So, as some of you know, I play Everquest. Its a really fun game, and one of the top things on my geek resume. I just wish I could get Will back into it, and Jimmy to start. (seeing as he's the one who got me to originally buy the game back in 00).
So, I just thought I'd let people see what it looks like, this isn't a long video, its just an anniversary video someone put together, it shows what the game looks like, so even if you would never in a million years play it, you can at least maybe see why I think its cool.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Prince Caspian ****
Okay, Alisa and I saw this movie on Saturday, and we both loved it.
Just so you know (and if you saw the first one, you should expect this), this doesn't follow the books 100%. However, I do think that even with the changes the movie stayed true to the story. There were bits I would have done differently, or even emphasized more or less, but I think thats because I loved the book, and I don't personally feel the need to pull in large crowds. But, seeing as that is what will pay for the next installment, I don't begrudge them that.
The same four kids are back, they did great in their parts. The choice of Prince Caspian (while much older than he is supposed to be), worked well. If you like the books, or liked the last movie, you should go see this one. I think its even better than the first.
One note, they need to take a page from Peter Jackson and film several of these together, these kids are going to get way too old, soon.
Just so you know (and if you saw the first one, you should expect this), this doesn't follow the books 100%. However, I do think that even with the changes the movie stayed true to the story. There were bits I would have done differently, or even emphasized more or less, but I think thats because I loved the book, and I don't personally feel the need to pull in large crowds. But, seeing as that is what will pay for the next installment, I don't begrudge them that.
The same four kids are back, they did great in their parts. The choice of Prince Caspian (while much older than he is supposed to be), worked well. If you like the books, or liked the last movie, you should go see this one. I think its even better than the first.
One note, they need to take a page from Peter Jackson and film several of these together, these kids are going to get way too old, soon.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The right decision
So, most of you have been following the huge case down in Texas involving the removal of more than 450 children from the FLDS Yearning for Zion ranch. Well, yesterday an appeals court in Texas overturned the courts ruling, stating, in part
If you want to read the whole MSNBC article on the court ruling, go here.
While I won't claim to have called this one exactly, I have been pointing out that I thought that Texas has screwed this one up from day one. My belief is that the authorities in Texas have been waiting at the gate of the compound (sometimes literally), hoping for any excuse to rush in and break up what they see as heathen's and freaks.
Now, I lived in Texas for a couple years. Love a lot of the people there. But I have never been around more intolerence in my life. I know some people think Utah is wildly intolerent, those people are, in my opinion, wildly sheltered.
For those who don't go read the linked article let me sum up what the court said, and what it means.
First, the court said that the state didn't have any right to take all of the children from the ranch to begin with, Texas law requires immediate danger in order for children to be taken without a court order, and the court said there was no proof of immediate danger. Second, the court said that the state failed to provide evidence that would allow the removal of all of the children. Third, the court found that the lower court should not have considered the entire ranch as 'one household' for determination purposes.
So, the state was arguing that the children were in danger because girls aged like 13-16 could be forced into marriages. Half of the children they took away were under 5, which makes the immediacy of that danger questionable at best. Another example of their argument not comporting with reality is in the underage mother 'evidence'. Of the 31 girls that the state originally claimed were underage mothers, 15 have been reclassified as adults, one as old as 27.
What does this all mean. The way I read it, the lower court has ten days to vacate its ruling, which would send the kids back to their parents. And I think that is the right thing to do.
Now, does this mean that I don't find many of the things that were purported to go on there creepy, or even possibly abusive, absolutely not. That is why I am so frustrated with Texas. They screwed this one up from day one. There are more than likely girls on that ranch that desperately need help, but because Texas was more worried about making a huge statement, and running those freaks out of the State once and for all, they didn't bother to do it right. And when it comes to the courtroom, and proving your case, you have to make sure that you go by the book as much as possible.
I think this whole mess kind of backs up Mark Shurtleff on this kind of issue. Yes, we would like to do something about a situation that we think is wrong, but we can't just go marching into Hilldale/Colorado City because we don't like what we think is going on, we have to have proof of something. Because even people we disagree with, most especially people we disagree with must be afforded all of the protections of the constitution. If we want the system to work, we must ensure that it works for the most heinous of criminals/miscreants, or it doesn't work at all.
"The existence of the FLDS belief system as described by the department's witnesses, by itself, does not put children of FLDS parents in physical danger"
If you want to read the whole MSNBC article on the court ruling, go here.
While I won't claim to have called this one exactly, I have been pointing out that I thought that Texas has screwed this one up from day one. My belief is that the authorities in Texas have been waiting at the gate of the compound (sometimes literally), hoping for any excuse to rush in and break up what they see as heathen's and freaks.
Now, I lived in Texas for a couple years. Love a lot of the people there. But I have never been around more intolerence in my life. I know some people think Utah is wildly intolerent, those people are, in my opinion, wildly sheltered.
For those who don't go read the linked article let me sum up what the court said, and what it means.
First, the court said that the state didn't have any right to take all of the children from the ranch to begin with, Texas law requires immediate danger in order for children to be taken without a court order, and the court said there was no proof of immediate danger. Second, the court said that the state failed to provide evidence that would allow the removal of all of the children. Third, the court found that the lower court should not have considered the entire ranch as 'one household' for determination purposes.
So, the state was arguing that the children were in danger because girls aged like 13-16 could be forced into marriages. Half of the children they took away were under 5, which makes the immediacy of that danger questionable at best. Another example of their argument not comporting with reality is in the underage mother 'evidence'. Of the 31 girls that the state originally claimed were underage mothers, 15 have been reclassified as adults, one as old as 27.
What does this all mean. The way I read it, the lower court has ten days to vacate its ruling, which would send the kids back to their parents. And I think that is the right thing to do.
Now, does this mean that I don't find many of the things that were purported to go on there creepy, or even possibly abusive, absolutely not. That is why I am so frustrated with Texas. They screwed this one up from day one. There are more than likely girls on that ranch that desperately need help, but because Texas was more worried about making a huge statement, and running those freaks out of the State once and for all, they didn't bother to do it right. And when it comes to the courtroom, and proving your case, you have to make sure that you go by the book as much as possible.
I think this whole mess kind of backs up Mark Shurtleff on this kind of issue. Yes, we would like to do something about a situation that we think is wrong, but we can't just go marching into Hilldale/Colorado City because we don't like what we think is going on, we have to have proof of something. Because even people we disagree with, most especially people we disagree with must be afforded all of the protections of the constitution. If we want the system to work, we must ensure that it works for the most heinous of criminals/miscreants, or it doesn't work at all.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
This is only a test.
Okay, testing some stuff.
Now i know how to put on pictures, still can't figure out videos.
Monday, May 19, 2008
This last weekend.
Was fairly busy. We got sprinklers up and running (thanks Mark), garden mostly tilled and awaiting planting tonight for family home evening, the swamp cooler up and running (thanks Dad, no really, its gotten super hot, you're a life saver), Cora's dance recital, and Alisa and my sixth wedding anniversary (thanks again Breanne and Amelia).
Working in the yard is still not my favorite thing, but I have to say, it becomes so much more enjoyable when its your yard. I am very excited about our garden this summer. I bought 16 tomato plants, 8 pepper, 4 broccoli, 1 cucumber, and 1 zucchini. Also plan on getting corn in the ground tonight, to go along with the raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries we already have. Very exciting.
Cora's dance recital was just as I thought. I love seeing her, she is adorable, and she clearly has a great time. The rest of it is brutal.
Alisa and I had a good time for our anniversary, and got to see a movie we had both been wanting to see. But that is in a different post.
Working in the yard is still not my favorite thing, but I have to say, it becomes so much more enjoyable when its your yard. I am very excited about our garden this summer. I bought 16 tomato plants, 8 pepper, 4 broccoli, 1 cucumber, and 1 zucchini. Also plan on getting corn in the ground tonight, to go along with the raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries we already have. Very exciting.
Cora's dance recital was just as I thought. I love seeing her, she is adorable, and she clearly has a great time. The rest of it is brutal.
Alisa and I had a good time for our anniversary, and got to see a movie we had both been wanting to see. But that is in a different post.
Iron Man ****
Alisa and I went to see Iron Man on Saturday night. It
Was
AWESOME.
First, I have to thank Amelia and Breanne. After taking the time to come up from Provo to see Cora's dance recital, which she appreciated so much, they stuck around to watch the kids while Alisa and I got to go out for our anniversary. Thanks, it meant a lot, and was very, very appreciated.
Now to the movie itself. As you can see, I gave it 4 stars. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It was well acted, it was well written, it was action packed. I loved it, and so did Alisa. I can't wait for the inevitable sequel. Good news, reportedly Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man in the movie) loved doing it, and is up for any and all sequels they want to make. Also, I noticed on IMDB that he will be making an appearance in the upcoming Incredible Hulk (as Stark). If you like comics, you'll love this movie, if you don't like comics, you'll love this movie. It lives by the rule of good comic book movies, it got real actors (Jeff Daniels, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr. *look for a little cameo by Sameul L. Jackson*), was written very well, staying true to the story, but not being overly comic book cheesy.
