Psyched Out of My Mind About

I really don't get to use that phrase enough. Lately, I have been way into Jeff Buckley's cover of this Leonard Cohen song so I thought I'd share.

That's What Friends Are For

My good friend and former band-mate brought to my attention the hypocrisy found in yesterday's post. I was on one hand trying to promote discussion while on the other hand I was taking jabs at a certain point of view.


I admit, that I was taken back a bit my Mr. Luhn's comment on my previous intelligent design post. It seemed weird to me that he was searching around the internet trying to find any reference to a movie that shows certain ideas are being suppressed in the scientific community. To me, his actions were only strengthening the points made in the "Expelled" movie.

Dusty, I stand corrected. I really appreciate your feedback, concern, and input. You are a good friend, and I'm glad you called me out about it. I should have held off actually publishing until I had a chance to really read through it again. I felt kind of uneasy about it all day yesterday worrying that my words would not come across as intended.

Reading back through my post, it kind of morphs from trying to promote discussion and being open minded to being argumentative and snarky. There was an attempt at humor thrown in there, but I don't think it came across as intended.

The term "believe in Science" is linked to the Nacho Libre scene on YouTube. I was trying to lighten the mood a little, but it definitely comes across as a jab. I don't know why I even write about stuff like this. I think I miss my philosophy classes.

I feel that all of these big ideas are not mutually exclusive, which is why it should make for great thought-provoking discussion. I apologize that my words were counter productive to their actual intent.


I really don't want to make this blog a place of argement. It should be a creative outlet with perhaps some thought provoking discussion here and there. It should also be funny when intended, and yesterday's attempt at humor failed because it was mixed in with an argumentative voice. I thought about going back and editing the post, but I think it is best left as a reminder to me of what this blog should not be.

Intelligent Design Part II

This is really great. Thanks for the interesting feedback on my previous post. I love hearing honest and open discussion about this stuff. Even Robert Luhn from the NCSE thought it was worth his time to post a comment on my highly influential blog with a world wide readership of 10. Robert, feel free to chime in more on this topic, I'm interested in what you personally have to say more than what the anti-Ben Stein documentary has to say.

Yeah, I guess my issue with it is that there seems to be all this heated opposition to the possibility that there was a designer to account for the design. Is it really so bad to say, "we don't have all of the answers. Something like this is a possibility."

Robert Luhn mentioned in his comment that "While there are some scientists who simply dismiss ID out of hand, there are many many many more scientists who can tell you precisely why creationism/ID don't hold water." Wow, THREE "many's," Robert must really really really believe in science. These things happened millions of years ago, can you really prove to me that there is no POSSIBILITY of a creator/designer? Lawyers couldn't prove to a jury that O.J. Simpson killed his wife, despite the fact that everybody on Earth was 99% sure he did.

It seems that either way it comes down to faith. On one side, you have faith that a creator, designer, or even "alien" if you want to call it that is responsible for known creation. On the other side, you have faith that known creation came about completely spontaneously.

You really can't prove either. One side certainly seems more logical to me. I could read a million books about how spontaneous creation occurred would not be convinced because, according to my logic, known creation would not currently function according to laws that were not followed during its inception.

As in all things in life, it is up to us what we put our faith in. We should think, study, discuss, form opinions, and make judgments for ourselves independently. We shouldn't be afraid to state our opinions. We also shouldn't repress other people's opinions.

Is It Really Too Much to Ask?

All we want to do is make a classic, timeless holiday album. How hard could it be? I think I'm starting to side with the majority who think we're crazy for making such an attempt. There's a good chance it will just fall on it's face, but we'll be sure to make it fall with grace. Ooo, I like it. I actually might use that line in a song. Anyway, the songs are progressing and I hope in the end they come across sincerely.

I thought it might be interesting to attach the song notes Jason and I put together for our next session. I don't think it gives too much away.

Intelligent Design

I watched an interesting documentary last night called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It tackles a lot of the things that really bother me when it comes to the intelligent design debate. One of the most interesting parts of the film is the interview above featuring Dawkins, a leading evolutionary biologist and Ben Stein.

Something else that really struck me is the animosity that some scholars and scientists have towards the idea of intelligent design. They don't actually attack the actual idea that someone or something put all of this into motion. The don't even argue against it, they just repeatedly call it "idiotic" or "ignorant."

I am not in any way a scientist, but this fact does not keep me from thinking or forming my own opion. In my limited experience, one thing has always been true: that nothing comes from nothing. The very fact that we exist stems from two basic ideas. Either something put everything in motion or nothing put nothing in motion and it happened anyway. I'll leave that argument up to logic.

I couldn't help but be reminded of times on my mission when I defended the doctrines and beliefs of the LDS church. Sometimes the more reasonable and rational my answers were, the more unreasonable and irrational the responses became. The behavior in my estimation comes from insecurity. If you are secure in your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and endeavors, you will welcome discussion, debate,  and exploration of other ideas, thoughts and beliefs.

I like to think. I like to think about big ideas. I don't like being called names for thinking something different than the current trend. I'm not trying to bash Darwin. I think it's time to start thinking about him like we have other brilliant scientific minds, that he made valuable contributions that helped us gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. The fact that we've expanded on, further developed, and sometimes cast doubt on or disproved theories of scientists such as such as Galileo, Newton, and Einstien does not in anyway diminish their legacy or value.

Still Life Flags

We had a military-themed family reunion on Natalie's side in July. To raise money for the campsite fees, there is a craft fair among other things. I contributed this patriotic still life.

Abby 2.0 + Blog Theory

I received a gentle reminder today from mi amigo Jeremy that I hadn't blogged in a long time. I had planned on posting this video I made for Abby's 2nd birthday, and I decided now would be a good time.

Lately, I just get the feeling that blogs for a lot of people are "so last year." Facebook seems to have overtaken blogging lately. I'm not complaining, I enjoy Facebook. It is an interesting way to keep tabs on friends and acquaintances from pretty much any period of life you could imagine. It just seems to be a little more superficial. Blogging has a tendency to draw a little more depth from the poster and the reader/commenter. 

For me, blogging has become a bit of a conundrum. I like love being creative. There are no less than 10 creative activities on my mental wish list at any one time, and while I enjoy writing it doesn't come as naturally as some other things.

In my mind, writing takes away from music/painting time. I'm sure that is not exactly the case. My blog can be a means of sharing such creative activities. Rather than hindering them, it could be an added motivation to complete said projects. In summation, I will attempt to blog meaningfully more often.