December 8

There are moments in time that we will try to erase, and actions that we would rather not remember. There will be logic unexplainable and motives indescribable. There will be men of obloquy, and there will be days that will, in fact, live in infamy. And sometimes it will seem that only hatred and devastation abound. We must remember those times; those people and those days - for forgetting them allows us to ignore the suffering that desperate hatred can cause.

But also, let us not forget about rebuilding, regrowth and learning to re-trust. Let us not forget about getting up off the dirt and starting anew. There will always be a new day looming ahead, not meant to replace the past. But giving us a chance to start again.

I will remember and honor December 7th. But I look for a promising December 8th.

Time Lapse

Time stood still for a small moment this past week (Don't you just love that I used a measurement of time to define a period of timelessness? In fact, try to define timelessness without measuring it at all in someway. Tough stuff.) My sister, Carley did something incredibly reckless and got married, to someone else, on Black Friday.

Funny thing is, I have never seen her happier.

Really, coming from a guy who cut his teeth on making people laugh and smile, that is something to say. But I can't honestly think of a time when she smiled bigger or longer than when they were pronounced husband and wife. She nearly launched right out of the room.

As a big brother of three ladies, I have now allowed two, to be married - which is, again, something I never thought I would let happen. But it was an interesting moment for me, amidst all the chaos of the post-Thanksgiving merchandise massacre and the hormones of a bride and her entourage, to stop and realize how happy my sisters are with their husbands. There is a little bit of magic there, something we forget about; something I am obviously failing to capture with alliteration and punctuation-but people still get married, happily and strive to live for another person.

I think perhaps I just got lost in polotics and tabloids that keep screaming about the failures of society and the need to fix everything, and thus forgot that if two people really care about each other, things seem to work out. Props to my parents for surviving four crazy children...and me. Congrats to Nichelle and Matthew for their happy years of marriage. Best of luck to Carley and Paul; its going to be a fun ride. And lastly, many thanks to my wife for dealing with me thus far. Our little moment of timelessness is measured in laughs and tears - mostly tears that come from laughs because, lets be honest; I am just THAT funny - and one beautiful little girl who has not ceased to amaze.

It is my hope that the happiness continues, in-spite of the world around.

Who gave that chick a gym membership?

So I got jumped today, by my wife. It was an un-provoked (unless owning her at frogger constitutes as provoking) attack that was swift and merciless. Highlights from today's match include:

"Dog, you smell."
"Yeah, it's part of my strategy."

"You see, right then you were like a space ship and I was the moon. You launched at me and I just slingshot you right around. And then the moon fell on you."

Fear not, I fought off and neutralized the assassin. No amount of Oakridge Bootcamp will ever make her strong enough to take the title of wrestling champ in this house!

Comfort found in Bixby

Former President George W. Bush, speaking today at Ground Zero in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, quoted the words of another president who sought to console a Massachusetts mother after she suffered another unspeakable tragedy.

Bush, who was president on Sept. 11, 2001, said Abraham Lincoln “understood the cost of sacrifice, and reached out to console those in sorrow as best he could” in his November 1864 letter to Lydia Bixby.

A widow living in Boston, Bixby had lost five sons who fought for the Union in the Civil War, some in battle, some afterward.

Lincoln wrote the letter at the request of then-Governor John Andrew, namesake of Andrew Square in South Boston.

“I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom,” Lincoln wrote in the one passage quoted by Bush.

The remark was preceded by another moving passage. One that captures the mans desire to lift the grief of a woman surrounded in loss, yet recognizes his inability to do so.

“I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save,” Lincoln wrote.

Things I wish I wrote.

You can see that "there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow (of death) again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires.

"Dangers and difficulties have not deterred us in the past, they will not frighten us now. But we must be prepared for them like men in business who do not waste energy in vain talk and idle action. The way of preparation (for action) lies in our rooting out all impurity and indiscipline from our organisation and making it the bright and shining instrument that will cleave its way to freedom."

- Nelson Mandela, "No easy road to freedom." September 21, 1953.

Fresh Start

Tonight I haven't been able to sleep; most of this week, even. I am having a do-you-like-who-are crisis, and if I am losing sleep, you can guess the answers I am getting.

In efforts to become someone I would rather be, I have created an action-item list;I my game plan to a cooler me strategy:

Who do I want to be?

1. A practical and spiritual force & protecter of my family.
2. Loved and cherished by my wife.
3. A sought-after leader.

What do I want to change?

1. My thoughts. I am a grown man, it is time to stop thinking like an adolescent.
2. Clean words. Its time to elevate my vocabulary to a higher level of intelligence.
3. Control my emotions. Learn to bridle the raw emotion that makes me unique without choking out my passion.

* I want my actions to reflect how I feel inside -- I need to be true to myself.

It is my hope that writing this in a public semi-public setting will help solidify my move to make a change. Its time be something better than what I have been. It is time for a fresh start and a new beginning. I don't need to find myself, I just need to be myself.

Short of Perez

This is an excellent article highlighting the true character of a man. Its obvious that everyone makes mistakes, expecting people to not screw up is ridiculous. However, expecting people to react like Pat Perez is exactly what this world needs:

Article by Shane Bacon
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/Pat-Perez-disses-young-fan-immediately-does-the?urn=golf-wp4519

There isn't really any reason why Pat Perez is one of my favorite golfers on tour. He's fiery on the golf course, and doesn't mind showing his emotions, which can range from great to mad to happy to downright explosive in a matter of seconds. A year ago at the Waste Management Open, Perez opened with a great 65, and when asked how he felt about his chances, he told everyone he didn't like them, saying he never really enjoyed the golf course and didn't think it suited him very well. It's that stuff that people in the media appreciate, because it's honesty, and that isn't always what comes from players.
So when Perez stormed off on Sunday at the Reno-Tahoe Open after finishing in second place, missing three putts within 10 feet on the last three holes to lose by a shot to Scott Piercy, you figured his blood would be boiling, but little did he know that the cameras were following.
Perez walked under a spectator rope, and as one kid offered up a ball for him to sign, Pat just kept walking, and cameras caught the boy crying (video has since been taken down by YouTube). What did Perez do once he realized what happened? He took to Twitter, offering up a sincere apology to the boy, saying, "Yeah. Was a d**k move. I apologize for my actions. Had a lot of emotions going yesterday when I got done. Unprofessional."

And now what is he doing? Something even better.

"Everyone. Someone please help me find that kid!! Got something big for him. Thanks. Start the search in Reno"

So, if anyone has any idea about who that kid was, fire Pat a tweet at @patperezgolf and let's see if we can't help out a little golf fan and make Perez sleep a little bit better tonight.
It's nice when a bad situation gets turned into something good in a matter of a few hours, and hopefully the boy gets his autograph and we can find out just what Perez has in store for him.

My temper has got me into enough trouble in life. My mistakes are many and the people I have hurt are now getting club jackets. I try to be the best person I can, but I fall short. But now I know how to be better.

I want to be like Pat Perez when I grow up.

You are what's wrong with the world

In response to the an article posted by the Associated Press on yahoo sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rangers-fandeath), a Yahoo! member who goes by Thursday N posted this:

Must have been one lousy fireman if he couldn't even keep his balance in a baseball stadium. Imagine him trying to hold onto a kid in a burning building. Good riddance. The people of Brownwood are probably sleeping better, knowing this clown isn't "protecting" them.

Oh, and Hamilton, the drinks are on me!!!

What is wrong with you? Is your piddling ego so incredibly fragile that you have to mock a dead man's memory to feel good about yourself? Or do you need the attention? Do you need the world to know that Thursday N exists and has an opinion, and the only way your narcissistic, cretinous little mind could come up with was to mock a man's death. You are what's wrong with the world.

Oh, and to the first person that kicks this guy's ass senseless, drinks are on me.

This isn't supposed to happen at the ballpark

David Brown wrote what must have been an incredibly difficult piece this morning. I don't think he could keep the emotion out of his words if he had tried. The following was posted at 1:50 AM EDT, this morning:

This kind of thing isn't supposed to happen at the ballpark.

But it has.

A man attending a Texas Rangers game with his young son died after falling out of the left-field stands and about 20 feet to the ground Thursday night.

He was trying to catch a ball flipped into the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton(notes) but apparently lost his balance and fell head-first in a space between the 14-foot outfield fence and the grandstand near the Oakland Athletics bullpen.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," team president Nolan Ryan said. "As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we're very heavy-hearted about this, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."
The Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin identified the man as Shannon Stone, a lieutenant in that town's fire department and a fireman for 18 years.

