and now for something completely different

I was just minding my own today and happened to take my headphones out and overheard a conversation that was happening down the way from me. I had to constrain my laughter because I didn't want them to know I could hear because I just wanted it to keep going and going.
So I thought I'd share some highlights:

In response to a comment that I didn't hear:
"Oh Oh Oh, I know where you're going with this! My sister was a stripper. . .Well, first she was a seamstress, then a hair stylist. Then she just needed money so badly. But, you know, that was back in the day."
I mean, who shares this in casual conversation?

Want some more?
"Kids who live on farms have an immune system that's 30-40% stronger because of all of the filth floating up from the animals."
Isn't that mindset what helped spread the Black Plague?

And, finally, talking about houses:
"Do you know any normal women who spend time at home with the kids all day and have a spotless house? It's all ADHD."


These are the kinds of eavesdroppings that you live for.

Important but whatever

So I thought some of these things might be important. I dunno, maybe you won't. I try not to blog much about political stuff, even though it floats around my mind all the time. I think this will be my last for a while.
Mostly this entry is just presenting info and some funny stories.

I thought maybe some people would like to read this.

Often one party gets accused of playing politics with national defense. Frankly, most of it is baloney, but it does happen, and it happens on both sides equally. To wit: pathetic. And that wasn't the only hearing.

And there are some members of a party, thankfully they're in the minority, that are egging things on.

It took how long for the Dems to recover from the havoc and damage that the mean-spirited protesters wreaked in the 60s and early 70s? Into the 90s.
The GOP think they're going to have great autumn. What's going on right now is going to kill all of that. President Nixon was elected because the Dems ate their own in '68. The GOP is headed the same way this fall.


Oh, Utah Congressman Matheson is being smeared by a few people for having his vote bought by the White House when his brother was appointed to the appeals court. --Except Matheson consistently voted No. Seriously?

To end on a funny note, Scott Brown thinks this is going to work. He's going to lose if he keeps up the obvious lie that Rachel Maddow is running for the Senate. He's already looking like a fool. But, hey, it keeps us laughing.

History of the Middle East

I stumbled onto this video that goes through who controlled the Middle East from 3000 BC up to now. It's fascinating to see all of the fluctuation.

twenty twelve

So I was driving home today thinking about this and that when I realized that the political fallout for the health care bill is going to hit no one harder than Mitt Romney.
The Massachusetts health plan that then-Governor Romney touted as this and that important and good, etc., is so strikingly similar to the bill that the House passed yesterday that Romney is going to get slammed in the GOP primary. He will not be able to walk it back at all.
It'll just be interesting to see if they attack Romney as a socialist with the same baseless rhetoric that they're using now. This I am extremely intrigued to see.

And I guess I'm not the only one who is thinking along these same lines today, come to find out.

Then I saw earlier this on the Twitter: I wonder if Romney's people have ever gamed out the possibility of his running as an independent.
Who knows? But, like I said, I'm extremely intrigued.

The worst bracket in the nation

I filled one out that I'm calling the "Warm my Heart" bracket. If everything happened according to my heart and its basketball desires, this is what would unfold over the next 3 weeks:

**I'd like you to take special notice of who BYU beats in the Final Four and the championship game.
Wouldn't that be sweet?

Creation Lesson

I got asked to give the lesson today in Relief Society about The Creation from the manual.
Flippant things:
First, it'd been a long time since I'd taught a class in straight-up English. There was some stalling going on while I fished around in my mind for the right translation from Portuguese to English.
Second, I got to use some etymology at the beginning of my lesson.
Third, I got a shout-out to Brock into my lesson when I mentioned how Concepción moved 10 feet to the west.

Less flippant:
It was a lot of fun to get to teach in church again. I miss it. I learned a lot in researching the lesson.

Here's a really cool quote from Elder Bednar (Oct 2008 GenConf) that I found during my prep:

We learn from these verses (Moses 3:4–5) that the spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation. In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day. Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.

So there you go, it was a happy Sabbath :D

Apology Provided in Advance

I just saw this headline about a quarterback on ESPN's homepage:

Look, it even has a video link attached to it.






I know, I know.

drill team addendum

Amy's mentioning the Lone Peak Knights and the school's drill team, the Chevaliers (in the masculine spelling form, no less [sheesh])*, reminded me that SF's high school drill team is called Las Chalitas**. See Spanish Fork loves to play on the Spanish theme. They just made up the name and liked it. At least it's in the feminine form.
One problem, the word Chala actually exists in Spanish, it means corn husk. Chalita is the mini form of a chala. (or it can mean sandal) (or it can also be slang for marijuana or something like that)
So bring on the Mini-Corn Husks at halftime, Spanish Fork!

*See previous entry's comments.
**When I first looked at the video, the ad that came on said "Let's Make Babies." Awkward.



Ashibaba! Hey Hey!

Tron (Legacy)

I'm so excited for the movie. I hear the trailer in 3D digital is wonderful. You should click to make the trailer full screen. mmhmmm



And if you needed a reminder:

March Brings a Wonderful Day

I would just like to point out that there is a countdown on my blog. The seconds are ticking their way toward National Grammar Day. I know, you're just as giddy as I am about the logophilic possibilities. My students will be ecstatic.

*Lest you think I'm grammatically prescriptivist, I also think we should celebrate grammar in all its non-standard beauty.