Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4574 )

• Musical Mind

  

  Music is perhaps the most natural of human arts. We are all, as Daniel J. Levitin says, expert listeners from an early age. This Is Your Brain on Music: The... Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• From Solid to Gas

  

  “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” I couldn’t believe that the woman at the police station actually used that phrase on me. The only time I’d ever heard it... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Naming Evil

  

  Books don’t tell us what is true; books tell us what could be true. When I was growing up, under the influence of the Bible, I thought that non-fiction books... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Star Lords

  

  Things are done differently in the UK. I suppose that’s obvious, but I have always noticed on my trips between our respective countries that some things that... Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Let There Be

  

  President Dwight D. Eisenhower was, as everyone knows, a military man. With the role of Commander in Chief, United States Presidents control a military that eat... Read more

  Posted on 05 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Trench Warfare

  

  Once something becomes socially acceptable, it is nearly impossible to change. I’m no prude, but I remember when “swearing” in public was considered bad taste. Read more

  Posted on 04 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Private Miracles

  

  Despite rumors to the contrary, the Roman Catholic Church is skeptical of miracles. Quick to point out pareidolia where it occurs, looking like the Blessed... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Forward Planning

  

  Smallmindedness bothers me.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim any great intelligence for myself.  I’m just an average guy who thinks too much.  No, the... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• R’lyeh Reality

  

  It’s always a sign that I’ve been too busy when I lose track of Cthulhu. Few created deities receive the attention of the web like the terror dreamed up by H. P... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Rumors of Wars

  

  Now that Black Friday and Thanksgiving are behind us, the holiday season compels us to think of what comes next. Whether it is Hanukkah or Christmas or Kwanza,... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Deserted Village

  

  Hands up, anyone who’s heard of David Felt. Until just recently my hand would’ve remained down too. In his day, however, Felt was famous enough to have a town... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reptile Fantasy

  

  The generous folks at Exterminating Angel Press graciously sent me a copy of Tod Davies’ The Lizard Princess to review. A fantasy novel that includes a... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Seeing Red

  

  Not being commercially minded, it took many years for me to understand why it is called Black Friday. To many people “black” indicates negativity, sort of the... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• To Whom? For What?

  

  Thanksgiving remains one of the few relatively uncommercialized holidays. Not tied to a specific religion, but with a general sense that gratitude is... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Bucking Star

  

  Entitlement comes in many forms. Culturally we’ve been sensitized to substituting “holidays” for “Christmas,” although the reason we spend money at this time... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Book Deaf?

  

  It’s Tuesday morning and I have been listening to authors pitching their books for three solid days now. Truth be told, I am a bit jealous. Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Religion Industry

  

  The American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting can be a heady place. Religionists tend to be “big picture” people, looking a... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Go To, Let Us Make Brick

  

  Next year marks a quarter century. It’s a sobering thought. A quarter century of attending the Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting. A lot has changed... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Birth of a Legend

  

  I was sitting in the restaurant attached to W, a boutique hotel cum chain, with my brother-in-law Neal Stephenson. He was on a book tour and kindly treated me t... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Atlanta Bound

  

  Every year as the latter half of November rolls around, the mind of religion scholars goes toward the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY