Seek Ye Out of the Best Books

Recently, I attended a priest's quorum lesson during which the discussion turned to the matter of profanity in literature. I held my tongue despite my objection to many of the things that were said. I appreciated that there was a liveliness in the participation which is the antithesis of the norm. But, I certainly can't keep quiet when I feel strongly about something.

In essence, the discussion went something along the lines of some of the priests expressing their discomfort at having to read some foul language in books like Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Raisin in the Sun, etc. Now, I can certainly understand that when I was that age, I also remember it to be somewhat appalling. However...from what little I have read from the great literary works, I have come to understand the value of those works. I wouldn't say because of the profanity...but, neither would I say that it is in spite of it. I'm know that some of the young men in the room who were objecting to the things that they were reading at the behest of their teachers went to see Iron Man of their own free will and mentioned no similar discomfort at language that was no less profane than anything that they could possibly have read in any of Steinbeck's novels. Am I saying that they should not have seen the movie? No, I enjoyed it myself. But, what I am saying is it is inconsistent. Iron Man can be a wonderful movie despite the occasional vulgarity but Catcher in the Rye is too offensive. In my conversations with others regarding this subject I have had various perspectives on the matter but all have been similarly conclusive: there is value in looking past the vulgarity. In D&C 88:118, we are told that "as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." A work does not diminish in value because it has swearwords, violence, or even sexuality in some cases. The work diminishes in value because of how it uses those things. If someone writes a book laden with obscenities merely for the sake of venting their own desire to be profane, then there is no depth to their work at all. However, in the case of Steinbeck or Salinger, their characters swear because that is their character. Now, can we read Of Mice and Men and notice only the cussing? Certainly. And if that is the case, then it is not worth reading. But, if this is the case, it is truly sad, for it is indicative of a lack of maturity. The ability to see what is truly going on in the story rather than focusing on what the characters are saying is what allows us to find value. One may watch The Passion of the Christ and see extremely graphic violence that depicts the suffering of Christ and gain an invaluably increased appreciation for the Savior. Another may watch a YouTube video of teens beating one of their peers to a pulp, which has violence of a similar nature to The Passion...but it is not likely that they will gain anything except a permissive attitude toward the perpetration of assault against their fellowman. Could someone gain such a permissive attitude from The Passion? Sure. But, one would be mistaken in thinking that was the intent of the film's creator. It is sincerely doubtful that Gibson ever intended to advocate brutality by depicting the savagery that Christ experienced. One could not rightly assume that the same is true of the prideful youth who posted the uproar on YouTube. As another example, Michaelangelo's David is a tremendously valuable and beautiful work of art depicting a naked man. It is a beneficial contribution to the world of understanding the beauty of the human body. But, can someone view this statue in a perverted way? Without a doubt. Does this mean that nobody should view the statue? Absolutely not. It does mean that people ought to be conscious of themselves and know whether they would have the ability to view something of that nature. It is somewhat a connection to the admonition from the Lord that we should not need to be compelled or commanded in all things. We ought to know ourselves well enough to govern ourselves. We ought to be mature enough to see the value in things. We also ought to be mature enough to be able to know when enough is enough, too. A somewhat altered serenity prayer is applicable: God grant me the serenity to see the things that can teach me, the courage to turn away from the things that will hurt me and the wisdom to know the difference. Does one's life become of less value because of its profane nature? Because of my sins and shortcomings can I have nothing of value to say? And does this give liberty to everyone else who has their own struggles to judge the things I say and do as worthless? I am sure that there is more that can be said...but, I am just about out of time.

Sorry if that was too ranty. I had to say it, though. TTFN.

