Are We Hungry?

Christi Johnson

November 27, 2012

Are We Hungry?

Word Count: 551

 

                Since the beginning of culture, society has engaged in power plays to advance. So often the power of the leader is obvious whereas the power of the people becomes a muted notation. “Attendance at munera subjected emperors to pressure from the people (Emperors and Gladiators, Thomas Wiedemann)…” This leads me to ask, “What are we hungry for?” Is it not a statement of what society desires to see a rapid rise in the attendance of Reality Television Shows? What need within our society does this satiate?

                The value placed on the Roman Arenas and the Hunger Games is the same as I see it. Presented clearly is the element of control, the need for absolute power. However, an Emperor is only as strong as the people’s acceptance of him. The Roman people had a hunger a good emperor was obligated to fulfill. “An emperor…might be criticized either for being too interested in the games, or not interested enough (Emperors and Gladiators, Thomas Wiedmann)…”

                Throughout history a need to conquer, to feel superior has presented itself over centuries of different culture, different time. I think the emotions of superiority need to be approached steadfastly. It is in this pompous ego driven vision that makes it allowable to watch “lesser” mortals die. In the beginning of the Hunger Games, we see the dichotomy presented between those in the Capitol and those in the outlying districts. The system derived for the games is what made those in the Capitol feel justified in their murderous behavior. You can directly relate this mentality to the emotions of the Romans toward the slaves that fought in the Arena.

                Identity and social class play a large role in society in general. The view we have of our particular class or societal stance can be seen to allow room for abuse of someone “lesser” than you. Justification of one’s behavior becomes easier when some feel entitled to be above and beyond those in lesser classes or certain societal groupings. Katniss exhibits a masterful level of skill in handling the mentality of those monitoring and being entertained by the games. Ultimately, it is through this level of understanding that she was able to exit alive.

                Our Western culture especially has become enthralled with death and violence in video games, reality shows and other digital media. I feel that though this is not new in society by any stretch of the imagination, I do feel the ease of digital access has made it too readily available. I feel also that in our working family lives, younger children have access to such media. I believe this to have a very desensitizing effect on our youth in regards to death and violence.

                “…The ritual performance in the arena was a means of Imperial control (Blood in the Arena, Allison Futrell)…” In the Hunger Games, the Capitol retained control on the people by subjugating them to the games including their names being added to the pot for things such as need of grain. “…it’s hard not to resent those who don’t have to sign up for tesserae (Hunger Games, p. 13).” Katniss has been entered twenty times by the age of sixteen and Gale forty two times by the age of eighteen. Again, by the construct of those in power, those who are “lesser” are being punished for their lack of status in life.

                The beauty of the Hunger Games is that Katniss gains the upper hand in the end. She has the berries and is intending for both of them to eat. Although Peta does not understand at first, he trusts her. The Game-makers cannot allow both survivors to die. This was a dangerous move on Katniss’ part but she played her precarious ace and won. “How often have I seen them ringed around our kitchen table, and I thought, ‘Why don’t they leave? Why do they stay to watch?’ And now I know. It’s because you have no choice (Hunger Games, p. 348).”

The Soap Box Cafe: An Ethics Project.

 

 

 

The Soap Box

Christi Johnson

Independent Business Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name of my business is to be the Soap Box. It will be a health centered café and artistic hot spot. I will focus on local art, music, poetry and other artisans such as jewelry makers. Works of art will be available for sale with the artist getting the majority of the sale price and myself getting a percentage for commission. I will be the owner and operator. I will need a kitchen manager, a general manager, and myself to manage the business. I will need several general level staff members with a decent amount of experience in the food service industry. I will also need to hire two people who are responsible for cleaning my establishment after closing.

The Kitchen Manager and General Manager will start out at a salary of forty thousand per year with Blue Cross Blue Shield Benefits that I will pay half of. I will endeavor to keep the Managers at fifty or so hours. My general level staffing will make nine dollars per hour with a benefit package available to them deducted from their paycheck weekly. My cleaning crew will be paid minimum wage. All employees will receive a 25% discount on all our products.

