Michael Segers

Mary J. Blige's song is over 150 years old.

Buddhists do more than ring temple bells and burn incense.

Fox News commentator Brit Hume advised Tiger Woods, "Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery."

On a dark and stormy night, a monk faces a dilemma in a hut that we can relate to at our New Year's Eve parties.

Perhaps one shepherd had to stay behind. If so, I envy him.

There are two reasons that many Buddhists typically do not have a problem wishing "Merry Christmas" or participating in other aspects of the holiday season.

There are many sites devoted to free audio Bibles online. One of the best sites for finding free audio Bibles is AudioTreasure.com.

Spanish moss is neither Spanish nor moss. It is one of a large genus of tropical and subtropical "air plants" in the bromeliad family of plants.

Olivier Messiaen wrote two pieces on Christmas themes the piano solo, Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus (Twenty Views of the Child Jesus) and La Nativité du Seigneur (The Nativity of the Lord) for organ.

The silky anteater, weighing less than a pound, lives in trees, hunts at night, and eats thousands of insects daily.

From 2000 to 2020 Hanukkah/Chanukkah begins as early as November 28 (2013) and as late as December 26 (2005).

A candy-pull is a social gathering where people pull candy. In other words, they make candy.

Dimetrodon, a reptile that lived on earth long before the dinosaurs, is not classified as a dinosaur by scientists.

Spinosaurus (literally, lizard with spines) was one of the largest carnivorous (meat-eating) dinosaurs ever to walk the earth.

Lent is preparing for Easter, and Advent is for preparing for Christmas. I don't have an Advent wreath in my house, but I keep Advent in a few brain cells to sustain me through the pre-Christmas shopping, travel and chaos.

I am not reviewing Susan Boyle's first CD. I am writing a report about Susan Boyle's first CD, with links for you to listen to all the tracks, read the lyrics, and draw your own conclusions.

Here is a summary of free movies, free music, free old time radio, free books, free audiobooks, and free conference calls for Thanksgiving, which would be appropriate throughout the year.

Treat yourself and loved ones that you will not have a chance to see to a free conference call. Since it is a free conference call, you do not have to wait for a holiday.

Free audiobooks and free books with spiritual content can enhance your Thanksgiving holiday break.

Command Performance began as a way for popular entertainers to show their support of the United States military efforts during World War II in 1942. Today, it can draw generations of a family together.

This article describes two sites to provide you with thousands of pieces of free music appropriate for Thanksgiving, hymns and classical music.

Neither of these free movies is specific to Thanksgiving, but they relate to some Thanksgiving themes. Frankly, I can enjoy Louisiana Story or Passion of Joan of Arc for Thanksgiving or any day of the year.

Hermes Trismegistus combines Greek and Egyptian and possibly Hebrew teachings that can be found in Renaissance writings and New Age videos.

I conclude my celebration of Halloween with an unlikely sexy Halloween striptease.

Harry Houdini played in five movies, some of which he directed and wrote. They mainly were a showcase for his magic tricks.

Did Houdini actually die from a ruptured appendix, or was he poisoned for exposing fraudulent Spiritualists? Did he succeed in communicating with his wife Bess after death?

Spiritualism, "the belief that the dead communicate with the living, as through a medium," was part of a rich nineteenth century culture in the United States.

At Librivox, you can download over 2,500 free audiobooks and also volunteer to create free audiobooks.

Here is a list of two dozen writers of spooky tales appropriate for Halloween with free books on line to brighten (or is it, darken?) your Halloween.

Although television effectively killed off the golden age of old time radio, the Internet has brought it back to life with streaming MP3.

Watch 100 old horror movies free at Halloween or anytime in streaming video on the Internet.

The "age of consent" is a legal term for the age at which one is legally allowed to consent to have sex. Younger, one is a victim of sexual abuse, older, a predator.

This list of classical music selections for Halloween has links to audio or video so that you can listen to them.

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse turn to the Internet for support groups and forums to help them with their healing.

Listen to and learn about Olivier Messiaen's Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus (Twenty Gazes upon the Infant Jesus), one of the most amazing solo piano pieces ever written.

When the two plants are growing in the same area, air yams will likely crowd out the lizard-tails.

