The period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is my favorite time of the year. Despite having finals during the first few weeks of December, this time of year always makes me happy. I don't understand how people can have Seasonal Affective Disorder when they look around and see bright, sparkling, colorful Christmas lights and hear beautiful, cheery Christmas music on the radio. I am Jewish, but to me, Christmas has come to symbolize an American tradition, in addition to being a religious holiday. A few times a week, I enjoy a Starbucks Gingerbread Latte or Peppermint Hot Chocolate. I listen to the Christmas Pandora radio station almost daily. My friends and I tune into the various Christmas-themed movies that ABC Family plays throughout the month of December. We make gingerbread houses and munch on Trader Joe's peppermint-flavored Oreo's. When I return home for winter break, my mother and I will continue our annual tradition of rating our neighborhood's Christmas decorations. I have always preferred rainbow lights, while my mom prefers white lights. Both of us dislike it when people mix too many different colored lights. My favorite yearly tradition with my mother is our late-night shopping ritual. During this time, the nearby stores and malls are open until midnight and have incredible sales. A few nights a week, my mom and I go on mini shopping sprees, and usually stay out until the stores close. It is not uncommon that by the time we come home, my father is already sleeping, which is a good thing since he can't ask to see our receipts!
To me, the holiday season is a time of joy, a time when Americans and people all over the world take the time to give. Each year, my family and many others in my New Jersey hometown donate toys to Toys for Tots, give money to the Santas from Salvation Army and volunteer to gift-wrap in our local mall for charity. People spend days, weeks and sometimes months putting thought into what they are going to give their friends and families for the holidays. Perhaps, my favorite part of this time of year is all of the quality time I get to spend with my family. It's a time when I finally get to see my relatives from New Hampshire and occasionally, Florida. My cousins come in from New York and we all gather around the table and eat like pigs on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve and on random days in between. We stuff our faces (sometimes with delicious home-cooked meals, but more often with Chinese or Italian take-out) reminisce and laugh, laugh and laugh.
In addition to the beautiful decorations, fun snow activities and delicious winter food and drinks, I love the holidays because I see it as a time of selflessness; a time when people give back on a personal and global scale.
So why does the holiday spirit have to come to an end? While there are plenty of people who continue to donate to charities throughout the entire year, most of the people I know rarely volunteer their time and money after January 1st comes around. All of the seasonal goodies retire for the next 12 months, as well as the amazing savings on clothes, shoes and jewelry. Not only are my favorite holidays over, but I dread the first week of January because it serves as a reminder that it is no longer acceptable for me to eat as many sweet and savory dishes as I desire. I am a subscriber to People Magazine and each year, the first week of January's issue is all about diets and losing weight as a New Year's Resolution. I suppose the next best holiday to look forward to after New Year's is Valentine's Day, but only if you have a Valentine! While I do enjoy spending time on the Jersey Shore over the summer, I would much rather prefer to be cozy by the fireplace, wearing my Snuggie, sipping hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies with friends, while the snow falls peacefully outside.
-Ricki Maybruch
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Nickelodeon TV Shows from Your Childhood
Almost every kid I know watched Nick programming as a kid, from Stick Stickley in the afternoons, to Snick and TEENick at night, or even when you stayed home sick from school and you were forced to watch ‘Face’ and shows like Gullah Gullah Island and Little Bear on Nick Jr. in the morning. As a tribute to the TV network I spent the vast majority of time watching growing up, I give you two top-ten lists of what were in my opinion the best shows, animated and non-animated.
Non-Animated and Gameshow List
1. Legends of the Hidden Temple – bar none the coolest show on TV…how bad did you want to do a Temple Run at the final round and get past the Temple Guards with the artifact?
2. All That! – Nick’s best sketch-comdey show that launched spinoffs such as The Amanda Show and Keenan and Kel
3. Guts – Great competition gameshow similar to American Gladiator. Climbing the Aggro Crag must have been bomb.
4. Double Dare – ranked in the top 30 of TV Guide’s all-time best gameshows, this show asked families trivia questions to build up a bank of money and then competed in often sloppy physical challenges
5. The Adventures of Pete And Pete – a show about the humorous and strange interactions of friends, family and enemies, it features two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley and is narrated by the elder “Big Pete”
6. Figure it Out – Fun game show with Nick celebrities trying to guess the contestant’s special talent. The seductive Summer Sanders as host may have something to do with why this show is ranked so high…
7. Salute Your Shorts – a sarcastic show about teens away at summer camp, Camp Anawanna
8. Kenan and Kel – successful spinoff from All That! Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda
9. Are You Afraid of the Dark? – This show scared the **** out of me and gave me nightmares all through my childhood….definitely deserved the TV-Y7 rating.