Everyday Masterpieces

I'm not sure it's exactly what anyone would call a newscast that I've directed. But, hey...even Picasso's weirdest "portraits" are considered masterpieces. So, I suppose just the fact that I've done them at least makes it cool to me. I've been directing every morning news show that we do for the past two days. I wouldn't say that I've done an outstanding job...but, at least with the Today show and the Noon show, I've run some pretty clean shows. There are still little things here and there that I still get caught on...but, I'm slowly getting those taken care of. I still have to become more familiar with the board. But, I am at about 85% of what I feel I want to have at this point. I'm very skilled at audio, I can hold my own at chyron/camera and I've got a pretty good hold on master control. Directing is just another that can be thrown in to the refining process. Good stuff!

Speaking of the studio...tonight I will be giving the young men a tour at the station. I've been excited about this since we decided to do it. I love talking about what I do. It is fun! I also like being able to show people what really goes on in a broadcast. Most people don't realize the number of people that it really takes to run a news show. There is a lot that goes on that people don't ever see.

I've been trying desperately to overcome my second cold in the past month. Last Thursday, my throat started feeling sore and that turned into a full-blown head cold overnight. I'm hoping that I can go a bit longer before my next illness.

In the way of a category all but forgotten, we have a furnishing update. Yes, a bit of a throwback to the days of recent-movedness where any seemingly insignificant piece of furniture that we obtained was newsworthy since our apartment was so bare. Well, we have acquired a full-sized bed. One of the fellows in our ward has a bad back and was getting rid of a full sized pillow-top that was too soft to support his back. So, we now have a guest room. It will be a particularly fortuitous find when we have parents come to visit that don't need to book a hotel room.

Well...I suppose that is about all the news that is fit to print. I could go on a political rant or share some of my recent reflections on some of the comments from priests quorum this past Sunday...but, I think that may be one to hold off on until I have been able to contemplate it and refine it a bit more. I don't know when that will come to fruition, but you may look for it in a day or so...depending on when we get to the library again. Until such time...adios.

Of governance

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." -Thomas Jefferson

After I read this statement, I thought about how well our founding fathers knew to set up a government. How incredibly brilliant the foundations were that they laid and how far we have strayed from that. Of course, some change was necessary. Women needed to vote, blacks needed to be accepted not as slaves, but as fellow citizens. All were and are entitled to the pursuit of happiness that our founding fathers intended. I am in full support of such change. But, as I am certain Jefferson feared (as I'm sure many other founding fathers did) we have a government that has begun to govern much more than I believe was ever intended. When legislation can be made to tell a business that it cannot permit smoking...a business that I would hazard a guess that most of the public servants have not even seen, let alone set foot in. And yet their hands are in there snuffing out the clientele of a hardworking citizen who is just pursuing their own form of the American dream. We have a government that has been working for years to restrict citizen possession of arms. Not exactly a far cry from the events leading to the 1972 declaration of martial law by Marcos in the Philippines. Not long ago, we had a nation of people who were prosperous because, for the most part, we disciplined ourselves. There are certainly correctional facilities full of people that evidence the contrary, but, their numbers are few relative to the population as a whole. Now, we have government that is incredibly micro-managing. They haven't quite gotten into every corner of every home and business, but it doesn't take much more than a few stories on the news to see that they are trying. And with all of this happening, our economy is dragging, oil prices are rising, food prices are rising and we have a whole country full of people that continue to cry for the politicians to fix it. What we haven't gotten, though...is a politician who will smack some sense into the people who don't realize that they can do it themselves. Yes, we need the government. But, we don't need it for what it is trying to do. We need a government to correct error, not establish truth. Truth, as Jefferson also said, stands by itself. We don't need bio fuels, we don't need compact fluorescent bulbs and we sure as hell don't need our leaders sitting down to negotiate with terrorists! Sorry, this is becoming PG. Anyway...come November, we need to elect good people who will govern only what they are supposed to. I don't think either candidate that is currently awaiting nomination would.

In other rants. Lisa's work has been absolutely horrid. I'm not certain that they value the concept of families. Lately, Lisa has been scheduled to work some rather late hours. Yesterday, she worked until 7:45. Tomorrow, she works until 10. The former, I was ready for bed when she got home, the later, I will likely be asleep. Lisa has filled out a request for change of availability and has been duly rejected...twice. She went in today and spoke with the woman in charge of scheduling who told her that she needs to be available in the evenings. What would they do if Lisa had another job? Or night classes? It is simply ridiculous! It is infuriating that despite knowing why she wishes to change her availability they fail to see how reasonable her request is. Grr...it's enough to drive anyone bonkers!

