Just a quick post while I take my lunch break.

The settings of the new format are baffling me, so I'll be changing it again soon.

In the mean time, check out one of my other projects,

http://mywurdsmith.blogspot.com/

It is one of those annoying word-a-day blogs, but with my own twist.  Not all of the featured words are real.  So be on your toes.

I think I am getting more zen in my old age.
We were discussing the old addage that happiness is like chasing a butterfly
Then I thought, Just be the butterfly!

Elvis Costello wrote his satirical party anthem "Pump It Up" in 1977. The Escape Club wrote "Wild Wild West" in 1988. I'm not saying which, but it seems one song might be a bit more than strongly influenced by the other.

Pump It West from Mark Johnson on Vimeo.

I can't get the video to embed in the blogger java, so just click on the link to see the it.

I am working on starting up a new YouTube profile featuring all of our (my friends and I) Big Show videos. An maybe, just maybe, if there is interest, some of us may start filming new skits and the like.

Here is one of my favorites that my pal Abe and I filmed back in '04 or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMbZ4ukFb5M

And if you don't know what the Big Show was... man, where you been?

Man, I used to love blogging. I wonder if I just ran out of things to say. Or whether I just got too busy. I'm betting it is the latter.

Well, it is friday night (7:30) and I am still at work. Not really a fun friday night, but being employed is awesome.

It's been a weird week. I've had this song stuck on play in my head all day.
DJ Steve Porter - "Press Hop" featuring A. Iverson featuring Mora, Green, Namath, Gundy & T O

It's Not Easy Going Green

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12597475?IADID

So I am upset with Lt. Governor Herbert again. The Guv-to-be recently spoke out at the recent Western Governor's Association meeting against climate change and environmental responsibility. Don't get me wrong, I am not a hemp-wearing tree-hugger. And those Toyota Prius commercials with the children dressed up as flowers and grasslands and clouds make me infuriated. But there need to be a some common ground here.

The biggest issue I have with the new green movement is the fact that they are making the movement their own. It is taking care of the environment mixed with a hip, young lifestyle. The right wing naturally takes issue with the naive, dirty hippies as being druggies or nature-worshipers.

These are extremes, but the extremes what get the public attention. Naturally, everyone quickly takes their sides on the environment. This is where it all goes wrong.

Care of the environment is a moral obligation, not a political peculiarity. I don't care if Lt. Governor Herbert or anyone else believes or doesn't believe in global warming or man-made environmental change. Real or fiction shouldn't be the point. This is side-stepping the issue of treating the planet responsibly.

The Gov should follow the example of his predessor, Territorial Governor Brigham Young. He taught, "Let me love the world as He (God) loves it, to make it beautiful, and to glorify the name of my Father in heaven. It does not matter whether I or anybody else owns it, if we only work to beautify it and make it glorious, it is all right".

Twits and Tweets

I'm slammed at work, but I need a quickie minute to vent.

Argh! I hate being slammed at work! Man, these students get on my nerves sometimes.

OK, rant over.

Speaking of expressing myself, you can now follow me on the twitter. Just search for markjohnson1138 so you can follow all of my mundane goings on.

Oh, one last thing. I was digging through old newspapers looking for obituaries of dead relatives when I discovered that this twitter business isn't all that new.
























The more things change...

Well, back to work. Lunch is over and this mountain of paperwork isn't going to do itself.

Utah Govenor Jon Huntsman, Jr. is leaving Utah and is heading for appointment to Ambassador to China. This is a great boon for my home state of Utah and could mean a great bit of new business and cultural exchange for China and Utah. I work with Chinese nationals for my job, so I know firsthand the important of good cultural relationships.

Now only if we can get Utah's Lt. Govenor Gary Herbert shipped of to Iceland, I'll be a happy man.

In Memory of Nick Adenhart

You all are no doubt familiar with the death of Anaheim Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart. He was killed by a drunk driver while driving with his friends. 2 others in the car he was riding in were also killed. I never got the chance to see Nick play in the big leagues, but I did see him pitch here in Salt Lake when he was pitching for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. The last time I saw him play was last summer. I went with my nephew Cyrus and had a great time. Adenhart even lead the Bees to victory.

