moby - enjoy!

Aster Takes 3rd Place, Loses to Girl

Aster won two out of three of his matches at the state jiujitsu tournament and took third place. He lost to a little girl with awesome skills. I think it was really good for Aster. He had no idea what hit him. Of the eight total competitors seven were boys and one was a girl. The little girl won first place! And she was all modest about it too.

Ode to my Kindle

I don't have an iPhone. I have a Kindle.

 

My Kindle can't call people. It can't surf the net. It can't take pictures. It doesn't have a GPS. It doesn't even have any cool games. In fact, it has all sorts of design problems. And it looks very, very low tech.

 

Why did I buy this stupid thing anyway? Why did I buy it when it cost me more than what an iPhone now costs?

 

I bought it because now that I have my Kindle, I can go to the beach, the park, the coffee shop or the toilet, and I will always have plenty of reading material. Now that I have my Kindle, I can read one or two or 20 books all at once and the end tables next to my couch and my bed don't end up cluttered. Now that i have my Kindle, my library fits in my hand all day long and my house has a whole lot more room (my wife loves that).

 

I love my Kindle.

Please help... I can't pick a good movie

I have completely exhausted all my creative powers of choosing good movies and the bad movies keep coming in the mail.

Movies are supposed to be exciting right? Whenever I see a new movie in my mailbox, I just feel like I'm about to waste another two hours of my time. (Sometimes I just keep a movie for a long time to not have to add a new one to my queue.) 

Anyone see a good movie lately?

Before you suggest anything, you should know that in college I made the mistake of studying literary archetypes, motifs and devices, thus severely hampering my ability to enjoy the simplicity of a run-of-the-mill flick designed to appeal to the masses (e.g. National Treasure -- the last piece of crap that comes to mind).

The last really good movie I saw? This one.

My tonsils live to die another day

My surgery was canceled because I had a high fever. The anesthesiologist said it was too dangerous. So I'm totally bummed and I've rescheduled for July 25. 

David

San Diego trip pics

Finally, New York pics

Selfish Gene

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

I'm reading this in an attempt at becoming smart.


View all my reviews.

I'm proud to be a feminist

After reading the graphic novel Persepolis a couple of days ago. I highly recommend it. Or you can just watch the movie coming out. See trailer below:

Think you're a hard-core feminist like me? Are you sure? If you are, you have to read The Alphabet Versus The Goddess. The book changed my life forever giving me a whole new way to look at the world.

Here's my review from GoodReads: You'll learn how paleolithic man in almost all ancient cultures worshipped an Earth and fertility Goddess (like an ancient pornography - my opinion). Men finally realized their own sperm had something to do with procreation and decided women should be their property so they could make sure their kids were their own. Soon men invented male "Gods". Then with the appearance of the alphabet, the Torah, Koran, etc., all humans were driven to worship only one male God, which ultimately killed "the Goddess" and submitted all women to man's rule... until now!

If you happen to be interested in FLDS women studies, read Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs. Warning! This book can get you reeling within the first few chapters. You'll ask yourself, how could these things have happened here?

My bucket list

Hi!

I'm finally getting my tonsils out this Friday. I know I'll be asleep. But it scares the crap out of me anyway. So I naturally have to think of my own mortality. Anyway, I rented the movie called The Bucket List where a couple of old guys who have cancer find out they'll die in 6 months. They make a list of all the things they want to do before they die and go do it. They go skydiving. They climb an Egyptian pyramid. They race cars. They get tattoos. Etc. So I decided to put together my own bucket list. 

Let me know what you think: 

• Kayak off a waterfall (again) and get a picture of it like Casey
• Relax on a Caribbean island with Patricia (she's never been)
  
• Go on a wild nature adventure with Aster (at least a week long)
• Go to Paris with Kelsea and Torie 
• Hike to Machu Picchu because, to me, Dallas's pictures suggest it may just be the most beautiful place on Earth  
• Become a specialist and write a book about something fascinating that will change the world

It's a really short list right now. But that last entry is a tough one. Who wants to do any of this with me? Oh and by the way, if I die or anything this Friday (or anytime soon), all I ask is that someone do these things for me. Too much to ask? You can just take a piece of me with you (like a sock or something). 

Thanks,  

David

Aprender a ser amado

Tus ojos me encantan

y me llenan de felicidad

la manera que brillan

y me miran con curiosidad

Lo que quiero mas que todo

aunque merezco sufrir

es ganar tus brillante ojos 

de vuelta la manera que me hacen sentir

A veces no nos entendemos

somos extraños de verdad

pero no hay que pretendernos

porque hay que tomar oportunidad

La vida es nuestra

para disfrutar hoy

es por eso que nos cuesta

ver errores en lo que soy 

No hay que dejar que sea vapor

todo lo que hemos armado

hay que enseñar un puro amor

y aprender a ser amado

David

Argentina 4 Mexico 1

I drove to San Diego to watch this game. Now that I've seen Messi and Aguero in action live, I can die happy. Mexico's defense was no match for that magic duo. Marcos, Andres and I were at field level. You might be able to see us if you squint really hard sometime just after Messi scores goal No 2. Argentina plays the U.S. tomorrow. I'll send highlights, but try not to miss it. - David

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Argentina 4 Mexico 1 Goles Burdisso Messi Rodriguez Aguero Z mas goles en http://www.apurogol.com Argentina 4 Mexico 1 Goles Burdisso Messi Rodriguez Aguero Zinha

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So much space, but no toilet?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the NASA space shuttle Discovery will be carrying an extra piece of cargo when they launch on Saturday -- a new toilet pump.

Crew members aboard the International Space Station have been fumbling with plastic bags since their zero-gravity toilet went made "a loud noise" and stopped working properly last week.

"We will be taking some spare parts up," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

The three station crew members want the toilet working properly for obvious reasons -- but on Saturday they will be sharing facilities with seven space shuttle astronauts.

"You can imagine you are having guests over and your one and only bathroom is broken. Clearly this is something you want to have working," Beutel said.

Discovery will carry a pump and other spare parts for the toilet, which is still disposing of solid waste.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2833684620080529?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

--
David

Amazon Kindle

Hooray, I finally bought an Amazon Kindle! I expect in my mailbox Monday. (So Patricia's has me cleaning out all the books from the garage today.

Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed (Expelled parody)

Letter to Immigration

To whom it may concern,

Please remove conditions of residency for my wife Patricia Soledad Alegre. We are a happily married couple. 

Patricia and I met Aug. 31, 2003 in a grocery store in Orem, Utah. I asked her for her phone number and she scribbled it on a piece of paper and handed it to me. Our first date was a few days later. I took her to dinner and a movie and tried to impress her with all my knowledge about her country, Argentina (my mom is Argentine too). At first she was skeptical. It took her a little awhile to fall in love with me, but eventually she did. We married in the Timpanogos Temple of Pleasant Grove, Utah on April 30, 2004.

We lived with my parents for a while before we bought our first house a few months later. We didn't stay long there because I was offered a job in Chandler, Ariz. We moved and bought another house. Patricia has played an active role in the lives of my three children.

We've done a lot of traveling together as a couple. We've visited Buenos Aires, Paris, Rome, London, New York, San Diego and Los Angeles. Frankly, I'm tired of her desire to visit these big cities so I've finally convinced her to plan our next vacations in a place like the Caribbean islands or a cabin in Sedona. (We did stay in Sedona once.) We have plenty of plans for the future. We would like to start a family business so she is busy going to school and learning graphic design. I'm considering possibilities of a Master's Degree. We are also planning on expanding our family in the near future.

Sincerely,

David Despain

New Jersey/New York

I have a ton to write about.

First, New York (pictures coming soon). I just got back from New Jersey/New York. I brought along Patricia because it happened to be our anniversary last Wednesday, probably the best day of my life. Backing up a bit, I was there at a training for work, which was fascinating. The dietary supplement industry is soon to become ultra-regulated and much more like a drug environment, but hopefully based more on sound science. No more hocus pocus health companies will survive after June. 

After each day of intense learning, Patricia and I went out. 

Day before anniversary

Curtains - A friend of Patricia's got us a great discount and great seats at Curtains with David Hyde Pierce (from Frasier). We went Tuesday night after work. Curtains was hilarious. It's too bad it's closing. While waiting for Curtains to start we went to the headquarters of Scientology. 

Scientology - I decided that if Ron Hubbard can start his own religion based on far-reaching conclusions and make tons of money, then anyone can. So, what do you say, let's start our own religion. Really, I'm not kidding. We could make a fortune. All we need is to remind people how unsatisfied they are with their own religion and turn them onto a different metaphor of life, or myth, and a personification of their own ultimate ideal, or hero.

Dinner - We went out to dinner and talked about a new book I was reading by Leonard Shlain who believes men evolved big brains so they could figure out how to shag a frigid paleolithic chick with a period and an appetite for bloody, iron-rich steak. That night, we ate Argentine.

Day of anniversary

Central Park - I got to fulfill a dream of mine no one will appreciate at all. I played chess with old geezers in Central Park. I've always wanted to do that. Plus, there was a saxophone playing jazz in the background. We had a romantic walk around the park. 

Teany - We went to Moby's tiny tea place. We had little lover's tea. We ate a little vegan. I bought a teany mug. 

Thai - Then Patricia's friend Jeff took us to eat Thai food at a place called Peep's in Soho. The restaurant had bathrooms behind a one-way mirror. Not kidding. You go to the bathroom, you watch people eat while you do what you do. Creepy? What's more creepy is I had heard about the same place from my friend Lynnette in Chandler. She had stumbled on it while in New York years earlier. Somehow we ended up at the same place. New York is a huge place!  

Jazz - We watched jazz at B.B. King's that night. A band called Pimp the Cat was playing. Something like Jazz-Rock fusion. That's music! I bought a CD.

The day ended perfectly. I don't think it could've been a more perfect day.

Summary

There's something to be said about New York. It's a super diverse place. We met Chinese, Italians, Jews, Palestinians, Argentines, Puerto Ricans, etc. That's a melting pot. We met ultra-high-level business executives, homeless people, and everything in between. I had a conversation with a lawyer and his brother, a doctor, who were in from Seattle to see plays. I had plenty of conversation with students and taxi drivers. And I also had a great conversation with a starving musician named Thoth. I did a lot of talking and decided that it would be good for everyone to visit New York. 

David

New Jersey

Headed out on a red-eye to New Jersey tonight. Staying for 5 days.
Meeting with suppliers at SupplySide East. Doing an advanced course in
GMPs for nutritional supplements. Learning about new FDA laws. Never
been to New Jersey or New York. Patricia hasn't either. We hope to do
a little sightseeing too. (She more than me.) At least go out for our
anniversary Wednesday night. Mostly I'll be learning and studying
though.

UFO sighting at my house last night... seriously!

No it wasn't a plane. No it wasn't a bird. It wasn't even a satellite. The strange lights that everyone in the Phoenix valley saw last night were about a mile wide. They went from a square shape to a v shape. They were red and white. They slowly moved east and then three jets followed them. The sighting made the news in the Arizona Republic.

Why didn't it make the world news? Doesn't this give you the shivers? Are we all crazy in Arizona?

To everyone I know with babies

Check the bottom of your baby's formula bottle. Your own water bottle too. If it contains a "7" in its recycling symbol, then it may potentially leach a harmful chemical called bisphenol-a (B.P.A.) when subjected to high heat. If it does, throw it out.

See New York Times article here.