Its been awhile again

Wow time flies when you are not thinking about it.   Well since my last post I have moved to Murray Utah with Simon. We have an apartment which is 12 -15 mins from my job. I have been in my new job for about 6 months now and I have enjoyed it so far. I do several things during the day. I look after the equipment we send out or get back from students.  I dont repair them, that is IT corporate's job to do.  Its summer time here and it is hot.  Today it isnt so much but overcast.  Being my lunch break this wont be too long but I thought I would drop a note so this blog doesn't go completely unused and abandoned.  So far things are good and I will try to do a more interesting update soon,

Fall has arrived!

As you can see from these photos which I found, Fall has arrived, its October!   My anniversary is coming up shortly. 13 yrs!  Its hard to believe how time has gone by.   Lets see my spouse just renewed his permanent residency  for another 10 yrs.  He was very relieved that the renewal process was alot less hectic than the initial getting of the card.  You still pay a pretty good chuck of change for the paper work but the actual doing of it, was less stressful, not even an interview.   He does plan to become citizen but we want to do it when he is not so close to the wire of his card expiring though.
What I dont look forward to in October is Halloween.  Some people love it, dress up for it no matter how old they are, get the house decked out in decor and all of that stuff but its just not appealing to me in the least.

I had my fun when I was a kid and it was fun getting dressed up and getting candy. When I as 12 I stopped doing that though and we went to a movie instead as a family which was fun and not a scary one.
I dont like all that now, and it feels so commercial, I dont like all the horror, spooky elements which have been made more and more popular. Give me a great mystery and I am all for it but I once at a friends house saw Silence of the Lambs - it wasn't my choice and I spent most of the movie looking into the carpet. I once saw Poltergeist also which was weird.   I dont like horror at all. Mysterious? Spooky?( The Adams family)  Sure that is ok but sick, twisted, even a bit to rather satanic stuff no I wont have anything to do with.   If thats your "jam" fine but I dont want to be around it.  I dont want the images in my head and they will get stuck and I dont want that.  People mistakenly think " Its just a show or movie"   It may be fictional but how those films are done now with all the effects made to be all to real- no I dont need it.

I enjoy Fall, the leaves and the getting out of my sweaters and cozy stuff again. I like that. I wish it could be  Fall to Spring all the time with a touch of summer to just feel like going swimming for a bit. That would be perfect.  I am not a snow bunny even though I live in snowy Utah- I am not a skier, snowboarder, ice skater- nope not into any of that and 2 of the 3 I have tried ( skiing and ice skating) and no I wasn't good at either one.  So welcome Fall while it is here, I am going to enjoy you and prepare for winter.

Not new but new to me- Aloe Vera Juice ( flavored)

Aloe Vera Juice has been around for awhile.  A couple weeks ago I was a gas station and decided to try OKF's brand in Pomegranate.  I instantly loved it even though I never had it before.  This made me want to try more of it.  Aloe Vera juice has some amazing health benefits. Here are some I have found:

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALOE VERA JUICE

1. Aids in the elimination of constipation.
2. Aids in digestion and helps with stomachaches and heartburn.
3. Helps to regulate blood sugars.
4. Detoxifies the body and colon.
5. Helps with weight loss by increasing metabolic rate to burn more calories.
6. Improves circulation.
7. Aids in healing damage to internal tissues.
8. Regulates blood pressure.
9. Strengthens immune system.
10. Retards the growth of cancerous tumors.
11. Helps to reduce inflammation. ( Sleuth Journal, 2016)

Sounds great to me,as a lot of those things I deal with.  What I love about the OKF brand in particular is that it does come in a variety of flavors which are very tasty especially when you drink it cold as you can see I have one of every flavor my grocery store had, except just plain. I even took my Pusheen  ice cube tray and used it to make Mini Mango Popsicles and it turned out fine and was cute as well.  So yes you can freeze Aloe Vera Juice into a nice cool treat if you like.  What I notice is that whilst I still like to have soda I am having it less than I did before I started drinking the juice.   You cant forget to drink water too, this doesn't replace that for your normal dietary needs. So if you want a tasty, healthy alternative check these out. You may want a lighter  more natural flavor than the OKF brand or just plain- both are available in many stores usually by the types of waters sold ( even though its a juice)   I have tried a couple from Walmart which were lighter on the flavoring ( the flavor is not genuine in OKF's but there is really Aloe Vera juice and gel in every bottle)  

Reference: http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/11-amazing-benefits-drinking-aloe-vera-juice/

Pictures: My own. 

