the group that established a strong state centered in Tula (in present-day Mexico), and the Aztec claimed the Toltec as their cultural predecessors, so much so that the word Toltec comes from the Aztec's word Tōltēcatl, translated as artisan.

He listened attentively when Grandpa talked. Curiosity is a terrible curse, he decided. And curious Zander was. He knew that they were considered outsiders on their street even when he was in the second grade. He just knew it even though people were nice to him and to his mother.

A certain inevitability characterizes the rise to fame of Aretha Franklin. Indeed, while it is true that neither of her parents were pop singers, they were each talented vocalists - Aretha's father, C.L., was a particularly famous preacher, with a voice so melodic that his sermons effectively doubled as musical performances. Moreover, in an age in which economic opportunities were particularly limited for African-Americans, Aretha was fortunate enough to grow up in a household of relative comfort.

The Greek god Hades is something of an enigma. On the one hand, people can view him through a lens that was a byproduct of the Christian tradition: as a terrifying lord of death seated upon his ebony throne, an unseen force of power moving through the world. Certainly, many of the ancient Greeks themselves saw the god in this light.

Let this audiobook guide you to the many places you must see in Venice to not let your once-in-a-lifetime trip go to waste. This audiobook is filled with suggested places to stay - from budget to luxurious - places to visit, local cuisines to try, and places to shop. All these suggested itineraries have been experienced firsthand and are all highly recommended to tourists.

In 10% Happier, Dan Harris takes listeners on his journey to adopt meditation and practice mindfulness. The story begins with Harris chronicling a personal panic attack on national television while he was filling in as a News Reader for a colleague. According to the Nielsen ratings data, over five million saw his panic attack, which was the result of an extended period of what Harris calls "mindlessness", where he was focused on professional advancement and adventure.

Gundry says that a plant protein called lectin is responsible for obesity, and many autoimmune disorders. Gundry offers a diet that eliminates lectins, GMOs, and other toxins. This diet will allow people to reduce weight, improve health, and eliminate a wide range of conditions including diabetes, heart disease, lupus, and more. Lectins are plant toxins. Plants evolved lectins as poisons to discourage insects from eating plant seeds or other parts of the plant. Lectins are in most plants, and can cause sickness in humans.

Please note: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and not the original book. The Book of Joy is an account of a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in early July 2015 in India to celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama engaged in a series of dialogues about the meaning of joy and how to achieve it.

Nathan McBride is on the case again - and this time, the stakes are personal. His friend just saw two people killed, and he believes he knows the man responsible. But as McBride and his partner, Fontana, pursue the investigation, they find themselves on the brink of a shadow war, fought in secret by the powerful and wealthy - a war in which a single decision could change the course of history.

By the middle of the 19th century, New York City's population surpassed the unfathomable number of one million people.This was mostly due to the fact that so many immigrants heading to America naturally landed in New York Harbor, well before the federal government set up an official immigration system on Ellis Island. Many of these immigrants, who were arriving with little more than the clothes on their back, didn't travel far and thus remained in New York.

Book 6: the librarian of the supernatural town of Eden faces his greatest challenge yet when a powerful being abducts residents in what turns out to be an act of revenge. With the help of his hellhound companion, Fluffy, and his allies (the ghostbusters, the witch Olive, and the werewolf) Rip Van Winkle, Kevin must confront the monster and prevent it from exacting its revenge on Eden. Meanwhile, Kevin grapples with his own destiny as the anti-Christ and the looming threat of Armageddon.

Get ready to laugh! Get ready to tap your toes! Get ready to take a fresh look at what it means to “love your neighbor” and to “turn the other cheek” (not that one, you nitwit!). Set in ancient Jerusalem, SYMPHONY OF LIFE mostly tells the story of Joel, a corrupt tax collector who’s in desperate need of a swift kick in the pants. But there’s also a cadre of irate marketplace vendors all vying to be the one to deliver the humbling blow; a spunky, young widow who wishes she had more than two pitiful mites to cast into the offering box at the temple treasury; a pair of star-crossed lovers.