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The Eagle Has Landed

Forty years ago today, Man first walked on the surface of the moon. This is truly an amazing feat, and one which deserves to be celebrated. Since I am an uncontrolable bibliophile, I have a book recommendation for today: Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. (My review can be found HERE) For now, enjoy this restored video of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon (and, as an added bonus, I believe that that is Walter Cronkite in the news broadcast voice over).

We're Back with a Post in Which Bryan Expands His Scope and Shoots Off His Mouth About World Politics and International Elections

And what's our first topic out of the gate? Oh, The Iranian Election and its aftermath you say? Okay then. Lay on Macduff...

A friend of mine recently posted the following status update on Facebook: "[They] thinks that the audacity of Republicans in comparing the results of being a political minority in DC to what is happening currently in the Iranian Revolution just underscores how utterly out of touch they have become with the world at large. How dare you say that you are wondering 'If there is more freedom in the Streets of Iran than in the House today?' You completely disgust me."

Here is my reply to her:

Especially since it is entirely unclear whether or not Ahmedinajab won or not. It is entirely possible that he won legitimately, and that the opposition is simply angry but has no leg to stand on.

Now, I'm not excusing the Ayatollah for cracking down the way he has ... that's inexcusable. Clubbing women and children and threatening "bloodshed" is simply unconscionable.

However, when you get down to brass tacks, the position of President of Iran is merely a token position. The power lies in the hands of the Mullahs and NOT in the President, be it Ahmedinajab or Mousavi or whomever.

Fixed or not, in an Islamic Republic like Iran where the power lies fully in the hands of the Ayatollah and the Mullahs, there is no chance whatsoever that protesting in the streets is going to change an election outcome.

Unfortunately, it's not unlike the problems China had in '89 and the protests in Tiananmen Square. It's been 10 years, and other than an iconic picture, nothing has really changed in China, and that we—the international community—have not learned the lessons of Tiananmen Square.

China still violates human rights, it still censors everything, it still oppresses at every turn.

Protesting in the streets of Toronto or Seattle or NYC or wherever Does. Not. Help. Period.

Does that mean I think we should do nothing? No. But I don't think the Right or the Left getting worked up the way they have solves anything.

President Obama's response(s) have been entirely suitable for me. It is not the United States' role to get involved in (or interfere with) every presidential election that doesn't go the way we "think it should."

People have a right to self-determination. That was in the charter of the League of Nations and it is in the U.N. charter. Now, some may argue that the election in Iran isn't self-determination. But, can we really know that at this stage?

Just because people are protesting in the streets doesn't mean that they lost the election. The same thing happened in the U.S. with the 2000 election. There was protesting because the losing side did not like the outcome.

Granted that it doesn't amount to exactly the same, but the point is still valid, I believe. If Canada or Britain (or for the sake of trying to make a one-to-one argument, say Kim Jong-Il or Saddam Hussein) had intervened because they didn't like that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush and believed that the people protesting in the streets in favor of Gore had been "wronged" and done something ... sent "peacekeepers" or intervened in some way we would have lost it.

There are things that we can do, of course. That's what the Carter Foundation is for, that's what journalism is supposed to be for. But bitching in the streets of an American city does nothing but piss drivers off.

Again, not saying we shouldn't do something it is just that doing things like providing dummy or "phantom" URLs and ISOs to Iranians is something that troubles me because it is interferring in a very dangerous way that borders on outright hostilities.

Yes. We should be promote democracy. Yes. We should help uphold the U.N. charter's assurance of self-determination. But ... I don't think that this is the right fight to fight. At least on a political level.

The Iranian response is something deeply troubling and something that should be dealt with. As I said above, clubbing women and children in the streets is unconscionable, and something that needs to be addressed (though how far we will get with an extremist Isalmic Republic is questionable).

This is a long way to go to respond to your original status update and say that there are so many ways in which the Republican sentiment expressed as you presented it is so wrong and distasteful that I don't even know where to begin.

(1) The GOP is far from being the "oppressed" and "supressed" political party that the more liberal Iranian elements are that to compare the two is insensitive and ludicrous.

(2) To compare Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard is incendiary and distasteful to say the least, and probably borders on hate speech and slander.

and (3) The GOP lost. I say to them: Deal with it. You weren't crying about oppression and supression when you were in power, and in all honesty, at least you can say you lost in honest elections. Hopefully we can say the same of the Iranians, but right now, it is still up in the air.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this as time goes on, but that is my gut response in a nutshell.

I'll Never Look at "Little Boy Blue" the Same Again...

Well, It's Official...

...come August 2009 I'll be a Viking at Western Washington University. In determining what program to go to, it was as if I had been given a Magic 8 Ball which kept on giving me the answer: ALL SIGNS POINT TO BELLINGHAM.

As of today, I officially accepted admissions to and a teaching assistantship in the English Department's Masters of Arts program.

We'll most likely be headed to the Great Wet Pacific Northwest in June. We are currently in the process of trying to find a place to stay while there, if you know of anything, we'd love to know.

A Little Bit of Harry Potter Fan Fiction

This is a piece of fan fiction that I wrote on December 25, 2007. Now, I don't necessarily condone the practice of fan fiction, but after a discussion on a natural parenting board that I belong to, this was the result. Hope you enjoy.

THE SEE-SAW SECTION

The clock in the corner ticked inexorably toward nothing. The hands didn’t tell time; six of the seven hands stood at HOME, while the other pointed to WORK. Molly stood in front of the stove, Christmas dinner bubbled over the fire.

Five red-haired children were asleep in front of the tree amid a pile of torn wrapping paper, chocolate frog cards and spent crackers. Molly smiled at her sleeping children, then winced as the baby kicked. She patted her belly. “Sush now Ronald,” she whispered to her mid-section. “Sush now.” She began to sway back and forth, crooning a lullaby to the unborn baby as she stirred the sauce that had started boiling.

Behind her, the one stray hand of the clock clicked suddenly to IN TRANSIT and then, as green flame erupted in the fire grate, Arthur’s clock-hand slid into place with the rest of the family’s at HOME.

“Arthur,” Molly said warmly and turned. “So it didn’t take long, did it?”

“No Molly,” Arthur said, wiping his glasses and stripping off the threadbare traveling cloak. “Not at all. Not long at all. You wouldn’t believe what some people believe is fun to do on Christmas. The rotters had charmed a Muggle Christmas tree in Brighton to devour presents. Took five of us to subdue the tree and then there were memory charms for nearly a hundred people—”

“ONE HUNDRED? Arthur, why so many?”

“Well,” said Arthur “It was a Muggle orphanage, Molly. All those little children. Nearly ruined Christmas for them … poor little blighters. Made me sad to see them like that,” Arthur shrugged and dipped his head away from Molly.

“Arthur,” Molly said, brandishing the dripping sauce spoon, “what did you do?”

Arthur busied himself straightening plates and flatware on the table. “Nothing really,” he said into his chest, “just a small charm really … no one will hardly notice …”

“ARTHUR!”

“Now Molly, what’s done is done, and there’s no use fretting.” He quickly changed subjects. “How’s the baby doing?”

Molly softened immediately, her hands finding her belly. Arthur came to her and placed his hands over hers and kissed her nose.

“Ronald was squiggling around early, but I think he’s gone to sleep now. The midwitch was by after you had gone and left me some tea she wants me to take.”

Arthur took his wife into his arms and squeezed her. “Molly,” he said looking into her eyes, “I want to talk to you about the baby. While we were at the orphanage in Brighton, I was talking to the Muggle headmistress and she told me about the most wonderful thing that Muggle women are doing to give birth. You, you simply won’t believe this Mollywobbles, and I know we have Heather Hathor as midwitch, but I want you to consider this Molly, as a favor to me. It, it just is simply amazing what those Muggles do without magic!”

Arthur let go of her and started pacing the length of the kitchen, gesticulating wildly as he spoke.

“These women, Molly, these Muggle women go into the Muggle doctor – I believe they’re called an Obbgynne – and this Obbgynne will examine the woman and her baby without any sort of magic. They use a device called an uddersound and they can actually see the baby, Molly. Inside the woman … without any magic, mind you. And then, when the woman goes into labour they go with the Obbgynne and see the sturgeon and the sturgeon will cut the woman’s abdomen and they’ll pull the baby out through that cut. No pushing. No strain on the mother. Just cut and out.”

Arthur stopped and looked at Molly expectantly.

“Arthur. Absolutely. NOT! Whatever gave you the idea that I would ever agree to do something so completely ridiculous and reckless. I will not put our baby’s life in danger by placing him in the hands of some Muggle cutter-nutter who wants to slice into perfectly healthy women in order to rip a perfectly healthy baby from them. Next you’ll be telling me those barbarian Muggle cutters still circumcise and inject their children with who knows what to try and keep them from getting sick!”

“But Mollywobbles—”

“Don’t you ‘Mollywobbles’ me Arthur. Absolutely not!”

“But Molly, they have anastasia. It’s a gas that puts you right out and you won’t even know it happened!”

“Won’t even— Arthur, tell me, what is the point of not knowing that a birth happens? Tell me that Arthur. What is the point?” She took the sauce from the stove and tasted. “There now, see what’s happened? You’ve gone and gotten me so upset that I’ve burned the sauce and the Potters and Sirius will be here any minute now.” She thrust the saucepan at Arthur. “Fix this, and I don’t want to hear another word about this crazy Muggle tradition.”

“It’s called a see-saw section.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Arthur smiled. “Nothing Mollywobbles. By the way, I ran into Dumbledore at the Ministry and he said if you could promise that you could conjure a pan of your chocolate fairy fantasy fudge, he’d stop by.”

Molly smiled and opened the oven and let the aroma of chocolate fill the kitchen. “Now, Arthur, I believe I hear your sons stirring in the front room, you better go see to them before they pull down the tree again.”

I've...

My Grandfather (my Mom's dad) died this last Wednesday (March 24, 2009) at 8:00 a.m. We went down to California to attend the graveside service on Saturday and the celebrate his life with my family. Needless to say, it was a bittersweet moment. I have a lot of great memories of my Grandfather ... going to Oakland A's games together, making and flying paper airplanes together (when I was very young), being partners during family Trivial Pursuit games (in over a decade, we only won once ... the problem was, I knew nothing and he could never remember anything) ... I miss my Grandfather a lot.

While we were in California, my Grandmother produced four typewritten sheets of paper that my Grandfather had typed up on his old Royal typewriter decribing some of the things he's done in his life. He and my Grandmother travelled extensively throughout their lives, and they have been on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica (and part of that is because my Grandmother didn't want to make the long flight from San Francisco to Australia). This is what my Grandfather had to say about his life and what he accomplished (spelling and punctuation are preserved from the original document):

I'VE

Climbed the Dunn's River Falls near Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Eaten snails in Paris

Sailed into the Bermuda Triangle and out again unscathed

Snorkeled in the waters of St. Johns, Virgin Islands.

Never had a broken bone

Cruised Hong Kong Harbor on an authentic Chinese junk

Attended a tea ceremony in Tokyo

Danced the meringue in the Dominican Republic

Driven a motor scooter in Bermuda

Ridden the "skunk" train between Fort Bragg and Willits

Flown through a snow storm over the Rockies

Kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland on three separate occasions

Eaten flying fish for lunch in the Barbados

Sailed to the Isle of Capri

Been to the 82nd floor of the Empire State Bldg in New York City

Driven on the wrong (right) side of the road in England

Eaten red beans and rice in New Orleans, Louisiana

Driven the Hana Road on the island of Maui

Been the victim of a luggage heist on the street of New York City

Flown through a lightning storm over the Appalachian Mountains

Eaten paella in Torremolinos, Spain

Purchased a urine-cured pair of slippers in Morrocco

Stood at the Berlin Wall before it came tumbling down

Eaten a lobster roll in York Beach, Maine

Walked the "Freedom Trail" in Boston, Massachusetts

Attended a presentation of Shakespeare's "Antony & Cleopatra" in Ashland, Oregon

Eaten authentic Indian smoked salmon in Vancouver, B.C.

Walked the battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam, PA.

Had boiled peanuts in Savannah, Georgia

Walked the same spot as Francis Scott Key at Ft. McHenry, Maryland, where he wrote the National Anthem

Had conch chowder in the Grand Cayman Islands

Stood on Pad 39 from which Apollo and Columbia shuttles were launched at Kennedy Space Center

Climbed to the top of Mayan ruin in Tulum, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula overlooking the Caribbean

Eaten catfish stew, grits, shrimp creole, hush puppies, and she-crab soup in Charleston, South Carolina

Trod the same floors as Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson did in government buildings in Williamsburg, Virginia

Walked in Fort Harrison, an authentically replicated Civil War encampment outside of Richmond, Virginia

Had Huevos Rancheros at Las Brisas in Acapulco, Mexico

Ridden a hydrafoil fron Hongkong,to Macau

Stood at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts

Been in gridlock on the freeway in the Bronx en route to JFK

Sat next to a monkey on a fence on the Rock of Gibraltar

Flown in a helicopter around the San Francisco Bay Area

Been to an opera sung in Italian in Prague, Czechslovakia

Been on the actual stage of the Folies Bergere in Paris

Been to the top of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Eaten goulash (gulyas) in/near Budapest, Hungary

Purchased after shave lotion in Warsaw, Poland

Beat my feet on the Mississippi mud

Ridden a camel at the foot of the Egyptian Pyramids as well as climbed down into the inner chamber of a pyramid

Stood amidst the ruins of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis

Been to the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem

Eaten a Greek salad, Tsatziki, and Shoutzoukia at a sidewalk restaurant in Athens, Greece

Purchased a coffee cup on the Island of Rhodes

Flown in a helicopter from Skagway, Alaska, up onto a glacier

Had a quadruple bypass (open heart surgery) 7-14-92.

Rode in a native dugout canoe around the San Blas Islands, Panama

Walked down and climed 308 (616) stairs to and from Pt. Reyes Lighthouse

Walked across a cold lava (pahoehoe) field/flow to within abotu 20' of a fiery hot moving lava flow on the Island of Hawaii

Taken a personal tour of a prison in Mexico

Played Rev. Myles Selden, Pastor, who gives opening prayer in reenactment of 2nd Virginia Convention, St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, when Patrick Henry gave his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.

Rode Maid of the Mist boat into the mist at Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Held a stingray on my arms on a sandbar in the Cayman Islands - twice

Had lunch at Planet Hollywood on Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J.

Went up to second level of Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Viewed Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa & Winged Victory of Samothrace in Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Had authentic pub lunch in London: beer, sausage, chips, and pork n' beans.

Stood at steps in Plymouth, England, from whence Mayflower sailed in 1620 and have been to Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, where the ship landed in the new world.

Ate a Cornish "pasty" in St. Ives, England (meat & vegetables in pastry)

Slept in Ruthin, Wales, castle built by King Edward I in 1282

Attended ceremony to haggis in Edinburgh, Scotland

Watched humpback whales cavort in wat ers off Lahaina, Maui

Eaten "rapture pie" in Digby, Nova Scotia. A mix of pureed potatoes and chicken with broth. When solidified is served in 4" x 4" pieces. A bit of local culture.

Been to Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia; the burial place of 121 bodies from the "Titanic".

Been to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Eaten wild blueberries in Maine, also lobster and mussels.

Stood on very tiptoe (summit 4,849') of Mt. Diablo

Eaten turtle steak on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands

Boated on the Tarcoles River near the Carare Biological Reserve in Costa Rica - an Eco Jungle River Adventure

Cruised competely through the Panama Canal

In 2001, kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland for the 3rd time

Rode Jasper National Park Tramway to top of 7500' Mt. Whistler in Hasper, Alberta, Canada

Eaten a Buffalo Burger in Canada

Ridden Heavenly Valley Gondola up to 9,123' at Lake Tahoe

Flown in a helicopter over Kilauea Volcano on Island of Hawaii

Cracked a macadamia nut by myself with a special nut cracker

Went on a cruise ship to Republic of Kiribati, 1000 miles beyond Hawaiian Islands in Pacific Ocean; part of Gilbert Islands; primitive...no electricity or running water

Had dinner in the tallest building and free-standing structure in the world--the Toronto, Canada, CN Tower--the restaurant is at 1,150'; the tower 1,185' high

Picked a cotton boll at Frogmore Plantation, Frogmore, La.,

Toured Elvis Preseley's Mansion in Memphis, Tenn.

Danced the one-step to zydeco music at Mulate's, the Original Cajun Restaurant, in Lafayette, La.

Rode White Pass & Yukon Railway from Skagway Alaska, to White Pass (3,000') and return.

I love my Grandpa and miss him a lot.

In Memory: Arthur L. Haubrock 1921-2009

Je suis en conflit

I have been mulling over this for a while, and it really is something that causes me a lot of internal conflict as well as head- and heartache. I work as an assistant teacher at an area charter school. The eighth grade English and History classes that I work with are the Advanced or College Prep classes. These are really brilliant kids.

My conflict arises from the fact that my personal beliefs regarding education now lean towards the unschooling method. It is something that has worked wonderfully for my son, and he has taken to it quite readily. The general idea behind unschooling is that children are natural learners and that you should let them guide the learning process and decide what they want to learn about and not worry about a set curriculum.

Often, as an assistant teacher, I have to tell the kids to put away the book that they are reading, or to stop drawing, or whatever and focus on the lesson/task at hand. This runs entirely counter to my beliefs of unschooling, and is not something I would ever ask of Connor, so why should I hold these eighth graders to a different standard?

Obviously, they are more interested in WWII, or WWI or spy technology or reading Victor Hugo or Jane Austen or drawing than in learning about the U.S. Constitution or grammar or vocabulary, so shouldn't I—as a believer of unschooling—allow them to do so?

The problem is that even though I work at a fairly liberal charter school where a lot of the kids have been homeschooled or otherwise alternatively schooled before arriving in the classroom where I work, there is a pretty heavy emphasis on the numbers of schooling: GPAs, grades, standardized test scores, etc. If I let the kids continue off task, that harms the "mission" of the administration, and puts my job in jeopardy ... and, taken as a whole, I like my job. I actually look forward to getting up in the morning, and don't dread the daily grind like I have in the past.

I have, recently, been telling the kids to at least look like they're paying attention, and that assuages my conscience a little, but I'm still conflicted. Which is more important? That I kowtow to the administration and make sure every child is on task 100% of the time? Or do I follow my instincts and let these handful of kids keep on their task as long as they (1) get their assignments in and (2) don't get caught not paying attention?

As I said at the beginning: Je suis en conflit.

Common Sense and the CPSIA

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but common sense seems to have taken an extended vacation. The Consumer Product Improvement Act (CPSIA) was been written to try and keep lead out of all products that would end up in the hands of children 12-yeas-old and younger. That sounds okay on the face of it, after all, who wants to give their kid a toy with lead in it? The trouble is, as Heather Cushman-Dowdee so eloquently put it, “the law covers everything that is sold, made, or even MIGHT be used, by kids under 12. It all has to be tested. Paid for by the manufacturer. Do you love to buy handmade toys? Like to buy slings from a local company? Get your cloth diapers from other mothers off eBay? Support the craftspeople of Etsy? They are all scrambling right now, trying to figure out how this law will apply to them, how to possibly get around it, and ultimately how to pay for the testing. An expense that will be easily met by Mattel, but not so easily met by Grandma Ruth.” The problem is that Cushman-Dowdee’s interpretation is not an exaggeration. It is what the law is going to do if it is not rewritten before the February 10th deadline. Now, it seems, that this bass-ackwards, numb-f%#k of a knee-jerk reactionary law has taken another turn. The following was taken from the ALA’s website and just goes to show that lawyers can suck the common sense out of just about anything (the portion in bold below is the official legal position of those responsible for this clusterf#$k, and is nothing short of mind-boggling):

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Library Association (ALA) today expressed dissatisfaction with a public meeting held by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to discuss the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and whether the law, which requires children’s products to undergo stringent testing for lead, should apply to ordinary, paper-based children’s books.

Under the current opinion issued by the General Counsel of the CPSC, the law would apply to books for children under the age of 12; therefore, public, school, academic and museum libraries would be required to either remove all their children’s books or ban all children under 12 from visiting the facilities as of February 10, 2009.

During the meeting, members of a panel including representatives of the American Association of Publishers (AAP) as well as major book publishers and ink manufacturers, addressed questions raised by the CPSC rulemaking committee regarding the testing procedures and methodologies currently exercised in the production of an ordinary book.

The panel presented a collection of data reinforcing their position that ordinary books pose no inherent threat. This information can be viewed HERE. Though the CPSC acknowledged that the current deadlines are unrealistic and potentially damaging, the General Counsel gave no clear indication as to when an official ruling would be made and could offer no definite direction to libraries at this point.

“It is completely irresponsible and unacceptable for the CPSC to continue to leave this matter unresolved with the February 10th deadline drawing closer each day,” ALA President Jim Rettig said.

“It is apparent that the CPSC does not fully understand the ramifications this law will have for libraries—and for children—if libraries are not granted an exemption. At this point, we are advising libraries not to take drastic action, such as removing or destroying books, as we continue to hope this matter will be rectified and that the attention will be paid to the products that pose a true threat to children. However, we find it disappointing and shameful that a government agency would continue to leave this matter unsettled when clearly the outcome would virtually shut down our nation’s school and public libraries.”

If you are as OUTRAGED about this as I am (and I hope you are) I would urge you to contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to rewrite this law. They’ve been sitting on it for I don’t know how long, knowing FULL WELL what the law means as it stands written, and haven’t done a goll-durn fluther-mucking thing about it. Cushman-Dowdee has a sample letter you can copy and paste and send to your legislators HERE (it’s near the bottom of the post at the end of the second purple box), and you can find out who your Representative is (if you don’t know already) HERE and your Senators HERE. I can’t imagine that my Rep is going to do anything about this, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Dr. King's Mountaintop: Achieved!

David Fitzsimmons, December 19, 2009

January 20, 2009: A New Day for America

Each President of the United States recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Operation No Kid Hungry

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in July (when I first started this blog) I posted a post (is that redundant?) titled "If You're Going to Through Your Money Around" and plugged two charities that I felt were deserving. One of them has a new program for January that needs your and my help, so I'm plugging it here again, because as I said in my July posting: "Childhood hunger is something that hits incredible close to home for me. When I see ads on T.V. that talk about how one in four children in Utah go hungry each day and I think to myself each time I see these ads There but for the grace of God go Connor and Deirdre. Sometimes there are even nights when I forego dinner so that Connor and Deirdre (through Alisa) have enough to eat." So, if you are feeling in a charitable mood, through some money or food donations in the direction of Share Our Strength.

Share Our Strength has launched abrand new campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger. "Operation No Kid Hungry" responds to President-Elect Obama's call to action to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Share Our Strength has partnered with AT&T to offer two great ways that youcan support and participate in "Operation No Kid Hungry":

1. DONATE BY TEXT: Simply text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile phone and donate $5 to our fight to end childhood hunger in America. All major wireless carriers are participating, and AT&T will match the first $100,000 in text donations. Help us meet this challenge grant! Find out more HERE.




2. HOLD A FOOD DRIVE: Beginning January 19th, a national day of community service, help feed those in need by holding your own community food drive. Visit http://strength.org/ to find a food bank and a list of the most needed nutritious foods.

For more information about "Operation No Kid Hungry" and how you can help end childhood hunger, visit Share Our Strength's website: http://strength.org/.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is my Dad's 54th birthday. My Mom asked my sisters and brother and me to write Dad a letter. This is what I wrote and sent. I thought you all should know how great my Dad is:

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Dad,

I know that we have butted heads on many occasions, and that all too often we did not get along when we were in the house together. Yet, at this time, as I look back on those times, I realize that most—if not all—of those times I was in the wrong, and you were only looking out for my best interests.

I know that that sounds somewhat cheesy, or maybe even insincere, but it is the honest truth. I have come to regret the times that you and I fought, because I know that you weren’t doing it to be a jerk or evil, you did what you did because you were my Dad.

As a Dad myself now, I see that it’s not an easy job. What is it that Bill Watterson said in a Calvin & Hobbes comic? “Being a parent is wanting to hug and strangle you child at the same time.” There are definitely times that I have felt that way towards Connor, and I am pretty confident that you felt that way about me. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t love me, just like it means that I don’t love Connor, or Deirdre. I didn’t realize that at the time, but I realize it now, and I want to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry we lost the time together that we had.

Not all of it, though, we didn’t loose all the time we had together. I think the times that I best remember with you, and had the best times when we were together are the Boy Scout hikes we went on. The trips through the Sierra Nevadas and to the top of Mount Whitney together are some of my fondest and most formidable memories. I learned a lot on those trips from you, about you, and about myself.

The moment that sticks out in my mind is when we had stopped for the night one day and were getting ready for dinner (this was a day or two from Guitar Lake) and a young kid came over asking if we had any Band-Aids. You asked some questions and it turned out that his older brother had sliced his hand open preparing their dinner.

Without asking any more questions and without giving it a second thought, you brought him over to our camp, got out that massive first aid kit you carried around and sewed that poor kid’s hand up. I’ll never forget the look of gratitude and awe on their faces as you did that for them. You probably didn’t even think about it at the time, but the lesson I learned about helping others unconditionally and with a charitable heart has stayed with me over the years.

I hope you have a great birthday (I know you don’t like to celebrate it and you passed that on to me) but I want to thank you for being my Dad. You probably don’t hear that often enough, but I am. Thank you Dad for all you have done, and are still doing for me and my family. I love you, and—again—hope you have a great birthday.

Love,

Bryan

What the HELL is WRONG With People?!?: A Rant

So, I wake up today and log on to my laptop to start doing some research for a paper I'm writing for my Irish Literature class (it's about the influence of Irish supernatural traditions on American gothic writers (in specific, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Stephen King)) and THIS is what greets me on my headlines:

Taken from Yahoo! News

Wal-Mart Worker Dies After Shoppers Knock Him Down

by Colleen Long, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK—A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when "out-of-control" shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store. When told to leave, they complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour of Queens, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help Damour were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said.

Items on sale at the store included a Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV for $798, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69 and DVDs such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9.

Damour, 34, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone.

Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman. "At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it has historically been the day when stores broke into profitability for the full year.