10. The Secret World of Alex Mack – an underrated show featuring teenage Alex Mack who was exposed to a strange chemical and could morph into a metallic blob and ‘ooze’ her way out of sticky situations
Honorable Mentions: Ahh! Real Monsters, Kablam!, As Told by Ginger,
Animated List
1. Doug – Nick’s first and best ‘Nicktoon.’ I wish Pattie Mayonaise was a real person
2. Rugrats – the most popular Nicktoon ever with over 170 episodes. Tommy Pickles is a baller
3. Hey Arnold --The show that featured the football-headed Arnold was humorous, emotional and intelligent and taught many life lessons while keeping me thoroughly entertained
4. Spongebob Squarepants – Towards the end of our generation’s childhood, but a genious idea for a show that is still wildly popular today
5. Catdog – for a few years this was my favorite show
6. Rocco’s Modern Life – an early classic, this show made subtle comments about societal problems
7. The Wild Thornberry’s – underrated show full of adventures in remote places all over the world
8. Rocket Power – Otto Rocket was hands down the coolest animated kid on TV…and then there was Squid
9. Ren and Stimpy – I wasn’t allowed to watch this when I was very young due to the very graphic nature of the animation, but my mom eventually caved to my nagging and I’m glad she did
10. The Angry Beavers – had a fleeting year or two of competitive popularity, but the show never made it over that plateau and thus it sits at the bottom of this epic list
Honorable Mentions: Wild and Crazy Kids, the Roundhouse, Land of the Lost, Clarissa Explains it All, What Would You Do? Hey Dude
Non-Animated and Gameshow List
1. Legends of the Hidden Temple – bar none the coolest show on TV…how bad did you want to do a Temple Run at the final round and get past the Temple Guards with the artifact?
2. All That! – Nick’s best sketch-comdey show that launched spinoffs such as The Amanda Show and Keenan and Kel
3. Guts – Great competition gameshow similar to American Gladiator. Climbing the Aggro Crag must have been bomb.
4. Double Dare – ranked in the top 30 of TV Guide’s all-time best gameshows, this show asked families trivia questions to build up a bank of money and then competed in often sloppy physical challenges
5. The Adventures of Pete And Pete – a show about the humorous and strange interactions of friends, family and enemies, it features two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley and is narrated by the elder “Big Pete”
6. Figure it Out – Fun game show with Nick celebrities trying to guess the contestant’s special talent. The seductive Summer Sanders as host may have something to do with why this show is ranked so high…
7. Salute Your Shorts – a sarcastic show about teens away at summer camp, Camp Anawanna
8. Kenan and Kel – successful spinoff from All That! Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda
9. Are You Afraid of the Dark? – This show scared the **** out of me and gave me nightmares all through my childhood….definitely deserved the TV-Y7 rating.
10. The Secret World of Alex Mack – an underrated show featuring teenage Alex Mack who was exposed to a strange chemical and could morph into a metallic blob and ‘ooze’ her way out of sticky situations
Honorable Mentions: Ahh! Real Monsters, Kablam!, As Told by Ginger,
Animated List
1. Doug – Nick’s first and best ‘Nicktoon.’ I wish Pattie Mayonaise was a real person
2. Rugrats – the most popular Nicktoon ever with over 170 episodes. Tommy Pickles is a baller
3. Hey Arnold --The show that featured the football-headed Arnold was humorous, emotional and intelligent and taught many life lessons while keeping me thoroughly entertained
4. Spongebob Squarepants – Towards the end of our generation’s childhood, but a genious idea for a show that is still wildly popular today
5. Catdog – for a few years this was my favorite show
6. Rocco’s Modern Life – an early classic, this show made subtle comments about societal problems
7. The Wild Thornberry’s – underrated show full of adventures in remote places all over the world
8. Rocket Power – Otto Rocket was hands down the coolest animated kid on TV…and then there was Squid
9. Ren and Stimpy – I wasn’t allowed to watch this when I was very young due to the very graphic nature of the animation, but my mom eventually caved to my nagging and I’m glad she did
10. The Angry Beavers – had a fleeting year or two of competitive popularity, but the show never made it over that plateau and thus it sits at the bottom of this epic list
Honorable Mentions: Wild and Crazy Kids, the Roundhouse, Land of the Lost, Clarissa Explains it All, What Would You Do? Hey Dude
Black Friday: Discounts You Never Knew You Needed.
