“To Feed a Hungry Soul” stirs the pot to conjure up the question can God exist in a bowl of soup? While this article focuses on food as an approach to religious pursuits, I will concentrate on its evolution in our culture brought about by diverse backgrounds.

America loves to eat, and as an American I do too. We eat food for that extra oomph in our step, just as the English do. Like the French, we have begun to appreciate food for their appetizing tastes. Americans have also begun to perceive food as an art, tending to eat first with their eyes. Initially food was a mere source of energy. Nowadays, it is like a pastime practiced by those who cook it as well as those who eat it. Evidently, other cultures have influenced American cuisine and the way we perceive it. The following quote illustrates that idea in a humorous way.

I don’t think America will have really made it until we have our own salad dressing. Until then we’re stuck behind the French, Italians, Russians and Caesarians.
-Pat McNelis

And as for God existing in a bowl of soup, I think it is just as possible as homemade cookies being a piece of heaven.

Finally, it is summer. Your plans probably include visits to Disneyland and Universal Studios minus the agony of religion homework as a daily obligation. After reading “The Crucifixion and Ice Cream,” the idea of studying religion at a theme park seems to be only one plane ticket away to Orlando, Florida.

It is a living, biblical museum that takes you 7000 miles away and 2000 years back in time to the land of the Bible. Its combination of sights, sounds, and tastes will stimulate your senses and blend together to create a spectacular new experience.
-excerpt from the official website of the Holy Land Experience

Instead of Cinderella’s castle, the Holy Land Experience theme park is home to the reproduction of Herod’s Temple. This atypical vacation site exhibits replicas of some of the most famous places mentioned in the Bible, such as Jesus’ tomb. Tourists can also watch a simulation of the crucifixion as they enjoy their over-priced churros and ice creams.

Not surprisingly, the park has stirred some controversy. The park blends ideas from Christianity as well as Judaism. Despite the park’s effort to create a purely enjoyable environment, a spirit of Christian supersessionism is still prevalent.

I don’t know what is stranger: the irony that there is animosity brewing between people at a religious park or the entire actuality of the Holy Land Experience.

I enjoy taking long, walks on the beach. <– You know that one cliché men/boys use to describe themselves?

It may be familiar, but not entirely applicable to every man/boy. And while it is not an appropriate description for some, it is a suitable one for Wallace Stevens. Minus the part “on the beach,” Stevens did get pleasure from walking in nature.

Anecdote of the Jar reflects Stevens’ interest in walking through the environment. Even when reading the poem at a literal level, the significance of nature in it is evident. On a deeper level, the poem talks about the prevalence of industrial development occurring in nature. Stevens was probably enthused to write this after walking through the wilderness or maybe even the city (that has occupied the natural world).

“What gems of painting or statuary are in the world of art, or what flowers are in the world of nature, are gems of thought to the cultivated and the thinking.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

So those walks must be Stevens’ way of collecting those gems.

How could you feel comfortable in your own skin if it isn’t yours in a picture? It is a product of airbrushing: flawless in every way.

Living in a society so engrossed in physical perfection is getting old, unfortunately, not for everyone. In Say ‘Chesse!’ And Now Say ‘Airbrush!’ the question whether digital perfection is beneficial for a child’s self-esteem comes up.

“Retouching was always meant for problems like a bump or a scrape, but it’s gotten to be a vanity.”
- Danielle Stephens

When airbrushing is meant for more than just a quick fix, the message “you’re not good enough” is communicated to a child. They work toward attaining an unreachable perfection only seen in magazines. Then again, those models are also retouched… proving that no one is perfect.

Plus, airbrushing deprives children of a good laugh. My seventh grade school picture for example.

Here’s beauty in a nutshell.

Insecurity exists in the absence of knowledge.
-unknown

Never lacking a modicum of apprehensiveness was the only assurance I had on the SAT last Saturday. If anything, the test was lengthy but not too painful (surprisingly). Getting a bad score on the SAT wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened considering the person next to me didn’t realize he was at the wrong school until the last minute. At least I ate a big breakfast, and was one of the few students more focused on the test than their stomachs growling. My tummy was happy and I got a good six hours of sleep, but I was not mentally prepared for the exam. I prayed a lot the night before, so I decided to settle for wishful thinking.

“Five Lies About the SAT” is just one of those articles that would have been nice to read prior to taking the exam. It could have appeased my many worries about the math portions on the test, but nothing soothed me more than knowing that I had gotten it over with.

Hopefully the second or third time I take it, knowledge will overshadow any degree of insecurity :]

“Art Aimed to Shock” (one of the most unsettling articles I have ever read in Newsweek) fails to answer the questions that it originally evoked in me.

