When Humans Chose Compassion Over Violence

Man playing piano for police [Kiev, Ukraine, 2013]

A brave priest organises a human shield between protestors and police [Kiev, Ukraine, 2013]

A student protesting education reform leans in to kiss a riot officer [Bogotá, Colombia, 2011]

A student protesting education reform hugs a policeman [Bogotá, Colombia, 2011]

Protesters share crackers with Colombian riot police [Columbia, 2013]

Woman successfully defends a group of cornered riot officers from angry protesters [Bogotá, Colombia, 2013]

Egyptian woman kisses a policeman during the revolution against the Mubarak Government [Egypt, 2011]

Woman defends a wounded protester from a military bulldozer [Egypt, 2013]

Christians protecting Muslims as they pray during the revolution [Cairo, Egypt, 2011]

An anti-government protester offers a rose to a soldier [Bangkok, Thailand, 2013]

Caring citizens offer tea to British riot police [London, England, 2011]

Citizens band together to clean up the mess following London riots [London, England, 2011]

Brazilian protester carrying an injured officer to safety [Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2012]

Protesters in Brazil bring cake to an officer for his birthday [Brazil, 2013]

An Iranian police officer is protected by civilians after being beaten by rioters [Tehran, Iran, 2009]

A young boy offers a heart-shaped balloon to police [Bucharest, Romania, 2012]

Riot police and protesters share a cry together [Sofia, Bulgaria, 2013]

Riot police help a woman affected by tear gas [Ankara, Turkey, 2013]

Girl hands water to two officers [Bosnia, 2013]

German riot officers take off their helmets and escort Occupy protesters [Frankfurt, Germany, 2011]

Protesters help a dog affected by tear gas [Ankara, Turkey, 2013]

Child touches his reflection during a KKK demonstration [Georgia, USA, 1992]

Mourners form a 5-mile barrier between a soldier's funeral and Them [USA, 2012]

Flower power during the Vietnam War Protests [Arlington, Virginia, 1967]

A child poses beside National Guard members during the LA Riots [Los Angeles, USA, 1992]

Occupy protesters help a woman in a wheelchair escape teargas [Oakland, USA, 2011]

Syrian war orphan shows revolutionary spirit as he calls for Saudi support of the rebels [Saudi Arabia, 2012]

Egyptians embrace army soldiers after they refuse orders to fire on civilians [Cairo, Egypt, 2011]

Originally found at http://imgur.com/gallery/V8lVK

The Best, The Worst

I had a pretty big list of books that I read for 2013, and so decided, for those interested in reading, or wanting to know what the best books were . . . I am going to present the top ten books that I read this year, (which was actually a challenge to whittle it down to only five). I also will give you the worst ten books I read this year. So here you go:

BEST BOOKS OF 2013 (not in any particular order)

1. A Short Stay in Hell, by Steven L. Peck

2. Ethics, by Benedict de Spinoza

3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowlings

6. Looking for Alaska, by John Green

7. The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

8. The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus

9. Selected Poems, by William Carlos Williams

10. Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

WORST BOOKS OF 2013 (not in any particular order)

1. The Blithdale Romance, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

3. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman

4. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

5. Family Happiness, by Leo Tolstoy

6. Deaf in America, by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries

7. Dissemination, by Jacques Derrida

8. The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West

9. Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper

10. Short Stories, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Some books I want to read/finish:

1. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

2. Time Reborn by Lee Smolin

3. Fear and Trembling, by Soren Kierkegaard

4. A Sickness Unto Death, by Soren Kierkegaard

5. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

The Books of 2013

This year I read a lot. A lot, because of school and stuff being required, but also, there was a lot I read just for fun. And so, here is the list of books I read, in order, this year. Not sure if I'll be reading as much in 2014, but who knows. As of right now, I don't know which I would say are the best. There were a lot of really good books, and a lot of really horrible books. Maybe I'll come up with those lists and post them with some New Years resolutions. But for now, the list of books read in 2013.


01. A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
02. The Essential Writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson
03. The Republic by Plato
04. Poetics by Aristotle
05. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
06. The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides
07. Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
08. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
09. New Science by Giambattista Vico
10. The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson Edited by Thomas H. Johnson
11. Short Stories by Hawthorne
12. Course in General Linguistics by Saussure
13. Ethics by Benedict De Spinoza
14. The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
15. Discourse on Metaphysics by Leibniz
16. Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville
17. Banito Cereno by Herman Melville
18. Dracula by Bram Stoker
19. Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
20. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
21. Principles of Human Knowledge by George Berkeley
22. Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass
23. Deaf In America by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries
24. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume
25. Dissemination by Jacques Derrida
26. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
27. Dune by Frank Herbert
28. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J. K. Rowling
29. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
30. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
31. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
32. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
33. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
34. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
35. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
36. The Giver by Lois Lowry
37. Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
38. Thou Art That by Joseph Campbell
39. Gateway by Fredrick Pohl
40. Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein
41. When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson
42. A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck (again)
43. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
44. Forever by Judy Blume
45. Over Sea Under Stone by Susan Cooper
46. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
47. Selected Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway
48. Family Happiness by Tolstoy
49. The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West
50. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson
51. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy
52. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
53. Coraline by Neil Gainman
54. Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
55. Hadji Murad by Tolstoy
56. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
57. 100 Selected Poems by E. E. Cummings
58. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
59. Looking for Alaska by John Green
60. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
61. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
62. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus
63. Philosophy Bites Back by David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton
64. Selected Poems by William Carlos Williams
65. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Squaw Peak

Since being sick I have not been able to go on any major rides. I lost a lot of the muscle I'd gained over the last 2 years of biking and have slowly been working back up to where I was, (which probably will take all the way through next summer). But there is definite progress. 

This last Saturday I was able to ride with Foster, Lorin and Jared, (the group that rode in Salt to Saint except we didn't have Jaron) up Squaw Peak. It was incredible to really see the difference that being sick had made. I've ridden Squaw Peak about ten times and could make it up in about 30-35 minutes. Now I was hitting 45 or 50 minutes. Not only that, but I was EXHAUSTED. I could barely make it up the last (steep) hill. But I did, which I'm pretty happy about. I plan on riding it at least once more before winter hits. 

Me, at the top of Squaw Peak.

 I'm very grateful for all of the riders I've gotten to know and ridden with that have been nothing but encouraging. I'm sure they've all seen or heard my frustrations at slowly getting back to where I once was but they've really helped me along and kept me motivated. I made it to the top of squaw peak last of everyone but still felt accomplished at doing it and am glad I had some awesome riders pushing me and encouraging me the whole way up.

All of us. Me, Jared, Lorin and Foster.

Salt to Saint

This year, Jaron, Foster, and two others I had not met until the race, Jared and Lorin did the Salt to Saint 24 hour relay race. The race is from Salt Lake City all the way down to St. George. It is 422 miles long. Because of being sick all summer I was unable to ride in the race, however I did volunteer to drive for them as well as act as tech, (which involved only minor repairs, loading and unloading the bikes from the rack and basically making sure all four were set to go before and during each leg of the race). It was a lot of fun, although I was a bit bummed about not being able to ride. Next year, though, I'll definitely be riding. 

Here are some pictures of the race.

Jaron testing out my bike and getting use to it at the start of the race

Lorin climbing the north side of Suncrest -- Goes over the point of the mountain.

Jaron on his first leg, (the 5th leg) leaving Goshen and heading towards Nephi. 

The hand-off of the GPS. Jaron to Jared who then went up the canyon past Nephi.

Jared, climbing the canyon hills at 20+ mph. 

Lorin waiting for Jared to come out of the canyon. His leg,
(and the following one done by foster) were the windies 

Foster, cruising through another canyon during the night. 

Foster and Jaron crashed early in the morning after a long night.

Foster taking off after Lorin hands off the GPS just inside of Arizona.

Me, after driving for about 22 hours straight with 2 more to go.

Foster finishing the last (and one of the hardest) legs; coming through the finish.

The whole team at the finish
(Jaron, Jared, Lorin, Foster)

All of us home again.
(Lorin, Jared, Me(Chris), Jaron, Foster)

 The whole thing was a ton of fun, even after driving for 24+ hours. We will all be doing it next year and I can't wait. It'll be great to be able to bike the thing with these guys. 

Book List

So, this semester is going to be even more taxing when it comes to the sheer amount of books that I am going to have to read. Not sure how I am going to do it . . . a lot of reading in all of my spare and listening to books on tape. (I did get a Kindle for convenience which is exciting). Anyway, here is the list of books for this semester, most coming from Adolescent Literature and Modern American Literature:

01. As I Lay Dying -- William Faulkner
02. The Short Stories -- Ernest Hemmingway
03. Thirteen Stories --  Eudora Welty
04. Miss Lonely Hearts & The Day of the Locust -- Nathanael West
05. Collected Poems -- T.S. Eliot
06. Selected Poems -- William Carlos Williams
07. The Poetry of Robert Frost -- Robert Frost
08. 100 Selected Poems -- E.E. Cummings
09. Plays -- Susan Glaspell
10. The Giver -- Lois Lowry
11. Forever -- Judy Blume
12. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Edward Irving Wortis
13. Bud, Not Buddy -- Christopher Paul Curtis
14. Middle School:  The Worst Years of My Life --  James Patterson
15. Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins
16. Unwind -- Neal Shusterman
17. American Born Chinese -- Gene Lang
18. Stop Pretending -- Sonya Sones
19. Thirteen Reasons Why -- Jay Asher
20. Deadline -- Chris Crutcher
21. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie -- Jordan Sonnenblick
22. Rules of the Road -- Joan Bauer
23. Boys, Wolves, and Other Things that Might Kill Me -- Kristen Chandler

There are more, but I haven't gotten those lists yet.

I also need to read 1,500 pages worth of other young adult books, and reread The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman for my final paper. I am not very familiar with young adult fiction and so, if anybody knows of some good books that will help me fill the extra 1,500 pages of reading I need I would greatly appreciate it.

Abrupt Recollection in Passing

This is a poem I wrote at work after someone walked by me and I smelt their perfume, or soap or something and it immediately brought up memories of hills during my childhood and then just as quickly they faded away. I think it is interesting how smell can instill such a deeply ingrained memory within us to call up images and feelings instantly just in passing. 

Green hills that seem to fade as fast as they come
I can see them, however
clear, precise, from the smell --
They are real, or apart of who I am
I am only but a memory, or maybe many.