Wandering at the Bowl

The Redlands Symphony Orchestra presented “Musical Tales.” It was stupendous. The Beethoven was pleasant and energetic, but I admit I was kind of chomping at the bit for the next number. Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is a personal favorite mine. So, when at last it arrived, I settled into listening with almost a snuggle.
I’m sure the people around me got a kick out of my little sways and wiggles (keeping still is not a talent of mine), especially when the hunters make their entrance. That, and the triumphal procession at the end are my favorite parts. It’s possible, were I to have a walk-down-the-isle sort of a wedding, that I would give great consideration to the triumphal procession as my entrance song.
But, as I sat listening, a strange thing occurred: my mind started wandering. Or, at least it seemed like wandering. It continued through Mihlen Laipang’s absolutely stunning performance. I couldn’t understand it.
Mind-wandering is a fascinating thing. It has bad associations. Your mind shouldn’t be wandering anywhere: it should be paying attention! And yet, what is a mind doing as it wanders? Why, I believe we would call that thinking. And thinking, as philosophers everywhere will recognize, is definitely a good thing.
As someone whose mind wanders almost constantly, I will be the first to admit that sometimes my “thinking” is actually more like doodling; a daydream occupying the part of my mind that should be focused elsewhere. Or a panicked inability to put down the to-do list and enjoy the moment. But this is not what was happening tonight.
I was not thinking instead of paying attention, but because I was paying attention. I was thinking responsively to my situation. I think we could even call this learning. Classical music is famous for inspiring that. We in the age of movies, gaming, and music videos have all but forgotten.
So, in fact, I was doing exactly what I should have been doing: providing pictures, stories, and feelings to go along with what I was hearing, just like concert-goers of old. and they were excellent thought and feeling, for this was truly excellent music. As I reached my little epiphany, my guilt vanished. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and continued to enjoy my inspired wanderings.

HIPPO BLAST APP CANNONS TO HIGH SPOT IN DOWNLOADS

(Press release I wrote for a friend)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2010

PROVO, Utah - Hippo Blast, an innovative new game App for iPhones and iPod touch, is quickly climbing the ranks of the most popular free game downloads. Created by Brigham Young University students Chris Martin and Reed Olsen as a part of an App competition sponsored by Omniture, it was released March 20, 2010. In the short time it has been available to the public it has been ranked fourth in free kid’s games downloaded. It is also ranked 32^nd in free games, and 55^th in free applications overall in the US, and has been downloaded over 39,000 times.

The game itself is straightforward and creative. With careful timing and tilting of the cannon, players launch the hippo somersaulting into the air. The hippo is kept in the air as long as possible, helped by strategically thrown ammo (which can vary as you get more points). The farther your hippo flies the more you win, with features that allow you to compare scores worldwide and update your cannon and ammo for even higher scores.

Features include:

Global leaderboards

74 achievements

Cannon and weapons upgrade

Open feint integration

Facebook integration

Feedback on the App and suggestions for new updates and features is highly encouraged through Twitter, Facebook and email. So far, upcoming features may include rocketpack, acceleremeter tilt control, new levels and more. Hippo Blast also allows players to select their own game music from their iPods, creating a highly personalized gaming experience.

This Application is free until April 9, 2010. For more information, visit the Hippo Blast website: www.hippoblast.com.

Letter that reads like press release. Written for my mom.

Dear Sisters,

The focus of our Relief Society Summer Service project is service in our homes.

Our homes are the center and foundation of our lives. Too often when in search of an escape we turn everywhere but the home, and end up feeling lost. Our homes can and should be a refuge and haven from the pressures and troubles of the world. All of us have the power, pleasure and responsibility to make our homes our most perfect temples, personalized to our needs.

Our homes start with each of us, individually. We decide what goes into them. What makes us comfortable? What can we do to make our homes a stronghold? We do not speak only of housework, but of physical and spiritual investment and effort. As we learn, we will be able to extend our service and influence to our families. Throughout the summer we want your feedback. What do you do for yourselves, your homes, and your families to make your homes places of refuge and safety, order and peace, power and prayer? Places where you are free to learn and grow and create. Where the adversary cannot penetrate.

We urge you to get excited about this project. Have fun. We will have handouts in your individual Relief Societies, as well as a stake website where you can share ideas and experiences of your summer efforts. At the General Relief Society Broadcast in September we would like to showcase your service.

Sincerely

Your stake relief society presidency

Breaking the Mold

Movies have certain rules and objectives, and as such we have learned to expect certain things. We know that some characters are little more than plot devices, carefully placed to move things along, cause tension, and force us to sympathize with the hero of the story. So in this world, it’s a real pleasure when someone comes along and breaks the rules, surprising and delighting us. I just finished watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, a charming movie in several ways (that firefly is going to be the death of me). But I really think my favorite part is Tia’s ridiculous friend Charlotte. We all know about spoiled rich girls who always want to be the center of attention. They’re mean, and shallow and can’t share the limelight at any cost. But at every turn, this Charlotte shocks us with her generosity and understanding. Instead of getting angry, resentful and insecure, she just smiles and gushes, “I’ll do it. For you, honey.”

