My Ma's cool photo. . .

My mom has an awesome photo blog. If you haven't, you should totally check it out. Anyway, she recently posted a photo near and dear to this blog's heart so we had to share. . .

My DVD classic list. . .

Here is my list of DVD classics. . .

1. The Emperor's Club
2. Dead Poet Society
3. The Man Without A Face
4. Mona Lisa Smile
5. October Sky
6. Finding Forester
7. Front of the Class
8. Akeelah and the Bee
9. Amazing Grace
10. King Arthur (2004)
11. The Last Samurai
12. The Secret
13. What the Bleep Do We Know
14. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
15. Mansfield Park
16. Little Women
17. Anne of Green Gables
18. Anne of Avon Lea
19. Sound of Music
20. Rudy
21. Chariots of Fire
22. Braveheart
23. Remember the Titans
24. The Karate Kid
25. Good Will Hunting
26. Princess Bride
27. V for Vendetta
28. Edward Scissor Hands
29. Gladiator
30. Glory
31. Seabiscuit
32. Dances with Wolves
33. Fiddler on the Roof
34. Count of Monte Cristo

There is my current list. Let me know if you think I have missed any. . .

Love it, Hate it . . .

I love Google. And all things Google. One of those applications is Google Reader. My sister had promoted the service for a long time and I didn't bother (old dog, new tricks) but I finally tried it and I love it.

It is really great for a bunch of blogs on publishing and writing I follow but never comment on.

It is not so good for my family or friend blogs that I do want to comment on. I will still usually read them in the Google Reader but then if I want to make a comment I have to stop, go to their blog and make my remark. . .

Google Reader please find a way to comment from thy application!

A favorite from a classic. . .

One of the best movies ever made is The Court Jester starring Danny Kaye. Here is a great lullaby from that movie. . .

Life is lovely. . .

Had Pookah and all the children yesterday. We had a lot of fun together. . . loved it!

A favorite of mine . . .

I have grown up with this picture over my mantle.

Honestly, I mostly took it for granted and ignored it. Certainly I studied it once or twice but never really made an effort to consider it, understand the story behind it. I did learn early on it was George Washington but where and why he was praying was not even a question.

Later, at GWU, I learned about the man and the circumstances that inspired the painting. Then later I had the opportunity to see the original - that did it - I absolutely love the painting.

If you have not seen the original, the first thing you need to know it is huge, almost life size. That is incredible considering the detail. Oh! and the detail! I kid you not . . . it is like 3D! The framed copy just doesn't capture it. It feels like you are in the woods with General Washington. Its almost like you are a soldier out to gather wood for a fire and accidentally stumble across your commander in prayer.

Seriously cool! It now hangs in my home. . .

For the joy. . .

Enjoy!

Don't forget to sing and dance. . .everyday!

A little pick me up. . .

This is something I watch almost every morning. It helps me remember to be grateful to God for all his abundance, and enjoy the experience of awe and wonder.

PS Big thanks to the folks at The Secret who make this available.

Immortal

I could totally go for being an immortal. 

I have never understood those who look forward to their demise. Sure I would miss friends and family who had passed away but I would always remember them.

I think of all the good I could do, all the things I could learn, and all the experiences I could have. Just being a witness to history as it unfolds would be an amazing experience.

Here a short list of what I would do with my immortality. . . 

. . . the good I could do . . .

I would become the ultimate businessman and put my vast wealth into charities, foundations, endowments, and projects. Some of my pet projects I would payroll would be . . . 

• I would love to fund a World Wide Water project. Bringing clean water to impoverished communities world wide. I believe this can be done affordably and effectively by creating a tuition grant program for engineering students.
• Global vaccination program to eradicate polio and other preventable diseases
• I would plug millions in the LDS Perpetual Education Fund
• The US alone produces enough food to feed the world. The biggest issue in making food available to every mouth is transportation. I would love to solve the transportation issues which could eradicate hunger
• Fund GWU, the building and expansion of its campus, and the building of satellite campuses globally

. . . the things I could learn  . . .

• I would learn to read, write, and speak every language in the world by living in each and every country for at least seven years. That should also give me a great understanding of the culture as well
• I would learn a ton of musical instruments
• I would continually study with the greatest minds in all the sciences and intellectual disciplines
• I would learn the arts - painting, sculpture, etc

. . . the experiences I could have . . .

• I would climb all the mountains
• I would scuba dive all the cool spot and then find new ones
• I would teach at a ton of schools
• I would visit all the sacred sites in various countries
• Tour de World at least a dozen times

So would you be immortal? What would you do in the time you had?

Wishing for a little sunshine on this bleak day . . .

A leaf carried on musical currents . . .

A while ago I was driving a group of friends to lunch. I was going to play some tunes from my MP3 player when I realized all my music was rather mellow and did not suit the party atmosphere. Now I like all kinds of music and I can certainly enjoy some night-at-the-roxeberry techno jamming and other fun stuff, but my playlists are loaded with mellow stuff. 

I like cerebral, melodic music. My playlist comprise of artists like Jewel, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, Colbe Caillat, and Jimmy Buffet.

I don't think it makes me a wuss but . . . if music be the food of love, play on!

A few of my favorite things. . .

This is just a list of creature comforts I like . . . some I have, some I will have. Were I singing in an Austrian musical, I would probably look like a woos . . . oh well, here are a few of my favorite things.

• Warm water running over my hands
• Fireplaces with toasty fires in them
• Snappy watches, wrist and pocket
• Quite Gardens
• Wide brim hats (Indy style)
• Calf leather gloves
• Fancy and smooth pens
• Hot chocolate with hazelnut creamer
• New suit and everything that goes with it
• Convertible (especially in Autumn)
• My trench coat
• Thick pull-over hoodie
• New thick, nice socks
• Bare feet in soft grass
• Peeing in the great outdoors (guys, you know what I'm talking about)
• Nap under a tree on a cool sunny day
• Sunrise on a cabin balcony

Now, it's your turn. What are some of your creature comforts?

Feeling a litte foggy. . .

Yet another foggy day in London. . .er, I mean Salt Lake City. It has been really foggy in the Salt Lake Valley for the past two days.

As you can see, you lose visibility after about a hundred yards and less in some places.

I think fog is emotionally stirring. Serene, nostalgic. . .mysterious. . . "Retard the Sun with gentle mist" as RF would say. I have never been gloomy due to fog, quite the opposite actually. I have impulses to write, to get a fireplace roaring, grab hot coco, read a book, stuff like that. I might feel differently if it were foggy all the time but as is, I thoroughly enjoy being foggy.

A man's best friend. . .

Here are some breeds I might think of owning when I am in a better phase of life to love and care for one. . .

A Black Lab or Black Lab mix - Had one come into my life named Tracie and would love another one just like her.

A Whippet - I took one of those online breed matching tests, after all the questions (it was seriousely long. . .) the number one suggestion was. . .

A third option would be a Boxer. This was also a suggestion by the breed matching test.

Turning over a new leaf. . .

Hello All,

I hope you like the new blog and the new look.

I think this blog very accurately and sublimely frames where I am at in life right now. The inspiration for the theme of this blog was inspired by Bambi: A life in the Woods by Felix Salten, particularly chapter eight. In this chapter two oak leaves are having a dialogue, reflecting on change and life. While my faith may answer some of the challenging questions raised by our oak leaves, I feel a little like a leaf. The leaves have more questions than answers, the gravity of their inquiries is sobering, they have experienced change and its dramatic impact on their life and wonder at what is ahead. They are the reflections of a falling leaf. . .

Two leaves clung to its very tip.
"It isn’t the way it used to be," said one leaf to the other.
"No" the other leaf answered. "So many of us have fallen off tonight we’re almost the only ones left on our branch."
"You never know who’s going to be next," said the first leaf. "Even when it was warm and the sun shone, a storm or a cloudburst would come sometimes, and many leaves were torn off, though they were still young. You never know who’s going to be next."
"The sun seldom shines now," sighed the second leaf, "and when it does it gives no warmth."
"Can it be true," said the first leaf, "Can it be true, that others come to take our places when we’re gone and after them still others, and more and more?"
"It is really true," whispered the second leaf. "We can’t even begin to imagine it, it’s beyond our powers."
"It makes me sad," added the first leaf.
They were silent for a while. Then the first leaf said quietly to herself, "Why must we fall?…"
The second leaf asked, "What happens to us when we have fallen?"
"We sink down…"
"What is under us?"
The first leaf answered, "I don’t know, some say one thing, some another, but nobody knows."
The second leaf asked, "Do you think we will feel anything, do we know anything about ourselves when we are ‘down there’?"

The first leaf answered, "who knows? No one has ever come back to tell us about it."

They were both silent. Hours passed.
A moist wind blew. Cold and strong through the treetops.
"Ah, now" said the second leaf, "I…" Then her voice broke off. She was torn from her place and she spun down.

Winter had come.

Thanks for joining me on the journey.