There is nothing quite so narcissistic as making a mix CD - DZ

As I’ve gotten older I find myself leaning more and more to the left when it comes to most things political. It is an odd position to be in considering how utterly conservative I’ve been in the past. I look forward to the yearly ritual of reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Heck, I was listening to Rush Limbaugh when I was in eighth grade. I discovered him all by my lonesome while messing around with an AM radio one summer morning. And I still like him. I think that he, above all others, articulates the layman’s conservative philosophy best. I enjoy Michael Savage and G. Gordon Liddy’s shows for their grittiness and wit. Incidentally, I like Al Franken for the same reason. Sean Hannity showed his true colors when he visited my alma mater a few years back and doesn’t get a second of my listening time.
Alas, I have spent too many hours these long years studying history and I have slowly turned away from conservative philosophy. I haven’t turned my back on it, but there are things I shall never believe in again.
So, there it is. Shocked? Will you never read this little blog again? Are some of you gearing up to disown me? I didn’t think so.
I am not a true liberal by any definition. I won’t vote strictly along party lines. I must confess that this state, from the original theocracy to the current Republican monopoly, has had lousy government. I chalk that up to a political party that has never had any real challenge and therefore no real accountability. So in Utah, I vote anything but Republican. Some say I am a sinner.
The problem is that there are only two real options on the ballot and I don’t totally agree with either. I hate gun control, I love the environment and think we have a responsibility to it, I detest corporate welfare and think it is the end of the free market, I like small business, I think that copyright law is outdated and the RIAA is a sanctioned mafia, I am weary of middle class shrinkage, I think that eminent domain and the recent supreme court travesty is horrid, I could care less about the supposed "character" of our leaders (history backs me up on this one), I think the National Guard and the Reserves are depended upon far too much to enforce INTERNATIONAL policy, I like Ted Nugent and Megadeth and Rage Against the Machine, I think that Dick Cheney should be allowed to speak at the BYU and that people have a right to protest his politics, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., and finally etc.
I will vote as an individual because I am an individual.

So, Richard Dutcher is leaving. I can’t say I am wholly surprised. Art and Mormon culture seem almost incompatible. I wish him well. I have loved every movie he’s made. I especially think that States of Grace was packed full of meaning. In fact, it was one of the better movies of the year.
He really is the Godfather of the Mormon film genre. I found his movies to be a breath of fresh air in a culture that has gone stale. I await Fallen and think that he is alone in uncharted territory with the subject matter of the movie.
In the meantime, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we all just do our best to be Christian and not make any misguided or zealous judgement calls. Why don’t we smile and genuinely mean it when we happen upon circumstances like these or when dealing with someone not of our faith or who has left our faith. You know, live by example. We should pay attention to the old adage that we should never miss an opportunity to keep our mouths shut. There are far too many cowards who share the Mormon religion and have a lot of nasty, mean things to say about Dutcher. They seem to be overly concerned with being good Mormons and end up being lousy Christians (thanks DZ!).

As Mormons we can be better.

Be nice, be happy, love much.

.......it is better to tell an R-rated truth than a G-rated lie.
Richard Dutcher

Now that I am not eating, breathing, and crapping school. I’ve tried to reignite some old hobbies. The first which is playing the guitar. I’ve got a cool looking strat knockoff that my Pop built me many moons ago. I just love this thing. He built it with just a humbucker and a volume knob. I think he did this because of my love of Edward Van Halen’s famed brown tone and the single humbucker, one volume pot Frankenstrat that he played. He even strung it with the same guage strings that Van Halen used. It has been an awesome axe.
As far as tone, the guitar has the twang that is heard by most strats (I can hear all of the Les Paul players snicker). However, I am from the early 90's, late 80's school of playing and I like a sound that has a lot of treble and bass, with just a little mids. So, a Strat style sound through a Mesa Boogie style rectifier is right up my alley. Besides, with amp modeling technology these days, I can achieve the tone of my deepest desires with almost any axe.
The old girl needs a little fixing. When I am strumming or picking, if I strike the volume knob the guitar will go silent until I smack the volume knob again. Also, sometimes when I flex the tremolo, I’ll hit the volume knob causing the same problem. I think I am going to replace and move the volume pot. At the very least, I’ll be replacing it. I also really, really need to give her a bath. I may or may not install a Floyd Rose tremolo system on this. I swore those off a long time ago, but I just love their capabilities too much to give up on them. Mark my words, one day one of my electric axes will have a Floyd Rose or the like.
Sorry, no pictures yet, my digital camera has been a blessing, but at the same time, it is a finicky old dog.
Incidentally, you can buy a copy of Van Halen’s original axe from Fender, its only $25,000!!

Sorry to hear of Kurt Vonnegut's passing. He couldn't have lived long enough or cranked out enough writing to satisfy me.

I cannot convey the real sadness I felt upon learning of Jeff Cooper’s death. Every month I awaited Cooper’s Commentaries. I even used his writing as a tool to help me with my schooling. I would read a little Cooper before writing a paper. I loved how he referred to himself as "we." It was so aristocratic, but not snobbish for the sake of snobbery. How I would hope that a little of his wonderful prose would rub off.

Cooper was a harvester of excellence. I found his words inspiring. He was so much more than the father of modern pistol fighting. His writing hearkened me back to a time of simple chivalry and order that probably never existed on a huge scale, but ought to have. Cooper also was a philosopher of the highest caliber. Anyone who read his work for any period of time could see that the point was rarely about guns.

Fair winds and following seas Marine.

If you'd like to read some of Jeff Cooper's works they can be found here:

http://dvc.org.uk/jeff/

I spent the weekend with Beach Grandpa building bunk beds for my stinkers. I am so grateful for the ability to build and fix things with my own hands. There is something holy about making or repairing things.
The bunk beds turned out very nice, in fact, they were nicer than I expected. The wood looks and smells good. They are sturdy enough for my wife and I to sleep on the top bunk. They are miles ahead of the crap-mart press board bunk beds which are selling for around 200 dollars.
Another advantage of building these beds was the low cost. We were able to build something in the $400-$500 range for around 130$.
The best part of the whole deal was the memories made & the memories revisited. When I was a boy, my Grandad built some bunk beds for my brothers. In fact, he built all sorts of things, including a small mill for making his own lumber. He was one of a kind and dabbled in some interesting mechanical contraptions. One of the coolest oddities I remember him tinkering with was a small tractor that ran off of steam. He was taken from us far too early by Alzheimers. I wish so much that I could have learned more from him before he passed on.
I felt that I communed with Granddad this weekend as I fashioned something for my children. And I hope that they will appreciate and feel the love of Fathers, Grandfathers, & Great-grandfathers as they dream of silly kid stuff.

By the way, I got the plans on the web. If you are interested they can be found here:

http://shoppingmatchmaker.com/freebedplans.htm

Well I’m done. I earned my letters. I officially finished my BS in History Education. It was a long road, but with the help of so many of you, I have finished. I’m sorry about the delay in posting. I had made a personal vow not to post until I was finished with this semester. At any rate, I am working for Autozone again. It feels so right to be working again! More to come…..

http://filmfreakcentral.net/screenreviews/supermanreturns.htm

Ya, what he said. Actually, I don't put much stock in critics, but he put it best.

I took my stinkers to Superman Returns yesterday. Bryan Singer knows comic books. This was a beautiful movie. I loved they many, many nods to the old movies and comic books that Singer threw in. He made Superman into a mythological God. I thought it was a great film, what do you think?

I've got a lot of hand written entries to this blog that need posting. I'll begin with this one.

The Easter Bunny brought my kids the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wasn't sure how this flick would turn out with Tim Burton directing. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love Burton's movies. In fact, I don't think he has made anything that I don't like. Most especially the magnificent Pee Wee's Big Adventure. But Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? I was not so sure about this one.

I laughed my can off!

I loved this flick and thanks be to the Easter Bunny for having faith in the good Tim. Most especially I loved Missi Pyle's performance as the super shallow and over competitive Scarlet Beauregarde. She would make a great Utah valley mother, most likely from the Alpine/Highland area. Burton captured her making some of the funniest facial expressions ever.
I had a great time watching it with my kids while we ate chocolate Easter eggs.

Tell me what you think. Did you like or dislike it?

I'm back. Sorry about the wait. Finals sort of sucked the life out of me.

