I'm Done

All of you Salt Lake City people. Attention. I'm done with finals. I'm coming back to SLC tomorrow morning with my momma. Give me a call... I haven't hung out with any of y'all forever. I want to. I'm stoked to come back to SLC. That is all.

A public service announcement

Some of you may have noticed, via facebook, that I am "in a relationship." Some of you may be rather angry with me. Some of you may be hurt. Some of you may be happy. Some of you may be excited. In any case, I know for a fact that I've made at least one person who reads this rather upset with me. This post is for all of you that feel that way. I'm sorry that I haven't informed you more of what is going on in my life, and I'm sorry if I've hurt you. But, If I lived my life always making sure that I never hurt anyone, I don't think I'd ever do anything. In some cases, just by living, I would hurt some people. But, I know that hurtful things happen to everyone. I also know that you should realize that they don't reflect on you. I ask forgiveness of anyone I've hurt by any miscommunication, by any lack of communication, or by simply living my life. I try my best to forgive people as quickly as I can for anything they do to me, and I ask that favor in return.

Extremely stressful day...

so... due to my own foolishness, my illness, and some general bad luck... with a little good luck thrown in, I've just passed through one of the most stressful 24 hour periods of my life. I'm still a little stressed, but it's not nearly as bad. Let me set the scene for you. 11:50 A.M. Monday. I woke up at 7 A.M. wrote an essay in the 3 hours before class. I've just gotten out of my last music 101 class ever. I realize... I haven't started writing that physics report that Kevin asked me to write! so... I walk up to my room, start typing, intending to get a quick lunch at around 12:40 before class starts. I stop writing, realizing that it's now 12:51 P.M. and I bolt off to class. I'm kinda worried that I've missed another quiz question in physics, and so I pull out my iClicker before walking into the building, to test its range. Apparently its not that far. So I keep walking. I walk up the back stairs of the ESC on my way to my class, and try again. The remote accepts the BA frequency that I set it to, so I answer A, then walk into class. Kevin gives me a thumbs up, and I read the quiz question. I apparently answered it correctly. I walk to the nearest seat, sit down and listen to people present their Physics projects. Thankfully, the professor informs us that the projects aren't due till midnight. But I realize... I've got ANOTHER humanities essay due at the same time!
So I walk down the stairs, take a couple of pictures with the physics class... apparently some people REALLY liked the class and wanted a picture... and go over to the SWKT to print off the homeworks for Monday and Tuesday with Kevin. I realize that I told my friend Kyle that I'd go to the library LRC to watch fantasia with him for our concert reports, and go down to the UPL to do my Physics homework. It takes us till 5 to do both of the assignments... which we don't quite do properly, but I'm really hungry now, and kevin's got to get to class, so I just finish the problem, and turn it in. I later find out that I did at least one of the problems wrong... so much for winning that hologram... bummer... I go home, get some food from the vending machines to stave off my hunger till dinner, then go to my room, where I find that Fantasia is on Google Video. sweet. I don't need to go to the LRC. I start thinking about what I should write my Humanities paper on...
It's now 6 P.M. I go to dinner, eat a bunch of food, and realize, for the 5th time, that lent is over. I go get some ice cream, and enjoy it to an obscene degree. It's now 7. I realize that my FHE, that I'm the dad for, has started. It's croquet. I'm not about to miss that, but I don't want to stop eating the delicious ice cream, so I chat and eat ice cream till 7:30, when I go to FHE, and start watching a game of croquet. I later take the place of one of the people who is sick and tired of losing, and promptly almost win. I was the last person to die, but in killing me, the Poison person bounced through a hoop.
It's now 9 P.M. I go to my room, realizing that I still haven't decided what to write about, so I ask facebook. When I say the names of the books I'd write about, I get Machiavelli, unamimously... but when I ask about the THEMES of the books I'd write about, I get Rabelais's Gargantua, as a utopia, even more unanimously. So I pull out a killer essay comparing and contrasting the abbey of desire to BYU. It turns out pretty well... but it's now 11:15. So I turn it in quick, and call Kevin about the Physics project. He starts writing, and I start making a data table and some picture captions. He emails what he's written over, and I add my data table and captions, then desperately search for a .doc to .pdf converter. I find one, at 11:55 PM. It's due at midnight... when my browser CRASHES!!!! ack! so I pull it up as quick as I can, rewrite the email, attach the files, and turn it in at 12:03 AM. It's LATE, GASP! I explain in the email about my browser crashing. I think he'll understand. I then get on the facebook, see what my friends are up to, get interrogated about things by a friend or two of mine, then go to bed at 1 AM.
I wake up at 8 AM to my alarm, with my terrible cough being worse than before... so I stay in bed. I fall back asleep, and wake up at 10:50 AM. I realize OH SHOOT! I JUST SLEPT THROUGH MY DANCE FINAL!!!!! so I rush to get dressed, and literally run out the door, down the hall, down the stairs, out the other door, through the cannon center, up the hill, when I see my buddy zach pushing his bike... I slam on my brakes and ask if I can borrow it. "sure, the code's ****." "Thanks man!" I bike up the hill, across campus to the Wilk, park the bike, run through the back way of the wilk, run into the class, breathing heavily, and ask if I can take the test. My teacher asks me if I've run the whole way, and I say yes. She says that I can take the test, so I ask a girl to dance with me, and dance, still breathing extremely heavily and uncomfortably, due to my nasty cold. I dance the Swing, I pass. I call my buddy to thank him for letting me use his bike, and I walk to buy breakfast... then I go out the door, and back on the bike, a lot slower this time, back to my dorm, and get in my bed to rest. I cough up a lung or two, get dressed in less formal dress, and sit down to write this post.
I still need to write my service project report, and my concert reports. oy! I hate the last week of classes.

