Bates Motel

Very few television shows are challenging, unnerving or horrifying. American Horror Story comes close. I watched a few episodes that focused on the side show and I found it interesting but not scary. Most clowns are annoying and I include the scary ones. If you want to do a clown character, it had better be perfect. Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons is perfect. That's about it.  The scary clown in that show wasn't scary. 

Bates Motel isn't just scary, it's disturbing. Hitchcock understood that you don't need excessive blood to terrify an audience. The scariest scenes in Psycho are when Norman Bates is talking to Marion Crane. Perkins is terrifying for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is how normal he is. He looks harmless. He is frail, looks weak, and dresses like a totally normal person. We expect villains and psychopaths in movies to look like Jason Voorhies or raging lunatics. 

The actor who plays Norman Bates here is outstanding. He's plays Bates the same way Perkins does-so normal that you know people who look and act like him-but in reality he's a raging psychopath who should not be in free society. The actress playing his mother is also quite good. We never got to see Norma Bates alive in the movie, it's only Normans thoughts masquerading as Norma. I thought that Norma Bates would be more manipulative and emotionally abusive than how Vera Farming is playing her, but Farming is still believable in the role.

Bates Motel is one of the few seriously creepy television show I've seen. 

Album of the weekend

Title of Show-Original Broadcast Recording 

And now it's time for something completely different.

And Title of Show surely is. It's a musical based with four outstanding actors/actresses playing themselves and a keyboard that looks like it's from the 1980's. Or, in the words of Hunter, one of the main characters, it's "a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical." In other words, it's meta. 

Title of Show has great songs, but it's more character based. The chemistry they have together is so outstanding that you can't help but be hooked in. The two women (Heidi and Susan in the original, but the names can be changed to the performers actually doing it) steal the show with their charm, wit and banter-but the two male leads (Hunter and Jeff) are often times just as amazing. 

Title of Show is funny without being cheesy and it's surprisingly touching. A few of the songs are real tearjerkers because you like the characters so much and you believe in their story. Just when they go of the heartstrings-they pull you right back into a Seinfeld-esque "No hugging and making up in the end" style. 

Title of Show is the most underrated musical of the last two decades. It's too quirky for Broadway, but that's okay. Quirky is good. 

Attaching political labels to Christ

It's very odd to me that people who don't believe in Jesus tell us how He would vote, but those of us who believe in Him would never apply political labels to Christ. 

Often times you will find what you seek. The Catholics (with some truth, actually) find Shakespeare to be a Catholic. The atheists find Marlowe to be an atheist. John Milton in some LDS circles is called "Milton the Mormon" because he is non-trinitarian. 

On social media I often find agnostics and non believers posting "Jesus was a socialist" type posts. They'll put a quote of His there and a scripture piece here and determine that Jesus was, indeed, a socialist. Often times people who say this would never talk about Christian social teaching on abortion, adultery or gay marriage but they become bible scholars because it suits their goal. 

The world was vastly different back when Christ lived. Our social structure, government and political structure was not even close to what it is today. While it's true, Christ did make political comments (Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods) He had better things to do than discuss political theory with Peter and James.  

Personally I think Jesus was a libertarian. After all, He was killed by the state. Doubt he'd be much of a fan. 

(Kidding, by the way. I don't attach political labels to Christ either) 

Being a "good person"

"I have a big heart"
"I am a good person"

Aside from calling yourself tolerant, both of these comments are among the most absurd things to say.

Are you good at something? I mean really, really good at something? Maybe chess. Video games. Billiards. I'm not-basically I have no enjoyable or unique skills. I'm horrible at chess, terrible at pool, and I lack the discipline to really excel at anything more than Fallout 3. Anyway, back to you.

If you are really, really good at something do you go around telling people you are better than them? You wouldn't, you'd simply know. LeBron James doesn't tell people he's a better basketball player than they are because he doesn't need to. It's just known. If you say you are a "good person" you automatically proved you aren't because a "good person" wouldn't say it. It's like saying you are humble. Truly humble people don't say they are humble. 

Same with the "big heart". I've seen people say they have "big hearts" who cheat on their husbands, ignore their family, and are as ice cold as the White Witch in Narnia. The size of your heart doesn't matter, it's your actions that do. If you hate everyone who doesn't agree with you, spout your anger towards the busboy on Twitter and are constantly talking about how the unfair the world is, you lose the right to say you have a "big heart." 

Making cigarettes illegal

A popular (but so far, unsuccessful) politician has said that he wants to "ban cigarettes". This is the same politician that wants to legalize marijuana. 

Obviously, I don't expect cogent thought from this guy, nor his followers. They emote, they don't think. But this was still pretty jarring. In fact, I want to make sure it's really true. Yes, it seems that Bernie Sanders really said that cigarettes should be banned but has gone on record that marijuana should be legal. 

I used to smoke cigarettes in high school, college, then off and on in my twenties. I quit about eight years ago. No regrets or shame. Life can be stressful and you need a pressure cooker. I don't advise smoking cigarettes, it's not a healthy habit and again, I haven't smoked in many years-but I'm not an anti-smoking zealot who thinks that all smokers are evil. In fact, I've always thought that bad filmmakers give villains cigarettes to smoke so that stupid or overly moralistic people can figure out who they can root against. "Hey! She's smoking! She must be evil!" Again, this is how stupid people know who to root against in Joel Schumacher movies. 

Anyway, back to banning cigarettes. A government banning cigarettes would be absurd simply because of the tax revenue that cigarettes provide. Like it or not, smokers pay huge taxes. The other grim truth is that smokers die earlier than non-smokers so they don't receive Social Security benefits.  

There are moral reasons not to ban cigarettes as well-yes, you read that correctly. The government should not tell me what to do with my body. Pro-chociers say this all the time. Because smoking cigarettes is unhip but smoking weed is cool, that "my body. my choice" part is ignored. A government has no business protecting you from yourself. If you want to smoke cigarettes, pot, snort cocaine or shoot up heroin-it really should be your choice. 

Arena Football

I went to an Orlando Predators game, and the Amway Center is absolutely gorgeous. Unlike some other arenas the seating is extremely comfortable, the concessions are still pricey but actually tasty and the whole arena has the vibe of an upscale mall. An added treat is that a parking garage is attached to it so you have a safe, well lit walk. 

All that is interesting but would be pointless if the event being held there was boring. I'm not into NFL football. Nothing against it but it's never been my big thing. I've always been a huge baseball fan and that's where my I get my sports fix. College football has grown on me, but I'm hardly a big fan. 

The rock band Kiss owns a struggling football team called "LA Kiss". In their inaugural season they had their own television show called "Fourth and Loud". It was a very interesting show. It showed how little Paul and Gene know about sports-expecting a championship in the expansion year of a franchise is laughable-and it also showed the players lives. Arena football is minor league football. The players aren't paid nearly as much as the NFL and therefore, the players are more accessible to the lives of everyday Americans. 

Sure the football "isn't as good" as the NFL but for a non NFL fan, I couldn't tell the difference. You are also close to the action, very close in fact. You can see the players talking to each other, you can see their faces when they take off the helmets. 

It's also high scoring and action packed. The field is smaller than the NFL and I'm sure there are other reasons, but the scores in Arena Football seem to be much higher than the scores in the NFL. 

Minor league sports have always had their benefits over the big leagues. It's cheaper to go to, usually not as popular as the big leagues and it's a little bit more of a party atmosphere. 

Arena football is football for people who aren't into football. 

Scripture Sunday-Mosiah 2:41

You Mormons are so happy all the time. 

Yes, yes we are. The Book of Mormon even says this. Perhaps one of the reasons we are happy is just what the passage says "consider the blessed and happy state of those keeping the commandments of God, for behold they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual." 

It gets better. "If they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, and thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness." 

This is the religion for those who like to party with the happiness. So many religious people are mopey, angry, sad or depressed. Sadly, they fall into the stereotypes that atheists and non believers apply to us. Don't be "those people." 

True LDS should show their inner happiness. The book of Mormon commands it, after all. 

LDS priesthood holders and hobbies

Can LDS men have different hobbies than "typical" guys? 

You bet we can. 

There is a meme going around that shows a father and son working on a van. The meme says "Memories aren't made by playing Xbox with Dad". Upfront-this is not about those who post the meme, it's about the meme itself. That meme is totally wrong. My father and I have great memories of us playing video games together on a Commodore 64. Hours were spent talking about every topic under the sun in front of an old tv, a 1541 disk drive and the original Castle Wolfenstien. It is without question some of the best memories I have of childhood, for sure. 

I've never heard a prophet say that in order to be a good priesthood holder, you have to have certain hobbies. You can enjoy comics, anime, video games, heavy metal-anything you want really and still give blessings and pass the sacrament. You don't have to enjoy home repair (I can barely change a light bulb), working on cars (I can barely pump gasoline), sports (I do love baseball) and scouting (The two weeks spent at a summer camp during childhood qualify as the worst two weeks of my life).  

