"Long live freedom!"

It appears that I need to work harder towards my goals of writing more. I am sad by how I've let my blog fall by the wayside. It's not that I don't have anything to write about either; I have plenty of topics and experiences to record. Maybe I just need someone or something to help me focus on what to write about. New idea: I'll put up a poll and people (if anyone still checks this) can vote on what I should write about next.

I haven't watched many movies lately. I've been surprised by my lack of movie watching, but I can't say that I'm disappointed in it. I haven't been as efficient in my use of Netflix, and I'm hoping to remedy that, but I feel like I've put my lost movie-watching time to good use.

I did, however, watch a movie yesterday. It's called Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (or Sophie Scholl - The Final Days for you non-Germans). I first found out about this fine German film when I was doing some online research about Helmuth Hubener, a young German Latter-day Saint who organized a few of his friends into an underground resistance group in Nazi Germany. Sophie Scholl was a member of the White Rose resistance group in Munich, comprised mainly of university students and a professor. They published six leaflets and practiced a pacifistic resistance, never resorting to violence. They painted anti-Hitler slogans on walls at night and sent out letters with their writings. Sophie and her brother Hans were caught by the Gestapo after leaving stacks of leaflets at the University of Munich. They were arrested, interrogated, tried, and executed.

This film shows their capture and follows Sophie's interrogation and trial. It is not a fast-paced film full of suspense or action-packed sequences; it is a very serious drama that faithfully reproduces Sophie's story using transcripts, eyewitness interviews, and other primary sources. I found the film very moving, and Julia Jentsch's performance as Sophie is incredible. It's an understated and subtle performance, yet incredibly emotive and powerful. Certain images from the film will remain with me for a very long time: Sophie whispering a prayer in her jail cell, her courage standing before the People's Court (also known as the Blood Tribunal), the wrenching farewell with her parents before her execution, her last words to her brother, etc. It really is a beautiful film, as well as an important one. This film, along with the Helmuth Hubener documentary Truth and Conviction, has really resonated with me. I respect and honor these individuals with the courage to oppose evil in the face of certain death. I don't know how courageous I would be in their situations, but I am certain, and their stories have reiterated this fact, that if we are not willing to risk our lives and possibly die for what is right and true, our convictions and beliefs are meaningless. I don't think it trivial or arbitrary that Sophie Scholl and Helmuth Hubener are honored and respected for their courage by German citizens. They earned it by doing what so many people were unwilling or afraid to do. They spoke up and said, "No more," to evil and stood firmly by their beliefs until the bitter, terribly premature ending of their lives.

I very seriously recommend these two films to everyone. I own Truth and Conviction and will gladly share it with others, and if you can find a copy of Sophie Scholl - The Final Days, don't squander the opportunity to watch it.

John McCain Gets BarackRoll'd

Regardless of one's political affiliation, you should laugh while watching this. I laughed so hard. Major, major kudos to the creators of this video. If only it had really taken place.

Football Response

This post originated as a comment to a blog written by my main-man Justin Betts.

I'll begin by agreeing with you on a couple things. BYU football is the greatest. I also found it poetic justice that a PAC-10 official made the excessive celebration call, and our special teams unit should be getting more props for blowing through Washington's line and blocking that kick.

Yes, the defense has not played particularly well to this point, but this was just the second game of the season. We have a young and inexperienced defense, especially in the secondary. I think they will continue to improve as the season progresses, and thankfully, UCLA didn't show itself to be an offensive powerhouse against the overrated Tennessee. The defense did come up with a huge stop after Unga fumbled on the goal line, and that allowed us to put together an impressive drive to go ahead for good.

That being said, I don't share the same intensity of concern regarding our defense, and that is because of our offense. True, it would be nice to not get into high-scoring shootouts, but if games do go down like that, I'm not sure I'd want any other offensive unit than the one we've got. Having seen every down of BYU football this year (as well as the past three seasons), I feel pretty good proclaiming that our current offense will overwhelm any defense we come against. We have too many weapons.

