Moving

So today I succesfully moved from White House North to my new place. I'm thankful for all the help that was offered and the help received. So I'm sitting in my new room thinking about today and everything surrounding it. In a way, this move has been a difficult one. I have lived six years in WHN and now I'm not. I was very comfortable there and had found my niche. I had the rooms how I wanted them, I had the friends I wanted, and basically everything how I liked it.

Now I'm in an apartment that isn't really in the ward. I have two roommates, one who I met for maybe 45 seconds and the other isn't here. The one I met is leaving tomorrow. The other may be leaving in two weeks. The apartment was empty all day except me. Wow, did I feel alone. So I am very glad for Amy and Kate for letting me hang with them.

So a little about my apartment. It's in a basement. It's roomy for three people. But it is rundown. It could use a major remodeling. I could have taken an upstairs room (upstairs is much nicer), but I wanted a single room, not a small shared room. I have a tiny little bathroom, a moderately sized living room, and a small kitchen. I do have my own entrance to my bedroom. I need a chance to talk to the new roomies so I can get a feel for the place. Where do I put my food? Can I just walk in to the guys' upstairs apartment? You know, stuff like that.

In the words of my mom, "You can do better than this apartment Scott." And I can. But not still be close to the ward and involved with the ward. I am here for that purpose. I am here so I can keep my eyes open for openings in the nice houses of my ward. And they are nice! I am here so I can keep my friends. I need to settle in here. Then I will feel at home. But keeping in mind that this place is temporary. It will work.

Sir, yes SIR!

You scored as Artillery/Armor. You are an artillery/armor soldier. Fighting really isn't your strongsuit, and instead you prefer to sit back and blow things up with your 80+ mile range or behind some rather thick armor. This isn't to say you don't have a strong sense of duty and honor. You just seem to be smarter about it. Artillery/Armor 69% Medic 69% Combat Infantry 63% Special Ops 56% Support Gunner 50% Engineer 44% Officer 38% Civilian 19% Which soldier type are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Interesting Things: Sixty

61. I think "Lost" is stupid.
62. I hate puns.
63. I've eaten ants and crickets.
64. I have no known allergies.
65. I was the archvillain Mann Man
66. I can wiggle my ears.
67. I can't touch my toes.
68. I hate hypodermic needles.
69. I can't donate blood.
70. I am pro-cloning.

Hugs are strictly prohibited!

So I just read an article from thebostonchannel.com in which a 5 year old kindergarten girl was punished for returning a hug to another girl. Savannah was on the playground when her fellow classmate Sophie came up and gave her a hug. Savannah returned the hug. She was made to write the following letter:

"I touch Sophie because she touch me and I didn't like it because she was hugging me. I didn't like when she hugged me."

And the thing is, Savannah had no problem with the hug. The teacher made her lie in the apology letter. The principal has said that there was some dispute as to whether one of the girls lifted the other off the ground during the hug. And I say, "Who cares?"! If your feet are lifted off the ground does that make it a criminal offense? Obviously if children are fighting they should have a punishment. But what does punishing aggression and affection teach our children? It teaches them that they have to be emotionless. And can you imagine an emotionless child? It wouldn't be a child! I am glad that her parents were apporpriately outraged and are removing their child from that school. But I can only imagine the many parents whose children have done the same thing but didn't protest at all. This brings to mind two things: I hate political correctness and I hate lazy parents.

And any teachers who read this: Use your common sense, your mind, and your heart when you make decisions. You will make a world of difference if you do. But you will ruin children if you don't.

Cinquante

51. I don't believe in conspiracies.
52. If I could be any animal, I would be a lizard.
53. I had a penny in my shoe for over two years.
54. I'm an expert toliet paperer.
55. I've had a close run in with a moose.
56. I've never called 911.
57. My favorite apostle is Russell M. Nelson.
58. My hard drives are named Sam, Merry, and Pippen.
59. My favorite comedy is Clue.
60. I've created Super Monopoly, Clue Live, and a murder mystery.

Voting with your voice

I have to say I've taken an interest in the current beard issue. It seems like an issue that hits home for many of us. I personally believe we should alter the Honor Code to allow well kept beards and goatees. I think it should be a matter of personal choice for each man. Now this is a little bit odd as I am one of those men who is blessed or cursed (depending on your side of the issue) with not being able to grow any substantial facial hair. But I think allowing facial hair will not detract from the campus' cleancut appearance or bring anyone closer or further from Church standards. That is exactly why it should be allowed.

To all of you who defend the Honor Code and believe it should not be altered, "Thou fool, that shall say: [An Honor Code], we have got [an Honor Code], and we need no more [Honor Code]. Okay, I was totally kidding. But at a school which is not a democracy, we do not have a chance to vote for our policies and policy makers. Being able to voice our opinions in the Daily Universe, protesting on campus, and discussing with our friends, roommates, and classmates is the closest we get to letting ourselves be heard. So don't yell that we should just accept the status quo or believe that because we signed a document that we must turn off our brains and no longer hold opinions. Just because I signed a paper making me a registered Republican doesn't mean that I can't or shouldn't vote Democrat if I feel they do a better job. And if I ever vote Democrat it will no more be an embarrassment to the Church than putting tape on my mouth to symbolize my beliefs or by writing to the Universe to express my opinions. We vote with our voices. I think rather the Church and Prophet should be proud that one of its universities is breeding critical and independent thought.

XL

41. I hate winter.
42. I am the only person in my family who is not married and has at least two boys.
43. Mint is my favorite flavor.
44. My favorite beverage is an 80/20 mix of pink lemonade and Sprite.
45. I'm an ectomorph.
46. I can't catch a ball or frisbee.
47. I have an excellent memory for faces.
48. My favorite numbers are currently: 27, 78, and 2.
49. I always keep my most current fortune cookie fortune in my wallet.
50. I love techno, 80s and pop music.

Don't mess with the Bigredhammer!

Mess with MSN Messenger!
It was a dark and stormy night... The Bigredhammer sat alone in his bedroom. Well, not quite alone, his roommate was asleep in the bunk. Only the light of the monitor illuminated the room and Bigredhammer's face. The street light outside his window flickered on an off in it's endless pulse. Our hero double-clicked on the little blue icon next to the tray clock. Up popped a small window in the corner. It may be small but it was powerful. Through it's near magical powers it allowed Bigredhammer to communicate with many friends, 7 of them at their computer that very instant.

Bigredhammer went about his mission, using the Messenger to write clandestine messages to his friends. Sadly his mission was hampered by the ads and worthless buttons that littered the program's interface. He remembered another friend he needed to message, but that person wasn't listed in the current MSN Messenger's list. He had to log out and enter another account to message his friend. He started to write a long message to said friend and hit an invisible wall. Blast! The typing window could only accept so many characters! Unfathomable! But there was hope in sight!

After some searching online, the Bigredhammer came to a site boasting a program that could change everything, the Bigredhammer would be able to complete his mission of world importance without being hampered by the annoyances of his near-magical MSN Messenger. And that program was the Mess patch. It removed those unnecessary buttons and annoying ads. He could then open more than one account with MSN Messenger at a time. He could type up to 500 characters in one window. It was glorious to behold. The Bigredhammer would have let out a "woot" of joy, if it hadn't been for his sleeping roommate. So he let out a mini-woot.

woot!

You may have clandestine mission too that require you to remain unhampered by so many annoyances. The Bigredhammer is not so selfish that he wouldn't share his magical add-on for MSN Messenger with others. You can get it here! Thank goodness for Messers!

The Thirties

31. My earliest memory is at two and a half years old.
32. I can curl my tongue.
33. I've dyed my hair auburn, gold, and blond.
34. I've owned a guinea pig, two cats, and two dogs.
35. I enjoy desert hiking more than any other kind.
36. My three favorite shows are The Simpsons, Voyager, and Family Guy.
37. I consider myself a conservative optimist.
38. I love to fly.
39. My favorite colors are maroon, navy blue, and silver.
40. I've studied German, French, Romanian, Russian, and American Sign Language.

Interesting? Hmmm?

O suta

And we continue on...
11. I am a registered Republican.
12. I taught myself how to raise one eyebrow.
13. I hang up on hundreds of people a day.
14. I don't like chocolate ice cream.
15. I have lived on every continent in the northern hemisphere.
16. I have never seen Titanic.
17. I have been to all five Utah National Parks.
18. I know absolutely everything about Super Mario Brothers 3.
19. I have never broken a bone.
20. I've never had surgery.

The V

Yet another film review coming at you from the Hamma'. (That's thug for bigredhammer.) Before I begin that I will remind you all that tomorrow is a very cool day. If my roommates read my blog--which they don't-- they would beware. Mwahahaha!

Anyway, "V for Vendetta". It's tagline is "an uncompromising view of the future." and it lives up to its name. The future the Wachowski brothers (creators of The Matrix) paint is one dark with dictatorship, little hope for the common man, manipulation, and well, crazy heroes. But it is the crazy hero that gives the common man hope. And that hope is crucial. I wouldn't think that this future is actually possible. Sadly, history has shown us that indeed it is possible. Facism, nazism, and communism do exist. The Vendetta world is based on the goverments created during the World War II period. Everything in this movie is sadly within reach of mankind.

I don't want you to think that this movie is only sad and depressing. I walked away with a good feeling, one of patriotism, and knowing that there are things worth dying for. In the end it has a bright message: The good in mankind will prevail over the evil.

As for being rated R, this movie gets its rating from adult situations, and some gushing blood from fighting. The blood was completely unnecessary. This movie will draw you in and I will definitely own it when it is released. Bravo Wachowski Brothers!

One hundred

Following the example of my good friend Bob on her blog, I have decided to give one hundred interesting things about myself. I did this over several days at work. Around 70 I started to really stretch. Apparently I'm not as interesting as I thought!

1. I speak Romanian.
2. I was born in Tokyo, Japan.
3. I can't swim.
4. I write science fiction.
5. The first R-rated movie I ever saw was "The Matrix."
6. My mother is Canadian.
7. I have hiked the highest peak in the Wasatch Front, Mount Nebo.
8. The only organized sports team I've participated in was soccer, in the second grade.
9. I can type 80 words per minute.
10. I wear contacts.

Look out for more interesting things to come. To quote the profound Transformers, "There's more than meets the eye."

Uber Ultraviolet

So tonight I saw the movie Ultraviolet. I was not expecting much. It looked like an AeonFlux knockoff. (Basically, an all action movie set in the future with funky camera angles and no character development.) I didn't even see AeonFlux. But after my friends and I were done eating at Cafe Pierpont that was all that was playing at a decent hour. So I went in expecting very little.

What I got was incredible. There is so much to talk about with this movie. First of all, I take it this movie is based on a comic book. And I can tell you, every frame in this movie could be made into a very well done comic frame. Or... it could be framed and put on your wall. It is a very stylistic film. The colors are vibrant and the action is fluid and intense. A lot of people die in this movie but it is all done very artistically. You see the movement of the sword but you don't see any gore. Very well done. It was like a combination of the good visual elements of The Matrix, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Very well done.

The not so good parts of the movie: There is very little dialog. What dialog there is, you could very well put in a talk bubble just like in a comic. That isn't a good thing. Because there is not an emphasis on the dialog, we don't get to know the characters very well and we don't form a bond with them. If that had been so, this movie would do very well in the box office.

Now when this movie comes out on DVD I will certainly be buying it. It will add an artistic blending of sci-fi, action and martial arts to my film collection. Sadly, I know this movie will not do well in the box office because it is so stylistic. Many people will scoff at some of the effects or the dialog. Not everyone will see the art in this film. And that's really what it is... very well done art.

Monticello Monsters

Yes. I was not able to re-sign contracts with my complex. Why? Well, because the managers decided that many of us were too much trouble to let us re-sign. Their complaints range from, "You have been rude to us." to "You are a difficult roommate." or even "You slammed the door on us once." Yeah, they seem like petty reasons to me too. I am one who can't re-sign because I've had late rents. Now the good thing is a *few* of the people who received notes were able to convince Monticello to give them another chance. One of my roommates and one of my friends are some of them. However, I was not that lucky. Now the aggravating thing is that they gave us these notes five days before contract signing. How are people supposed to make housing plans in five days!?

I am very sad to have to move from this house. I have been here six years this spring. It's big and roomie and I have excellent roommates. I am going to miss it a lot. I am going to try to stay in the ward and move into a house across the street. It's a little smaller, but it's furnished well. I will do alright.

And for all the negative things... at least I won't have to deal with bass ackwards management anymore. You know, this isn't the first time they striked. Ever since they became managers they've been trying to break the status quo and homogenize their tenants. I'd love to list all the new rules and problems they've created. It makes me roll my eyes uncontrollably. My roommates are afraid of management now. They're afraid of holes in the wall, failing cleaning checks, getting late rent fees and all manner of things for fear that Monticello management will write it down in their little black book and next year trot it out and tell them that they cannot re-sign. Yeah, they cited things that happened over a year ago in order to not allow people to re-sign. Ugh.

There are many problems with our managers. I think their largest problem is the that they want zero confrontation with their tenants. I don't like seeing us, talking to us, writing to us, calling us, nothing. They want to pretend we don't exist. They complain and react if anything to the contrary happens. Let me first say, you HAVE to communicate with your tenants in order to be a manager! Second, if you don't want to see us or communicate with us, then MOVE away. Don't live on the same property as us, don't live next to us. We dislike you as much as you dislike us. Sadly for all of us... Sam still has TWO more years of school. So it's highly unlikely that any of us will outlast him. Bob have mercy on your souls Monticello tenants.

Versus!

VS

First of all, I have successfully transferred from Internet Explorer to Firefox. There are a lot of cool things that I can use on Firefox, from blocking ads (permanently) to going back a page from just my mouse movement (no silly little back button.) The downfalls to Firefox are mostly to do with the Yahoo page. I can't do searches on Yahoo.com or watch musicvideos on launchcast. There are some problems with Quicktime as well. Luckily I did get a extension that will load pages in Firefox with Internet Explorer. It sounds complicated and but it really isn't.

Next matchup: The Ultimate Showdown This is a must see. Have you ever wondered who would win if all of the world's super-heroes and super-villains got it on? Well, now you can... and you might be surprised who wins. Once you've seen the clip... be sure to vote on the links underneath. It's important. ;)

Yet another showdown: Pirates versus Ninjas

Then one last showdown: Your icons. This one is just plain fun.

Funny that,

So as I spoke about in a previous post... I am in a Trek mood. So I have done something about it. I now have joined a Star Trek Sim: The USS Katana of the Obsidian Fleet. For those of you who don't know "nerd" well enough to translate, I will help you. In a Star Trek sim, I portray one character (in this case my favorite character, Lt. Scott Donnelly, Chief of Security) . We write in story format about our character and their interactions with each other and the missions we go on. The captain chooses the story arcs and the things that go on. And no... there aren't any dice to roll, meeting in dark basements to trade cards, going to conferences or any such "nerd fare". It's just writing using Trek as a backdrop. I really enjoy writing. This is a great outlet for it.

I have also downloaded a whole bunch of Star Trek desktop photos. They look very good in fact. I am also in the process of finding and downloading all of the Star Trek: Voyager series. In case you were wondering, Voyager is my favorite Trek series. And for those of you who do speak "nerd", before you burn me at the stake... I like Voyager best because how familial the crew is. Next Gen always seemed like they just treated each other like co-workers, you come to work, do your thing, and then go home and forget about the other people. So Janeway or not... I like Voyager best.

"Better safe than assimilated."

Why oh why...

...Would the BigRedHammer write two posts in one day? Well, because this deserves blogging!

Those of you who know me well know that I don't mind repetition in songs. I love electronica music and repetition is paramount to that. I also enjoy internet phenomena such as "the hampster dance, the Star Wars kid, etc." Well, both of these beautiful things have come together at last. I warn you now that this will take repetition to a *new* level.

Please go to each of these sites in order:

Badgers! - The classic

Potter! - Always wanted more Harry?

Zombie! - For the living impaired

Aragorn! When the elves fail

Santa! The Jolly Old Elf has been replaced

Wikipedia! Pay special attention 4th paragraph. Someone has *too* much time!

I've had badger playing in the background for 15 minutes now. I think the original is my favorite. If you listen to (at least) the original Badger... the word "badger" seems to morph into the word "magic". Also of interest, follow the link to inherently funny word on the wikipedia article. Now I should have successfully dislodged any song you had stuck in your head with my new earworm. And if you're wondering what an earworm is... go *here*

Star Trek musings

Well, for some reason I'm in the mood for Trek tonight. Well, I want to watch a Star Trek movie... but none of them interest me. So I looked up info on the "next" movie on Yahoo. That kept me happy for a little bit. Then I started checking up on my old Star Trek rpg. I didn't recognize any names on the crew.

So anyway, here are some of my ideas on Star Trek.

My idea has always been to have a non-UFP based series. At first I thought Klingons... but I scrapped that for two reasons. I don't find Klingons that interesting as a species. There isn't much in way of Klingon diversity of personality. Second, it would be hell for the makeup artists to put Klingon makeup on every character for every episode. So I came up with the Romulans. I never really considered Romulans as very much in the Trek world until I saw Nemesis. But face it, they're devious, intriguing, sneaky, emotional and multi-faceted. They take minimal makeup and costuming as well.
It would be fantastic to see the inner workings of the Romulan Empire. How are they coping with the fall of Shinzon? The Romulan-Vulcan unification movement, the awful Federation, etc.? There's so many possibilities. Now I think this could work for a movie too. The way I see it, we either need a spectacular movie and then follow it up with a great series or vice versa. I think a Romulan series would do better than a movie, but I'll take either! I miss watching Trek.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Saturday, I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Let me tell you, it was wonderful. As a child or preteen I had read the books after seeing the BBC series based on the books. I really was captured by the magical world and the religious influence in the books. I figured out that Aslan represented the Savior and I thought I was the only one who I had guessed. lol.

The wonderful thing about the movie, was that it stayed true to the magic of the books. The religious nature was subtle. The story was strong and the characters were interesting and you could relate to them. I think it was a beautiful adaptation. I hope that this movie will do very well in the box offices so that we can be sure the other movies will be made. I read in some article that Narnia has the second place record for ticket sales on a December weekend. *eyeroll* I don't know what that even means. Narnia has number one spot for a movie released during a new moon and peanut sales are up. Anyway, it is an excellent movie and it is definitely worth seeing many times.

**Stop reading if you haven't seen the movie**

The thing I would have changed in the movie:

Aslan is a wild lion. Yes, he is gentle and good. But there needs to be a little bit of fear when you're interacting with him. When you are bad, you could expect a scolding on one side and being eaten on the other. Aslan is just and you will only get what you deserve, but he is not a tame lion. If you haven't read the books, it's very hard to explain. In the movie, he seemed only tame. You never feared him in the least.

Special mention:

Lucy really stole the show. Her cute, child-like wonder and precocious wit really stole the show. Her acting was superb. And her smile really lit up the screen. I'm glad that we get to see Lucy throughout the series. Wow.

The White Witch was equally impressive. Her single-minded determination shown from the screen. Once she set her eyes on some goal, she worked towards it and removed everything in her path. This fits perfectly with what we know about the Queen from the other books in the Chronicles. She inspired fear because of her ability to accomplish whatever she wanted.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was my eight year anniversary of when I entered the Missionary Training Center. Wow. How time has flown. It's interesting, I look back at that time... Back then I thought I was this intelligent, wise adult. Being a typical teenager, I thought I knew everything. I remember making fun of things I didn't understand. I also had weird coping strategies for the stresses of the MTC. My MTC district can attest to that. lol

In four days I'll celebrate my sixth anniversary of arriving home. I remember that well too. I remember walking off the plane and meeting all my family and relatives at the airport. Everyone had grown so much. Little cousins and nephews were no longer so little. It was very overwhelming. I remember telling my mom that I really wanted to cry but that the tears weren't coming at all. Then we walked into the parking garage and I'm sure my eyes nearly bugged out. The cars were all so *HUGE*. I remember thinking how rich Americans were. Driving home I was wondering why everyone was yelling. Everyone speaks so much louder here than in Romania. When I first watched TV I was amazed at how fast people talked and things happened. On Simpsons, people would walk in the room, speedily say something, leave and then the scene would change. Wow, it would just blur by. I came home on the 15th of December. I don't even remember that Christmas. I wasn't ready and I was in full culture shock. My mom said I didn't really leave that "weirdness" until I got back from my return visit to Romania in August the following year.

Hehehe, I'll stop the reminiscing now... I didn't say a thing about the two amazing years between then. That's a whole 'nother 100 blog posts.

Merry Christmas!!

BigRedHammer Indicted in Murder Case

Yes... I've been indicted again. I can't seem to keep myself away from these "shady dealings". It seems I like to hang out with suspected murderers. I actually wish it was me... I'm never the murderer! Thanks to Kate and Gill for hosting another excellent Murder Mystery! We had a lot of fun. This Murder was a convoluted family affair. I could have won an entire English estate. Sadly, I was happy just buying it from some other heir. Dang.

Christmas Tree OR Holiday Tree

So I just read about the most ridiculous thing I've heard in awhile. Let me preface this by saying I am distinctly 'anti-pc' or political correctness when it comes to the English language. I receive mail from my mail man no matter his gender. Anyway, back to the story.

In many places across the country, there are tree lighting ceremonies for cities. And in order not to be offensive, some of these cities have begun to call their trees "Holiday Trees". So stupid.

"Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a legal group that focuses on religious issues, said the mayor's use of 'Christmas tree' means there's no need to go to court over the issue. His group's Christmas campaign aims to stop what it views as religious censorship and 'political correctness run amok.' It is endorsed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
'It's like calling a menorah a candlestick,' Staver said. 'It's wrong. It's offensive. And it disenfranchises a large segment of the community.'"

I agree with Mr. Staver. It is offensive. If there are people out there who are offended by the term "Christmas tree", they need to reevaluate themselves. By definition a Christmas tree is: "An evergreen or artificial tree decorated, as with lights and ornaments, during the Christmas season. " That's how it's defined by the dictionary. So let's call it what it is. None of this PC crap to try to placate those PC thugs among us.

Getting to know me...

I copied this idea from my good friend Amy. You can see her answers and blog at the PSRaT link on the right. Enjoy getting to know me better.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, I guess
3. What was the last movie you watched? Return to Oz
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Simpsons and Family Guy
5. What did you have for breakfast? Good question
6. What is your middle name? Roy
7. What is your favorite food? Lasagna
8. What foods do you dislike? Coleslaw, Au gratin potatoes
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Vinegar
10.What is in your CD player right now? A mix of techno songs I’ve made
11. What kind of car do you drive? none
12. Favorite sandwich? Sweet Onion Teriyaki at Subway
13. What characteristic do you despise? Boring people
14. Favorite item of clothing? My “I have candy” t-shirt
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Back to Romania, by way of England and Italy.
16. What color is your bathroom? Beige mostly
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Aeropostale and Hollister
18. Where would you retire? Somewhere warm with a short winter, California perhaps.
19. Favorite time of the day? Summer nights
20. What was your most memorable birthday? Mmmm… good question. They’re all good.
21. Where were you born? Yakota Air Force Base, Tokyo, Japan
22. Favorite sport to watch? I don’t watch sports. But basketball is good.
23. What kind of desert or treat could you go for right now? Chocolate cupcakes sound good.
24. How tall are you? 6'
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Western Family Economy with bleach
26. Coke or Pepsi? 90/10 Pink lemonade and Sprite
27. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night owl. I can be a morning person too if I need to be, but if left to my druthers I will stay up late.
28. What is your shoe size? 10.5
29. Do you have any pets? Not allowed. However, I’d like to have a cat and a dog
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family & friends? I’m pregnant.
31. What did you want to be when you were little? A pediatrician
32. Favorite Holiday? Christmas, it’s a time full of love, memories and traditions.
33. Do you consider yourself political? Yes. Registered Republican voter
34. Do you consider yourself religious? Very much so.
35. What is the latest book you have read? “Prey” by Michael Crichton

A different perspective

"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare -- at least with photography," C. S. Lewis wrote.

"Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy."

Another One Bites the Dust

The BigRedHammer puts on his black mourning clothes. My good friend is dying. He gave me the gift of movies and music for free. We only knew each other several years, but it was a good friendship. I'll miss dear Kazaa very much.

For those of you who are in the dark:

The operators of the Kazaa file-sharing service have until December 5 to update their software with a filter to screen out copyrighted material or else face the rospect of being shut down.
The filter will prevent users from trading files containing 3000 keywords selected by record companies, including the names of popular artists and songs. The filter can be updated every two weeks to include the latest and most popular releases, the international Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a statement.

But in the battle of pirates versus the media industry, you can expect to have casualties. We've lost Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, Napster, among others. But the good thing is I've already moved on to LimeWire Pro. It actually is a much better system than Kazaa. I have no doubt that it eventually will fall to the evil lawyers too. So keep your eyes out for more P2P programs.

BigRedHammer throws his rose onto Kazaa's grave.

Saturday!

