For those of you who were just reading Wendy's 11/21/08 blog entry...
This is me wearing the same outfit James wore last Sunday. I am with my Uncle Stephen in this picture, taken around Christmas in 1984, when I was almost the exact same age James is now (a wee bit shy of one year).

My blog is liberated!

My Persuasive Writing class is over now, which means I can post whatever the heck I want to on this blog. The class required the maintenance of a blog with three entries a week about certain topics. I will keep this blog now as a personal blog, like everyone else has.
So, I don't have too much time right now since I am in the midst of final exams, but I want to tell everyone what happened to James yesterday. This girl named Cristiana (?) at church, who is about a year and a half old, was hugging on James and patting his head. Then suddenly she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him on the lips! My boy got his first kiss at the age of four months!
Oh yeah, she also tried...grabbing him. Yeah, I'll leave it at that. Little kids are so funny.

Introduction to the paper:

Enthymeme

Okay, I've decided I really don't have an enthymeme after all. I can't come up with any really good idea of how to resolve my issue. I'm at a complete and utter blank. This is quite the inopportune moment for it to happen, also, since tomorrow is Enthymeme Day. I will have to leave early because of some wacky geology field trip I need to go on (trust me, I wasn't planning to leave early because of enthymeme lack- my work schedule changed, and I couldn't go with the group on Saturday as I originally planned).
Hmmm, since the pharmaceutical companies supposedly don't like prescription drugs from other countries, what could be done to help curb that? For me, it would help if I could get some sort of discount while going through the waiting period before a new insurance company's plan would cover my meds. If I have to wait that long, I am still going to get my drugs from somewhere. It would most likely be Mexico. If they don't want me doing that, I could get a reduced price on the medicine so that I will still buy it here. I mean, even if it still ends up being a bit more than the Mexican price, per se, I would be willing to pay it here in order to avoid the hassle.
I'm just rambling, and I don't care that neither this nor the last entry qualifies as FW, TA, or RA (or whatever the categories for entries are).

Waiting periods

Waiting periods for pre-existing conditions are what I want to write about (I think). I talked a bit about this before, but I have looked some more into it. Most insurance plans, far and wide, will make you wait anywhere from 3 to 6 months or more before they will cover any pre-existing health condition you have. Now, I can understand that an insurance company would not want to have to suddenly pay for hundreds of thousands of dollars of surgery or treatment immediately when that person gets the insurance policy. People could definitely take advantage of the system in such a situation. You have something really bad coming, and the procedures are going to be really expensive. You decide to get X-Company's Insurance to pay for all of it about three days before you actually plan on having the stuff done to you. Insurance companies have to protect their financial butts somehow. Insurance companies can also decide whether or not they want to treat a person who they know is going to charge them $1.84 bazillion and soon.
However, not every pre-existing condition is going to be like this. I, for example, have epilepsy, and I need to take a certain drug twice a day. It is a 200mg caplet that went for around five bucks without insurance four or five years ago. I am sure that number is up now, though I don't know by exactly how much. Anyway, my medicine completely controls my seizures. In fact, today "celebrates" my last seizure, 1 April 2001. I cannot miss a single dose of my medicine or I risk having a really big seizure, possibly to the point of death. Because of how long and strong it was, my last seizure actually probably should have killed me, seriously. Anyway, if I can just take this pill twice a day, I am totally fine and fully functioning. Fortunately my current insurer through my employer requires no waiting period. I'm learning that is the exception and not the rule. When I quit my employer (and believe me, I will quit working at Macey's when I'm done with Provo), I will have to go to another insurance plan. I think, though, that I will have to wait before they will cover my medicine costs. Three to six months is a long time to go without medicine coverage. Unless I get a HUGE refill right before I quit, I will most likely have to get my drugs from Mexico. I did it before, and they worked just fine. (Yes yes, we had that discussion about the reliability of Mexican pharmaceuticals) I will be kind of forced into doing that, though.
I gotta stop rambling. How do I shape my paper to address this issue? I need help.

My wife and I were just talking about a recent news item about a guy who microwaved his baby. We were both sitting here and wondering what could ever have crossed that man's mind to even give him the idea to do that. Unless he was absolutely out of his mind and seriously had no control over what he was doing, he's a sick hell spawn who shouldn't have children in the first place. His child was two months old, by the way. How can you think to do anything so dastardly, so malevolent, as to torture your child that way? I can understand that itsby bitsy children can be frustrating. When I am alone with my son and he starts absolutely freaking out and gets into an "I only want Mom right now and nobody no one nothing else now now now," I have to take a step back and get my head on straight before reacting. He is so sweet, though, so innocent, as I know without a doubt all babies everywhere are. Anyone that can torture/molest/kill a child certainly deserves the treatment the Lord Himself prescribed, hanging them by a millstone and casting them into the depths of the sea. Some don't realize what a millstone is. It is a huuuuuge heavy rock that is used to grind stuff, like flour, wheat, shoddy college papers, etc., and it weighs thousands of pounds. Tie one of those around your neck and fall into the sea, and then tell me how you fared.
It's funny that some people say, "Oh NO! Be 'Christian' with the person! Don't punish him!" Hah. Read the New Testament, and you'll see for yourself.
I don't mean to become judge and jury right here. Well, maybe I do, but I don't want to declare that everyone who is suspected of mistreating a child should be tossed into jail for 1.3 bazillion years. Give a fair chance, but when it is found that that person has violated a child, give 'im the rock.
I think this has turned out well for what is officially my first entry done completely under the influence of Nyquil. Time for bed now.

Zimbabwe's Ahab

Argument: Robert Mugabe has dictatorially ruined Zimbabwe and unjustly wants re-election.

Audience: Immediately it is the readers of the LA Times, but it is meant for those who are involved/interested in the international political arena.

Ethos: The author speaks of his personal experiences as a white subject of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. He seems very credible, because he was there before and after liberation in 1980, and he personally witnessed Zimbabwe's rise and fall. He doesn't seem like just another "talking head" or inexperienced pundit.

Pathos: He describes the young Zimbabwe as the Switzerland of Africa, in that it was the richest, most literate and prosperous nation on the continent, often helping its neighbors as well. He paints a bright, positive image of the young Zimbabwe, and he contrasts that with its dark, depressing current state. His description of Mugabe almost leaves you with your jaw open, (wondering how in the world is he still in power!).

Logos: His information is accurate. He uses statistic after statistic (granted, with no direct references cited) to show how dire Zimbabwe 's situation is under Mugabe.

I think it is a very effective argument. I took interest a little while ago in Zimbabwe and already knew some stuff about Mugabe, and my opinion of him was not that high. I did read actual speeches of his, though, and found that he is a very persuasive, intelligent, impressive orator. This article, written by an actual Zimbabwean, really puts things in perspective. I wish more people knew about what was happening over there.

Enthymeme: Robert Mugabe should not be re-elected because he has been the primary cause of Zimbabwe's downfall.

Robert Mugabe is the primary cause of Zimbabwe's downfall because he has slighted the nation for his own fortune and interest, he has destroyed efforts to have free elections, and he is starving what once was the breadbasket of Africa.

S- While the article is pretty thorough, I don't think it will have a widespread impact, mostly because many do not take interest in international affairs. Robert Mugabe has shown that he can rig an election in the past, and the same is likely to happen now (especially that he printed over 9 million pro-Mugabe ballots for his 5.7 million voter electorate).

T- This is a typical argument against a dictator. There is nothing outlandish or revolutionary about the content.

A- I believe the article to be accurate. The author himself saw his family lose their money and land because Mugabe wanted to give to his cronies. He himself experienced some of what Zimbabwe has had to pass through. I have read other sources and have found that most of the information is very accurate.

R- It is very relevant, indeed, since the elections are coming this Saturday. However, those who will read the LA Times will not likely be Zimbabwean voters, especially since no Zimbabwe diaspora is granted voting rights.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-godwin25mar25,0,7210173.story

I've been up since three o'clock this morning and have had one hellish day. I don't feel like writing about any of mu sources or some other argument or style analysis. I am getting sick, and my throat is burning. My wife has the exact same symptoms I have. Hopefully our baby doesn't get sick from being with us.
I hate my Irish Dance class. It is called a beginner's course, yet nearly everyone else in there is already a dancer, and a lot of the steps are at a level higher than a beginner like me can catch onto quickly. I dread that class more than I do any other class, and that includes Theoretical Syntax and my senior seminar.
Today I was sick, so I sat out the entire class. My wife is in the class too, so we have our baby each week. He is usually well-behaved, though the lack of attention sometimes gets him upset. Today I had him in my lap as I sat there on the wall. I was so tired and sick that I fell asleep, but I managed to fall asleep sitting up and still supporting him in my arms and lap. He was mesmerized by the dancing and noise. He has never really gotten to see the dancing that takes place. He was so interested that he barely made a peep the entire class period. He would specifically watch my wife, even when she had her back to turned to our direction. She ended up near us in one of the steps, and he yelled out, "Mom!" Of course, he is only three months old, so he most likely wasn't actually saying a real word. His babbling just happened to come out in that sequence of sounds which coincided with a real English word, one very applicable at that moment. It was really cute.

Free write

My grandfather's Uncle Kazimer and Aunt Ona left Lithuania in 1900, which was earlier than most of the family left. They moved to England to live in a small Lithuanian community in Manchester. They had two little daughters there. In early 1904, the family was hit by a flu epidemic going around England. Both daughters died, one being two and a half and the other about nine months old. Kazimer and Ona, distraught, left England in search of a better life in America. Here they started their family again, and the two daughters were not mentioned very much. In fact, nobody remembered the girls' names after Kazimer and Ona died. Their children have all died off as well. My dad's cousin (the granddaughter of Kazimer and Ona) told me last year that there were two daughters who were born and died in England, yet nobody knew anything about them. I wanted to find them so they could all be sealed together (we sealed Kazimer and Ona and their children born here in the US in December). I looked many times for the girls' records, but to no avail. I kind of gave up last year and figured I would probably have to wait until the Millennium to find who they were. However, I felt impressed to look through some random British records on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning (as I was in class, actually...). These were records I had searched through before and found nothing, so I wasn't quite sure what to look for. However, after a bit of looking and playing around with the name spellings (their last name was spelled like five different ways by the British), I found the two girls whose dates and birthplaces made them very likely candidates for the two daughters. I sent the info to my dad's cousin, and she felt very impressed that they were the two girls looked for. She's not a member of the Church or anything, but she had a very strong impression that they were the two daughters, so much that she told me she was sure that they were the girls. I felt the same. We found them! We were able to seal them to their parents yesterday in the Provo temple. It was wonderful. I am sure they were all happy to be together once again. I can't imagine how it was for Kazimer and Ona, too. Imagine losing your first two children, little girls, to disease in a foreign land you really didn't know, with most of your family still in the old country. They died over a hundred years ago! They have waited that long to be found and rejoined to their parents.

In-class paragraph

Audience: consumers of Krispy Kreme vanilla cream-filled doughnuts

Krispy Kreme lovers who wish to eat as healthily as possible must face this question every time they buy a doughnut: "Which doughnut choice is the healthiest option?" Now, we all have our personal favorites; some like classic original glazed, while others like the sleek, cosmopolitan "doughnut of the month." Some prefer doughnut holes, and others cream-filled doughnuts. For those who like vanilla-filled doughnuts, particularly, the two options are: 1. chocolate frosted or 2. glaze-covered. Saturated fat accounts for the greatest nutritional difference between the two. The chocolate-covered has around 10% more saturated fat that the glaze-covered. Therefore, glaze-covered is the healthier cream-filled doughnut.



Sorry! I just recently did some goofy paper about the healthier choice between Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and I used that same data for this. It was kind of fresh on my mind.

Indiana Jones movie trailer

http://www.imdb.com/video/user/me705352951/
Here's the link for anyone who hasn't seen it and/or wants to see it.

Main point: GO SEE THE NEW INDIANA JONES MOVIE.

Audience: Movie watchers, Americans, fans of previous Indiana Jones movies and maybe women who still think Harrison Ford is hot...?
(I am joking about that last part, though I know that there are women who do find him attractive, even though he's like 120 years old)

Ethos: The movie relies heavily on highlights from the previous Indiana Jones movies, showing how "He protected the power of the divine, ...saved the cradle of civilization," and "triumphed over the armies of evil." The artists use his past conquests and expeditions as justification for another movie. It is credible that Indiana Jones, though a little long in the tooth, would still have an adventure or two packed in him. It also uses the image of the American flag to show how American he really is, and how he can "save America" again.

Logos: The images from the previous movies are real (in that they do come from the other movies). Of course, Indiana Jones movies do not exactly portray nature and the force of gravity, for example, as they really are. He is able to undertake stunts that would kill most, including flying into the windshield of an oncoming truck and making a coy remark about it, as you stand up unscathed. It does portray Indiana Jones as being older and a bit rougher around the edges, which is logical, since his last adventure was roughly four centuries ago.

Pathos: The music automatically attracted me. I am a huge fan of music in general, especially orchestral pieces, including some movie scores. If I know a movie has an awesome score, it will give me more impetus to go see it. The music appeals to my tastes and emotions. Furthermore, the artists use the image of the American flag to appeal to the American audience, since Indiana Jones is the quintessential United States-ian action hero (in my opinion). If you watch it closely, they show this black box with official print on it saying "Roswell, New Mexico" the bastion of alien lore, as well as the general vicinity of Area 51. That will pique the attention and intrigue of alien legend and governmental conspiracy lovers.

S-I think the trailer is sufficient to get some people to watch the movie. I know I want to watch it, though my wife saw the trailer and felt it wasn't captivating enough to convince her to watch the movie.

T-It follows the typical movie trailer schema, using engaging images and catchy quotes from the movie, combined with perfectly timed explosions, kisses, races, chases, and the like.

A-I think it basically is accurate in showing the content of the Indiana Jones movie, though I do not know for sure since I haven't seen the movie for myself (it comes out in May).

R-It is indeed relevant, because many folks have been wanting a fourth Indiana movie for two decades.

Success- I can't say whether or not it is a success, since the movie has not come out yet, but I have seen several links for the trailer on websites and blogs. That means that at least people are taking note. I imagine the initial turnout will be huge, maybe even record-breaking.

I am tired physically, tired mentally, tired emotionally, and tired of writing about friggin' energy or education (as I completely lack one and am bombing the other). Ergo, I am not going to analyze another one of my sources or anything like that (no rhetorical analysis right now). I don't know where I want to start on my next paper. I guess one issue I could write about "waiting periods" some insurance plans make you go through. What I mean is that if you have a preexisting condition (like epilepsy or mutant-third-eye-in-the-back-of-your-head syndrome) and you take medication for said condition, you have to wait anywhere from 30 to 90 days before the insurance plan will pay for that medication. I know they have reasons for it, though I don't know too well what they are. I, for example, have epilepsy. I take this one medicine twice a day which makes me completely normal (if you could call me "normal" in the first place). However, those pills without insurance cost $5.00 a piece (at least that was the price four years ago; who knows about now). Fortunately my insurance plan through work is one of the seemingly few that do not require that waiting period. That is really really good for me, since I can't afford to go a certain period of time before getting my medicine. I know that a lot of other insurance plans have that waiting period because I looked at many plans before I got my current job. In fact, that insurance is really my main motivation for staying at that job. Anyway, I can read about the justification insurance companies make when requiring this period, I can read about the counter arguments by insurance companies which do NOT require that period, etc. We'll see what I can rustle up.

About my intro (an addendum)

I have no idea why, but I cannot read the content of my introduction after the addressees unless I highlight the text. I tried fixing it to no avail. You may have to do that, too. If it comes up fine for you though, disregard this message.

TA: My rough intro

Dale E. Klein, Chairman
Gregory B. Jaczko, Commissioner
Peter B. Lyons, Commissioner
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Mail Stop O-16G4
Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dear sirs:
As you are aware, the Tennessee Valley Authority (hereafter designated as TVA) submitted its combined license application for Bellefonte Nuclear Station Units 3 and 4 in October 2007. In an effort to provide cleaner, cheaper power for the Tennessee River Valley and the Southeast in general, the TVA wishes to resume construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Station, which construction has been on hold for two decades. As an independent researcher and one who has frequented the greater Huntsville, Alabama region throughout his life, I wish to address some vital issues as the Commission reviews TVA's combined license application. Nuclear power automatically finds some degree of resistance throughout the United States. Environment activism groups like Greenpeace have published extensive rebuttals of nuclear energy, including the many possible meltdowns and malfunctions that have occurred over the years, as well as any detriment to the surrounding environs. Perhaps even more important is the danger to the residents local to the plants. To counter such arguments, the TVA has composed a lengthy, thorough safety program to prevent accidents and harm. What, then, would be the consequences of allowing the TVA to expand and complete construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Station?

FW: Epiphanies

So last night while I was trying to write out the methodology for my senior paper (which methodology I would turn in today). I was doing it with about 2 hours and 40 minutes of sleep from the night before, as well as a grand accumulation of sleep deprivation from the last couple of months. I was somehow still awake, I think by virtue of the fact that I took too many Excedrin, trying to chisel out the methodology for what I realized would be a flawed, futile work. I have always been into dialects and sociolinguistics, but this paper was going to be over an alternate etymology of an epithet referring to residents of the Appalachian and Ozark Mountains. I realized, though, that all the supporters of my argument love to recur to "17th century documents" to back up their claims, yet these documents were nowhere to be found. Seriously, I found no viable proof to back up the claim. It dawned on me that if I tried to pass this off as a senior paper, I would basically be the laughingstock of the linguistic community.
It suddenly hit me what I should write about. It is kind of late to revamp my entire paper, but hey, I have taken similar action before (like for English 312). I decided to pursue a topic that has really intrigued me, especially since no dialectologist or sociolinguist has written about this yet. It has to do with the way native North American English speakers are now starting to pronounce certain consonants intervocalically. As I reviewed this idea with my TA today, he said that it would be a great step into my desired field if I could get my study published. He said that nearly any MA program would accept me because of it, and many PhD programs would highly consider me also. This would be the beginning of a dream come true. I want to teach what I love on the university level one day, preferably somewhere back East.
I know this will bore everyone who reads it, but it is on my mind right now, so I figured I could write about it better than anything else at the moment.

Free to write whatever...

Well, I sure as heck don't want to write about energy right now. In fact, energy is what I will soon not have, since I have to wake up in about three hours to finish homework that I didn't get done over the weekend. I go to work at 4:30 tomorrow morning, and I need at least a couple hours before that to get my stuff done. I go straight from work to school and don't have a break. On top of it, I will most likely have my son with me.
My son, James, is growing like crazy. Today my son finally held his bottle for the first time. A week or two ago he tried taking the sacrament when it got passed to us, something neither I nor my wife was expecting in the least. He is huge for his age, like a percentile somewhere in the 90's for his size. We compared him to our friends' one year-old daughter, and he came up to her nose. We stood him up next to the two year-old child of another friend on Friday, and he came up to the child's chin. James turned three months old on Saturday. He's already wearing six month onesie's with a sweater that is for nine month-olds. His hands are huge for a little kid's, too.
He's been talking an awful lot lately. Of course, I say "talking" when it is really babbling. His phonetic inventory is growing daily it seems. Before long he will be talking back to us :). In way of language, I speak to him in Spanish, and my wife (who is Latin and of course speaks Spanish) talks to him in French since she served her mission in Switzerland and France. He's going to be so confused when he gets into Kindergarten, but once he gets everything in order in his brain, he's going to shoot way above the monolinguals. Exhaustive studies have shown this. Of course, I don't want to go back into the education topic again.
This is us after church today:

RA: Nuclear Aging

http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2004/Palo-Verde-Aging11apr04.htm

Audience: Although this article is posted on a "politically informative" website which denounces liberals and conservatives, the piece was originally written in a Phoenix newspaper. Therefore, the audience would initially be the Phoenix residents who are most directly affected by Palo Verde.

Enthymeme: The plant is aging, and the employees' culture of safety is diminishing, thus increasing safety concerns and risks.

Implicit assumption: Whatever compromises the security and safety of the Palo Verde Plant will negatively affect the environment and residents in the Phoenix area.

Ethos/logos/pathos: The article cites a lot of history, like the building of nuclear power plants in the United States. Almost immediately the writer recalls the history of the Three Mile Island which suffered a major safety breach in 1979, though not many people were affected in the end. This tactic appeals to the reader's fear, that is, fear of a greater nuclear incident in a populous area. The writer also talks about "broken relationships" between the employees and their bosses. This also appeals to the reader, as he/she is most likely an employee of some company and may have seen the negative results of sour employee-employer relations.
He cites the example of the Davis-Bessie plant, how employee sentiment dropped there and resulted in reduced protection and safety. I do not know anything about this incident, so I should probably do more reading.
He sounds scholarly enough, acting as a warning voice of sorts for the curious and concerned reader. However, he does not quote many solid facts or give actual examples of "broken relationships" or what happened at Davis-Bessie. This lack of supporting information results in a weak argument.

S- This is not a sufficient argument. It gives few direct quotes from any authoritative voice. It lacks all published references. While the reader does bring up interesting points which seem logical regarding an aging nuclear facility, with no conspicuous factual background, the argument lacks.

T- The argument seems typical enough. It is natural for something that ages to start losing its efficacy and safety, especially in the realm of power and energy.

A- I have no basis from the actual article to decide if it is accurate. If he linked some sources to the claims, they would be more than credible. Therefore, although the facts may be accurate in and of themselves, the website does not present them in an organized, empirical, testable manner.

R- For the aforementioned reasons, I do not completely consider this work reliable. The website does appeal to the "third part voter" or the citizens who do not like Democrat or Republican agendas.

Effective: I do not think this article is effective at this time. While some may be considering shutting down the plant or completely revamping the entire system, the information to back those claims up is not present.

Energy WATCO

WATCO constructing more nuclear power plants cooled by treated sewage ON the environment and the US economy?

Nuclear power plants cooled by treated sewage will improve the state of the environment and the US economy B/C minimal carcinogens will be released into the air, billions of gallons of water will be recycled annually, and dependence on petroleum will be reduced.

Anything that will improve air quality, recycle millions of tons of non-consumable waste, and reduce the use of petroleum will benefit the environment and the US economy.


-So, the Palo Verde Plant outside of Phoenix relies on treated sewage from nearby municipalities. Billions of gallons are recycled each year in this effort. By that virtue, nuclear power could be spread to many inland locations around the country, while now nuclear power plants must be adjacent to large bodies of water for cooling purposes.

RA: Energy

Now, understand that I do not support Barack Obama, but I decided to analyze his stand on energy and renewable resources.
Taken from http://www.barackobama.com/2007/10/08/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_28.php

WATCO of expanding and modernizing non-petroleum energy sources ON the future of America?

Enthymeme: As non-petroleum energy sources are expanded and modernized, and as petroleum use is greatly reduced, America will reduce the pollution and financial detriment caused by our current energy sources and consumption and become an example to all other nations.

Audience: Voters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Implicit assumption: Whatever will help America to improve the state of the environment will improve the nation and the world.


Ethos/pathos/logos: Obama refers to his participation in and support of past bilateral energy reform bills. He places of emphasis on these pieces of legislation to make himself appear a viable, credible, experienced politician. He also places a lot of emphasis on the capability America has to better air quality and energy consumption and appeals to the listeners' national pride. The argument is of vital importance in the current political scene as candidates try to push their prescribed energy reforms on voters. There is pollution caused by dirty coal factories, and the country relies heavily on imported oil, so many feel that change is necessary to remedy the problems caused by such dependencies.

S- His argument does cover a lot of ground and seems sufficient enough, yet nobody knows how much success he will have trying to pass this legislation as President. It is not clear whether he is pandering to voters now in an effort to attain office, or if these are his sincere plans and motives.

T- His speech was typical of current presidential candidates and runs on par with one whom you would expect to preach "change."

A- I have not done enough research to know the veracity and credibility of his claims. He presents the information as hard-proven fact, though there are no direct citations to any scientific studies. It is true, though, that the point of the argument is not to recite a litany of environmental studies, rather attempt to show that he recognizes the need for improvement.

R- The argument is, in my opinion, relevant to today's issues. As I said before, I do not know how many of his claims are really proven and accepted in the scientific community (though Professor Al Gore would agree with him). I do not know exactly how much improvement is needed, but I do know that we rely too heavily on foreign oil and will continue to pay out the ear for it.

I am really having a hard time trying to come up with something to write. I wasn't in class on Tuesday, so I don't know what the topics are aside from energy (see last post). I know it can be annoying to have these stupid "I don't know what to write" intro paragraphs on many of my entries. However, they do help my mind get into gear to write something.
I won't go too deep into the fact that I believe I finally completed my five-generation family tree yesterday. The search for this ancestor really began twenty years ago with my parents and a couple conversations they had with older family members, and I found the name yesterday when I had a few minutes between classes. You have to understand that I tried so hard for such a long time to find this info, and it finally kind of popped up in front of me yesterday. It's a miracle, if you ask me. The only way I thought I could find it was having an angel come down and bop me on the head with the right info. That's basically what happened yesterday as I was in the Wilk.
I saw that the US embassy in Belgrade was encompassed with and burned by anti-Kosovo protesters. I don't have extremely warm feelings toward Serbia anyway, so I really wouldn't care that much if the US just let Serbia hang. Of course, His Excellency, Czar Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, would pitch a royal fit. He does have his motives, though. However flawed they may be, they have some reason behind them. Separatist movements like the Abkhazi movement in Georgia, the separatists in Russia (Chechnya) and Azerbaijan are at Russia's doors. I can understand that Kosovo's declaration of independence could be fuel to the fires in these locales.
Going back to my sentiments toward Serbia, I really can't say anything definitive because heck, I've never been there. I really don't know how it feels to have part of your country tell you to go to Hell and then try to declare independence. I was not born yet when my native land, Georgia (Southeast US, not the country), did that from the United States, or at least tried to do that.

Energy

First of all, I think that the best way to run cars would be for someone to hurry up and invent the device shown in Back to the Future II, that is, "Mr. Fusion." A scene from the movie shows Emmit Brown placing garbage into a tube in his time machine (another invention someone needs to go ahead and invent already). Mr. Fusion turned normal household waste into the 1.21 gigowatts of energy needed to travel through time. There was no gasoline used or pollution produced by this machine. If Mr. Fusion can move you thousands of years in a few seconds, imagine how fast you could get to work! How fast could you get to school? The possibilities....
Seriously though, I am not sure what to do for this energy issue. I was very enthusiastic about it in class (more enthusiastic than education, I'll tell you that much), but right now I am not sure where to go. I could write about the feasibility of making more energy-efficient cars as "mandated" by Barack Obama. I could also talk about the need for nuclear energy and why it is shunned like the plague today, despite how clean and safe it actually is. Think about how much smog comes out of a coal plant! Who wants Black Lung Disease? Not me! I don't imagine Al Gore likes it, either, but what do you want to bet he says "no" to nuclear energy? Anyway...
I could also talk about our shameless addiction to foreign oil. I think that the fact that oil prices closed at over 100 bucks a barrel today warrants some sort of treatment of the issue. However, we are deathly afraid of messing up one polar bear's living room by drilling in ANWAR. The actual footprint left by the equipment is really small; almost all of the drilling and stuff is done underground, anyway! We already know that the oil there would really help us out for a long time. We could also invest in drilling off the coast of Florida/in the Gulf of Mexico. However, that would mean we would be taking oil from the same general body of water that Hugo Chavez takes his from! Heaven forbid we should do that and offend poor Huguillo, the reasonable, democratic leader he is. I bet he would get mad at us and say worty dirds about our country. Oh no!

TA: Sudden change!

I just had a minor epiphany, I guess you could term it. Instead of trying to reform high school foreign language education programs, I am now thinking about starting from the bottom, as it were. I want to write about second language education starting in elementary schools. I base this partially on my experience as a Kindergartener. In Atlanta (Metropolitan Atlanta, that is) I began speaking Spanish at a very young age. In Kindergarten I had a Spanish class every single day with this woman from Puerto Rico. Because of that continual exposure, as well as the presence of Hispanic children around me, I was able to learn the Spanish language. I am fluent in it now today largely due to that early experience. (Of course, my Spanish accent is all over the place, since I started with Puerto Rican Spanish and then got exposed to Guatemalan, Spaniard, Venezuelan, Dominican, and Mexican dialects over the years and married into a Mexican-American family :)

Annnyway, as I was saying, the school district to whom I want to write this paper is:
The Gwinnett County (Georgia) School System

The point I want to get across is that implementing second language education from Kindergarten to high school graduation will improve children's test scores, and enable to them to communicate with a much broader base of people.

Now, I won't go into everything right here and now on this blog, but I do want to go over a source I wish to use. There was this project that was tried on the Lincoln Public Schools District by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Reviewing the entirety of the article at this point is not feasible, but the article explains the methodology for teaching the students at first. The teachers would begin on a broader scale and narrow down the conversations and lessons into a narrower, more developed vein. The beginners had no text books, as text books are useless for Kindergarteners. The teachers would only introduce broad topics and introduce simple concepts. As the children progressed, the teachers would make the conversations more specific and applicable to a certain aspect of life, and then textbooks would start to be introduced. Those teachers who were not native speakers and/or needed further training to teach higher levels, took classes given by the school district to better qualify them to teach older kids.

Now, I know that there is a lot of subjective wording here. I also know that there are those who will say, "Well yeah, it might be possible in some places, but in GEORGIA? Georgia only has whites and blacks!" That assumption is wrong. Gwinnett is the perfect place to implement foreign language education from Kindergarten. Gwinnett is a hodgepodge of everything under the sun, especially Hispanic immigrants. There are plenty of chances to use basically any major foreign language you have under your belt. The Board will know that, and I will show them the benefits and feasibility of second language education from Kindergarten.

I am in the process of analyzing my sources and preparing the findings for reporting, and I am still waiting on interviewing some people. Therefore, I am not going to analyze any sources right now.
Annnnnyway, I made a "huge" discovery for my family history on Friday when I had just a few minutes to troll around the internet. I am an addict of Ancestry.com, I must admit. You get it free on campus with BYU's internet service, since BYU, or at least the BYU Family History Library, has some sort of deal with Ancestry.com. Normally a subscription would cost like $150.00 a year, so I'm very grateful. Anyway, there are all kinds of census, military, immigration, and other records. My dad is half Lithuanian and half Irish, and he is the only "Mormon" in his family. Therefore, there is tons of work to be done on his side of the family. I always had some mild interest in genealogy, but I have really been working hard since about May last year. I have found several records since then which have helped me, but I had always been troubled by the fact that I could not find the passenger manifest/shiplist of the boat my great-grandfather took to come to the US. He and his wife were from Lithuania, but they took different ships to get here. I knew what boat he took and when it arrived from his personal account, but I never found the actual list. I found it, finally, and it has very valuable info on it, like his closest contact in the old country, the address and name of the person he was going to stay with in the US, and other stuff. I was very excited, to say the least. He listed the name of his brother-in-law on the document and his address. I can use that to find the family on the census record for the following year, and thence I will find the name of my long-lost great-great aunt, his sister, (whose name I do not know) and maybe her children, if she had any. This is great, because for over twenty years (when my parents dabbled in family history and tried to get info with moderate success) we have been at a literal standstill in regards to my great-grandfather's family.

Rhetorical Analysis
Since I did not go to a cell phone kiosk or gym or any other kind of place where someone could try to convince me to buy something, I will appeal to the movie I saw last night (for the first time): Ocean's 12.

Audience: Any of the 11 members of Danny Ocean's group of thieves who stole $160,000,000.00 from Vegas magnate Mr. Benedict.

Argument: If you do not pay back Benedict all of the stolen money plus three years' interest, you will die.

Ethos: Benedict behaves very calmly as he approaches each of the members of Ocean's group. He restrains himself by not yelling at anyone, and thus makes himself seem more in control. He has a balanced methodology in his approaches to the different characters. He uses some effective, forceful imagery with Brad Pitt's character. As he talks with Brad on the phone, he describes with perfect clarity Brad's house, his garage of cars, and the car Brad is about to get into as he talks on the phone. Benedict then detonates Brad's favorite car right before he gets into it, showing that Benedict has control over Brad if Brad does not fulfill with his every demand. He also disrupts the wedding luncheon of one of the Mormon twins in Ocean's group and declares that the young man's honeymoon would have to be postponed until he could pay his debt.

Pathos: Benedict is clearly appealing to everyone's fear. He blows up Brad Pitt's car, he threatens Danny Ocean's wife, etc. He shows that he can have any member of the group killed at his whim.

Logos: Benedict has in his reach a squadron of muscular cronies, explosive devices, the reconaissance to know where everybody is at one time, and a seemingly endless supply of money. Due to his demonstrations of power, it is obvious that he can indeed have anyone murdered on the spot if he does not receive his money.

WATCO paying $160,000,000.00 in stolen casino funds (plus three years' interest) to Benedict ON your physical well-being?

If you return the stolen funds and interest to Benedict, you will not be harmed physically.
Anything which will please Benedict and cool his temper on your behalf will persuade him to let you live.

Effective?
I would say that it is very effective. All of the members of the group took great risks to recover the money, including stealing ancient religious symbols and historic financial documents. In the end, the money was given to Benedict, who "pardoned" their lives.

Possible papers

Well, I really don’t know where to start on this. I had a really good high school, and my whole public school experience was positive, except for the fact that my first grade teacher blamed me for her bizarre auditory hallucinations and thought that I was cheating by looking at the ceiling while I was taking a test. Yeah, I have a very sour taste in my mouth from her. Aside from that, I didn’t really think too much about school improvement or other issues until now.

There actually is one issue that I have wondered about. I took Spanish in high school, which really placed me at an advantage academically because I first learned Spanish before I was six years old. Anyway, I was fine taking Spanish, but I have wondered sometimes why so many schools, if they have a foreign language program at all, limit it to (usually, at least from my experience): Latin, Spanish, French, and German. I know that my friend’s high school in my same county taught Japanese, and several friends of mine from here in Provo were able to take Chinese in high school. I could talk about how learning these other languages could help the student have more varied opportunities. It would give the student more choice in what (s)he learns, and thus realize true interests and capabilities. However, on the flip side, there could be a lack of able teachers in the area who are proficient in languages other than the aforementioned standard ones. There could also be the issue of funding. Having more teachers for foreign languages would mean more money scooped out of the public school coffers.

I was involved in orchestra from 6^th on through the end of high school and beyond. I did witness how in some schools that even have orchestra programs, the orchestra is often swept away in lieu of some other event, like a basketball game or something. I say that because of personal experience, actually. I could look at schools that have orchestra programs and examine the test scores in comparison with schools that don’t. I would also have to look at budget, though, to see how much money is devoted to those orchestra programs.

My son

Yes, yes, I know this doesn't count as a real post for the sake of the class, but I just wanted to show some proof that I have the most adorable child in the world.
...and I am a horrible photographer. The cord of the camera was hanging in the picture, so that's the gray thing you see at the very bottom.

Drowsy, heavy-eyed remarks on Primary Night

First of all, I want to apologize and assure my classmates that I will soon comment on their blogs as well, and I greatly appreciate the comments left on my entries :).

So, it was pretty exciting to vote in the primary today. Despite how liberal my previous political post may seem, I am actually a supporter of Mitt Romney. It is not because he is Mormon, though. I mean, if Harry Reid were running for President of the US, he being a Mormon as well, I wouldn't vote for him because I don't agree with his political idealogy. Anyway, I wasn't surprised at all to see Romney kicked everyone else's butt in this state. That's fine, but I was disappointed to see what happened in my home state of Georgia. The Georgia GOP fell to Huckabee, desafortunadamente. Most of his vote came from Evagelicals in the counties outside of metropolitan Atlanta. I have nothing against Evangelicals; I mean, I was raised among them, and nearly all my best friends were Evangelical at some point. However, I know that the fact that Huckabee is a Baptist minister definitely helped his prospects out in the country areas of Georgia. Romney did win my home county, though, which has been traditionally a very conservative county.
Georgia was in political limbo for a while. At first, everyone predicted Huckabee would take it all. Then, some of Georgia's top state senate leaders started endorsing Romney. Then Georgia's two national senators endorsed McCain last week. Senators Isakson and Chambliss may have been speaking their minds, but I think they shot themselves in the political foot. I must commend them if it was their heartfelt opinion, though. I really don't want to demean or demoralize anyone for expressing his or her sincere opinion. The beauty of America is that we can do that; we don't have to vote just one party or risk government officials raping us of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I caught myself complaining of the long line at the polls today, but then I realized that I didn't have to avoid gunfire to get to the polls. I didn't have to make a blood oath to vote for the only candidate on the ballot.

Possible tickets and my short, exhaustion-induced, mostly inconsequential snapshot opinion:
McCain/Giuliani=I could seriously consider this one
McCain/Huckabee=don't want two fiscally liberal conservatives running the White House
Romney/Thompson=I could definitely consider it, though I don't think it will happen at this point
Clinton/Bayh=I don't think so
Obama/Edwards=No thanks
Obama/Richardson=I can maybe see advantages to this one

Critique of "Germania" by Adolf Hitler

Hitler portrays “Germania” or Germany as a woman clothed in costly silk shawl. Germania is like unto a graceful, attractive, elegant, and fertile woman. The expression on her face is carefree and relaxed, showing no distress or worry. Her clothes are light and flowing as she enjoys a pleasant breeze.

Point: He is attempting to reinforce Germany’s supposed greatness and wealth in an effort to arouse the people into national unity and strength. Essentially, whatever will increase the German people’s pride and confidence will strengthen the nation as a whole.

Audience: Germans in 1912

Organization/execution of argument:

Ethos: Hitler uses a figure not unlike the flowing-robed statues made by Greek and Roman artisans anciently, including facial structure and style of clothing. The figure reminds the observer of female deities in the ancient pantheons. He attempts to justify his argument by recurring to well-established, acceptable artistic themes.

Pathos: By portraying Germany as a goddess flourishing in luxury, he incites the people to nationalistic pride. They associate their current nation and state to the republics and empires of antiquity. They also feel that Germany is rich, fertile, and beautiful, with a bright future in the outlook. Even though the woman’s environment is not shown in the illustration, a gentle, cool breeze seems to be flowing toward her, as her loose, apparently comfortable robe lifts in the air; this makes the observer feel that Germany is a hospitable, pleasant environment.

Logos: In 1912 Germany was under the imperial rule of William II, during which reign William’s aggressive foreign policies left Germany more and more isolated from the rest of the world. Tensions in middle Europe eventually escalated to a boiling point, at which the first shots of World War I were fired. Germany was not necessarily living in the lap of luxury, although it was not destitute as it became in later years. Hitler’s portrayal of Germany may not be completely accurate according to the socioeconomic circumstances of the era, yet other nations have envisioned themselves as noble, feminine forms themselves to underscore their strengths (such as the US and France).

Effectiveness:

Despite Hitler’s attempt to display Germany as a feminine figure of beauty, he was never very skilled at illustrating animate, moving objects. Although he was very skilled at still illustrations, figure forms were never his forte, and he was not accepted into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts because of his poor figure form skills. This figure itself, when examined closely, does not exhibit highly feminine forms. The arms, for example, are not slender as women’s arms were and are considered to be. The face is wide, and the only semblance of femininity is the long, flowing hair and the accented eyelashes.
Even though Hitler did play a grand role in uniting Germans leading up to World War II, this painting has gone largely unknown. Art critics denounce it as mediocre and unrefined.

WATCO portraying Germany as successful and bounteous ON the overall morale and unity of the German people (of 1912)?

Anything which improves the appearance of Germany will lead to greater morale and nationalistic unity among the Germans themselves and will strengthen the state.

STAR:
Sufficient- It was not sufficient enough to have an influence on Germans in the pre-WWI period because it went largely unnoticed. Hitler's ability to draw humans was mediocre at best and, therefore, received little attention from any art-viewing crowds.

T- What does T stand for again? For some reason I didn't write it in my notes.

Accurate- The work is of a woman, and women do exist, so the work in one way is "realistic." There certainly are women who have similar body compositions to the imaginary goddess depicted, though her features are not accurate when compared to paintings of the same ilk. The idea that Germany was "footloose and fancy free" without a care in the world, living in the lap of luxury, was largely false. Germany was not destitute, though it was by no means the most powerful country in Europe. As stated before, William II was driving Germany more and more into isolation, both culturally and economically, from the rest of the world.

Revelant- The fact that dischord existed among the Germanic communities is evident through history. Unification of the many tribes and villages would indeed assist in stabilizing and strengthening the region, so the issue argued is very relevant.

I must say that I am annoyed with people who really have no idea of what is going on with the election, what the candidates stand for, and their past decisions. I was at work the other day, and this buddy of mine started "pontificating" on the election. He said, "I want either Romney or Obama to win. Hillary's stupid, McCain is an idiot. I know Obama will beat Hillary. He's up like two points in every state against her." I refrained from speaking, though I wanted so bad to point out how illogical and presumptuous his analyses were.
Obama and Romney are nothing alike in the political arena. There is too little space to discuss the issues here, but it would be well to read and compare their statements about immigration (worker programs, deportation, border fences, amnesty), healthcare (privatized or universal), homosexual marriage, stem cell research, the economy, military involvement in the Middle East...?
According to polls on KSL.com, Utahns, were they "forced" to vote for a Democrat, overwhelmingly would vote Obama. Why is that so? Is it because he is better qualified to be President than Hillary? Would he serve more effectively than her? I really think that they vote for him because of his personality. He is a very warm, friendly kind of guy, the type you could just go up and talk to. Hillary, many argue, is the polar opposite. She is, however, an extremely intelligent woman. She has had a lot more time in Washington and much more experience in foreign affairs. Obama is a junior senator from Illinois who has been in office three years.
I believe many here will vote for Romney because he is a snazzy-looking Mormon. I do not call into question his ecclesiastical faithfulness or say that it is a bad thing to be Mormon. Being a conservative, white, 20-something Mormon male, I am inclined to give him the preferential ear. What other reasons does anyone have to vote for him? Who has taken the time to investigate his past decisions and policies?
I must disagree with the statement about John McCain also. He is definitely not an idiot. He is extremely experienced and has taken many across-the-isle efforts and has inked many bipartisan bills. Is he an idiot because he cheated on his wife years ago? Is it because he has dared to work side-by-side with the likes of Ted Kennedy on certain issues? What are McCain's stances on the pertinent issues now?
Oh, has anyone looked at the polls tonight? Hillary won with 50% of the vote in Florida. Two points in every state, eh? Riiiight.

Rhetorical Analysis for Jeffrey Brand's article

Well, here goes nothing. (There's no guarantee that any of this will make sense or be high quality)

1. Argument:

The United States should not restrict rule-of-law education funding to Cambodia.

2. Target audience:

The United States government (though the article is addressed to the everyday reader of the Washington Post).

3. Organization/execution of argument:

Though the author does not explicitly state his standing as a law professor at USF, he does show some grasp of Southeast Asian history. He presents several statistics and explanations thereof, and he also quotes at least one other source to support his claim. He shows the benefits so far of rule-of-law education funding in Cambodia and how such education will enable the Cambodian people to maintain their own democracy in the future.

Ethos- As previously stated, Brand consults other sources, such as an Asian Wall Street, which in turn used the words of a US government official. Through this effort, Brand attemps to formulate a formidable, informed, and influential argument. Despite the apparent breadth of his argument in favor of rule-of-law education funding, Brand devotes about one small paragraph to explaining the other side of the argument. Nonetheless, Brand is indeed working through a small medium and must make all of his intended points openly visible for the audience.

Pathos- Brand recalls the Khmer Rouge debacle involving 2 million murders of educated Cambodian citizens. Such a citation will evoke at least some feeling of social injustice and tragedy within the reader. Brand uses that massacre to show the greater need for rule-of-law education funding, almost in a way to "right the wrong" that the Communist regime committed and assist the current Cambodian masses.

Logos- Brand presents a relatively logical argument. He shows the numerous "benefits" of perpetuating education funding to Cambodia. He shows that whatever will educate the citizens regarding law and government will one day result in a stable democracy run by the Cambodian people and not one dictator.

4. Effectiveness of article-
Brand's effects are hard to gauge. Although the common newspaper reader might be persuaded by Brand's argument, there is no guarantee that the US government would/will react in the exact same way. In 2007 the United States did earmark $15 million to fund rule-of-law education in Cambodia. While Brand's goal may have been met, the probability that the US government adopted that policy solely because of the article is low.

A Brief Rumination on My Life

I spend too much of my life in Macey's. I worked this morning after my Linguistics 490 seminar until the Irish Dance class I have at 4pm with my wife. After dancing and fast food-ing, I returned to work for another two hours to get some more work hours for the week. My wife arrived at the end of my shift to pick me up to do grocery shopping. Where did we shop for groceries? Yes, you guessed it- Macey's. Fortunately tomorrow I don't have to work, but Thursday is when I arrive at 4:30am and work until 3:30pm (with one break for a class to break up the monotony). I will probably end up at Macey's tomorrow, anyway. I don't know why yet. That place just kind of sucks the soul out of me, keeping me returning every single day except Sunday. Macey's is not that bad of a place to work for, though. The people with whom I work are, for the most part, very nice and easy going. The in-store baked doughnuts are also very friendly, though I have tried to restrict my time with that raucous band of trans fat, cholesterol, saturated fat, and simple carbohydrate-soaked goodness. I used to "roll" with the bananas, apples, and romaine hearts, but I no longer claim the Produce department as my stomping ground. I now work in the Scanning department, "chilling" with hot, distempered computers and decorating the shelves with price labels and signs. I also get to scan products with a special radiation gun that, if engaged on a human, will cause the victim to grow a third eye on his backside. The radiation gun makes bananas bigger, tomatoes juicier, milk whiter, toothpaste tastier, sponges spongier, cheese cheesier, doughnuts more dense, and UPC's and merchandise prices more accurate.

I saw the weather report and learned that there was a 100% chance of snow tomorrow morning (Monday). I can't say how excited I am. I say this earnestly, not in gest. For some reason the snow awakens the little child in me, and though I cannot often play in the snow, I become nearly giddy when I see it falling. I don't know exactly why I react that way. I really hate driving in the snow and trying to push my son's stroller uphill in it. However, I think it comes from my childhood in Georgia. I awaited any snow report with baited breath, because in Georgia, everything shuts down when the word "snow" is mentioned on the news. Atlantans do not know how to drive in icy conditions, and there is, like, one snow plough in the entire state. Atlantans also have an insatiable craving for milk and bread before it snows. Everyone thinks they will be "snowed in" and unable to leave their house for at least a week, and apparently milk and bread are the prescribed food for such catastrophes. There was only one time in my life when we were actually unable to drive for a while. That was the Blizzard of '93. It snowed about half a foot in my neck of the woods, and though that is like nothing here in Utah, it was a new landmark in snow accumulation. Though Georgia does not have a lot of snow, it can get a large amount of ice. The ice brings down power lines and makes streets untraversable. We were without power for a week, and there was, of course, no school. To make things even more interesting, this was in the middle of MARCH. It NEVER snows in March in Georgia. Finally on Sunday night we decided to spend the night in the local Days Inn where there was power and heat. Did I regret the fact that I prayed and hoped for snow and received that desire of my heart? Not a bit....

Some enthymemes...

WATCO spending about $120.00 on a rocking baby chair that plays music and nature sounds ON your success in college?
Audience:
College-attending parent (or spouse thereof) of an infant
Someone who has the financial wherewithal to buy a chair of that price
Someone who needs to improve or maintain grades in college courses

Spending about $120.00 on a rocking baby chair that plays music and nature sounds will improve your success in college B/C the chair will entertain and/or put your child to sleep, allowing you to successfully study and do homework assignments.
Whatever will allow you to successfully study and do homework assignments will improve your success in college.

Okay, this next enthymeme may not be all that applicable, since nobody even thinks about eating an entire box of doughnuts each morning of the week.

WATCO eating an entire box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts each morning of the week ON your health?
Audience:
Someone who can eat doughnuts
Someone who is concerned about health
Someone who has an available Krispy Kreme nearby
Someone who has time in the morning to eat doughnuts
Someone who is willing to eat breakfast

Eating an entire box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts each morning will be detrimental to your health B/C your LDL cholesterol count and calorie intake will increase to excessive levels.
Anything which will increase your LDL cholesterol level and calorie intake to excess will be detrimental to your health.

Midnight

It's 12:03am, technically, and I wonder why I am not in bed. I just got done putting my almost six week-old son to bed after he had been awake for literally twelve hours (something very unusual for a newborn). He just seemed to be craving attention and pampering. That is not a bad desire by any means, especially for one so utterly dependent upon his parents. However, today he just seemed to be needy beyond belief. My poor wife passed out on the couch a couple hours ago, and I basically spent the last two hours on my feet holding him and trying to woo him to sleep. He fights sleep with all the strength he has in his little body, though I am sure he finds sleep quite the restful repose from his busy day's activities.

Usually by this time of the night I am exhausted (if not in bed already). However, I felt inspired to start writing. Maybe it is because my normal inhibitions begin to fade into dreamland as I make my final approach to sleep. My wife and I are each taking a full load of classes this semester, I am working around 40 hours a week and waking up at 4:30am to do so, and she works part-time teaching English to the foreign missionaries at the MTC. We are now trying to juggle this infant while carrying out all other responsibilities. However, he is the greatest responsibility we have outside of our own conjugal commitments.

He has really put up a fight in classes this week, so we are trying to find someone to watch him during the day. Some wonder why we decided (of our own free will and choice) to have a child at this point in our lives. I sometimes wonder that myself, though I remember very clearly the fateful direction the Lord gave both of us at the same time. We knew that that desire was right and proper at that very moment. With this new "bundle of joy" in our arms comes a slew of responsibilities and obligations. The stress sometimes makes us want to scream in desperation, yet when my wife and I see our son smile and hear his rudimentary attempts at oral communication, all frustration, anger, desperation, and isolation all seem to be whisked away as the "hoar frost before the morning sun." One could term it "a contagion of contentment," yet contentment does not do it justice. What for him is physical and emotional contentment becomes pure love for me. It always touches me when his eyes light up, his toothless mouth gapes open in a smile, and he emits a joyful coo approaching laughter to me, his father.

I could continue at length, and perhaps if it were not so late I would go on. However, there is a time and a place for everything, and my place is now at my wife's side and near my child in the other room.

1...2......3........

This is just a test.