The only way our offense falters is if we fail to execute and turn the ball over. The Northern Iowa game was an aberation, and I doubt we'll see another game like it in terms of protecting the ball. Hall's interception against Washington was an under thrown pass, but the defender also made a good play on it.

Regarding Unga's fumble on the goal line, I believe it was a combination of factors. First, the defender hit Unga perfectly to force the ball out. Second, Unga said after the game that he was very tired at that point, and it's pretty obvious why. The guy was a beast. Of the 23 times he rushed the ball, not once was he stopped for a loss. He averaged nearly 6 yards a carry, and he definitely earned those yards. He was running over linebackers and defensive backs all day, requiring multiple tacklers to finally bring him down. Harvey had all but two of our carries, and was in the game a long time. I give Unga the benefit of a doubt because he has proved himself to be a dependable running back who fumbles very, very rarely, usually only when someone gets a helmet on the ball.

The numbers don't lie. Hall has one of the best QB ratings. Pitta is the nation's leading receiver. Unga is 24th in rushing yards. Also, keep in mind that Collie hasn't been anywhere near as sharp as he should - likely due to sitting out Fall camp with that stress fracture - but he is due for a huge game.

UCLA will probably be the toughest defense we will face all year, and it should be a good indication of just how good our offense and our playcalling are this year. I don't think, however, that we will face a very good offense until the Utah game, and that gives our defense plenty of time to figure things out and get its act together the way Bronco's defenses always seem to do.

We're 2-0 and that's all that really matters right now. I think the UCLA game will be a battle, but I don't see us losing at home anytime soon. We'll continue our winning ways against the PAC-10 this Saturday.

Scattered Saturday Afternoon Ruminations

My first thought concerns the BYU - Washington football game that went down this afternoon. Other than a few drives that went nowhere, some poorly thrown passes by Max Hall, including an interception at the end of the first half, and a fumble by Harvey Unga less than a yard from the end zone, the offense looked impressive. Dennis Pitta once again proved to be an unstoppable force over the middle. The guy has incredible hands and gets pretty much any ball thrown his way; he's going to obliterate all other tight ends statistically. Had Hall not under thrown him terribly towards the end of the first half, Pitta would have made the catch, the drive would have continued, and we likely would have scored to go up by a touchdown at halftime. The rest of the game may not have been so close.

I was pleased by the way the team played once they fell behind. They continued to battle and kept things close until we could go ahead in the fourth quarter. Some teams struggle when they fall behind for the first time, but we played with confidence and composure and didn't try to force things. This bodes well for future games with good teams (UCLA, TCU, and Utah). They dealt with the adversity and continued to execute.

Speaking of execution, I was very pleased with our running game. Unga looked like his old self again after not really having an impact against Northern Iowa - though I hesitate to call scoring 3 TDs not an impact; let's just say he didn't dominate like I'd hoped. Against Washington, Unga looked invincible. He consistently hit large holes, made people miss badly, and ran over whoever got in his way. Many props to the offensive line for opening holes for Unga to run through. I don't have the stats at hand, but he rushed for over 130 yards and really helped the offense dictate the tempo of the game. He was a beast. As was Fui Vakapuna. He only got 2 carries, but his 11 yard touchdown run in the third quarter was impressive. That was the Fui of old, and I hope that he gets more carries as the season progresses. He proved himself a capable fullback and helped Unga many times with great lead blocks.

Now that I'm done praising the offense, I'll talk about the defense. They did enough to win. Jan Jorgensen blocked the PAT at the end of regulation after Washington was hit with what might be a questionable celebration penalty. I was surprisingly calm as the PAT was about to take place. I'm not claiming to have called the block, but after sitting in the stands at last year's Las Vegas Bowl and seeing the blocked kick to beat UCLA, I will never doubt that our players have the ability to block a field goal at the end of the game. It felt great to see this kick blocked, and I was jumping up and down and screaming along with the homeboys and homegirls I watched the game with. The defense made the play and won the game. However, it should never have come down to that. Washington's quarterback, Jake Locker, made our middle linebackers look terrible. He is an exceptional athlete, incredibly quick and strong, but we should never have allowed him to make as many plays as he did. He converted a huge 4th and 10 to keep their final scoring drive alive. All the defense had to do was contain him and force him to complete a pass. I hope the defense can get over this sub par performance and continue to improve as a unit. Luckily, we probably won't face any one athlete as talented as Locker for the rest of the season, perhaps not until a possible BCS game (keeping the fingers crossed).

We're 2-0 and that's all that matters. Next up is UCLA, and I cannot wait to be in Lavell Edward's Stadium next Saturday.

My second thought does not concern sports. It is about people, but I'll keep it pretty ambiguous and speak in general terms. Sometimes I don't get people. For the most part I understand myself, the motives behind the things I do and things I speak, but other people often leave me befuddled. It's hard to really love someone, in the general use of the term (i.e. not romantically) unless you can understand them, where they're coming from and why the do the things they do. I think life is ultimately about obtaining that kind of love for other people, but you have to work at it. Perhaps it may not look like I am striving towards that to those of you in frequent contact with me, but I promise that there is more to me than my sarcastic and witty remarks. Yes, I like to point out the absurd and irrational and ironic things people do and say, but I'm also striving towards forming real connections with people, more than just the superficial "I hang out with you because there's no one else to hang out with" type of connection.

But sometimes other people leave me scratching my head. I guess it's good in a way because it keeps things interesting and somewhat exciting. If I could understand everyone perfectly right now, there'd really be no room for personal growth during the next fifty-odd years of my life. Until I do come to some kind of true understanding there will be plenty of opportunity for people-watching and conversing and jumping to conclusions and rethinking false conclusions and hypothesizing and laughing and crying and putting my foot in my mouth as I strive to understand and be understood by other living, breathing complex, contradictory, and dynamic human beings.

Provo City Conspiracy Theory

Provo City has made a deal with the devil, i.e. big oil.

How do I know this? I don't. I suspect it. If I knew it, it wouldn't be a conspiracy theory.

Anyway, here is the scoop. I work full-time for The Generations Network and that means that I drive 15 minutes to work every day. My route of travel, starting at the Sparks apartment complex, is north up 9th East, around the bend, and then north on University Avenue to my building near the Riverwoods Mall. Along the way I have the opportunity to go through many traffic lights, most of which like to turn red right before I arrive, forcing me to stop. It gets frustrating when I get stopped at every light on 9th East. There are seven lights before I reach the intersection of 2230 North and University Avenue, and there have been mornings when I have been stopped at six red lights. It's not like I'm driving exceptionally fast or slow or anything like that. I can stop at one light, accelerate to the speed limit when it turns green, and watch the next light change to red as I approach it. I cannot go from the intersection of University Parkway and 9th East to the stoplight in front of the MTC without getting stopped - it happens essentially every day.

What I'm getting at is this: Provo has the worst coordination of traffic lights. The city obviously cares nothing about fuel efficiency. If it did, it would figure out how to facilitate commutes with fewer red lights. But with the stop and go traffic we poor citizens are forced to deal with lower gas mileage, not to mention frustration and possible road rage. If the city isn't looking out for its citizens, who is it looking out for? Itself, obviously. This is what leads me to believe that the city is in cahoots with big oil. The city forces poor fuel efficiency on its citizens to increase gas consumption, and big oil rewards the city with some nice kickbacks.

Some might say I'm grasping at straws, and I am. But this is what I'm forced to think about when I spend so much time every morning staring at that annoying red traffic light. Even if the city officials aren't evil and are only incompetent, they should still try and manage traffic better. But if they are evil and in the pocketbook of big oil, they'll get theirs someday... Oh yes, they will...