Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4661 )

• More Than Kids’ Stuff

  

  Children and Young Adult literature (which has its own Library of Congress acronym!) has come a long way since I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed the... Read more

  Posted on 24 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mummy’s Daddy

  

  Now that I’ve broached the subject of the Agade listserv, I’m bound to find some interesting stories therein. The title of this blog “Sects and Violence in the... Read more

  Posted on 23 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Upgraded at Last

  

  Those who pay close attention to labels may have noticed the tag “Neo-Luddism” appended to some of my blog posts. Luddites were nineteenth-century protestors... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Marching Down the Middle

  

  It is true that I have a fondness for nineteenth-century British novels. Even though they often lack a strong speculative element they tend to be gothic, at... Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Never Too Late

  

  In these weary days of bleak news, I’m always glad to find a bit of cheer. A friend recently shared the story of Giuseppe Paternò from The Guardian.... Read more

  Posted on 20 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Etymological Serpents

  

  Snakes get a bad rap. There are biological, evolutionary reasons people tend to fear them (some are dangerous and the way they move is literally creepy), but... Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Agade

  

  The word “listserv” feels abrupt to me, as if someone couldn’t be bothered to type one more “e” to give the reader a sense of satisfied completion. Read more

  Posted on 18 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• A Slice of Childhood

  

  Few names from childhood are as well known as Dr. Seuss. When my wife and I read Theodor Seuss Geisel, in the Lives and Legacies series, we realized that neithe... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Parable of the Doves

  

  A loud flapping of wings. I looked out my window in time to see a mourning dove land on the roof opposite with audible bump. The poor thing sat there, looking... Read more

  Posted on 16 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fiction

  

  All writing is fiction. I suppose that requires some unpacking. One of the first things we do when we approach a piece of writing is answer the question “what... Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Holy Smoke

  

  I’m not inclined to read news about drug use, and, to be honest, I barely have time to read about the culture of ancient Israel any more. Read more

  Posted on 14 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Zoom Game

  

  Perhaps you’ve notice it too. The technology blame-game, I mean. Although it’s grown more acute since the pandemic, it has been around for as long as the tech... Read more

  Posted on 13 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Back in the Zone

  

  In general I’m a fan of reading the book before seeing the movie. In some cases, however, the written version comes later. A few months back I started to have... Read more

  Posted on 12 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Time Slip

  

  Perhaps you’ve noticed it too, or perhaps it’s just something those of us in the strange world between Mac and PC see. A couple of months ago I noticed somethin... Read more

  Posted on 11 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Update on Nightmares

  

  Progress continues on Nightmares with the Bible. Despite pandemic conditions, I received a happy email last week telling me that the manuscript had been... Read more

  Posted on 10 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unnatural Nature

  

  It began as an odd sort of noise. I had the study windows open during the morning of a heat wave and I heard a small, but metallic noise coming from the roof... Read more

  Posted on 09 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Jacob’s Ladder

  

  Jacob, it is said, was quite a dreamer. While fleeing from his brother Esau he had a dream of a ladder, or stairway, to heaven. Well, “Heaven” as we recognize i... Read more

  Posted on 08 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Almost Ancestors

  

  During the Covid-19 crisis, cemeteries seem to be safe places. Not too many people are in them, at least not people that can spread the virus, and they always... Read more

  Posted on 07 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Enough

  

  Stories of the wealthy never interest me unless they have a mysterious, ageless cousin who’s really a vampire. Unfortunately fantasy can’t save us from the... Read more

  Posted on 06 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Hurricane Isaias

  

  People have been debating how to pronounce Hurricane “Isaias,” an hispanic name based on Isaiah. Pennsylvania, which has few distinguishing features, is... Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2020 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY