Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4650 )

• 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

• Not Sleepy Yet

  

  Working on a doctorate changes the way you think. Or at least it’s supposed to. Easy answers have to be examined closely, and sources critically scrutinized. On... Read more

  Posted on 05 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Prosthetic Horse?

  

  Old habits die hard.  As a young researcher, I was dogged about reading everything possible on a subject before writing on it. Read more

  Posted on 04 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unidentified

  

  Some places are quite ordinary. Once you get to know the people, however, you begin to find some oddities. That’s all normal. Other places, however, are... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Goodbye, Linda

  

  It’s out of the ordinary for me to post twice in one day, but I’m compelled to do so by the passing of a friend I’d never met.  I’ll already published today’s... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Forgot Again?

  

  I’ve noticed a pattern.  I’ve been posting daily on this blog for over thirteen years now.  During the past two of those, several days (including the day... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Abc 2 Qwerty

  

  I thought this was over after school.  Sitting in a class with a long list of names, always coming in last—or very nearly so—because my name began with W. ... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• This Way

  

  The more I get to know myself—pleased to meet you, sir—the more I realize that my childhood was cobbled together from small but repeated exposures to my favorit... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Doppelgängers

  

  Maybe this has happened to you.  Two names get stuck and mixed up in your mind until you consistently can’t tell them apart.  Jeff Bridges and Jeff Daniels are... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Katrina’s Side

  

  Once a story is released, and its copyright expired, it’s free to be re-interpreted. Although there are those that deny it, any reading is a form of... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Natural Wonder

  

  I recently heard a talk about monarch butterflies that left me in awe, once again, of nature.  These remarkable insects have been in the news because of... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• In the Dark

  

  I’ve read several of W. Scott Poole’s books, and each time I read one I want to read another. Dark Carnivals: Modern Horror and the Origins of American Empire i... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holding Still

  

  For some people today is the start of the “holiday season.”  Thanksgiving begins what often becomes a rush up until Christmas.  Moods tend to be more festive, i... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Religion in the Air

  

  There’s a physicality to it.  Being in Denver, I mean.  My hotel was a mere four blocks from the convention center and the short walk inevitably found me huffin... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Kids’ Stuff?

  

  Do you want to be popular with the kids this Christmas?  Do you want to hear the squeals of pure delight that every mom, dad, aunt, or uncle wants when that... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reflections of a Hermit

  

  Although I acknowledge that Covid has made even more a hermit of me—I won’t deny it—and I often complain when I have to travel for work, I generally end up... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Day Two

  

  You have your suspicions when you first spot them, but you have to wait to confirm it.  You’re flying in mid-to-late November and they’re concentrated around on... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Remember November

  

  I didn’t get his name.  I could have, because he was wearing a name tag.  I was too busy thinking, “that won’t be me.”  I ended up being wrong about that point. Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Denver Curse

  

  I’m posting this early today because I’m flying to Denver for the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature (AAR/SBL) annual meeting.  At... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Monsters in Common

  

  The thing about monsters is once they’re released they go wild. Antlers is sometimes criticized for cultural appropriation—it takes the wendigo, an American... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY