Ab ovo usque ad mala

What is the point of Christmas newsletters? I personally find the ones from people I don't know to be boring as I have no point of reference upon which to relate, and the ones from people I know to be redundant (because I already know what's going on) or inaccurate (because they're embellishing). I know people try to put their best foot forward. Even I admit this when Austin tells me when he reads my blog and doesn't recognize the person writing. I mean, is someone going to try to make themselves look bad? Also many times people cannot write. I remember one Christmas newsletter that was four pages long--all one paragraph. It was like a marathon getting through that one. So here's my try. Short and sweet. Because most of the time I cannot remember anyway. January: Utah for army training. Cold as hell. February thru May: School. Four A's and a B. June: Backpack trip. 2 wisdom teeth out. July: Veg. I think. August: Get engaged. Work at Walmart. September thru Decem

Small people with little or no education or experience. Individuals whose potentialities are exponentially higher than the rest of the population. Any other interesting ways of looking at this age group?

Sometimes I think... It's a good thing. Ha ha. Sometimes I think that we view children differently than other people in our lives. I'm not around children that much so maybe my vote doesn't count. But I think about people in general a lot. How I interact with them...how I view each person...and it seems young people sometimes are not afforded personhood. Not like, rights as an adult. But more like as individuals who should be afforded the same unique approach as other people we come into contact with. I guess the difference for me would be a patient understanding that they don't have the thick skin and some of the social skills adults are supposed to have. Plus, for me personally, I saw the progress from childhood to adulthood as a gradual weaning away from self. And I know some children are very considerate people, but for me growing more into an adult was about learning to stop living for myself. (By no means is this process done.)

Posting in Spanish Current mood: sheepish Such outcry! I never thought I would cause this much uproar posting in Spanish! The truth is, my lovely friends and family, I wrote these things for Spanish class...I spent so much time on them I didn't want to let them go to waste. I'm really proud of the fact that I can now produce intelligible content in another language. But these articles are pretty inane, by my English standards. I hate to admit it, but if I translated them for you you'd be bored. I think, though, that maybe in the future I'll start posting the translation for blogs I write in Spanish that actually correspond to something I'd write in English. It's still so much work! It takes, on average, about four times as long for me to write in Spanish as it does in English...and even then I always make a lot of mistakes.

La película Beowulf, que ahora aparece en el cine in 3-D en toda la naci­ón, tiene muchos aspectos fascinantes, como la animación digital, el cuento viejo, el humor, el sexo, y la acción por mencionar poco. Pero, es muy confusa en vez de ser ecléctica. Puede ser el cuento clásico. Se usa el inglés antiguo, y es muy correcto hablar este idioma, como pronunciación y acento. En términos de exactitud, los trajes y la arquitectura son bien hechos. Sin embargo, no sigue el cuento original exactamente. Puede ser el viaje visual hermoso. Es en 3-D, y el dispositivo se usa bien. Además, los colores, efectos, y técnicas dramáticas contentan los ojos. Puede ser película de acción. Después de todo, es sobre el guerrero Beowulf y cómo peleaba en su vida. Hay muchas escenas de peleas energéticas, con mucha sangre y ruina. Pero al final uno se siente confundido, porque la película trata de ser todo para todos. Por eso no es casi nada para nadie, sino algo que necesita interpretación. No obstante, ga

AH my deare angrie Lord, Since thou dost love, yet strike; Cast down, yet help afford; Sure I will do the like. I will complain, yet praise; I will bewail, approve: And all my sowre-sweet dayes I will lament, and love. from The Temple (1633), by George Herbert

Esta elección tiene sus primeros, como Hillary la mujer presidente posible, Barack el hombre afroamericano presidente posible, y también más sutil, Mitt Romney el mormón presidente posible. Pero Mitt no está muy abierto de hablar de su fe. Mucha gente tiene curiosidad de saber más de su fe, porque muchos creen que la religión es muy significativa en hacer decisiones administrativas como presidente o cualquier cargo político. Antes, no ha habido ningún presidente mormón nunca y por eso se piensa que Mitt no tiene ninguna oportunidad de ser presidente. Sin embargo, a causa de su posición de mormón y demócrata, es posible que pueda atraer gente de muchos lados. Muchas veces, es el hombre que no se adapta a ningún grupo que puede unirlos más eficazmente. Pero también el caso podría ser que al esconder y no compartir sus opiniones y creencias, la gente puede preguntarse sobre qué otras cosas está mantiéndose en secreto.

I've been grappling with a lot of deep stuff lately, including the population problem; marriage; communication, conflict, compromise; social responsibility and some other things. The thing I've noticed is that even though I think I'm a pretty smart person, I previously have been in the habit of deferring the practice of thinking about these things and analyzing them, with an eye to reaching a decision or stance, to other people like my dad, pastor Don, Robin, or other people who have told me what to think and that I trust. I'm just coming into my own as someone who is able to give thorough analysis to an issue AND make a decision or take a stance. I had this feeling that in previous moments in my life I had been viewing myself more like how I saw John Kerry, who, I got the impression, thought a lot about things and was very smart & articulate, but had a hard time coming to the crux of a matter in the form of a succinct decision. This is not to say that I think issue

Austin's sister gave me a hot air popper for popcorn a while ago, and I figured out popcorn is a great snack food slash light dinner if you make it & season it yourself & don't mind flossing. I use smart balance, pepper, and parmesan-romano-asiago cheese blend. Not too many calories or too much sodium; light; fills you up. Back to work.