Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4573 )

• Pay Attention

  

  It happened in seventh grade, but I remember it vividly. It was music class. I’ve always enjoyed music but have never been able to make it without the assistanc... Read more

  Posted on 13 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Paper Or Plastic?

  

  Perhaps the most frequent topic on this blog is books. I don’t discuss every book I read, but most end up here. I can’t help but be pleased then, that recent... Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• News from Around the Universe

  

  In the last couple of weeks two large-scale news items caught my attention. One describes how a newly discovered galaxy is made up of mostly dark matter. Read more

  Posted on 11 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Nobody’s Business

  

  Working in academic publishing some insights are available that academics typically miss. For example, it isn’t unusual for a professor to ask why royalties... Read more

  Posted on 10 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Intelligent Life

  

  Perhaps the most pervasive trait of religion is its ability to construct worldviews. Even when the religion is eventually abandoned, the worldview remains. Read more

  Posted on 09 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Banned Truth

  

  Banned Book Week is one of my favorite holidays. Don’t worry—you haven’t missed it—it occurs the final week of this month. I’m not very good, however, at... Read more

  Posted on 08 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Behind Left Behind

  Now that September’s here, we can begin thinking back over the summer, scratch our heads, and say “huh?” We’ve been so blinded by the Trump that we haven’t had... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Viewpoints

  

  I first heard of feminism in seminary. Growing up as a poor, uneducated fundie in a small town, where would I have learned about it? I came to it naturally,... Read more

  Posted on 06 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Day Labor

  

  It’s difficult to believe in Labor Day. Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad for the day off. It’s just that I don’t think people really believe in the idea any more. Read more

  Posted on 05 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Becoming the Past

  

  Back home for a flying visit over the final dregs of the summer, I find myself in a hotel in my hometown. It’s an odd place to be. Read more

  Posted on 04 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Zoo Or Farm?

  

  It comes as no surprise, I hope, that I read lots of fiction. While not every book I read makes it onto this blog, a good many of them do, along with some I... Read more

  Posted on 03 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mysterium Tremendum

  

  For those of us accustomed to ancient things, horror movies are remarkably new. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are scarce or even easy to understand. Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Finite Gods

  

  Just how many gods are there, anyway? Well, that’s not really a fair question. For one thing, do I mean “real gods” or gods that people believe in? Do I mean... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Twitter Me This

  

  Techoncrat I’m not. At least I understand that to be authentic in this world you need to be on social media. I have a Twitter account. Have had for years. Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Evolving in Place

  

  Envy is not a word I would use to describe how I feel about those trying to piece together the earliest stages of humanity. Evolution, naturally, is a given.... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Neighborhood

  

  Let me send out a warm welcome to the neighborhood, I think. Not that I officially represent Earth—or anything for that matter. I’m just friendly, I guess. Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Imagining Monsters

  

  All fiction writing, it is often said, is borrowing. I’m not exactly sure that’s literally true, but the basic idea is that writers often trade with one another. Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Eye of Survivor

  

  I don’t watch television. This isn’t any kind of moral stance. It’s financial. We can’t afford any “triple play” plans for the little free time we have for... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Take Your Time

  

  Reading is fundamental. Those of us who grew up hearing that slogan have never forgotten it. The part that I wish had stuck better is just a touch shorter:... Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Quite Dead

  

  Extinction is a cause of fear. Having evolved a certain level of self-aware consciousness, we fear becoming the next tyrannosaurus-rex or spinosaurus, or... Read more

  Posted on 25 August 2016 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY