Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4674 )

• Upstate Reading

  

  In terms of cash flow I don’t fall into the wealthy bracket. My assets are largely in pre-printed paper form, and when I visit the local Little Free Library it’... Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pointing to the Moon

  

  The failure of India’s Chandrayaan 2 to maintain contact, intended to make India the fourth nation to successfully conduct a lunar landing, sent me reading abou... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Horseman Horror

  

  Yesterday was distinctly autumnal around here. Cloudy and cool, the overcast was definitely moody although the equinox is still a couple weeks away. Still, the... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Plumbing Depths

  

  This past week we had a plumber here for a day. Our house has been owned by a succession of DIY weekend warriors who had more confidence than ability when it... Read more

  Posted on 06 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Correct Auto

  

  I’ve tried turning it off, but it sometimes doesn’t work. Every time there’s a system update (about every other hour, now) the new system reloads autocorrect. Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Power of Parables

  

  Parables come in all sizes and shapes, horror movie-shaped, some of them. In my perpetual struggle to catch up, I finally got to see Get Out. Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Burger Impossible

  

  On the way home from Ithaca, we’ve learned the hard way to avoid I-80 through the Poconos on a holiday weekend. Past experience indicates that about 80 percent... Read more

  Posted on 03 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Masked Reality

  

  Before I make my confession you need to consider that I spent much of my professional life as a seminary professor. Never ordained, I nevertheless donned the... Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Significant Places

  

  Upstate New York may not get the attention that the state’s largest city does, but it is a place of wonder. One of those sources of significance is the unique... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gods, Monsters, and Publication

  

  One of life’s great ironies is that those of us not born to wealth have to spend the years we’re young enough to enjoy ourselves stabilizing our situation... Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Better Places

  

  I have to confess that I’d never heard of Ottessa Moshfegh before. Shame on me, I know. As a wannabe writer, I feel compelled to know other writers’ names.... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Holy

  

  It’s perfectly natural. Trying to make sense of things, I mean. It’s been a little difficult in America for the past three years or so, given that nothing... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Linking

  

  So I’m active on LinkedIn. I try to keep social media down to the essentials, but you never know when opportunity might rap its knuckles next to your shingle. Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reading Railroad

  

  Rereading books takes time. When I was a professor my reading time was largely limited to the summer and winter breaks. Those who haven’t experienced the... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Meatings

  

  It was almost a little too real. As I looked at the fake blood—this wasn’t a horror movie—I had a hard time accepting this wasn’t the real thing. I mean Beyond... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Clear Thinking

  

  I first heard of Norman Ohler’s Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich before it found a publisher. Even at that point I found the idea fascinating. My knowledge of... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Somebody’s Coming

  

  Sometimes updates don’t help. That’s because evil is so good at masquerading as righteousness that constant vigilance is required. Read more

  Posted on 24 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Horror Homeroom

  

  With a happy coincidence I discovered a website called Horror Homeroom. Featuring articles and podcasts and reviews on horror films, I felt its siren call. Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Building on Water

  

  I try to keep up. Really, I do. Although my specialization is in ancient religions, at heart I’m an historian of ideas and I try to keep up with the origins of... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Private Matters

  

  Mercenaries have long been part of human culture. With some exceptions, people really don’t like to fight to the death meaning that wars have often relied on... Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY