T-ball = Fiery competition.

You could pass someone on the street, and not even realize that they are the greatest T-ball coach to grace this earth.

Thats what i tell myself, because i would expect if it were not true, throngs of admirers would be suffocating me with plaques, keys to the city and trophies that you have to lift with both hands. I feel that i was that much of a success as a T-ball coach.

It was also the funnest thing ever. It was a bunch of 5 year olds (only a couple of them are pictured here, but they're some of my favorites.) who were learning how to play. I was in charge of teaching them how to bat, specifically, but we all kinda did everything. They would say the funniest things, including calling me "teacher," or saying, "you're my favorite coach in town. I LIKE you." (girl, emma, farthest to the left) or, "coach, my hand is sweaty."

Now that T-ball is through, summer has been a lot of work and a lot of LSAT. The LSAT is like a mighty bronco, that... nevermind. It's tough, but it doesn't seem unbeatable.

In between doing all that, i've done some cool stuff this summer. Like bike riding, hiking, learning how to play tennis, watching fireworks, seeing a destruction derby, and some other stuff that's not coming to my mind right now. Anyways, it really has been a while, and i thought i needed to jump back on the horse, even if it's a little thing.

Never intimidated, getting goals accomplished

My article got published. This is good, because as I was looking at it, I haven't really done anything to put on an application for a while. After 5 or 6 years, being captain and MVP of the water polo team just doesn't seem to really have the clout it used to. Also, on the online addition of the article, it drew quite a response. There is one kid though, by the alias of Steve, who is hell-bent on discrediting it. I am a little on edge every time I meet a new steve now in life. Or perhaps it's a friend- et tu, blake? Anyways, it was a kick in the pants to see it be published.

Also, to bolster that hypothetical application, I started to become more great hearted and noble. That is, I signed up to tutor a 12 year old kid how to read. He can already read, it's just that he's behind the level he should be at, so I go to this senior center twice a week to help him out. Thankfully, there's a routine and materials so I kinda feel like I know what I'm doing. It's funny, but even though I started out doing it just so I could throw something on a resume, I'm enjoying it a lot. I think about how I can help him out when I'm not even there. Usually, I'm conceiving ways I can get him to do a particular thing better. My latest struggle was getting him to sit up straight when he writes, because his penmanship struggles. I would try telling him to do it, but that wasn't really working, so then I decided to have him throw a pencil onto a notebook on the other side of the table. He sat upright and did it so it landed pretty close. Then I made him assume his usual writing position with his face in the crook of his elbow and throw it again. I was extremely pleased to see that he missed it pretty bad, because if it landed right on the notebook, I would've looked pretty foolish. Probably would've swatted it out of mid-air or something drastic like that. Today I wanted him to work on P's, so I told him that and made him write sentences like "Pippen powered up the photon pan." Subtle, I know.

As an intriguing side-note, the other day he said he 'had' to text his amiga back (generally I allow no cell-phone usage unless it's his mom) because she had just broken up with her boyfriend (he's 12, in 7th grade). I thought, "wow, this will probably be hilarious to figure more about, perhaps even worthy of my blog." (it was!) So, with all the sincerity I could muster, I inquired, "well, how long have they been going out?" "Like, 8 dates. She's crushed." "Ooooh, I can imagine." But he helped me imagine. "They were really serious, she was going to go on a skiing vacation with his family, but he just sent her a letter in the mail saying that he never wanted to see her again!"

WOOOOW! She was going on vacation with them? They went on dates outside of school? And what an outrageous break-up! . Had I even hit puberty by then? Does my kid I'm tutoring realize he has put himself in the friend zone and never stands a chance now?

I was talking it over later with AJ, and we decided that it's that stupid disney channel showing its teeth. My children will never watch that channel as long as I draw breath (If they ever claim they're bored, I'll just throw in "Greatest moments of BYU football history" and help give them a righteous upbringing). Because kids nowadays grow up watching 10 year olds on TV having 'relationships' and dramatic breakups, they think they must need them too. Also, cell phones for 12 year olds. So many things wrong with that in my mind. I was telling the kid I tutor that I don't want to give my future, attractive and brilliant children cell phones until they're 16. To which he looked at me with all the depth of expression his soul could muster, and warned me- They'll be losers! Oh well. Just as the prophets warned future generations of persecution, when my children find this, let them know- you'll be losers.

Another thing, besides trying to get good grades, that I did for resume building was intern at a law firm. Also, I wanted to see more about law before suffocating in debt trying to get a degree. It, too, turned out to be way interesting to me. The guy who I 'worked' for ('twas naught but an unpaid internship) turned out to be this really chill 31 year old, and every time I'd go into the office we would just sit and talk for a half hour or so about law or BYU football. And he also gave me some significant stuff to do so that I'd get a good feel for it. He even took me over to his house to eat dinner with him and his family. Anyways, I was a bit sad that I wouldn't be doing that next semester.

As for my love life, well, BYU only has the Las Vegas bowl and then it will be another lonely 8 months until it starts up again. I was there to see a righteous victory over Utah though. The Utes made a huge comeback in the 4th quarter to force overtime, but were further plagued by the fact by the fact that they hadn't really made it into the inzone and had kicked about 30 field goals. So it came to a 3rd down for the Lord's university, and Hall threw a bullet to George, who shook off defenders to run alone into the inzone. I was on the second row and was able to jump on the field and join in the celebrating pretty quick.

The Magnus Corpus

I wrote this recently, we'll see if it ever gets published... I think it might be the best thing i've written.

On May 22nd, 1856, after expressing to Senator Charles Sumner that he thoroughly disapproved of his recent address, Senator Preston Brooks took hold of his thick cane and began to mercilessly beat Mr. Sumner about the head until his cane broke and Mr. Sumner lay unconscious. Doubtless, since that time the number of cane beatings in the U.S. Senate has sharply declined, but it seems that some of the vocal leaders of Conservatism are clamoring for a return to such behavior. These men and women, who work to polarize all who will listen to them, are undermining the respectability of conservative reasoning at a time when the underrepresented right is rising up to combat a number of liberal agenda items. If real change is to occur, the canes need to be put away, and the zero-sum thinking needs to give way to discussion and understanding.

As mentioned, it is not scholars and intellectuals leading the masses in this grassroots movement. Although their ideas are carefully penned and widely disseminated, they are largely ignored. Instead, the majority of conservative America has been swept away by the more conspicuous voices of the right; that is, the pundits who jockey for popularity by taking ever more divisive and inflammatory stances. They have disastrously boiled an entire ideology down to nothing more than catchy slogans, attacks, and derisive commentary, which are then parroted by those who listen to them. So it is that “the news” of yesteryear has been replaced by a face, red with anger, shrieking about the injustice and illegality of the latest ploy of the amoral left. The goals of these critics are not open debate and an exchange of ideas. Rather, their purpose is to establish t hat only their ideas can be accepted by a rational mind and that those who think otherwise should be ridiculed.

Regrettably, recent news has shown that this petty behavior is not only confined to the Rush Limbaughs, Glenn Becks and Sean Hannitys of this world. During a recent address in front of a joint session of congress, President Obama had a professional lawmaker scream at him during his speech, saying, “That’s a lie!” and, “Not true!” among other unprecedented interjections. As if it was not shameful enough to scream during a speech, congressional protocol was also breached w hen laughter met President Obama's discourse and a congressman mocking his assertions made scornful signs to hold up for all to see. Thankfully, he didn’t take a cane to work that day.

Yet when these actions are considered, it is apparent that they are no more than an echo of their constituents. The media was recently set ablaze when conservatives flooded town hall meetings to shout down members of Congress debating health care. They were so effective in strangling dialogue that some of these meetings had to be canceled or delayed. This behavior surely is strongly correlated to the immense popularity of the pseudo political pundits and their outlandish behavior. After being saturated with the belligerent attitudes of these commentators long enough, it is only natural that their mode of conduct would soon be imitated. Now, even though this type of behavior will certainly command the attention of media outlets, real protest must be carried out in a more civilized way if any type of change is to effectively sweep the nation.

So, as one possible remedy to the current situation, those who are Republican could consider the positive points of the Democrats. Despite what Mr. Limbaugh likely thinks, there are many good ideas supported by the other party. By becoming more open, it is likely that the Republican Party would attract more votes and regain power in Washington. To those who think this is just a hopeless fantasy, think of the success of George W. Bush in propagating compassionate conservatism, or, in other words, conservatism that adopts various liberal goals.

An even more electrifying idea to change the nature of the current debate would be to turn off the television and read the news. There is something to be said about reading the news instead of watching it. The careful presentation of a written article invites more thoughtful consideration of what is being presented, and often causes the readers to form their own opinion instead of passively adopting the outlook of the person who is presenting it. Simply, conservative America needs to begin to choose informative over inflammatory news.

Now while reading the news, one may come to dislike certain actions of the government or a political party, and this is acceptable. A natural byproduct of the two party system we have is dissension, and it is healthy for our nation. It can, and should, then be manifested in the form of petitions, articles, marches, rallies and letters to members of congress. Or voting! Perhaps then, with a bit of luck and a great deal less sensationalism, the conservative movement can have some lasting effect. We can then save shouting at the other side for college football games, where it belongs.

