misogyny n. Hatred of women. misandry n. Hatred of men. misanthropy n. Hatred or mistrust of humankind. Compare to the opposite. Well, not exactly the opposite pe se: polygamy n. The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at one time. Also called plural marriage. polygyny n. The condition or practice of having more than one wife at one time. polyandry n. The condition or practice of having more than one husband at one time. polyamory n. The desire, practice, or acceptance of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and ...

There is one question that comes up again and again—what is the purpose of life? And it's very easy to see why this question keeps coming up. For one, we never seem to really get a satisfactory answer. Many religions have tried to come up with an answer. A path. A reason. The ancient Mesopotamians had a scripture in which Marduk, the king of the gods, created Humans to do the toiling, the work, for the gods. That's why this ancient religion had animal sacrifices to the gods. It was our job to keep them feed. If you look at the Bible, you see the same thing in the story of Adam ...

But in Pullman's books sometimes authority is correct, other times wrong. And the lesson of only listening to legitimate authorities is one on that appeals to me. This is a part of growing up. You have to learn to make your own decisions. In fact, one of the main themes of this series focuses on growing up. Becoming an adult. The above is from my review of the His Dark Materials trilogy of books, including the Golden Compass. As I was reading over this line a very disturbing thought had hit me. Technically, and legally, I am grown up. I am an adult. This is all there is to ...

I've just finished reading all three books in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It's a fantasy series for young adults that is comprised of the books the Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass. The name of the trilogy comes from a poem quoted in the start of the first book. This stuff, His Dark Materials, are the reserve of matter that God uses to create worlds. It's especially fitting considering this fantasy series takes place in a world much like ours, but different in many ways, as well as many other worlds including our own. His Dark Materials A ...

Once, I wished there was an afterlife to believe in. It was in October of 2006, when a man took 10 hostages, all girls and women, and killed 5 before committing suicide. For a moment, I wished there was an afterlife, especially a hell, for this man. (If you read the reports, you find out this is less than half of what he had planned.) But then that very moment I realized how silly the idea was. If there was an afterlife anything like what most people think of an afterlife, then the death of the girls are almost trivial. Yes, their time on Earth is cut short. But this Earth, this ...

Having just finished reading Eragon, I will now complete The Fantasy Novelist's Exam for the Eragon. This test really amused me because lately I have been annoyed at how similar many of the fantasy books I've been reading are. Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, it seems like every windbag off the street thinks he can write great, original fantasy, too. The problem is that most of this "great, original fantasy" is actually poor, derivative fantasy. Frankly, we're sick of it, so we've compiled a list of rip-off tip-offs in the form of an ...

How do we measure stable governments? As the Star has long argued, the current system, which awards each riding to the candidate who wins the most votes, delivers strong, stable government that works. (People's verdict on voting reform) Does Ontario's First Past The Post system ensure strong, stable government? That likely depends on how you define "government". The Star is clearly talking about the time between elections. However, members of Fair Vote Canada define it as over time. Yes, the last three governments, the NDP, the Progressive Conservative Party, and the Liberal Party, ...

The mighty Citizen of Barrie got their wish: They are losers. The 2007 Ontario Provincial Elections are over and away, and looking over the preliminary election results I noticed something interesting. About 60% of the votes in this election were wasted. (57.8%, to be exact.) That is, all the votes for the Progressive Conservative Party, the NDP, the Green Party, the Family Coalition Party, the Libertarian Party, and the two independents. I also noticed that about 60% of Barrie voters want to keep the current voting system that wastes your vote. (Exactly 61.6%.) So over all, I guess ...

The Liberal Party of Ontario had 15% of the people living in Ontario vote for them on October 10, 2007. "But wait!" you say, "that's not what I heard!" Your correct. Let me explain. The Liberal Party of Ontario has 71 seats out of 109. This gives them 65% of the votes in the Legislature. With a majority number of seats, they get to be the government, and end up with 100% of the power. But there's more to the story. The people of Ontario have spoken tonight with clarity and with purpose. They have chosen the Ontario Liberal Party to govern for four more years. (Dalton McGuinty's ...

Last week in Minneapolis a bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during rush hour. The number of dead officially stands at five, and at least eight victims are believed trapped in the wreckage... Of the roughly 100 injured, 24 remained hospitalized Saturday, five in critical condition. In one sense, I'm quite relieved that that the number of dead is as small a number as 5 to 18 people. On the other hand, I'm quite appalled that the number of dead is anywhere near that high. We have one life, this life, and to have this life cut short is a tragedy. It's the finality that makes ...