The accident happened in the second inning after Oakland's Conor Jackson(notes) hit a foul ball that bounced back onto the field.
Horrifying TV replays from the Oakland broadcast show Stone positioning himself to catch Hamilton's throw, then tumbling over a railing as his young son watched. A man next to Stone tried to hold onto him, but couldn't.
It's the second fatal fall at a major league ballpark this season. In May, a fan at Coors Field fell down a stairwell and died. Also, last July at Rangers Ballpark, a fan fell 30 feet from the second deck of seats while trying to catch a foul ball and suffered a fractured skull and sprained ankle.

Ryan said Hamilton and the rest of the club were made aware of what happened.

"We spoke to the ballclub, they understood what has happened and we spoke to Josh," Ryan said. "I think as any of us would be, Josh is very distraught over this, as the entire team is."

What must be going through the mind of not only the boy, but also Hamilton? Obviously, what happened wasn't his fault but it would only be human nature to feel guilty. And, as most fans realize, Hamilton is quite human.
The other players were taking it hard as well:

Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler(notes) was in tears after the game when he found out the man had died.

"They had him on a stretcher. He said, 'Please check on my son. My son was up there by himself.' The people who carried him out reassured him. 'Sir, we'll get your son, we'll make sure he's OK,"' Ziegler said. "He had his arms swinging. He talked and was conscious. We assumed he was okay. But when you find out he's not, it's just tough."

This has to be the saddest possible event at a baseball game. A man goes to a ballgame with his son — it's the ultimate American experience — and he dies trying to catch a ball. It's hard to comprehend.

As for the need to raise the railings, or not throw balls into the stands ... that's the crazy part. How many thousands of games happen where nobody gets hurt, and now this?

Video of the fall probably can be found elsewhere on the Internet, but be advised: It is profoundly upsetting.

Maybe more cogent thoughts will come to me in the morning.


My thoughts go out to those affected by this tragedy. My wish is that everyone is.

Surely there are more important things to talk about.

In all sincerity, and after doing all due diligence on my own before writing this post (which should translate into: With all the sarcasm I posses and at the pinnacle of my frustration...), I ask any and all, What good ever came from whining? What grand thing has anyone ever accomplished in life due to your "piss and moan" fest? When reading history books, where was the chapter that explained "Abraham Lincoln owes most of his success to the global response to his whining."

Dear one and all,

I apologize for the fact that your life sucks. But I am more sorry I have to hear about it. I feel bad that nothing seems to go your way, I have been there. In fact, I have done my fair share of whining myself...so let me give you some advice from experience: Unless you are writing a Dashboard Confessional song, nobody wants to hear about it.

Man up, dig your heels in and fix the aspects of your life that you don't like. Friends got you down? Get new friends. Marriage sucks? Counseling. Work sucks? Quit. And for the love of all that is good in this world - shut up! Unless you are actually trying to work through your problems, talking about them will only bring everyone else down.

That being said. If you need a sounding board to help you determine a course of action to better the situation your in, find a wise friend who is blunt and impartial and ask for advise. If you don't have one, I am more than happy to help.

Sincerely,

MR (On behalf of everyone who is tired of having to sit through your rants)

Leader of the Band

Writing has got to be one of the most frustrating tasks to ever be given, and I am the moron that gives it to myself on a daily basis. To attempt to express emotion, wit, poetry and intelligence all at once by stringing the right combination of words together is absolutely asinine. But I do it because every now and then I get it right, and its awesome (not in the sense of "Becky is so totally awesome," but in the true sense of the word - leaving someone totally speechless). Nine times out of ten, however, it is the most frustrating part of my day. Most people don't understand what I mean when I try to explain that frustration, but my father does. He'll understand when I tell him I have spent the last two hours attempting to write a tribute to him and his legacy, and I have gone absolutely nowhere. He'll understand that this is not anything against who he is - but that I simply cannot put into words my respect for this man. I cannot write about his legacy...simply because I do not know what to say.

Much of who I am today is a driven from what I saw in my father. My father is the writer in me, he is the voice. My passion, power and poetic prose all come from him (although he was never as alliteration happy as I was). When my father and I get fired up, the same thing happens. We pace. We rant. We pontificate. And we will repeat until every last room is converted or crying (the latter sometimes has adverse affects). When my father wants to, he can blow roofs off houses, or as I used to say, "blow fish right out of the lake like cruise missiles!"

My father is a determined man - I believe the term my mother uses is "stubborn." He genuinely wishes to care for my family and provide for them without the assistance of anyone (thanks for passing that one along, Dad.). He works hard at what he does; at everything he does. I don't think I have ever seen him settle for less than what he is capable of, and I am sure that is because when he does it eats at him constantly. Personal success is important to him, but only as far as providing for the people around him. In short, my father cannot let people down; it is not in his nature.

Now I am a father. Providing for a family of my own, trying to make sure my family is taken care of. I now realize what immense pressure my father put on himself to ensure that my childhood was a happy one. The debt he incurred to make sure we had cars to drive and new clothes at school, the hours he put in at work to pay the bills, vacations, broken windows (I still consider that the best bow and arrow shot of my life) and boken bones (Nichelle...not me - I am invincible), and the overtime he put in at scouts, baseball, band concerts, choir festivals, basketball and the one on one time that seemed ample to me. I am fairly certain all have that would have been re-paid with a sincere thank you. I am certain I did not say it enough.

So again, here I sit - now three hours into this process still trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into a non-schizophrenic expression of gratitude for the man who has given me his life so that I may live mine. For that, I say thank you, Dad. I get it now. Thank You. I have had moderate success in life, and I owe much of it to the attributes he gave me. I am the living legacy of Brad Russon.

"...I thank you for the music and your stories of the road. I thank you for my freedom when it came my time to go. I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough. But papa, I don't think I said 'I love you' near enough."

Things I wish I wrote.

Regardless of religious, political, or personal opinons - this article by Mike Otterson makes sense. I wish I wrote this:

This was taken from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/evangelicals-mormons-and-the-beliefs-of-the-president/2011/06/07/AGnGX8KH_blog.html

Many thanks to Ashley for pointing it out @Ashmolita

Evangelicals, Mormons and the beliefs of the president

A week or so ago I read an essay by evangelical journalist and author Warren Cole Smith, suggesting that voting for a Mormon – any Mormon – was a less than responsible thing to do. I found its logic profoundly disturbing.
Some very good conversations between evangelicals and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been going on for years. I hope there will be more, and that they’ll be instructive and mutually respectful. Conversation is the beginning of understanding. But too often we see reactions to old stereotypes, like this one. So here is my open letter to Warren Cole Smith in response to his assertions.
Dear Warren:
We’ve never met. I hope we might have a chance to do so.
I read your symposium essay and it got me thinking. I hope you won’t mind if I avoid discussing particular political candidates. My church is serious about its neutrality in party politics, and as a church spokesman I am always careful not to tip my hat in the direction of either an incumbent president or any of his opponents.
In fact, this letter is emphatically not about the candidates at all, but about how differently you and I understand what it is to be an American.
I hope I can fairly summarize the salient points of your essay. It seems to boil down to this:
1. Any Mormon, regardless of qualifications for office, is unfit to serve because his or her religion is somehow “demonstrably false.” By false, I assume you mean different from yours, or from how you define “biblical Christianity.”
2. Because Mormons believe in continuing revelation, they could “believe one thing today and another thing tomorrow.”
3. The election of a Mormon president would give the religion a boost because it would seem like an endorsement. And that would be a bad thing.
To be honest, Warren, I don’t really know how good or bad any of the likely candidates – Latter-day Saint or otherwise - might be as president of the United States. I’ll try to figure that out for myself before I enter the voting booth in 2012. But whoever might be elected, I expect the judgment that this nation and history will eventually render about him, or her, will have little to do with where they worshipped on the Sabbath. It will have much to do with their grasp of economics, of foreign policy, of education and health care, of their skills as commander in chief. It will likely reflect how they responded to crises, their core values and ability to unite and rally the American people.
I admit, I’m struggling just a tad with your logic that the very fact of being a Mormon disqualifies a person from high public office. That would be news to Senator Orrin Hatch, who has served his country and constituents for 34 years. And to Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader - one of the most powerful positions in government.
It would also be news to former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who as a member of President George W. Bush’s cabinet ran a department that accounts for almost a quarter of all federal outlays. Or to Larry Echo Hawk, who heads the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, in the present administration. And, of course, to the dozen-or-so other currently serving senators and congressmen who are also Latter-day Saints, as well as the thousands of non-Mormon voters who recognized their merits and helped elect them to office. If there is anything “demonstrable” it’s that Mormons have been serving most capably in national government for over a century.
I’m trying hard to figure out how and why belief in “continuing revelation” has or could compromise the performance of any of these legislators and public servants, since that is what your essay implies. “Continuing revelation” means two things to Mormons. First, it means we look for answers to personal prayers – a practice that you and I probably share. Second, it means church leaders receive inspiration and guidance to lead the church worldwide. It doesn’t mean, as you assert, that we “believe one thing today and another thing tomorrow.” As evidence for that, you offer a theological caricature and cite two changes in church policy, which occurred over 120 years. Something of a stretch, don’t you think?
To your third point, there’s your assertion that the election of Mormons to high office would be a tacit endorsement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This argument, while not new, is frightening in its implications. Substitute the word “Jew” for “Mormon” and see how comfortable that feels. We may reasonably hope that most people vote on the basis of policy positions and not of denomination. I never thought of the election of John Kennedy as an endorsement for Catholicism, or that Richard Nixon’s election “legitimized” Quakers (as if these groups needed legitimation). I think most Americans saw their religious affiliations as incidental to their policies and platforms.
In reality, the church that I belong to embraces a membership with views across the political spectrum, and maintains its independence and neutrality from party politics. If I know anything about my church, it’s how carefully it distances itself from the actions of party politicians and government, and respects the autonomy of any political office holder.
So let’s move beyond these questionable assertions to the premise in your post that really disturbed me, stated by you this way:
“I believe a candidate who either by intent or effect promotes a false and dangerous religion is unfit to serve.”
Who decides, Warren, that one religion is acceptable and another “false and dangerous”? Do you? Does the church that you attend? Since you aren’t calling for Mormons to be legally barred from the highest office in the land, is your idea just to effectively marginalize Mormons and make it impossible for them to run for office? Do you feel the same way about other faiths that are different from yours? Catholics, perhaps? Isn’t there something called Article VI, a constitutional provision that forbids a religious test for political office? “…No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” What does that mean – what has it ever meant – if it doesn’t apply in a case like this?
What it seems you would like me and six million other Mormons in the U.S. to do is concede a fundamental right granted to all Americans because we don’t fit within your definition of what is theologically acceptable. Fortunately, that’s not what the Constitution says, and it’s not what America teaches. I should hope that I can sit one of my grandchildren on my knee and tell them that in our religiously diverse society they are as good as anyone else, and that they will be judged by the fruits of their lives and not by discriminatory interpretations of their faith.
With the greatest respect, Warren, your position is unreasonable, un-Christian and untrue to American ideals. Neither is it typical of the Christians I know, or of those writing at your venue. Mormons across the country live side by side with evangelicals as neighbors, work associates and friends. There is much that they share. And by the way, despite my clear disagreement with some of your theology, I would have absolutely no problem voting for an evangelical who was in every way qualified to be president of the United States.
It’s time to overcome unfounded fears, to stop propounding them, and to start trying to understand each other better. If you want to talk theology, then let’s get beyond the laundry list of trivia that typically crops up in the news media, and get to the substantial issues – interpretation of the Bible, additional scripture, the purpose of life. Hopefully our next interaction can be a personal one. If you ever come to Salt Lake City, please drop in. I’d welcome a meaningful discussion.

Respectfully,

Mike Otterson

Jordan’s king urges US businessmen to invest in the kingdom despite region’s unrest

By Associated Press, Published: May 21

AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged U.S. businessmen visiting the kingdom Saturday to make bigger investments in Jordan, saying they should not be dissuaded by the popular uprisings that have unseated two Arab leaders and threatened others.

Abdullah said investing in Jordan allows them access to three continents, 350 million Arab consumers and a cheap, bilingual and skilled Jordanian labor force.

Some protests calling for political changes have been held in Jordan, but the country has not seen the kind of serious unrest that has hit other Arab nations.

Abdullah addressed American businessmen from companies including Hilton Hotels, Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., General Electric Co., Citigroup Inc., Raytheon Co. and Boeing Co.

One of the attending firms, the global entertainment organization Rubicon Group Holding, announced it will design and produce a 184-acre theme park in the Red Sea city of Aqaba at a projected cost of $1 billion.

Rubicon said in a statement that the Red Sea Astrarium will feature an attraction inspired by the 2009 movie “Star Trek” and developed by Paramount Recreation.

The statement said the project, which is due for completion in 2014, will generate employment for more than 500 high-skilled workers in the local community and will incorporate renewable technologies throughout the facility.