Several LDS men I've spoken to feel deficient or in some way "not equal" to those LDS whose interests aren't the same as ours. Some people wrongly think video games or anime are "childish". You are of course free to think that way-but they are very wrong. It's just a different hobby.  

Oddly, what they may not realize is that having certain hobbies has nothing to do with what kind of priesthood holder you are. I've seen people who look very conservative and put on a show of holiness be the biggest hypocrite.  Some of the most moral people I know have tattoos, go to comic conventions and are big Star Trek fans. 

Your hobbies don't really mean anything. While it's true that you are what you do, that statement is more about how you treat people, your moral choices and not if you spend your time debating who has a better lightsaber technique. 

This post is for priesthood holders, which in the LDS world are men only. My personal view is that woman should have the priesthood, but that's a totally different post. 

What I'm curious about though-do LDS women feel like they have to act a certain way? Do they feel pressure if they don't have the same hobbies as their friends or families? 

Album of the weekend

Mighty Mighty Boss Tones-Let's Face It

This Mighty Mighty Boss Tones album was a bit controversial. It's thought of as too slick for their original fans and a bit of a "sell out" to their original sound and style. Bands are in a catch-22. They need to make money and there is nothing wrong with making money-but if they change their style while doing it, they are considered to be (with some accuracy) selling out for money and not "keeping it real". For what it's worth, I find this line of thinking both absurd and accurate. It happened to Green Day, Metallica, and to a small degree, the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones.

Ska is like a big band from the 1940's on crack. It was one of the first non-mainstream music genres I really got into because it's really big in Boston. If it's really big in Boston, it'll be really big in all of the northeast.

Let's Face It was certainly the album that brought the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones into the mainstream. Before Let's Face It, they released albums that were much louder and had more of a "frat boy" type of style. They were raw, undisciplined, and only cared about partying and being wrapped in plaid.

That's not to say this is a bad album-it's not. "The Rascal King" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Back in the late 90's-2000's it was actually my screen name on some forums and for AOL. The biggest hit on the album was "The Impression That I Get", which is another great song.

This album is ska for people who aren't really into the genre.

John Stossel

John Stossel, one of the most innovative and original journalists of the last 25 years, just announced that he has lung cancer.

While the prognosis is good, it's still not great news. After all, how can any cancer diagnosis be cause to celebrate?

He's an advocate for liberty, one of the few vocal libertarians in the news culture. His book "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity" is a must read. I believed a lot of the stuff he debunked, and you might too. You owe it to yourself to read it. 

Hope he gets better soon. God knows we need more journalists like him. Journalism in the mainstream is a strange industry. They pretend to be iconoclastic and hard nosed, willing to seek out truth wherever it is. In reality, they are establishment ass kissers who almost never challenge authority. They think the same on almost every major issue and are genuinely hostile to those who think differently. Aside from Mike Wallace (RIP) John Stossel was the only one who does what a journalist is supposed to do. He's cynical, asks hard questions of everyone-including government and politically correct social justice warriors-and investigates everything. In other words, he's the last of a rare breed.

Praying for his recovery. 

The Whole Foods cake drama

By now you have probably heard that a pastor in Texas has accused Whole Foods of writing a gay slur on a cake he bought. It's widely considered to be a hoax by a deeply troubled man. He claims to be a pastor-and while I have no problem with a gay man being a pastor-I have a huge problem with pastors who make false claims. 

Why he did it is a question. Was he trying to appear persecuted? Was he trying to show that he was the victim of a hate crime? Was he looking to milk a few bucks from Whole Foods? I can't read minds, so I have no idea why he did. I find many things about it strange, not to mention that he choose Whole Foods to extort. Whole Foods isn't really part of the vast right wing conspiracy. In fact, I'm guessing 50-60% of people (I'm being conservative, it's probably higher) who shop and work there support gay marriage. Social justice warriors turn on their own, don't they? 

Remember that psycho waitress who made up getting no tip from crazy Christians because they didn't agree with her "lifestyle"? She was dishonorably discharged from the Marines and an overall lunatic who made that up too. Both her and the pastor have become like Sabrina Erdely, the "journalist" who made up the story about a rape occurring at a frat party. The are so focused on social justice that they'll make up events because it fits their preconceived views. 

The damage these people do is huge. Mike Nifong was the evil (yes, evil) prosecutor who slandered the Duke lacrosse players. That he only got one day in jail is a travesty. He should have gotten several years for trying to destroy the reputation of innocent people. Because of people like this, every other legitimate hate crime or accusation of rape will be harder to believe. If social justice warriors had integrity-which I sometimes doubt they do-they'd be the first to decry these made up claims. 

Ebola, Zika, and scaring yourself to death

"Do you worry? You look like you do." -Mark Steyn 

Remember everyone getting really, really scared about Ebola? You had people online telling us that there was a government cover up and Ebola had broken out into the mainstream population. You had the 24 hour news stations over hyping the tragic death of someone who contracted the disease in Africa and died in America. Then, when a nurse had it who foolishly went on a plane-people went crazy saying that it was finally the end. Thank God for Shepard Smith from Foxnews. Their best anchor was the sole voice of reason there. 

I'm going to blunt, again. Those people claiming that Ebola would be the death of all of us were foolish at best, and delusional at worst. The odds of contracting Ebola are small, quite small really. You have a better chance of dying in a roller coaster accident. Think of that the next time you go to Disney. Hopefully I'll see you there. I love that place. 

Notice how the fear mongers never apologize? Of course they don't. There are many signs of wisdom, but there are also many signs of foolishness. One sign of foolishness is never apologizing or admitting that you are wrong. 

This brings us to Zika. I can guarantee you this : You will not die of Zika. It's massively overhyped, like SARS. Swine Flu. Ebola. Heterosexual AIDS. 

In the end, it's not up to me if you scare yourself to death. If you want to live in fear I feel sorry for you, but you are surely welcome to do so. What I do care about is if you spread fear. Sadly, people are gullible. It's easy to make them afraid and it's less easy to reassure them after they've been scared.

Life is actually getting better.  It's not a fact that people want to hear, but it is a fact. We have more free time, we work in better conditions, and we are living much longer, healthier lives. Why more people won't beleive this is beyond me. I guess it's fun to think that the end of the world is near for some reason. 

My personal, subjective belief is that we do live in the latter days. But that could be a long time in the eyes of the Lord. Every generation at times thought they were living in end times. So far, they have been wrong. 

Robert De Niro and "the truth about vaccines"

Oh Bobby, what have they done to you?

How the mighty have fallen. He's gone from some of the greatest movies of all time (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver) to movies that are terrible. Meet the Fockers? Really? Ben Stiller-another one of my favorites, also continues to whore himself when he appears in those movies. Two of my favorite movies of all time are Raging Bull and Reality Bites, for the record. 

Back to De Niro. A big problem in our society is that people believe everything actors, celebrities and "doctors" say. Just because you are/were a good actor-even a legendary one at one time-doesn't mean you have knowledge of every subject known to man. Sure, you have the right to spout off idiotic views (Gwyneth Paltrow, anyone?) but you don't have to right to be taken seriously.

Same with doctors. A physician who sees patients on a regular basis doesn't know much about complex heart surgery. Sure, they'll know more than I would, but just having an MD doesn't mean you know everything about medicine.   

I'm not a doctor so I don't claim to be an expert in the medical area. I'm not a science guy either (just never appealed to me. I was/am much more interested in the humanities and history) but I do like reading about pseudo-science. Most anti-vaccination information out there is totally absurd. It has the same scientific merit as homeopathy. If you want to not vaccinate your kids, fine-but a good thing to remember? People are alive today because of vaccines. No one really gets polio, small pox, typhoid fever-and yes, it is because of vaccines. 

It's sad. I never thought De Niro could sink lower than his recent movies, but he's doing a good job with his latest project. 

Scripture Sunday Mosiah 29:28

Mosiah seems very political to me.  Sure, you can argue that many passages in the Book of Mormon are political. After all, the words liberty and equality are used often and a"King Benjamin" is one of the more important and memorable characters. In my personal, subjective view Mosiah seems to be the most political. 

In this passage Mosiah reminds his people that judges are not supreme. If they don't "judge you according to the law that you have been given" they are to be "judged by a higher judge." In our secular world, it often seems that some judges get away with rulings that we personally are appalled by. We should strive to remember that justice delayed isn't justice denied, and no matter how high and mighty your station might be, there will always be an ultimate judge. 

 (side note-Auto correct kept changing "Mosiah" to "Josiah". I hate you auto correct, you are the biggest pain in the ass in the history of texting and writing!)  

Bad tattoo ideas

"If you want a tattoo, wait a year. If you still want it, go get it"-Axl Rose. A rare good idea from him. 

Your boyfriend/girlfriends name-It's not a good idea to get someones name on your body, unless it's your own child, parent, or grandparent, etc. What about your spouse? I'm vehemently anti-divorce. I think it's a horrible thing that should be avoided at all costs. Depends on how secure you are with your spouse though. As good as things are now with your husband, you really don't know how things will be in two years. Do I speak from personal experience? Have I ever gotten the tattoo in honor of someone whom I no longer even like? I'll never tell. 

The new trendy style-Whatever it is. I love the trash polka style and think it's truly great and innovative artwork. Will I feel that way in ten years? Hopefully-after all I'm pretty sure in my art tastes, but I may not. I'd rather get a trash polka painting, wait ten years-and then go from there. 

Any tattoo on your face-listen carefully to this one. I love tattoos. I love the culture, I love the artwork, I love the artists themselves. In a world of mindless conformity, tattoo artists are the last ones who truly represent individuality and freedom. Tattoos are like guide marks on your body-each one should tell a story that represents you. All that said, not everyone agrees with me. Some people still think tattoos are thuggish, trashy, disgusting, and nasty. It should be very clear that I disagree with them, but a sign of maturity is accepting that not everyone sees the world like you do. Therefore, if you want to get a tattoo on your face, make damn sure you know what you are doing and know the consequences. Many artists still refuse to do the face. I have the drawing ability of a person with no arms or legs-in other words, I can't draw anything-but if I could, I wouldn't tattoo the face either. 

Presidential candidates/political heroes-With this one, and like a lot of other tattoos-just be careful. What you believe at 20 may not be what you believe at 36. It happened to me. If you asked me at 20 if I would be an LDS at 34, I would have laughed at you. Politically my views have moderated slightly too. So while this isn't a bad idea per se, just be prepared that people generally change their views as they get older. Well, smart people do. If you think the same on every issue at 40 as you did at 20, you've wasted twenty years. 

Swear words-Like I mentioned before, I do not have the mouth of a good little LDS boy. With apologies to my current bishop, I can curse like a drunken sailor who slammed his finger with a hammer. That's a long way of getting the f-word tattooed on your knuckles. You might think you are "sticking it to the man" or "being an outsider" but this is a sure fire way to tell the world that you are an angry little potential homicidal maniac. Good luck getting a job too with this one. 

Album of the weekend

Soundgarden-Superunknown

You can thank Kurt Cobian for this. I've been in a grunge phase. 

Like Nirvana, Soundgarden defined a genre. Not as influential or as well known as Nirvana, but Soundgarden is still one of the greatest grunge bands of all time, for sure. This album is correctly viewed as fantastic. 

This album has a creepy feeling. The video for Black Hole Sun is particularly odd. The lyrics deal with jail, depression, violence, anger-it's not an album to listen to if you deal with depression. It might make it worse. Or, like the REM song "Everybody Hurts" it might make you feel better. Just knowing that others have dealt with the same feelings you have can help. 

Grunge music has a darker feel that what people think. They dismissively refer to it as "garage band" music-but that doesn't give it the credit it deserves. Those who dismiss it are usually hair band fans (a genre I also like) who feel like grunge pushed their type of music aside. It's not true, of course. All music has a lifespan. Grunge came along when Gen X needed their own sound. This album is a fantastic representation of the genre. 

Moral claims

I feel sorry for anyone-not just Mormons-who tries to make any moral claim in 2016.

People on the internet love to argue and the overwhelming majority of them have the righteous zeal of a fundamentalist preachers. Generally Christians are among the most forgiving and non judgmental, even though the stereotype of us is the total opposite.  In fact, Christians are usually the first ones who will admit to moral failings. A sure fire way to show that you are a scumbag is talk about what a good person you are. A truly good person wouldn't say they are good. It's like being humble. Humble people don't say they are humble. Another irritating saying is "He/She/it has a big heart." It doesn't matter what the size of your heart is, it's your actions that matter. 

People used to get their morality from religion, but more and more people are getting it from politics. That's not a good sign. If you use the state as a starting point for your morality, you'll end up justifying war, slavery, Jim Crow Laws, envy, stealing, etc. All of those things are charecteristics that don't really make you a "good person." 

Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Mississippi

I've already talked about my thoughts on Paypal and North Carolina. I hope this isn't more of the same, but it's on my mind as well.  It's slightly different, in my view. Paypal is a hypocritical business and Bruce and Bryan are arrogant "celebrities". So I hope I don't plagiarize myself. 

Bruce Springsteen is still an A-lister and can still draw in a crowd. Bryan Adams might still have fans, but he's hardly at the Springsteen level. Both men are more talented than me, for the record-but that's not saying much.

We all know Bruce is a regular guy. He wears blue jeans, t shirts, flies on private jets, sends his kids to an elite private school,  and regularly demands things on his rider that most blue collar guys could surely afford. 

He has every right to his views and opinions-and so do I. 

Bruce is trying to appear cool and hip. He doesn't want to be associated with the blue collar people he apparently likes because he looks down on them and their views. He doesn't have to worry about his own daughter being assaulted in the bathroom because she doesn't need to use the public bathrooms with the dirty commoners.  

Springsteen is too arrogant to realize that he's hurting his fans who pay a lot of money to see him. I'm sure he has some transgender fans. He's hurting them too. Being transgender is fine, and I'm sure most transgender people like to relax and have fun. Maybe they relax by going to concerts, which they can't do now because Springsteen is trying to appear noble. Did I expect different behavior from Springsteen? Of course not. He's always been totally out of touch with his fans. 

I do apologize for blogging about the NC laws twice in a week, but it's a hot button issue with interesting storylines. 

Notice I didn't say much about Bryan Adams. To be honest, I think very few people even remember him until this concert news. He can't afford to alienate anyone and should count himself damn lucky that people still want to go to his shows. 

True confessions-The Joe Schmo Show

An obscure show on Spike TV, The Joe Schmo Show satirizes reality TV in all it's cheesy absurdity. It's actually two things-a satire of reality tv, and a roast of the "Schmo". 

The premise is you take one guy (they had a girl once) as the mark and try to convince him he is on a reality show that he doesn't know is fake.  In the last season, the mark thought he was auditioning for a bounty hunter job. The other people "competing" against him are actors who play stereotypes of reality show contestants. The superficial model, the token minority, the asshole, the schemer, and the sweet little innocent virgin. As a special treat-last season had Lorenzo Llamas as...Lorenzo Llamas. Major kudos to him for being able to poke fun at himself. He played the high maintenance Hollywood star. 

The show works if the mark doesn't find out he's being played-and he also needs to be a likable guy. The last seasons star, Chase-was a super nice guy. He seemed to do everything right. 

I'm not sure how you can do this show again and again-since it's based in a deception, the more people find out about the show, the harder it is to deceive-but I hope they find out how. The really cool idea would be to have the mark "in" on the joke. Make it really meta this time. 

  

Sex scandals and politicians

I've never wondered why when a politician/preacher gets into a sex scandal people celebrate. The public loves to take down a hypocrite. When someone gets caught practicing something different than they preach, the public just loves to tear them down. I'm just as guilty. I love laughing at Eliot Spitzer and his prostitution scandals.  Seeing this guy crumble away was just as enjoying to me as the Ted Cruz scandal must be to those on the other side. 

Looking back, both of us were wrong. I was wrong taking glee in Spitzers downfall (and that of John Edwards) just as much as people were wrong taking glee in Larry Craig getting caught in an airport bathroom or Mark Sanford lying about hiking in the Appalachian trail. Depending on what side you are on, you'll surely make excuses for "your guy". Anthony Weiner worked very hard for his constituents. Mark Sanford was cutting edge on charter schools.  If your guy agrees with you, you will obviously be more sympathetic in forgiving his behavior.   Self-critque and politics has never gone along well. 

Remember Paul of Tarsus? He was a murderer before his conversion. That's right-he killed people. The bible even says he was "there" for the martyrdom of Stephen. Oddly though, Jesus still appeared to him on the road to Damascus. David also committed adultery and covered it up by killing the woman's husband. The Lord still allowed David to do great things in life. 

If Paul or David ran for office in 2016 America, there is no way they would survive. I wonder how many great leaders we have never had because of our quick to judge and unable to forgive culture.

Scripture Sunday Alma 24:16

The book of Mormon talks a lot about the Nephites destroying other people. God often tells the Nephites to defend their "liberties" and their families by 'utterly destroying" anyone who might threaten them. 

This scripture shows something very different. The Lord is telling His followers to "hide their swords away" even to the point of burying them. While I don't advise it in the modern day, I'm sure some LDS become pacifists because of the passages like this. 

Interestingly, the swords are buried in order for them to stay "as bright as a testimony". I've always had a strong testimony, but never thought of it as shiny. I like that image!  

Rolling Stone and the 40 greatest punk albums of all time

Well, they got some things right. 

The Ramones self titled album is number one, the Clash with their self titled album is number two. The Sex Pistols, Gang of Four, and The Stooges are also in their top five.