It was 6:00 am and finally, after an hour and half of waiting, I had advanced towards the inner layer of Greensboro, North Carolina’s Four Season’s Mall. Unlike on regular days, where the walls to this sacred fortress of consumerism are highly fortified with non-discounted merchandise, today, on November 26th, better known to the masses as Black Friday, the powers that be let down their drawbridge, and in charged the masses of deal-seeking mercenaries. I admit, I was amongst them. Sure the idea of waking up at 4:00 am was vastly unappealing. However, the enticement of knowing that I could buy work apparel for my non-existent future job at 40% off standard retail price enticed me to wake up. As I fought an internal battle about whether to physically get out of bed or not, upon spotting an advertisement on my floor for a one-day-only special at the store Express, I simply realized that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t purchase their “Studio Stretch Columnist Pant” for it fortuitously addressed my journalistic career goals of working in a television studio, AND writing my own column. Clearly, the gods of capitalism were pulling at my heartstrings, and thus, I decided to embark on a noble shopping crusade.
While waiting to get into the mall I observed a very unique scene. Stationed outside it were at least seven thousand people. From soccer moms, to apathetic teenagers, to grandmothers who were determined to buy the most spirited Christmas sweaters department stores had to offer, the line housed people of every creed and color, all unified by their desire to go in for the shopping kill. Although I respected the initiative my fellow comrades demonstrated simply by being awake at the crack of dawn, I noticed a strange phenomenon: at least a quarter of the people in line were kids, most under the age of three. Dear parents of America, I must ask, since when has it ever been okay to leave little children waiting outside in the frigid cold for hours? Oh wait, I forgot, the rules of good parenting do not apply to profit driven, corporation created days like Black Friday. Even social workers need new iPods right?
In addition to kids, the line also housed tailgaters. Yes, stationed next to me in line were a pair of brothers who besides bringing their own collapsible captain's chairs, decided that 5:00 am was an appropriate time to start grilling hot dogs on their portable barbecue, and sip Bud Light. I am not sure whether the location of this mall in the Southern portion of the United States had anything to do with this phenomenon, but I am fairly certain that I smelled other varieties of grilled meats in the air.
Unlike in Troy where the invasion of soldiers into the heart of the city was done in a stealthy manner, the infiltration of shoppers into the mall was more like a mass stampede. People were running into stores, shoving others out of the way, just so they could get a hold of ten dollar crockpots on sale at Dillard’s. As I was perusing various retailers, and realizing that as fantastic as the discount at Macy’s was green camouflage capris are just never a good look, I noticed people flocking to purchase some very strange items simply because they were on sale. For example, why would a person ever need an industrial theatre-sized popcorn maker, or a giant cotton candy machine? Yes I am aware that starting up a carnival is an interesting business endeavor, but perhaps not the safest of all investments.
As the day progressed, and I made my way to different shopping centers I discovered other interesting sales promotions. The discount store Fred’s was having a 10 cent-off sale on all Fandango Soda (America’s favorite brand!) and Walgreen’s was having a buy one get one free deal on Purex Detergent. Perhaps the best product that I saw all day though, was found at none other than the outerwear store Eddie Bauer. Prominently displayed in front of the cash register was a box of paper cut out coffee cups that had wrapped around them perhaps the most useless invention mankind has ever seen: A down coffee sleeve. Let me ask, since when has my coffee needed goose down insulation? Can it not withstand the chilly fall breeze? I can rationalize dressing one’s pet in a little snow jacket for it keeps them warmer during cold morning walks, but I cannot justify accessorizing my Starbuck skinny vanilla latte. Yes, it provides me with a much-needed jolt of caffeine, but its steep cost of $3.85, and the whole one minute and 22 seconds it takes me to drink it, makes it unworthy of being wrapped up in expensive material like goose feathers. Heck, it’s taken me four years of living in Washington DC, plus the worst blizzard the city has seen in a century, to finally prompt me to buy a down winter coat! Seeing this impractical product was such a turn off to me that I decided to abruptly end my shopping session. As for ever going shopping again so early? I think I’ll pass…That is at least until next year’s Black Friday ads come out…
- Kimberly Wertman
While waiting to get into the mall I observed a very unique scene. Stationed outside it were at least seven thousand people. From soccer moms, to apathetic teenagers, to grandmothers who were determined to buy the most spirited Christmas sweaters department stores had to offer, the line housed people of every creed and color, all unified by their desire to go in for the shopping kill. Although I respected the initiative my fellow comrades demonstrated simply by being awake at the crack of dawn, I noticed a strange phenomenon: at least a quarter of the people in line were kids, most under the age of three. Dear parents of America, I must ask, since when has it ever been okay to leave little children waiting outside in the frigid cold for hours? Oh wait, I forgot, the rules of good parenting do not apply to profit driven, corporation created days like Black Friday. Even social workers need new iPods right?
In addition to kids, the line also housed tailgaters. Yes, stationed next to me in line were a pair of brothers who besides bringing their own collapsible captain's chairs, decided that 5:00 am was an appropriate time to start grilling hot dogs on their portable barbecue, and sip Bud Light. I am not sure whether the location of this mall in the Southern portion of the United States had anything to do with this phenomenon, but I am fairly certain that I smelled other varieties of grilled meats in the air.
