I can't seem to write a decent blog to save my life these days, so here's the CliffsNotes version of part of what I had intended on writing:
1. I have started browsing for cheap used cars in Minnesota via sites like craigslist.com. Acquiring one would mean quicker and easier access to employment and therefore speeding up the process of getting myself into an ideal living situation. (read: rented place with a roommate/roommates. Separate bedrooms, naturally)
1-A. Speaking of an ideal living situation, If anyone knows of a place that I can stay at for minimal rent for a month (MAYBE two) while I job hunt- that information would be much appreciated.
2. A major setback in the moving process would be the literal moving part. I have stuff out here that just wouldn't be practical sending out via UPS like I did when I moved out here. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
3. I would love love LOVE to be back permanently by Christmas, but its too early for a promised time-frame. Also, I'm 90% sure that moving back that soon would require any help that anyone is willing to offer.
4. I know it sounds lame- but canceling my Beatles RockBand reservation is going to be a tough thing to do. If I don't get it before I move- it's probably not happening for AT LEAST a year. However- I'd rather be back in Minnesota than play a game, so I'll be canceling it the next time I go to FYE (the store it's reserved at).
5. Vinyl purchases will be a rarity from here on out. My trip to Minnesota was always meant to be my last major vinyl blitz.
6. I miss all of you guys back in Minnesota a ton and I'll keep you all posted on everything thats happening regarding my return home.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Hate, Fear, and Condemnation
NOTE: If you did not read my previous post- don't start with this one. Its important to know where I'm coming from before reading the following post and the entry "Love, Empathy, and Compassion" helps a lot with that.
In my last post, I expressed my support of people seeking out comfort in religion. I still stand by that. However, one of the comments (left by my good friend Pedro - check out his blog: The Fawkes Hole) said something that I inspired me to write a follow-up. That comment was:
"You're a little more lenient towards religious groups than I tend to be"
This is still probably true. Haha ok, it IS true. Although there are things about more than a few religious groups that I find either wrong or flat out dangerous that I did not address. The major one being the treatment of homosexuals. (and for the sake of "because I feel like it"- I'm going to just focus on that issue in this post)
Christians (the loudest Christians, at least) seem to be all about attacking the homosexual life-style. Why? Because of a few short passages in the Old Testament. And you know what? I find it perfectly OK for people to find homosexuality as a sin in their personal beliefs. There is a key phrase there "in their personal beliefs". Here is my message for the people that feel that its a sin:
Ok, so you think homosexuality is wrong. Then don't engage in it, shut the hell up, and leave others that are gay alone! Believe what you will, but you can't openly condemn the love that two same-sex adults have for each other because of a personal religious belief. You just can't. And if you think that you are doing them a favor, well then you're an arrogant bastard.
I'll be honest, personally the thought of two dudes going at it grosses me out. But a lot of things gross me out. I'm not just going to go out and deny people the right to love each other just because the thought of their love life makes me feel icky. That would make me a prudish asshole. Plus, that would mean that there are plenty straight couples whose love I'd have to deny...
Here is my point to all of this: these religious organizations that are condemning homosexuality so loudly are destroying the word that is found in their scripture. Instead of showing the love that is the cornerstone of their faith, they are succumbing to- and breeding- hate, fear, and condemnation of others. They are dividing this world into irreconcilable factions. THEY are the ones tearing apart families- NOT homosexuals.
Many anti-gay groups cite that their reason for joining in on this "crusade" of theirs is that they believe that families are the glue that hold our society together.
I agree that families are the most important thing in shaping and developing our society. Thats why I am urging those engaged in this "crusade" to stop before they destroy what they claim to be fighting for.
