Christian's Blog

Amazing Grace

2010-04-13T21:54:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers--

This is it! This is my last Honors 240 blog post! It is in response to the film Amazing Grace and it discusses why the abolition of the slave trade and of slavery itself was such a lengthy process. I don't think it's really my best post, but enjoy anyway (as much as a discussion of slavery can be enjoyed)!

Amazing Grace

Beginning with the European Age of Exploration, which had its start in the fourteen hundreds and continued to accelerate in the fifteen hundreds and sixteen hundreds, the stakes of the European economy (which over the centuries has evolved into what we now call the world economy) were significantly raised. Just a few hundred years before, Europe was a fractured society that survived on feudalism and agriculture. With the dawn of the Renaissance, Europe was fast becoming a sophisticated civilization whose economic hands reached far beyond the fields and pastures. The increased trade with Asia (especially China) brought a wealth of information (most importantly the knowledge preserved and developed by Islamic scholars) and commodities. The royalty, nobility, and the beginnings of the middle class realized that they were missing out on a lot of “stuff.” Thus, the economy grew. As European explorers discovered and conquered new lands, they realized that European nations could exploit the resources of these new lands and become leaders in the growing “world economy” (I hesitate to use that term in reference to this historical period, but I suppose I’ll use it cautiously anyway), perhaps even superior to the empires of the East. Thus, the economy continued to grow. Western Europe was becoming uncomfortably crowded anyway, and so colonies were established and settled in the New World and elsewhere. It was quickly evident, however, that even the excess of Europe could not adequately exploit the vastness of these new lands for all that they could give, nor provide what the motherland, Europe, demanded. A solution needed to be found. That solution was slavery.

Of course this is a very linear, oversimplified version of history, but it is a good explanation of how and why African slavery came to be, at least according to my understanding. Well, those European explorers/settlers/company owners/slave ship captains/slave merchants/slave owners were correct. The incorporation of slavery as a foundation for the quickly growing economy was a very effective means of exploiting the newly acquired land and the resources therein. The rich American soil, owned by English colonists and tilled, seeded, worked, and harvested by African Slaves, nourished many lucrative cash crops—first tobacco and later cotton, indigo, rice, et cetera. The more tropical lands to the south, including the islands of the Caribbean and the South American continent were perfect for coffee and sugar. Agriculture in the new world was much more than friendly Indians teaching helpless pilgrims to fertilize their fields with fish bones and plant them with corn, beans, and pumpkins which grow nicely together and make for a pleasant thanksgiving feast. No, agriculture in the new world was a massive and very successful commercial endeavor. All this was made possible by the institution of slavery. As the colonies expanded and the economy continued to grow, the slave trade continued to flourish so that fresh labor could be supplied. Even Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in the early nineteenth century, which was meant to reduce the labor necessary for cotton production, stimulated a boom in the slave trade because plantation owners (as a result of the cotton gin) expanded their vision of what they could produce and so expanded their labor force.

Yes, by the nineteenth century, more than two hundred years after the establishment of African slavery in the new world, the European economy continued to grow, as did the economy of newly independent America. England abolished its slave trade early on in the century. Other European powers followed suit or else had already done so. It took America quite a bit longer to follow that example. But why did it take so long for these Western nations to see the light, so to speak, and eradicate a practice that we now so easily recognize as evil? Well, because their economy was huge, it was built on the backs of slaves, its future health depended on the continued exploitation of slaves, and the health of the national and global economy is very important to every nation, no matter where or when in history. Reinforced by, and conversely contributing to, the sway of those economic motivations was a slew of theological and ethical views that confirmed (and, for many people, encouraged) the institution of slavery. It is very difficult for us to conceive how thoroughly integrated was the institution of slavery in the world economy. Even those areas where slavery was not practiced were completely dependent on the raw materials that slaves produced. The best contemporary analogy that I can think of (and this isn’t a very good analogy) is this: the complete and sudden elimination of slavery in the nineteenth century would be comparable to the complete and sudden elimination of gasoline today. The combination of economic, theological, and political reinforcements of the institution of slavery made it so difficult for the slave trade to be abolished.

--Christian Jacob Frandsen

P.S. I don't have a video for you. Sorry. But I would like to say that I plan on revisiting these topics on occasion in future posts. Yes, I wrote these posts because they were assigned and I had a regular deadline. In the future, when I don't have the pressure of time, I'll write more and perhaps go in new directions, beyond the scope of these original prompts. So be sure to continue to read!

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

2010-04-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers--

This is my second to last Honors 240 blog post! Enjoy!

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln’s second inaugural address is a beautiful piece of prose. Just as his speech was brief, this post will be brief. In fact this post will be much briefer than his address. Still, I want to put down a few thoughts. First of all, I am amazed by the charity—the genuine love—that Lincoln expresses in his speech. I’m sure it took a lot of courage to do this, because there was obviously a lot of hatred for “the rebels” of the Confederacy within the citizenry of the union. But though his words would not likely bring him more popularity or approval, Lincoln said them anyway because they needed to be said. Furthermore, I am amazed by the courage it must have required for Lincoln to so plainly claim that the blame of the war fell not only on the faults of the south, but the faults of the north as well. Any other man might have pointed fingers, yet Lincoln did not. Lastly, I was inspired by Lincoln’s fervent desire, not just to win the war, but to heal the nation and seal up the rift that had torn the North and the South apart and his humble appeal to God to facilitate that healing. He was a remarkable man and this was a remarkable speech.

--Christian Jacob Frandsen

The First Vision in its Historical Context

2010-04-07T21:04:00.001-07:00

Dear Reader--

Last week we discussed the Second Great Awakening and the First Vision. Naturally, the blog prompt was about these two events. Here are my thoughts.

One particular aspect of the Second Great Awakening that adds to my appreciation of the first vision (and the restoration as a whole), is the fervor—should I say craze?—that took place at the revivals. The list of exercises was especially amusing. I can’t imagine going to church (perhaps stake conference would be a more accurate analogy) and progressing sequentially through the falling exercise (collapsing into a semi-conscious state), the rolling exercise, the “jerks,” the barking exercise, the dancing exercise, and the laughing and singing exercise (performed with a countenance of joy and peace—a crucial clarification). One painting that Dr. Holzapfel included in the PowerPoint presentation really stood out. It depicted an outdoor sermon at a revival. The preacher was having a grand old time up on his platform, and the benches were full of frenzied members of the congregation exploding in hysterics or swooning and generally reacting violently to the sermon. It reminds me strikingly of the witchcraft practiced among the Bushmen of the Kalahari and other peoples in which medicine men or even ordinary people would work themselves into such a state during a ritual dance that they would pass out and have out of body experiences.

Well, whatever the nature of hysterics of the Second Great Awakening’s camp meetings, real or imagined, we as Latter-Day Saints know that they did not come from God. It is amazing to me that a fourteen year-old boy would be so honest with himself and so spiritually oriented that he would, one, see the hysteria happening around him and not fake the phenomenon in himself even for the sake of fitting in, two, realize that spirituality was so important even though he was not experiencing the same “spiritual manifestations” felt my so many of his neighbors, and three, have the courage and the persistence to actively seek out the truth. It is amazing and fitting and perfect that God would manifest himself to someone who someone who was not accustomed to such hysterics. That the Lord would visit one who sought the truth by study and by faith is a confirmation of my own testimony of the first vision and the Restoration.

--Christian

The Miracle of the Book of Mormon

2010-03-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers--

Last week I had the great privilege of touring the Crandall Printing Museum, a small little place tucked away on Center Street. This museum is one of Provo's most valuable, but most unknown, treasures. I had never even heard of it until I read the Honors 240 syllabus back in January, but even then, I knew the name and nothing else. I had very low expectations of the museum--I predicted it would be a bit like the BYU Museum of People's and cultures. I thought it would have a few nice artifacts, some interesting explanatory notes to read, and a few kind docents but remain generally underwhelming. This was confirmed when I first saw it and realized how small it was. Well, I'm happy to say that my expectations were magnificently exceeded.

The tour began with a short lecture and demonstration on Gutenberg's development of the movable type printing press. And when I say demonstration, I mean the docent explained and showed (to the best of his ability considering the time we had) every step of creating just one tiny piece of type (a capital "B"), including fixing the mold into the hand type-cast and pouring molten printers' metal into the type cast to create a brand new piece of type that all of us in the tour could hold in our hands and pass around. The demonstration concluded with us actually pressing two pages of the Gutenberg bible--an exact replica of the original (I pulled the handle on the press--it was fun). I will never see Gutenberg the same way. He was truly a genius and truly inspired of God. What he achieved considering the technology and education of the time was brilliant--so brilliant that no one could surpass his model of the press (at least in terms of fundamental innovation) for more than three hundred years. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father inspired talented and faithful men to invent and accomplish the things that paved the way for the restoration.

Next, we moved into a little recreation of Benjamin Franklin's printing shop, discussed his career as a printer, and learned about how influential printed literature was in fueling the revolution. There's a great quote that I can quite remember, but it went something like this: "It was the press, not the pistol that won the revolution."

Lastly, we enjoyed a presentation in a recreation of the print shop that produced the first edition of the Book of Mormon. We saw an a printing press of the exact make and model of the press that printed the Book of Mormon. We saw how the pages were configured on the press. We saw how the book was bound and finished. We heard some statistics that were completely mind-blowing--for seven months, the press was running eleven hours a day at two sheets a minute. A group of strapping young men from BYU could run the press at that pace for approximately fifteen minutes before they had to let up. Back in 1830, a team of fourteen year-old boys was running the press eleven hours a day. The pace of binding the five thousand copies of the first printing was even more impressive. The physical coming forth of the Book of Mormon was every bit as much of a miracle as the divinely inspired translation.

I don't quite know how to express my appreciation for this museum. I came out of it ecstatic and impressed and overwhelmed. I donated all the cash I had in my wallet (well, it was only five dollars, but the widow only had two mites, right?) and I encourage any of you who have the chance to visit the museum (and I hope all of you do, the next time you are in Provo) to donate. The Museum has received a sizable donation from the Church to expand, but requires more aid. President Monson hopes that, after the museum has finished it's expansion plans, every missionary in the Provo MTC will be able to go through the museum to gain such a tangible appreciation of the miracle of the Book of Mormon.

Let me know the next time you are in town, and I'll gladly go through again :-)

--Christian

P.S. I just recently got into "So You Think You Can Dance." I know it's not in season, and I don't even have a TV, but I discovered a couple clips on YouTube and was amazed. Here's one of my favorites that I've found so far:

Enjoy!

Women's Rights

2010-03-24T22:42:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers--

It is difficult for me to write about women’s rights because I am not a woman and have never had to deal with the type of inequality that women faced in the nineteenth century. I think the key to really understanding and loving history is to draw a personal and emotional connection with the events. I guess I’ll just have to use my imagination this time.

From the beginning of the colonial period of American history, women always filled a very necessary role. The pilgrims and other folks weren’t moving into a nice, new, developed neighborhood across the Atlantic. They were settling an unsettled (at least by their European standard) land. They were fighting for survival and everyone was needed. Men worked hard and women worked hard and equality was generally enjoyed. Any legal inequalities that surely existed between men and women were not likely to be pressing aggravations because both genders had to work so hard to build and maintain society.

As the colonial period ended and the new nation got to its feet, the feminine role underwent a shift. The concept of Republican Motherhood was born, and women were valued because they had the power to bring new Americans into the world and raise them to be model citizens. I’m sure that women’s rights activists from any era would have much to say about Republican Motherhood for good or for bad, but I’m not going to guess or address what such activists might say, nor pass any judgment on Republican Motherhood. Frankly, I don’t know enough about it to determine if it created any significant or oppressive inequality between men and women. The point is, women still enjoyed a respected role in society and were considered useful in that role.

After a few decades, the novelty of the Revolution and new government and the accompanying concept of Republican Motherhood seemed to wear off. By this time, European-settled America had a two hundred-year history and survival was no longer an issue (excepting those on the frontier). All along the East coast, intense labor on the part of both genders was no longer necessary for the economic well-being of the nation and society became economically/politically/et cetera dominated by men. From these conditions evolved a new concept to define the role of women (I wonder what concepts were created to define the role of men): the cult of domesticity. In this new way of looking at femininity, women were still on a pedestal, but no longer considered useful. Men considered their wives to be angels to bless and/or decorate their homes. Women received little education other than in the womanly arts taught at finishing schools. These finishing schools were not designed to help women contribute to society or enlarge their minds, but to help them win a man to put them up on that beautiful, feminine, pedestal. In other words, with the advent of the cult of domesticity, women found themselves in a situation that was undoubtedly unequal. The equity they enjoyed for almost or about two hundred years of American history was abolished.

Once women became aware of their diminished position in society, it was not long before the women’s rights movement began to form and mobilize. Remarkable women demanded and obtained education for themselves and worked to extend that same blessing to the rest of their sex. They gathered and spoke and protested and marched and wrote and the rest is history.

But the question arises, “why did it take so long for the women’s movement to begin and pick up steam?” The answer (at least my answer, however legitimate it is) can be found through the history of the female gender role in America. Whether or not they were legally equal, the necessity of female labor for the survival of early American society resulted in general equality between men and women. Women were useful, needed, and therefore equal. The usefulness of women continued until the nineteenth century when society had changed to the point that women were no longer as useful. This highlighted the legal inequality that was likely already in existence. Once women realized the inequality they suffered, they were quick to speak up, but it took two hundred years of history before that inequality became apparent.

I guess that's why it took so long!

Here's a song from Shrek the Musical that also deals with issues of (in)equality and standing up for one's rights. While I don't agree with the political subtext of this song (I'm sure most of you know exactly what I mean) but the message at face value is pretty good and it's just such a fun song to listen to and watch! Enjoy:

--Christian

Amistad

2010-03-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers--

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I'll have you all know that as I write this I'm listening to the soundtrack of Riverdance and once I've finished, I'm rewarding myself with a delicious bowl of Lucky Charms.

Last week in Honors 240, we watched a pretty incredible film, called Amistad. It tells the story of the controversy surrounding the Amistad slaves and the trial determining their fate. Here's the premise. A group of Africans was taken from Africa in a Portuguese ship and then transferred to a Spanish ship, La Amistad. The Africans took control of the ship, tried to steer it back to Africa, but ended up landing on the East Coast of the United States (I'll be honest. There was footage of the ship heading East, into the rising sun and I don't understand how they got turned around and landed on the East Coast. Oh well, it happened). There was some other business with an American ship who tried to "claim the cargo" of La Amistad. There were four main competing claims (and several smaller parties that were also involved)--the Africans claimed their own freedom, the Spanish owners of La Amistad claimed private ownership, the Queen of Spain (Isabella II at the tender age of eleven), and the Americans who discovered and "salvaged" the "cargo."

The case proved to be very difficult. There was falsified logic, unprovable but true and valid evidence, and of course the problem that none of the Africans involved spoke any European tongue. The case was fought long and hard and decided in favor of the Africans. It was then taken to the Supreme court. The decision was the same, but it was a very difficult legal battle.

The movie stimulated a lot of thinking about a lot of issues. Here are some scattered ideas that stick out a week in retrospect.

First, I'm grateful to live in the circumstances I enjoy. Though the world today is by no means perfect, it's a lot better than it was one hundred and seventy years ago. I'm grateful to be part of an economy that is not founded on human bondage (although some would argue that it is, considering the vast majority of the goods we enjoy are manufactured in sweatshops). I'm grateful that human dignity is recognized and valued in my society. I'm grateful to live in a nation that was founded on the idea of freedom and that has realized that idea as well as any nation ever has.

Next, I'm shocked at the corruption that was and is in politics. It is sickening to know that, even in the nineteenth century, when right and wrong and personal integrity were valued much more than they are today, there were so many in power who were so obsessed with maintaining their power that they sacrificed their integrity. I imagine that the situation is even worse today. That being said, the film made me much more thankful for men of integrity and fidelity who stand up for what is right no matter how such action will affect their careers and integrity. This film showcased several men who were so committed to doing the right thing. It was very inspiring.

I was also very impressed at the power of ideas, educated men, and good public speaking. I don't quite know how to explain this one--you'll have to watch the film, but you'll know what I mean if you. Some day I'll figure out how to articulate thoughts pertinent to this subject and I'll blog about it.

Lastly, this movie made me love John Quincy Adams! For so long I thought of him as sort of a loser who wasn't very effective as president and whom no one really liked. This movie completely changed that opinion, especially if the speech at the end of the movie is similar or identical to the speech that he surely gave in real life. That speech alone is enough reason to watch the movie--it is stunning.

Well, that's all I have to say on the subject for now. Here's some Irish hardshoe for Saint Patrick's Day (random: I accidentally typed thanksgiving and then caught my mistake--I think I've had one to many yummy treats today).

Enjoy!

--Christian

The Federalist Papers

2010-03-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers--

A new week of course means a new blog post for Honors 240. This week I'll be writing about the federalist papers, so get ready :-)

Of the federalist papers that we studied, I think my favorite is number ten. It was the federalist paper with which I was most familiar before this class (though I was hardly familiar with it at all, and even now I do not consider myself an expert by any means) and retains its special place in my heart now that we have examined a few in some depth. Why is Federalist Number Ten my favorite, you may ask? Well I really do not know how to answer that question--I am not sure there is any particularly good reason for it, it just is.

I do, however, know perfectly well why it appeals to me, even if I can't explain why it is my favorite. Perhaps the coolest aspect of this essay is that it is so counterintuitively sensible. It addresses a problem that was surely worrisome to the founding fathers and other politicians of the day, indeed any politician of any time and any nation, and offers a wonderful solution in the most surprising of ways. I suppose, incorporating the proper phrase, it can be said that Federalist Number Ten fights fire with fire.

The problem of factions had afflicted every government ever to exist (or almost every government--I suppose the City of Enoch did not suffer from a plague of troublesome factions) and had never been successfully figured out. Leave it to James Madison to discover, or even have the idea that the way to negate the ill effects of factions is to actually encourage their growth!

More amazing to me than the fact that James Madison generated such a novel and unexpected idea is the fact that this new idea completely changed the general concept of a healthy government and a healthy society. It certainly took a while for the idea to sink in; George Washington, who served as President after the writing of the paper, in his farewell address, counseled America to avoid any sort of political division--to cling to unity and avoid and discourage political factions as much as possible. I do not know exactly how long it took for that idea to reverse itself in the general mentality of the people and the politicians, but nowadays, political parties and multiplicity of political groups is usually seen as a symptom of healthy government. Those societies in which separate political parties do not form, for whatever reason, are usually viewed as unhealthy, even oppressive.

The party system which formed in America is a more plastic system of checks and balances that tends to protect the rights, liberties, and freedom of the people alongside the protection built into the structure of the government. The party system produces multiple opposing candidates, all of whom are ambitious and hopefully well-intentioned as well, who all present different ideas and potential policies. The very expression of these various ideas in a competitive setting is conducive to freedom because it gives citizens more choices and is more likely to result in a candidate that will specifically cater to the desires of the general populace. A tyrant is much more likely to emerge from a society without political parties than from a society that cherishes them.

Best of all, I love Madison's conscientious exploration of all the options and possibilities in Federalist Number Ten. He logically examines the different ways that societies have tried to deal with factions, whether through eliminating the causes or manipulating the effects , and constructs a distinctly American solution in a genuine desire to serve the American people.

Well those are just a few thoughts on Federalist Number Ten. I hope they made sense!

No video tonight, but lots of love just the same!

--Christian

A More Perfect Union

2010-03-03T00:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Last week I had the tremendous blessing of watching the BYU film A More Perfect Union which tells the wonderful story of James Madison and the constitutional convention. I could write post upon post about the excellent acting and direction and craft in general, but that doesn't have much to do with our topics of discussion in Honors 240 :-). More along the lines of American Studies, I was very struck by how dramatic all the founding fathers seemed to be. Sure we don't have video footage of how they actually acted, but (to my knowledge--I could be completely) the script was based on the detailed notes that James Madison took as the convention dragged on. Anyway, for being the American paragons of the Age of Reason, they sure let their emotions drive them. The whole time I was so frustrated by how resistant they all were to compromise. Granted, they were involved in perhaps the most important intellectual and political work of the eighteenth century, but still, I was amazed at how long it took both sides of the representation debate to come around.

Furthermore, I was surprised at which particular characters (perhaps that's the wrong word) chose compromise first. The men who came off most headstrong at the beginning of the process seemed to be the first to suggest a mutually agreeable solution. Surprisingly, wise James Madison, who wanted the convention to succeed more than anyone, was one of the last to agree to the compromise which has lasted until this day. It's reassuring that their matters of debate were so greatly beyond themselves, otherwise their behavior might have accurately characterized them as some of the most stubborn and self-centered people in history.

I'd like to reemphasize how surprisingly dramatic the film was. If it weren't for the fact that the birth of the Constitution was of immense global and historical importance, the story would almost be a political soap opera.

Well, I'd better stop blaspheming the creation our nation's foundational document. I'll leave you with a video of a great singer singing a great song. Enjoy!

Christian

The Challenge

2010-02-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers--

Here's yet another post for Honors 240, this time discussing the questions and difficulties faced by the Founding Fathers before they met to discuss and draft the constitution. Due to unexpected changes in schedule, this is the most hurried of any post I've written for the course so far. Hopefully it still makes sense and may even be enjoyable. I plan to revise and better it when I have the chance, but that chance is not now. Happy Reading!

It was more than clear that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working. In the first few years of their existence that became more than evident. Discord and discontent were rampant and chaos was quickly absorbing the logic, reason, and elevated thinking that gave impetus to the war for independence. Congress had little power to do anything and the inflated power of the individual states prevented the nation from functioning as a united body. Neither the states’ governments nor the national government were functioning as they ought. The high hopes that accompanied victory in the Revolution were certainly disappointed.

The biggest problem was that the founding fathers were doing something that no one had ever done before. Never had a fair, non-tyrannical, non-oppressive government been conceived, executed, and sustained on such a large scale as the United States. Unless my history is quite wrong, the thirteen new states and accompanying territories were larger in geographical space and population than any of the states of Europe. And Europe, even on that smaller scale, had not yet proven itself capable of good government. Combine this creative challenge with the chaos already reigning, the pressure of the watchful eyes of every European nation, the primitive (by our standards) means of communication and transportation available at the time, and the terrifying desire and necessity to succeed at such a lofty task, (among many other challenges that I cannot list here) and the job that the framers of the Constitution faced surely seemed pretty well nigh impossible.

They had no example to follow. No guidebook with detailed and concise instructions as they assembled the pieces of a new government. No model to inspire the pieces themselves. And yet they had to succeed, they believed, for the sake of mankind.

After extensive reading of historical accounts and political treatises, James Madison clearly understood that every government ever to have existed (or every government that whose record was available to him read) was flawed. He and the rest of the Constitutional Convention faced so many questions. Which aspects of past governments are good and virtuous? Which aspects proved self-destructive? Which aspects proved tyrannical? Once the proper parts of other governments were identified and selected, how could they be modified and molded to fit together in this new context? The delegates from the small states wondered how to preserve their power in congress. The delegates from the large states wondered how to equalize the imbalanced system of representation. Both groups wondered how to convince the other of their point. But most of all they wondered how to make a perfect government out of flawed individuals. The imperfection of human nature often came close to tearing apart even the small group that was the Constitutional Convention. How could they possibly deal with that challenge when created the government of an entire nation.

But, thanks to Divine aid and inspiration, they succeeded in answering each of those questions and many more besides. Though the government they created was not perfect, it was very close to it. As close any group of men possibly could come, and today we are the better for it.

--Christian

John Adams

2010-02-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

Dear family and other readers,

The rest of my Honors 240 class is blogging about their responses to a segment of the John Adams miniseries based on the David McCullough and comparing the film portrayal of the man to their own understanding of his life and personality. Having been sick in bed last week when they watched it, I don't have the same privilege. My post tonight is a collection of thoughts on some basic Wikipedia research on the man and his life.

Factual as the Wikipedia article may be, it does not give much of a sense of his personality or character. Nevertheless, in piecing together those same dry facts, I left with the impression that one of John Adams chief qualities was humility. I could be completely wrong. I did not know him personally, and I haven't even read the David McCullough book. I am certainly not the expert on his personality, and yet I can't help thinking that of all the adjectives that might sum up who he was, humble was one of them. He definitely had dreams and aspirations and ambitions, but it seems that in every case his goals were for the greater good and not for his own gain. For example, he put his reputation on the line in defending the British troops involved in the massacre because he knew it was right. He knew that most of those officers were completely innocent and that (according to my understanding) even the officers that did fire in the crowd thought they were doing so under orders. He knew that it was his fellow Bostonians and friends who had, in this case, been in the wrong and he risked permanently losing or damaging his clientele because of his defense in behalf of the British soldiers. Yet this humility paid off and his victory in that most difficult of court cases resulted in respect for his prowess as a lawyer and contributed to (or at least confirmed) his appointment to the Continental Congress. Throughout the rest of his political career, it seems that he kept this same sort of humility. He would always stand up for what he believed to be just, yet he did not do this for attention or wealth or any sort of personal gain, he did it because he thought it was the right thing to do.

I am also impressed by his role as a family man. He and Abigail are, of course, famous for their letters. It is a blessing to have that correspondence so thoroughly preserved. Someday I would love to read their letters thoroughly--as of now I haven't (I have read one or two but not enough to create an intelligible picture of their relationship in my mind). But, as far as my understanding is correct, their relationship was very admirable and they clung to each other as best they could, through correspondence, during John's long stays away from home. In a day of rationalism and pre-romantic philosophy, it is refreshing to hear of a happy, successful marriages in which the man and wife are so mutually supportive. In addition to his role as loving husband, he was also the father of several children. Considering his many political accomplishments, it is highly unlikely that he was able to be very present as a father, and yet his children ended up living very successful lives. It is a tribute to him that his son John Quincy became the president, and that many of this posterity have taken up office, following in his footsteps. Though he may not have always been present in the home, his fatherly influence was certainly great, considering the success of his children.

I'm grateful that his temple work has been done. It will be interesting to talk to him in the hereafter to check if my take on his character is correct.

Now for the weekly Youtube treats. The musical Finian's Rainbow, recently revived on Broadway, is my new favorite. Here's a little tidbit of a video from this latest production. More videos will follow in future blogs. Enjoy!

Love,
Christian

Types and Shadows

2010-02-10T22:32:00.001-08:00

Dear Readers--

Here are some thoughts on an exhibit in the Museum of Art that my class recently viewed.

Types and Shadows

To me, Types and Shadows is representative of everything that BYU is about. In this exhibit, each piece was intended, at least in context, to point to Christ. Though each work was quite different from all the others, Christ was there in some way. This, I think, is the aim of a BYU education. Though all of us who attend the university will live unique and individual lives, it is the aim of the university to educate students each year whose lives will be centered on Christ and who will point the way to Christ for all those with whom they interact. There is a quote that I like (unfortunately I do not know who first said it) that charges us to “live so that those who do not know Christ but do know you will want to know him because they know you.”

Anyway, I’m getting off topic. Back to the exhibit. Several pieces really stood out to me, but I’ll discuss just one here. The first is one of the first pieces in the exhibit, a bronze in low-relief that depicts a boy or young man either falling from or reaching (almost as if jumping) to a rod that extends from the fingers of a man in a very cruciform position. I guess the artist didn’t necessarily intend for that man to be Christ, that particular interpretation makes sense to me. The detail in this piece, especially in the modeling of the body parts, astounds me. For example, the feet of the young man are very specifically shaped. They are pointed downward and slightly sickled, as if gravity is working its hardest on them. He may be falling—that was my initial thought because of the downward motion of the line of his legs and feet. But then I thought about the foot articulation work we’ve been doing in my Modern dance class and I realized that his feet are pointed in the exact way a foot acts after pushing off the ground. Moving all the way up his body to his extended hand, it does not look to me like a hand that has barely slipped from the rod and is letting go. It looks like a hand that is reaching for it and is about to grasp it. That hand seems to be the focus of all the energy in his body. I love that. I love the desperation in both figures—the boy who is expending all the energy of his soul towards reaching up and the man who is giving everything he can to reach out, despite the veil in between them. I think that this piece does an excellent job of depicting certain aspects of our relationship with Christ—the boy has obviously jumped with all the strength he has, and Christ’s power, in bronze shown as a rod extending from his hand, is there to bear him up.

I could write much more about this piece, and similar amounts about each piece in the exhibit, but that would far exceed the limits of this blog post. I hope I can find the time to take in each piece more thoroughly in the future. I hope I can discover more of how each artist testifies of Christ.

On a completely different note, here are some videos that I absolutely love love love. Being sick the past couple days, I've thought back on sick days in my childhood. Whenever I stayed home from school I would always watch PBS kids, and Sesame Street was one of my favorite shows. I never actually saw any of these videos, except for the theme song when I was young, but I have since discovered them and I sure love them.

--Christian

Sober Expectations

2010-02-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Here's the second of my Honors 240 Blogs. This in particular is in response to Martin Diamond's "A Revolution of Sober Expectations." I recommend it to all of you--it was a very interesting article.

Sober Expectations

Martin Diamond’s concept of sober expectations is particularly brilliant, and reflective of the brilliance of the Founding Fathers. Diamond’s essay sheds light on the perfect balance between idealism and realism that the Founding Father’s so perfectly crafted in declaring independence. These men weren’t fighting to put one form of government in place over another. They weren’t fighting for an unrealistic utopian ideal. They weren’t even fighting with a specific form of government in mind, which one can easily see from looking at history—it took years of chaos under the ineffectual Articles of Confederation before the Founding Fathers even thought about drafting the constitution. These men were simply rebelling according to their own consciences against an institution they reasoned to be evil. In declaring independence they did not demand or even offer any alternative form of government. Indeed, specifically democratic government is never explicitly suggested. The closest the document comes to it is insisting that government can only rightfully be formed by the consent of the governed. That government must be operated by the consent of the governed is neither mentioned nor hinted at. Had the newly independent Americans desired another monarchy, they could have formed one and stayed entirely within the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

This is the genius of the document. This is why it is truly inspired. Firstly, had the Declaration specifically designed an alternative government at the time, many colonies, groups, and individuals would surely have been alienated by and opposed to the new form. This would have created many problems in the course of the war and the solidarity that kept the colonies together and ultimately led to their success might well have been weakened or dissolved. It was the purposeful lack of specificity that contributed to the unity of the colonies and helped them to succeed. Moving on to the inspired aspect of the document, the intended vagueness allows for these principles to be applied in many, if not all, settings. There certainly are and have been places in the world where freedom and liberty are not enjoyed, but a democratic government would not be the proper way to ensure them to the people. I believe the Lord guided the writing of the Declaration of Independence so that it could be a model for any other nation to follow—a formula that could be flexibly applied to any context. I believe that the principles of the Declaration of Independence, if read and applied at face value, could realistically serve as an effective guide in creating any form of government that wishes to protect the rights of the people. I believe that the principles in the Declaration of Independence are eternal. Applied them to a more spiritual setting, they hold true. As Latter-day Saints, we know that we can choose to be subject to the Adversary or subject to the Lord. Because we have agency, neither the Lord nor the Adversary can govern us without our permission. This gospel truth fits right into the ideas of the Declaration of Independence and is just one of many similar examples I could list.

The Founding Fathers knew that they were declaring the independence of a nation of imperfect men, and so they set realistic, achievable goals instead of wasting their time with impossibly lofty ideals (idealistic though they were). This “soberness” allows for the flexibility that the document currently has. This “soberness” is what makes the document not only a masterpiece, but a miracle.

Have a great week!

--Christian

P.S. Here's a video:

The Declaration of Independence

2010-01-26T22:37:00.001-08:00

Dear Readers,
As a requirement for my American Heritage class this semester, I'll be writing short weekly free-writes on various topics we discuss in class. Realistically speaking, I probably won't have any time to blog other than through these posts, so I hope you all enjoy a few months of my thoughts on American Studies. The first topic was the Declaration of Independence. Here it is!

The Declaration of Independence

The difficulty in studying, writing about, and thinking about the Declaration of Independence is its overwhelming familiarity. Most of us born and raised in America and in a culturally American family have had the Declaration of Independence knitted into our hearts and minds and woven together with the smells and tastes of barbecues and root-beer floats and the sights and sounds of fireworks and marching bands and a general feeling of celebration. In the California public education system, kids learn about the Declaration of Independence in fifth grade, eighth grade, and junior year. In all likelihood they learn about it earlier and discuss it in other years. It has become such a symbol in our cultural consciousness that most are not remotely familiar with its content. Thankfully, I’m a little bit more than remotely familiar with it, and yet I struggle to restore and maintain the color and meaning of this patriotic symbol that has faded in the light of eighteen hot summer afternoons. The numerous times I have heard and read the text have sadly rendered it mundane. My mind knows that I ought to as passionate about it as I am about any other secular document. After all, the Declaration of Independence has had a far more profound effect on the world I live in and the way I live than most if not all other non-religious texts. But in spite of all the factual knowledge I’ve accumulated (and sadly even my factual knowledge is very lacking), in spite of the sacrifice given and risk taken by each of the founding fathers who signed it, in spite of its tremendous importance in Western history, I still too often fail to find personal meaning and passion within the text of the Declaration of Independence.

One of the best moments of the course so far was near the end of last Wednesday’s lecture when Dr. Holzapfel, while discussing the Declaration of Independence, its place in history, its authors and signers, et cetera choked up and nearly cried. The genuine emotion he showed for this brief collection of words was very moving and seemed to spring from everything he stands for as a professor, scholar, husband, father, citizen, and disciple of Christ.

I don’t know how long it will take, but I hope to discover that same appreciation for this document and my heritage as an American.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a music video that I LOVE. Thanks goes to the many Taylor Swift-obsessed guys on my floor and in my ward for pulling me onto the band wagon. What can I say? She's gorgeous and talented. And for the record, I do love Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video.

--Christian

Jerusalem Center Essays

2009-12-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Today I turned in my application to study at the BYU Jerusalem Center. I got it in at the very last minute (in fact after the last minute, thanks to some kind and understanding office secretaries), not because I purposefully procrastinated (I had my application printed out and was thinking about my essays months ago) but because these last two weeks have been CRAZY! Here are my application essays. Many thanks to Rosalynde and Mama for their help in editing and finalizing them.

Jerusalem Center Application for Admission

Part Four: Student Essays

1. What additional information regarding your qualifications would you like the Jerusalem Center Admissions Committee to consider?

There are three qualifications I wish to emphasize.

First, I am an Ancient Near Eastern Studies (ANES) major. My desire to study in Jerusalem is fueled not only by the unique and life-enriching opportunity it presents, but also by the academic advantages it would provide. My experience in Jerusalem would be a lens to add color and focus to all of my collegiate studies and beyond. If accepted, I know my ability to comprehend and generate ideas so key to ANES would be greatly enhanced.

Second, I love languages. I have studied French for six years and have placed in national competitions. I have begun informal studies in Spanish and German, and I intend to study Danish and Finnish, additionally. I am confident that I would succeed in Hebrew and Arabic. I look forward to the chance to expand my linguistic capacities.

Third, being the ninth of eleven children, I know how to adapt to life in a large group and deal with the stress of living in such an environment. I can’t wait for the opportunity to be part of the Jerusalem “family.”

I hope that these qualifications, among others not discussed here, merit acceptance to the Jerusalem Center.

2. Describe a significant experience in your life that has strengthened your character.

For the last two years of high school, I was sure I would major in Music Dance Theatre.

Being a life-long performer, I could not imagine any other career but show business. I was passionate about Musical Theatre and had many friends in the major, so auditioning seemed only natural. Furthermore, after praying I felt certain it was right. So at the start of my senior year, I prepared for the most important audition of my life. I searched for the perfect songs and monologues, sought advice from MDT friends, rehearsed diligently; and when it finally came, I felt ready. Although nervous, I performed well and was excited about my prospects. I waited with anticipation for my letter of congratulations, but to my profound dismay, I was rejected. It was a deep wound and it took a long time to heal. I questioned everything I had ever thought about my future, my talent, my ability to receive revelation, even God’s love for me. But now I’m grateful for God’s personal intervention. I learned humility, and I gained strength. I learned to trust completely in the Lord and rediscovered buried talents, and that is worth all the rejections in the world.

3. Tell us why you want to go to the Holy Land and the spiritual and educational benefits you hope to gain.

This past conference, I found myself sitting in one of the Temple Square visitor centers examining a row of paintings of Christ, each by a different artist. In a strange moment of epiphany, I realized that we have no idea what Jesus looked like. Continuing in this line of thought, I realized that we know so little about His personality, the dynamic of His relationships, His favorite color, favorite food, and so many other qualities that together define who someone is.

We know so little about our Savior, and yet we are commanded to come unto him and nurture a personal relationship with Him. How can we have this close relationship with Him, when all we have is a loose outline of his life, a list of people he associated with, and fairly small collection of his words?

My principle goal in studying in Jerusalem is to come closer to Christ. I want to get to know Him by learning the language He spoke, walking the roads that He walked, and living in the land He inhabited. I want to experience the sights, sounds, and smells He experienced. I want to understand His life so that He can change mine.

What do you all think?

For your listening and watching pleasure, I have a clip from a Bollywood film Taal, introduced to me by Caitlin Clive. I've been in a Bollywood mood lately, thanks to one of the numbers in Christmas Around the World, and this is one of my favorite songs.

Love,
Christian

My First Great Works Response

2009-12-10T02:06:00.001-08:00

Dear Readers,

I just finished my first Honors Great Works response. At the beginning of the semester I saw Theatre Mitu's production of Death of a Salesman in the Pardoe Theatre, and I've just spend the last several hours writing about it. It was a great production, and I wish I'd had more than three pages available to write about it (as you'll see, I spent most of my available text discussing Miller's intentions in the play rather than the implications of this very interesting production). Let me know what you think:

Great Works Response: Death of a Salesman

By the age of thirty, Arthur Miller had lived through two world wars. He was born 17 October 1915 and grew up during that strange period between the two world wars. His parents, Isadore and Augusta Miller, were Polish Jews who had immigrated to the United States. Though his father was illiterate, he was a very successful businessman and so young Arthur and his sister Joan grew up in a comfortable up-town situation in Manhattan. His father’s clothing store suffered major losses when the stock market crashed and the Miller family was forced to move to Brooklyn. Then a teenager, Miller worked as a bread delivery-boy to contribute to his family’s finances and, after graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School, took menial jobs to pay for his education. This particular period of his life was very influential later on, especially in the writing of his classic Death of a Salesman. The events of his young life—quickly descending from a well-to-do socioeconomic position to a poor one and so drastically changing his lifestyle to deal with this change—are clearly reflected in his discussions on the definition of success and the nature of the American dream as expressed through his play.

It was at the University of Michigan when he first began writing plays, earning awards for his collegiate work. After earning his BA, he fluttered around working for various theatre companies. He was exempted from military service during World War II because of a high school football injury, and during this time he married and had children. In 1948, he settled in Roxbury, Connecticut and quickly wrote Death of a Salesman, his first masterpiece. His play opened on Broadway 10 February 1949 to much success. He won the Tony Award for best author, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Historical information courtesy of Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller>)

This particular production of Theatre Mitu finds itself in a context that is historically similar to the play’s original production and the events in Miller’s life that influenced its writing. The play was originally created soon after a major war. This production was begun in the middle of a major war. The effects of the Great Depression heavily influenced Miller’s writing. The current economic recession turned serious during this production’s rehearsal process, and many real American families are dealing with the same challenges that Miller faced in his youth and that the Loman family faces in the play. Given the globalized nature of today’s world, Theatre Mitu’s choice to use world theatre traditions to tell this story is very appropriate.

Death of a Salesman tells the two intertwined stories of Willy Loman and his son Biff. Through the story of Willy’s death and Biff’s self-discovery, Miller both celebrates the American Dream and mourns its death. In a way, he redefines the American dream and questions a typical American view of success. Half the story is shown in the real-life interactions of the Loman family in and around their New York home, and half of the story is shown in the hallucinations and recollections of the aging Willy Loman. These two means of story-telling reveal the vast distance between the way Willy Loman perceives himself (and those around him) and the way the world sees him. It is through this dichotomy that Miller begins to questions typical definitions of success. The title of the tragedy gives away the ending—Willy Loman dies. But it is not his death that makes this play a tragedy—it is the sympathy that we, the audience/readers, have for this poor old man. Yes, he made mistakes. Yes, he was very delusional by the end of his life. And yet he worked hard every day of his life, he always did what he thought was best for his family, and he was determined to live and provide a good life for himself and his wife and children. We want him to have been successful, and it is fair to say that he was more successful than his colleagues would say.

But it doesn’t stop here. It is through the character of Biff Loman that Miller expresses the new definition of success, or at least the promise of it. Biff’s journey is one of self-discovery and honesty. He was born with his father’s tendency to deceive himself, and throughout the course of the play he learns to overcome this vice. He musters up the strength of character to look at his life realistically and accomplishes a feat that his father never did—he admits that he hasn’t been successful and he accepts responsibility for it. And here is the key to Miller’s message—Biff doesn’t move forward from this point by pursuing the success his father sought—a cushy job making telephone calls to thirty-one states while sitting at home in green slippers. He seeks to create his own success through hard work. And this, to me, is Miller’s message—that success and the American dream are not defined by the ease of life that one can achieve, but what one accomplishes through hard work and internally motivated ambition.

My pre-college life bears many similarities to Biff Loman’s progression as a character in Death of a Salesman. I am the ninth of eleven children, and each older sibling has been very successful in many aspects of life. As a child I was very precocious—full of promise, as was Biff. There came a point, however as I began to mature, that I learned how to be lazy. I became too reliant on my identity as a Frandsen. I was a Frandsen, and Frandsens are successful no matter what. This I knew. What I forgot was that Frandsens are successful because they work hard. Unfortunately, I was not a hard worker, and I quickly fell off of the pedestal of success in my high school years, but I refused to admit it. Though I was not living up to the standards of my older siblings, nor to my own potential, I refused to admit that my performance was lacking, until I couldn’t possibly deny it any more. As I have come to BYU, I have learned, like Biff learns in Death of a Salesman that success comes through hard work and not through the privilege of identity. There certainly have been difficulties, relapses, and obstacles to overcome, as I’m sure Biff faced as his life as a character continued after the end of the play. What matters is that I, like Biff, am much more honest with myself. I’ve developed the humility to work hard and I am committed to stick to it. In my mind, this is success.

Here are some wonderful videos I watched last night. I think the humor is brilliant. Enjoy!

--Christian

Happy First of December!

2009-11-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers--

I personally mark the start of the Christmas season as the moment the thanksgiving feast is over (whether that means post-turkey or post-pies is debateable) but I know there are some of you who prefer to wait to begin feeling the Christmas Spirit. Well, it's the first of December and there are no more excuses. I hope you all have your advent Calendars out and are starting to decorate your houses.

I don't have time at the moment to compose something philosophical about the Christmas Spirit/Season, but in the spirit of giving (and because I was in a super-Christmasy mood last night after seeing my friend Julia in A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre and I had to youtube some favorites), I have some videos to help you all get in the Christmas Spirit, too.

This first set is from the movie White Christmas, which is one of my very favorites ever. These are some musical highlights, but everyone should watch it in full because the story is so great (I can't say the same about some other movie musicals of the time, when you get everything there is to get just from watching the numbers). I wish I could sing like Bing Crosby...

Here's the opening scene, but the most important part is the title song, about one minute and fifty seconds:

Here are two renditions of the same song. I don't think any more explanation is necessary :-)

This is one of my favorite songs in the movie. It has such gorgeous harmonies.

Here's a pretty awesome dance number:

And another:

And yet another (this one's the best):

Here's a ballad:

And another (the second-most famous song in the movie):

And of course, here's the finale. Enjoy!

And here are a couple more videos that I love.

This one is so over the top, and yet brilliant. It makes me smile every time. You'll have to click on the link, because the embedding capability was disabled on this video.

And to finish things off, here's one of my favorite Christmas pop songs, sung by Vocal Point:

I hope that these videos won't just waste your time, but will help start off your Christmas season right.

I love you all, and I can't wait to see some of you in just a couple weeks.

--Christian

Music and Mahler

2009-11-23T03:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Readers,

Here is a quick little writeup I did for the latest lecture in my Honors Seminar. The lecture was a preparatory explanation of Mahler's Second Symphony ("The Resurrection") as a prelude for those who were to see it performed by Utah Symphony on Saturday the Twenty-first. My Civilization Professor gave the lecture, and it was fun to hear him speak about a piece that truly excited his passion. I can't wait for next semester when the majority of classes will be devoted to discussing some of his favorite pieces.

The writeup is short (it must be between two hundred fifty and five hundred words) and dwells more on my thoughts of Orchestral music than Mahler himself, but hopefully it will be fun to read. I would love to write an essay on Orchestral Music by itself, expanding upon the things I wrote here. Let me know what you think:

Understanding Mahler

When I think about music, especially instrumental music, I always laugh. I am a life-long musician and music-lover; nevertheless, I find the very prospect of orchestral music laughable. It is the least practical of all arts because it cannot communicate any specific information to an untrained listener. Specific music that has information coded into it (many of Bach’s works contain his musical signature and other symbols communicated by the mathematical and ordered nature of his work) are often characterized by musicians and non-musicians alike to be devoid of emotion and thus meaningless (as a Bach enthusiast, I immediately distrust the qualifications of a musician who feels that way about Bach’s music). Despite this, instrumental music (and music in general) continues to attract many disciples who dedicate their entire lives to its study and creation.

Think how silly it is! Men spend years learning the proper technique to wave their arms around. Students stew and stress over the proper way to breathe—the most intrinsic of human reflexes after the heartbeat. Short tubes of metal and hollow pieces of wood sell for many thousands of dollars. Add about a hundred years of age and some famous fingerprints and those thousands become millions.

Despite the humor and abstraction of it all, it is an undeniable truth that music does have meaning. The physiological effects on the listener alone—increased heart-rate and breathing, release of endorphins, goosebumps, and emotional stimulus, often to the point of tears—are proof of this fact. It is a skilled composer who can choose a subject, determine the meaning of the subject, and then create a sequence of sounds that emotionally communicate that meaning. By this definition, Gustav Mahler was certainly a skilled composer. It was fascinating to listen to Doctor Johnson share Mahler’s own words on the intent of his piece and explain Mahler’s compositional technique in fulfilling this intent. Merely listening to a piece only provides one layer of the work. Background and explanation provide additional layers and deepen the listeners understanding.

Thursday evening, after stewing over the lecture the entire afternoon, I made a trip up to the Music and Dance section of the HBLL and checked out the Deutsche-Gramophon Recording of Mahler’s second symphony. I am excited to listen to it over Thanksgiving break so I can put my new knowledge to fulfilling, if impractical, use.

Here's a video of my good friend Emily Brown performing at "BYU's Got Talent." She got to go up to the Symphony on Saturday night and see it performed, though the story of her adventure up to Salt Lake to see it is comically disappointing (if you're interested, ask me). I met her at Late Summer Honors and was completely amazed the first time I heard her perform. I still can't believe how talented she is, in addition to being very smart and interesting. Plus she likes Finland. For those of you who really like this song (probably Rachel, and hopefully others) she is working on an album to be released on iTunes in the (hopefully) near future. I'll certainly keep you informed. She did some amateur recording (meaning a basic microphone and laptop setup in the basement of Stover Hall on one of the old uprights down there) with my guitarist friend Mike and it was incredible how professional and radio-ready they sounded together despite the shoddy studio setup. I can't wait to hear how she sounds with some more sophisticated recording and mixing. Anyway, happy listening

Love,
Christian

A Bit of Shakespeare

2009-11-18T03:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I'm just on fire tonight with TWO POSTS! I've been giving you lots of my writing for Book of Mormon, so I figured I'd give some writing for Civ. Keep in mind that this is Music Civ, so this writing assignment is fairly informal. Literature is not the focus of this course.

Here are my responses to a couple of questions on Hamlet, which asked me to relate Hamlet to Castiglione's The Courtier and to compare three pairs of characters in roughly the same line of thought. It was interesting to write about. Unfortunately we were limited to one page, ten-point font with permissible but discouraged overflow onto a second page. It was also supposed to be double-spaced, but I single-spaced it because I had so much to say (and yet I feel I've barely made a dent in what I could say on the subject). If I get in trouble for single spacing I'll plead innocent by saying it wasn't on the syllabus (and it's true, it never says anything about spacing on the syllabus). Anyway, if you expand it to twelve point font, double spaced, it's four pages of text, which is pretty hefty for an "informal writing assignment." The writing gets progressively worse as I go along because I was, one, getting tired and, two, running out of space. Still, I think I was able to say some interesting things. Let me know what you think.

Hamlet Discussion Notes

1. Upon commencing our study of Hamlet in my senior literature class, my teacher introduced the seven deadly sins and the great chain of being, two sets of theology and philosophy that greatly affected the ethics and morals of Elizabethan England. She explained that in Hamlet, all seven deadly sins had been violated by the climax in act three, and the mishaps in and out of the court could be explained by the imbalances in the great chain of being that came as a result of these violations. Though she never introduced the influence of Castiglione’s The Courtier on the construction of Hamlet, it certainly fits into this same line of thought. Shakespeare so brilliantly took a well-known set of ideals and deliberately twisted it to illustrate the ill effects of the perversion of what’s right.

The ideal of platonic love is a perfect example of a virtue that is perverted in the course of the play. Platonic or courtly love of course means the chaste devotion that a courtier would show to his lady love, which was often the queen, but could include any lady of the court. Though sexual relationships obviously existed within an ideal court for the purposes of procreation, the generally pious society of medieval and Renaissance Europe typically saw overt expressions of sexual desire or overt manifestations of sexual sins (i.e. incest) to be inappropriate and contrary to the code of a good courtier. The marriage of Claudius and Gertrude is an overt violation of this code. Hamlet complains of his mother’s “most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets” and was correct to declare that “it is not, nor it cannot come to good” (I, ii, 156-158). Despite the blind eye that the court and the subjects typically pay to the indiscretions of royalty, the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude was definitively incestuous. Additionally, the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia certainly crept over the line of courtly devotion. Though it is never stated outright, several passages indicate a sexual relationship between the two. In Act II, scene ii, Polonius confronts Hamlet in an attempt to comprehend the beginnings of his feigned madness. In a series of loaded insults, Hamlet indicates that Ophelia might be pregnant. Much later, in Act IV, scene v, Ophelia recites sexually loaded rhymes in a fit of pre-suicidal madness brought on by Hamlet’s rejection and her Father’s death. It is no coincidence that, in her mad state, her sexual relationship with Hamlet is the source of much of her distress. She cries out, “ ‘Before you tumbled me, You promised me to wed,” which promise was obviously broken (IV, v, 62-63). This, too, is a clear violation of one of Castiglione’s ideals.

The violation of courtly love is just one of many ideals that are broken in Hamlet. Shakespeare’s purpose in these perversions is clear; by so overtly demonstrating the violation of well-known social codes, Shakespeare is able to communicate the consequences of such actions. The use of ideas from Castiglione’s The Courtier is one of many means by which Shakespeare made a story set in Medieval Denmark accessible and poignant to millions of English speakers in his time and ours.

2. Hamlet and Claudius make an interesting pair to analyze because each possesses certain qualities which were praised by Castiglione while hiding vices that would be publically criticized. Furthermore, the virtues of one are lacked by the other. Were the characters to be somehow spliced together, an ideal courtier might well emerge. Two of Hamlet’s virtues are his education and his sense of justice. In Act I, scene ii, when he is first introduced, we learn that he recently returned to Elsinore from his studies at the University of Wittenberg, a well-respected medieval university. His education is proved with a heavy injection of word-play and cleverness in his conversation with Gertrude and Polonius. His command of language and use of logic transform his aggressive banter from feisty to formidable. Hamlet’s sense of justice is another admirable quality (after the Castiglione model). Though frightened by the task, he readily accepts his father’s ghost’s charge to exact revenge upon Claudius because he believes it is just. Though often excruciating, his hesitation to perform the deed is justified by his insistence on exacting revenge in a way that will adequately satisfy the demands of justice. For example, in Act III, scene iii, Hamlet gives up a perfect opportunity to take his uncles life because he finds him praying. Hamlet, knowing that death-while-praying sends a soul straight to heaven, hesitates yet again to insure that Claudius not only suffers death, but also eternal damnation as payment for his crime. One of Hamlet’s vices is his caution to the point of cowardice. A good courtier needed to be bold, direct, and competent. Hamlet philosophized his way out of action one too many times to merit those compliments. By contrast, Claudius is very direct and forthcoming. In his outward behavior (with the exception of the whole murderer thing), he is the perfect politician. He is well-spoken, charming, socially connected, and persuasive. He is a generous host (he invites and welcomes Horatio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern) and even a patron of the arts (he readily opens his doors to the traveling theatre troupe in Act III). On the other hand, he has no sense of right and wrong and ruthlessly pursues the object of his greed (hence fratricide and incest for the sake of the crown). The unusual way in which Hamlet and Claudius complement each other makes the warlike dynamic of their relationship all the more powerful.

The contrast between Horatio and Polonius is also very telling of the perversion within Claudius’ court at Elsinore. Though the two are basically equal in rank and social standing, Polonius is somehow much more respected despite his utter lack of merit. The only viable reason for his comparatively respected position is his age. Horatio is perhaps the most honorable character in the play. He is educated, he is competent, he is considerate, he is humble, and he is committed to what is right. He’s even patriotic, traveling hundreds of miles from Wittenberg to Elsinore just to pay proper respects to the late Old King Hamlet. Polonius, on the other hand, is just a bumbling old man who has found himself in a position of decent authority. He is controlling, selfish, and incompetent. There is nothing charismatic or redeeming about him. Shakespeare came along just several decades after the glory days of Pico della Mirandola, who received great respect and admiration in his youth because of his achievement and merit. Being familiar with Humanist super-stars like Pico, Shakespeare was certainly developing the perverted model of a court by giving meritless Polonius precedence over the honorable and admirable Horatio.

In examining Gertrude and Ophelia, many parallels emerge. Both are guilty of sexual sin (Gertrude committed incest by marrying Claudius and Ophelia committed fornication by sleeping with Hamlet), both are used as political pawns (Claudius uses Gertrude to obtain the crown and Claudius and Polonius both use Ophelia to bait Hamlet as they try to bring him down), and both are torn by conflicting loyalties to significant men in their lives (Gertrude is torn by her maternal relation to Hamlet and her marital relation to Claudius and Ophelia is torn by her filial relation to Polonius and her romantic relation to Hamlet). The internal struggle caused by these conflicting loyalties was traumatic to both, and yet neither could ever take a side, despite the intense hatred the men bore for each other. The combination of Hamlet’s rejection and her father’s death drove Ophelia to insanity and suicide in Act IV, and in her ravings, the anguish associated with both crises was manifest. Gertrude reacted to this dilemma by turning a blind eye to the flaws of both men and ignored the dangerous tension between them up until the moment of their mutual murder. The result of this conflict was common to both women: death.

The unique dynamic of each of these three pairs is indicative of Shakespeare’s intent to compare the ideal with the perverse in Hamlet.

My T.A.'s have been scolding me for not adequately supporting my ideas, so I tried to give more evidence here. Do you think I did a good job of giving textual evidence? I know there are only three quotes, but the rest of it is chock full of references to plot, often giving citation to act and scene. It's hard to give meaningful quotes when the questions are so general and the space to write so limited. Plus Hamlet is a play and it's hard to find meaningful quotes (for relationship analysis) when the entire text is dialogue. Tell me what you think.

As long as we're in the line of Shakespeare, here are some fun videos:

This is a video of Bob Fosse and Carol Haney dancing in the film, Kiss me Kate. This is some of Fosse's earliest recorded choreography, and even in his youth, his choreography was pretty revolutionary. I wish Youtube had the full number so you could see the contrast between this segment, which was Fosse's choreography, and the rest of the dance, which was choreographed by Hermes Pan. The difference is amazing (though Pan's choreography is charming and enjoyable, it was certainly not revolutionary). I really recommend checking out Kiss me Kate from your local library. It's a fun one. "From this Moment On" :

Here's another number from Kiss me Kate, this time from the West End production of the 1999 (don't quote me on that date) Broadway revival of the show (meaning the show was revived in New York, and then a production with the same sets, costumes, orchestrations, choreography, lighting, a few New York cast members, et cetera opened in London a year or so later) which was professionally taped and televised. The song goes from the end of the first video to the beginning of the second video. There's a funny scene before the song for those who are interested and/or have the time, but for those who don't, the song begins roundabout two minutes and fifteen seconds. "Always True to You in my Fashion" :

The music and lyrics are by Cole Porter. Don't you think he does a good job emulating Shakespeare in his wordplay and content? I think so.

Lots of Love,
--Christian

P.S. Don't forget to read the post from earlier tonight! Just scroll down a little more. It contains my latest insight paper.

Back Again

2009-11-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hey Readers,
I'm sorry for the long absence. Life is busy; here's an insight paper:

Insight Paper the Fifth

Mosiah 28: 3-4:

3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.

4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast of forever.

Because I am a very young freshman (I’m still seventeen), my mission is more than a year away. And yet, seeing many of my friends receive their calls and paying more attention to the letters that my older brother writes from his mission in Switzerland, my mission feels very close upon me. Each time I think about it, the magnitude of responsibility born by a missionary becomes increasing apparent. Though I have faith that I will be able to magnify that responsibility when the time comes, I feel sufficiently inadequate that I’ve stepped up my preparation. I’m trying to improve in all aspects of my life so that I am well prepared to serve an honorable two years.

One such aspect is the ability to maintain the right attitude towards everything, keeping an eye single to the glory of God. It saddens me to hear about missionaries who lose perspective and go about the work with the wrong attitude, refusing to work hard, seeking their own glory and recognition, or adopting any other prideful attitude. They forget the Lord’s reasons for missionary work.

The sons of Mosiah are great examples of missionaries who kept the right attitude and proper perspective in their service. I am inspired by the fervent love they bear for their fellow men and the complete gratitude they give to the Lord for his mercy and forgiveness. Their motives are so pure and righteous. Having suffered the misery of sin themselves and experienced the joy of the atonement so acutely in their own lives, their compassion is such that they are willing to give fully of their own time and talents to help others avoid the pain they felt. Their Christ-like love is amazing. I am trying to learn such charity myself.

Most importantly, they are humble. Pride seems to be the cause of most maladjusted attitudes among missionaries, but the sons of Mosiah have stripped themselves of pride. They are constantly aware of the mercy that has been shown them and they never forget the gravity of their past sins. They understand the power of the atonement and have humbled themselves before the Lord. Because of their humility, the Spirit was able to “work upon them,” communicating to them the sweetness of forgiveness and increasing their abilities. The presence and power of the Spirit was the source of their enormous success. The Spirit only came through their righteous and humble attitudes. In the coming thirteen and a half months, I pray that my efforts to prepare will help me to become like the sons of Mosiah, and more importantly, like my Savior Jesus Christ, full of love and humility.

I'm going to try to do a better job of posting. You ought to get some good morsels during Thanksgiving break, which is coming up! I can't believe how quickly time is going by.

Here's a song that I really really really like. The music video is interesting. The beat and chorus are amazing:

Love,
Christian

Epiphany

2009-10-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

This is my second insight paper for Book of Mormon. I had a lot of fun writing it and I had more to say, but I'm not supposed to exceed two pages (I did bleed a little on to a third...don't tell Brother Merrill). Maybe we can get a comment thread started to discuss the further implications of the passage. Enjoy!

Insight Paper the Second

Alma 5: 59-60:

59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy them.

60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.

I loved the two consecutive conference addresses on the changing and the softening of the heart. I have often thought about those talks over the past two days. I was not surprised to find myself reading through the fifth chapter of Alma in search of a passage for this paper. I was, however, quite surprised to notice these verses, which had never seemed as significant as those earlier in the chapter which deal more explicitly with the topic of a changed heart. Nevertheless, I read these verses, reread them, and put down my Book of Mormon, intrigued but puzzled by these verses that seemed so unrelated to the original theme of Alma’s discourse.

The cause of my confusion was the role of the “ravenous wolf” that Alma speaks of in these verses. My initial interpretation was that the wolves were wicked men in various degrees of disguise (who can read these verses without thinking of the fable of the wolf in sheep’s clothing?) who enter in among the children of God and attack them spiritually, drawing them away from the safety of the flock. The charge drive these wolves out of the flock, indeed destroy them if possible, disturbed me. After all, the majority of wolves under this definition are people outside the church who are usually very nice and often full of good intentions. They can certainly be dangerous, but they are dangerous only in their ignorance. They don’t know the truth, they are only acting on what they believe to be right.

Can you understand my confusion? Aren’t we supposed to treat these “wolves” with love? Haven’t we also been commanded of the Lord to reach out to them and invite them into the fold? Driving them out and destroying them hardly seemed to me a act of charity, and why would Alma, in his discourse on a mightily changed heart, include two verses about sheep and wolves? Furthermore, if we are the sheep according to the metaphor, how is that we are to drive out the wolves?

In my efforts to understand, I thought and I prayed and I thought some more and I was on the verge of calling my Seminary-Teacher-Mother when I had an epiphany. The wolves in these verses are not people at all, but temptations! These ravenous wolves are the sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant influences of Satan that stealthily creep into the hearts of the children of God. They are unclean thoughts, addictions, jealousies, grudges, and all other manner of temptations that, if acted upon, consume even the most valiant spirits. This new interpretation of one word brought order to the whole scripture. The well-intended but misinformed people whom I initially thought were the wolves of the story are only other sheep who have already been carried off by the wolves. God is no respecter of persons—he would not designate some of his children as sheep and others as wolves.

Furthermore, the question of why we as sheep are commanded in verse sixty to “suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among [us],” is clearly answered by this new interpretation. If the wolves are temptations, then it is a matter of agency to drive them out. In choosing to act upon the enticings of the spirit over the temptations of Satan, we drive out the wolves. The Lord cannot do this for us because he will not take away our agency. And how do we destroy the wolves? By undergoing a mighty change of heart so that we have no more disposition to do evil! Alma was not straying from his theme, he was explaining another facet of it and connecting it to other gospel principles by way of a common metaphor, reaffirming the unity of the gospel and strengthening our protection from the ravenous wolves that seek to destroy us.

Again, it will likely be a while before I can post again. I'm rather busy, but I will try to make more time for blogging.

Here are two videos. The first is a song from Myths and Hymns, a song cycle by Adam Guettel that I recently listened to (I mentioned this in my family letter). Brilliant to say the least. The second Billy Porter's rendition of Beauty School Dropout from the 1994 revival of Grease. Billy Porter has one of the most incredible instruments I have ever heard (and he was the original singer of the song in the first video, which is why I'm including him) so enjoy it :-)

--Christian

Peek-a-boo!

2009-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
The title of this post means that I'll be disappearing back into blogger obscurity for a while after posting this, but because I have been absent for so long, here is the first insight paper I wrote for my Book of Mormon Class. Enjoy!

Insight Paper the First

2 Nephi 31:19-20:

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

If I were to bear record of my sensory experience of these past two days with a list of adjectives, such a list would include “sluggish,” “sedentary,” “foggy,” “lazy,” “heavy,” et cetera. The weather has been gorgeous, and I am aware of that, my classes have been interesting and I am aware of that, and I have been working steadily, but for whatever reason I have felt mentally motionless since Monday morning. I feel like I have lost momentum in my studies and that some sort of weighty haze has descended upon my mind. While leafing through my Book of Mormon in search of a passage to discuss in this paper, these two verses, marked in red, likely brought to my attention years ago in a fireside or on an early morning in seminary, took on especial significance for this moment in my life.

Two words, a verb and an adverb, found great relevance in the context of these recent days: “press forward.” I liked “press” because it indicates some sort of resistance. To press something requires some sort of force. It requires difficulty. It requires something to press into or through. “Press” is an active verb, and active is just what I need to be right now to “press” through this mental fog. I liked “forward” because it indicates motion and direction. I want to move forward in my life, but for the past two days, the natural man in me has wanted just the opposite—to stay put. But in this gospel, and in life in general, one can’t just stay put. Putting these words in context, the strait and narrow path is not straight, nor is it flat. It’s an overgrown, slippery mountain trail. Staying put really means sliding backwards. To progress, one must hold tight to the rod, and climb with great effort, pressing away through the overgrowth. In my experience, the path of righteous living isn’t easy. Those occasions when I think it is easy are usually those occasions when I need to work harder.

So how does one press forward, despite the obstacles (in my current case, this mental fog and inertia that has been with me these two days) without giving into discouragement (as I have oft been tempted to do these past two days—thankfully I haven’t given in yet and don’t plan to in the future)? The answer is in the verse. We aren’t commanded to simply “press forward,” we are commanded to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men…feasting upon the word of Christ, and [enduring] to the end.” What we must never forget, and what I (thankfully) haven’t forgotten over the last two days, is to enjoy the journey in its difficulty. Though the trail is steep and strenuous, it is beautiful (when we can see it). As long as we continue to press forward, the light of Christ will illuminate wonderful things along the path (much prettier than any primroses we could see on another, easier path). I’m so glad I rediscovered this verse. It is the perfect piece of advice for this time in my life and any time in my life.

Here is something I LOVED when I was young:

I want to watch this movie at Thanksgiving or Christmastime. Listen to the last phrase and the last note--the technique is perfect and the performance exhilarating.

--Christian

P.S. I was cast as Nephi in Savior of the World (A major annual production in the Conference Center) but I had to turn it down. It was so hard to say no. Hopefully I'll be just as favorably cast when I audition in the future.

Amazing

2009-09-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

I don't have any philosophizing to do tonight, but these two videos amaze me:

--Christian

Week One? Check!

