a segment of my media letter

I write to you as a consumer of internet advertisements and website information with concerns about the advertising practices of pornography companies. My intent is to find solutions to a destructive epidemic that is plaguing individuals, families and communities all over the world. My plea is for action to be taken to protect the innocent from exposure to the harmful effects of pornography on the internet. Websites with pornographic material could be avoided by those who wish to stay away from it if these sites had an identifying element such as “xxx” on the end of the web address or a pop up warning for advertisements with pornographic content that gives the viewer the option of closing the page. “Hulu”, a website which supplies television programs to viewers through internet streaming, has pop up warnings requiring a password for access to “R” rated shows, allowing consumers to decide if they want this content to enter their mind. A similar method could be employed with pornographic sites and advertisements to facilitate avoidance of this material for those who desire it.
Our country is founded on the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for each citizen. The freedom to know, and therefore choose, what media we will partake of is a liberty that should be facilitated by our government for both individuals who desire to view pornographic material and those who do not. The liberty to consume pornography should not, however, supersede the right of life and liberty to children who are often the victims of sexual criminals, addicted to pornography or of dysfunctional families torn apart by the destructive forces of porn. The innocent of this nation have rights as much as the powerful and deserve protection as future citizens and leaders of our country to pursue and live happy lives, with out pornography. My request is that we may pursue a path that leads to the happiness of individuals, families and nations through avoiding the exposure of the innocent to the insidious clutches of pornography through simple regulatory means such as content warnings with password access to advertisements and requiring identifying endings for pornographic websites.

Family tradition of watching "the game"

My family is not huge into sports, but the one time every year that we all get together and watch a game is during thanksgiving when the big BYU verses UofU football game is one. I love watching this game and getting all pumped up and excited for us to win. It is something that allows me to connect with some of my male cousins and my uncles etc who love sports while I am not into them that much. I had a great thanksgiving with my family and being able to watch the game made it even more special!

Anne of Green Gables: Intrigue without the sex!

On Sunday my hubby and brother in-law went to a priesthood meeting while I watched a "girl movie" with my sister in-law. Our movie choice? Anne of Avenly from the Anne of Green Gables series! I had not seen this movie since high school and I forgot how much I loved it. This movie is all about Anne going through emerging adulthood and falling in love with two different men and then realizing what she wants. It has nothing even remotely referring to sex and is one of the most intriguing love stories ever written. These movies are so wonderful to watch because they stir the emotions and leave you uplifted and wanting to be a better person!

NEW MOON and socializing

I have to say that New Moon was ten times better than twilight and now I am going to have to actually read the books. I was considering starting over the break, but then I would only be able to get through like one with all the family stuff I am doing and that would be bad with finals coming up because I heard that the books suck you in! I enjoyed watching the movie not only because it was good, but because I feel like it helped me to connect with my husband's family because we watched it as a huge group in celebration of my sister in-law's birthday. they are all really into the books and now I can sort of have an intelligent conversation about the plot and it is nice to not feel excluded from the excitement I guess. This was a real life example of the theory of one of the self gratifying uses of media being to socialize.

Oposition in all things

The last post I wrote was about the blessings of all the new technology and it got me thinking about all the conversations and lessons I have had lately concerning the dangers of these inventions. My family processes class had a lecture on infidelity and emphasized the growing prevalence of emotional affairs, especially through internet chat. Our class spent over half the time with personal stories of good LDS families, sealed in the temple who were torn apart by this type of unfaithfulness. My husband and I had a very good discussion about what boundaries we want to have when it comes to internet use in order to avoid Satan to destroy our relationship in this way. It is such a testimony to me that we are in the latter days to see his insidious traps ensnaring families all around me and makes me hold to the truths of the gospel ever tighter for protection.

Facebook and twitter infestation

So lately school has made life super busy and not much time has been available for watching tv or movies, but the shows we have seen have had references or plots that involve facebook and twitter. It made us laugh to see that those programs have become so popular so quickly that even public television includes them. We also had a discussion with my husband's older brother and his wife about what technology was big when they were in junior high through college and it is amazing how quickly things have changed. During this thanksgiving season it made me grateful for the internet and how "easy" it is to write research papers now compared with my parents and those who only had books to research in and type writers to complete their papers with. We have it so much easier!

Christmas songs- to everything there is a time and season!

through the years I have found that listening to Christmas songs is a touchy subject with people. Most folks either listen to Christmas songs as soon as possible or else they wait until the last possible second to begin the process. I was reminded of this controversy when I turned on the radio and heard Christmas songs already! I loved hearing them for the short trip I made to campus, but I am not sure I want to hear them everyday from now until Christmas, not because I don't like Christmas songs, but because they replay the same 20 songs over and over so I get tired of the radio by Christmas. My husband would listen to Christmas music all year (along with other music) in high school and his philosophy was that we should remember Christ and the spirit of Christmas all the time, not just in December. I think that we do need to remember Him always, but would listening to these songs all the time make them less special or make them have less of an impact on us during the Christmas season?

the great BYU.edu site

Today I helped my very frustrated husband register for his classes next semester at UVU and it was a very difficult process trying to figure out just what he needed and what would function along with his work schedule. In the process of helping him I realized just how awesome our registration system is on the BYU website by seeing the UVU site and how far behind us they are in that particular area. then I got thinking of what students must have gone through back before the internet and everything and it just makes me sick to my stomach how complicated and inconvenient that must have been. We are so spoiled these days with everything right at our finger tips and I am embarrassed to say how often I let the "slowness" of my computer and little things like that get me frustrated instead of being grateful for how blessed I am with all the modern conveniences I have.

the New Family Search site

This past summer I got involved in doing some family history with my mom and my great uncle who are basically Family history fanatics. My hubby and I have done at least an hour of family history every Sunday since then and it has been such a rewarding experience. We combined both sides of our family and then went through our PAF file and tried our best to fix any duplicates and such. When the new site was made available to our area we got right on and took the tutorials together and last night we started putting my husband's fathers ancestors on the site. It took three hours because some of the information on the site was messed up, but we were able to link a very limited amount of information to several long lines that we would never have been able to find, it was SO exciting. We also found out through researching about this new site that with all the duplicate temple ordinances that are done in the church they could close down three whole temples (the busiest ones too)!!! that is one of the main reasons that site is so important because it significantly reduces duplicates and helps the work be done for those who really need it! If you get a chance you should really check it out! (www.newfamilysearch.com)
p.s.-we went to the temple on Halloween and got to seal some family names and it was AMAZING!!!!!

Porn in Provo

Today when my sister and I were leaving her apartment we found pornography cards on the door step of each apartment in her complex!!! We were so disgusted and furious that someone would spread this material to the homes of newly-wed couples where they would have potential to create long lasting destructive habits. I have never seen this stuff in Utah, even in Salt Lake City, in fact the only places I have seen it is in Las Vegas and New York. I don't know what the motivation for placing the porn but I am appalled and shocked that someone would do that! Pornography is literally a threat on families and individuals that is right at our door, or even at our finger tips even here in "happy valley". Now that is what scares me more than anything this Halloween weekend!

Proposal concerning "the Proposal"

I watched the proposal for a girls night activity this weekend and thought it was pretty hilarious. I do however want to propose that a couple scenes be shortened or cut out. I luckily had a friend there who had seen it before to help me know when to "avert my eyes", but it was still pretty easy to know what was going on. I felt like the scenes were unnecessary or could have at least been shorter and still got the point across. We were talking about the naked scene on our way out of the theater after the movie got out and thinking how many film people saw the completely nude bodies of these two actors...how disturbing! I guess if you get paid enough money people will do almost anything. Anyway, the friend who edited it for me saw it on a first date a couple weeks ago and her date walked out because it was so awkward. what would you have done or at least felt you should do in that situation?

cool google stuff

so my hubby loves to find new uses for technology and especially computer programs. He has found some very uplifting and just plain awesome uses for some Google programs which I didn't even know were in existence. He is using one to keep in better contact with people while he is working at his office on a computer. Apparently they have a program that allows you to receive voice mail (transcribes automatically so you can read it like an email) and texts in email form. I got a mushy text from a random number and knew it had to be my husband and he just showed me all the neat things the program can do tonight, I was impressed! We have also been using a program for our scripture study and it is so much more organized and helpful than my random paper scripture journal entries. Check out what the Google genius' have created and you just might be surprised!

The "new" Emma Smith movie, aka-tear jerker!

With all the midterms this week, my hubby and I decided to have family night on Sunday instead of the typical Monday. We searched around our neighborhood and finally found the New Emma Smith movie for our activity. I am grateful that we have such high quality media that can convey the sorrows, sacrifices and strength of the early saints and especially the Smith family! I am such a girl, so I was of course bawling the whole time, but I really did feel the spirit while watching the film and it strengthened my testimony of eternal families and made me realize how much I take the gospel, temples and the Book of Mormon for granted. I love that we have so many uplifting, virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy media choices in these latter days which inspire us to keep going and remind us what is important in a world where there is so much confusion and selfishness! I recommend this movie to anyone who needs a good reminder of how blessed we are and what we should be focusing on (just make sure to hold a box of tissues when you watch it).

To facebook or not to facebook? that is the question!

I have been using facebook more than I should this week with midterms coming up and have been talking with others about their facebook use as well. I have found that most people either use it too much and feel they are wasting their time on it when they should be doing something else (displacement theory) or else they despise it and will not get a facebook page or don't ever get on. How do we find a happy medium, and what is a happy medium? Daily use, weekly use, hourly posting of everything you eat, see or think? I feel it has helped me to sort of calm down when I start feeling overwhelmed with school, but in the long run it almost makes it worse since it makes me more behind in everything. To facebook or not to facebook? that is the question!

I am such a girl (my fav book)

In high school English we read several books, and they all were depressing and dramatic accept one; Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice”. It has since become my favorite novel with its ever cunning dialogue and sarcastic tone. It is romantic, ironic and intriguing! It makes me both want to be back where such events took place and at the same time so grateful to be where I am. I love the book so much that I cannot stand to watch the newer, shorter movie because it leaves so much out. The five hour version follows the script of the book quite nicely and I love watching it with my sisters and girl friends!

Rockin' out to Non-LDS Christian songs

Recently I have been listening to this Christian Rock radio station when ever I drive because I want to have good uplifting music in my head all day, but sometimes hymns get old and are not as energizing as an upbeat pop/rock song. Some of the songs aren't that amazing, but I really liked a few and ended up looking up the artists on "imeem" and pandora and now they are some of my favorites. I have told all my siblings about the station and I just want to pass the word on to any of you who need a fun radio station to listen to on those long rides to and from school in traffic. Its 90.5 FM I believe, so check it out and you just might find a great alternative to the over played LDS songs (which I still like but you gotta have variety). I think that I also enjoy listening to the station because it makes me feel connected to other Christians when our religion is often attacked by those who say we are not Christians, it gives me hope that there are good people in our nation still and that the earth will not be burned just yet!

what family does to our media choices and vice versa

I was just thinking about my little brother and how living in a family mostly comprised of women has affected his media preferences. He definitely loves the "manly" video games and movies, but he has been exposed to many "romantic", musical and typically more feminine films. He told my mom the other day that his favorite movies are "transformers" and "anne of green gables". My mom thought that was so precious lol. That is one example of how our family upbringing can effect our media preferences, but more importantly, I think that our media choices can dramatically effect our families for better or for worse! Having divorced parents and thus living in two different homes where the media standards were different made this quite evident to me. In my father's home more worldly and violent media was acceptable and there were far more fights (both physical and verbal) between siblings there than at my mother's house where the media rules were more strict and less worldly. I believe that this small difference in media choice made a big difference in the overall level of conflict and spirituality with in each home.

My neice uses more media than me...

I noticed this week that I was so busy that I didn't even watch a movie, which is a big deal because we usually watch at least 2 every week. Anyway, I listened to some music online and used facebook, but nothing interesting happened with that. Anyway, my little seven year old neice watches between 1-3 hours of tv each day, and she has her music on while she gets ready each morning before school, that alone is more than I've done this week. Then I realized that she has watched a movie almost every other day and even in her van as we drove around today. This little girl is surrounded by media at every turn and I can tell it is effecting her expectations about life. She whined incessantly about having to find something to do on her own today since she had watched all the sunday movies in the house. She could not find a way to entertain herself because she is so used to being constantly bombarded with media which gives her things to do. I have also noticed how mature the material of her tv shows and music is for a seven year old girl and realized that my parents would have never let me see anything like that back in the day. If she is like this growing up in a good LDS home with "moderate" media use, what are all those American children like who watch whatever they want, whenever they want for hours upon hours? Are parent's standards slowly lowering because the "good choices" of media are gradually getting worse and thats the best they can find?

Is media fueling our country's debt habits?

On friday my hubby and I were trying to find something to watch when Father of the Bride II came on TV. I love Steve Martin and those movies. We watched the first movie right before getting married so it made us laugh to think that the trend could continue and we could get pregnant after watching this film about a mother and daughter having children at the same time and how it changed their family. This film is hilarious, but I noticed that it made me feel like I was not doing things quite right. I remember the same sort of feeling when I watched the first one and saw how glamorous the wedding was compared to my reception and then how many great things they had for their babies in the 2nd movie. Throughout both films the father pays and pays and pays for all these material things and it makes you think that its no big deal to get into debt or to make unwise financial decisions. Although they are stereotypical, I could see how movies like this could create an image of the perfect American Family that the viewers might try to emulate and therefore get into debt.

some model show

So, I have never really been a big TV person, I have just never found time to let myself get hooked on TV series so instead I just watch movies and listen to music every once in awhile. Anyway, the place where my husband and I are living right now has a work out room so i decided to view some media while i ran on the tread mill. This model show, I believe it was project runway or something came on and it was hilarious to watch. All the girls were extremely thin and they all had cliques and were catty like girls in junior high or something. It was saturated with the typical woman our society conveys in the media. I also found some of the commercials very interesting. There was one for a scary murder show about college sorority girls and it really did get my adrenaline going which helped me run faster like we talked about with the "excitation transfer theory". This station was definitely geared at women and teenage girls because the content of the show and the commercials were all very feminine and materialistic and worldly.