Tuesdays with Muerte

1. LUCHA KEYS™ – Now you will know with 100% certainty which is your house key! 2. After my latest ENERGY FOOD discovery, I'm seriously contemplating getting myself one of these bad boys – Taco Yummy pocket Bag/purse 3. I didn't take the time to look through all my dream updates, but I can still remember recording one where I attended a college religion class on the Book of Mormon conducted by James Earl Jones. I distinctly recall having my testimony of that book strengthened when Jones paused during his lesson and dramatically boomed, "YOU MUST TAKE THE TIME TO FEEL THE WORDS IN THE BOOK OF MORMON" (in his unique tone of voice and emphasizing certain consonants). I wonder if his reading of the Holy Bible would affect me as strongly as he did in my dream. 4. If this hoodie were $20 less, I would buy it fo' sho'! "I'm BATMAN!" 5. I'm pretty sure they don't sell these bad-boys any longer, but back in the 1930's they were all the r...

This short film is 16 minutes long. You will smile in the first minute and perhaps shed a tear by the end. Thanks to my good friend Jordan Hockstrasser for making me aware of it:

Here are my top 5 reasons for liking facial hair: 5. I feel like I am trying to be like Jesus :) 4. Facial Hair demands a certain amount of respect. I think it definitely makes me look older. (Not necessarily a good thing. . .) 3. It protects me from the cold. 2. The only downside is that people sometimes wonder if you are an ax murderer. 1. You look like you've been backpacking in Europe. "I'm going to stab you 1000x with each little, prickly hair! MUh-Hahaha-ahhaah!" So what do you think? Does the GOAT reinforce the mature, self-assured, manly-man look or more the Ax-murderer look? I'm pretty sure it's coming off tomorrow for church, but I'll wait to see what your comments indicate... ---------------- Listening to: Owl City - Hello Seattle

Preface : I realize that this post may seem out of the blue, inappropriate, and possibly even offensive. But for those whom it was written for, trust me, it makes complete sense.  If you start to feel uncomfortable, STOP reading and pick a different post. Friends of mine have been complaining recently about having unwanted junk in the trunk. I refrain from telling them that I wish I had a bigger booty!  It bothers me when some girls are overly sensitive about their weight. These girls ought to know that not everyone in the world thinks having a substantial caboose is such a bad thing…myself included. (Also see: Sir Mix-a-lot's one-hit-wonder, Baby Got Back .) I bet they wouldn't complain as much if they knew it was something I dreamed of having since childhood. I think my personal quest for obtaining the callipygian ideal stemmed from elementary school days when I was forced to sit through hours of assembles, forming permanent dents in my sits bones from sitting cross-le...

The "Rummikub" Pronunciation Debate Affirmative Constructive: "Cub" For years, I have been a firm advocate and defender of the pronunciation, Rummi-"CUB".  The game box I grew up with spelled it, Rummicub  on the box. However, other productions of the game have variant spellings: Rummykub , Rummy Kube , Rummy Tiles , etc.  Based solely on box spelling, the game's true pronunciation is open to interpretation. Therefore, Rummi"cub" is equally acceptable to any other given pronunciation. Negative  Constructive : "Cube" My opponents argue that since the game originated over seas, we ought to respect and maintain its original pronunciation. Affirmative Rebuttal: Americanization of the Term When the game was brought to America and given Americanized rules, its name was also Americanized. Pronunciation loyalists then counter my rebuttal with, "there are lots of adopted foreign words that have retained their original pron...

It probably took me 10 full seconds to figure this picture out. ---------------- Listening to: Vengaboys - We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)

“A revolutionary mobile phone battery that recharges in 10 seconds instead of several hours has been created by scientists. The new device charges 100 times as fast as a conventional battery and could also be used in phones, laptops, iPods and digital cameras within just two or three years, they say. The same technology could even allow an electric car to be charged up in the same time that it takes to fill a conventional car with petrol - removing one of the biggest obstacles to green, clean motoring.” ( via )

If you have never considered what would happen if the infamous Carmen SanDiego and the elusive [Where's] Waldo got together and had a child, now is the time . . . In an award ceremony, Carmen and Waldo's little girl would come in first place. Cleverly disguised Carmen would closely follow her daughter in second, and the crafty but wildly unfashionable Waldo would take third. The honorable mention, however, would definitely be awarded to the Spanish butler in Mr. Deeds, Emilio. "I fear you are underestimating the sneakiness, sir." --Emilio Emilio's part in the Adam Sandler film, Mr. Deeds, is one of the only redemptive parts of that movie. I am sick of Adam Sandler. Sure, his Hanaka song is hoot to hear once or twice over the Holidays, but his films are excruciatingly annoying. He plays the exact same character in all of them: -You Don't Mess with the Zohan -Click -The Longest Yard -50 First Dates -Anger Management -Mr. Deeds -Little Nicky -Big Daddy -Wat...

Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day he drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.' Chuck replied, 'Well, then, just give me my money back.' The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.' Chuck said, 'OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.' The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him? Chuck said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.' The farmer said 'You can't raffle off a dead donkey!' Chuck said, 'Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.' A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?' Chuck said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00.' The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?' Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So...

I got suckered yesterday. I was bamboozled by a really late April Fools; no joke. I found a blog post that teased it's readers with having discovered a way to download both video and audio files from iTunes for free! I was like, wait...and then I was like, WAIT! I believed it because I also recently heard that someone in China had cracked the iTunes gift card serial code and was selling $100 cards for $4 or $5--Apple had to come out with a new policy that stated that consumers can't pay for laptops completely with gift cards. Some significant part of the bill must be paid with cash or credit. Curious, I decided to follow the 6-step instruction process. I quickly read through the list of instructions looking for key scam-words such as, Nigerian Prince or " or your money back! " or " Guaranteed! " Nope. Everything looked straight forward. I opened up iTunes and started browsing. I found a couple of TV shows I wanted to check out (including the...

Raptors have truly brought my family closer together. Jurassic park was one my family's favorite movies growing up because it had such intense music. We loved to pump up the sound in our TV room and experience the film in complete surround sound. The scariest part was when the raptors were hunting in the kitchen. With Dolby 5.1 surround sound, I remember thinking that the raptors were actually lurking around the sides of the sofas. While I was on my mission, Rick Whitehead became a part of our family. There is always a pivotal moment, or turning point if you will, for new family members to acclimatize and stop feeling like an outsider. Rick's moment, for many of us, involved his impression of a velociraptor. I saw the video after coming home; it was pretty incredible. Apparently, the family each took turns, for over an hour, stepping outside the room and then invited back in as a raptor with by hearing the words, "they can open doors you know." Like the raptor...

Stake conference was last weekend. For some reason, I really struggled throughout the whole ordeal. I felt like the bum-hurting vs. spiritual edification ratio was too high to call it an enjoyable experience. However, I knew that blessings would follow as the week progressed. It turns out that everyday since the conference I have applied something that I didn't realize that I had picked up from just being at the meetings: On Sunday , I crashed a bachelor party for my home teachee, Ryan Smith. His roommate and my EQP, Biz, planned an elaborate evening focused on gratitude and spiritual bonding instead of the tradition, dancing and booze. As part of the recreation, Biz had each of us share experiences we've shared with Ryan and also give him a piece of marriage advice. (Bear in mind, all of the guests in attendance were still single save one, Ryan's cousin who had tied the knot only 3 months previous.) For my part, I drew upon some words given by Brother Deign of...

Symbolism behind the Provo Temple - Exodus 13:21 The following scriptures were collected by another Friend of mine, named Mike Batty. Each of these scriptures reference specific characteristics of the endowment given in God's Holy Temples anciently that, naturally, are a still used today. For anyone who is going through the temple for the first time, I recommend reading these scriptures: Exodus 28:1-4 Exodus 28:40-43 Exodus 29: 1, 4-5, 7 Exodus 30:30-31 1 Kings 1:39 Revelation 2:17 Revelation 3:12 Ezra 9:8 Isaiah 22:23 1 Corinthians 11:2-3, 5, 10 Is it appropriate to post specific scriptures referenced in the Holy Temple in a public forum? Initially, I felt fine about sharing scriptures referenced in the temple. Certainly Elder Packer has discussed the temple in much great depth and specificity in his book, The Holy Temple . But I still wanted more data from those in Authority. I called ameritus General Authority and current Provo Temple President, Me...

Did you know this was possible? Beijing gold medalist in Badminton Mixed Doubles, Lee Yong Dae (KOR), smashes a watermelon with a shuttlecock. This is the Korean gold medalist up against America's best! This is just a crazy badminton rally.

Yesterday, was rather uneventful; and still I didn't make time to post. I make no excuse. In fact, I try to live an "Excuse-Free" life--everyone should give it a try today. When you catch yourself trying to justify something, explain something away or reason your way out of/into something, just accept responsibility for whatever you did or did not do, and move on. (Remind me to tell you about the day I was late to the MTC for work and I decided to become "Excuse-Free".) Anyway, !TAcoS! Monday, I had only been awake for 10 minutes before answering a phone call from my sister who was leaving work in Columbus, OH. (Mental cogs spinning...Columbus is 2 hours ahead...5pm...Subtract...WOW! Bryan sure woke up late!) While chatting with my sister, she said something that reminded me that I was hosting my 12-person dinner group at 6:30pm! Grateful that I had a full hour more than I gave myself last time to prepare, I finished my morning routine and went shopping f...