Dallas Willard: Living Out the Kingdom

I wrote this article for the Trinity Digest, and it was published on October 29th, 2010.

Dallas Willard: Living out the Kingdom

University of Southern California Philosophy Professor Dallas Willard encouraged the Trinity International University community to seek the Kingdom of God through his chapel message and Scripture and Ministry Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Willard focused his chapel message on Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In both his chapel message and scriptural lecture, Willard defined the Kingdom of God as “where what God wants done is done,” and “the range of God’s effective will.”

The two main places Willard said believers will see the kingdom is in Jesus, the primary manifestation of the Kingdom of God, His people, and in nature.

“It’s not a job to seek the Kingdom of God, but the greatest opportunity in human life,” Willard said.  

Willard reminded students that though believers are assured that if they seek the Kingdom of God they will find it, it is not as easy as one may think. Using the example of Nicodemus, Willard reminded the Trinity community that being able to see the kingdom is a gift of God, an experience that turns those seeking the kingdom from professors into students. 

Willard said Christians seek the Kingdom of God by learning to act in the name of Jesus and the power of God, acting on His behalf and with His resources.

“If it sounds dreary, that’s how badly we’ve missed the point. There is joy in seeking the kingdom,” Willard said.

Along with seeking the Kingdom of God through our actions, Willard encouraged students to seek the kingdom at the workplace by looking at work as a service to God and to others. Willard told students that work is essentially a process of creating value, and encouraged them to look at the implicit value in their jobs.  

To both students at chapel and those attending the lecture, Willard stressed the importance of realizing that Jesus Christ alone gives believers the capacity to change and seek the Kingdom of God instead of their own kingdom, or “queendom.” Willard said that kingdoms work by names, meaning that praying in the name of Jesus means praying on Christ’s behalf, from and within His resources.

“We don’t have to bear the burden of making change happen,” Willard reminded students. 

At the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding Scripture and Ministry Lecture, Willard focused on Romans 12:1-2 and the importance of renewing the mind. Willard said that the renewed mind conforms to the realities of the Kingdom of God, while the old mind conforms to the world.

“Spiritual transformation is the process of moving from conforming to the world to conforming to the Kingdom of God,” Willard said. 

Before going into philosophy, Willard was a Southern Baptist preacher. Willard said he realized his counsel towards converts was not helping them to change, but that philosophical ideas he had thought were merely “discarded thought”, could help people change if they were rightly used. Along with being a Philosophy professor, Willard is also a well-known speaker, and author of Renovation of the Heart, The Divine Conspiracy, and many more titles.

AmeriCorps Program is at Anoka-Ramsey

I wrote this article for ABC Newspapers, located in Anoka County, Minnesota. It was published on September 2, 2010. 

Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC) students will have the opportunity to participate in a new AmeriCorps program available this fall.  

ARCC is receiving 20 AmeriCorps volunteers to serve on campus and $275,000 to go toward volunteer stipends and health insurance.  

The AmeriCorps volunteers will be focused in the developmental education areas at ARCC and will have three main roles while they are there, according to Jaimie Lopez, director of Minnesota College Success Corps.

They will provide Supplemental Instruction (SI), individual tutoring and mentorship.  

Each student entering ARCC to pursue a degree is required to take the Accuplacer, a placement test that determines which reading, writing and math classes the students will be placed in.  

If they score too low in one area, students are required to take developmental course work classes in that subject before being able to take the college level courses of that subject.  

While providing SI, volunteers will work with the instructors of developmental education classes during class time and lead SI groups after class.  

These groups will be similar to facilitated study groups, as SI leaders will assist the students in fully understanding class material.

As mentors, volunteers will assist in providing students with tools and tips for academic time management.  

“They’ve been successful college students, so they know how to help college students be successful,” Lopez said.

The official program start date was Aug. 9.  

AmeriCorps is continuing to recruit new mentors and tutors. They have seven of 20 members needed.  

The volunteers were in place to fulfill their duties when classes started Aug. 23.  

According to Lopez, ARCC saw an increasing number of students that were unprepared to take college level course work and wrote a grant to receive funding for the AmeriCorps program.  

In early June, the college received notice that AmeriCorps had accepted its grant.  

“I hope the students see the benefit,” Lopez said.  

“Statistically, students who participate in SI receive fewer D’s and F’s than those who do not…we’re hoping they’ll make connections to resources like this on campus.”

According to Lopez, ARCC is receiving this AmeriCorps grant for only one year, but it can choose to reapply at the end of the year.  

The college may have the program for up to three years if it is accepted each time it applies.  

The program carries out the vision of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act signed in 2009.  

According to a press release from ServeMinnesota’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Lisa Winkler, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was signed into law in 2009 with a goal of expanding AmeriCorps efforts and addressing various national issues, including strengthening education.  

The Corporation for National and Community Service awarded ServeMinnesota programs $14.5 million in federal AmeriCorps grants, ranking fourth in the nation behind California, Washington and New York.  

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps, Minnesota Alliance with Youth, Minnesota Conservation Corps and many other programs will also receive AmeriCorps funding this year.  

The Minnesota programs receiving federal AmeriCorps grants are focused on youth literacy and schooling, environmental conservation and affordable housing.

Radio Theatre: Then and Now

This is a feature story written for my Spring 2010 Writing for the Media 2 class. It needed more of a central focus and angle. 

Radio Theatre: Then and Now

Lucky Strikes cigarettes are good for your throat.  Maxwell House is good to the last drop.  Chiclets can cheer you up.  There’s always room for J-E-double L-O. Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap.  

It’s the “Golden Age” of radio. 

Beginning in the 1920s, the Golden Age of radio drew thirty million listeners in, according to the Spring 1992 issue of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) Magazine of History. 

Popular radio programs combined with Theodore Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” left Americans in the Great Depression with their ears frequently attuned to that large brown box in their living room.  Though soon to be replaced with a different brown box in years to come, Americans had comedy, drama, suspense, space travel, children’s programs, game shows, and soap operas – all at the turn of a dial.   According to the History the University of San Diego (USD) history department website, two out of three homes had radio sets during the depression, and radio programs were being aired 24 hours a day.    

Radio programs of the 1930s and 1940s, now known as “old-time radio,” included a wide variety of genre’s that many still remember today.  Many of the most remembered and referenced old-time radio shows are the comedies, such as the Jack Benny show, Burns and Allen, Abbot and Costello, and Fibber McGee and Molly. 

            In addition to the main portion of the program, these comedies often had live orchestras or singers performing musical numbers.  One station may air 19 different programs or musical performances within 7 hours, according to the spring 1992 issue of OAH Magazine of History.  Catchy commercials for Jell-O, Lucky Strikes cigarettes, Johnson’s Wax, Pepsodent toothpaste, and Tide were also prevalent.      

Originally airing as “Sam ‘n’ Henry” in 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) radio program “Amos ‘n Andy” was one of the most popular radio programs of 1930-1932, according to the History Deparment website of USD.  Freeman Gudsen Sr. and Charles Correll portrayed two fictional African Americans headed North to find fortune. Gudsen Sr. and Correll earned $100,000 in 1933, more than the president of NBC, and the president of the United States of America, according to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History. 

According to The Museum Encyclopedia of Broadcast Communications of Radio, Amos ‘n’ Andy had a strong impact on the development of dramatic radio.  They engineered the technique of angling their bodies and voices while recording to create the effect of multiple characters, and used a comic book plot technique that is now the standard storytelling method for a radio drama series.  Amos ‘n Andy remained the most popular program in the 7:00 p.m. time slot until 1941.  According to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History, the show was popular because it emphasized positive elements during a bleak time.

The Golden Age of radio saw the beginning of several large corporations that are still in existence, such as NBC, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), American Telephone &Telegraph Company (AT&T), General Electric (GE), and Westinghouse, according to the USD history department’s website. 

NBC’s Lux Radio Theatre was one of the most prestigious radio programs of the Golden Age, and starred celebrities of the stage and screen, according to The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio.  As prestigious as it was, Lux Radio Theatre begin in 1934 as part of a Lever sponsorship to increase toilet soap sales.  After two seasons, however, Lever wasn’t satisfied with the sales results, and moved the Lux Radio Theatre to Hollywood in hopes of drawing more viewers in by starring more popular celebrities. 

The Mercury Theatre on Air, written and directed by Orson Welles, was one of the most popular radio programs of the Golden Age and aired many dramatized works of literature, such as The Counte of Monte Cristo, a Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island, and War of the Worlds, according to the Mercury Theatre’s website.  The first airing of War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938, included several fictional news bulletins that were so realistic many people believed the United States actually was under alien attack and panicked, calling police and family members.  According to the USD history deparment’s website, programs such as War of the Worlds and The Plot to Overthrow Christmas exposed Americans fear of war. 

News reports were seemingly absent from the radio during the Golden Age.  Only 7 percent of radio time in 1939 was news, according to USD history department.  News reports that did air during the Golden Age were usually overseen by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), according to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History, and it may be that FDR’s radio skills strongly helped his winning an unprecedented third term as President.  He spent $2 million on radio campaigning for his first presidential election, according to the USD history department.

By the 1940s, however, news reports were more frequent and propaganda started to creep into radio as the government desired public support for World War II.  News reports weren’t all that they are today, however.  The Office of Facts and Figures, along with the Office of War Information, set content limits on what could be aired on network programming, according to the 2004 edition of Journal of Radio Studies.  Networks kept to these limits in the interest of keeping their writers and actors out of the draft, along with keeping Americans entertained.  Many Americans initially found the wartime coverage entertaining. 

According to the 2004 edition of Journal of Radio Studies, Norman Corwin began a 13-week dramatized radio series in 1942 entitled “This is War!” that depicted the war as global, and in need of Americans’ support.  The radio series accomplished its’ purpose, and was accepted by the public, the government, and the radio industry as a “pioneer effort of wartime radio.”   

With the advent of television radio’s role changed and it became mostly an outlet of music, and less of dramatized entertainment.  The Ed Sullivan Show and I Love Lucy would soon replace the 1940’s radio comedy, but not for good. 

Popular radio comedies of the Golden Age seemed to make a comeback in popularity in the 1990’s according to the June 1, 1997 edition of the New York Times, and even won over younger generations.  Old-time radio programs have even been used in Canadian classrooms to help students have an accurate understanding of the Depression era, according to the Spring 1990 issue of History and Social Science Teacher.

In 1997, at least 3,400 radio stations in the United States broadcast old-time radio programs, whether for a few hours a week, or daily.  Now old-time radio fans can listen to recordings of their favorite past programs, complete with commercials, on cd or cassette tapes, and online. 

            Golden Age radio might not just be memorable, but good for memory.  According to the September 1993 edition of Educational Gerontology, Pamela R. Durham and Margaret P. Whittemore of the University of Central Oklahoma conducted several studies on the effects of playing Golden Age music and comedy radio shows to nursing home residents.  While the comedy shows had little effect, the music programs assisted residents in reminiscing.  The study suggested that listening to Golden Age radio may help stir up memories among the elderly.

Radio drama has faced many obstacles on the road to success, according to Sarah Montague, an independent radio and audio producer, in a speech given at the June 1999 Midwest Radio Theatre Workshop. 

“Radio drama is difficult to fund…labor intensive, and series have come and gone like the more transient elements on the periodic chart,” said Montague in her speech.

Montague went on to say that radio drama is continually limited with audience surveys and fiscal crises, and dependent on membership drives. 

Radio programs with live studio audiences certainly aren’t as popular today as they were in the Golden Age, or even the 1990s, but are still in existence. 

A Prairie Home Companion, a modern day radio variety show, has been entertaining audiences live every Saturday night with “The News from Lake Wobegon,” since 1974. For the first broadcast, only 12 people attended, and admissions was $1 for adults, $.50 for kids.    Minnesota native Garrison Keillor, writer and host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” is now heard by over 4 million listeners a week, according to the program’s website.  A Prairie Home Companion features comedic skits and musical guest appearances.  Keillor said on the show’s website that the program started as a funny hobby with to do with friends, but has expanded into an achievement.  In 2006, “A Prairie Home Companion: The Movie” came out, giving viewers the opportunity to see beyond the scenes on one of Public Radio International’s most popular programs. 

L. A. Theatre Works is another modern day company that records in front of a studio audience, according to the November 2006 issue of American Theatre.  L.A. Theatre Works, however, are not entirely live, and air the recording at a later time. 

According to the May 23, 2007 issue of Tulsa World, acting for a radio theatre performance has its’ challenges, especially when performing in front of a live studio audience, and all inhibitions must be discarded at the beginning.  Surprisingly enough, however, many radio theatre actors have not acted at all before entering the world of radio theatre, a far cry from the professionals hired by Lever at the Lux Radio Theatre. 

According to the summer 2009 issue of Contemporary Review, radio drama was “an opportunity for experiment” that called for new ways of thinking as a new literary form, bringing together poetry and story-telling. 

Lawrence, Kan. resident Ryan Ellot is seeking to increase interest in old-time radio programs through a newspaper, The Old Radio Times, of which he is editor.  Ellot stumbed upon an old episode of “The Shadow” on the internet in 2000, according to the July 13, 2007 issue of Journal-World, and since then has collected around 45,000 old-time radio programs. 

"If you were born in the '70s or later, you likely have no idea radio drama ever existed. In our lifetime, radio has never been more than news, music, sports and talk," said Ellet in Journal-World.

Ellet’s claim might not be entirely true.  The invention of the internet, though it may have taken away radio listeners, increased the amount of audio drama resources available to the public.  With the development of MP3’s, internet users were able to purchase and download hours of old-time radio entertainment online, and download they did.  A plethora of old-time radio websites emerged after the development of the MP3, according to the March 13, 2003 edition of the Toronto Star.  Today the public can access many old-time radio programs and audio dramas online for free.  Internet users can even download the original recording of War of the Worlds if they want to hear the broadcast that caused hysteria in 1938. 

In 1997, the Sci-Fi channel attempted to bring a Golden Age feel back to audio dramas, with Seeing Ear Theatre (SET), according to the February 18, 1999 issue of Rolling Stone.   SET was an audio theater program that dramatized classics such as Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Tell-Tale Heart” and Franz Kafka’s “Country Doctor,” and made a new episode available each week.

Along with classics, recent fiction has also been dramatized for radio, according to Sarah Montague’s speech at the 1999 Midwest Radio Theatre Festival.  Stephen King’s “Mist” has been adapted into a radio drama.    

Current radio theater productions, such as “Adventures in Odyssey” by Focus on the Family, post an episode online each day, along with making past episodes available to the public. Focus on the Family Radio Theatre has done several other radio drama productions such as the “Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, and “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Trinity freshman Rachel Osborn is an avid listener of Christian radio dramas.  Osborn says she likes radio theatre because she can multi task while she listens to them, as opposed to television and movies, where you have to stay in one place. 

“Once you know the story line and characters, it’s almost as though they become your friends,” said Osborn.

According to the Kaufman family, producers of Zurich Radio Theater, interest in radio  dramas has increased over the past five years, largely due to productions like “Adventures in Odyssey” that are family-friendly. 

“It [radio theater] has a way of sparking the imagination, perhaps even more than video and audio can,” said the Kaufman family.  

Change the World...Two Degrees at a Time

This is an article written for the Trinity Digest, published on October 1st, 2010.

Change the World...Two Degrees at a Time

A new addition to Trinity International University’s (TIU) catalog this year allows Trinity College students to graduate with a master’s degree in cultural engagement and an emphasis in social entrepreneurship as participants of the school’s Dual Degree program.

According to Master of Arts in Cultural Engagement Director, Dr. Michael Cooper, planning for the social entrepreneurship emphasis began last year and came about as an answer to the question of how Christians are to address human and social needs, as well as a response to his research.  Cooper said his research showed an increasing number of individuals were leaving the Christian faith because they didn’t see Christians “acting like Christians.”  The social entrepreneurship emphasis focuses on putting faith in practice.

According to Trinity’s website, the emphasis focuses on “social entrepreneur ventures that create opportunities for solutions…to local and global social concerns.”

As it relates to Trinity’s mission, Cooper said social entrepreneurship is about engaging issues of human need. 

“It is very much a holistic approach to engaging culture,” he said.

According to Cooper, the emphasis gives students an advantage in pursuing their goals of social change by giving them skills to understand what’s going on in the world and the core issues behind it.  While students have a large amount of information about problems in the world, they may not know the core issue behind each one. 

“We educate students to develop a framework to understand what’s at the core of these issues.  The western mind thinks jobs will help poverty, but there are a variety of issues behind the problem,” Cooper said.

To Cooper, the most important aspect of the emphasis is that students learn to understand culture exegesis.  Students need to develop a Christian response to illiteracy, human trafficking and educational needs. 

Several students in the program are already putting their work into practice, by conducting research in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and in Haiti.

Classes of the social entrepreneurship emphasis include several business classes, such as management and accounting, along with social entrepreneurship classes. 

The emphasis is geared toward a range of students.  Those interested in social justice issues may be interested in the program, as well as students preparing for vocational missions work.  Business majors that are focused on the social bottom line of business rather than the financial line may be interested as well.

