Being is Somethingness

Law, Politics, Religion, Culture, Family

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You know you're a public defender when, as your client is being taken to the ground by the three bailiffs during video arraignments for his violent outbursts, your first thought before running out of the way is to mute the microphone so the judge can't hear his loud incriminating statements.

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Approximately 90% legs and 10% lips.

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Andrea needed some time to herself so I took these two turds to the pet store. Eli refused to walk so I had to push two carts. A #primadonna and a #chickmagnet.

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Andrea took Oliver shopping so Eli and I went down to the river. We threw a lot of rocks and made some big splashes. #virginriver #utah #rocks

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Chubby legs in warm sand. Feels so good. #snowcanyon

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I guess that's one way to get the ball down the lane. #bowling #toddlerbowling

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"Are you naked, Eli?" "Yes. I'm naked with my penis and my bum!" And then he pulled this face.

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Preview for new Sigur Rós album.  Sounds a bit like a return to Ágætis Byrjun.  And for that I'm excited.  

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What? You don't get avocado on your forehead when you eat it? #eatslikehismom

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Petco: The poor man's zoo on a foggy winter Saturday. #petco, #cheapdad

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When the doctor told me I had pneumonia.  

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Kid's got a mean pair of cheeks. #cheeks #thefatterthebetter

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Speaking with a client today through a Spanish interpreter:  Me: The police report says the cop pulled you over because something was hanging from your rear-view mirror. Internal Me: It was a rosary wasn't it? Agghh! Don't perpetuate stereotypes! Just cause he's a short Mexican guy doesn't mean he's got a rosary hanging from his mirror.  Me: What was it?  Client: A rosary.  Internal Me: Damn.

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An Instagram picture of a Sundance movie ticket. Could I be any more obnoxious? Oh well. I'm excited for this one. #sundance

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I'm ready to give these two away. I'm not sure how Andrea does it every day. #fatherhood, #gladimnotastayathomedad

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Baby's got a little fever. Good thing he has his best friend to comfort him.

