Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4571 )

• Epigraphic Ephemera

  

  Photo credit: Napoleon Sarony, via Wikimedia Commons“We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” ― Oscar WildeIn certain kinds... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Prejudices of the Time

  

  When my daughter was in middle and high school, I made an effort to read every book she was assigned for her English classes. This gave us something to talk... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• January 2019

  

  When January starts grinding you down you have to find something to hang onto. See, I even ended a sentence with a preposition. January. Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Book Life

  

  Like a book, life can be divided into chapters. This is perhaps an instance of art following reality, or perhaps it’s the other way around. The episodic nature... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mastering the Elements

  

  First time home ownership is best left to younger people. And perhaps younger houses. The constant onslaught of things falling apart, or falling off (it has bee... Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• For the Love of Dog

  

  All I have to do is say “Old Yellar,” and everyone will know the feeling. Everyone of a certain age, I should add, who’s owned a canine. The love of dog. Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Walls and Calls

  

  With a barely concealed chortle the man’s ebullient voice burbled on my answering machine. For a donation right now, he gushed, Republicans would send bricks... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mastication Meditation

  

  Musing while munching a bowl of Wheaties, a thought came to me. Not only do we owe the practice of eating breakfast cereal to an evangelical strain of... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Xenophobia’s Children

  

  There are consequences, it seems, for not paying attention in school. I have no way of knowing, of course, but I suspect most of us are taught that basic... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Truth Is Marching On

  

  A funny thing happens to human minds when they’re in a crowd. They begin thinking collectively. We’ve all heard of “mob mentality” and dismiss it as so common... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Poe Et Tree

  

  When winter gets a little dreary with its constant chill and perpetually gray skies, I often think of Edgar Allan Poe.  There’s been so much going on lately,... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Turnabout

  

  Fair play, so the adage dictates, includes turnabout. Well, that may be overstating it a bit, but after reading Joe Nickell I decided to give the other side a... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Obso

  

  Oxford Biblical Studies Online is a subscription service for institutions that gives access to many biblical studies resources produced by the press. Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Quite Thursday

  

  I discovered Jasper Fforde, as these things so often happen, at the recommendation of a friend. A writer of rare talent, he’s conjured a few meta-worlds where... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Quantum Magic

  

  This history of ideas is perhaps the most stimulating of intellectual topics. At least to me. The pedigree of an idea tells us something of its validity—its... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fun with Skeptics

  

  You have to love skeptics. Really. Like most people who’ve spent many years attaining a doctorate, I’m naturally skeptical about many things. Read more

  Posted on 14 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Now Hiring?

  

  In keeping with my recent theme of jobs you never knew you could have, I recently read a story a friend sent me from The Vintage News. The story concerns a... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Truth of Fiction

  

  The thing about reading is that it’s a lifestyle. I record books both here and on Goodreads, but I read a lot more than books. Although I don’t have much time... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not About Pigs

  

  Pseudepigrapha always struck me as a great name for a pet guinea pig. Neither members of the porcine family nor from Guinea, these rodents are remarkably... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mephistopheles

  

  Jeffrey Burton Russell is one of the clearest thinkers I’ve ever read. I first encountered him in my background reading for Holy Horror, and have subsequently... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2019 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY