Selling My DVDs to Buy a New Bike...

Hey followers, I am purging all my DVDs. I want to be more active so why not sell off what keeps me inactive and buy something to make me more active! If you are interested, check out the list below, they are all between $2-$5, so not too expensive at all. Check out the cool bike I want to buy too...it's called the Raleigh Talus 3.0.  (click on the image of the movie list and it will enlarge)

In the last 28 hours...

I am unbelievably tired right now. This morning I woke up at about 7:30 to drive to Salt Lake to work an event out in West Valley followed by another one in Salt Lake, then I had to drive down to South Jordan to work an event at the Real Salt Lake soccer game. I was there until about 7 pm, drove back to Salt Lake to drop off the work vehicle, picked up my car and drove home. I got home and sat on my couch until I arrived at my second job at midnight. I now sit at work, 6 hours into my 12 hour shift, blogging in order to stay awake. I may or may not need to take it easy on working. When this shift finishes I will have worked 24 hours in the last 28 hours. I am tired!

For the love of Apple

     There aren't many products on the market that will draw a cult following, but one company has gathered a cult following for nearly everything they create.
     Apple Inc. has been able to grasp consumers with their cutting edge design, integrated products and easy to use interfaces for years, but it wasn't always like that.
     The first line of Macintosh Computers was launched January 24, 1984 and some may even be familiar with the tagline made famous by Apple Inc. in their commercial, stating that 'you'll see why 1984 wont be like "1984."'
     According to Ken Polsson, in his book titled, "Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers," the Macintosh line of computers launched by Apple Inc. were the first line of personal computers to use a mouse and a graphical user interface, stepping away from the previously used command-line interface.
     For some time, the computers were extremely popular, until the early 1990s when consumer demand changed to the Wintel platform, or what many people know today as MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows.
     After a few years, Apple Inc. changed the game, and created the iMac, or the all-in-one desktop that consumers loved, and profits for Apple Inc. skyrocketed.
     But what exactly is it that creates the cult following the Apple Inc. has developed for its products?
     Brett Bird, a senior from Spokane, Wash., studying Film, and an avid Mac user, said Apple challenges you to think differently.
     "Apple has shrouded their product releases in secrecy, while most companies are very public with their releases," Bird said. The aesthetics of their designs and the principles they use in engineering are completely unique. While PC's are basically a collaboration of the cheapest components, Apple has basically engineered the entire experience from purchase to recycling."
     Bird continued to say that it was Apple's rock-solid performance and aesthetic design that drove him to "convert" to becoming an Apple user in 2003, and he hasn't looked back since.
     But the feelings aren't the same across the board.
     Adrian Grow, a senior from Newport Beach, Calif. studying psychology uses a PC for his school work and psychological research.
     "Certain programs don't exist for Mac's, you have to have a PC if you work in a certain field or occupation," Grow said. "Macs cant do everything, they are limited and they aren't for everyone."
     In a recent BBC documentary, "superbrands" like Apple Inc. and Google Inc. were studied and researched to find out why these brands have such a huge following.
     An article written by Emil Protalinski on techspot.com said Apple imagery has the same reaction in a consumer's brain as a picture of their own religious deity might have.
     "UK neuroscientists have found that Apple imagery activates the same parts of the brain in Apple fanboys that religious imagery does in followers of that religion," Protalinski said. "In heated arguments on the Internet, some users sometimes say that Apple is like a cult, and it seems there might be at least some truth to that."
     According to the article by Protalinski, the phenomenon of a religious response to a brand or product has only been confirmed for the Apple Inc. brand.
     But still, the questions exists, why is this happening.
     In the LDS Church, we have a spokesperson; the prophet,  counsel; the Ensign and other various forms of church media and new information that comes out; generally every six months at General Conference.
     For Apple Inc., they too have a spokesperson; Steve Jobs, counsel; the instruction booklets with their products and new information that comes out; generally every six months at the World Wide Developers Conference.
     Certainly, this does not insinuate that Apple Inc. is following the pattern of the LDS Church but at the same time, the structure of the "brand" is the same.
     The announcement of a new product may create that same stir as something an LDS Church member looks forward to hearing at general conference.
     In no way does this trivialize religion, but Apple Inc. may have been intrigued by religion and how they have achieved so many followers in something so many have never physically seen.
     When Steve Jobs announces that something new is on the horizon, technology junkies' ears perk up, just like those of members of any given religion perk up when their spiritual leaders speak.
     It may not be a spiritual enlightenment, but something is certainly happening in the minds of Apple consumers.

