Tuesdays with Muerte

My experience last year (5 parts) Vooray-sponsored Devin Graham sharing his experience, this year

Image Source:  iTunes I Think I've Got A Screw Loose When I talk with my family about the girls I date, they get really excited for me.  But I can quickly shut down their enthusiasm by adding, " she's a beautiful girl, but I'm not attracted to her ." And here's the crazy part (which is never verbalized, but is evident after I share all the great things I think about her) In every case, without exception, the woman in question is way out of my league. Only a crazy person would look at my dating record and not arrive at the conclusion that I am crazy for not having pulled the trigger before now.  My "beauty meter" must be skewed.  And I blame the media & pop culture! Like every other male blinded by pop culture, I measure women against a vague standard of perfection (by which they are eliminated from my dating pool soon as I met them). Historically, it's a pageant of sorts, where women are scored in a number of categories, resul...

Pope is a good friend of mine; he's my best friend at work. We eat lunch together regularly in the company cafeteria to discuss work-related stuff and check in with one another generally. It's wonderful having someone with whom I can be completely open with.  However, I'm afraid it was that same closeness that caused the following debacle... One week, Pope was suffering some weird respiratory symptoms—labored breathing followed by wheezing (like a subtle Darth Vader).  After a day or two of this, we both got used to Pope's condition. After lunch one day later in the week, Pope invited me up to his office to look at some of his work.  We hoped into one of the six elevators along with a lovely senior missionary couple. Between floors three and four I very innocently asked Pope about his raspy breathing (not giving thought to our fellow passengers).  " How's that respiratory disease? " I inquired.  The poor missionary couple was petrified. ...

I'm not super impressed with any of the new shows this fall .  I may not end up watching more than the pilot episodes of each, but I will limit myself to watching the full season of one TV show per genre.  Here are my results: Ben and Kate (maybe) Vegas (tremendous potential) Maybe others (depending on school) Comedy—Ben And Kate (FOX, Tuesday 8:30-9pm) Kate (Dakota Johnson, ‘The Social Network’) is a single mother with two children in her life: her daughter, and her older brother Ben (Nat Faxon, ‘Zookeeper’). When Ben gets a call from his ex-girlfriend he immediately goes to his sister for advise. When he discovers his ex is getting married he thinks of an elaborate plan to stop the wedding. When he finds out the man his sister has been dating is seeing someone else as well, he sacrifices his plan however, so he can prevent his sister from making a huge mistake. After this, he decides to stay with Kate and help her raise her daughter.   Tu...

As I drove along Utah's I-15 today, only 1 out of every 2 business flags were lowered to half-staff.  It was bizarre to see the mixed opinions illustrated by the various business owners as they each decided to commemorate or not commemorate Patriot Day and the attacks of September 11, 2001. What ever happened to "Never Forget 9/11?"  Is America over it?  Who orders U.S. flags to be flown to half-staff anyway?  Then who determines when it is appropriate to move on? Who has the authority to order an American flag to be flown at half-staff? In the early days of our country, no regulations existed for flying the flag at half-staff and, as a result, there were many conflicting policies. But on March 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a proclamation on the proper times . This legislation regarding the U.S. flag, which continues to be amended, is referred to as The Flag Code . Today, only the President (federal mournin...

Today, I made the terrible decision of which Apple laptop to purchase: The  13" Macbook Air , the  13" Macbook Pro , or the  15" Macbook Pro (Retina Display) .  I looked into WinOS laptops and none of them stood up to my choice. Air Pros: Light, forward thinking, fast-ish, less expensive ($1600), less guilt in 3 years when I want to upgrade. Cons: No ethernet port, no optical drive, slow for video and heavy graphic design, can't upgrade without voiding warranty. Pro Pros: Ethernet and optical drive in addition to legacy ports, slightly more powerful and upgradable than the Air Cons: Heavy, 2x more expensive (The one I want would be $3K.) Pro (Retina) Pros: Sexy beast! Most powerful laptop on the market. Most-stunning visual display. Cons: RIDICULOUSLY expensive! Specs not necessarily needed right now, but will be normal in 2-3 years. Only for people with money to burn. Click Image to Enlarge The Comparison The Air was cheap.  Inex...

I just finished watching Snow White and the Huntsman—Absolutely loved it!  I thought the whole thing was incredible; one of those wait-for-the-dollar-theater-then-be-completely-taken-by-surprise situations.  In order to share my joy in watching this film, you must manage your expectations.  First, you must get over the fact Kristen Stewart is the star. Also, in order to fully appreciate this film, you must accept that Stewart is not intended to portray the most superficially stunning character in all the land. The director chose to emphasize a different kind of beauty. The weight of ‘Huntsman’ relies on Greig Fraser’s lavish and stunning cinematography and Colleen Atwood’s fanciful and stark costume design. A great example of the cinematography is found during a shot of Ms. Theron hunched over, with her frail boney back facing the camera which happened to be perfectly framed. Rarely can I say that every captured angle from a film engrosses, if not overwhelms, the ...