Aliza Shvart’s induced-miscarriage display is one of many works of art crafted to stir up a storm. Well, mission accomplished! This piece with the “aim to shock” has undoubtedly created controversy; people are quickly taking sides on the debate whether banning the art is or is not in violation of the right to free speech. On a strictly moral level, driven by my love for animals and people, I would side with banning such art in a heartbeat. Although, looking at it from a more liberal perspective, I would want the art to be permissible only because it is a basic right that we possess as citizens. Whatever message the artists were trying to communicate, they should be protected under law.

The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.
-Henry Steele Commager

The article also reflects on the idea that banning the piece deterred others from formulating their own thoughts on the issue. It did not grant individual people the choice to accept it or reject it. Through an ethical outlook and a liberal lens, I see two different approaches emerging from the same problem and because of it, I don’t know where I stand.

Judging people you don’t know for things you don’t understand is just really stupid.
-Ellen Page

Labeling a person’s rectitude as best or worst is a complex process, simply because people are not…well…simple. I guess you could say possessing feelings of hatred towards Blanche was justified in the initial scenes of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Although, as the story went on, feelings of sympathy and understanding more closely resembled my attitude toward Blanche. What may have appeared to be vanity every time she sought a compliment was probably her need to feel loved after being hurt by so many men. Maybe her tendency to lie was just her way of coping with reality.

Now, the relevance of judging people at first glance is undeniable. We all do it and we all have had it done to us. I found a how-to wiki titled “How to Stop People from Judging You Just because the Way You Dress.” The message of the how-to wiki applies to more than merely exterior appearances.

My favorite step would have to be:
step 5. Kill them with kindness :]

“Every flower must grow through dirt.”
- Anonymous

My lack of inspiration has driven me to an inflexible hated for writing. My only consistency in this skill is my flagrant regression in it.

I knew I was going downhill when I would erase my printed thoughts, only to find my finished product as a reflection of my initial ideas on paper. Trying to attain “perfection” only taught me how to waste time. I started to see my failures in the success of my peers. The absence of my motivation excited the only thought in my mind: where do you get it?

After reading Flight by John Steinbeck, I noticed the intricate setting he paints with mere words.

“About fifteen miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky. ”
-John Steinbeck

Obviously, his writing was inspired by his own experiences – what he saw, felt, tasted, heard, and smelt.

I guess you can’t entirely lose or get inspiration, you just have it. Maybe inspiration is revisiting a time and reminiscing about a person or place. Despite the form it takes, it is in you… like a flower budding from the earth.

Children will watch anything, and when a broadcaster uses a crime and violence and other shoddy devices to monopolize a child’s attention, it’s worse than taking candy from a baby. It is taking precious time from the process of growing up.
-Newton N. Minow

How could tiny ten-year-old bodies conjure up inexplicable amounts of aggression fueling a plot like the one presented in Not Child’s Play?

It’s one of those stories you feel compelled to tell the people around you. In my case I would simply read the first two sentences providing the gist of it.

Parents nationwide are reacting with shock to news reports that a group of 8- to 10-year-old kids in Waycross, Ga., were so mad at their teacher that they apparently planned to knock her unconscious with a glass paperweight and stab her with a steak knife.
-Karen Springen

The author’s interview with a child psychiatrist, Elizabeth Berger M.D. explored possible causes for such effects. Of course the issue of violence in video games and television was not left out. Though aggression depicted through media may contribute to such hostility in reality, it doesn’t mean it is the sole reason. After all, violence is literally ancient history; just look at the Bible. Berger suggests personal problems with the family or one’s hardships at home are the driving forces behind such aggression. She refers to childhood as the progression toward self-control eventually enabling people to repress violent behavior. To address the opening quote, newscasters do not usually have such young audiences that are genuinely interested in the crime reported to them. And in this case, the only thing depriving kids from childhood are the bars that could possibly confine them.

Slavery still exists. If you didn’t know or can’t believe it, then “Bottom of the Barrel” could tell you again. Times have not really changed: there was coverage of child slavery in an article written in 1996(contained within Life magazine), and according to a Newsweek editorial forced labor in Malaysia is still customary in 2008.

The immoral realism of slavery is being kept from the public eye. The only way we can learn about it is to dig deep. Journalists do this for us but reporting on such a controversial subject can be extremely dangerous, and not just for the writers. Both articles include actual stories told by people who have experienced slavery first-hand. They merely remain anonymous sources to readers ultimately avoiding retribution.

“At one compound that resembles a nest of grungy one-car garages, with no lights or ventilation, the soccer masters run shed to shed, yelling at the children to strip off the rubber finger-wraps designed to protect them from vicious thread cuts and to flee for cover. But one child doesn’t get out in time. As the masters glare and mutter, I ask him about his work.”
-Sydney H. Schanberg

The excerpt above is one of those stories contained within journalism aimed at exposing the truth, but at what cost? These writers put other people in jeopardy to present some awareness to the rest of us; unfortunately we don’t always want to listen.