Mini Review of Moon dust Eye shadows

As I said I would do a mini review of the Urban Decay Moon Dust eye shadows I ordered. Here pictured are the 3 I ordered, Vape on the bottom, Zodiac in the middle and Horizon on the top. ( Thats on my hand, the lighting is not so good)

I was pleased they came earlier than they said they would arrive I got them yesterday they were due tomorrow.  They are very shimmery and sparkly just like I thought they would be and the packaging is nice, if you have had Urban Decay's products before especially the shadows you know that they are put in packaging which lasts.   Now I have to say that these shadows are not for wearing constantly unless you like a glam sparkle look all the time.   Some folk on  Youtube dont understand that if you get these or the palette which has different but of the same type of shadows you will want to wear them with a non shimmer/sparkle eyeshadow for a more every day wear.  They are not stand alone shadows unless you wish for a bit of a more stand out look.  However you totally can do them with a other shadows for a hint of sparkle, I have worn Vape and Horizon with my normal shadows and the look looks really nice, a hint of a shine but not blast you away kind of shine.  So think of these as nice accent pieces like jewelry, just a a bit will do the job like any shimmery and glittery kind of makeup. They can make a great look for night time to add a bit of sparkle.  Overall I like the ones I have and might be purchasing more. Once you understand what they are meant for- these are Not Neutrals, they are Not meant for casual, every day on their own but like I said paired with a matte or less shimmery shadow or two they make quite fun looks which doesn't go over the top and when you are ready to party and want to stand out- use them more by all means.  The glitter does kind of has a bit of fall out but it doesn't get in my eyes at all so to me its not a bother,( and with long eyelashes it definitely could)  just wipe way the glitter if it does that.  The quality of the product is good, they feel nice, they blend really well.  I even got a free gift of eye primer samples because I spent over a certain amount and got free shipping- have to like that folks!

New make up eyeshadow line I am loving....

Its been a long hot hot summer, especially where I am with no rain for weeks on end. Can I say I am ready for Fall? Yes! And what has come out just in time for Fall? Urban Decay's Moon dust shadows,
Yes I like makeup, ever since I was allowed to wear it at age 12. Recently it has caught my interest even more. I usually dont go for more pricey but stick to drug store brands ( which alot work just as well)  However this line caught my attention.

 Really pretty wouldn't you say? This pic just has some of them, a good selection but there are more! Checkout Urban Decays website and choose the Fall collection and choose the single Moon dust shadows and you will see the full range of these really pretty eye shadows. 

I dont own any glittery, shimmery, sparkly shades and so these look pretty cool. All of these are shimmery or sparkly or  duo chrome, They stand out.   I have 3 coming to me I just ordered Zodiac, Horizon and Vape, A  mid tone pink one (Horizon), a neutral one which is light pink (Vape) and a  dark green one( Zodiac). There are others in this line I totally want, I am looking forward to trying out these. If I like them as much as I think I will I might go for the palette which also has the same name and has 6 other shadows which are separate from the single shadows. So far all the makeup reviews I have seen for that palette have been very positive. So it might be on my list to get and this would be my first high end palette I have gotten, I own other palettes but they are drugstore kind or I got them in a subscription box but they were not high end but still ok. These shadows are $21 each which is to me a bit more than I normally do but not too high. The Moon dust palette is $49- yep nearly 50 dollars comparative with Too Faced Palettes. Other high end palettes are only slightly less. ( still in the 40-50 dollar range) I like the look of these far better than the Alice through the Looking Glass palette. I like the colors better in the single and the Moon dust.

I shall have a review after I have received the ones I ordered and tried them on for a bit. To me they do look out of this world. 

Game Review: The ABC Murders based on Agatha Christies Novel

Cover of The ABC Murders- I have the PC version but this had the right cover

I have been into games for a good portion of my life. My favorites are Adventure, Mystery, or Hidden Object.  I always like it when a game is done well and I think Microids who produced the game did a great job on this.  It is done in a slightly different style than a couple of the other Agatha Christie games I have seen such as And Then There Were None or Murder on the Orient Express.  In this one its like you jumped into the novel, which is illustrated ( which I dont think they actually were) but the characters and all the surroundings have a drawn look.  You can move around and pick up things etc like in  the other games.   The characters just look different than seen on this cover. The attention to detail for the surroundings is very spot on for the time period, and how you see it in the films. Poirot's apartment looks like his apartment. In fact every area looks like you have seen on the tv, just in a illustrated way. One cool thing is you can turn objects totally around and on their side, see all the different parts of it these objects do have a a 3d look to them and not so illustrated when examined.

