Stem-Cell Follow Up

This article is an interesting follow up on the breakthrough on the stem-cell research. That's all. Here's an excerpt, but the whole thing is worth reading:

Bush got it right. Not because he necessarily drew the line in the right place.
I have long argued that a better line might have been drawn -- between using
doomed and discarded fertility-clinic embryos created originally for
reproduction (permitted) and using embryos created solely to be disassembled for
their parts, as in research cloning (prohibited). But what Bush got right was to
insist, in the face of enormous popular and scientific opposition, on drawing a
line at all, on requiring that scientific imperative be balanced by moral
considerations.

Patrick Henry Hughes

This story is really, really amazing.

God Is Not Great?

Christopher Hitchens is an athiest. He wrote this article on why Mitt Romney needs to address his religion during the campaign for the Republican nomination. I didn't even bother reading the whole article through and that is mostly because the piece is just so condescending. He also wrote this piece comparing Muslims to Mormons. On another blog, I found the following comment from one of the readers:

For a man who labels Mother Teresa “a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud” I would expect nothing better in his treatment of Joseph Smith. I’d forgotten about that one. He also said “I can’t stand anyone who believes in God, who invokes the divinity or who is a person of faith.” Christopher Hitchens is an extraordinarily brilliant, arrogant, publicity-seeking bomb-thrower. He’s a contrarian to his very core, which is almost certainly connected to his arrogance. The person he most reminds me of is an old acquaintance of mine who used to be an extreme archconservative racist who later became an extreme, radical left Unitarian. He hasn’t really changed his nature - he’s still an extremist, he’s just switched extremes. That seems to me to describe Hitchens perfectly.

Here is some background information on him. I thought I recognized the name when I started reading the first article. Maybe you have or haven't heard this book, but he wrote the popular God Is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything. I heard a radio interview with him on Hugh Hewitt and I meant to actually post about that when I first heard it about a month ago.

The following video is a debate between him and a Christian, Dinesh D'Souza that occurred recently. This is an article by D'Souza in anticipation of the debate.



Personally, I don't care for the guy. I think he is a moron. I think it's also just side-stepping to say that religion is the root cause of the world's atrocities. It just doesn't seem to fair to blame an institution for horrible acts that individual members commit. I think a person who identifies himself with an organized religion is just expressing his own particular brand of faith. However, people who do not ever declare themselves a member of such and such church still have their own type of religion, or at the very least a core belief system that guides their actions and behavior. Religion is just the formalized expression of the person's beliefs, but people who do not associate themselves with a particular church still have ideas that they hold dear. There is a church of environmentalism, capitalism, liberalism, conservatism, and just about any other -ism that you could ever think of. Adhering to the principles and ideals of these different movements constitutes a religion just as much as joining the LDS church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, or any other church.

I think the biggest problem with people who are anti-religion, anti-church, and particularly anti-Mormons ignore the fruits of the lives of the people who follow those tenets. While serving in Chile one thought that constantly ran through my mind was that if any of the people we were visiting had any idea at all about how selfless it is to be out there preaching on your own time and your own dime, then they would literally flock to join or at least listen to our message. I didn't go out to a foreign country and preach in every type of weather imaginable, face sometimes intensely negative reactions, but at the very least constant rejection because I'm just looking for a new adventure. I served a mission to teach people a better way of life that either prevents people from making the most tragic mistakes, or helps them to cope with life's greatest challenges.

So when a person like Christopher Hitchens denigrates and ridicules these things that I hold so close to my heart without careful and thoughtful scrutiny, I tend to disregard his arguments.

Tidbits

Have you all heard about the Golden Compass? I got an email a little while ago about it, and I think I've forwarded it on to most of you, if not all of you. Interested in some reading? Here is a piece from the BBC about it. Here is some commentary on it. I like the commentary piece, as I believe it gives some good insight as to why it's good to not necessarily avoid everything that might challenge our faith(s). Having said that, I still think that there is a certain amount of caution to take when learning/reading about things that conflict with our own worldviews.

I think the bigger point to make with this particular movie/book is that it goes right back to the idea that everything comes with a message attached to it. Sometimes they are entirely devoid of subtlety, and other times the ideas being communicated are wholly subversive. And that's where it gets really dangerous. I haven't read this book and don't really know anything about the story, but I think that's an important issue to carefully examine when you're going to ingest entertainment like that. I think the most awful part about Pullman's (author of the Golden Compass) retort to the Catholic League's call for a boycott of his work is that he passes the story off as just a story. I think that kind of statement should raise warning flags. When is a movie ever just a movie? Or a book just about made up people? There is definitely a message being communicated by every author, director, actor, and story-teller, and it is both naive and dangerous to think that nothing more is being delivered than just a story.

In listening to some talk radio this afternoon, one of my favorite hosts, Michael Medved, has a day dedicated each week to conspiracy theories. Today he was talking about the JFK assassination since we recently passed the anniversary of said event. I heard something that I've never known about in my entire life. Did you know Lee Harvey Oswald was a communist? Like a hard-core one at that. He talked about how conclusive the evidence is that Oswald was the lone gunman that fateful day and how nobody ever brings up that point in the discussion of the assassination. He essentially declared that the reason Oswald killed Kennedy was simply because he was a full-fledged communist who didn't like Kennedy's foreign policy, and was particularly irked about US attempts to depose Fidel Castro from power. For more information regarding Oswald's political affiliations, just visit his wikipedia page here.

Over the weekend I blew through the first Harry Potter book in two days. I bought all of the rest yesterday. I haven't read a children's/teen book since I was a child/teen. It's such easy reading, but I think really entertaining. I was mildly interested after the first movie, but I think with every subsequent film, the story gets much more developed and much more interesting and entertaining. I also finally finished that other book, Progress Paradox, a little while ago. I've got a post coming for that one, but it's gonna take me some time so be patient.

And lastly...my Raiders won on Sunday. It was quite a statement game and one that could prove to give them something to build on for next season. Kiffin did a masterful job managing the game and taking it to the Chiefs. They ended a lot of dubious streaks that day. Here's an article. I can't tell you how much satisfaction I get when my teams do well.

More Presidential Polls

This story comes to us from the Washington Post. It shows the declining support that Clinton has been receiving lately, or not receiving. She is trailing all five of the major Republican candidates. Obama and Edwards still have strong showings against the GOP, but Clinton is losing confidence fast from the general public.

Choose Your (Gr)Attitude

I'm all about alliteration the last couple of days. Yesterday was Sushi Saturday. It was great of course. I don't know what happened to me in the last year, but all of the sudden I'm just fearless when it comes to eating raw seafood. And I freaking love it. I really believe that there needs to be a certain level of adventure mode when it comes to food. How about a for instance?

For instance, last Tuesday I went out to lunch with a couple of friends. I didn't know what I felt like eating, but I wasn't feeling so much Daphne's Greek Cafe for lunch. However, I really strongly believe that if someone is going to be the limiting party when it comes to eating out (i.e. you're being picky), then you should be providing a list of alternatives. Being that I didn't have any other suggestions, I acquiesced and consented to eating at Daphne's. And it turned out to be the perfect meal. I couldn't have been more pleased about my meal that day. Seriously, just deciding that you're going to make the best of your situation makes all the difference in the world as to how pleasant it is to be around you, and also how much you end up enjoying whatever it is that you're doing/eating. Adventure mode works on so many levels.

As a follow up to the Mothers Who Know post, while in Welfare meeting this morning with the Branch Presidency, the High Councilman assigned to our branch mentioned that the First Presidency decreed that all stakes and wards should put a special emphasis on that particular talk in their local congregations. Apparently, that was a talk that was carefully concocted in conjunction with the aid of the First Presidency, and not something Sister Beck just decided to do on a whim. I LOVE that the church is so responsive. So how about a big in your face to all those people who signed that petition?

Tonight we had a super fireside and Mary Ellen Edmunds was the guest speaker. I can't tell you all just how much I adore her. Before tonight, I've only read her book You Can Never Have Enough Of What You Don't Need and a couple of other talks, but I just love everything that I've come across penned by her. The subject of her talk largely follows what she wrote in the book that I just mentioned.

Sister Edmunds is an utter delight. She speaks and writes the exact same way and it's just so plain and genuine. I just love her. She made the point that joy doesn't usually precede gratitude, it usually follows it. Then she listed off 25 items that the audience should be able to answer yes or no to:

1. I have electricity where I live


2. I've noticed something beautiful in the weather or the world where I live, in the last 24 hours


3. I am a child of God


4. I have enough to eat


5. I have forgiven someone in the past year


6. I can read


7. I voted for the plan of salvation


8. I have laughed in the last 24 hours


9. I can think of 10 people who know me well, and who love me very much


10. I have witnessed a miracle in the last year


11. I live within a few hours of a temple


12. I have a bed


13. I have experienced sacrifice in the last year


14. At least 10 things have been invented during my lifetime that I either use often, or love having


15. I have communicated with God in the last 24 hours


16. There is something that I am currently looking forward to


17. My family has at least 5 traditions that I appreciate


18. I don't have to boil my drinking water


19. I've said a prayer in the last week only giving thanks and not asking for anything


20. I know at least several of the following acronyms (she lists off a bunch, but here are a few) - LDS, BYU, MIA, USC, FBI, LDSS, CES, UCLA, CIA...E-I-E-I-O...she threw in a ton of cute jokes. And then would giggle hysterically. You'd love her to if you saw her.


21. ...I don't know this one...


22. There is at least one thing that I do well


23. Within the past week I've had a wonderful experience reading the scriptures


24. I've said or done something kind for someone in the last week


25. Jesus is my Savior.

If you can say yes to all 25 items, then you should be well on your way to being grateful. She shared several stories of times where she has lived in destitute places. I won't really go into that. I'm just going to bullet point other ideas she brought up:

• So often thoughts on gratitude can really be just summed up as a theory of relativity


• From President Kimball - We need to view our own wants in light of others needs


• From another Church President, something to the effect of, The key to happiness is not so much in wanting, but being...as in being content with the things allotted unto us.


• Cultivate a spirit of gladness in your homes - and then she joked, but I only have an apartment, or a studio, or insert any number of things that we don't have


• We spend money we don't have to impress people we don't like, who never end up coming over anyway


• You can never get enough of what you don't need (from the book, obviously)


• Wanting less is a better blessing than having more (also from the book, not so obviously)


• Live simply so that others may simply live


• Appreciate more than you expect

And then two requests by the good sister -thank Heavenly Father for something that you've forgotten about in your daily prayers, and find some course corrections from the previous General Conference.

You know what I think is so interesting? About a year ago I went through a phase of just wanting so much. I would go to sales and I would totally covet things. It's so unflattering to admit this now, but I really did. I wanted a big TV, furniture, and all of these things to put in a place that I don't even have. Dave can totally verify this because I'd send him texts letting him know that this or that was going on, and what amazing deals there were. And I don't know what has happened in the last couple of months, but I really could care less about all of that stuff. I mean really truly. I really have no idea what the catalyst was in my change of heart, but I'm grateful to not be in that place because it really did get me nowhere. It only caused me to feel anxiety about what things I didn't have, and discontent with the things that I did have. Maybe it was just reading that book. I really don't know.

