Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4556 )

• Retro Fear

  

  Maybe I shouldn’t have started. This was, however, a recommendation from a friend, so I watched Fear Street 1994. I say maybe I shouldn’t have watched it becaus... Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Dismal Science

  

  I kind of resent it.  I was was having a conversation with a friend about retirement.  He knows our circumstances (my middling and muddling career) and suggeste... Read more

  Posted on 08 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Loss and Beauty

  

  Losing someone close to you is never easy. We of our species are closely interconnected, but family is where we feel the safest and, hopefully, most accepted. Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Murder in Oxford

  

  The Oxford Murders isn’t a bad effort as a thriller, but where it works is as dark academia. This 2008 movie didn’t have significant box office take, so it may... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Whose Smile?

  

  Amazon’s smile logo is a mask.  I use Amazon when I need something specific and I don’t have time to run around to six or seven stores to see if I can find it (... Read more

  Posted on 05 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Don’t Tank It

  

  The Tank is a reasonably well done monster movie. It isn’t great, but monsters are monsters and they can be appreciated in their own right. The main problem of... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Laughing Matter?

  

  I sincerely hope AI is a bubble that will burst.  Some of its ridiculousness has been peeking out from under its skirts from the beginning, but an email I had... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• That House

  

  In this season of deportations, thinking about what it means to be a refugee couldn’t be more important. The horror film His House makes you do just that. Bol... Read more

  Posted on 02 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Hinge Years

  

  I recently read about “hinge years.”  Some historians use this as a kind of shorthand for a particularly tumultuous year in the history of the world, or of a... Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Uncomfortable Truths

  

  Horror makes us confront uncomfortable truths. I suspect Birth/Rebirth might be the kind of movie to contain triggers for some folks. Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unsolved

  

  Strange as it may seem, the world of academic religious studies can have high drama. On May 21, 1991, Ioan Petru Culianu, a professor of religion at the... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Again!

  

  The only reason I heard of Repossessed is because my wife read about it in a local newspaper. This is true although I’d written a book about the Bible in... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Optimistic Moves

  

  I’ve been thinking about moving lately.  No, not planning to move, but just thinking about the process.  A family member recently moved, and we have new... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Beautiful Reality

  

  Although it is central to understanding all human experience, we are far from comprehending consciousness. It’s clear to me, based on the fact that our senses... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Stigmatic Thoughts

  

  Stigma is a funny thing.  Almost a superstitious mindset.  Especially when it concerns a non-contagious agent.  When a person becomes a victim of such an... Read more

  Posted on 04 November 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Little Girl

  

  It might be inferred from the fact that I’ve mentioned it once or twice that I’ve seen The Little Girl Who Lives down the Lane before. On a rainy autumnal... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Groan

  

  Authors are a peculiar but definite taste. Some noteworthy voices have vociferated regarding the wonders of Mervyn Peake. Mine has not been among them, but then... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mighty Mouse

  

  The only way I write my books is by living a regimented life.  It’s front loaded too.  Most of the work is done sometime between two and seven a.m., before... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Shaping Halloween

  

  Halloween is the favorite holiday of many.  I suspect the reasons differ widely.  Although the church played a role in the development of this celebration, it... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Halloween, Disney Style

  

  I really don’t spend much time on social media. It’s literally just a few minutes a day, half an hour at most. I’m too busy to spend more. I tend not to join... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2025 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY