Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4573 )

• Unseen Worlds

  

  A few weeks ago I wrote about re-watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose. In anticipation of the inauguration I was in the midst of a spate of possession movies. I... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Publish Or Perish

  

  Working in publishing, I’m well aware of the stresses of the information industry. Jobs frequently evaporate as new, less formal ways of spreading ideas develop. Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• O Brother

  

  When teaching mythology at Montclair State University, I had students watch O Brother, Where Art Thou? Based on Homer’s Odyssey, the movie follows a trio of... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The First Weak

  

  “Oh, what a tangled web we weave. When first we practise to deceive!” I always thought this couplet came from Shakespeare, but in fact it’s from Sir Walter... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• What Rapture

  

  Evangelical culture must be an endlessly fascinating area of study for sociologists. So pervasive that many people who aren’t religious buy into aspects of it,... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Can I Get a

  

  Public restrooms have always made me uncomfortable. This has nothing to do with North Carolina. It’s more an issue of being raised to be ashamed of bodily... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Love Thy Enemy

  

  The line for the train snakes through Union Station before 6:00 a.m. Many of us, maybe all of us, were at the Women’s March on Washington. Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Alternative Reality

  

  It is a caution that may become increasingly necessary as Trump’s supporters of “alternate facts” begin to sink their insidious hooks into feeble American... Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reading Lesson

  

  “The President” responded to the Women’s March on Washington by tweeting that he was “under the impression that we just had an election! Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• On the Ground 2

  

  Don’t believe the lies. Your government is lying to you already on day 1. I watched in disbelief as Trump’s press secretary for the White House, Sean Spicer,... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• On the Ground

  

  Washington, DC has always struck me as an artificial city. The neoclassical architecture is just a bit pompous and rolling into town on a train is kind of like... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Elephants and Snakes

  

  I try to be a good son. As good as you can when living a few hundred miles from home. I call my Mom every week and when the mood’s right, we reminisce. Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Monks and Keys

  

  Whoever doesn’t understand that something being free doesn’t mean people won’t buy it is pleasantly naive. I write this as someone who once worked for a... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Illusions Incorporated

  

  Fiction and fact aren’t so different. Long before the Wachowski Brothers came up with The Matrix, Richard Bach wrote Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Looking for Light

  

  The one problem with Halloween is that most people suppose that when it’s over we need to wait another year for the scary stuff to come around again. Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2017 RELIGION

• Women and Men

  

  I’m going to the Women’s March in Washington, DC next weekend. At an organizing meeting yesterday it occurred to me that someone might ask me why. Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Alas, Binghamton

  

  “Store Closing” the signs veritably shout. “Everything Must Go.” It’s something I hate to see in an economically depressed town. The tragedy is redoubled when... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Hopeful Horror

  

  I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. To my way of thinking, if I’m aware I’m doing something wrong, I try to change it at that point, rather than waiting. Read more

  Posted on 14 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reformation Blues

  

  Welcome to Reformation Year! Well, not actually. It’s more like an anniversary. Five centuries ago this Halloween, Martin Luther grabbed his silver hammer and... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Saint Charles

  

  Honestly, I’m not sure where the idea of votive candles started. An educated guess—which will have to do in my state of limited research time—is that candles,... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY