Charisse to Cory:
"Home safe, phone charging, headphones waiting on your pillow.. wife madly in love with you. Oh. and enchiladas for dinner. :-)"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
This is to get things Rolling again
I stole this from Alan Neil Rosenhan, Esq. but I figure it will make people pay attention to my bloggity blog again.
5 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1) Simpsons
2) Buffy The vampire slayer!
3) How I met Your Mother
4) Flight of the Conchords
5) 24, House,
5 Favorite Restaurants:
1) Nicolitalias
2) Carls Jr.
3) Five guys
4) In n Out
5) Starbux
5 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1) I went to Ward Conference, taught 12-13 year olds about agency
2) Family Dinner at the Stephens'
3) Friday I bought a NEW BIKE (Specialized)
4) Watched various episodes of the Simpsons and How I met Your Mother
5) Counted Tithing
5 Things I Love About Fall:
1) It is not winter
2) Walking through leaves in my blue boots
3) Beds
4) Thanksgiving
5) Trees
5 Things On My Wishlist:
1) Financial stability
2) Arabic mastery
3) A House
4) A Motorcycle
5) 40 acres and a mule. Oh yes.
(I copied most of the last one verbatim from Alan.... HAHAHA)
5 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1) Simpsons
2) Buffy The vampire slayer!
3) How I met Your Mother
4) Flight of the Conchords
5) 24, House,
5 Favorite Restaurants:
1) Nicolitalias
2) Carls Jr.
3) Five guys
4) In n Out
5) Starbux
5 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1) I went to Ward Conference, taught 12-13 year olds about agency
2) Family Dinner at the Stephens'
3) Friday I bought a NEW BIKE (Specialized)
4) Watched various episodes of the Simpsons and How I met Your Mother
5) Counted Tithing
5 Things I Love About Fall:
1) It is not winter
2) Walking through leaves in my blue boots
3) Beds
4) Thanksgiving
5) Trees
5 Things On My Wishlist:
1) Financial stability
2) Arabic mastery
3) A House
4) A Motorcycle
5) 40 acres and a mule. Oh yes.
(I copied most of the last one verbatim from Alan.... HAHAHA)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
My Birth.....DAY!
My birthday season has been very good. The festivities were diverse and awesome. First Karen and Bruce and Brett (Charisse's family!) came all the way up from Cedar and we had a great time eating Italian food from Macaroni grill. and Cake!! Next I got to chose family dinner last Sunday so we head big juicy steaks, Monday Charisse gave me several gifts like Season 2 of How I met your Mother, Starbucks, and others! With some birthday money I decided to get a set of small weights and a bench to put downstairs. My actual day was pretty rollercoastery. So most may know that my Grandmother Irma Stephens (she with whom Charisse and I have been living, 97) died last week. So the funeral was birthday morning in Ogden. The bad news is she died but the good news is I got to spend Monday night and all day Tuesday with my wife, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. Plus they bought Charisse and I dinner (Village Inn, I ate chicken fried chicken with biscuits and gravy!) and a movie (Ghost Town). So now it is wednesday, i have had about 35,000 people wish me a happy birthday on the facebook, and Charisse said that she was going to make me a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Oh, and she has let me win arguments for, like, 4 days now. Sweet. Ok, that was my birthday. In summary. It was awesome. Thank you everyone!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
An anonymous man after my own HEART!
It is like he (or she) can READ MY MIND!!!
A message to my mail from the... INTERNET!!!...follows:
You Ain't Gonna Like Losing
I know everyone has a different opinion on the war and our current President. But, this article makes a lot of sense,
take 2 minutes, read it and give it some thought.
When electing the next President, 'the only decision
you have to make is who you want sitting in that seat in
the White House when - not if - WHEN we get hit again and
millions of American lives are put at risk!'
This is from: 'You ain't gonna like losing.'
Author unknown.
President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on
terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to
war in Iraq . Bush's mistake came in his belief that
this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII.
It is not.
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression.
The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression,
but they still believed fervently in this country. They
knew
that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the
people's duty to back those leaders.
Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together,
rallied behind, and stuck with their leaders, whether they
had voted for them or not or whether the war was going
badly or not.
And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as
great then as it is today. Often there were more casualties
in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war.
But that did not matter. The people stuck with the
President because it was their patriotic duty. Americans
put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to
win that war.
Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old
pitched in. Small children pulled little wagons around to
gather scrap metal for the war effort. Grade school
students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to
help the effort.
Men who were too old or medically 4F lied about their age
or condition trying their best to join the military.
Women doubled their work to keep things going at home.
Harsh rationing of everything from gasoline to soap, to
butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining.
You never heard prominent people on the radio belittling
the President. Interestingly enough in those days there
were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to
visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and
complain to them about our President. Instead, they made
upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the
troops' morale. And a bunch even enlisted.
And imagine this: Teachers in schools actually started the
day off with a Pledge of Allegiance, and with prayers for
our country and our troops!
Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain
weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to
cause the maximum damage. No newspaper would have dared
complain about what we were doing to catch spies. A
newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it
had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being
'tortured' by being forced to wear women's
underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or
being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning.
There were a lot of things different back then. We were not
subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography,
perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio. We did
not have legions of crack heads, dope pushers and armed
gangs roaming our streets.
No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling
of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we
still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He
believed that this was still the country that our fathers
fought so dearly to preserve.
It is not the same country. It is now a cross between
Sodom and Gomorra and the land of Oz. We did unite for a
short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we
found out that defending our country would require some
sacrifices.
We are in great danger. The terrorists are fanatic
Muslims. They believe that it is okay, even their duty, to
kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been
estimated that about one third or over three hundred
million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause...
Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many
potential recruits. So... We either win it - or lose it -
and you ain't gonna like losing.
America is not at war. The military is at war.
America is at the mall, or watching the movie stars.
(Remember Obama said in his book 'Audacity of
Hope', 'I will stand with the Muslims should the
political winds shift in an ugly direction'.....what
better place for the Muslins to control our country, than
in the office of the President of USA . If you ever
forwarded an e-mail, now's the time to do it!)
AHHHH!!! they were right...!
(maybe? Snopes.com article)
A message to my mail from the... INTERNET!!!...follows:
You Ain't Gonna Like Losing
I know everyone has a different opinion on the war and our current President. But, this article makes a lot of sense,
take 2 minutes, read it and give it some thought.
When electing the next President, 'the only decision
you have to make is who you want sitting in that seat in
the White House when - not if - WHEN we get hit again and
millions of American lives are put at risk!'
This is from: 'You ain't gonna like losing.'
Author unknown.
President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on
terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to
war in Iraq . Bush's mistake came in his belief that
this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII.
It is not.
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression.
The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression,
but they still believed fervently in this country. They
knew
that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the
people's duty to back those leaders.
Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together,
rallied behind, and stuck with their leaders, whether they
had voted for them or not or whether the war was going
badly or not.
And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as
great then as it is today. Often there were more casualties
in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war.
But that did not matter. The people stuck with the
President because it was their patriotic duty. Americans
put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to
win that war.
Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old
pitched in. Small children pulled little wagons around to
gather scrap metal for the war effort. Grade school
students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to
help the effort.
Men who were too old or medically 4F lied about their age
or condition trying their best to join the military.
Women doubled their work to keep things going at home.
Harsh rationing of everything from gasoline to soap, to
butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining.
You never heard prominent people on the radio belittling
the President. Interestingly enough in those days there
were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to
visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and
complain to them about our President. Instead, they made
upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the
troops' morale. And a bunch even enlisted.
And imagine this: Teachers in schools actually started the
day off with a Pledge of Allegiance, and with prayers for
our country and our troops!
Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain
weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to
cause the maximum damage. No newspaper would have dared
complain about what we were doing to catch spies. A
newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it
had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being
'tortured' by being forced to wear women's
underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or
being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning.
There were a lot of things different back then. We were not
subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography,
perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio. We did
not have legions of crack heads, dope pushers and armed
gangs roaming our streets.
No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling
of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we
still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He
believed that this was still the country that our fathers
fought so dearly to preserve.
It is not the same country. It is now a cross between
Sodom and Gomorra and the land of Oz. We did unite for a
short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we
found out that defending our country would require some
sacrifices.
We are in great danger. The terrorists are fanatic
Muslims. They believe that it is okay, even their duty, to
kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been
estimated that about one third or over three hundred
million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause...
Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many
potential recruits. So... We either win it - or lose it -
and you ain't gonna like losing.
America is not at war. The military is at war.
America is at the mall, or watching the movie stars.
(Remember Obama said in his book 'Audacity of
Hope', 'I will stand with the Muslims should the
political winds shift in an ugly direction'.....what
better place for the Muslins to control our country, than
in the office of the President of USA . If you ever
forwarded an e-mail, now's the time to do it!)
AHHHH!!! they were right...!
(maybe? Snopes.com article)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Responding to a message to Judah from Joseph
This is my response I mailed to my Professor for my The Jews vs. The Mormons class. Some people call it Judaism and the gospel. But seriously, we know we are right...
(by the way, I believe President Benson was a prophet :)
"Speaking Today.....": A message to Judah from Joseph
By: President Ezra Taft Benson
Link!
What I Wrote: (!)
I am a Middle East Studies/Arabic student and I just returned from a study abroad visiting Palestine and Israel in the context of studying Arabic. The nature of my course of studies lends to skepticism and careful criticism of what I read especially as it pertains to the issues of conflict in the Arab/Israeli Palestine.
Bearing that in mind, certain passages in the message given by President Benson caught my attention. Understanding, of course, that it was not a political treatise, i could not help but to fill in the blanks as I read. For example, President Benson says, "Since 1948, the people of the world have witnessed a marvelous drama taking place before their eyes; and yet it is a miracle that has gone rather unnoticed and unappreciated. One of the greatest events in history is the literal gathering of Jews to their homeland from 'the four corners of the earth.' It is as Isaiah prophesied, 'a marvelous work and a wonder." Yet while the truth of an unnoticed and unappreciated drama rings to Jewish benefit, the same can be said of the unnoticed and unappreciated plight of those the land was taken from.
The difficulty of my position is my appreciation for how much the Palestinian people have suffered while still maintaining and nurturing my conviction in the fulfillment of prophesy. I am reminded of similar situations in our own history. The Book of Mormon clearly prophesies the downfall and destruction of the Lamanite people as a result of their iniquity. The fulfillment of this prophetic decree was actualized in the destruction of the Native American population with the spread of such Nationalistic doctrines as Manifest Destiny (one example). The realization of prophesy does not, however, cleanse our hands from the disgraceful trail of tears.
Therefore, in my opinion, there are two ways to address the badlands that lie between the Politics and Prophesy of the restoration of Israel to the Holy land. The first is an unfettered charge in which the flag of "It's God's Will" is flown foreword, justified by ancient scripture and a bilateral outcome of the restoration of the chosen and the displacement of the other. The second is a recognition of Christ's admonition to love the neighbor and the enemy, searching out every possibility to first live in peace, together. Our first charge as followers of Christ is to search out peace. If it ends up taking longer for scriptural prophecy to be fulfilled following such a doctrine, so be it. At least we will bring to pass the designs of God without staining our hands in the process.
(by the way, I believe President Benson was a prophet :)
"Speaking Today.....": A message to Judah from Joseph
By: President Ezra Taft Benson
Link!
What I Wrote: (!)
I am a Middle East Studies/Arabic student and I just returned from a study abroad visiting Palestine and Israel in the context of studying Arabic. The nature of my course of studies lends to skepticism and careful criticism of what I read especially as it pertains to the issues of conflict in the Arab/Israeli Palestine.
Bearing that in mind, certain passages in the message given by President Benson caught my attention. Understanding, of course, that it was not a political treatise, i could not help but to fill in the blanks as I read. For example, President Benson says, "Since 1948, the people of the world have witnessed a marvelous drama taking place before their eyes; and yet it is a miracle that has gone rather unnoticed and unappreciated. One of the greatest events in history is the literal gathering of Jews to their homeland from 'the four corners of the earth.' It is as Isaiah prophesied, 'a marvelous work and a wonder." Yet while the truth of an unnoticed and unappreciated drama rings to Jewish benefit, the same can be said of the unnoticed and unappreciated plight of those the land was taken from.
The difficulty of my position is my appreciation for how much the Palestinian people have suffered while still maintaining and nurturing my conviction in the fulfillment of prophesy. I am reminded of similar situations in our own history. The Book of Mormon clearly prophesies the downfall and destruction of the Lamanite people as a result of their iniquity. The fulfillment of this prophetic decree was actualized in the destruction of the Native American population with the spread of such Nationalistic doctrines as Manifest Destiny (one example). The realization of prophesy does not, however, cleanse our hands from the disgraceful trail of tears.
Therefore, in my opinion, there are two ways to address the badlands that lie between the Politics and Prophesy of the restoration of Israel to the Holy land. The first is an unfettered charge in which the flag of "It's God's Will" is flown foreword, justified by ancient scripture and a bilateral outcome of the restoration of the chosen and the displacement of the other. The second is a recognition of Christ's admonition to love the neighbor and the enemy, searching out every possibility to first live in peace, together. Our first charge as followers of Christ is to search out peace. If it ends up taking longer for scriptural prophecy to be fulfilled following such a doctrine, so be it. At least we will bring to pass the designs of God without staining our hands in the process.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A hole
This is a hole that Indian Jones probably played in before dramatically riding away from the Petra Treasury!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Upon an inquiry: What did you think when..
This is what Charisse told me when I asked her what she thought when i asked her to be my dance partner. It is a love story:
ok
well
I had noticed you pretty early on in the class
your name stuck because you actually seemed to have a personality
but the fact that you did have an apparent personality, and did seem outgoing and confident etc. etc.
meant that while I knew who you were, I didn't enter you into the realm of possibility as far as any kind of relationship with me (dance partner or otherwise)
"out of my league," I suppose
which is why I was shocked when you suddenly asked me to be your partner
(well when I say "out of my league" I don't mean necessarily that I thought you were in a Better league ;);) , just that you were in a league other than my own, whatever that is/was)
ok. so now tell me about when i asked you to be my date
ok
so I was walking to the testing center, having just gotten out of class
to my latin test
and I don't remember why I turned on my phone, but I did
and then it started vibrating in my hand, telling me there was a message
so I went to voicemail and the number was one I definitely didn't recognize
and then I heard your voice
you were like, "Hi Charisse, this is Cory, your DanceSport dancing partner, and I was wondering..."
and at this point I'm thinking, 'oh, he probably wants to get together to practice'
but then you continued to say something to the effect of "if you're free on Saturday night, and if you are, if you would like to go on a date with me"
and I didn't stop walking, but my brain kind of did.
and went, ?????
because again, this possibility had never occurred to me
nevermind that I had (I think) never before been straight-up asked out by someone I barely knew
I was impressed by your bluntness
and rather wished I hadn't missed your call
ok so I decided, my brain suddenly being in half-broken mode, that I would wait until after the test to call you back
so I took the test
was ridiculously distracted
kept getting this funny feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it
but finished the test nonetheless
and then...I don't remember the details of when I called you, whether I did it on my way back or waited until i was in the apt
but you didn't answer
(*looks at you*)
which was sort of a relief, sort of not
so I left a message (which I hate doing, as you may have noticed)
that night dinner group was at the other apartment
but I made sure to take my phone with me and keep it within hearing distance
I of course explained nothing to them beforehand, and then when you DID call back, in the middle of dinner, I (got a stupid grin on my face) and disappeared back to the bathroom to answer
which I did
and...it was slightly awkward, as I recall
but I figured it would work out, one way or another, and when you told me what you actually had PLANNED, you unfortunately couldn't see the grin on my face
I was like, Shakespeare? Seriously? Where did you COME from? (And will you take me there?)
and I don't really remember anything else about the conversation, to be honest
though I think you explained about Eric coming down with a girl he liked
yes well, when you asked if I knew much about Shakespeare and I said "yes" and then you asked "a lot?" and I said "yes" I wondered if you would think I was being pretentious...
and for some reason I decided to just be perfectly honest
kind of like I decided, as i was trying to figure out what to wear TO said date, that I wasn't going to worry about it, and I wasn't going to do a lot of makeup, because I wanted to be comfortable, and I wanted to look like the Normal Me.
and apparently it worked
so anyway, I after the phone call I went back to the dinner table (grinning, gosh darn it)
and announced that I had a date that weekend
and everyone was slightly shocked but appropriately happy for me
it was more along the lines of, 'when did THIS happen?'
i remember being nervous before class on Friday
wondering if anything was going to be different
(Cory: and it was! because you were in love)
which I...don't think it was? Blast me for not having recorded every detail as it occurred...
I love you now
and I was pretty darn close by Monday morning
ok. Saturday.
I was getting ready and at one point realized I had ANOTHER message on my phone
which was from you
and my heart fluttered and slightly sank at the same time, half giddy that you'd called again and half afraid there was some kind of problem
and then you asked me what kind of pizza I preferred, and informed me that if I didn't respond, you would derive my pizza tastes from my dancing
...and I think that is actually the point where I realized that I could totally fall for you.
so I went on grinning as I got ready (letting you derive pizza tastes as you would)
and then I fought with myself and was all antsy over when to actually leave, since I was, as always, ready too early and had to wait until I could leave and arrive at a more appropriate time
so then I did leave, and I parked on the stupid street that wraps around the complex
and then called you to say I'd arrived and to ask you where in the heck your apartment actually was
I remember seeing you come around the corner where the sign is
and then there was probably some semi-awkward exchange at this point, but it has disappeared from my memory
not least by the fact that I then got to meet your Jeep for the first time!
and you opened my door for me
which was major points for you
and then we headed for Nick's
I think it was on the way there that I asked if your Jeep had a name, to which you responded in the negative
and you were pleased when I said that I never understood the fetish for naming inanimate objects
So we went to Nick's, and you introduced me to Nick himself
who informed me how lucky I was to be on a date with you
I agreed with him, of course
so we sat down at a table to wait for the pizza to actually be ready, and we talked for a bit
about where you went on your mission
and about the random languages we spoke
our majors, where we were from, etc.
I remember (because I was embarrassed) telling you about Harvard too, since you asked where I learned Irish
and wouldn't let me dodge by just saying "Boston"
ok so I don't remember anything else we said specifically
but then we got the pizza and headed back to the apt
so, more about that
all the food/drinks stuff was out on the coffee table, and you and I claimed the smaller couch
and I went straight for the Dr Pepper
and the pizza was amazing
and I remember your red mug was on the table
which is how I learned how you spelled your name
(Cory: did you think of me when we were watching the movie? or were you otherwise diverted?)
Dear, you were sitting about a foot away from me
I was HYPER-aware of you
(Cory: i was curled in a ball most of the time. eating pizza off my knees)
not the entire time
because I remember noticing distinct opportunities when you could possibly have done something like, oh, taken my hand...
and of course I was sitting there wondering whether or not to make it available... always a trick
by the way, I think I've mentioned this before, and it's not because I would do this with anyone (past experience proves otherwise), but I would totally have kissed you that first date
...if you asked, that is
anyway
so we finished watching the movie
and i had to jet off to (stupid stupid) work
and you were up doing something or other and I didn't really know how to leave without it being awkward so I thought, ok, I'm just going to do it like it's the most normal thing in the world, so as everyone was starting in on the clean-up thing I went to the door and said bye
and you were like, "are you off to work?" and I said "yeah"
and no, we didn't talk again until monday
which I distinctly recall because I agonized all day Sunday
so Saturday night at work I spent the whole time resisting the urge to announce to everyone that I'd just had a fabulous first date
Sunday's agony revolved around the fact that I was in serious danger of falling for you
but I had no idea if you were actually interested in me
if the date had just been a for-fun and favor-for-your-brother thing
and if you'd only called me because you conveniently already had my number
having acquired it in an entirely different context
so I called Emily and flailed a bit, told her about the date and how cool you were
and how I very much wanted you to like me and very much hoped you would call again...
oh, Sunday I also consulted stalker-net to find out what your last name was
I went through the list of every Cory at BYU to see which one was from Maryland
so that I could see if you were on facebook
subsequently friend you
and thereby hint that I was interested in getting to know you better
and then Monday came
anyway, Monday, which is possibly my favorite part
so I went to class, still internally flailing over what (if anything) was going to happen between us
and I didn't really know if it would be ok / I could convince myself to go right up and start talking to you
I think you came to class after I did anyway
but then YOU came up to ME
and you gave me a daisy
and all my anxiety completely disappeared
(Cory: and then you had no idea what to do with it! so you put it in your pocket!)
well I didn't want to go stick it in/on my bag
since even though it would have been safer for the daisy, I wanted to keep it with me
like, RIGHT with me
so I had the daisy in my pocket, proof that you WERE in fact interested in me
and I was really genuinely disappointed and sad when it ended up decapitated
but I subsequently immortalized it with a sketch in my journal
ok
so the rest of Monday is a blur until my phone rang that night
and it was you (your name was entered by then, so the phone told me so before I answered, which means I was smiling before I answered)
and said you wanted to go to Starbucks, and wanted to know if I wanted to go with you
so I answered honestly with an "I would love to."
so then you came and picked me up, and you opened my door for me again :):), and we went and actually...didn't get hot chocolate
we both got the caramel apple cider
was it raining?
because there was some reason why the outside tables weren't satisfactory in relation to the weather
so we went back in
only to discover there were no open tables...
ah
yes, it being February and all
so we ended up grabbing a couple chairs that were stacked against the wall
and sat there and talked about Rembrandt and music and concerts we'd been to...
and a bunch of other stuff I can't list off the top of my head
but by the way, the Starbucks itself also earned you serious points
as you may recall me saying in my livjournal, "Shakespeare AND Starbucks? Have I fallen into some kind of alternate universe? One that actually likes me?"
I was really happy
and the more we talked the more excited I was to talk to you, and to learn more about you
and the easier it was to talk to you
surprisingly so, in fact
but then pretty much everything about you was delightfully surprising
and it's so strange now to imagine us ever not knowing each other
and then Tuesday morning when you left that message for me on facebook...
I was more than a little bit thrilled
and more than a little bit endeared by your exempting yourself from any possible rules that might have prevented you from contacting me again so soon
it gave me enough time to come to the conclusion that i absolutely without question DID want to see you again
and when I went to bed Monday night I was really disappointed knowing that the next day was Tuesday
because that meant I had no guarantee of seeing you
and I was afraid I was going to have to wait all the way until class on Wednesday
it was going to be a very long Tuesday if that were the case
but!
then you showed up in my inbox
saying "tuesdays aren't that bad" in response to my status and then suggesting we do dinner.
and suddenly Tuesday was a glorious thing
and I worked up the nerve to ask if you would come to the Welsh movie with me
and I remember going to your place that evening, and tasting your aunt's cooking for the first time
(enchiladas)
and we talked about our families and what our parents did for a living
ok so skipping to my favorite part of the evening
the part however-long into the long depressing Welsh film
where you leaned over and asked if you could hold my hand
and you remember what I said?
(Cory: yes, but i want to know what you said in your mind)
I'm pretty sure those were the exact and first words in my head
"do you really have to ask"
but emotion-wise, I was non-linguistically thinking, Finally...
because I really couldn't imagine it wasn't BLATANTLY obvious by then that something like that would be more than acceptable
and you looked away for a second and then looked back and said, "Yes."
So I smiled and said, "Then yes."
And then you did.
(my heart goes fluttery thinking about it even now)
(that first time our hands touched)
my second most favorite part of the evening
was as we were walking out of the movie
and before we were even out of the building, you'd taken my hand again like it was the most natural thing in the world
and it surprised me
in yet another are-you-sure-this-can-get-any-better kind of way
I thought it was perfect
it perhaps meant more than it should have, but it really meant a lot
(we totally skipped over the you-falling-down-the-stairs-after-Starbucks, but the way)
ok so I'm in the apartment grinning having just shut the door after you and a few seconds later there's this THUD.
Audrey is sitting on the couch and I stare at her for a minute, and I'm like...'was that...?'
so I open the door and lean over the railing
and there you were
and to be honest, I'm laughing at you again right now
because it was freaking hilarious
though I did feel a little bad that I couldn't even stop laughing long enough to ask if you were ok, so it came out all hilarified
but again, as always, i was endeared
there you were at the bottom of the stairs and I don't remember exactly what it looked like because I was laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes making everything kind of blurry
yes, that
maybe it was the "bloody hell" that made me laugh so hard
ok anything else we need to go over about Monday night or can I tell you the other important thing about Tuesday?
(yes. i want to know if you were thinking of me when you were lying in bed trying to sleep. that night)
I missed you.
And it was the weirdest thing, because we'd really only known each other TWO DAYS and only barely that
but I was dying to see you again
ok
so when you dropped me off Tuesday night, we had our first real hug
we kind of hugged Monday night, but it was an awkward not-sure-how-to-deal-with-this-exactly kind of hug
Tuesday night all that was gone
and I got to really feel your arms around me for the first time
ok
well
I had noticed you pretty early on in the class
your name stuck because you actually seemed to have a personality
but the fact that you did have an apparent personality, and did seem outgoing and confident etc. etc.
meant that while I knew who you were, I didn't enter you into the realm of possibility as far as any kind of relationship with me (dance partner or otherwise)
"out of my league," I suppose
which is why I was shocked when you suddenly asked me to be your partner
(well when I say "out of my league" I don't mean necessarily that I thought you were in a Better league ;);) , just that you were in a league other than my own, whatever that is/was)
ok. so now tell me about when i asked you to be my date
ok
so I was walking to the testing center, having just gotten out of class
to my latin test
and I don't remember why I turned on my phone, but I did
and then it started vibrating in my hand, telling me there was a message
so I went to voicemail and the number was one I definitely didn't recognize
and then I heard your voice
you were like, "Hi Charisse, this is Cory, your DanceSport dancing partner, and I was wondering..."
and at this point I'm thinking, 'oh, he probably wants to get together to practice'
but then you continued to say something to the effect of "if you're free on Saturday night, and if you are, if you would like to go on a date with me"
and I didn't stop walking, but my brain kind of did.
and went, ?????
because again, this possibility had never occurred to me
nevermind that I had (I think) never before been straight-up asked out by someone I barely knew
I was impressed by your bluntness
and rather wished I hadn't missed your call
ok so I decided, my brain suddenly being in half-broken mode, that I would wait until after the test to call you back
so I took the test
was ridiculously distracted
kept getting this funny feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it
but finished the test nonetheless
and then...I don't remember the details of when I called you, whether I did it on my way back or waited until i was in the apt
but you didn't answer
(*looks at you*)
which was sort of a relief, sort of not
so I left a message (which I hate doing, as you may have noticed)
that night dinner group was at the other apartment
but I made sure to take my phone with me and keep it within hearing distance
I of course explained nothing to them beforehand, and then when you DID call back, in the middle of dinner, I (got a stupid grin on my face) and disappeared back to the bathroom to answer
which I did
and...it was slightly awkward, as I recall
but I figured it would work out, one way or another, and when you told me what you actually had PLANNED, you unfortunately couldn't see the grin on my face
I was like, Shakespeare? Seriously? Where did you COME from? (And will you take me there?)
and I don't really remember anything else about the conversation, to be honest
though I think you explained about Eric coming down with a girl he liked
yes well, when you asked if I knew much about Shakespeare and I said "yes" and then you asked "a lot?" and I said "yes" I wondered if you would think I was being pretentious...
and for some reason I decided to just be perfectly honest
kind of like I decided, as i was trying to figure out what to wear TO said date, that I wasn't going to worry about it, and I wasn't going to do a lot of makeup, because I wanted to be comfortable, and I wanted to look like the Normal Me.
and apparently it worked
so anyway, I after the phone call I went back to the dinner table (grinning, gosh darn it)
and announced that I had a date that weekend
and everyone was slightly shocked but appropriately happy for me
it was more along the lines of, 'when did THIS happen?'
i remember being nervous before class on Friday
wondering if anything was going to be different
(Cory: and it was! because you were in love)
which I...don't think it was? Blast me for not having recorded every detail as it occurred...
I love you now
and I was pretty darn close by Monday morning
ok. Saturday.
I was getting ready and at one point realized I had ANOTHER message on my phone
which was from you
and my heart fluttered and slightly sank at the same time, half giddy that you'd called again and half afraid there was some kind of problem
and then you asked me what kind of pizza I preferred, and informed me that if I didn't respond, you would derive my pizza tastes from my dancing
...and I think that is actually the point where I realized that I could totally fall for you.
so I went on grinning as I got ready (letting you derive pizza tastes as you would)
and then I fought with myself and was all antsy over when to actually leave, since I was, as always, ready too early and had to wait until I could leave and arrive at a more appropriate time
so then I did leave, and I parked on the stupid street that wraps around the complex
and then called you to say I'd arrived and to ask you where in the heck your apartment actually was
I remember seeing you come around the corner where the sign is
and then there was probably some semi-awkward exchange at this point, but it has disappeared from my memory
not least by the fact that I then got to meet your Jeep for the first time!
and you opened my door for me
which was major points for you
and then we headed for Nick's
I think it was on the way there that I asked if your Jeep had a name, to which you responded in the negative
and you were pleased when I said that I never understood the fetish for naming inanimate objects
So we went to Nick's, and you introduced me to Nick himself
who informed me how lucky I was to be on a date with you
I agreed with him, of course
so we sat down at a table to wait for the pizza to actually be ready, and we talked for a bit
about where you went on your mission
and about the random languages we spoke
our majors, where we were from, etc.
I remember (because I was embarrassed) telling you about Harvard too, since you asked where I learned Irish
and wouldn't let me dodge by just saying "Boston"
ok so I don't remember anything else we said specifically
but then we got the pizza and headed back to the apt
so, more about that
all the food/drinks stuff was out on the coffee table, and you and I claimed the smaller couch
and I went straight for the Dr Pepper
and the pizza was amazing
and I remember your red mug was on the table
which is how I learned how you spelled your name
(Cory: did you think of me when we were watching the movie? or were you otherwise diverted?)
Dear, you were sitting about a foot away from me
I was HYPER-aware of you
(Cory: i was curled in a ball most of the time. eating pizza off my knees)
not the entire time
because I remember noticing distinct opportunities when you could possibly have done something like, oh, taken my hand...
and of course I was sitting there wondering whether or not to make it available... always a trick
by the way, I think I've mentioned this before, and it's not because I would do this with anyone (past experience proves otherwise), but I would totally have kissed you that first date
...if you asked, that is
anyway
so we finished watching the movie
and i had to jet off to (stupid stupid) work
and you were up doing something or other and I didn't really know how to leave without it being awkward so I thought, ok, I'm just going to do it like it's the most normal thing in the world, so as everyone was starting in on the clean-up thing I went to the door and said bye
and you were like, "are you off to work?" and I said "yeah"
and no, we didn't talk again until monday
which I distinctly recall because I agonized all day Sunday
so Saturday night at work I spent the whole time resisting the urge to announce to everyone that I'd just had a fabulous first date
Sunday's agony revolved around the fact that I was in serious danger of falling for you
but I had no idea if you were actually interested in me
if the date had just been a for-fun and favor-for-your-brother thing
and if you'd only called me because you conveniently already had my number
having acquired it in an entirely different context
so I called Emily and flailed a bit, told her about the date and how cool you were
and how I very much wanted you to like me and very much hoped you would call again...
oh, Sunday I also consulted stalker-net to find out what your last name was
I went through the list of every Cory at BYU to see which one was from Maryland
so that I could see if you were on facebook
subsequently friend you
and thereby hint that I was interested in getting to know you better
and then Monday came
anyway, Monday, which is possibly my favorite part
so I went to class, still internally flailing over what (if anything) was going to happen between us
and I didn't really know if it would be ok / I could convince myself to go right up and start talking to you
I think you came to class after I did anyway
but then YOU came up to ME
and you gave me a daisy
and all my anxiety completely disappeared
(Cory: and then you had no idea what to do with it! so you put it in your pocket!)
well I didn't want to go stick it in/on my bag
since even though it would have been safer for the daisy, I wanted to keep it with me
like, RIGHT with me
so I had the daisy in my pocket, proof that you WERE in fact interested in me
and I was really genuinely disappointed and sad when it ended up decapitated
but I subsequently immortalized it with a sketch in my journal
ok
so the rest of Monday is a blur until my phone rang that night
and it was you (your name was entered by then, so the phone told me so before I answered, which means I was smiling before I answered)
and said you wanted to go to Starbucks, and wanted to know if I wanted to go with you
so I answered honestly with an "I would love to."
so then you came and picked me up, and you opened my door for me again :):), and we went and actually...didn't get hot chocolate
we both got the caramel apple cider
was it raining?
because there was some reason why the outside tables weren't satisfactory in relation to the weather
so we went back in
only to discover there were no open tables...
ah
yes, it being February and all
so we ended up grabbing a couple chairs that were stacked against the wall
and sat there and talked about Rembrandt and music and concerts we'd been to...
and a bunch of other stuff I can't list off the top of my head
but by the way, the Starbucks itself also earned you serious points
as you may recall me saying in my livjournal, "Shakespeare AND Starbucks? Have I fallen into some kind of alternate universe? One that actually likes me?"
I was really happy
and the more we talked the more excited I was to talk to you, and to learn more about you
and the easier it was to talk to you
surprisingly so, in fact
but then pretty much everything about you was delightfully surprising
and it's so strange now to imagine us ever not knowing each other
and then Tuesday morning when you left that message for me on facebook...
I was more than a little bit thrilled
and more than a little bit endeared by your exempting yourself from any possible rules that might have prevented you from contacting me again so soon
it gave me enough time to come to the conclusion that i absolutely without question DID want to see you again
and when I went to bed Monday night I was really disappointed knowing that the next day was Tuesday
because that meant I had no guarantee of seeing you
and I was afraid I was going to have to wait all the way until class on Wednesday
it was going to be a very long Tuesday if that were the case
but!
then you showed up in my inbox
saying "tuesdays aren't that bad" in response to my status and then suggesting we do dinner.
and suddenly Tuesday was a glorious thing
and I worked up the nerve to ask if you would come to the Welsh movie with me
and I remember going to your place that evening, and tasting your aunt's cooking for the first time
(enchiladas)
and we talked about our families and what our parents did for a living
ok so skipping to my favorite part of the evening
the part however-long into the long depressing Welsh film
where you leaned over and asked if you could hold my hand
and you remember what I said?
(Cory: yes, but i want to know what you said in your mind)
I'm pretty sure those were the exact and first words in my head
"do you really have to ask"
but emotion-wise, I was non-linguistically thinking, Finally...
because I really couldn't imagine it wasn't BLATANTLY obvious by then that something like that would be more than acceptable
and you looked away for a second and then looked back and said, "Yes."
So I smiled and said, "Then yes."
And then you did.
(my heart goes fluttery thinking about it even now)
(that first time our hands touched)
my second most favorite part of the evening
was as we were walking out of the movie
and before we were even out of the building, you'd taken my hand again like it was the most natural thing in the world
and it surprised me
in yet another are-you-sure-this-can-get-any-better kind of way
I thought it was perfect
it perhaps meant more than it should have, but it really meant a lot
(we totally skipped over the you-falling-down-the-stairs-after-Starbucks, but the way)
ok so I'm in the apartment grinning having just shut the door after you and a few seconds later there's this THUD.
Audrey is sitting on the couch and I stare at her for a minute, and I'm like...'was that...?'
so I open the door and lean over the railing
and there you were
and to be honest, I'm laughing at you again right now
because it was freaking hilarious
though I did feel a little bad that I couldn't even stop laughing long enough to ask if you were ok, so it came out all hilarified
but again, as always, i was endeared
there you were at the bottom of the stairs and I don't remember exactly what it looked like because I was laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes making everything kind of blurry
yes, that
maybe it was the "bloody hell" that made me laugh so hard
ok anything else we need to go over about Monday night or can I tell you the other important thing about Tuesday?
(yes. i want to know if you were thinking of me when you were lying in bed trying to sleep. that night)
I missed you.
And it was the weirdest thing, because we'd really only known each other TWO DAYS and only barely that
but I was dying to see you again
ok
so when you dropped me off Tuesday night, we had our first real hug
we kind of hugged Monday night, but it was an awkward not-sure-how-to-deal-with-this-exactly kind of hug
Tuesday night all that was gone
and I got to really feel your arms around me for the first time
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Fred and Floe
I wrote this when I was young. It is perhaps not a coincidence that I found it, stuffed in a file in my parents house, when I did. I duly dedicate it to the girl I love on the eve of my adventure in Arabia. I love you Charisse...
Fred and Floe
by Cory Stephens
2/29/ (year unknown)
Immediately the doctor rushed in. Everyone was having mixed feelings about the birth. Some were happy, some were worried, but all were excited.
After the longest six hours of all their lives, Fred was born.
After the delivery everyone was silent, in the room there was no movement, except for the murmur of a muffled cry. The child was born with no mouth.
As Fred grew up it was very difficult. He had to get very painful shots, for nutrients, every day, he couldn't laugh, he had very much trouble communicating, and on top of all that, the other snobby kids laughed at poor mouthless Fred.
When he was a decade old he had a very tense surgery. It dragged on for about one very long week.
And after that hard, long, wait, it all failed (and costed A LOT of money).
One day when Fred was seventeen he fell desperately in love with a girl named Floe. It took her an awful long to figure out that she was desperately in love also. All during this period of time her peers picked on her because she dated Fred.
After about one or two years passed, Fred took Floe out to eat and said in sign language, "Floe, will you marry me?"
In partial astonishment Floe said, "What took you so long, of course I will!" They set a wedding date for six months later.
Finally the weddings eve arrived. Everyone was in sparkling tears. They are all so happily proud of both Fred Alexander and soon to be Mrs. Floe Alexander! The wedding day arrived and after the "I do" part, the reverend said, "You may try to kiss the bride."
About a year after their marriage doctors heard of the awkward wedding and decided to help Fred free of charge! Fred and Floe soon agreed to do it.
Two weeks later Fred found himself in an operating chair being gassed. A few hours later Fred woke up.
He could feel hard things, TEETH, a squishy thing, a tongue, and a little thing that dangles in the back of his throat. The surgery had succeeded!!
After a month of hard training Fred could eat with utinsels, talk, and KISS!!
For the first time in his life no one stares, he can eat, he can be a normal person. Best of all, he won't owe the doctor a billion dollars!
Fred and Floe
by Cory Stephens
2/29/ (year unknown)
Immediately the doctor rushed in. Everyone was having mixed feelings about the birth. Some were happy, some were worried, but all were excited.
After the longest six hours of all their lives, Fred was born.
After the delivery everyone was silent, in the room there was no movement, except for the murmur of a muffled cry. The child was born with no mouth.
As Fred grew up it was very difficult. He had to get very painful shots, for nutrients, every day, he couldn't laugh, he had very much trouble communicating, and on top of all that, the other snobby kids laughed at poor mouthless Fred.
When he was a decade old he had a very tense surgery. It dragged on for about one very long week.
And after that hard, long, wait, it all failed (and costed A LOT of money).
One day when Fred was seventeen he fell desperately in love with a girl named Floe. It took her an awful long to figure out that she was desperately in love also. All during this period of time her peers picked on her because she dated Fred.
After about one or two years passed, Fred took Floe out to eat and said in sign language, "Floe, will you marry me?"
In partial astonishment Floe said, "What took you so long, of course I will!" They set a wedding date for six months later.
Finally the weddings eve arrived. Everyone was in sparkling tears. They are all so happily proud of both Fred Alexander and soon to be Mrs. Floe Alexander! The wedding day arrived and after the "I do" part, the reverend said, "You may try to kiss the bride."
About a year after their marriage doctors heard of the awkward wedding and decided to help Fred free of charge! Fred and Floe soon agreed to do it.
Two weeks later Fred found himself in an operating chair being gassed. A few hours later Fred woke up.
He could feel hard things, TEETH, a squishy thing, a tongue, and a little thing that dangles in the back of his throat. The surgery had succeeded!!
After a month of hard training Fred could eat with utinsels, talk, and KISS!!
For the first time in his life no one stares, he can eat, he can be a normal person. Best of all, he won't owe the doctor a billion dollars!
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Myopic Commenting on the Myopic
Letter to the Editor regarding the article on the Jerusalem dividing wall link
Ok, so I am disappointed that the Daily Universe decided not to address the bias and racial undertones of Abigail Shaha's article on the division wall. But to publish a letter to the editor which repeats the exact same prejudice and ignorance to the situation? "how myopic and distorted" indeed.
Again, I would challenge, strongly, the moral high ground that Taylor and Blasucci award Israel. A simple internet search will produce the evidence that outside of the comfortable sphere of our college lives, seemingly obvious truths of Israeli innocence against Palestinian hostility is widely and hotly debated example. I do not claim that the tables are turned, a Palestinian angel verses an Israeli devil, but rather hope that the studious and critical reader of the news will understand that there is a war going on that has no right or reason to claim to be a battle of moral verses amoral, right verses wrong, or one-sided self defense against an incomprehensible and chaotic aggressor. Just like every other war in history, it is a matter of opposing political entities struggling to legitimize and expand their influence where someone else thinks they shouldn't. Both sides are virtuous and justified and both sides have historically and repeatedly commited gross violations of human rights and decency.
The solution to this whole ordeal is not the assignation of blame and name calling. It is the struggle to legitimize and recognize the grievances of both parties and work toward a mutual respect and for the rights of each to exist. Unfortunately, this has been made monumentally more difficult as each side progressively losses confidence in the integrity of the other due to skewed reality, broken promises, hidden agendas, and fruitless political dances. The future of the region doesn't seem bright when even our university can't see past the rhetoric.
Ok, so I am disappointed that the Daily Universe decided not to address the bias and racial undertones of Abigail Shaha's article on the division wall. But to publish a letter to the editor which repeats the exact same prejudice and ignorance to the situation? "how myopic and distorted" indeed.
"Intimating that "trash-littered, crumbling" East Jerusalem is the wall's fault again shows a lack of understanding. The sad condition of many Palestinian communities lies solely at their own government's feet. First, successive Palestinian governments have alternately supported and turned a blind eye to terrorism, which was the impetus for the wall in the first place. Second, these regimes' corruption and mismanagement have led to the sorry state of the West Bank's economy. While we wish a better life for the Palestinian people, their plight is their own doing - not Israel's and certainly not Israel's wall." - Taylor, Blasucci
Again, I would challenge, strongly, the moral high ground that Taylor and Blasucci award Israel. A simple internet search will produce the evidence that outside of the comfortable sphere of our college lives, seemingly obvious truths of Israeli innocence against Palestinian hostility is widely and hotly debated example. I do not claim that the tables are turned, a Palestinian angel verses an Israeli devil, but rather hope that the studious and critical reader of the news will understand that there is a war going on that has no right or reason to claim to be a battle of moral verses amoral, right verses wrong, or one-sided self defense against an incomprehensible and chaotic aggressor. Just like every other war in history, it is a matter of opposing political entities struggling to legitimize and expand their influence where someone else thinks they shouldn't. Both sides are virtuous and justified and both sides have historically and repeatedly commited gross violations of human rights and decency.
The solution to this whole ordeal is not the assignation of blame and name calling. It is the struggle to legitimize and recognize the grievances of both parties and work toward a mutual respect and for the rights of each to exist. Unfortunately, this has been made monumentally more difficult as each side progressively losses confidence in the integrity of the other due to skewed reality, broken promises, hidden agendas, and fruitless political dances. The future of the region doesn't seem bright when even our university can't see past the rhetoric.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Jerusalem in a nutshell?
Excerpt taken from The Daily Universe, April 8, 2008 link
BYU Students Experience Tension of the Middle East
By Abigail Shaha - 8 Apr 2008
She said it was cold, even under the hot desert sun. All 436 feet of it - like a cold scar on the landscape.
"There was this ancient world and then a new wall, with hate and malice splashed across it," said Kira Dockum, a junior from Kennewick, Wash. "It looks so abrasive, so big and imposing. The people on either side are exactly the same."
...
City Divisions
Within the city itself, Jerusalem is divided into East Jerusalem, the trash-littered crumbling portion of the city inhabited mostly by Palestinians, and West Jerusalem, the Israeli side with modern buildings and clean streets. Locals call the street straddling the divide "no man's land." The entire country follows a similar separation pattern.
BYU associate professor of geography Chad Emmett said the separation is more than a physical distinction.
"They're segregated, not intentionally but by the people's choice," Emmett said. "[Areas controlled by Israel] have more parks, play grounds, community service organizations, they're just nicer towns - it's where the money is spent."
Laker said there was never trash in West Jerusalem, while in East Jerusalem "we were constantly trudging through garbage." East Jerusalem reminded Merrell of a dysfunctional society, while West Jerusalem felt like an American city.
"You can just feel the tension," said Trevor Tuttle, a sophomore from Orem. "They never interact."
The agitation spilled into other areas too. Hunt had locals stare at her unashamed for her blonde hair. Mike Infanger, a junior from Gooding, Idaho, had fruit thrown at him by Palestinian children who mistook him for an Israeli. Brooklyn Roeller, a sophomore from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was shunned by local shopkeepers for being a woman. Emily Hixson, a junior from Los Banos, Calif., even had to dodge stray donkeys roaming the streets.
But students said the clear divisions and obvious tension didn't scare them.
"They take really good care of you at the Jerusalem Center," Hixson said. "I felt more unsafe living in Long Beach than in Jerusalem."
... [end excerpt]
So what confuses me is the disjointed feeling I got when I read this article in The Daily Universe about student reactions to the Holy City on their sojourn to the BYU Jerusalem Center. In the beginning Shaha quotes Dockum who describes this wall with "hate and malice splashed across it..." and then notices that the people on either side are exactly the same.
So with this idea of hate and malice, Shaha continues to describe the two divisions, "East Jerusalem, the trash-littered crumbling portion of the city inhabited mostly by Palestinians" and "West Jerusalem, the Israeli side with modern buildings and clean streets." She continues to note reactions from several people. Emmett, "[Areas controlled by Israel] have more parks, play grounds, community service organizations, they're just nicer towns - it's where the money is spent" and Laker mentioned that he never had to trudge through garbage in West Jerusalem and the apparent dysfunction that plagued East Jerusalem. This is in addition to the local Palestinians who stare at the blonde American and throw fruit at another, not to mention the rampant sexism and stray donkeys. But at least the Israeli soldiers are there to protect them from the hate and malice of the other.
To put it bluntly, Shaha comes off as very one sided and surprising content to assign the blame to the "dysfunctional" Palestinian society without regard to the political complexity of the situation. Some things she, her interviewees, and her readers may consider:
What are the political undertones of a story such as this? Where does Israel's money come from? What effect does international recognition of a country's government have on basic social services such as trash collection? What biases do American students and faculty have when they enter the Middle East? What effect does one-sided journalism have on perpetuating the demonization of "the other" In a conflict lasting more than half a century, can either side justifiably claim the "morally high ground"? If "the people on either side are exactly the same," why would one produce seeming chaos and the other pleasant organization?
Each of these may be loaded questions, but I hope we recognize that there are two sides to every war, and every commentary has a bias and an agenda. Unfortunately we cannot assign recitude according to who has the nicer park.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Charisse!
This is a video of Charisse (she is my favorite girlfriend) playing the piano at her recital in 2003! She is playing "Jardins sous la Pluie" by Debussy. Listen for the robots!
Web Premier of "Days of Our College Lives"
This is my first film appearance. The film "Days of our College Lives" premiered at Oscar Night and won best coryography and best foreign film. Enjoy. (This is a shortened version for the web) Full Video
And the Outtakes... coming soon
And the Outtakes... coming soon
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Hot Singles!
...and afterwards, join tens of thousands of HOT SINGLES at the CLXXVIIIth Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the LDS Conference Center listening to the church leaders across from Temple Square. HOT SINGLES!!
P.S. Hot singles, please remember that the conference center does not allow bare midriffs or miniskirts. Please dress accordingly.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Some thoughts spurred by Obama's Speech
Yesterday Barack Obama gave what many are calling a historic speech on the state and role of race in America. While it struck many chords with me, one seems to stand out.
Obama said in his speech:
In the weeks following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush said on one occasion:
The way I see it, there are two responses to hatred. As a white, middle-class male I can look at the black American critique of white America and declare "they are wrong about me." I never sent their children to poor schools. I never owned a slave. I never prevented them from getting loans or providing for their family. Their anger toward me is irrational and unfounded. They are fanatics.
I can look toward the East and declare, "they are wrong about me." President Bush and I could stand up and emphasize how unfounded their hatred is toward us. We know how good America is. We know how much good we do in the world and how much we care about freedom and democracy and human rights. They are fanatics. I just can't believe that they are so misinformed about us.
This dangerous path is traveled far too often, and it is dangerous. A husband would never say to his angry wife "you are wrong about me. I know how good a husband I am." Nor would he turn his back, go to his buddy's house and explain, "oh, well this is why she is angry." Not if he valued peace in his home. So what would he say? He would drop his defenses and ask, "Why?" he would seek to understand why the anger exists and then retrospectively consider the sources of her anger. Hopefully, if he loves her, he will lend legitimacy to her concerns and validity to her frustration. When she calms down and understands that he is willing to work through the conflict, she will follow.
This leads to the second option for responding to hatred and anger. I can admit that their concerns may be founded on legitimate concerns. Do radical Islamists really hate America and her Ideals? do they hate democracy and freedom and technology? or is their frustration the result of disappointment that American foreign policy has progressively paralleled the European imperialism that has plagued the region for centuries? Do they hate me, an American student struggling to pay for my education and situate myself into my community, or do they resent American foreign policy that continually inserts itself into the equally sovereign governments and politics in order to secure its own material wealth and military might?
Are black Americans mad at me for holding them down or are they frustrated that for hundreds of years the issue of race in America has not been resolved, but rather pushed under the rug or delegitimized by activists "unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism."
Obama is right. "The anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." He is right not only on our home front, but on the international. He has consistently proposed policy that takes into consideration the possibility that we do no understand why people are angry. He has opposed actions that oversimplify the complexity of foreign policy and anti- American and anti- Israeli sentiment.
