The Invisible Man Becomes Seen

it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture of college, or of education in general. most of the time i find myself focusing on the next class, or the next paper with little regard to what the long term effect could and should be. instead of writing in this blog to fulfill an assignment, i am learning about media so that i can be a more critical consumer for myself and for my kids. adult development will not only count towards my graduation, but benefit my family as my parents age and deal with retirement, disease, and eventual loss.

a similar moment comes when tuition is due, and i either have to work long hours at a job during school, or find a scholarship to help cover the necessary amount. little thought, at least on my part, goes into who is behind the scholarship. the main idea is that they are great and they will help me pay for this semester of schooling so that i can learn about old people, media, marriage prep, etc. but have i ever stopped to notice the invisible man or woman that is pushing me forward in my education? do i recognize the love and hope that they are putting into my life, despite never having known the person?

today, one of my invisible men became visible, tangible... real. i had the opportunity to meet Ira Fulton, a very successful business man and philanthropist. when i say successful, this man has gone from rags to riches, and has donated millions upon millions of dollars to BYU, UVU, ASU, and UofU. while waiting in one of the upper floors of the Spencer W Kimball Tower, i looked out at the students walking to their classes and thought about how many thousands of students had benefitted from this man and his wife's generosity. the Fultons don't even know a small percentage of these students, despite coming to each of the universities frequently to meet as many as they could. they are kind, and put a lot of confidence in the future generations. they provide people with the opportunity to learn in order to change their own lives.

Mary Lou and Ira Fulton

there are few greater ways to express love towards a stranger than helping them fulfill their dreams and gaining their education. extreme amounts of faith and hope go into giving your hard earned money to a scholarship program, praying that some student will use the money wisely and that they will be better for it, instead of squandering the money on something frivilous.

i realized, when i was asked to be one of the representatives of the school of family life to meet with Ira Fulton, that i hadn't given most of my financial aid benefactors a second thought, and yet they and put a lot of thought into me. they, through the medium of a scholarship, have invested in me, as a human being that will go on to do many great things in life. at the very least, being a good husband and father, but with the hopes that i will do more with my job, with my funds, with my opportunities.  the hope that i will change the world, one person at a time, as they have.

whether it is your parents, grandparents, neighbors, or invisible men and women, recognize their sacrifice for you, and their love and confidence in you.

there will always be someone there, pushing you along on your path to greatness. He may not be the one literally pushing, but He guides others to do so. He has invested Himself and His son, along with all of the resources possible for you to become as He is.

See the invisible men and women, See your God.

A Letter to J.J.

Dear J. J. Abrams,

I have been very impressed with the quality of films and series that you have written, directed, and produced over the past twelve years. I became an avid watcher of Alias when it first came out and loved the action and the story development that was included in the show. I feel that Alias was unique in many areas, but the most important being that the protagonist was a woman. She was highly intelligent, took power into her own hands, and led groups to complete missions etc. I feel like she was a great role model for women and that on very few occasions was she objectified as most women are on television and in the movies. 

I particularly was disappointed in the episode that followed the super bowl of 2004 where Sydney Bristow (played by Jennifer Garner) was highly objectified and sexualized for, what I felt, attracting new viewers from the super bowl. This unfortunately is a huge problem with most media today, of which I am sure you are aware. Women are seen as a means to an end in most media, for example the latest Bond movie, Skyfall. The “Bond girl” as they are frequently called, is shot with no remorse and no mention of her after her death. Her role was to get Bond to the antagonist and then she was killed. If women are the lead role, the usually have many men backing them up. As seen in most of the Alias episodes, Sydney’s dad, handler, friend, co-worker, and boss are all male characters that give her advice and direction. Very few women are positive role models to Sydney in the show. Another perpetuation in one of your films was in the first installment of Star Trek that you directed and produced. Zoe Saldana did not seem to think for herself and although she was intelligent, it took Pine’s character or Quinto’s character to piece all the necessary parts together to make the difference in the film.

