A Swirl That’ll Make You Smile

Thanks to Pinkberry, enjoying a sweet treat with friends doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure anymore. Pinkberry, a popular hang-out spot serving 1,300-1,600 customers daily, delivers a delicious concoction of frozen yogurt with fresh fruit and a variety of toppings to make your mouth and your body say “Thank you.” The original shop is located in West Hollywood on Huntley Drive just south of Santa Monica Blvd.

The shop offers a refreshing simplicity to its customers with just two yogurt flavors to choose from: plain tart and green tea. A swirl of frozen yogurt itself, however, can hardly please any palate without adding a few toppings. Choices include fresh fruits like kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, and bananas along with dry toppings like almonds, chocolate chips, fruity pebbles, and mochi. Other delights include smoothies and shaved ice made with a swirl of plain tart or green tea yogurt.

Pinkberry’s yogurt has become a healthy alternative for those who have traded in ice cream sundaes for gym memberships. The unique tartness of the dessert indicates that the frozen treat has been enhanced with active cultures which help digestion and immunity. Topped with fruits and a few chocolate chips (or carob chips – another healthy option offered at Pinkberry), the frozen delight has much fewer calories than ice cream. And most devoted regulars agree that Pinkberry’s taste beats that of ice cream any day.

Pinkberry’s claim to fame became official when the Los Angeles Times headlined them as, “the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets.” Waking up the sleepy neighborhood just down the street, the little shop attracted scores of LA locals (not to mention some celebrities like Paris Hilton) who would park in any space—most requiring parking permits with $60 fines—just to satisfy their yogurt cravings.

Despite recent suspicions from the media about whether Pinkberry’s yogurt is really yogurt, Pinkberry stands 100% behind its product. The frozen yogurt served at Pinkberry is a low-calorie dairy dessert containing natural sweeteners and no gluten or gelatin. The product’s nutrition facts can be found on Pinkberry’s website. Exclusively mixing its secret recipe off-site, Pinkberry delivers their fresh yogurt to more than 30 newly-opened locations throughout California and New York.

On top of entertaining the taste buds, Pinkberry creates a holistic experience for its visitors. The taste and look of Pinkberry is that of a yogurt dreamland thanks to interior designer Young Lee. Each shop is decked with peach, blue, and green-splashed walls and Le Klint swirl-like lamps that hover like dream bubbles above hourglass-shaped tables. Pebble floors and transparent, plastic chairs create a feeling of open space for the crowds of yogurt lovers that pour in daily. And strange, plastic-metal trinkets sit atop white—almost fluorescent—shelves for customers to observe and play with as they wait in line. For thousands of customers, the experience is well worth the wait of the line, which has been known to span a few blocks. From calorie-counters to celebrities, Pinkberry’s swirl definitely has LA hooked on yogurt.

links:
1) Pinkberry's website
2) "The taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets" by the LA Times

3)"Pinkberry in culture clash" by the LA Times
4)"A game of top this in frozen yogurt wars" by the LA Times

“A Minister’s Public Lesson Domestic Violence”

On the front page of the of the New York Times, distributed Thursday, September 20, 2007, writer Shaila Dewan wrote about the black female televangelist, Juanita Bynum, who accused her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, of assaulting her in a hotel parking lot. Ironically, Reverend Bynum is famous for her frank messages on abstaining from sex outside of marriage and the importance of lifelong commitment in marriage. Why then is she now getting a divorce?

Although Bynum blames her husband, the article made me question the integrity of Reverend Bynum. Her most famous sermon, “No More Sheets”, encourages lonely, single women to stop promiscuity outside of marriage. The focus, however, is in the hope of a prosperous reward - a stable, happy marriage – in return for their struggles in singleness. Dewan quotes Rev. Davis, a pastor in Chicago, about Bynum’s audience who are “interested in self growth, how good they can be and how God loves them.” Bynum’s messages have the same problem as the recent prosperity gospel: the focus is on self, not on God.

Women were even more encouraged when Bynum held her “lavish new York ceremony in 2003 – with a 7.76 carat-diamond, an orchestra and 1,000 guests – shown on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.” It seemed obvious that God had rewarded her with a successful love life and lucrative career. Her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, was a famous Pentecostal preacher who started the Global Destiny Church. In fact, the couple published several books on marriage and held relationship seminars after their marriage. True love, then, was apparently short-lived now that Bynum demands a divorce after five years of marriage. The scandal of their union really ruins their credibility as church leaders.

When I visited JuanitaBynum.com, I found a video that overtly emphasized the woman’s accomplishments and successes. With dramatic music trumpeting in the background, a theatrical announcer praised Bynum as “the prophetess to the nations whose very presence invokes intangible remounting that fills stadiums and changes lives.” Her roles include best-selling author, recording artist with a gospel album that went gold, and successful CEO of several companies including Juanita Bynum Enterprises and Juanita Bynum Entertainment. Coming soon, she will have her own talk show, reality show, magazine, country spa, and her own candle, tea, and makeup lines. No where did it mention God’s faithfulness or doing unless it was through her powerful prophesying and entrepreneurial achievements.

I was more inclined to side with Bishop Weeks after watching his press conference held on September 14, 2007 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=j-I02V58TKs). He claimed that he didn’t assault his wife and still believed in the sanctity of marriage. Weeks also claimed that his wife left the church family and demanded that her products stop being sold there. She also demanded that her name was also not to be mentioned by any church leaders, not even in prayer. Whether or not his claims are verified, Rev. Bynum needs to humbly refocus her ministry and life on Christ, just as all Christians need to.

"Useful Mutants, Bred with Radiation" by William J. Broad

For more than half a century, scientists - like Pierre Lagoda of the International Atomic Energy Agency - have used radiation to scramble the genetic make-up of crops to produce "valuable mutants like red grapefruit, disease-resistant cocoa and premium barley for Scotch whiskey". This process has apparently been used for much of the produce people consume on a daily basis.

In these organic-minded times, the fact that we've been consuming genetically-altered produce is a little disheartening. Most people would agree that foods with artificial additives or alterations are most likely harmful to our health. Furthermore, radiation-induced produce doesn't exactly sound too appetizing. In the article, Broad makes it clear that Dr. Lagoda is well aware of these concerns: "the wide public fears about the dangers of radiation and the risks of genetically manipulated food", but still he "prides himself on being a good salesman" of the process. Still, I was skeptical.

At first glance, the title "Useful Mutants, Bred With Radiation," still doesn't do much to win over the reader about genetic engineering. In the midst of words like "Mutants" and "Radiation" , the sole word "Useful" doesn't have much bearing. The title didn't convince me that these crops could be beneficial, nor that the article would show that. The huge image of a flaming, dried up orange didn't seem to help either. The image itself took up about 25% of the front page of the Science section and had no caption. If I had never read the title of the article, I would have thought it was some new star discovered in some far-off galaxy.

After, reading the article, however, I was convinced that genetic engineered plants has its benefits. It explains that no trace of radiation is left over from the seed to offspring. The only changes made to the plant are positive: improvements in "yield, quality, taste, size, and resistance to disease". Furthermore, this process of altering plants has been especially promising in developing countries such as "Bangaldesh, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Vietnam". Furthermore, the article combats the public's concerns with story after story of tragic crop failure redeemed by new, genetically empowered crops.

The implications of genetic engineering, of course, are still uncertain. Many may argue that genetically altering plants are encouraging scientists to genetically alter animals or even humans. Cloning has been a huge topic in scientific circles today. I think animal cloning has already been accomplished. Unfortunately, I definitely don't know enough about the science world to say too much about genetic engineering. I'm probably way over my head. But genetically altered plants does leave a question about whether this is an ethical concern or not. I personally feel that a process that creates disease-resistant crops and greater crop yields is ultimately ethical. The process allows for more mouths to be fed in a shorter amount of time and at a lower cost. What a blessing! The fact that we can accomplish such a feat is a gift from God. But like all gifts, it can definitely be abused.

**Edited after session because I forgot to check Blackboard before I started the blog. My apologies.