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Books of 2012

I didn’t get to read as much as I’d like to this year.  For the first five months I was busy renovating a house.  Then in May our second son was born.  The introduction of another child to our budding family was a whirlwind that left me little time to read for pleasure.  I managed to get through a few books, though.  To my memory, here’s what I read and in the order I read them.   Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick Early this year I listened to a show commemorating the 30th anniversary of Phillip K. Dick’s death.  I had never read Dick before and I became interested.  I started with a few of his short stories and then I finally picked up this old gem first published in 1968.  It was wonderful.  I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t picked up this book sooner.   There’s nothing I can say here to add to the volumes of material already written on this work, but I loved the story.  It’s written very differently than sci-fi is written today - slightly klunkier - but the ideas were fun.  I especially liked one of themes in the book that a belief-system’s “truth” may not be found in its objective truth-claims, but in its utility.  Good stuff.     The Hobbit by Tolkien A few months ago I saw a preview for The Hobbit movie that was just released. I got excited and decided to re-read the book that I haven’t touched for at least fifteen years.  It was awesome.  There was so much of the book that I didn’t remember; I even forgot there was a dragon! I enjoyed this story just as much if not more than I did as a young teenager.  It was also apparent to me how many authors have borrowed from Tolkien’s style and themes since this book was published.  I kept thinking about Harry Potter.  Where would Rowling be without Tolkien?  An absolutely delightful book.  I can’t wait to read it with my boys.   Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald Walker, Richard Turley and Glen Leonard On September 11, 1857, a group of Mormon men in Southern Utah slaughtered 120 non-Mormon men, women and children who were passing through Utah on their way to California.  This book, written by three Mormon historians, is probably the most thoroughly researched account of the massacre.   Only one man, a local Church leader named John D. Lee, was tried and executed for the slaughter.  For years, historians have argued over why the massacre occurred and who else was complicit in the deed.  Exactly how high up in the Church hierarchy did the orders to kill the wagon train extend?  Specifically, did Brigham Young order the slaughter?  The authors, with access to journals and church materials that no other historians have ever had, conclude that Brigham Young could not have ordered the attack, and that the blame lies with the local Church leaders of Southern Utah who were caught up in war hysteria and fears of federal invasion of Utah territory.   The book is very well-written.  Even though I knew exactly how it would end, I found myself very anxious as the book approached the climactic events.  I’m not a historian, but I know there is substantial debate about the conclusions the authors draw.  In any event, their arguments are well-researched and expertly presented.  I found myself frequently nodding in agreement at their explanations.  I only wish the authors would have spent more time on John D. Lee’s trial and answering the question of why more people weren’t prosecuted, or why it took twenty years to bring Lee to justice.   The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy McCarthy is one of my favorite authors.  Last year I read All The Pretty Horses, the first installment of his Border Trilogy.  I liked the book but it paled in comparison to Blood Meridian, one of McCarthy’s best works, in my opinion.  The Crossing was great, and a little better than All The Pretty Horses.  It tells the story of two brothers and their journeys across the border into Mexico.  They’re not quite sure what they’re looking for, but they often find violence and bleakness in that lonely country.  It’s a coming-of-age book that is classic McCarthy; the dialogue is concise and brief, but heavy with meaning.  My favorite read this year.  Eaters of The Dead by Michael Crichton I was perusing the book shelves of a local thrift store a few months ago when I ran across this book . The back of the paperback promised an exciting tale involving vikings and mysterious monsters.  Having lived two years on Iceland (an island settled by vikings more than 1000 years ago), I was intrigued.   The book tells the story of an Arab court member who gets involved with a group of vikings who must return to their homeland to confront a group of mysterious monsters.  It was a silly book meant to generate as many sales as possible, but a fun, quick read.   Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner A biography of the Mormon Church’s second prophet, Brigham Young, this book tries to tackle one of the most interesting and polarizing figures of the American west.  As a practicing Mormon who is usually only exposed to the hagiographic version of Brigham Young in Church, I was excited to get a fuller picture of this man, warts and all.   I learned that Brigham Young, like any person, was full of contradictions.  He was simultaneously an unapologetic misogynist and a feminist.  He believed that the Native Americans in Utah were a blessed branch of Israel who would usher in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, but he also condoned vigilante violence against them for their minor offenses against the Mormons.  He believed the Constitution was an inspired document but publicly hoped and prayed for the destruction of the federal government.   Brigham Young had the grit and determination to shepherd thousands of faithful Mormons over hundreds of miles of inhospitable terrain to a desert valley that bloomed under his leadership.  But he often made mistakes along the way.  He taught absurd and incorrect things about the nature of God, and he practiced a version of Mormonism that I’m not sure many Mormons today would recognize.  In short, the man was complex and interesting, often crass and irascible.   Though I appreciated Turner’s in-depth coverage of events in Brigham’s life that have not received fair treatment from Church-friendly sources, I wish Turner could have spent some time focusing on what Mormons saw in him that convinced them to follow this man and place their lives in his hands.  From Turner’s portrayal of Young, I just don’t see what other people saw in him.  What motivated them to follow him?  That’s the only weakness in this otherwise stellar book.   The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life by Terryl and Fiona Givens As is apparent from the title, this book has big ambitions.  For the most part, the Givenses succeed at explaining not only why, from the perspective of one prone to doubt, Mormonism isn’t unreasonable, but also how it can actually “make sense of life.”  To do this, they weave thoughts from Western philosophers, poets, theologians into a pleasant tapestry. Their tone isn’t pushy with strident certainty, but humble and gentle.  ”Try this out,” they say, “does this make sense to you?  It makes sense to us.”  In short, this book is a terrific explication on Mormon theology from the perspective of persistent skeptics who chose to believe.  It made me proud of my Mormon heritage.