Author: Alicia

Do We Need Another Denzel Washington Christ Figure?
Christianity Today – Nov. 16

To churchgoers, Denzel Washington comes across as the ideal movie star. An Oscar winner accepted among the mainstream elite, he is also open, even evangelical, about his Christian beliefs.

8 Expert Pie and Beer Combinations – 5280 Magazine, November 2016

Could there be anything better than the profusion of pies at Thanksgiving? We’re glad you asked, because it turns out that craft brews and pie can be symbiotic dessert partners: Beer has residual sugars that often pair better with seasonal slices than most wines. “In pie and beer pairings, take into account three things: harmonies, flavor elements, and intensity,” says Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Boulder-based Brewers Association. What does all that mean? Similar flavors in the pie and beer result in harmony. Fruit or floral notes in an IPA would work well with a fruit pie; a nutty brown ale would pair best with a nut or spice pie. Flavor elements are factors of taste that include aroma and mouthfeel. Intensity means the richness of the pie and the alcohol content in the beer.

Behind the Scenes of ‘We Are What We Are’: Chatting With Director Jim Mickle – The Credits, Sept. 30, 2013

For a key scene in the new drama We Are What We Are (opened Sept. 27), director/co-writer/editor Jim Mickle found himself up a creek holding a pile of bones…

Conjuring Faith Audiences – World, July 19, 2013

An R-rated horror film seems like a hard sell to churches, but The Conjuring, which opens today, is trying to do just that…

An Evening With Fruitvale Station Writer/Director Ryan Coogler – The Credits, July 12, 2013

Few directors fresh out of film school can boast their first feature-length movie is a likely Oscar contender, but Ryan Coogler could be one of the few with Fruitvale Station…

Stars ‘Nervous’ to Debut White House Disaster Movie in D.C. – The Washington Examiner, March 13, 2013

What makes an iconic action star and award-winning director “seriously” nervous? Showing “Olympus Has Fallen,” a movie about terrorists occupying the White House, to a District audience…

Oscar Envelope Made Cross-Country Journey to D.C. – The Washington Examiner, Feb. 25, 2013

It was a long, long journey to the capital city for the envelope Michelle Obama opened live from the White House to announce the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture…

Trump shapes the landscape in Jerusalem
The Hill – July 5, 2018

JERUSALEM — President Trump’s next move in the Middle East is being watched closely in Israel, where the president’s recent policies have reverberated loudly across the region.

In Syria, Trump travel ban case is being watched closely
The Hill – June 24, 2018

AMMAN, Jordan — The Trump administration’s travel ban and cuts to foreign aid are being keenly felt in Jordan by Syrian refugees, many of whom have been in limbo for years as they’ve sought to resettle in the United States.

Pence became ultimate tie-breaker in 2017
The Hill – Dec. 31, 2017

Vice President Pence broke records and played a pivotal role as a tie-breaker in the Senate during 2017.

4 takeaways from Trump’s Cuba speech
The Hill – June 16, 2017

President Trump on Friday announced a handful of rollbacks to the previous administration’s policy on Cuba.

The New Student Activists
Christianity Today Magazine – March 2016

Christian college students are engaging controversial issues and taking stands to pursue justice.

Crisis For Common Core: Indiana’s Uncommon Ruckus Over Education Standards – The Daily Signal, March, 11, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS – What’s wrong with public education in America today? Across the country, just about everyone has an opinion. Very few, though, have the power to implement sweeping reforms.

In Indiana, a driver for the Uber car-for-hire service gets his mother on the phone for a reporter. Sharon Hurt is a 40-year veteran of the state’s South Bend public school district. What teachers need, Hurt says, is flexibility as individuals and support as a group…

Who Sends Lawmaker Tweets? – The Hill, Aug. 1, 2012

Most lawmakers do not disclose whether they write their own tweets, according to a review of lawmaker Twitter bios by The Hill, which also finds that most members likely use a ghostwriter…

Romney on Keystone: ‘I will build that pipeline if I have to myself’ – The Hill, April 20, 2012

Mitt Romney drew a line in the oil sands on Friday, focusing on the controversial Keystone pipeline project opposed by the White House and saying, “I will build that pipeline if I have to myself.”

