Blog Update

So, you can tell I've been a little unmotivated and a little busy lately. I'll be going on a much needed break until October 26th. I will not post again until then, and I'm sure both readers are just devastated by it. 

Dogs and humans

I love dogs. I've owned many wonderful dogs in my life and now I'm the proud owner of a bull terrier named Jaina, after the expanded universe Star Wars character.  She's the same breed as the Target dog, but the breed is not for everyone. Their history is a bit troubled-they were used as fighting dogs in their past, and I'm sure that in the wrong hands they could become extremely aggressive and very dangerous. Like all responsible owners of the breed, I'm careful to correct nay aggression that she might show. "Correct" doesn't mean use force or get violent-but it does mean they need firm leadership.

Humanizing dogs is a major problem in society because it's not fair to the dog. If you are desperate to treat something like a human-have a baby, not a dog.  Dressing up a dog in human clothes or having it be carried in your purse or giving it "people food" and reading it stories before bedtime shows that you are lacking something in you own life. Dogs are wonderful companions to humans and like I said-I love dogs and value them deeply. I also realize that some people get a dog for the wrong reason, sometimes because they are lacking something in their life.

Speaking of "wrong reasons" among the worst thing you can do is get a protective dog for some macho statement. Most men who act overly macho all the time are trying to overcompensate, and I've seen men who act like that get a pit bull or a rottie just to show the rest of the world how tough they are. Usually they can't provide the leadership that the dog needs and the dog turns into a violent monster. It's sad, because in the end the dog might kill another dog or much worse, another human.

Name calling

It is the nature of the internet to disagree, argue and debate. I accept this and so should everyone else on the internet. You don't want to be like the person who posts "99% of you won't repost this" status updates and the old lady who has "co-exist" bumper stickers-who think they can change the world by doing that. Like I've mentioned before part of being a grown up is realizing that you can't change people-they have to do so with their own actions and choices. Moving on.

I see people all the time on the internet call anything they disagree with "stupid". Or worse, they call the people they disagree with "stupid". Sure, some people make life choices the rest of us disagree with or say things that aren't the most cogent or logical-but calling everything you disagree with "stupid" or "foolish" shows a staggering lack of character on the person hurling the insult, not the person receiving them.

I know why people on the internet use name calling-it makes them feel better about themselves. Calling people names (unless it done in jest. Big, big difference between playful razzing between two friends and calling people you never met "dickheads") is obviously trying to cover up your own inadequacies.

Wearing what you want to church

LDS are expected to wear their Sunday best to church. You might be looked at differently if you do not, but in the end, wear whatever you are comfortable with.

Upfront, it's important to remember that no matter what you hink, do or wear, you will surely find someone who will complain about it. They do so to appear self righteous, holier than thou, or sometimes it's just because they are a jerk or a bully.

I usually wear a polo shirt and khakis. Ever since Catholic school I don't like wearing a suit and tie to anything. It makes me feel like I'm gong to a funeral. Church should be a joyous event-and while it does have a bit of solemnity to it being super serious and severe isn't exactly the warm and and friendly kind of believers that we should be.

Disagreements

There is something truly special about friends who are so close to you that you can disagree with them (sometimes strongly) and no one cares.

Anyone with strong views who is unafraid to share them better have the backbone and understanding to know that you can't please everyone.  Just expressing a view, you'll get someone angry. Usually, it's the tolerant people who are the first to block/defriend you. I know I've said that before, but it does merit repeating: The tolerant are the most likely to show screaming rages of intolerance.  Christopher Hitchens said it best, as he usually does "I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open mindedness."

Back to disagreements and friendships. In the world of social media and hyper sensitivity, we are quick to ban anyone from our lives if they disagree with us or "offend" us. Rare is the person who is strong enough - and secure in their own views - who can disagree with someone and still remain friends.

In other words-people need to grow up and stop acting like a 12 year old. If you only have friends who agree with you, you may not have friends. 

Ronald Reagan

I've been in a Ronald Reagan phase. He's always been among my favorite people to read about-both his Hollywood career and political career are amazing. Most people would not be able to excel in one of those careers. While he wasn't the greatest Hollywood actor (He's underrated though. Kings Row still holds up today) he made a lot of money and was very successful. Then, after a rough personal time-he bounced back from movies and thrived in the political world.

My favorite Reagan books are Ronald Reagan by John Patrick Diggins and A Different Drummer by Michael Deaver. Diggings discusses Reagan having more in common with Emerson-both had an innate positivity, a trust in human nature and a distrust of original sin-than with the religious right or "neocons". Deaver was one of the presidents most trusted aides. In fact, Reagan even mentioned once that Deaver was like a brother to him. Denver was right there for many of the key decisions in the life of Reagan. His love and admiration for the president is obvious. 

His auto-biography was called "An American Life" and it truly was one. A second chance marriage, a second chance career. America is many things, but it's mostly the land of second chances. President Reagan epitomized that. 

Album of the weekend

I know it's two weeks in a row where I don't have an album of the weekend. Both readers are surely devastated. I'm currently in the process of listening to this weeks choice, which was released this morning. I haven't had a chance to listen to it completely, so it'll be talked about next week. 

Feeling like a 1%er?

You should. If you live in America, you are a "have" in the war between the haves and the have nots. No, you aren't a 1%er, but if someone is lucky or works hard enough-well it's their right to be a 1%er. 

What most people have in America would be considered luxurious in most other countries. When I see people complain about "the rich", I usually see them doing it on social media. In Africa, the poor don't have the opportunity to complain via Facebook. In India, the poor usually are too busy starving to think about what car they can drive. 

Poverty exists in America-even in the extreme form. Most "poor" people though aren't starving. If you take a look at America you'll see that many people struggle with obesity, in particular poor people. Like I mentioned before-poor people in Africa and India don't struggle with obesity. They die of malnutrition and hunger. 

I've said things like this before, and of course-I've been accused of being mean, insensitive, and the worst in 2016-lacking compassion. One person in particular said it best "I know you have a big heart, but it isn't showing right now." It's flattering she said that, even though I've always thought that the size of your heart doesn't matter. It's what you do with it. Many people describe themselves as having "big hearts" but do nothing with it. 

Envy is also sinful, though no one talks about it anymore. 

Not caring about every single issue

I'm a passionate guy. I'm passionate about my hobbies, my interests, my political and religious views. Like Howard Roark in my all time favorite novel The Fountainhead, I can't do something I love only halfway. Usually people who care too much or are intense are laughed at in this culture-it's much more cool and hip to be detached. 

Now that that's out of the way, isn't there something obnoxious about people who get caught up in every single social cause, food trend, and latest moral craze? I'm talking about the moms who only feed their kid organic and breastfeed until they are 15. The celebrities who preach about environmentalism from their private jets. The preachers who want to ban the latest dance craze or video game. These people are so frustrating. 

It's okay to not care about a certain trendy social cause. In fact, it may very well keep you sane. If you worried about every single tree that was cut down by those "evil" lumberman, you wouldn't have the energy to worry about every manatee killed by a boat. If you worry about every manatee, you won't worry about malaria in Africa killing people left and right. 

The average human doesn't have the compassion level to care about all these issues. First off, if you cared about all of them passionately you'd be too busy trying to cure them to worry about other issues. Second, most people who care about all those issues don't care about them. They just want to seem like "Mr/Mrs Compassionate and wonderful." Digging deeper, they do nothing to actually alleviate the issue they "care" about. 

Sound harsh? Well it is, and it's also true. Look around. It's good to be committed to a cause-in fact, it's a good thing to care about several causes-but it's a better thing to do something meaningful to help those causes than jumping from cause to cause to show you "care". 

Motivated by me not caring about GMO foods, global warming, breastfeeding, and saving public libraries. I know, I'm such an immoral badass. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

There is nothing less "Rock and Roll" than a hall of fame that apparently claims to be "Rock and Roll".

Obviously-I like music. I like "Rock and Roll." In fact, I like the traditional pioneers of the genre like Buddy Holly, Elvis and Little Richard (yes there are more, those are the first three that just came into mind). I think the terms "legend" and "icon" are thrown away much too easily in this society but those men are truly iconic.  Without them, Rock and Roll would have developed but it would have taken years longer.

A Hall of Fame is a mainstream, established institution that tries to sell you what their version of Rock music is. It's sanitized, overly commercial and has no soul or innate passion. Basically, it's the antithesis of what rock and roll should be.

The Loki Anti-LDS Troll

In the great movie Dogma, there is a scene in the beginning of the movie where Loki, the character played by Matt Damon, is in the process of debunking the Catholic faith of a nun. Sure, it's just a movie, but I get the feeling that's how a lot of anti-religious people feel. So arrogant that after talking to any foolish believer for five minutes, the can debunk their faith, claim a victory, and leave the fool in tears. The meme of the fat, arrogant looking atheist with the shirt that says "I'm an atheist, debate me" comes to mind.  In the LDS online community, virtually every believer has encountered this type of person before.

There are all sorts of anti-LDS people out there. Some are former lifelong members who are so bitter and angry towards the church that al they can do is spew bile towards active, believing members. Some are people who have never been members but believe everything  negative that they read on the internet about the church. Some are what I call "The Loki Trolls" (I am so witty) because they seek out believers only to debunk and destroy everything that the believer thinks.

These types of atheists/non believers are the most obnoxious because of their level of self denial. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that they can say that most thinking believers haven't heard before. "Did you know Joseph Smith had multiple wives?" "Have you ever read No Man Knows my History?" The answer is yes. Most believers are not fools, even if you think they are. There is nothing they haven't heard before and won't hear again. In fact, most believers are far more savvy than atheists think they are.

General Conference

Happy General Conference weekend everyone. There will be no blog today. 

Album of the weekend update

On a road trip today, so there will be no album of the weekend. 

"Seven Year Switch" tv show

There is a new show on Lifetime called "Seven Year Switch". I have yet to see it, but it seems to be about couples who have been together for seven years and are in a bit of a down patch switching partners and seeing if that helps their relationship. I love reality shows and I find the Lifetime show "Married at First Sight" both addicting and incredibly fascinating. Instead of cheapening marriage, I think Married at First Sight shows how important it is.

I'm not sure about the Seven Year Switch show. It's trying to show that the grass isn't always greener, and I understand why it's doing that. My concern is that it's also going to make the couples who partake in it more envious and perhaps absence won't make the heart grow fonder. I'm not sure a struggling couple should spend time apart at all, especially with another person.

Clerks 3

So apparently, Kevin Smith has announced that there will be a Clerks 3. Click here for details, and to see a cool picture of Jay and Randall. Jeff Anderson, who played Randall, held out for awhile but apparently decided the money and time were right and agreed to take the role.

I loved the first movie. In fact, it's one of my all time favorite movies. I thought the second was shaky, and I have absolutely no desire to see the third. There are only so many stories to tell and who wants to see two guys pushing fifty make dick jokes and talk about how bad their lives are? Eventually if your life is terrible, you need to take responsibility for it instead of complaining. Every story needs an end point and to go out gracefully is an art form. One that Kevin Smith might not be familiar with.

Is being LDS easy?

No.

One of the bigger issues converts face is a lack of understanding from lifelong Latter Day Saints. I can understand the lifelong member side-if you've never smoked a joint or been a heavy drinker-you don't know how hard it is to quit. Worse, many LDS assume it's "easy" for converts to give up lifelong habits and not miss them.

I hope this doesn't turn into a bitch-fest-you know I have nothing but respect for all my brothers and sisters in the church-but here goes. 

Being LDS is not easy. The time commitment alone takes awhile to get used to. It's been my experience that active LDS usually associate with other active LDS, and most of their close friends/family are in the church.  That's fine and expected-most atheists associate with atheists, most vegans with other vegan. We tend to be most familiar with people who share our values.

Trying to explain to lifelong members that we have friends/family outside the church and we enjoy spending time with them too is often quite difficult. You can get blank stares, confrontation, preaching-you name it when decline temple trips, leave church early, etc.

The common response from the more obtuse members is "Well, being LDS isn't easy. Not everyone can do it." The answer is "No, being LDS isn't easy, but you need more understanding for those of us who aren't lifelong members." It's very strange to me that many lifelong members claim they are misunderstood-yet simply don't even try to "understand" what converts go through with their families and having other responsibilities. 

Just trying to make a joke!

So, in case you haven't figured it out I like to make jokes about polygamy.   When I was Catholic I'd make jokes about Catholic schooling, being an altar boy, etc. I'm also able to make fun of my political views. 

You shouldn't take anything too seriously. Even though everyone has that one issue they can't joke about. It might be suicide, eating disorders, autism-they are almost certain to remind you that you have offended them in some way. 

Comedians have a tough job in 2016. Growing up, the people who usually were offended by everything were religious types. I'm religious as well (surprise!) but I'm not one of those types that wants everything I disagree with banned. Now, it's gotten to the point where it's the social justice warriors that are offended by everything. Even people who are leftists themselves (Tina Fey, Louis CK, Amy Schumer) have gotten into the crosshairs if they say something that doesn't fit in with the politically correct line. 

It's scary. Free speech doesn't care about your fragile feelings, and it shouldn't. There are things you shouldn't joke around about unless you really know someone-just because you you are being unpc you shouldn't be a jerk-but if someone makes a joke you find offensive the best thing to do is really ignore it, not get offended. 

Gordon Hinckley again said it best. "Happy is the man who can brush off offending remarks and go the other way". 

Big Brother

Talking about the show on CBS, not the government entity talked about in 1984. I don't like that big brother, but I really like the show on CBS. 

In fact, the past few years I've gotten the live feed. I check online message boards, I follow the show on Showtime-I really am a big fan. 

