Wizard of Oz

November 5, 2009



Niwot High School did the musical The Wizard of OZ this year. It is the traditional, Dorthy from the movie Wizard of Oz. There are a couple of additional songs, but if you read about the movie, then you know those songs were actually in there but were cut. There were also a couple of added lines which were very appropriate. All in all, it was a delightful performance. It was pretty well acted, and real well sung. The Dorthy had a beautiful voice. The wicked witch was great. The wizard was a girl (Wizardess). The scarecrow and tin man did real well. We actually went to see the cowardly lion.




One of the boys from church, Eric M., had that part. He was great. he seemed a little tentative at the start, but got better and better as the night went on. And his mom was so proud because she made his costume, and he did his own makeup. We were so proud of him. His younger sister, Hanna, was also in the play - as a Munchkin, a tree and an Emerald City girl. She will have bigger parts as she grows older.

We enjoyed it, and a whole block of seats, right in the middle of the auditorium was filled by the LDS crowd, there just to see Eric and Hanna.

Movie Review

October 24, 2009

The Vampire's Assistant

So is anyone else getting tired of the "good vampire" story line. You know the "I want to drink your blood - but I am a good guy so I won't" paired against the real bad guy vampire - "I want to drink your blood".

Well this is another one. Enough said. Nothing good enough to set it apart from the others of the genre.

I think Mar and I both felt the same way - not good enough to spend tick money on (even though we did). Probably okay if it comes from Red Box.

Mar gave it a 2.7

I had to stretch to give it a 2.2.

Reading List

11/04-09

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I liked it.

With that said - it is so much like Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code that at first you may think - why do I want to do this again. But like the other two, it is written in a way that insists that you keep reading.

Now I can't tell you too much about it. I can't tell you about the bad guy. I cant tell you about the investigator. I can't tell you about the moral dilemma. But if you have read the other two - well, like I said, they are the same.

Only one problem with this one. It ends slow, with a lot of philosophy and rhetoric.

Now, for those who want to read it, I will tell you this. It happens in Washington, D. C. As I was reading it, I kept wondering, "Where is this place?" And with that in mind, I have prepared a tour guide book for The Lost Symbol. All you have to do is ask and I will send it to you. It is just a collection of maps and pictures that will enhance your reading of the book. All people should have a tour guide - especially in a place like Washington, D. C.

Lar in Warren

October 25-31

Don't get too excited - it is just a business trip. And we are getting to that marvelous time of year when it is practically dark when you go to work and practically dark when you get home. Besides, it was in Warren, NJ. Not a lot to do there. But if it had been summertime, I might have - might have I say - ventured into "The City". Warren is only 25 miles west of Newark, NJ and only about 35 miles from New York.

This was the first time I had ever been to the Warren office. It was nice. I taught two classes - one a standard delivery and one a very custom delivery. The standard class went very well. The custom class - well it was a lot to do in the two days I had to do it in.

I have decided that I don't like driving there very much. Those people are crazy. And like the rest of the Northeast, the roads don't lend themselves to figuring out where you really are or which direction you are going. But it was fall in the Northeast, and even though it is late fall, it was beautiful in a "closing-down-the-autumn" sort of way.

On Friday night I drove back to Newark and stayed at a hotel at the airport for an early Saturday morning getaway.

Thought for the Day

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Reading List

10/25/09

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolfe


Maybe I have matured a little bit.

Back in my college days, this was the kind of book that drove me crazy. For instance:

It is stream of consciousness – it is people’s thoughts. And you have to read very closely to figure out whose head you are actually in, because from paragraph to paragraph it switches.

It has very long sentences and very long paragraphs. It does not “move”.

There is no main character. There are just characters that interact – or do not interact. No good guys or bad guys. In fact, the person who you think the book is about – well she dies about half way though and leaves you with out a main character.

And it is not about going to the lighthouse. It is more about not going to the lighthouse. In fact, when they set foot on the island of the lighthouse, the story ends.

Just how are you supposed to “get into’ a book like that?

But maybe I have matured – because I liked it. I guess if I had too, I could examine it and look at symbolism, and uncover themes – but I don’t have to. I know they are there, but I’m not in college anymore, so I just took what I wanted. It is the kind of book that, without my spiritual side, could be depressing, but I have matured and I see the fallacy of some of the pessimistic philosophy.
Yea, I liked it. Yea, it is one of the 501 Must Reads. No, I would not recommend it unless you really wan to so serious reading and introspective soul searching.

Scripture Study - Rejoice Evermore

October 18, 2009

A message from President Jensen of our Stake Presidency

How to "Rejoice Evermore" with references to 2 Nephi Chapter 4

We all have our real down times - I mean real down times. So how do we get back "up"? How do we get going again? How do we rejoice when things seem to be going towards despair.

Nephi - well he did have it bad. His father just died. His brothers hated him - and were plotting to kill him. Yea, things were not looking up. So he took a simple six step method to get up and get going.

1. Recognize the problem - this generally happens when you are wallowing in the problem:
vs. 17-19
2. Remember - you have been blessed int he past
vs. 19-25
3. Why - if "1" is true and "2" is true - ask why
vs. 26-27
4. Snap out of it - take charge
vs. 28-30
5. Pray about it - unceasingly
vs. 31-33
6. Commit to do it - I will . . .
vs. 34