Topic: Henry David Thoreau

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Martin Luther King Day: 10 memorable MLK quotes

Monday is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. The civil rights leader was also one of the most famed orators in American history. Here are a collection of 10 MLK quotes.

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Follow the footsteps of Thoreau in 'Walden' through .. a video game?

A video game based on Henry David Thoreau's life at Walden Pond is being developed by a team at the University of Southern California.
Advice for Congress this first day of spring: To improve leadership, go outside

Thoreau’s suggestion that Congress might be improved by a greater awareness of the natural world was a serious one. Being outdoors this first day of spring should remind leaders and voters of a calendar beyond the election cycle – and a web of connections that transcends party.
Chapter & Verse
Henry David Thoreau as global-warming researcher?

Comparing the dates Thoreau recorded of flowers in bloom with those today shows powerful evidence that global warming is taking place, say researchers.
The Lives of Margaret Fuller

Margaret Fuller, problem child of American transcendentalism, gets fresh treatment from Pulitzer Prize-winner John Matteson.
After Black Friday, Cyber Monday – the best holiday deals? Clean out your closet.

Consumer spending can drive economic recovery, but a recession created by a culture of excess can't be healed by more excess. As my kids learned by cleaning up their rooms, sustained economic health comes from knowing what we really need and what we can do without.
Reader recommendation: Hawthorne, A Life

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.
Everett Ruess: two new biographies

The story of Everett Ruess – the young explorer of the American West who vanished in the 1930s – remains an unsolved mystery to this day.
"Once Upon a River," by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Campbell's plucky heroine, Margo, carves out her own epic on the Stark and Kalamazoo rivers.
How summer reading flipped me from my hammock and changed my life

I'll read this summer for moments of revelation. The summer before college, I confirmed my major by reading Russell Baker's "Growing up." Later, Eudora Welty's "One Writer's Beginnings," told me that a wise life could be made beyond the Washington Beltway.
Chapter & Verse
Fourth of July: an excellent day to stay home

On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau took the first "staycation" – and authors have been debating its merits ever since.
The Simple Dollar
Stuck with student loan with variable rate? Shop around.

Student loan has a low interest rate. But if it's variable, it pays to lock in that student loan with a fixed rate. Question No. 1 of the reader mailbag.
Stir It Up!
Spaghetti with pecorino romano and pepper

So simple, Thoreau would have liked it. With only four ingredients, Spaghetti with pecorino romano and pepper is a lively, rustic Roman favorite quick enough for even the busiest weeknight dinner.
Martin Luther King Day: 10 memorable MLK quotes

Monday is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. The civil rights leader was also one of the most famed orators in American history. Here are a collection of 10 MLK quotes.
You bought it. Are you happy?

Money can make you happier – to a point – but not in the way you think.
In Motion: The Experience of Travel

How the art of “Deep Travel” can transform even our mundane trips into something transcendent.
Casino gambling in Massachusetts: the dice heard 'round the world

Massachusetts should reject this false elixir for revenue.
Fourth of July and Thoreau remind us that US progress is linked with its ecology

If war is a way of teaching Americans geography, then environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill seem to be the primary way that Americans learn about ecology.
How Japan can save face -- and whales

Japan has given the world green cars and technological marvels. It wouldn’t be a stretch for it to lead the 21st century protecting the world’s oceans and whales.
Lake life: taking lessons from the local inhabitants

Learning to fly, the art of self-defense, confidence – lake life offers daily lessons.
Diggin' It
Seeds: Sow them and expect wonders

All garden treasures started as seeds. Be it a fragrant lilac, a juicy tomato, or a blue ribbon-winning pumpkin, the best, biggest, and most wonderful plants sprouted from an unassuming seed.
Editor's Blog
Happy Earth Day: Apologies for the late thank-you card

We're marking the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. That's a little embarrassing considering our 4.5 billion-year-old planet has been so hospitable.
The Journal Keeper

Memoirist and essay writer Phyllis Theroux tracks six eventful years of her own life.
How to tell if last year's garden seeds are still good

Here's an easy way to test last year's garden seeds to see if they're still good.
More government oversight? Capitalist, regulate thyself.

Solutions to the abuses of capitalism are sought in new programs and corrective legislation – why not in the hearts of men?
Best books of 2009: fiction

What we here at the Monitor liked best in 2009.