Spitz is yet another awesome band that isn’t American - and they rock!  (not that I have any clue what’s going on in this video)

The past few weeks have been pretty tumultuous over here for a number of reasons, primarily moving to a new house, poverty (relatively speaking, of course), and having no internet (!!!!), but now I’m back with a very important message, namely: I want to let you all know what books I think are worthwhile. After all, the implication of being well-read (i.e. showing interest in books) is almost as good as actually being well-read. So here are a few good books I’d read, or at least sample if I had the time.

1)”Dave Barry’s Money Secrets - Like: Why is There A Giant Eyeball on the Dollar?”

I admit, I’m actually sort of reading this one, and it makes me laugh a lot. Hydralisk, this is one you should find on tape/CD if you can. It will help you shift some paradigms and revolutionize outside the box, or something like that.

2) “Obama Nation” by Jerome Corsi

When I first ran into this one at the book store, I got a little excited - “A well-researched, non-gushing book about Barack Obama?! How much is this? I’ll take 2.” I skimmed the preface, and thought it seemed pretty even-keeled and objective (and for the record, the author is not a Republican, but a Constitutionalist). However, when I checked out what wikipedia, the bastion of e-truth, had to say, my faith was shaken - apparently Corsi has taken some liberties with the facts, or else just drawn conclusions many didn’t want to hear (or, more likely, something in the middle). So anyway, I’m a little more skeptical of the book. However, it is on The New York Times bestsellers list, and, like so many people in this country, I take the New York Times more seriously than a lot of things. It can do no wrong. Ever. Seriously, though, I’m intrigued to hear what Corsi has to say about Chairman Barack’s supposed cult of personality.

3) “The Definitive Guide to Stuff White People Like” by Christian Lander

Another book I happily bumped into at the store the other day. Flipping through it, I was surprised at how many people the author and I both seem to know Lander has a great way of poking fun at white people (or, as one of my white co-workers candidly pointed out, a certain subset of white people: the college-educated, left-leaning ones), and I admire his ability to do so in a way that is simultaneously incisive and good-humored.

Also, you can check out the official website, stuffwhitepeoplelike.com.

Continuing in my pattern of promoting all things awesome (in my estimation, at least), here’s a “video” of “Falling Away With You” by Muse. Ok, try to ignore the fact that it’s just a picture with music playing. I decided that I really like the song - it is one part beautiful and two parts super cool - and, in true blog, fashion, decided to let the internet know.

(semi-spoiler alert)

Director Christopher Nolan, as far as I can tell, doesn’t make bad movies (Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, and Batman Begins are among his accomplishments). Dark, brooding, dense, challenging, brilliant movies - yeah, he makes those, and The Dark Knight is no exception. I don’t remember exactly my initial impression of Batman Begins, other than that I liked it a lot. Well, this most recent movie made an impression on me, and it was this: gee, Batman’s world sure is a dark and depressing place, yet so interesting! This movie was by no means a pick-me-up. It was gritty and intense. Quite a few people died. It had a menacing, often violent (albeit sometimes morbidly funny) villain. It had strained and crushed ideals, disturbing ethical dilemmas, and some tragic character outcomes. And let’s face it - that was not a happy ending! But you know, those were the same things which made this such an engrossing, interesting and therefore, in my book at least, excellent movie. Nolan sure knows how to raise the bar on good filmmaking - I can’t wait for the next one!

Ok, so it turns out that the Travis video doesn’t like being embedded into blogs, but be sure to check it out on YouTube here. Instead, here’s “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse, a delightful, riff-heavy romp. It’s funny, my first exposure to this song was playing Guitar Hero against my little sister, and I got whipped. But now I am the master, and ready for a rematch!

Ah, great music, great video, great band. Travis always makes for a good, self-indulgent post

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I’ve been meaning to relate an incident I witnessed a week or two ago here in Alexandria, VA. First, a little context. The Old Town section of Alexandria is very charming, and I find myself walking up and down the particularly busy King Street pretty much on a daily basis. Typically, there are a number of homeless people sitting along the street here and there and, although I have offered some change once or twice, I find myself basically ignoring them when I walk past, as is seemingly the norm. I think this is an easy habit to develop, particularly among the relatively well-to-do; there are a number of ways to consciously justify such callousness, some fairly legitimate (this guy seems crazy and possibly dangerous), others not so dignified (this woman probably brought this on herself - incidentally, this one is explicitly challenged by the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible. See Mosiah 4:16-19, Deuteronomy 15:7-8). Also informing indifference to the homeless and poor, I believe, are such factors as the development of general indifference towards strangers (for the sake of not being nosy or disrespectful) and the frustration of not knowing how best to address the plight of the poor (we are finite beings with limited resources, and the needs of the poor may seem to require more than we can give). I do not pretend to have the answer to poverty - it is a huge and, in some ways, complex issue. However, I do not think the answer ultimately lies in government as now constituted, notwithstanding the aid which public services do provide, albeit imperfectly. To ultimately erase poverty, I believe, will require a drastic and willing change in how we as a society view property, our material needs, and our relationship with our fellow man.

