Happy Election Day

Happy Election Day everyone. I can't wait to get home from work and start watching the election returns come in. I'm sure everyone is burnt out on all the political debates that seem pop up everywhere you look (family parties, friendly gatherings, work, blogs, facebook, etc.). So I thought I would take a different angle. I would like to congratulate the writers/producers of The West Wing for predicting almost exactly how this election would turn out. Its remarkable. I don't know how many of you watched that show, but it was a great show. Katie and I love it, and we've watched a few reruns over the past month as we walk and bounce Ella late into the night (thank you, colic).

In the final season (2005), the show shifted much of its attention to a presidential election to replace the 2nd term incumbent President. The primary races featured a moderate republican who held off several challengers who were far more conservative, but had the nomination in hand far before the Democrats. Sound familiar? The Republican candidate then faced a major choice about his VP candidate: pick a conservative to satisfy the base, or go with someone more moderate that he would feel more comfortable with. He ended up going with the moderate, so the show didn't predict that right, but so far we're pretty close.

In the Democratic primary, it started out with the clear "next in line" candidate running on a platform of inevitability. But that candidate started facing an unexpected challenge from a young, exciting, likable, minority candidate. The primary contest became a long drawn out fight, and there was even debate about what might happen if the race wasn't settle by the convention. Really!?! Now that's pretty amazing.

The young, likable candidate wins the nomination and then moves into another long, fiercely contested battle for the presidency. In the end, the Democratic nominee wins.

I guess we'll see tonight if The West Wing got the last thing right.

Some Political Musings: The Republic*ns

The presidential election is in full swing, and its been fun to follow over the past few weeks with the two conventions coming back-to-back. Stay tuned for my thoughts on the DNC, but here are some of my thoughts on the RNC:

I think Sarah Pal*n is turning out to be an excellent running mate for John McC*in, but it makes me very nervous that she could be Vice President to a 72 year old President. She's a likable person: she's young, vibrant, attractive, and very feisty. She is proving to be a very proficient attack dog, and she has reinvigorated McC*in's campaign. If McC*in foresaw all of this (which I don't think he did), it was a very shrewd choice by him. The only problem is, if she continues to be this effective as a running mate and McC*in wins, we will have her as Vice President. Two years ago, she was the mayor of a town of 9,000 people! And she is going to step in as President if something happens to McC*in? I'm sorry but the story about her putting the Alaska jet on eBay is cute but it doesn't tell me anything about her ability to lead a country.

But what is bothering me the most is her attacks on her "opponents"--as she calls them (who is she, Urb*n Meyer?). I have no problem with these political candidates pointing and hammering home each others' weaknesses. Both sides have serious flaws, and the candidates consistently harp on them for good reason. But that's not what Pal*n is doing. When she attacks, she sounds just like R*sh Limba*gh or Sean Hann*ty, in that she brushes over legitimate issues and relies on clever jests about insignificant facts. Her attacks are more mockery than legitimate disputes about policy. In her speech at the RNC, her biggest punch lines were mocking Ob*ma's time as a community organizer and his autobiographies. She made fun of the Greek columns on the stage of the DNC. She mocked Ob*ma's eloquence (why is that a reason for mockery in the first place?). And she mocked the fact that he has a lot of foreign policy advisers (also, how in the world is that reason for mockery? Isn't it good that Ob*ma relies on a lot of good advisers? Haven't we seen how things turn out when a handful of white males get together and decide the country's foreign policy?).

What's interesting is that Ob*ma actually predicted that this is the tact the Republic*ns would take. He said that they would take insignificant matters and hold them up for mockery, while brushing aside the real issues that are at stake. Pal*n went ahead and did just that, and people are eating it up. Fortunately, I think this Pal*n craze will fade out, and the decision will be between Ob*ma and McC*in.

I only heard the second half of McC*in's speech, but to his credit, he didn't fall into any of the mockery that plagued Pal*n and Guli*ni's speeches. I actually kind of liked McC*in's speech. He has an amazing story, and I think he is a great American that has spent his life serving the country.