Yesterday was an excellent day! That morning my friend Aaron came over. We were planning to play Capcom vs SNK (which is a Street Fighting-esque game). But we ended up watching The Goonies instead. I'd never seen it before. It's a fun movie. I imagine it would have been especially nice as a 10 year old boy. We made some lunch and then I headed to work. I was only scheduled for three hours, but I ended up only having to work two hours. They sent us home early. That made me very happy. I would have enough time to make my scalloped potatoes for the Murder Mystery. So yes, I went to a Murder Mystery. I was Rogan S. Coundrell, a rich millionaire who made his fortune through blackmail and thievery. I won't tell you who the murderer was, in case you play the game. However I did not guess correctly. We had a great time though! After that, some of us came to my house and we watched Return to Oz. I'd never seen that either. It stars the girl from The Craft. She was way young in Oz. That movie was very interesting, very different from the original. It was a little darker and a little more realistic. I liked it.

What an excellent day!

Vacation! (2)

I'm here in Morgan Hill, California. It is awesome! Let me tell you, the weather could not be more perfect. Mid-seventies and blue skies have been the norm. Yesterday we drove south along Route 1 which follows the beach. I saw beautiful scenes, waves crashing on the rocky coast, driving along a beautiful cliff, and then at the end seeing the sun set over the water. It's so cool, it's light much longer after the sun goes down because there's no mountains blocking it. Just ocean going on forever. Way cool. We also went to this apple orchard and got fresh apple pies. Let me tell you, that stuff is way good. Just the right amount of tartness and sweetness. I am having a great time.

Vacation!

So this Friday at 9:05 AM I will be flying out of Salt Lake City Airport to San Jose, CA. I'll be staying with my friend Chris till Monday night. Well, I just looked at the forecast for that area: a high of 72 degrees! We currently have a high of 39 and a low of 23 here in Provo! I just walked home from work (5 blocks) and it's COLD! But in a few days I will be nice and warm, shirt sleeves and the like. *grin*. I will also be doing fun things like visiting the Bay, going to Muir Woods Park and walking among the redwoods. You know, when I planned this vacation I didn't really need it. But I was invited out and it was cheap, so I did it. Now... I need it. I need a break from the mundane and the repetitive. I know it will freshen my outlook. I still have a lot to do be ready, but it will be done.

Yeah for sunny and warm California!

Et Cetera

It's Saturday night. It's cold outside. But I'm feeling warm and comfortable sitting here in my hoodie. (This is the first hoodie I've ever owned.) I have some food in the oven. It will be ready to take out in about 12 minutes. It's penne pasta with marinara. Mmmm.

A few recommendations:

Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance
The song has energy! And as the song suggests... Dance! I only know one other Fall Out Boy song, "Sugar, We're Going Down" and I recommend both for download. They have a unique sound.

Erasure - Breathe
The song is soft and slow. I'm sure you could do some kind of zen meditation with it in the background. (As if I knew anything about zen meditation.) I'm going to be downloading the other Erasure songs from the same album. I've high hopes.

Axe - Touch
Sounds like a heavy metal hair band doesn't it? This acutally is not a song... but a deodorant bodyspray. You've probably seen the commercials. Well let me tell you, it's almost more of a cologne than a deodorant. And well, women love it! So men, here's the BigRedHammer's recommendation! (And the bottle is red too. Perfect.)

So that's all I have to say tonight. Here's the BigRedHammer signing off.

Salute to Elder Evanko!

My roommate Kyle left for the MTC this afternoon. Tonight is his first night there. In fact, he's probably headed to bed right now. (What a difficult transition that must be for Kyle!) He would often stay up later than I did. And I'm sure the shock and loneliness could be there tonight as he lays in bed. Wow. Just thinking about all the transitions a teenager has to go through to become a missionary... it's mind boggling. But he will be there two months. People who have been there 4 weeks will seem like old timers to him. He'll be there Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It's like the group right before me in the MTC. I hope he has good teachers and does his best. I know he'll do very well as a missionary.

Here's to you Kyle!!

Happy Birthday!

Well, Sunday was my 2xth birthday! Now those of you who don't know how old I turned.... quick, take a guess. Got it? Well, I just turned 27. Two days before my mission I was at work and talking to two girls. I mentioned that my birthday was soon. They asked how old I was turning. I told them 27. The one girl next to me said "No way. I totally thought you were pre-mission." The other said she wouldn't have guessed I was that old either. *grin* Other people have guessed 23-24. It's good to look younger than I am. Though a preemie... hm, that's kinda out there.

So here is how my birthday went. Being on Sunday as it was, I wasn't expecting much to happen. My parents wouldn't be coming down till Monday and I hadn't planned a party or anything. So I figured I'd just have a quiet birthday. That morning my friend Aaron called me and woke me up to wish me happy birthday. I also talked to my mom on the phone, my sister, and my nephew Shane (who turned 11 that day too. He was born on my 16th birthday.)

Later, my friend Kristen asked if I was going to the CES Fireside that night. I did go to that. President Monson gave an excellent talk. He's great because his stories really illustrate his points and he has a great sense of humor. Anyway, when we came back the house was decorated! Kristen had made me a cake as well. It had homemade chocolate frosting that was wonderful. Amy came over and had made an apple pudding cake that was incredible too. :D Amy also gave me real Romanian chocolate! Mmmm!

After that my friend Mike came and picked me up and brought me over to his house. He and Robert had baked me a giant cake. It was shaped as a ying yang. One side was chocolate and the other white cake. heheheh, the thing was huge! Some more friends came over and we hung out and played Settlers of Catan. I lost the first game and won the second. *grin* We also watched "The Interpreter". The movie was pretty good. Though it was pretty confusing too.

Monday I got to spend time with my friends again. We went to an Italian restaurant on Center St. It was waaaay good. We also went miniature golfing and to the movie "The Fog". I had a great time. Then they dropped me off and I went to the Olive Garden with my mom and dad. Mmmm, the chicken paramgiano I had there was so good. And filling. We came home and I opened my gifts. I got a really nice coat and new shoes too. So it was a really great birthday! I'm happy to be 27! Menace nothing!

Halloween Aftermath

So this Halloween was a success. A grand success. This weekend I went to a Halloween party that was a blast! There were so many incredible costumes. There was an ethnic Albanian costume, plenty of cowboys, devils, and angels. Let me tell you wings are so overdone. I am so tired of being poked by those stupid wings! I didn't actually know about this party until it was underway, so I didn't get to dress up. But, they did have a pool and hot tub. So half-way through we went and got our swimming trunks and soaked in the tub. That was fun.

Monday I was in Preston, ID for annual haunted garage/barn. My brother, sister-in-law, two nephews, mom, dad and I were in it. We scared 100 something kids from the neighborhood. I used my air horn from my own haunted house. It was really cool. In my haunted house I didn't get to use it myself. When you use it right, people jump two inches into the air. I was very glad the weather cooperated. Often it's already snowed in Preston or actually snowing as we scare. It can get so cold. But not this year, it was a clear night and relatively warm. I got by with just a fleece on. The foggers were a very big success too. They give such atmosphere! For whatever reason, there were less adults that went through the house. I think that adults can be more fun to scare. The best though are pre-teen and teenage girls. They scare so easily and we love to hear their screams.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Scott needs...

Okay, so I read my friend Bob's blog and I'm going to use her idea. (Okay, I asked her first.) So you go to google.com and you put your name with the word 'needs' with quotes. Like this: "Scott needs". It can be very uh... interesting. Here are mine:

Why Scott needs Mozilla I actually wonder why I need Mozilla. I'm not even sure what it is. But you can need something you don't know exists... so I guess this follows suit.

Scott needs nude models Uhhh.... don't ask me! What would I even do with them!?

Scott needs to get out more Now that is debatable!

Scott needs to step up now To what? And for what purpose?

Scott needs to back up his regrets with action Wisdom. However, right now I have no regrets. But if I were a fortune cookie, that would be my fortune.

Whatever his issues, Scott needs to get over them Are these googles fortelling something amiss in my future? Only time will tell... and google.com I guess.

Scott needs a partner Agreed!

Scott needs the practice It has been awhile since I've tickled the ivories.

Scott needs more of Mike's guitar Mike! I didn't even know you had a guitar!

Scott needs to access all seven sites I wonder what sites those are? The Seven Sites of the Devil? The Seven Sites of the Ancient World?

Haunted House

Saturday we had the ward haunted house, dance, games, party. I was in charge of the haunted house. It went really well. At first we were really afraid. As we went around the ward to recruit people to be in it, all we got were people telling us that they wouldn’t be coming to the party because they’d be out of town, or that they’d probably get the very end of it and thus they couldn’t volunteer at all. So we were afraid the haunted house wouldn’t be very good, let alone have very many people come at all. So when the party started, there weren’t very many people and we were getting nervous. I knew that no party actually starts on time… they are always an hour late. Even still we were worried. All day before the party we were buying stuff for the house. My family didn’t give me even a fourth of the stuff that I thought I would get. So I had to go buy it myself. I’m sure I spent close to $150 on it. Yeah, I had that money, but I really didn’t want to use it on that. But it had to be done. We could have used 2-3 more people helping us out but we had enough to do very well.

(More to come...)

I'm a Pirate! Arrrrrrrr!

It's true, I am a pirate. I love downloading music! A friend just referred me to a new tool in my quest for new and good music. I started out with Napster. They had quality downloads and were on the forefront of piracy. Eventually they had the crosshairs on their forehead and went down with a fight. Not long after I discovered Kazaa. Their network was extensive. You would often hear stories of how they were eluding authorities. *grin* Eventually I switched to Kazaa Lite, Kazaa's safer little brother. I have been a Kazaa-litist for many years. But only last week I was referred to LimeWire. I have been very impressed. I find the good music quickly and on the first try. There are not as many spoofers on this network. I highly recommend you try it out. I just got "Fallout Boy - Sugar We're Going Down" It's a *great* song!

Now once you start downloading music, you'll need something to play it on. I've recently changed from MusicMatch to jetAudio's player. Kyle will agree, this thing is good. And those you know my tastes in music... I love music with a beat. I also like my music danceable and a little faster. Well jetAudio's player has effects that will allow you to do that easily and seamlessly. Wow. I'm listening to Missy Elliot's "Lose Control" at 110% speed and a flange effect. Incredible.

Now those of you who would like to know more about my stance on pirated music, take the following link to an editorial article I wrote. I'd love your opinions on the matter after you've read the article.

Arrrrrr! That be nice!

Touche

In an 1860 debate between the Darwin-doubting Bishop of Oxley and Darwin protégé Thomas Huxley, the bishop asked Huxley which side of his family was descended from an ape.
Huxley famously replied, "If there were an ancestor whom I should feel shame in recalling, it would rather be a man, a man of restless and versatile intellect, who ... plunges into scientific questions with which he had no real acquaintance, only to obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of his hearers from the real point at issue by eloquent digressions and skilled appeals to religious prejudice."

Bravo.

A taste of Halloween

Here's a little taste of Halloween. The three pictures of just me are from last year. For those of you who don't know, I dress up as a dead prom date every year. Each year it gets better and better. The other picture is my friend Franzis and I. I do a lot better job with my makeup now. LOL

So on the 22nd I will be hosting my ward's haunted house. Along with it we will be having a game room, scary stories, scary movies, a Halloween dance, a costume judging contest, among other things. Now my haunted house is going to be spectacular. I've been doing these things for over a decade with my family. So these haunted houses aren't just little things with people jumping out with masks... No, this is serious stuff. And for those of you curious what this year's haunted house holds... Here's a hint: Bloody Mary and death by pencils (LOTS of pencils). Mwahahahaha. I really do LOVE scaring people and I'm very good at it. As well this month, my roomie Chris and I will be showing lots of scary movies from "Nightmare Before Christmas" to "The Ring". I will be having my annual Halloween reading as well. I really love the month of October.

Freedom of Speech... N/A

So I just read an article in which a woman on a Southwest flight to Portland, OR. She was wearing a t-shirt protesting the Bush family. Airline stewardesses asked her to cover the shirt because it was offensive. The woman did so, but later on in the flight she uncovered it again. The attendants gave her an ultimatum: Remove or cover the shirt or leave the flight. Well, the woman was booted off in Reno. Of course she did so with complaints. Well, the entire time I read this article I was thinking... "Lame, what does a t-shirt matter?" Then I read that the t-shirt was a spoof on the movie The Fockers only it had "but with one crucial vowel changed." That changed my entire perspective. I now believe that Southwest had perfect reason to deny her further passage. Their rules state that they can deny passage to anyone with offensive clothing. It's a case by case judgment. Go Southwest! Way to stand up to the Liberal Pig Woman!

Make Like a Tree...

2 October 05

This weekend was fantastic. I took Thu-Fri off of work. Thursday evening Kristen and I prepared for our camping trip to the Nebo loop. Amy happened to be over right before we were going to leave to buy our food. And I invited her to come, spur of the moment. She said she’d love to, that it was just what she needed. So she went to class and we went and bought our food and headed up. Oddly enough, certain parts of the campsite got cell reception. So we kept Kristen’s cell on top of the car in a certain location so that we’d get Amy’s call and give her directions to our location. For dinner we had barbecue chicken wrapped in foil and we made this incredible reflector oven out a cardboard box and tinfoil. You put coals in there and bake whatever it is you’re making in there for about double the time of a conventional oven. Anyway, we made brownies. And they turned out to be as good as any brownies you might make in your house. We also brought up a small thing of ice cream too. We of course had jamlet and rolls too. We had some great campfire conversation. In the morning we made sausage in tinfoil and had hot chocolate and rolls with jamlet. Mmmm, that was good! Amy had to leave for class soon after that. Kristen and I packed up the camp except for the tents and then went on a hike. We had seen some cub scouts leave their vans and head out somewhere so we decided to explore. We ended up hiking to a place called Red Lake. And let me tell you, this was the perfect time to be up there. The forest floor was blanketed with leaves. Yellow, red, gold leaves were all over. So beautiful. As always, we had wonderful conversations as we walked. We also saw about a dozen cows along the way. We didn’t bring our camelbaks on the actual hike because we didn’t think it would be that long. It wasn’t long but it did get hot during the day. I ended up having my fleece and my sweatshirt wrapped around my waist. I was worried that I’d get a dehydration headache, but it didn’t happen. Kristen and I both said that we wouldn’t mind heading back up there soon. It was an incredible trip. And the cool thing was, it’s only 30 minutes away from here. You don’t have to travel the normal 3.5 hours to get to the camping spot and then drive that all the way back and get home at 2 in the morning tired both physically and sleepy. It was sweet.

Totally 80s!

So we had an incredible 80s party this weekend! There was some Twister action, 80s foods like: Twizzlers, Combos, and Cheetos, we had an 80s trivia contest and a bubble gum blowing contest. Thinking about it now, we should have had an 80s costume contest. As you can see, we had some totally outrageous gear present!

Utah State Fair

Shout out!

Here is a shout out to Lori-Ann who reads my blog! So this weekend was an excellent one. Kyle and I took off work on Friday so that we could attend the Stake Opening Social. The social was incredible as always. I belive I told you all it entailed already. Saturday I got to go up to a party/social with my friend Mike up at Park City. Let me tell you, in Park City it is already fall. I was cold up there! Provo has started getting cold at night and the trees are red in the mountains. Did you know that trees turn the most brilliant colors when it is very hot during the day and very cold at night. The larger the difference, the better the coloring. On Sunday it was a wonderful day at church. Our Bishop and his wife gave talks. Or should I say Sister Huntington gave a talk... and all our bishop had time for was some comments. lol But good comments nonetheless. That night I went to a dinner party at my friend Jeromy's. I met some new people there and talked with some friends too. I made my mother's world famous Spanish rice. Mmmm, I have leftovers of that and I love it! Monday I got to go the Utah State Fair. Now when I was told about that I was thinking more of a rodeo. But it isn't just that... there are animals, crazy rides, tons of fried foods, and tons of fun. I will definitely want to go again. Tuesday, being today, I went to work. However, I didn't have to go in till 4:45. Normally I start at 3pm. So that was pleasant. Afterwards I went to Jeromy's, hung with my friends and we barbecued. Sadly, I had been eating grapes and Mike's incredible chip dip so I was full by the time my bratwurst was done. You know, I've never had a bratwurst before. I'm told they're like hotdogs should be. *shrug* Will I ever know?

What a wonderful four (five if you don't count the 4.5 hour interruption of work) weekend. Sweet!

Pics of the famed White House North

World Domination

This might have been the sound you heard from me last night: "Mwahahaha-huh?" Mike, Aaron, Kyle and I played Risk last night. I was black as in the Black Plague. Well, I must have been a very weak strain because I didn't hurt anyone. On my first turn I had a string of bad luck. Everything I went against beat me. I was warned to stop, but I had to keep going till I got a card. Which left me with only one country with more than one army on it. And that one only had two armies on it. I should have dealt with not getting a card and just held my own. I could have had Australia and then finished getting Africa after that. Well, hopefully I learned my lesson. Next time I will (hopefully) be a force to be reckoned with.

It's Thursday and I am wishing it was Friday. We are having our Stake Opening Social. It's at our old stake president's home. Let me tell you, this is the most incredible place. It has two large homes, a human slingshot, an indoor pool and hot tub, a tennis court, a horse pasture, a bonfire location, it's up a canyon and next to a mountain. And TONS of people come too. I took all of Friday off of work so that we could go on time. It will be a blast. (It has been every other year.)

I am also happy for tomorrow: I get paid! Yeah, for paydays!

Today

Today has been a good day thus far. Last night I stayed up till four I think talking with Mike. I was in a very good habit of going to bed at one every night. Mike's a bad influence. lol. But I enjoyed our talk. We disagree on our likes of scary things. I taught a Sunday School lesson for Amy today as well. The actual lesson was from Gospel Principles. It was only 4.5 small pages long. With some guidance I found the same lesson online through lds.org from the New Testament manual. That helped significantly. So I woke up at 10:30 to finish preparing the lesson. Fast and testimony meeting was very good as well. The lesson went very well too. I had more material than the time required. Now, there was only about a dozen people in my class... but they did well in participating and commenting. So all in all, I was proud of the results.

And a little while ago I got back from Break the Fast. So now I am nice and full. I have started the novel "Dune" today as well. And for now I am resisting the urge to take a nap. So I am writing this blog entry and listening to some classical music. I'd write the name of the song I'm listening to, but it's just too long. Why couldn't classical composers name their music. Maybe something like "Frolic in the Forest" instead of "Concerto of Violins in A Major With a Side of Simple Fugues and a Glass of Fortisimo" Ugh. My roommate says that Bach was all mathematical so all of his titles reflect that. I hate math.

SobekPundit's Elegy to New Orleans

My friend and first roommate has created a photo tribute to New Orleans. Check it out here.

Can I say 'Wow!'

First of all, my good friend Joe gave a link to an interesting site. It's called reddit. Basically it's a fully democratic news site. Meaning the readers are the ones who determine what news stories are presented. These news articles come from all sorts of networks like CNN, BBS, etc. I highly recommend it if you'd like to stay on top of breaking news in many topics. So there's my plug.

Now to the heart of my post. I was just on reddit and checked out an article from the Sunday Times. Now this is breaking medicial/scientific news. A certain strain of laboratory mice have been discovered to have regenerative properties. The strain, known as MRL have regenerated amputated toes, tail and ears or damaged organs, such as the heart. And as the scientist said "[We] just watched them regrow." For those of you wondering about the science of this miracle here it is:

“We have found that the MRL mouse seems to have a higher rate of cell division,” she said. “Its cells live and die faster and get replaced faster. That seems to be linked to the ability to regenerate.”

Professor Ellen Heber-Katz has also said that humans almost certainly have comparable genes.

Wow.

At work

I'm writing this from work right now. And for those that know me, that is odd. BRG does not allow us to get online normally. However, our project has not yet come in. So we're sitting here waiting for it to come. I just heard that we're not supposed to be clocked in (meaning not being paid) but I had already clocked in before that. lol.

I was also just reading about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. It seems that most of New Orleans is under water. All refugee centers have been ordered to evacuate. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and are suffering. It makes me wonder if I am prepared for a natural disaster. Here in Utah, there's always the lingering fear of the "Big One" meaning an earthquake. Here at BYU there is enough food for (I believe) three days for every student. That's 30,000 students. After that..

Whoops, gotta go.

To liven up the debate some.

A little earlier I had a short discussion about "Intelligent Design" being taught in our schools. Just to clarify, I believe in God and that he created all things. However, I don't think that we should teach that as fact. There are no facts to prove or disprove the existance of God. Then on a purely logistical sense, whose Creationism would we teach? Baptist, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu? I don't think it is possible to teach Creationism without a certain religious skew. Afterall, not all creation stories are even based on the Bible. If these things are to be taught, it should be in it's own class.

What a Dilemma.

Amen! "Intelligent Design" is not science. It should not be masqueraded as such. I personally believe that God created and organized all that is. But that is my religion not my science. If parents want intelligent design taught in their schools, then perhaps they should create a Religions of the World or Religious Theories class. There is certainly a place for creationism to be taught. But it is not in any science class.

Let's get you updated.

So I just got an e-mail from my good friend Lori-Ann. She had recently moved from here in Provo back home to Merced, California. She is doing well and already has a job. I'm envious. I want to be graduated and have a good job. She did an interesting thing with her e-mail. She gave different sections headings like: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Bureaucratic. And then wrote paragraphs under each. That is a *really* good idea. Perhaps I will use that from time to time on this blog. Thanks Lori-Ann! And good to hear from you!

And I think I'm going to start making my blog even more creative. If you've noticed I have a "Things I Am Doing" list on the right. It comes from a site called 43things.com It allows you to list things -both long and short term- that you'd like to do. In tandem with that site there is a 43places.com site where you (apparently) list places you've visited or would like to visit. And I think I'm going to add another list: My Top Ten Music List. I'll have to use all my vast html skills (HAHAHAH) to make it happen. Basically that means I'll be copying and pasting some html from elsewhere on the site.

Tonight we had our first games night in quite some time. We played Tibbits, Mafia, and Signs. It was quite fun and we had many new people and some old favorites. I was Mafia once... but they found and killed me quickly. Dang. I'm usually much better at that. Well, hopefully I'll get more practice.

For us bloggers

Here's a chuckle

What a long day...

I went to my grandma's funeral today. It was sad, yes. But in a way it was happy too. My grandma was 81 years old and had been paralyzed over half her body for 33 years. That is a long time. But it was a full and worthwhile life. She did so many things even with the paralyzation. I guess the most moving part of the funeral was when each of her six children got up and gave memories they had of their mother. My mom's talk especially touched me. Missing my grandma wasn't the hard part. It was feeling how much my mother and her siblings missed their mother and wondering what that would be like. Sad. On the bright side, she is no longer paralyzed. She can run and jump and dance. (I did not know this till today, but she used to love to dance.) As well, the food was very good too. :)

It was an emotionally draining day. Besides that I got up early too. So here I am, it's 12:21 am and I really should go to bed. But I'm going to go play SkipBo. Woot.

I did just win at Cities and Knights too. I really like the game. You can still win even if you're trapped. The game has so many ways to undermine other people and still build yourself. How I love that game. What a great investment.

Origins

Ah... the origin of the BigRedHammer. I remember when... *wavy lines appear* It was July of 2004. Turbulent times were afoot in America. Our presidential candidates were at each others' throats. And a young (one year younger anyway) Scott got it into his mind to start his own blog. Now he already had two internet/life nicknames. But he didn't feel that either were appropriate for his blog persona. So a brief brainstorm ensued. Scott looked around the room for ideas. His eyes rested upon the game, "Killing Doctor Lucky". There is a card in that game, "The Big Red Hammer" which is Scott's favorite card in the game. And then it hit him like a... well, a big red hammer. That should be his name! So, contrary to popular belief, the BigRedHammer was not named for covert communist missions or politics, but rather for a card in an immensely fun game. I also find it odd that the BigRedHammer lives in the WhiteHouse. Very odd.

Toyota jump!

It is official. We are moved into White House North. And let me tell you, life is good. I still don't have a digital camera, so I can't show you the house room by room. But it so very clean and nice. Beautiful white walls, clean carpet, new furniture, new bunk beds, and tons of space! Yesterday I bought a wireless router and network card so we're online too. *happy sigh* I missed you dear internet. Come see our house. You'll be impressed.

On another note, I am volunteering at BYU Education Week this week. Today was the first day. I am hosting at the Smith Field House for youth classes. I spend most of my time directing the youth the right way and checking for name badges and proper clothing. It's not bad. But I'm standing nearly the whole time. Oh it felt good today when I finally sat down. I met my mom and and aunt for the traditional "meal on mom". I went to some good classes as well. I really love BYU Ed Week. I learn so much and the Spirit is excellent.

That is all. Goodnight.

**Attention**

BigRedHammer is popular. Here are the real-time results:

Yahoo lists 12 instances and 81 actual of my perennial name.

Google lists 17 instances and 156 actual of the incredible BigRedHammer.

I've looked through the links and well, Google wins for quantity and Yahoo wins for quality. All but one link on the Yahoo search actually point to me!

I just checked both search engines' picture finding ability. Google comes up with my trademark Big Red Hammer on a green and white field icon and my favorite posted pic, that of Kerry pretending to be a fighter. (As a reminder, my 7 year old nephew could beat him up.) Yahoo is slightly more disappointing.