I don't think there is an easy way to improve our Middle East adventure, and I don't believe that the issue of race can be solved by one person. But as I look toward the elections in November, I am continually impressed with the manner Obama presents the issues and his stances. I am simultaneously distraught by McCain repeating Bush's policy of shoot now and keep shooting until they stop hating America.
Obama said in his speech:
"The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time." (text)
In the weeks following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush said on one occasion:
Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. (Applause.) Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. (Sept 2001 text)And on another occasion:
"...how do I respond when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America? I'll tell you how I respond: I'm amazed. I'm amazed that there is such misunderstanding of what our country is about, that people would hate us. I am, I am -- like most Americans, I just can't believe it. Because I know how good we are, and we've go to do a better job of making our case. We've got to do a better job of explaining to the people in the Middle East, for example, that we don't fight a war against Islam or Muslims. We don't hold any religion accountable. We're fighting evil. And these murderers have hijacked a great religion in order to justify their evil deeds. And we cannot let it stand." (Oct 2001 text)
The way I see it, there are two responses to hatred. As a white, middle-class male I can look at the black American critique of white America and declare "they are wrong about me." I never sent their children to poor schools. I never owned a slave. I never prevented them from getting loans or providing for their family. Their anger toward me is irrational and unfounded. They are fanatics.
I can look toward the East and declare, "they are wrong about me." President Bush and I could stand up and emphasize how unfounded their hatred is toward us. We know how good America is. We know how much good we do in the world and how much we care about freedom and democracy and human rights. They are fanatics. I just can't believe that they are so misinformed about us.
This dangerous path is traveled far too often, and it is dangerous. A husband would never say to his angry wife "you are wrong about me. I know how good a husband I am." Nor would he turn his back, go to his buddy's house and explain, "oh, well this is why she is angry." Not if he valued peace in his home. So what would he say? He would drop his defenses and ask, "Why?" he would seek to understand why the anger exists and then retrospectively consider the sources of her anger. Hopefully, if he loves her, he will lend legitimacy to her concerns and validity to her frustration. When she calms down and understands that he is willing to work through the conflict, she will follow.
This leads to the second option for responding to hatred and anger. I can admit that their concerns may be founded on legitimate concerns. Do radical Islamists really hate America and her Ideals? do they hate democracy and freedom and technology? or is their frustration the result of disappointment that American foreign policy has progressively paralleled the European imperialism that has plagued the region for centuries? Do they hate me, an American student struggling to pay for my education and situate myself into my community, or do they resent American foreign policy that continually inserts itself into the equally sovereign governments and politics in order to secure its own material wealth and military might?
Are black Americans mad at me for holding them down or are they frustrated that for hundreds of years the issue of race in America has not been resolved, but rather pushed under the rug or delegitimized by activists "unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism."
Obama is right. "The anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." He is right not only on our home front, but on the international. He has consistently proposed policy that takes into consideration the possibility that we do no understand why people are angry. He has opposed actions that oversimplify the complexity of foreign policy and anti- American and anti- Israeli sentiment.
I don't think there is an easy way to improve our Middle East adventure, and I don't believe that the issue of race can be solved by one person. But as I look toward the elections in November, I am continually impressed with the manner Obama presents the issues and his stances. I am simultaneously distraught by McCain repeating Bush's policy of shoot now and keep shooting until they stop hating America.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
A story from the life of my g-g-grandpa Alexander Nephi Stephens
This is a story recorded in Stephens Family Histories, as remembered by John Nephi Stephens, my great-grandfather, about his dad, Alexander:
"Another story he told was that he went into Ogden one winter day. Later in the afternoon he was coming out of the Ogden Theater, the theater was about half way up the hill on 25th street. As he came out he saw a very large negro lady carefully coming down the icy sidewalk. Suddenly both of her feet slipped out from under her and she slid down to where Dad was and knocked both his feet out from under him and he landed sitting up in her lap and thus they continued down the hill until they came to a sudden stop against a telephone pole on the main corner of Washington Avenue and 25th Street. Then the colored lady said, 'White boy, you all got to get a transfer, this is as far as I go.' "
"Another story he told was that he went into Ogden one winter day. Later in the afternoon he was coming out of the Ogden Theater, the theater was about half way up the hill on 25th street. As he came out he saw a very large negro lady carefully coming down the icy sidewalk. Suddenly both of her feet slipped out from under her and she slid down to where Dad was and knocked both his feet out from under him and he landed sitting up in her lap and thus they continued down the hill until they came to a sudden stop against a telephone pole on the main corner of Washington Avenue and 25th Street. Then the colored lady said, 'White boy, you all got to get a transfer, this is as far as I go.' "
Lifesize Globe
So Krystyna told me a story:
A student walked into the BYU Harold B Lee Library and walked up to the security desk.
"I heard there was a life-size globe here?" she asked.
To which he replied:
"You are standing on it."
(and for your viewing pleasure, this is the globe she was talking about, on the second floor of the HBLL)
A student walked into the BYU Harold B Lee Library and walked up to the security desk.
"I heard there was a life-size globe here?" she asked.
To which he replied:
"You are standing on it."
(and for your viewing pleasure, this is the globe she was talking about, on the second floor of the HBLL)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
a Conversation between my dad and I
Jacknimbl: she plays in an all girl D&D group...
Metacoder: lynz played a hobbit version of D&D at the mall the other week and she really got off on it
Jacknimbl: so yeah, any ammo she has against me, i have that
Jacknimbl: hehe
Jacknimbl: you do realize that d and d kills pretty much all aspect of a social life, right
JackNimbl: ?
Metacoder: oh yeah, i know all about it...
Jacknimbl: so she will have to stop when she is 21
Metacoder: did you hear that gary gygax the developer of D&D passed away last week?
Jakcnimbl: yeah i think i did hear that somewhere
Jakcnimbl: how did he go? a spear? an ogre? a pit with spikes?
Jakcnimbl: or maybe a doppleganger?
Metacoder: lol.... some evil spore in a cave maybe
JackNimbl: hehe
JackNimbl: a lance shooting out of a wall and impaling him
Metacoder: yeah! thats it! i kinda miss those games....
Metacoder: lynz played a hobbit version of D&D at the mall the other week and she really got off on it
Jacknimbl: so yeah, any ammo she has against me, i have that
Jacknimbl: hehe
Jacknimbl: you do realize that d and d kills pretty much all aspect of a social life, right
JackNimbl: ?
Metacoder: oh yeah, i know all about it...
Jacknimbl: so she will have to stop when she is 21
Metacoder: did you hear that gary gygax the developer of D&D passed away last week?
Jakcnimbl: yeah i think i did hear that somewhere
Jakcnimbl: how did he go? a spear? an ogre? a pit with spikes?
Jakcnimbl: or maybe a doppleganger?
Metacoder: lol.... some evil spore in a cave maybe
JackNimbl: hehe
JackNimbl: a lance shooting out of a wall and impaling him
Metacoder: yeah! thats it! i kinda miss those games....
on nathanial hawthorne...
When I was in high school, we read "The Scarlet Letter" By Nathanial Hawthorne. As a project, we created a period newspaper with articles about the characters etc. I got to do the Comics section... (it is easier to see if you click on it)
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