A Memorable Day

It all started with a Tee Ball bat and some small pecans. Well technically, I suppose it all started back when I found the pecans, weeks ago, and when the birthday kid got a new a Tee Ball set yesterday at the Vernon Warthen Park. I had the pecans in the seat pouch on my bike, either to eat at some later time or leave for the next owner of the bike, whichever came first. The bat, I found today.

While waiting for noon and the Salvation Army’s free community lunch, I was wishing for a baseball to see how well I could hit with the little bat. Though I was doing a number on the pecans, I suspected a baseball would be somewhat more rewarding. Of course, that would be a matter of perspective, I was, after all, eating the pecans after some of the fly-balls.

The bat was still there after lunch, and I was feeling especially frisky. The St. George 10th Ward served a wonderful lasagna to a total of 12 of us. I had four servings and was in an awesome mood for having such a great meal.

A short time after, an old friend stopped by with her gorgeous twin daughters and her son. They happened to have two baseballs with them and no bat. At first, I turned down all offers to play with them, but I did let the girls have the bat. Teenage women are a blast to watch and these were no exception, but they needed help having fun. It was just the two of them, so out I went. We ended up playing an absolute hilarious game of baseball.

I don’t know what rules we were playing, but it seemed to make sense to them, so I just went along with whatever they said. It started out as boys against girls, making two person teams, the twins and me and their brother. Eventually, they even had their mother on my team, then some kind of free for all, where the third base runner was the pitcher. We had a great time.

Turns out, I got invited to have dinner with them tomorrow (today by the time I get this posted), and an offer of twenty dollars for my bike. I accepted both, though I tried in vein to give her the bike for free, and I warned her that the crank was going out on it and that it would take upwards of thirty dollars to fix. She was persistent. Looks like I’m getting Chicken Alfredo, a movie, an extra twenty dollars, and a ride to the bus stop Wednesday morning.

And, as I sit here writing this post, three bus-loads of girls pour into the park. Many hotties! I’m not sure what kind of group they are, I suspect they are some kind of High School group, as there are some guys too. The buses say Le Bus on them.

A Mia Maid For A Wife

I have to admit, that the letter from my confrontations post has helped me to overcome the stress my thank-you card ended up causing me. It has been somewhat of a closure for me, but there are still some things that have been bothering me about the whole ordeal.

Obviously, it was very upsetting being alleged of having an ulterior motive for the card just because I shave my head and live in a tent. But, there was more said in this particular allegation. What possible “ulterior motives” could I have had as an active LDS single anyway? Dating? Courting? Eternal marriage? Exaltation?

And what’s wrong with that?

The doctrines of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that exaltation cannot occur without eternal marriage. Period. The scriptures are very clear on this matter (as they are on all matters), after the resurrection, no one will be given or received in marriage. Those who are righteous enough to receive a celestial glory, but who die having never been married will be consigned to an eternity as angels. They will have no increase. (see D&C 131:1-4 and D&C 132:15-17.)

Isn’t it, then, the fundamental goal of every member of the Church of Jesus Christ to achieve exaltation, and, therefore, the motive of each member to seek eternal marriage? Absolutely. So, why would any member of the Church be concerned or fearful of this possible motive?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is love and forgiveness. The Doctrines of His church teach celestial law and worthiness for exaltation. I live by all these principles and take personal offense when somebody suggests that I am not worthy. It is an insult to me when parents assume that I am not righteous enough to seek friendship with their daughter, as the situation concerning the thank-you card suggests.

I have always known that if I ever got married, it would be against the will of my wife’s parents. Which, in itself is peculiar considering that most mothers love me. In fact, the mother who launched those heinous allegations against me was the first mother I know of who apparently did not, and even then I am sure it is because we never met. However, perhaps this can be perceived as a sign the time is nearing that I will be getting married. Hmmm.