First off, a huge atta' boy to my little bro' Whodoggy....excuse me, Master Whodoggy.
Good job little brother and sister-in-law! They don't give away Masters Degrees at BYU and yours was hard earned and well deserved.
Well done. Onwards and upwards.

Here is something to ponder. Since I am a guitarist, I need to ask the question; what is the greatest guitar on a song you have ever heard? Notice I did not say guitar solo, but if it is a solo that is perfectly alright. My ideas of a great song change all of the time, so don't be afraid of saying something you won't agree with later. Here are my favorites at this time.

Greatest guitar solo ever (and I mean forever and ever and ever): Cult of Personality-by Living Colour specifically Vernon Reid

Honorable Mention: Guitar solo on Comfortably Numb-by Pink Floyd specifically David Gilmour

Great songs:
"Subdivisions" Rush
"Aenema" Tool
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" Van Halen
"5150" Van Halen
The entire Cream reunion DVD
The entire "Rush in Rio" DVD
"Pleiades" King's X
"Papa was a Rolling Stone" The Temptations
The Messiah in a live music setting (alright, I've never experienced the Messiah live, but I know it would be awesome!)

There is good news and bad news.

There are more people reading this than I thought and that is good news.

The bad news is that I have to moderate comments now. I guess I have a case of e-growing pains. Please, don't hesitate to leave comments. Just keep in mind that they won't be published until after I read them.

I once lost an election to a card draw (weird huh!) My opponent, who incidentally turned out to be as passionate about things as I was, pulled a queen and I drew a seven. Though I had never played cards in my life, I had a fairly good idea that a queen beats a seven, but I wasn't completely sure and I wasn't about to do a victory dance or give a losers handshake. So, I waited (about 5 seconds) until the proper authorities declared me the loser. After the hoopla a journalist asked me what I was thinking after drawing a seven and I told her that I wasn't sure who had won. She exaggerated the story in the paper and voila.... instant idiot. People I don't know made fun of me and said some rather nasty things. If you know my real name go ahead and google it, there might still be residue of my 15 minutes of fame and idiocy. It is an easy thing to talk smack, especially anonymously on the internet. Unfortunately, it is the mark of a coward and has infected my tiny little blog.

So, if you're the one talking smack on my blog kindly piss off.

Legitimate gripes will be addressed, heck maybe even debated.

Self-righteous (you know who you are) insulting smack will never see the light of day.

I have been working for some time on a History Education degree at Utah Valley State College. I am a senior now and hopefully I will finish the confounded thing by this Christmas. At any rate, throughout the years I’ve grown close to a few other students and professors.

Here are a few of my instructors:

http://www.uvsc.edu/profpages/view.cfm?user=10001329 Meet Professor Snedegar, or as he prefers Keith. This is my all time favorite professor. He teaches in what I call “English lecture.” When I am in his class I feel like I am at a prestigious university in a far off land. His knowledge is a mile wide and a mile deep.

http://www.uvsc.edu/profpages/view.cfm?user=10008272 This old guy is a walking legend on campus. He only speaks 15 or so languages and has forgotten more history than I’ll ever learn. If you have the opportunity to be confused in his classes for a semester, consider yourself blessed.

http://www.uvsc.edu/profpages/view.cfm?user=10001727 The ever controversial Professor Bennett. She will pull the rug out from under you and then make you remember why. Her class was an immense challenge and a grand learning experience.

http://www.uvsc.edu/profpages/view.cfm?user=10001426 If you think I’m a crappy writer now you should read the crap I wrote before Kat Brown’s grueling class. She IS the teacher who teaches history majors to write at UVSC. She has a biting, sarcastic wit that makes her classes fun and educational. Plus, and a big plus it is, she is a lot cuter than Alex Stecker.

I could not find a web page for the best adjunct professor in UVSC’s arsenal; Rick Fish. This guy is hardcore! He came from professional history so you know he knows his stuff. The fact that he is adjunct speaks volumes for the antiquated snobbery found at universities. Fools, asses, petty administrators, this man is the exception to your bourgeoisie zealousness (how is that for low-class professor speak). It is a downright travesty that he is still adjunct. For those of you responsible for this injustice….screw you! A pox on you and your stupid ways.

There is nothing like the idiocy of academia.