"Nevermind" by Nirvana is their choice for number ten. It's an outstanding album of course, but it's grunge, not punk. Sure, the two genres have a lot in common-but this album is not punk. It doesn't have the raw aggression of punk-it's too apathetic in some songs. Gen X is about "eh" and while punk can be apathetic, punk is known for having an edge in a totally different style.

The New York Dolls self titled album is in at 15, and I'd put them much higher. The case could easily be made that they were the most influential glam rock band of all time, but they are quite punk. Like the column says, they had an "aggressive, sloppy, androgynous and loud" style. All of that is correctly associated with punk.

"Dookie" is number 18. It's clearly the best album by Green Day, for sure. It is not my favorite album by a long shot, and Green Day isn't my favorite band either, but I would probably place this there too. I'd put number 22 (Bikini Kill, The Singles) before Green Day though. Bikini Kill is the best female led punk band of all time, and it's just flat out one of the best punk bands of all time, for sure.

Minor Threat can fight the power better than anyone. This hardcore straight edge band was the grandaddy of the DC punk scene. They aren't as well known as I'd like them to be. Number 27 is their "Complete discography".

Number 37 is a misfire. Blink-182 is pop punk and it's very good pop punk-but it doesn't belong on a list of the fifty greatest punk albums of all time. It's much too, well "pop-ish". Sort of like a frat boys idea of what punk is.

Finally, number 40 is "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables". Um, no. The Dead Kennedys were the first political punk band many of us ever heard. Their songs are "hardcore" but they aren't pure comedy. In fact, some would argue that the Dead Kennedys are laughing at those who don't take them seriously. This album belongs in the top ten. Maybe even top five.

Most startling omissions: No Operation Ivy or Rancid. Wow. 

Of course, I didn't talk about all 40 selections. I probably will mention the overwhelmingly majority of these bands eventually, but I only briefly read that article. Ever since Rolling Stone got busted lying about "A Rape on Campus' I've been on a RS strike. Sad too, because it use to be my bible.

Album of the weekend

Bush-Sixteen Stone

Some bands only have one good record in them.  The other albums can't match the brilliance, energy and sound of the first. Some bands stop trying-and some bands do try but just can't do it.

I don't know what happened to Bush.  Their first album that is a classic, on par with Pearl Jam's Ten. Ten was a landmark for grunge, and Sixteen Stone took the ball and ran with it. Sadly, Bush had nothing left after this one. While Pearl Jam has had many, many other great albums-Bush has been in steep decline. Confession: I thought Bush would stay around forever releasing great albums and Pearl Jam would never be heard from again. I think I was wrong about that.

Machinehead is Enter Sandman for the grunge crowd. A song that is instantly recognizable form the beginning. Glycerine is one of the few ballads I actually like-I'm just not a ballad guy. 

This was their masterpiece. 

Paypal leaving North Carolina

While I'm not socially liberal, I'm not socially conservative either. I think abortion should be legal in some circumstances, I think homosexuality is natural and that gay marriage is a-ok. I also think creationism should not be taught in public schools. Sure, none of that makes me a radical. But for a LDS in good standing who truly believes that the Book of Mormon is scripture-those aren't normal views. 

But Paypal leaving North Carolina because of the religious freedom law is absolutely absurd to me. Will they still do business in Saudi Arabia? What about Russia? Both countries have virtually zero tolerance for homosexuality. I think it's still punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. 

Other than Paypal, there are several other big businesses that said they wouldn't do business in those states that have religious freedom laws. New York has apparently banned "non-essential" travel to those states. 

Oddly, I don't see the governors of Mississippi or North Carolina banning non essential travel to New York or Minnesota. 

Tolerance should go both ways. If I have to be tolerant of your lifestyle-than you should be tolerant of mine as well. 

9/11 truthers

So, there are people out there who think 9/11 was an "inside job". I'm sure you know this. 

I try not to talk to conspiracy theorists. They don't speak the same language as normal people.  If I see any on my Facebook, I'll block them. I don't need that kind of lunacy in my life. Am I intolerant of them? Damn straight. 

 Who are these people? What causes them to believe these things? Is it a lack of intelligence? No. Some are very bright. In a staggering disgrace to a fine university, I guess one prominent whack job conspiracy theorist is a BYU professor. We are not all like this. In fact, some LDS in good standing are mortified that the university will kick out men with beards but let this guy spread lies.  

I think conspiracy theorists are people who want to to feel like they are the under appreciated geniuses in society. Maybe even prophets themselves. After all, they know the truth. And all of us don't. 