I have long since become disillusioned with the consumer society that America has become and this just strengthens that disillusionment. Americans are stupid. Americans are self-centered. Americans are self-involved and Americans are cruel. Anyone who complains because the store is being closed because a worker was trampeled to death by customers deserves an extra-special little corner of Hell to wait out eternity. We're trying to run a society here, people. This doesn't help, but I'm glad you got your cheap flat-screens and Incredible Hulk DVDs. At least you were able to get the savings passed on to you. I hope you choke on it all. This is completely unacceptable and it is no wonder that the rest of the world hates us. If this is the way America acts, then America is no longer the Greatest Nation on Earth and has a long way to go to reclaim that title. I'm also a little more than disgusted at Wal-Mart's response: "He was just a temp worker."

I have never been more ashamed of my nation than at this moment.

10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Kid...

The actual list is borrowed from Mental Floss Blog

You could do a helluva lot worse than have your kids follow in the footsteps of the following homeschoolers:

1. Agatha Christie was a painfully shy girl, so her mom homeschooled her even though her two older siblings attended private school. (MORE)

2. Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia, but her family moved to China when she was just three months old. She was homeschooled by a Confucian scholar and learned English as a second language from her mom. (MORE)

3. Alexander Graham Bell was homeschooled by his mother until he was about 10. It was at this point that she started to go deaf and didn’t feel she could properly educate him any more. Her deafness inspired Bell to study acoustics and sound later in life. (MORE)

4. If Thomas Edison was around today, he would probably be diagnosed with ADD – he left public school after only three months because his mind wouldn’t stop wandering. His mom homeschooled him after that, and he credited her with the success of his education: “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint.” (MORE)

5. Ansel Adams was homeschooled at the age of 12 after his “wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers” disrupted the classroom. His father took on his education from that point forward. (MORE)

6. Robert Frost hated school so much he would get physically ill at the thought of going. He was homeschooled until his high school years. (MORE)

7. Woodrow Wilson studied under his dad, one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). He didn’t learn to read until he was about 12. He took a few classes at a school in Augusta, Georgia, to supplement his father’s teachings, and ended up spending a year at Davidson College before transferring to Princeton. (MORE)

8. Mozart was educated by his dad as the Mozart family toured Europe from 1763-1766. (MORE)

9. Laura Ingalls Wilder was homeschooled until her parents finally settled in De Smet in what was then Dakota Territory. She started teaching school herself when she was only 15 years old. (MORE)

10. Louisa May Alcott studied mostly with her dad, but had a few lessons from family friends Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can you imagine? (MORE)

For more on homeschoolinging and its benefits, check out the posts HERE.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better...

"The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative."

—Winston Churchill

Ladies and Gentlemen, President-Elect Barack Obama...

YES WE CAN? YES WE DID!

!President-Elect Barack Obama!

YES!

WE!

CAN!

!!VOTE!!

!!DO IT!!

Find Out WHERE: www.maps.google.com/vote

EXERCISE YOUR CIVIC DUTY!!!

GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

GO!!!!!

1 Vote Matters: Check it out HERE

537 Votes Decided the 2000 Election

!!!VOTE!!!

I voted, and here's two reasons why:

My Wife's Awesomenessness!

Check it out and bask in her awesomenessness as shown in THIS post on her blog.

I Could Not Be Prouder of These Kids...

I am as proud as a peacock right now. These are the eighth graders that I work with as their Assistant Teacher, and both they and Mrs. Ashcraft and I have been working so hard on getting this Town Hall-style meeting up and running. The kids selected the questions to be asked based on issues that they and concerned about and care about, and they covered the following topics:

The Economy
Taxes

The Wall Street Rescue Package

The Mortgage Crisis

The War in Iraq

The War on Terror

Health Insurance

Immigration

Energy

Global Warming/Climate Change

Education

National Service

The War on Drugs

and

The Vice Presidential Candidates

I was unable to attend because of a French midterm that was scheduled for the exact same time—ZUT ALORS!—but Alisa went and said that it was a great evening! I'm so proud of these kids. If these 23 eighth graders are any indication of the future leaders of America, then we will all be in very good hands. The following article appeared on the front page of the Utah Valley edition of The Daily Herald! The kids worked so hard on this, and they pulled it off so well. These eighth graders are absolutely awesome!

A panel of student moderators (from left: Madison Kawai, Kyle Comoletti, Katelyn Bell, Joshua Bulpitt and Denika Ramirez) pose questions to Gene Davis (Democrat seated left at table) and Tim Bridgewater (Republican) during a town hall style debate on the presidential elections at Reagan Academy on Tuesday, October 21, 2008. (Photo by Craig Dilger/Daily Herald)

Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Springville Students Host "Presidential" Debate

Sam Scorup-Daily Herald

(http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/285249/17/)

In a town-hall-style debate Tuesday night, eighth-grade students from Reagan Academy charter school in Springville moderated a debate between representatives of both major presidential candidates' campaigns.

Tim Bridgewater, the Western states coordinator for the John McCain campaign, and Gene Davis, a Utah state senator and the current minority whip who represented the Barack Obama campaign, took questions about the war in Iraq, the economy, education, health care and more.

Members of the community submitted questions for the debate. From that list, Carrie Ashcraft's class selected those they thought would be most pertinent.

When asked why they support their given candidates, both Bridgewater and Davis shared several reasons. One of Bridgewater's main points was that McCain is interested in the well-being of the United States, and not merely interested in pleasing his party. Davis said he supports Obama because he can help the rising generation achieve its goals. "He [Obama] is a man who I believe will bring about change," Davis said.

Ashcraft said she wanted the students to learn about the election process in a hands-on way that would be relevant to them.

"Education should be meaningful," she said. "It [students' involvement in the debate] is an extension of what the school does; it gives real-world experience."

Since the start of the current school year, the students have raised the topic of the election in class, Ashcraft said. They have studied election issues, watched candidates' acceptance speeches at the national conventions and discussed the presidential debates.

When Ashcraft approached the Utah headquarters for both Obama and McCain about sending representatives to speak to the class, both parties agreed to do so—and built on the idea by suggesting a community town-hall meeting. The idea to have students moderate the debate came about after the representatives spoke in Ashcraft's class, she said.

Among the eighth-graders participating were five moderators, two emcees and six ushers.

At Merit College Preparatory Academy, a charter high school located near the Reagan Academy, Nikki Fulmer's civics and social responsibility class teamed up with Merit U.S. history teacher Tobias Emory's students to get involved in the election process. Along with studying the campaigns, the students worked on posters for Tuesday night's debate, made videos to be posted on YouTube and handed out fliers with URLs that provide information on platforms and issues. The theme for the videos is, "Freedom or ignorance: You choose," Fulmer said.

The work was a class requirement, but did not have to be finished before the debate. However, many students were eager to use the meeting as a way to show off their projects.

"They're really excited about it," she said. "They wanted to present it to the community, so they stayed after school to finish."

"We have been pushing our students to study both sides of the issues, the facts and stats of the issue and Obama's and McCain's stances on the issues," Fulmer said.

If You're Going to be in the Utah Area Next Tuesday...

... and don't have anything to do between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., may I suggest the following:

On Tuesday, October 21st, 2008, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the 8th grade students at Reagan Academy in Springville will be hosting and moderating a Town Hall Meeting between Suzanne Gelderman, the Utah State Director for the Barack Obama Campaign, and Tim Bridgewater, the Western States Coordinator for the John McCain Campaign. The community is invited to attend as well as submit questions for the representatives to townhall@reaganacademy.org. In preparing for this event students have studied the issues, viewed the acceptance speeches of the candidates at the National Conventions and discussed the presidential debates. This is a ticketed event and tickets are free, but limited to 230 (they will be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis). Tickets can be reserved by phone (801) 489-7828 or in person at 1143 West Center Street, Springville, Utah.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am involved in this debate. The teacher and students I work with have been hard at work getting this coordianted and are excited about it ... they will be emceeing, moderating, and running the whole show ... so, if you are going to be in the area and are interested in attending, call the above number and get your tickets. Or, if you can't make it, maybe submit a question or two ... the kids are going to be picking out between 15-20 questions from those submitted to be presented, so it really is going to be their show. It promises to be a fun and informative evening.

"Honor the Priesthood and Use It Well" by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quourm of the Twelve Apostles

On Saturday, October 4, 2008 and Sunday, October 5, 2008, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (of which I am a member) held its 178th Semiannual General Conference. On Saturday evening, the Priesthood Session of General Conference wherein the leadership of the Church gives instruction to the men in the membership on how to be better men, husbands, sons, missionaries and better stewards of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods which we hold. (I myself am an elder in the Church and hold the Melchizedek Priesthood which means I can perform healings and give blessings through the laying on of hands, just as Christ and His Apostles did in the New Testament (among other ordinances of the Church)).

The first speaker during this Priesthood Session was Elder Richard G. Scott, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He is a man who is ordained to be, and whom I believe to be, an Apostle of Christ just as Peter, James and John were (and are). He is an especial witness of the Savior Jesus Christ. I have had the privilege of being in the same room as he on one occasion and heard him speak and I can say with all conviction that this is a man who speaks with the power and authority and blessing of God. He is a modern day prophet, seer and revelator for whom the Heavens open and who speaks on behalf of Christ.

His talk and instruction during the Priesthood Session struck a chord with me, and I feel compelled to share his talk here on my blog. I feel especially moved by this talk because it belies the belief that the Church, the one in which I have a firm belief and hope and which I believe to be the One and Only True Church of God on this Earth, Elder Scott’s talk belies the erroneous belief that the Church subjugates and denigrates women. Nothing could be further from the truth, if people would only look past their own prejudices.

Elder Scott’s talk made me want to be a better husband, father and priesthood holder, and I hope it will inspire you as well. (Italics and bolding within the actual text of the talk are my own.)

“Honor the Priesthood and Use It Well”

by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The perfect role model for use of the holy priesthood is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He ministered with love, compassion, and charity.

My dear brethren, we are gathered across the world in the marvelous brotherhood of the Holy Priesthood of God. How blessed we are to be among the very few men on earth trusted to be authorized to act in the name of the Savior to bless others through the righteous use of His Priesthood.

I wonder, brethren, how many of us seriously ponder the inestimable value of holding the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. When we consider how few men who have lived on earth have received the Priesthood and how Jesus Christ has empowered those individuals to act in His name, we should feel deeply humble and profoundly grateful for the Priesthood we hold.

The Priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God. That authority is essential to the fulfillment of His work on earth. The Priesthood we hold is a delegated portion of the eternal authority of God. As we are true and faithful, our ordination to the Priesthood will be eternal.

However, the conferring of authority alone does not of itself bestow the power of the office. The extent to which we can exercise the power of the Priesthood depends upon personal worthiness, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and obedience to His commandments. When supported by a secure foundation of Gospel knowledge, our capacity to worthily use the Priesthood is greatly enhanced.

The perfect role model for use of the Holy Priesthood is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He ministered with love, compassion, and charity. His life was a matchless example of humility and power. The greatest blessings from the use of the Priesthood flow from humble service to others without thought of self. By following His example as a faithful, obedient Priesthood bearer, we can access great power. When required, we can exercise the power of healing, of blessing, of consoling, and of counseling, as the quiet promptings of the Spirit are faithfully followed.

For a few minutes I ask you to consider that you and I are alone in a quiet place where the atmosphere permits direction by the Holy Spirit. Some of you receive periodic personal worthiness interviews, while others have callings where that seldom occurs. Will you consider that in the next few minutes you and I will have a Private Priesthood Interview?

As we share these moments together, I ask you to ponder your personal worthiness to use the sacred authority you hold. I will also ask you to consider how consistently you use your Priesthood to bless others. My intent is not to criticize but to help increase the benefits that flow from your use of the Priesthood.

Are your private, personal thoughts conducive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or would they benefit from a thorough housecleaning? Do you nourish your mind with elevating material, or have you succumbed to the enticement of pornographic literature or Web sites? Do you scrupulously avoid the use of stimulants and substances that conflict with the intent of the Word of Wisdom, or have you made some personally rationalized exceptions? Are you most careful to control what enters your mind through your eyes and ears to ensure that it is wholesome and elevating?

If you are divorced, do you provide for the real financial need of the children you have fathered, not just the minimum legal requirement?

If you are married, are you faithful to your wife mentally as well as physically? Are you loyal to your marriage covenants by never engaging in conversation with another woman that you wouldn’t want your wife to overhear? Are you kind and supportive of your own wife and children? Do you assist your wife by doing some of the household chores? Do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and Family Home Evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the home? Do you tell her you love her?

If any of you feel uncomfortable with any of the answers you have mentally given to the questions I have asked, take corrective action now. If there are worthiness issues, with all of the tenderness of my heart I encourage you to speak to your Bishop or a member of your Stake Presidency now. You need help. Those matters that trouble you will not heal themselves. Without attention they will likely get worse. It may be difficult for you to speak to your Priesthood leader, but I encourage you to do it now for your own good and for the benefit of those who love you.

Brethren, I now speak of how the Priesthood should be used to bless the lives of others, especially the daughters of Father in Heaven.

The Family Proclamation states that a husband and wife should be equal partners. I feel assured that every wife in the Church would welcome that opportunity and support it. Whether it occurs or not depends upon the husband. Many husbands practice equal partnership with their companion to the benefit of both and the blessing of their children. However, many do not. I encourage any man who is reluctant to develop an equal partnership with his wife to obey the counsel inspired by the Lord and do it. Equal partnership yields its greatest benefit when both husband and wife seek the will of the Lord in making important decisions for themselves and for their family.

Be sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit in the use of that consummate privilege of acting in the name of the Lord through your Priesthood. Be more aware of how you can make greater use of the power of the priesthood in the lives of those you love and serve. I am thinking particularly of individuals such as a widow in need who likely could benefit from the help of an understanding, compassionate Priesthood bearer. Many such will never request help. Be aware of the range of challenges you could help meet in her home, such as the relief of anxieties through an inspired Priesthood blessing or the need for small repairs.

As a Bishop, be sensitive and attentive to the sisters who serve in your ward council. They can identify the needs of the women in your ward who are not blessed with Priesthood in the home. Through a home visit, the Relief Society can identify needs and recommend solutions to you. For matters beyond the scope of the Relief Society, you can call upon the Elders’ Quorum or the High Priests’ Group to provide assistance according to the need.

As a Bishop, when you counsel with a husband and wife who are in marital difficulty, do you give the same credence to the statements of the woman that you do to the man? As I travel throughout the world, I find that some women are shortchanged in that a Priesthood leader is more persuaded by a son rather than a daughter of Father in Heaven. That imbalance simply must never occur.

Do single sisters receive the consideration and attention they deserve when they attend family wards? Do they have opportunities to serve in significant callings where they are made to feel welcome and wanted? Do they receive the required Priesthood support?

The purpose of Priesthood authority is to give, to serve, to lift, to inspire—not to exercise unrighteous control or force. In some cultures, tradition places a man in a role to dominate, control, and regulate all family affairs. That is not the way of the Lord. In some places the wife is almost owned by her husband, as if she were another of his personal possessions. That is a cruel, unproductive, mistaken vision of marriage encouraged by Lucifer that every Priesthood holder must reject. It is founded on the false premise that a man is somehow superior to a woman. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Scriptures confirm that Father in Heaven saved His greatest, most splendid, supreme creation, woman, to the end. Only after all else was completed was woman created. Only then was the work pronounced complete and good.

Of our wives, mothers, grandmothers, and sisters and other important women in our lives, President Hinckley declared: “Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth.”1

By divine design a woman is fundamentally different from a man in many ways.2 She is compassionate and seeks the interests of others around her. However, that compassionate nature can become overwhelming for women who identify far more to accomplish than they can possibly do, even with the help of the Lord. Some become discouraged because they do not feel they are doing all they should do. I believe this is a feeling that many worthy, effective, devoted women of the Church experience.

Therefore, as a husband or son, express gratitude for what your wife and mother do for you. Express your love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer, more pleasant and purposeful for many of the daughters of Father in Heaven who seldom hear a complimentary comment and are not thanked for the multitude of things they do. As a husband, when you sense that your wife needs lifting, hold her in your arms and tell her how much you love her. May each of us ever be tender and appreciative of the special women who enrich our lives.

Often the real value of something is not recognized until it is taken from us. To illustrate, consider a man who had lost the use of the Priesthood through transgression. Later it was returned to him as part of the restoration of ordinances he obtained through full repentance. After the restoration, I turned to his wife and said, “Would you like a blessing?” She enthusiastically responded. Then I looked at the husband, now capable of using his Priesthood, and said, “Would you like to give your wife a blessing?” Words cannot express the profound emotion of such an experience and the bonds of love, trust, and gratitude it created. You shouldn’t have to lose your priesthood to appreciate it more fully.

I know the immense joy and happiness that come from loving, cherishing, and respecting my precious wife with all my heart and soul. May your use of the priesthood and treatment of the important women in your life bring you the same satisfaction.

As one of the 15 Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ on Earth, I express my own feelings regarding the Priesthood as it has been captured perfectly by this statement of President Howard W. Hunter: “As special witnesses of our Savior, we have been given the awesome assignment to administer the affairs of His church and kingdom and to minister to His daughters and His sons wherever they are on the face of the Earth. By reason of our call to testify, govern, and minister, it is required of us that despite age, infirmity, exhaustion, and feelings of inadequacy, we do the work He has given us to do, to the last breath of our lives.”3

God will hold us accountable for how we treat His precious daughters. Therefore, let us treat them as He would wish to have them treated. I pray that the Lord will guide us to be more inspired, sensitive, and productive with the Priesthood we hold, especially with His daughters. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

1. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Our Responsibility to Our Young Women,” Ensign, Sept. 1988, 11.

