Music and Lyrics

Dear Reader, The simple birthday song above implies a principle that I have considered important in my life since I was a little kid just learning to speak. Everyone understands the same message differently. Languages have always fascinated me. There is what some would call magic in how two people can say the same thing but in two totally different ways. You might call me biased because it is my career, but linguistics and translation is vital in our world today. It recently came to my attention that the White House removed their Spanish localization and translations from their website, as seen on inverse.com , gizmodo.com , and other websites. While the website underwent a huge change for a new president and his cabinet, it is more than a slight oversight to remove any language from your website, especially if the website represents a government entity. Now, I'm doing my best to give our new president the benefit of the doubt, despite the numerous scandals, outrag...

Dear Readers, You are important. If you are reading this, is it highly likely that you care about the future of America. I care about the future of America. That is why I care about the officials who run this country and, more importantly, who they are and what they stand for. In my mind, the best leaders are those who don't want to be in their position, but find themselves taking the role because of a lack of good leadership or because they feel it is the right thing to do. Admittedly, that determines my vote sometimes. However, the most ideal situation is when I find a candidate that I can actually support. This doesn't mean that I agree with them on everything. I have never found a candidate that meets that criteria. That is why I will be voting for Evan McMullin in November. Hearing him speak once was enough to catch my attention as a candidate for public office. However, I like to research further into candidates and their campaigns, like every citizen should. ...

Dear Reader, If you are a citizen of the United States of America or have lived here for more than about a year, you know at something about how the current atmosphere of this year's presidential election. Leaving all the affairs behind of the two-party system, this year we need options more than ever. We have them. I decided that if nothing is done, the country is going to have a miserable time.  Your vote counts. I don't care who you are or where you live. Your vote matters. It may not make a difference in final result of the electoral votes in your state, but your vote means more than that. Your vote is your voice. If you don't vote, you are using your voice to say that you are okay with the current state of the United States and its leaders. Your vote is your opinion of how you think the country should best be run and who should be doing it. We don't want either of the candidates in the two-party system running the affairs of the United States.  #Vot...

Dear Reader, I have resisted posting something so direct because my faith in the political process had not yet disappeared completely. However, based on recent events, I can no longer stay silent. For those of who know me, I don't like to involve myself heavily in political debates. Today's writing goes against that normalcy; the arguments made herein are researched and I will debate the subject.  My friend Kevin Burningham posted the following essay online. Although I cannot fully agree with the assumptions made in the first paragraph, everything else is exactly what has been going through my mind about the 2016 presidential election. I fully agree that Donald J. Trump is not fit to be President of the United States of America. I have put in bold several key points. " To my beloved LDS friends and family, Though our church emphatically defends its political neutrality, I know that most of you are conservative, due to most of you being from the Mountain West, and th...

Dear Reader, Yes, this blog is not very popular. Yes, this is a political post. Yes, I know nothing about politics. However, I have been watching several of the political debates (In an attempt to be an informed citizen) and the most preoccupying aspect of the 2016 presidential race is the countenance of the candidates. Again, my knowledge of politics is very limited and it is most likely that I am missing something, but my thoughts must be put out there. At this point I do not formally endorse nor belittle any of the current candidates. Rather than a description of his/her policies, this is a description of what I believe a president should be like in character. Truth be told, I didn't know how to put my thoughts into words until our Family Home Evening activity tonight. Every Monday our apartment gets together with another apartment in the ward for some kind of activity. To start the activity, there is always a spiritual thought given, based on what a person has read in the ...

Dear Reader, Photo Courtesy of thedailysheeple.com . The lyrics from today's title comes from the uplifting film/Broadway Production Newsies . The story deals a lot with people fighting for a cause and the main characters sometimes get involved with the law. One question that keeps arising as the story unfolds is, "How is that fair?" As this week has gone by, I have thought a little about what how the law works and what we should do about it. Thus, my question to you is this: what is justice? It is an abstract concept.  Miriam Webster's dictionary defines justice in several different ways. One of the most prevalent meanings is "the administration of law;  especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity." Although, another definition listed on the same page defines justice as the conformity to truth, fact or reason.  Based on that, I would really like to know what you think about justice i...

Dear Reader, Today I'm feeling patriotic, but not because of any huge holiday or celebration. Today I experienced a little thing that made me proud to be a citizen of the United States of America: listening to the National Anthem on the Campus of Brigham Young University. This twice daily occurrence is something that I believe should be done at every appropriate opportunity. You see, at BYU there is an American flag outside the administration building that is put up every morning and taken down every evening whilst the "Star-Spangled Banner" is played over loud-speakers across the entire campus. I have walked across campus several times during the evening when they take down the flag, giving me the chance to stop and think about the meaning of our flag. It is rare that I am ever on campus early enough to hear the National Anthem while it is put up, but this morning was different. Whilst running around campus making food deliveries (I started work at 5:45), the regu...

Dear Reader, Can you guess where the song lyrics in today's title come from? It comes from the National Anthem of the United States of America. "What are you talking about, Dale?" Well, they come from one of the other verses that we hardly (if ever) sing at sporting events or other ceremonies. Read these lyrics: Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light  What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?  Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,  O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?  And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,  Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.  Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave  O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?  Those lyrics you know. How about these? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the bre...