Scripture Sunday 1 Nephi 11:3

It's impossible not to read this passage metaphorically. The "great and spacious" building that is the "pride of the world" came tumbling down, and buildings built on pride usually do eventually. It may take weeks, it may take decades-but it will happen eventually. This passage is interesting because it mentions that any nations that take action against the "apostles of the Lord" will suffer the same fate-so again, it seems very metaphorical.

I'm not sure we (LDS) should take pride in seeing the destruction of our enemies. I freely admit that I'm the last person to say anything about this, I carry grudges like Michael Corleone and I take great happiness when people who have wronged me fail in their lives. I wouldn't say it's a good way to live your life, but it is a weakness of mine. When the church seems to be under attack in this world, we can quickly get caught up in wanting to see our enemies fail. While it's a perfectly normal reaction, I'm not sure it's what God wants.

2016 was the worst year ever. 2017 was the worst year ever!

2016 was tough on all of us because a large number of celebrities passed away. It wasn't my personal worst year ever-in fact on a personal level the year was quite good. Unlike many out there I know what it's like to have a celebrity you admire die-it's tough. It's not like having an intimate friend or relative pass away but you will miss their craft (whether it be a sports star, music performer, actor, political hero, etc) and you'll miss what they brought to your life an society at large.

What I'm noticing on my social media accounts is that the same people who thought 2016 was the "worst year ever" are also saying that 2017 was "the worst year ever". I'm one hundred percent confident that 2018 will also be their "worst year ever". Like I mentioned before if you've been divorced more than three times-odds are that you are the problem. If you think drama always "finds you" no matter what relationship you might be in, then you are likely creating it. And if you think that every year was the "worst ever" than I'm also very sure that the problem is your perspective. 

Album of the weekend

Scream 2-soundtrack

The Scream movies are among the best horror movies of all time. They lead the way in jump scares and they provide an excellent "who done it" kind of story. If you have seen the movies than you say "I knew it was him" all along, but in reality you probably didn't. It was a lucky guess. All three Scream soundtracks are also quite good, but this one is my favorite of the series.

"The Swing" by Everclear is one of my favorite songs of all time (Yes, I have many favorite songs of all time) and it's the best song of the soundtrack. Every song is quite good. Even the songs by artists I don't like at all are worth a listen, yet not a download. "She Said" by Ed Roland of Collective Soul is another great song. The grunge years are really represented quite well on this album.

A fantastic soundtrack.

Another arena football team exits stage left....

I love watching train wrecks as much as the next person, and I love watching dumpster fires. Arena football has become that. Another team, the Tampa Bay storm have cashed in their chips and are leaving the casino.Of course I feel sorry for the fans and the employees of the team, but this is pretty standard for minor league sports. Some minor league baseball teams have been there forever but the only constant in the world of minor league sports is change.

Arena football is becoming a Northeastern thing with the only teams being in Washington, Baltimore, Albany and Philadelphia. That could change anytime of course, for all I know by the time the day is over several of these teams could be gone as well. Two of the more successful teams, the Orlando Predators and the Tampa Bay Storm, were in Florida for more than two decades. The famous "War for I-4"  rivalry between the two teams was among the most popular rivalries in all of minor league sports. Orlando folded up their team last year and now Tampa is doing the same. Arena football was once very popular down here and it's a shame that the teams have closed up shop.

Impact Wrestling

I used to be a huge wrestling fan growing up, but I haven't watched it in years. When Impact Wrestling would tape shows in Orlando I would sometimes go to watch, but it got a little depressing. The people that in attendance didn't care about wrestling, they were just there because they were tired at Universal studios and needed a place to sit down. I was there once and saw kid taking a nap. His parents looked just as bored but they needed to fake paying attention just to see when it was over. I saw virtually no signs and only a small handful of people who actually wanted to be there. It was my first opportunity to see wrestling so up close and I was excited. When the Hardy Boys won the tag team titles I got to "celebrate" with them by giving them each a high five. I was about one of seven people who were around the ring.

Impact wrestling has been declared dead 344 times by now and it's still alive, so I sort of wonder if anything will stop it at this point. The ratings are terrible and the buy rates for the pay per views are also pathetic. Eventually that will lead them out of business. Wrestling isn't a charity and the point of it is to make money. If they don't make money, entertaining you isn't going to happen.

Day after Christmas

6AM. Day after Christmas. I throw some clothes on in the dark. The song "Brick" by Ben Folds Five seems to really encapsulate the depressing feeling that many people have the day after Christmas. For me, it's always been the opposite. I've always been uncomfortable with Christmas, not for any religious reason. Growing up Christmas was always a stressful time for my family and we never really got along. It's been much better in recent years, thank God but it's taken me a very long time to get into the Christmas spirt. I didn't really enjoy the holiday until well into my 30's. 

The day after remains a great day for me. I get to enjoy the gifts I receive and more importantly I get back into my daily life. If you are having a hard time with the day after Christmas just remember-the days are getting longer and soon enough it'll be springtime. Get back into your routine and stay busy. 

Christmas break

I'm on my Christmas break, so I'll be offline for a bit. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I'll be back before the New Year!