I was reminded of another such surprising character: the manager of a best selling author (Love Happens). Just like we know about spoiled friends, we know about managers. They are the greedy slave drivers, squeezing every last drop out of their cash cow clients, and what they say goes, or else. They make great villains. But this one, a Lane Marshall, is the author’s friend first, and manager second. He tries to do his job, but is perfectly willing to turn down the big deal and get his friend a life. He truly wants what is best for him, and does his best to make it happen.

Now this isn’t really a big deal. Maybe I’m the only one who noticed or cared. But I would like to thank these characters (or whomever invented them, I suppose). Thank for doing the unexpected. You brightened my day and made me smile. And strengthened my faith in humanity and friendship. Bravo.

This is a column I wrote a while back, so it's a little long for the average blog. You were warned.

Gender gap through language

We hear a lot today about good communication. It’s the answer to everything. Many of us have heard that if guys and girls would just communicate, then relationships would flourish, marriages would be saved, the rivers would flow with milk and honey.

While true communication is key, there is a large gap between talking and communicating. This is due largely to the fact that word meanings change not only over time but also over gender. Words like “hot”, “love”, “commitment”, and terms of endearment have very different meanings for guys than they do for girls.

But the real communication block is the word “cute.” This word has been confusing guys and girls alike for years. According to Mr. Webster, cute means “attractive or pretty especially in a childish, youthful, or delicate way.”

Most would agree that infants, attractive children, puppies and other baby animals are cute. But beyond that, I would say guys don’t have a really good grasp on how girls use the term.

Girls use cute to describe nearly anything; especially anything small. This is understandable with miniature pets, stuffed animals, and perhaps Dollhouse furniture. However, when we start talking about miniature bottles of hand lotion, baby carrots, and other such ridiculous things as cute, it’s no wonder guys are lost.

The most recent meaning of the word cute is, possibly, even more confusing. The word has come to have little, if any, connection to physical appearance. Girls are now using the word cute to indicate their approval of something, or more frequently of someone. More often than not, the someones they are approving of are other girls. One will often hear the phrase: “She’s cute; I like her.”

This type of phrase is most often used to describe the kind of sweet, pleasant girls other girls view as completely non-threatening. When jealous, a girl will rarely refer to another as cute. If they do, it has an entirely different connotation. In these instances, the term refers to being “cutesy” – hardly a compliment. The term is the polite way to convey meanings such as shallow, trite, trying too hard, and other more unflattering terms.

In addition to being the blanket mark of approval, or disapproval, depending on how it is used, the term is also used to convey affection. The phrase, “You’re so cute,” especially if it follows an odd or quirky act, implies a laughing sort of tolerance for their behavior. You like them, so you’ll humor them, even though they may be slightly weird.

Yikes. Running through so many definitions of only one word is enough to make anyone dizzy. Considering the wide variety of situations in which the term is used, it’s sometimes difficult to tell how to react if it is used to describe you.

For girls, it is probably necessary to be familiar with the multiple meanings of the term. Guys, give up now. And don’t worry, we think you’re cute.

Tightrope

People frequently say that life is all about balance. We have to balance things, and we have to have balance ourselves. Most often we hear the example of juggling. We have these things up in the air: school, work, family, church or play, and we have to keep them balanced. Or what? If you’re juggling, and you lose track of one thing in particular, likely you will drop that thing. It will fall to the ground, and maybe you just wind up neglecting it all together as you continue to juggle. Or, maybe dropping that one thing makes you nervous and you wind up dropping everything. Or, perhaps you have to pause all of your proceedings while you pick it up and keep going. However you look at it, the imagery only extends to the failure of a task: one facet of your daily duties.

I have discovered my own preferred metaphor: walking a tightrope. Now, I’m not claiming this is a new idea at all. I just wish to argue that for me, in my brain, it works better than thinking of jugglers. If you lose your balance on a tightrope, you don’t drop a thing, you fall. You do. Not school, or work, or friendships. You. And you are the one who has to find a way to get back up again. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found it much easier to drop a class and take it later, or catch up at work, or renew a friendship when I’m not falling apart myself. To me it doesn’t matter what I’m juggling. Balance isn’t just about juggling responsibilities. We must have balance within ourselves to move forward, to succeed.

I suppose if you were really attached to the juggling tasks idea, you could combine the two. Because there are thousands of jugglers out there, and I wouldn’t want to discredit your methodology. So juggle away, but remember you are always on the wire, and if you don’t have balance yourself, it won’t matter how good you’ve gotten at multi-tasking, or scheduling, or prioritizing your activities.

Disclaimer

So, this is the way the world is going, and everyone’s doing it, and countless people tell me that I’m witty and brilliant and insightful and funny and I should just blog because everyone will love me. But I know that once there is that expectation, I’m sure to disappoint. You will come and read what I have to say and think to yourself, “But I was told she was funny. She’s not very funny. Why do people say she’s funny?” (Or insightful, or profound, or whatever you happened to hear) Well, let me just tell you right now that I have agreed to try this experiment, but I don’t agree to like it. Nor do I plan to care what you think. Nor do I make any promises about the consistency of my posts, or subject matter. The upshot of this is that I will write whenever I feel like it, about whatever I feel like, and if there is no theme, or unifying element, or continuity, then too bad.

That being said: Fine. I’ll blog.