Your education might be your last hope

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April 16, 2012

schedule 7 min read

I have a friend who was told by a prospective employer that she would not get the job because she is not a Mormon.   I have another friend who published an article examining her personal experience with racism in the course of her education. She got more than a few angry replies. One man […]

Wednesday Woes: The Trouble with Nicknames

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March 28, 2012

schedule 3 min read

The other day, my friend Jarom was reborn. It was amazing.   Walking through Times Square, Jarom was stopped by a random rap artist, peddling his wares among the tourists. “What’s your name, man?”   “Jarom.”   “Jared?”   “Jarom.”   “Cool,” said the rapper. “I’m gonna call you J-Smoove.”   That’s right, Smoove, with […]

Your Resigned Optimism Sucks

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February 1, 2012

schedule 5 min read

This week Old Man Winter sucker-punched us right in the back of the head.  He sang us all off to a peaceful slumber with mendacious lullabies, promising us a lush, warm winter. And then, right as we were all floating off to the Land of Sweet Dreams, he flipped us over onto our stomachs and […]

Wednesday Woes: Movie trivia time

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January 18, 2012

schedule 4 min read

Has this ever happened to you? You’re at party, really hitting it off with a fine specimen of whatever gender(s) you’re into. You two are comparing notes on personal dreams, favorite bands, influential bands, politics, religion, the works and all signs are pointing toward get married and commence the aggressive manufacture of children. I mean, […]

Serenity Now. Or Never. It’s Up To You.

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January 16, 2012

schedule 5 min read

I should have known that I was making a mistake. It was noon-thirty in the food court here at our beloved Utah Valley University. On a Monday. The line for the Pizza Hut was packed. The Costa Vida was stuffed. The queue at Subway was probably the length of fifty five-dollar foot longs. In the […]

Wednesday woes: Bro grabs

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January 11, 2012

schedule 3 min read

Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.   -Socrates   Hey, dude, it’s nice to meet you. My name is John-Ross. Most every calls me J.R., though. I wish I had a cool nickname that everybody called me, but the only alias that’s ever really stuck is […]

2012 blues

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January 9, 2012

schedule 6 min read

Sometime during the break I decided that I might want to purchase a gun. Some variety of pump action 12-gauge mangler, the kind that I would clean in the living room if I had a daughter and her boyfriend were coming to dinner for the first time.   I’m not certain where this sudden yen […]

Late night with Willy the Wolverine

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November 14, 2011

schedule 7 min read

How Midnight Classes Can Benefit UVU   It’s midnight on a Monday. While the rest of the world slumbers peacefully, a cabal of nine assembles in a dark, otherwise empty building. There, under the tutelage of an experienced master, they will hone new skills and learn new crafts. They will soon unleash their new knowledge […]

Haunted Houses and Utah’s moral climate

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October 17, 2011

schedule 5 min read

There is no swearing allowed inside the Haunted Forest. Or smoking. Or drinking. Lewd behavior of all kinds is frowned upon in both the Haunted Forest and the Psycho Manor.   After all, this is a family establishment. You know, the kind where teenage girls get butchered right in front of you. Where blood-covered hillbillies […]