2. See Moses 4:17-19; Moses 5:10-11.

3. Howard W. Hunter, “To the Women of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 96.

This talk can also be found at the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mike Rowe Rocks!

Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Explosive-Kick @$$-Dust!

I have recently finished listening to the audiobook version of Mary Roach's Stiff: The Secret Lies of Human Cadavers (stay tuned to Bryan's Book Blog for the review) and it got me thinking about what to do with my earthy remains. Plastination has its appeals, of course. As does ending up as a test cadaver for the auto crash test industry ... and being a body in a body farm certainly has its appeal. But, that as all before I saw this comic:

Speed Bump, by Dave Coverly, October 8, 2008

I now know how I want to go out. Alisa ... take notes.

So Explain to Me...

... how writing to soldiers wounded in wars in Asia (i.e. Korea and Vietnam) is celebrating Asian culture?

This is one of the "activities" that is going on at the school I work at for the Asian Festival this Friday. Other events are Asian caligraphy, photo ops in traditional Asian garb, etc.

So, once again ... explain to me how writing to soldiers who were wounded in wars in Asia (who killed untold Asians) is celebrating Asian culture?

Dear Soldier,

We are learned Asia, its people and its culture in our school, and I just wanted to say thank you for fighting and getting wounded in Korea/Vietnam. Keep up the good work.

Signed,

Student

Now, don't get me wrong ... I'm not belittling the sacrifices of the soldiers, I'm just questioning the appropriatness of this activity, if the Festival is supposed to be, as is implied, celebrating Asian culture ... I don't know.

It seems weird to me to be doing this. Weird and wrong.

A Russian Proverb Posted in Honor of an Asian Festival to Get You Thinking About the American Presidential Election, or, Why Bryan Has a Problem...

Take two, since I was having problems with the formatting on the previous post…

Anyway, let's start with the Wisdom of the Bear:

"There is no shame in not knowing; the shame is in not finding out."

Asian Festival is coming up at the school I work at, and they've put Asian proverbs up all over the school and this Russian Proverb caught my eye. (You can see another one that I liked HERE, and I thought that Russia was in actuality European (I know it spans both continents, but I'm going to drop it because it's making my head hurt).)

I wrote it down, and the more I think about it, the more I thought I should share it here with y'all and talk a little bit more about the upcoming Presidential Election because I don't think I've made myself clear on the fact that I think that this is important.

Well ... I do.

Most of my beef comes from the fact that as a Democrat in Utah (which is about as rare as a grizzly bear in California or a vegetarian in Texas) my vote, thanks to the Electoral College, won't amount to a hill of beans in this little world. That doesn't mean I'm not going to vote ... I will ... it just means I am somewhat disenfranchised with the way this Grand Experiement of ours' chooses its leaders.

I have a problem with the fact that George W. Bush was elected because voters felt they would rather sit down and have a beer with him than with Gore or Kerry.

I have a problem with the fact that I voted this way in 2000 and 2004.

I have a problem with the fact that I was proud of voting this way in 2000 and 2004.

I have a problem with the fact that I couldn't be bothered with the issues beyond a few hot-button topics and sound-bitey quotes.

I have a problem with the fact that a vast majority of the denizens of Utah (and Utah County in specific) vote a straight-party ticket in elections.

I have a problem with this because this means that the voters here do not bother to acquaint themselves with the candidates or issues, they just tick off the Republican Straight-Party Ticket option at the top of the ballot and then shut it and head off to wherever they were before their lives were so rudely interrupted.

I have a problem with the fact that voting is considered to be an inconvenience and not a privilege.

I have a problem with the fact that the Bush Administration is eroding away our rights.

I have a problem with the fact that I didn’t use to have a problem with that.

I have a problem with the fact that John McCain seems to have no grasp of the "fundamentals" of American economics.

I have a problem with the fact that Barack Obama sees gay marriage as a political expediency.

I have a problem with the fact that Sarah Palin seems to be a proponent of book banning and censorship.

I have a problem with the fact that Joe Biden can't seem to get simple facts about American history correct.

I have a problem with the fact that the Electoral College system means that Third Party Candidates can't get a fair shake in the General Election.

I have a problem with the fact that a vast majority of voters seem to be basing their political decisions ... as well as their future, my future, and my children's futures on whether or not a President candidate looks like they do.

I have a problem with the fact that racism and segregation is seemingly alive and well in America and that Jim Crow did not go away ... he just evolved.

I have a problem with a lot of things.

I have a problem with the fact that Americans appear to be complacent in their bubbles of self-involvement and ignorance.

Remember, "There is no shame in not knowing; the shame is in not finding out." If the Russians can figure that out, don't you think we ought to be able to too?

So, FIND OUT!

Before you vote, acquaint yourself with the candidates' positions. ALL the candidates' positions (did you even know that there are Third Party Candidates?) ... and not just the major party ones and the sound-bite positions you get from the nightly news:

Barack Obama on the Issues (Democratic Party)

John McCain on the Issues (Republican Party)

Ralph Nader on the Issues (Independent)

Bob Barr on the Issues (Libertarian Party)

Charles O. Baldwin on the Issues (Constitution Party)

(Baldwin's website was not working, so I provide the party's website)

Cynthia McKinney on the Issues (Green Party)

Alan Keyes (American Independent Party)

(I had trouble finding a direct link to Keyes' stances on his website, maybe you'll have better luck)

Read through their stances. Then evaluate where you stand on the issues ... and not just where pundits, the nightly news or your party affiliation says you should stand, but deep down ... where you stand on the issues and then vote for the candidate that most resembles those feelings.

Does Barack Obama really represent your concerns and values?

Does John McCain really represent your concerns and values?

Does a Third Party Candidate better represent your concerns and values?

Don't just be a voter ... be an informed voter. I can respect a voter who votes for the opposition if they vote from an informed place. I can't respect a voter who doesn't think (or worse, doesn't care) about what their vote represents and stands for.

Remember, the Russians have the right idea: "There is no shame in not knowing; the shame is in not finding out."

"A Dull Ease": Aeropagitica, Censorship, and the State of Modern America

The following is a short response paper I did for my Milton class. The issue at the heart of the paper—censorship—is one that is very close to my heart. (I'll rant more about censorship later, perhaps during Banned Books Week (September 27-October 4, 2008).) The paper refers to one of Milton's few prose pieces, Aeropagitica, which was a polemic on the right to free speech and the freedom of the press.

In reading the excerpt we were given from John Milton’s Aeropagitica, I was intrigued by the following passage:

Another sort there be, who, when they hear that all things shall be ordered, all things regulated and settled, nothing written but what passes through the custom-house of certain publicans that have the tonnaging and the poundaging of all free-spoken truth, will straight give themselves up into your hands, make ’em and cut ’em out what religion ye please. There be delights, there be recreations and jolly pastimes that will fetch the day about from sun to sun, and rock the tedious year as in a delightful dream. What need they torture their heads with that which others have taken so strictly and so unalterably into their own purveying? These are the fruits which a dull ease and cessation of our knowledge will bring forth among the people. How goodly, and how to be wished, were such an obedient unanimity as this, what a fine conformity would it starch us all into! Doubtless a staunch and solid piece of framework, as any January could freeze together. (1750-1751)

A longish passage to be quoting here, I know, but I find Milton’s argument against censorship and the homogenization of the church and clergy here to be so compelling for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I am a strong opponent of censorship in literature and learning in all its many and sundry forms. I find the idea of censorship so repugnant that, like Milton, I want to exclaim “These are the fruits which a dull ease and cessation of our knowledge will bring forth among the people.”

I realize that Milton is here talking mainly about censorship in the church and that the cessation of knowledge he speaks of is a spiritual knowledge and a knowledge of the truth of God, but I think that the same principles apply in Milton’s spiritual context as they do in a day-to-day context vis à vis censorship.

I work as an assistant teacher at a charter school with seventh and eighth graders. Recently, the parent of one of the seventh graders approached the teacher I work with and expressed concern about some of the short stories and novels that we would be reading with the seventh graders this year (Jekyll & Hyde, Call of the Wild, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” etc.) and this parent asked the teacher if she would black out all instances of the words “damn,” “hell,” and “ass” in the novels and short stories we would be reading.

The teacher politely denied the parent’s request and pointed out that it would be first and foremost an impossible task to accomplish, and second, that any serious student of literature is going to have to confront the more mature language and themes that books such as these contain. I was proud of the teacher for refusing to censor the books we were reading (though, I do understand—to a degree—the parent’s concern), but what really bothered me were the implications of the conversation: this parent, whatever their legitimate concerns regarding their child, was advocating what Milton calls an “obedient unanimity” and “a fine conformity.”

Censorship, as Milton recognizes in Aeropagitica, is a slippery slope. Restricting access to the truth (be it spiritual (as Milton argues) or literary (as in the case of the parent)) causes what Milton calls “a dull ease” to settle in and take over the lives of those who do not seek for the truth (or have their access to the truth restricted, homogenized and sanitized).