My desired location will be one of two places: downtown Dunedin or downtown St. Pete. I will advertise in many ways. I will circulate coupons to incite business in local papers. I will create business cards with an item of interest free on the back of the card such as a free smoothie or breakfast sandwich (with the purchase of another) to create incentive to draw business. I will then hand out said business cards in places where I might find my demographic. I will use VistaPrint and cheaper methods of printing and advertising as I am trying to keep my start-up funds low until profit begins to funnel down. I will use old fashioned networking and word of mouth putting in a lot of hours on pavement to suffice this need. Two hundred fifty business cards with VistaPrint can be printed for about twenty dollars. I would probably fulfill an order of five hundred. There are many local papers that allow for free ads if under a certain word count. I would use such means as social media (like Facebook) as well. I would rev up fellow business owners in the area that might lend support by helping me spread word of my new business. I would host a grand opening party for the public to come see what I am all about.

I would being by being open from seven to eleven weekdays and open longer on weekends as business demands until I could see what my prime flow was and would honor those hours as I found them out.

I found financial backing through several means. I was able to procure some money through personal backing of investors that believed in my business model. I was also able to procure a small business loan from a local community bank. I also added to this fund some money that I have been saving for this exact moment. Altogether, I was able to procure one hundred thousand dollars so that I might get through a majority of the year to justify expenses until the profit margin regulates itself.

General Manager salary, one month: $3,400.00.

Kitchen Manager salary, one month: $3,400.00.

Five general level staff members, thirty hours each @ $9/hr. $1,350.00

Two cleaning crew members @ 3hrs. per night @ $7.67 * 5 nights per week: $230.00

Benefits would not begin until after thirty days of employment.

My salary is intentionally not included because I have created a position to allow for this until profit margins rise (estimated three to six months).

Rent for my small café: $1300.00.

Electricity: $800.00.

Food and supply expenses: $14,500.00.

Advertising: $300.00.

Total expense estimated for one month: $25,280.00.

Sales estimated for one month: $30,000.00.

Profit estimated for one month: $4,720.00.

 

Code of Ethics for the Soap Box Café:

·        There is to be no swearing, arguing, or negative display on the sales floor or within customer hearing.

·        There will be no tolerance for racial, sexual, or religious intolerance.

·        There will be no tolerance for sexual harassment.

·        There will be no tolerance for taking anything that belongs to the company without express written or verbal consent by management.

·        There are to be no sales of a personal nature taking place on company property without express permission of management.

·        There will be no tolerance for intoxication or drug use of any sort while on the company clock.

·        There shall be no lying to achieve personal gain within the company structure.

·        Insubordination is strictly discouraged. Open door policy is encouraged.

·        There will be no tolerance for clocking anyone other than oneself into the company time clock.

·        There shall be no slanderous remark made regarding fellow employees. The open door policy allows room for harmonic conversation with the intention of meeting resolution or compromise.

·        All employees are expected to be working in the best interest of the company (not themselves) the entire time they are on the company clock.

·        Employees must be mindful of their conduct while in uniform as they are being seen as a representative of our business.

·        There is to be no product made or supplied without being rung through the system.

Each code must be enforced individually as some represent more severity than others. For minor violations, the procedure will be as follows: first a verbal warning, then written warning, finally suspension or termination. For severe policy breaches such as sexual harassment or drug use, immediate termination may be necessary. The code will be in constant progress but will be attended to directly twice per year in a manager meeting. The code of ethics will be included in all new hire packets and will be posted in employee areas of viewing.

Discrimination Policies and Procedures:

No tolerance of sexual orientation, race, gender, or religious beliefs will be tolerated. Each employee that is hired as a part of our crew was hired due to a certain set of skills or knowledge that will benefit our company. Each employee is deigned the right to be who they are as long as they do not cross the personal boundaries of other staff members. An atmosphere of hostility or judgment will not be tolerated, and will be severely punished if an air of malevolence is determined to be present in interpersonal dealings.

All new hire employees must work through an employee handbook that will include company policies, code of ethics, discrimination policy, and knowledge of our menu and operation. They will be quizzed and guided through training to ensure that these mandates are understood from the beginning. There will be staff orientation meetings where management will conduct question and answer sessions at the end of training/orientation to ensure full understanding of all that is required of staff members.

Policies on discrimination will be strictly enforced and judged on a per case basis. The Owner/Operator shall be the sole deciding factor in these matters though reporting manager will also be involved and given sway.

Discrimination of all sorts must be reported immediately to the manager on duty. The manager on duty must then immediately involve the Owner/Operator. All acts of Discrimination will be taken to heart with utter seriousness and will involve outside authorities if it is deemed necessary (especially if sexual or racial in nature).

