How to Overcome My Gum Addiction

I was recently informed by my newly-returned-missionary brother that gum is prohibited on the mission. This came as a big blow to me. I do not know what i am going to do. Those that know me well can attest i never go anywhere without a pack of gum. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that i spend almost every waking hour, besides eating and singing lessons, chewing gum. I have this extreme phobia of bad breath. I would die to be caught with bad breath; i don't know why, but it would be devastatingly embarrassing. In fact, i am embarrassed to even put the connection of myself and bad breath into people's minds. The only solution i can think of is to buy a two year supply of Listerine pocket strips.

Disney What?

I am surprised at how hard it has been for me to identify with a disney character. I just had a hard time thinking of a really good match, but i am going to go with a cat from the Aristocats because "I am curious like a cat...that why my friends call me whiskers" (Will Ferrell, SNL)

Stress Weight Loss

It is interesting how some people eat a lot under stress and gain wait while some people do the exact opposite. Personally, this week has reminded me that i am defiantly in the no eating camp. Food is not the top priority, but rather a nuisance. Thank goodness i live in Helaman Halls and don't have to prepare my own food, or i would probably starve.

Scary Day

This primary election has been a roller coaster ride. We have seen so many political plummets and rises--the best examples being John McCain, and Obama's catching of the Clinton Juggernaut. However, after the results of Ohio and Texas primaries last night, Clinton has proven her campaign has not yet flown off the tracks. This means we are in for more months of anxiety waiting to see whether or not Americans will take the leap of faith and support Obama with the hope his idealistic rhetoric is more than fluff, or keep "politics as usual" and nominate Hillary. Is the inexperienced Obama a wolf in sheep's clothing? Is he really capable of transparent politicking? Is he an idealist's quixotic fantasy? I don't know, but I say it is worth a gamble. Continue to donate and support Barack Obama!

The Magical Color of Food

I wonder what the most apetizing color is? Yeah, I mean what color is the most apealing to eat. I am sure there have been psychological type studies on it. There is probably personal preference involved, but there are probably some common trends. I remember as a kid I loved eating blue things--blue popsicles, blue slushies, blue poptarts, blue oatmeal. One of the greates marketing moves of all time would have to be when M&M's replaced their tan with blue.

Cougar Eat Price Ceilings

Apparently there is a policy here at BYU that the cougar eat food court cannot charge more than $6.00 (net of tax) for one menu item. Consequently, i would like to share on cougar eat steal: Tomosito's combo #2. It is a calzone, pasta, breadstick, salad, and drink for only $5.99. Such a feast would usually be worth more than this, but this is as much as they can charge! The economics department might decry this decision of BYU, but i am ejoying taking advantage of it.

Go Barak!

This week i dont feel like talking about food. I just want to give a shout out to my man Barak Obama. He has rocked in this weeks contest, and i think we are on our way to having our first black president. He is the next JFK...and for you conservatives i mean that in a good way.

My Struggles with Vegetarianism, Part II

I had mentioned in my previous blog that after struggling internally with justifying eating meat that i was finally able to develop a new personal philosophy on the matter. In this unimportant blog i will expand--as if anyone cares. The impetus that spurred my second guessing was the great feeling of discomfort i was feeling. I realized that if Heavenly Father wanted me to give up this heinous practice of eating meat the personal revelation telling me to do so would be a peaceful confirming feeling--the exact opposite of what i was feeling. Also, if eating meat was such a bad thing then the prophets would be more vocal about it. It is probably a higher law, like the law of consecration, that someday we will have to live by, but not now--the lamb and the lion are not going to be lying down together when we are chasing them with our shotguns! So i knew it was not wrong, per se, to kill animals quickly and painlessly for meat, but i needed to reconcile how i could ethically eat meat which supports the industry that is soooo cruel to the animals, and I KNOW that that is morally wrong. But then my meager economics training kicked in; the benefit i would lose from not eating meat would be greater than the benefit to the cause of better treatment of animals, so it would be wrong for me to make this radical decision. If there ever was a big vegetarian movement that could impact the industry then it would be the moral thing for me to join, but there is not. If i ever get elected to office i will be an animal rights activist. I felt good about this conclusion; i wasn't capitulating my morals, but rather trying to receive guidance in the task of reconciling my logos and pathos with the proper authority's ethos. To see an eye opening video on the depravity of the industry go to, but be warned that it is pretty graphic. http://www.meat.org/.

This week i would like to talk about an experience I had last Thursday night. I am obsessed with politics, and a lean to the left, so i occasionaly enjoy attending the BYU Democrat meetings. Well this week it was combined with the BYU Vegetarians. I went just out of curiousity and had not intention of being swayed. It turns out the presentation was by a professor of philosophy here at the Y (specializing in logic!) who is an avid animal rights activist, and needless to say a vegetarian. His presentation was entitled "Mormonism and Vegetarianism." I wont go into detail, but he was good. He adroitly used Logos (his specialty) , Ethos (he had extended quotations from the prophets and scriptures), and Pathos (we watched a video called "Meet Your Meat" which showed how the meat industry worked) to all try to convince us that vegetarianism is the only moral pathway. I tell you what i left that meeting disturbed. I was convinced that i had to be a vegetarian to be an ethical person, but i realized how much that would inconvenience my life; meat is such a huge part of our culture. Logically and emotionaly i was convinced, but vicserally i felt uneasy. The next two days I was a vegetarian, only in the interim while i reworked a new philosophy on "animal rights" that felt right to my core. Happy to say i reworked a new philosophy, and i am back to meat consumption. What that philosophy is? Well that will have to wait for another blog!

Cooking To Impress

It might be more subtle, but we can cook to impress just as we dress to impress. Although I and others are often too proud to admit it, we carefully calculate our outfits for big, impressionable, events. Your clothes say a lot about you. Even if you think it is vain to wear the latest fashions, it does have the practical purpose of showing acquaintances that you care about your appearance and observant enough, and keep your head of the clouds long enough, to know what currently looks suave. There are many other indicators that ones outfit can have, but remarkably so can food. Head Chef's blog said she decided to cook meat and potatoes because the new in-laws were traditional. She wanted show the in-laws through the type of food she prepared that they have traditional values in common. Now if this is the only time she has ever prepared meat and potatoes this is deceptive to the in-laws who just assume it is a common meal of their hosts. If my newly married sister had the desire to show her new dinner guests how "yuppie" a couple her and her husband are, she is not going to prepare a tossed salad with ranch dressing. Rather she would likely prepare a "fashionable" salad (I know this sounds asinine!), perhaps a blue cheese walnut salad with cranberries. The former salad is banal, while the latter is hip. You know, nothing says you are down with it than a cool salad--not even apple bottom jeans. Ha!

Picking the Right Restaurant

Why is picking a restaurant such a challenge? I come from Phoenix, the fith largest city in the U.S., and there is no shortage of variety of restaurants. However, when it comes time for my family to go out it is a lofty task to pick a restaurant. After much rumination on all our possibilites we end up eating at the same place we always do--Serranos Mexican Grill. I am sick of it. There needs to be a psychological study on why we eat where we eat. Maybe we have a penchant for the familiar? This phenomana expressed itself again when in our group we tried to find a restaurant to critique. We failed and postponed the paramount decision to Thursday.

What is the Deal With Rachael Ray?

Rachael Ray is the ubiquitous face on the cracker boxes. Some how through her quirky phrases, acronyms, and accent she has managed to crawl out of the provincial realm of cable T.V. and become an American icon. Aside from being the face of Nabisco, she has even landed her own day time network T.V. program. Never before has a food personality gone as far as she, not even Emeril. Correct me if I am wrong, but i dont think it is because the quality of her recipes are proportional to her star power. I guess hse has found the magic formula utilized by other day time personalities like Opera and Ellen. She is someone American Women can relate to, and spending a half hour with Rachael has been added to millions of Women's daily routines.