Divine Comedy, by my sister's Boyfriend, and me.

This Weekend, I had to write an essay about Dante's Divine Comedy. It took me till about 10 minutes ago, because I was at my cousin's house. While I was there, though, I asked my sister's boyfriend, Joe, to write it for me. He took it to mean that I was supposed to write an essay about the comedy troupe here at BYU, also called Divine Comedy. Here is his introduction that he wrote in about 2 minutes.
Despite higher life expectancy, better educational opportunities, and a better overall quality of life in the United States, depression is increasing each decade over the past 80 years. It would seem that people were less stressed, considering themselves to be generally happy people; however, more than a quarter of Americans today consider themselves to be moderately depressed. Professor John Ashcroft from the University of Texas has been studying the effects of laughing on mental and physical health. In numerous studies, he has found that laughing improves not only a persons psychological health, but they are less likely to become sick, less likely to be injured, and have a higher life expectancy. A recent statistic said that nearly 30 percent of all entering Freshmen consider themselves to by at least mildly depressed. Here at BYU, Divine Comedy provides much needed opportunity to laugh and increase in health.

And here is the essay that I wrote:

Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is the story of a man’s descent into the inferno, and ascent of purgatory. In his descent, he meets all sorts of sinners, who have committed a multiplicity of different sins. Because of these sins, they are punished with a sin that take the sin to an ironic extreme. Interestingly, the sins that are punished are tiered, somewhat like in Latter-day Saint theology.

In Mormon theology, there are some sins that are considered worse than others. There is the sin of denying the Holy Ghost, which is unpardonable, the sin of murder, which is unforgivable, and sexual sin, which is “hard to forgive.” Dante’s sins come in three groups, those against self, or incontinence, those of violence against others, and those against God, or Fraud. The LDS theology corresponds to Dante’s, to a large degree. Sinning against the Holy Ghost is sinning against God, Murder is violence against others, and Dante’s circles of incontinence include those who commit adultery.

The Circle of Violence itself, the seventh circle, is subdivided into these same types of divisions, violence against self, others, and God. This Circle contains those who commit murder, those who commit suicide, and those who blaspheme the name of God. Murder has already been mentioned as an LDS sin. Suicide is a tough subject for LDS. We don’t want to judge, but we know that the taking of one’s own life is bad, though there may be extenuating circumstances. Blaspheming has lost a lot of its seriousness in the eyes of most people, LDS included, because it happens so often in the movies, though it is still considered a serious sin.

