Moving

uhhhhh....I'm moving to Utah in three days.

Christian Rock is Dumb

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that "Christian Rock" is a genre. Genres aren't defined by lyrics or what "type" of person is playing or singing the music! They're defined by the music! Rock music isn't rock because of the words in the songs. Rap music isn't rap because of the words in the songs. Country music isn't country because of the words in the song.

If we follow this dumb pattern, that stupid song "I Kissed a Girl" isn't alternative rock. It's lesbian rock. Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" isn't country, it's...I dunno...fire country. Or "Walk the Line" would be druggie country because Johnny Cash was doing drugs during that time.

Everyone who's all omg0rz i luv christian rock b/c i like to show how christian i am by listening to christian music...if you really want to show how Christian you are, go read the Bible or help someone instead of destroying the rules of genre. But noooo...reading or actually doing something is too hard, so we'll just make up labels to show our Christianness.

From now on, I will not longer recognize it as a genre. "Christian Rock" is rock, usually part of the subgenre of alternative rock. So take that.

The Joseph Smith Enigma: Polygamy

In this blog post, I’m going to explore Joseph Smith’s most controversial legacy, polygamy. To be more specific, I’m going to try to understand how this enigma arose in Joseph’s mind, and more importantly, why it arose.

During his lifetime and up to the present day, Joseph’s detractors believed him to be a power-obsessed philanderer. He had convinced thousands of people that he was a prophet, that his words were the words of God, so was satisfying his lust really beyond his reach? The few followers that he disclosed his multiple marriages to felt that their Prophet was reluctantly but selflessly, obeying the Lord’s commandment. But which was it?

Joseph Smith instituting plural marriage truly presents an enigma. Surely he would have realized what dangers it presented for himself. Joseph had publicly been denouncing polygamy and adultery for years. He excommunicated more than one elder for either taking on a second wife, or for teaching publicly that polygamy was acceptable. The Mormons were already receiving considerable persecutions. And what more, Joseph would have been subject to the anti-bigamy laws of the day. And what of his wife Emma, who had stood by his side through everything? Was it really worth the risk to lose the faith and trust of his followers, to give his enemies another excuse to persecute them, give the state a reason to arrest him, and jeopardize his marriage, all to fulfill his lusts?

Joseph had become a polygamist by at least 1835, several years after he began his religious movement. According to one account, Joseph claimed to have received the commandment from God to take another wife as early as 1831, but that he had put it off. One of his wives, Mary Lightner, later said that Joseph had for years been under intense pressure to undertake polygamy. According to her, he had said, "The angel came to me three times between the years of ‘34 and ‘42 and said I was to obey that principle [plural marriage] or he would [s]lay me." Joseph’s other close confidants told a similar story with another detail: the angel held a sword above Joseph.

While Joseph may have consummated some of these marriages, sexual relations with his other partners would have been rare. For most of them, it is unlikely that it happened at all. His final wife was some twenty years older than him and a widow, and according to her account, Joseph offered to marry her simply because she feared she would not receive a celestial glory because she had not been sealed to her deceased husband.

But was Joseph a hypocrite or a liar for teaching against polygamy and adultery, all the while he secretly was marrying multiple women? He wouldn‘t have considered himself so. In his mind, he distinguished between the adulterous practice of polygamy and the authorized practice of plural marriage. Plural marriage was not open; it was for those who God commanded. It was not something to be taken lightly or to appease physical appetites.

Plural marriage was something that tortured Joseph throughout his life. His friends commented that it "anguished" him. With his first wife, Emma, to whom he was devoted, it obviously strained their relationship, which caused him much heartache. All those around him saw that plural marriage was possibly the hardest thing that Joseph ever did.

His detractors did not understand Joseph’s mind. They did not understand how he thought. He would not have risked everything –– the movement he began, the followers he gathered, the city he founded, the family he loved, and even his life –– to satiate his lusts. Whether you believe in Joseph’s inspiration or not, it is important to understand that he believed it. Joseph Smith believed that God had commanded him to do this, and that was, undoubtedly, when all in considered, his prime motivation.

Watermelon Festival

We had a booth at the Louisiana Watermelon Festival. We were in an awful location, but we managed to talk to some people and give away some materials.

It was extremely hot. Mid-90's all day, but counting the humidity it felt like mid 100's. I got pretty sunburnt too -- I'm not in the picture, but I was sitting in the chair on the far left, and most of the day the sun was half-shining on me and I didn't realize it. So my left right arm and cheek were sunburnt but my other side was okay. I looked like Two-Face off of The Dark Knight, if Harvey Dent had just been stuck in the sun instead of having his face burnt off.

Doesn't our booth look good though?

McCain won't be announcing VP this week

Novak reported earlier this week that an inside source from the McCain campaign revealed that they were planning to announce who his VP pick would be this week.

Yeah right.

Mr. Novak got played. Just a ploy to get some free headlines, and take away from Obama's thunder as he traipses around the world. And the VP will still be Romney. I'm 90% sure.

