Just for Laughs

Okay I can't embed this video for reasons beyond my internet understanding so here is the link to a wonderful video.  Sometimes media has the distinct ability to bring together two of the ruling powers of the world, Ellen and Adele.  You know you have made your mark in the world when you are recognized by your first name only.  These two teamed up to create a hysterical moment for some poor, unsuspecting Jamba Juice employees.  It made me laugh so hard.  I am grateful for media that makes me laugh and I am thankful for Ellen and Adele for wanting to spread the laughter. Check the video out at http://ellentube.com/videos/0-n5n6cut2/.  You won't regret it!

A Glimpse of the Divine

This week has been an emotional week for me.  I have a very big to-do list and it is getting more and more overwhelming.  I have projects and papers in all of my classes, I have midterms and assignments, I am working two jobs and an internship, I need to find work for after I graduate, I have to study and take the GRE, I have to start applying for graduate school, and the list goes on and on.  I am almost too overwhelmed.  Luckily through all of this fog I have two glowing lights, my family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My wife and daughter make all of this hard work worth it.  At 5 months I can see the twinkle in Ella's eyes when I hold her; Ella is a daddy's girl and I am absolutely smitten. Being a husband and a father, helps me put all of these overwhelming items from my to-do list into perspective.  So today I thank Mormon Messages for reminding me how amazing being a husband and father really is and that everything else is just a means to help me be a better husband and father.

"Noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse of the divine." - James E. Faust

Drink Responsibly

Last week in class we talked about advertisement and we discussed specifically how beer commercials always hide their warnings in small print.  Sometimes you need a magnifying glass to see the vague "Drink Responsibly" in the corner.  You never really know what drinking responsibly means, do you?

During Superbowl 50, Budweiser called upon the great Helen Mirren to answer that question.  I loved Helen Mirren being her spunky self.  She eloquently described irresponsible drinking in this commercial and thus viewers could have a vision of what responsible drinking entails.  Budweiser was not hiding from the negative side effects.  I respect Budweiser for making the shift from small print to explicit definition.  I don't drink but if I did I would probably consider being a Budweiser customer thanks to good ol' Helen's candor.

  

Would you like to see more commercials like this?  Which was your favorite Superbowl commercial this year?  Why was it effective?

I am a Spartan

Last summer I ran a Spartan race as part of my goal to lose 40 pounds in a year (I did it, Sept '14 - Sept '15).  I am 40 pounds lighter and I just finished registering for what will be my second Spartan Race this summer.  The media efforts for the Spartan Race is a bit twisted.  I watched videos and looked at pictures before I went and ran my first race.  Most of the videos and pictures are dominated by super-fit, super-buff, six pack abbed Grecian gods.  I was so nervous that I would get to the race and be considered the fat and ugly one even though I am in decent shape and a good looking guy.  Here is an example of the crazy standard that Spartan media puts out there for their races.

As you can see the media that they put out there shows a lot of buff people.  So obviously my expectations for my first race were not unfounded.  However, when I got to the race there were people of all body sizes and shapes.  I realized there is more to a Spartan Race than physical standing.  There were ladies who finished the race that were easily over 300 pounds (apparently there is a biggest loser circuit with the Spartan Race).  There were older people, younger people, white people, black people, etc.  The Spartan Race isn't run by people who a chiseled Grecian gods, it's run by people who want to accomplish something bigger than themselves.  Spartan has created this video that I feel captures the true meaning of being a Spartan a little better than the ninja at the beginning of the other video.

Becoming a Spartan is fun, fulfilling, and exciting.  I finished the race thinking, "That was the worst thing I have every done in my life but I can't wait to do it again."  It isn't easy but it is totally worth it. Don't get swayed by the media.  It might try to convince you that Spartan Races are only for the Grecian gods but the Spartan Races are for anyone who wants to become something bigger and better than they already are.

 Aroo! Aroo!

Soul Songs

In class the other day we talked about music.  At the very end we did an activity that is done in music therapy.  The question was asked, "If you were a song, what song would you be and why?"  Now, I couldn't think of an exact song but I thought of some songs that speak to my soul, or what I will refer to as Soul Songs.  These are a few of them...

#1 When You Say Nothing at All - Alison Krauss

This songs describes my relationship with Tara, my wife.  The chorus is pretty much everything I see in her.   I can't say it better than "The smile on your face lets me know that you need me.  There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me.  The touch of you hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall.  You say it best when you say nothing at all." 

 Just try to tell me these eyes and this smile don't fit the words of that song.

#2 Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion 

This song always makes me think of my relationship with my mom.  This song describes a powerful type of love.  It is a love that I think most mom's display for their children.  It is a love that I felt from my own mom.  "You were my strength when I was weak, you were my voice when I couldn't speak.  you were my eyes when I couldn't see.  You saw the best there was in me."  My mom was all of those for me growing up.  She always lifted me up because she saw what I could become.  

#3 Your Song - Elton John 

My dad doesn't care too much about music.  He'd rather his radio be on sports radio than anything else.  There is one singer whose songs he will always stop and listen to and that singer is Elton John.  Your Song is the Elton John song that I feel describes my relationship with my dad.  It's a song about not having much but giving everything you have to the people that you love.  If you know my dad, that describes him to a T.  My dad has done some much to help me be the best I can be.  He gives his all for me and my sisters.

#4 Get Off of My Back - Bryan Adams (from Spirit the movie about the horse)

This song always reminds me of me and my sisters.  When we were younger we had a big stereo in the living room.  We would put this soundtrack in the stereo and when this song began we would get so excited because it meant that I would pretend to be Spirit and my sisters would try to get on my back and ride but I would try to buck them off or vice versa.  We laughed and laughed for hours doing this.  We would put the song on repeat until it drove my parents crazy but we had a blast playing.  This is one of those memories that will never die.

#5 Any Gavin Degraw song

We talked about a specific Gavin DeGraw song in class the other day and I have always been a huge Gavin Degraw fan.  He always has encouraging and uplifting songs that help put me in a good mood and I feel like his songs speak to my soul not just to my ears.  

Fire is one of those songs I could listen to on repeat forever.  I listen to it pretty frequently when I am at the gym.  It helps give me a positive boost physically, emotionally, and mentally.  If I ever need a good pump up song this tends to be my go-to song.

I Don't Want to Be is probably the song with the lyrics that I like the most.  They remind me to stop trying to be anyone other than who I am.  I don't need to be something that I am not. I am me and that is everything I am supposed to be.  I am Stephen Trotter and these are my Soul Songs

My Guilty Media Pleasure

The Australian Open began this week!  

For those of you who are new to my blog, I am talking about the first of the four professional tennis Grand Slams of 2016.  For those of you who know me well, you know how obsessed I am with professional tennis.  In 2009 my mom and I went to Wimbledon (the 3rd Grand Slam of the season).  While I was there I got up close and personal with my all-time favorite player, Roger Federer! That's me with the glasses and that's Roger signing my program.  That program has become one of my favorite possessions.  I am such a tennis nerd.

Anyway, you may be thinking, "Stephen, how does this relate to the media?"  Well, I will tell you. There is an 18 hour time difference between Australia and Provo, Utah.  That means that the matches start live at 7pm here while it is midday in Australia the next day.  I try to watch as much live tennis as I can but I am a new dad, college student working two jobs and an internship.  I only have so much energy to give.  Luckily I have DVR.  I can record all the tennis and watch it at a more convenient time.  My wife makes fun of me though because I access other forms of media (tennis.com, atp.com, wta.com, facebook, etc) to find out scores before I watch the matches.  Tara always asks me why I would look up the scores and still watch the matches if I know the results anyway.  I don't have a good answer for her but it is just what I do.  I want to stay up-to-date with the scores but sometimes I get bogged down with responsibilities that I can't watch the tennis for a little while.  I like to stay current with scores even if I am behind on watching the matches.  Then I will zip through the matches that I don't care as much about and I am able to rewind and re-watch the matches I do care about.  I can watch 9-12 hours of recorded tennis in a fraction of the time. Isn't that so cool?!?  Back in the day before the internet, DVR machines, and even before ESPN and cable access, how did people watch tennis?  I can't figure it out.  You wouldn't be able to find out the scores until months later or if you were able to watch it was probably grainy and hard to make out who was playing who.  Now I can find out the scores and specific stats as the match is going on and I can literally watch the sweat drip from players' faces.  Media technology has come a long way and I am really grateful for it. 

Thank you media technology for letting me indulge!

I am loving this Australian Open so far.  My favorites are looking good and there have been a lot of entertaining matches.  I love spending two weeks being immersed in tennis at the highest level.

Go Roger and Serena!   

So clearly tennis is a indulgent/guilty pleasure for me when it comes to media usage. In your comments for this week let me know how media technology allows you to indulge.  What are some of your media guilty pleasures?  No judgement, I promise.  

Finding Fatherhood in the Media

Today I have been thinking about some scriptures I read this morning and a song I heard this afternoon.  The scriptures are found in Ephesians 6:4 and Enos 1:1.Both of these scriptures are talking about righteous fatherhood and use the phrase, "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  The song I listened to also had to do with fatherhood.  The song was Rodney Adkins "Watching You."

In this song Rodney sings about how his son learned a bad word by hearing his dad say it but also learned how to pray by watching his dad pray.  As I have become a father recently I have really been thinking about how I want to define my fatherhood.  This song really impacted me because I realized that my daughter, Ella, will be watching  my every move and trying to emulate me.

 These are two of my greatest examples of fatherhood.  My dad on the right and my father-in-law on the left.  My dad is one of my heroes.  He taught me how to love others even when it was hard to love others.  He also taught me to do what inspires you and when you find that inspiration give it 110% effort. He taught me that the most important role in his life and what should be the most important role in my life is the role of father.  My father-in-law is another great example.  He has taught me that being a good father is characterized by a tender and loving attitude.  He speaks with a peaceful tone and an understanding heart.  He tries to provide solutions instead of perpetuate problems.  He is deeply devoted to his role as father even with his immense work and church responsibilities.

These men are wonderful examples to emulate but the thought comes: Who do my father and father-in-law look to emulate?  More importantly, who do I intend to emulate? While I look towards my father and father-in-law as examples of righteous fathers I realize that the ultimate source of inspiration is found in Ephesians 6:4 and Enos 1:1 where the scriptures teach me to father "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Christ is the ultimate example.  If I want to be the best father for Ella, I need to be the best disciple of Christ I can be.  Then Ella will learn from me, like the song describes, how to kneel in prayer rather than what naughty words to utter when you miss a green light.