Movie trivia extravaganza!!

Don't cheat and look at the file names...that's no fun! Let's see how we do. I like all these movies a lot. This could be something to revive the bloggy...instead of boring Winder ramblings!

Another movie?

Another movie...

This is a tough one...

And this one?

This movie?

What's this movie?!?

Name this movie!

This movie?!?

What's this movie?!?

Name THIS movie...

Three Good Reasons

I'm pretty hard on the Bush administration and politicians in general. But the other night my dad made a comment that got me going. He said he's glad that Bush has two more years in office, because by then people will realize what a good guy he is. I then challenged him to give me three good reasons. For one, he believes this country is more safe because we haven't had any more incidents like 9/11. I say that this has nothing to do with actual actions performed by the administration, because poll after poll indicates that the countries around the globe believe that the world is actually a more dangerous place, saying that the United States poses a bigger threat than Iran.

He then said that it was good to get Saddam Hussein out of power, which I don't disagree with. But then he said that it was recently discovered that Saddam DID bankroll Al Qaida. Can someone back up this evidence? I read the news across the entire spectrum religiously (because hey, what else have I got to do all day?) and I've never heard of this. Is this some Fox News machination, or the truth?

He didn't mention a third point. I didn't bother to rebut (you don't get anywhere with this guy). But in my mind, the economy is in the toilet not the least because military spending is at an all-time high, the president has gone over the heads of congress and the American people by going to war without congressional consent, conducting illegal wiretaps without apology, selling out social security, aiding the richest 1% with tax cuts (that save them an estimated $470,000 per year while the average citizen saves only about $10 per year) . . . I could go on and on. But the thing that really gets my goat is when Bush said that he was called of God. Since when did God call a man who authorizes the use of torture on another human being?

So now I put it to those of you on the other side of the fence. Am I wrong? Am I looking at this too negatively? What are the positives in Bush's political career? I ask you, give me three reasons.

Name the movie...

North Carolina bound

So I got a phone call from a doctor today who I did research for. There is a chld abuse case pending in North Carolina. The baby was taken to the emergency room with fractures. The medical staff is saying that that type of fracture could only be caused by parental abuse. The family contacted some medical specialists, of which this doctor is part, to try and prove that the girl's bones are weaker than normal. They are flying me back there, paying for the hotel, and compensating me for my time to do Quanitative Ultrasound Scans on the little girl. I am excited to have this opportunity. It is a great professional opportunity for me and I am excited to help out. It will be in the next few weeks, I imagine.

The Ultimate Temptation

My work just added a latte bar. Caramel, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Milky Way, Exotic Chai. How will I manage. Having that constantly in my face. Rude... don't they know there are recovering latte drinkers here.

I've changed my tune a bit...

I used to have a very...uhhh...plain view of motherhood. I saw the traditional role of woman as limiting and empty. I didn't think a woman should be "banished" to her house. I thought that she should be out in the workforce...doing truly "productive" things.

Having been a stay-at-home dad for almost 7 months now.... I really appreciate the growth (both personally and familial) that can take place. My patience has greatly increased. My desire for productivity has increased. I have learned about how much I am capable of getting done. I have learned about how important it is to have someone there for our child.

I respect the role of mother a lot more. I still resent the idea that housework is woman's work. I have taken it upon myself to be the house cleaner. "Conformity" can tell you the gruesome details. I can thank my Grandpa McDermott and my mother for the skills...and the obsessive urges.

I also resent any person who does banish their wife to the house. I happen to think that a woman's agency is just as important as a man's. If she wants to work...let her do it. Lets be evenly yoked. (I say this pointing the finger at myself....I am guilty of this.) I relaly struggle sometimes taking an equal share in the rearing of Syd. I hate dirty diapers more than I could adequately express here. I HATE THEM. Its not so much the gross nature of the thing (I am going to be a doctor for crying out loud) as much as the drudgery. Again...kudos to the traditional woman who shoulders that burden.

I guess I am just trying to stay off the couch watching the movies and the sports events. I am trying to keep a keen eye on what is going on with Trish and the little rascal. I just love these two girls and I want to help out as much as I can. I fall HOPELESSLY short in so many areas. I am not as patient as I need to be. I don't volunteer like I should to help out. I fall victim to the stereotypes too. "Trish...why don't YOU change her...you're the....woman." Bad line of thinking.

So I suppose the goal would be to respect the stereotype enough to defeat it? There's a mind twister...

Apathy...the enemy

I really do believe apathy to be a (to use another metaphor) hidden reef that many people wreck on. It is so easy to not care. To shut out what is important. To dismiss things of monumental importance as mere inconveniences and annoyances....complications to our lives.

Such an advanced society, such as ours, has so many comforts...so many luxuries. These comforts--or distractions-- put cotton in our ears. They insulate our awareness to the world around us. This padding can become so thick that even a person "shouting" a message to us falls only on our self-deafened ears. Man, let alone the still, small, voices we need to hear...

I worry about being "lulled into complacency" and the "all is well in Zion" idea. I don't want fanatics either....just a well rounded preparedness. Now...how to get there...

How 'bout a caption for this one?!?

Economic State of the Union

According to the current issue of Mother Jones:
-- One in four U.S. jobs pays less than a poverty-level income.
-- Since 2000, the number of Americans living below the poverty line at any one time has risen steadily. Now, 13 percent—37 million Americans—are officially poor.
-- Bush’s tax cuts (extended until 2010) save those earning between $20,000 and $30,000 an average of $10 a year, while those making $1 million are saved $42,700.
-- In 2002, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, compared those who point out such statistics as the one above to Adolph Hitler (surely he meant Stalin?).
-- Bush has diverted $750 million to “healthy marriages” by shifting funds from social services, mostly childcare.
-- Bush has proposed cutting housing programs for low-income people with disabilities by 50 percent.

Radiohead Albums I Listen to

Put a caption to this picture!

Bishop Jerry Weighs In

In an email from my famous father....

So, I am listening to my favorite station, that being National Public Radio, and they come on saying that Radiohead has been named the best british band of the past 20 years. Another quote called them the best band, period. I was fascinated ... I had heard of them, and knew that one of my favorite people, that being Samuel Stroman, esq. was a big fan at one time, so I stuck around and listened to the interview with Thom York, their lead singer.

They begin by playing a early song called Creep, or I'm a Creep or something like that ... in which he drops the F bomb .. which, of course, got bleeped on public radio. Needless to say, I wasn't terribly impressed. But something bothered me even more ... I had to stay tuned, because this couldn't be true ... this couldn't be the greatest band, or greatest british band ... it just couldn't .... I had to hear what this guy had to say ...

Fairly interesting interview, typical rock jock who could barely put a full sentence together. Great accent, though. They go back and forth with the typical "What were you thinking when you wrote this song?" "Who are your influences?" etc... Then they decide it is time to hear something more current ... off the new album ... They choose No Surprises off of OK Computer. They do the usual buildup to the playing of the song, which, as you probably know, is a really slow song. Mr. York divulges that they played the song up-tempo, and then slowed it down for the vocal track. He sang to the slowed-down track. The interviewer asked "doesn't that change the pitch when you slow it down?" To which Thom York of Radiohead, the greatest band of the past 20 years, confirmed my worst fears and suspicions ... "That don't bother me, I can't sing on pitch, anyway"!!!!!!!!!!! It's true! There really is a worse singer than Billy Corgan .... and he sings for the best band alive!!!!!!!!!!

Now you know why I turn my back on the current state of popular music.

Long live Three Dog Night!

Love,

Dad

Respond as you see fit...

As for me?

Here it is:

I will not vehemently disagree with you. I am not a DIEHARD Radiohead fan. You haven't heard a lot of what they do, Dad, so you are coming at it a little shortchanged. That Creep song sucks. I hate that song. It is one of the ONLY songs of theirs played on the radio. Why? Because it is one of the most mainstream. The real Radiohead lies on the Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A. They write epic anthems with weird sounds, interesting musical ideas, and very original subject matter. Hey, even the liner notes of OK Computer show the Christus at Temple Square with a family looking up at it. Go figure... Name another rock band who includes Jesus in their liner notes!!! Maybe they ARE the best band, Dad...

Dad, listen to Fake Plastic Trees, Bulletproof....I Wish I Was, High and Dry, Paranoid Android, Karma Police, and ESPECIALLY How to Disappear Completely off of Kid A . They are innovative. that's the bottom line. Speakin gof innovative, you also have issues about Nirvana. You have told me repeatedly that you don't see the magic there. Frankly, I don't either. I do not even own ONE Nirvana song. I am grateful for their influence but I really don't defend them ever...or listen to them for that matter.

Bottom line: they are ahead of their time. They break the mold. They challenge the norms. Hey...a lot like another mop-topped British band I know of. You happen to like them....

Sincerely,

Your son

P.S. The above picture is of my dad discussing music with his old-school cronies.

P.S.S. Radiohead is most certainly NOT popular music. They are rock...but they are in no way mainstream in remotely the same way Justin Timberlake, Nickelback, and 50 Cent are. They may be sold in the same music store as those guys...that's about all they have in common.

Goonies House

This is the Goonie house, in Astoria, where the Goonies was shot. I didn't know this.

One Week!

This is where we will be headed next week. I am excited. The bridge is in Astoria, Oregon, and the rest is Seattle. And then of course Mnt Rainier.

Problem - Need Advice

I have this friend that I've known since first grade. Even though we went to college in different states, we still maintain that we're the best of friends.

He's had problems with major depression. He's been institutionalized but nothing seems to help. This January when I was in Costa Rica he told a friend he was going to kill himself. The friend called the cops and he was taken to another mental hospital.

When I got home I didn't know what to do. It was too scary for me; it hit too close to home because I was almost taken away myself. I was also afraid of saying the wrong thing, because he was in such a delicate position. Selfishly, I was afraid of getting too close to the situation and having a kind of flashback to my own horrible time. So I did nothing.

The more time went by, the harder it was to call. Then I got too involved in my own simple life and now it's six months later, seemingly an eternity.

Yesterday as I walked out of my house I saw him riding by on his bicycle. By the time I noticed it was him, he was speeding away as fast as he could. So now the problem is fresh in my mind.

I feel so incredibly guilty. I have been through everything with this guy, including the death of one of our best friends. Now I failed him in his hour of need.

What do I do???

It's coming....

Closer and closer... Can't wait for all this, guys. thought I'd just add that! Def Leppard just came on. Yep, it's still loud. Can't wait for their concert! Def Leppard and medical school....August will be a great month.

I hope I can turn up the music after the patient is under the anesthesia....he he he.

Home Alone 4.5

Trish and Australia are down at Scuba classes. I just got back from a run. The first run in the new abode. I got lost. It is a big place out here. I then watered the dry spots in the lawn. Came inside. Turned the music up LOUD and thought...things are pretty good.

We saw Tone Loc earlier today. Tricia and I rolled out of bed when she came over to drop off the little angel Piper. She looked dazzling as always...both of them did. She stayed and talked when she should have been at work. Loved that. She is so sweet. Love the Carroll's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find myself thanking Heavenly Father so much nowadays. this is no fanatic tyrade. This is a simple realization followed up by an abnormal reaction on my part.

Love the house. The music is SO LOUD! Nobody to complain. Except I DID complain today. There was a Hispanic picnic in my front yard and some weird guy came and asked my dear wife too many questions about the house.

We need to get these houses around us done. The subcontractors need to go haunt someone else. They're stinky, they start working too early, and they are stinky. Did I mention they stink?

Let me just say that I love to talk to my wife on the phone. I love how she looks so pretty when she comes home from work. I am as infatuated with her as I ever have been. She is so wonderful. She inspires me. She makes me want to be better. I love her to death. I am so lucky.

The new AFI song just came on. LOVE IT!