Oh, and Dick Morris is a biased ignoramous. I'm not sure why anyone listens to him, or why O'Reilly or Hannity like him.

Is Moroni really this big?

Take a look at this picture of one of the Moroni statues with workers around it. Are these things really that big? I always thought it was life-size. That's crazy. In fact, I don't believe it. Maybe the statues are different sizes? Say, smaller on the smaller temples?

I don't know.

Laughing on the Internet

In this post, I will examine the methods that have been used to express laugher while chatting online.

LOL. The most common method of expressing laugher, the acronym 'LOL' (Laughing Out Loud), traces it's past to the beginning of internet chatting. Commonly users use LOL or lol even when not physically laughing out loud. It has evolved a feminine connotation, and is especially popular among teenage girls.

Haha. Haha is an approximation of the sound of laughter, and is probably the second most common method of expressing laughter on the internet. Unlike LOL, haha does not necessarily imply physical laughter, and does not carry a feminine connotation. Haha is commonly used simply to be polite, unless coupled with continuing -ha's, in which case the user is likely amused and, depending on the number of -ha's, may actually be laughing out loud.

ROFL. An acronym for "Rolling on the Floor Laughing", ROFL is generally used when the amusement requires physical laughter. In a way, ROFL has evolved past LOL on the amusement tier. It should be noted that ROFL is sometimes overused by overenthusiastic users.

Aha. Aha is another approximation of the sound of laughter, and usually implies an unenthusiastic tone (sometimes even sarcastic). If someone says aha, they are probably not really laughing. The exception to this is if the user types continuing -ha's, in which case they are probably actually amused, and, depending on the number of -ha's, may actually be laughing out loud.

Heh. Heh is yet another approximation of the sound of laughter, and like aha, usually carries an unenthusiastic connotation, but never a sarcastic one. Heh is used when a user finds something mildly amusing, but is not actually laughing.

LMAO. Another acronym, LMAO is possibly even higher than ROFL on the amusement tier, but the two are often used together. LMAO is generally only used if the user is physically laughing. LMAO has fallen out of common use, however, except among a certain subsect of internet users.

Lolz. Lolz is a perversion of LOL used by internet geeks. It is now commonly used mockingly towards internet geeks (but usually when really laughing); however, usually the mere knowledge of lolz designates one a geek and/or nerd.

ROFLMAO. An acronymic combination of ROFL and LMAO, ROFLMAO usually means the user is laughing out loud, and is often used in combination with LOL. Generally it is an overexaggeration.

Other less common examples include Lawl and Lulz, sarcastic versions of LOL and Lolz, as well as a host of others, such as lolicopter, lolocaust, loltles, etc.

Supposedly Controversial Questions

1) Would you do meth if it was legalized?
uhmmmm .....no.

2) Abortion: for or against?
Generally against.

3) Would our country fall with a woman president?
"Fall"? What does that mean? Like collapse? Be taken over? Zombies from a mutated cancer cure rampaging the streets of New York?

No, I dont think that a female president would mean the end of the country.

4) Do you believe in the death penalty?
positively.

5) Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?

not really. I'm tired of all of this Ron Paul Libertarian crap.

6) Are you for or against premarital sex?
"For" or "against"? That's a weird way to phrase it. I suppose my answer would be "against". For me personally, anyway.

7) Do you believe in God?
Yes.

8) Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
No, but I'm becoming slacker on civil unions.

9) Do you think the immigration of Hispanics should be stopped?
Another stupidly phrased question. Illegal immigration should be stopped, but legal immigration should made easier and continued.

10) A 12-year-old girl has a baby.
Sucks for her. That's what happens when parents are idiots.

11) Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18?
I don't really care. I don't see what difference it would make, nobody I know has had trouble getting alcohol since we were in middle school.

12) Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Be "called off"? Whoever made this survey was an idiot. You don't just call wars off. But to get at what the questioner surely meant, no, surrendering to terrorists is a stupid and dangerous idea.

13) Assisted suicide is illegal.. do you agree?
Yeah. There's a whole episode of Law & Order: SVU about it.

14) Do you believe in spanking your children?
Spanking, slapping, beating.... No, i'm kidding. Yes, I'm cool with spanking.

15) Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Heck yeah I would. I'd burn a live kitten for a million dollars. (No, I'm kidding again...well, I don't know....)

16) It's between you and a person who is being kept alive by life support machines, who lives?Hmm. If they have no chance of recovery, I'd pull their plug and live. But if they have a >50% chance of recovering, I'd let them have it.

17) Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
Afraid? Fear is the path to the dark side.

See, I'm not -that- nerdy...

So be careful what you say about me, because according to nerdtests.com, I am NOT that big of a nerd.

Layout

In case you're wondering, I'm well aware that the layout of this page is crappy, and the logo at the top is skewed (and stupid looking; I actually have a much cooler one done).

I would fix it, but what with my dial-up internet and all, I just don't have the patience. I'm actually considering just moving to WordPress.

But we will see.