2009-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
It's been a while since I've posted! I'll get better, I promise, but this past week was rather busy. Here's a little piece I wrote for my Music 161 (group voice) class, in response to a Brigham Young passage. I'll type out the passage first, and then my response:

"Strengthen the Hands of Your Fellow Beings"
Brigham Young

If you feel evil, keep it to yourselves until you overcome that evil principle. This is what I call resisting the devil, and he flees from me...When you are influenced by the Spirit of holiness and purity, let your light shine; but if you are tried and tempted and buffeted by Satan, keep your thoughts to yourselves--keep your mouths closed; for speaking produces fruit, either of a good or evil character...You frequently hear brethren and sisters say that they feel so tried and tempted, and have so many cares, and are so buffeted, that they must give vent to their feelings; and they yield to the temptation, and deal out their unpleasant sensations to their families and neighbors. Make up your minds thoroughly, once for all, that if we have trials, the Lord has suffered them to be brought upon us, and he will give us grace to bear them...But if we have light or intelligence--that which will do good, we will impart it...Let that be the determination of individual, for spirit begets spirit-likeness; feelings beget their likeness...If then we give vent to all our bad feelings [and] disagreeable sensations, how quickly we beget the same in others, and load each other down with our troubles, and become sunk in darkness and despair! ...In all your social communications...let all the dark, discontented, murmuring, unhappy, miserable feelings--all the evil fruit of the mind, fall from the tree in silence and unnoticed; and so let it perish, without taking it up to present to your neighbors. But when you have joy and happiness, light and intelligence, truth and virtue, offer that fruit abundantly to your neighbors, and it will do them good, and so strengthen the hands of your fellow beings.

Journal of Discourses, 5: 351-352

And now my response:

Good Fruit

This is one of my favorite quotes from Brigham Young. When Randy introduced it to me at YASE camp 2008, it completely changed my perspective on the healthy expression of feelings. While I cannot truthfully say that I have fully incorporated the principle of “no bad fruit” in my life, my efforts towards more fully living by it have made me much more positive and much happier. Especially in an environment of performance and scrutiny, which will be the context of this course, this principle transforms the vocal workshop from threatening to supportive. With the added comfort of knowing that one’s fellows are hoping and wanting the best for you comes an increased ability to perform to potential. The spirit can be present and will sharpen our faculties and help us to learn more effectively and permanently. Our voices will grow in their ability to sing praises unto our Father in Heaven.

Furthermore, it acts as a guideline for the kinds of choices we ought to make as performers. We must choose to take part in performances that are good and not evil. We must use our gifts to edify and enlighten others and in so doing we will edify ourselves. If we choose to lend our talents to unworthy performances, then we will be spiritually damaged and those for whom we perform will suffer as well. If we, as performers, truly wish to make the world a better place, we must be very careful the the fruits of our talents are not evil, but good.

Here is a song that I really like:

Love,
Christian

The Orient.

2009-08-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

Konichiwa,
No. The title does not bespeak a post on the cultures of the Asian continent. And it's purely coincidence that I chose to greet you in japanese. The subject of this post is New Student Orientation, or in the the proper BYU acronym, NSO. It has differed from my expectations, and is just not as great as LSH, but has only augmented my excitement to be at BYU. My favorite NSO experiences have been the Convocation, the Tradition of Honor (such a fun performance by YA's and friends about the honor code), The "Education in Zion" exhibit and shirt, and of course all the free food that they have--my Dining plus balance is growing. I missed the devotional this morning because I slept in, but that has been the only real disappointment. Though the Y-serve fair and the information booths were a bit overwhelming when it came to free stuff. I came back to my dorm with more stuff than I wanted and NO COTTON CANDY!!! There was one booth that was giving away free cotton candy, but they ran out of paper sticks just as I reached the front of the line. Plenty of sugar to spin, but nothing to spin it on. By the time I got out a piece of useless paper and rolled it up, they had put the machine away.

Oh but I'm forgetting one thing. The real highlight of NSO has been the moments when I've broken from my Y-group and spent time with my LSH class. I completely proved myself wrong. I thought I wouldn't find my best friends at LSH and I definitely did.

Okay, I'm very tired and I need to be getting to sleep earlier, so I'll close.

Here's a video of a great guitarist I discovered thanks to one of my new friends. It makes me really emotional, especially the beginning:

Love,
Christian

Windows of Eternity

2009-08-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Readers,
This is my third journal entry for my environmental humanities class. I hope these aren't getting boring for you--I just don't have time at the moment to create new posts, but I want to keep you updated and I figure that publishing my work is a good way to do that. As a disclaimer, I'm aware that many of these sentences are far too long and that this whole piece is very self-indulgent.

Nature is full of profundity. Anyone even basically familiar with biology knows that the amazing intricacy and variety that we see in the plants and animals around us are just the decorative wrappings on a box full of wonder. Vital processes occur every second on scales much larger and much smaller than our mortal minds and especially our naked eyes could ever fully comprehend. Snatches of eternity are everywhere, though by seeking to snatch them, we often cause them to lose their meaning. Just as we can't force God to give us the very answer we want at the very instant we ask for it, we cannot coerce Nature into opening its windows to infinity. By luck, serendipity, or the grace of God (I'd put my faith in the last one), we are blessed every once in a while with an opportunity to gaze through those windows. Sometimes we are allowed to peer through for many minutes, but all too often we are only granted a fleeting glance.

It took me much longer than an introductory paragraph to identify just such an experience, but after sorting through my memories of panoramic mountain vistas, majestic and dizzying cliffs, and picturesque sylvan springs, I settled on a moment I enjoyed a couple of years ago while running. It was a bright twilight. The sun was setting or barely set, but the moon was well-risen. The sky hadn't a single cloud to catch the orange light of the setting sun and the full moon painted the sky a blue that was shockingly bright for that hour of the evening. The temperature could only be described as perfect and a brisk yet gentle breeze cooled my burning muscles. An almost electric energy coursed through the air and the trees and the road, giving spring to my stride and vigour to every breath. Perhaps my brain had released one too many endorphins, but as I ran under an opening in the canopy of roadside oaks, I looked up at the moon and was jolted by a flash of sudden clarity. Without any effort and without any warning, I was overcome with perspective. I saw the moon, not as a pretty painting that moves across the ceiling which I scientifically knew was really a cratered ball of sand and glass orbiting Earth thousands of miles away [side note--this sentence was really weird--I'm not going to change it right now--I tried to speak to the fact that while I know the moon is a real celestial body, it often looks visually two dimensional to me, and because that's how I see it and I'm such a visual person, that's how I conceptualize the moon emotionally--like a two dimensional painting], but as a heavenly orb--a three-dimensional body created by God with its own path and purpose. In gaining a sense of the distance and scale of the moon, I comprehended the size of the Earth beneath my feet and I could feel the joy of my soul and the light and power of Christ extending through and past the stars (though none were visible) and into the vast expanse of endless space. Immediately I understood my own nature and my own spacial insignificance. It was at once humbling and empowering to come to know myself as both an infinitesimal speck and a child of God with divine and infinite potential. I could see my path in front of me, and I don't mean that windy road in the upper hills of Flintridge. Though emotionally and spiritually staggered, I ran on, gazing to heaven-wards when I could and near tears.

Surprisingly, this moment has stayed vividly in my memory. I know I have had many other such experiences, but for a reason unknown to me, the details fade, leaving warm memories of deep emotion and a gap that I physically and spiritually needed to fill. It seems that once we are aware that the veil has thinned, it is too soon and too cruelly drawn back into place. I don' know why this one moment has remained with such tenacity, but I am grateful. It is present enough to save me from discouragement, but mysterious enough to lure me back to nature in hopes that the curtains will be drawn back and I'll find the windows open.

Here is a group I was thinking about today. They are called Amina and they are from Iceland (according to the Clives, who are fairly reliable with their music information) and I love their minimalism:

Love,
Christian

Finding a Sense of Place

2009-08-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

Here is my second college writing assignment. It's the second entry in my nature journal, to follow the previous essay I posted. It is written in response to a piece we read by Wallace Stegner--"The Sense of Place"--excerpted from his book Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West. It was a great bit of writing to read.

In a political and intellectual setting where the seemingly vast majority of environmentalist or environmentally-concerned writers focus dramatically on the cruel human impact on the environment and charge us to minimize or even eliminate our presence in it, it is interesting and rather refreshing to read the ideas of a writer who believes that the only way to really appreciate our respective corners of the world--in this case the environment--is to cause some sort of an impact upon it. A gentle and loving impact, yes, but an impact nonetheless. Stegner's essay not only provided much desired refreshment (the bitter taste from my study of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring still lingers even after a year and a half) but resonated strongly, as well. There is a part of me that is hopelessly and idyllically romantic and longs for the small rural towns of Frost and Wilder or the heather and heath of Burns and Yeats. These places' contented coexistence with the surrounding land--the mutual belonging whose praises these poets sing--is much to be desired. There, the types of growth that were (perhaps it's overly-optimistic to use the present tense) chiefly sought were growth of character and growth of garden (the word "crop" is so much less poetic than "garden"). Concerns of social mobility and economic (over)growth were of lesser importance. Selflessness triumphed over selfishness there, in those beautiful places.

Living my entire life in Southern California, a region whose culture fully embraces and embodies the concept of constant movement and motion, I understand what rootlessness can mean. Even as I lived there, I often felt that, with my busy schedule and my focus on abstracts (like the future) rather than concretes, I, too, was displaced. The process of packing and moving here to Provo proved otherwise, that in the little town of La Ca(imagine and n with a tilde here)ada, nestled in the foothills, I had found a place for myself. The unearthing of childhood treasures and the knowledge that every walk through the neighborhood or drive through town brought me closer to my last opened the floodgates on a reservoir of memories, good and bad, that I had saved away. Books, chairs, and street signs all symbolized the thoughts, feelings, and adventures of my seventeen and a half years of living.

Does this transition to college life hundreds of miles from my childhood home leave me without a place to call my own? No, it leaves me with a place under construction, if you will. I am a very lucky freshman. I am the eighth child in my family to attend BYU. I saw BYU for the first time just a couple months before my first birthday. Multiple visits a year followed that first trip every year without fail. It was so much a part of my early existence that I can't even remember when I first gained an awareness of it. Nearly every corner of campus conjures up images of long afternoons with my siblings in the Bean Museum while my mother ran errands, or exciting visits to the Eyring Science Center where I played wit hthe air cannon and tried and failed to comprehend the magnetic pendulum that swings in one direction independently of the rotation of the Earth (I still don't get it). More recent and fresh are my experiences at BYU camps where I lived on campus for five days periods and learned what the university meant and strove for. I have met my best friends at these camps (or rather these yearly sessions of the same camp--the Young Ambassador workshop). I have witnessed the first performances of songs written about BYU. I have listened to campus legends fact and fiction. My friends will fill in for my family and the dorms will substitute for my house, but there is nothing substituted or temporary about the fact that BYU is home to me. SO while I have much more of BYU to see and experience in the approaching years, BYU and I already share that mutual belonging--that sense of place.

That's all that I wrote back on Friday night. I may add more later to focus more fully on my place in nature. Lots of the choices may seem strange, but if you can read that piece by Stegner, it will make much more sense.

Today, my friends and I were talking about public comedy stunts, like the European train station that played stage to a mass-choreographed number from The Sound of Music. Here is another similar number that was performed at Disneyland earlier this summer. Yes it is authentic. My friend Alyssa is the curly brunette who enters the screen from the left at three minutes and forty-three seconds, wearing a dark read half-sweater and cutoff knee-length denim shorts. Isn't it cute???

Love,
--Christian

The One Where Christian Moves into his Dorm!

2009-08-23T00:32:00.001-07:00

Again, this is just a quick update because it is one thirty in the ante-meridian (ought that to be hyphenated, or one word, or two?) and I still have more to do before I sleep. Today was just wonderful. One particularly great part of it was the moving in of the dorm room. At about three something of the post meridian (wow, almost twelve hours ago), Mama and Daddy and Eva and I made many sprint up and down to and from the third floor of May Hall, Helaman Halls, to transport boxes and bags and miscellany from the truck to my room. One thing I can say is that I'm grateful my roommate isn't here until Wednesday. My stuff is taking a long time to organize and began by occupying all of my side and most of his side as well. I've reduced that space by quite a bit, but there is still much more organizing to do and it is nice to be able to do that with the room to myself. Unless Kyle wants my help, I think I'll clear out while he sets up camp so that he can be free to use my side as temporary storage until he can find the proper place for everything. Speaking of having the room to myself, I actually have the whole wing to myself. Except for the RA, no one has yet moved into my wing. So it's almost like living alone in a big mansion with many spare rooms and closets to explore. Okay not really.

Moving into the dorm made college feel much more permanent. I'm really here, I'm really living somewhere other than home, I'm really a college student! Thanks to the much shopping and packing that Mama and others greatly facilitated and aided, my room, even in its disarray, looks great. The blue color scheme is bright but not loud and adjusts to any mood and lighting quite nicely. The closets are beautifully and perhapsa bit crowdedly stocked with my clothes. My desk is a work in progress.

I'm excited to find place for everything, and I'm excited for my camera, printer, and a few forgotten items from home to arrive in the next week. More than that, I'm excited for my college life to really start when all of my new friends arrive.

Here is a dance I learned this evening. The video is campy, but the choreography is awesome. It's just so much fun to do, and I'm a little guiltily in love with the song:

Love,
--Christian

T-minus Two Minutes

2009-08-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the title, I have very little time to post. Class today was much more fun because we examined everything through the glasses of the gospel (not the Urim and Thummim). I felt much more articulate today which was reassuring.

I want to quickly discuss punctuation. Lots can be revealed if you closely examine the punctuation of the scriptures. Here's one insight that came to me last night. There's the phrase in Genesis and elsewhere that man is commanded to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth." I've always been confused by the use of replenish in that setting, because replenish means to refill or replace and the Earth was not full of people when Adam and Eve were placed there. The problem lay in the vocal inflection that most Latter Day Saints take when they read that passage, which totally ignores the comma between "mutiply" and "and" which would indicate that the verbs "multiply" and "replenish" were part of the same clause and therefore grammatically and spiritually linked in one commandment. But there's a comma! The commandment to multiply is completely separate from the commandment to replenish the Earth! Elsewhere in the creation narrative, it specifically states that God filled the ocean and the dry land with plant and animal life. The commandment to replenish the Earth means that when you harvest or take something from the Earth, you must replace it and refill the gap you left. Therefore when you cut down a tree, plant a new one. When you eat a hen, take care of its chicks. I was very excited when I figured that out.

Okay well it's been eight minutes and I am now late for my tour of the HBLL (from which I am writing), not that I really need the tour.

Anyway, I'm out.
--Christian

P.S. Here is the postly video. Some of you may have seen it. It's brilliant comedy:

Day One: Pessimism Sets In

2009-08-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Don't let the title fool you. I'm still so excited for college, but my excitement for Late Summer Honors has waned quite a bit. WARNING: this post may contain a high amount of negativity. Proceed with caution.

I really don't belong at Late Summer Honors. At least that's how I feel at the moment. I shouldn't even be thinking of trying to graduate with honors. University honors is for students who dominated their high school. I didn't. University honors is for students who never struggled academically. I did. University honors is for students who are driven and career-oriented and really really really smart. I'm not.

I haven't really found any great friends yet, or even the potential for great friends. I'm not alone, because I talk to everyone I see but I am very lonely. I just don't fit in with this group.

I try to participate in the discussion but I can't articulate my thoughts. Even my thoughts are unintelligent. I have nothing to contribute. I feel like I'm in Mr. Mohney's class again, with ideas flowing in circles but ultimately going nowhere. The difference is that in Mr. Mohney's class I had some decent ammunition. Here I have nothing.

After sleeping (for three hours) on it, I'm now mortified by that piece I wrote. It's pretentious and shallow and stupid, it doesn't say anything conclusive, and it's generally repetitive. I would delete it, but that's dishonest blogging. I really miss YASE right about now.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get over it and end up having a great time. I'm doing what I can to listen and learn and I know in the end I'll get what I make of it. And I'll make it great. I'm just off to a rough start. Please pray. I'm praying and I need your prayers, too. Much appreciated.

I've been singing songs from Legally Blonde: The Musical to cheer myself up.

The beginning of the song just about sums up how I feel right now, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll feel more like this:

The beginning of the song is chopped off, but you get the idea.

Guys, I just want to let you know that I'm being melodramatic. It's fun. I definitely felt and feel those feelings, but I know they'll go away and it will be great. I've already made the choice to have fun and on top of that I've decided to forget about the pressure of making good comments or coming up with truly original and intelligent ideas. That does NOT mean I won't do my work, don't worry. It just means I'm going to focus on the positive from here on out. But not quite like this:

I love you lots and I'll come back soon with much more optimistic updates!
--Christian

Nature: A Definition

2009-08-20T01:19:00.001-07:00

Hey Readers,

This is my very first college writing assignment. My Late Summer Honors professor asked each of us to write a paragraph or two (in my case about seven) about what nature means to us and to the community/world more generally. I had fun writing it, took some risks, and am fairly proud of it. It's a first draft and I started it after midnight, so it might be terrible in reality. In any case, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and I hope I enjoy future writing assignments as much as I did this one.