That sounds like a pretty incredible set of circumstances, and some may assert that the expectation of such is hopelessly naive or downright impossible. Nevertheless, I believe they are changes which will occur over time as individuals learn from and apply the teachings and principles of Jesus Christ. Which brings me to the incident which I witnessed. On one of my many strolls down King Street, as I approached some homeless people thinking to myself, “Just ignore them - you’re justified”, a professional-looking lady ahead of me cheerfully asked one of the men if he had eaten lately, or something to that effect, and came to an agreement that she would return soon. As it turns out, I saw that lady about a half an hour later carrying a bag of takeout food in the direction of the homeless man. It was actually quite a simple occurrence, not at all dramatic and certainly without any fanfare on her part, but it nevertheless impacted me. It made me want to be more like that woman, less inclined to silently pass by these people every time, and more willing to share what I have with others. And that’s an interesting thing, because I don’t currently have much; I don’t have an income here yet, and I almost couldn’t pay rent this month. However, while I am not advocating extreme and unprincipled generosity, I do believe that it can be dangerous for our development as Christians to give excuses why we are unable to reach out to others. Admittedly, I have as much room for improvement in this as the next guy.

In closing, I believe that Good Samaritans such as this woman are not rare in America, although their good deeds are not typically broadcasted to the world, mostly by design. In large measure, such people reflect what is great about our country; the magnanimity to actively share the prosperity, with which we have been blessed with those who have not been as fortunate, with the recognition that the abundance we enjoy is a gift, not an entitlement.

So, I know I said I’d talk about some relatively substantial things next time I get off my duff to write but, well, sometimes I talk big and make promises I won’t keep (like Barack Obama! Zing!).  So, I just stumbled upon the news that another X-Files movie is coming out in July. My first thought was “Huh?”, followed shortly by “Cool!” Yes, it did seem a little strange to me that another X-Files movie is being released in the near future, seemingly unannounced (although I’m rarely at a movie theater, and thus miss a lot of trailers, I’m sure) and so long after the show’s golden era (i.e. before Duchovny left and before the writing and storytelling got kinda stupid). I mean, I bet there’s a lot of punk kids today who’ve never even heard of the X-Files! But strange or not, I believe what I’ve read - fitting as the film’s subtitle is “I Want To Believe”, nyuk nyuk. Seriously, though, I really liked the X-Files before its decline, not to mention before my attention got wrapped up in other things, like college. I have many fond, if not tense and scary, memories during high school of watching X-Files on Sunday night when I should have been completing my procrastinated homework. Ah, the memories!

Interestingly, the movie reportedly is a “stand-alone story on the struggle between faith and science” rather than another chapter in the series’ unfolding alien mythology.  I have to say, one thing I always liked about the show was its open-minded approach to both science and faith, embodied in Mulder, the irrational believer, and Scully, the hard-nosed skeptic, and their evolving relationship as they investigated the unknown. Wow, that’s a lot like life, isn’t it? We’re all some combination of Mulder and Scully as we try to make sense of this thing we call mortality. See, I somehow managed to go deep despite an initially frivolous topic!

The article can be found here.

To my dear, faithful readers,

Don’t worry, I’m still alive! I recently moved out to the DC area, but, sadly, have been without computer as I wait for it to arrive in the mail. But fear not! Lots of deep thoughts and cool posts are forthcoming on topics such as why I don’t like Barack Obama, philosophical musings about the job market, and my initial impressions of the LDS singles scene here ( hint: it’s a bit of a meat market). How fun!

Yet another nugget from my favorite existentialist:

“The Truth shall set ye free, but first it shall make ye miserable.”

-Soren Kierkegaard

If that’s true, and I think it very often is, that would explain why truth is so elusive. On the other hand, flattering untruths and half-truths, can be readily obtained in great abundance. Perhaps their supply is simply meeting an enormous demand