There are a lot of students who are doing history as a jump to law school. And most don’t really carry a passion for the discipline. There are also those that think that history is an easy route to a degree. Most are usually weeded out even before any sort of official matriculation. There are a few who are assuredly headed for scholarly greatness.

Of all the friends I’ve made (that includes you Darrin) and professors I’ve learned from, there is no one I admire more than David Ssejinja. David is a man living for something worthy. He has what I believe is a quality of life that most never even glimpse. In class David is mostly quiet, except when there is laughter. And his laughter is loud and infectious! His comments are intelligent and usually put a different spin on things (which is very important in the discipline of history). David hails from Uganda and is committed to helping the disadvantage people of his country through his foundation.

http://www.ssejinja.org/

I know David personally and he is trustworthy. His foundation gives in clear and practical ways. So, please give 'til it hurts.

I just found out more fantastic family news. In our family there are two accountants, one is Whodoggy who was mentioned in my last post, and the other is T-Dawg. After talking to the original Voodoo it seems that T-Dawg is now gainfully employed in the profession of his schooling! Well done Little brother!! You make me proud T-Dawg. You've had to be tenacious to get where you are and I admire and respect you for it. Take care of the little Dawg.

It seems that most of my family is beating me to a career field ;)

I would just like to say congrats to my brother Whodoggy. He was accepted into UNC's doctoral program. This was no easy accomplishment and taxed his family and him mightily. Well done. And........well done to Mrs. Whodoggy. One can't do the things one needs to do without the support of their sposa. I am proud of both of you and look to your future with a bright hope.

I'm back and some sort of treatise is in order.

So, I survived a grueling semester of Hell on Earth. The longer I stay in school the more I think that its purpose is to serve as society's weed wacker and to relegate the masses into packaged classes. Oh, and it is also to give jobs to the otherwise useless, mainly professors.

Most of you know that I am a History Education major at Utah Valley State College. All of the live long day I've been attending education courses and listening to my peers. They say cute little things like, "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." That is the famous line by George Santayana, and those of us in the history profession like to chant it like cult members.

If you believe this you are naive.

For the common man this idea has no bearing on reality. Let's face it, we won' t grow up to be rock stars, el presidente, a CEO, a congressman, or anything like that. Even if you were one of these stellars folks, you would be surrounded by people whose job would be to know and advise you about history. As for you and I and all the good proletariats out there......well history can be entertaining. Like Pearl Harbor the movie.

The reason history is so very important is because it is all about critically thinking! It is about the ebbs and flows of cultures and especially migrations (versus conquerage). A great deal of history is about flooding yourself with different points of view. It is about studying details and making some sort of educated statement. It is most definitely not about the History Channel or Saving Private Ryan. Those things are entertainment based upon history. History is not facts and dates. It is about ideas and eras and how they connect.

So, I guess that one could say that history has a cycle and I would say that it does and it will never be broken....... Even by cute sayings.

If you disagree with me, that's OK. But, I invite you to check your premises.

Here is a little wisdom, if you dare to understand.

http://www.zionsbest.com/managers.html

I was surfing at Yahoo movies and I noticed that one of my favoritest books has been made into a film. If you haven't yet read Jarhead by Anthony Swofford you ought to. The book is controversial, foul, and shocking. I enjoyed it, and I have found many parallels to my own military experience. That being said, my readers should know that I welcome disagreement. In fact here are two opposing viewpoints of the book and soon to be movie.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/29/010145.php
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,79248,00.html

I really liked this book because I identified with it as an enlisted man. The search for manhood, the never ending bureaucracy, the little boys with their homicidal tendencies, my own homicidal tendencies, the struggle with the addictiveness of the regimental lifestyle, were all things I could identify with. Yet, some see it as an offensive anti-American rag with dirty rotten liberalism at its core. That's fine by me if it struck you that way, but then again you don't know the sailors I've known and I found a little bit of them in many of the characters in Jarhead. In fact, if the movie is as good as the book, it will be on par with the likes of A Midnight Clear, Das Boot, and Band of Brothers.

What's that you say? Why didn't I include Saving Private Ryan? Well..... can you say broad, unlikely, and politically correct. I can and just did. Although to be fair it was beautifully filmed and edited well.