Silver lining for new gay marriage focus?

Hey all. We are all still pretty traumatized bc of the car wreck. My arm was really hurt bad. I told our choir director that I didn't want to play the flute/pic but he talked me into it b/c he said he likes having me to cover up the choir (it isn't the very best quality singing ensemble ever. Put it that way). I would not be happy with this if I were a singer, which actually I am normally. Oh well. So he talked me into it and I did it and I was just a little bit too out of it still. Hadn't really had enough time to have the part I wrote sink in because I was obviously winging it. Sad.

Anyway they read that first presidency message on gay marriage. I really think that the church is thus far taking the wrong approach. I think that anything done through the government, partnerships for tax or whatever else purposes, next of kin or whaever , should be the same for hetero/homo couples. It could be called a civil union and then we all would have it just the same no matter who we were. Then actual marriage could kind of be abolished except for those of us who wanted it as an ecclesiastical function.

That sounds kind of radical, but that is actually the way it used to be. That is why Hen VIII had to get Rome's approval to marry/divorce because it was done through the church. I am not exactly sure whether that was the beginning of governments being a part of marriage in the English speaking world or not. But why in the WORLD are they at all? Especially as a conservative, who doesn't think that governments should be involved in ANYTHING that they don't absolutely HAVE to be,

Car crash

Hey all. I got in a bad car wreck this Saturday. Thought I would post now because you will probably hear about it eventually. I wrote a lot about how frustrated I am that this keeps happening. I am probably going to go back to not driving.

To be clear, I am somewhat ok. The kids are ok. Our finances will take a hit. The car was fairly new and now it is dead. Just like the last one. Poor Slade. He works so hard. Luckily he is a huge man at Intel and everything. He can somewhat afford our ridiculous expenses. He met with the vice president of the company the other day!

I wrote a long whining post about it in vonmorganstone.

Drake's little man syndrome

Drake is all of a sudden Mr. Responsible now that Slade is gone. "Sadie needs to get up early, we should set two alarms," "You need to get to bed, Mom." "We should work on some chores today."

Totally funny, if they were like this ever when Slade was here life would be pretty easy indeed.

Slade out of the country

I am not really able to handle Slade travelling, so we have really insisted that he not do much of it. He could probably be making more money if he was willing to but there are certain things that aren't worth getting paid more for us. Both of us hate HIM to travel, I hate him to be gone and he hates to go. So whatever the career consequences, he tells them not to send him anywhere.

But this week he had to go to Malaysia even though he had them defer the trip for about a year now. It is so freaky. He went to Israel a few years ago and I watched CNN Headline news obsessively for the breaking news of a terrorist bombing. So that's what I will be doing this week. If anyone wants to join me, doing that or at least prayer, they are certainly welcome. It doesn't really help me feel better about it that he was looking up life insurance policies the night before he left.

All of our bats still have their heads...

And big Morgan kid heads at that... I shouldn't say Morgan heads because that is definitely a Hicks trait. But my kids seem to have it to the nth degree.

Here is the famed footage of Archer's glory moment in his band... thus far. He was busily writing what he called some 'lyrics' today. So we shall see what comes of that.

I heard him also explaining on the phone 'yeah, but we really should work up some of the songs we already play,' making me think that the lead of his band is really cracking the whip. It's the kid who plays the electric guitar, obviously pretty good at it and serious about it, something none of my children are about anything. At least he has his dad's proper life-sized dose of realism.

Chase wants an electric base, but this will have to get QUITE a bit more serious before that happens. Although it beats all of their other ideas for what they want for presents.

http://www.youtube.com/user/morganspice

This is a heavily cropped version, unfortunately, and I can't even figure out how to link to the actual video, because I couldn't get the full one to load to my blog. Pitty. But as I only have two videos on my youtube account (so far, hehehe) it should be easy to figure out, I hope.


Iron Man, by Black Sabbath

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
Well just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!

Roping myself into more crazy ideas

I offered to play piccolo for the Battle Hymn of the Republic in my ward. Today I am cursing myself. Oh well.

Publishing my Relief Society lessons on Helium

I had a really great idea, I am going to publish a somewhat sanitized version of my relief society lessons on Helium. I am going to start doing it far in advance of my teaching, which in addition to being good for me and my procrastination, hopefully I can start making contact with other RS teachers that are working up the material.

I did the first one already but I didn't really even do a very good job of it because I wasn't sure that they would put it up there. But I am starting to get some clout on the site, and I know that the antis run their garbage in the form of articles.

I will post some links when I get a couple that I like, it was just a cool idea and I am happy that they are working with me on it.

Lazy summer week

So I guess I haven't posted since last Saturday. Not too much is happening, but mainly I've been busy with my first official paid writing gig. Not exactly my first, but my first decent job in a while I would say that is specifically for my writing. I had to write sixty articles (web content) on snoring. It was a snoozer, and I'm glad it's over and money in the bank, etc. It was about one fillup.

The boys dove into their first summer camp experience, their big basketball camp here at PacU. Archer won a basketball for being 'Camper of the Year.' I took a pic but it isn't very good, you can see him up against the wall and chase in the front row. Chase also won something.

More progress on the deck, hope it is done before any of you come to see us so we can have some nice space to hang in the gorgeous weather. I also took a pic of my big raspberry forest. I don't believe in high maintenance gardening, anything that involves making work for myself, but this has been great because all I have to do is keep the blackberries out and give it water about once a month and now I have a huge forest where it produces about a pint a day for a month. Somehow they are really hearty stalks too.

Deck day

We are trying to get our back yard into shape so we can enjoy some of those beautiful Oregon summers properly. We are getting to the point where we have lots of free labor, too, it's great. And Harry is definitely being helpful. He's taken up chewing on the extras which is a great improvement over walking around on the wet boards.

Tomatillo Salsa recipes

My tomatillo salsa recipes tend to be very popular. With the people that eat them at my house and the people on the internet that read them. I have had people send me thank you emails because they use them and they say they are the best possible recipes ever, etc. And someone must be clicking on them like crazy bcause they have some pretty well placed ads on them now and I am getting some serious clickthrough dough. These ideas here are versatile recipes and they can be is a very versatile recipe that can be used alone or substituted for enchilada sauce, put in taco meat to make chille verde (as I did at the Morgan reunion a few years ago and one event at my house for the Hickses, can't remember what - a baptism or blessing. Think that was Hickses anyway since they tend to congregate up here for baptisms.

And Stacey asked for the recipe, I sent out a version of it but I wrote a better one for Helium so I thouhgt I would let you know about it. I haven't posted a lot of cooking stuff or recipes on Helium yet but I should, because they are SO EASY to do and they make money!

This will be another plug for those of you that think you don't want to write for Helium, ahem, all of you. How easy is it to throw up a recipe online except unlike the other forums where people pour out their hearts and soul and post recipes for people for free, Helium PAYS YOU! Why in the world, folks!? Am I the only one that needs serious bucks in this family or what? And as for the catch, THERE IS NONE! It is seriously the most awesome thing ever. No overstatement.

Anyway, here's the article I did on tomatillo salsa (and my super easy tomatillo soup one is in there too, for those of you that like it, which is most of you that have had it I think). Very easy and very good.

http://www.helium.com/items/1076775-how-to-make-tomatillo-salsa-as-a-dip-and-ingredient-base

Lucky puppies

All three of these pups are pretty lucky. They all hug and cuddle each other all night, just like the twins have always done.

Behind the music--Making of Morgan quartet

As you see I just thought of trying to throw together a barbershop group with the kids and us last week so it was probably a bit soon to go public, we sound a bit sour and we are going to have to get a better quality video cam at some point which is sad because we just bought this one but it wasn't made for real steady audio recording, it messes with the frequencies and makes us sound off pitch which is totally unacceptable. But Sadie happened to be taping Slade and Drake doing some of the tech work. Slade insisted on entering it all into the music program so he could read the music. I wrote the parts as I usually do and the kids learned theirs from memory fairly easily, hmmm who are they related to? JK hon. (not that he reads this...) So this is a kind of cute behind the music vid. I am going to have to speak to Drake about how often he messes with his nose because this is the second time that I have wanted to post something and he has been doing something up there, not that I know for sure what but it doesn't look that great. SO soorry.

Tappin Sadie Lulu

This is a silly little tap dance concert that Sadie was in on Saturday. Hard to believe this was the product of a class a week for eight months. But I like tap way better than ballet. Cuter and I would say more practical except I am not sure what either one is practical for, but it seems more down to earth.

Lil Clip of Drake's band concert

Hey I want to get the twins band on here but it isn't working in the mean time here's a clip from Drake's band concert. The recording has problems but he is a trumpeter that's for sure. It is so funny because Slade could tell that the Girl next to him was scolding him when he was goofing off kind of like a wife. Hee hee. That's women.

Happy Bday Uncle Bill--Vonmorgantraps

Hey Bro BIll. The question of what to get a person that has everything... At least everything that I could get you, anyway. You wouldn't want aything else that I could get you so you may have to settle for this. But we worked pretty hard to post this on time, even tho it was late. So I hope you saw it on your Bday but maybe you didn't. That wouldn't be the first time in this family there was a late Bday present, hahaha.

I got you the golf ball that says St. Andrews on it. It was like a ten dollar golf ball, not that I am complaining about spending ten bucks on your birthday but the exchange rate made it so that a bottle of water was five bucks. Yikes that was why I had to stay in the Hostel from hades. Or the Hostel fro HE double toothpicks then applied the exchange rate.

Anyway, to get you your ball we are hoping to catch you up in WA before you move because otherwise we don't know when we'll get together, as I don't know when I am going to AZ next. I have a high school reunion in August bt I don't know if I'll be able to get to that. I'd like to we'll see. Also, maybe you and D and the Morgans can meet in one of the cities that you travel to on business? We have been wanting to do some travelling lately.

And travel is actually a good thing in my opinion to do with extended family because we are just hanging out anyway so it might as well be with other members of the family so we can get some socializing out of the way. And if it is one of the places that you have been working in a lot maybe you can show us around. Was one of the places Georgia? I like the idea of that but perhaps not this time of year.

Anyway, that sounds fun so maybe you can mull it over? If it is a cool place to take the kids I would like to bring them all. My kids luckily are not very hard to be around these days. I remember your kids used to say AHHH CHILDREN when we came over and just to let anyone who has ragged nerves know that even though they were never really that bad as kids go, they have transitioned into sullen adolescents now so they are pretty easy to be around. Not noisy or badly behaved. They were never really yellers but any that they did I stamped out of them. And they never did those things that some kids do like getting into other people's belongings or making messes for fun. In fact now that I think about it they just plain didn't do those things that most kids do that are very annoying. I was and AM very lucky. And they all LOVE uncle Bill. They say OOOH, he's cool! And Arthur Chain and Drain remember a few of the pretty funny things that you did when we wer together last. And Sadie can tell when a big guy has a soft spot for a little girl.

Hope you like the song, anyway. I wish it could have been better, but maybe next year.



Hee hee, isn't that puppy sitting on slade's lap funny? Bulldogs don't like being picked up, they thrash around like a puppyfish. But Slade isn't to be deterred, he loves this dog, it surprises him more and more every day. He actually likes it when the gog goes in in the morning and wakes him up, and he never likes it when any of US wake him up!

BTW, can Dorothy or Jape or mom whoever that sees this and talks to Bill make sure that he sees this? I didn't get it up until late on his Bday an I don't know whether he ever saw it.

Super subjectivity

Yikes that was too long. Moved to vonmorganstone my blog graveyard. Where I always put things that I think I am going to revise but am not getting around to it. I have written almost two hundred articles in the past six months so I just don't find the time to spruce up the crazy stuff I come up with here.

But this has always been something I wanted to write up. I have always had a problem with 'I feel good about it.' Not that I am picking on the Church. I don't think that it is necessarily a church problem, but has evolved separately as many of the cultural Mormon things have.

"I feel good about it" seems to have roots in our view that personal revelation is a window that's open to us if we want to use it. The burning in the B thing has been a big key to missionary conversion and is used as a metaphor for the bigger question of knowing whether something is right, though I am not sure it really works that way. Just because the Moroni promise exists about the BofM doesn't mean people can in more broad ways go around just knowing things without actual evidence.

But that doesn't stop them, and it really encourages a sense of antiintellectualism on the one hand and a claim to superiority on the other that tends to offend people kind of bad. There was a teacher I had at BYU that went inactive because of this. Like of course I have a red phone to God so that I can just always know whether something is true or not, are you still working on that, what a pedestrian you must be in the gospel.

So anyway I tend to go off on this without a lot of structure, but once people abandon things like actual reason and evidence to base their beliefs on and decisions instead use a mystical epistemology like feeling good about something or elevating various impressions they might have one way or the other it can result in some fairly serious self justification.

Justification of fairly silly things on the one hand of basically just people spending their lives doing just what they want to do and that's all to people skating by with some pretty serious sin. There is very little that can't be excused if the only thing people are concerned about is how they feel about things, which tends to in many cases just fine about sin, unfortunately.

A few examples. I think there was a story about someone in the family who was in the Bishopric and someone told them that they felt inspired to invest their ten percent tithing that year instead because he figured that God would have given the money back to him anyway. We tend to think that God is always worried about the mineutia of our finances, I suppose.

Also there was that lovely story about that guy in our ward in Wymount Terrace who stole Slade's motorcycle. Actually it wasn't stolen but technically it wasn't being watched like we thought it was over the summer so someone appropriated it legally under the abandonment laws. The GUY KNEW IT WAS SLADE'S BIKE AND THAT WE WERE JUST AWAY FOR THE SUMMER so he appropriated it like it had been abandoned.

This was a guy IN OUR WARD who knew that this was Slade's bike and that we were coming back but he said that because he talked to the Bishop about it and that he was within his legal rights to claim our property as his own BECAUSE HE FELT OK ABOUT IT.

Sometimes it is really a wonder that anyone ever leaves Utah County a believing member of the church with that kind of thing going on. Seriously he felt ok about taking our bike because legally he was within his rights. And he threw in that he felt ok about it because HE NEEDED A WAY TO GET TO WORK AND HE FELT THAT GOD WAS TELLING HIM THAT HE COULD DO THIS FOR HIS OWN FINANCIAL NEEDS. Apparently God cared more about him getting to work than protecting the only vehicle that Slade ever owned before he was twenty two years old from legally protected theft.

We were even more horrified when we realized that everybody in the entire ward knew about it too, you could tell by the looks on their faces as they walked by when we had the cop called there as if the cop could have done anything in the face of that. They watched him take the bike file for an abandoned title, strip the nice paint job that Slade had done and paint it with pink florescent house paint (that we couldn't figure out why he did, because it wasn't like we wouldn't recognize it but it certainly was no improvement).

When people are only concerned about how they feel about things there is really no limits to how low they will sink and still feel fine about it. GOOD even. There is sometimes the idea that there will be something like guilt or a conscience if we are really doing something wrong and we can just go ahead and sky's the limit do what we want to do but we know how rare that is in other people to all of a sudden become burdened with guilt at their behavior so they should't be too confident it will kick in in their own case. In fact it won't; guilt is a myth. The whole point of the natural man thing in the Book of Mormon is to remind us that we don't always come naturally to feeling the right way about good and evil, it is acquired and requires requesting a chance of heart. And it won't be acquired if we just stick to whether we feel ok about things the way it happens naturally.

Band and dance

I am going to post the videos for this hopefully Sunday and so am posting now just because I want to force myself to get around to it. Will put the vids on later so check back.

Archer's band was totally awesome. They ended doing Iron Man by Black Sabbath. I would have thought that it was a bit dark for a talent show in a fifth grade honors class. But it went off pretty well. Archer's sunniess actualy went well with it. I also think they chose it because the kid who organizd the band is REALLY GOOD on electric guitar.

Archer did really good modulating the key to his range. Actually it sounded better than the original in my opinion they way they did the melody.

Chase is going to have to beef up his contribution because I don't really think Ukelele worked in this arrangement. We will have to consider getting him a base guitar or something if they get serious about it, which of course I am encouraging though I am not sure psychadelic rocker music is going to be their thing, at least I hope not.

Also Sadie had her tap class recital on Sunday and Drake had a band concert so I will post a few of those clips hopefully if you can bear with my self indulgent proud parent type of post.

I wasnt THAT proud of Sadie because she all of a sudden the day of the dress rehearsal let me know that she couldn't find any tap shoes except two right shoes of different sizes. I had bought a bunch from a thrift store once so I bought them thinking that would save having to spend tons of money on new ones, though I almost went out and plunked down today because I was so embarrassed.

Good thing her costume was this fake raincoat and boots thing. Silly costume but it is pretty easy to have it look cute when it is a bunch of tap dancing girls.

Archer agreed to let me put him in a dance class next year and that will be a good time. He will be perfect. Like the boy version of Shirley Temple at least with the attitude.

The King Kong syndrome

Just one of my silly writing projects to keep me out of trouble. Contests at Helium are off for the summer dang it and I needed to write about fifty extra pages to compensate.

I have been thinking about how I wanted to use something from pop culture to use as a moral allegory, initially for one of my talks a while back but then expanded from there because someone said it was interesting that heard my talk. I probably gave about five talks worth in that talk, it was fairly terse.

Please note, any of you that actually read these long boys, which is probably not many of you and I understand: I am not particularly obsessive or anything about these topics that I go into, it isn't why I write these things. I never care about things as much as it seems like I do from writing these.

I am certainly not on a soap box about good and evil or religion or heaven forbid politics or any of these topics I go off about, that might actually be important to clarify lest any of you think I am nutso. These things for me are just writing exercises.

I am a writer, not really a moralist, theologian or philosopher or politician or nutritionist or whatever else. I would say that I AM a linguist and I am, I am even a historian of sorts but that isn't really why I write about linguistics or history. I think that most of my posts are weird just like any of you would. But I like to do things just like some people try to climb mountains. It is a silly thing to do but I just wonder if I can so I try.

Writing things like this one to me is a fun challenge but hard - coming up with something unusual like a moral allegory that doesn't make someone sick it is so forced or totally absurd is VERY difficult, even if it doesn't seem like it would be. Because most original writing that makes it to the public sphere comes off as not looking hard, hence it gets published. But most of it is not really that ambitious in that it doesn't try to do something that hasn't been done. Consider how hard it is to say somthing unique in SS without it sounding silly. And that is just in a simple comment. Most things have either been said before or make no sense. Slade says that I am pretty good at saying things that he hasn't heard before, and he has heard most things, so even though I need a lot of work polishing it that's probably a good skill to have.

Also I need an outlet to do things that wouldn't get published elsewhere. I just sold an article on parenting tips for parents of multiples, but that is pretty boring. I can hardly stand writing in that 'Ladies Home Journal' voice except probably most marketable things are that way.

But anyway, it is in my random thoughts blog. If you dare. You need to be pretty bored.

Guard dog duty

Harry's favorite thing to do is get up and guard Slade while he's still sleeping.

The best.

Of course he doesn't usually guard me because I am never sleeping, at least in bed. I am probably sleeping while making breakfast.

Just occurred to me that I don't know for sure if you can see that but that is Slade sleeping there under Harry. Harry always loves to rest his giant head on things, which JPH and family, do you remember when BO rested his head on that bar under the dining table?

I told Slade about that when we met and he has always joked that I am like a bulldog because I have a huge head and he always says I am resting my giant head, etc.

