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  • Review: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”

    The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo is really inspiring. I would say the hardest thing about the book was trying to hold off on implementing the recommendations until I finished reading. The way the author describes the end-result is incredibly appealing. Kondo is repetitive in…

  • “Origins” January 2017 Loot Crate

    I subscribed to the Loot Crate service back when it started out. It was a fun diversion once a month. I wound up canceling the service after a few months though because I just stopped being impressed with the value of what I was getting for my money.I decided to give the service another shot…

  • Trick Jumps in Grand Theft Auto V

    I meant to spend most of my break between semesters catching up on reading like I did last year, but we’re about a week out from the first day of class and I’ve only read through some volumes of the comic book series Grimm Fairy Tales. It’s not bad, but it’s also not the intellectually…

  • Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Do They Worship the Same God?

    A common refrain on message boards and in comment sections on the Internet is that Jews, Christians and most especially Muslims do not worship the same God. Is there any merit to this statement? All three religions are part of the Abrahamic tradition and find their roots in the ancient Hebrew faith. Modern Judaism developed…

  • Bible in Pop Culture Week 7: Cartman’s Favorite Psalm

    In episode nine of season four of South Park, titled “Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?”, we find out what Cartman’s favorite Psalm is. The episode starts with Stan, Cartman and Kenny sitting in church. Mr. Garrison is called up to the lectern to read his favorite Psalm. As Mr. Garrison begins to read, Cartman…

  • Book Review: Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction, by Kevin Kenny

    Kevin Kenny’s book, Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction, is part of a series of short introductions on a wide range of topics published by the Oxford University Press. As a very short introduction with just 109 pages of content, Kenny does his best to avoid becoming bogged down in historical details and instead focuses on…

  • Bible in Pop Culture Week 6: Cartmanland and Job

    “Cartmanland,” the sixth episode of season five of South Park, contains a specific reference to the Book of Job. In the story, Cartman’s grandmother dies and leaves her entire life savings to Cartman, because she believes the rest of her family would just spend the money on crack. Cartman decides to use the money to…

  • Reading Response – Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America by Mae Ngai

    Ngai’s main argument is that illegal aliens were created through acts of positive law rather than through bad character, conduct, race or culture. In other words, prior to legislation that designated certain individuals as being in the country illegally, the category did not exist. Further, she argues that illegal immigration is a necessary by-product of…

  • Reading Response: Becoming Mexican American… by George Sanchez

    Considering the title, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, one would assume that George Sanchez’s book would be a history about the growth and development of a unique Chicano culture in Los Angeles between 1900 and 1945. However, the scope of the book becomes increasingly far-flung as the narrative…

  • “Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

    Last Saturday, I went over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue to conduct a scavenger hunt for certain types of items in this exhibit and then drafted up an essay response, but I thought it might be useful to people thinking about going to see the exhibit itself, so I’m posting it…