About 15 years ago I had what I believed to be the solution to our incredibly poor record of electing government officials of — how do the appliance makers refer to it? — quality and reliability:

ROME - Forget the dusty guidebooks and the crumbling ruins. An exhibition amid the Roman Forum invites visitors to don 3-D glasses and watch the alluring dance of a slave who has been dead for two millennia, or stroll through the streets of ancient Rome with the click of a mouse.

JERUSALEM - A luxurious gold, pearl and emerald earring provides a new visual clue about the life of the elite in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago.

“Dick Cheney back to his old self trying to instill fear with his unmitigated disaster speech. However he does show some backbone doing it from a disclosed location. His new heart must have come from a Democrat.”

In offering us a grittier, de-mythicized account of Arthur, Guinevere and that knightly third wheel, Lancelot, "King Arthur" director Antoine Fuqua does something funny: He swaps out the old Round Table myths for an even hoarier set of Hollywood stereotypes.

It seems like Harvey Cox has been around forever. Now in his 81st year he is still going strong even though he is “officially retired” from his teaching post at Harvard Divinity School. It was in 1965 that his first major book, The Secular City, established Cox as one of the most important and fascinating voices of Christianity.

It seems like Harvey Cox has been around forever. Now in his 81st year he is still going strong even though he is “officially retired” from his teaching post at Harvard Divinity School. It was in 1965 that his first major book, The Secular City, established Cox as one of the most important and fascinating voices of Christianity.

For those who were expecting change in Washington it appears to be business as usual. Actually, the status quo goes back much further than the founding of America.

This week's "Jack the Giant Slayer," a 3-D retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, contains all the elements of the classic tale: farm boy, beans, giants, etc. But along for the ride is a new character, Princess Isabelle, played by Eleanor Tomlinson.

For Christians, Christmas is a day of worship, a day of miracle and mystery, the day the baby Jesus arrived in his unique incarnation as God-made-man. This paradox of Jesus' nature as both fully God and fully human only adds to the sense of mystery, awe, joy and love with which he is worshipped on Christmas.

“This is for the venter Wednesday whose son is an American and can’t read or write … My daughter is in Arizona schools as well, and she’s on the top end of the class. Kick the kids out of grade level, hold them back, do whatever you’ve got to do. But stop slowing (down) the ones who can read, can write and do so above grade level.”

“Whoever came up with the term ‘gentlemen’s club’ has never known a gentleman.”

Barn Goddess tips: Look for chervil seeds called Francy French locally or on the Web. Chervil is said to improve the flavor of radishes, so think about companion planting this pair in your garden.

“Bravo, Steve Nash. Now we can see your handsome, kind face. Keep the hair cut.”

“To (Sunday’s) Venter who suggests we should tax stupidity: I don’t think the wacky left-wingers can afford to pay it.”

It looked like a family reunion Sunday at a park at Falcon Field — kids swinging at a piñata, potluck dishes covering picnic tables, adults mingling. Until the sun went down. About 50 adults — some wearing hooded capes — gathered in a circle with their children.

It looked like a family reunion Sunday at a park at Falcon Field — kids swinging at a piñata, potluck dishes covering picnic tables, adults mingling. Until the sun went down.

Jose de la Isla: Some ancient history might help us get a perspective on a contemporary situation.

Whenever Hasmik Takoushian walked into a church in her native Armenia, the scent of incense and burning candles inspired her soul.

Whenever Hasmik Takoushian walked into a church in her native Armenia, the scent of incense and burning candles inspired her soul.

Time waits for no man, and neither does technology.

You would think an herb used by Moses to bless the vessels of the Tabernacle, given a place of honor next to Tut in his tomb and toted around by the Romans as they expanded their empire would have a bit more notoriety.

MOSCOW - The Soviet Union may be in the dustbin of history, but there’s one place the socialist utopia lives on: cyberspace. Sixteen years after the superpower’s collapse, Web sites ending in the Soviet “.su” domain name have been rising — registrations increased 45 percent this year alone.

Editor's note: Ted Barber will sign his new book, "The Sixth Sun," from 4 to 7 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 22 in Chandler, at the home of his late brother, Tempe detective Tim Barber, 42, who died on Aug. 27 of advanced prostate cancer.