Interesting

These are just some things I found. I've been curious and sick and have time on my hands.



South Park's Creators to make "Mormon Musical" for Broadway

The announcment that started my curious fingers going.



Public Issues: Same-Gender Attraction

I really like Elder Oaks answer to the first question. I've come across many instances (working at Barnes & Noble, Imagine that!) where I've been accused of being narrow-minded, racist, a bigot, and so on. I have always taken the stance of "love the person, not the sin,"

but that doesn't mean I have to give up my right for what I believe in. I have the freedom to say what I like, just the same as others.



I understand that our church ASKED members to support Prop 8, (They did not threaten excommunication if people opposed it. They did not demand people to vote yes.) but I know we are not the only church that supported Prop 8. Why are we being the ones targeted? Again, I've been perusing and found these statistics:

• African-American -70% voted yes


• Latinos -53% voted yes


• Asian - 49% voted yes


• Other - 51% voted yes


• Ages 30--44 - 55% voted yes


• Ages 45-64 - 51% voted yes


• Ages 65 & up - 61% voted yes


• Female - 52% voted yes


• Male - 53% voted yes

CNN.com - Local Exit Polls

I've read of some of these other groups being harrassed and threatened, but not to the extent that Mormons have recieved. I might be naive, but I do wonder. Why us?

"Since blacks and latinos voted overwhelmingly for Prop. 8, I fully expect to see gay zealots marching onto South Central and East L.A. and threatening to burn down houses and businesses there."

Mormons Face Flack for Backing Prop 8

On the Daily Kos, the nation's most popular liberal blog, there is a campaign to use that information to look into the lives of Mormons who financially support Prop. 8...Atkins said his goal was to "embarrass the opposition by pointing out and publicizing any contributors they may have." He said focusing on Mormons made sense."

Elderly people being abused? Sad.

Utah Faces Boycott after Mormon Work for Prop 8

I know that Mormons settled Utah and when people think of Utah they think "mormon." Most of the businesses that people are targeting aren't affiliated with the Church in any way, shape, or form.

Missouri's Mormon Past

In 1838 and 1839, following an “extermination” order issued by Gov. Lilburn Boggs, 8,000 to 10,000 Mormons were driven out of Missouri. Boggs had declared Mormons in “open and avowed defiance” of the state’s laws and of having made war upon the people of Missouri.
“The Mormons must be treated as enemies,” Boggs declared on Oct. 27, 1838, “and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace; their outrages are beyond all description.”

Boggs’ extermination order was finally rescinded in 1976 by Missouri Gov. Christopher Bond, who also offered his regrets on behalf of the state.

"Music is What Feelings Sound Like"

Anyone who knows me or Eli know that we both have a HUGE passion for music. I heard someone say that "music is what feelings sound like." I could not have thought of a better way to put it. Music can truly do anything. It can make you relive every second of a past memory. It can make you feel happy and excited. It can make you feel sad and lonely. It can make you feel warmth and love. It can motivate you or relax you. I believe that music is something that can speak to anyone, anywhere.

The reason I say all this is because I was listening to one of my favorite musicians, Andy Mckee. He is phenomenal. He is one of those people that makes you feel all of those emotions I described above. Not only does Andy's (because we're on a first name basis now) music sound amazing, but watching him is an incredible experience. I'm going to post a couple of his videos here, but you can find him all over youtube, myspace, and get his music here. Just watch.

Drifiting


Africa - Toto (This should sound familiar)


Rylynn (This is my favorite)


Another thing that I have always loved is the drums. There is something about the drums that is fascinating. I've always loved drumlines. I've done searches and watched drumlines perform on the internet. One group I came across is called KAOTIC. They're pretty good and they have a good story. You know me, I'm always up for a good story that involves helping kids. Here is a show they did at a Bulls-Kings game a couple of years ago.



Some of you may have heard of the djembe drum. It is an african drum that is made by a skin streched over a gauntlet-shaped drum. It's played with your bare hands. It kind of reminds me of the conga drum, but not. Eli has used the djembe in some of his music. I love the sound of it. There is a movie called "The Vistor" that features the djembe. The sound kind of brings back a tribal, primal feel. Anyway, watch again. This is the Duke University Dejembe Ensemble. So much fun!

Superman

I just wanted to give a little update on my dad. He is amazing! I swear he is superman. For having had brain surgery he is doing really well. I love him so much! He has had his stitches taken out. He's out and about, taking it easy. I just wanted to post some pictures and share our adventure with the rest of you. Thank you again so much for your prayers and thoughts. We love you guys!

Dad with no hair. I think the look suites him. He has a very spherical noggin'.

Pre-operation. I believe he was modeling Josh's look.

Me and Pop pre-operation

We tried my hair on Pop. We thought the darker hair helped him fit in with the rest of the fam.

Grandpa waiting during Pop's surgery.

Post-operation. Hardcore!

Bandages off. Enter here. Take a look around.

Relaxing.

The Rain Came Down...and Our Ceiling Fell In

Similar to St. George, Albuquerque is a desert. Albuquerque is also in a drought. When the rains come it is a blessed affair. I am also a big fan of the rain (when I'm not caught in it). I love the smell after it rains. It is so fresh and so clean!

Saturday was one of those blessed days! It poured and it was wonderful. When I got home from work late Saturday night I was looking forward to a good night's rest. I did not expect to find the following:

The bubble was dripping. I couldn't call the landlord being that it was way super late. I stuck a pot under the drip and attempted to go to bed. After about 2.5 seconds I decided to sleep in the guest room. I was just closing my eyes when I heard the "drip drip" in the pot. I went into the room and stuck a towel in the pot. I also noticed that something changed in the bubble. It became this:
That is a huge bubble! It also spread to another bubble which spread to another bubble. In a rectangle shape. Obviously the ceiling had had a leak before and had been patched. I let Eli know and he called the landlord Sunday morning. We didn't hear from him. Our carpet was soaked and it smelled. It smelled like when you forget to change the laundry from the washer to the dryer but ten times worse.

Sunday night I had to go to work. Eli came in and saw me for lunch. He informed that I should be careful when I got home and I should probably sleep in the guest room again. The ceiling was half hanging off and it might fall off. I decided to check on it when I got home. I found this:

And I found this on the floor (ignore the unfolded laundry, if you can see it):

Lame! We got through to the landlord. They came in and patched it up for now. We're getting it fixed on Friday. The good thing about it is that we're gonna get a little discount off our rent. The smell is also starting to fade and after 3 days our carpet is finally drying!

Oh Happy Day!

We are back from our very short trip to Utah for Dad's surgery and we have good news! In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "It's not a tumor!" I'm going to post some AMAZING pictures from our little adventure and give you a little more of the story, but I did want to let you know that my dad is doing well.

He still had to have brain surgery because they didn't know it wasn't a tumor until they got inside. What they did find was something called a Venous Varix. I'm still trying to find a good definition for it, but it's basically an enlarged blood vessel in his brain. His veins were attaching to it and feeding it which caused two things 1) made it grow and 2) blocked blood flow to other parts of his brain. It has been removed and sent to a lab for testing, but the doc said he should be good.

For just having brain surgery he is doing amazingly well. Everything works perfectly and he's back to cracking his jokes and giving his nurses a hard time. Like I said before, he is a strong man and we knew things would go well.

I did want to thank all of you who prayed and fasted on my dad's behalf. I really, truly believe that all the love and support is what helped things go so well. I've got lots of thoughts on that that maybe I'll share later. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU so much again. My family thanks you as well and are amazed that so many people have contacted us. We love you guys!

Any Man Can Be a Father

I said that a lot has been going on these past few weeks that I've been gone (teething puppies, trip to Vegas, moving apartments, etc.). I have a ton of pictures and stories that I'd like to share and I will, but I'd like to post about something, or rather someone, close to my heart.This is my dad, Jared (aka Papa Joe). To finish the quote from the title, "Any man can be a father; it takes someone special to be a dad." My dad is such an amazing man. He's done so much for me like build my appreciation for music, how to throw a baseball, ride a bike, drive, and to do my best in everything. He's supported me through school for so many years and has always encouraged me to be better.

Everything I've done in my life has been to make him and my mom proud of me. I haven't always been the best at that, but I try. I've always been able to call him and ask him advice for all sorts of stuff, like when the brakes on my miata were going out and I had no idea what was happening. I was on the freeway and I called him during one of his trips with Bryan and he was able to tell me exactly what was wrong and what I needed to do to fix it. I also remember when he would take me to the church parking lot to teach me how to drive a clutch. He had so much stinkin' patience!

I think almost everyone on our blog list has met my dad. Most people think he's pretty cool. I do too, which is why this has been kind of hard for me. A few weeks ago my dad had a seizure of some sort. My brothers found him and he couldn't talk. He was taken to the hospital where there were tests and things done. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. He went home feeling a little better, with medication, and advice to not drive for 3 months.

He went back to the hospital about a week later to do an MRI. Just this last week we got the results. My dad has a brain tumor. He's going in for surgery this following Wednesday, September 10th. The doctors and other sources say that the tumor is slow-growing and that the surgery to be performed has very good odds of being very successful. It was a good thing that Dad had the seizure because it helped to detect the tumor early enough.

My dad is young and he is amazing. He's healthy and the surgery is going to go well. Still though, it would mean alot to me and Eli and the rest of our family if you could say a little prayer for my dad. I love you Papa Joe!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I had no idea how theraputic blogging was until I didn't have internet access! I didn't know how grateful I was for the internet either. I've decided that I don't like watching movies at home without having IMDB accesible. I have SO SO much to say and I really have no where to start. I know it's only been 3 weeks (almost) since the last blog I posted, but it seems more like 3 years. There has been so much that has happened, some good and some not. I think I'll post separately for each event, but please understand that it's all intermingled. I know that this blog is more for me, Eli, and our family, but it's still nice to know that I have friends out there who care!