BYU

So BYU pulled out all the grit and determination it was capable of and beat Oklahoma, who was then ranked third. We had a huge party where we stuffed everyone we know into our room and screamed and watched it together. As only the most epic of games must be, BYU ended it with an 8 minute, 90 yard drive to win it all. We flooded into the streets with a couple hundred other students and chanted and sang and than someone brought speakers to make it a dance party.

I don't think it would be outrageous to call it the best day of my life. In fact, it was. I will probably lie through my teeth on my wedding day, because deep down i will know that the day BYU beat Oklahoma was probably a little bit better.

In other news, my classes are excellent. Though i have a hunch one of my spanish professors is crazy. He may or may not have condoned human sacrifice on the second day of class. It should be interesting.

Knights of Cydonia

So I'm gonna throw on here the link to the best footage i have seen of anything.http://www.clevver.com/music/video/27108/muse-knights-of-cydonia.html

I certainly liked this band before i saw this, but after seeing it, they just might be my favorite band now.

Just as a side note, while listening to this song before seeing the video, i always envisioned someone just riding a horse as fast as he could while the music is being played. I suppose Gustof Von Musterhauser had exactly that same vision...

John Muir was onto something

So i finished my application to the Marriott school of business about a week ago. I've pretty much decided that even if i do get in, I'm not going to go through with it, but just rather get a spanish major. Though i've already discovered that business classes are extremely useful and practical in the business world, and that spanish classes are not extremely useful and practical outside of classrooms, it seems the better fit for my life plans. Besides that, a Spanish major seems so interesting. Its like a literature, history and language major all in one. Since i tested out of those silly sixteen credits of grammar and such, it isn't quite as much learning about the nuances of the spanish language as one would think.

Besides that, the pre-law office finally made its impression that it doesn't mention what i major in, they just want good grades.

The 4th of July was just yesterday. My dad, mom and i went to the usual ward BBQ, which was pretty fun. Then we basically just hung out. The day before though we went to Muir woods with our cousins. It was a pretty casual deal, we hiked through (hike: stroll along a cement path with my sandals on) the trail they had there and looked at all the pretty things around us. I was particularly impressed though, that i can now handle a baby without it looking like im holding a football. Jake and Melissa have their little Rushton that they let me hold. I have been notoriously bad with not knowing what to do with little babies, even though i like them. I mantain that i'm the victim though. I've never had a baby cousin or a baby brother or anything like that.

And on a different topic, after much fasting, prayer and deep meditation, along with about 5 different grocery stores and 14 dollars, I've determined that IBC is the best root beer out there. Seth, Madi and I all went around to a bunch of stores and bought 17 different kinds of root beer and had a very official root beer tasting test. We came to the joint decision that IBC was the best, followed by A&W (my actual favorite), Henry Winehards, and some german name that was pretty good too. This week we're going to determine if you can tell the difference between Pepsi and Coca Cola.

Oh, and in the news recently, Michael Jackson died. I always thought he was a bit creepy and never did really like any of his songs, except for the one about billie jean, or whatever it was. But all of the sudden everyone my age has been acting like they've been lifelong fans. Weird... Or maybe they actually have been lifelong fans, which really creeps me out.

Bucket 1

I've always heard the cliche things about how a man feels about his first car, but i thought that it was just an empty sterotype. Recently though, the state started giving out a 1,000 dollars for cars that can't pass a smog check (recession? what recession?). Needless to say, my family jumped at the opportunity and handed the ol' 1988 toyota corolla over to the state and cashed their grand. I do not harbor any hard feelings, it was time to say goodbye. It was funny though, The day before we were going to take it in, i was came home from work and i was standing there looking at the car, and much like saying goodbye to a dear friend, i felt a sudden emptiness in my heart that echoed and resonated in the secret chambers of my soul. It had been a good car. I kept it floored wherever i went, that was the only way to get it moving. It was the most forgiving stick i have ever seen in my life, and its sheepskin covered seats always accomadated my friends and brother. It had seen its battles too, bearing scars from where it had been keyed, kicked and dinged. Dearest to me though were the many bumper stickers that emblazoned the trunk, bumper and window. I had 'Bush/Cheney '04', 'Viva Bush!', 'In 'N Out', 'Ygnacio Valley Athletics', 'Brigham Young University', 'Water Polo' and possibly some others. My brother named it bucket 1 while i was on my mission. 1988 tan corolla, there is your eulogy.

For the first time that i can think of, I'm pretty excited for summer to end. It's kinda just work, come home, work again. I like BYU life a lot more.