Unlike in Troy where the invasion of soldiers into the heart of the city was done in a stealthy manner, the infiltration of shoppers into the mall was more like a mass stampede. People were running into stores, shoving others out of the way, just so they could get a hold of ten dollar crockpots on sale at Dillard’s. As I was perusing various retailers, and realizing that as fantastic as the discount at Macy’s was green camouflage capris are just never a good look, I noticed people flocking to purchase some very strange items simply because they were on sale. For example, why would a person ever need an industrial theatre-sized popcorn maker, or a giant cotton candy machine? Yes I am aware that starting up a carnival is an interesting business endeavor, but perhaps not the safest of all investments.
As the day progressed, and I made my way to different shopping centers I discovered other interesting sales promotions. The discount store Fred’s was having a 10 cent-off sale on all Fandango Soda (America’s favorite brand!) and Walgreen’s was having a buy one get one free deal on Purex Detergent. Perhaps the best product that I saw all day though, was found at none other than the outerwear store Eddie Bauer. Prominently displayed in front of the cash register was a box of paper cut out coffee cups that had wrapped around them perhaps the most useless invention mankind has ever seen: A down coffee sleeve. Let me ask, since when has my coffee needed goose down insulation? Can it not withstand the chilly fall breeze? I can rationalize dressing one’s pet in a little snow jacket for it keeps them warmer during cold morning walks, but I cannot justify accessorizing my Starbuck skinny vanilla latte. Yes, it provides me with a much-needed jolt of caffeine, but its steep cost of $3.85, and the whole one minute and 22 seconds it takes me to drink it, makes it unworthy of being wrapped up in expensive material like goose feathers. Heck, it’s taken me four years of living in Washington DC, plus the worst blizzard the city has seen in a century, to finally prompt me to buy a down winter coat! Seeing this impractical product was such a turn off to me that I decided to abruptly end my shopping session. As for ever going shopping again so early? I think I’ll pass…That is at least until next year’s Black Friday ads come out…
- Kimberly Wertman
Challenging Traditions and Beliefs: Discussing the Death Penalty at my Thanksgiving Table
By Claudia Powell
This was the first Thanksgiving in many, many years that my family did not follow our traditions exactly. We always have it with the same family members from my father’s side, eat at our cabin in upstate New York, bake a pie-per-person, and go around the large dining table giving personal reasons that we are thankful. This year, everything changed! Hectic schedules and my cousin’s abroad experience resulted in a totally new plan.
I was initially thrown by this change. We ate with different family members, at my house in Connecticut, had desserts of every kind, and were lucky enough to have three international students at the table. My mother, endlessly believing that she is everyone else’s mother also, invited these boys to our Thanksgiving when she visited my older brother at St. Lawrence University and found out that they were planning on staying at school over break since they couldn’t reasonably travel home for such a short time.
However, these friends of my brother actually made for a really interesting Thanksgiving, particularly because it is not a holiday that any of them had celebrated before. They provoked interesting conversation and brought a new perspective to the table, giving my usually traditional family a glimpse of their own, much different, lives. Igor, who is from Macedonia, decided to pose a question to us all, explaining that he believed a person’s answer was very telling about them.
If you could have any two people from throughout time sitting to your left and to your right for this dinner, who would they be?
The table immediately livened up as we imagined dining with everyone from Winston Churchill to Jack Kerouac. We imagined having famous enemies to each side, having it out one last time. We imagined celebrities coming back from the dead, politicians explaining themselves, and having the chance to ask our favorite authors more about some of our most cherished stories. This was a new spin on Thanksgiving, yes, but we all jovially laughed and attempted to one-up each other in our dinner guest choices.
Things really got interesting when my dad joked, “So, we know what deceased people we’d all like to have dinner with. Now it’s time to go around the table and say who we want dead!” The table erupted in laughter until Igor said flatly, “Kim Jong-il”. For a moment, our boisterous amusement turned into nervous and awkward giggles. Isn’t it politically incorrect to say you want someone dead? Overall, I’d err on the “peace keeper” side of things and try not to sustain that kind of hatred in my body. However, he’d broken the seal, and it was now an open topic of discussion.
The discussion turned to one of my (creepily) favorite topics: the death penalty. My own opinions about capital punishment waver case-to-case, especially as I learn more about inequities (i.e. racially) and bureaucratic atrocities that have, in the past, resulted in an innocent person being executed. My mother, who I inherited my peaceful disposition from, surprised me when she said that she had someone in mind.
Several years ago, a horrific and brutal murder occurred in Cheshire, CT, where my brother attended boarding school. The story was huge when it happened, especially because of the location; nothing that gruesome had occurred nationally since perhaps the Charles Manson murders, and especially not in a small suburban town. Honestly, the media coverage also stemmed from the fact that the Petits were a white, upper-class family and the three casualties were the promising women of the family, the daughters both relatively young.