Are there things that you want that are making you be an ungrateful person? Do you want a bigger television? Your own home? Maybe a new car? Or maybe you have these things but you want bigger and better. So often we just get into this trap where we feel like if only we had this or that, then we could be happy. Do you really think that's the case? I got a new car last year and I really thought that was what I needed. Granted, I am grateful not to be driving a bright red beetle anymore, but at the same time...my quality of life really has not improved one bit. And I've thought much more often about how nice it would be to not have a car payment than that I like this car that much more than the last one. Even that hyper-feminine car that I used to have.

I know that I have a long way to go with respect to all of this. I am just grateful that when I look back, I can know that I'm at least a little better off then I was a year ago at this time. Sometimes we don't realize that we really are making progress, even if it feels so small at times. In writing this post, it makes me think of the last lines of this Robert Frost poem. Take what you will from it:

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Me again. I do have miles to go before I sleep. Don't you love poetry? Anyway...sorry if you've checked here and I haven't updated the blog. It's not for lack of ideas, just lack of time. I'll be good this week. But really, truly consider those things. I think with the holiday season it is really inspiring me to want to get outside of myself more. I hope we can all make those course corrections that would make us a better people. Goodnight.

Thanksgivings

There are so many things for which to be thankful. I'm thankful that the Angels landed a huge free agent fish in Tori Hunter. This is a huge free agenet acquisition, and frankly, a really surprising one. They have Gary Matthews Jr. set in center, but I guess they are going to split Anderson and Guerrero in the DH spot, which is probably a good idea considering all the bumps and bruises they have been getting the last couple of years.

I am thankful that Thanksgiving is a holiday for just that - giving thanks - and not a national day of mourning as some people in Seattle might want it to be. I am grateful for a President who is so unapologetic in his faith and is guided by his conscience, and not what is popular (this is a little bit of a departure from the theme of this post, but a riveting article on the latest discovery with stem cell research and how Bush's policy of encouraging ethical scientific advancement is really paying off). Here is an excerpt from his Thanksgiving proclamation:

Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found.
Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.

While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.

This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.

I am grateful that I live in a Republican stronghold in Orange County and am not privy to the myriad of grossly offensive bumper stickers that grace our nation's liberal automobiles. Bumper stickers with such catch phrases as, "So Many Right-wing Christians, So Few Lions," or the equally tasteless, "Jesus loves me, but I make him wear a condom." It hurts me to even put those words in print, but that is the kind of vile propaganda that is spewed regularly from people on the left. I don't care that my view on this is totally partial, but the kind of comments that liberals make about conservatives is so malicious. It does not even come close to what goes in the other direction from conservatives to liberals. Those kinds of things are just so completely offensive and I would never even dream of saying something so virulent about anybody, even if I completely disagree with said person on the most fundamental and personal of issues.



I am grateful for a safe and free country in which to live. I'm grateful for those people who fight to protect our way of life. Would you like to show some support? Visit the website Military Community Relations. It can even be as simple as just sending a text message to those people who are overseas. Visit the website for more details. Another great one is Soldier's Angels. At this particular site you can "adopt" a soldier and you commit to sending a letter or card each week, and then a package or two a month for the duration of a soldier's tour of duty, which can be anywhere from 6 months to a year. If that seems like a lot, team up with another person or family and show your appreciation that way. Or you can always send donations. Not interested in helping the soldiers? For something of a different ilk, how about just helping to make someone's holidays a little bit brighter? This is one website where you can adopt a family, sponsor a stocking, or volunteer your time. If we aren't doing something already, let's make this holiday season the time we can point back to when we're old and say that this is where I began my lifetime of helping others.



Above all, I'm grateful for my family and friends. I'm grateful for the gospel. I'm grateful for the life I lead. I hope we all have the happiest of Thanksgivings.

Mothers Who Know

Here is a link to the talk given by Sister Julie Beck, the General Relief Society President, at the most recent General Conference of the church this past October. What was your reaction when you read this talk or heard it given at Conference? Did you react like some of these women did? For some more reaction, check out this blog post and the comments that follow. And finally, for the actual online rebuttal visit this site, here.

In speaking with a couple of friends about this, they had some pretty good reactions. One noted that it does not depart at all from previous council given by other authorities of the church. Another mentioned that those people who signed the petition are probably asking to be the subject of a church disciplinary council. In looking over the manifesto put forth by "women who know", it reads as if they feel like their points of contention and the talk given by Sister Beck are mutually exclusive. They are not. Not by any means.

What I find most disconcerting about this petition that is being circulated by these people is that it feels like what they are most upset about are the things that weren't said: that Sister Beck didn't talk about fathers and their role at all, or the extenuating circumstances that might pull a mother away from childrearing or homemaking. That's like getting upset after reading or seeing Harry Potter that it wasn't more focused on Dumbledore and his story. That is not the subject of her talk! I'm sorry.

The talk was directed toward mothers and the primary role of women. And just like a talk about raising the bar is going to directed exclusively toward prospective missionaries, her talk about motherhood is going to be directed exclusively at women. And it is a 15-20 minute talk, not a fully explicating treatise on being a parent in the church.