I went and saw U2. It was cool.

     Having a job in the radio industry certainly has its perks. Although I do work strange hours and haven't slept in on a Saturday for more than a year, I get to go to some pretty cool concerts. This time around was a pretty big show, I have always heard of U2, and been a fan, but never a die-hard, or someone who would actually purchase their CD.
     My dad always loved U2 and I recall purchasing him numerous albums for birthdays/Christmas because he loved them so much. I didn't know what to expect going to this show. Having been to Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Ingrid Michaelson, John Mayer and Jack Johnson in the last year, I didn't have high expectations seeing as I am not much of a fan. My mom got to come and I brought my friends Adrian and Chris.  I can only describe this concert in one word; phenomenal. They didn't waste my time by talking about nothing or some cause that they are pushing, but they just played music and they played it in a phenomenal way. If you ever have the opportunity to see U2, don't pass it up, go.

Why I believe Harold Camping's false prophesy was good for Christians

     I am a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I fully believe that one day Jesus Christ will return to earth, but as the bible says, no man can know the hour or the day, not even the angels  in heaven, but only the Father knows.
     When Camping made his prediction, I chuckled a bit, then I wanted to know why he thought the "rapture," which I do not believe in, seeing as it is not mentioned in the scriptures nor has it been mentioned by the apostles and prophets of today who lead the church I belong to, would occur May 21, 2011. His reasoning was a bit odd, with the numbering a bit random as it appeared to me, and claiming to know exact dates of biblical events is also a bit nonsensical. I asked myself, why am I taking such an interest in this?
     I discovered that my curiosity peaked, not because a false prophet had made a prediction that failed, but because God can send his Son to return anytime, and we must always be ready.
     My roommate mentioned to me that he hoped it wasn't on May 21, 2011 because he wasn't ready, I asked him why and he said that he wanted to be as close to Christ as possible when he returns. I thought for a moment and realized that this false prophecy is simply a reminder to me that I need to always be ready for the return of Christ.
     I don't consider myself a fanatical or extremist Christian, but I do consider myself a Christian, and like the bible says, no man can know the hour or the day...and with that being said, it's important to always be ready. If you are interested in the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, check out lds.org or mormon.org.

My Newspaper Articles

A few of you, seeing as there are only about three of you who read my blog, have requested that I put up links to all the articles that I have had published so far, so, after working tirelessly to locate all the links, here they are:


Churches seeking to be eco-friendly
Jive in concert
Students excited to learn about Utah Lake
Gov. Herbert defends new immigration law

Provo, SLC mayors take sunny Rivalry Ride

Community Action Month to raise funds for fighting poverty

Politicians discovering benefits of social media 

Mayor holds Bike to Work Day for national bike month 

Salt Lake Astronomical Society to host star parties 
Impact of former al-Qaida leader's death felt in Utah
Youth petition for climate change in Utah

I will keep updating this as more come in. Thanks for reading! 

I blog, I really do...just not very often

Spring term is in full swing and I cannot believe how much work it is to write for the Daily Universe. Although I do enjoy the writing and the experience I am gaining, I have come to the realization that I am thankful that I am not going into reporting. I would love to link you to all of my articles, but at the same time, I don't want to spend the time finding the links.
     In other news, I have somehow become obsessed with re-watching all of the episodes of The Office. My roommates and I love the opening scenes and the fact that they have nothing to do with the episode. Pure genius.Although The Office is an excellent show, I must say I am a huge fan of Community, but my all time favorite show is Parks and Recreation. There is nothing better.  Below are two amazing clips. Watch Kevin's face in the first video and after you watch the Tom Haverford clip, check out this website, Tom Haverfoods, it will make your day.