A Li'l Emerson for Ya

You'll all love me for providing you with intellectual inspiration. Emerson is, thanks to the passion of my roommate Ashley, and the required reading of my American Lit class, becoming one of my favourite thinkers. I like the following because his approach to learning is so honest and simple- and his description of enlightenment is something that I can relate to. Enjoy his pleasing diction and insightful passion.

"Do but observe the mode of our illumination. When I converse with a profound mind, or if at any time being alone I have good thoughts, I do not at once arrive at satisfactions, as when, being thirsty, I drink water, or go to the fire, being cold: no! but I am at first apprised of my vicinity to a new and excellent region of life. By persisting to read or to think, this region gives further sign of itself, as it were in flashes of light, in sudden discoveries of its profound beauty and repose, as if the clouds that covered it parted at intervals, and showed the approaching traveller the inland mountains. . . . But every insight from this realm of thought is felt as initial, and promises a sequel. I do not make it; I arrive there, and behold what was there already. . . . I clap my hands in infantine joy and amazement, before the first opening to me of this august magnificence, old with the love and homage of innumerable ages, young with the life of life, the sunbright Mecca of the desert. And what a future it opens!"

Two Thoughts

Thought one: Today was the day that I looked in the mirror and noticed that reality is in fact not at all what is going on in my mind. In my MIND, I am still pre-adolescent both in features and in thought. Sometimes I wonder if people think like kids still. Lots of "grown up" things freak me out and I feel like a kid picking through them. The reality is that I look light-years different, and it sort of caught up with me. How odd that human beings can change so much.

Thought two: I feel like a lot of people think it is a tragedy that there are single 22 year olds out there. To defend my kind (or perhaps just put in a plug for those of humanity OUTSIDE of the P-town bubble): I can think of only TWO disadvantages of not being married right now, and ONE of those reasons involves taxes. So... yeah.

Luis Vuitton is a Journey

I struggled to comprehend fully the relationship between high end fashion and seemingly third world travel, but this commercial was uniquely enticing and admittedly inspirational. What journey are YOU on?

Listen to This

This weekend I took Kip shopping because quite frankly his D.I./ hallowe'en image was starting to get a little TOO interesting for public outings. While driving to the mall in Draper, he introduced me to this song which I instantly agreed with. Kip says that if/when he gets married, he will play this song and everyone will dance and have a good time. Now whenever I listen to it, I imagine Kip in his new corduroy pants, doing the chicken dance at his wedding.

I'm in Jail

I am currently nearing the end of my second hour sitting in the same seat, in the same basement classroom. There are no windows, the walls appear to be pressing in on me and I am pretty sure my eye sight is blurring everything but this computer screen together. My head feels like it is full of cotton wool. It is during these moments when I question the caliber of the human brain- quite frankly, after 12 hours already of being on campus today, I don't know how I am not gnawing on the the shoulder of the guy in front of me right now. How do prisoners manage to survive a sentence? I think I am just now learning to appreciate the design of THE WINDOW. Now I am starting to feel depressed at the thought that when I finally DO get around to leaving this cave, it will be DARK. Somehow, I missed the whole day because I was holed up in a concrete cell. In fact, the ONLY time I have spent outside today is the time it took to walk from my office to the Jesse Knight Building- and you all know how I feel about that building.

ALSO, in an email, the professor who stands before me right now promised that we would get out of class early today. I feel brutally cheated.

Quote of the Day

This is my littlest brother Connor. Let it be known that he is a substantial dude in my life. Among my favourite quotes from him is the phone conversation we had (when he was 11) which went:

"Hey Con! What's new?"

(Connor clears his throat and rumbles) "Puberty."

This past week my facebook status read: Dear red grape juice, I love you! -- this was referring to my new found love of fresh grape juice which, apparently, is good for the heart (whatever, I'm just looking for an excuse to spend money on hydration rather than just downing boring old water). Connor commented:

"No, Hol! That's WINE!!!!!" to which I responded, "haha, it's juice!" Connor then commented:

"Well, it can lead to wine... From now on a strict water and milk diet ONLY!"

Quote of the Day

Last night Royce pretended like I understood Spanish. I told him, Royce- I don't know spanish. He then explained that he was actually using Castallano. I asked him what Castallano was. He said it was like Spanish... For men.

Photo of the Day

Quote of the Day

"I can't remember the last time I sucked on a lollipop and said 'yeah, that was a good idea!'"

- Thornton D. Simnitt, on sucking lollipops.

Metaphorically Speaking

... this is me right now. Interpret as you will.

Find of the Day

... or you could take up praying. Just a thought.

Did You Watch General Conference?

Last weekend was a semi anual session of General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Did you watch? If not, you can watch or read conference talks at lds.org/conference

I especially liked President Monson's comments on humility and gratitude. I think the world really needed this message right now. I can feel- even in the phone calls I take at work- that the world is forgetting to be grateful to one another for small acts of kindness. It doesn't seem tobe the priority of many people to be polite and good natured. This is the most base form of courtesy and peacemaking that we need more of. A lack of humility inevitable creates a surplus of pride, which is the ultimate downfall of man. You do the math.