I don't think that Sister Beck would really dispute the bold points from the online petition. Maybe the explanations that follow, but those issues brought up in petition are not so far off base. They are, however, misguided in thinking that the drafted document serves as a direct retort to the talk that she gave. What really seems to be at issue is whether or not these people trust in the council given by a recognized authority within the church. Are their tents pitched toward the temple and yearning for the guidance of their leaders? Are they quick to observe, as Elder Bednar has noted, meaning that they are both quick to hear and heed the councils that they are given? Or are they among the crowd of people who reject Alma and his teachings because he no longer has any legal authority over them? I believe that part of the rumblings that have occurred with these people is due to the fact that she is not the Prophet or among the 12, and because she's a woman and her teachings don't hold the same level of clout in their minds.

I close with a quote that comes courtesy of President Harold B. Lee:

You may not like what comes from the authority of the church. It may contradict your political view. It may contradict your social view. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you will listen to these things as if from the mouth of the Lord himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea and the Lord God will depserse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good and his names glory. (D&C 21:61)”

Clinton Sliding

I think this is probably for Greg because he's the only one whoever asks about this stuff, but Hillary has been taking some heavy hits the last month or so with her campaign. At one point she had a double digit lead over the other candidates in the Iowa polls, but more recently the tide has shifted in favor of Obama. Here is the Foxnews story. This is some commentary from the guys at Powerline. Most importantly, Obama's lead in Iowa is outside the margin of error for the poll. That means essentially that the favor towards Barack is statistically significant, which is huge. What's even more important is that she is now having a poor showing versus the Republican candidates, Giuliani in particular. Even against Romney and Thompson.

Take that Seth!

The Guy On Ask A Mormon

I thought this was kind of interesting...Would you like to meet the guy from "Ask A Mormon" that was on KROQ this morning? After looking at my site stuff this morning I began wondering how people were getting led to my blog and that's where I found this. I found that he's part of a forum for ex-members. Here is his profile. This is where he talks about getting the call to do the radio show. Maybe he'll do us a favor and make an appearance. It's very possible that the anonymous comment on the other post is him. For an ex-mormon forum, I would've thought there would been more. I don't know of what, just more. But I didn't do an extensive search.

Now knowing his background, I'm surprised he didn't say anything worse. I don't know if that's good or bad, but whatever.

This is an important note - I didn't link to the ex-mormon site or to his profile so that people could follow the link and leave angry comments or posts or whatever. It's purely informational. I wonder what the catalyst was in his deciding to leave the church. I'll close with a quaint little saying that I think applies to a lot of former members - if you leave the church, why don't you leave it alone?

I would think that for a lot of those people they don't want to be contacted by current members trying to convince them to try and come back to the church, so why would they try and force their own anti-church views on anybody else? Again, this guy wasn't that bad. I'm just speaking generally. It just strikes me as a little strange.

I'm Too Sexy For...Southwest

You all heard about the girl who couldn't get on her flight because her outfit was deemed "too sexy," right? I think the Southwest people overstepped their bounds when they asked her to change her outfit. When you see it, I would agree that it is revealing, but that's not something that is specified as a requisite for being able to fly. However, I do have an issue with her attitude toward posing in Playboy. One article can be found here, but I'll leave an excerpt and see what you think about it:

Ebbert worked at a Hooters in San Diego but said wants to become an attorney,
and doesn’t think posing nude should get in the way of her professional
aspirations.

“This was beautiful and classy. I don’t see why it would
affect a professional position,” she said. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

I meant to post about this subject way back when I first started this blog, just about female sexuality in general. The topic then was spurred by Amanda Beard's decision to pose nude for Playboy, also. How is it that they don't see anything wrong with posing nude? You do no favors for the female gender by allowing yourself to be objectified by men. That's the bottom line when it comes to those kinds of things.

A particularly wonderful researcher, Dr. Judith Reisman, has studied and written much on the topic of media and sexuality. I would highly encourage you to visit that website and read some of her stuff. It's really interesting and really eye-opening as well.

Ask A Mormon

Did you hear it this morning? It was on pretty early. When I started on my way to work at 7:30 this morning, the "mormon" guy was on KROQ this morning explaining the church. The problem was, he was a former member of the church. A lot of his answers struck me as odd, and then after the interview they mentioned that he was a former member of the church and that's when it all started to make more sense.

What seemed the most unsettling about his interview was that Kevin and Bean and all the people on the morning show seemed to be more sympathetic to the church than this guy was. And it wasn't overt, but pretty subtle. For example, they asked him about black people in the church and whether or not they're allowed in the church, or to intermarry and he referenced some obscure Brigham Young quote (of course, right?), and then talked about how the revelation on the priesthood came about only because of external cultural influences.

I know that as members often we are overly sensitive about people talking about the church in general as it is. However, that has to just be the result of many slanted, and unflattering perspectives and ideas that people get from biased sources. I just hate that.

There is something about people who operate on the fringe that just doesn't sit right with me. Especially when it comes to things about the church. When a person starts referencing obscure and asynchronous quotes and teachings, then that should be a warning flag that what they have to say is out of the mainstream thought, and therefore, irrelevant. I think I should write a letter. Check out the podcast by going to KROQ, Kevin and Bean, then podcasts for the show for today, November 16th, when they post it.

***UPDATE***

I caught the end of the show and they mentioned that many members responded, upset that they didn't ask a current member of the church. They deliberately sought out a non-member so that the person would be more willing to open up about the more "secretive" stuff. At that point I realized that you can't really get too upset about something like this. It's a morning show whose main point is to try and draw in listeners and elicit responses from the people, so what can you really expect? And so much of what they do is irreverent and aimed at shock anyway, that you just can't expect to get some temple-worthy member who is going to properly defend and promote the church on that show.