God speed, Nick Adenhart

You might find this interesting.

The A-Rod situation is about to hit the fan. And I am so mad, I am not going to bore you with it.

Other than that, things are decent in my world. Work and school are keeping me rather busy. My cemetery blog has stalled a little bit, as I have been putting my efforts into doing my own geneology. And I need to take more pictures, which is tough as the cemeteries I am researching and photographing are still slogged with snow. I'll see if tomorrow looks any clearer.

Baseball*

The whole brouhaha with A-Rod and steroids has me a bit bugged. Bonds, McGuire, Sosa... and on and on.

I used to love baseball, but since the players union and the Commissioner's office have established a culture of looking the other way when it comes to steroids, I am hesitant to get in to it again this year.

Since Barry Bonds home run record is often listed by many with an asterisk, maybe people should start referring to the league as Major League Baseball*.

Oh, yeah. Go Angels!

Maybe it is the English major in me, but I am getting bugged with all the made-up words that are out there. On the radio, they have been singing jingles involving something called a 'stay-cation'. Apparently, this is a vacation where one doesn't go anywhere. A local TV station had a contest where the winner was able to win a car by staying in it longer than his competitors. They called it 'Carvivor'.

I hate to break it to them, but those aren't real words. Making up your own words in private conversation is one thing, but to shell out money for TV and radio time to use made-up words only displays your illiteracy.

And would people just stop referring to any type of scandal as ___gate. Watergate was the hotel members of the Democratic National Committee were staying during the scandal that forced Nixon to resign. Labeling anything else with the 'gate' suffix is moronic. Papergate? Please. Worst off was the Scandalgate, which means absolutely nothing. Redicilous.

Working on getting more work done on the other blog. It is a nice distraction as opposed to being depressed.

Also note that I plan on doing other profiles outside of the SLC cemetery if I get the mood. I drove to Paris, Idaho yesterday and other places in Idaho and Utah to get some more pictures of headstones. Beautiful drive, but my cameras batteries died just as I got the last shot in Paris. Frustrating, because it wasn't a great shot, but it will do for now. And since it is dumping snow outside, my next trip to Idaho might have to wait until spring. I still need to get to Spring City as well.

FYI...

I am starting a new blog profiling some of my favorite people who are dead and buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Ever since I have moved near it, I have been fascinated by it. So why not take all my researches and put them to good use.

http://slccemeterynotables.blogspot.com/

There isn't much there now, but I have well over one hundred folkes I am planning on profiling.

Yeah, this is why I like autumn.

So as I wrapped up my Kmart employment, I picked up a digital camera there for about 70% off. Clearance + Employee discount = awesome. I am planning on using the camera for my new blog, but the dang thing doesn't work unless I replace the batteries daily. It could become an expensive blog. Geh!

Hebrew National

So for dinner tonight, I thought instead of the usual pasta, I need a few old fashioned hot dogs. I got to the store and picked up a pack of Hebrew National kosher dogs. Holy crap! They were delicious.

But..

for some reason, there are seven of them in the pack. Seven. As a wannabee stand-up comedian, I know there there is nothing funny about the ratio of hot dogs in a package (usually 10) to buns (usually 8 per pack). But seven? Seriously?

And because I respect you all as an audience, I will also never make up a joke about "Fun-Sized" candy bars. Just not funny.

And I will hang my head low...

Today would have been the first anniversary of my marriage had it lasted that long. I was thinking for a long time about what I wanted to report about it all. I have come to the conclusion that it really isn't anyone's damn business. If you want the straight story, talk to me in person. I am not going to put it online for the world to see.

It hasn't been easy these last few months, but I am getting better. I understand what I have done wrong, what I could have done better and what things I had no power over. I am sad things ended up they way they did, but I don't regret the decisions we made. We had to stop hurting each other.

I have been berating myself all morning. I listened to The Decemberists "The Crane Wife" and Sheryl Crow's "Perfect Lie" to put into words some of the things I feel I have done wrong. And now I am done.

Homer Simpson once advised Marge, saying, "Marge, you can't blame yourself forever. Blame yourself once and get on with things". So I acknowledge that I have done some if not many things wrong, but I am done blaming myself. I am getting on with things.