I cannot recommend this movie enough, fabulous from start to finish. And, I would highly recommend that you stick around after the credits, there is a little teaser scene setting up the sequel.
For those really into comics, you will enjoy that S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an appearance, as does Nick Fury. And, the hint of a new government program called 'The Avenger Initiative' got me super juiced for summer 2011. July is the tentatively slated release date for The Avengers. By then Captain America should have come out. The plan is that they will do several individual marvel superhero comic -> Movie then they will coalesce into The Avengers, using all the big stars that are in the individual movies. It is highly exciting.
If you have the chance, you must go see Iron Man. I think its second only to Batman Begins for awesome comic book movies. It outshines the others.
Was
AWESOME.
First, I have to thank Amelia and Breanne. After taking the time to come up from Provo to see Cora's dance recital, which she appreciated so much, they stuck around to watch the kids while Alisa and I got to go out for our anniversary. Thanks, it meant a lot, and was very, very appreciated.
Now to the movie itself. As you can see, I gave it 4 stars. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It was well acted, it was well written, it was action packed. I loved it, and so did Alisa. I can't wait for the inevitable sequel. Good news, reportedly Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man in the movie) loved doing it, and is up for any and all sequels they want to make. Also, I noticed on IMDB that he will be making an appearance in the upcoming Incredible Hulk (as Stark). If you like comics, you'll love this movie, if you don't like comics, you'll love this movie. It lives by the rule of good comic book movies, it got real actors (Jeff Daniels, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr. *look for a little cameo by Sameul L. Jackson*), was written very well, staying true to the story, but not being overly comic book cheesy.
I cannot recommend this movie enough, fabulous from start to finish. And, I would highly recommend that you stick around after the credits, there is a little teaser scene setting up the sequel.
For those really into comics, you will enjoy that S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an appearance, as does Nick Fury. And, the hint of a new government program called 'The Avenger Initiative' got me super juiced for summer 2011. July is the tentatively slated release date for The Avengers. By then Captain America should have come out. The plan is that they will do several individual marvel superhero comic -> Movie then they will coalesce into The Avengers, using all the big stars that are in the individual movies. It is highly exciting.
If you have the chance, you must go see Iron Man. I think its second only to Batman Begins for awesome comic book movies. It outshines the others.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Obama
So, I know that several Obama supporters read my blog. I love you anyway. Often people think that I am partisan for the sake of being partisan. I like to think that I'm not.
Early on, I mean early, early on, I kind of liked Obama. Said I'd probably vote for him if Huckabee was the VP candidate etc..
This changed when I really started to see his stances on the issues. I'll give you the fact that the guy can give a good speech. He is very charismatic. I'm afraid, however, that I strongly disagree with more than one of his stances. I'll provide some examples. You may agree with him, that's fine, I don't on these, I think he's just wrong.
First. I firmly believe that the purpose of the Senate in the judicial nomination advise and consent is to see if the person is qualified. Period. I don't think it is to see if they agree with you, etc.. Reading this statement by Obama convinces me that we couldn't be more different on our view of the judiciary. I think on the really tough cases, the ones that are really, really difficult, where the judges end up disagreeing. You need to go to the law. To the constitution. I don't think feel good opinions are the answer to tough legal problems. And what bothers me the most here is this statement,
So, then you would assume Obama voted to approve Judge Roberts, right? Nope. He goes on to say this,
I don't want Ginsberg's values deciding U.S. law. Heck, I don't want Scalia, or Roberts, or Alito's values deciding U.S. law. I want their best interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
Here is a clip from a debate. Most of you probably won't watch it, though if you are going to vote for Obama, I wish you would. If you agree with him, thats fine, I just hope you know what his stances are first. I disagree with him on two things here. First, it seems that nobody disagreed with the idea that when capital gains tax was cut revenue went up, no one on the stage disagreed with that statement, so I assume the agree with that. Charlie Gibson pointed out that whenever capital gains was raised, revenue went down. Obama said he was still for increasing it, in order to get more revenue. Doesn't that seem like he is ignoring the statistics?
Second thing he said there that I have severe heartburn with is that the President didn't jump on the housing crisis early enough. I'm sorry, that is not the President's job. Where was congress on this one? Or, heaven forbid, lets have someone in the public eye cast a little blame on greedy, shortsighted individuals that set themselves up for horrible consequences on their homes. There are plenty of reasons to not like the current administration. But it is too easy of an out to blame the administration for things that could have been handled by the congress and weren't. This shouldn't be a talking point, with three Senators in the race for the white house. None of them seems to have gotten off their keesters to do anything about the housing crisis.