Roman numerals crop up all over the place even as we are now a few years into the third millennium, although they are the numbers of pomp and circumstance.

A Japanese married couple surprised tango dancers around the world and just about everyone in Argentina by winning the Seventh World Championship of Tango.

Visiting Taiwan as a spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama finds himself in a morass of politics and ethics for which there is no simple solution.

From 1764 to 1767, over 100 (perhaps 200) people were killed and a whole region of France terrorized by the mysterious wolfman or Beast of Gévaudan, still unidentified to this day.

Along older highways through less developed areas of Florida there are signs warning about bears. Like bears throughout North America, however, the Florida black bear is the one that needs a warning.

If you are working with young people in an elite prep school or in a juvenile prison, you are working with someone who has been sexually abused.

Improvisation is taught, studied, and practiced. When musicians improvise, they do not just pound on the keyboard. They perform within a recognizable musical language - keys, modes, chords, something. They compose spontaneously.

Many people believe that natural medicine is naturally good and often it is. But just because something is natural does not mean that it is safe.

A real German shepherd and a comic book Belgian reporter, aside from being pop culture icons, have very little in common, except for their names.

Malaysian singer Zee Avi is capturing the world, one YouTube video at a time.

Love God Murder is a starting point for those not familiar with Johnny Cash's work or a great returning point for those who are.

The theremin has two antennas that pick up the location of the thereminist's hands, one hand determining the pitch, the other the volume.

You can listen to, even watch, and learn about Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, possibly the greatest music of the twentieth century, online for free.

From dinosaurs to my pet parrot, to beasts that may not even be real, animals are important in my life and writing

A Buddhist temple in Tampa hosts a weekly Thai food festival where you can enjoy great food and friendly people.

At a Tampa Buddhist monastery, you can enjoy very cheaply the architecture, food, and friendliness of Thailand, in a charming riverside setting.

Cedar Key, Florida, a beautiful place with great people and food, gives you a chance to step back in time when Florida tourism was simpler.

Since most people have trouble thinking of Florida as southern, Gamble Plantation is a reminder that Florida is closer to Georgia than to New York.

From ancient manuscripts to the Internet, English resists the efforts of English teachers and lawmakers to keep it under contro.

From hanging out with a sick friend (a cat) to enjoying watermelon on the porch to taking care of hygiene, Dorian Gray Parrot has a busy day.

Unscramble the names of these twenty people who contributed to the American Revolution, and learn about what they did for the United States.

As a film critic, I was not in the business of labeling films as good or bad. In fact, I mainly wanted to muddy the view of the films.

Christianity was founded by a radical rabbi who was born homeless, overthrew tables in the Temple, and died naked and tortured.

You do not have to be Buddhist to draw on the riches of a tradition that even many Buddhists say is not a religion.

In these two adventures, from the 1930s and 1940s, reporter Tintin tangles with drug smugglers.

Tintin can make an airplane propellor, fly the plane, treat a sick elephant, learn elephant language, and may even get boring.

In the Christian calendar, the Feast of the Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples of Jesus (Acts 2).

Based on my four years of growing orchids, I tell you what has worked for me in central Florida.

Ascension Day, commemorates the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, as recorded in the Bible.

In the gentle heritage of Buddhism, you can find beautiful resources for Mother's Day that you can enjoy and share with your mother, no matter what faiths you and she may have.

American Idol judge Paula Abdul admits that she battled with dependency on or addiction to prescription drugs.

Keira Knightley's two minute advertisement about domestic violence has been censored by British broadcasters for being too violent.

Many, if not most, employment ads on Craigslist are scams. So, if you find yourself looking at job ads on Craigslist, be careful about scams.

This is only my second poem in nine years.

One of the greatest discoveries in religious history in the 20th century is finding the Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi in 1945, opening a window onto a group from the early days of Christianity.

Tintin travelled around the world and to the moon in the twenty-four books of his adventures. Now, he has adventures on the Internet, on Facebook, Twitter, eBay, blogs, and online forums.

In 1931, Belgian cartoonist Hergé brought his boy reporter, the one-named Tintin, together with his dog Snowy, to the New World. Tintin comes to America, specifically to Chicago, to clean up Al Capone's operations.

The choking game is a dangerous method of obtaining a high by suffocating yourself. It has gained renewed interest in recent years, although it goes back for centuries.