Rubicon, which is specialized in digital content production for entertainment and education, is headquartered in Jordan with subsidiaries in Los Angeles and two other locations worldwide.


So as I have announced in the past, I am the Associate Director of Themed Entertainment at Rubicon and am currently directing the creative content that will be produced in The Red Sea Astrarium. This is a very exciting time for me and my team to be a part of a huge project, but something that His Majesty believes can bring about major change to a region with huge potential. If you are interested in being a part of this, I am staffing up as fast as I can find qualified people. Get a hold of me!

This is the wrong kind of dance.

It was an interesting experience to not be in the know last night. My wife and I were playing the Wii and then we watched a movie together, so I never even heard the news of what had happened in the world until I was plugging my phone in to go to bed and noticed that ALL of facebook nation and something to say about the death of Osama Bin Laden.

First of all, I really don't like getting my news from Facebook. Not sure whether its because I now feel like I am behind, or I am just bugged that everyone has to post the same thing, twice...on their status line, but I don't like it.

Actually, I think the thing that bothers me is the immense spectrum of responses that came through in light of the news. And perhaps that is what is most un-nerving about all of this. I feel that, as a nation, perhaps we have gone a little off the deep end with this news. Is America more great then it was yesterday? Is "F*^$ Pakistan" really the best response? But most of all, is dancing on the grave of someone else really what this all boils down to? I thought we as a people were better than that (who am I kidding?).

Now don't get me wrong, I am not any different, in many regards than the country as a whole; I just happened to come online and read everything post-news break and had the opportunity to think before responding. So please don't think I am taking the Holier-than-thou approach (as I have noticed most of my posts are); but I am very concerned with how happy we are of the death of another human being. Relieved? Great. Closure? Fine. But Happy? Doesn't seem right. To me, some of the Facebook posts I read last night seemed way too self-righteous and "ass-kicking, gun-toting, Jack Bower owned your Islam ranting, muslim preaching, terrorist-mongering piece of trash."

We should be better than that. Regardless of our views, and I share them; despite what we feel, and I feel it; we need to find some reverence in the fact that we as a country have had to resort to killing another man. A life was ended. And while it was deserved, and very much coming for some time, we should in no way be spitefully dancing on the grave of the deceased. This is not that kind dance. We need to be better than that.

Locked and Loaded

A job offer was extended to me, officially, two days ago. And after a ridiculous amount of study and ponderment (new word, commit that one to memory); the wife and I have decided to accept it.

I have accepted the offer to become the Associate Director of Themed Entertainment at Rubicon Holding, a production studio based out of Amman, Jordan. This job will move us to the Los Angeles area and we are now actively seeking a new place to live. Top runners thus far, Valencia, Northridge and Pasadena.

More to come.

Prophesies of Victor Hugo

This past weekend my wife and I went to see a local production of Les Miserables. It was a high school production, and I thought they did a great job. My wife was seeing it for the first time, and I have seen it a few more than that but it was still nice to watch another great production.

Les Mis is a musical rendition of the book by the same title about a man's road to redemption during the French Revolution. Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. The character's nineteen year-long struggle with the law for stealing bread (5 years for the theft, 12 years for four attempted escapes and 2 years for fighting back during one escape attempt) during a time of economic and social depression.

Valjean's character in Les Misérables teaches the reader that redemption is possible for anyone, anywhere. This of course, is an incredibly important ideal to take away from the book as well as the show, however I have been interested with the depiction of Javert; the show's antagonist.

Javert is a policeman and prison guard who devotes his life to the law. Javert was born inside a prison. His mother was a Gypsy fortune-teller, and his father was a galley slave. The text states that this experience convinced Javert that he must choose between attacking society, or defending it; given this belief, he joins the police. After leaving the parole board, Javert spends the latter half of his life pursuing Jean Valjean.

For sake of time, I will sum up what happens; but you all should read the book: Javert pursues Valjean all of his life, with intention to return him to prison for life. Late in the story Vealjean has the opportunity to end Javert's life and finally be free. Instead he lets Javert go. Javert wanders the streets in emotional turmoil: his mind simply cannot reconcile the image he had carried through the years of Valjean as a brutal ex-convict, with Valjean's acts of kindness on the barricades. Now, Javert can be justified neither in letting Valjean go nor in arresting him. For the first time in his life, Javert is faced with the situation where he cannot act lawfully without acting immorally, and vice versa. Unable to find a solution to this dilemma and horrified at the sudden realization that Valjean was simultaneously a criminal and a good person—a conundrum which made mockery of Javert's entire system of moral values—Javert decides to remove the problem by removing himself from the problem. He goes into a police station, leaves on one of the desks a note with some remarks on how to improve police and prison operations in the city, then proceeds to Pont-au-Change and drowns himself in the river Seine.