Our business will in essence be an anchor in the artistic segment of our community. It will promise to maintain the utmost commitment to our customers’ health and physical wellbeing. We shall be dedicated to offering high levels of nutritional value along with a place where artists, poets, musicians & creators of other sorts might come and network, express and enjoy themselves. No judgment or negative speak of any sort shall be offered by any employee at any time while on or off property regarding our business’ highlighted artists. All employees must show interest in understanding the nutritional value of our products and be able to accurately explain to a guest the dietary breakdown of our products (materials will be posted and provided). All employees must register a mind-set of wellness in their conduct while at work and hopefully while out of work as well. Our target demographic will be those who earnestly wish to eat correctly and enjoy their food at the same time. Foods will be organic and non-processed. Art will be local and in the interest of helping up and coming artist support themselves and become known.

Our company will maintain the closest resonance to begin a green company as is possible. All employees will please be mindful of waste, whether product, electricity or time. Employees will be dedicated to staying with recipes and standards as the menu was designed to adequately be mindful of these things. Sensor lights will be placed in rooms that are not populated often. Green paper products will be purchased and used solely. Styrofoam will not be present anywhere on the property. Customers will be encouraged to bring in their own travel mugs for a discount on smoothies, etc. Employees will be educated and expected to uphold green policies. The Owner/Operator shall be dedicated to staying on trend with her knowledge base on such matters. Companies supplying product will be chosen per their green policies as well.

Liability is always a thought that must be had. Owner/Operator, Management & Staff shall be mindful of OSHA procedures, healthy and safe kitchen and work environment. Employees must wear non-slip shoes. Customers and non-employee friend and family members must be aware of not crossing employee area only lines. Wet floor signs must always be used when cleaning flooring. Caution and care must be on the forefront of thought when preparing food, serving food, cleaning, and executing all job functions. Safety, healthy and OSHA policies will be posted in Employee viewing areas.

All policies will be written for and reviewed with new hire employees. All policies will be posted in plain view for all employees. Any changes will be discussed in a company-wide meeting. An open door policy will be encouraged for all questions and concerns. Regular employee meetings will be held along with food served to encourage harmony and morale among staff.

All policies will be strictly enforced as per descriptions in the employee manual. All situations will be judged on a per item basis by Management and Owner/Operator.

Anyone feeling they have been violated or have witnessed a violation will be treated with respect and discretion. All such situations should be reported to the Management on Duty and the Manager then will involve the Owner/Operator. All such situations will be held in utter respect and privacy to ensure the comfort of any reporting staff member.

As we are a small company, if possible the Manager on Duty should always be the first to be told regarding any discrimination or policy violation. However the Owner/Operator would like to exhibit a family atmosphere where she may be approached with said concerns. The open door policy would hope to encourage all problems/concerns an employee may have to be considered as relevant and the staff should understand their privacy will be respected. The ultimate goal is to create a harmonic work environment where hard work, honesty and integrity are respected.

The Owner/Operator will also hold herself to these standards and create an ideal for the hard work and honesty she expects from the staff she hires.

Aurora Borealis on my bedroom wall.

First of all, it is three twenty six in the morning and I am up eating salad. I just woke to a very strange and beautiful experience. I am not even sure how well I am about to express this in words but I feel as though I must try.

I wish I could recapture the moment I awoke. Freeze frame the thought. It was readily apparent when I woke but now like a fragile whisp of smoke, it is gone. What I do remember is still exquisitely beautiful!

I know that I had an epiphany or revelation of high spiritual order. I opened my eyed to greet the flickering candlelight on my bedroom wall and felt so amazed by what I had just figured out. As I am staring at the flickering candlelight, every square inch of wall being graced by the light of the candle shimmered prismatic, and on my very soul, appeared as spectacular as all the recordings of aurora borealis i have ever seen.

The light display continued for quite some time and then returned to normal. As I am completely sober, this really blew my mind.

So I lay there for a while. It happened again. A fragment of thought I can still remember, but the depth of the message eludes me. I can feel the difference in my soul however, and wonder when the rest will return to surface realization. I am intrigued, and wish I could express the beauty of what has just happened in the sanctity of my bedroom.

I tossed and turned and tried to return to sleep, but could not. I felt led to write about it.  I know so many of you read my posts, and so many beautiful souls cross my path daily. I am interested to see what the reverberation is.

Hotep all,
Lady RAin

listening...