Romney’s tax return headache – The Hill, Jan. 18, 2012

Mitt Romney is running into tax trouble…

GOP Tech Gap Needs Millions – The Hill, Dec. 13, 2012

Republicans need to make a multimillion-dollar investment to close a digital gap with Democrats and President Obama, according to GOP tech experts…

Twitter is the New Campaign Spin-Room – The Hill, Oct. 3, 2012

The first head-to-head match-up between President Obama and Mitt Romney on Wednesday is also the first presidential debate where both campaigns will be engaged in a virtual showdown on Twitter…

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail didn’t cure my depression—but it did change my life – Quartz – Oct. 5, 2016

For five minutes late on a Friday afternoon, I was completely lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. I could not see or hear my friend Ruth, who should have been just behind me on the other side of the ridge. Or the ridge before that. I had crossed a lot of such ridges, thinking I would catch sight of the lake just over the next one.

Classic rookie mistake.

Alone and up to my hips in the middle of a silent green wilderness, I could picture our photos splashed across the newspaper, a cautionary tale of the dangers faced by women who decide to go it alone in the woods. Ruth and I had teased each other about the possibility that we’d need to get rescued during our three-day hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, but I’d never really been worried about dying. The whole point of the trip was to help keep me alive.

What I Needed From the Church During My Depression – Christianity Today – Aug 3, 2016

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention last week, the singer Demi Lovato took advantage of the powerful platform to advocate for mental health care in America. “Like millions of Americans, I am living with mental illness,” she said. “Too many Americans from all walks of life don’t get help, either because they fear the stigma or they cannot afford treatment.”

“Mental illness” is a scary-sounding category that encompasses a broad array of invisible struggles. Look around you on Sunday. Most likely, there are Christians next to you suffering silently from anxiety or panic disorder, bipolar disorder (from which Lovato suffers), dysthymia or major depressive disorder (from which I have suffered). Whether through personal experience or through someone we know, those of us whose lives have been touched by mental health struggles know that getting help can be the hardest part.

We asked each other 36 questions to fall in love. Then we broke up. – The Washington Post Solo-ish – July 27, 2016

Our first weekend as a couple, my boyfriend and I asked each other those 36 questions to fall in love, which appeared in a New York Times Modern Love column last year. We’d been friends for years and were giving things a shot, romantically.

In answering those questions — which covered our lives’ biggest hopes, dreams, fears and regrets — there were not a lot of new revelations. But we both cried over things we shared. It felt like real intimacy. It felt like a sign we were going to last.

Instead, our relationship barely made it three months.

Focus: Movie review – Christianity Today, Feb. 27, 2015

Falling in love with a con man never leads to a happy ending. But Focus scams us into thinking it’s got one, anyhow.

Technology and the Image of God – Breakpoint, Jan. 21, 2014

Our culture loves technology, and few would dispute that technology has changed our perception of reality. But in the newly Oscar-nominated movie “Her,” writer/director Spike Jonze asks whether we can actually be—or, perhaps, whether we already are—in a relationship with our devices…

Bring Back the (Platonic, Cheerful, Unexpected) Mistletoe Kiss – The Atlantic, Dec. 23, 2013

Ignore the romantic comedies and listen to Dickens: This holiday tradition need not be romantic, or creepy…

Help Wanted: Coming-of-Age in a Recession Can Shake Our Faith – Oct. 15, 2013

Most millennials will tell you: We’re never not looking for a job. Recession-style insecurity is our new normal. We live in an age where it’s not uncommon for college-educated adults to move back in with their parents or work multiple part-time jobs…

2020 Democrats connect with voters over beer
The Hill, July 4, 2019

A number of Democrats running for president are turning to beer to appeal to voters, hoping to boost their populist credentials and stand out in a large field of more than 20 candidates.

Hop Goddesses
Denver Life Magazine – April magazine

Karen Hertz, Betsy Lay, and Tiffany Fixter joined the craft brewing movement in Denver for one reason—to make excellent beer. How they wound up busting into a boys’ club, and defying their critics, in the process…

My #DigitalNomad Horror Story
The Billfold – Sept. 21

When I signed up for a work/travel program, I was promised an experience — but I got a nightmare.

Real Navy Jets and Aviators Will Satiate Top Gun: Maverick‘s Need for Speed
The Credits – Sept. 19

The Navy may be as excited about the upcoming Top Gun remake as the fans.

