Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4649 )

• Ideal Christmas

  

  This blog is even open on Christmas.  I’m enough of a pragmatist to realize that few read it today, but even Carl Sagan knew that launching the Pioneer plaques... Read more

  Posted on 25 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Eve Before Christmas

  

  Even as we sit here on Christmas Eve, the work week finally over, my thoughts go to those who celebrate different holidays.  Or none at all. Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Space Ads

  

  So, I’ve got enough stuff to worry about down here—the chimney needs some attention, that backyard gate still doesn’t hang right, and Giant keeps on running... Read more

  Posted on 23 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holiday Horrors

  

  Holiday horror is a genre—really a sub-genre—that is still being explored. It’s the subject of my my latest YouTube video. Typical definitions suggest that it... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Yule Tidings

  

  Happy Yule!  One of the things my British colleagues find hard to believe is how Dickensian American employers are about days off around the holidays. Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Best Beasts

  

  Strange Beasts of China left me strangely affected. Yan Ge’s novel received quite a bit of acclaim for a book of speculative fiction. Of course whether or not i... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Seasonal Sights and Sounds

  

  It’s listed as one of the top ten Christmas activities in Pennsylvania.  Koziar’s Christmas Village, located north of Reading and really out in the country,... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Blooming in December

  

  The cascading petunias are doing fine.  It’s a little odd to see them in December, given that petunias are annuals, not perennials. Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Booking Dreams

  

  There’s a certain kind of person—many of with whom I work—who trade in the currency of books.  These are individuals who would rather be paid in books than in... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Birthing Stars

  

  Fusion.  The recent breakthrough with fusion announced so close to Christmas hardly seems a coincidence to me.  I have to admit to having been interested in... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• All About Blurbs

  

  A book recently arrived.  It was unexpected, but when I saw the return address I knew what it was.  My young colleague Daniel Sarlo from the University of... Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• For the Eyes

  

  A Welsh horror film? Lately Euro-horror has caught my attention. European sensibilities give horror a distinctive flavor, and The Feast doesn’t pull the usual... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dark Academia

  

  Over the weekend I “dropped” a new YouTube video on my channel (you can see it here, or by visiting my “YouTube” page in this website’s menu). Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gift Books

  

  The New York Times recently ran a story suggesting that books are not only the ideal gift, but that this has been the case for a very long time. Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Not Relic

  

  Someone somewhere sometime recommended The Relic to me. I can’t recollect who, where, or when, so I’m not sure in which direction to point the blame. Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Haunting Hudson

  

  After Maine, the one place I’ve always wanted to live, but never had the opportunity, or could never afford, is upstate New York. My ancestors were from the... Read more

  Posted on 10 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Earliest Sunset

  

  Welcome to the day of the earliest sunset of the year.  “But how can that be?”you may ask, “since the winter solstice is many days away? Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Split Personality

  

  This may be the way to develop a split personality.  For the majority of my waking hours of the week I’m a biblical studies editor.  I do the usual, boring... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pods

  

  Some cultural assets (ahem) are so well known that you come to know them by association. I knew the story behind Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978)... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Religion in Its Place

  

  The other day at work I virtually “met” someone else from western Pennsylvania.  It came about in an odd way.  We were both in an online author talk and my... Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY