RHINOS CAN'T FLY.

Have you ever wanted to know what it feels like to fly? I have. Everyone can relate to that child hood conversation with your friends which usually started out with the question, "If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?" There where always the easy answers of lion, tiger, and for me personally, I would always try to push my opinion, that being a Rhino would be the coolest thing ever.  However, there was always that one kid who would have the right answer. He would say something to the effect of, "I would like to be an eagle so I could fly." No one could ever compete with his answer.


I think everyone at sometime in their life has had that dream where they are soaring above everything without a care in the world. I think it would be safe to say that Jeb Corliss has had that dream a couple of times. Jeb Corliss is a professional base jumper, skydiver, and wing-suit flyer. The things he does on a daily basis certifies the the human need for the feeling of wide open spaces, freedom, and space has fueled us to do anything necessary to get the feeling of flying. In this video Jeb has taken it to a completely different level. This WOW Moment is dedicated to you Jeb for proving to me that flying is way cooler than being a Rhino could ever be.

THE MORMON MAFIA?

Illustration by Brandon Bird

With all the opinion that has been past around in the past week surrounding the comments made by  Rev Robert Jeffress calling the Mormon faith, "a cult". I think it is  applicable to write about something that somewhat applies to the stew that mixes politics and religion.The basis of this post comes from articles that were written for CNBC’s website, and Business Week magazine. Even though the articles have nothing to do with Mitt Romney's political race, I do think that these articles could change the outlook that many have when it comes to  Mormons. I think its safe to say that many have a certain idea of what people think a Mormon is, and who Mormons really are.

One of the ideas portrayed in the articles,  is the tie between young men serving missions, and the adapting those skills into the business world. According to CNBC, in summer of 2010," 31 graduates of Brigham Young University (BYU), a Mormon stronghold, will work at Goldman and Sachs. That is the same number as those from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania." Those familiar with this group of Mormon businessmen jokingly referred to them as the "Mormon Mafia". Many influential people in business,and political sphere (John Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman, Jon Huntsman..among others)  can tie many of their successes back to having acquired skills on their LDS missions that would later help them become future political and business leaders. As the article states: “When you’re selling religion door-to-door,” one hedge-fund manager, who is a Mormon, told CNBC, “it makes every other business enterprise easier in comparison.”’

The article published in business week, states: “The Mormon Church is 181 years old, and its adherents compose less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, according to a 2009 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). Yet Latter-Day Saints hold, or have held, a seemingly disproportionate number of top jobs at such major corporations as Marriott International (MAR), American Express, American Motors, Dell Computers (DELL), Lufthansa, Fisher-Price (MAT), Life Re, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Madison Square Garden, La Quinta Properties, PricewaterhouseCooper, and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK).”

My hopes are that these articles, have at least in a small way, changed the public opinion as to who the Mormons are. In my opinion, we are a productive, hard working ,group of individuals who believe in God, and are not afraid to say it. With the upcoming political events, the next year will be an exciting time for us “Mormons”, and I can only hope that we will not back down from who we are and what we believe.


And as for us being a "Cult."... Come on, get it right we are a "Mafia"

The links to these articles are below:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37872991/Mormons_Wield_Influence_in_Business
http://www.businessweek.com/magazin

The WOW within sports.

LES Photo Courtesy of dav.d photography

This weekend, I was a personal witness to an amazing WOW moment. This moment, was within the closing minutes of the game between USU and the BYU. I don't want to spend to much time talking about how the game ended up, and how it got to be that way, because i'm pretty sure that everyone knows exactly what went down, and how it went down. No, today I want to talk about the wow-ness that lies within the emotion of being a spectator of a sport, and a team, that you love. Whether it be Football, Basketball, Bad-mitten or Curling, there is always a turning point in every contest that brings out the emotion of the fan, good or bad.For many, this is defiantly a love-hate relation ship. In this particular instance on Friday, I was on the love side of the relationship. With only about 1 minute, and 30 seconds away from accepting the ensuing defeat to yet another one of our in-state rivals, the shame dissapointment was setting in, the fact that I was witnessing the defeat first hand was even more dis-heartening. But then it happened, The turning point that every fan hopes and prays for as the time is ticking away and their there team is down. The feeling in the stadium turned from disapointment and frustration, to pride and relief. The wishes of many where granted, while on the flip side, many fans hearts where broken as they where hit in the face with a right hook fist full of defeat. Sports are a medium in which the spectrum of emotion can be changed quicker than any other I know. For this reason I love it, but for the same reason, I Hate it . And that's why these types of finishes, good or bad, will always make me say WOW.