"The Rainbow-bearded Thornbill has a narrow, multicolored throat patch that can appear dark until it catches the light just right and explodes into glittering iridescence. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru." 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Photo by Faber Mosquera Alvarez©️ | Wondershots

"The mind is attuned to truth when it listens to silence." — Pythagoras of Samos, c.570-495 BCE Claudio Abbado and Lucerne Festival Orchestra perform the breathtaking choral finale of Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 2, composed in 1894. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 EuroArtsChannel©️

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. — Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, 1923. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Photo by Ákos Dornics©️ | Erdei Utakon

Christmas is a bit bittersweet in our household. For years, my late father, a retired protestant minister and theologian, would take the train to Budapest, and share his eloquent thoughts with us, expounding his call for amity, compassion, and forgiveness. Miss you, dad. ❤️‍🩹🕯️🕊️

Wishing the good people of Greenland, ruled by Denmark from the early 18th century, and inhabited primarily by Inuits and residents from Denmark, a very Merry Christmas, and blessed, peaceful holidays! 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ #Greenland 🇬🇱🇩🇰

As we settle in for Christmas to spend time with loved ones, I'd like to give thanks to you all, for the wonderful connections I've made in this vast digital realm. Sending my friends around the globe peace... and hope for better days ahead. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by Péter Molnár©️

“Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love.” — Jane Goodall, 1934-2025. Lithuanian-American pianist Rūta Kuzmickas performs Frédéric Chopin, Ballade No. 4, composed in 1842. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Claude Monet, French painter, 1840-1926. The Seine at Vétheuill, 1879. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France | Painting and Fine Arts

John Atkinson Grimshaw, English painter, 1836-1893. Moonlight on the Lake, Roundhay Park, Leeds, 1872. Oil on canvas. Private collection. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

"Life itself is the miracle of miracles." — William Blake, 1757-1827. British conductor Mark Elder and London Philharmonic Choir perform Edward Elgar, The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, composed in 1900. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Arthur Rothstein, American photographer, 1915-1985. Heavy black clouds of dust rising over the Texas Panhandle, 1936. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Fotograficamente©️

"Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand: life itself is the miracle of miracles." — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950. Swedish conductor Mikael Wedar and St. Jacob's Youth Choir perform Morten Lauridsen, O Magnum Mysterium. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️

Claude Monet, French painter, 1840–1926. Valley of the Creuse, 1889. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Museum of Fine Arts Boston | Painting and Fine Arts

"Thank you to my friend, Jóska Pálnik, who in 1960, on the second step of the water slide pool, told me how babies are born, and I wanted to die under the weight of this discovery." — László Krasznahorkai, in preface to 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

My wife @zazimadiary.bsky.social, a tv producer in Budapest, came up with a lovely idea to send her mom on a top-secret mission to Paris, France, for a 'Grandma Surprises Her Grandkids for Christmas,' special. The two-part episode airs on RTL Reggeli in Hungary. All the feels. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️

The Godfather, 2025, gangster film, crime drama, tragicomedy, set during widespread corruption of MAGA-era in Washington, D.C. 🎞️🔞🏴

"And as I've gotten older, I've had more of a tendency to look for people who live by kindness, tolerance, compassion, a gentler way of looking at things.” — Martin Scorsese, American filmmaker. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Le Cinéma World

"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil." — Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BCE. Iván Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra perform I. Allegro moderato, Franz Schubert, Symphony No. 8 in B minor, composed in 1822. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

“Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 161–180 CE. French classical violinist David Grimal performs IV. Andante, Édouard Lalo, Symphonie espagnole in D minor, composed in 1874. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Tens of thousands of civilians joined democratic opposition leader Péter Magyar on the streets of Budapest this afternoon, to raise their voices against the systematic abuse of children in state-run facilities, which came to light recently through leaked videos. ❤️‍🩹🧸 📷 @telexhu.bsky.social ©️

The power of a grassroots, democratic political movement; of the people, by the people, for the people. ‘Tis high time to chase away oligarchs, populists, and authoritarians, around the globe. 💯📢✊🏻 📷 Péter Magyar©️

Horrific scenes at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Terrorists fired into a crowd celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, caused widespread death and injury. In the eternal battle of good vs. evil, we must unite and stand against the dark forces trying to rip us apart. 💔🕯️🕊️

"The most powerful moment wasn't the numbers or the promises. But when he spoke to the children. And he apologized. Not for himself. But for the state, which should have done this a long time ago." — Bözsi néni Opposition leader Péter Magyar speaks to crowd at mass demonstration yesterday.