Can't wait for the girls to get home. Slow evening. Nothing to do but read, exercise, think, and get some things done.

I did take apart my subwoofer to fix something quirky with the "auto on" function tonight. That was a geeky triumph. Should have donned the pocket protector. Thanks to my know-it-all brother-in-law for the know-how. that is a lot of freaking hyphens.

Billy Corgan is talented. "Eye" from Adore just came on. Rolling Stone panned the album...and MACHINA....but I love them both. Love the industrial, electronic Pumpkins.

Hey Sam...Justin Snedekker (sp?) is in our ward. He went to SoJo Middle in 7th grade with us. He said he was in your ward in Logan. He looked familiar...I asked him where he'd grown up. Small world.

blogging is good.

G.

Things we all need to do this summer

These are things I want to do and places I want to go this summer. Who's in?

Las Vegas
Capitol Reef
Moab - In the Fall
Raging Waters or Seven Peaks
Lagoon
Paintball
make a fire and cook some dinner in the dutch oven
Rx Bandits show July 18
Hike Lone Peak
Mountain Bike more
Go to the Drive In

More Rambling

I am bored at work. .. But I was just thinking how vain I am (and we as a society are). I just met my boss' wife and she was pretty and thin and stylish and it made me look at my boss differently. I hate to admit it, but it did. It is an interesting thing that we judge others sometimes on thier pick of a spouse. If it is true that we marry like ourselves then can we tell a lot about a person based on thier significant other, and if so...what are you saying about your spouse?

This Is Me

This is me and what I love...
-DIET COKE
-My Blanket
-So you think you can dance? (the show)
-Stupid reality MTV show, like Laguna Beach, The Hills.
-Some chick music
-WRX's
-Fashion magazines
-Weiner dogs
-Horses
-James Dean
-Counting Crows
-Monet and Picasso paintings
-Classical Music
-Gummy Frogs
-My Hawaii T-shirt
-Rumbii
-Perfume
-Real underwear
-Nordstrom
-Cheese
-Cycling
-Instant Messanger
-My Best Friends Wedding, the movie
-Empire Records, the movie
-gossip
-can never have enough makeup or hair products

The Never-Ending Struggle

(This is just rambling, so feel free to disregard.)

I found out yesterday that I'm 1.5 percentage points away from being overweight. What the deuce? I mean, I know I've put on some pounds in the last few months, and I'm at my 'career high,' but overweight at 24? I'm a size 6!

If that body mass index is correct (which I found on msn.com), then maybe the percentages of overweight Americans is slightly skewed. I know we have some serious obesity problems, which I'm not trying to discount. But maybe the "ideal body image" found in pop culture today has influenced the health community.

But then I read an article that said there is a link between sleep deprivation and obesity. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep for over six months, which is about the time that I started gaining weight. So maybe there's some truth to all this.

Or maybe not. Maybe I just need to hit the treadmill more often.

The magic of bloggy, indeed

I read this article on msnbc.com today about a blogger who, in one year, bartered his way from a red paperclip to a house! Why isn't our blog more productive? Where is my house???

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13804920/wid/11915829/

Resist the urge...but what an urge!

Yeah, I want a new TV to go with the new setup we have. I just have to think...how many movies am I going to be watching after August 19th? Maybe none...maybe some. Is it worth dropping a grand to get a Sony DLP Rear Projection 42" TV? Arrrrrrrrgh!

Remember

I was thinking today how important it is to remember things...religious things. I really doubt that anyone really has intentions of committing grave sins when they commit them. Sure there are premeditated situations where someone wants to hurt another or themselves or whatever. I would think, however, that most sins are committed after a life has been let drift and the tides have carried it towards a reef and proceed to smash it to bits on the rocks. Neglect being the catalyst there.

I also thought a lot about how important it is to remember the sacrifices of others. I think a lot about the pioneers and what they went through. I think past the cliche stories and pictures that have been fed to me since primary. I really think about them. I try to see their faces. When Tricia and I drove up to her parents' cabin this weekend we drove through much of eastern Utah. I imagned a handcart company coming out of the trees right in front of us. What would they have looked like? What expressions would they have worn? What stories would they have told about what happened to them back east to make them take this trip. And most importantly...what would their testimonies be like of the gospel. I would daresay that there wouldn't be many "gospel lolligaggers" among them. If you believe it...you go. If you don't...you don't.