I don't like the past few seasons. I preferred it when the had a truly diverse group of people from age 18-75. African American sons of preachers. Conservative Catholics. Atheists and people hostile to religion. They haven't had a libertarian punk Mormon on-hey producers, here I am! 

Just kidding. With my ego and personality I wouldn't make it past week one. 

Big Brother is one of the grandaddies of reality tv. It's more of a game show after all, these people do have to do things like win competitions and form alliances. It's not like the Kardashians where they simply show famous people living their lives or Dance Moms (my significant other loves that show) where it shows people screaming at each other. 

In a show like Big Brother or Survivor you have to walk a fine line. You can't come across as too strong or strategic or they'd throw you out. You can't sit on your butt all day and do nothing because you won't last long. You can't play the game as "Simon Pure" because the game doesn't work that way. Seriously, you can't tell someone "Ok, we're going to vote you out now." That's not Big Brother. Sure you don't have to lie about family members having diseases or cheat on your spouse, but a little bit of deception is a mandatory in those games. 

Big Brother and Survivor are also much harder than what it looks like from the comfort of my own couch. I can talk about my "strategy" or talk about how a certain person shouldn't have done acted a certain way-but I'm not the one in the house playing the game.

Album of the weekend

Metallica-.....And Justice for All

One of the best heavy metal albums of all time, this is Metallica at their peak. With songs that cover the darkest topics, this is not an uplifting and positive album that you can listen to as lighthearted fun. The lyrical content doesn't matter it's the music that does and the metal is strong with this one. Long songs and intense guitar solos are in almost every single song. If you are a heavy metal fan, this album is a must own. 

Wikileaks

Everyone loved Wikileaks when they were releasing information about the "illegal" Iraq War and the evil, nasty, republican George W Bush. If Edward Snowden leaked his information during the Bush years he would be viewed by the left as not just a hero, but a God. Obama would push for an immediate pardon and perhaps make him chief of the NSA. Hillary Clinton would embrace him, call him a hero to the people and perhaps the lord and savior of the country.

Does it go both ways? Of course it does. Republicans right now are praising Wikileaks because it's current target is Hillary. In 2007 republicans were screaming that Wikileaks was guilty or war crimes and that Assange should be executed. So it goes both ways but only republicans are called out for their hypocrisy. Democrats get a free pass and the Wikileaks scandal is total proof of that.

When Wikileaks releases information about your opposing side, they are heroic. When they release information about the other side, they are threats to democracy.

Keeping the genders separate

We both know that growing up religious (LDS or not) there is a lot of pressure to try to keep the genders separate. We know why too-church leaders and parents don't want anyone to break the chastity regulations that the church has.  I see why they do this and I totally understand it. 

But there are unforeseen consequences to this. The biggest should be obvious-if you keep the genders separate they don't know how to interact without thinking the other gender has ulterior motives. Women think "Is this guy being nice to me because he wants to sleep with me?" and men think "Is this girl talking to me because she just wants to land a husband?" In the non religious world where genders are intermixed people of opposing genders can generally communicate with each other better than in the religious world. Again, this is just a generalization and yes, there are exceptions-but that doesn't mean it's not generally correct. 

To me it comes down to stereotypes and judging on appearances. The more people you meet the less likely you are to rely on stereotypes and appearances. The fewer people you meet, the more likely you are to judge on appearances and believe in stereotypes. That's one of the many, many blessings of social media. We meet more people and we have our stereotypes challenged. 

Flu shots

It's that time of year again. Even if you don't care about your own health, get a flu shot.  Like the popular meme says, you don't get a flu shot to protect yourself (though that's part of it) you get the flu shot to protect your grandmother, newborn child, friend with a weakened immune system...any many more people. The ultimate sign of selfishness is to not get a flu shot.

Yes, even if you get a flu shot you might still get sick. It's only about 50% effective, sometimes even less. But here's the good news-50% effective is better than 0% effective. When you jump out of an airplane, would you rather have 50/50 odds of the parachute opening, or no chance of it opening? Yes, even if you don't get the flu shot you still might not  get the flu. And yes, sometimes when you play Russian roulette just based on dumb luck you don't get stuck with the the chamber that has the bullet on it.

Do the little things matter?

It's become a cliche to think that the "little things" matter. And maybe they do, to some people. I'm not sure they matter all the time. Ask yourself this-would you rather your husband stay faithful to you  and not answer all your texts within five minutes or sleep with his co-workers and buy you flowers and candy every month? That might be an extreme example, but it raises a good point.

No job, no new car, no other person will ever be able to meet all your needs, much less your wants. Being an adult means realizing and accepting that. I've personally seen people whose lives are drama filled and a disaster because they foolishly expect a new marriage or moving cross country will solve all their problems and fulfill their lives in every single way. Maybe it's because they focus on the "little things" instead of looking at the big picture in life. Sure, looking at the "big picture"is also somewhat a cliche in life but there might be some truth to that one.

Politics and friendship

The best way to find out who your true friends are is to become vocal with your views. Your real friends will stick by you and accept you no matter what. People who you thought were your friends will soon treat you much differently. 

The hard thing is seeing that "lifelong friends" never really knew you the way you thought they did. After all, how well do friends know each other if they don't know your views on issues and news? Sure, mom always said that you shouldn't talk religion and politics but that's more for strangers. Close friends, like a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship should be able to talk about basically anything. If someone you know is suddenly shocked and appalled that you are pro-life/pro-choice or whatever and stops talking to you-you've learned the hard way what friendship is all about.

The fun thing though, is learning who your real friends are. Your real friends like you no matter what your views are. While that's very much a cliche and it's just words, there is a lot of truth to it. It helps you weed out those who don't care for you so you can focus on those that do. 

Album of the weekend

Blink 182-Enema of the State

Okay, so the title isn't appealing, and Blink 182 is known for their juvenile sense of humor. Beneath all that though is a great album. It's not as good as Dookie by Green Day but that album was legendary. However it has a Green Day pop punk feel that is quickly engrossing. It's also a little deeper than one might think-songs dealing with suicide, sexual frustration and the refusal to grow up.

Am I overblowing it? A little bit. No one will ever mistake Blink 182 for lyrics for Bob Dylan music or John Irving novels. But if you like pop punk, and sometimes we all need that bubblegum in our lives, this is absolutely an album to check out.

9/11 conspiracy

People who believe in some giant 9/11 conspiracy are usually beyond help. I pat them on the head and let them spout their garbage, but in reality I think it does considerable harm to our society and those who died. I have zero respect for the hardcore conspiracy buffs and wish they'd shut the hell up and go back to the Alex Jones whack job lives.

Why do people these bullshit conspiracies? Several reasons. They want to feel smarter and wiser than all us "sheep" and dummies who believe the "mainstream" report of what happened. Since many of us are skeptical of the government, how can we believe the official government report? Simple. It's been confirmed by hundreds of journalists and sources outside of the official 9/11 commission report.