I have always found passion in watching the numbers and the algorithms in the worlds around me. It is incredible how much being in the right place at the perfect time can weave its way outward from you and open up the synchronous nature of the spiritual path of your day.

I feel that there are marcations along the path mathematically speaking that spark our awareness of the algorithms presence, which can futher heighten the nature of our spiritual flow.

I have had many tease me saying that I am always seeing signs in everything. Perhaps. However, what if the way my mind perceives this phenomenon will further open doorways for new development in spirituality, psychology and even mathematics.

Recently, a dear friend of mine was in the same time continuum as I was and noticed this anomolies with me. It was liberating to a great extent because that does not often happen so that two people walk the same path at the same time. It was an intense experience.

To me there are signifiers that alert me to the awareness that I am at Center Calm that I am in the vein of Wu Wei flow.

I see numbers. I see patterns. Segments of conversation that band together as I walk through them. People that notice or do the same thing at the same time. Once I hone in on the rhythm, I am in the center of the water way and move where I am supposed to go.

I listen to the Wind. I hear the rhythm of the leaves as She moves through the trees. I am listening.

Like A Prayer

In the shadowy layers of the mind, there Hell resides. One circle at a time, we confess our sin and climb. Higher circles; stronger purge: until we unfetter ourselves from this Earth. In the beginning, sin was born. Of sin, was born choice, and we all have the power to choose.

She peered into the mirror with bloodshot eyes. Night spent crying had left her empty inside. She had forsaken her husband and her child for a man who had already found someone younger more beautiful. Her tired eyes mocked her and the silver hair at her temples made her remember a love she would have done better to remain true to.

She ran for miles trying to get rid of this wild burning building inside. After hours she collapsed in an abandoned field far from home. She wept until she had no breath left and was swept away in dark dream to a place she had hoped she would never see.

She knew this place. People ran around engaged in chaotic screaming. Flies and wasps were chasing them in endless undulating circles. She walked amidst the chaos until she came to a darker place where people were staring at walls, vapid expressions on their faces. At least she had made a choice. In Limbo, they linger unaware of their choice. In Limbo, they linger afraid of their voice.

Quickly she passed through this space, and was engaged by a beast who wrapped his tail around her to decide where in Hell she would reside. She lowered her eyes afraid of what he might see. She wore her hunger like a scarlet letter upon her chest. She was bereft and beset by a beast she had never even seen.

In the second circle of hell she was daunted by the sights that met her tear stained eyes. The first figure she recognized as King David. He was wailing on a small precipice of rock. The only vision in his view was Bathsheba bathing on that fated roof. She had turned to stone. Her eyes cast in dead stare into his very soul. He could not look away. Would this moment never end?

Next she was distracted by the sound piercing the center of her ears. Madonna on a stage clutching a microphone, but all that was heard was a dial tone. Millions of fans all faced the other way offering no interest in anything she had to say.

She wandered away from the sound drawn to the flashing of colorful lights. Here she finds Brittney Spears, scantily clad, dancing and touching herself. There are many others dancing on the floor around her but none will make eye contact with her. She is infuriated by this lack of connection and moves toward specific dancers. Like a magnetic force they are repulsed by her forward motion. Every time she gets close to any of them they are automatically pulsated away. She dances herself into a panic, dying to be attractive; longing to be seen.

The adulteress’ mind raced in poetic phrasing: “The power of the lust is in the finishing touch. There is no fulfillment in this way we’ve paved. You long to touch but cannot feel. Even the beast between your knees does not seem real. Here she would hunger, waiting for the spark to return. The yearning would never again be satisfied.” Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by a desire to see herself in a mirror. What had she become? She knew something was wrong.

She found herself face to face with her husband and her nine year old daughter, Anna. She was so relieved at their presence until she saw the response in their eyes. There was horror, fear, and something that resembled pity. She reached out for them but they backed away. Anna began screaming begging her mother not to touch her. The space was limited and resembled the family home. But they desired her to be nowhere close.

In the corner of what appeared to be the family den, there was her grandmother’s old vanity mirror. She was now terrified but had to know what had become of her once model like looks. She approached slowly, having no idea what to expect. She would never have been armed for the hideous beast that met her gaze. She retracted with a scream, and backed slowly away. “Please, someone, wake me from this nightmare! Return me to my family and I will never again satisfy the hunger of my lust.”

