Under the Skin

I make no secret of my contempt for the bureaucracy of the FDA and the medical research industry in general--even though I want to be a part of it.   I admit freely that it is a necessary entity.   I know that the system of some countries where not-safe things roam the markets freely is a very bad idea.   And I admit freely that this problem is manifest in the supplements market—a market where purity is not guaranteed and they don’t have to back up any of their claims, or even prove its safety. However, I am concerned about the “Well it’s not ideal…but whatever” attitude of medical treatments.   “Crisis averted” doesn’t mean “problem solved.” Whenever they say, "It's not ideal,"  I just want to pull out a Will Turner: Exhibit A “The Mother of All Pandemics” 1918 saw the worst flu epidemic in recorded history.   People that freaked out in 2008/2009 had absolutely no concept of flu epidemic.   We don’t even know how many people died...

As much as I like the ukulele, it is not the most versatile instrument.  Especially when you compare it to pianos.  But, some songs work surprisingly well.  This is one of those songs.  Ever since President Packer's talk a few conferences ago, I have loved the song "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." I didn't really know it before that.  But, in its purity it should be song by a cappella men's quartets.  I have felt that way since the week after conference when some guys in my ward sang it that way in sacrament meeting.  So, I can't do it justice.  However, I found that, much to my surprise, it works well with ukulele accompaniment.  Maybe it's the slow and plaintive feeling.  Maybe it's the ocean references.  But I like it. Remember however, that there are many things that Hannah does well.  Singing isn't one of them.  There are many things that Hannah does mediocre-ly.  Singing isn't one of those either.

When I first got to college, I was a nursing major.  It didn't take me long to realize that I was in the wrong place.  Nurses have a very important role, but I knew very quickly that it wasn't the role that was right for me.  I didn't have the same personality as all the other nursing majors, and I, quite frankly, didn't enjoy being around people as much as they did. I knew that I wanted to help people--that much I knew.  But I also knew that I didn't want to be around people.  And I loved science--that much I knew.  Besides, my ultimate goal was to go towards research, and nursing is a very unconventional path to that anyways.  I searched the university for something that was right for me.  When I saw the major of Clinical Laboratory Science, I didn't really know what that was.  But I was drawn to it.  As I progressed in the major, I realized it was perfect.  It was healthcare without people.  And it was science.  And I h...

I decided to make another hymn arrangement for one,  unaccompanied violin.  As I previously explained, this style only works for the very folksy-sounding hymns, so I used Come Thou Fount.  Here it is right after I had arranged it, and before my hands had really warmed up for vibrato purposes.

"I just love Frozen .  It is the first movie from Disney that actually empowers women."  Raise your hands if you've heard that before.  Okay, now put your hands down.  Raise you hand if you actually, honestly believe that.  Well, you shouldn't and here's why:  It's not true.  The qualification that people usually use for this assessment is that Disney movies used to tell women that they needed to be saved by men.  First of all, I don't think that's the only way you can empower women, but that aside, here's the truth:  It's not the first movie to do that.  I present six Disney movies that taught that message.  Some of them long ago. These aren't the only six that have strong female characters, mind you.  They're just the ones where the girls saves her own day--or even everyone else's too. Now, I'm not saying that Frozen has nothing to offer.  I actually enjoyed the movie pretty well .  But I don't think it is anythi...

I once again write about my biggest Mormon pet-peeve--actually my two biggest Mormon pet-peeves.  First, something that I've learned in Utah, is that there is way too much holier-than-thou going on in some parts of the Church.  I still love being a member of the LDS Church, and I still believe that it is a perfect Church, but that doesn't mean that everyone always does what they should.  I grew up outside of Utah.  So, I was completely awestruck by the attitude towards non-Mormons that Mormons have.  I just want to shake them and and say, "How could you do this?  How could you, whose ancestors were burned out of four states, be so terrible towards others?  Not fifty years ago, that was us.  And how can you now do that to others?"  I have sat, listening to the thoughts about diversity from honestly good people thinking, "Holy Cow.  You are that Mormon I used to claim didn't exist!" Let me remind all that the hymn "In Humility Our Savior...

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”  In a continuation of books that I somehow didn't read in junior high school or high school, I review The Scarlet Letter .  I could have read this one in junior high, but my mother chose The Crucible over it when we were reading Puritanical guilt-analysis in homeschool.  I don't resent her for this.  The Crucible is a fantastic book as well that I needed to read.  But I don't regret my choice this past week to read The Scarlet Letter .  Just a note on finding a book cover for the picture:  people the last line is "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules."  So, why are so many people making her in a red dress with a black A?  And why would you ever make the A on her dress black?  The book is called "The SCARLET Letter." For those who don't know the basic plot: ...