Formerly known as the Master of Arts in Communication and Culture, the Masters of Arts in Cultural Engagement is meant to “provide students with the basic interdisciplinary tools to analyze, interpret, engage, and address culture,” according to Trinity’s website.

The university’s Dual Degree programs enable students to work on a master’s degree and bachelor degree simultaneously, allowing them to

graduate with a master’s degree in a shorter amount of time than usually required.

Sophomore Ethan Carlson, a participant of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Intercultural Studies Dual Degree program, said the Dual Degree program was a major factor in his decision to come to Trinity.  He said the classroom interaction between undergraduate students and graduate students in his classes has been a benefit of the program. 

“Forcing Christian ministry majors and business majors to grind out possible discrepancies they have regarding the way the Gospel should be spread is definitely beneficial for all,” Carlson said. 

TIU Celebrates RZIM Partnership

This is an article written for the Trinity Digest, published on April 17, 2010. 


The Trinity International University (TIU) community celebrated a new partnership with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) on Wednesday through an All-University Chapel event and a Carl F. H. Henry Center event, both held at the A.T.O Chapel. 

Ravi Zacharias, a widely known Christian apologist and evangelist, spoke at the chapel event, along with speaking at “Apologetics Beyond the Pew: A Conversation for the Church with Ravi Zacharias and Friends,” a Carl F. H. Henry Center event at 2:30 p.m.. Zacharias’ wife and Rick Pease, the president of RZIM, accompanied Zacharias on campus.

Zacharias is the first to have the title of a TIU professor at large, according to Joyce Shelton, Interim Dean of Trinity Graduate School (TGS). This means that his position encompasses all the schools of TIU. 

This partnership means TIU will have more opportunities to have Zacharias and members of his staff on campus on a more regular basis, teaching courses and seminars. According to Shelton, TGS may have a Masters degree in Cultural Engagement in the future that would have several emphases, including one in apologetics. TGS students may also have the opportunity to take courses from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, a partnership between RZIM and Wycliffe Hall of Oxford University, and there is the possibility of professor exchanges between the two schools. TIU President Craig Williford said in chapel that a small number of TIU students may also have the opportunity to travel with RZIM or have an internship at RZIM. 

At chapel, Zacharias described how the idea of a partnership came about through one of many phone conversations with John Woodbridge, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought. Shelton said that Dr. Woodbridge then brought the proposal to a group of Trinity individuals, faculty, and administrators that then discussed the possible benefits.

Williford spoke following Zacharias in chapel and further described the partnership, stressing that it is ultimately about Christ and the gospel. 

“This partnership is about equipping all of us here with a greater understanding of the gospel and the world in a way that makes sense and a life that demonstrates it,” Williford told TIU students. 

Williford also stressed the fact that the partnership is not just for graduate students, for undergraduates as well. 

According to Shelton, the partnership will benefit both Trinity and RZIM in many ways. Shelton said Trinity can provide solid educational background and credentials, while RZIM can help provide global connections and opportunities for Trinity students to engage the culture with scholarly credibility. In addition, RZIM’s team of speakers and educators will benefit Trinity’s programs at all four schools through their courses, lectures, and seminars.
Shelton said that the partnership is educational in nature, but that there is more to it. RZIM and Trinity share a common mission. RZIM seeks to train, mentor, and send speakers throughout the world to engage cultural and thinkers with the rationality of the Gospel of Christ. Similarly, cultural engagement is one of TIU’s core values, and according to their website, TIU seeks to “develop the academic knowledge and practical skills to effectively engage these cultures.” Shelton described the cultural engagement that Trinity advocates as not just evangelism or apologetics, but meeting individuals where they are. 

“In engaging the culture, credentials are important. Not just in missions, in any professions the credentials are important,” Shelton said.

In his chapel message Zacharias encouraged students to follow Nehemiah’s example in intellectually engaging the culture and seeking God’s call while avoiding the “paralysis of pessimism.” 

“When God plants a passion in your heart, it makes a difference for generations to come,” Zacharias told TIU students.

Four-Legged Family Members

This is a feature story I wrote for my Spring 2010 Writing for the Media 2 class on March 17, 2010.

Four-Legged Family Members

It’s the age-old story.  Timmy fell down the well, and it’s up to Lassie to rescue him.

As long as she doesn’t get her designer jacket dirty, or her boots.

But If it’s raining, she has an umbrella. 

If she gets stiff from saving the day, she can get a massage. 

If she develops chronic pain, she can get acupuncture. 