She retracted to a corner opposite the mirror. Across the room near a window bathed in a hazy storm filled light, sat her daughter shaking in tremors and her husband doing all he could to console her. What had she done? If she could only find herself waking from a terrifying dream in that old abandoned field, the changes she would make.

She fell into a deep level of sleeping and began dreaming of a particularly perfect afternoon where the three of them had taken the boat far out on the Bay and had eaten a spectacular picnic lunch complete with ice cream and strawberries. She could almost taste the bouquet of flavors that met her taste-buds that ancient afternoon.

She awoke with a start to find her precious Anna banging her head against the floor wailing louder than any other sound. Her husband could do nothing to make it stop and was glaring at his wife in a hatred that could almost be touched. This was unbearable. This was her eternal nightmare. If only she could go back. If only she could do it any other way. The price must be paid. It was too late to be saved.

knowledge of the still

We review ourselves for moderation
soul sensation
deep penetration
we are a wave chasing nation
Hear what i am saying?
We dive in with propensity
Deeper in the darkest sea
Fixating on what cannot be seen
and forgetting what is in our palm
holy alms
offer up a solemn Psalm
give your all and perhaps be calmed
but what are we searching for?

Washington's Annunciation by Jan Van Eyck

In a time where art and architecture were once again changing, from the Northern Renaissance emerged a painter who would lead in his texturing of oil paint, and his masterful display of light. Jan Van Eyck painted with his brother Hubert until Hubert’s early death while working on the Ghent Altarpiece. Jan and his workshop finished the great work, and Jan continued with his endeavors and painted many great works in his remaining years.

The piece that struck the deepest resonating chord with me was Washington’s Annunciation. In view of this great work many details would immediately be noticed. The seven rays of divine light possessed no shadow whereas the natural lighting of the painting did. The folding of the robes of the Virgin strongly resembles the folds of the cloth in the Ghent Altarpiece. The architecture is mixed in rounded Romanesque columns and slightly pointed Gothic construction. There is a strong marriage of past and present not only in the architecture but in the message itself. Presented are both elements of Old and New Testament. The stories chosen from the Old Testament are those directly relative to the coming of the Christ. There are elements of the Zodiac present as well. The entire painting marries time in past present and present future scopes.

The ill repaired boards in the higher ceiling of the painting are unlike the architecture of the other Van Eyck works. Just like every other well-articulated element in this painting, there is significant meaning to be found in these broken boards. They further state a transition from old law to new law; from old structure to new structure.

Another significant juxtaposition in the message of the painting comes in the dialogue of the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. As the archangel addresses the Virgin, the words are painted to be read from the viewer’s perspective (a human view). The humble words that the Virgin responds with however are painted upside down therefore only able to be viewed by God Himself.

This painting is riddled with message, and articulated in its complex layers of detail. There are seven rays of golden, divine light signifying the seven graces given to the Blessed Virgin. The absence of shadow ornately states this light to be of the ethereal realm. It entrances the viewer and encourages translation.

In the time of Van Eyck’s life, the emergence from the Dark Ages into a time of Reformation had further altered the profession of one’s beliefs through art. The return to classical elements did not erase the need for symbolism and only seemed to enhance it. Movement was being made from Judaism to Christianity; from Romanesque to Gothic; from darkly symbolic works to well-lit and meaning filled layers of oil paint, richly textured to offer depth.

The most astounding element I encountered was the existence of tools that art historians can now use to unveil layers of shadow paint beneath the surface of the existing work of art. For all the complexity of this piece so much more must be translated when one studies the shadow layers that happened in the making of such a great work of art.

The overall meaning of Washington’s Annunciation, shadow layers included, seems to represent a progression from old to new. It is multi-faceted yet all elements seem to point in the direction of this movement. With the representation of older architecture perfectly and artistically married to new architecture, we see the progression of the building around him at that time. However, when you consider the transitional elements that are represented in perfect harmony between the Old and New Testament, it seems actual that both the architecture and the story are married in perfect purpose to represent transition. Furthermore is seems safe to assume that the grand design is to show Christ’s supremacy over the Devil; the transition from Old Testament Judaism to New Testament Christianity; and to harmonize all of it with the changing of the era around Jan Van Eyck through the transition of the architecture.

Jan Van Eyck may be remembered for his skill as a painter, for his masterful brush strokes, or his spectacular display of light with oil paints, but I will always be entranced by his symbolism and the layers of his purpose filled message.