25 years after 1984, Orwell's ghost still haunts us  ... Way back in 1947, with the scars of World War II surrounding him, George Orwell spent one of the final years of his life laboriously retyping the manuscript of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the archetypal dystopian fantasy of a world gone wrong. This book was prophetic of so much that it no longer matters if its future is now in our past. It might have been possible for others to imagine the looming Cold War, but how uncanny w... Read Full Story

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In the age of digital books, this one deserves a hard copy ... As a long time fan of novelist Neal Stephenson and a new fan of the Long Now Foundation, when I heard that the latest novel of the former was inspired by the 10,000 Year Clock project of the latter, I hurried to order a copy. And while it might seem that science fiction -- or speculative fiction, to use a newer term -- would be perfect to read in digital form, something compelled me to acquire Anathem not only printed on paper bu... Read Full Story

So who created whom? Recently several scientific articles have been published that describe how a belief in God and the idea of Creation may be "wired" into our brains, and that these beliefs may have evolved in us because they were beneficial to our survival. Oddly enough, the first conclusion that comes to mind is that this means God is just a figment of our imaginations. But this is just another example of how our minds work. Belief in something is no proof it is false any more than it p... Read Full Story

Are we catching up to the future, or is it the other way around? As I explained last year, I am a guilty fan of the Terminator series, both the movies and the TV show. But what began back in the 1980's as a fanciful exploration of time and fate has turned into a warning sign on the entrance to the Twilight Zone. It remains to be seen if the series will be able to reach its final conclusion before reality has passed it by. The premise of the movies is that we humans (let's be more specific:... Read Full Story

Don't blink or you might miss something ... It's amazing how often while we are witnessing history live, as it happens, the things we notice are small details that never go down in the history books. For example, back when the redoubtable Oliver North was testifying before Congress on the Iran/Contra deal, I found myself spending way too much time gaping in front of the TV as ever more bizarre facts emerged. But am I the only one who heard him say this ...? Asked if he had really authorized... Read Full Story

As a metaphor for life, this piece of foliage isn't bad ... My mind is engraved with an image from one of the low points in my life, one I will never forget. It comes from the midst of the kind of troubled adolescence that often breeds writers, and which we tend to write about with such gusto it almost seems like bragging. My parents were divorced (a common situation now, less common back then) and I spent each Saturday with my father. Saturdays were like little vacations from the tedium and... Read Full Story

Why God is like an alien, and when we will arrive at the promised land ... All things, it used to be said, will come to those who wait. That may have been a common attitude in Biblical or medieval times, but it is rather rare in this present age of speed and continual change. Now we are much more likely to go out and get what we want when we want it -- or better yet, place an order online and expect next day delivery by FedEx. Yet even now there are times when we have no choice but to wait. ... Read Full Story

The Alvin Ailey Company kicks up some spirit ... Let me say first that I don't dance myself, personally. I have in fact a long history of not-dancing, stretching all the way back to elementary school when they tried to teach us a wooden fox-trot in Phys Ed class. Not even the advent of rock and roll got me moving, despite some abortive practice sessions in a sort of alley between portable school buildings. Perhaps the closest I have come was participating in some "creative movement" classes w... Read Full Story

What President Obama probably did not see on his visit ... Those of us who live in the complacent affluence of the United States of America often find it hard to remember that we share the continent with a different United States, Los Estados Unidos de Mexico. Though increasingly entwined with this poor relation both economically and culturally, we scarcely give a thought to the lives and struggles constantly going on south of the border. Confronted with the problem of immigration, both lega... Read Full Story