If the event causes behavioral problems, she can go to therapy. 

If she is injured and racks up a lot of medical fees, she has her own HMO.

If the well is far away, she can ride safely home with her owners in her car seat. 

Once home she can don a monogrammed sweater and chew on an eco-friendly toy while her owners cook her a special meal and praise her courageous deed.

It’s not as far-fetched as one might think.

 Eighty-eight percent of U.S. households that own a pet consider it to be a member of their family, according to the December 12^th, 2007 edition of Brandweek.  69% of pet owners allowed their pet to sleep with them, 65% bought their pets a holiday present, 23% cooked meals especially for their pets, and 18% have dressed their pet up in some type of clothing.

            America’s four-legged friends are considered by some to be kid substitutes, according to the June 21^st, 2004 issue of Forbes.  The fastest growing group of pet buyers are those want to put having a family on hold, or no longer have one, and desire a temporary substitute.  Empty nesters and young professionals fit the bill.  According to the March 30, 2007 issue of the Central New York Business Journal, they are the driving force behind the demand for “human-like pet services.” 

“Our clientele is truly the person who treats their pet like one of the family.  They shop for their dog as if it is a child and in fact many of times, they are!” said President of Bitch New York, Stacy Braverman.   

Bitch New York makes designer dog clothing and other products.  Their website advertises “the hottest trends in canine couture.”  Bitch New York is not the only company catering to the pet owners that consider their pet a family member, and treat it like one.  Paw Palace, Pampered Puppy,  Poochie Heaven, Upscale Pup, The Diva Dog, The Gilded Paw, and Modern Tails, are all companies that offer designer pet clothing, accessories, beds, carriers, and other items for the owners that pamper their pet. 

The pet clothing industry is not limited to cats and dogs, but also extends to birds.  Bird owners can purchase flightsuits, “the revolutionary bird diaper”, from Avian Fashions, along with sweaters, and tuxes for formal occasions, according to a newsweek interview with Chellie Sheff, an owner of two parrots that are nearly always dressed.    

Along with clothing there are “pet-cessories”, accessories for pets that include everything from pet jewelry to bacon-flavored bubbles, according to Newsweek.  If pet owners gone pet parents have become protective, they can watch their cat’s every move with CatCam.  CatCam is a camera that can be attached to a cat’s collar so the owner can download the video on the cat’s return and find out where their cat has been, according to a March 16^th, 2010 Newsweek article.  If their cat has had a particularly interesting day, owners can upload the video to CatCam’s website, allowing others to view a day in the life of a cat. 

The view of pets as family members affects not just how the owner treats the pet while they are alive, but also how the owner copes with the loss of their four-legged friend.  Rainbow Boutique, a company selling pet products, sells Life Jewel pendants.  Pet owners can submit a sample of their pet’s DNA – ashes, cheek swab, or a lock of hair – and the DNA is created into a pendant the owner can wear to celebrate and honor their companion, according to RainbowBoutique.com.  Available in twelve different colors, pet owners can purchase a DNA pendant for $75. 

If the owner wants something more visual, they can purchase a digital pet urn from pet-urns.com for $250.00.  These digital pet urns display a picture slideshow for owners to enjoy and reminisce, while holding the ashes of their beloved companion.       

According to the April 30^th, 2008 edition of the Charlotte Observer, North and South Carolina pet owners continued to pamper their pets despite the bad economic times in 2008 and pet businesses continued to grow.

Pet owners cut back on how much they spent on themselves, but certainly not on what they spent on their four-legged friends, according to the December 2009 issue of Entrepenuer.  The total $45.5 billion spent on pets in the U.S. in 2009 is more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 world countries.    

“Over the past decade, pets have gone from cuddly companions to a booming business,” said president of the Intelligence Factory, Marian Salzman in a speech she gave to the Global Pets Forum in 2000.

Since 2001, a year after Salzman gave her speech, Americans have increased their yearly spending on their pets by more than 19 million dollars.  

America isn’t alone in the pet industry boom.  According to Salzman’s speech, China and the United Kingdom both are giving pets the royal treatment.

According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans are expected to spend 47.7 billion dollars on their pets in 2010.  Of that 47 billion dollars, Americans are expected to spend $3.36 billion on pet services such as grooming and boarding.     

This is a far cry from Americas’ early treatment of animals as pets.   

