I congratulate the people of California for speaking out against gay marriage. Were I a California resident, I would have voted Yes on 8 like so many others did last week. But I am not a California resident. I live in Utah.
This morning I read in the newspaper that some guy from americablog.com wants to boycott Utah because the LDS church encouraged its members in California to give of their time and money to help pass the ban on gay marriage.
Wait a second.
How many people in California were forced to vote Yes on 8? I probably couldn’t count the number precisely because the answer is: not one person. Is the church giving money to a cause the same as that church casting a ballot? No. The church did not cast a ballot, but the residents of California did. The church spent money in attempt to pursuade some people to vote a certain way. That’s what churches are for when it comes to grave moral issues. So now we’re to believe that because this church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, then the whole state of Utah, affiliated or not with the church, is to be boycotted? Is this their attempt at revenge?
If americablog.com and its like need an organization to take the brunt of its post election anger, then I suppose that the LDS church and consequentially Utah, are easy targets. But please, if you are going to start boycotting states, then start with California. They cast the votes that passed the proposition, and they should be held accountable for thier honorable actions. Thank goodness that the LDS church made its opinion known, but at the end of the day, they only had power to talk, not vote.
But really, if you want to destroy the Utah brand, then you are welcome to come here and try. While you are here, you should get to know some of us “haters”. We won’t spit on you, harass you, or demean you. We won’t bring out the signs that say you are scum, that you are a moron, that you are a Chriso-fascist, or even that we think your sacred buildings should be burned to the ground. In other words, we won’t do any of the things that have been done to us in past few weeks.
You’re welcome to come and ski our powder though. I’m sure you’ll conclude that Colorado never really looked that good after all.
Disney’s Halloween Treat is what made Halloween great when I was a kid. The trick-or-treating too of course, but this old collection of the scarier moments of Disney is something that I have always remembered and wanted to share with my kids, when I have them. I don’t think Disney has released this program in DVD format because all I can find on Amazon is a VHS copy that somebody is trying to sell for $145. I guess they know they can get that price for a movie so loved by previous generations.
Luckily enough, even though not on DVD, somebody has posted the whole show on YouTube in nine parts. I’m reposting it here for everyones viewing pleasure. Enjoy.
I’m going to try to make it a point to write short reviews/recommendations of the books I read, if only to test my own comprehension. I tend to forget the easily forgettable.
So while I didn’t like how ‘A Farewell to Arms’ ended, I can’t say it was a forgettable book. Can anything by Hemingway be forgotten completely? This was my first ever read of one of his books, and I’ll say that it was somewhere between good and great.
The author’s preface (this was the author of the compilation – not Hemingway), said something about how Ernest Hemingway made American Literature what it is today. I don’t know enough, nor have I read enough to know exactly what made his style so revolutionary, so you’ll forgive me when I say that that quality of the book went over my head. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t good – just that I am not familiar enough with styles and times to know the difference between Hemingway and Harper Lee.
If you saw the movie ‘In Love and War’ that came out sometime in the nineties and starred Sandra Bullock and Chris O’Donnell, then you’ve seen the part of Heminway’s life that inspired him to write this book. It is a novel about love, death, and war in the time of World War I. I love reading about World Wars and other battles, and I guess there’s also a side of me that likes a good romance, so I was satisfied on both ends with this book. There’s no in-depth coverage of the war, so those out there who find war facts as boring as dirt will not be forced to endure a battle narrative. It does provide a good backdrop though.
I won’t give away anything, but I will recommend it. If anything, just to read one of the most important novels of our time. I do think you will find a page turner and a worthwhile read.
Oh and if you are interested in buying a good copy of this book along with three other Ernest Heminway classics in one volume, Barnes and Noble sells a very inexpensive series of hardback novel compilations. They are usually toward the front of the store by the discount books. It’s nice that they’re sold for such a good price, but it’s also a sad commentary on our reading choices these days. The trash novels cost twice as much as these four or five in one volumes of hardbound classics. But that’s another day’s post.
Our boys at Real Salt Lake just couldn’t pull out the dubya against Saprissa of Costa Rica on Wednesday. It was an entertaining game, especially the two shoving matches, but the excitement wasn’t enough to get any of our players to take a shot on goal. There was a lot of dancing and a few chip shots in front of the goal, but few shots.
So I’ve decided that if we are going to go out in these international friendlies, then we should do it with style. If we’re going to put in our benchwarmers to give them experience, let’s put them in to face somebody big. I know it is hard to get big teams to come to Salt Lake, but I’ll bet it could be done with a lot of persuading. I wouldn’t have been nearly as disappointed with a loss against the likes of Roma or Bayern Munich. Sure, they might shut us out 10-0, but wouldn’t it be more exciting than Saprissa?
The efforts to get Real Madrid to Salt Lake should be extended to other powers of Europe or South America. The pathetic attendance at Wednesday’s game would be turned around in an instant if we were told that Del Piero was coming to town. Now that would be a game.
I do have to give credit to whoever organized the firework show after the game. It was excellent. It was my first time seeing a firework show with music in the background. I know – I have just now experienced living.
