Our Sponsors

Monthly Archives: December 2009

Anime: Tragedy Replaces Happy Ending In Fairy Tales

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time in a village full of ninjas there lived an orphan named Naruto. When he was born, the chief of the village sealed a powerful and malevolent spirit of a nine-tailed fox inside thee child’s belly. Whenever Naruto loses control of his emotions, the fox takes over and wreaks havoc.

Naruto knows tragedy intimately. His parents were killed in a war; Sasuke, h

Blue Moon To Greet 2010

The glittery ball in New York’s Times Square drops every New Year’s Eve. But this year it will be joined a second glowing orb in the sky: The last night of 2009 will boast December’s second full moon, otherwise known as a blue moon.

A blue moon, according to folklore, is the appearance of a second full moon in a given month, said Bob Hayward, an astronomer and educator at Pisgah Astronomical Re

Tarot Card Reader Files Suit Against The County

A tarot card reader and spiritual counselor says that her constitutional rights have been violated by Chesterfield County. She has filed a federal lawsuit that alleges that the county misclassified her business and denied her a license, according to www.richmondbizsense. com.

Sophie King, who said she offers spiritual counseling, filed the lawsuit in the belief that the county’s classification

Opinion: ‘Avatar’ And The Faith Instinct (May Contain Spoilers))

You probably don’t need a long synopsis of James Cameron’s half-billion-dollar epic, “Avatar,” in part because even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve seen it. As many reviewers have noted, Cameron rips off Hollywood cliches to the point you could cut and paste dialogue from “Pocahontas” or “Dances with Wolves” into “Avatar” without appreciably changing the story.

The film has been subjected to a s

Harvesting New Year’s Day Luck With Legumes

You may eschew horoscopes and tarot readings the rest of the year, but, headlines being what they are these days, it’s almost a civic duty to be superstitious about New Year’s Day. Maybe it should be a collective effort; Washington take note.

First of all, nothing, nothing, nothing must leave one’s house in the virgin year — not recycling, not the cat, not the empties from the night before — be

Pressure Rises To Stop Antibiotics In Agriculture

The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat.

The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: “You pour the blood out of your boot and go on.”

But Kremer’s red-hot leg ballooned to double its size. A strep infection spread, threatening his life and baffling doctors. Two months of multipl

Documents In Sweat Lodge Case Show Past Problems

Documents released Monday by Arizona authorities investigating a fatal sweat lodge ceremony show that serious medical problems occurred at past events led by self-help guru James Arthur Ray.

Three people died after the Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony that was the highlight of Ray’s five-day “Spiritual Warrior” event at a retreat near Sedona.

Dozens Killed, Scores Injured In Bomb Attack In Karachi

A day of religious gatherings by Shiite Muslims across Pakistan was violently disrupted Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up amid thousands of marchers in the southern port city of Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead and 60 injured.

The bombing was the fourth to occur in Pakistan during the final climactic days of Muharram. The 40-day religious mourning period includes frenzied self-flage

Rhode Island Football Field Fight Highlights Church-State Issues

A fight over athletic fields in this city goes beyond who gets to play soccer where and raises thorny questions about separation of church and state and public aid to religious institutions — divisive issues that have flared repeatedly in heavily Catholic Rhode Island.

Parents of public school students accuse the city of favoring Saint Raphael Academy — a prominent Catholic school and alma mate

Group Aims To Defend Student Religious Freedom On Campus

The Alliance Defense Fund is stepping up a campaign on college campuses aimed at ensuring freedom of religious expression.

The 15-year-old Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Christian nonprofit is using a $9.2 million donation and its own matching funds for its University Project, which will send attorneys to defend students or student groups that feel they’ve been prevented from expressing socially conse

Our Sponsors