washingtonpost.com - Jabari AsimJabari AsimSanitizing Art- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Art often provokes intense reactions in viewers, from undisguised awe to righteous indignation to gut-wrenching indigestion. In 1999, when he was mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani famously threatened to withhold funding from the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The reason The museum was hosting an exhibition that turned Hizzoner's tummy. Among the offensive creations was Chris Ofili's portrait of the Virgin Mary, which included elephant dung. Giuliani had only read a description of the...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15063-2005Apr25.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... Curating and Reclaiming Black History- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- "We need the historian and philosopher to give us with trenchant pen, the story of our forefathers," wrote Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in 1925, "and let our soul and body, with phosphorescent light, brighten the chasm that separates us."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4686-2005Feb7.html?nav=rss_nation/columns/a... Preaching Incivility- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- I was reading with interest an interview with Richard Cizik, a leader of the National Association of Evangelicals. Previously, I had regarded the group as an entity with which I had little in common. Cizik, however, was causing me to reconsider by advocating a more protective stance toward nature. He described taking care of the environment as "creation care" and said he regarded it as a fulfillment of duties called for by the Scriptures.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62647-2005Apr18.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... Third-Party Consideration- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Let's say you're one of those millions of African-American voters still mourning the recent triumph of George W. Bush. Talk of a Republican revolution turns your stomach. The Democrats' defeat has left you dizzy and wondering where else to turn. You might consider the words of Martin Luther King Jr.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19678-2004Nov29.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... No Escaping Reality in 'Sin City'- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- "If you would like to know what men really are," Lucretius once observed, "the time to learn comes when they stand in danger or in doubt. For then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of the heart, and the mask is torn off, reality remains."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43620-2005Apr11.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... Dietary Discipline- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- I imagine you've seen those newspaper cartoons in which a bathroom scale insults Broom Hilda, Garfield or some other pleasantly plump character. I'm beginning to have a similar relationship with my laptop.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15357-2005Jan17.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... Conscience Behind the Counter- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding the commuter express. Please remember to take your newspapers and belongings when leaving the train. Customers on the platform, please stand aside until disembarking passengers have passed safely through the doors. Also, be aware that our transportation service is not available to anyone who may be headed to Fred's Steak House.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24809-2005Apr4.html?nav=rss_nation/columns/... No Charge for Children's Chores- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Robert Frost memorably defined home as "the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." That kind of plain-spoken philosophy rings true everywhere, from the revered poet's pastoral New England to crowded, concrete inner cities.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60875-2004Dec13.html?nav=rss_nation/columns... Need a Ride- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Lately I've been thinking about the Cars. I was never a huge fan of the group, you understand. But the chorus from one of their biggest hits has been bouncing around in my skull for longer than I care to admit: "You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong. Who's gonna drive you home tonight"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6578-2005Mar28.html?nav=rss_nation/columns/... Works of Art, Thoughts of Thanks- April 25, 2005 WASHINGTON -- The Hausa of Nigeria have a saying that goes something like this: Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4001-2004Nov22.html?nav=rss_nation/columns/... |