More on the BigRedHammer later.

Tomorrow...

... is the day we move in. And what a busy day it is too. Check out/in is at noon. And I found out yesterday that orientation for hosting BYU Education week is tomorrow from 10-12. So this morning I really should be packing up some of my stuff in preparation. But thinking about it now, it won't be as hard as moving in was. I only have to make sure that everything in my bedroom is gone. The other stuff I can keep where it is and then move it when we're allowed in the apartment. Phew.

Daniel has decided not to move back into the ward. He will be missed. He was an excellent roommate and I'm glad I chose him all that time ago. I am still hoping that he is able to have his Japan experience. That would be so incredible.

My current (and future) roommate Chris is very excited to move in with us. Just like I have, he has been making plans in his head of how he'd like things. I think we'll get along very well. Kyle has decided to stay in the small room with our new roommate John. I wouldn't have done that, but oh well. I peered into my bedroom yesterday. It looks finished. I have to say it looks very very nice. Everything is painted, the new carpet is laid, we have new furniture. Interestingly, one piece of new furniture is a bunkbed. Now, you may not know, but my bedroom is very large. Having our beds bunked leaves TONS of space. I think I'll prefer having them unbunked but we'll see. Maybe I'll love the new space. I will also need to go to Home Depot or something and buy some of those sticky wall mounts. Yeah, no nail holes in these walls. Ugh. All that's left in our apartment to complete is our bathroom and kitchen. I'm hoping when I go over there today both of those will be finished.

This is exciting. Our place was large and ghetto. And now it may just be large. I need to buy a digital camera (for many reasons besides) and take some pictures of the new place. Then your jaw can drop like I know mine will.

The only surprise left now is our new roommate John. I hope that if he *is* an overflow from WHM that he will still be a good roommate for us. I want a real roommate not just someone who sleeps in the same apartment. We'll see.

Wish me luck!

Three more days!

Yes, it is only three more days until I can move back into White House North. I'm excited, my "mini-vacation" in Fort Apache is soon coming to an end. We will be able to move back into WHN on Saturday. They still have a lot to do from what I can tell. Thus far they've put in new outlets and light switches. There's now actually a switch to the livingroom at each doorway! I can't count how many times I've rubbed the wall looking for a non-existant switch. They've also painted. And I'm glad... it's actually white, not cream of olive like the Red Brick apartments. Unfortunately we'll have an electric stove (flat top). I've really learned to love gas stoves. I don't think we'll get all the improvements that they said. "Pipe dreams" no doubt. Which means the apartment won't be wired for internet, get vinyl windows, a new tub, etc. Ah well, some remodeling is better than none.

In other news, I really love Seafarers of Catan. I won our game tonight. And let me tell you I dominated. "I'm a winner!"

All the Rage

Apparently making self quizzes are all the rage. Around a half dozen friends of mine have created their own self quizzes. And even more than that have taken my test. Congrats to Sobek for getting the highest score (without the use of quiz enhancing drugs). He got a whopping 8 out of 10 questions correct. Bravo!

In other news, the movie "The Island" rocks! If you hang around me at all, you'll know that I like the movie a lot. It achieves my rating of "Best Summer Film" beating out War of the Worlds. It is full of action, chase scenes, sci-fi thought, and some discussable issues. I've already seen it twice and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Go see it!

And a quick White House North update: The pace has not changed at all. Perhaps once a week we see one person working in our apartment. On our way to work we saw our manager loading the soda machine. My roommate Kyle asked if we'll be able to move in on time. He kind of nodded and said he thought so. Move in date is the 13th. Now for those of you have not seen the current state of the apartment, it is no where near ready. (I need a digital cam.) They need to paint the walls, install the carpet and linoleum, gut the bathroom and replace all of the fixtures and counters, wire the house for internet, and replace all of our windows. None of that has happened. Basically the house is gutted. That's it.

*sigh* I want my White House North back.

How well do you know me? Hmmmm....

How well do you know me? Take my Quiz! and then Check out the Scoreboard!

Happy Anniversary!

I just realized that 24 July was the one year anniversary for my blog! Happy Anniversary BigRedHammer!

Celebrate your freedom...

By blowing up a small piece of it. So I just got back from Spanish Fork where I saw an excellent fireworks display. I spent the time with my friends there. There were a lot of people there and a lot of glow sticks too. Now on the Fourth, I was at Thanksgiving Point for the fireworks display. I was very disappointed. But Spanish Fork's display was about 8x better. You know, I need to get a digital camera so I can accentuate my blog with pics from the events I write about. That would be cool. In other news, I bought RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Hitch, and the new Gwen Stefani CD. RCT3 is disappointing (or my video card is), Hitch is an awesome movie, and the Gwen CD is absolutely superb! So life is good. How's your life?

Me, me me

Ouch, sunburn can hurt. Mondays can hurt. And itchy bug bites can hurt. Woot and double woot. Today is Tuesday. But it is Kyle's and my Monday (first workday of the week). We only went in at 5 (instead of 3). But I'm on a Toys R Us survey. It's 18-22 minutes long and well... it's just not enjoyable. It's very repetitive and people get bored of it. I'm a pretty good surveyer too. I once got a woman thru a 45 minute survey... that due to her constant yammering lasted 80 minutes! I get compliments on my voice too. But all this does not change the fact that I would rather not work there. I need a car, a new job, and well... more money. lol Okay, I'd settle for the car.

"These words..."

"Are my own." I just found a new song. It is so catchy. I'm listening to it again and again. But those who know me, know that that is very common. The music video is good. Kinda original, kinda fun. And on the recommendation of my roommate Kyle, I just watched the music video for "Cool" by Gwen Stefani. It is also a great video. I'm a big fan of Gwen. I'm very excited/happy to find out that she will be in concert in SLC at the Ecenter in October. She will be performing alongside Black Eyed Peas. I am definitely going to be at that concert. I just gotta remember as it gets closer to buy my ticket. You know, I've actually only ever been to one concert before: U2 and No Doubt. It was superb. Both bands put on a good show.

"These words are my own / From my heart flow"

Ring Worthy? I think not!

Before you jump to conclusions... I refer to "The Ring" not wedding bands. lol. Last night my friend Robert and I saw "Dark Water". When I saw that it was from the writer of the Ring I had high hopes. And not that those hopes were dashed as much as slowly placed in a small box and then smashed. It's a good movie, but it doesn't instill near the fear that I had hoped. Look forward to a happy ending with a melancholy flavor. Not the horror and creepy feeling that the Ring excelled in. Perhaps renting this movie would be the best. I will give it a... 7 on the Fear Scale.

In other news, my back is still as red as well... burned skin. I expect it will be a beautiful tan in another day or two. I toasted my front a little today too. I love having a wonderful pre-cancerous glow. (As long as it stays 'pre'.)

Life continues in our little attic. Kyle and I looked at our old house (the one being remodeled). And not to our surprise, nothing has happened. They have a month left to finish... I hope, hope, hope, that they get it done in time!

Back Again?

She did it. Where others have failed, my friend Mightybob succeeded. Reading her blog has made me want to start up the Bigredhammer machinery. We'll see what direction it is headed.

So today was my first time to teach the Elders' Quorum lesson. I had been assigned lesson 13. Unbeknownst to me, I had chosen the wrong book to look in to prepare my lesson. I prepared it on Obtaining Financial Security. Then during Sunday School I was informed of my mistake. So I had forty minutes to prepare a new lesson. Luckily the new topic was much easier than the first. Everyone has commentary and stories on temples. So my lesson went very well. I had lots of people raising their hands and I had more than enough material. That's about as last minute as you get. I hope to never repeat that.

In other news, I have the day off tomorrow. Yeah! Actually I have every Monday off. I have two things to do: Sleep in and go shopping. I've informed my roommate that he is not to turn on his music until I'm awake. The cell phone is going on silent too.

Wow. That was one action-packed blog entry. Watch for more excitement to come!

The Grudge

Yes, I went and saw the Grudge yesterday afternoon. It was thrillingly scary. What does that mean you ask? Have you seen The Ring? I give the Ring a ten in scariness. The Grudge was a close nine. Yes, that scary. It would have scored higher but the movie takes place in Japan and only in a certain house. The Ring is in the US and could happen anywhere. It's much more personal. I definitely recommend this movie if you would like to be scared OR if you want your female friends to be grabbing at your arms in fear. My friend Joe suggests going to the gym before hand.

For those of you who have already seen the movie: There's a little boy standing behind you.

