by Paul Anel September 13, 2013
Interview, Fashion. Reading time: 2min.
Each year at this time of the year, New York City breathes, talks, and walks fashion, runway and clothes. Jessica “Jesse” Lagoy, a professional model from DC, stepped out the catwalk this year, to meet and interview creators and other fashion protagonists for the blog heyheygorgeous.com. In this exclusive interview for Land of Compassion, she accepted to share her insights about fashion, beauty, and more.
by Karine Koroukian August 2nd, 2013
As I reflect back on a recent development in my life, I realize that nothing is permanent, all is transient and subject to change. Suffice it to be open and sensitive to capture its transformation.
My grandfather was a survivor of the Armenian genocide, which took place during World War I with the Ottoman government’s systematic extermination of its minority subjects. He had managed to escape Turkey after multiple life and death ordeals via Syria, to eventually settle down in Lebanon and become a very successful entrepreneur, businessman and writer. The Civil War of Lebanon (1975 – 1990), was the second tragedy he survived during his lifetime. It brought an abrupt interruption to the once joyful and vibrant life my grandparent’s family led, forcing them to abandon, like many, their house along with their priced belongings and heritage, to seek peace abroad.
by Paul Anel July 22, 2013
“There is an urgent need to see once again that faith is a light,” (#4) writes Pope Francis in the introduction of his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei. Short and harmless as it seems, this sentence encapsulates three powerful statements that form the core of the new encyclical. Firstly, that the nature of faith is such that it can be described, to a certain extent, as “a light.” Secondly, that this particular aspect of faith as light was lost, or at least that it is atrophied in the contemporary consciousness and experience of the Catholic Church. And third, that it is possible and “urgent” that we rediscover this dimension of light.
by LoC July 19, 2013
"Advertising, says Wikipedia, is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience," and the best way to manipulate is to appeal to the basest instincts. However, once in while, we get surprised. In this commercial for Sony, the Japanese brand appeals to our highest instinct: the sense of beauty and wonder. The 1min30 video is an intimate glimpse into the work of some of Japan's craftsmen: fabric dyeing, paper making, ceramics and gardening . . . The last words, in Japanese, translate: "This country's natural instinct is to lean towards beauty." How many problems and situations would be simplified if we were led by a "natural instinct towards beauty" ! This commercial does play its part in educating it in the viewer.
by Renée Kurz July 11, 2013
“Being in dance let’s me see who I'm becoming,” said Kiana, a freshman at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in inner city Philadelphia. She added my ‘Introduction to Dance’ class to her schedule last fall with no idea it would bring about a re-direction or clarified purpose for her life. All she knew was that she liked to groove, and figured this class would let her do so with no questions asked . . .
by Rachel Oberman July 6, 2013
Last week I attended a conference at the NYU Catholic Center called “Debunking the Myths of a Good Death: A Discussion about Euthanasia and the Value of Suffering toward the End of Life,” sponsored by Crossroads Cultural Center. It was a weighty subject, but the speakers, Dr. Margaret Somerville and Dr. Daniel Sulmasy were engaging and passionate.
