This deserves one of the biggest lol's in the history of the Internet.
Some have speculated as to what exactly was going through Romney's head at the time:
0:06: "I am surrounded by Black people."
0:09: "Black people love rap music."
0:13: "The only rap song I vaguely recall is that 'Who Let the Dogs Out?' thing."
0:15: "If I make a reference to that, these people will like me."
0:16: "I am going to ask these Black people who let the dogs out."
January 28, 2008
January 26, 2008
DNA Evidence for Book of Mormon Geography
Thanks to Rob Eagleston, I got to see Rod Meldrum's recent DVD entitled DNA Evidence for Book of Mormon Geography. If you haven't seen it, you should. I'll probably be thinking about this for awhile.
The 4-hour DVD basically presents two hypotheses: (1) that there is strong evidence of Hebrew DNA (i.e. Haplogroup X) in Native Americans residing in the Great Lakes Region, Ohio River Valley, and Mississippi River Valley, and (2) that the events of the Book of Mormon took place almost entirely in these same regions.
Meldrum postulates as follows: (1) that Lehi's family landed somewhere along the Gulf Coast, likely somewhere between Louisiana and Florida; (2) that the Nephites migrated to the North along the Mississippi River and East through the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes regions; and (3) that the Lamanites ultimately occupied everything to the South, Southeast, and West as far as the Rocky Mountains. Meldrum identifies potential Book of Mormon cities, rivers, and other sites with surprising exactness. In fact, he specifically pinpoints the present-day town of Zarahemla, Iowa, as the site of the ancient city of Zarahemla, and he identifies the River Sidon as the present-day Mississippi River. He further asserts that the temples, cities, homes, and war artifacts found throughout the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Ohio River Valley are more consistent with the Nephite civilization described in the Book of Mormon than the temples, cities, homes, and war artifacts found in Central America.
Until now, I've never been too interested in mapping the events of the Book of Mormon. In fact, as a missionary in Guatemala, I scoffed at "Ancient Church Site" tours, because they all seemed ridiculously speculative and even illogical. Despite my skeptical inclinations, I was strongly convinced by many of the theories contained in this DVD. In fact, Meldrum has completely changed my mind about the possibility of mapping some of the significant sites of the Book of Mormon. The DNA evidence is compelling on its own, but Meldrum also goes through approximately 3 hours of other evidence (too vast to discuss here), which fully supports his hypotheses. His hypotheses are also completely consistent with the Church's recent one-word alteration to the Introduction to the Book of Mormon.
Like most (if not all) scholars, Meldrum might have made some flawed assumptions in the DVD. But I'll let you be the judge. That said, the only part of the DVD that bothered me was his slightly unprofessional criticism of John Sorenson and other scholars who have advanced the Central American theories. I was also a little uncomfortable with his friend's testimony of his "conversion" to the Church based, at least in part, on some of Meldrum's findings. Whether or not you ultimately agree with all of Meldrum's ideas, this DVD is highly informative and certainly one of the most fascinating presentations I have ever seen on the DNA and geography issues raised by the Book of Mormon. I can't recommend it enough.
The 4-hour DVD basically presents two hypotheses: (1) that there is strong evidence of Hebrew DNA (i.e. Haplogroup X) in Native Americans residing in the Great Lakes Region, Ohio River Valley, and Mississippi River Valley, and (2) that the events of the Book of Mormon took place almost entirely in these same regions.
Meldrum postulates as follows: (1) that Lehi's family landed somewhere along the Gulf Coast, likely somewhere between Louisiana and Florida; (2) that the Nephites migrated to the North along the Mississippi River and East through the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes regions; and (3) that the Lamanites ultimately occupied everything to the South, Southeast, and West as far as the Rocky Mountains. Meldrum identifies potential Book of Mormon cities, rivers, and other sites with surprising exactness. In fact, he specifically pinpoints the present-day town of Zarahemla, Iowa, as the site of the ancient city of Zarahemla, and he identifies the River Sidon as the present-day Mississippi River. He further asserts that the temples, cities, homes, and war artifacts found throughout the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Ohio River Valley are more consistent with the Nephite civilization described in the Book of Mormon than the temples, cities, homes, and war artifacts found in Central America.
Until now, I've never been too interested in mapping the events of the Book of Mormon. In fact, as a missionary in Guatemala, I scoffed at "Ancient Church Site" tours, because they all seemed ridiculously speculative and even illogical. Despite my skeptical inclinations, I was strongly convinced by many of the theories contained in this DVD. In fact, Meldrum has completely changed my mind about the possibility of mapping some of the significant sites of the Book of Mormon. The DNA evidence is compelling on its own, but Meldrum also goes through approximately 3 hours of other evidence (too vast to discuss here), which fully supports his hypotheses. His hypotheses are also completely consistent with the Church's recent one-word alteration to the Introduction to the Book of Mormon.
Like most (if not all) scholars, Meldrum might have made some flawed assumptions in the DVD. But I'll let you be the judge. That said, the only part of the DVD that bothered me was his slightly unprofessional criticism of John Sorenson and other scholars who have advanced the Central American theories. I was also a little uncomfortable with his friend's testimony of his "conversion" to the Church based, at least in part, on some of Meldrum's findings. Whether or not you ultimately agree with all of Meldrum's ideas, this DVD is highly informative and certainly one of the most fascinating presentations I have ever seen on the DNA and geography issues raised by the Book of Mormon. I can't recommend it enough.
To purchase or obtain additional information about the DVD, please visit:
January 24, 2008
M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel
Everything that M. Ward does is beautiful, so I don't expect his collaboration with actress/singer Zooey Deschanel to be any different, especially after hearing the fist single, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" As evidenced by the album art, the duo have named themselves "She and Him." The album is set for release on March 18, 2008. If you've never listened to M. Ward, please repent and listen to Transistor Radio as soon as possible.January 23, 2008
RIP Heath Ledger
I never really knew a lot about Heath, but he always seemed genuine. He also shared an interest in music. He played Bob Dylan in the recent movie I'm Not There, and was close friends and business partners with Ben Harper, one of my favorite musicians (at least from 1994 to 2003). Ben wrote the song "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes" for Heath's little girl and Heath directed the music video for Ben's song, "Morning Yearning," shown below.
January 22, 2008
100 Years of Solitude
"The search for lost things is hindered by routine habits and that is why it is so difficult to find them."
I had to read it twice, but I haven't been so astounded by creative genius since reading William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! How does anyone talk about this book without feeling overwhelmed? Where do I begin? There are so many parts to the novel that it would take hours to unpack even 10% of its brilliance. Seriously, the book is packed with incredibly powerful and imaginative stories, allegories, and symbols. The 4-year rainstorm brought on by the Banana Company? Meme and the yellow butterflies? Jose Arcadio Segundo's train ride with 3000 dead people? Ursula's blindness? Colonel Aureliano's 17 little gold fishes? Or the invention of ice?
Through all of these stories, and the pride, ignorance, selfishness, and compassion of the Buendia Family, Marquez captures the history of Latin America (and in many ways, the entire world). But nothing stood out to me more than the recurring theme that blind obedience to mundane habits, traditions, and cultural conventions often causes us to forget what it's like to hold a snowflake in our hands, or even worse, to neglect the temporal and spiritual needs of others--both in our immediate families and in faraway places like Kenya. In other words, our stubborn pride or selfishness is often the single greatest source of our solitude.
I had to read it twice, but I haven't been so astounded by creative genius since reading William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! How does anyone talk about this book without feeling overwhelmed? Where do I begin? There are so many parts to the novel that it would take hours to unpack even 10% of its brilliance. Seriously, the book is packed with incredibly powerful and imaginative stories, allegories, and symbols. The 4-year rainstorm brought on by the Banana Company? Meme and the yellow butterflies? Jose Arcadio Segundo's train ride with 3000 dead people? Ursula's blindness? Colonel Aureliano's 17 little gold fishes? Or the invention of ice?
Through all of these stories, and the pride, ignorance, selfishness, and compassion of the Buendia Family, Marquez captures the history of Latin America (and in many ways, the entire world). But nothing stood out to me more than the recurring theme that blind obedience to mundane habits, traditions, and cultural conventions often causes us to forget what it's like to hold a snowflake in our hands, or even worse, to neglect the temporal and spiritual needs of others--both in our immediate families and in faraway places like Kenya. In other words, our stubborn pride or selfishness is often the single greatest source of our solitude.
January 21, 2008
My Blog Has Launched!
Out of respect for Martin Luther King, Jr., I decided to have a Negro host my launch party. Oprah couldn't make it, so she sent this girl instead.Anyway, now that I will have a lot of time on my hands over the next few weeks, I thought I'd get my blog off the ground and running. I look forward to reading everyone's comments and hope that my blog traffic is enough to get me sponsored by google ads!
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