Friday, June 5, 2009

Fragment.

It had been a long and disheartening afternoon of interning at The Washington Examiner. After arriving promptly at 10 o’clock AM, I began on my daily assignment of researching for “newsmakers” (prominent Washingtonians to write brief, 75-word profiles on) with dutiful intent.

Now I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that typically, on an average day, both my fellow intern Luke and I would have been given assignments by 11:30 AM. However, while leaning back in my chair to take a short, 11:00 AM break from my unwavering gaze at the computer screen, I came to an abrupt realization. He was gone! Luke, my internship buddy, my associate, my partner-in-crime had already been assigned a story for the day. He was gone, leaving me behind to stew in ennui.

Oh, bollocks.

Well, there was nothing else I could do but finish my newsmakers and wait for someone to acknowledge my languishing existence. Then, unexpectedly, I heard a simpering voice pipe up:

“Keith, there’s nothing for me to do!”

The voice belonged to Caitlyn, the “other” Examiner intern, who only came in on Wednesdays. Now, don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against the girl—but why hadn’t I thought to voice that very same sentiment? And as our editor proceeded to rummage about for something to placate her, I typed furiously away on my Macbook, hoping to create enough of a racket to elicit his attention.

Finally, at 1:30 PM, I grimly acknowledged that I would be sitting here for another 3 useless hours unless I spoke up.

I nervously made my way towards the editor’s desk.

The following conversation went something like this:

“(Pause)…Hey Keith, I just sent you the second newsmaker for the day.”
“Good. Thanks.”
“Is there anything else you need help with to have everything in by 3:30? I mean, because today’s early deadline and all.”
“Yeah, um…No. It would probably be best for you to cruise on, because there’s really nothing for you here.”

Dejected, I took his advice and left, feeling as if a lump of dead matter would be of more consequence than I.

However, instead of returning home to spend several more pointless hours languishing about the apartment, I decided to spend the afternoon downtown. There’s nothing that a good book and hot coffee can’t cure, right? So I set out towards Metro Center Station, prepared to take complete advantage of the abundance of bookshelves at the nearest Borders.

It was just as I was passing the National Press Building that misfortune struck.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Home.

As of 365 days ago, I was floundering helplessly for a grasp on the ladder we call Life.

After a semester spent in the nation's capital, I have learned much in terms of intellectual, spiritual, and relational knowledge. But when a buddy of mine asked me what were the five most important lessons, my mind drew a desperate blank.

Even so, I'm not the same person I was 3.5 months ago.

Am I happy to be back in California? Yes. I'm home.

Do I know what I want to do with my life yet? Well, now that's the million dollar question, isn't it.

Monday, November 12, 2007

A Refreshingly Frozen Treat Harbors Potential to Become the New Frappucino

The number of frozen yogurt enthusiasts has recently been steadily increasing, due to the onslaught of frozen yogurt establishments across the nation. People have been veering away from the cloying and artificial tastes of places such Cold Stone Creamery, in favor of something easier on the waistline.

College students, who are constantly looking for “chill” places to relax and get a quick afternoon pick-me-up, seem to have found the answer in Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt shop. They are enticed by the late hours and chic atmosphere just as bees are enticed by the fragrant aroma of honeysuckles.

Pinkberry, which originated as 33-year-old Hyekyung “Sherry” Hwang’s attempt to open a tea parlor in West Hollywood, is now the rising star of the franchise world. According to Matthew Boyle of Fortune Magazine, 21 locations have been established in Los Angeles and New York, with incentives to reach 50 by the end of 2007.

As a frozen yogurt shop, Pinkberry provides two flavors: plain and green tea. Plain yogurt is undeniably the more popular of the two, with green tea making less than 40% of the sales, but the plethora of toppings more than compensates for this. They offer an array of fresh fruit, sweetened cereals, nuts, and Oreo cookies. Mochi, Japanese sticky rice balls, is an off-menu item also available for those in the know, and a medium cup of yogurt with three toppings will cost about $5.50

“It doesn’t immediately grab you,” says Santa Monica yoga instructor David Kim, “but there is something about the flavor that draws you in, and each time you go back you taste something a little bit different. The next thing you know, it's like crack.''

A recipe that Hwang devised herself, Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt is made with real milk and boasts a mere 25 calories per ounce. The yogurt asserts a refreshing tanginess and a creamy texture, but certainly not creamy enough to be guilt inducing. “My teeth didn’t feel violated by the sugar the way they do after a Haagen Daz frozen yogurt or premium ice cream,” says food blogger Nikonice. They also offer fruit or green tea shaved ice and smoothies.

The question asked by regulators, however, is “But is Pinkberry really frozen yogurt?” The answer is: no.

"You can't call a product frozen yogurt unless it's mixed off-site and delivered to the site as frozen yogurt," said Steve Lyle, a department spokesman.

According to Kimi Yoshino of the Los Angeles Times, the executives of Pinkberry have admitted that their yogurt is made from a powder and mixed in-store. They insist that it contains plain yogurt, but the recipe was not divulged for copyright reasons. Nevertheless, written references to frozen yogurt have been removed from their website.

