STENARK: the archive of Stenar

iPad!!!

2010-04-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

I just bought an iPad! This is my first post from my iPad.

Caprica - the Apple vs Microsoft fight lives on

2009-05-06T11:45:00.003-07:00

Am I the only one to notice the Apple versus Microsoft connection in the new Caprica pilot? No one else seems to have mentioned it.

First, there's Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) who is very much a Bill Gates-ian type of character heading up a massive I.T. company who lives in a huge modern mansion on the shores of what is likely somewhere in Vancouver, but could as easily be in the Seattle area. He's going to become the show's antagonist.

Graystone steals from his main rival a very important piece of technology and steals key programming from his own daughter, much like Bill Gates stole the Apple system and made a cheap, upside down, backwards copy of it, we all know and despise called Windows.

The protagonists in Caprica are led by Graystone's daughter who has joined a monotheistic cult, following the one true god. The symbol of this cult is an infinite loop, which as any Apple fanboy can tell you is an unspoken symbol of Apple, Inc. as the address of Apple's headquarters is 1 Infinite Loop.

At the end of Caprica, we see Graystone's daughter (or what's left of her) trick her father by faking a collapse and later escaping with the technology he's misappropriated.

So, in the end Caprica boils down to a contest between Graystone's massive I.T. company, with military contracts and a majority standing with the population of Caprica and the followers of the one true god who "think different-ly" than the rest of society.

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-10T11:54:00.002-07:00

It's time again for NaNoWriMo!

Shitty City

2008-08-27T11:49:00.001-07:00

In other news...

Sandy mayor Tom Dolan announced today that Sandy will officially change its name to Shitty. The mayor felt the city needed a name that more truly reflected its nature.
"Sandy was a pretty shitty name already, so we might as well call our city Shitty," said Shitty resident Ledawna Dew.
Also, since Real Salt Lake is no longer located in Salt Lake, they will be changing their name to Real Shitty.

YAZOO!!!

2008-07-19T11:47:00.013-07:00

Well, what can I say about YAZ!? This short-lived iconic '80s band, which only existed for 18 months from 1982-1983, launched some of the most influential music to flow out of that decade. I discovered them as a sophomore in high school, probably introduced to them, or at least their lesser known songs, by my best friend Tom Rasmussen while riding around in his rickety old, green Ford Pinto. He had their two albums constantly playing on his car stereo with a huge set of speakers set up in the back of the Pinto.

I didn't know at the time I encountered them that they'd already broken up. I didn't know until recently that they'd broken up before their second album was even released, nor that they'd never even performed the songs from the second album live in concert. I just knew when I heard they were reconnecting for a concert tour that I had to be there, wherever there was. Fortunately, they came stateside and I found myself in the Orpheum Theatre in downtown L.A. on July 8 for their second concert in the USA on their Reconnected Tour.

So much of my teen angst growing up gay and Mormon in Utah was tied to the music of Yaz. Their music was so different from most in that time, sure it was synth pop, but it had soul. Most other bands of the era were cold, dark, or on the other extreme so very bubbly. Yaz had wound such a great contrast, the cool detachment of Vince Clarke's synth mixed with the warm, warm bluesy, soulful voice of Alison Moyet.

Vince Clarke founded Depeche Mode, but left because the other band members thumbed their noses at his song "Only You," which became one of Yaz's most tremendous musical moments. I can't imagine Dave Gahan singing "Only You," though. It was serendipitous, as Moyet captures the raw emotion of that song like no one else could. "Looking from a window above, it's like a story of love. Can you hear me?" I could hear Alison and it was like she could feel all the solicitude and solitude that came from being a gay Mormon teenager who was in love with his best friend who was hopelessly straight. "All I ever knew, only you."

I remember listening to songs like "Winter Kills," and "Mr. Blue" and aching with the pure agony of melancholy. Fortunately, while I still connect with the emotions these songs evoke, I no longer feel such intense pain. While I was a depressed, repressed teen, I've managed to grow into a singularly happy, successful adult.

And happily, Yaz wasn't just disconsolate, emotional tunes, they created some of the best dance hits of all time, which still get played in clubs worldwide even now.

So, I found myself at the Orpheum, wondering if Yaz would be as amazing live, whether they would sing the songs I wanted to hear. Moyet and Clarke did not disappoint. I was brought to tears at least 3 times during the concert. The first time was simply the moment Alison and Vince stepped on stage and began to perform "Nobody's Diary." I cried for that 16 year-old gay boy whose outlet was listening to Yaz and dancing. "For the time we had, I don't want to be a page in your diary, babe."

Again, I was brought to tears when the third song came up, "Mr. Blue," which was always one of the most emotional songs for me and comforted me when I was a lonely teenager. "I'm here to stay with you and no matter what you do, when you're lonely, I'll be lonely, too."

The rest of the concert was one of the best parties I've ever attended, like singing along with a crowd of your best friends to all your favorite songs. Yaz performed 21 songs (and they only ever released 23), so they sang nearly everything. The two songs they didn't perform were "Softly Over" and "And On," both songs from their second album "You and Me Both." I really think they should have gone ahead and performed all 23, but 21 songs is better than you get at a lot of concerts.

The final time I cried was during their first encore song, the song that started it all, the song Vince was willing to give up on Depeche Mode for. It makes me cry even now listening to it again: "Only You." And I cried because the party was nearly over.

Yaz left us upbeat with their crowd-enthusing dance hit, "Situation," the nine-minute 12" version. And we left the emotional roller coaster of an evening with Yaz on an emotional high.

Semaphore

2008-05-22T00:02:00.010-07:00

This is my favorite song du jour. It's from The Ting Tings. No, it's not their gateway drug, "Shut Up And Let Me Go," featured in iTunes commercials. Proving they're no one-hit wonder, they've also got the scorchers "That's Not My Name" and "Traffic Light." The latter is my current chocolate mocha swirl. It's so different from their other beats, with such stripped syncopation, and singer Katie White sings so sweetly.

Check it for yourself on YouTube:

And here are the lyrics for Traffic Light:

Don't you be a traffic light
Don't you be a traffic light
With all things said
You turn to red
Don't you be a traffic light

And don't you be a round-a-bout
No, not another round-a-bout
We've come so far
Yet back to the start
Don't you be a round-a-bout

Oh now baby don't misread the signs
If you just turn the key then things will turn out fine

Let's not have a break down
No, not another breakdown
You're on your own a long way from home
Let's not have a breakdown

Don't misread the signs
If you just turn the key then things will turn out fine

You're pushing me, you're breaking
Over taking me, you're racing
First placing me, not chasing me back home

Don't let me down

Convos

2008-04-18T15:03:00.002-07:00

Shawn: My mother just feels misunderstood.
Me: No, we understand her clearly. That's the problem.

Shawn: I wonder what that Qwest guy is doing in our neighborhood.
Me: He's on a quest.

Mormons Make Me Want to Puke

2008-04-07T10:46:00.002-07:00

PUKE! Mormons makes me want to puke.

My nephew on his Mormon mission in Germany just wrote an email to his parents:

Well, I am happy that Grandpa is in a better place as well. I agree with you… with some people, you can just sense their testimony, even if they haven’t always lived like they had one. I felt that way about Grandma Gummy as well. Even though she wasn’t active, I always had the feeling that she did have a testimony of the truth. Grandpa is certainly very happy now, even though we miss him. Grandpa will get to see his parents, grandparents, and other he knew. He will be with his son again as well. I’m sure Johnny will be very happy to see him. I seem to remember Grandpa mentioning once that Johnny would always come to him when he came home. I think that Johnny did that again when Grandpa came home. I know that it was a joyous reunion, and it will be a joyous reunion for us as well, when our time comes.

That is just wrong on so many levels. Least of which is, even if there is life after this one--which I rather doubt lately, my father does not deserve to see Johnny again.

I need to go throw up now.

Racism? Really??

2008-03-13T18:30:00.002-07:00

I'm getting really tired of Barack Obama claiming anyone who is against him is a racist. The latest, Geraldine Ferraro being called a racist by the Obama campaign. Obama’s campaign has been called a “historical candidacy” not by Ferraro, but by Obama’s own campaign. All she said was it wasn’t historical because he was a man from Illinois. Obviously it’s historical because he’s the first credible African American candidate for president. Obama’s wife Michelle made the ridiculous comment that she’d NEVER been proud of her country until now. Why now? Because people are turning out to vote for a MAN from Illinois? No, because he happens to be an African American man. Obviously, by the same stroke, Michelle Obama is a racist.

