Tuesdays with Muerte

Stock Image Remember last month's email on "healthy relationships?"    Here's another stellar message  I received thanks to my subscription to Alisa Goodwin Snell's free email list ,  " It's NOT YOU—it's your technique. "   Her webpage  doesn't give as much info as her personalized monthly email do.  But it does offer an detailed outline of the hour-long podcast which is  worth checking out! . (I've highlighted my favorite tips in the email below.) Dear Bryan,   Many singles worry about when to reveal their past sins, education level, family dysfunction, or financial problems. They want to be fair and honest with the people they date. They also donʼt want to waste their time to later discover their date has out-of-control issues. Their concerns are understandable, but how and when they reveal or ask about issues can make or break a new relationship. This process can be navigated in a respectful and honest manner if singles kn...

I'm going to reward myself at the end of the semester by purchasing one of these films. This will be an EXTREMELY difficult choice.  Let me walk you through my thought process: Who benefits from this decision (stakeholders?) Me (primarily) My friends My family Of those who would benefit, which film would be most universally enjoyed? Money is important to me, so which is the least expensive? Which films are most rare?  Which would I have the most difficulty accessing? Would I prefer to see one over the others? I prefer blu-ray disks. What about the quality of the release?  Two Blu-rays.  Is the encoding on one better than the other? What do my friends and family say? What does my gut tell me? Willow (Blu ray/DVD Combo) Best Price — $14.99 on Amazon Release Date — March 14th, 2013 Sandlot (Blu ray/DVD Combo) Best Price — $ 14.96 on Amazon Release Date — March 23rd, 2013 Children of Dune (I don't think the Blu ray is avail...

Image Source:  Etsy School is crazy! My fingers are literally starting to bruise and blister from the amount of typing I'm doing. My buns have settled on the plastic base of my cushioned swivel chair.  I can't remember the last time I watched a tv show.  (And that's saying something!) Here is a list of school work I will need to have completed before Friday morning: Anderson, Video editing (2-3 hours) Anderson, polished script (1 hour) Yanchar, QUAL paper (8 hours) Yanchar, Read article for Mon (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Tue. (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Wed. (1 hour) Yanchar, Read article for Thur. (1 hour) Williams, Patton chapter 10 on google.plus review (2 hours) Williams, Expert text on google.plus review (2 hours) Williams, Eval article review (2 hours) Graham, Business Decision Presentation (8 hours) Graham, CA commenting (30-60 minutes/day) Rich, website development (2 hours) Williams, read and comment on online class disc...

After reading Jeff Hofmann's  blogpost  and having a conversation with  Anna Hargadon  this week, I wanted to share my views on the role of agency in dating as a Latter-day Saint: Scriptures to Ponder: DC 58:27-29 - God commands us to be agents and not wait to be commanded Matt 25: 14-30 - The Parable of the Talents; We are not directed on how to use our gifts. D&C 58:26-29  - "...men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward..." Some folks (many of whom were raised on a steady diet of Twilight and Saturday's Warrior) believe in the concept of "THE One."  In a nutshell, if God desired us to have soul mates, He would have handed over the reins of mortality to Lucifer. "If you are walking the journey with Jesus, p...

Exploring Shame at BYU I recently had the opportunity to look at data from a BYU "Shame" study conducted by some Counseling & Psychology professors (CPSE department).  Their comparative analysis provided evidence that BYU students (overall) feel less shame than students on other university campuses.  This got me thinking...people feel and manifest shame in many different ways.  How do BYU folks manifest shame? DeviantArt First of all, why do any of us feel shame? Zoobies (pseudonym for BYU students) are raised to be judgmental from a young age—constantly being asked to discern between good and evil. We are able to make this distinction by paying attention to the light of Christ, which some refer to as a conscience ( Moroni 7:16-19 ).  When we act against our consciences, or choose evil, we experience a "whip" of guilt from that divine light within us to let us know we are off track. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can repent and be forgiven of our t...