LDS Theology includes the vicarious ordinances for those who never had the opportunity to receive baptism and other ordinances. The first circle of Dante’s Inferno is Limbo, where the virtuous, but unbaptized go. Without the ordinances that LDS faithful do for those who never received them, they remain in a state similar to Dante’s Limbo. Dante’s residents of Limbo are in a sort of paradise, but constantly grieve the fact that they can never see God. LDS theology is more forgiving on that concept. Those that are unbaptized can be baptized, if someone will be baptized in their place. Still, however, LDS talk about Spirit Paradise and Spirit Prison, similarly to Dante’s Limbo.

The Second Circle of the Inferno, which is where lust is punished, punishes its inhabitants by having them fly about in a whirlwind, always together, but hating each other. LDS theology teaches little of how punishment actually works, only that those who do not repent will have to suffer the pains that Christ suffered. LDS teaching focuses more on the Purgatorio-like aspects of punishment, than on the Inferno punishments. A major difference in Dantean and LDS theology comes at this point, however. Dante tends to think that bodies are evil, where as LDS theology states that bodies are an essential part of our temporal and eternal salvation.

LDS sacred texts often state, very specifically, that God has a body of flesh and bones, like man’s. Dante’s God, when he reaches him at the end of Paradiso, has no body. “I saw the Great Light shine into three circles in three clear colors bound in one same space; the first seemed to reflect the next like rainbow on rainbow, and the third was like a flame equally breathed forth by the other two.” This is Dante’s description of God and his glory. Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church, said this about his “first vision” of the Godhead. “When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” Both accounts state that the glory of God defies all description, but Joseph Smith’s account specifically states that they have bodies. Also, by stating that “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” his account distinguishes between the members of the Godhead, rather than a large amount of light, that is mostly indistinguishable.

The sections of the bottom circle of Dante’s Inferno are named for different types of Fraudulent sinners. The first section is called Caina, after Cain, who slew his brother Abel. LDS teaching also states that what Cain did was terrible, but primarily because it was fraudulent, but because he formed a combination with the devil, to be able to murder and get gain.

The final section of the Inferno is called Judecca, named for Judas Iscariot, who sold out Jesus Christ for 20 pieces of silver. Here, there are four traitors. Satan himself, Judas Iscariot, who is being eaten by one of Satan’s faces, Brutus and Cassius, being eaten by the other two faces. LDS tradition would mostly agree with the punishment doled out for Judas. He is considered a Son of Perdition, like unto Satan himself. Satan, however, committed his crime before he could obtain a body, so his punishment is to have no body, and to suffer thereby, without any of God’s Glory to sustain him.

An important aspect of this last circle of the Inferno is that it is frozen. For Dante, it is the exact opposite of everything that God is. For him, God is Immaterial, so Satan is the most Material there can be, so gravity is at its strongest there. God is Light, so Satan is Darkness. God is Warmth, so Satan is cold, and causes the lake of this circle to be perpetually frozen by his attempts to escape. LDS theology teaches a very similar idea, with a switcheroo on the Material/Immaterial. God has a Body, Satan has none. God is still light, and Satan is still dark.

LDS theology teaches many things that are in line with Dante’s beliefs. It is important for LDS to understand Dante’s beliefs, because they are influential, and in common with most Christian faiths.

What do you think? Pretty good? I sure hope so, since its like 5% of my grade. I've got to write another essay similar by midnight tonight... about The Prince, by Machiavelli. oy.

Learning from History

Today we see the "Economic Crisis" and the effects it has had on government policy in the past year. However, I would like to look at the history of our country leading up to the Great Depression, to shed some light on our situation. In reading this article, by the Foundation for Economic Education, I noticed some keen similarities to today's economic situation, and today's government policy. Just read the section about the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and perhaps replace the acronym RFC with TARP, and see if you see any similarities. From the same article, read this
"Roosevelt did indeed make a difference, though probably not the sort of difference for which the country had hoped. He started off on the wrong foot when, in his inaugural address, he blamed the Depression on “unscrupulous money changers.”"