Tidbits

I wonder how many different words can I use for the same type of post, which is essentially just a collection of thoughts and various things from around my world.

A couple of things that I'm jumping on way late. Jimmy Eat World. The first time I heard about them I was talking with Elder Ashby, one of our traveling APs, in my mission back in 2000. We were talking about music from home and then we kind of got into how we wouldn't be going to concerts anymore (ha!) and toning down our tastes and he was telling me about this new genre of music called "emo." And then he mentioned this one band that was pretty good, and he predicted that they were going to be really big - Jimmy Eat World. Sonofagun was right. The other thing is Google411 and the SMS service. I remember seeing that this came out a year or two ago, but didn't realize just how useful it would be. I should've known to just trust the Google product. But you can text for information to Google, and you can get movie times, sports, tons of stuff. It's so great. I just keep wondering to myself, where was I while these things were going on? What was I wasting my time with? I'm sure there are a hundred other things that have been around for years that I should adopt that I've yet to even hear about.

Do you guys read good writing regularly? I don't mean just good, but I mean good writing. I love Jay Nordlinger. I love the conservative voice. It's refined, moral, and in-tune. But of course I would feel that way. I'm just always so impressed with ideas and the fluency of ideas and proferring cogent thoughts through the written form. One person I know always used to talk about the Federalist papers and how every American should be familiar with those writings because those pieces essentially spurred America toward ratifying the constitution.

In Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card has the two main characters gaining worldwide influence as children through the medium of what they called the "nets." They help guide the world and the people look forward to their ideas through their writings and this provides the framework under which major leaders would make their major decisions. I thought that was cool because he wrote that back in 1986, before anybody really new anything about the internet. But that just gets back to my point that so much of the world moves because of ideas and the proliferation of information, which so often comes from writing.

I guess I just wonder how often we expose ourselves to those all so important ideas that people express through their writings. Or even through various forms of media like art, music, and movies, etc. Do we really seek out the best books? I wish I did more. It's important though. The wheels of the world are turning based on these ideas.

Do you know the artist for the painting? It should be very familiar. It is Norman Rockwell's Breaking Home Ties. Anyway...I wish I had more time to spruce up this post, but I should get back to work.

More Links!

These are on a variety of subjects. I was reading the Conference edition of the most recent Ensign last night while my Branch President was doing some interviews when a sister in my branch pointed out that it contains President Faust's talk that he had written in anticipation of General Conference. To read it, click here. These are his words from the grave. It's a good message, one that many people probably need to hear.

Another church related link you ask? How about a short piece from a Sports Illustrated article that is pretty old, but interesting. It's about Danny Ainge and why he resigned from his job as coach of the Phoenix Suns.

How about some information on global warming. Pretty interesting stuff.

I'm so conservative in my views it's not even funny. I wonder how many of you read this blog and think, "he's so wrong." You're entitled to your opinion. I had a religion professor explain it this way - you think I'm weird because I believe in such and such, and I think you're weird because you believe the opposite, it doesn't have to escalate more than that. And it really doesn't. I just really believe in the disemination of information, and I think these are important things to consider.

I'm so baffled by all the negativity from Dems regarding the war. The surge worked. There is less violence and more cooperation from the Iraqi people. They're meeting the benchmarks, not all of them, but enough to justify continuing the battle. The fact that you don't hear about the number of dead soldiers anymore should be significant, because it's news in the sense that it's not worth it for them to talk about it anymore. Why? Because it highlights the fact that there has been a dramatic shift in momentum in our favor. Anyway...here is some commentary by Hugh on the subject of the Democratic agenda.

I feel like a lot of this stuff is of no interest to a lot of my readers. I wish that weren't the case. But I'll be posting on some more fun stuff later. Peace.

Some Articles

I thought this article was interesting that comes to us courtesy of Dennis Prager. It's about how a particular article in a popular pop culture magazine, Rolling Stone, and how it illustrates a lot of the mentality of the left in America.

And here are some links about the GOP presidential candidates. Mostly Giuliani. This one is a blog entry by Hugh Hewitt talking about his courage. Also from Hugh, he looks at how blogs have reshaped the battle for supremacy amongst candidates. From Powerline, they look at Giuliani's path toward the nomination. And another from Hugh about Clinton's gaffe at one of the recent Democratic nominee debates.

I was talking with a friend yesterday about the elections a little bit - how it's looking amonst the GOP candidates, GOP vs. Dems, etc. The polls all reflect so many different things, it's really hard to say. Plus it's so far out, and it's a completely different dynamic once the candidates are actually chosen for each party. One thing that does seem apparent is that it does seem that Hillary lost a lot of momentum by supporting the New York Governor's recent proposal to give all NY drivers licenses, even illegal ones. In the Iowa primary she only leads by 6% over Obama. That used to be up around 15%. If she loses that one, then she is dun-fer.

I don't think I've mentioned on here which way I'm leaning. I think I'm all for Romney, but more importantly, I'm for whoever can win versus the Clinton Machine. If that's Giuliani, then so be it. He is charismatic, has a great hardline stance in his foreign policy, and has had a great track record overall. I think he could draw more moderate votes and liberal leaning people away from Clinton than Romney ever could. Plus, several Justices will probably need to be replaced in the next term or two and having a liberal in office could be devastating for all of the progress that was made with Bush's nominations to the Supreme Court. Something interesting for some people to look at - not just how Evangelical Christians react to Romney, but how hard, left-leaning people would react toward him.

