Oh, Ira!

I found a new verb.  It's "Ira-Glass-ing," with the meaning of being totally freaking awesome while also still being a complete nerd.

Yes, this is completely ridiculous.  I am 100% accepting of that fact.  Perhaps I should explain.

Last weekend, I trekked up to the U with a few friends to see Ira Glass live.  The venerable Mr. Glass spoke about the art of story telling, his favorite episodes of This American Life and the fact that he cries during ridiculously sappy sentimental movies.

Now, there were too many great quotes to repeat here slash nothing I write could even come close to the greatness of that evening.  So, instead, I'm going to gush like a 12 year old school girl in the presence of Justin Bieber.*

All I could think about the entire time was this Lulu song from the sixties.  My heart goes boom bang-a-bang, boom bang-a-bang when you are near, Ira.

I took away several valuable gems from the evening.  Perhaps the most poignant of these take-aways was a much more complete understanding of that Alanis Morisette lyric:  I met the man of my dreams...and then met his beautiful wife.

And can I just say, on the off chance that Ira has a Google Alert set up for every time his name appears on the internet and happens upon this pitiful blog of mine:  Ira, with that new beard of yours, you are a stone cold fox.

Read more

Diwali!

Can we all yell a collective "Huzzah!" for the first of many items to be crossed off of this semester's bucket list?


...Please?

This past weekend, the Mahārājess and I went down to the Spanish Fork Krishna Temple to celebrate the festival of lights, which is (very affectionately) called Diwali.  Basically, Diwali is Thanksgiving and New Year all in one.  


We, being awesome, got ourselves all cute-like (complete with rockin' hats) and drove up to the lower-case 't' temple and parked on the road a few hundred yards off.  We walked up to the lit up temple and both emphatically sighed a deep, cathartic sigh of relief.  I say 'relief' because both the Mahārājess and I needed some non-Provoian perspective.  And then, there we were, surrounded by people who love their religion and that religion is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Granted, there were also a ton of other Mormons.  But, no matter, we were in the midst of an outside culture.

Let's take a few steps back and talk about Diwali.  Diwali is this very complex, very layered festival.  Even to the novice that I am, I was able to spot dozens of symbolisms that struck straight through to the heart of the LDS scholar within me.  


Diwali is a contraction of deepa (lamps) and wali (row), which makes perfect sense because the people of India would light up their homes and the altars of the temples would be adorned with lit candles in order to welcome home the god Sri Rama.  There is significant ancient precedent for the festivals of the new year being the time of the return of deity to earth, as a part of the earth and a people's renewal.  So, okay, score 1 point for the Ancient Near Eastern Studies major, right?  You can read more about all of that here.


Right.

Perhaps the most poignant part of the experience was when we were blessed with abundance and then anointed on the forehead (take a look at the picture of me, above) with kumkum, which is a vermillion paste of dust.  Dust.  Anointing.  Abundance.  Very, very interesting stuff when you look at it through the lens of temple ordinance diffusion.  Take a look at the Mahārājess getting anointed. 


Pretty awesome, no?


The capstone of the evening was each of us receiving a small mound of candle in the center of a lotus leaf.  We all surrounded the small, man-made pond, made wishes with fireworks overhead and set them afloat toward the gods on the other side of the pond. 




It was an incredibly awesome experience.  We both left with a bit of a kick in our step (not to mention a little bit of cow pie).  Check out all of our pictures.

Let's just hope our wishes come true.

Read more

Bucket List for the Semester - 10 Things To Do by the Holidays

I do really well with goals. They make progress feel tangible. They help to pass the time with smaller benchmarks. Moreover, they make me research things in which I have genuine interest, but otherwise wouldn't be motivated to actually do. So, when I was preparing to leave DC, I created a bucket list. I had a great time crossing things off the list (I was, however, a bit ambitious).

All that being said, I've decided to create a fall semester bucket list for my time in Utah. I think 7 items will be a reasonable goal, which I've listed below:

1. Visit with the Hare Krishnas in Spanish Fork during the Diwali Festival.
2. Attend the meeting of the Genesis Group in Salt Lake City.
3. Party down with the Bahais.
4. Start a documentary group.
5. Get lost in a maize maze. (Ha! Puns are awesome!)
6. Visit Antelope Island.
7. Ride the Snowbird tram to 11,000 feet.