Anyway...well, at WEAU where my schedule and personal life is respected...I've been directing! I do the cut ins just about every day. I've been doing the Today show and the Noon. Lately, I've also been doing the first hour of Sunrise. Not too long now and I will be directing the whole morning block. I still need to become a lot more familiar with the switcher...but, that will come in time. Right now, I have enough familiarity to do a fairly simple newscast. Once I have had a little more time to become natural with the lower third of the switcher (where most of the switching takes place, anyway) I will be able to branch out in to the more complicated intricacies of the switcher. It has been really fun.

Young Men's continues to go splendidly. Tonight there is a combined activity. They are playing kick ball. I don't believe I will be attending, as Lisa got off work at a reasonable time and I will actually be able to spend some time with her...plus I believe I am getting a bit of a cold. But, planning and organizing within the young men's organization has been a fun thing for me to do.

Despite feeling a little too governed and deprived of my wife...I am enjoying life. I hope that these problems will find a way to resolve themselves...because, at least at this point, I don't feel there is much I can do to stop a river by putting forth my puny arm. So, I will just let the river flow where it must go. Enjoy the ride, right? So long, until next time.

My third...total

Dave wants me to write something...because I never do. The way I see it he has more to say than me so I just let him do all the talking or writing in this case.

Really there isn't much for me to say...I'm looking for a change in career...to what I don't know. Right now the 2 big ones are cosmetology or child care (ie. Daycare). That really it about me.

So now Dave can be happy I wrote something ;)

Promises...promises.

I very seriously debated doing another political rant...but, decided that it is Sunday and I'd rather not get myself worked up when I could just relax and enjoy a quiet afternoon in the library with Lisa. But, I will say this much: SOCIALISM DOESN'T WORK!!! Every nation that has ever tried to function under a Socialist government/economy has sunk itself. There is no incentive to work within a government that doesn't reward the work for its worth. I admit that capitalism is flawed...but, it is a far better system than anything that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton have to offer. There it is. Rant finished.

So...this past week was a rather full and somewhat hectic one. Lisa worked nearly 40 hours and naturally, if she is putting in those kind of hours on a schedule that is on almost the exact opposite time frame as compared to mine, we didn't see each other much. It was pretty rough. This next week, Lisa will be going in to work after I get home. She works from 1:30 to 10. This essentially means I will be in bed, asleep before Lisa even gets off of work. Lisa is somewhat anxious to hit her 90 day mark so she can change her availability so that she can see me more often. It would be really nice to have her home a little more when I can be home and spend time with her.

Well...my work has been going extremely well. I have been learning a lot more in the directing position. Tom Benson, my boss, told me that I am far ahead of where he expected I might be as far as learning the skills I need to be a director. That was really good to hear. I am not quite as pleased with my progress. Of course, the fact that I would like to understand everything right now sets the bar a little higher than it should be. But, I directed all but a few cut ins this past week. I even directed a few portions of the Noon and Today shows. That was pretty cool. I'm getting the hang of it somewhat...but, I still want to progress more.