Another reason is a much more sad reason. People have a hard time admitting that great evil exists in the world. Since they can't handle that fact, they make up excuses and reasons for things that are the result of great evil existing. They can't handle or understand that 19 homicidal zealots exist and want to give their lives in order to kill people, so they make up a conspiracy that takes away the responsibility from the perpetrators. This also works with people who agree with the views of those responsible or those sympathetic to those who are responsible. IE-I hate George Bush, so anyone who hates him must be good. The 9/11 attackers hated him. Erg. the are good. Think I'm being simplistic? Ask your nineteen your nephew who hates all things republican/conservative/American about 9/11. Same kind of thinking.

Here are two links that debunk the 9/11 conspiracies:

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48389/9-11-conspiracy-theories/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a49/1227842/

Why I am a libertarian

Libertarians are relatively useless in the political world today. There just ain't a lot of us out there. Most people who say they are libertarian really mean that they aren't republican or democrat, and don't have a clue what libertarian means. Recently and much to my happiness, the republican party has embraced the "big tent" philosophy and allowed Rand Paul and others like him to stay in the party. The biggest detriment to the political life of the republican party is the liberty wing of the GOP, which is my political home.

Libertarianism has great respect for the individual. The philosophy allows individuals to live their own lives, for good or bad as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Libertarians are often accused of being personal libertines or having no personal morality, but that's nonsense. Libertarians can live highly moral lives, and often times very traditional ones, but unlike the modern day left and right they have no desire to make everyone else live the same way they choose to live theirs.

Libertarianism means "you leave me alone, I leave you alone. You don't run my life, I don't run your life. I don't hurt you, you don't hurt me." That's scary to some people, and the fundamental flaw of both the right and the left is that they do think you are too stupid to make your own decisions and run your life as you see fit. The right wants to tell you who to marry, that you can't read certain books or watch movies, while the left forbids you from owning a gun for protection and who you can or can't bake that cake for. Libertarianism stays out of your bedroom. Libertarianism lets you read the bible or Penthouse or nothing at all. Libertarianism allows you to own a gun and doesn't care who your business serves.

Libertarianism isn't naive. We know someone will make bad choices, we know there will always be crime. We accept that war is an inevitability in certain cases.  We believe that allowing people to be individuals and letting them have free minds and free markets, while scary, is the best

Trying to debunk everything you see on the internet

Let's be honest-there is a lot of garbage out there on the internet. From misleading click bait to politically tainted "news" to outright conspiracy theories and bullshit-it takes a healthy dose of skepticism to survive out there. It's a dangerous world. My Pepere (French Canadian term for grandfather) used to say "Believe 25% of what you read and 10% of what you hear." Wise words.

Part of the reason people post and believe things is because they want to believe. This accusation of believing what you want to believe is usually a charge that atheists throw at believers-even though everyone is at least partially guilty of this. The radical organic no-GMO people want to feel superior to others who :: gasp :: feed their kid regular food instead of the expensive GMO/Organic stuff. So they'll believe every pro-organic study they see and fall for every hip food trend in order to feel better about themselves. Everyone is at least partially guilty of this too-most christians aren't going to believe things that puts their faith in a negative light.

Trying to debunk everything you see is a fools game. One-it's Sisyphean and never ending. Two, it's done so you too can feel smarter/wiser than those idiots who believe everything. Speaking of everyone being guilty of things, I am dead on guilty of this. Someone recent posted that "All honeybees are dying" (they aren't, the story is far more complex than we realize) and I tried showing him some links that showed otherwise. He didn't believe them of course. I'm comforted that I was right, but it's still frustrating that he didn't believe them. I'd like to say I'm so tough that it doesn't bother me and I just move on-but of course like everyone else it does bother me.

Outrage fatigue

Outrage fatigue is that feeling you get when someone you know is outraged and offended by everything. After awhile, it just becomes words and an outlet for their anger and mental issues. People rightfully and correctly talk about "snowflakes" being offended by everything-and it's true, college students who complain that they have to read Shakespeare because he's a "dead white male" are obnoxious and delusional, but so are older snowflakes who found something offensive in every single tv show, movie, comic book, music album and game or hobby.

No one can be genuinely offended all the time. It's not possible. You would become too tired and too emotionally drained after awhile.  Being "genuinely offended" is a good thing because it means you have morals and values. Bluntly put though-acting like you are genuinely offended just because you see a girl in a bikini on prime time or hear the word "damn" coming from an eighth grader means you can't control you are suffering from something deeper than moral outrage. You are probably wanting to show how holy you are and how the rest of the world is a fallen and sick place. You also inflict outrage fatigue on everyone around you.

When you treat everything like it's a mortally offensive, the term "mortally offensive" loses it's actions. If you are called "stupid" by your boss every day it begins to lose it's power and you realize that the problem is with the name caller, not the person being called the name. With outrage fatigue eventually everyone around realizes that the problem isn't with the world, it's with you.

Scripture Sunday update

I'm going to start taking Sundays off, so my Scripture Sundays will be coming to an end in the next few months. I'll probably publish a few more, but not one today. 

Bullying vs standing up for yourself

Like everyone else in 2019, I'm against bullying. The only difference is that I don't think I'm wonderful for it and I don't think that I deserve everyones praise because I am against it. I'm also against giving meth to seven year olds and beating up old people. Yes,I do think the anti-bullying campaigns mean well but in reality it's another self-congratulatory cause that people join to make themselves feel better about....themselves. 

Sadly, what I'm also noticing that the people are being accused of bullying for simply standing up of themselves. If you get into a debate with someone and can't stand up for what you believe or for yourself, accuse the other person of bullying you. That'll put everyone on your side and against the mean, nasty person who is daring to disagree with you. 

Of course I'm not excusing people who are being an ass. It would help the world if everyone read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and actually took it seriously. The good news is that people who act that way almost always defeat themselves in the end. Being able to stand up for yourself and not be unpleasant while doing so is certainly an acquired skill.   

Album of the weekend

Judas Priest-Painkiller

This is the final Judas Priest released with Rob Halford before he left the band in the 1990's. Painkiller is critically acclaimed and is loved by many Judas Priest fans, even though I think it's slightly overrated. The title track reminds me of a band trying to replicate the song Screaming for Vengeance, and in fairness, that is their best song and one of the best songs of all time so it's not easy to imitate. The instrumental, "Battle Hymn" is pretty good-I'm a sucker for heavy metal instrumentals.

The album needs to be listened to in it's entirety before you download it. Perhaps it was time for Halford to leave the band for a bit, because this album is not up to par and when he came back Judas Priest released some amazing, five star albums. Sometimes a break is a good thing. 

Dying retail stores

Did you ever notice that nostalgia for a retail store skyrockets when the store goes out of business? If people cared that much about a store, it wouldn't have gone out of business in the first place. To me it shows that people again romanticize the past at the expense of the present because of false nostalgia. 

Malls and retail stores are dying for a reason. The reason is that Amazon is much, much better than shopping at crowded retail stores. People like shopping from home in their athletic pants and sweatshirts. While I'm not saying we dressed up in tuxedos to go to Macy's the fact that we can shop from home and avoid traffic and crowds is surely a reason why retail is dying. 

There are people who miss wandering around malls and just browsing in shops-and while I understand that point of view, I don't share it. You can always browse around outlet stores , and while most retail stores are dying slow deaths, they aren't dead yet so you can wander around in there too. 

Those people who miss the past focus on the good and ignore the bad. They do this with high school, retail stores, sports, music, video games-you name it. It's understandable why they do this, but it's still bizarre to me. 

9/11

Sarah Palin II

Sarah Palin, and the entire Palin family, is a mess. They are actually a warning to everyone - this is what quick fame does to you. If McCain ignored her back in 2008, we'd never know who she was and hopefully, her family would have lived a normal life in obscurity. Sure, they'd have problems (all families do, yours does too) but they would be kept relatively private. Sadly, it's all in public with them. 

Sarah and her husband Todd have filed for divorce. After 31 years of marriage and five kids, a few of them still minors. No snarky comments from me. It's just really tragic and sad when a marriage of that long ends. People trying to score political points by making fun of them are expected-it's how the culture is, especially in politics-but it's still low class and vile. I hope the Palin family finds peace somehow. 

Premature aging?

Like many other people, I have a Facebook account I check compulsively. Unlike many other people, I don't complain about how stupid/immature/or bad Facebook is while posting on it all the time. I do have my pet peeves about it though.  

Recently on Facebook I've seen about four or five people complaining about being old. They complain about aches and pains, reminisce about the "good old days" (sometimes that is a verbatim statement) and talk about how sad it is to get older. These are people who are all under 40. 

I'm going to repeat that-these people are all under 40. 

Yet they act like people in their early 60's. What happened to 40 being the new 35 and 35 being the new 30? 

You know you live in a wonderful time when people are remaining active well into their 70's. Today with better health, exercise and diets people can experience a higher quality of life longer than any other time in history.   We should be grateful, energetic and enjoy life-not complain about being "old" before your time. 

And if you still want to complain about being and feeling old-remember the old saying- "growing old beats the alternative." 

Scripture Sunday Alma 45:16

The Lord cannot "look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" and that should frighten all of us to some degree. We are all sinners and God can't allow us to get away with any of it. The good news is that God is a forgiving God and no matter how often we sin, he'll still forgive us. 

Vaping

I quit smoking cigarettes using an e-cigarette about eight years ago, before many people even knew what they (e-cigarettes) even were. E-cigarettes were trendy at the time and while maybe not healthy, they were a lot more healthy than old school cigarettes. I assume people use vaping for many reasons-but I'm sure that some people vape rather than using e-cigarettes. 

So like most new things, the government wants to ban it. Innovation is feared partially out of jealousy. We are jealous that we didn't think of that invention and the government is unsure that it won't be "dangerous". I'm glad we have a mommy and daddy government to keep me from hurting myself-without them, I couldn't make choices of my own. 

I have no problem with vaping products and e-cigarettes only being available to 18 year olds. I also have no issue with a club or restaurant banning their use on their own private property. I have a huge problem with the government forcing a business to do that or forbidding an adult from making that choice on their own. 

Album of the Weekend

The Return-Nonpoint

When I first heard the song "Misery" I thought it was by Godmack, and that's a compliment. This album has the entire sound of Godsmack. It's not post grunge, it's not nu-metal, it's not heavy metal but it's a pleasant mix of all the above and it manages to mesh the sound to create a very good album. It's not something I usually listen to and I have to be in the mood for it, and that might be the case with you as well. You certainly want to listen to a few songs on Youtube before you download the entire album. 

Why Bill Gates may not know everything about the economy

Just because you are super rich doesn't mean you know everything about every finical topic out there. In fact, being super rich usually means you know a whole lot about one thing. Bill Gates is a genius when it comes to computers and building companies. That doesn't mean he knows everything about tax policy in modern America, tariffs, immigration and politics. 

One of the biggest problems in our culture today is that ignorant people sometimes think that doctors, lawyers, scientists and professors know more than they really do. Your English professor in college may not even know that much outside her speciality as well. She might focus on Victorian literature in America and of course she knows who Shakespeare is and can carry on a conversation about him-but that's not her area of expertise. Same goes for a lawyer. Your average lawyer might be able to defend a DUI in a criminal court, but a murder case would take much more experience and when you are fresh out of law school, you aren't ready for that. 

But all my friends agree with me...

After Nixon beat McGovern in 1972 by a 49 state landslide, the amazing and brilliant Pauline Kael said "How could Nixon win, I con't know a single person who voted for him?" It's a famous political quote that's broken into pop culture. It shows what a small, insular world Pauline Kael ran in. After all, Nixon carried forty nine states. McGovern carried one. The quote apparently might be a misquote but the bigger issue still stands.

To some degree we are all guilty of this. After all, most of our close friends share the same basic values, thoughts and beliefs that we have. Yes, there are exceptions and there should be exceptions. Maybe you have a family member whose politics and beliefs you don't agree with but still enjoy spending time with.

If you find yourself saying this you need to be careful-it warps you. You begin to think "All of my friends feel the same way so all good people must feel the same way." It happens to both liberals and conservatives.

Intervention

The TV show "Intervention" is very tough to watch. It's a lot more than just "reality TV". If you have had any trouble with addiction in life-your own or a loved one-I can only imagine how painful it must be to watch the show. It's particularly troubling if you've been clean and sober for years and you suddenly see an episode.  It makes you think about how lucky you are to have not taken your addiction to the extreme that some of people on the show have.

I was watching it a few days ago and tragically, the young woman involved in the episode apparently died. Like many addicts, this girl had everything going for her. A loving family, college degree, and a bright future. My heart absolutely broke for her and her family, but part of me also got sort of angry with her. Not many people have the options and opportunities she had, and they managed to get through life without suffering from a horrible addiction that absolutely destroys the life of everyone around them. Addiction is incredibly selfish and while it's the addicts fault, I don't really "blame" the addict-even though I do. I know that doesn't make any sense.

The TV show "Intervention" might save lives. I wish no one had to go though drug addiction in the first place but if more people watched the show, they might avoid drugs in the first place. Seeing the toll it takes on the addicts loved ones is just devastating.

Hurricane cakes from Publix

Publix has gotten some controversy because of "hurricane cakes" they made.  It's Publix, one of the main reasons people move to Florida is because of that chain. Even if they start selling porn and charging 10$ for Ramens people will still love Publix. How can anyone possibly be mad at this? Sure, hurricanes are destructive, but this just shows how far society has fallen.

Almost all humor is based on misery and hurricanes are miserable. Publix is trying to make hurricanes a little less miserable by making a cake dedicated to them. t's funny, light hearted, and absolutely depressing that people would get outraged and offended by this.

Scripture Sunday

Because of Hurricane prep, I haven't had much of a chance to read my Book of Mormon this week. No scripture Sunday post this week.

Being "unsupportive"

Many people mistake "being supportive" with "telling people exactly what they want to hear". Let's be honest upfront-no one wants to hear things that might make them uncomfortable. When we paint a picture or write a song than ask for someones opinion on it, most of us want reassurance, not a critique on how bad it is.

It's the same for personal advice. You meet a great girl/guy, someone you are really interested in. After introducing them to all your friends they pull you aside and talk about how terrible the person is.That they are rude, obnoxious, sneering and cruel. You are stunned! After all, you are in love with the person and wanted reassurance instead of the honest truth. You accuse them of being "unsupportive" of your hopes, dreams and desires.

In reality, they might be acting based in the deepest love and affection for you.  Like the modern psychologists say, this could be all about you. It's so hard to be able to put our own biases and emotions aside and accept honest feedback ourselves. It's not a strength of me either, for sure. If we listen to others our life will be much easier than if we think we can do it all on our own.

This post is inspired by a guilty pleasure of mine, 90 Day Fiancee. One guy getting married was going on wife number four. His best friend (surprise!) made it clear to him before the wedding that he thought it wasn't a good idea. Needless to say, Mr. Three-divorces-and-I've-apparently-learned-nothing didn't listen to his friend and accused him of acting like a jackass or being unsupportive.

Album of the weekend

Megadeth-The System has Failed

The comeback album for Megadeth after some bitter failures in the late 90's, the System Has Failed is a classic return to form for one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Megadeth relies on deeply political and theological lyrics combined with classic thrash metal-and this album provides both. To me, it's the ultimate middle finger to the political establishment of all parties and a reminder that once again Dave Mustaine is truly a musical and lyrical genius. 

Shriners hospital

Growing up Catholic the Shriners and Masons were always a no-go in discussions. No, this isn't to bash Catholics, it's just how it was growing up.Given that the Shriners/Masons are excommunicated from the Catholic church I understand why my Catholic school teachers 1) didn't know anything about them and 2) didn't like them much. I asked my 12th grade theology teacher why in the world the church would have anything against a group of harmless old man who do tremendous good in the world for children? She babbled about the Masons being "demonic" and how they were excommunicated, etc. I found it amusing and pitiful. (Not the catholic church, her response to my question)

I'm not a Shriner/Mason and I am no longer Catholic, but I have family that is involved in the Masons. They are dying off, like all fraternal orders. Is it sad? I guess so, but I don't care enough to get involved and I'm not the joining type, so I imagine that I'll never join any of those groups. I hope and pray that the hospitals don't close. For poor families suffering from burns and orthopedic injuries they are often times the last option available.

Boycotts

Boycotts are largely about the people protesting, not the company/organization being boycotted. With few exceptions (Like the boycotts Martin Luther King organized) they are generally done the same way a child does a tantrum. You can stomp your feet, hold your breath till you pass out, jump up and down, and the organization you are boycotting will, nine times out of ten, shrug their shoulders and keep on ticking.

Disney comes to mind. In their movie "Beauty and the Beast" they had a gay character. Some members of the extreme right threatened a boycott and it worked so well that the movie grossed over 300 million dollars. When the left boycotts the products that Rush Limbaugh advertises, his program yawns-if they drop sponsorship someone else will jump at the opportunity to reach his countless listeners.

Boycotts are usually organized by those who grossly over estimate their own worth. They also want to feel moral and self righteous. Eric Hoffer wrote a wonderful book called "The True Believer". It's a book that should be read by everyone-his originality and brilliance is much needed in this world. The book is about the psychology of people who join all sorts of mass movements, like boycotts and revolutions. He was a prophet but like all prophets religious or not, they get basically ignored in their own time.

Standing up for what you believe

Standing up for what you believe isn't always noble, and it's not always the right thing to do. In fact, much like another annoying as hell cliche, "Speaking truth to power" the saying is incredibly misunderstood and often times flat out wrong.

Nazis stood up for what they believe, and so do racists like the KKK and skinheads. So does the Westboro Baptist "Church". They stand up for what they believe.  No one in their right mind would ever claim that those groups are noble. If you think they are noble, you need to seriously reevaluate your life.

"Standing up for what you believe" is like saying "Follow your dreams!" it has absolutely no chance of working in reality. In the real world you can't always follow your dreams because often times your dreams are wrong and have no chance of working. I'd love to be able to play the guitar like Dave Mustaine. That is my dream. It has no chance of working in reality because I lack the natural talent for it. Sometimes you need to follow your talents instead of your dreams. In the real world, standing up for what you believe is only noble if what you believe is noble.

Having a "good heart"

Character shilling in movies is when you hear things about a character that don't really match what your own eyes see in the character. For example, if every character talks about how charming and witty a character is then when you meet him-he's a bore, rude and has the charisma of an angry librarian the characters who told you how wonderful he is are not only wrong, but they engaged in character shilling. Good writers show you the qualities they want their characters to have. Bad writers tell you the qualities the characters have. 

It is sometimes the same way in real life. I've met people who say person X or Y has a "good heart" or a "big heart" then when I meet said person, they turn out to be seriously flawed. It doesn't matter how big your heart is if you walk around hurting people and cause destruction and misery wherever you go. The size of your heart doesn't matter, it's what you do with it.

Intentions are not good enough-in the end it's your actions that matter and that's what people will remember you by. If you really want to show people how big your heart is-prove it with your actions. Motives are irrelevant. 

Scripture Sunday Moroni 8:16

"Perfect love cast out all fear". Another passage from the Book of Mormon that is very popular, this passage reminds us that we should fear God more than man. It's easy to say that of course, but often times in our society, all of us, (myself certainly included) do the opposite. We fear the opinions and judgments of our fellow man more so than we fear those of God. 

What does it mean to fear God more than man? Partially, it means to obey His commands more than those of our neighbors and to place His desires over them as well. This isn't always easy, and again, it's not what I always do either. 

Another report about corporal punishment on kids...

CNN releases another study about the drawbacks of corporal punishment on children.  Before I say anything about this issue I want to remind everyone that no, I don't have children. And I was never spanked as a child. However just because those things are my own life experience doesn't mean I don't have the right to speak on the issue. I certainly do, though you just don't have to listen. Also, this is not a childless person telling you how to raise your kids-I'm not telling you anything and you are, of course, free to do whatever you damn well please.

I'm generally against corporal punishment for your kids. I wouldn't say it's something that you can never use, but to me it's a sign that the parent has lost control over the child. I'm not sure that the occasional spanking can lead to all sorts of deviant behavior in adulthood-no, just because you were spanked as a child doesn't give you the right to engage in anti social behavior, but I am relatively confident that the frequent spankings you received as a child does have a correlation with violent behavior as an adult.  It's just not a good idea.

