Megan Hallinan

And shout out to my (now) German Navy friend who was a part of the Lütjens crew manning the rails for us back on 9/11. Today he reached out to me— as he does every year. I can’t say it enough: Allies matter.

Our one complaint about the Lamborghini Museum is that they don’t have a tractor anywhere on display. Kinda feels like it should be the crown jewel at the entrance.

Lamborghini Countach AKA supercar spaceship at the Museum

Just getting a look at some of the local color. #Countach

The Photographer Who Looked Past the Idea of Italy Gianni Berengo Gardin spent a lifetime revealing the real people, real ironies, and real beauty of a country that people only think they know.

“I’m not an artist,” Gardin liked to say. “ I’m just a witness of what I see.”
www.newyorker.com/culture/phot...

Mermaid’s Purse and seaweed on the beach.

It doesn’t sound great, but this morning the seaweed and mermaid’s purses outnumbered the plastic that usually washes up on shore.

A postcard that says welcome to Boston. A wrestler with a green costume labeled Storrow Drive is clotheslining two guys wearing Penske and Uhaul costumes.

I am not at the club. I’m further inland & down the street but they always turn it up to eleven.

The seaside dance club here outside of Rome just teed up “All I Want For Christmas” so it’s official summer is over.

The state asked the public for new flag ideas. The public didn't disappoint. With over 1,000 submissions, the public utilized seemingly every Massachusetts cultural staple in its proposed flags, seals and mottos.

And why can’t our flag be the state dinosaur holding a Dunkin’?? www.boston.com/news/local-n...

“They have a huge detachment from what it all means to us. The Everglades [the vast swamp ecosystem west of Miami] is meant for our tribes, it protects life, it shields it. It’s not meant to detain life,”

Today I got to meet Sunita Williams, US Navy officer and (yes) one of the two astronauts who recently spent 9 months on the ISS. She was so gracious, and as a fellow officer, I was thrilled to tell one of our great leaders how she has set such a positive example for the rest of us.

Falmouth Road Race route with the WHOI cheering section hanging a banner that says “WHOI Runs on Science”

My favorite sign (and supporters!) on the Falmouth Road route goes to the @whoi.edu cheering section. #RunFalmouth #WoodsHole #TogetherForScience

2025 Falmouth Road Race mug with a lighthouse in the background

We have so many of these #FRR mugs that we don’t know what to do with them. We’re definitely not the only ones. #RunFalmouth

Falmouth Road Race Expo 2025 history corner with old race shirts, bibs, and the winner’s trophy made by Timber and Flow.

It’s always weird going back into the field house where I ran track 30+ years ago. The bonus this year is that they have the Falmouth Road Race trophy on display (which my brother made!).

Three unofficial state birds of Massachusetts (wild turkeys) on a morning patrol

Seen on my morning run to the high school. Must be road race weekend. #FalmouthRoadRace

Papa Gino’s pizza box

I might live in Italy, but for me nothing beats a Papa Gino’s rustic pizza 🍕 #WickedGood

There used to be a mini golf at the Bourne Bridge. Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists took the giraffe from the mini golf and placed it next to their sign, visible just before you cross the Cape Cod Canal.

When you know you’re nearly home. #CapeCod #BourneBridge

Absolutely. When in Stockholm, it’s a must see.

Great interview as always by Sam Sanders. Love that he talked to Big Freedia and gave us a chance to learn more about her origins and how it affects the creative process.

Page from, 'My first book about Hiroshima" showing paper cranes and a black and white photo of a Japanese girl. "Sadako was two years old when the bomb was dropped. She was not hurt and grew up strong and healthy. However, when Sadako was 12 years old, she got a really bad illness. The bomb's radiation had hurt her body."

80 years on, it feels more important than ever that we learn about and understand the consequences of our actions as a global community. #Hiroshima #August6th #HiroshimaPeaceMemorialMuseum #広島 #HiroshimaDay

Tourist (or tour guide?) walking Vatican City Walls carrying a double flagged Boston Red Sox guidon.

It would appear that this Vatican City visitor came straight from Fenway. And people say we’re the most obnoxious fans. #GoSox #RedSox #MassholesInRome

80 Years After Hiroshima Bombing, Art Needs ‘Courage to Be Afraid’ (Gift Article) Eighty years after the city’s destruction, we seem to be blundering into a new age of nuclear perils. It is time for culture to rediscover “the courage to be afraid.”

“It started raining in the first days after Aug. 6 as well: viscous black drops, heavy with soot and debris. The survivors drank it desperately in the ruins of Hiroshima. The raindrops were radioactive” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Italian wait staff with shirts that read, Il bagno è in fondo a destra”

I kind of wish more places offered this kind of passive news you can use.

« If you want peace, work for justice » artwork by badass nun and artist Corita Kent

You have great taste in lock screen artists 👌

Sold Out sign at the entrance to the Caravaggio exhibit at Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

We just squeaked in on the last day.

You haven’t lived until you’ve patronized a 🇨🇭 vending machine. 🫕

Birch trees bent over the Dranse d’Entremont Swiss Alps

I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
-Robert Frost

What Military Service During “Peacetime” is Really Like “People get killed just training.”

Highly recommended listen-- for those of us in, as well as for those who've never served a day. Kudos to Anna Sale and the Death, Sex & Money team for talking to @whatsraysaying.bsky.social @slate.com slate.com/podcasts/dea...

Completely agree with Jim. There are things you can learn about the United States only by not living in the United States

Rick Steves Is Tired of Hearing 'Have a Safe Trip' Podcast episode from The Journal.: Rick Steves Is Tired of Hearing 'Have a Safe Trip'. Listen online, share, subscribe.

"I really believe that if everybody traveled before they could vote, this world would be a much more stable and just and beautiful place." @ricksteves.bsky.social podmust.com/ep/?podcast=...