How Fight Trainer Don Lee got Jennifer Garner Back in Action for Peppermint
The Credits – Sept. 7

Seventeen years after her star-making turn as Sydney Bristow in Alias, Jennifer Garner is back in action and back in action shape for the new movie Peppermint.

OKCupid: Users who show ACLU support get more dates
The Hill – July 11

People who show their support for the ACLU on their online dating profile are more likely to get a date than those who don’t, according to online dating company OkCupid.

Your Mountain Drinking Passport
5280.com – May 30, 2016

We all know by now that the mountains aren’t just for skiing. Now, a new program called Elevated Libations aims to further broaden the horizons of slope junkies and tourists alike by showcasing the unique experiences offered at mountain-town bars.

Where Are All The Beer Shakes, Denver? – 5280.com, Dec. 5, 2014

For a beer town, Denver is surprisingly lacking in more creative options to consume our favorite hoppy beverage.

Adopting a pet? Suss out the long-term costs before you fall in love – The Denver Post, July 27, 2014

When Christine Casillas of Aurora walked into the Denver Animal Shelter recently, she knew exactly who she was looking to meet…

Behind the Scenes of ‘We Are What We Are’: Chatting With Director Jim Mickle – The Credits, Sept. 30, 2013

For a key scene in the new drama We Are What We Are (opened Sept. 27), director/co-writer/editor Jim Mickle found himself up a creek holding a pile of bones…

Conjuring Faith Audiences – World, July 19, 2013

An R-rated horror film seems like a hard sell to churches, but The Conjuring, which opens today, is trying to do just that…

Maggie Gyllenhaal Joins D.C.’s Healthy Food Movement– The Washington Examiner, June 4, 2013

Get ready for more Maggie Gyllenhaal in the District. Not only will she be in town later this month to promote her new D.C.-set disaster movie, “White House Down,” this week the actress officially joined the advisory board for the nonprofit DC Greens…

Prince Harry Visits Capitol Hill – The Washington Examiner, May 9, 2013

Prince Harry created a royal frenzy on Thursday when he visited Capitol Hill to tour a photo exhibit in the Russell Senate Office Building…

Marine Corps commissions new mascot: Private Chesty the Bulldog – The Washington Examiner, April 8, 2013

The Marine Corps’ newest recruit walks on four legs and almost fell asleep during his commissioning ceremony Monday…

Mr. Lewis Goes to Comic Con – The Hill, July 23, 2013

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) boldly went were no sitting lawmaker has gone to sell a book before…

Matthew Perry Prefers Real Policy to Playing Political on TV – The Washington Examiner, May 7, 2013

Drug courts — a judicial process that puts nonviolent substance-abuse offenders into treatment instead of the prison system — seems like a heavy cause. But with Matthew Perry as celebrity spokesman, expect to hear a lighter side…

An Evening With Fruitvale Station Writer/Director Ryan Coogler – The Credits, July 12, 2013

Few directors fresh out of film school can boast their first feature-length movie is a likely Oscar contender, but Ryan Coogler could be one of the few with Fruitvale Station…

Stars ‘Nervous’ to Debut White House Disaster Movie in D.C. – The Washington Examiner, March 13, 2013

What makes an iconic action star and award-winning director “seriously” nervous? Showing “Olympus Has Fallen,” a movie about terrorists occupying the White House, to a District audience…

Oscar Envelope Made Cross-Country Journey to D.C. – The Washington Examiner, Feb. 25, 2013

It was a long, long journey to the capital city for the envelope Michelle Obama opened live from the White House to announce the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture…

Pinning Politics – The Hill, March 20, 2013

After GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney made a campaign stop in Rosemont, Ill., a few locals logged onto Pinterest to interact with event photos that Ann Romney, a fellow Pinterest member, had posted…

Migrating Ministry – Christianity Today, May 11, 2011

On a hot summer sunday morning, 30 people gather in a small apartment in Austin, Texas. Primarily refugees from Bhutan and Nepal, they range in age from 3 to 106. Some arrived in the U.S. 10 days ago. All leave their shoes in a pile by the door. They begin by singing an enthusiastic chorus of Kati Mahan—”How Great Thou Art,” in Nepalese—from a handwritten folder of songs…