“What would prompt a well-educated woman of a certain age to take up such a dubious pastime? A pastime that makes her long-patient husband of 48 years sigh audibly when he enters the…

“When we turn our gaze skyward, to the constellations and planets that have guided human wonder for millennia, we encounter names that carry stories far beyond the shimmer of their surfaces. Naming is…

“Considering that we all depend upon fossil fuels for our existence, I suspect a healthy future is not in our cards. Even though ‘reduced coal burning has saved about 400 lives a day…

“What do you do when you realize that many of the things you love most deeply are the products of harm? What do you do when things you knew for certain turn out…

“I went thin as pears, all sliced-up and see-through. I went halfway to happy. I went to a place where I don’t have to answer. I went sniff in the air. I went…

“I felt myself detoxing from apartment life, wearing as few clothes as possible, sandals only when in town or on gravel, becoming more and more aware of all the nuanced joys of being…

“If it’s just the appearance of fitness one desires, silicone pectoral implants are available for $15,000 from your local plastic surgeon. Kids get off easy: a silicone pectoral vest can be purchased for…

“I watched while JC shuffled slides across a light table, flipping them into carousels for the next week’s lectures. I could sit here for hours. He’d show me slides from his travels. This…

“Inside this quiet masterpiece lies a peculiar literary Russian doll: the reference to another, entirely imaginary book, called The Infinite Mistake. Its title alone sounds like the punchline to philosophy’s longest joke. The…

“Although the image contains a multitude of sub-scenes, including angels, shepherds, midwives, The Magi, and Joseph, the eye invariably returns to the serene yet enigmatic figure of The Panagia. Her centrality is not…