Request to barbershop relatives/ music fans

Hey Isaac and John (and of course anyone who knows about this).

You both did barbershop as I remember. Isaac I am sure you did and John I think you did some kind of a capella group in college.

I am thinking of trying to teach my kids a few barbershop numbers because I would really like them to start learning how to read/pick out harmony parts. I think they have fairly good ears for it and it is just a matter of training to not just do what comes naturally for them and track the melody.

Do either/any of you have suggestions about it, or any good music that you could send me? I am looking to find something obviously entry level because for this barbershop group I will obviously be working with my children, and to make up for whatever natural talent they might have we are compensating for some pretty bad attitudes and averseness to anything that seems like work.

It is amazing how different in that regard, too. Drake has an amazing ability for work and will stay on task as long as need be... Unless we are talking about something other than he wants to do and then no dice.

And the preferences are so different. I am having them do musical theater camp this summer because I figure at the very least I should try to have them develop these skills if they have them. And I am sure they won't be actors nor do I want them to but theater is VERY good for poise, in fact I owe any and all to my confidence in public speaking to it because when I first started I was horrendously stage frightened at any performance or audition.

Chase said: Oh man, theater camp.

Drake said: Oh, man theater camp... You are ruining my life mom.

Archer said: Wow, theater camp! That sounds GREAT! (beaming that Archer beam).

And I think there is at least some critical period, not that they are destined for greatness, just the basic functional level. I had a good ear and could act when I was a kid but I had little training so by the time I discovered I was interested it was a bit too late to catch up with the girls who were Shirley Templeized pretty young. And I had almost no dance or sports or physical activity at all... (was probably a couch 'spud')

It was funny to me, though, that despite privilege and attempts to cultivate certain skills, there wasn't really ever enough to overcome physiological endowments or the lack of.

Just like if I had been born to Tiger Woods' dad and it would have been totally hopeless (I am the worlds' most clumsy person in the universe and can barely operate a vacuum with precision let a lone an instrument that is supposed to hit a ball somehow), there were some people that had the training since they were little and it did no good.

There was one girl in my high school acting troupe, (she changed her name from Heidi to Justine because I think she was planning on needing a screen name as early as thirteen), that thought that she was going to take the world by storm as a professional actress, but she was completely 100 percent tone deaf. I made sure to always be there when she auditioned for the annual musical because she tried really hard and had a boatload of confidence to keep at it year after year and do daring Marilyn Monroe numbers for auditions and all of that, but I had a feeling that as much as she was the school's best hope for a Merril Streep or whatever, they were afraid to even put her in the chorus.

Anywho, I am trying to whip these bad boys into shape, and Slade agrees that barbershop might be a fun new family focus for all of us, so if either of you knows some pieces, has some good CD's to recommend or whatever you have to fire at me while I get started, shoot.

Specific technical question about barbershop: which part traditionally sings the melody, and does it matter for any reason? I have written a few simple arrangements if I don't get any better ideas but they don't sound QUITE right, so I don't know if there are things that I don't know.

It is strange because I will need to sing the TENOR (by which I mean second for the bottom) and melody, though I am not sure these are always the same, even though it would be much easier if I sang one of the trickier parts. Because I am the only one that sings tenor in the family. Yet. Drake might get there in a few years, I am not sure Slade has a shot at it though.

Thanks again to anyone who responds.

Tell me if this sounds creepy

I am thinking of accepting a job as a paid forum poster.

It sounds kind of weird at first but when I crunched the numbers at the rate that I can post stuff (by the way they calculate payment) I will actually be paid pretty good money for the kind of stuff I do all the time anyway.

I am mainly trying to get a feedback profile on this one freelancing site, and this seemed like one of the easier ones.

It is only going to be on parenting issues, not some of the ones that have an agenda like how great Communist China is (seriously, the chicoms pay Americans to post stuff on blogs and forums favorable to them) so I figure I won't be actually pulling the wool over anyone's eyes at least in spirit, I will make it seem like I am actually trying to contribute to discussions, or I won't do it.