Tragedies such as the destruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral due to a massive fire on Monday have an interesting way of momentarily silencing the debate over objective beauty. Instead, people all over the world feel a tragic and profound loss at the hundreds of years of beauty, art and history that...

In the film “Sex and the City,” one of the main protagonists, Miranda Hobbes, said, “the only two choices for women are witch and sexy kitten,” with Carrie Bradshaw replying, “You just said a mouthful there, sister.” And indeed, she did. Thanks to the media, society views women to be one...

(This story was originally published in print on Apr. 11, 2019). Imagine if we could wave a magic wand that erased inequality around the world. This wand is so magical that it can even wipe away all discrimination from the planet. We all wake up in a discrimination-free world with, say, a million...

The sultan of Brunei has recently declared that homosexual engagements, adultery, theft and many other sins can be subjected to capital punishment and amputation. These recent laws stem from the Sharia Law, which is a legal interpretation of the Quran. In addition, Brunei has been under martial law since...

A few years ago, my friend’s grandfather passed away. He was born in either the 1920s or early 1930s, fought as an artilleryman in France and was later stationed in Switzerland during World War II. But that was not his dream. As my friend’s mother sorted through her late father’s photo clippings,...

An oft-repeated fable about the Victorian period suggests that members of English high society placed tablecloths over intricately carved table legs out of fear they would be considered too sexually evocative. Although this story is a myth, it exemplifies the widely-perceived—and to a certain extent...

In a recent Chimes article, editor-in-chief Christian Leonard made the oft-repeated claim that cereal should be called a soup, based on a definition he found that did not exclude the breakfast meal. While he makes a convincing case using the definition, I believe his overreliance on dictionaries gave...

Cereal is a soup. All rational, experiential and, yes, spiritual evidence points to the truth of the matter. I can hear your objections already: “Soup is not sweet!” “The preparation processes are completely different!” “I knew you were homeschooled!” “Just go back to obsessing over chickens!” Please...

On Jan 29, Jussie Smollett, a well-known actor from the television show “Empire,” allegedly staged an attack on himself. According to the original report, two people attacked him, “yelling out racial and homophobic slurs,” “poured an unknown chemical substance” on him and allegedly placed...

Despite California Governor Gavin Newsom’s criticism over President Donald Trump’s threats to pull funding from California, Newsom has attacked California cities in the same fashion. While conservatives are often well-versed in the debate between state rights and federal rights, few are aware...

(This story was originally published in print on Mar. 28, 2019). Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in America with approximately 7.1 percent of all adult Americans having at least one major depressive episode. Despite such a high number of Americans suffering from depression, many...