Tuesdays with Muerte

What Do These 4 People Have In Common? That's right! We're all  INTJs! What a fun week! Dr. Davies, my Assessments professor, wanted to better  manipulate  (JK) understand his students by inviting us  to take the  Hartman color code personality test  and the Myers-Briggs type indicator .  My results: I'm a Dominant  Blue , Recessive  White,  INTJ .  I've taken both tests multiple times over the past 20 years and have consistently arrived at the same outcome (a  reliable result ).  I'll leave it up to you--family and friends--to confirm the validity of my scores. Analysis of Results I'll just share a few personal examples of my  BLUE-ness : Blues are motivated by Altruism —I let other people catch up and sometimes win during competitive games, if I sense winning to be important to them. This happens a lot on the tennis court. Blues seek intimacy — Years ago, I posted to this blog 3x/day i...

The Story That Started the Debate for Me On Feb. 19th, I encountered a Utah news report citing an article by LDS sex therapist, Natasha Helfer Parker, entitled,   Morality? We can do much better than this…   . Her blogpost criticized a BYU-Idaho campus devotional address given by general authority, Elder Tad R. Callister, in which Parker remarks, "[Elder Callister's] article successfully sets us [LDS society in general] back about 35 years [regarding 'rape culture']."  (Callister's devotional address is being reprinted in the 2014 March Ensign and Liahona magazines ). To fully appreciate this post, you should quickly review both of their remarks. Before reading Parker's criticism, I had never heard the term, rape culture . Rape Culture  — " Within feminism, rape culture is a concept that links rape and sexual violence to the culture of a society, and in which prevalent attitudes and practices normalize, excuse, tolerate, and even condone...

In 2001, I received a call from my Colorado mission president asking me to learn to speak Spanish for the duration of my  LDS  mission.  As I held the phone to my ear, my first thought was of the time I had nearly failed my Spanish 101 class. But my faith and hope were strong that morning (most likely due to the fact that I had just finished an hour of scripture study).   My mental process: My mission president receives revelation  from the Lord,  for me. And I know the Lord wouldn't ask me to do something I was incapable of accomplishing.  Therefore, I will whole-heartedly  go and do whatever is needed of me .  My fear was instantly quelled by a spiritual wave of faith and confidence that wiped away any reservations I had previously held.   I immediately accept my president's call, and I never looked back. Long story short, I quickly became fluent in Spanish and went on,  later,  to earn a bachelor's degree from BYU in Lat...

"Please notice me!" "Her eyes were beautifully gift-wrapped; long black lashes of velvet ribbon—and everytime she opened them, it felt like Christmas." —Michael Faudet Finding out someone likes you. “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.” ― Alfred Tennyson When you crush so hard, you do really dumb (but creative) things. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” ― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream I 'Like' Like you! “Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones When you've been waiting for him to make the first move. “Fortune sides with him who dares.” ― Virgil Valentine's Day after just returning ho...

General Preparation All dishes & beverages are best served in glass punch bowls or pitchers. Serving sizes: 12 Bridge Officers. Make name tags for dishes out of construction paper for those who are less familiar with interstellar cuisine. Appetizer Star Trek insignias dipped in the blood of the enemy (secret Klingon delicacy) = Cheese-covered Nachos and Salsa. ($10) Drink Romulan Ale = 7up + blue food coloring. ($4) (Alt.) Klingon Blood Wine = Cranberry-pomegranate juice + lemonade and orange frozen concentrate + sparkling lemon-lime water. (Or anything red, like Cherry Cool-aid with sugar.) ($10) Salad Moba Fruit Salad (Bajoran) = Strawberries, raspberries and julienned fresh basil. ($10) Side Neelix's 7-Galaxy Pasta (from ??) = Pasta + Tomatoes + Veggie Broth + Olive Oil + Seasoning ( recipe ). ($5) (Alt. Side) Ardanian spuds (Vegetable that grows in the clouds of Stratos) = Red garlic mashed potatoes ( recipe ). ($5)...

Bryan vs. Collegiate Innertube Waterpolo Bryan's Lessons Learned This week, I played in my first Collegiate Intramural Innertube Waterpolo game.  Before I forget my initial impressions, I will quickly jot down the five most-important lessons I learned throughout the evening (and the morning after). Innertube Waterpolo is not for the weak of abs. While I didn't move my legs the entire match, my arms were constantly aflail.  The morning after, my arms surprisingly felt fine—the pain was isolated in my abs.  Look out Pilates & Zumba! I should have entitled this post, "How I Got a 6-Pack in Less Than 1 Hour." I also assumed my jaw would be sore.  During the first half, I paddled up to defend the opposing team's most-talented attacker.  I must have been really quiet because just as our innertubes were about to collide, he swung his massive elbow around and connected with my face, knocking me, and my tube, back 10-15 feet.  Attempting to draw att...

Image source: Brent's Website This post lists all 31 LDS scripture references for the phrase, "come unto Christ" and some of its derivations.  I've bolded the phrase within each verse, and then marked the associated blessing(s) or promise(s) in red text. "Come Unto Christ" Jacob 1:7 Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ , and partake of the goodness of God , that they might enter into his rest , lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness. Omni 1:26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ , who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption . Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the ...