Milton states that life will become a “delightful dream” and that no one will “need torture their heads with that which others have taken so strictly and unalterably” because thought and critical inquiry will cease to be: if others do the thinking for me, I will not need to think for myself. Unfortunately, I feel that 21st-Century America is not that far off from the “delightful dream” that Milton foresaw in 1658 when he wrote Aeropagitica. I do not think I am exaggerating too much when I say that most Americans would rather seek after “recreations and jolly pastimes that will fetch the day about from sun to sun, and rock the tedious year as in a delightful dream,” than seek after truth and think critical about the issues that are plaguing the lives of Americans today.

It is not too difficult to see what the fruits of this “dull ease and cessation of our knowledge” have brought about. America is in a decline: politically, socially, morally, and all sorts of other –ly’s you can think of. Americans would rather seek after celebrity gossip, reality television and banal platitudes than have to think long and hard about what it is that should really matter. What matters it to me if workers across the nation and world are not making a living wage as long as I can get my food cheap? Americans have given “themselves up into [the hands of their leaders], make ’em and cut ’em out what […] ye please,” and what has pleased America is to be unthinking and unconcerned with the very processes of how our lives function.

For Milton the end result was a clergy that became lazy and self-satisfied; for America, the end result is a populace that votes for their President based not on his stance on the issues but whether or not they would want to have a beer with him. This self-centeredness, this egoism, this “dull ease” into which America has slipped … these are the fruits of such “obedient unanimity” and “fine conformity” and this is the state of being that Milton cautioned against in Aeropagitica.

The Wonderful Thing About Tyggers...

I'm taking a Romantic British Literature Class (Romantic as in the Era, not Romantic as in the Harlequin Bodice-Rippers) and William Blake is one of the poets we are studying (more on him and his poetry later). This poem, from his collection Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794), is one of my favorites:

The Tyger

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies,

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What hand dare sieze thy fire?

And what should & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:

What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Am I An Autumnal Misanthrope? Maybe...

"Toward Winter: Four Fragments"
by Anonymous

Sliab Cua, dark and broken, is full of wolf packs.

The wind sweeps don its glens,

wolves howl about it dykes,

the fierce dark deer bellows

across it in the Autumn,

and the crane cries out across its rocks.

* * *

The night is cold on the Great Bog.

The storm is lashing—no small matter.

The sharp wind is laughing at the groans

echoing through the cowering woods.

* * *

We are shattered and battered, engulfed,

O King of clear-starred Heaven!

The wind has swallowed us like twigs

swallowed in a red flame out of Heaven.

* * *

Want and Winter are upon us.

The lake-side is flooded.

Frost has shrivelled the leaves.

The pleasant wave has started muttering.

(Kinsella, Thomas. ed. The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. 22.)

School has started back up for me. If you were to ask Alisa, she'd say I lost my mind this semester. I am taking 17 credit hours over 5 classes: Romantic British Literature (75 minute class, two evenings a week), Irish Literature (3 hour class, one night a week), Milton (75 minute class, two afternoons a week), Multi-Ethnic Literature in America (50 minute class, three afternoons a week), Beginning French 1 (2½ hour class, two nights a week). Add to that that I am working 20 hours a week at the school ... and I don't have a lot of time at home.

Anyway, all that was the long way around the barn to say that tonight was my Irish Lit class and we're studying early Irish poetry. One of the poems we read and looked at tonight was "Toward Winter: Four Fragments" by an anonymous eighth-century poet (or poets). We also read a corresponding ninth-century poem that lauded summer.

I was the only one in class that thought that the "Toward Winter" poem was a much better one than the summer poem. Most of that has to do with the fact that I love Autumn and Winter and despise Spring and Summer. The year begins and ends with September and March, in my book. April to August could be abolished for all I care. Give me blustery, grey autumn days and long, dark winter nights over the greenery of spring and sun of summer any day.

I know that this sentiment puts me in the vast minority of people who hate the sun, but that's the bald, simple, unadulterated truth of it all: summer sucks (to use the vernacular) and so does spring.

Nothing good can come of having the sun beat down on you with blistering relentlessness (as it did here in Utah this summer).

In summer it is too hot to do anything ... cook, go out, exist ... too hot.

And spring is just miserable. Maybe I'm a misanthrope at heart, but people seem to be extra annoying in spring. I don't know what it is, but people become idiots the minute the sun starts shining after a glorious winter.

With the impending autumn and the cooling off that we're experiencing here in Utah, I am becoming a much more cheerful person and much more pleasant to be around. Just ask Alisa.

Plus, the other benefit of Autumn and Winter is the food. Harvest-type foods like squashes and pumpkin and warming stews and soups and hearty breads and oatmeals and whatnot. Summer and spring are too miserable for eating these wonderful meals. I made a pumpkin custard the other night, as the rain fell and it was cool enough to wear my favorite long-sleeve shirt in the house, and everything just felt "right" with the world.

The above poetic fragments are not, as my class wrongly determined, depressing or oppressive. They are a wonderful ode to the best six months of the year.

Burn Beijing Burn

So, I am (and have been since they were announced) appalled and disgusted that the IOC awarded the Olympics to China. (Remember the last time a totalitarian government hosted the Olympics?) I know most of you probably don't care, but this is my blog and you're going to have to deal with it. Appeasing countries is no way to get them to change their policies.

It didn't work in 1939.

It didn't work in 1991.

And it hasn't worked in 2008.

China has whitewashed its record on human rights and pollution and world climate. It has shut down small factories across the country, ostensibly to lower pollution limits, but it is now questionable whether or not those small factories will be able to reopen, making it easier for the larger government-run corporations to fill those voids.

The Chinese censorship of the internet for journalists and the instructions to locals to avoid certain topics when speaking to foreigners and journalists is deplorable. Banning athletes from entering the country who choose to wear face masks because it "mocks" the air quality of the country does nothing to enhance your image China.

Not that America is exactly the bee's knees or the cat's meow. To see President Bush (while in Taiwan) lambast China over its human rights record is laughable given America's current record on the same. (It's not torture, it's enhanced interogation. It's not waterboarding, it's the introduction of the bonded molecules of two hydrogen and one oxygen into the nasal cavity of a person in order to simulate the sensation of asphyxiation.)

Boycotting China and Chinese-made products in difficult in Utah ... fair trade, sustainability and organic are words that are virtually unheard of in the state where capitalism, Republicanism and free trade run rampant over the environment, consumer rights and the economy. The average Utahan seems to have a NIMBY attitude when it comes to the global economy, so avoiding Chinese-made products is not really an option in Utah unless we want to move into the mountains and live off the land (and don't think we haven't considered it on occassion).

So, where does that leave us? Alisa and I have decided to boycott coverage of the Olympics. I would urge you to do the same. Since the government, IOC and/or U.N. won't censure China, maybe if enough of us don't watch and give NBC and Beijing the satisfaction, then perhaps a message will be sent: APPEASEMENT DOES NOT WORK.

Just ask Neville Chamberlain.

This is What Happens When You're Up at 1:00 in the Morning and Goofed on Sinus Medication...

I'm looking at my post entitled "Night of the Living Terrys, or, Midnight in the Garden of Bryan and Alisa" and I think to myself, Self, how should one pluralize Terry? Is it Terrys, like I have in the post? Or is it Terries? ... and I don't have an answer for myself.

What do you think?

Or am I just junked on the antihistamine?

And since when did that monkey build a nest out of my nose hair on Alisa's computer?

If You're Going to Throw Your Money Around...

...and you're not throwing it in the direction of Barack Obama or (Heaven forbid) John McCain, might I suggest the following two charities.

The first is the Great American Bake Sale. It is a charity dedicated to ending childhood hunger. Their website is HERE. Childhood hunger is something that hits incredible close to home for me. When I see ads on T.V. that talk about how one in four children in Utah go hungry each day and I think to myself each time I see these ads There but for the grace of God go Connor and Deirdre. Sometimes there are even nights when I forego dinner so that Connor and Deirdre (through Alisa) have enough to eat.

There is nothing sadder to me than a hungry child. I've seen it at home, I've seen it on my mission in Brasil and I've even seen it sometimes at the school at which I work. On those few occassions I actually bought the kid a hot lunch ... but that only helps them at that moment. If they aren't getting food at home ... there's nothing I can do about that, except help through something like the Great American Bake Sale.

The other charity would be Bears & Baskets that provide teddy bears to parents of stillborn and miscarriages so that they have something to take home, and even though that may be small comfort to those parents, but Bears & Baskets also offers grief counseling and other help to parents who have lost their unborns/newborns. Their website is HERE. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a little one like that, I don't know what I'd do if I lost Connor or Deirdre, and so any help you or I can give to an organization like this is the best thing we can do.

Now, according to Title 2, Section 1609 of the U.S. Code, I am in no way affilited with or was paid to promote either of these charities. I just think they're a good choice to support, don't you?

