Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
An Ocean of Possibility In Her Eyes (written in third person)
When she was born on March 20, 2006, the nurses called her the most beautiful baby in the hospital. She has an intense gaze coupled with a knowing smile, suggesting her vivacity for life and hope beyond it. She just stares with glowing brown eyes at all her onlookers, melting even the hardest of hearts.
She is named Mercy because her parents want to give her purpose and meaning, an ancient tradition rarely practiced in Western culture. They were the first to experience this intended compassion through her. Never before had they, especially Mercy’s mother, seen any child with this sense of reality before, and never again will they look at any child the same. All children now seem like their own.
Her mother relishes each giggle, tear, smile and wail of her daughter, and is growing more tolerant of other crying babies in grocery lines. She thinks it was fascinating from the start of Mercy’s life to watch her develop, and through poop and tantrums she began to learn how to love others in ways she never knew were possible.
Without intentionally accomplishing anything in her short life, Mercy’s innocence and innate intensity has wielded the power to embolden young and old alike. Soon after Mercy was born, her mother was compelled to return to college to set an example for Mercy and her future children, and so that through a new career as a journalist she could love the children of the world.
Even now at the mere age of two, she still attracts the awe and wonder of her parents and the public eye. In her eyes lie an undeniable hope and possibility that is contagious to all who she meets.
She is named Mercy because her parents want to give her purpose and meaning, an ancient tradition rarely practiced in Western culture. They were the first to experience this intended compassion through her. Never before had they, especially Mercy’s mother, seen any child with this sense of reality before, and never again will they look at any child the same. All children now seem like their own.
Her mother relishes each giggle, tear, smile and wail of her daughter, and is growing more tolerant of other crying babies in grocery lines. She thinks it was fascinating from the start of Mercy’s life to watch her develop, and through poop and tantrums she began to learn how to love others in ways she never knew were possible.
Without intentionally accomplishing anything in her short life, Mercy’s innocence and innate intensity has wielded the power to embolden young and old alike. Soon after Mercy was born, her mother was compelled to return to college to set an example for Mercy and her future children, and so that through a new career as a journalist she could love the children of the world.
Even now at the mere age of two, she still attracts the awe and wonder of her parents and the public eye. In her eyes lie an undeniable hope and possibility that is contagious to all who she meets.
Pictures from NYC
Looking down on my apartment building
In the distance is where the WTC used to be
On the top
Up up up to the top of the Empire State Building
(in the elevator)
My awesome desk area
"THE KING" at King's College, Empire State Building
WJI Director Robert Case
Central Park
Art Horse in front of Museum of Natural Hist.
Museum of Natural History, across the street from Central Park. What a beautiful day!
Andree Seu from WORLD magazine signing books
These numbers on the side of a building are supposedly counting national debt. It spins very fast, and made me very sad.
This is my building that I am staying in, the Herald Towers in Herald Square, Midtown Manhattan
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Papparazzi Obsession: Are we dumber for it?
Gay Talese’s smart exposition on Sinatra serves as a journalistic benchmark, well known for its artistic flair of paparazzi mixed with literary genius. The subject is interesting because it poses such a paramount problem since Old Blue Eyes’ fame and fortune is owed largely to his prized vocal cords, offering insight into his life by revealing the blessing of this gift as well as its curse. Talese obviously structured his article with such care and owed its success to obsessive research of the singer that it almost pigeonholes the author as a fan-crazed stalker.
But in today’s reporting of celebrities, who are treated as the royalty of America, too many journalists have capitalized on the trivial (and, sadly, more profitable) aspect of revealing the “cold” without the character, and therefore betray the example that Talese set. That is to say, he set a bar for quality that few have matched, and today the tabloids are littered with stolen glances of the rich and famous rather than revealing profiles; a cheated view of the people that presents an unfair and cheap insight into their lives. Some young tween (pre-teen) girls I know could name the toothbrush colors of The Jonas Brothers members (the new teen-heartthrob boy-band), but they would not be able to tell you about the sibling rivalry that these pop stars might be experiencing within their own world. As a result of public demand, the inconsequential is glamorized, and we may be all the dumber for it.
But in today’s reporting of celebrities, who are treated as the royalty of America, too many journalists have capitalized on the trivial (and, sadly, more profitable) aspect of revealing the “cold” without the character, and therefore betray the example that Talese set. That is to say, he set a bar for quality that few have matched, and today the tabloids are littered with stolen glances of the rich and famous rather than revealing profiles; a cheated view of the people that presents an unfair and cheap insight into their lives. Some young tween (pre-teen) girls I know could name the toothbrush colors of The Jonas Brothers members (the new teen-heartthrob boy-band), but they would not be able to tell you about the sibling rivalry that these pop stars might be experiencing within their own world. As a result of public demand, the inconsequential is glamorized, and we may be all the dumber for it.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
A Priveleged Response: Thoughts on Cynthia Ozick's "The Shawl"
In a country where nursing mother's breasts are full and baby bellies are bulging from food instead of bloating with air, it is hard to imagine the plight of those families who are in such hopeless circumstances as Rosa, Stella, and Magda in Ozick's short story "The Shawl". In America, many are insulated from the horrors of humanity that are occurring in third world countries where refuge is hard to find from political oppression or economic hardship. It is depressing to think that someone would ever consider such a flimsy object like a piece of cloth as a source of protection, but I doubt anyone in Rosa's place would have acted differently. Though the shawl is temporary, it symbolized a shadow of hope amid the ills of humanity.
Ozick allows the characters to bleed into her reader's minds, staining them with images of violence and truth. The character’s indifference towards their circumstance is maddening for the reader, but also evokes a deep compassion and sympathy. The horrors committed at the death camps, unfortunately, did not stop with the end of World War Two, but continue to this very day amid different people groups, including the genocide in Cambodia during the '70s, or the Rwandans in the '90s, or the Sudanese during this very hour. Undoubtedly, the implied reaction of the reader to such a provocative story is, "What could I do to help remedy this?" Hopefully, in such a privileged nation as America, advocacy instead of indifference will be their answer.
Ozick allows the characters to bleed into her reader's minds, staining them with images of violence and truth. The character’s indifference towards their circumstance is maddening for the reader, but also evokes a deep compassion and sympathy. The horrors committed at the death camps, unfortunately, did not stop with the end of World War Two, but continue to this very day amid different people groups, including the genocide in Cambodia during the '70s, or the Rwandans in the '90s, or the Sudanese during this very hour. Undoubtedly, the implied reaction of the reader to such a provocative story is, "What could I do to help remedy this?" Hopefully, in such a privileged nation as America, advocacy instead of indifference will be their answer.
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