Once upon a time, there was a boy who was getting nothing for Christmas. He and his brother, who was also getting nothing, knew this because their mother had told them. “I am so sorry,” she said. “I can’t afford to buy either of you a present for Christmas.” The boys were sad but not […]

“Gladiator II” has some awfully big sandals to fill, both commercially and creatively. Its predecessor, 2000’s “Gladiator,” made $187 million at the domestic box office. The new film has thus far made an estimated $132 million after three weekends of release. With a lot of money up for grabs in the upcoming holiday season, another […]

I found myself wanting to read a physical book instead of one on my phone. From my shelf, I chose Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. I’d read the book years ago. (Not this particular copy. It’s probably a hardback from a school library.) For this current reading, I was less interested in the plot than […]

The 2016 “Moana” is probably my favorite animated Disney movie of the modern era. I have plenty of nice things to say about “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” “Encanto,” and several others, but “Moana,” with its timelessly relatable main character, sharp physical comedy, and multiple memorable songs, puts it just above the competition. When an evidently rushed sequel […]

OHACA (Oxford Hills Area Clergy Association) is a multi-faith group of clergy located in Oxford Hills. They come together once a month to examine mission needs, provide shared worship, and give mutual support. Several years ago, my spouse bought me a lamp that emits light similar to what is found in our natural world. My […]

The colorful fall leaves are long gone, and the shorter days of December have arrived with the promise of starry nights and maybe a hint of snow. There is a feeling of expectation in the air as we hurry along thinking of the upcoming holidays. Perhaps it is my northern Scottish heritage, but I just […]

It was in the spring of 2004 that I first saw Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth perform the showstopping “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway blockbuster “Wicked” at the Tony Awards. Since that moment was over 20 years ago, it means that I have waited literal decades for a big-screen version of “Wicked.” I’ve more than […]

In high school football practice, there was a drill we particularly hated. It consisted of running up a short, steep hill and crashing into an ancient chain link fence. If you hit the fence hard enough, you would rebound, land part-way down the hill, and roll unceremoniously to the bottom – where you tried to […]