I have a friend who is an amateur magician. His sleight-of-hand tricks are quite amazing, and children and adults enjoy them immensely. Part of the mystique and fun is trying to figure out how the tricks are done. My friend says with a smile, “Always look at the other hand”—since the performer may be distracting the audience with his comments and one hand, while accomplishing the illusion by doing something unnoticed with the other hand.

In an ongoing series of articles, The Financial Times of London has focused on the demise of capitalism—the economic engine behind Western economies.  The articles have noted a “crisis of legitimacy” or a “crisis of confidence” in the long-touted system, due mainly to the financial chaos wreaking havoc on world financial markets.  The current crisis gives rise to the big question, “Will capitalism continue or will it be replaced?”  Bible prophecies provide a glimpse into the future.

Every day, e-mail accounts are hacked and used to generate “spam” messages that appear to come from the people being hacked! This is a form of identity theft, and it is on the increase. Identity theft is age old. Even apostles—and Jesus Christ Himself—have been its victims!

Burmese pythons were introduced into the Florida Everglades in the 1980s.  They escaped from captivity and pet owners also dump them when they become too large to keep.  The pythons are prolific and can grow to more than 15 feet long (5 meters) and weigh 150 pounds (75 kg).

A new Davidson College study reveals rapidly declining populations of indigenous Everglade mammals (e.g., raccoons, deer, opossum, and others), by more than 90% since the late 1990s.  Researchers believe the skyrocketing python population is to blame.  

The Price Is Right is one of the longest-running game shows on television. Contestants on the show are asked to count the cost of different prizes, and by knowing the correct price they can win a prize. At the end of each show, two contestants compete for the “grand prize” by counting the cost of a final “showcase.” Whoever comes closest to counting the total price correctly (without going over), wins the big prize.