As you can see here, this is the style they  have the characters in.   One thing that took me a bit of time to get used it the difference in the creators idea of what some of the characters look like. I got so used Hugh Frasier for example looking like Hastings, I didn't expect him to have this look. Poirot looks a like but not totally like David Suchet where as Inspector Japp who is played by Phillip Jackson on film again kind of does kind of doesn't look like the Japp I have gotten to know but perhaps they were going more of what Agatha Christie might of had these characters look like even though how  David Suchet played him was pretty much it.  Once I got past that, the game is very good and does follow the storyline as it is very well.  It does miss out  some things seen in the film of it, like the movie theatre where someone is killed there.  Things are interactive, puzzles are hard enough they take you more than a minute to solve.  You have to observe things only for some activities and point out things about a scene you find out of place, or of interest to the case. You get to talk to those who knew the victims. You get to study the victims themselves.  All the things you see Poirot do either if reading the novels or watching the shows, you see him do here.  This was good because you feel like you are part of the game.  Its very addicting I have to say.  The first night I played it I stayed up way late.  Always a good sign of a good game if you cant tear yourself away. ( even though you should )

One other thing I found different is even though this game comes with a CD, it doesn't really use it for the actual game.  The game is actually run on the site Steam.  This surprised me as most of my games have been CD or online only ( like LOTR, yes I play that too!)   This one came with a code you put into your account on Steam which once set up lets you download the game and you play it from their site.  Once you figure that out its easy to play from there and things run fine.


Things I wish they did a bit different:   The drawing of the characters are ok, but I kind of like the polished look that I have seen in other games,  Its higher quality than the cheap Poirot games I have seen on Big Fish ( the Hidden Object ones)  but not as polished as the other games I have mentioned or like Nancy Drew games  ( which new ones I am sorely missing and wishing they would do!!!) I also think they made Poirot's accent a bit funny, I know he is Belgian but there are words not even he would mispronounce as wrongly as the person doing this voice does. I also wonder where  Miss Lemon is, she was in the film and I am sure in the book.  It is also hard sometimes to get the controls you need to interact, you have to hold down the mouse to see them and they come up quickly.  Other than those which are small things, its a great game and I highly recommend it.

Bought from Walmart. Cost $20.00.

Product review- Purple Bed

My husband and and I have been thinking about getting a new bed. We have had the bed we currently have since 2008.  My husband has seen the ads for Purple.  Purple is a mattress company which was born from a Kickstarter. Its been very successful and so far everyone who has tried it has liked it alot. They are located in Alpine Utah.  That's not too far away  so we went to the showroom/call center and tried it out. The staff were nice and friendly. When we tried out the bed it felt nice and it was not hard to sell us on it plus compared to other beds, it costs way less which we also like.  Our current bed has gotten a bit lumpy.  I also find that I wake up with aches or its hard to go to get to sleep. Laying on this bed I felt nicely supported, nothing ached. Mind you it was not the size we want in the showroom but from what it was I could tell a difference.  We are planning on getting one and I look forward to sleeping on it. 

Full view of what it looks like without the top cover on it.

If you are interested click this link: 

http://onpurple.com/science/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwv467BRCbkMvs5O3kioUBEiQAGDZHL73ghT_Prs-oODT_S4XQ2Srw63KVg2C8MJMLOmcOg7YaAoPJ8P8HAQ

Sample of the hyper-plastic polymer ( 2 samples here shown)
Its like having a hand exerciser and playing with them is very addictive.)

Summertime!

It's officially summer and it is starting to get hot!  This month is a birthday month- for me and my spouse. We are both Gemini's. Not that I pay too much attention to that but we both are and I find that interesting. I can't say that my spouse is my twin but he definitely is my soul mate.  My birthday is the Summer Solstice- the longest day of the year.  If you know your calendar then you know what day that is. I was born in the Bicentennial year of our country and if you know what year that was then you know how old I will be.  Yes that one :)

 So far summer I have enjoyed seeing all the girl cousins who are the daughters of one of my aunts and their lovely babies.   I also got to spend some time with my Grandma both in St George and also here at home.   Remember my garden?  Its starting to grow!   I have high hopes for it.  The fruit trees are beginning to make fruit and look like they will produce a good harvest.  There is also Father's day which is coming up and a nephew and sister in laws birthday- she shares my birthday too.  There is lots of unknown still for the summer but I am hoping it will be  a good one, So far the start is pretty great.