The case has been in the news again recently, as a jury in the trial sentenced of one of the now-convicted perpetrators to death. For anyone as interested in crime psychology as I am, the story is worth looking up. My mother, a very diplomatic and empathetic person, said that she would sentence the Petit murderers to death if she were on that jury. The story had hit a nerve in her, and she could barely speak about what she thought Dr. William A. Petit Jr., the women’s father and husband and lone survivor of the attack, might have felt in the aftermath.
My aunt, having admittedly indulged in the copious wines on the table, said that she didn’t believe in the death penalty, nervously adding that people’s polarized views on the matter might earn her some impassioned criticism and maybe cost her a few dinner guests the following night. Of course, this was not true… we’re family! I’m not one to pass judgment and I was really interested to hear the perspectives of the fifteen people whose life experiences and ages varied from my youngest brother Jack, who is 12, and my maternal grandmother, who is 80.
As I said, my view on capital punishment changes constantly and I have never really explicitly stated whether I am for or against it and its use in modern society. Something about the justice system in general makes me feel that punishment outcomes, including prison, are both necessary and barbaric at the same time. In some ways, I believe that the application of the “eye for an eye” rule (broad in both encompassment and application) is unnecessary and immoral. On these anti-death penalty days, the whole idea seems outrageous to me and I can’t fathom concluding that a person must die versus serving a life-sentence in prison, which to me, in some ways, seems worse than execution. Human life, even that of the most evil of people, is not expendable and shouldn’t be treated as such.
At the same time, I find myself coming back to the idea that these people, these criminals, themselves treated human life as though it is not valuable. Any number of things can push a person to commit a crime and I am sure that in some instances, the defendant was driven to a violent action as an act of self-defense or perceived danger. However, the generally malicious and gruesome crimes that warrant the application of the death penalty in the legal system, such as the Petit family murders, make me think that my own empathy for the victim’s loved ones (who must live with these tragedies) could lead me to support the application of capital punishment as a juror who is familiar with the excruciating details of a particular case.
I think that overall I am predominantly against the death penalty, but I do understand why it is sought in some situations. I was initially stunned when Igor, a newcomer to the Powell family Thanksgiving and a nuanced challenger of tradition, so quickly named someone he would subject to the death penalty. However, I came to really value the heated discussion that followed and the tactful consideration of morality and humanity. Thanksgiving traditions are something I hold close to my heart, and I’d be lying if I said that a part of me didn’t miss the way we’ve done things for the past two decades. Still, one of my greatest interests as both a writer and a person is the perspective of others, whose life experiences make us extremely different and yet have brought us to the same table. This narrative reflection of my 2010 Thanksgiving dinner went much longer than I’d anticipated, but in this need to include so much I see the challenge to my perspective and re-evaluation of what I believe that I value so much.
How have your conceptions of what is “right”, “true”, or “moral” been challenged in the past? Do you, like myself, appreciate this challenge and perceive it as constructive? Do you have a strong belief system that prevents you from being influenced by such conversations? And, more specifically, how do you feel about the continued use of capital punishment?
This was the first Thanksgiving in many, many years that my family did not follow our traditions exactly. We always have it with the same family members from my father’s side, eat at our cabin in upstate New York, bake a pie-per-person, and go around the large dining table giving personal reasons that we are thankful. This year, everything changed! Hectic schedules and my cousin’s abroad experience resulted in a totally new plan.
I was initially thrown by this change. We ate with different family members, at my house in Connecticut, had desserts of every kind, and were lucky enough to have three international students at the table. My mother, endlessly believing that she is everyone else’s mother also, invited these boys to our Thanksgiving when she visited my older brother at St. Lawrence University and found out that they were planning on staying at school over break since they couldn’t reasonably travel home for such a short time.
However, these friends of my brother actually made for a really interesting Thanksgiving, particularly because it is not a holiday that any of them had celebrated before. They provoked interesting conversation and brought a new perspective to the table, giving my usually traditional family a glimpse of their own, much different, lives. Igor, who is from Macedonia, decided to pose a question to us all, explaining that he believed a person’s answer was very telling about them.
If you could have any two people from throughout time sitting to your left and to your right for this dinner, who would they be?
The table immediately livened up as we imagined dining with everyone from Winston Churchill to Jack Kerouac. We imagined having famous enemies to each side, having it out one last time. We imagined celebrities coming back from the dead, politicians explaining themselves, and having the chance to ask our favorite authors more about some of our most cherished stories. This was a new spin on Thanksgiving, yes, but we all jovially laughed and attempted to one-up each other in our dinner guest choices.