To you past, present and future Utahns, have ye any suggestions?

Read more

#18 - Yup, Summer's Definitely Here...

I accomplished LOTS while crossing off #18 from my list - visit the Courthouse Farmer's Market:

Like, finding the cutest baby bell peppers ever and the most delicious orange cherry tomatoes...

...eating lots and lots of basil, zucchini and peaches...

...roasting up some farm-fresh garlic (mmmmmmmm)...

...and broiling savory shitaake mushrooms.

Uber yummy, no?

Read more

#11 - Rock Out Hipster-Style

 

I am woefully tardy in posting.  Nonetheless, posting at all is a success, non?

To fulfill number 11 on the bucket list - going to see a show at the 9:30 Club - I went to see The New Pornographers.  I wish I could say "Oh, my goodness, it was fabulous!"....alas, I cannot.

While I have loved and will continue to love The New Pornographers, they are not incredible live.  They had a hard time warming up the audience and didn't deviate one iota from the songs' recordings.

Speaking of warming up the audience, it was so hot in the club.  Like, surface of the sun hot.  It was one of those 100-degree days and the club's air conditioning was out.  To top it off, the place was packed.  The closest thing that I had to air conditioning was the guy behind me breathing his beer breath on the back of my neck.

Awesome.

Here's what I will say, though:  As always, the music won me.  When everyone's miserably hot, and switching between bands takes forever, there is just always this moment where the entire crowd is into the music, and the room feels like it is pulsing with the heartbeat of the song.  

And that's my favorite part.  It's magic.

Read more

#7 - Party with the Founding Fathers

 

First to cross off the list!  ADS and I toured the national the Masonic temple in Alexandria this morning.  It was very, very interesting.  

Not being a fan of the Dan Brown books (gag me), I really had very little idea what to expect on the innards of the Masonic temple.  The exterior of the temple was grand, but not what I would consider beautiful.  It's rather clunky, but portions of it were poetic (I loved, for example, the columns at the entrance).

Quirky things about the temple:1.  The elevators move diagonal Willy Wonka-style.  I noticed it right away (and by "noticed" I mean "tried desperately not to fall down by holding onto something solid").  ADS told me I was crazy.  ...And then the tour guide pointed it out near the end of the tour.

2.  Of the 5 floors that we toured, each level (with 1 exception) had just one room.  Each time we emerged from the elevator, my mind was completely blown.  For lots of different reasons.  [More about that below.]

3.  Each and every tree as far as the eye could see (that might be an overstatement) had a stone memorial at its base.  Both ADS and I thought that they were graves.  Nope.  They were sponsorship markers.  Weird.

4.  My favorite artifact in the museum portion of the temple?  I kid you not:  "Beer can found in the attic of the temple.  Circa 1946."  Whut?  Uh huh.

Thoughts on Each Level:

Entrance - Kind of cool, but not really.  They statue was pretty interesting and very well done (see above), but it was more of just a waiting area than anything else.

2nd Floor - This part of the temple was actually 2 levels, and comprised the museum component of the temple.  It had two components:  1) George Washington artifacts, and 2) artifacts related to the building of the temple (see beer can above).

4th Floor - This is the portion that really knocked the wind out of me.  We emerged from the elevators into a medium-sized enclosure that was covered with Egyptian-style murals.  In the confluence of Egyptian, Hebraic and Aramaic symbolism (and text), I stood in amazement at the deep, rich symbolism in this room. 

Here were not only murals flanking the walls, but a small enclosure holding a replica of those instruments used in the tabernacle/temples of the Old Testament, including the ark of the covenant.  (See picture at left.)

As some of you know, I am pretty obsessed with the Old Testament.  And ancient Hebrew.  And both ancient and apostate temple rituals.  So, this was pretty overwhelming for me.

5th Floor - Up one more floor was the room of the Knights Templar (a term well known to you Dan Brown freaks...and I say "freaks" in the most loving way possible).  There were some beautiful stained glass windows in this room, all very Christ-centered.  The tour guide said something while we were standing in this room that really struck me.  He said, "As stone masons make better stone blocks for better buildings, free masons make better men for better societies."  I think that is very beautiful, very poetic - and very true of the Gospel in my life...Only, I'm not just being made better for society, I'm being made better for a grander purpose.

6th Floor - Up to the highest floor to which we were taken.  After all of this symbolism and, just, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, Gospel-rich wonderfulness, I must say that this level was a bit of a let-down.  It was quite small - though it did sport a throne and a miniature baptismal font (which, once the tour guide found out we were both LDS, was specifically pointed out as what the Mormons all seem to recognize when they go on the tour...oh, honey, if only she knew the half of it!).  There was a viewing deck outside that had expansive views of the city on all directions.

1st Floor - I deliberately skipped the first floor above, because this is where the Spirit really, truly kicked me in the gut and testified to me.  After the formal tour, ADS and I explored a bit and found one of the two lodge rooms in the temple.  We went in, looked around and then sat and talked for a few minutes.  I won't say too much here, but will instead let the pictures do the talking...

All in all, pretty darn incredible. 

And definitely some food for thought.

Read more

The Bucket List

So, as previously discussed, I'm moving!  So bizarre.

In aggregate, I have lived in DC for 5 years (just over 3 when I went to AU, and just under 2 this time around).  And, despite that fact, there are a number of things that I have never done...things which even the most cursory tourist has experienced.  Between now and August 6th (effectually the last day I will be living in DC), I have a list of 20 things I would like to do...

1.  Take a picture of Einstein's toes.  I just love this statue.


2.  Pose with a Greek God.  I've always been intrigued by this statue - it's incredible!


DONE!  3.  Go a little hipster at E Street.  The E Street Cinema has the best documentaries ever.

4.  Watch Teddy utterly fail one last time.  Nothing better than watching a grown man put a 40-pound plaster head in the likeness of a president run around a baseball diamond.  And, you know, there's the baseball, too.


5.  Take in the sights under the stars.  My very first night in DC years ago, my then-roommate, friends from orientation and I toured the monuments at night.  They're so beautiful - the best for taking pictures.


DONE!  6.  Visit the tripod one last time.  I love Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary - it's my refuge from the city.

DONE!  7.  Learn about my forefathers in perpetuam rei memoriam.  I am totally intrigued by the Masons, and really, really, really would like to tour the largest Masonic temple in the world.

8.  Remember the past.  So, I'll need to do this on a day where I can be depressed for the rest of the day, but it's a remarkable resource for remembering the atrocities of WWII.


DONE!  9.  Walk in hallowed halls.  Even now, years later, when it dawns on me that I live in the same city where the laws are being made, it knocks the wind out of me.


10.  Revisit my youth.  Oh, come on!  90's movie night?  Outside?  HELLO!


DONE!  11.  Jam out to awesome indie rock.  New Pornographers?  930 Club?  No brainer!


12.  Become a mallrat.  Picnicking on the Mall sounds like a perfect Saturday to me!


DONE!  13.  Soak up the craftiness of Etsy in real time.  I love Eastern Market, and I'm d.e.t.e.r.m.i.n.e.d. to go and buy a piece of art.


14.  Bask in architectural genius.  By far my favorite building in DC.  I just have to capture those arches on film before I go.

15.  Make a fool of myself in the Japanese tradition.   I've never karaoked before.  Now's my time to shine!


16.  Indulge in some childhood comfort food.  Sticky Fingers Bakery in Columbia Heights has the. best. vegan grilled cheese.

17.  Fall in love with a flying buttress.  Attend a service at the National Cathedral.  I hear it's beautiful.

DONE!  18.  Mistake a blackberry for a loofah.  Just about this time of year, the farmer's market starts carrying blackberries so large you have to eat them in three bites.

19.  Revisit my alma mater.  Errrr...my first alma mater.  

20.  Risk my life savings.  I always spend too much money when I walk into Politics and Prose.  It's bad news.  Bad news, I tell you.

Alright.  These are mine.  What would you do? 

Read more