In my last post, I expressed my support of people seeking out comfort in religion. I still stand by that. However, one of the comments (left by my good friend Pedro - check out his blog: The Fawkes Hole) said something that I inspired me to write a follow-up. That comment was:
"You're a little more lenient towards religious groups than I tend to be"
This is still probably true. Haha ok, it IS true. Although there are things about more than a few religious groups that I find either wrong or flat out dangerous that I did not address. The major one being the treatment of homosexuals. (and for the sake of "because I feel like it"- I'm going to just focus on that issue in this post)
Christians (the loudest Christians, at least) seem to be all about attacking the homosexual life-style. Why? Because of a few short passages in the Old Testament. And you know what? I find it perfectly OK for people to find homosexuality as a sin in their personal beliefs. There is a key phrase there "in their personal beliefs". Here is my message for the people that feel that its a sin:
Ok, so you think homosexuality is wrong. Then don't engage in it, shut the hell up, and leave others that are gay alone! Believe what you will, but you can't openly condemn the love that two same-sex adults have for each other because of a personal religious belief. You just can't. And if you think that you are doing them a favor, well then you're an arrogant bastard.
I'll be honest, personally the thought of two dudes going at it grosses me out. But a lot of things gross me out. I'm not just going to go out and deny people the right to love each other just because the thought of their love life makes me feel icky. That would make me a prudish asshole. Plus, that would mean that there are plenty straight couples whose love I'd have to deny...
Here is my point to all of this: these religious organizations that are condemning homosexuality so loudly are destroying the word that is found in their scripture. Instead of showing the love that is the cornerstone of their faith, they are succumbing to- and breeding- hate, fear, and condemnation of others. They are dividing this world into irreconcilable factions. THEY are the ones tearing apart families- NOT homosexuals.
Many anti-gay groups cite that their reason for joining in on this "crusade" of theirs is that they believe that families are the glue that hold our society together.
I agree that families are the most important thing in shaping and developing our society. Thats why I am urging those engaged in this "crusade" to stop before they destroy what they claim to be fighting for.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Love, Empathy, and Compassion
I used to go to church. A lot. Like "every Sunday and Wednesday" a lot. My parents have been extremely active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints my whole life. Since I can remember, church has always been priority one for them. Its very important to them. It makes them happy and brings them comfort. I get it. I think its great, actually. Well, when they aren't trying to guilt trip me into going back to church, at least.
Now, some people may be thinking "but I thought you said your parents' activity in the Mormon church was great.. Why do you seem to hate the church at the same time?"
Well here's the answer: I don't. In fact, if any one religion comes even close to being the most correct, I believe it would be the Mormon faith. I just don't care. Plain and simple. I've adopted a new philosophy on life: if you're good to your neighbor, empathetic, and compassionate- you have nothing to worry about whatever it is that happens after this life. My favorite part about living life by this code is that you'll be a good person and you don't have to care whether or not Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings or a whole host of other topics of heated debate between religions. Most of which, if not all, being arbitrary and not related to the real core message.
Honestly, if you look at all of the major religions, what are the differences in the core message? There really are none. They all boil down to love, empathy, and compassion. So why not simply follow those principles? I'm ok with that.
But I understand that many people aren't.
There are many people who need a sense of a grand scheme that helps them make sense out of their existence. Most of them turn to religion for that, and that is a-ok by me. I think John Lennon said it best:
"Whatever gets you through the night. S'alright. S'alright."
Some people may take this as me attacking their faith or refuting the existence of Jesus Christ. That is not my intent. I'm not saying that religion is a farce. I'm merely saying we could choose to dwell on whether or not the Messiah has even come yet, whether or not you are born into the world free of sin or carrying the transgression of Adam with you, how easy/hard it is to be damned for all eternity, etc... OR we can just choose to focus our lives on the real message that we all know to be true: love, empathy, and compassion.
Now, some people may be thinking "but I thought you said your parents' activity in the Mormon church was great.. Why do you seem to hate the church at the same time?"
Well here's the answer: I don't. In fact, if any one religion comes even close to being the most correct, I believe it would be the Mormon faith. I just don't care. Plain and simple. I've adopted a new philosophy on life: if you're good to your neighbor, empathetic, and compassionate- you have nothing to worry about whatever it is that happens after this life. My favorite part about living life by this code is that you'll be a good person and you don't have to care whether or not Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings or a whole host of other topics of heated debate between religions. Most of which, if not all, being arbitrary and not related to the real core message.
Honestly, if you look at all of the major religions, what are the differences in the core message? There really are none. They all boil down to love, empathy, and compassion. So why not simply follow those principles? I'm ok with that.
But I understand that many people aren't.
There are many people who need a sense of a grand scheme that helps them make sense out of their existence. Most of them turn to religion for that, and that is a-ok by me. I think John Lennon said it best:
"Whatever gets you through the night. S'alright. S'alright."
Some people may take this as me attacking their faith or refuting the existence of Jesus Christ. That is not my intent. I'm not saying that religion is a farce. I'm merely saying we could choose to dwell on whether or not the Messiah has even come yet, whether or not you are born into the world free of sin or carrying the transgression of Adam with you, how easy/hard it is to be damned for all eternity, etc... OR we can just choose to focus our lives on the real message that we all know to be true: love, empathy, and compassion.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
A Blog Begets A Blog
And therefore He said, "let there be a blog."
And there was a blog.
And I saw that it was good.
...And I hope mine is as well.
I'm not going to lie, my best bud Chris is the reason this blog exists. He suggested it to me months ago after I had left my home state of Minnesota for the browner pastures of Utah. I was telling him my frustrations with the overwhelming conservative culture out here and he had an idea. "Write a blog," he says. "It'll be great," he says. The guy even gave me the title for it. But alas, I was skeptical of a blog.
Turns out the dude started up his own blog yesterday called Suburban Back Alley and its quite good. It instilled in me a sense of "I can do this". I mean, if my best friend is going to put some of his deepest thoughts out for the whole world to scrutinize, I can't just let him go at it alone. No. That is the way of cowards. So I'm also going to be writing my thoughts, feelings, and ramblings in a forum that requires no face-to-face with anyone.
We are fearless warriors.
And such are the origins of Blue Man in a Red State.
Now, I'll give you a little background on myself. I am 21 years of age and will be 22 on the 19th of this month. I was born and raised in Coon Rapids, Minnesota - a suburb just outside of Minneapolis. In my last five or so years there, I developed some great friendships with an amazing group of people. Between my friendships and the exciting political scene this last summer, things were great. So why did I move in September? Well, friendships and politics were really the only things developing for me. I was still living with my parents, not going to school, and working at McDonald's. I was stuck. Not just in that situation but with a select few relationships. Then my brother offered something different.
Jordan had been living in Utah for about 3 years at that time and was working for Nestle at the Stouffer's factory making frozen dinners and getting pretty decent pay for it. He had been suggesting that I move in with him out there and saying that getting a job at the same place as him was really easy. I fought that notion for the better part of six months before the bitter truth of my life in Minnesota became more apparent. Everyone would no longer be in town by the time fall came around. Sad as it is, my friends were the only thing lifting me up. If they were going to be gone and I had to live everyday without some sort of distraction from knowing that I'm literally going nowhere, I don't think I could've handled it. So there needed to be a change. Unfortunately, that change was Utah.
Don't get me wrong. I love mountains. Love 'em. But therein lies the beginning and the end to Utah's beauty. It is written the when Brigham Young first looked on the valley that became Salt Lake City with the pioneers, he stated "This is the place." I firmly believe that he was just sick of trekking at that point, because there is no way- none- that this could be anyone's promised land. It's a freakin' desert for crap's sake! A desert covered up by the fact that there are buildings and people around. Oh and they try to make it sound pretty by calling it a deseret. There is even a hymn in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hymnal entitled "In Our Lovely Deseret". Propaganda. Straight up. (Did I mention that I was raised Mormon? Cause I was. Although I don't go to church anymore and haven't since right before I moved to Utah...weird, right?)
ANYway, I'm now out here surrounded by an overpowering culture and horrible drivers (I'll touch more on that in a later post). But at least I've unstuck myself from the life that had me doubting my personal worth, right? ...right?
The posts you'll find in this blog will document my thoughts and adventures in what Utah Mormons (although most Mormons living elsewhere know better) refer to as Zion.
I hope you enjoy this blog and maybe even take something away from what I have to say.
-Matt
P.S.
I was hoping to make this blog look a little more aesthetically pleasing before making it public, but I know I'd never get around to actually posting if I did. So expect some visual revamping down the road. Or at least hope for it. I know I will.
P.S.S.
And yes- Chris played the part of God at the beginning of this blog for the sake of humor. I'm sure God is cool with it. I wouldn't worry. Plus if you knew Chris, you'd know he'd appreciate the boost of ego.
...I kidd, buddy.
And there was a blog.
And I saw that it was good.
...And I hope mine is as well.
I'm not going to lie, my best bud Chris is the reason this blog exists. He suggested it to me months ago after I had left my home state of Minnesota for the browner pastures of Utah. I was telling him my frustrations with the overwhelming conservative culture out here and he had an idea. "Write a blog," he says. "It'll be great," he says. The guy even gave me the title for it. But alas, I was skeptical of a blog.
Turns out the dude started up his own blog yesterday called Suburban Back Alley and its quite good. It instilled in me a sense of "I can do this". I mean, if my best friend is going to put some of his deepest thoughts out for the whole world to scrutinize, I can't just let him go at it alone. No. That is the way of cowards. So I'm also going to be writing my thoughts, feelings, and ramblings in a forum that requires no face-to-face with anyone.
We are fearless warriors.
And such are the origins of Blue Man in a Red State.
Now, I'll give you a little background on myself. I am 21 years of age and will be 22 on the 19th of this month. I was born and raised in Coon Rapids, Minnesota - a suburb just outside of Minneapolis. In my last five or so years there, I developed some great friendships with an amazing group of people. Between my friendships and the exciting political scene this last summer, things were great. So why did I move in September? Well, friendships and politics were really the only things developing for me. I was still living with my parents, not going to school, and working at McDonald's. I was stuck. Not just in that situation but with a select few relationships. Then my brother offered something different.
Jordan had been living in Utah for about 3 years at that time and was working for Nestle at the Stouffer's factory making frozen dinners and getting pretty decent pay for it. He had been suggesting that I move in with him out there and saying that getting a job at the same place as him was really easy. I fought that notion for the better part of six months before the bitter truth of my life in Minnesota became more apparent. Everyone would no longer be in town by the time fall came around. Sad as it is, my friends were the only thing lifting me up. If they were going to be gone and I had to live everyday without some sort of distraction from knowing that I'm literally going nowhere, I don't think I could've handled it. So there needed to be a change. Unfortunately, that change was Utah.
Don't get me wrong. I love mountains. Love 'em. But therein lies the beginning and the end to Utah's beauty. It is written the when Brigham Young first looked on the valley that became Salt Lake City with the pioneers, he stated "This is the place." I firmly believe that he was just sick of trekking at that point, because there is no way- none- that this could be anyone's promised land. It's a freakin' desert for crap's sake! A desert covered up by the fact that there are buildings and people around. Oh and they try to make it sound pretty by calling it a deseret. There is even a hymn in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hymnal entitled "In Our Lovely Deseret". Propaganda. Straight up. (Did I mention that I was raised Mormon? Cause I was. Although I don't go to church anymore and haven't since right before I moved to Utah...weird, right?)
ANYway, I'm now out here surrounded by an overpowering culture and horrible drivers (I'll touch more on that in a later post). But at least I've unstuck myself from the life that had me doubting my personal worth, right? ...right?
The posts you'll find in this blog will document my thoughts and adventures in what Utah Mormons (although most Mormons living elsewhere know better) refer to as Zion.
I hope you enjoy this blog and maybe even take something away from what I have to say.
-Matt
P.S.
I was hoping to make this blog look a little more aesthetically pleasing before making it public, but I know I'd never get around to actually posting if I did. So expect some visual revamping down the road. Or at least hope for it. I know I will.
P.S.S.
And yes- Chris played the part of God at the beginning of this blog for the sake of humor. I'm sure God is cool with it. I wouldn't worry. Plus if you knew Chris, you'd know he'd appreciate the boost of ego.
...I kidd, buddy.
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