As I stated above, the majority of your work has done well to either overcome the problem, or at the very least, not perpetuate the problem. Alias, Lost, and Mission Impossible III have all aided the image of women and helped viewers see women as intelligent and successful people instead of sexy, helpless, side characters. 

My hope is that you continue to make quality films and series with women playing more important roles and potentially the main characters as Jennifer Garner did in Alias, to help women aspire to be more than the beautiful, helpless sidekick. You have great influence as a director, writer, and producer. Thank you for your talent in this field and I anxiously wait for your future work.

The Passion in His Voice

I feel that it takes a certain type of man or woman to really motivate a person or a group to do something, an orator of sorts. Someone who can change lives, nations, or even the world. Jeffrey R. Holland is that type of person. When he speaks, I feel that he captures every person within the sound of his voice and they HAVE to listen to him. This becomes even more of a spectacle when you put him in the conference center where 22,000 people sit and listen, not to mention the other million people gathered in church houses and homes listening over radio, internet, and cable.

This man has power and he uses it to help people do something better with their lives. I have had the privilege to meet this man in person on several occasions and each time, I am amazed by the aura around him and the intelligence that is apparent in everything he says.

This weekend was the 183rd annual general conference, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathers the Prophets and Apostles and other general authorities into one building and they teach the world simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many are soft spoken and have great messages, but some lack the confidence to really grab the viewers attention. This is never the case with Jeffrey R Holland.

I have decided that I am going to search out as many of his talks, sermons, books, etc. as I can. He is fascinating and a bit of a role model. Future posts will update y'all on what I learn. Here is the latest conference talk of Jeffrey R Holland.

Melancholic Morning

we all have it, those mornings, or moments that we just don't want to do anything. sometimes there is a specific task with a time crunch (which happened to me yesterday morning) or a long day that you find yourself going through the motions but needing something...an explosion, a surprise, or just SOMETHING out of the ordinary to break the duldrums. 

i find that these days or moments happen in one of two situations. like i stated above, it happens when there is something that you are avoiding, whether it is a long paper that you could do if your were motivated, but you aren't OR when i wake up with no purpose in the morning. i don't have a pressing task to get to, a class, or even planned a run. if i don't have something planned, then there is no particular reason to get up, or to "get to" the tasks. 

in my desperation yesterday where did i turn? facebook of course...(i am ashamed to say). a status was created, more so to entertain myself than to actually get help. that is when a friend sent me some Advice from Elder Busche. 

after watching this, it made me take a step back from my "1st world problems" and look more on the bigger picture. below are a few quotes that hit me particularly hard. 

"Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks." - which should be helpful when it snows after having a week of 60+ degree weather...still trying to apply this one. 

"Steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them towards God."

"Challenges can either bring you closer to God and make you stronger or they can destroy you. You decide what road you take."

"Put all frustrations, hurt feelings and grumblings into the perspective of your Eternal Hope. Light will fill into your soul."

"Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin."

"When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the rudiments of the child of God within him."

"Be not so much concerened about what you do, but what you do, do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction." - this gave me a good push in my paper...at least enough to where i was able to finish it. 

so, to get rid of all the melancholic mornings, I will now attempt to "Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks," despite the snow, the long day of classes or work, the fun day with family, or whatever comes. 

This also helps :)

The Book Thief

"I have hated the words

and I have loved them,

and I hope I have made them right."

I just finished the Book Thief and would highly recommend it to most people. Markus Zusak created a story that was very moving and gave a different perspective of WWII. So often we hear from the perspective of Jews that were killed, or in concentration camps, we hear from Americans or people on the Allies' side. This was from the viewpoint of a little girl who was German and was placed in a town among Germans who were real people and struggled like most people during the war. I feel we often forget that most Germans traveled through Hell as well as the countries that Hitler took over. 

Markus Zusak did a fantastic job putting Death as the narrator of the story and Zusak dives into how the power of words can change the life of an individual, a group, as well as nations. Words, or arguably any medium, can carry a message, pure and simple, to the hearts of people. Hate. Love. Authority. Despair. Leadership. Friendship. Sacrifice. Hope. 