Album of the weekend

Sweet & Lynch-Only to Rise

An album from the duo of Michael Sweet from Stryper and George Lynch from Dokken, I bought this on a whim while going on a road trip a few days ago. It has a very 1980's rock to it, if that's not your thing than don't waste your 10 dollars on this. The entire album is good though, with only one or two songs that aren't worth the download. 

The song "Rescue Me" has a slight country feel to it, but it's still enjoyable. The ballad, "Me Without You" sounds very retro and a little over produced-it's one of the few duds. "Recover" and "Only to Rise" are two of the stand outs, and the song dedicated to September 9/11, simple called "September" is touching. 

It doesn't sound like Stryper and it doesn't sound like Dokken. It's a good album though.

Exchange student thoughts

For the second time, we hosted a 12 year old boy from China in an exchange program. Two different kids, one was named Frank and the other was named Jason. We had a wonderful time and we signed up to do it next year as well. These kids are incredibly brave. At age 15 (three years older than these kids) I went to summer camp for two weeks, hated every minute of it and left a week into the experience. And that summer camp was only two towns over from where I lived. So no, I couldn't do what these kids do.

You don't have to be perfect to host a family. We have a loud, energetic Dalmatian puppy who is incredibly high maintenance. She requires a lot of attention can sometimes be overwhelming. I think Jason was a little scared of her. Frank, the first one, didn't have to deal with her. My significant other and I are also lazy, obsessed with heavy metal and can't cook anything. So we feed them lots of fast food-which they loved-introduced them to the music of Anvil and played a lot of video games with them.  We did take them to the science museum in Gainesville, a Rays game, the arcade, and an art museum as well. So we let them experience things outside our house.

Let them live their life. Both kids played on their phone. A lot. Sure, it's their generation but I also play on my phone a lot so it's just how the world works. Some families take phones away after a certain time. That's fine, it's their house and their rules-but how else could they speak with their families? Remember the time difference. Taking their phones away at 9 would mean they would have a much harder time talking to their families.

Live your life too. We had friends over, went to tae kwan do, and visited my aunt and grandmother this time around. Jason seemed to like all of it. Last year with Frank, it was our first time hosting so we were a bit more "paranoid" about living our lives. We didn't want Frank to feel overwhelmed so we kept it pretty laid back.

Best Buy isn't selling CD's anymore...

The death of physical music continues with the world becoming digital. Granted, I haven't bought a CD at Best Buy in years-so I'm not really one to talk about the choice Best Buy made to stop selling CDs. Life does continue though and no, this won't be the death of music.

I'm not sure that big time music fans shop at Best Buy or Target for their music. I mostly use the Pledge Music, iTunes-and I do buy physical cd's but almost all are on Amazon now. When I lived up north I'd go to Newbury comics and the last time I was up there and had time to shop there-I was stunned at how little their cd section was.

Offensive Halloween costumes

Like I've mentioned before the Megan Kelly and Roseanne Barr posts, I dislike political correctness as much as the next person and yes, our culture has lost it's sense of humor. Part of being an adult is accepting how reality is and realizing that your opinion on reality is largely if not totally irrelevant. So I get no joy saying this, but it's obvious we need to be very careful about our Halloween costumes.

A good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, and someone who is really thin skinned and wants to view themselves as a crusader for the poor and oppressed can find anything offensive. So while choosing something to be for Halloween you need to keep that in mind. Anything in blackface is a terrible idea, and should be avoided like the plague. I don't think it's you a racist but it makes you incredibly naive to how the real world works. Two high school students dressed as the Columbine shooters. Again, in poor taste, but they are kids and don't know any better. Some teachers in Idaho went as the border wall. With teachers they really should know better.

One of the few drawbacks to living in todays society is that our offensive ideas and mistakes get broadcast all over the planet with lightning speed. By dressing in a foolish costume, you are basically assuring yourself of becoming one of those news stories.

Student Loan Debt

Quite simply, you are the problem if you have massive student loan debt and a degree in drama or basketweaving. No one forced you to go to college or to major in truly foolish things, so a large percentage of the blame falls on you.

However, not all the blame.

I also blame "society" (I hate doing that because it strips you of personal accountability) and the colleges themselves. If colleges had integrity, which they don't, they'd inform you that a useless degree is well, useless. Sure, the college experience itself is amazing and you can learn many things outside of the classroom. College was, for me, the best time of my life up to that point. However, it may not be worth 75,000$ in debt to some people, especially if your degree is viewed as useless by society.

Speaking of society, like I said I blame them as well. Society fed high schoolers a lie that you needed to go to college in order to be successful. Colleges of course bought into that lie because it fattened their wallets. Make no mistake-colleges claim to care about the student and social justice, but in reality, all they care about is money. Society is swinging back to normalcy now, saying that college might not be for everyone now.

Don't get me wrong, education is a generally a good thing and religions that dismiss a college education are afraid of what the students might learn because it threatens their hold on them. All that is 100% true, but loading yourself up with heavy student loan debt is something that needs to taken very seriously.

Scripture Sunday update

Spectrum is playing games, so there will be no Scripture Sunday this weekend. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! 

Album of the weekend

The Beatles-Please Please Me

The Beatles are many things, but in a way they are two bands. Their style evolved slowly, from a a traditional sound at the time to the more experimental sound of the White Album, Revolver, and Sgt Pepper. Please Please Me was one of their earlier albums, full of absolutely fantastic songs like "I Saw Her Standing There", the title track "Please Please Me" and "Twist and Shout".

Not many bands can say that they changed everything, but The Beatles did just that. This is one of their best albums-and that is truly saying something. 

Prager University II

As mentioned before, I deeply admire Dennis Prager and I used to listen to him frequently. In fact, if you want to know about conservatism and don't know where to begin, watch Prager University videos for free on Youtube. You don't have to agree with him but if you don't understand the other sides view, you don't understand you own.

Recently Prager University has claimed that YouTube and Google have been censoring their videos. I'm sympathetic to the argument, after all I do think there is a slight liberal bias in mainstream society-a bias that is skeptical towards conservative/libertarian ideas and quick to embrace liberal ideas. However on this issue, I'm not sure social media sites and search engines are censoring Prager University. Prager U has millions and millions of views. If they are censoring them, they are doing a horrible job.

Womens soccer team

Okay, I know I said it a few months ago, but I'm going to be blunt again. Very, very few people actually care about the US female soccer team, and they don't make a lot of money. That's why they aren't paid as much as the mens team. No, it's not anti woman to say that. No, it doesn't mean that I'm against women playing sports. It also doesn't mean that I think they aren't amazing athletes, capable of great skill. It simply means that since they don't generate the same revenue as the mens team, they aren't paid the same way. 

