1. You find it just as easy to think in terms of Celsius and kilometers as you do in Fahrenheit and miles. You hear it’s in the 20s outside and momentarily think, “Oh, good, I can go outside in T-shirt […]
Miscellaneous
Christmas Greetings
A Happy Incarnation, Jesus’ Birthday, and Solstice to all my readers. And a more prosperous New Year than, for most of us, the last one. – Howard Ahmanson
Byzantium on the Pacific, A Visit to Alaska
This summer, for the first time, my wife and I made a visit to America’s largest state, Alaska. In her case it was especially poignant, because she had passed up a chance to go there with her parents at age […]
The Value of Inheritance
In a recent newsletter of the evangelical The Gathering, Erik Johnson and Gabriel Schulze discuss the question of whether it is wise to leave money to your children. I have some opinions about that. Here are the options: As Ron […]
Exotic Maine
Recently my wife and I had the pleasure of going as far as you can from California and still be in the lower 48 states. Maine is at the northeast corner of the country. It is our easternmost state and […]
A Brief Review of “The Secret of Kells” (And an Even Briefer Review of “Alice and Wonderland”)
My son dragged Roberta and me to see a new animated movie called The Secret of Kells, and I was glad he did. The style of this animated film is what you might expect if Hayao Miyazaki had a. Been […]
Church Fights Back After…
So much for the libertarian reputation of Goldwater’s state! Related: “Church Fights Back After Arizona Town Bans Home Bible Study” at FOXNews.com
Sorry Wrong Number: A Basis In Reality
One of the less cheery films that we as a family like – because it reminds us of some of our relatives – is Sorry, Wrong Number, a 1948 noir film with Barbara Stanwyck. As a young girl, the Stanwyck […]
Why They Sometimes Call New Year’s Eve “Sylvester”
WHY THEY SOMETIMES CALL NEW YEAR’S EVE “SYLVESTER” If you go to a New Year’s Eve dinner or party in a continental European country – and for all I know, probably in Mexico and Latin America as well (I’ve never […]
Lights in the Store Window
The lights in the store window look white, unfortunately, in this picture. But they are actually a sort of light blue. I know from being there at this time of year that the British love these light blue Christmas lights […]