Things really got interesting when my dad joked, “So, we know what deceased people we’d all like to have dinner with. Now it’s time to go around the table and say who we want dead!” The table erupted in laughter until Igor said flatly, “Kim Jong-il”. For a moment, our boisterous amusement turned into nervous and awkward giggles. Isn’t it politically incorrect to say you want someone dead? Overall, I’d err on the “peace keeper” side of things and try not to sustain that kind of hatred in my body. However, he’d broken the seal, and it was now an open topic of discussion.
The discussion turned to one of my (creepily) favorite topics: the death penalty. My own opinions about capital punishment waver case-to-case, especially as I learn more about inequities (i.e. racially) and bureaucratic atrocities that have, in the past, resulted in an innocent person being executed. My mother, who I inherited my peaceful disposition from, surprised me when she said that she had someone in mind.
Several years ago, a horrific and brutal murder occurred in Cheshire, CT, where my brother attended boarding school. The story was huge when it happened, especially because of the location; nothing that gruesome had occurred nationally since perhaps the Charles Manson murders, and especially not in a small suburban town. Honestly, the media coverage also stemmed from the fact that the Petits were a white, upper-class family and the three casualties were the promising women of the family, the daughters both relatively young.
The case has been in the news again recently, as a jury in the trial sentenced of one of the now-convicted perpetrators to death. For anyone as interested in crime psychology as I am, the story is worth looking up. My mother, a very diplomatic and empathetic person, said that she would sentence the Petit murderers to death if she were on that jury. The story had hit a nerve in her, and she could barely speak about what she thought Dr. William A. Petit Jr., the women’s father and husband and lone survivor of the attack, might have felt in the aftermath.
My aunt, having admittedly indulged in the copious wines on the table, said that she didn’t believe in the death penalty, nervously adding that people’s polarized views on the matter might earn her some impassioned criticism and maybe cost her a few dinner guests the following night. Of course, this was not true… we’re family! I’m not one to pass judgment and I was really interested to hear the perspectives of the fifteen people whose life experiences and ages varied from my youngest brother Jack, who is 12, and my maternal grandmother, who is 80.
As I said, my view on capital punishment changes constantly and I have never really explicitly stated whether I am for or against it and its use in modern society. Something about the justice system in general makes me feel that punishment outcomes, including prison, are both necessary and barbaric at the same time. In some ways, I believe that the application of the “eye for an eye” rule (broad in both encompassment and application) is unnecessary and immoral. On these anti-death penalty days, the whole idea seems outrageous to me and I can’t fathom concluding that a person must die versus serving a life-sentence in prison, which to me, in some ways, seems worse than execution. Human life, even that of the most evil of people, is not expendable and shouldn’t be treated as such.
At the same time, I find myself coming back to the idea that these people, these criminals, themselves treated human life as though it is not valuable. Any number of things can push a person to commit a crime and I am sure that in some instances, the defendant was driven to a violent action as an act of self-defense or perceived danger. However, the generally malicious and gruesome crimes that warrant the application of the death penalty in the legal system, such as the Petit family murders, make me think that my own empathy for the victim’s loved ones (who must live with these tragedies) could lead me to support the application of capital punishment as a juror who is familiar with the excruciating details of a particular case.
I think that overall I am predominantly against the death penalty, but I do understand why it is sought in some situations. I was initially stunned when Igor, a newcomer to the Powell family Thanksgiving and a nuanced challenger of tradition, so quickly named someone he would subject to the death penalty. However, I came to really value the heated discussion that followed and the tactful consideration of morality and humanity. Thanksgiving traditions are something I hold close to my heart, and I’d be lying if I said that a part of me didn’t miss the way we’ve done things for the past two decades. Still, one of my greatest interests as both a writer and a person is the perspective of others, whose life experiences make us extremely different and yet have brought us to the same table. This narrative reflection of my 2010 Thanksgiving dinner went much longer than I’d anticipated, but in this need to include so much I see the challenge to my perspective and re-evaluation of what I believe that I value so much.
How have your conceptions of what is “right”, “true”, or “moral” been challenged in the past? Do you, like myself, appreciate this challenge and perceive it as constructive? Do you have a strong belief system that prevents you from being influenced by such conversations? And, more specifically, how do you feel about the continued use of capital punishment?
December 2, 2010 Update: For anyone interested in the Petit case or the application of capital punishment, one of the men was officially sentenced to death today by New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue. Click through for the New York Times coverage.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Give the Gift of Unconventional Gifts
What’s your Christmas plan?
Are you going to sing songs, put on a sweater, stir up some hot chocolate and be all festive? I certainly hope so.
One thing I certainly hope you don’t do is get silly with the presents. By silly I mean excessive. Every year, much of the build up to Christmas is spent—well—spending. We spend money at every turn and buy things for other people and pat ourselves on the back for being so giving.
But what are we really doing?