There is a difference in my life right now. It isn't outward and visible. It isn't overpowering in its existence. It is a small change in the background that makes a profound difference in how I see things. Its not a cure-all. It isn't an elixir. It isn't anything of note to anyone but me. I just...well...feel different about things. I have more hope. I have more joy. I have a distinct drive to improve and to seek out what is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy."

There will always be unanswered questions. There will always be doubts. There will always be seemingly unresolvable paradoxes. The important questions to any human would be:

1. Is there a God?
2. Does this God know me?
3. What does God want of me?
4. How does God speak to us?
5. How will I know His voice?

Any human being...regardless of their situation, has a need to try and answer these questions. If there is a God...it is the most important thing a person could do to try and come to know this God. That is one of the most carnal and primitive urges I think a person could have. Just take a second and think about life. Why are we here?!? Really think about that. Step out of your common ways of thinking about religion and think about life. How can you explain everything? Man, if there is a God, and afterlife, a meaning to life, a goal, divine blessings...and I don't even try to figure it all out...

Its interesting when science comes in contact with religion. Often people try to disprove religion with science and vice versa. For the layman, like myself, its a matter of faith. Look, I didn't do the research that so-and-so smartypants is quoting. I wasn't in the lab. I wasn't on the archeological dig. I wasn't the one who did the carbon dating. I didn't see the star in the telescope. I didn't cound the rings in that tree trunk. I didn't trace the evolutionary tree. I didn't translate that ancient document. So I am having to have faith in that scientist...BECAUSE I SURE DIDN'T DO THE RESEARCH! This faith is just like faith in God. So the ultimate question woudl be: faith in God or man? It seems that "disproving" the existence of God would require an infinite assessment of physics, mathematics, chemistry, history, philosophy, biology etc. etc.

It seems that very existence of God cannot be dismissed with the naive statement, "Well, I haven't seen Him." It is so much more vast than that.

I suppose there is great irony in the fact that the monumental, infinite powers of the universe...the great secrets of our origins...the sweeping influence of the most powerful Being in the universe would be manifested by the small, still, subtle voice of the Spirit. How am I going to stay tuned into that Spirit over the deafening roar of the world?

My Favorite Painting

I am not a big visual art person but this has always been my favorite. I did love going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan though.

Mullet (pronounced Moo-lay)

This kid was with his weird parents in the St Louis Historical Museum. 'nuf said.

Top 30 songs on the Winder iPod

These are the most played songs on the Winder iPod so far. They are in order starting with the most played song. This isn't really indicative of my latest music ventures because I am still old school and like to listen to CDs still. Anyway....just something to post.

1. Behind the Drapes - Mew
Sweet Surrender - Erasure
NYC - Interpol
Miss Murder - AFI
The Adventure - Angels & Airwaves
Snow Brigade - Mew
Bug Eyes - Dredg
Paralyzed - Rock Kills Kid
Hands Away - Interpol
I Caught Fire - The Used
Venus as a Boy - Bjork
The Zookeeper's Boy - Mew
Hideaway - Rock Kills Kid
Blue and Yellow - The Used
Feels So Good - Van Halen
Tomorrow - Avril Lavigne
Taking Off - The Cure
Hot Beach - Interior
Hope Song - Rock Kills Kid
Suffer Well - Depeche Mode
Here I Go Impossible Again - Erasure
Hospitality - Funeral For a Friend
Closing In - Imogen Heap
Narc - Interpol
From Here to Anywhere - Last Days of April
Eden - Sarah Brightman
Bloodletting Go - Tears for Fears
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Take On Me - a-ha
The Gift - Angels & Airwaves
Wake Up - The Arcade Fire
30. Every Christian Lionhearted Man - Bee Gees