Thankfully, there are websites out there that debunk idiotic claims about 9/11 being an "inside job". Anyone who wants to believe in the 9/11 "truth" movement should do a quick Google search-"Debunking 9/11 conspiracies". 


Bill Clinton said it best. When a lunatic conspiracy theorist accused him of being implicated in 9/11 he said,  "An inside job? How dare you."

Amen Bill. 

Kurt Cobain

Nevermind was one of the greatest albums ever recorded. It pushed the already dying hair bands out of the way with a final shove, and by doing so it brought the grunge sound to the mainstream. It will forever be one of the greatest albums in musical history. I've already included in my albums of the weekend posts, and with good reason. I stand by calling it the greatest album of the 90's. It was not only genre defining, it was generational defining. 

Cobain, however is a different post altogether. He was a deeply, deeply troubled person. In some ways, he was also the person he despised. He didn't like wealth or "corporate music"-yet his albums sold millions and he certainly took the money. The house he lived in was quite nice. Although the book by Christopher Sanford was controversial, many of it the facts turned out to be true. He didn't treat women well-but he despised the jocks that didn't treat women well either. He hated bullies-but by all accounts he could certainly act like one at some times. 

No one is perfect. We all have flaws and unpleasant parts of our personality. Cobain however seems to have the same effect on people that John Lennon did. John Lennon was a nasty person. He had a serious violence towards women problem, he spent his life in a heroin induced fog, and was a horrible parent. Cobain might never have been any of those things, but he was hardly the hero that some make him out to be. The best description of both men? Troubled artists. Certainly not as saintlike as thought of. 

Grammar Nazis

Ahh, the grammar Nazis. 

You know the type. The kind that spend their time on social media correcting grammar, spelling, and basically attempting to show the world how smart they are and how stupid you are.

Making mistakes in grammar and spelling is common and everyone does it-from Ph.D's in English to high school drop outs. There are also words that some of us have always had trouble with. For me it's "your" and "you are". 

My major in college was English, but because I :: gasp :: sometimes use the wrong version of "your" or "you are" people are quick to point it out. "You majored in English? You made a grammar mistake?!" Yes. There are also books that you've read that I haven't, too. 

When I see a photographer take a bad picture or a math major come to the wrong conclusion in a math problem-I don't say anything. I know people are human are make mistakes, but the bigger thing is I don't try to be obnoxious by pointing them out. 

Scripture Sunday Helaman 14:8

Thinking we aren't Christian? Well, this book of Mormon quote should help you out. Like John 3:16, this is blunt and to the point. He who believes in the Son of God will have everlasting life. 

Sounds good to me. What more can you really say? 

Happy Sunday!

April General Conference

Hope you have a blessed and happy General Conference! 

I love General Conference. It gives me time to ignore the rest of the world and just focus on being LDS for the weekend. If I'm traveling during it (going out to get groceries, etc) I'll try to listen to it on the Mormon Channel. 

Seeing all the apostles and the prophet under one roof makes me feel a special connection to them. When I heard Hangar 18 for the first time, I felt as though Megadeth made the song just for me. Ignoring the fact that millions of people have heard the song, it felt then-and still to some degree feels like it today-that it's a private thing between myself and Dave Mustaine. Same with General Conference. Sometimes I feel like the apostles and prophets are speaking personally just to me. 

God bless! 

Album of the weekend

Johnny Cash-At Folsom Prison

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"

When you've been covered by Social Distortion, Nine Inch Nails, Phish, American Idol and Ray Charles, it is safe to say you are a musical genius. 

Johnny Cash is rightfully considered one of the greatest musicians of all time. His music transcends styles and formats. "At Folsom Prison" is his classic live album and one of the first live albums many of us heard, aside from Kiss alive. Two vastly different but still great artists. Kiss with the glitz and glam and the stripped down, no BS style of Johnny Cash. 

These songs are dark. Many are about murders. Folsom Prison Blues is about someone who famously "Shot a man in Reno" and my personal favorite on the album, "Cocaine Blues" is also about a fugitive murderer. Something even more strange is that the same guy who wrote "The Giving Tree" (Shel Silverstein) also wrote some songs sung by Johnny Cash. Talk about a contrast. From childrens literature to writing songs preformed by a guy whose music really isn't appropriate for kids. 

Prison shouldn't be a time of celebration and concerts, but let's look past that for now. The man in black is allowed to be himself. When he wants to talk about murders, poverty, or in his later years-a witness for Christ!-he's earned that right.