According to the book “Pets in America: a history” by Katherine C. Grier, European settlers brought over cats and dogs for work purposes, and sometimes as companions.  Natives also had established relationships with their dogs.  One of the first physical evidences of American animal lovers is the 1700’s American portraits of children with their animals, according to the 2003 issue of Visual Studies.  Though they might have been a friend of many American families, animals were still considered somewhat dispensable to Americans in 1849 because of the potential health risks they carried.  Many stray cats were killed during the cholera epidemic because they were considered a health threat.   “Dog catchers”, now unheard of except in cartoons, were real and in practice, killing many dogs and alley cats because of the widespread fear of rabies.   

Animal rights began to develop in the late 1800s.  The cruel treatment of work horses helped inspire the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York 1886, the first humane organization on the Western Hemisphere, according to the ASCPA’s website.

According to Grier’s book, George Washington was considered a dog lover of his time, and imported French hounds from Marquis Lafayette. By the 1860s America had pet shows exclusive to dogs, and by the 1880s certain dog breeds began to become popular: the St. Bernard and the pug, recently imported to the U.S.  Americans started to show an interest in purebred dogs.  There were early friends of the feline as well, including Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wife.  According to Katherine C. Grier in a Newsweek interview, Mark Twain carried his cats around on his shoulder and gave them unusual names. 

Grier went on to say in her book that in the 1900s household pets were many of the same as there are now: dogs, cats, birds, white mice, and guinea pigs.  American households did not, however, have the lizards and tropical fish many keep as pets today.  Though not exotic, many families did have pets that Americans might consider unusual to have around today.  The squirrel was the most popular wild pet of the time, and many of the more affluent families kept deer on their front lawn as “living lawn ornaments.”              

The transition from dogs as hunting companions, to shopping companions that travel in a purse was certainly a gradual one. 

According to Grier’s book, the middle class in 19^th century set more demanding standards for pet keeping.  In the 1840s, many instructional books on pet keeping were being published and were directed toward children.  There was a common assumption that children keep pets.  A pet industry slowly developed between 1840 and 1930.  Dry dog food was invented in the 1860s by a company named Spratts.  Unlike today, where dog food is a common grocery item, where pet owners may have to be convinced dry dog food is enough for  owners had to be convinced it was even necessary to buy with free samples and commercial sponsorships. In 1890 modern pet stores began to pop up.  By the 1920s, pet owners could buy their pet food and supplies at any five-and-ten store.  Pet supplies and equipment were the most profitable part of the pet industry in that time, just like they are today. 

Katherine Grier also said in her book that she believes developments in the process of pet keeping have sped up significantly since the 1970s.

Perhaps Americans drastic increase in the quality of treatment their pets receive can be traced to their affect on owners.  According to the American Pet Products Association, pet owners have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those who don’t own a pet.  Additionally, studies have shown that pets help to lower stress levels, prevent heart disease, fight depression, and lower health care costs.    

Whatever the reasoning behind it, many Americans value their pets highly.

And if Lassie didn’t make it, God rest her soul, her owners could bury her in a pet cemetery, complete with a stone shaped like a dog. 

The notion of pets as just animals can safely rest in peace.    

New Decade...New Year...New Auto Show

This was written as a feature story for my Writing for the Media 2 class. 

It’s that time of year again. 

Chicago car lovers are flocking out to see the shiny new toys of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place from February 12 - 21. 

It’s not just auto show time for Chicago, however.  Nation-wide auto shows occur throughout the year, and many of them, including the ones in Minneapolis, Charleston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Diego, occur in these first few months of 2010.  Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris, Geneva, New Delhi, and Thailand all host annual auto shows as well.  

U.S. auto show-goers of 2010 will enter a civic center or convention center and be welcomed by the smell of a new car, multiplied by a couple hundred.  For around ten dollars they can spend as much time as they like sitting in the newest luxury automobiles, hear salesmen pitch the newest sports cars, and take in as much info about the new vehicles and their features before they hit the sales line. 

For a lot more than ten dollars, visitors may purchase one of the new 2010 automobiles at a later time. 

The North American International Auto Show held annually at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, though not the largest in North America, is one of the largest auto shows nationwide.  Popular music artists such as the Jonas Brothers and the Barenaked Ladies have performed at NAIAS’s Charity preview in years past.  According to NAIAS’s website, the NAIAS has been an annual event since 1907, and an international event for 23 years.  The NAIAS is ranked along with auto shows in Tokyo, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Paris as one of the premier international auto shows in the world.