Anyway, in todays society, parents are often under the foolish tradition that the longer a woman waits before marriage, the better. Indeed, the woman I sent that thank-you card to was definitely of marrying age. And, like I said in the card, I envy the man she will choose to be her husband. Yet, when her parents may have suspected possible romantic motives for the card, they retaliated negatively, and sought to discredit my intentions, as though they expected me to desire their Mia Maid for a wife.

As a matter of fact, the Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laural programs exist for the express purpose of preparing our young women for eternal marriage. What else is there? Without eternal marriage, none of us will achieve exaltation. Everything else we do on Earth that does not pertain to exaltation is an unrighteous distraction. It can even be said that to actively work against marriage and exaltation is, by the very definition of the word, satanic.

Knowing that, what difference would the age of the woman make as long as she is old enough to bear children, and worthy enough for a temple marriage? If she was taught the gospel and doctrines of the Church and understands the importance of honoring her parents, or those who taught her, by making righteous decisions, no one should have a problem with her choices. I’m not saying that all Beehive, Mia Maid, or Laural should be married off, but, if she is well educated in righteousness and prepared, her decision should be respected and sustained.

Which leads me to the big question: Would I marry a Mia Maid? The answer is yes, in heartbeat, so long as the above conditions were met. In my opinion, if it is a travesty for young people to put-off marriage for academics, it follows that to put-off marriage for anything else would be just as much a travesty.

In fact, I would love to have dated, courted, or married the woman I wrote that thank-you card to. She was a wonderful woman, at that time, and displayed every quality I wish I could have in a bride. Not to mention her stunning Emma Watson lookalike beauty. Wow.

Does that confirm the concern of an ulterior motive in relation to the thank-you card? No. The purpose of that card was to recognize her kindness and thank her for it. I hoped she would find it encouraging, and continue being an example to the Daughters of Zion. I guarantee if it had been my intention to lure her into a temple marriage for all eternity, I’d have applied my charm. 😉

If I were to go back in time and alter the situation, I’d pursue her romantically, instead of sending her a thank-you card. I’d have courted her. At least then her parents would have been justified in their allegation against me, and neither they nor the bishop would be guilty of false witness against me. It would have giving reason and purpose to the persecution I have suffered over this unfortunate ordeal.

Hmmm, makes me wish I had the guts to assert some double jeopardy variant.

Countdowns

Just to let you know, there’s only 2 more days until the best Emma Watson fansite reopens. I cannot wait! I have been missing the news and information forever. I hope they will let us know how things turned out concerning the birthday projects we prepared for her back in April.

And, there is 1 month, 3 days, 13 hours until Superman Returns is released in theaters. If you haven’t seen the trailers, or T.V. ads yet, goto: http://www.bluetights.net/theplanet/showthread.php?t=13059 I have noticed, however, that most of the Quicktime movies don’t work on my library’s computer-could be a firewall problem, or maybe they really are broken links. I do know that the windows media versions are working, though the quality sucks. My favorite is the international trailer, which does have a working Quicktime link. It’s nearly 34 mb though, so if you have a slow connection, you may have to try the little files.

Super-Anticipation

O.k., so now I have seen all the television ads for Superman Returns in addition to the trailer I mentioned the other day. I’m very excited. Between all of them, they paint a pretty good picture of what to expect. If you want to watch them, just go to the Superman Returns home page by Warner Brothers and click on the news link located at the bottom of the page. Looks like Lex Luthor is going to have some stolen super-powers. Hmmm.

I have to mention the article I just read in the June ’06 issue of Wired. There are two articles in this issue, but the best one is the one written by Neil Gaiman and Adam Rogers titled The Myth of Superman beginning on page 158. It was so good, I found myself choked-up at the end. These guys understand Superman better than Brian Singer ever will. This article relates why I, and so many other fans, love Superman so much. I am such a huge fan that ever since I was little, I always wanted to have a tattoo of the superman shield on my chest. That was one of my life-long ambitions, to get that tattoo. But the reason I like Superman so much is because of his divine-like attributes.

