Sometimes we put off some of the most obvious things on our bucket list for an unusually long time. We cannot explain it beyond the excuse that we just haven’t come around to doing them. Over 8 years ago, in a small Mexican restaurant that has since shut down, Argentine tango found me. I say it found me because I was just looking to learn a few dance steps for my upcoming wedding, not pursuing a life-long passion, a dance with which I have had a sweet relationship, and just as relationships go, it has evolved through many ups and downs, highs and lows for nearly a decade. Even so, one thing always remained certain: Someday, we were going to see and experience Buenos Aires, the city that gave us the dance and the music we love. [Read more…] about Buenos Aires: 17 ways to delight in Argentina’s capital
culture
Edith Wharton: “Age of Innocence”
Be it naïveté or lack of insight, I have never understood all the fuss about New York and its self-proclaimed greatness. Try as I might, I cannot recollect a single memory of a warm encounter, a nice experience or a kind human interaction during my visits. Sadly, I do have a few sour such memories, but you learn to write those off as exceptions, especially if the good ones balance things out. After all, the amalgamation of dozens of religions and cultures is bound to produce its challenges anywhere on earth, particularly in big cities. Even so, New York’s inadequate impression on me remains unchanged as yet.
Reading is the best pastime for an active mind! If you like to see the other book reviews, check the index of In Print.
So it is with great reluctance that I started Edith Wharton’s classic short novel on high society life in New York city at the close of 19th century (1870s). Wharton’s Pulitzer-prize winning “Age of Innocence” depicts all the hypocrisy and convention, duty and criticism, propriety and snobbery of the New York elite as it tells the story of protagonist Newland Archer [Read more…] about Edith Wharton: “Age of Innocence”
Barrie Kerper: “Athens: The Collected Traveler”
I distinctly remember my dad constantly begging us to take a trip to Athens, Greece, when we lived in Turkey with my family for 3 years in the 1980s after we had left Iran. For some inexplicable reason, the whole family was against going anywhere else. Perhaps the unexpected move from Iran had left us in need of a landing zone, perhaps we were too preoccupied at that difficult juncture in our lives anyway to appreciate what Greece could offer . To this day, I have wondered what it would have been like to see the Parthenon at the age of 12.
Now, many years later and after becoming a world travel addict, I am planning to visit Greece for the first time, and I am grateful that, among other things, the magnificence of Parthenon remains undiminished for me to see. [Read more…] about Barrie Kerper: “Athens: The Collected Traveler”
My indelible passion: Argentine Tango
My greatest mistake wasn’t to start tango late in life, that is a mere regret, or to not tango seriously enough, I couldn’t as it was making me so happy with so little, or to not tango frequently enough, as life happens and it needs your attention. My greatest mistake was to temporarily give up tango, and sadly believe that I could live a prolific life without tango in my life. It took over a year to realize the mistake, and pay for it dearly by falling out of my tight-knit tango community and becoming rusty on those great skills I had honed. From it all, were born unforgettable lessons, and alas, bitterly sore that I were to take a break from tango, I am now back to stay for good – you can only lose a good thing once, never twice – and finally share on prolific living my fierce love of Argentine tango. [Read more…] about My indelible passion: Argentine Tango
I am Farnoosh, the founder of Prolific Living. So glad you are here. My mission is to empower you to unblock your creative genius to live your dream life.