One of humanity's quirks is that people actually like to be scared. At least, pretend scared. Kids (and often adults) dress up as ghouls, ghosts, pirates, and their favorite costumed superheros and villains and run around from house to house shouting "Trick of Treat!" and demanding candy. I've always thought Halloween is one of the weirdest holidays:...

Recently my neighbor loudly declared me a hypocrite to my 10 year old daughter. Had she said it only once, I may not be writing this blog, but having been repeatedly called a hypocrite I have since given in more thought.  First, let me explain the reason for the claim. I wanted to spend some time with my daughter.  I recently started working...

Which question would you most like to find an answer to? According to search engine Ask.com (formerly known as Ask Jeeves, which is still its moniker in the UK) the following are the top ten "unanswerable" questions: 1. What is the meaning of life? 2. Is there a God? 3. Do blondes have more fun? 4. What is the best diet? 5. Is there anybody...

When both US president Barack Obama and Catholic Pope Benedict XVI advise you that your plans are a bad idea, that's usually a good sign that you should think twice about what you're doing. Terry Jones would be well advised to listen to their advice. His tiny 30 member group, ironically named the "Dove World Outreach Church" in Gainesville, Florida,...

When you hear the name Joran van der Sloot what’s the first word that pops into your head – innocent or guilty? From a legal standpoint, at least in the US, the rule is “innocent until proven guilty” but that’s only what the law books say.  In the court of public opinion it simply is not true.  We know that something horrible happened...

Success is:______. How would you fill in the blank? "That's easy," you might say. "Success is ... for an athlete, winning the Super Bowl, the World Series, or a gold medal: for an entertainer, winning an Oscar, a Grammy, or an Emmy; for a businessperson, being a top executive with one of the Fortune 500 companies: for a university student, being...

At 19 weeks I gave birth to a little boy.  We named him Jacob.  We said hello and goodbye in the same hour. He is not a miscarriage or an almost-child, he is my son.  This letter was written three years after his birth.  This is a glimpse into my mother’s heart, a letter written to Jacob my son who resides in heaven.  If you (or someone you...