Here goes:

Etymologically speaking, the word "nature" means "the conditions of birth." Whether in reference to the quality of human character or the physical world we inhabit, "nature" speaks to things as they really are, or originally were, without alteration or modification. Considering that Earth transformed into a completely different world (at least on the surface) during the billions of years between its cosmic creation and the creation of the word "nature," and has continued to change in the hundreds of years between that word's inception and Thursday the twentieth of August, 2009, it's necessary to expand that definition.

Here I must confess to a bit of duplicity. I have two definitions of the word. The practical me defines "nature" as the people around me define it, which definition is complex and manifold in itself. The philosophical me--the opinionated me who lies to get up on a soapbox and preach--has a very different definition. The trick is that my two definitions interact and overlap in my usage of and thoughts on the words. I'll try to minimize the potential confusion.

The first definition fits into the typical conception of the word. Nature is where civilization is not. Nature is good by definition. Nature is simple. Nature is beautiful. Nature is where we can grow closer to ourselves, to each other, or to God (or to any combination of the three) without the distractions of real life (but I thought that nature was supposed to be reality in its purest--can you see the reasons for my split definition?).

The application of this definition is flexible. Nature could be the pristine back woods and alpine peaks of upper Canada. It could be the well-used, drive-in campsite an hour out of the city with several well-marked trails trails nicely paved with other hikers' litter leading out of it to final destinations featuring picnic tables and pit toilets. Or it could be the fenced off zoo enclosures inhabited by "wild" animals and plants indigenous to the animals' original homelands. My heart breaks for those whose only definition of "nature" is illustrated by that last example. The fact is, there is no real application for a definition that means a place where civilization is not. Even the slowly shrinking places where human shoe has never trod are still affected by civilization, however minutely. Insert here one of many examples of animals who have died of toxins released from factories hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

This leads me to my second definition. Nature is not some remote place to which we run or hike or RV when we need to escape from ourselves. Nature is everywhere. Nature is not an inherent good to counter civilization's inherent evil. "Nature" is a neutral word. It is exactly what we make of it. Nature is this big round place that Heavenly Father gave us to use and to keep. It has the potential to be, and usually is, breathtakingly wonderful. And by wonderful I mean words-cannot-express, please-help-me-pick-my-jaw-up-from-off-the-floor, this-is-so-beautiful-I-could-just-kiss-you wonderful. It also has the potential to be unspeakably and disgustingly filthy. But the fact is, nature is everywhere, including the urban heart of "civilization." After all, aren't termite mounds and beehives and birds' nests considered natural, too?

As much as environmentalists of the political extreme would have us believe that humanity is evil and that civilization is causing the death of the environment and of the planet as we know it and that all the animals and trees (which are people, too) would be better off if we exterminated ourselves, we are a part of this world. We belong to it and it belongs to us. Human extinction would cause just as profound, if not more detrimental an impact on the world's ecosystems as the extinction of any of the other endangered species protected by international law. The sad truth is that if any of those species went extinct, the consequences would likely be minimal. It is the most pervasive--and not the rarest--organisms that are the most influential and important. Whether they like it or not, we're here and we're going to stick around.

The application of this definition, and the conclusion of this essay, is a choice. If nature is everything around us, including ourselves, and is neither good nor bad per se, but exactly what we make it, then we must decide what we will make it. Every individual animal has at least a small effect on the world. And we are more than just animals. Each one of us should recognize the impact we individually and collectively have. If we as a race decide to make this Earth breathtakingly wonderful and fully accept responsibility for that decision, then we will each do our part to keep the world clean and free to grow and develop. If this were the case, we wouldn't have to worry about global warming or melting ice caps or holes in the ozone layer. If they happen, they happen and we can't do anything about it but enjoy the warmer weather and work on our tans. We often fail to give the planet the credit it deserves. After all, it is a living, breathing, changing organism with incredible survival mechanisms. As long as we are taking care of Earth, Earth will take care of itself and of us. All I can hope is that we will make that choice to fulfill Nature's potential for good. I hope we choose to hold onto our empty trail mix bags for a few more miles until we can properly throw them away. I hope we choose to pick up someone else's trash and throw it away with out own. I hope we choose to walk and run and ride when we can, so that when we can't, the inevitable exhaust isn't as detrimental as before. If we choose the opposite, I'll be terribly disappointed, but in the end we will only hurt ourselves from the physical effects of inhaling gaseous refuse with every breath we take and the spiritual effects of mistreating our Heavenly Father's creation. It's the meaning we create that matters.

Well there it is! I hope you liked it. By the way, the Sirius Sattelite Radio Broadway station played perfect going away songs for me today, including "So Long, Dearie!" Here's one song that Mama and I especially liked:

All right, it is now after three o' clock Ante-Meridian, and I need some sleep so I can be ready and roarin' for Late Summer Honors tomorrow.

Love Love Love,
Christian!

So Long, Dearie!

2009-08-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here I am on the eve of my departure from my hometown. I thought it would be fit to write a song. I even had Barbra Streisand film it for me. Here it is:

Okay so I didn't really write it, and it doesn't quite sum up my feelings for "the bubble," but it does represent my feelings for certain aspects of this town, and it's Barbra, so it's great. By the way I'm trying to avoid mentioning this town I live in by its actual name, because I can't stand to type it without the tilde and the last time I copied and pasted a tilde into the text of a post, Blogger freaked out and wouldn't allow me to publish the post.

So, you ask, how do I feel on this my last night at home before home becomes a place to visit, not a place to live? Well right now I'm pretty excited. I just spent the day at Six Flags, Magic Mountain, so it's difficult to be anything but. A quick note about Six Flags--Tatsu is an incredible ride. You really feel like you're flying. Deja Vu (there ought to be an accent, but I'm not going to risk losing everything I've written so far) has an awesome vertical drop. Goliath somehow manages to make me afraid for my life every time and still remains one of my favorite rides. And Superman (after years of making an annual, sometime semiannual, and occasionally biannual trip to Six Flags, I had never gone on the Superman ride) lived up to my expectations. Superman's pedestal as my favorite superhero is still his after that ride.

Back to the point. I'm tremendously happy to finally be leaving for college tomorrow! There is the little part of me that is afraid of forgetting something, or having brought too much, or that somehow something will go wrong, but I know it will be great. Even if I did forget something vital, I'll get it up there or make do without. I'll be just fine.

Anway, it's likely that with Late Summer Honors happening for the next week I'll be unable to blog much, but I'll be back online soon.

Wish me luck!
--Christian

Paint your wagon and come along...

2009-08-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

Ten points to anyone who can identify the movie from which the title comes. Hopefully I'll be giving out lots of points. Here are two hints: the movie title is in the post title and the post title is a lyric.

Well, I'm not leaving to stake out a new claim for gold-mining and all three cars are still sporting their original colors, but I do feel like my adventure is really starting! Today Mama (happy birthday!) and I did the majority of our shopping (the plans for a big shopping excursion on saturday coalesced into the small--but still productive--shopping excursion) and I spent much of this evening finding a place for each purchase in the plastic storage bins that soon will grace the space under the bed. Each time I crossed an item off the list I felt as if I was one rung closer to the giant bunk bed of college. Okay weird metaphor. The point is, it was rather exciting, and rather exhausting. Highlights of the trip include two periods of extended separation in IKEA and Target when Mama and I were off looking for different items. Mama's cell phone was out of batteries and I did not do a good job on either occasion of specifying when we would meet up again. So both of us ended up wandering around both stores (and those can be some tricky stores) laden with dorm furnishings, searching for each other. Also, the process of finding the proper bedding was quite the chase. We still haven't found the proper sheets, but we did manage to corner a quilt and sham set of the proper dimension and acceptable color. BYU dorms have extra long twin beds (39" x 80" as opposed to 39" x 75") and bedding of that size is difficult to come by. Mama and I were both so excited when we finally found a proper-sized quilt that we failed to remember that boys don't sleep in beds dripping with rainbow-patterned fabric for a couple minutes. Mama's described it as "too Joseph-and-the-Amazing-Technicolor-Dreamcoat" for my dorm room, but something tells me that not even Joseph would sleep under that quilt. It was very pretty, though, so maybe Eva can buy something similar when she goes up. After searching through a few more colors and patterns, we finally found a nice light blue and green bedspread that goes nicely with some of the other blue furnishings. Go Cougars! Now to find sheets...

Despite the bedding difficulties, the trip was very successful. Target was just a wonderful place today and I LOVE all my college stuff. Plenty of supplies to "set me up for success" as Mama says and lots of great furnishings and clothes as well. I've only a few more items yet to check off the list, and those will be easily taken care of over the next few days, whether we find them here or in Utah. "Excited," as an adjective, is fails to describe how I'm feeling right about now.

And there is one particular person who must be thanked for this feeling. That would be Mama. She has been so wonderful throughout this whole packing and shopping process, helping me and advising me when needing it, allowing me to get carried away just a little bit and then reeling me back down, and giving so much energy and time to help get me ready. And on her birthday of all days!

Off the subject of college adventures beginning and back to the title, I just watched that particular movie last night. It was very fun. Not very elegant in structure and form, but the songs are great, it's funny, and it's visually pleasing. And it doesn't paint prostitution in a very appealing light, so I guess that's a plus.

Here's a video from the film:

I love you bunches!
--Christian

Blank

2009-08-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

Something big must have happened around here lately. Like, I don't know, two straight weeks of little kids. Or preparing to move a few hundred miles away. Or something like that. It had to have happened because I am drained. I should also mention that it's nearly two o' clock. Ante-meridian.

The point is I don't have anything interesting to write, but I'm writing for the sake of continuity.

I do have a good story about a camping trip and a night-hike, but that's for another--more energetic--time.

Shopping has been successful so far, but I'm still feeling a bit of a time crunch. It's coming up so fast!

My biggest worry is balance--bringing too much or too little. Thank heaven or prayer and external advice. And DI for providing a charitable place to dump my superfluity.

Wow. I'm tired. I love you guys!

--Christian

P.S. Here's a video--I LOVE this song so much and I've been listening to it multiple times daily for the last little while.

Packing

2009-08-12T23:35:00.001-07:00

Today marked the beginning of the end of my life in LC. I started packing for College. I'm leaving exactly one week from today, and as much as me this morning would have said, "oh I can pack on Monday," the me this morning also remembered all the instances when I felt rushed packing for something important. And I've never packed for anything as important as college before, so the me this morning thought today would be a good day to start.

Well, I've already filled two trashbags full of clothes that I'm taking up to provo and another trashbag with donations for Deseret Industries. And all that's not even the end of the clothes (though it's most of them). Tomorrow I'm starting the process of college shopping. The me tonight doesn't think I need to buy very much. The me from tonight is hoping that the me tomorrow agrees.

I'm realizing three things:

One, even the basics of a comfortable life take up a lot of space. I've only worked on clothes so far, and I've already got quite a volume of cargo to haul up. We'll see how many more trashbags the rest of it all requires.

Two, I'm very grateful for our truck. Not that I didn't appreciate it before--it's so much fun to drive and you can't exactly strap kayaks on the roof of a Hyundai--but I'd hate to try to cram my stuff into the trunk and backseat of the white car. It would be possible but perhaps a bit claustrophobic.

Three, I'm ACTUALLY leaving for college. I've been waiting and excited for so long, but summer just flew by and it doesn't quite feel real that I'm LEAVING LC. There's lots that I'll miss and lots that I won't, but the fact is, I'm beginning a completely new chapter of my life, and that's a major transition.

Well, it's now twenty after eleven, and I'm trying to condition myself to a normal sleeping schedule so I must be off to bed. Wish me luck with the rest of the preparations!

--Christian

Here is a song from [title of show] that has a line about packing up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os71u7VB2jc

And here's the Natalie Weiss version--I don't know which I like better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F_GDPhZ7b4

Blogger freaked out with the whole embedding thing this time around--I don't know what happened, but sorry for the clutter.

Writing

2009-08-12T02:30:00.001-07:00

There were a few years in my childhood when I had completely and unquestionably decided that I was going to be a very successful writer. And by writer I may have meant novelist. I can't quite remember. Everyone said I was a gifted writer and that I could be very successful in that field. I think they were incorrect. Vocabulary I had. Lots of it. But writing chops? I don't think so.

As you can tell, my etched-in-stone plans to take the literary world by storm have changed. While I love to communicate and to express and to talk and to explore words, the process of writing is not one that brings me great joy. Especially creative writing. Definitely not my strongest talent. Sure this blogging is enjoyable enough, but I mean writing-writing. Maybe this blogging is writing-writing (any thoughts from my English-major siblings?) but it doesn't seem that way to me.

Well, I've been side-tracked. Back to the point.

While writing-writing might not be my favorite hobby, there's a lot in store for me in college. I really want to do well. I want to succeed. I want to learn. I want to analyze. I want to effectively communicate my synthesis and analysis of the fruits of my learning. And that's going to take some good, polished, and confident writing. So my question is (yes this is an audience parti--I mean reader participation post), how does one become a good writer. The most common answer I've heard is just "write." Well I spent four years in high school doing a whole lot of that, and obviously it didn't work, else I'd be a good writer by now. The last time I really grew and improved as a writer was the two year period from eighth grade to ninth grade. I was blessed with two great teachers in a row--Ms. Baldwin and Mrs. Willshire--who really believed in me and encouraged me and taught me. I learned so much. But in the three academic years since, I believe I've only regressed.

Perhaps it has to do with poor teaching. Miss Horne was a fine teacher, but didn't focus much on writing. Mr. Mohney did not help me at all. Mrs. Willshire (roudn two) was a barrage of book after book after book after page after page after page after project after project after project with no time to really focus on becoming a good writer, though write write write we did did did.

Perhaps it comes as a result of my waning practice of pleasure reading.

Perhaps it's an almost inevitable result of the stealthy but pervasive emergence of the language of texting and instant messaging which threatens the health of proper english with every message sent.

Probably it's a combination of all three. But the specifics of my journey to the city of poor writing doesn't matter so much as how I can make the trek back the land of good writing.

So. Answer my question. How can I become a better writer. And not just a good writer, a great writer.

Thanks!
--Christian

P.S. On a completely different subject, I was shocked to find out that my sister Gabrielle, who grew up in the eighties, was unfamiliar with the classic song "Don't Stop Believin'." Maybe it's just the generational gap, but if you ask anyone my age for the quintessential song from the eighties, they'll choose "Don't Stop Believin'" without any hesitation. So here's a few videos of the song, first the original, and then two more recent rendition. Enjoy :-)

Coming Up For Air

2009-08-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
I'm just coming up from a long plunge in the depths of blogger oblivion, and let me tell you, resurfacing feels good. I'm sorry for the absence, but I'm back, and I plan to stay. This is just a quick update, but I want to make a quick recommendation. In honor of blogging, and just to enjoy a good movie, go out and see Julie and Julia because it's really just wonderful. I saw it on Saturday night and it totally exceeded my expectations, which were favorable to begin with.
Thanks,
Christian

P.S. Here's the trailer:

Bon Apetit!

"Once again, Harry, we must ask too much of the audience..."

2009-07-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

I saw Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince. I had a good time, though the movie itself was subpar. I guess this is going to be a movie review, so I'll begin with the negative and end with the positive in hopes that you will still go out and support the entertainment industry with your ten dollars of ticket-fare.

Michael Gambon may be a talented actor in other roles, but he is completely wrong for the part of Dumbledore. His interpretation was completely off. I've never found him likeable as Dumbledore, especially not in this movie. If anything I was happy that Dumbledore died so that I wouldn't have to see Michael Gambon butcher the role any more.

There were many slow sections. It's Harry Potter. The movie oughtn't to bore me even once, much less several times.

The romantic tension was totally unresolved. The book was full of kissing. There was barely any in the movie.

But now to look at the positive side, the romantic tension itself was amazing. There were so many awkward moments, it was delicious. Every scene with the Ron/Hermione/Lavendar or Ginny/Harry/Dean triangle drama had me in stitches and there was a really touching Harry/Hermione scene where they comforted and helped each other through the hardships of unrequited love.

The effects/camera work are amazing. This movie is one of the most visually pleasing Harry Potter movies yet, which is quite a feat because they are all beautiful. They must have used a special filter on the lens because every image is dusted with this fantastical layer that adds magic to everything (as if there weren't enough magic already... :-) ).

Helena Bonham Carter. Enough said. But I'll say more anyway. Her part is tiny and yet she's incredible. Every time I see her on screen or hear her voice as Bellatrix LeStrange, chills of fear run down my spine. In the post-Dumbledore's-death sequence, she puts herself into this creepily ecstatic dance--guess which of her past characters came to my mind while watching (and really, guess--the comment box isn't there for nothing :-P ). The moral of the story is, she's a very gifted actress.

Finally, I loved the the energy coming from the audience. The theater was fairly empty for a Harry Potter opening night, but the audience was abuzz with excitement for the movie, which made it so much fun to watch. The vocal reactions to various moments on screen were very funny and there's such a sense of community about a room full of people who have all addictively read the same books over the last decade or so.

So see it. It's not a movie I'll be watching a lot on DVD when it comes out, but it's worth a trip down to the theaters. So see it.

I don't quite know what else to talk about.

This video is pretty funny:

Love,
Christian

Back to Reality

2009-07-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Everyone,

Snaps for anyone who can identify the rap artist (I hope I haven't offended anyone by calling a rapper and artist) who featured the words that make up this post's title in one of his or her hit songs.

Well, camp officially ended early Saturday morning, but I was just too tired to blog Saturday, and I started but didn't finish this post yesterday. But I'm back. Camp was an incredible experience as always. I feel very comfortable saying it's the best camp at BYU. Almost everyone who has gone both to EFY and YASE claims that YASE is much more fulfilling and rewarding, and I don't know if other performing arts camps achieve the same level of spirituality or teach the same life lessons.

Sometime when I get back home I'll do a full report on YASE, but I've got things to do today and tomorrow, so here's a short summary:

I sang the part of Bert in "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", I sang the song "At Last" (made famous by Etta James) in the showcase, and was voted into the final show, I shed tears every day of camp, and (sorry to break parallel structure, all you English majors) the fireside on Thursday was one of the best firesides I've ever been to.
I'm immensely happy right now and I'm so excited for college and the rest of my life!

Well, I must be going, so I'll leave a video for your enjoyment.

This is the West End/Broadway version of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" after which the Young Ambassadors' version was modeled. It's fun. And difficult :-)

Love,
Christian

P.S. I'm sorry that I never finished posting the videos I said I would.
P.P.S. I really like comments on my posts...
P.P.P.S. I'm sorry that the quality and synchronization of the video is so poor, but I'm sure you can get the idea.

Leavin' on a Jetblue-Plane...

2009-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

This evening at seven twenty-six of the clock, post meridian, I will be flying to Utah to enjoy my last true pre-college experience--my third and final year of the Young Ambassadors Singing Entertainer Workshop (YASE camp). There is precious little free time during this camp, so it is unlikely that I'll be able to post for the next few days. I may be able to post tomorrow, if Ben can spare the use of his laptop for a while. Anyway, once I return from camp, you can expect a full and (hopefully) exciting report of the week.

Packing is calling me, so I will leave you with a handful of videos. You can spread them out over the days that I'll be absent from the blog and maybe you won't miss me as much. Enjoy

Love,
Christian

These two videos (here's the first and here's the second) were the songs for the opening number of the YASE show in 2007 (that's obviously not us li'l campers in the videos). A little trivia: the boy singing lead in the videos was in Hannah Frandsen's graduating class at SFHS and the girl singing lead is the niece of the star of every EFY album, the mormon pop-star Jenny Jordan Frogley.

These two songs made up the finale for 2008. The choir doesn't sound amazing in the first, but I think Taylor (my prom date) does a great job of the solo. The second video is the Young Ambassadors cast of 2008-2009.

This is Becca Schwartz, a good friend of mine, from the YA cast 2007-2008. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best renditions of defying gravity on YouTube. She's a star.

I don't know if y'all can access this video, but this is my best friend Julia singing "Diva's Lament" from Spamalot at the YASE showcase last summer.

And here's ME singing "Who Can I Turn To" from The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd at the same showcase. Another bit of trivia: the Michael Buble/Muse/Adam Lambert hit "Feelin' Good" comes from the same show.

This is Taylor again performing "So Much Better" from Legally Blonde: The Musical, again at the same showcase.

Well I really do need to pack right now, so I will post more videos for your enjoyment tomorrow.

Independence Day

2009-07-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

This post is just going to be awful. I'm sorry guys. I guess that's how it goes after a full day of working in allergy-inducing dust (the process of sorting through everything in my room). So what do I have to say about the Fourth of July? Not much. Is it horribly unpatriotic that I'd rather be living in Norway or the like right now? Not that I actually want to live there this moment, but I thought about what a beautiful home Norway would make several times today.

I suppose I should say something nice about liberty and other positively-connoted abstract ideas in honor of the Fourth. Well, in the process of cleaning my room I have liberated myself in a way. I have freed myself from the weight of lots of stuff. Though my lesser nature brings out pack-rat behaviors, I do truly believe that the less baggage (emotional AND physical) you have, the freer you are. In this same process I have also worked towards freeing myself of obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I have forced myself to break stupid traditions like saving the cellophane wrappers of CD's. Though it is difficult, it feels good.

On a different note, I just watched Singin' in the Rain in honor of the fourth (that's a good old-fashioned American movie, right?) and was floored. I hadn't watched it all the way through in more than a year and I noticed so many more details this time around. Sure the dialogue is occasionally hokey and the deliveries are corny, but that cast is talented. Even the lowliest of ensemble girls was constantly in character. For an observant watcher who knows the film well, there are countless funny moments to be observed here and there--little bits that are brilliant but hidden. And the leads--they are incredible. Gene Kelly may have been a jerk, but he was an extraordinarily talented jerk; Debbie Reynolds is so likeable; Donald O'Connor is masterful and genius; and Cyd Charisse will always have my heart.

Here are two of my favorite clips from the movie:

--Christian

P.S. I removed the grey frame from the clip this time around. Compare it to the embedments from the previous post and let me know which you prefer. Thanks!

Don't Rain On My Parody!

2009-07-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

I just love parodies. If a piece of comedy can effectively and simultaneously make fun of and pay homage to original and well-beloved source material, then I'm a happy camper. Sorry if that sentence was funky, it's late. Here is a great parody that I recently discovered. Yes, I've watched it multiple times :-)

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

I also really love spoofs, especially when the spoof is expressed in a
medium different from the original source material. Here's the first
part of a spoof that the Musical Theatre kids at the University of
Michigan put together. I've only watched about the first seven parts. I'll
finish the entire thing at some point. My favorite moment is one

particular character's entrance at the beginning of Act I, Part ii.

And now, just to honor the title of my post, here's the incomparable

Barbra Streisand at her finest (I apologize for the commentary, but the

behind the scenes footage is kind of interesting--click here for a

cleaner version):

Enjoy!

--Christian

P.S. I'm just learning how to embed videos, and I don't know how to
shrink the dimensions of the Web Site Story video to fit the width of my
blog. You can see it more clearly here. I hope you like it!

Beauty

2009-07-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

I spent the last couple hours at the Johnson's house. The intent was to play ping pong--Jeff, Ryan, and Chantal did--but I (not surprisingly) spent the entire time talking to Jeralee, first about her upcoming mission in Finland (I'm so jealous of her but I showed her the Helsinki Complaints Choir and the Sauna Championships on YouTube), then about Disney songs (with Jeralee, Jeff, and Ryan all leaving on missions in the next few months, we YouTubed classic Disney songs in Finnish and Portuguese--so funny), and then to music in general, of course.

The conversation on music stemmed from the Broadway version of "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid. Tituss Burgess, who plays Sebastian, (he was also Nicely Nicely Johnson in this season's revival of Guys and Dolls and he totally rocked the boat :-) ) wails on an amazing high G on the key change at the end of the dance break (round about three minutes--maybe a little after). I was so excited to show Jeralee because I thought she'd be just as wowed as I was. Surprisingly she hated it. While she was impressed with the technique and the range, she did not find it beautiful. As much as I tried to explain why it was so great, she would not agree. She explained that as a performance major, she was all about the product, not the process. She didn't want to be explained into enjoying something, she just wanted to enjoy it. That made me wonder if I truly found it beautiful. It was a strange thought, and it has come to me once before, backstage of a performance when a friend of mine was belting a money note. I asked myself if I enjoyed such vocal fireworks because of the difficulty and technique, or because I truly found the sound beautiful?

I realized immediately that I really do find the sound beautiful, but we talked for a while more about analysis itself, among other things. Jeralee's favorite type of music is music that can be enjoyed at any level of thought. If you just need some sound in your ears, then it's nice to listen to. If you really want to delve, then it's complexity is equally rewarding. But she doesn't want to be forced to analyze something just to enjoy it. I realized that analysis is second nature to me. I can't listen to something without analyzing it. I can't read something without analyzing it. I can't see something without analyzing it. I have to find meaning in everything.

Anyway, I've totally lost my train of thought. The point is, it was a great conversation--much more complex than I've communicated here. It was riddled with examples on YouTube, some good-natured vocalist-versus-instrumentalist jabs, and lots of philosophising about the respective values of complexity and accessibility and other fun topics.

I don't know if anything is important is in all those words I just wrote, except for the youtube videos. I hope it was enjoyable to read. I hope, but it's late so I don't trust myself.

Love,
Christian

Here's a cute and clever song from [title of show] called "Secondary Characters" so enjoy it :-)

Sweet Messages

2009-06-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

This will be quick and totally trivial. Over Christmas break this past year, I had a belated Birthday party. It was really fun and surprisingly successful. The best part was that three of my friends from BYU--Alyssa Simmons, Carson Twitchell, and John Hadlock (Lys and Cars live in orange county and John was down visiting them)--were able to come. Their present for me was my favorite of all the presents I received (though the many iTunes cards were also greatly appreciated and well-spent on some great music). It was a neon green candy poster, with the cleverest use of candy-bar names I have ever seen. Taped to the back was Coldplay's latest album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. I loved it so much that I didn't eat it but just looked at it and smiled. Eventually it made its way, still uneaten, from my bedroom floor to a hidden spot under my cedar chest. I took it from its hiding place yesterday while sorting through everything in my room. I dusted it off and smiled once more, remembering my friends. I decided it was time to eat it, so I started with the Reese's Pieces and, finishing those, moved on to the Air Heads. I have one more left of the six in the package and I will soon eat it. I'm really grateful that candy doesn't go bad (or hasn't gone bad yet--Mama says that chocolate can go rancid), I'm grateful that Uncle Kelly taught us thorough and proper tooth-brushing technique at the family reunion so that I can brush away all the plaque that the candy poster is sure to cause, and I'm especially grateful for my three kind friends. Well, that last airhead is calling me, so I'm out.
Love and Peace,
Christian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYSXJ1mnJEQ

Lyss and Cars are in this video :-)

Summer Reading

2009-06-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Upon returning home last night, I discovered a lovely surprise from my sister Gabrielle. She sent me a book called How to Have Fun without Failing Out: 430 Tips From a College Professor by Rob Gilbert, Ph.D. I read half of it last night and the rest this morning. It was fairly helpful and very entertaining. It certainly didn't have four hundred and thirty distinct different tips to offer, but it did do a good job of hammering in several concepts (over-preparation, study habits, discipline, commitment, punctuality, health, et cetera) that are very important. I think its intended audience is a collegebound student without nine older siblings and plenty of college-aged friends to show him the way, but it was a fun way to officially kick off my summer reading.

I had unofficially kicked off my summer reading with The Chronicles of Narnia (it was so good to read them again now that I'm older--they are such beautiful stories) but I finished all except for The Last Battle while school was still in session. I also started The Lost Years of Merlin and The Hobbit while in Utah, but I am barely into those. How to Have Fun... was the first book I have started and finished this summer.

I'm very anxious to read a lot this summer. I have read some good books through my high school career, but I almost completely stopped reading for pleasure over the last four years. There simply has not been time. What's more, I did not finish a single assigned novel this past year in my English class, except for the "Outside Novel" for the second semester (we chose a novel of our own--from a list or with Mrs. Willshire's approval--read it outside of class and wrote analytical journals to be turned in and graded). In my junior year we only read a couple books (and they were of shoddy literary value--Silent Spring was among them). So my Honors English class in my sophomore year was the last time I thoroughly read and analyzed a body of respected literature.

It's no surprise that my writing abilities have significantly declined over the past couple years. The structure of my two AP English courses was such that the writing focused on quantity and speed. We wrote so much that I never had a chance to catch my breath and work on my craft. What's more, I wasn't adequately feeding my vocabulary and sense of style. I was a precocious writer in elementary school, middle school, and early high school because I read so much. I constantly learned new words and sentence structures. I was interesting and varied and talented. But when I stopped reading for pleasure and barely read for a grade, I cut off that corner of my brain from all nourishment.

This just won't do in college, and it certainly won't do in life. I miss feeling proud of my writing. I miss knowing that I had written something clever and interesting and unique. I miss knowing how to write. I need to read a lot of intelligent literature this summer to educate myself as a person and also to give my mind some much-needed high-nutrient brain-food. Hopefully a full summer of wading through literary classics and contemporary hits will revive my writing by osmosis, just in time for college. But even if my writing doesn't fully recuperate, at least I'll have a few more authors, books, and characters to reference and synthesize and analyze next year.

So here are some of the books on my list. If I miss any you think are important, please leave a comment:

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (as much of it as I can finish) -J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chosen -Chaim Potok (I read much of this during the year but never finished it)
The Stranger -Albert Camus (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
Gullivers Travels -Jonathan Swift (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
Heart of Darkness -Joseph Conrad (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
The Prince -Machiavelli (Mrs. Chahine gave us the option of choosing either Common Sense or The Prince and I chose the former)
Angels and Demons/The Da Vinci Code -Dan Brown (I know they aren't pieces of genius, but they're fun and I have never read either)
A Tale of Two Cities -Charles Dickens (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
Mrs. Dalloway -Virginia Woolf (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
Pride and Prejudice -Jane Austen (Unfinished from earlier in the year)
Anything by Shakespeare

It will be a full summer, that's for sure. Any recommendations are appreciated. And there is a summer reading assignment for BYU that I will absolutely read, but I can't remember its title so I didn't list it there.

Here are the obligatory YouTube suggestions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LwocqYj3f0

This girl was eleven when she sang this back in 1999. This video went viral in the Musical Theatre community a few months ago. I may have linked it in a previous post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS2P0eteRzM

This is the incredible Natalie Weiss paying tribute to Jazmine. She practiced so hard to get those two riffs down, I would know, she told me on facebook. The crowd clearly went crazy.

--Christian :-)

Rebooting the Blog

2009-06-29T02:08:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers--

So now that I'm all grown up and graduated, I'm going to try a different approach called brevity. The problem with my last wave of blogging efforts was that I couldn't stop myself from writing once I began a post, and that quickly became very exhausting and time consuming. So this time around I'll exercise a little more self-control in my writing and hopefully make leaps and bounds in consistency. Nothing philosophical for tonight besides my analysis of my past posts.

--Christian

P.S. I just discovered this girl a few days ago and she totally amazed me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKfzXq1gcG4

Thanksgiving Evening

2008-11-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

Hey.

Good news! It's not the last Centerfield Thanksgiving! Hooray! And I hope that everyone is good and uncomfortably full. I was dying and then I recovered and now I'm stuffing up again.

Here's the damage:
Two heaping platefuls, two huge rolls, much water, and three enormous pieces of pie piled high with whipped creme. And that was just for the main dinner. I just finished two more pieces of pie and soon I'll go for two more pieces. Okay I just got more pie. Yum. And chances are I'll help myself to some more stuffing and vegetables in a little while anyway.

That was the meal.

Now for the recovery process. Shooting!!! I shot a gun for the first time today. I also realize that this is turning into somewhat of a journal entry, so I'll try to tie in something interesting and thought provoking. I shot four different guns, firing a total of seven times. I have two cartridges from a big gun whose name I don't know (it was the biggest gun in my uncles collection), two cartridges from a .22, one cartridge from a pistol (so intense--I felt like Jack Bauer), and two cartridges from a shotgun. I learned a few things about myself. First, it's really fun to shoot a gun (rhyme and rhythm intended). Second, I'd make a horrible soldier. I wasn't aiming for anything in particular for five of my seven shots, but I did aim for a clay pigeon when I shot the shotgun. I missed horribly. I haven't the skill to aim well. Part of this could be attributed to my preshoot expectation of failure, but mostly I lack talent when it comes to hitting a target with a firearm. Thankfully that's not an especially necessary skill, and chances are if it really counted, a survival-oriented corner of my brain would take over and I'd be able to aim better. Anyway, hopefully there won't ever be a draft, because if there were and I were drafted, I'd willingly go, but I would not be an asset to the army. Third, I get really bored watching other people shoot. There's a reason why I've never watched Skeet shooting on the Olympics. I haven't a speck of interest as to how accurately a marksman can hit a disc of soft clay that crumbles as it's slung just as often as it holds together. I spent most of the shooting expedition in my dad's truck listening to showtunes. Also interesting is Jack's participation in this adventure. Jack is my nephew and he's five. He shot a gun today. that's twelve years younger than I was when I first shot a gun. I'm wondering how this excursion (with ended with him tired and crying) will shape his psychological perception of guns. Chances are, it won't have any effect. But let's hope he won't become a criminal. Okay that wasn't very good philosophising. Let's try again. Jack likes guns. He's a starwars fan, for one thing, and a couple years ago, if he got mad at someone he would yell "FIRE." That's not to say that he had impulses to shoot people, but it does indicate a connection between the expression of anger and a word with many violent connotations. Mind you, he's not meanspirited at all and he's not going to become a psychopath. The question is, after actually shooting a gun and experiencing the reality of it, not the hollywood ideal of it, with all the loud noise and the kick and the waiting in line and the frustration of missing the target, will his opinion of guns shift from "guns are so cool!" to "guns are kind of boring?" Would such a shift be good? I kind of think so and hope so, but then he might be robbed of the pleasure of action movies in the future and (let me rant for a second: there's a noise going on in the background that sounds exactly like my ringtone. It's driving me crazy) or...I don't know. Okay this philosophising didn't work out. Whatever. My mind isn't working perfectly because I ate so much and it's a little overloaded with signals from the nerves in my tummy. By the way, I ate more stuffing and vegetables and am now working on a major bowl of turkey. I'll probably have more pie, too. Good thing I'm getting back in the habit of running.

Do I have anything else to say? I don't know. I found a funny quote in The Canterbury Tales the other day, but it's a little vulgar, so I'm not sure I'll post it here.

A movie is starting now, so I'll be done.

But first, another video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o03XWoXG1rM

This is Andrew Keenan-Bolger singing a song from the Frog and Toad musical. We were talking about those particular children's books earlier, that's why I posted it :-)

Uncomfortably full,
Christian Jacob Frandsen

Thanksgiving Eve

2008-11-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Everyone,

I have written two "resurrection" posts that I never finished. I'll probably finish them and post them. Eventually. Anyway, I'm here in my Frandsen grandparentals' home and there's a conversation going on into which I was not invited and I don't know where my sister is and my cousin of the same age is probably totally beat from the basketball game he played this evening or else watching sports (and I don't watch sports, on television at least) and I tried calling so many people and basically no one can talk (except that I'm chatting with two people on facebook and soon I'll be chatting on Skype, which I just downloaded and haven't quite figured out and certainly can't take fully exploit because of my lack of webcam(era) and microphone...Okay so the Skype conversation is quite over (I took a break from the blog) and it was...very interesting because I was watching and listening to my friend (I'm respecting your privacy by not saying your name, Alex) but typing back to him. I became quite frantic and my typing became quite sloppy because of it. But it was fun :-)

So yes. Frandsen Thanksgivings. I'll write about those. They are always eventful. In the past they always ended up with me (and others) crying. This was when I was a very little kid. And there are always far too many people to be good for the structural integrity of the house, but that's just part of the fun. I love such get-togethers with my many cousins because I love having so many cousins. Though there is quite a bit of stress involved with having such a large family (photoshoots that last hours because everyone must be arranged perfectly and all the babies must be looking at the camera and smiling, very dangerous stampedes in the direction of the kitchen when mealtime comes about, awkward moments when you don't even recognize a relative, much less remember his name) it's basically the best thing ever because one can NEVER be lonely (unless you're me when I refused to take part in the snowball fight because I didn't want to lose brain cells), there's always more than enough food (unless you're me when I was off in my own little world and showed up for dinner after it was all gone), and warmth and family bonding abound (unless you're me when I decided I was way to cool for my family and decided to hang out with myself in the snow). (For all you English majors out there, I know that the previous sentence did not follow parallel structure. I was lazy. Okay?)

So Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Truth be told, I might cry. Not because I'm a little kid throwing a tantrum, but because it's the last huge Frandsen Family Thanksgiving in Centerfield, Utah. The very last one. I'm not quite sure my mind has completely wrapped itself around this fact. Utah Thanksgivings have been a biannual constant since birth. Thankfully, I'm confident that the world is not coming to an end, but it does feel like the end of an age. The point is, tomorrow might be a sad day.

The question now is, will my parents become Grandparents now? I mean they've been grandparents for a while, but will they now be Grandparents with a capital G? Will they be the old wizened figures there to greet their somewhat confused little grandchildren with a hug and a plate of warm (or a tub of frozen) cookies? Will my children perceive their grandparents the same way I perceived mine? Somehow I doubt it.

Anyway, wasn't that philosophical?

Here's a video of a good friend of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC9aIhyJK-8

I'll post the other drafts at some later point.

:-) and <3,

Christian Jacob Frandsen

P.S. Aren't you all so proud of me for not being political at all???

Pressure and Politics (but not political pressure)

2008-11-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hey--

I realized today, just now, that having a blog puts a lot of pressure on me. I know I have so many interested readers and I really don't want to let them down. But right now I don't feel like I have a lot to say. I just can't handle it. So I'm deleting the blog, because it's just too daunting and I want my life to be easy.

Just kidding.

I don't really have a lot to say today, but I LOVE having the blog because I can say what I want to say and people can respond, but it's less immediate than facebook and less specific than email and less expensive than a newspaper column. So I don't have a lot to say, but I was thinking about politics earlier, so I might as well talk about that. Funny that I initially said I would avoid politics, but that seems to be a point of discussion for me. But we can blame the circumstances, seeing as the election was yesterday. Anyway, here are some tidbits.

--Political Informedness. This election, I chose to stay really uninformed about the election. Yes, it was a choice. I didn't have a huge amount of time when everything came under the spotlight last year and I felt no obligation to set time aside to become politically informed because I am a wee sixteen year-old and I can't vote. So I formed vague opinions based on the little research I did for myself and the opinions of people that I trust (from both sides) and I decided that I favored neither Obama nor McCain. I watched neither candidate speak formally, save for brief excerpts, and I quickly came to the conclusion that Obama would win and I got over it. I still think Mitt should have won. As I've said before I really hate politics. I hate the dishonesty of every politician. I hate the animosity between parties. I hate the enmity that so often rears its ugly head between close friends who can't see beyond their political differences. I hate the mob mentality of uninformed voters who violently support one side or another (in fact, I hate the mob mentality involved in the Obama campaign, because so many had no idea what they were voting for, they only know who they were voting for, especially among eighteen to thirty year-olds, but I'm glad that someone got them to care about something and I'm glad that they voted and I'm not upset that Obama was elected so it's all good), which is why I went from supporting Mitt, to supporting neither, to being against both. I never chose a side because I honestly didn't like either based on the little that I knew and also because I didn't know enough to feel good about choosing a side. And because it was fun to say that if I were voting, I would have written in Mitt. But, I was watching Obama's acceptance speech today (I haven't finished watching it, but I have watched most of it) and as the camera zoomed in on the faces of the audience who were beyond elated and very emotional, I felt a distinct disconnect with them, not because we differed in opinion, but because they cared and I didn't. Those of you who know me best know that I hate barriers. I hate feeling like something is preventing me from connecting with another human being. So I decided something. Well, I reaffirmed and added to a previous decision. I had already decided to become politically informed for the next election because I will vote in the next election (though government is not my favorite class, it has taught me two things: one of them is that an uninformed voter is an idiot--I don't intend to be an idiot), but beyond that I decided today to start today. Whatever happens in the next four years (and honestly, I haven't a clue--the only things I'm sure of are "Change" and a favorable rating for the new president as he begins his tenure), I pledge to myself and to any who want to hold me accountable that I will know more about what is going on in my country. I won't be perfectly and thoroughly informed to begin with, but when I have the time, I will take the time to read an article or watch the news. It's kind of funny--up until now I've cared deeply about the world around me, but not as much about the country around me. Furthermore, I decided to care. I'm not saying that my contempt for American politics has miraculously vanished, and I'm promising that I won't become emotionally attached to any candidate, and I certainly won't make politics an integral part of my life or personality, but I will care. Right now I'm not sure entirely what that will mean or means right now. But I know it means something. (By the way, the reason why I wouldn't care, and why what "care" means in this case is unclear, is because I'm not convinced that politics or government can affect my life or change it in any other way besides taxes and I'm not sure that politics or government can really make a positive difference in the world--I'd like to hope so, but I don't know if I can convince myself to think so, I'm too politically cynical and disillusioned. (-: )

--Barack Obama. Before anything else, I want to say that it brings great joy to my heart to know that someone other than an old, rich, white man was elected president. I would have been even happier if a Black woman had been elected (not if it were Oprah, though). It's a hard reality for me to grasp or even imagine, but I do know that it is a reality that severe racism exists in our country. This makes me really sad. As unsophisticated as that sentence was, I can't put it any other way. No matter what his policies are, it's fantastic that Obama is president simply because he broke a barrier by becoming the first non-white president. Anyway, I learned a lot about Obama today, just by watching him speak. I had seen him speak before, but only in short excerpts and sound bites. Here are my thoughts on his acceptance speech. It was remarkably written and it contained many good things. Just when I felt a little excluded, he reached out and addressed the delicately-referred-to listeners whose support he hasn't yet earned. Though I think he could have been a little more inclusive earlier in his speech, when he was specifically inclusive, it was just wonderful. Second, his family is beautiful and I respect him so much for being so honest and open about his deep feelings for his family. In fact, that was my favorite part of the speech because that was the point when I really felt genuine emotion through the computer screen. Third, he's not the remarkable orator that everyone built him up to be. He is a very gifted speaker, it is true, especially compared to Bush and other politicians whom I have seen speak. But he doesn't make my list of brilliant public speakers. He has this strange sort of vocalism before many of his words and he sometimes stresses the wrong word and he has a couple other mannerisms that I find a little distracting. More importantly, I don't feel engaged or emotionally involved when he speaks, and that's not because I disagree with him (what was there to disagree with in his acceptance speech, anyway), it's because I don't feel any emotion or genuineness or plain honesty when he speaks (and by honesty, I mean honesty in an acting sense, not in an I-think-he's-lying-to-me sense). Though I know he really believes in his words, I don't feel like his delivery is completely rooted in his heart. That being said, I think he is a very likeable speaker (I totally understand why he woke up the youth of the nation) and a very talented speaker, especially compared to other politicians I've heard. I just don't think he's as good as many of my good friends have set him up to be. But that's okay, a president doesn't have to be a brilliant performer, but Obama certainly is a good one. Fourth, he seems a little bit cocky, not a ton, but a bit, mostly at the beginning of his speech. Of course, he had every right to be proud of himself, I mean, he'll be the most powerful man in the world come January, but he seemed the slightest bit full of himself, which irks me. But I've also heard that McCain was much more arrogant and that was one of his big problems. I'll assess that later when I search for McCain's speeches on Youtube. Fifth, he was very grateful in his speech, and that was nice to see.

--An anomaly. The other important thing that I learned in my government class is that a good citizen should distrust his government. It's clear that people trust Obama. It's also clear that America needs hope right now. How do you find the balance between an optimism and affection for a president and a healthy distrust for those in power? How do you do it? The distrust part isn't hard for me, but the hope part is for me. I'm pretty optimistic about most things in life, but I'm fairly cynical about the course of the country. I honestly think that things will just get worse, not necessarily because of Obama, but just because. Anyway, I'd like to hope (especially because so many other people are hopeful) but I also think that the Obama craze and all the happiness about his success in the election should be tempered with a healthy distrust for the government. That's what the founding fathers intended, and if we can trust anyone, we can trust them

Okay, I realize this post was way long. I'll work on writing shorter posts. Here's a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQ69a88CmE

I love this song and this is my favorite version on Youtube. I wish I had this guys technique.

--Christian Jacob Frandsen

Election Day Miscellany

2008-11-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

Dear Everyone,

This is very appropriate. Check the date at the bottom, it will shock you.

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the
prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they
will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell
10 October 1978

For those of you, and hopefully there are more than just one or two, who are not Mormon, here's what I've been thinking about today:

--Henna. Katy Pedelty allowed me the use of her Henna for today. It's so fun!!! I have a Music heart made out of a treble clef and a bass clef on my right wrist (Katy did that for me on Saturday night) and a tracing of the lines on my left palm. I'll probably put more on tonight and post pictures at some point, just for you, Gabrielle :-) Anyway, everyone was asking for a Henna today. I gave DeDe and Suzanne "peace, love, and music" Hennas. I gave Kat a flower. I gave Ili a heart. I gave Allie a dove (notice a trend? It changed when I got to theatre, as expected). In sixth period, theatre, I gave Sarah Phillips a tiny star, Sarah Sherman a supercool heart/peace sign design, and Lindsey a butterfly. Nick got "Equius" on his left index finger with a scale (the scales of justice) and "Veritas" on his right index finger (with the sword of truth). Rishi got an interesting NON-buddhist design, but I really wanted to write Sanskrit characters. Except I don't know Sanskrit. In any event, his looked like a snowflake. Carrie got a "Mrs. A-Z" because she went to the Jason Mraz concert on Saturday (I was so jealous). My favorite of the day was Robin's. It started out as a peace sign on her forearm, but then it became this compass-looking doodle. And then it became a flower. And the flower grew leaves. It's beautiful. Oh and I forgot Chantal and Sean. Chantal got "Love" with a heart connected to it. Sean got a peace sign. And I forgot Katy, but she was earlier in the day. I gave her a Bass/Treble heart and a cursive "Dona Nobis Pacem." The point is, henna is fun.

--SNL. We watched it today in Government. Just the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin stuff. I wish we'd watched some of the Obama stuff, too, just because that would have been fair, and also because some of the other videos we watched were pointless and one was really quite offensive. Anyway, others really like it. So I want to watch it. The limited amount that I've seen is so intelligent. The only problem is, it's so darn late at night!

--Nodes. Jramie (yeah, that's how I spell it) belted an A or something today. It was good. Clarke tried, but unfortunately, Clarke is very much a bass. I don't want him to get nodes. I don't want to get nodes. And I'm terrified of learning how to belt come fall 2009, when I take my first MDT voice class. But I really want to learn. It's just scary. I should meditate.

--The wearing of political materials. I fashioned a "Yes on 8" sticker in first period this morning. During lunch, I got some bumper stickers. I really wanted to put a bumper sticker across one of my back pockets, because my green corduroys would have made a nice (maybe a little gross) contrast with the yellow and because it was funny, but I didn't end up doing it because my hands had Henna on them. Anyway, people weren't as hostile as I thought they might be. I got some looks from friends, and one "It's really good you're not voting" but for the most part, people were very respectful of the expression of my views, especially considering the hostility towards "Yes on 8" picketers and the whole I-got-picked-up-by-the-cops-for-legally-distributing-doorhangers-for-Prop-8 thing that happened on Saturday. By the way, any of you with whom I have not discussed Propostion Eight, and those of you with whom I have who want to know my exact position, I'll write an essay for this blog over the weekend explaining everything you did and didn't want to know about my thoughts on Prop Eight. But I don't really want to talk about it until then, because I've talked about it enough so far and my tongue is tired of it.

And, because I missed the Jason Mraz concert on Saturday, here's a good video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHTsc9PU2A

And because I like musicals, here's another good video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZBNcILeH0

That one is Stephanie J. Block singing a GREAT song from 9 to 5: The Musical, based on the movie of the same title, with songs by Dolly Parton. It's opening on Broadway pretty soon, but I got to see the world premiere in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson! I smell many a Tony nomination for this show.

Thanks for reading and Love,
Christian :-)

Pilot Post

2008-11-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Christian's Blog. While on the subject of blogs, I recommend Andrew's Blog. But back to the point. Unfortunately, this post won't be very interesting. And I may not have time to post anything interesting for a few days because of a particular period of life called high school that seems to take up a fair amount of time. But I promise I'll be interesting as soon as possible.

Anyway, this blog, or weblog to be proper, doesn't have a particular direction right now. Nor does it have a particular look or fixed title. I'll start blogging and figure out what it will be like a few posts in so that I can come up with something clever for the top of the page and pick a design that's more visually pleasing and specific to the content. But my guess is that I'll end up talking a lot about musicals. Or books. Or life. Or paintings. Or people. Probably not a lot about politics, but maybe a little. I may well talk a lot about how much I hate politics. For example, this election has made the past week hell. But I'll probably ask you, my faithful readers, for your opinions on various issues, even if I don't offer my own.

So yeah. Come back and read regularly. It should be fun.

Love,
Christian