All Good Things....

Hi Ho tribe,

So, word has it that Sunday (today, really) I'll be released by the Stake Presidency. I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve in this ward and in this capacity as the EQP for the past 4-ish years. I can't begin to enumerate the things I have learned or the ways in which I have changed (I think for the better) as a result of this opportunity. I find it hard to think of simple things I have learned here - largely because, if they were simple, we'd all know them by now from reading them or hearing others tell us about them.

This is one article we're likely not to be mentioned in, and that's a compliment. 

I will miss you guys and hope to stay in touch. It's not as though I'm leaving town, just changing wards.  I also want to take a moment to thank Christian Johnson, my steadfast counsellor and good friend. When I was first called as the EQP years ago, I knew nothing about what I'd be doing or what to do, so I fasted and came up with two names for counsellors. Christian was the first name that popped into my head and he has been a wonderful counsellor. I also know I need to mention what a blessing it has been to serve under Bishop Metcalf, whose wisdom and guidance has been a tremendous source of strength for me over the past years.

Anyway, it's time for me to move on and I know that the guys that are called to succeed me will be inspired to lead the quorum to greater heights of spiritual development. I am grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity and hope you all realize what a blessing it is to associate with such remarkable people.

Partisan Politics Edition!

Fellas,

First off, I'm sorry it's been so long! My best excuse is that my fascination with Newt Gingrich's recent campaigns for President of the US and also possibly of the Moon was occupying all my time.

Anyway, some links/ideas:

1. Anyone interested in going to LIGO? Cool factoids about LIGO:
              a. It's built to detect gravity waves from collapsing stars and to expand our knowledge of the universe and the beautiful planet upon which we live.

              b. It's so sensitive, it can sense when planes are landing at Seatac. From Hanford.
              c. It's housed inside the largest vacuum chamber in the world. You can't go in that part unless you tell me about how much you liked Twilight.
              d. Smart people work there for science and it's government run, ergo the Tea Party hates it.

              e. It's only a few miles from the world's first fully functional nuclear reactor! Yup, built in 1943 and still more advanced than Syria's and North Korea's nuclear plants.

2. We had a recent FHE at Town Hall! It was really good, I think. Anyway, a brother who is to remain anonymous pointed out that many of the events/lectures at that august institution were of a leftish orientation. Perhaps. So in his honor, I hereby offer a few Town Hall events that are not even remotely left wing:
              a. A lecture on nuclear reactor design and super-efficient power sources!
              b. A lecture on how to cook like a man! Hint: cornflakes will not be a topic of conversation.
              c. A lecture by one of my favorite authors, Dan Ariely, on irrationality and human behavior. Dan wrote two very influential books that I've quoted from in at least one sacrament meeting talk.

3. Democrats love cities more than Republicans, and both sides of the spectrum love Seattle. Another thing we all can agree upon: our generation is the one that will suffer for the recession, and we're already paid about half what our parents were at our age. But cheer up! Seattlites have the highest wage growth of anywhere in the US. Enrichissez-vous!

Last but not least,

4. To prove that I have the capacity for thinking across the wide spectrum of political discourse in this great nation, I'd like to call your attention to this column by George Will, eminent political analyst and baseball pundit. And sworn enemy of blue jeans. Say what you will about the man's sartorial preferences, but he knows how to rock a bow tie.

Joking aside, you may not agree with everything he's written (and he's taken a turn towards the right in recent years), but this column is remarkably insightful. I hope we all agree with the man on this one.

On that note, the topic of this week's Elders' Quorum lesson will be on acceptance and love.

On Facebook

Gentlemen,
I don't know why I bring this up (other than a potentially $100Bn IPO), but today I want to talk about Facebook. It's pretty clear that the big FB is not going away any time soon and that it possibly has some redeeming uses (serving up ads for mediocre khaki pants is not one of them - does anyone else get those ads?). Still, for all its ubiquity, is Facebook making our lives better? Technologically, perhaps -

The author, with Wesleyan student and future U1EQ teacher Owen Bennion. Nepotism knows no bounds. 

When I entered college way back (guess when) (yes, we had the internet), I was issued with my University's publication for all Freshmen: "the face book". It was sort of like a menu of Freshmen - remember that girl in calculus whose name you always forget? That was how you figured out who she was and what her number was (numbers were listed, albeit on 4 digits since the college assumed you'd call them on a land line)( I'll explain what a landline was in a separate post).

When 'theFacebook.com' came out my Sophomore year, we all got what it was for! It was just an improved version of the weird thing the college had given us Freshman year. Phone numbers were instantly easier to retrieve! Hours could be lost learning what everyone's favorite band was! What's this 'poke' thing all about? Facebook was cool. No one's parents were on it, so it felt like a really kickin' house party with slow upload times and unlimited photo hosting.