In general, I find Obama to be disingenuous. He spouts moderate, bridge building, etc. But his rhetoric is no different than any other candidate I have heard. He is 100% wrong on the war in Iraq. He states that from the month he is put in office he will remove 1 brigade per month from Iraq until they are all gone. He doesn't put any stipulations or conditionals on it, just one per month until we're gone. I know that Jimmy believes that he will change his mind after he gets in office and sees more info. I don't have that kind of faith.
To be open and honest. There are things I disagree with McCain about. I don't believe that now is the time for a increased tax-cut. As long as we are spending lots of money on Iraq/Afghanistan, anything that cuts our revenue shouldn't be pushed forward, unless that revenue is picked up in a more desireable way.
My hope here isn't to convert people away from Obama. My biggest fear is that people like him, because he is likeable and a good speaker. If you actually go read up on his stances, now what he believes and wants to put into action (not just the soundbites you hear every now and again), thats your deal. And we can disagree and what kind of programs are right, economically. I just hope people who 'like' him, actually know him first.
Early on, I mean early, early on, I kind of liked Obama. Said I'd probably vote for him if Huckabee was the VP candidate etc..
This changed when I really started to see his stances on the issues. I'll give you the fact that the guy can give a good speech. He is very charismatic. I'm afraid, however, that I strongly disagree with more than one of his stances. I'll provide some examples. You may agree with him, that's fine, I don't on these, I think he's just wrong.
First. I firmly believe that the purpose of the Senate in the judicial nomination advise and consent is to see if the person is qualified. Period. I don't think it is to see if they agree with you, etc.. Reading this statement by Obama convinces me that we couldn't be more different on our view of the judiciary. I think on the really tough cases, the ones that are really, really difficult, where the judges end up disagreeing. You need to go to the law. To the constitution. I don't think feel good opinions are the answer to tough legal problems. And what bothers me the most here is this statement,
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind Judge Roberts is qualified to sit on the highest court in the land. Moreover, he seems to have the comportment and the temperament that makes for a good judge. He is humble, he is personally decent, and he appears to be respectful of different points of view."
So, then you would assume Obama voted to approve Judge Roberts, right? Nope. He goes on to say this,
"what matters on the Supreme Court is those 5 percent of cases that are truly difficult. In those cases, adherence to precedent and rules of construction and interpretation will only get you through the 25th mile of the marathon. That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."
I don't want Ginsberg's values deciding U.S. law. Heck, I don't want Scalia, or Roberts, or Alito's values deciding U.S. law. I want their best interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
Here is a clip from a debate. Most of you probably won't watch it, though if you are going to vote for Obama, I wish you would. If you agree with him, thats fine, I just hope you know what his stances are first. I disagree with him on two things here. First, it seems that nobody disagreed with the idea that when capital gains tax was cut revenue went up, no one on the stage disagreed with that statement, so I assume the agree with that. Charlie Gibson pointed out that whenever capital gains was raised, revenue went down. Obama said he was still for increasing it, in order to get more revenue. Doesn't that seem like he is ignoring the statistics?
Second thing he said there that I have severe heartburn with is that the President didn't jump on the housing crisis early enough. I'm sorry, that is not the President's job. Where was congress on this one? Or, heaven forbid, lets have someone in the public eye cast a little blame on greedy, shortsighted individuals that set themselves up for horrible consequences on their homes. There are plenty of reasons to not like the current administration. But it is too easy of an out to blame the administration for things that could have been handled by the congress and weren't. This shouldn't be a talking point, with three Senators in the race for the white house. None of them seems to have gotten off their keesters to do anything about the housing crisis.
In general, I find Obama to be disingenuous. He spouts moderate, bridge building, etc. But his rhetoric is no different than any other candidate I have heard. He is 100% wrong on the war in Iraq. He states that from the month he is put in office he will remove 1 brigade per month from Iraq until they are all gone. He doesn't put any stipulations or conditionals on it, just one per month until we're gone. I know that Jimmy believes that he will change his mind after he gets in office and sees more info. I don't have that kind of faith.
To be open and honest. There are things I disagree with McCain about. I don't believe that now is the time for a increased tax-cut. As long as we are spending lots of money on Iraq/Afghanistan, anything that cuts our revenue shouldn't be pushed forward, unless that revenue is picked up in a more desireable way.
My hope here isn't to convert people away from Obama. My biggest fear is that people like him, because he is likeable and a good speaker. If you actually go read up on his stances, now what he believes and wants to put into action (not just the soundbites you hear every now and again), thats your deal. And we can disagree and what kind of programs are right, economically. I just hope people who 'like' him, actually know him first.
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