If any of you made it this far through my ramblings, I am impressed. Your reward: a little mockery for mockery (thanks to Christopher for showing me the link). But, Mrs. Pal*n, lets leave the mockery for the professionals (Limb*ugh and Hann*ty on one side and Colb*rt and Stew*rt on the other) and start talking about the real decisions we have to make this November.

Nuggets Cordon Bleu

If your kids liked my Nuggets Alla Napolitana recipe, they're going to love my Nuggets Cordon Bleu. Its really easy. Partially cook the nuggets, top the nuggets with some ham cream of chicken, and then top it all off with some swiss or gruyere cheese. Voila!

Home from the Hospital

We are home from the hospital, and life is good. Katie is still recovering, but she feels good. We finally decided on a name: Ella Elizabeth Davis. My great grandma's name was Ella Elizabeth, and my grandma Davis's given name is Ella, even though she goes by Joyce. And Elizabeth is also Katie's Nana's name, so it is a very strong family name. Ella is still sleeping a lot, and Grace loves being with her baby sister. She loves holding her and giving her kisses. She has been very sweet and gentle with her. Here are some more pictures:

A Few Early Pics

Katie went into labor late last night, and at 11:15 this morning, she delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Mom and baby and doing great. Here are a few preliminary pictures. Keep checking for more and better pics. We are still working on the name.

Nuggets Alla Napoletana

Grace is loving chicken nuggets lately, and I decided to spice them up a little bit for her. One of her favorite meals is now Nuggets Alla Napoletana. Its really easy to make, and she loves it. Just cook up some chicken nuggets, and, when they are just about cooked, top the nuggets with a little pizza sauce and fresh parmesan. Then heat it up a little more until the cheese melts. Its always nice to spice up an old stand-by.

They've Still Got It

The New Kids on the Block are back, and from the looks of it, they still have the magic touch with the ladies. I have to say, though, that their dancing skills are much worse than I remember. Their choreographed dance at the end of the video is lousy. I think we did more complicated combinations in our N'Sync lip syncs at our BYU ward talent shows. At least they brought back their signature sweeping wave of the arms to go with their all-white suits. Classic.

Book Review: By the Hand of Mormon

I just finished reading "By the Hand of Mormon" by Terryl Givens, and I highly recommend it to all Musingian readers. It is a fascinating and well-crafted reflection on the Book of Mormon. Givens is an English scholar and academic, so this book certainly has a scholarly/academic bent to it, but I think Givens does a good job of still making it accessible. Givens reviews a lot of recent scholarship on the Book of Mormon, which is really interesting, and he adds a lot of his own insights that are . . . well, insightful. My review can't do it justice, but I hope you will take my advice and read it. It is well worth it.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend down in Moab with Katie's extended family, and we had a great time. We all stayed at this great place called the Red Cliffs Lodge. Its a converted ranch, and it still has a large pasture filled with cows and stunning horses, which Grace absolutely loved. A couple of times, we got a horse to come over and see us. The lodge is about 15 miles outside moab, up the canyon and sitting right on the Colorado River. The views are spectacular, and its very secluded (we had no idea how crowded Moab was until we went into town to buy some groceries). It was a great spot, and we spent most of our time in that canyon. In addition to the cows and horses, there was a family of ducks and plenty of snakes and lizards. Grace loved following Katie's young cousins around as they caught the snakes and lizards. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Insulted by Pandora

I have been listening to Pandora.com a lot lately at work. Its a really cool concept, and so far, I have been really impressed with the product. For those who are not familiar with Pandora, it is like an online radio station. You can create your own stations based on your own music tastes (just enter some songs/artists that you like, and pandora will find other, similar songs/artists that it thinks you would like). You can further refine your station by saying whether you like or don't like a song that the station plays for you or by adding additional songs/artists that you like. So far, I have created a few different stations with some different genres of music. I can switch between stations depending on what kind of music I feel like listening to. If you haven't checked it out yet, I recommend it.

Anyway, I was just listening to one of my stations that plays songs that are kind of a throwback to the rock music that was popular while I was in high school (Our Lady Peace, Better Than Ezra, Chile Peppers, Foo Fighters, etc.). Then it started playing this crappy Euro, synthesizer-fused love ballad. I pulled up Pandora to see what it was, and it was "Current of Love" by David Hasselhoff. I was so insulted. What had I revealed to Pandora that would make them think that I would like a song by David Hasselhoff? I don't know. I will have to do some retooling to my station to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

Arts & Crafts Time

Here is a fun little video that shows how kids all over the world love to do arts and crafts.

Hangin' with Corbin

Some of you remember when I blogged about a year ago about a new club at the U law school called the Jackie Chiles Law Society. It is a club formed to explore how the law is portrayed in popular culture. Last year, for their Year-End Banquet, they got Phil Morris, the actor who played Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, to come speak. From all reports, it was a spectacular event. This year, they hit another home run, and Corbin Bernsen was the speaker and was named this year's Pop Culture Icon in Residence. Corbin Berson is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Arnie Becker, the lady-killer family lawyer in LA Law. He has also played a lawyer in JAG and Boston Legal. And, in my favorite of his roles, he played Roger Dorn in Major League (the edited version).

My firm sponsored a table, so I got to go to the banquet this year, and it was a treat. It was quite the event. There was plenty of video and jokes about how lawyers are portrayed in pop culture. One of the crazy professors at they U law school spoke and embarrassed herself and the whole school. But then it was Mr. Corbin Bernsen's turn. He got up and started talking and he didn't stop. He got on a roll and just told the stories that popped into his head. He told us how he got the role of Arnie Becker; he told us about a time on a plane when a lawyer asked him to help him with his case (which he did); he told us about some of his upcoming projects that he's working on. But in between all of these stories, you would get a stream of consciousness of tangent stories, many of which never got finished. He was always funny, and he didn't have much of a filter, so we heard all about an ex wife that he hated, some of his sexual harassment suits, how much he hated one of the TV shows he appeared in for a brief time, and his theory on Rob Lowe's most recent troubles. All in all, it was a great time. Now I need to find some old episodes of LA Law.

My New Toy

We get our cell phones through Katie's dad's work, and when they recently switched providers to AT&T, I couldn't resist. I left my Blackberry in the dust and went for the iPhone. I don't regret it. The iPhone is awesome. It does just about everything my Blackberry Pearl could do and then some. Some of my favorite things to do with my new toy: sitting in bed reading and being able to look up a word on dictionary.com or wikipedia; sitting in bed with Katie and watching American Idol performances on youtube (we got hooked this year with the two LDS finalists, but we are rarely around to watch the show live); being able to look up phone numbers, addresses, and web sites from anywhere.

Video Games

I really need a X Box or a PlayStation or something. Last night, we had a rockin' Elders Quorum party, complete with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Mario Cart. And now I see this:

Lunch Break

Katie and Grace were downtown today for Grace's doctor's appointment, so we got together for a fun lunch break. We went to my favorite taco stand: Tacos Don Rafa. We had a great time eating some great food and hanging out in the Sears parking lot. Grace loved it! She ate about one fourth of my large steak quesadilla, spicy salsa and all. She liked it so much that we had to go back and get her another mini-quesadilla (along with another steak taco for Katie). I don't know if I've ever been so proud. What a great lunch break.

Of serpents and strychnine

I just finished one of the coolest books I have read in a long time. Its called "Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia." With a name like that, you know it has to be good. Its written by Dennis Covington, a writer/journalist who goes to cover the trial of a preacher in a snake handling congregation who tried to kill his wife by making her put her arm in his rattlesnake cages until the snakes bit her several times. After the trial, he continues to follow the story of the snake handling congregation, and it takes him on his own spiritual journey where he learns about snake handling, religion, history, and his own geneology.

Part of the books appeal, certainly, is voyeurism. After all, one of the main the reasons you're reading the book is because these people and this culture are fascinating. They are poor southern white people living in the Appalachian mountains. They take their pentecostal religion seriously and literally, so literally that when they read verses about handling snakes, treading on snakes, and drinking poison and not being harmed, they take up snakes, tread on snakes, and drink poison at their services. After some preaching and testifying and speaking in tongues, when they get feeling the spirit they pull the snakes out of their cages and pass them around. Some tread on the snakes, others drink strychnine (mixed strong if Aunt Gracie is the one doing the mixing). And they see going to the hospital after a bite as showing a lack of faith, so they either survive the bite or they die. As they see it, its not a bad way to go.

But the book's voyersims is balanced by Covington genuine care for these people. During the nearly two years that he spent with them, he became close friends with many of them, and he's not writing the book so that we can all sit on our perches and reflect on how odd they are; he is writing the book for us to get a glimpse into their way of life and to, in a way, appreciate it.

The book is always interesting, and its filled with great quotes. At one point, a snake handler explining the process to Covington says "There's serpents, and then there's fiery serpents." At another point, Brother Charles imparts some helpful wisdom to Covington about snake handling: "You might be annointed when you take up a serpent, but if there's a witchcraft spirit in the church it could zap your annointing and you'd be left cold turkey with a serpent in your hand and the spirit of God gone off you. That's when you'll get bit. So you really watch and remember what Brother Charles tells you. Always be careful who you take a rattlesnake from." Sound advice, which served Covington well when he did eventually take up snakes. Finally, Aunt Gracie, one of the old-timers who has been handling snakes for decades, explained that she stopped handling snakes in July because she had been bitten the previous two Julys. "I decided I'd just handle fire and drink strychnine that night," she said.

Poor Mitt

A lot of people are a lot more broken up about Mitt dropping out of the presidential race than I am. But for those people who have been left asking "why", Lettermn came up with ten reasons in yesterday's top tn:

10. Harsh midwest weather was murder on his split ends
9. Wants to devote more time to rap persona P. Mitty
8. Polls show public doesn't want a president who looks like a casino greeter
7. Just couldn't compete with the Ron Paul juggernaut
6. Unveiling a new line of honey-roasted Romnuts
5. That bastard Zogby had it in for him
4. Apparently America is not ready for a white male president
3. No number 3 -- writer suffering from Mitt withdrawal
2. There was that little problem of nobody voting for him
1. Lost all of his money betting on the Patriots

A lot of these are lame, but I especially like 7 and 4.

Flashback

Sorry to have been such a delinquent blogger the past few weeks. My laptop crashed, and the desktop computer is now in Grace's room (the only room besides the kitchen with a working phone jack), so I can never blog at night anymore or I will wake up Grace. Combine that with being busy at work, and you get a serious lack of blogging. But I just got a work laptop, so I should be able to blog more now.

Anyway, I just had a total flashback to my mission. I got to work this morning and went into the kitchen to fill my water glass and found the kitchen floor covered with dead (or dying) cockroaches. They must have had an exterminator come and spray for them last night or something. It was pretty gross, but it brought back fond memories of my mission. We used to buy a can of Raid, and right before bed, we would use up almost a whole can spraying it everywhere around the kitchen. The next morning, we would wake up and the whole floor would be covered on cockroaches. I hope we sanitized after these exterminations, but I doubt that we did. Another testimony of how missionaries are blessed in ways they can't (at the time) imagine.

Sorry for the gross post, but I have been meaning to start writing down more of my memories as they come back to me. Katie has an amazing memory and can recall almost any memory on demand. I usually need something to trigger my memory. So now, when something triggers my memory, I'm going to try to write the memory down. It was just bad luck for you readers that my first effort in this area turned out to be gross.

Carribean Cruise

Katie's grandma (Nana) was extraordinarily generous and took her whole family (minus great-grandchildren) on a Carribean cruise to celebrate her 80th birthday. We had a great trip, and it was nice to be able to spend so much time with family so close to the holidays. My parents were also very kind to watch Grace for us, and Katie and I took full advantage of the time we had to relax, read books, talk, and sleep. Here's a little montage I threw together with some of the pictures from the cruise.