InkTank

Earbuddies: A quest for travel time entertainment

One of the first things we were told by our community life directors when we arrived in DC was to never, under any circumstances, plug our iPods into our ears when traveling around the city - mainly when walking.

I took this advice to heart, and although it leaves me a bit bored when I'm walking back from Union Station by myself, I am finding that personal headphones aren't even necessary when traveling by Metro or bus. Why?

People here have no concept of volume control on their personal music-playing devices. It’s the highest volume or nothing.

I am genuinely concerned about the eardrums of many of my fellow travelers, but their bad decisions are benefiting me. I was sitting on the bus coming home the other night, and sitting about two rows behind me was a teen girl with earbuds plugged into her head. The sound was a little distorted, but the entire way home, I enjoyed listening to Rihanna belting about "Umbrella"s and how she just got out of "Rehab." Unfortunately, the girl got off the bus before me - I wanted to scream: "Please, don't stop the music!"

Rock star interrupted

The last few weeks have showcased the shortcomings of many prominent individuals mostly in the entertainment industry. Among these individuals are names that most of us readily recognize: President Barack Obama, Michael Phelps, Christian Bale, Alex Rodriguez, and Chris Brown.

I want to examine these individuals in light of their humanity and to extract the implications their actions have for our society as a whole.

President Barack Obama entered the White House on a wave of optimism. His big mantra was change. The Bush Administration’s eight years of mismanagement were supposed to give way to the end of “business as usual” in Washington.

When Senator Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration as Secretary of Health and Human Services due to back taxes, Obama admitted he “messed up.” Gov. Bill Richardson and Nancy Killefer were two other considerations who withdrew their names over ethical issues. It looks like “The One” isn’t immune from making mistakes after all.

Michael Phelps dominated the Beijing Olympics by shattering world records and by winning eight gold medals. He did all this without performance-enhancing drugs. This guy was squeaky clean…until a picture of him smoking a bong popped up on a foreign tabloid. It turns out Phelps isn’t the all-around flawless golden boy people thought him to be.

DC doesn't love fro yo as much as I do.

How is there only one frozen yogurt chain in DC?

This question has been plaguing me since I moved here. I am an avid consumer of good frozen yogurt and back in Southern California, I have numerous options: Yogurtland, Beach Berries, Pinkberry, Berry Cool, Red Mango … at any of these places I can indulge in my fill of tart frozen yogurt and fresh fruit toppings. When I’m at Biola, it’s a common occurrence to make a late run to Berry Cool before it closes at midnight, just to enjoy the conversation of a friend or to regain my sanity after hours of attempted studying.

In DC there is Tangy Sweet. That’s it. Rachelle and I tried it out over the weekend, and it wasn’t bad by any means, but the plain frozen yogurt was a little too sweet, and the fruit tasted like it had been packaged in syrup. And it was beyond strange eating frozen yogurt indoors to avoid the risk of frostbite. And it was expensive. What ever happened to the 30 cents an ounce joint? Yes, I know I’m a bit of a frozen yogurt snob, but I grew up alongside Golden Spoon … which probably doesn’t mean anything to most people in DC.

It makes sense that frozen yogurt would be more popular in Southern California -- our coldest winter morning is a balmy day in DC -- but I didn’t imagine that my favorite dessert would be this scarce. My sentiments might be comparable to the melancholy echoed in all the Southerners over the dearth of real sweet tea. Or perhaps the desperation experienced by many of us from California to find authentic Mexican food. I’m sure that every person here has his or her particular food of interest that is currently not being satiated. I don’t think I ever understood before now how much food plays into a person’s culture, as well as how drastically different regional cultures are within the United States.

I like Purple

I've been a Baptist my entire life.

For a colleague I respect so much to come onto this site and bash a church I absolutely adore not only upsets me, but also really concerns me for the opportunities she may miss by ruling out such a congregation.

I have always been in the practice of Sunday morning tradition.  You bring your best to the House of the Lord.  The church is a place of respect; God's word teaches us that.

Not only is it in the Ten Commandments to keep the Sabbath holy, but also to approach the church as a place of reverence for our Savior.  For a brilliant sermon with several Biblical citations on this topic, click here.

With the exception of one Sunday morning, I have attended the same church every week I have spent in D.C. and it has become the saving grace of my sanity during my days here.  After seeing the blog posted about one classmate's interpretation of the church, I took my observational senses to an extreme level at the next service.

Baptists don't wear purple tights (and other denominational lessons)

I'm pretty sure I'm not a baptist.

I would have never made this kind of  denominational claim a year or so ago. For a long time I  thought of myself as not tied down to any sort of group within the Christian faith. I think it gave me some sort of peace, some sort of pride to say that I couldn't be labeled. Like somehow I thought if I didn't associate myself with or deny my membership of any group within evangelical Christianity I would rise above the pettyness of inter-denominational warfare.

However, in my lack of label, I came to the wrong conclusion. I believed that I could slip in seamlessly to any denomination that claimed Christ as their Lord. In my mind, I was a skilled congregational chameleon.

Enter: my current disillusionment.

Obama on the "Religion" shelf

Hmmmm. What do you think about this?

InkLink! Tmatt rattling Rush Limbaugh's cage at GetReligion...

InkLink! Chris Moody (WJC Fall 06) on the stimulus bill. Also, The Atlantic: Guitar Hero and Rock Band will change the face of music. Remember this?

Feeling Polarized

Sometimes everything in Washington feels polarized. One day it's 15 degress, the next it's 75.

One night we're in a glitzy hotel with the president of Biola University and the author of Unchristian, the next we're serving soup at Food and Friends. And, of course, it would seem that the greatest polarization is that of how people view the Obama administration versus how they feel about Bush's.

A reporter down the hall in my newsroom was having a rather loud phone conversation on Tuesday night.

"It's all Bush's fault and that's the case" he said, in his usual high-pitched Irish accent. "What? there are still people in your newsroom that are positive? No one, and I mean no one, here likes him anymore."

It was his accent that made me start out laughing, but I began to think a little more seriously as the conversation continued, and I realized that he was illustrating for me what I have been learning in class about the market dictating journalism.

"Hits seem to go up when I'm bashing Bush, but of course he's not there to bash anymore," he said.

When a small animal meets its untimely death on your article

By way of Erica Simons, WJC Fall 07 (some advice for current WJC journalism students on taking edits):

Yes, it will look like a bloody mess.

It may even feel as though those red marks denoting your mistakes are slicing into your very soul.

If you are like me and you haven’t had much experience, learning to take edits is one of the major lessons of this semester.

The truth is, an editor changing your lede past the point of recognition and WJC Director Terry Mattingly’s question marks and exclamation points are opportunities for growth.