An additional important factor that is in favor of the GOP is that there appears to be no third party independent candidate running in the background. This profoundly altered the playing field in favor of Clinton in both of his elections with Perot, and then Robertson running in '92 and '96. That's about all I know.

Why Is Heroes Ending So Early?

I was wondering that last night after the episode finished and then it said that there were 3 episodes left. Last season it went on like a 2 month hiatus and so I thought that maybe that would be the case this season as well, and maybe that is what they were alluding to. Turns out that was the original intention of the writers. However, external factors are bringing the season to an early close.

Yup, the writers' strike. I didn't think I would be so affected by it, but they hit me where it hurts most. My most beloved show is going to premier the season finale December 3rd due to the strike. Apparently they were slated for 24 episodes this season, much like last season. However, up until the strike they had only shot 11 of the 24 shows. The 11th is an alternate ending. You can read more about it here.

This is a dark, dark day in Mudville my friends. Let's have a group fast that the strike will end and disaster will be averted.

Hotels

But hotel rooms are just naturally creepy places, don't you think? I mean, how many people have slept in that bed before you? How many of them were sick? How many were losing their minds? How many were perhaps thinking about reading a few final verses from the Bible in the drawer of the nightstand beside them and then hanging themselves in the closet beside the TV? Brrrr. In any case, let's check in, shall we? Here's your key... and you might take time to notice what those four innocent numbers add up to. It's just down the hall.

Like I said before, I'm by myself now. And since I saw 1408 back in the beginning of the summer, I haven't been at a hotel, let alone by myself. And they really are naturally creepy places. I'm sitting in a room with a table where my laptop overlooks the TV, the bed, and a chair set off to the side with a lamp perched above it. The hallway is dimly lit with faint, etched patterns in the walls. Two paintings grace my room with nature scenes.

What I think I like the least is that on the TV there are cable channels and since I've been home after seeing the movie there has been a lot of trashy television. To be perfectly honest, I just want to flip through the channels and not really have to be on guard, but I have no choice. The first menu that greets me when the television comes on is a TV On Demand menu that has unrated TV shows like Jerry Springer and Blind Date. Below that is Adult Programming.

A brief aside...I can't remember where I read it, but someone wrote that as a child when she saw the label "adult literature," she thought it meant that the entire book or magazine had only words in it. Then she grew up to find out that it was quite the contrary.

So I skip those options and flip through the channels and instead of movies playing on cable TV which was all I really wanted, it's television shows. Rather than any kind of real quality, all of them feature a lot of nudity and sexual content. One of them is even about a serial killer. Is this really what we call "entertainment"?

Whenever I hear in priesthood meetings about all the rules the brethren should follow to protect themselves, my first reaction is to think to myself, lame. But I end up adopting most of them and now I'm really grateful that I have a filter on my computer, and that the parental controls are activated on the TVs at home. It's nice to not have to be on guard when all I want is a little diversion. It's just the diversion from the daily grind that I want, not my moral values. It helps also that I only watch a few television shows and pretty much only sports.

Ladies, it really is a battle for us guys. I hope you realize the lengths we have to go to insulate ourselves these kinds of influences. Even the good guys have to consciously fight that battle. And don't think that you're guy is above that influence, because none of us are.

Hotels are naturally creepy places, but not really for the reasons that Stephen King brings up. Although I'm sure that could be one consideration. What's creepy is that for a lot of guys what they leave behind is not just home, but their inhibitions.

Dan In Real Life

So I'm up in Northern California until Friday doing some training for work. I have had one real conversation with another person in the last 8 hours and it's pretty weird to live such a solitary lifestyle, let me tell you. I'm in a pretty convenient location though. There is a mall right across the street, and the movie took a little searching, but it's not too far away.

It was nice. I don't think it was great. I don't know why so many people hate Dane Cook. I still think a lot of his standup stuff is funny, but his character was pretty cheesy in the movie. The movie itself tells a nice story. I don't know a better way to put it. It will make you laugh, cringe, and really feel at different points throughout the movie. Does it do any of those exceptionally well? I don't really think so, but it's worth watching. It's a little romanticized for him to go so overboard for someone he met briefly at a bookstore. And then a person with his supposed level of morality wouldn't even consider pursuing what he does. But I do like Steve Carrell a lot and he can be funny, endearing, and real all at once. That's all I have to say about that.

Lars And The Real Girl

I saw this last night. This is a really sweet, sweet movie. It is so great how the whole town seems to rally around this guy. I love the portrayal of all the people and just how overwhelmingly kind and selfless they are in how they treat Lars, and the doll. It really is touching. At first I wanted a little bit more development with why Lars started having his difficulties, but I think it was vague on that front on purpose. And besides, that's not the story that it's trying to tell. I think a lot of times when we watch movies we get caught up in what it is that we think the story should be doing when it's really not our ideas that are being conveyed - it's the director, or the writer, or the combination of all the people that are involved in the production. The intended ambiguity on those different issues allows the audience to draw their own conclusion. I think we get caught up in the trap of wanting everything laid out when sometimes it's really just good to leave those things up to the interpretation of the individual. It is definitely worth seeing. I thought the sister-in-law stole the show.

Speaking Of Transformations...