Beware the "Uh-Oh" Baby

As readers of Bryan's Book Blog know by now, far and away my favorite comic strip is Mark Tatulli's brilliant (and dark) Liō. (See HERE, for a sampling of what I'm talking about and the official Liō site can be found HERE.)

However, there is now a very close second and that is Richard Thompson's brilliant Cul de Sac. While many of the comics on the funny pages today are hit-or-miss and many are past their prime (I'm looking at you Blondie) Thompson's offering puts a smile and guffaw on my lips Every. Single. Freakin'. Day. The official Cul de Sac site is HERE and Thompson's blog (which is just as funny as the strip) can be found HERE.

Just to give you a sample of what I'm talking about here are the strips from Monday (July 21) to Friday (July 25) which contain Thompson's funniest gag-run to date. (You can click on them to make them bigger.) Enjoy.

Night of the Living Terrys, or, Midnight in the Garden of Bryan and Alisa

It has been so ridiculously hot here in Utah this summer that Alisa and Connor and Deirdre and I have reversed our schedules. Alisa says we are now vampires. (Watch out Cullens...)

We are not sun people. We are not spring or summer people. We are fall and winter people. Rainy, grey days are our favorites. Seattle was good to us in that respect. Utah ... not so much.

With the heat this summer we slowly shifted our schedules so that we got up later and later (think 2:30, 3:00, even 4:00 p.m. in some cases) and did all our shopping and cleaning and yardwork, etc. after the sun had gone down and the desert here started to cool off, and then went back to bed around three, four in the morning.

It works for us because (1) as I said we're not sun or summer people, (2) we don't watch a lot of T.V. (so early morning infommericals hold no allure, and after Conan O'Brien is over we simply turn the set off), and (3) we like to read. All of us. Connor and Deirdre included. So, when it comes to winding down for bed we simply head into the bedroom (which is where the air conditioner and fan are anyway, it is nearly 20° cooler in our bedroom than in the rest of the house, so cool, in fact, we can sleep with quilts and be cozy) and read. I'm reading Stephen King's Duma Key right now (almost done, continue to monitor Bryan's Book Blog for further developments), Alisa is reading The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher's Intimate Investigation into the Prison of Modern Schooling by John Gatto, Connor is currently engrossed in books on sea life and coral reefs, and Deirdre, well Deirdre just likes to chew on whatever board book is nearby. Books truly are an acquired taste.

(Complaints can be sent to Bryan Terry, c/o The View from Utah at blogger.com...)

Anyway, the general result of this chronological inversion is that we are happier and healthier (I get physically ill when it gets too hot, Brasil was a blast, let me tell you... but later) and like to do things around the house, but the fly in the ointment is that I start work back up again in about a week and a little at that starts at 7:45 a.m. I need to start adjusting back, and I guess staying up 'til 6:00 a.m. like I am today doesn't exactly count, does it?

Deirdre's Superpowers

If I cannot be a trailblazer in this vast world of ours, at least let my life stand as a stern warning to those who come after me.

I come before you in that humble capacity at this moment to let you know this: Beware the drool of babies.

Because of the precious, precious drool that my lovely eight-month-old daughter secretes, I am now the proud owner of a $350, 160 GB black iPod Classic ... paperweight. Apparently dropping one's iPod as one exits one's vehicle does nothing to this space-age wonder. Leaving it in a 120°F+ car, the iPod laughs it off. However, a few ounces of caustic, caustic baby drool causes the iPod to blow a circuit. Literally. Deirdre got a hold of my iPod the other night, had it for all of two, maybe three, seconds before I wrested it from her (she's stronger than she looks) but it was to no avail.

By morning, my iPod refused to work. I took it to the local Apple store, and after some tinkering (which included making my sleek one-piece iPod into a two-piece electronic Oreo) I was able to see what ravages the saliva of a baby can do.

Quite literally, it burned a series of circuits inside the iPod. I saw it. Scorch marks and all. Deirdre is probably lucky that she did not recieve a shock.

The worst part of all this, besides the fact that I am out a $350 piece of technology which (with the exception of the car and my laptop) is the most expensive piece of equipment in the house, this is not the first time Deirdre did this to me. I recently had to purchase a new cellular phone because of my dear daughter's weapons-grade spit.

Why is it always cheaper to replace these kinds of things than repair them?

However, I can't blame everything on Deirdre. I have a pretty bad track record when it comes to electronics. I have already buried one laptop which had to have its hard drive replaced not once, not twice but three times, and when I bought my new laptop last August ... I had it less than a year when the hard drive completely disappeared after I returned from my trip to Maryland for the 2008 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR). I'd like to blame it on TSA and Homeland Security, others say to blame Windows XP but neither of those scapegoats put the tasty cracker in my mouth now, do they. So, I am currently schlepping on Alisa's laptop and we're doing pretty good since we've worked out a joint custody agreement for the computer.

As for the iPod, I am reduced to returning to use my first iPod (which was Alisa's) and which is vastly inferior to my snazzy Classic. It is a 5G iPod with 60GB of memory and is well-loved. A used Volvo to my dead 2009 Corvette. But, as they say, it only needs a motor and four wheels to get me where I need to go...

So, I guess where all of this is going is to serve as two warnings to you: (1) Keep all electronics out of the reach and mouths of babies and toddlers and (2) Don't let me anywhere near your electronic equipment. I am carrying some pretty bad mojo and dark juju with me.

So ... I Don't Get Pioneer Day

This sort of comment will probably be seen as "blasphemous" and might get my Utah citizenship revoked, but I just don't get the Utah holiday of Pioneer Day (also known as The Days of '47, as in 1847 when the pioneers arrived in the state). For those of you not in the know, Pioneer Day is the holiday here that celebrates the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.

It is commemorated by some large parades, downtown festivals (where Multi-Level Marketing schemes dominate) and the largest fireworks displays in Utah, as is my understanding ... and yes, they are larger than even the celebrations that take place on the Fourth of July (or so I have heard, whether that is true or just hype, I cannot say).

The point is, I don't see how attending a parade with floats that often have more to do with local clubs than the Mormon pioneers, riding sketchy-looking travelling carnival rides and stuffing your face with Navajo tacos and signing up to distribute Pampered Chef or NuSkin products while watching fireworks honors the memory of the hardships and sacrifices that the Mormon pioneers made in order to create a land where they could worship without persecution.

That is why the early Latter-day Saints left Illinois in the first place. They had been burned out of Upsate New York. Burned out of Ohio. Burned out of Missouri, and eventually burned out of Nauvoo, Illinois after the Prophet Joseph Smith was assassinated in Carthage Jail. They left in the dead of winter, many of them unprepared for the long journey ahead of them because they were fleeing before the mobs could descend on the city.

The trek from Illinois to Utah was not an easy one and many died along the way. Once they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, it was as if they had landed on a deserted planet. It took a lot of prayer, a lot of faith and a lot of miracles to survive the Valley's harsh climate and now, we celebrate their sacrifices by cramming our maws with charbroiled meats at festivals that we drove our gas-guzzling SUVs to.

Pardon me for saying so, but that doesn't seem like the proper way to honor the sacrifice of those pioneers, among whom were some of my ancestors.

There, now that I have that off of my chest, welcome to The View from Utah. Unlike Bryan's Book Blog, I anticipate that The View from Utah will be a lttle more like a traditional blog, and by way of introduction, I should mention—for those that blindly stumble across this blog—that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, married to the love of my life, Alisa, with two young kids (Connor is almost three and Deirdre is almost one). We are currently living in Orem, Utah, while I go to school at Utah Valley University (which until July 1st was known as Utah Valley State College) where I am a Literary Studies major (I hope to finally have my B.A. in April of next year after entering higher education in 1994), but will hopefully be moving out of Utah next year as I hope to go to grad school to get my Masters and then my Doctorate in Literary Studies.

Alisa and I practice Natural Family Living and Attachment Parenting. Our children cosleep, are not vaccinated, poop into cloth diapers and extend breastfeed on demand. While not vegetarian, we are certainly headed in that direction, and we eat organic and local whenever possible (and when we can afford it ... I am, after all, a "starving student" still). We are Democrats (yes, Virginia, there are Democrats in Utah), support Barack Obama and cannot stand Orrin Hatch or Mitt Romney.

I collect books (as anyone who has been to Bryan's Book Blog can attest) and my particular book obsession are horror novels from the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s.

Given all of this, we often find ourselves in direct opposition to Utah Mormon Culture (At this point I want to say that there is a difference between being a Latter-day Saint, being a Mormon and being a Utah Mormon. We'll get to that later though) and that's where the idea for this blog came from. I was pondering that uniquely Utah holiday of Pioneer Day and the above rant is the outcome.

So, if you're here and you're here to stay, "welcome," and if you're here and you don't find this blog to your taste, then "there's the door, don't let it hit you in the @$$ on the way out."