Does this remind you at all of any of the rhetoric coming from the administration of Barack Obama? Look at this link from Bloomberg. An important quote to keep in mind...

“There’s almost no question that the economy is going to decline for some time to come,” said Summers, who served as Bill Clinton's last Treasury secretary. “Our errors are not going to be of standing back.”

Remember that the Depression of the 30's started under a REPUBLICAN administration, and continued through two terms of a DEMOCRAT president.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment act of 2009, otherwise referred to as the "Stimulus Package," has a large number of parallels to the New Deal.

Look up the London Economic Conference of 1933, and compare and contrast to the G20 conference in London RIGHT NOW.

Notice this as well. Recognize that $1 dollar at the time is approximately equal to $13.92 in today's dollars.
"In the first year of the New Deal, Roosevelt proposed spending $10 billion while revenues were only $3 billion. Between 1933 and 1936, government expenditures rose by more than 83 percent. Federal debt skyrocketed by 73 percent."

Also, recognize that the federal debt today is already above $9 trillion. You can't expect the debt to increase by quite an extraordinary figure. Also, we're in the fourth month of the New New deal. Spending for this New Deal has already reached about the revenue for this year.

Look at this quotation from the same article...
"Perhaps the most radical aspect of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act, passed in June 1933, which created a massive new bureaucracy called the National Recovery Administration. Under the NRA, most manufacturing industries were suddenly forced into government-mandated cartels."

Now, watch in the coming months as many manufacturing companies are either forced into government ownership, or ask for it, as in the case of GMC.

More parallels can easily be drawn, but the most important of all are between Mr. Obama himself to Mr. Roosevelt. The article states this about Mr. Roosevelt,
"Washington was rife with both fear and optimism as Roosevelt was sworn in on March 4, 1933 — fear that the economy might not recover and optimism that the new and assertive president just might make a difference. Humorist Will Rogers captured the popular feeling toward FDR as he assembled the new administration: “The whole country is with him, just so he does something. If he burned down the Capitol, we would all cheer and say, well, we at least got a fire started anyhow.”"

Does that sentiment remind you at all of how America feels right now? About our economy? About our President?

I fear, my friends, that we are in the midst of a very similar chain of events as we saw start in 1929 and ending in the early 50's, this time starting in 2007, and ending who knows when. There will be higher unemployment, expanded socialism, and war. If you haven't read the article I've been referencing, please do. Please hope and pray with me that I'm wrong. That we're not headed into another Great Depression, followed by World War III, followed by another cold war. As has been said, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. I don't think we've really learned. And it sure looks like we're repeating it to me.

Quorum of the twelve... APOSTATES!!!

Today, as I was going through my morning routine of showering, brushing teeth, reading the newspaper, and eating breakfast, I noticed something HILARIOUS in the Daily Universe. On this link, go to the picture in the middle with this caption. "Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other general authorities raise their hands in a sustaining vote Saturday morning during the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Annual General Conference held in the conference center in Salt Lake City."

This is the edited version of the paper. The original text replaced the word Apostles with Apostates. It was HILARIOUS! I also like the picture off to the left, of Elder Holland. Thumbs up, while frowning for all he's worth.

This got me thinking though... how funny would it be if the church did have a Quorum of the twelve Apostates. Like... a group of twelve apostates that they ask what to do every once in a while, and then know exactly what not to do.

Well done, Daily Universe, well done.

These two links are to the story of the damage control that the DU did. here and here. It's really funny.

Troublesome Orcs!

Over the past week or so, I have been pestered by many who seem to have figured out that I like a certain girl. For the sake of my privacy not being invaded further, we won't say her name. I thought I had been more sneaky about this. I blame fate for making it obvious to at least 5 people. (Edit 2/2/10: It was Whitney)