Top 25 Google Searches

According to Google Analytics, these are the top 25 Google searches from that last 4 years that have brought visitors to my blog:

Some thoughts:

#2, 8 "Idaho Sucks." Not only am I glad that numerous people are actually typing this into a google search. But even better, that my blog post on the 47th reason why Idaho sucks actually comes up as the top result.

#3, 4, 5, 14, 17, 20, 24 Apparently I am now an authority on Derrida and Kafka, as a search result for both of their names also gives me the top result.

#18 "look at my butthole" I'm a bit disturbed that people are actually searching for that, but am pleased to see that I am also the top search result. I'm guessing that those who are doing this search are finding themselves a bit disappointed. WARNING - I don't suggest that you actually do this search.

The REAL reason why Obama took so long to release his birth certificate

Well, it has finally happened. After much complaining from the birther movement, which had started to influence a majority of voting Republicans, Barack Hussein Obama as finally decided to take some time away from stepping on the constitution to finally make his long-form birth certificate public.

So why did it take so long? Despite what the State of Hawaii has claimed, access to someone's long-form birth certificate is as easy as getting lunch from the manapua man. In fact, I am pretty sure that you can actually get your long form birth certificate from the manapua man, along with some spam musubi. (Those from Hawaii will understand).

After some closer inspection, it has become pretty clear to me why Obama took until now to release it. Look closely:

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Easter Sermon

Here is a talk I'm giving in an hour. A bit disjointed. Not my best. But it begins with Braveheart....
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Mel Gibson’s Braveheart ends with a scene of violence and death as the film’s protagonist is tortured and murdered. For those of you who have not seen it, the movie (which certainly isn’t for everyone) tells the story of the Scottish revolutionary, William Wallace, and his attempt to liberate the Scottish people from their British oppressors. While difficult to watch, the scene is nevertheless powerful because of the context in which it occurs. For nearly three hours of this movie we are told of the exploits of Wallace as he rallies the Scotts to fight off King Edward in an attempt to gain their freedom. Fearing Wallace as a threat to his power, Edward sees that Wallace is eventually captured and sentenced to death. With this long background, the climactic scene is not just difficult to watch because of its violence, but because of that which led up to these final moments. His death is meaningful and powerful because it points to his life and stands as a testimony to his cause. His death, however, is not the final scene of the movie. While King Edward and the British oppressors thought that stopping Wallace would put an end to the revolutionary cause, the film actually ends by showing that Wallace’s sacrifice—his life and death together—encouraged the Scotts to continue to fight for their freedom, and eventually winning it.

So what does William Wallace have to do with Easter? Compare this movie to another by Mel Gibson: The Passion of the Christ. While receiving high praise from Christians—and Mormons—this movie tells about the final tortuous days of Jesus’s life, beginning with his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and ending with the dark closing of his tomb—with the very final moments of the film briefly revealing a reopening of the tomb and the risen Christ. Besides short flashbacks—such as a brief scene depicting the last supper—we are given very little of the life of Jesus. It is as if the movie is saying: “Jesus’s life is good, and it has some interesting moments—but it is his death—his suffering and death—that is really important.”

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Michael Otterson and the Mormon equality of men and women

In a recent blog post, Michael Otterson tried his darnedest to show that, despite the gender inequality in the Church, Mormon men and women are in fact equal.

Through my connections at the Washington post, I was able to get his original article before it was edited and cleaned up. Here are some portions (with the deleted passages restored).*

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A Tale of Three Networks - Obama's budget plan

Obama just released his new budget plan. CNN.com, MSNBC.com, and FoxNews.com have their different ways of describing it. Here are their headlines at actual size.

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“Would God That All the Lord’s People Were Prophets”: Liberation Theology and Scholars as Prophets for the Oppressed

(Here is my SMPT presentation that I just presented. PDF here.)
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“Would God That All the Lord’s People Were Prophets”:

Liberation Theology and Scholars as Prophets for the Oppressed

Loyd Ericson – Claremont Graduate University

April 2011

Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, BYU

This conference poses the question: “Does philosophy and disciplined theological reflection have a place in a [prophetic] church?” In my paper I will turn this question around and argue that the very place for philosophy, theology, and other scholarly pursuits is in an active prophetic role—to be prophets to (not for) the Church and the world on behalf of the oppressed. This is a prophetic role as understood in the tradition of liberation theology that differs from that held by those sustained in the Church as prophets, seers, and revelators. While the latter is authoritative for the Church by virtue of priesthood hierarchical authority, the former has no ecclesiastical authority.

The paper will consist of five parts: a synopsis of liberation theology—primarily from the perspective of Latin American liberation theologians—and the role of prophets and prophecy in liberation theology; a look at extra-hierarchical prophets in the scriptures, with an emphasis on Samuel the Lamanite in the Book of Mormon; an expanded definition of this distinct prophetic role and its relationship to the authoritative prophets of the Church; an overview of modern-day extra-hierarchical prophets within and without the Church; and finally, a call for further prophetic voices from philosophers, theologians, and scholars in the Church.

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General Conference Priesthood Tweet Session

For all the ladies (and faithless men) out there, I did my best to record the Priesthood session via twitter. Because of the character limitations imposed by twitter, most are just interpretations through my Hermeneutics of Cynicism (TM).

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