Yet, in 2009, several auto manufacturers chose to forego attending the NAIAS and the Tokyo Auto Show.

The economic condition in 2009 caused several auto show changes both nationwide and internationally.    The number of auto companies represented at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany, decreased from 1,046 in 2007 to 1,053, according to the September 16^th, 2009 issue of the New York Times.  Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford all pulled out of the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.  Nissan did not attend the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in 2009, and is easing back into the 2010 NAIAS, according to the December 7^thissue of Automotive News.    

For automakers that were represented, the economy situation affected their displays at the auto show.  The September 14^th issue of Automotive News said that the 2009 Chicago Auto Show gave automakers the opportunity to cut set-up costs by offering one common stage for showcase, instead of having a separate stage per automaker. 

According to the January 12^th, 2009 issue of Crain’s Detroit business, automakers reduced their auto show display budget for the NAIAS by 30% to 60%, creating the need for more creativity in display designs.  For many designers, this meant making lighter displays, and even choosing thinner carpets.  Many auto show visitors notice the display differences that vary from one automaker to another, down to the type of carpet.  CEO of EEI Global, a design company, Derek Gentile compared the simplicity of the 2009 NAIAS to the auto shows of the ‘60s and ‘70s.  The January 19^th, 2009 issue of Crain’s Detroit Business said the 2009 NAIA was a lot more “open” with fewer displays, and more room to see the newest vehicles. 

The financial issues surrounding GMC, Chrysler, and Ford in 2009 even aroused frustration among auto show attendees in 2009, according to the April 14^th issue of the New York Times.  Several attendees took their frustration with the automakers out on the salesman and there were several reports of attendees yelling at Chrysler and GMC representatives. 

Aside from financial changes, 2009 Auto Shows represented a larger number of electric automobiles than in past years.  According to the January 19^th, 2009 issue of BusinessWeek, the theme of the NAIAS was “green, green, green.”  Ford, Toyota, Honda, and BYD Auto all showed cars that offered more miles to the gallon, while Mercedes-Benz featured both an electric concept car and a hydrogen-powered one.

That was 2009.  This is 2010. 

The auto industry seems to be leveling out, according to the January 5^th issue of the Washington Times. 

BMW’s Chief Financial Officer, Freidrich Eichiner, expressed similar confidence in BWM’s financial situation according to the February 12^th issue of the New York Times.  BWM redesigned several of their vehicles for 2010, and hope to once again be the best-selling premium automaker in Europe.

Auto show attendees will likely keep their eye on Toyota at auto shows this season after Toyota recalled several of their vehicle models after serious reports of brake failure. 

In contrast to the simple, open design of the 2009 NAIAS, the 2010 Chicago Auto Show will have over 50 interactive displays this year, according to chicagoautoshow.com.  Visitors can sing “caraoke”, participate in a live game show, and ride through the Dodge/Jeep Test Track, along with many more activities.  Even the kids can participate by driving kid-sized Jeeps or sliding down large inflatable slides. 

Despite these differences, 2010 auto shows may be similar to 2009 in other respects. 

San Francisco will soon become more electric car friendly with an increase in available car chargers according to the February 15^th issue of the New York Times, and it appears the auto shows of 2010 are following this trend.  According to the January 4^th issue of Automotive News, both Audi and Fiat released electric car concepts at the NAIAS this year, and later this year Nissan will introduce an electric car named the Leaf.

According to Sr. Media Relations Specialist Molly Steinke, the Twin Cities Auto Show will have around 500 automobiles displayed this year.  Many attendees of the Twin Cities Auto Show in Minneapolis aren’t interested in buying any of these vehicles, however, but they keep returning every year. 

Auto show chairman John Phelan believes people return to the Chicago auto show each year because the auto show is family fun at an affordable price, according to the 2010 Chicago Auto Show Press Release.  Others simply think it’s unique. 

“I sit in an expensive car I’m never going to own, with three total strangers, yet it’s not weird,” said Jessica Dass, a regular attender of the Twin Cities Auto Show. 

Another regular attender of the Twin Cities Auto Show, Craig Kemming, thinks the Auto Show is a unique venue because of the accessibility and the different types of people that attend. 

“The automobile is virtually the great American past time.  You could only make $12,000 a year, but once you’ve paid the $13, you can sit in a luxury car,” said Kemming.  “Others there see the same car and say ‘this one is only $47,000!’”