Some thoughts from this weekeend:

• I have a really good time dancing, but I think it's funny how it kind of takes a second to warmup and really get into it. You know what I mean? It's almost like it takes at least a few minutes for you to get out of that self-conscious phase where you feel like people are watching you to not really caring. I've decided that this is why dancing is so common with bars, or that drinking is such a part of the club scene. It really does require you to be in a particular state of mind to wiggle your body to songs with pulsating rhythms and not feel like other people are watching you because even at a club or bar with dancing, about half the people are still standing around, which leads me to my next thought...
• Mormons are so goofy. When you go to a church dance, this is why so much of the dancing is just plain old dorky, because we dance without inhibition a lot of time and because there is no chemical influence there with us, there has to be a couple of things unique to the person that allows him/her to get out on the dance floor and not feel dumb: the person has to just flat out not care, or be a good dancer. It's actually pretty rare that people really know what they're doing when it comes to dancing so mostly it comes down to them not caring.
• With all of the warmup stuff in mind, I love that oftentimes it just takes a particular song to jumpstart a person and get that person in the mood to get jiggy with it. Back in high school, that song for me was usually Mo' Money Mo' Problems, or pretty much anything with Diddy. Nowadays for me it's Timbaland's The Way I Are, or JT's My Love. Those songs get me going in a second. I was with Aaron last night and he totally wasn't into it at all for the first 20-30 minutes, but then all of the sudden the right song came on and it was literally like a different person came out. That made me laugh because his entire countenance changed. His facial expression was different, lips were more puckered and he was hitting those beats a lot harder. Sounds kind of weird and gay when I put in details like that, but it's true.
• Certain things come out with people on the dance floor that you would just not ever expect to see. I was with some people recently and there were sides to them that I just wouldn't have ever guessed in a million, ba-gillion, ga-zillion years that they'd ever do on the dance floor, and I love these people to death, but I just would have never seen it coming. Like I was saying with the Halloween stuff in the last post, there are just certain settings that bring different elements of personality out in people that you would never guess or know about. It's so funny to me. I'll thank you ahead of time to not say anything incriminating in the comments section.
• I helped a couple of people move this weekend. There are two things that are cool about that. I have been praying a lot recently to be able to recognize service opportunities as they come up, and then also to have those opportunities come my way and react quickly and without hesitation. Then all of the sudden I have a free weekend and these things came up at really what couldn't have been a more perfect time for me. The other thing I'm grateful about is that I'm glad that someone who is in a pinch can think of me as a person that they can count on as being one who would respond willingly. We had a really great lesson today in Elders Quorum basically on D&C 58:26-28 and the crux of the lesson was basically being anxiously engaged and looking for those opportunities to serve. I know I haven't always been the most willing in the past, so it's good to get practice at that stuff. And on top of all that, it's nice to know that God would be so mindful of me in my prayers.

Halloween

I know that I've been slow these days with getting these things up, but here are some pics from Halloween. I loved this costume for many reasons. I think accessories really do make the costume. You can have a good basic idea, but then if you are lacking in those little pieces here and there, then you really fail to sell on the whole thing. Halloween is really about making that whole transformation to where you actually become something completely different than you normally are. I loved that when I went to the church dance, most people didn't have any idea who I was until I actually talked with them. My favorite response from somebody was, "who is that gay asian dude?" Yeah, you're right, gay asian PUNK RAWK dude. Am I right? I also loved that I got to apply makeup and it wasn't really weird for me to do so. What was weird was that without any real practice, I was able to so competently apply my own eyeliner and nail polish. What I wasn't as good at was removing the eyeliner before work the next day when I had interviews to do. How many guys out there realize that there are products not only to put that stuff all on your face, but then take it off as well? Give a lot of credit to the ladies. I would never want to put that crap on everyday like they do. But I sure don't mind doing it once a year. Next year I want to do something more involved with makeup. We'll see. I've kind of been wanting to do that every year. I guess replace "kind of" with "always" and that is probably more accurate.

I think it's always so interesting what different sides of people come out in different settings. I was reflecting the other day about whether or not I've always been so into Halloween and I really don't think this was always the case. I don't even remember dressing up at all freshman year at college. Didn't do it all throughout high school. And then I remembered why...which a lot of you already know, but will have to be another post for another day. I think I had a Halloween rebirth the second year back from the mission, when Dave and I decided to go as vatos. That gave us authority to be in character the whole evening, using our finely honed mexican accents, and also swear a little bit. It was so much fun. Not the bad swear words, but some. That stuff can be really hilarious when you're not accustomed to it. I should post the pictures from those other years, but that would require some digging. That was before the digital camera days, at least for me.

This was a fun Halloween. Probably not as many scary movies as I would have liked, but still very fun nonetheless. And if you'll notice I went with a really cute pirate. I started the night going with Aaron over to a pre-party dinner that featured Halloween themed food - orange pasta with sauce that was dyed purple and looked completely unappetizing. Sometimes the aesthetics really do matter with that stuff, because in reality it tasted fine, but my mind told me that it was 'okay' at best. Then it was off to a pretty tame party, but there were a lot of decent people there. Nothing too scandalous so that was nice. I've already been thinking of some costume ideas for next year. This has been my modus operandi (or operandus?) the past couple of years. Anyway, I hope everyone had a really enjoyable Halloween, and now we still got some very good stuff ahead of us - Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Trick Or Treat?

