Tuesdays with Muerte

Image: Elscer   CC 3.0 Watching Andor alongside a recent article in The Atlantic helped something click for me about why I so strongly resonate with stories of rebellion. It isn’t the action or the aesthetics—it’s the moral logic underneath them. Drawing on Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s The Mattering Instinct , the idea is that life isn’t about happiness so much as meaning. Life is temporary, and every living being is an intricate, energy-driven project engaged in a ceaseless struggle against entropy ( The Atlantic ). Andor captures this well: ordinary people sacrificing not just happiness, but relationships—and even their lives—in rebellion against an Empire a million times stronger, because making something matter is worth the cost. From an LDS perspective, this resonates deeply. This life is a time to learn how to live like God. That ongoing project of becoming gives my life meaning. My lifelong project of Christian discipleship matters not only for the eternal destiny of me a...

(Image: NYT front page, January 8, 2026)  With a president who appears comfortable testing institutional boundaries, it’s worth revisiting why the presidency is structured the way it is. The four-year presidential term and the later two-term limit—often taken for granted—were not inevitable. Both emerged from a persistent fear of concentrated executive power and of creating a king in all but name. A Constitution Written in Fear of Power When delegates gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they had no clear model for an elected executive. Monarchies dominated the Western world, and existing republics offered cautionary tales rather than inspiration. The framers were starting from scratch—and arguing fiercely. Early proposals varied wildly. Some delegates favored short three-year terms. Others supported seven-year terms, or even a single term with no reelection, fearing what one delegate called an “elective king” who would cling to power and establish a dynasty. At one...

Image:  Dangling Shoes from Pixabay. The phrase "waiting for the other shoe to drop" originates from early 20th-century New York City tenements, where thin floors made it possible to hear upstairs neighbors preparing for bed by dropping one shoe, and then anxiously awaiting the second thud. Over time, the phrase evolved from this literal experience to its current idiomatic meaning: to anticipate an inevitable, often negative, event or outcome.

We all want our kids to be happy, safe, and successful. But what if our efforts to protect them are actually holding them back? Over the past few decades, parenting has shifted from  helicoptering —hovering close and monitoring every move—to  lawnmowering , where parents clear every obstacle in a child’s path. Both come from love, but both send the same subtle message:  “You can’t handle this.” And that message can quietly chip away at a child’s confidence and resilience. Helicopter vs. Lawnmower Parenting: Two Sides of the Same Coin Helicopter parents  hover overhead—constantly checking where their kids are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing. For years, researchers believed this kind of “monitoring” kept kids out of trouble. But research tells a different story: Only  5%  of what parents know about their teens comes from strict monitoring. About  50%  comes from  kids choosing to share —because they trust their parents. This finding s...

Big societal changes can be hard to spot at first, but one shift happening across the United States is clear: DEI programs focused on are losing support, and an anti-DEI movement is gaining strength. What is DEI? So, what is DEI? Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Many people first heard about it in 2020 after George Floyd’s tragic death raised national awareness and sparked protests against racism and police violence. In response, companies and schools worked to create or expand DEI programs. These programs aim to promote fairness and make sure workplaces and classrooms include and support people from all backgrounds. DEI isn’t just about hiring; it’s also about creating a welcoming culture and improving how organizations treat everyone. Winds of Change When DEI programs first gained attention, many saw them as a positive step toward fairness, and criticizing them often felt like opposing equality. However, in just a few years, that perspective has shifted. For some, DEI has beco...

If I could change one thing about the U.S. education system, it would be to prioritize  problem solving over memorization . When I first read  Getting Things Done  by David Allen, one idea stuck with me: our brains have limited energy—so we should use them for  thinking , not just  storing . Yet traditional education trains us to memorize instead of reason. As a result, many adults struggle with basic problem-solving—not from lack of intelligence, but from lack of practice. I recently saw a funny video of a dad totally misfiring on a simple logic puzzle. It’s relatable because we’ve all done it. He’s not dumb—just out of practice. Meanwhile, I asked ChatGPT the same question, and it reasoned through it perfectly. That got me wondering: As AI gets better at reasoning, will humans get worse? Will we use AI as a tutor to strengthen our thinking—or as a crutch that weakens it?

Do You Recognize the Melody? When I first listened to Aurora's 2023 hit single, " Your Blood ," I was immediately reminded of " Lovefool ," a 1996 classic from fellow Scandinavians, The Cardigans. I assumed they were both singing about unrequited love, but I realized they told different stories as I spent more time with Aurora's work. Background Interview with the Artist In this article, A Matter of the Heart , Aurora gives listeners a glimpse into the meaning behind her hit single, " Your Blood" .  In summary, "Your Blood" reflects on the loss of heart and empathy in a world driven by rationality and profit, exploring themes of pain, empathy, and interconnectedness.  Inspired by a letter written by  Indigenous activists from Brazil , Aurora's album,  What Happened to the Heart?,  questions humanity's reliance on mind over heart, highlighting how decisions driven by logic rather than compassion lead to suffering, both for the Eart...

Kenneth Rooks poses after winning the silver medal in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase final, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. Ashley Landis, Associated Press According to a Church News article , Kenneth Rooks, a former Brigham Young University track star and Latter-day Saint missionary, said that Alma 26 from The Book of Mormon inspired him to win a silver medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics men's 3,000-meter steeplechase.  In the chapter, Ammon says, " I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things " (verse 12). Rooks said this passage reminded him to be humble and trust the Lord. He also said that he was thinking about being an instrument in God's hands and that the Olympics were an opportunity to do that. Inspiration I draw from Rook's Olympic story: Rooks feared how he would measure up to internati...

Introduction I'm reading Filled with His Love by Russell T. Osguthorpe, emeritus Sunday School General President for the LDS church. I was startled by the first paragraph of his book. Of all the problems we face in mortality, the most vexing is not the lack of money or even the lack of food and water. It is the lack of love—the inability to receive and give love as the Savior did. If our physical body receives the necessary nourishment but our spirit does not receive and give love, our time on earth has no meaning. We might as well not exist. —Russell T. Osguthorpe, Filled with His Love Osguthorpe obviously feels strongly about the importance of being filled with the love of God (loving and feeling loved). It reminded me of a special interaction with him over a decade ago circa 2013. While walking between classes, I recognized Professor Osguthorpe walking between buildings. He was still a BYU McKay school professor, but he was also on campus developing the Church-wide  Come Follow...

Hunky-Dory Hunky-dory  is a term that means things are safe, all good, or going well. E.g., "Everything is hunky-dory" But where did the phrase come from? Adobe Stock The  Online Etymology Dictionary  claims that the phrase  hunky-dory  may have originated from the Middle Dutch word  honc , meaning "place of refuge, hiding place." Honc  then evolved into the Dutch word  honk , which was used in a Frisian variant of the game of tag (as in guten tag ) to mean the “goal” or “homebase.” The Dutch took this word (and presumably the game, too) overseas from New Amsterdam to New York. The first recorded usage of the term was around the 1840s in New York. Once the children's game hit New York, honk  may have evolved into the slang term  hunk  ("in a safe position," 1847). Perhaps hunk evolved into the cutsie derivative  hunkey  ("safe, all right, satisfactory," 1861). In other words, to achieve ...