Tuesdays with Muerte

TL;DR Dogs are just another (cute) vehicle for racism. The subject of racism has been on my mind pretty much all of 2020. I just finished reading the book,  Race Without Racism , which argues that the chameleon-like system/institution of racism is alive and well despite a cultural shift toward racial "colorblindness." My interest in America's new racism led me to an article from a decade ago that shocked me— How dogs help keep multiracial neighborhoods socially segregated . Author and Editor of The Conversation, Beth Daley's findings went against my natural assumption that dog owners would be drawn naturally together in friendship. I naively imagined multicultural neighbors walking their dogs, stopping to chat, finding common ground, resulting in BBQs or even vacations together. Daley painted quite a different picture with her robust sociological investigation of a multicultural, North Carolina neighborhood between 2009-2011. She offers readers three alarming examples...

Introduction After reading  The Happiness Project  (2009) by New York Times bestselling author, Gretchen Rubins, I decided to read two of her more recent books: Better Than Before  (2015) The Four Tendencies  (2017) These books talk about habits and how our personalities orient us toward certain motivational techniques. Both showcased Rubin's revolutionary personality profile called, The Four Tendencies . She explains that "The Four Tendencies explain  why we act  and  why we don’t act ." And boy, did I learn a lot about how I personally derive motivation. Now, I'm dying to discuss them with my friends and family.  Take the ONLINE QUIZ now, or read on to discover your Tendency.  A Summary of The Four Tendencies The Four Tendencies framework describes how we respond to expectations. We all face two kinds of expectations: outer expectations , such as meeting work deadlines or observing traffic regulations, and inner expectations , such as q...

Sometimes, the most painful things I have experienced in life are sad memories I've held on to long after the painful event has past. This issue was brought to mind for me this week as I watched some Doctor Who with Stacia. Doctor Who Explores the Universal Law of Justice Stacia and I just finished watching an episode of Doctor Who called  A Town Called Mercy  (s07e03) where an alien, scientist named Kahler-Jex hides out in the old west. His character was based on J. Robert Oppenheimer, a.k.a. “the father of the atomic bomb.” On Jex's home world, he developed an army of cyborg super-soldiers (through awful torture) who nearly-instantaneously ended a nine year war by “decimating the population.” After the war, Jex and his cyborg-project cohort were hunted down and being eliminated by “The Gunslinger,” a renegade super-soldier. Jex escaped to earth and hid out in a small town in the American West where he led a serene life of service and redemption. But soon the r...

Hi. So, We're Both Grieving... Since you were interested in enough to open this post, I hope it isn't too presumptuous of me to say, I am so sorry for your loss. I'm serious; grief sucks. They say it's impossible to compare grief--and maybe this is my grief talking--but I am utterly embarrassed by the fact that I'm constantly thinking about losing a person who wasn't even real. (I'm sure your loss is much less fictional than mine.) The thing that gets me is that my feelings of hurt are still very real. But then I saw this TED talk by Jennifer Barnes, and it made me feel less silly. Whom I Lost I recently lost my first character, Faroughm DeBelltols—a level 3 (almost 4) Aasimar Bloodhunter — just over 2 months ago and I'm still processing my grief. (Thus, this blogpost). Denial & Isolation When my DM first told me that my character had died, I was in shock for the remainder of the session. "This isn't happening. This can't be happeni...

Two years ago, I didn’t feel anywhere close to being “marriage-ready.” Yet, as I write this, I’ve been happily married for eight months. What helped me take this big step? What changed? After much reflection, I’ve identified a few key factors. They all relate to specific limiting beliefs I once held (highlighted in red ). Identifying and replacing these beliefs was crucial for developing my confidence to thrive personally, build a meaningful future, and start a family.  Color Coding Lies: Unconscious, limiting beliefs that held me back from pursuing marriage. Truth: Conscious, empowering beliefs that helped me develop a healthy mindset preparatory for a successful marriage. Lies Truth 1. My imperfection makes me unrighteous and an unworthy prospective husband and father. 1. Perfection isn't a prerequisite for marriage. 2. Single people are somehow incomplete. 2. I never needed “a better half” to complete me. 3. I just ha...

TL;DR It's the Botox. For the past 3 months, my wife, Stacia, and I have been watching  Good Witch  (via Netflix and Amazon Prime). Stacia adores winding down to "Hallmark-y shows." We can rely on Good Witch episodes to always resolve happily. The episodes are never too intense. The height of conflict revolves around things like someone's inability to locate the perfect spot to snap a romantic photo for a new tourism brochure. I consider my time watching these shows spouse bonding time , and emotional training. My favorite thing about watching feel-good shows with Stacia is getting to observe her facial reactions to the on-screen drama. When two people lean in for a long-anticipated kiss, Stacia tucks her knees into her chest and frowns with her forehead while lifting her chin and bottom lip. While I'm typically unable to suspend my disbelief, Stacia seems completely entranced by the various characters' emotions. Wishing I could join her in being swept aw...

This year I sang in the Stadium Chorus for the 2019 Stadium of Fire. We opened for main the performance by Country artist of the year, Keith Urban. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! I intend that sardonically—while it was fun to try something new, record a track in a studio, and perform on a grand stage, and earn 5 discounted tickets ($25 instead of $35; possibly $85) to enjoy with my loved ones, I don't think I'll want to do it again. In the words of an introverted friend of mine, "large crowds and country music aren't really my thing." Participation in the chorus required a hefty time commitment: 4x1.5 hour practices  3-hour run-through on location 5-hour dress rehearsal After all that practice, I still didn't think we sounded that great. The choir was primarily composed of LDS Stake Choir "All-Stars." Despite our multiple practices, and many of us already knowing the songs by heart, (This Land Is Your Land, Grand Old Flag, Arm...