So at work we have this really funny Vietnamese lady in A/P department. She is the source of so much unintentional comedy. It's really amazing the stuff that she comes up with. To give you just a taste of what she is like, I'll tell you this:

• We once had a microwave that super-heated all the food in the kitchen and one time it burned popcorn. The smell was so bad that the microwave had to be removed from the kitchen and was completely discarded. Not wanting to pass up on a perfectly good microwave, she took it home. Rather than think that it was left outside the backdoor because it was unusable, she took it home, tried it, and then returned to work the next day complaining that it smelled like burnt popcorn.
• People will often leave unwanted snacks or things they just want to share with the entire office in the kitchen. One time it was dozens of bags of little airplane peanuts. She was seen later that day hoarding those peanuts.
• She used to take the cold sodas in the refrigerator that are for the entire office and then hold them to her bare-skin on her forehead, her neck, and then couldn't understand why people would complain about it because she would put them back in the fridge so that they could be used. After all, you don't drink the outside of the can, right?
• For birthday celebrations we get breakfast burritos for the entire office on one day out of the month. She will take any excess burritos, usually being at least several.

So this lady is pretty much a riot, but the best part is that she is completely oblivious to her normal behavior being completely absurd. Come Thursday, the day after Halloween, I overheard some coworkers mention that this same lady trick or treats. Yes, she's older, in her later 40s. And she goes trick or treating with her Auntie, who is about 56. The following is an account of her conversation with one of two of my favorite people in the office, Becky. Here goes:

Kathy’s Halloween was tragic and she has a small cut on her lip that “hurts a lot”. It hurt so much that she almost was unable to tell me her trick or treating story. Her Aunite is so stupid, because she had a “designer costume”. Auntie was a rainbow ghost. The ghost costume was so beautiful, it “look like wedding dress.” Kathy had to walk behind her auntie and hold the train to the dress. Her auntie wanted to go to this big “rich people’s house” because she wanted good candy. Kathy told her not to go there, because they have big dogs. The big dogs came out and scared kathy’s Auntie, who then knocked Kathy over while trying to get away from the dogs, and Kathy sustained a tragic lip cut. That was only the 4th house they went to, so they only got 3 pieces of candy. Addendum to the story—Auntie climbed a tree to get away from the dogs. They were big black dogs, “twin dogs” cause there were two of them.

The best part about this story is that the lady talking about it has a completely straight face the entire time and the only emotion she's feeling about the whole thing is annoyance at not having been able to get more free candy, and that she cut her lip.

Long Live Halloween

I'll be posting some pics on here later, but I wanted to link on some interesting Halloween articles. Here is one on the alarming trends in costumes that children are seen wearing. This is an op-ed piece that is really a smart indictment on the holiday. Sorry for those of you who have already read these pieces.

There is no doubt that the celebration has gotten evermore slutty and just plain old offensive. A party over in Huntington last night inspired a comment by a girl who just moved down here to say that she couldn't believe that that was a Mormon party. I didn't go to that particular one, but knowing some of the people involved with that party, I have no doubt that it was every bit as trashy as she purported. A good friend of the girl who hosted the party who I know pretty well told me in a brief IM conversation that her costumes were slutty. In the 27 line conversation that we had she described her outfits as "slutty" several times, but it's cool because this is going to be her last one before she receives her endowment in the near future.

This has been a common Dia de Los Muertos/All Saints Day/Post Halloween topic of conversation for many people, I'm sure. There is the joke from the movie Mean Girls that goes, "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it." Quite obviously, this is something that a lot of people talk about and then leave alone until next Dia de Los Muertos/All Saints Day/Post Halloween when we're all somehow shock/surprised/appalled about the kinds of costumes that people don on this most wonderful of holidays.

This got me thinking about the question of who is at fault with this trend - is it the manufacturers who target ever younger consumers? or the people buying the products? Basically, the people supplying or those who are demanding it? Although manufacturers should be responsible and sensible in the decision making that goes into what they produce, it seems that it would behoove us, the consumers, to curb our own demand for such products. It starts with ourselves, and then projects to those who are within the immediate sphere of our influence, i.e. families, friends, etc.

I think this is a similar problem to pornography and its distribution. There is only so much you can do to stifle the supply, but in the end some idiot is always going to be dumb and just go for the profits. In any case, if you limit the supply then you artificially create a scarcity and the equilibrium price increases and the incentive to produce goes up as well. So you've got to curb demand, and that means changing the desires of the people. And how does that start? Through your own efforts on a personal level, then your family, friends, etc. I believe the ultimate vehicle for that is the gospel, but that's another topic for another day.

This also got me thinking about my own observance of the prescribed standards of modesty. And like most people, I realize that I can improve in my own response to the burgeoning epidemic of slutty Halloween. It's hard not to compare myself with other people and think, well, I'm better off than that guy/girl, but hopefully I hold myself up to loftier heights than the next guy/girl who can be just as dumb as I can be. I just hate the transition point of realizing that you probably could have made a smarter decision about something and knowing that's probably the right course of action, but your behavioral pattern is still that of the person who wants to do the thing that you just realized you probably should avoid. It's like a tug-of-war between knowing what's right, but still having old habits in place that prevent you from actually following through.

Anyway, have you seen that episode of Scrubs where Dr. Kelso is giving a lecture to Dr. Cox about how sometimes you just have to love the people your friends do because that is just part of the deal? And JD is listening to their conversation and rhetorically asks Dr. Kelso if he really believed in what he was saying, and then answers his own question, and tickles Dr. Kelso and walks away. What's funny about the scene is that they both aren't paying any attention at all to what JD is talking about, and he's off to the side having this big epiphany that only really matters to him, but the observing parties are just indifferent to the realization that he came to. That's kind of how I feel like this post is - I'm JD, and you guys are Cox and Kelso. Not that you don't care, but that I'm just kind of thinking out loud and some of these realizations I'm having aren't as significant to you as they are to me. But I guess that might just be a nice way of saying that really you don't care. Oh well, I tried.