Prefixes, at the beginning of words, and suffixes, at the conclusion of words, give students a great deal of information about new vocabulary words.

Philip Markoff, suspected Craigslist killer, and Susan Boyle, an unlikely singing sensation are joined by our prejudices.

Forty-seven year old Susan Boyle wowed the audience and judges of "Britain's Got Talent" and has become an Internet sensation with one performance.

Although Burger King gets hamburgers right, they are having problems with their advertising these days. When two of a company's ads are in the news in one day, you have to wonder if they are doing this on purpose.

A Turkish reporter in blackface for a report on President Obama raised questions about cultural differences and racism.

Was Herge a racist? I do not believe so. Was he influenced by the racism of his culture? Of course. Can we ever put racism completely behind us?

The first Tintin story presents a controversial picture of the Soviet Union.

The date of Easter may vary by more than a month from year to year, and by thirteen days from Catholic and Protestant churches to Orthodox churches.

Suffixes change other words to into verbs and let us use verbs as other parts of speech.

Since the 1950s, Tintin's adventures have been in movies and on television. We can watch many of them for free online.

Tintin, soon to claim Hollywood as his own, has triumphed on the Internet, with almost seven million references.

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are collaborating on three films of the adventures of Belgian comic book character Tintin.

There are two different books called the Gospel of Thomas. One, which has been known for centuries, is a collection of stories of the childhood of Jesus (stories not found in the canonical gospels, those found in the New Testament). The best known and most controversial of the Nag Hammadi texts, however, is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus (some of these sayings are found in the canonical gospels, some are not). This is the Gospel of Thomas that you will hear(Part III). Read my article on the Gospel of Thomas at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1517331/the_gnostics_the_gospel_of_thomas.html?cat=38. Check "Christianity on the Fringes" for an index to my writings on Christian topics at http://www.squidoo.com/christianityonthefringes.

There are two different books called the Gospel of Thomas. One, which has been known for centuries, is a collection of stories of the childhood of Jesus (stories not found in the canonical gospels, those found in the New Testament). The best known and most controversial of the Nag Hammadi texts, however, is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus (some of these sayings are found in the canonical gospels, some are not). This is the Gospel of Thomas that you will hear. This is the Gospel of Thomas that you will hear (Part II). Read my article on the Gospel of Thomas at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1517331/the_gnostics_the_gospel_of_thomas.html?cat=38. Check "Christianity on the Fringes" for an index to my writings on Christian topics at http://www.squidoo.com/christianityonthefringes.

There are two different books called the Gospel of Thomas. One, which has been known for centuries, is a collection of stories of the childhood of Jesus (stories not found in the canonical gospels, those found in the New Testament). The best known and most controversial of the Nag Hammadi texts, however, is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus (some of these sayings are found in the canonical gospels, some are not). This is the Gospel of Thomas that you will hear (Part I). Read my article on the Gospel of Thomas at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1517331/the_gnostics_the_gospel_of_thomas.html?cat=38. Check "Christianity on the Fringes" for an index to my writings on Christian topics at http://www.squidoo.com/christianityonthefringes.

Suffixes help us identify adjectives, words that describe nouns and pronouns.

Although suffixes do not give us as much information as prefixes, they do give us another way to deal with new words found in reading or on vocabulary tests.

Since its discover in 1945, the Gospel of Thomas has challenged traditional concepts of Jesus.

The Gnostics believed that Christ came to teach, not to suffer.

Gnostics look within themselves for verification of their beliefs.

The Gnostics believed that the Christ was purely spiritual, not born of a woman.

Until recently, all we knew about the Gnostics was what their enemies had written about them.

The Gnostics believed in salvation by knowledge of God and of self.

Sony Music Entertainment allows you to record a duet of "Blue Christmas" with Elvis Presley and email it to your friends and family - FREE.

Disney will create a free, personalized video for you of a celebration in your own Disney park.

The "Devil's Bible" is a huge 13th century manuscript of the Bible and other works, including a famous portrait of the Devil.

The world is celebrating the centenary of Olivier Messiaen, who created some of the most memorable music of the twentieth century.

In a ranking of healthy states, eight of the top ten voted Democrat, while eight of the bottom ten voted Republican.

