Mercy and Justice in Cicero's Middle Rhetorical Style

I thought I'd share an assignment that we had in my Civilizations/Rhetorical class.

Mercy found Justice lifting weights, and promptly praised the practice
Of action just and strong and right and sometimes sharp as cactus.
With sumg acceptance Justice shrugged, a little smile playing,
His knowledge he was prime in life was now extant, displaying.
However merciful might wish to be the principle of Love,
The place of priority on the list grants Justice that first shove.
So Mercy, confident, could praise, because he knew the law,
That from before the world was made a plan was formed and drawn.
A Savior chosen and prepared to take those Justice smacks,
Would suffering suffer that all mankind have chance to escape death's tax.
And sin's dark power begs punishment, but by repenting we
Can qualify for Jesus' blood and infinite Mercy.
Justice, with his muscles huge, is prepared to give a blow,
But Jesus already took that horrible sting
And now his Mercy shows.

Back!

I received a terse email from my mother the other day.

how about picking up where you left off on this?

love you! good luck with everything this week.

mom

And as it turns out, I had forgotten about "this." So I'll start up again!

The Sure-Fire Method of Total Domination

So I was going through some of my old stuff and found this that I wrote back in 2009.

1. Come in with an unreasonable, selfish request.
2. Ask if it's possible
3. When it's (obviously) not, raise voice by 5 decibels to 90 decibels (according to http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html this is the noise "Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss")
4. Shamelessly browbeat opponent with facts about how you've been "planning this for almost eight months" and "(insert current best friend here) is doing it"
5. When told that those are not good reasons for doing anything, let alone doing this unreasonable request, bring up anecdotal evidence that "(respected community member, his/her daughter, and their bishop) condones it" and it won't do anything major, expensive, or irreversible, all the time gradually raising voice to 95 decibels
6. When money is brought up, make reference that although no money is owned right now, "when I get the job at (any restaurant or business here) later on I can pay for it," while ignoring evidence that because no money has ever been owned there is good evidence that others' money will be used instead
7. If these techniques don't work, attack permission-denier with all bad things they've ever done, apparently discrediting them and in so doing discrediting their argument
8. Begin sulking now
9. Become silent and let everybody in the room see how this rejection is affecting you by tearing up
10. When somebody implores you not to cry over something as silly as the reason, either respond by saying, "if it's so silly why can't I do it?" or else...
11. Cue standing up and leaving to your own room to sulk, ignoring protests, logic, and stampeding bears, as your hearing has probably been damaged by listening to rebellious loud music and your 95 decibel voice for a prolonged period of time
12. Be annoyed with everybody for the next 24 hours, at least, long after everybody else has even forgotten your request in vain hopes that this undeserved self-pity will spark some remittance of your sentence
13. Do it anyway

Nostalgia....

Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be. 
- Amanda Hatch

How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Techniques that with a little bit of thought could be derived on one's own, but here laid out clearly with good examples. It is a well written compendium of "techniques" to, as the title says, win friends and influence people. Well worth the read.

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Mission Call

Well, I figure that I better finally post a post about what I'll be doing the next two years of my life.

I have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I've been assigned to labor in the Florida Tampa Spanish speaking mission.

I say it that way because 1) that's how it comes in the letter and 2) that's how it is.  I've been called to serve as a missionary and assigned to a mission in the same way that I'll be assigned to an area in my mission once I get there.

I am very excited.  I have no regrets about where I've been called to serve; it feels right to me.  I'm grateful that I'll be learning a different language, especially one that I've already studied and that will benefit me immensely once I return.

Don't Stop Believin'

Anything can happen! Don't stop believin'!

This was by our apartments. Soon after it was cleaned, and we all wondered . . . why?

iPhone not sweet on 'neat'

Wow, I had never noticed this before.

iPhone not sweet on 'neat'

Weird.

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Fellowship of the Unashamed

This is by President Eyring.

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up shut or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear.

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