Other superheros, being human with enhanced abilities, had human vulnerabilities. Being bound to Earth’s laws of physics for instance, or making decisions based on current human knowledge. Superman defies both of these vulnerabilities, being physically superior and having advanced knowledge and resources. This is why, as the article points out, his “true enemies are disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes” and rogue meteors on a collision course with Earth.

It seems that Brian Singer may have neglected that trivial [fact?] myth, judging by the quick shots of Superman’s battle with a crash-imminent plane housing Lois Lane. As he grabs hold of the plane’s wing, it tears under the stress and sends him hurtling through air as though that reaction had not been anticipated. It looks like Superman has been reverted to just another superhero, like Batman or Spider-man. Because of that, I may have problems with the new movie.

However, Even though I am a hardcore fan of the original Superman (Christopher Reeve) movies, I have often had a problem with scenes such as, in Superman 3, when he freezes the pond and lifts it up by the edge to carry it over the fire. Well, we all know the sheer weight of the ice would have caused it to break off while he was lifting it from the edge. Had he gone under it and picked it up in the middle though, that would have been more realistic.

I guess we all have our own idea as to what should be considered realistic when dealing with impossible situations. Singer brings this issue up in that article when he discusses the cape being CG. Some of the things that look real to one person, just seem too phony to another. I happen to think that Superman having the ability to turn back time the way he did in Superman: The Movie is more realistic than all the evil critics of that “quandary”. By the way, Mr. Singer, it is gravity that keeps us from flying off, not centrifugal force.

Webpage Update

O.k., the latest news is that I have finally decided to do something with that blank page21.html. Originally, I had planned to have it an alphabetical list of the States of America complete with flags and links to the state’s constitution and statutes. Argg, too much work. So, it’s been blank all this time waiting for me to water it.

Introducing my comprehensive index to this blog. It’s a work in progress, but to start with, it is a list of titles linked to the articles I have posted here at blogspot.com. Eventually, it will include brief descriptions of what each article is about. Whew, that’s a lot of work, so I’ll do it when I do it.

You can view My Blog Articles page at:
page21.html or page21.html

Also all links have been updated to reflect the new content of the page.

And, I finally got around to making a whats_new.gif for the links to this page.

Sudden Attention

As I was sitting in my usual spot at the St. George branch of the Washington County Library yesterday, I saw a woman who I remembered from the first day of school. I remember her for a couple of reasons. One was because she is attractive, and the other is because she smiled at me when she first saw me.

I remember the encounter vividly, as though it had happened yesterday. I was sitting in the same spot and she came out of one the isles and smiled real big at me. She was there with several friends and it was obvious they had experienced a wonderful first day of school. I saw her from time to time throughout the year, but never received similar treatment.

Yesterday as I was reading the June 2006 issue of the Writer’s Digest magazine, I noticed her with a few of her friends. She was oblivious to me so I comenced to checking her out thinking what a great time we could have had this past year together, and, of course, how good-looking our kids could have been (I particularly liked her chin and hair and slightly full body type). I was contemplating her facial features when she glanced over the shoulder of one of the friends, and our eyes met. I smiled at her and turned my attention back to the article I had been reading.

When I finished the article, I thought of something I wanted to write about for my blog. As I was putting the magazine down on the seat next to me, I casually glanced up at the woman and her friends. She was looking right at me and offered a huge smile. I chuckled inward and smiled back, then turned my attention to the computer keyboard and struggled to remember what it was I had wanted to write about. After staring stupidly in that manor for a minute, I scrapped the idea of writing and reopened the magazine for another article.

I still have no idea what I was going to write, all I could think of while I was staring at the ThinkPad, was why in the world she wanted to show attention in me now of all time. And she was showing attention too. After two years of struggling with the local girls, I get attention the very day I learn about a possible ride to Idaho in about a week.