We’re giving in to the excessive materialism that our consumer- capitalist society creates (that just made me sound like a hippie… cue the eye rolling). Sure Christmas is wonderful. I’ll be the first to tell you that. But if you really want to give a meaningful gift, don’t rush to the stores to buy things your friends and family will only moderately like.
Instead, give them the gift of your time. Give your mom or dad a coupon for help around the house. Take your grandparents on a date. Go explore an area of wilderness with your friends.
The idea of a present is to forge a more meaningful relationship with the receiver. Fight your knee- jerk impulse to just buy them something, and look outside the box for a way to truly brighten their lives.
As for receiving presents, be honest with yourself. If you catch yourself thinking “There’s not anything I’m dying to have,” then SPEAK UP! Ask for donations to your favorite charity in lieu of a book you’ll never read or a Starbucks gift card. And certainly mention that you’d prefer to spend quality time with the giver than get a few pairs of black socks.
Presents are great for kids. But if you’re old enough to read the word “lieu” then you’re too old for presents. Make a change this holiday season that will make you, and your family actually happy.
By: Brendan Barrack
Are you going to sing songs, put on a sweater, stir up some hot chocolate and be all festive? I certainly hope so.
One thing I certainly hope you don’t do is get silly with the presents. By silly I mean excessive. Every year, much of the build up to Christmas is spent—well—spending. We spend money at every turn and buy things for other people and pat ourselves on the back for being so giving.
But what are we really doing?
We’re giving in to the excessive materialism that our consumer- capitalist society creates (that just made me sound like a hippie… cue the eye rolling). Sure Christmas is wonderful. I’ll be the first to tell you that. But if you really want to give a meaningful gift, don’t rush to the stores to buy things your friends and family will only moderately like.
Instead, give them the gift of your time. Give your mom or dad a coupon for help around the house. Take your grandparents on a date. Go explore an area of wilderness with your friends.
The idea of a present is to forge a more meaningful relationship with the receiver. Fight your knee- jerk impulse to just buy them something, and look outside the box for a way to truly brighten their lives.
As for receiving presents, be honest with yourself. If you catch yourself thinking “There’s not anything I’m dying to have,” then SPEAK UP! Ask for donations to your favorite charity in lieu of a book you’ll never read or a Starbucks gift card. And certainly mention that you’d prefer to spend quality time with the giver than get a few pairs of black socks.
Presents are great for kids. But if you’re old enough to read the word “lieu” then you’re too old for presents. Make a change this holiday season that will make you, and your family actually happy.
By: Brendan Barrack
The 45- Minute Miracle
Cooking your own meals is probably the easiest way to save hundreds, or if you go to GW, thousands, of dollars over the college year. Quick meals for the quick kid. But is quick always better?
If you’re like me, you have gotten into the habit of putting the same meal together so often that you end up making a whole lot of it on Monday, putting the remaining food in a Tupperware container and then doing the dish- and- microwave thing Tuesday through Friday. And the only thing that offsets this is the occasional late- week Nooshi happy hour or a delivery pizza for the blissful NFL/ HBO/ Showtime Sunday’s. It sounds foolproof, but there’s only so much pasta a guy can eat.
By the same notion though, what’s a guy to do? I get home from a normal day and have things that I want to do before I eat. I like to answer emails, take a power nap-- if the gods permit it-- and hop in the shower before dinner. Always have. Always will.
Recently, in an attempt to impress a special someone I made a fantastic discovery. I cooked a real dinner. By that I mean something easy (after all it wasn’t an anniversary or even a weekend night) but something that wasn’t ready at the drop of a hat. Something that resembled effort. So I busted out an old family recipe and went to work. It took me 5 minutes to make and then cooked in the oven for 45 minutes, which allowed me ample time to check the boxes on my daily chores checklist. When I was ready my food was ready. It was tasty, healthy, and heartwarming.
All this is to highlight one miniscule point: Cooking a meal that takes 30- 45 minutes in the oven gives you the freedom to handle your business and the peace of mind to know that once you’re done to-doing your to-do’s, a real and constantly changing meal awaits you. So if you’re in anyway like me, give the 45 minute meal a shot. You’ll be surprised at how little it takes out of your day, and how much it adds.
PS- If you’re not like me but want to give it a go. Here’s a great recipe to get you started.
What you need:
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Milk
Rice
Chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Steps:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour the can of mushroom soup into a baking sheet then fill the empty can with rice, and pour it in the baking sheet, then fill the can with milk and pour that in.
3. Mix the three ingredients evenly throughout the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place 2- 3 chicken breasts on top of the mixture.