Liesel becomes the Word Shaker and stands up to Hitler despite him not knowing that she even exists. She learns to do what it takes to learn the right lessons and in the process she steals books. 

Very rarely do I get so involved in a book that I feel the extreme emotions that are frequently portrayed. This book, on several occasions, had me cheering and reverently pondering the various settings and themes by the persuasive and inviting writing style provided by Zusak and Death.

I will remember the Word Shaker that Liesel became and a little boy named Rudy who had black soot all over him in order to mimic the fastest runner in the world and Rudy's idol, Jesse Owens. 

"I'm always finding humans at their Best & Worst. I see their Ugly and their Beauty and I wonder how the same can be both.

Superheroes took over my tv

what is every boy's dream? to see their favorite superhero on the big screen of course! i remember being a kid and just WISHING for x-men to be a movie instead of just a cartoon. how cool would it be to have real life people with mutant genes that gave them cool powers? or a more realistic superman without the blue screen, or batman who really was  the "dark knight!"

well, not only have all of these characters and more been made into movies, but argueably, over the next few years, all will have become movies and they will probably have remakes of each of them within the next 10 years. 

for a project of mine, i looked up the superheroe movies that have been made ever, live and animated. i found that since 2000, the united states has produced 66 live action and 41 animated superhero movies. from 1951 to 2000, 51 live action movies and 2 animated superhero movies were released. that's crazy! about 1 a year from 1951-2000 and then about 5 a year after that. why the huge push to create superhero movies? because they sell...because it is not only every boy's dream, but every man's dream as well, to see his heroes on the big screen. what a glorious time to be alive. 

check out the list here.

Everyone needs a hippie friend

how many announcements have you gotten in the past month for friends getting married? past six months? how about the past year? in my mind there are three types of announcements.

first, the one-in-all. this is the choice for those that like to be simple, catchy, and fun. there is one piece of photo paper inside that is double sided, a picture collage, with writing displayed throughout with striking phrases, the place where they are getting married along with the date. it also tells you where they are registered, and in some unqiue spot, if you are lucky enough, you are invited to the ceremony on it.

second, the traditional. a single classy photo of the couple sitting in either a nature place or a modern street with something unique is given on a single 5 by 7 photopaper. behind the photo is the cardstock with the classic "bob and debra schnickers are proud to announce the marriage of their daughter brenda..." the writing is all snazzy and cursive (sometimes unreadable...handy when you don't fancy the couple getting married...oops).

finally, the unique. this can go one of two ways. either the parents agreed to spend way too much on it to where it is old school, Count-of-Monte-Cristo-invitation-to-a-ball type announcement with a ribbon and wax sealed envelope or a very distinct idea that sets it apart from everyone else.

in writing this, i mean no offense to any choice made by a couple. to each their own and you only get married once (hmmm some form of YOLO...YOGMO? does that work? and this is best case scenario). but this brings me to one of my friends from my mission. she has always been...unique. my friend...is a hippie...granola...tree hugger. one of the coolest people i know. a common friend said about her "she's one of the only people that has a passion, went to school for it, and is fulfilling her dream in making a differene."

one of the ways that she did this, tried to save the world, was through her announcement. it was quite ordinary on the outside, brown recycled paper withe the "classic" writing on it, but within the paper...that was something completely different entirely. on the back of the paper, it says "plant me, and i'll grow." this paper was not only recycled material, it had SEEDS in it! how cool is that? way to make a statement, that you love the earth, you want green to usurp the other colors, and for plants to thrive. i accept your challenge. i will plant your announcement and let it grow like your love for your new husband (how's that last part? cheesy enough?)

but really, its cool that she is as passionate as she is about it and made it a HUGE part of her wedding...not to mention pinecones for corsages and boutinires (spelling?), dream catchers hanging all over the reception hall, some form of special stone that's not a diamond, beared hipsters and hippies all over the place, a jazz band playing in the background, and to top it all off, "flowers in her hair...flowers everywhere." way to go kimmy!