She’s not the first one either! The first night I was homeless, I rode my bicycle up to my camp and passed a very athletic woman, who I took for a college student. Very petite, and very attractive. We have passed each other on the bike trail, she jogging and me bicycling home, many times over the past two years. Every time I offered a smile and bid her a “good evening”. She never once greeted me in return.

With the winter months and weather, I stopped seeing her completely. Whether she was not jogging every night any more, or my trip had become too early in the evening to see her, I’m not sure.

I saw her again for the first time in months just two days ago. I had come out of one of the two outhouses along the bike trail where I had changed into my shorts for the long ride home. As I was loading my backpack onto the cargo rack, I glanced up and saw her. I smiled and proceeded to secure the backpack.

In a voice I had never heard before, she said with some cheerful air, “haven’t seen you in a while.” I looked up to see her smiling back at me as she heaved the outhouse door open and slipped in.

How peculiar. And they’re not the only ones. I’m getting friendly smiles at every turn. It seems that now that I’ve made up my mind to leave this hellhole and forget about these Daughters of Zion and the rest of these FUB’s, I’m suddenly more than scum and worthy of interaction. It’s like the vibe is out, I’m no longer on the prowl, and therefore safe to associate with.

Well, ladies, I was never “on the prowl” and not about to start a fruitless relationship now. If interaction with you does not serve me a purpose, I’m not in the least bit interested. You snooze, you loose, and you’ve been snoozing for two years.

Oh now I remember, I was going to post a webpage update.

Superman Returns

(Int. Daily planet: chief’s office, Jimmy Olson has a photograph)
Chief: What have you got Olson?
Jimmy: look in the sky Chief.
Lois: It’s bird.
Chief: It’s a plane.
Jimmy: No, look, it’s-
(Enter Clark Kent)
Clark: You wanted to see me?

How fun! It’s a scene from the trailer to Superman Returns. At last, I have finally seen the real trailer. For the longest time all you could see on the net was the teaser. I admit, I haven’t been looking into the Superman Returns site for a while, so I don’t know how long the preview has been out, so I have been getting fairly worried that the release date for the movie is so close and still there hasn’t been a real preview for the movie.

Being on the library computer, I couldn’t watch the Quicktime version from the official site, so I had to watch it on Yahoo! Movies, Yahoo! rules!! I’d give anything to have been able to watch it on my own computer, but the library wireless internet service is still down. Hey, go watch it and let me know what you think. 🙂

It is a totally awesome preview! I can watch it over and over again, like I did with Star Wars prequel previews. I hope this movie is not as big a let down as the Star Wars 3 was. Already there are some things about Superman Returns that I am not going to like.

One of my greatest fears about Superman Returns is that the director would make it a dark movie, like he did to the X-Men movie. I’ve always known the new suit is not going to be the colorful primary colors Reeve’s suit was (or even the comic book’s suit), but I was hoping the exterior scenes would be real-world bright and colorful like the original movies. No such luck. Most of the shots in the preview show the cliché dark and dreary weather conditions. The reason Hollywood does this is because it’s easier to blend the new style special effects. Most of these scenes are filmed in a studio, but when you take studio footage and superimpose it onto a sunlit background, the studio lit shots stick out like a sore thumb. So they change the background to match the overcast look of the studio shots. This gives the movie a claustrophobic feel. I hate every aspect of a dark and dreary outdoors. I’ve lived my whole life in the outdoors, and it is rarely that gloomy, even on rainy, overcast days, which tends to bring the color out of everything.

I was taken aback by Brandon’s voice. It’s kinda high and whiny. It’s not the voice I was expecting Clark Kent to have. I wonder if he changes it for Superman. Hmmm.