More rain and a Reunion

We have been blessed as of late to get quite a bit of rain where I live.  This is good for our water table.   Even with the amount we have had though, Salem which is just below me has restrictions. This is because of one major thing: They are building too many houses.  If you build houses and houses the amount of water everyone has or can have eventually gets stretched. Here is an article which is about California building but can easily be applied here  about this issue.  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-660406-county-new.html  You should build for what is needed not just to make a profit.  Either that or new sources of water need to be found.
In other news I had a happy reunion at a good friend of mines wedding.  We all met at in a town called Odenton which is in Maryland.

 His folks were my seminary teachers and also
were at my wedding, his dad  was our sealer. Which if you are LDS you know what a sealer is and does. For those not, he basically is what the bishop or pastor is when they marry couples.
To us, it means more than the "till death till you part." its more than that. For us, it is forever but its not a guarantee,right there and then. We have to obey and be true to the convents we make when we are sealed together.

We had a nice time at the reception and several folks who we have known for quite some time were there. We being my parents,and brothers. My spouse being from the UK of course did not know the couple or the others who we knew.  It had been about 13 yrs, or since I got married since I had seen some of the folks who attended and it was great to see them.  Some of them it had been even longer, since I was a teenager.  Hopefully it wont be so long till we meet up again.

References:Aerial Photography Map of Odenton, MD Maryland
www.landsat.com  Aerial Photo of Odenton Maryland
 Jeff Colins,  In the continuing drought, can Orange County keep building?
May 3, 2015 Updated May 4, 2015  Orange County Register. 

April Weather and more Music artists I like..

 Lately we have had a lot of rain, We have had some nearly every day for a good several days.  Its good for the water table, and the plants, fields etc.  It can get quite dry in Utah and so any time we get good amounts of rain its certainly a good thing.  I am just about ready to start planting. I have lots of seeds to choose from. I need to get the soil right as its not good. It also needs to stop raining so its not so soggy to work in the garden.

 I have been continuing my liking of ambient, new age, electronic artists. I have liked this particular one for awhile, The group is a duo who are Swedish. http://www.carbonbasedlifeforms.net/   I like their music because it helps me concentrate and I like the songs which are produced by the artists. Their music falls into the ambient category.  If you are looking for a good example of this type of music these guys are definitely one. This isn't the only range of music I like.  My music tastes are quite vast.  I find this type of music is calming, peaceful but not too peaceful so that I get sleepy and fall asleep, though I could if sleep is what I wanted to do . I find myself quite stressed for some reason on a daily basis, its just how I am though not what I like to be .  I find this kind of music greatly helps reduce that...  I also like alot of 80/90's alternative bands, and some oldies. The only kind of rap I can stand is in Gorrilaz music and only if its clean. I know they can be dodgy sometimes to explicit and those type of songs I don't care for, but they do have some catchy ones which are perfectly fine. Other than them, I don't care for that type of music or hip hop etc. perhaps because its not my culture. Will Smith is ok with his catchy dance tunes.  I cant say I am country fan, even though I live in the West. Not a type of music I ever really got into any more than Jazz does.  However give me Enya, or Carbon Based Lifeforms, or the Keane, sure I am happy. My taste for electronica/ambient is something I developed on my own. I simply checked them out and found that they were totally were agreeable with me.  My like of 80-90's I grew up with and my brothers introduced me to several bands I still listen to especially if they are still making great music.

Music Artists I am liking

I have been a a fan of New age, Electronica,Atmospheric, and similar kinds of music. Pretty music which sometimes has words and sometimes does not.  I like to write to it, work to it you name it. When I dont wish to sing along in the car or have my own karaoke session that is the type of music I go for. Its interesting, often very beautiful and calming.  