Have you ever wondered about how much chemistry is necessary to ensure a good relationship and what the signs of unhealthy chemistry are?  I just read this post by Utah relationship coach,  Alisa Goodwin Snell , which lays it out.  The balance of the post is in her words. (The parts in read are the highlights.) What is healthy versus addictive chemistry? I define chemistry as "the feeling or desire that compels you, when in the presence of a particular person, to want to please them, touch them, and make them happy." That's it!   Too many singles associate chemistry with the desperate feelings, longing, and compulsive thoughts that are actually a common sign of insecure attachments or addictive, abusive, or manipulative relationships. If you think that chemistry is  something you should feel all the time, that the person should be on your mind all the time, that your desire to be with them should be intense and constant, and that your fear of ...

Being a writer, he is quite naturally curious about  Heaven and Hell. So upon meeting Saint Peter at the  pearly gates, he asks if it would be possible to visit Hell  briefly before ascending to Heaven. Saint Peter, obliging  as ever, is happy to grant the writer’s request. In a  flash, they arrive in writer’s Hell where they feast their  eyes upon thousands of writers planted in front of  thousands of typewriters, arranged in rows as far as the  eye could see, a damp, dark, foul place, full of the  overpowering stench of decomposition and putrefaction.  "Just as I expected," says the writer to Saint Peter. "I’m  ready to see Heaven now."  In a flash, they arrive in writer’s Heaven where they feast their  eyes upon thousands of writers planted in front of thousands  of typewriters, arranged in rows as far as the eye could see, a  damp, dark, foul place, full of the overpowering stench of  decomposition a...

Which External Hard Drive? (Image Source ) It's time to purchase an external hard drive. Here are my needs: It must have USB 3.0 transfer speeds. It must be name brand, (preferably WD, Seagate or I-OMEGA). It must be under $150. *I'd like to purchase it from Costco.  Here are my wants: I want something large enough to hold all my other 1.5 TB of stored data so I can get rid of my other three 500GB, desktop hard drives. I want it to either be a  NAS (Network Attached Storage) , or wirelessly accessible.  That way multiple computers can read and write to it.  (e.g. I'd be able to stream media to my iPad from anywhere in the house.) I want it to be as inexpensive as possible. I couldn't find one hard drive that met all of my criteria.  So here are the three options that I like.  Each one is missing one of the aforementioned qualifications: WD My Book Live 2TB Personal Cloud Storage Drive  —Not a ton of space, nor is it really ch...

Yes, a dandelion because they are the flower of wishes. You blow that ball of seeds and the wind carries them to the one assigned to grant or reject. And it’s a good thing that it’s the dandelions who have this power because they are tough and sometimes you have to be tough to even remember that you have any desires left at all, to believe that even one could be satisfied, would not turn to an example of “be careful what you wish for, it might come true.” Maybe that’s exactly why there are so many of them - the universe gives us extra chances to keep dreaming. Each one an uprising, a burst of color in the cracks of our hearts, sunrise at an unexpected time, in an unexpected place. —Ellie Schoendfeld's “ Lucien's Birthday Poem " Context I ran across a reference to this poem while I was reading a text for a BYU evaluation class.  I was learning about how nature (and the universe) has a pattern of being adapt...

Okay, folks.  That last game was ridiculously easy for most of you.  (Everyone got it in within the first 2 or 3 quotes—even the kids.) So now, THE KID GLOVES ARE COMING OFF!  You want to go toe-to-toe with Bryan, the single man who has probably seen more movies than all 5 of you (who follow my blog) combined—here's your chance to truly prove yourselves.  Since this is only round one, I'll still be pulling punches. (e.g. If I were going all out, I would have only shown you the image of the goat costume below, instead of all three.  You'll have to ask yourself, "given the 90s fantasy hint from last week, would I have gotten it?"  That's the kind of mental pain I'll be bringing in weeks to come.) Rules: Pop culture references ONLY. (No cult stuff that only I have seen.) Nothing R-rated. (G — PG-13, including things like NOT RATED popular documentaries.) Let's start off by saying, I have to own it.  (This includes digital videos, but they must h...

Adam and Dog (2012) Full Short Animated Film Director: Minkyu Lee Oscar Nominated Short Click to reveal synopsis This hand-drawn animation explores the possible origins of the close-knit relationship of man and canine, for which Disney animation artist, Minkyu Lee, won the Annie award for Best Animated Short Subject. Lee created this independent film with friends from Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar. Click to reveal Moral of the story I think he's trying to say that even when God turns his back on you (hyperbole), your dog will still be there. (False, but moving all the same. A very accessible message.) *Read Interview with Minkyu Lee on Adam and Dog *See other Oscar-Nominated Shorts

Shawn Achor's book, The Happiness Advantage , outlines seven interventions you can do to adopt a more positive, grateful outlook in your own life.  If this sounds interesting, you might want to check out  Hapyr.com , a journaling website, based on Achor's research, that helps people permanently change their brain chemistry.  This begs the question, "will simply repeating these seven activities really make people happy?"  A look at Achor's research might give us a better understanding. Personal Example of Positive Psychology When I was with my family over Christmas break, we conducted an "informal test" on the effect of increased testosterone and decreased cortisol on human performance.  My brother-in-law was at a pivotal point during a team board game and needed to respond faster than my sister.  Before the trivia question was read, he called for a "time out," stood up, put his fists on his hips, stuck his chest out (like Superman minus...

I think laptop stands are invaluable! I want to buy an mStand , by Rain Design, to use with an external keyboard and mouse. The stand serves several purposes: Lifts the height of the display which makes working more comfortable. Helps cooling as you get lots of airflow around the laptop Gives you more desk space! I plan on resting text books in the gap between the base of the stand and where the laptop is elevated. Organizes cords and keeps them from falling back behind your desk. (Possibly the best reason), it keeps the laptop out of the way of drinks spillage. I'd feel a lot more comfortable eating and drinking around my MBP if it were safely out the way!

It's time for round 2 of a fun game I like to call, "GUESS THAT MOVIE CHARACTER!"  We played on this blog a couple of years ago ! To make this game fun: Read the quotes in order. (I tried to order the 10 quotes with the most difficult ones first.) When you think you know the name of the character, make your guess in the comment section below.  (Share how quickly you got it.) Then go back and check to see if you got the correct answer. The game ends Sunday, Feb. 24th, at which point I will post your replies and you can see how you all did. Movie Character Quotes: Quote #1 "It's true that Mavis and Sybil have ways that are winning, and Prudence and Gwendolyn set your heart spinning! Phoebe's delightful, Maude is disarming..." Quote #2 "You know, begging your pardon, but the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is in that cold, heartless bank day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold, heartless money. I don'...

I first witnessed this brilliant marketing strategy at the Little Caesar's Pizza in Spokane, WA over Christmas break.  I think the main reason why execs haven't swapped in robots here in Provo is because humans here are still better sign-shakers...for now...

Infinity Blade  ($5.99 → Free, 595.2 MB) Journey to the Dark Citadel to battle powerful Titans and free your people from an endless legacy of darkness in this visually stunning combat game. Swipe across the screen to perform attacks, dodge blades, block hits, and cast devastating spells. As you make your way deeper into the castle realm, you’ll have a chance to upgrade your knight and collect new weapons and armor. The game includes gorgeous 3-D graphics powered by the Unreal engine, online multiplayer, and achievements and leaderboards via Game Center. Infinity Blade   is available for free for the next 7 days (Feb. 14 - 21, 2013). It has a 4.5-star rating with a total of 16500 ratings. This might be the GREATEST iOS game of all time! Do yourself a favor—clear some memory and dl this app asap.

Here's a quick guide for the baffled: Harlem Shake videos all follow the script of one person, often in a helmet, dancing alone in a room full of bored-looking people. Then, as the beat kicks in on  Baauer's "Harlem Shake,"  we smash cut to the entire room going nuts in the most ridiculous ways possible. In a post titled "The Harlem Shake is Exploding," YouTube trends manager Kevin Allocca reveals that more than 12,000 Harlem Shake videos had been uploaded by close of business Monday. Collectively, they have been watched more than 44 million times in a week. Clearly, part of the success of the videos can be attributed to the anticipation of that breakout moment. Another reason: The videos are so short, you can easily consume a dozen of them in a ten-minute lunch break. I did a quick search on Google Trends, and the stats say the meme is still exploding (especially in Canada) as of February 13th. This chart will update to show you the last 90 days. ...