Twitter

I don't tweet. For a long time, I thought Twitter was redundant. Finally, I signed up for the site to see what all the deal was, and haven't been back. I've got friends who I know use it, between Facebook and BlogSpot, Twitter is still redundant. If I had a BlackBerry or Iphone, I might feel differently, but I don't and I'm kind of glad my phone isn't web enabled. I'm online enough as it is. Now there's a few people who are witty enough that it would be fun to follow, but yeah, no. Anyway, what's your opinion about Twitter?

Word of Wisdom Part One

A while back, one of my roommates hosted a ward progressive dinner. The people assigned to our house were mostly Interns from the Salt Lake area. The interns were enthusiastic about their temporary work assignments and the conversation turned to Happy Hour and the appropriate drinks for a Mormon. One talked about that even water was suspicious because it looked like vodka (not many people down vodka at Happy Hour, but no one called him on it). Another replied, all I dare drink is milk because it’s the only thing that can’t be mistaken for an alcoholic drink. The group nodded their head in agreement and one told us that an LDS apostle only drank milk at get-togethers where there was alcohol.
Needless to say, I’ve been thinking of that episode off and on since it happened. Now, the Word of Wisdom is very important. The underlying principle, that we are masters over our body and aren’t mastered by a substance is key. There’s a reason we’re asked about the Word of Wisdom to enter the temple. The blessings we are promised are special and adhering to the Word of Wisdom does protect us.
However, at the same time, do we sometimes place more value over the Word of Wisdom because it separates us from other religious groups than we do commandments that may be more important?
To go back to the milk drinking interns, there’s many holes in their theory. We pointed out a couple during the discussion (most alcoholic drinks aren’t served with ice or straws ). Rather than overthink the issue, I'd just like to enjoy my beverage of choice. If someone has a question about it, just ask (like Diet Coke for example)

Poll: Do Single Women Seek Attached Men?

A friend of mine recently sent an e-mail to all of his lady friends asking them "if single men seek out attached men"? He asked us to e-mail our friends and then report the results.
A study was published that asked the question above and the results are startling. I'm not going to reveal my own thoughts about the subject at this time except that I agree with the article that often the reason women are single is because of their interest in unavailable men or their unrealistic expectations in a relationship (myself included).
Anyway, what are your thoughts about this subject? The poll is on the sidebar to the left. I don't care if men take the poll too.

http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/do-single-women-seek-attached-men/

Remodeling

I've been thinking about painting my room for the past year and will probably do it this fall. However, once the paint dries I guarantee you this won't be on my wall:

Apparently that's a 6''2" vinyl lifesize sillouhette of Edward Cullen from Twilight. I shudder at the thought of him in my room. Especially since I'm in the "Robert Pattinson is gayer than Christmas" camp. Love my gay friends, but Robert Pattinson? Creepy.

Quote of the Day

Outrage is like a lot of other things that feel good but over time devour
us from the inside out. And it’s even more insidious than most vices because we
don’t even consciously acknowledge that it’s a pleasure. We prefer think of it
as a disagreeable but fundamentally healthy involuntary reaction to negative
stimuli thrust upon us by the world we live in, like pain or nausea, rather than
admit that it’s a shameful kick we eagerly indulge again and again.

http://happydays.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/isnt-it-outrageous/

Death and Dinosaurs

I've realized that if I ever live out here in rural Utah permanently, my blog is going to be mostly about Utah for a while. But, there's worst things to talk about I guess. Really, I think it means that I've been away from here long enough that the oddities of this state are more apparent.

Anyway, I find myself loving reading the newspaper. Now, I follow the news when I'm in DC, but reading the Deseret News and Vernal Express are treats. My favorite part in both newspapers? The obituaries. I know it sounds morbid, but I enjoy reading about what their families choose to include in the obituaries. Word choice is a favorite also. I admit though, I do find myself mentally rewriting the obituaries often.

Moving from obituaries, I find myself being amazed a little at the article content in the Deseret News. Utah really still has a small town mentality that's kind of fun. Case in point: yesterday's Metro front page article was an interview with the gentleman who dresses Rex. For those not familiar with Rex, he's the 23 foot dinosaur that greets people from the west side of town (Dinah bats her eyelashes at visitors at the east side) . Glade Allred has been dressing the dinosaur for holidays and special events. He's worn cupid wings, a Santa cap, a cowboy hat and other assorted accessories for corresponding holidays and special events for the past 10 years or so (the article seems to indicate that Rex has dressed up for nearly 20 years, but that's not true--it's only been a regular event for about 10 years or less). Needless to say, the costumes aren't the same every year and tourists and residents alike look forward to when Rex changes costumes. Seeing a 23 foot dinosaur dressed up is sure to thrill your inner 6 year old.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705323094/Best-dressed-T-rex-in-the-West.html

Roundup

1) Uh, What’s the deal with these town halls? After listening to Hannity yesterday, you’d think that we’re in the middle of a revolution.

2) According to Sean Hannity, if someone calls you a Nazi, then it’s okay to call them every other name in the book.

3) I’m addicted to baseball. Okay, I’ve been addicted to the game for years, but after going to two games in a row and the Yankee-Sox series, I find myself wanting to schedule my free time around the Yankee games. More so than usual.

4) I’m in Utah until the 29th of this month. Part of this time I’ll be working out of the Vernal BLM Office. This is the first time in 8 years I’ve worked in the west at all, and the first time in 12 years I’ve worked in Vernal.

5) So, there's a movement of Freehikers out there (hiking in the nude-I couldn't make this up). A group of them hiked up to Red Mountain just above Vernal a few years ago, and the entry about the hike is priceless. Totally brought a smile to my face-I've hiked, snow-shoed, mountain biked, and rode atv's up Red Mountain, but never free-hiked up it. Wonder what I'm missing?
http://kenfreehiker.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-08-03T06%3A49%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Papa Paul's Worms

My dad gardens. I wouldn't call it a hobby, it's his lifestyle. When it's spring to fall and the sun is out-you can always find him outside in the yard (his mom was the same way). He also studied entymology in school so I really wasn't surprised if I got the following pictures and captions from him. The captions are all my dad.

Tomato bugs lurking in your garden!

They like tomatoes. Oh yeah, they are called tomato worms.

I know you can't see this very well, but the tomato killed this worm.

Different variety of tomato worm. Rich and Nicole, beware of tomato worms.

Another beast in my garden.

Pulitzer Prize Winners: An Update

I've mentioned on this blog before that I made the goal of reading the Pulitzer Prize list. I was curious to see where I'm at since I last made the update and well, I've got a lot of reading to do before I'm going to finish this before I'm 45. That gives me 13 years. I can totally do it.

Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction by Year
2009 Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2008 The Brief Wonderous World of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
2007 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2006 March by Geraldine Brooks
2005 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
2004 The Known World by Edward P. Jones
2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo
2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
2000 Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham
1998 American Pastoral by Philip Roth
1997 Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
1996 Independence Day by Richard Ford
1995 The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
1994 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1993 A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
1992 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley*
1991 Rabbit At Rest by John Updike
1990 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
1989 Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
1988 Beloved by Toni Morrison
1987 A Summons To Memphis by Peter Taylor
1986 Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry
1985 Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
1984 Ironweed by William Kennedy
1983 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1982 Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1980 The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
1979 The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
1978 Elbow Room: Stories by James Alan Mcpherson
1977 No award was given.
1976 Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
1975 The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1974 No award was given.
1973 The Optimist's Daughter (large Print) by Eudora Welty
1972 Angle of Repose by Wallace Earle Stegner
1971 No award was given.
1970 The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford by Jean Stafford
1969 House Made of Dawn by N Scott Momaday
1968 The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
1967 The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
1966 The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter
1965 The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
1964 No award was given.
1963 The Reivers: A Reminiscence by William Faulkner
1962 The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor
1961 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1960 Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
1959 The Travels of Jaimie Mcpheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
1958 A Death in the Family by James Agee
1957 No award was given.
1956 Andersonville by Mackinlay Kantor
1955 A Fable by William Faulkner
1954 No award was given.
1953 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
1952 The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II by Herman Wouk
1951 The Town by Conrad Richter
1950 The Way West by A B Guthrie
1949 Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens
1948 Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
1947 All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
1946 No award was given.
1945 A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
1944 Journey in the Dark by Martin Flavin
1943 Dragon's Teeth I by Upton Sinclair
1942 In This Our Life by Ellen Glasgow
1941 No award was given.
1940 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
1939 The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1938 The Late George Apley by John Phillips Marquand
1937 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
1936 Honey in the Horn by Harold Lenoir Davis
1935 Now in November by Josephine W. Johnson
1934 Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller
1933 The Store by Thomas Stribling
1932 The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
1931 Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
1930 Laughing Boy by Oliver Lafarge
1929 Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin
1928 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
1927 Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield
1926 Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
1925 So Big by Edna Ferber
1924 The Able Mclaughlins by Margaret Wilson
1923 One of Ours by Willa Silbert Cather
1922 Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
1921 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
1920 No award was given.
1919 The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
1918 His Family by Ernest Poole

*I'd highly recommend any of these to most people except for a Thousand Acres, which I hated. But in fairness, I read that book 13 or so years ago. Many of these are treasured reads.