Another modern Hollywood cliché this movie is going to endorse is the single mom thing. Lois Lane with baggage? Whatever. Stupid idiots. I have been worried how they were going to handle this. Judging from the preview, I think it may turn out alright. I love Clark’s reaction when Jimmy tells him Lois is a “mommy”, he breaks the picture they’re looking at! You can see the anger. 😀 Looks like there’s some major friction between Lois and the man of steel. I think it will work, add a good plot thickener, give Superman some additional emotional struggles.

Well, I think this movie is going to rock. It has the potential to be the best superhero movie in two decades. I cannot wait to see it.

C++ Demystified

Well, I have read a lot of different books on C++, but, after just finishing C++ Demystified (Jeff Kent, McGraw-Hill/Osborne), I have to say that it is the best. It’s easy to read and progresses in a logical manner, unlike that 21 day BS. The edition I read was copyrighted 2004.

Anyway, on the back of the book, I found the following statement that I think nails the issue perfectly, “C++ Demystified is your shortcut to mastering C++”. That is my thoughts exactly. I would love to have this book as one of my references.

It is a beginner style book, so if you’re interested in beginning programming with C++, I suggest this book. Even if you’re an experienced coder, this is a great reference. It was a excellent refresher for me, to bad I haven’t got a legitimate reason to know it.

I seem to do this a every few years, I read everything I can on C++ and end up wishing I had a reason to program. I can’t even call it a hobby. I know C++, but all the programs I need and use have already been written! Well, maybe someday. 😀

No News Is Good News

Well, I haven’t felt like writing for a while-In case you haven’t noticed. Just thought I’d let you know, no news is good news. I’ve been a lot happier these past few weeks than what I had been since February. And the weather is starting to improve (except for the blasted wind-I hate wind!). It’s been close to 100 degrees. I have also been spending a lot of time touching up my C++ skills, although I can’t think of a single good reason I need to know it. It’s like French, it’s a really cool language, but I have no practical use for it. Things are going good, I’m just waitin’ for the chance to head back to Idaho.

Hold On Tight

O.k., I just read my first, and probably last, romance novel. Loveswept #255 Hold On Tight by Deborah Smith. It’s copyrighted 1988.

First of all, if the rest of the loveswept novels are anything similar to this book, they should have called the series sexswept. I don’t know what it is about women writers and their obsession with sex, but they seriously need to read better books.

I was expecting romance, you know, falling in love. The vast majority of this book was nothing but explicit sex scenes. No romanticism, just sex. If all ‘romance’ books are like this, it would explain society’s corruption of the word love. Most men believe there is a difference between love and sex, obviously, this is a difference lost on women.

The first part of the book was really enjoyable, hence the fact I continued to read. I got a good kick out of McClure’s initial character. The easy to read writing style was appreciated and I bunkered down for what I thought would be a pleasant read. I was disappointed shortly with lack of romanticism involved with the characters’ first romantic encounter, it seemed more corny than anything, as though the author was just trying to get to the juicy stuff [sex]. I did, however enjoy the laugh-out-loud line on page 17, “insanity had started with a torrid kiss and ended with a fainting marsupial”, that summed the encounter up perfectly.

That was pretty much the extent of what was fun about this book. Shortly after, they hook-up and for the next 150 pages or so its nothing but a variety of different scenes of sex, all lacking any apparent relevancy. The only reason I kept reading was because the woman was supposed to have this horrid secret that presumably could destroy everything.

It was so boring. I never thought of sex as boring until I read this book. It was just over, and over, and over again, nothing but sex. The characters got flaky and the holes in the plot grew to unfathomable size.

And after all that boring repetitious monotony, come to find out, her secret wasn’t anything at all-a total, but by that time expected, disappointment. The way the author made it sound, I was hoping the main chick would have killed someone in the past. Turns out, her big secret was that her dad may have been involved in an embezzlement scheme. And, in the end, it turns out that wasn’t even the case.

I suppose if you took all the sex out of the story, it would have made a great 30 page short story. But stretching something like this out to over a hundred and eighty pages really made the characters flimsy.

Maybe someday I’ll write a romance and show women what that word means.