The challenge I have taken up is to be more thankful. Even in my head- which I have to admit is something I need to work on. I am one of those people whose mind is ridiculously unfiltered: I lit my brain run riot! Judging left right and center despite my mouth not betraying me. I have decided that turning my thoughts in a more positive angle will help me to be more positive- and all together more humble.

Al Qaeda Attacks Possible In Europe

CNN reports that countries within Europe are on alert. Citizens have been warned about travelling throughout Europe as terrorist attacks are a possibility in major cities. The most substantial warning was that of French officials warning their citizens to steer clear of the UK.

Pushing my education aside, and the economical and social explanations that come with such an education, I have to admit that this sort of news makes me sick. I suppose at the core, I just don't understand how any human being can justify the deliberate destruction of other humans. How is this even a capability of human reasoning? It strikes me that this is a sign of a huge lack of humility. How does one reach the point where they believe that their logical opinion and power is superior to that of another's?

Glee Not So Gleeful

I have been known to sing this shows praises: mostly because I can actually see just how hard the cast and crew work on each episode. the quality of its production is absolutely stellar. For the most part, song choice and the actual script are remarkably polished. It is entertaining, it is hilarious, it is creatively inspirational. So note my disappointment when I declare that last nights "Grilled Cheesus" episode was, well, disappointing. For those of you who did not tune in, the episode centered around the question of whether or not to value faith and religion. Though one or two characters put in a plug for religious worth, the overall tone of the episode was sacreligious and quite frankly hopeless. It seemed the message was that religion is a foolish endeavor and ultimately relates more to superstition than logic. Whereas I believe the writers are certainly within their right to produce such a storyline, I can't help but feel like this was a thoughtless move. Putting my own religious preferences aside, it is an undisputed fact that The Bible has beed the number one best seller publication every week since the beginning of publishing history, and continues to be so today. The number of atheists in the United States is a teaspoon compared to the quart of the population! Do we really need to eliminate the thought of something greater than this existence? The whole episode seemed unneccesary and unwise from a marketing standpoint.

Walk, Walk, Fashion, Baby!

Just thought you'd all like to see what constitutes couture these days.

Ecltectic Thoughts of Autumn

Some random things I have been thinking, which I happened to take the time to write down yesterday afternoon as I waited for the rain to ease up enough that I could vacate the building and go home. First, Lady Gaga. Let it be known that there are very few of her practices that I admire. Despite this, Haili threw a Gaga party to which I came dressed as the following:

Scary, no? We actually ended up crashing a huge party that was going on in Provo. Yes, the strange gaga-esque group of girls amongst the other 600 normal-looking people included me. Though I was absolutely petrified to totter through the crowds in ridiculously, well, ridiculous shoes, I have to say that it was the most liberating experience of my life! There's something wonderful about feeling very anonymous despite hundreds of glances and the same repeated reaction of shock. About 50 people came and told me I was their hero, to which I replied, "naturally," and a great number of people insisted upon taking our photograph. wonderful.

Next random thought: It appears that 90% of my brain is made up of procrastination components. Why? What happened? Do I qualify as athe expert procrastinator yet- and could this, in any anthropologically cultural setting, be conceived as a "good" thing? Despite my efforts to be ultra organized this semester, there's only so much a Moleskin can do for me.

Which brings me to my Moleskin. HOW I ADORE THEE. There is something innately prestigious about whipping out a Molesking in the middle of class. I quite enjoy the idea that perhaps everyone is guessing that I am ultra sophisticated in the organization department. Honestly, it's probably the most ridiculously expensive act of brand-conformity of my life. To this truth, I say: "sue me. I love my leather bound paper friend." Emerson is amongst the many who swore allegiance to the Moleskin. That makes it okay, right? Moleskin, welcome to the family. Next query of the semester: How is it that my memory is this terrible? If i had the time/ patience/ really cared I would find out the scientific reasons as to why my brain cannot handle things that I would like to remember. I suppose I just want to complain at the fact that my iTunes play count of "The Only Exception" (Paramore) is almost at 100, yet the only thing I have memorized is the chorus ("You are the only exception" x4)

Next, TV. WHY is it that good tv season happens to fall on back-to-school season?? This is unacceptable! Why can't it all happen during the summer, when I have nothing better to do with myself than watch countless hours of medical drama, musical comedy and such?

The Jesse Knight Building, where I happen to spend most of my school life these days. What architectural sense does this building make? It is inconsistent, maze-like and inconvenient.

Next thought of the day: I realized, as I was taking my seat in the Physical Science lecture hall, that I had double booked science with another appointment- how tragic for science, because as you all know, pretty much ANYTHING takes precedence over physics in my eyes. So I quickly slipped out of the hall and rushed out into the rain. While making my great escape I suddenly felt like one of those men who get fired and are so embarrassed that they don't tell their wives and instead, they get dressed up every day and "head off to work" when really they wander around aimlessly all day.

Next, Why would I wear a rain coat to school, but still be wearing open toed shoes?

Also, why don't I own Wellies or an umbrella? As for a note on this beautiful Fall season: Utah is handling it very well: the colours are beginning to change beautifully, and God saw fit to remind me of Home with plenty of rain. I love my life.