William Bowmer

Deeply loved by his fans, Michael Jackson was nevertheless a polarizing figure. Will he be remembered for the wide-eyed exuberance he showed as a pre-teen sensation in The Jackson 5? Will he be lauded for "We Are the World" and its charitable outreach to starving Africa? Or will he simply be "Wacko Jacko"—a confused narcissist and alleged pedophile who literally seemed uncomfortable in his own skin, who by the end of his life had become a walking advertisement for the dangers of too much plastic surgery?

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a key policy address in Cairo, Egypt, addressing many concerns of the world's Muslims. Some of what he said shocked observers. With Islam on the rise around the world, how do the President's comments relate to prophesied end-time events?

Twenty years ago, on June 5, 1989, the world's imagination was captured by a shocking image. A young Chinese man, standing alone in a Beijing street near Tiananmen Square, bravely faced a column of People's Army tanks, demanding that they leave his city. What—if any—lasting effect did his actions have on Chinese society, and on our world? What lessons can we learn as a result?

In less than an hour on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, twelve students and a teacher were dead, 23 others had been injured, and the shooters had killed themselves in the school library. The Columbine High School shooting came and went quickly, but the question, "What really happened at Columbine—and why?" has remained ever since.

Are you suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia? Or maybe triskaidekaphobia? What does Friday the 13th mean to you?

Is Friday the 13th a day when you expect “bad luck”? Is it a time to indulge in superstitious behavior “just in case” it might protect you from bad things that could happen? Is it an excuse to turn your mind toward unhealthy themes that run through our popular culture? Or can it be an occasion to reflect on the true facts behind man-made myths and legends?