Miriam Makeba, native of South Africa and citizen of the world, collapsed and died during her ongoing stuggle for human rights.

Forbes Magazine has published its now annual list of the most influential celebrities under the age of five.

Yma Sumac, the "Peruvian Songbird," a movie and music sensation in the 1950's, leaves a legacy of distinctive performances.

Prefixes from Latin can help you figure out the meanings of English words.

Goosebumps with class with these fifty selections of classical music

The only form of poetry appropriate for Sarah Palin

A collection of Buddhist relics is touring the United States during the remainder of 2008.

Stick to a plan to learn a foreign language, and commit to using the language every day.

Prefixes that derive from Greek can help you improve your English vocabulary.

You need an advance directive, a statement directing decisions about life-sustaining medical care after you are no longer able to communicate your wishes.

An advance directive is a statement that you make in advance of the time that it is needed directing decisions about life-sustaining medical care after you are no longer able to communicate your wishes.

Remains of iguanodons have been found on every continent except Antarctica, in a range of sizes, and covering much of the time dinosaurs lived.

Although the subjunctive is on the fringes of modern English, using the subjunctive correctly can affect the meaning of a sentence.

Judith, the story of an early Jewish heroine, was included in the 1611 King James Version but is not included in modern Protestant editions of the Bible

Seven pairs of prefixes with opposite meanings open up many news words in English.

I am an old hand when it comes to tropical storms and hurricanes. I'm experiencing tropical storm Fay fatigue.

When English lost the words thou and thee, it lost layers of expression that we do not have today.

Alzheimer's Disease touches the lives of everyone who knows a person with Alzheimer's.

You can download a library of texts and audio representing all the different traditions of Buddhism for free.

What's not to love about prefixes? My question provides a hint about the prefixes that I have discovered (that is, uncovered) for this article: prefixes that have a negative meaning.

Barack Obama follows such sinister presidents (from both parties) as Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush (the First), Bill Clinton, Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover, and James Garfield.

The prefixes demi-, hemi-, and semi- remind us of the rich history of English and help us figure out new words.

Approaching new words by understanding their prefixes is one way to increase your vocabulary.

The original edition of the King James Version of the Bible included fourteen books that are usually left out of modern versions.

Try to unscramble the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in this anagram game for the Fourth of July.

Fifteen links for free Fourth of July coloring pages

Sylvan Goldman, an Oklahoma grocery store owner during the Depression, created the first shopping cart.

MyGallons allows consumers to purchase gas at today's price and use it in the future when prices probably will be higher.

Cereality, more about selling a return to childhood than about selling food, continues to slide in this turbulent economy.

Florida joins other states in criminalizing salvia, a drug which had been sold in stores throughout the state.

Sam's Club customers are having to cope with square plastic milk bottles that the retailer says are good for the environment.

In the new music economy, based on the Internet, free music downloads may make more money than CD's.

Cream cheese, blueberries, and strawberries make this pizza recipe a hit for the Fourth of July

Content Provider SkyeDanzer share her knowledge, interviews other content providers, and makes AC a vibrant community.

Mahayana Buddhism offers many varieties of Buddhist experience, drawing on cultural and personal differences.

Angelica, a herb with a long history of uses, may be dangerous if used improperly.

In 1934, Caroline Miller became the first writer from Georgia to win the Pulitzer Prize, with her first novel, Lamb in His Bosom.

I am sharing with AC Content Providers five topics that a friend challenged me to write on.

As sexual harassment complaints decline, more men than ever are filing sexual harassment complaints against women.

Buddhists believe in heavens and hells, which are temporary states, not places of eternal punishment or reward.

Some Western paleontologists believe that some dinosaur discoveries in China may be fakes.

Through adaptive software, screen-reader and magnification programs, blind people can access computers and level the field for jobs, education, or recreation.

There are two troops of wild monkeys enjoying life in Central Florida.

Through most of human history, beer has been regarded as a food, vital to health and happiness, not as a social scourge.

Most Western Buddhists are not comfortable with the ghosts and gods that are part of traditional Buddhism

Sound therapy or audiotherapy is used to restore a missing balance to human beings through sound or waves applied to the body.

In Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, Hollywood movie makers misrepresented Triceratops and Dilophosaurus for entertainment.