In the musical, Javert's character is almost the same, with one difference. The musical's depiction of Javert has strong religious motivations which differ from Javert in the novel, who, although respecting the church, answered only to the law and not God. To me, this is an interesting change because it represents a host of religious individuals who attempt to guide their lives by a moral compass. Javert runs his life by the moral code he learned in the church, however - it seems to have run him to the far side of the spectrum; for now he struggles to find the good in life when it is not packaged in the black and white portrait set forth by the church.

And while the church, which represents the various religious institutions all over the world are in no way responsible for the effect, its members seem to have a tendency to "look beyond the mark" (for John). We forget that members outside our various organizations can also believe in God (in whatever form we understand) and are striving to be like him. Or even, we forget that some don't believe in God at all and yet still strive to make the world a better place. We forget that people all over the world, regardless of religious affiliation, are actually good.

I find it interesting; in scripture it speaks of the "End of the World" as a time when "man's heart shall fail him, and wax cold." It speaks of hatred and anger and a battle of good and evil (most believe this to be an issue based argument; Evil fights good based upon the fact that they do not wish to conform to the truth), that will ultimately over run the entire planet. That may be true, and will quite possibly happen, but for different reasons. I think that we as a people are capable of ending the world over nothing more than opinion; we hate each other - and unlike Javert, we'd kill each other. Look at the major polarizing ideals in society (Abortion, Homosexuality, Death Penalty, etc); no matter what people think or believe about these ideals, which usually have religious roots, end up in fight...and results in genuine hatred.

Let us not become like Javert, who found it so hard to believe that another man who had such obvious faults could actually be good. Perhaps we can remember that regardless of background, faith and ideals; we can look in the eyes of another man and see a life and remember "to love another person is to see the face of God."

The news, a drink and yelling at the dude across the table.

A bright sunny afternoon shines down on a middle age man walking a busy Chicago street. He steps inside a coffee shop and sits down at a table, already occupied by a man who looks remarkably similar.

Is it cool if I sit here?

Sure-Hey you, you're me.

Well, constructed. Let's talk for a second.

You want to talk with me?

Well, more accurately, you want to talk with you; but you're not listening.

So...

So you are taking a stand and interrupting.

That sounds like me-

What are you doing right now, where are you going?

I am having a drink and reading the news. Is there someplace else you would rather be?

Well, as much as I enjoy kyping wi-fi and reading articles that I've already read before, what do you say we do something new for a change?

It appears that I talk to myself now, that's not good enough?

As much as I would like to entertain my own wit, I am going to ignore you for a moment to get to my point.

A point-

You need to do something, you need to accomplish something with your life. You're obviously gifted and have the desire to accomplish great things, why aren't you doing them?

-its just the news and a drink.

Great, you are going to force me to argue with myself in public and put up with my sarcasm?

It's a defense mechanism. Apparently it works internally too.

Seriously, you are a writer. Why aren't you writing? Why aren't you speaking? Why aren't you attempting to change things you don't like about this world? Why haven't you done anything you've wanted to do?

You know a lot of these things are easier said than done? Despite the witty exposition and dialog between me and - me, there isn't much demand for my writing. In fact, there isn't much demand for me. I have a job that required less thought than when I was un-employed, bills and no market value what-so-ever. People don't care. I am just a dude at a table in a coffee shop that no one will remember.

You are an incredibly large pansy.

Wow, I am an ass.

No, I mean it. That was the most self-serving, cheese and whine, girl-scout answer I have ever heard. But if it helps, you have got the delivery for it.

What could you possibly mean by...

No, that's a compliment. You rocked that delivery. You have got everyone sold with that response. "The economy sucks, the market sucks, the world sucks." You got it so good that you believe it too.
(Beat)
You do believe it; you think that you totally worked yourself out of life and the game is over.
(Another Long Pause)
I honestly do not care what you think is the cause of your situation is because there is very little you can do about it. Life happens, most of it will be completely un-explainable. Move on.

Thank You, Master Ugi. Anything else?

Since when did the things other people were doing become important?

