Tuesdays with Muerte

"Being rich is not about how much you have, but about how much you can give." Why This Video Rubbed My Friend the Wrong Way Many of you already know this thought-provoking short film as "the video that makes you cry." I showed it to one of my friends and when it ended, I asked him for his thoughts.  With a surprisingly conflicted expression, he explained that, while he valued the core message, he didn't appreciate the fact that the father placed a higher value on  others,  above his  own son . He quoted President McKay, "No success can compensate for failure in the home." He recounted the oft-referenced moral dilemma of the father who worked the switch at a train junction and was forced to chose between saving his son's life and the lives of the many passengers on the train.  The father's perceived character flaw prevented my friend from focusing on the primary message. My Rebuttal I love complex, flawed, authentic characters...

What I think I look like... What I actually look like. Lol! That's all I really wanted to share.  I just got a kick out of these two GIFs.  But since I feel compelled to write something of substance, here's a tangentially-related thought about primping. Preparing to Become a Worth Husband and Father Isn't it interesting how much time we spend putting ourselves together, dressing up, and preparing ourselves mentally before leave home for the day?  What does that say about our priorities?  If my home and family  are my priorities, wouldn't it make more sense to spend at least a little energy gearing up for my return home after a long work day? When I have a family, I'm sure I will be tired after a long day of work.  But my plan is to offer the following curb-side prayer before entering the house: "Heavenly Father, please help me accept whatever shape my house and family are in when I go inside.  And bless me with the energy to dive i...

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)...