Fire DancerA great deal of emphasis is given in our stories to tales of magical creation. Wishes are granted, and the coveted item appears out of thin air. The birth of a child, in many religions, is the beginning of salvation. The creation of a building, or an artifact, or a concrete set of precepts [...]
It’s about power, not about God. Photo by MJ Mac. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)Last night, I went with my family to see The Golden Compass. Even if you are not a fan of the fantasy genre, you have probably heard about this film by now due to the efforts of some Christian groups to boycott [...]
Bumper stickers as the modern version of political activism… Photo by cesar bojorquez. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)Recently, there has been an increasing amount of talk centering on the possibility (or even probability) that President Bush and his administration are going to declare martial law and bring around a new fascist state. There has been a [...]
One of the more disturbing bits of news to hit headlines today was that back in October, the House of Representatives passed a bit of legislation entitled Violent RadicalizationPhoto by kaerast. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, H.R. 1955. Reading quick synopses and evaluations of this bill, one might think [...]
Photo by Matt Reinbold. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) Even outside the church, there are concerns that it promotes unhealthy food choices. It scares the little ones. And to top it all off, it’s dangerous, with its glorification of violence, poisoned and razor-bladed treats, and the way it encourages children to take candy from strangers (not [...]
The real thing doesn”t photograph well. You will have to go with my symbolic representation. Pic by me. For some people, it is simply a culmination of small things, over the years, and it is impossible to pinpoint the one that tipped us over. However we get there, most people, sooner or later, find themselves [...]
In case you missed the “satire” tag…of course I believe everything I said here. Photo by billy verdin. (License: Creative Commons Attribution) **PLEASE NOTE BEFORE COMMENTING*** This article is satire. That means (in case you can’t be bothered to click the link) that it’s not meant to be read literally. It’s a comment on many [...]
In thinking about taboos recently, it occurred to me that while some of them are obvious (no peeing in public, for example), some of the cultural standards with the deepest impact are the ones which are hardest to see: those dealing with ideas. Here in the United States, we champion our freedom, and get into [...]