Mwahahaha!

Catholocism and Orthodoxy

The Catholic Pope is returning two relics of saints to the Orthodox church in Istanbul after 800 years of ownership. It's seen as a sign of goodwill between the two churches. It also seems that they may begin theological talks once again. I like to see the various Christian churches working together to make the world better. We may all have theological differences but that shouldn't get in the way of Chrisitian service.

That said, I don't see why the Catholic and Orthodox churches would begin theological negotiation. Let's look at it logically. The Catholic church believes it is the true church descended from the church began by Christ and the apostles. They claim that their authority has been unbroken over the 2,000 years. The Orthodox church broke off for many reasons, but foremost being the strength of the Pope. I don't know if the doctrinal changes between the churches occurred then or later, but they exist now. Basically if any side concedes to change, that shows that it is incorrect. I don't think either side is really ready to change their doctrine. And then logistically, let's say the Orthodox church merges with the Catholic. Would all Orthodox members agree? Would all Orthodox members automatically be Catholic? And you know for sure there would more schisms because of the changes. Lastly, the Orthodox church is poor. I can't see the wealthy Catholic church taking on such a liability.

My opinions are mostly one-sided. I lived in Romania for two years. They are predominantly Romanian Orthodox. And I only know one Catholic.

Posting up!

Get yer dukes up! My nine-year-old nephew could beat him. LOL

If that doesn't get you laughing, try the following:

Strong Bad strikes again.
And for more fun and humor check out William Shatner's new CD.

*Uppercut!*

That is, uppercut to the RIAA or Recording Industry Association of America. I just read on Instapundit's blog about this:

The Supreme Court handed Internet services providers and privacy advocates a crucial victory yesterday when it decided to pass on an important Internet piracy case. . . .
"The recording industry may not agree, but the U.S. Supreme Court thinks personal privacy is far more important that music piracy," Red Herring reported. "On Tuesday, the high court refused to entertain an appeal of a unanimous 2003 decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that held that copyright holders cannot force Internet providers to identify file sharers using a mere subpoena. Industry watchers see this as yet another blow that the recording industry has taken in its fight against online file sharing -- a fight it is slowly losing. The lawsuits in question were between New York's Verizon Internet Services and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), headquartered in Washington, D.C."

Yes that's right. Personal privacy is more important than music piracy. Blow after blow the music industry will be forced out their 'evil lawyer' cave.

A smart idea.

I just read an article about the European Union threatening to put sanctions on Israel until they resolve their conflict. Much like the Europe did to South Africa until apartheid was eliminated. I was just thinking, why doesn't the United States place sanctions on Israel. Effectively, we could place a 'famine' on Israel until they comply. With the EU and US putting up a blockade, it could seriously harm Israel. I told my roommate this and thought that Israel would be even more stubborn than Cuba in the face of sanctions. I think I'd have to agree with him. But I still think it would be a serious push for peace in Israel.

Star Trek vs. Kerry and Bush

And the winner is... Star Trek! Yes, the Star Trek: Enterprise season premier is tonight. And it is on during the second Presidential debate. Yes, Enterprise isn't the best Trek series and it can be disappointing at times... But the debate will only be more so. Perhaps I'll catch the third one. I'll read the articles on it afterwards. If anyone does watch it and would like to give their comments, please feel free.

"Beam me up!"

An Abortion Surprise!

Okay, so that title is not very appealing. But I just read an article that clinched the already sure vote of mine for Bush. Apparently five of nine Supreme Court judges support current abortion rights. But if Bush is re-elected he will be able to appoint a new judge. This could upset the balance and allow the Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973 to be overturned. Exciting! The article goes on to say that twenty-one states are at high risk for banning abortion, nine in middle risk, and twenty at lower risk. This surprised me. All 50 states are at risk for banning abortion. I had no idea that most of the nation's legislation actually want abortion banned.

This news definitely clinches my vote for Bush.

Shoplifting

Apparently the pick for the CIA's third highest position has withdrawn from the nomination because he was caught shoplifting twenty-three years ago. With the full background check, Michael Kostiw was cleared to be a CIA employee and see high class information. The article I read made it seem as if it was the Washington Post that did its homework and brought that up. I could have misread it. If that is the case I don't think that Mr. Kostiw should remove himself from the running. The fact that he passed the CIA's own requirements is enough for me.

That brings me to my question. Should government officials resign for any infraction in their past? I've been taught that the personal lives of government leaders should not be separated from their careers. I agree with that. But where should we draw the line? Should all officials be above reproach and never have made a mistake? Men and women are able to change themselves and leave behind past mistakes. I only wonder where the line should be drawn.

True to Its Name

Iconoclast:
1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions.
2. One who destroys sacred religious images.

The Lonestar Iconoclast claims itself as President Bush's homestar paper. And true to it's name, it is seeking to overthrow tradtional or popular ideas by now endorsing Kerry. Now I will admit, everything I know about Texas I learned from Fox's "King of the Hill". But apparently life in some parts of Texas is close to that of Arlen in "King". Check it out.

Apparently the Iconoclast only has 425 readers. And that is in a serious decline now. Once endorsing Kerry, the paper lost many of its advertisers. I'm left wondering if the paper was in a decline before declaring Kerry their candidate. Seems this could be a good way to get under people's skin. Any publicity is good publicity.

I won't be looking to the Iconoclast for political knowledge. But it is a portal into small town Texas. I wonder if I might see Hank Hill featured in an article.

Fun in two easy steps.

Would you like to have some fun? Here is my two step process:

1. Read any one of my blog entries below. I might suggest "Serious Wisdom..." or "The Debate" For extra credit actually write a reply to one of them. (I love when people do that.)
2. Follow the link I am about to share. Remember, until you do the first step, don't do the second. This is important. Link.

Come back after you're done. Comment.

Gay marriage in Spain

Shocking fact: 1 in 10 Spaniards is gay. Literally. Spain has now passed a bill that will allow homosexuals to marry. It is the third in the European Union. Of course the Roman Catholic Church (which has a lot of power in Spain) opposes the move. "'It would impose on society a virus, something false, which will have negative consequences for social life,' Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, spokesman for Spain's Episcopal Conference, insisted in midweek."

At the heart of this conflict is the new ability of gay couples to adopt. Some 60% of Spaniards favor gay marriage, but only around 40% favor adoption by gay couples. A 20% difference is a big thing. I would guess that most people (including myself) oppose it, not because the child wouldn't have good parents -gay parents can be as good as heterosexual parents- but because the child would think that homosexuality is normal and natural. It's fine to have adults make those choices but children shouldn't have that choice forced upon them. One Spanish gay activist said, "Most Spanish people think what is important in adoption is the well-being of the child quite apart from the sexual orientation of the parents." That is true only when you believe that sexual orientation doesn't matter.

But in closing, a whole TEN percent of Spain is gay!! I will be more wary if/when I should meet any Spanish.

The Debate

Yep, I watched the Presidential debate tonight. No I didn't watch it all the way through. I watched forty-five minutes of it. (Did it go an hour or two?) I'm sad to say that I didn't learn an awful lot from it. No I'll rephrase that. I didn't learn as much as I had hoped I would. But here is the basic rundown of the debate:
Kerry believes that the war in Iraq is not a just cause and should not have been started. He does however believe in getting our troops home as soon as possible and in giving them the supplies they need. (Ironic.)
Bush believes that invading Iraq was a good choice. He believes America needs to have a strong, unwavering stance against terrorism and to root it out wherever it may be.

Now here is what I learned. Kerry focuses on the past. He kept on reiterating that we should have entered Iraq. He didn't focus on the now. And that is that we are in Iraq... saying again and again that we shouldn't be there won't change that we are. He also stated that by voting against giving our troops the needed money for supplies he was in actuality voting against invading Iraq. That seems a little convoluted.

Bush is committed to this war on terrorism. He believes that removing Saddam Hussein has made the world a better place. He doesn't like sending troops into harms way, but there are causes that justify the loss. It seems that Bush does not want to rely on foreign intervention or help to achieve the goals he has set out. He will go to them the first time, but after that he will take matters into his own hands.

I could go on and on about their motives and details I saw in the debate, but I'll say a little bit about how they spoke in the debate. Kerry is a polished speaker. Bush was a little slower and not as smooth. But Kerry is a senator and I think that oration and speech giving comes with the territory. But it seemed that Kerry's words were made to tug on heart strings and persuade the audience to his side. Bush seemed to be more sincere. Time will tell if he is right or wrong. But you can tell by the way he speaks that believes he is right.

What are you thoughts on the debate?