The downside was that you could spend way too much time on it and feel like everyone else was out having fun and you're just staring at a cold computer screen. We've all been there. It's important to remember that social networking sites aren't real; they're the "reality television" equivalent of people's lives - they're "real", but not quite. This was in 2004. Things haven't changed.

Facebook is now a behemoth capable of doing everything except serve relevant ads. Netflix, Hulu and Youtube are making me question why I ever pay for cable. The internet is more powerful now than I'd imagined when I was in high school (altavista, anyone?), but still poses the same problems - reality is not to be found in front of a computer screen.

As basis for my screed, here's an article on psychological effects of living one's life online (ironically, you're not reading this on a broadsheet newspaper), and an Op/ed piece in the New York Times. I'm not suggesting we all deactivate our accounts. Instead, I am suggesting we prioritize the things that will matter the most to us and will help us to become better people. Here's a conference talk that hits the nail on the head:

Last but not least, I read this poem by Sherman Alexie some months back that sums up how I feel about people using Facebook as a primary means of social interaction: 

The Facebook Sonnet

Welcome to the endless high-school

Reunion. Welcome to past friends

And lovers, however kind or cruel.

Let's undervalue and unmend

The present. Why can't we pretend

Every stage of life is the same?

Let's exhume, resume and extend

Childhood. Let's all play the games

That preoccupy the young. Let fame

And shame intertwine. Let one's search

For God become public domain.

Let church.com become our church.

Let's sign up, sign in and confess

Here at the altar of loneliness.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook!

Announcements, Sausagefest MMXII, Etc.

A'ighty y'all, 


Some odds and ends for the good of the order: 


 1. Temple tomorrow night ( Wednesday, 7:30PM) ! At the Temple, and not the local synagogue!


 2. Saturday Night, 6:30PM Sausagefest MMXII!!!  We're gonna cook up some delicious meats, as directed in the BIBLE: 

         Acts 12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and       fowls of the air.

 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

So if they do it in the Bible, it must be sanctioned for an Elders' Quorum activity, right? Now, I know what you're thinking - 'What can I bring?'. The answer would be desserts, drinks, or things that aren't meat. Our arteries will thank you. The address of Chez Moi, Mikey & Taylor: 

117 West McGraw, Muskokie, WA, 98119

3. Did you know we all look really good in black and white? Check this out: 

Anyhoo, I was going to post more about Jeramie Farnes and possibly a music post but it's really late and the snowpocalypse is supposedly tomorrow, so I'd better save some material. Here's one to end on:

...an old favorite Top Gear episode compilation, to class us up a bit. Stay warm.

First Music, Announcement Post of 2012!

Tribe,

Welcome back! First off, some odds and ends: 

 - Wednesday: Temple Sealings, 7PM, Temple. If you do Sealings, you'll feel this good inside. 

 - On or around the 14th of this month is our ward's Baptism day at the Temple. 

 - You may or may not have noticed that there are a few Mormons who want to be President. This has brought out levels of paranoia last heard on the call-in line for the Art Bell show. Leave it to our sophisticated cousins across the pond at the Economist to dismiss this silliness. Bless those crumpet-eating monocle-wearing pundits for their insight - and let's remember that respect is a form of love. Joking aside, it's refreshing to find dispassionate and fair press like this. As an aside, I'd like to plug the Economist Book of Obituaries as one of the best non-church books I've read in years.

Anyway, on with the Music Post!

It has come to my attention recently that the piano can be a really fun instrument - Carl Cutler is a prime example of this. Man, that guy has chops. Still, what if there were someone just slightly better?

Meet Tom Brier, man of epic ragtime genius and excellent sight-reader: 

Sight reading the Tetris theme, anyone? Leave it to the man with the mythologically-sized neck beard: 

He's not bad. Makes me appreciate the Piano more as an instrument. Also makes me wonder if we can sing the Cheers theme song in Elders Quorum. 

MPotW: Drums ahoy

Alright, party people, it's time for a little confession. I love the drums. A lot. I've been a guitarist since I was 10, but if there was a drum kit at my house I would probably never have touched the guitar at all. As such, I try to check out cool spots of drumming. I have fallen in love with some bands because of the drumming. While I could list favorite drummers and go off on what specifically I love about them (Mike Mangini, Jose Pasillas, Dave Grohl, Jason McGerr to name a very brief few), I feel like not enough attention is paid to this, the most important piece in keeping a good song moving well. So, to that end, this MPotW is dedicated to amazing examples of drumming prowess.

To start off, let's talk about Andrea Verducci, or vadrum as he is known on the interwebs. This man did an amazing rendition of the Mario Brothers theme song, but that's not what brings him to my attention today. No, this man decided that it was time to use his full kit to play metal influenced drums along with an Italian Orchestra. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Andrea Verducci playing "The Barber of Seville".



Next on our list is a young man who, at the tender age of 16 performed in the below video. Think to when you were 16. Could you do anything as good as this kid can drum? Can you do anything now as good as this kid can drum? I doubt it. But hey, if you can, you're more awesome than me (which, granted, doesn't take a lot). Dylan Elise is more awesome than me.



To keep the tradition of the 3 alive and well, let's end on a personal favorite of mine, a feller by the name of Zack B. He lives in Scandinavia, plays the drums like a mad man, and has actually responded to each and every comment. He plays great Mega Man covers, but to play us out, Keyboard Cat's long lost cousin, the Nyan Cat.

Antarctica Update

Fellas, 

We got an update from our very own Antarctic correspondent! Jeramie appears to like the chilly down-under Down Under: 

The Antarctic continent is very beautiful if you love snow capped mountains and smooth frozen ocean as far as the eye can see with spots of water from the summer melting season that's just beginning.  In a month or so the ocean ice will melt and a supply ship from Seattle will be brought in full of containers for the year.  I haven't seen any wildlife yet, but I'm told I will if I go hiking just outside of the station.  All there really is to see are penguins, seals and a type of bird called a Skua.  I share a small room with 5 other guys (it's where they stick the first year people).  Next year I'd likely have a room with just one other roommate if I choose to return.  There is about a 65:35 ratio of males to females here with a total population around roughly 1,050 people.  There's a contractor to scientist ratio of about 5:1 here.  The U.S. research stations in Antarctica exist solely for the advancement of science here according the Antarctic treaty signed by several nations.  There are a large variety of jobs here for people who just want to have the opportunity to say they visited and lived in Antarctica.  My job is pretty cool.  It's mostly dealing with cargo and loading pallets that get put onto the aircraft.  I spend half of my time in town and the other half on the airfield.  There are opportunities few and far in between to fly out to other stations for a day to help out.  I'm hoping to to go on one of those assignments later on in the season so that way I'll be able to see more of the continent than just McMurdo Station.  The food is not too bad here given we're in a remote location.  We do get fresh vegetables contrary to rumors that there weren't any.  The only down side is no pasteurized milk here :(

Anyhoo, he brings us photographic evidence he's not just chillin' in New Jersey: 

Mt. Erebus, site of a horrific plane crash and home of 1 of the 5 lava lakes of the world. Shorter than Rainier!

This is probably Jeramie Farnes. Note either Mt. Terror or Mt. Erebus in the background. Oh yeah, and the C17. 

I'd just like to point out that our man Farnes is on a distant continent and still insisted on having a home teaching route. I gave him two, and he's doing them. That man is a stud. 

About Mt. Erebus: it's awesome! It has a lava lake in its crater, perfect for destroying the precious or perhaps for disposing of a robot from the future. 

Terminators like their hot tubs on the toasty side

Anyway, there is a point to this: Mt. Erebus came up in a conference talk by none other than Elder Uchtdorf some years back - one of his better ones, in my opinion. 

Classy B&W Photos of U1EQBlogites

Jill Cox acts as though nothing is going on. As if. 

David Hendel gives us his Megawatt smile

I hope Jen doesn't hate me for posting this

Jen and Kaylene

Dan Schwab, man of many talents and ladies. 

This is what John Kay looks like when you forget to pay rent on time. 

Rookie U1EQ'er Owen Bennion, displaying classic Bennion family elan. 

Jill Cox, stylist. 

Emeritus U1EQ'er Adam Bowen 

Jamie Luthy and Anita Kunzli, shortly before the Apocalypse. 

Susan and Stephanie

Cassie Klingler in the process of an off-color hand gesture?

Cassie, Julie Olsen and Kaylene, straight-up thug. 

Maggie Brown, who still doesn't trust me with a camera. 

U1EQ veteran Chris Koontz

Adam Whitney puts his shoulder to the wheel 

Emeritus Danny Hass does yardwork like it ain't no thang

If not now, when?

I read a blog post on perfection recently, and I agree with the author that it is the cancer of our society. The pursuit of perfection has claimed lives and will sadly continue to do so. The author makes a great point in saying that we need to be real in dealing with our lives. He leaves out one slightly important point though, a point that is the key to really destroying the hold that perfection has on us.

We need to be okay with our imperfections. As in, we need to really be okay with and love ourselves despite our imperfections. Really love.