Might as well end with a funny little anecdote. So, this past Tuesday, I went to my young men's meeting at 6 and found out that the older boys were going to play football. So, I called Lisa and asked if she would bring over my athletic clothes along with my cleats. Being the dutiful wife that she is, she obliged me. When she dropped those things off, however, she cautioned that she wished for me to be safe and return home unharmed. Understandably so. Past experiences with football and with ultimate frisbee taught that I tended to overexert myself and come home feeling a bit achy for the next few days, accompanied, of course, by grumbling about how I'm not in such great shape at present. So, at her caution, I said that I would be careful and wouldn't hurt myself. Well...on my teams opening drive, I played at the quarterback position. I was rushed and, so I ran it in for the TD. Well, our end zone was a rather brief patch of grass followed by the parking lot. Cleats, while excellent for gripping on turf of various kinds tends to slip on pavement. The first drive of the game proved to be the last, as the star quarterback skinned his knee and his hands in the end zone. Of course, the worry was not for the injuries themselves (which have actually healed up quite well) but for the doghouse I was afraid I would be in when I got home after my promise not to hurt myself. But, Lisa was just fine with it. Relieved, would actually be the better word. It turns out she had expected me to call from a hospital with something strained, pulled or broken. Hardly a vote of confidence, but a pleasantly low expectation that was exceeded despite my spill.

Anyway...that is all from the Eau Claire chapter of the Nigh family. Keep those cards and letters coming.

Praise the Lord, and pass the tax rebate!

Well, folks, it's economic stimulus time! Believe me, we are prepared to do our part to help stimulate the economy. We're hoping for the fatter $1200 option that a jointly filed married couple is stipulated to get. I'm planning to only get the $600...for budgeting purposes. We would probably get along just fine without the extra $600...in fact, I almost think it might be better. But, if we are "unfortunate" enough to get the larger sum, our plan is to head over to Target and really maximize Lisa's discount by getting ourselves a nice, new 720p 32" LCD HD television. Regularly priced at $791.24 (tax included), currently discounted to $579 but would end up being somewhere around $550 (tax included) after Lisa's discount. Total savings of nearly $250! Pretty exciting. I did mention to Lisa after doing a little homework on this that it would mean that our dryer and our TV would be the nicest things we own along with the scooter (which we don't really own, yet.)

This week has been an adventurous one at work. I still functioned in my usual capacity as audio operator, but on Tuesday as well as yesterday and today, I was chyron operator (i.e. graphics monkey.) Tuesday, I just worked cameras and cued up the graphics...didn't really put any into the chyron machine. Then yesterday, I actually loaded some of the graphics in, along with operating camera and reading up the graphics. Today, we added a little bonus. I directed all of the cut ins. It was a bit shaky...but, it was fun and, with a little time, it will become much more natural.

Young men's this week consisted of picking up a few sticks and weeds on the church grounds. I was about as motivated to do it as the young men were. And, like most lawn care activities turn out with young men, we played football the rest of the time. I would say that I put in a healthy showing worthy of nomination for player of the game. On my team's first possession, I was QB and ran it in when I was rushed. Following our kick off to the other team, they threw a pass in my direction which I nabbed out of the air and ran in for the TD. It was a pretty impressive game, even if I do say so myself. My team won 21-7.

Aside from a little bit of unwelcome snow...the weather has been reasonably pleasant. Temperatures are in the 50s as the typical high and they seem to be leveling out at the moment with the promise of rising in the not too distant future.

Lisa will be giving a talk on Mother's Day. She was initially supposed to give it the week after conference...but, she was postponed so that the Quinlin family could speak before they move. Then, the following Sunday was Stake Conference and this past Sunday was booked with a litany of released and newly called presidents (i.e. primary and relief society) sharing their testimonies. So...Lisa's talk on traditions will have to be tweaked somewhat to appropriately tailor itself to the sentiments of the day. But, the upshot of the delay is...Lisa finally has a calling! She is the secretary in a newly reorganized relief society presidency! So, I guess that is the trade off for not speaking.

I don't know that I have mentioned this in the blog, but Lisa is also currently "in the system" as it were with United Health Group. She has interviewed twice and is hoping for a positive phone call informing her that she will be accepted as full time at that company. The plan is that she will work there and start taking night school at a cosmetology school. If that ends up being the case, I will try to get some part time work at United Health so that we have some additional income and I will have something to do while Lisa is in class. There are likely to be some rather significant changes within the year.

Well, I suppose that's it. Everyone enjoy your money from the government! I know we will, however much we get. It will be some welcome padding to the budget...and hopefully our entertainment center.