"Our country has reached the point where we can no longer wait. We can no longer remain silent. We must act." — Péter Magyar, Hungarian opposition leader Budapest, December 13, 2025, at massive demonstration in support of victims of child abuse at state-run facilities. 💯📢✊🏼

“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” — Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948. Lithuanian-American classical pianist Rūta Kuzmickas performs I. Toccata, Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita No. 6 in E minor, composed in 1725. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Haunting image from 1945 of devastated, war-torn downtown Budapest. It is heartbreaking that Ukraine is facing similar destruction in 2025. Russian aggression must be thwarted, so peace & prosperity may return to the European continent. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Attila Szabó©️ | Fortepan

If the sky That we look upon Should tumble and fall Or the mountains Should crumble to the sea I won't cry I won't cry No I won't shed a tear Just as long As you stand Stand by me Rob Reiner, 1947-2025 A heartbreaking, devastating loss. 💔🕯️🕊️

"Beautiful, bucolic landscape in the Slovenian countryside." 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by Piotr Skrzypiec©️

Wishing all my Jewish friends far and near a very happy first day of Hanukkah. James Zamora, American, b.1988. Menorah, 2022. Oil on Panel Private collection 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Maryellen Brown | Masters of Modern and Contemporary Art

"The most important thing is that you be a good person and you live by the golden rule of do unto others. If you live by that, that's all I care about." In Memoriam, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. Clara-Jumi Kang performs Méditation, Jules Massenet, Thaïs. 💔🕯️🕊️

John Atkinson Grimshaw, English painter, 1836-1893. Extensive Meadow Landscape with Geese by a Stream, 1892. Oil on panel. Private Collection. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Painting and Fine Arts

“But we cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever.” — Haruki Murakami, 1Q84, 2009. 🙏🏼🌏🕊️

Winter Trees, William Carlos Williams, 1921 All the complicated details of the attiring and the disattiring are completed! A liquid moon moves gently among the long branches. Thus having prepared their buds against a sure winter the wise trees stand sleeping in the cold. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️

“One should search for nature at its simplest..." Ivan Shishkin, 1831–1898. Pine Forest, 1866. Oil on canvas. Private collection. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Painting and Fine Arts

"Love is the beauty of the soul." — Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 CE. South Korean concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho performs Allegro maestoso, Frédéric Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, composed in 1830. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Franz Nölken, German painter, 1884–1918. At the Well, 1904. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Hamburger Kunsthalle©️

"Teréz körút 9 in Budapest’s 6th district hides a fascinating secret: its service staircase, once used by servants and workers, is actually more beautiful than the main staircase. This historic apartment house was built in 1887." 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Buildings Tell Tales©️

Albert Bierstadt, American painter, 1830–1902. Mountain Brook, 1863. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌎🕊️ 📷 Art Institute of Chicago

“In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism, skepticism and humbug, and we shall want to live more musically.” ― Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890. South Korean-German classical violinist Clara-Jumi Kang performs Pablo de Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen, composed in 1878. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

"The setting sun in Drymen, near Trossachs National Park in Scotland." 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by Bogdan Nikla©️

So cool to see a post go viral, like my Monty Python musings did this weekend. Over on Twitter, when you get likes & retweets from luminaries like Chris Hadfield, Tom Morello, Alexander S. Vindman, Martina Navratilova, and the legendary Eric Idle himself, it's a humbling experience indeed. ✨

"A beautiful sunset in one of the most beautiful ports in Asturias, Spain." 🕊️🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by David Navia©️

"Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you." — Rumi, 1207–1273. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Photo by Mitch Crispe©️ | Ancient Forests

Endô Kyôzô, Japanese, 1897-1970. Persimmons, c. 1930. Color woodblock print Art Institute of Chicago 🙏🏼🌏🕊️ 📷 Annaliese Hess | Masters of Modern and Contemporary Art

Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter, 1862–1918. Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, 1916. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Sotheby's

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch, 1853–1890. Vase with Pink Roses, 1890. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Peder Mørk Mønsted, Danish painter, 1859-1941. Oil on canvas. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ 📷 Virtual Art Museum

Wish I was in the White House press pool, I’d ask him this: “Mr. President, it’s well known that both President Obama and President Biden are far superior golfers than you. A lot of people are asking, why do you focus so much of your time on the game of golf? Thank you.” 😳🤯⛳️

My youngest daughter Manna, moonlighting as a model for a chain of taquerias in Budapest. Feeling groovy! 🙏🏼🌍🕊️ #DadHumbleBrag