Mormons should study other religions to be better Mormons

I wrote another article for the Deseret News. However, my writing skills (if I ever really had any to begin with) are going down hill since I'm not writing as much anymore. It was hard to write this one, and the editors cut it down quite a bit and made many things sound MUCH better than I had them. Oh, I'm sad about that. But very grateful they take my work at all!

This article is a feature on Professor Philip Barlow at USU and the one-of-a-kind university Religous Studies program that he helped start. He has some extremely interesting and deep insights on the study of religon and why it is essential for humankind in order to become absolutely "liberally educated" and competant citizens. I have to admit, he sparked my interest and made me sure that, if I ever went back to school, I would really want to pursue this kind of degree!

Here is the direct link to the article: http://www.mormontimes.com/people_news/education/?id=7348

Airport conversations ... oh, the intrigue

Okay, okay, (yes, I spelled it out instead of going with the AP style "OK") I know I just barely blogged about (my hopefully, someday brother-in-law -- go Natalie!) David Archuleta, but I stumbled upon this student column in USU's online newspaper the Hard News Cafe (http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/) about a woman flashing herself while waiting for her flight in the Denver airport and had to share!

She didn't even get in trouble either. That's not the topic of the column, however. I was just glancing over it, looking for info on USU students (I feel like a stalker) and by the end of the first paragraph, I was hooked and ancored-down, I had to read the rest of the story.

It is amazing what this student was able to capture while sitting in an airport terminal! This is what I love most about writing -- when authors can capture everyday life moments and somehow portray these in a way that captivates the reader and makes them think, "Ah, life," while learning something new and committing to become more observant and appreciative of their normal, seemingly boring circumstances. Great job to the student who wrote this -- I would love to read more of his stuff!

Please read this, it is amazing:

http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/archive/oct2008/101408_airporttalks.html

Quote from Mark Twain (1835-1910) (whose writing I've come to love over the past couple years): "I don't know anything that mars good literature so completely as too much truth."

Archuleta on Idol!

I just found out that David Archuleta is going to perform on American Idol next week and I got so excited I had to share the news with someone! But nobody around me cares except for my blog template that I post in! Go David!

Here he is with Latter-day Saint President Thomas S. Monson: (and it looks to me like he's wearing slacks and a white button-up shirt under his jacket and scarf.)

Here he is singing at the SLC concert I went to: (I wonder what the orange wristband is for?)

OK, time to humiliate myself

I thought this sounded like fun, but now I'm questioning my mental stability! All of these pictures somehow mysteriously got put on Facebook. (I only added the wedding one!) And so, I thought, why not put them on my blog for yet another public display of embarrassment? OK, not all of them are all that embarrassing, but a some REALLY are. I read in a column in the Utah Statesman (USU's student newspaper) that if you share your embarrassing moments, it will help you overcome the agony of them. Yeah right, or just relive it again and again.

Wedding day. Are my Dad and Grandma Huber OK? ( I know this picture is small, but my Grandma looks distressed and my Dad is sticking his tongue out. )

Whoa yellow shorts. This is my "van group" on the U of U swim team during Christmas training in Florida.

Kendall and Aubrey on the U swim team. They are the reasons I lasted longer than a day on the team.

KHS!!! I look like I'm drowning, but supposedly I'm not. Go Cougars! (The green ones, NOT the ugly blue ones)

OK, EMBARRASSING! (For me, not the other two) Why did we take this picture again? High school swim team, Maddy D, Jen and me. We are very patriotic.

Oh Natalie! She was abused as a child. Me and my sisters! How I love this one! It portrays us each perfectly! Me=kind, nurturing. Emily=confused. Natalie=bruised "Your face looks like a toad" (Lauren said that to Natalie, not me, of course). Lauren=all smiles on the outside, but nothing but evil intentions on the inside, don't let her fool you. Haha!

Moscow, Russia with the swim team from Utah!

Emily and me in Disneyland. Emily USED to be so cute, now she's scary and has really thick hair. (Oh Emily, you know you're my fav sis!)

Wow, that was fun!

It’s a sad time in the office

Well, the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament came and went. And excitement in our office came and went with it.

It’s funny how little things that most people don’t really care about in their lives outside the office can create intense, and I mean volcanic-erupting, zit exploding intense happiness at work. Examples:

-A bag of potato chips in the break room. (Today there is actually an assortment of chips. Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles, Albertson’s Potato Chips, Lays Classic Potato Chips, Sour Cream & Onion Ruffles, Authentic Barbecue Ruffles, along with creamy dill, creamy ranch and ranch-style dips!)

-A candy dish filled with mint life-savers, those gross butterscotch things and other hard candies.

-A half-eaten left-over cake from some event that took place on campus.

-Left-over sandwiches from a different event.

-Now here’s a scary one: left-over homemade casseroles from the office pot-luck party last week. Aagghh! (Some people will eat anything)

-Cutting snowflakes out of paper and hanging them on the wall.

-Hiding an old, unclaimed, dirty women's sweather at unsuspecting or absent co-workers' desks.

-Hearing David Archuleta on Pandora. (Oh wait, that’s just me, and I DO care about that when I’m not at work.)

Well, the NCAA tournament bracket war is not exempt from this list. I mean, there were a few people who actually cared and watched every game they could. I think just two people to be exact. And, believe it or not, they are the two that scored the highest (one of them actually went to the championship game last night) and will win the large collection of candy bars (everyone who participated in the tournament had to pitch in one full-size candy bar).
But most of those who participated (Ben and I did not get our brackets in on time. Procrastination.) are not into basketball at all. I heard two comments of how two different women chose to fill out their brackets:

1. “I picked the team whose colors I liked the most.”
2. “I picked the team whose name was easiest to spell.”

One male who works here simply copied Barack Obama’s bracket for his. (His bracket did NOT do well)

But, oh! Whether or not anyone likes basketball, every day, there was a huge gathering around the “bracket wall” to see who was in the lead after the previous day’s games. What excitement! What commotion!

Now, it’s all dwindling away. Every now and then a lonely straggler will wander over to stare at the wall, look at the winning brackets and then leave. The wall is slowly starting to look like New York City in “I am Legend,” a lonely deserted street with tumbleweeds blowing and grasses growing in the streets where cars and people once bustled busily about.

Oh well, everything must come to an end, right? It’s a good thing the weather is starting to warm up! I guess that won’t last long either, though.

We love you, Da-a-vid, oh yes we do

This is what makes David Archuleta incredible:

So, at his concert at the "E" Center Friday night, David performed a medley of his favorite songs from the 90s and later. One of those songs was the totally awesome, "I'm Yours," by Jason Mraz. Well, the chorus goes:

"Well open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and (@#*&) you're free" ...

When David came to the swear word part, the audience hushed momentarily, wondering if he would actually say it. I felt the tension. Would this Mormon hero say the word because that's how the song is written? Really, it wouldn't be that big of a deal -- it's not like it's the mother of all swear words he would be singing. But, David! What would he do? What kind of a person would he show himself to be in front of those thousands of (mostly women, lets face it) young, middle and even old-aged people staring, waiting for thier hopes to be either withheld or somewhat dented? It probably wouldn't cause a huge gaping hole, just a small chip.

But David saved the day!!!! He very cleverly and almost unnoticably changed the lyric to:

"Well open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and then you're free" ...

I commend you for that, David! Thank you! Such a small act made a great impression on me. I'm sure, with his success, it can be so easy to give in to worldly standards. Nobody would apprehend him. More people would probably accept him.

I remember hearing a member of the Mormon singing group, Jericho Road, speaking at a fireside once. One of the group members said in his talk -- with the exact deep voice of the lion Mufassa from Disney's The Lion King -- "Remember who you are." I feel like that's what David has done: he's remembered who he is; what he believes to be true and perhaps some standards he has set for himself. And he is holding true to them.

What a great example David showed to the group of little pig-tailed girls I saw dancing and singing at his concert. Be true to yourself. It's a hard lesson to learn.

David's voice was beautiful and his smile genuine. Keep it up, Archuleta! "Remember," and I will try to do the same. I'm rooting for you!

And thanks, Natalie! I had a BLAST at the concert with you!

Edward Sighting

This is not a joke, and it’s not made up. Last week, Ben was in Portland and Seattle on a mandatory field trip with the LAEP department. That’s when he spotted it, cruising down a street in the heart of downtown Seattle: the silver Volvo. See below.



The EXACT same silver S60R that EDWARD CULLEN drives! So Ben sneakily shot some photos – not letting his buddies in his class know what he was doing, of course – but the person driving is mysteriously unable to be seen. I guess we will just have to use our imaginations. But seriously! Can you believe this? The picture below shows the front bumper.



Well, anyways, in all reality, this last picture shows the “sighting” that I most like to see. Ben. Here he is in a Japanese garden in Portland.