With the recent celebration of Mardi Gras - "Fat Tuesday" - the season of Lent is upon us. As Mardi Gras is a celebration of indulgences and feasting, Lent is a period of self-denial and fasting. In the Catholic tradition the observance of Lent was virtually universal. Following the Protestant...
Paul of TarsusSaul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul the Apostle, Paul of Tarsus [?-65 c.e.] was a Hellenistic Jew and student of Gamaliel the Elder who served as enforcer for the Pharisaic Sanhedrin against the apostate Christian sect following the crucifixion of Jesus. Around 33 c.e. he experienced a dramatic...
When we think of animals that will destroy us, rend us limb from limb, and leave us in a bloody mess, we usually thing of the huge and horrifying. Which means we forget about the real threats: the tiny, the cute, the gorgeous. The animals at which we ooh and aaah over, but are deadly, poisonous...
Travel broadens the mind. At least that’s what they say. And with the holidays approaching, one’s mind inevitably turns to travel. For many, this means the annual pilgrimage home for big, turkey-laced family gatherings. For others, as witnessed by the film Four Christmases, others take...
Australia is a land of deadly creatures that seem to take obscene joy in killing you — and not just Queenslanders hunting down anyone who's brown. No, the entire ecosystem seems specifically designed to kill, what with the horrible desert, deadly animals, annoying insects, and constant worry of...