Hillary Wins Big

2008-03-05T10:09:00.002-07:00

Hillary Clinton has won the biggest states and all of the "bellweather" states that are so important in a general election. Obama has cobbled together wins in places like Iowa and Vermont. For the good of the party, Obama should quit now and agree to be Hillary's VP (if anything).

Obama Love?

2008-03-03T18:49:00.003-07:00

Barack Obama does NOT have as wide appeal as the mainstream media tries to make it seem. If he had as much appeal and momentum as they like to claim, he’d be up much more than 92 delegates. Obama is only 0.07% ahead of Clinton at this point. Calls from "journalists" in the mainstream media for Hillary to end her campaign now are very, VERY premature.

Hillary Clinton will not end her campaign this week. Sorry haters.

To see how crazy Obama followers are, please visit: Is Obama the Messiah?

Separate But Equal Is Never Equal

2007-08-12T14:01:00.001-07:00

"With respect to what Barrack Obama said, it’s just simply not true. Civil Unions are lesser than marriage."
-Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

2007-05-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

If you don't know what this number signifies, that's okay. It's interesting to think that this small sequence of numbers/letters can cause such a ruckus.

Mormons Can't Do That!

2007-04-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

I was reviewing the stats of my various websites and blogs today and I noticed someone found my blog by searching google for the phrase: "is it okay for mormons to have phone sex." I'm not quite sure how they found my blog with that phrase since my blog has never discussed phone sex.
My knee-jerk reaction was to think "Hell no! Mormons can't do that." But after thinking about it for a minute, I suppose it depends. If you're married and the person you're having phone sex with is your spouse, then I guess you could have phone sex, but with Bush and Dick listening to all your calls, would you really want to?
But if you're unmarried or the person with whom you're having phone sex is not your spouse, then dear readers, the answer would be no, Mormons can't do that.

Precipitous Withdrawal

2007-04-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

I was listening to NPR on the drive home from work this afternoon and heard Pres. Bush say, "I hope the Democratic leadership will drop their unreasonable demand for a precipitous withdrawal" [of troops from the war in Iraq].
I wonder if Bush even knows what the word "precipitous" means. I bet he doesn't. I think some speech writer wrote that and he has no idea what he's saying.

A New Utah Holiday

2007-03-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

So, the new unofficial holiday in Utah is May 23rd. What's May 23rd, you ask? May 23rd is the day that the first IKEA in the Intermountain West opens in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, namely Draper, Utah.

Of course, I'll be taking the holiday off from work to attend the rites associated with the grand opening of this wonderful Swedish, iconic store.

I felt the need to post the grand opening date as the majority of the hits to my blog lately seem to be coming from people searching for the grand opening date of this store, as I've commented on IKEA here in the past.

Music: Pain (My Love Is In Vain)

2007-03-15T22:56:00.001-07:00

I thought someone out there reading this blog might like a musical interlude. This is one of the greatest rock bands ever, The September When, of Norway, fronted by Morten Abel who is still recording solo albums although TSW is unfortunately broken up long since. Here's some live concert footage from 1991 featuring one of my favorite songs "Pain" and "The Beauty Of It Is."

Mitt Welcomes Romney

2007-03-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

I was reading the newspaper the other day and saw a photo of Mitt Romney at a campaign appearance in New Hampshire. In huge letters, the banner behind him said "New Hampshire Welcomes Mitt Romney." But in small letters at the bottom it said, "Paid for by the Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc." So really, Mitt Romney was welcoming himself to New Hampshire.
This reminds me of how Mitt takes all the credit for rescuing the Salt Lake Olympics. Friends who worked on the staff at the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee tell me leaders there had already formulated a plan to "rescue" the olympics, but they needed an outside figurehead to make it appear as though everything was cleaned up by getting rid of the old leaders. Mitt didn't rescue the olympics. He didn't even come up with the plan. But he sure welcomed himself to all the credit.

Norwegian "Rice Cream" Pudding with Raspberry Fruit Sauce

2007-03-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Someone recently requested this recipe after I mentioned it on another entry of my blog. So, I thought I would share it here in case anyone else wants it.

Norsk Riskrem
Serves eight
Ingredients:
4 cups Whole Milk*
8 Tbs. (1 stick) Butter or Margarine
1 tsp. Salt
3/4 cup Pearl Rice**
1 pint Heavy Cream
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Tbs. Sugar
1. Put milk, butter and salt into large pan. Bring to a boil, watch carefully as it begins to boil and remove from heat before milk boils over.
2. Add rice. Turn stove down to low and simmer approximately one hour covered with a lid until rice is tender and has thick consistency.
4. Stir approximately every fifteen minutes during this time period.
5. Whisk cream, vanilla and sugar together.
6. After rice cooks approximately one hour, stir in cream mixture.

Raspberry Fruit Sauce:
1. Use Danish Dessert, Raspberry flavor (available on the baking aisle of most grocery stores).
2. Follow directions on box for Fruit Sauce.
3. Serve rice warm or chilled with warm Raspberry sauce poured over the top of Rice Cream.

Notes:
*You may adjust the amounts in this recipe, but maintain a 5:1 ratio for milk and rice—5 parts milk to one part rice.
**NEVER use long grain rice. You may substitute medium grain rice if you are unable to find pearl rice.

Ding Dong, the Wicked Witch is Dead

2007-01-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

HURRAH! Thank god we have at least one politician in Utah with some honesty, self-respect and willingness to represent the people and not his own pocketbook.

Today, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said it didn't make sense to gamble the public money on a new soccer stadium for Real Salt Lake. Of course, Dave Checketts had a hissy fit and acted all childish because we wouldn't just open our pocketbooks and hand him all our money.

I'd really like the public to finance my personal business, too, but it won't happen. Why does he deserve special privilege?

Dave Checketts said he'd sell the team and he'll have a buyer lined up by Friday. Another round of HURRAHS! Good riddance. We can do without the likes of Checketts in this town.

Closet geek

2006-10-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

So, the long-awaited season three premiere of Battlestar Galactica finally aired last week. I'm usually not really into sci-fi shows, but I was first curious about the new Battlestar Galactica series because I watched the original series as a kid back in the late 70s and early 80s.
Also, it doesn't hurt that the new show is a really well-written drama nor that it has one of the hottest casts on TV.
I was intrigued by the storyline for the season premiere. The obvious parallels were there between the humans resistance against the cylon occupation and the Iraqi resistance against U.S. occupation. Although, the TV show made you see the side of the humans (Iraqis) and sympathize with why they would stoop to terrorism to fight against their oppressors. There were also less obvious parallels with plight of the Palestinians and their oppression by the Israelis.
I thought it was interesting how a TV show could help one see the other side of the issue and make one sympathize with the side which most in the West wouldn't normally side with in the real world.
They even had the cylons talking about how they had come to help the humans. As if. As if the Bush administration really went to Iraq to help the Iraqis! :P
Anyway, I guess I'm a closet geek since I'm so in to Battlestar Galactica.

KSL is the Taliban of Utah

2006-09-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake Tribune - Madonna may be crossed off local TV schedule:

Madonna's controversial depiction of a crucifixion during her worldwide concert tour won't be KSL's cross to bear if it airs on television in November.
The Mormon-owned TV station (Channel 5) has decided not to air an NBC broadcast of the pop singer's "Confessions Tour" concert if it includes a segment in which the Material Girl hangs on a mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns.
"We make every effort to operate within the community standards," said KSL station manager Greg James. "This is clearly something that if the event occurs in that show it would - in my opinion - not be keeping within the [holiday] season and within community standards. And we would be compelled not to air the program."

I'm very tired of KSL acting like the Taliban of Utah and censoring what we can watch on TV. Just say no to censorship!

I doubt the controversial bits of her concert are even all that bad. People always work themselves up into a lather over things they haven't even seen.

Join the Homosexual Intifada

2006-09-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

I believe that straight men can become gay through prayer and/or therapy.

GO GAY! :)

Survivors

2006-08-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I just read a really great quote, which I wanted to share:

"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges." - Bob Paris

Bush Makes Shit Up to Elect Republicans

2006-08-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

CNN.com - Plane plot involved energy drink, MP3 player, official says - Aug 10, 2006:

Terrorists planned to use MP3 players and energy drinks to blow up as many as 10 jetliners bound for the United States, authorities said Thursday.

President Bush said the arrests are a "stark reminder" that the U.S. is "at war with Islamic fascists."

• The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe" for all flights leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to "critical."

I was just saying to a friend last week that we should expect some sort of "terror alert" in the next couple of months because there's a major election coming up. I didn't expect it to come this soon. Remember a couple of years ago there were all kinds of terror threat levels before the presidential election and as soon as Bush was re-elected, they all went away.

You know they just make this shit up to help Republicans get elected, right?