Just how patriotic or just how religious should a church service and its hymns be? What belongs to Caesar, and what belongs to God?

President Bush selects six recipients of the US's highest civilian award.

Every year, the National Hurricane Center issues a list of men's and women's names for hurricanes. What do those names tell us?

Lyme disease, spread by the bite of infected ticks, can be prevented without giving up fun outdoors.

Fanciful dinosaur recipes to get children interested in cooking

An international network of women are using Panties for Peace to disturb the superstitious generals ruling Myanmar.

The B-52s were named in honor of a towering hairstyle that their singers no longer wear.

A guide to tea, herbal tisanes, sweeteners, ice, other liquids to add, and assorted garnishes to enhance your iced tea experience all summer

I figured out how an English major could become a millionaire on eBay, selling penis enhancement tapes.

"The Swear Jar" is a jar into which anyone using offensive language must pay a fine.

Since diaper duties are not just for mothers anymore, why not pick a diaper bag for a Father's Day gift?

Esperanza Spalding's first name means "hope," and that is what she gives jazz fans.

Although dry drownings are rare, drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths among children.

The concept of general karma holds that a country as a whole may suffer for the actions of the country.

FileMail, Google Docs, and Box.net you can store, send, and share your files

Tokyo Rose was a loyal American citizen who smuggled food to POW's during the war and later received a presidential pardon.

"Purported uses" of pennyroyal include asthma, bronchitis, cancer, colic, common cold, headaches, inflammation, influenza, stomach and intestinal gas, toothache, insect repellant, and induce abortion.

William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) was so hated by the British that he was executed as a traitor although he was not British.

Men experience "andropause" or "male menopause," declining levels of the male hormone testosterone.

Saw palmetto is an herbal remedy used as an aphrodisiac and to treat infections, coughs and respiratory congestion. Modern medicine has not fully accepted it.

The Romans knew and wrote about this plant in the first century of the Christian era, and Native Americans shared it with white settlers.

Tomatoes are not the easiest vegetables for a beginner's garden.

The Baha'i faith accepts evolution, recognizing the unity of the truths of religion and science.

Since the word was coined, ecofeminism has become a positive analysis of human life and ecology.

For thousands of years, people have explained earthquakes as manifestations of divine anger.

Aura therapy treats an energy field, an aura, some believe surrounds a human body.

Lobelia can cure, kill, brighten a garden, or treat methamphetamine addiction.

At all three, families and classes can have fun, share a picnic, learn something, dig for fossils, or just enjoy hanging out with the dinosaurs.

Hindu statues supposedly drink milk, and Catholic statues cry. Are these miracles?

The Dogan know a great deal of astronomy, specifically about the star Sirius and its accompanying system of stars, not discovered until modern times.

Whatever makes it work has remained hidden to scientists, who cannot account for its various qualities as a stimulant, an aphrodisiac and a hallucinogen.

Crystals can be used to diagnose or cure diseases by enhancing or unblocking energy in the person who receives the treatment.

Plumerias or frangipani are beautiful plants native to warm tropical areas around the world, and they have been further introduced into most tropical areas where they were not found naturally.

Apitherapy is derived from the Latin apis, "bee," and refers to the use of injectable bee venom solution or live bee stings. Apitherapists claim that bee venom will reduce inflammation and might strengthen the immune system.

The verbs sit and set, lie and lay, are confusing, but both sets of verbs have the same problem.

Pure Land Buddhism is a way for anyone to transcend the burdens of karma that they carry and attain nirvana by relying on the Buddha Amitabha.

Buddhist morality is based on living skillfully, without harm or disrespect to anyone, including oneself.

Throughout the history of Myanmar (Burma), Buddhist monks have been a force for good, standing up to dictators, colonizers, and cyclones.

Hagee's anti-Catholicism is not casual misinterpretation to gloss over with a politically expedient apology. Anti-Catholicism is an recurring theme in the history of the United States, and it needs a more attention.

Subjects should agree with their verbs. In other words, a singular subject must be followed by a singular verb, and a plural subject must take a plural verb.

Paleontologists have recently discovered that fossils of dinosaur bones show growth lines, like the growth rings of trees, and they are using this new evidence to determine the lifespan of dinosaurs.