VS. Tomato—Fruit or Vegetable? Pop vs. Soda

Our world is full of controversy. Full of arguments and conflict; however, I am about to end two of the biggest conflicts on earth (that, or create an angry mob . . . I keep looking out my window to make sure that there are no torches and pitchforks coming my way). I am about to prove: why tomatoes are vegetables, and that soft drinks should be called pop, and not the s.

 Tomato—Fruit or Vegetable?

Before Madam Blueberry, before the Grapes of Wrath or the Peach, the only stars on VeggieTales were vegetables, and who was one of the show’s two costars? Bob the tomato.

Okay, on a more serious note, scientifically speaking, a tomato can be called a fruit. The scientific definition for fruit is, “the ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms” (“Fruit”).

Inspirational Quotes: Martin Luther

~Photo Obtained

5-Second Rule!

Tommy is ten-years-old, full of life. He’s walking beside his mom in the store snacking on a bag of Skittles that she had given him. Skittles are his favorite candy—he loves them! Their fruity, tangy taste explodes his mouth with flavor. As he’s walking, one slips from his hand and taps the floor, landing in a brown puddle that a janitor hasn’t cleaned up yet. Heartbreaking, and not wanting to see his favorite candy wasted, Tommy kneels down and picks up the mini-rainbow. He’s about to plop it into his mouth before his mother shouts, “Tommy!”

“What? The 5-second rule.”

How many of us are like Tommy? We see something that we know that we should loose, yet we make up an excuse so that we can keep it? How many of us hold ourselves back with rationalizations, not accepting that some things have to come to a conclusion, so that something new can take its place? High school must end so that college can begin, and college will end as well, so that a career can be born.

The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage

Fairytales.

Some would believe that they’re just stories that we tell to our kids before bed, but they are so much more than that. They are magical tales that do not just enrich the imagination, but also explore important themes of our world, teach morals, and are meant to teach kids life lessons that could protect them: Beauty and the Beast—never judge a book by its cover, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf—build yourself on a strong foundation, Pinocchio—lying is wrong/listen to your conscience, The Gingerbread Man—don’t trust a fox, Goldilocks and the Three Bears—don’t trespass, The Little Red Hen—no work, no reward, and Little Red Riding Hood—don’t play in the woods (the woods in Germany were very dangerous). However, despite these amazing stories, perhaps my favorite fairytale is one that is probably not well known; however, I love it because of the amazing truth that it holds within it. It is called: The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage.

The Hazelnut

I was in the library today reading an assignment for my British Lit. class, when I stumbled upon this passage:

“In this little thing [a hazelnut] I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second that God loveth it, the third that God keepth it.” –A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich

Personally, I think that this is an awesome perspective to look at God’s creation. 1. He made it. Everything from the smallest proton to the largest galaxy. The ocean, the grass, the trees, the eyeball, even the bizarrest of creatures such as the okapi or the duck-billed platypus. He created everything, and saw that is was good.

Life Lessons from Disney

Mulan—Reflection

How many times do we feel like we hide behind a mask? That we don’t recognize who we see in the mirror, because it’s not the person who we reflect to others? How many of us have dreams and wants that we want to pursue, but we don’t because we’re afraid that others won’t understand, that they’ll laugh and ridicule us?

There is a reason why Disney has become so famous. Besides having good business management skills and being able to appeal to kids, one reason that they’re so successful is because of the deep themes that are implanted in their cartoons. These themes range from wanting to be who you want to be and not what others want you to be like Mulan, or wanting to be a hero and prove yourself like Hercules, or even the power of friendship like The Fox and the Hound, or knowing that the end of a shoe lace is called an aglet because of Phineas and Ferb. Below is but a small list of some of these universal themes that Disney has incorporated into their animations.