  Vangelis has been around for some time I first came across him when I heard Chariots of Fire. This video clip taken from Youtube is Conquest of Paradise from the movie 1492.  Vangelis is a Greek composer.  In an article I found online about him at allmusic.com I learned the following information: "Best known for his lush, Oscar-winning score to the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, Vangelis was among the most successful and admired electronic composers of his era. Born Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou in Volos, Greece, on March 29, 1943, his nascent musical talent was recognized at an early age, but he refused to take piano lessons, instead teaching himself."( Jason Ankeny,2016)  

I have really started liking Vangelis music, he has many he has done and several for movie scores. The interesting thing about the piece I have posted here is that Vangelis has used a technique used by some artists in this genre called word painting. There is no translation to the words the chorus is singing in Conquest of Paradise, it is a made up almost sounds like it could be Latin but is not a language. Lisa Gerrard is another artist who did this in the song she sang which you probably have heard in the movie The Gladiator. Enya has also done this too on a couple of albums. Whilst it would be cool if there were actual words in language that is known, it is also a interesting way to do a song, have words but you don't need to worry about a meaning, there isn't a translation the words instead they just flow nice and work with the song and are often very beautiful. They can evoke a meaning without having one.   Another group I have just started listing to is a group called ERA. I discovered this band whilst listening to one of Vangelis's songs on Youtube. I decided to give them a shot too.  I found not only their music interesting and very pretty but the videos they have for their songs are interesting as well. I noticed they like to mix history themes in their videos.  I still need to listen more to them to get a better idea of the group but I like what I have heard so far.  They too like to use word painting, though they do it much more in fact exclusively. Vangelis  will use actual lyrics in his work as well. 

Reference: 

Era picture, found on Google- CD cover. ( 2005)

Vangelis - conquest of paradise. Found on Mor.kh channel  Uploaded: Apr 29, 2007

Jake Ankeny( 2016)

Artist Biography by Jason Ankenyhttp://www.allmusic.com/artist/vangelis-mn0000840000/biography

Spring!!

 This year it looks like we finally get a Spring in Utah.  No its not a guaranteed thing in this state. Our usual pattern is to have Winter and then Bam! into Summer, with little of any other seasons.  However, this year we have had actual spring.  Its so neat to see the trees  which are flowering in the whites, and purples and pink blossoms.   The flowers are coming out as well. Around my house, I have seen:  Daffodils and Crocuses.  Also the birds are in the trees and life in general is springing up all around. Our forest home, which is what I live in is becoming alive again with color, fresh scents of flowers, buds on the trees etc.                                                          

Book series continuing..

I finished  Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children and really liked it.  I liked the storyline, I liked the photography. Now I am reading the second book in the series Hollow City, also by Randsom Riggs.  The story continues where it left off and the kids have to flee the house where they have been because it gets raided by hollowgasts- the bad creatures. Now I am not sure if the hollowgasts were always made up baddies or another way of saying the Germans who also are on their tail.  They end up in a forrest not knowing where they are, but soon discover another loop.  In this loop are not just peculiar children or shift changing birds but peculiar, talking animals. That's as far as I have read so far so I don't know what is in store for these adventurers.  The whole peculiar world gets more complex for Jacob who has only discovered its existence in the first book and is just beginning to find out what is peculiar about him and how he can use it.  I have a good deal to go in this book but so far I like as much as the other one,  it has good writing and a good storyline. It also has the old interesting photographs like the first one.  There is one to go after this at least one more out so far.
I am not sure how far you could take this series but I would be happy for 2 or 3 or even more to go along. So far its a series of 3 books though.   To me this beats Harry Potter any day.  Now some of you might of adored HP but it never was my cup of tea.   These children dont have magic or learn magic, to do the peculiar things they do, they just naturally were born with these abilities, how ever unusual they may be and some are not so unusual but are just abilities like being very strong or being able to see visions which happen. Some people can do these things, not many for the visions part but some can sense things before they happen.   For YA fiction I find I like these books a lot- and I am not a YA. ( Young Adult)  I would recommend them to someone who was or was not who liked clever fantasy which is kind of mixed with history, and also has real and not real places. For instance the island where the kids were and now fled from- its real, you can really go to it  but its actually in Cornwall.  I think its neat because I was not sure if it was or made up for the book but sure enough I found it.  I have been to  Cornwall but till this book I didn't know about the island actually the town Jacob and his dad go to- thats Cornwall.  - but the home where the kids started and were for some time ( read the first book or if you have you know why) - that was in Belgium.   Wales was Ransom Riggs spot- and I am not sure where he envisioned to be sure.  It could of been North or South Wales. However it's not where Tim Burton thought to go. Shame, there is a island or two which he could of used. Actually there is a great many.   You have to be careful what you see on the web about it if you are interested because folks will try to tell you its all in Wales. Perhaps for Ransom  it was- if you check www.imdb.com You will see where they actually choose.  Otherwise its really up to your minds eye in the book- you know roughly where but nothing to pinpoint anywhere for certain. Though they go London also, again Mr Burton doesnt use London.  The film is has yet to come out and I do hope its as good as the book and I wonder if more than one were incorporated.  I shall have to see when its in the theaters.

Cairnholm

A talking dog the kids come across

Conference Trip 2016

This year for April Conference we were fortunate to get tickets to the Sat afternoon session. I have never been to Conference. I have seen it many times on television or at the chapels when we used to watch it there.  We made it an extra treat by booking a hotel which was nicer than a motel 6 but not too pricey like a Hilton.  Little America is where we went to.   

Which was a nice hotel, we were in the older part of it which was outside of the hotel and not in the main part of it. There were chandeliers and nice furniture in the main part, nice restaurants and gift shops.  We explored  Salt Lake a bit, we went to City Creek Mall where we enjoyed going to a few shops which were interesting.  I brought back some things from Lush.  So far up in SLC is the only place in Utah it is, perhaps its in another place but I don't know of any here but there. This makes it a treat as we don't get to often.   On the say of conference there were many people.  I haven''t seen so many people gathered in quite some time. It reminded me of Oxford street in London .  There were those who thought some how we would listen to the their protests for things they had against the church. They were vastly outnumbered and I felt sad for them, they were wasting their time.  It was a beautiful day and here they were doing something so pointless. Its one thing to have a different view, go ahead, you are entitled to it .  However- if I am not interested don't expect me to suddenly be. Also choose another way to express your views, no one wants to listen to your rants and complaints.  Those with me, want to come be uplifted, educated and have a spiritual experience. The opposite of these folk gathered outside with whatever objection or things they think they should be changed.   We also got to meet up with our good friend Chris Cooke.  It was good to see him and we went to lunch with him after the conference session was over.

Little America Hotel

We also went to the Clark Planetarium.  We wanted to go Sat night but we could not, because every single parking spot was taken because of a Justin Beiber concert. I already dont like him and that just made it so I like him even less.  I also was able to get the second book in the Miss Peregrines home for Unusual Children trilogy. I really enjoyed the first one and will be happy to continue ready the story of Jacob and his unusual friends.  Over all we had a great time, and it was such lovely weather and over all everything went well.

And then there were five.

Ok there are 5 but I found this picture of 4 and they are doing the best who is left..so far.
This presidential race has reminded me of Agatha Christie's  Ten Little Indians or otherwise known as  And Then There Were None. Except everyone is alive, they just drop out of the race one by one .  To be perfectly honest, I dont like any of them. Not really though if I had to choose it would be between Cruz for the Republicans or Bernie on the Democrats even though I have never voted Democrat before. I could just about deal with him even though in many ways he is a nut and has unrealistic promises. Plus he is a Socialist. I know Socialism, I have lived in England twice where even if the government is Conservative, the underlying socialism runs through the government, once introduced it never went away from Blair to Cameron it doesn't matter. I refuse to "jump on the Trump train"
I haven't liked him for a good while. I dont like how he talks to people and thinks swearing is ok. I dont like how utterly unprofessional he comes across. Yep he is a businessman, not over the top successful, he has had success but he has had failures too.  He doesnt mind who he deals with, he has no scruples.  No you cant sell me the idea of him being my president, just because he is not apart of the Establishment.

The Establishment has not always been bad, we have had some decent people in Washington, its been a bit but we have.  We cant just throw all under the bus and say all are bad. That's a fallacy and if you know your philosophy classes, you know which fallacy it is. There are some men and women whom we have elected who do try do good and good things.  They get outnumbered sometimes, more than we like by those who do not have our interests at heart, but instead have their own pet projects they want to focus on. We need to vote those kind out, and choose better representatives.

This only happens if you take the time to look at who wants or is in office, look at what their views are, their morals and vote for them or if in office support them. It simply does not happen if we do nothing and then wonder why we have who we do.  So for the first time in  the yrs I have voted, my vote could go either way. To the left or the right,  I don't care who the front runner is in the Republican party,  My gut tells me don't vote for him, I don't care how many delegates he has. I don't care that he has all this money to use for his campaign. That as Shania Twain says " Don't impress me much."  It really does not, wither you get funding or not does not mean you are a great candidate. There is nothing about him which shines out to me. . Now I don't know a lot about Ted Cruz, I know he is a Christian, I know he has some things which he wants to do for the country which sound like things which could be done,  He hasn't offended minorities and no riots have broken out at his meetings, rallies etc. He hasn't always been a citizen but he now is, at least he has never hid the fact he was born elsewhere unlike Obama who wants us to think he was born in Hawaii.  I like him better than Trump, I liked Rubio but he didn't do well, he did have some good things to say and things he wanted to do. I liked that he had  belief in Jesus Christ and was not afraid to say so at a debate.
Oh yes I left out Hillary- that is because she never was a choice for me.  The fact she can still run is mind blowing. I do not fancy Bill and Hill back in the White House. A dishonest woman, a liar, a murderer a security risk.. and all the rest.  No for Hillary.

As for our "5th Beatle" John Kaisch, I cant leave out him either to be fair.  I like the man alot,  He has experience, he has done some important things and has had leadership positions.  However people just dont want to vote for him and he would actually be my guy if he were doing better but right now he is not.  I wish he was because he has some solid plans for the country as well.  In my caucus though most did not choose him for the candidate. They didnt choose Trump either,

Politics is a crazy thing, There are so many different views of who is right and who is wrong.
These are my views and you don't have to agree with them. I dont want any page long comments telling me how I should vote one way or the other. I am not telling you to do that.. I am just stating what I think of the matter, without endless facts and figures because these are just my thoughts.

New book I am reading ( to go along with other books I am)

I have started reading a new book, which is widely known.   Its a book by Ransom Riggs. Yep that is his name.
I had head about this book before but when Tim Burton's trailer for the movie for it I was more intrigued. Its about a boy name Jacob whose grandfather would tell him fantastic tales of being sent by his parents to an orphanage in Wales during the war.  To get away from the monsters his grandfather said and he would describe these beasts and always adding in more and more detail.  If one knows their history it does not take long to figure out who the "monsters" really are.  Yes the Nazis and the boys Grandfather was the only one to escape Poland- the rest of his family died in concentration camps. The book shifts to what it was like for the grandfather to be in the orphanage on a remote island, run by Miss Peregrine. A Peregrine is a type of falcon. If you have seen the trailer you know how fitting her name is, if not I wont tell you now.   Jacob's Grandpa (who is known as Grandpa Portman) and other kids were there, and they are not your average kids. Jacob's grandfather described them and how they had very interesting abilities, almost too interesting to be believed. Jacob had his doubts because the whole thing everything seemed to fantastical.

However his grandfather shows him an album of old photographs of these children, doing and looking how his grandfather has described. They were all sent to this remote island in Wales to the orphanage too.  Could his Grandpa be telling the truth this whole time? Do these unusual kids still somehow exist? Does this place exist still where his Grandpa went?   I have not finished the book, and so I am still finding out those answers. It all means but it seems like a very interesting book and there is a follow up book which I intend to find and read called Hollow City and one after that too. There seems to be a series perhaps, ( a trilogy already) in the making and one which so far is interesting to me, its not quite a mystery like I love but yet it is, where not everything about the book is pure fiction ( There were real monsters called Nazis and they did do horrible things to people) It will be interesting to read and see if Grandpa Portman saw and was with these kids he said was or if it was something he made up to get away from the fact he was stuck in a orphanage far from his home. We shall see which is true. 

Place used in the film for the orphanage.

From Tim Burtons movie, some of the cast

Stormy weather

I woke up this morning and the sky was rather dark like this. I could not see Timp very well, it was obscured by dark clouds. There were patches of the mountains you still could see, with the snow still on them. We are expecting more snow but it will not be a lasting snow this time as we have had temperatures in the 60's before . Spring is a bit unusual in  Utah.  Its a mix of things and then Bam! Its summer time.
Like these clouds, there has been a lot of political unrest right now as it is election time. Who should be elected next? Who should we trust?  There have been rumblings and clashes like flashes of lightening. For me I still dont know exactly who I would want to be President but I can rule out some.  There are other contenders on each side of the major parties other than who is doing the best in the polls. Sadly they are not doing as well as the ones who are the forerunners. Their number of delegates are not as many as they need and they dont seem to be getting any landslide votes.
The Utah caucus is coming up and I shall be voting. I shall have to think about who I wish to vote for.
Its important to not get too caught up in the whole political circus which has been brought to us. Do we want to be one of those angry people?  I admit I am fed up with what has been done with the country under our current president. I never was very impressed with him.  His Golden Boy status that the media gave him- seemed more like leaf gold than real which has peeled off to reveal the true nature of him.  Still I am not out for a fight, I dont want to cause contention with those I know who may have a different champion than me.  The phrase " Cant we all just get along?"  seems like something which would be really nice, if only we knew how to do it.

Its been awhile...

March 11, 2016

I nearly forgot I had a blog, till I was watching some YouTube folks were talking about their blogs and it occurred to me I should get back to writing on mine.   So what is new or has been new?  Well lets see.   I am still working for Stevens Henager, or Independence  University,

This will be my 5th yr.  I am about ready for a change though but not sure what change I should do.  I have many interests. I like mystery books and I am reading a good few. I am currently reading Brass in Pocket.  Its by Welsh  author  Stephen Puleston. He is a new author to me, I have 3 of his books.  So far I am liking the books except for some bad language which I take my trusty pen to. 

 It is set in North Wales. I will have to finish reading it to get a full opinion of it.  Other things I am up to are I am interested in doing things in Graphic Arts, I am interested in making jewelry and  have done but not as often as I like.  Many things I am doing. I have started to remember my daily scripture study as I should. I decided to read the Doctrine in Covenants because in Gospel Doctrine we are reading the Book of Mormon.

So now that I have remembered my blog and bookmarked where it is, I shall be a more frequent writer and use this to tell about the interests I have, reviews about books or places I go. 

One of the Kitty Collages I do.

Brass in Pocket

Good music

I recently had a debate with someone I have known for along time, about good music- good role models who produce or make music.. And I could not totally agree with their view. They suggested if I buy someone's music who had morals which are not mine or lifestyle is not mine.. that I contribute to the problem we have today with the influence of artists who are outside my values.....
Well for starts some of these guys and gals are made to be what they are.  You have to be pretty established to be your own style, your own sound.  At least in many cases.  Blame the producers and record labels they are the ones behind the awful artists we see today for the most part... 
That being said, if a artist I like does not talk about things which are negative, or cursing, and in general just stuff I want to stay away from... should they be in a lifestyle I am not I will not hold against them- I evaluate what they are singing, what is the message, what are saying to me. What do the instruments sound like... what they do with their lives is not my concern as long as it does not wreck what I am listening to. I am not going to have them over to dinner or be close pals.   I like music all across the board.  I do not know what their private lives are about for many of them nor do I concentrate on it. I did not buy their album for that. 

That being said,  I have discovered some really excellent music groups of many kinds. I love for example the Black Keys.

  Now why do I?   They have an awesome sound, real guitar, real drum beat and some interesting lyrics and style. You might think that the lead singer was African American from his voice alone, I did at first.  He is the dude with the beard there.  He has a southern style to his voice and man these guys can play!
 On the other complete opposite side of the spectrum-  I have discovered such ambient bands like Solar Fields, and this group: 

Totally relaxing, calming music.   Yes this same person likes a totally different stuff. I dont think I am unique in that though.   Now back to the arguement- am I the consumer responsible for these bad groups being bad influences if I buy the music. I really dont think so because they will have their image,and style wither I purchase anything of theirs or not- like I said, for those in the Bieber catagory and even those I Like- alot are not at the stage they can decide on their own what they sing, or look like and personal lives have nothing to do with my life unless they actively are against things I find are important to me- which for my life- does not happen and if does I often dont care what their personal opinion is. Does it effect the music I hear?   If not, why should I care? I know my rule stick I go by for things and I can judge it good or not, I wont be listening to Satanic, demonic stuff, or demoralizing, gang promoting artists and albums-- No, I wont.

A New Venture

I have decided to go into the jewlery making business..  I have made quite a few things, making more all the time. My little web store That's my link to my little "store". Just like it is is how you get to it.  You really can buy the things which I have posted and I can remake things which get sold out.  Have a look around there and if you see something you like you can pay through Pay Pal.  It's safe and secure and my prices are pretty reasonable, I dont wish to charge a lot, only if they become popular would I need to increase any prices. I need your help to advertise my site though.  Its not well known right now.  I will do my part and keep making things and post them for you and others to see.   There is no pressure to buy, only is you like what you see and want to but a little word of mouth telling people about my little business would be great!