Recently an article appeared on web news about the growth of “atheist-mega” churches in England and the United States. Apparently, people of like minds are seeking to meet with brethren who are attracted to religious music and pageantry but lack a belief in a divine being. http://

We tend to think of cults as religious groups that are out of the mainstream but according to Nathaniel Rich, who de-programs cult victims, that image is far from true. (“The Man Who Saves You From Yourself,” by Nathaniel Rich, Harper’s, November 2013, pgs. 35-44) In his essay,

“Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.” The adage is a warning to the greedy, but when I look back on the financial debacle of 2008, I have to say somehow the adage got it wrong. Hogs of the financial system survived while the rest of the litter got killed, meaning you, me and all t

I stumbled across another of those “best” lists we see everywhere. This one was in the December issue of Vanity Fair. On this occasion, the list was drafted by museum curators, critics and art professors who were asked “to name the six most important living artists.” (“Paint

I met a friend for coffee at a neighborhood shop last week. We hadn’t gotten together for some time and I’d missed our chats. The minute she walked through the door I could see the malaise that hung about her. Outwardly, she looked well. Her hair was recently trimmed and she was s

For two years, while in my 40’s, I kept a dream diary. Someone suggested the idea when I’d complained about a recurrent nightmare that haunted me. Having no alternative, I gave the idea a try and discovered the more I welcomed my dreams, the more vivid they became. Some of them fa

Old soldiers fade away. Dying elephants break from the herd and wander off by themselves. But what becomes of books past their prime? The question came to me this morning as I was donating a few paperbacks to my neighborhood library box. I’d just made my deposit when a voice growled

We Americans like to differentiate our playbook from the one Russia and China uses. Their foreign policy we view as self-serving, while ours is designed to serve as a beacon for human decency across the globe. But, according to the writers Henry Farrell and Martha Finnemore, a whistle

I read another of those endless, nagging magazine reports reminding me that age, food and fitness have a correlation. Eat well, exercise regularly and live longer. Yes, yes, I know. Even the fast food giant McDonald’s gets it, which is why they’re offering healthier menu options.

A neighbor with a brochure came to my door yesterday. She’s new to the area and we’d said a few words this summer when she and her husband moved into the corner house on my block. When I opened my screen door, she smiled but said little, choosing to press her printed material into