This article was shared with us at the end of an excellent class tonight when we had been discussing Abraham and Isaac. The tone and balance of this essay is very good, but I particularly enjoyed his annunciation of the principle of faith vs. religion. How many people allow their religion to displace God? Please take the time to give this short essay a thoughtful read. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/are-mormons-any-weirder-t_b_1116390.html
A few weeks ago Elder Callister spoke at BYU Education Week and gave an address that should certainly go in the yearbook of notable speeches. His topic was the destiny and identity of each of us. Starting with the question raised in a recent General Authority training, he quoted Elder Nelson’s response to the question of how to help youth avoid pornography: “Teach them their identity and their purpose.” As Elder Callister pointed out, this answer is not only a response to that particular problem but an answer to most of our challenges in life.
My position on gaming has changed since my early days. In the beginning, I came to love computer games as something like a sport. I was in it for the skill and competition, whether we were making coordinated infiltrations in Team Fortress, micromanaging an attack on the enemy’s economy in Starcraft, or having a showdown in Unreal Tournament. In those days, the less luck involved, and the more room for speed, wits, and improvement, the better.
Murder. Betrayal. Corruption. Conspiracy. Affairs. Scandal. Tragedy. If you guess this is the front page of the daily news, good job. You are also right-on if you guessed the latest Hollywood hits. I would even give a passing grade for answering “The New York Times Best Seller List.” In response to this rising subject-trend in news and media the audience tends to be separated into two groups. Some readers seem to bear the label “optimist” on smiling lips and shake their head at a corrupt media.
I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town; With a heave-ho and a lusty yell They swung a beam, and the building fell. I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled, And the men you’d hire if you had to build?” He gave a laugh and said, “No, indeed, Just common labor is all I need; I can easily wreck in a day or two What builders have taken a year to do.
An excellent article about creating automated lab assistants to allow human scientists to do the real innovating without wasting time on data-collection. The model is Advanced (Man + Machine on a team) chess. The essence of the article: If technology allows us to free scientists from the day to day grind by letting robots do the bulk work of data collection, then a scientific culture can be built that’s more attuned to the big picture of analyzing data, formulating new hypotheses, and connecting disparate ideas.
I recently enjoyed viewing “Expelled”, a documentary in which Ben Stein investigates instances in which the scientific academic world reacted violently against those who dared to consider intelligent design, even when ID was considered from a non-Christian perspective. The conclusion of the film was that the academic world of science has a fanatical devotion to Evolutionism/Darwinism and rejects even faint references to Intelligent Design with a truly religious fervor. Although the film itself was just a little too entertaining, a little too near a “mockumentary”, to be persuasive to me, the fact is that atheism does have some disturbing resemblances to religion.
The China-US discussion produced this statement: “In a speech Friday at the State Department, Clinton said China must assume the responsibility of being a world power, rather than basing policies on its own self-interest.” Self-interest being an interesting discussion-point, what do you think of this statement? Is the point, “being less self-interested is more in your interests?” Or is it more a, “I’m tired of talking about you. Let’s talk more about me” statement?
In preparation for the New Year I have been going through my daily journal for the past year, looking at the events that have made the year great, and the lessons I have learned. One such lesson came powerfully on August 6th, the day of my Brother’s wedding. The temple was full of friends and family because in addition to the wedding it was the temple day of the ward we grew up in, where my brother still lives.
Historical Context Japanese animation often brings to mind poorly made cartoons with character’s with ridiculously large eyes, too many tears, and voice-overs that you would expect from the most campy kung-fu movies if they were delivered by annoying pre-pubescents. But even the likes of Pokemon and Dragonball-Z demonstrate a little bit of the Japanese imagination. Whether it is giant robots and monsters, or mythic time-travel adventures, or any other display of fantasy, the Japanese have captured a niche market that appeals to an increasingly large international audience.