boblarson

  Thursday, January 16th, 2014      William Shakespeare Gloomy, laughable, majestic, radiance, hurry, generous, frugal, critical, courtship, zany, undress, rant. A dozen words you use in conversation and communication all the time. Nouns, verbs and adjectives that fill our speech without a thought. But until the middle of the sixteenth-century, they were unknown and …

Invented Words Read More »

  Wednesday, January 15th, 2014      Israeli army officers bury Ariel Sharon. This week, the body of Israel’s former prime minister Ariel Sharon was laid to rest in a grave at his family’s ranch near Sderot, Israel. Monday, international leaders paid tribute to the ex-military leader who went on to lead his country through …

Jewish Cremation? Read More »

  Tuesday, January 14th, 2014      Sue-happy Sirgiorgio Okay, I’m giving away my age. “Sioux City Sue, Sioux City Sue, your hair is red your eyes are blue, I’d swap my horse and dog for you.” Those were the words to a popular country song when I was a kid. I may be the …

Sue City Sue Read More »

  Monday, January 13th, 2014      Ever make a faux pas? A completely unintentional, awkward act or utterance? A miscue, saying or doing something that didn’t come out quite right? Last week I was in California for a seminar, and I saw the bumper stickers above on the car I was following. At a …

Unintentional Irony Read More »

  Friday, January 10th, 2014      It’s a dirty habit and a deadly habit. And it’s an addiction — legally promoted, government subsidized, and widely advertised. It’s costly. The average price per pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is $6.03, but the health-related costs per pack are $35, according to the American Cancer Society. …

Smoking Addiction Read More »

  Thursday, January 9th, 2014      A lot wrangling has been going on lately at meetings of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. And it’s all about the cross. It’s not the first fight over whether or not the Christian cross would appear on County seals which are displayed on flags, vehicles and …

The Cross of Christ Read More »

  Wednesday, January 8th, 2014      Artist rendering of satanic statue proposed for Oklahoma, City Capitol. By now you’ve probably heard the story going ’round about the Satanists who claim the right to put up a statue of their Dark Lord outside the Oklahoma state Capitol, which since 2012 has had a Ten Commandments …

The Devil on Display Read More »

  Tuesday, January 7th, 2014      Oskar Zepeda had 25 operations after being hit with a hand grenade in Afghanistan. Isaiah 61, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, speaks of bringing about “beauty for ashes,” or as we say in the vernacular, “turning lemons into lemonade.”  That’s what 29-year-old Oskar Zepeda is …

Ashes to Beauty Read More »

  Monday, January 6th, 2014      The graph above was printed front page in USA-TODAY last week. No article, no comments; just the poll results. So, I’ll add the commentary. Some might say that a 4% drop in belief in the devil isn’t much (it’s actually a 6.5% drop from 62%) but extrapolate that …

The Devil Made Me Do It? Read More »

  Friday, January 3rd, 2014   . I took the photos above while Christmas shopping a few weeks ago. In the perfume section of a major department store, one you may have frequented, was this demoniacally inviting display: Goddess of Prosperity, Goddess of Power, and Goddess of Love. I’m sure that some clever marketing maven …

Pagan Perfume Read More »