Fortunately, others are not as concerned with the health issues of their dessert. This issue has not impeded Pinkberry’s success, and plans of expansion are currently being made.

"It just tastes good, and I'm not a frozen yogurt connoisseur by any means," said 19-year-old USC student Andrew Wilson.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Education in "the Ghetto"

The camera zooms in, focusing on an aging apartment building, shabby and slowly falling apart. Moving in on one particular window and beyond, the camera rests on the visage of a young African American, slumbering peacefully.

His eyelids flutter unexpectedly, open, and then blink away a night of rest. He rises from the bed, turns on the stereo, and washes his face – but what’s this? No sound, not even a hint of static. Is there a problem with the soundtrack? There is the sudden realization that the young man is deaf.

Sound like an opening scene from some Hollywood movie?

Wrong. This is the introduction to a short clip called, “Can You Hear?” directed by Jonathan Rodriguez, a student at The Ghetto Film School.

Located in the South Bronx, an area renowned for its poverty and high crime rate, the Ghetto Film School focuses on “assets-based development.” President Joe Hall told the New York Times Thursday that students were admitted to this school based on enthusiasm and aptitude, not economic need. The school encourages impoverished students from a background of delinquency to pursue a future that involves college.

In an interview with Joe Hall, Saul Austerlitz of MM (MovieMaker Magazine) discovers that the school trains people in three different ways: through a high school, summer fellows program, and Digital Bodega, a student-run business. Each of these ways serves to steer young adults towards achieving their goal, whether it is to become a sound designer, director, or filmmaker. What is most commendable about this project, however, is that they approach students with the aim of taking whatever talent they have and using it to its fullest extent. The program serves only as a resource; they do not view their students as “potential problems to solve,” as most other programs are doing.

Student Destimona Anokye, who appeared on Eyewitness News on September 4, says that her goal is to do all kinds of stories. She supports the statement of the program, saying that it gives her confidence by equipping her with every skill needed for filmmaking.

The most important aspect about this program is that it is furthering the development of other institutions like it. Students are seeing more windows of opportunity, and we may soon be viewing the products of new talents from the Bronx.

Ghetto Film already works with a local city school, the New Explorer’s High School for Film and Humanities, and Hall’s hope is that the construction of a new cinema high school should soon be under way. It would function with a core curriculum of academic subjects, as well as with electives such as screenwriting, film history, and production.

However, this is only of the Department of Education relents. The main reason that they may oppose is that a specialized high school is not what the city needs most at the moment.

The principle behind Ghetto Film is still quite admirable. “When you form a relationship with young people, using an assets-based approach, you get a lot more done in a much quicker amount of time,” says Hall.

And thus, new opportunity is revealed to those most in need.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Blog #1

A pair of chicken eggs sit on the counter, pearly white, perfectly oval, and flawless in every way. Take these products of nature, gently crack them open, and what do you see? Two golden orbs, each resting in its own translucent nest. Now take the contents of each egg, fling them into a bowl, whip them violently with a fork, and hurl that into a sputtering frying pan. Shake it out onto a plate, and voila – scrambled eggs. This is what happens in radiation breeding, otherwise known as gene scrambling.

In his article, “Useful Mutants, Bred With Radiation,” William J. Broad states that scientists have been “using radiation to scramble the genetic material in crops…for more than half a century.” “Mutants” such as red grapefruit, disease-resistant cocoa, and premium barley have been produced from the experiments of Dr. Pierre Lagoda and his colleagues. These scientists have managed to contribute to the overall improvement of crops, especially in the areas of increasing their yields and their resistance to disease.

My gripe is that these scientists may be making different varieties of produce larger, prettier, and more accessible, but they may not be making it better. Dr. Lagoda makes the claim that, “I’m not doing anything different from what nature does.” However, in the article, “A Better Coneflower?” written by Beth Botts in the Chicago Tribune, Naperville gardener Pat Armstrong makes the observation that, “When a breeder focuses on some particular variation -- yellowness, say, or shortness, or having many more petals -- he throws away the cushion created by thousands of years of evolution that helps make the plant tough and adaptable to local conditions.” The genes of a flower work in rather the same way as a vegetable or a fruit, meaning that something of the product’s makeup is destroyed in the process of radiation breeding. Might there be consequences in downing a pint of beer made from barley that has been genetically enhanced? There is still much to be discovered in the scientific world, and the consequences of radiation breeding may outweigh the benefits.

For example, an article on genetically engineered organisms in the Public Issues Education Project,, directed by Dr. Bruce Lewenstein, stated that, “A novel genetically engineered (GE) food may have the potential to cause new allergic reactions if it contains proteins that the conventional food doesn't have.” A large percentage of the foods that we consume right now are genetically engineered, which could prove hazardous to those of us with allergic reactions. The example that is given in the article is that “people who are allergic to Brazil nuts may also be allergic to a GE soybean containing a Brazil nut protein.”

Don’t get me wrong -- I’m not making the claim that I don’t admire and commend the scientists in their endeavor to cure world hunger by firing gamma rays at produce. However, the bottom line is that we’re dangerously oblivious to the downfalls of genetically manipulating fruits & vegetables, and scientists need to tread carefully in this field.