Now, this isn't to say that we need to be okay with the fact that we have eating disorders, or that we have pornography problems, or that we can't write songs as good as other people (curse you , Dan ), or that we take our anger out on other people, or that we are argumentative, or that we're broke but don't want to be, or that we're secretly gay, or that we're not where we want to be in life, or *insert whatever else you secretly hate yourself for*. Being complacent with things you hate about yourself leads to the dark side, my friends. And by dark side, I mean a stagnant, dead sea of a life. Nobody wants their lives to be a huge pool of dead water.

What I do mean is that we need to be okay with the potential that we have. For example, if you currently have a hard time saving money and are always broke, accept the fact that it's possible to have that problem and still be a good person. We read in Ether 12:27 that we are given (note, intentionally given, not allowed to have) weakness that we may be humble. Given. Humble. Ether 12 is a great chapter to read on this because it addresses a few important facts, namely that this is an issue of faith, both in ourselves and in the power of the Atonement, or rather in the Truth of change and forgiveness. Put another way, it addresses the idea that we are not now, nor will we ever be completely defined by the moment we are currently living in. (Another AMAZING chapter is Hebrews 11 . When/if you read these chapters, really try and think what the personal application is for you. What does it mean to have faith? Who do we have faith in? How do we apply that faith? How do we increase faith in ourselves? What is the better country that God has prepared for you? Ultimately, these are questions you will need to answer on your own.)

My favorite definition of humility is seeing things as they are. We are given weakness to see things as they really are; namely that we are not perfect and that, through the grace of God and His Son alone are we able to overcome our weakness. Nowhere in any set of scripture that I can recall reading does it say that we should hate ourselves for our imperfections. I feel confident in that assertion because I've read the entire set of standard works cover to cover.

Friends, that cancer of perfection takes root even if we know we are imperfect. We need to believe in our potential more than we believe in our current skill-set. If we can't see a puppy without kicking it, we need to 1) accept the fact that we can change, 2) realize that every good person on this earth is working on their own puppy kicking habit in their own way, and 3) stop kicking the puppies. If you can't stop immediately, keep trying, but don't ever ever ever ever ever tell yourself that you are a worthless person because you have a predeliction for the yipping sound that puppies make when your foot meets their ribs. Everyone who has ever walked this planet, including the Savior of all mankind, had weakness and temptation for things they wanted that were contrary to a perfect permanent record. And for you folks who cry the heresy call, think about the temptations of the Savior. True, he didn't do allow himself to act on His temptations, but the fact that they are called the temptations means that he wanted them. He wanted food when He was fasting, and He wanted a comfortable life. Instead, He got hunger (which he probably hated, especially since it made his body weak and limited his ability to move and help), and He got nailed to a tree. Somehow though, He seems to have really been okay with the skin he was walking around in.

In all seriousness, I beg you on my knees with my hands clasped and my heart bleeding, PLEASE don't hate yourself because you aren't perfect. Please. Please. Imperfection does NOT decrease your worth as a person, nor does it decrease your potential. In my honest opinion, imperfection increases beauty in a person. It makes you human and relatable. Again, if you have something about yourself that you hate, that is not enough cause to hate yourself. Look at yourself, accept the warts, and learn that no wart has roots deep enough to corrupt the heart that keeps those warts alive. Then get to work removing the wart. And do it with a smile. Because great people are made greater by the scars those warts of imperfection leave.

~taylor

Service Opportunity, Curriculum, Science

Boys,


Tomorrow we have the opportunity to do some yardwork and prepare for church on Sunday. That's what Saturday's for, apparently. Anyway, if you want to earn up some brownie points in Heaven, be at:


1802 N 38th, Seattle, WA 98103


at 9AM for some yardwork!


Also, here is a list of the lessons for Sunday school for the rest of the year: 



10/23/11  Lesson 38   “Thou Hast Testified of Me”
10/30/11  Lesson 39   “For the Perfecting of the Saints”
11/06/11  Lesson 40   “I Can Do All Things through Christ”
11/13/11  Lesson 41   “I Have Finished My Course”
11/20/11  Lesson 42   “Pure Religion”
11/27/11  Lesson 43   “A Chosen Generation”
12/04/11  Lesson 44   “God Is Love”
12/11/11  Lesson 45   “He That Overcometh Shall Inherit All Things”
12/18/11  Lesson 46   “He Will Dwell with Them, and They Shall Be His People”
12/25/11  TBD            "Why you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, sinner."


Who likes science? I do! Who wants to see some science awesomeness? Anyone interested in probing the origins of the universe on a Saturday in November has found the right blog, because we're going to LIGO for a Saturday field trip! Here's the schedule. 


November 12, anyone?


Lastly, more science. When you watch this video, ask yourself why I did this post in Helvetica font.