They were always important, I just didn't care as much because I was always at the top of the pile.

Wow.

Well, I am talking to myself; PC answers seem a little pointless.

A fair point. But lets be honest about something else. You have wanted to be the head of every pile, in every category. But as long as you were doing something you loved, you were good with that. And if you were really sinking your teeth into something, you excelled at it. So just do something you like to do; regardless of who it is for or who will ever see it.

And my mind-numbing job?

Well, some things won't change. You took the hard route in life - get yourself out of it.

And the countless lives I wanted to change for the better?

Doesn't matter anyway if you are stuck in your own hole.

A long pause as both stare at the people walking outside.

And what if I don't have the desire to change, what if I really can't get out of this hole?

Just get started, the rest will come from somewhere.
(Beat)
You know, what about a short story about a kid who has a heart to heart with himself.

Sounds kind of boring, but the dialog could be pretty snappy if he was talking to his other half...

You mean better half.

I am fairly certain you are more annoying than you think.

Yeah, your friends think so too.

...allright.

A wise man once said.

Read this tonight, I think the author is right on many levels and funnier than most people realize.

"The more I read about it, the more it seems that Watson's (or its programmers') Jeopardy accomplishment was more breakthrough than parlor trick. Let's put it to practical use on our toughest problems like figuring out how to reduce the deficit without touching entitlements, why we keep getting so many credit card offers in the mail when we never respond to them, or how to keep Lindsay Lohan out of trouble."

Let's get this thing off the talk shows and do something with it. Besides, I got the Lohan thing figured out; put me in charge of her money.

I know you're reading this, so I wrote one just for you.

Dear Potential Employer,

Thank You for taking some time to do a little investigative reporting on me, your new potential employee. As you have my resume and Cover Letter, as well as access to my online professional profile at Linkedin.com, I thought I would take a moment and tell you a little bit more about myself. Since you are currently looking at my facebook, twitter and blogger accounts, I figured you are trying to learn something more about me that was not on the resume. So I have decided to help you out. I have decided to answer the interview questions that you should ask me when we interview. Hopefully, you'll know a thing or two when we are done here --so thank you for your time.

Yes, I grew up in the Chicagoland area. Here I feel I got the best of everything, as I feel this area is the land of moderation. I got both ends of the spectrum in politics, economics, business and entertainment (Don't ask for examples of entertainment -- I just threw it in there because four examples sounded better than three). I feel like I got a little bit of everything, and that is important to me. I returned here because I want my children to have the same experience.

I have many experiences from my personal and professional history that have shaped the way I operate today. Of course I have specifics for you, feel free to pick a category. I turned salesmanship into an art by the time I was 16, I can sell anything. Sales is fun but wears on you fast; something that I noticed early in life, so its not my favorite thing in the world. I love music and have an incredible ear for it, I'm a little freakish when it comes to music. Future dream job: scoring movies. I also love to write, a lot. Why do you think I am taking the time to have an interview with you, online, by myself.

My greatest attribute: This is an interesting question, and often difficult to answer because I never know exactly what you are looking for when you ask it. I think my greatest attribute is that I genuinely believe in the goodness of people. It is a gift because I am always striving to bring out the best in a situation. I also work tirelessly to solve problems because I want to make others happy.

My weakest attribute: I am easily spooked. I am incredibly afraid of failure and the resulting consequences. At times, this can be good because I will work on a problem until I am successful; something I am sure you will enjoy at your firm. However, if it is something I haven't already started, I will most likely avoid in order to save face. This is the reason I didn't play high school basketball, football, try to get into an Ivy League school, or learn to play the piano or attempt to sing professionally. Long story short, sometimes I am a pansy.

The thing that I will bring to your company is an un-matched level of passion. I run 100mph at whatever problem you point me towards. A fair warning, sometimes I will leave Mitch-shaped holes in the wall, because I will screw up. But I work hard and if you show interest in my life an who I want to become, I will be your most loyal associate; like a border collie with a degree.

Finally, I love to work. Ask my family and friends, they will affirm that I am ridiculously devoted to whatever I am working on; most of them will report with a certain amount of disdain-but it will be the truth. I love it, and I am ready to start immediately.

Anyway, thank you for your time "investigating" me, your newest employee. I hope it was worth the read. In the meantime, feel free to browse my facebook pictures and friends and that will give us something to fill time with in the actual interview. Thanks again, talk to you soon.

Mitch