If you'd asked me before Christmas where I stood on the whole global warming deal, I probably would have said something like: Well, it seems to be real, so we should probably do something about it. After all, we definitely know the symptoms are real, and we need to do something about them anyway. But for Christmas I received a book. I must confess right from the start that it wasn't a very good book. In fact in terms of literature I would rate it, entertainment-wise, as being somew...

Every single person has a mythology that speaks to them. It's a philosophy that appeals to their head and their heart, an amalgamation of everything they believe in, with just the right amount of drama and pragmatism. For me it's always been Catholicism. Don't get me wrong - I've always had a soft spot for comparative religion, and am as happy reading about Tiki gods and Horus as anyone. But when it comes to mythologies that make a beeline for my imagination, it's Catholicism hands down. F...