5. Sprinkle paprika over chicken.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven.
7. After 25 minutes remove foil and stir rice, adding milk if the rice is getting a little dry.
8. Allow to cook for another 20 minutes.
9. Remove and enjoy! (with cranberry sauce)
10. You’re welcome.
By: Brendan Barrack
If you’re like me, you have gotten into the habit of putting the same meal together so often that you end up making a whole lot of it on Monday, putting the remaining food in a Tupperware container and then doing the dish- and- microwave thing Tuesday through Friday. And the only thing that offsets this is the occasional late- week Nooshi happy hour or a delivery pizza for the blissful NFL/ HBO/ Showtime Sunday’s. It sounds foolproof, but there’s only so much pasta a guy can eat.
By the same notion though, what’s a guy to do? I get home from a normal day and have things that I want to do before I eat. I like to answer emails, take a power nap-- if the gods permit it-- and hop in the shower before dinner. Always have. Always will.
Recently, in an attempt to impress a special someone I made a fantastic discovery. I cooked a real dinner. By that I mean something easy (after all it wasn’t an anniversary or even a weekend night) but something that wasn’t ready at the drop of a hat. Something that resembled effort. So I busted out an old family recipe and went to work. It took me 5 minutes to make and then cooked in the oven for 45 minutes, which allowed me ample time to check the boxes on my daily chores checklist. When I was ready my food was ready. It was tasty, healthy, and heartwarming.
All this is to highlight one miniscule point: Cooking a meal that takes 30- 45 minutes in the oven gives you the freedom to handle your business and the peace of mind to know that once you’re done to-doing your to-do’s, a real and constantly changing meal awaits you. So if you’re in anyway like me, give the 45 minute meal a shot. You’ll be surprised at how little it takes out of your day, and how much it adds.
PS- If you’re not like me but want to give it a go. Here’s a great recipe to get you started.
What you need:
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Milk
Rice
Chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Steps:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour the can of mushroom soup into a baking sheet then fill the empty can with rice, and pour it in the baking sheet, then fill the can with milk and pour that in.
3. Mix the three ingredients evenly throughout the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place 2- 3 chicken breasts on top of the mixture.
5. Sprinkle paprika over chicken.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven.
7. After 25 minutes remove foil and stir rice, adding milk if the rice is getting a little dry.
8. Allow to cook for another 20 minutes.
9. Remove and enjoy! (with cranberry sauce)
10. You’re welcome.
By: Brendan Barrack
Favorite Holiday
This holiday weekend I went home with practically empty luggage. The reason? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; not because of my moms salivating dinner (her stuffin' muffins are to die for- perfect size which crisp edges all around), or pretending like I love sports (even though I always actually get into the games) to avoid doing dishes, or just enjoying just being with my family...IT'S THE SHOPPING.
Granted, I am not one of those crazy people camping out; no sale is big enough to get me out of bed that early. But, shopping is my fort-ay. So Friday afternoon my mom and I decided to venture into the jungle of ravaged shoppers. The mall in my town is prime shopping: department, clothing, shoes, electronics, makeup and more. However, it took us 45 minutes to find a parking space. Now, my mom is from Brooklyn (meaning she is an aggressive driver) so the fact that she couldn't weasel her way into a spot in five seconds (like usual) already put a damper on my favorite holiday.
Once we navigated ourselves into the mall, I was extremely disappointed. When I walk into a store my eyes usually start to glisten, I narrow in on the walls of hanging garments, and ignore the shoppers around me. But this time, clothing was strewn everywhere, people were definitely not in the holiday spirit anymore and I just didn't see my usual "steals of the season."
My mom and I each left empty handed and our heads low. Although I didn't go home with bags of clothing, I came back with bags filled with love (aka my mom's stuffin' muffins). I questioned whether waking up at the crack of dawn would be worth it next year...but there is always cyber mondays!!
Elyssa Nemetsky
Granted, I am not one of those crazy people camping out; no sale is big enough to get me out of bed that early. But, shopping is my fort-ay. So Friday afternoon my mom and I decided to venture into the jungle of ravaged shoppers. The mall in my town is prime shopping: department, clothing, shoes, electronics, makeup and more. However, it took us 45 minutes to find a parking space. Now, my mom is from Brooklyn (meaning she is an aggressive driver) so the fact that she couldn't weasel her way into a spot in five seconds (like usual) already put a damper on my favorite holiday.
Once we navigated ourselves into the mall, I was extremely disappointed. When I walk into a store my eyes usually start to glisten, I narrow in on the walls of hanging garments, and ignore the shoppers around me. But this time, clothing was strewn everywhere, people were definitely not in the holiday spirit anymore and I just didn't see my usual "steals of the season."
My mom and I each left empty handed and our heads low. Although I didn't go home with bags of clothing, I came back with bags filled with love (aka my mom's stuffin' muffins). I questioned whether waking up at the crack of dawn would be worth it next year...but there is always cyber mondays!!
Elyssa Nemetsky
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