In a free market, you generally get paid what you are worth. Just because you think you are worth millions doesn't mean society will agree with you. When I mention "worth" I don't mean spiritual or moral worth. Yes, we all know that a bus driver is probably far more moral than a doctor sleeping with a nurse while married or a businesswoman embezzling funds to support a cocaine addiction. However the skills offered to the market that a bus driver possesses aren't worth as much as those held by a doctor or yes, a female soccer team. 

The brutal truth is that female sports don't appeal to as many people as mens sports do. No, that's not rude or nasty of me to say that. It's a truth. And oh yeah, I love womens volleyball and am a season ticket holder to the Gators team. So in my dream world, there would be equal pay. But government forcing equal pay is another horrible idea.  

Sarah Silverman

I think Sarah Silverman is a disgusting person. Sure, it might just be her act, but I have a feeling that the camera doesn't lie in this case. She recently lost a job because she appeared in blackface once. She seems to understand and accept this, but according to to a podcast interview, she is troubled by the fact that we live in a virtue signaling culture where people love to show off how righteous they are. You'll never hear me say this again, but she's right.

First off, appearing in blackface is a stupid thing to do. When I was in high school we preformed the play The Crucible. A good friend of mine played Tituba and did it in blackface. Even back then, twenty years ago, I thought it was a bad idea. If my friend runs for office one day I hope no one finds our high school yearbooks. 

I used to think that people like Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel (who yes, appeared in blackface too) wouldn't suffer the consequences of it because they are very open with their liberalism and political correctness. Silverman lost a job, and Kimmel still has his. I'm sure if he breaks from leftist orthodoxy on any issue that'll be brought up and he'll be fired. Welcome to 2019.

Speaking of 2019, both the right and the left engage in this self righteous attitude. It's obnoxious. The left loves to virtue signal with things like this, the right loves to virtue signal when a movie has foul language or someone engages in "immoral behavior." The hard right and hard left are the exact same, it's just the starting point that is different.

Sarah Silverman won't really suffer from this. It's a temporary blip, she's apologized, and she's talked her way out of it. Saying she was "attacking racism by using racism." The good news is that she seems to have at least maybe questioned the leftist hold on our culture today. That's the best we can hope for in her case.

School is back

School is back, it starts early here compared to the rest of the country. For many of us, high school was a miserable four year experience that could not end fast enough. For those of you in the same boat take heart-it gets better.  This is not a scientific experiment and it's not a fact, but I've noticed that people who have great high school experiences generally have poor college experiences. I think the opposite is true too. College was among the best time of my life (aside from the present) while high school was easily the worst.

Who we are and what we did in high school doesn't matter at all in the real world. You are told that your teachers are there to inspire and instruct you. I'm sure that happens sometimes. But in reality, they are also there to babysit you. You are too young to get a job or go to college, so society doesn't know what to do with you yet. You won't remember much of what they teach you, and in reality it's somewhat pointless. So if you are enjoying the experience, good. Hope it works out for you. Get ready for the real world. If it's a miserable experience, stay strong, it gets better, and it'll over be soon. 

Scripture Sunday 1 Nephi 10:17

Is faith a choice?

To some degree, I think it is. You have to be humble enough to accept things that may not make sense to you. For some people I know how impossible that is and I'm not sure you can just dismiss them as too vain or arrogant. In fact, it's not arrogant to say that you aren't sure that there is a God, and it's a little arrogant to claim that you know there is one. This isn't an argument for atheism or agnosticism, it's an argument for being fair and reasonable.

I hate people

This might be among the most popular sayings I've ever seen. Normally it's posted when someone has a bad day or when someone is having a temper tantrum, but if you have bad days every day and have temper tantrums every day, than the problem is on you, not "people." I think it's a juvenile and ridiculous statement, and I'm here to tell you: if you "hate people", don't expect them to love you back. 

First off, when you say you hate people you show your mindset. Clearly you are angry and unpleasant-no one would say they hate people if they were otherwise. Next, by saying you hate people it gives "people" the right to hate you back. Remember that idiot in high school who said they "didn't care what others think."? Yeah, if they don't care, neither do we. And if you hate people, expect to get treated the same way back. 

People are capable of great evil, and great love. Instead of focusing on the negativity, it might be best to focus on the positive aspects of humanity. 

Update

For the past two weeks, we've had an exchange student living with us. This is me in my Tae Kwan Do uniform and him playing on his phone. We were at the TKD studio when this was taken. Simply put, I've been too busy with him to do an album of the weekend. It'll be back next week with a vengeance .

Happy weekend everyone. 

Dane Cook

Remember him? I haven't thought of him in decades, but since he was the popular comedian when my brother in law was growing up, we got to talking about him recently. My brother in law is about 8 years younger than me, and when he was growing up he had a Dane Cook comedy album. He's actually ashamed of himself for this now as an adult.

I can see why. I listened to this Youtube video. In fairness, people are laughing, and just because I don't think he's funny doesn't mean no one does. Like I said, people are laughing. Maybe it's just me but I noticed he doesn't have punchlines. He's just telling what he thinks are funny stories. Dennis Miller, a comedian I loved both when he was a liberal and now, told stories too, but he had punchlines at the end. I don't see that with Dane Cook.

Florida Marlins vs Tampa Rays

After sweeping the series last week, the Rays and Marlins got into a funny little Twitter war. The Marlins tweeted back "You are literally the animal that killed Steve Irwin." And of course, they had to apologize because thin skinned babies got offended. If you are "offended" by this, you aren't. You are either grossly misunderstood the Tweet or you are just trying to get attention.

Commentators could write about people getting offended too easily in our culture and nothing will change. In fact, it'll only get worse. Getting offended by things is a sport. It makes us feel holy, righteous, gives us attention, etc. This wasn't even an insult to Steve Irwin-it was a harmless joke on Twitter. I am stunned that people are claiming to be offended by this.

R Rated movies

Generally speaking, I think the reputation of religious people being overly censorious is not correct. Most of the religious people I know can separate content from the "big picture". For example, they'll know that Schindler's List is rated R and has some objectionable content to it, but they'll see the larger scope and watch it because of the historical impact. It's the same with the Passion of the Christ. They may not like the violence but they'll understand that what the movie is trying to convey is much, much more important than the violence and they'll be able to get past it.

We all know that teaching that LDS are cautioned to not watch R rated movies. That's fine, and of course the caution of the apostles should always be taken into consideration. However, not all R rated movies are created equal. I've mentioned two that come to mind, but I'm sure there are others.

Of course, you have every right to forbid your own children from watching anything they want to, and you, of course, don't have to watch anything you don't like. But I'm always deeply troubled by people who can't see the forest from trees. They'll complain that millennials don't understand history-then ban them from reading history or watching any movie that shows it. They'll complain that people view them as sheltered-then not engage in society because they find it immoral in too many ways. Sadly, I think some religious people can't comprehend "the big picture" and end up shooting themselves in the foot.