Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4674 )

• Wordle

  

  Each year in late capitalism seems to begin with a new fad.  This has been pronounced with the pandemic (which I almost wrote as “academic”) keeping people... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Underestimated

  

  Under-printing, ironically, can create great demand.  Books are generally under-printed because publishers don’t see much of a market for them. Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Archive

  

  Publishers hate it, but I bless its holy name.  The Internet Archive is a major boon for “independent scholars.” If you’re not familiar with it, the Archive is ... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Horror Shortly

  

  Some short books have an outsized punch. Especially when dealing with a large topic such as “horror.” This isn’t just horror movies, which could easily fill suc... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• First Books

  

  It was back in the day when I believed a book was the final word.  Remember those times?  (I have a suspicion that many Republicans really are longing for the... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Better Things

  

  It’s only a store brand, but still.  Maybe like me you remember opening a box of Raisin Bran and pouring out the first bowl.  And finding only bran.  Maybe a... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Reconnecting

  

  Not using the internet for 48 hours isn’t the same as not being able to use the internet for that length of time.  Even politicians (who are notoriously slow... Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• I Have to Confess to Having Known Very Little About Goats...

  

  I have to confess to having known very little about goats. Although one book does not an expert make, I still feel that I know quite a bit more now than when I... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Outernet

  

  Once in a while (ahem), I interject a note of caution regarding technology.  This blog has been part of my daily routine for over a dozen years.  I try to post... Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Healing Borders

  

  Sometimes you read a book that just gets your head buzzing. Brett Hendrickson’s Border Medicine: A Transcultural History of Mexican American Curanderismo is... Read more

  Posted on 25 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Routine Interruptions

  

  Ironically, having just written about routines, we experienced a power outage with a wind storm.  Sitting home of an evening, the lights in every occupied room... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Routine Change

  

  A certain type of mindset thrives in routine.  Perhaps you’ve noticed that these posts appear each day about the same time.  This happens because the routine... Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Living Right

  

  Horace Liveright had an outsized influence for his somewhat foreshortened years.  Initially a bond trader, he eventually moved into publishing where he founded... Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Socks and Books

  

  The other day I was thinking about my annotated copy of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I read this in seminary and took notes in the margins. It... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Whose Baby?

  

  Some books are better known as movies. I suspect that I, like many, saw the movie Rosemary’s Baby without ever reading the book. It turns out that they’re very... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Incorporeal

  

  I’ve been struggling with the concept of incorporeality.  Well, not me personally, but in how it fits into demon movies.  Specifically the Conjuring universe. Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• A Little Fuzzy

  

  Animals don’t obey the law. As I observed just a few days ago on this blog, they don’t recognize indoors or outdoors. And they certainly don’t respect private... Read more

  Posted on 18 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Thinking About Thinking

  

  I’ve been thinking about thinking quite a bit.  My lifelong fascination with religion is part of this, of course.  So when someone pointed out Bridget Alex’s... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pennsylvania Dreaming

  

  “I finally understand what I’ve come here to learn,” I said.  I was incredibly happy.  I recall the sun was shining, making its way up from my feet to my legs i... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Just Curious

  

  I’m constantly reminded of the dangers of it.  Interdisciplinarity, I mean.  We all know the cliched image of the myopic professor unable to function in the... Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2022 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY