By Claire Ala 76 years old is the age of most retirees, but not for the new pope. Pope Francis was elected to take the place of the previous Pope Benedict. Well, what makes this new pope any different from the past leaders? Much of the news around the world has been calling Pope Francis…
Severe winter weather has been sweeping the country. New England was recently buried under one of the worst blizzards in recorded history.
By Rachel Birdsell When I was young and spending more time in a church pew than was necessary, I learned that Jesus commanded his followers to eat his flesh and drink his blood. I always thought it was pretty creepy, and having it explained that Jesus meant it symbolically didn’t make it any less creepy….
In an age of sound bites, download apps, tweets and multitasking, the short story stands proud, an elegant choice in a fast-paced world. For the reader, short stories fit snuggly into time between flights, a wait at the doctor’s office or those lost minutes while kids finish some ubiquitous practice. For those sleepless nights, they…
Dear Editor: In November 2011, I published a children’s book called “The Journey to Stone Village.” I wrote the book several years earlier and had tried to find an illustrator and publishing company for a long, long time. Once I figured out the system on how to publish, I knew that I had to share…
By Terrah Baker When TFW was offered the opportunity to give away two tickets to One Night of Queen at the Walton Arts Center on March 15, I couldn’t do it without putting in my two cents. Simply because Queen — although lead singer Freddie Mercury was dead before I knew what rock n’ roll…
By Amanda Bancroft In the very first Making Ripples column in 2012, I asked: “How can we make every aspect of our life create something wonderful in the world?” Most of the answers are, for us, 100 wonders on one acre of land. There are 43,560 square feet in an acre. Our earthbag house is…
By Amanda Bancroft U.S. buildings consume 72 percent of the nation’s electricity and generate 47 percent of all U.S. CO2 emissions, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. Our homes have a role to play in reducing those numbers, as well as how much habitat is destroyed to make room for — well — roomy subdivisions…
eReader usage is on the rise, and the decision of which eReader to buy can feel like navigating a maze with a variety of choices and options. So, which eReader is the best? The answer is easy … It depends on what you want. In practice, it isn’t so clear. Here’s a quick summary of…
By Terrah Baker On Feb. 17, the largest rally to bring attention to the issue of climate change was held on the steps of our — your — Nation’s capitol, with more than 40,000 people, and thousands more in San Francisco and across the country. Oh … you hadn’t heard about it? Well neither have…