Nathaniel

Nathaniel launched Difficult Run in November 2012 and ran the website alone until August 2013, when he invited the first Difficult Run Editors to join him in adding content to the site. Nathaniel has a background in math, systems engineering, and economics, and his day job is in business analytics. His real interests are science fiction, and theology, however. He is an avid runner, but not a very fast one. He is married to fellow DREditor Ro and they have two little children. In addition to Difficult Run, Nathaniel blogs regularly for Times And Seasons and writes a lot of reviews on Goodreads.

Euthanasia As Hedonism

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Canticle for Leibowitz CoverThere’s a gripping scene near the end of one of my favorite books, Canticle for Leibowitz, where a priest tries to convince a mother not to kill herself and her daughter after they have received a probably lethal dose of radiation during an atomic war. The government has set up euthanasia festivals–looking for all the world like state fairs–where parents and their children can go to ride a carousel or a Ferris wheel before going to the final tent to end their lives. He begs and cajoles her not to go, but in the end is left to watch, powerless, as she takes her little girl’s hand and leads her toward the colorful tents, the delicious food, and the end of their lives.

Walter M. Miller, Jr (the author of Canticle), you will not be surprised to find out, was a Catholic. I am not a Catholic, but I have a deep love and admiration for the moral and intellectual courage of that tradition, and nowhere is that courage and sensitivity in starker display than in Catholic teachings about suffering and death. The Catholics understand, as so few in our modern age do, that suffering itself is not the measure of a life. They realize that, no matter how deceptively noble and sympathetic the arguments for euthanasia may be, in the end condoning suicide is indistinguishable from embracing shallow hedonism.

A heartbreaking news story brought this back to the forefront of my mind on Monday. Two brothers, aged 45, were killed by Belgian doctors at their request after finding out that they would go blind. The identical twins were born deaf, and they were unable to face the pain of never being able to see each other again. I have absolutely no condemnation for their decision, tragic as it might be, but I am deeply disappointed at the behavior of the doctors who ended their lives. 

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One of my Favorite PA Comics

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I didn’t keep up with my Google Reader feed over the last week, so I missed out on a lot of my usual webcomics until I started catching up last night. So, even though it’s from last Friday, I didn’t see this one until yesterday. And it’s a classic.

If you play Call of Duty (any of them, really), you’ll recognize this!

It’s not quite my all-time favorite, but it’s close. I think I might get a printed version for my cubicle at work (along with a little sticky note to avoid getting in trouble.

Oh, and if you’re curious, this is my all-time favorite PA comic. I even bought the hoody. (Not a euphemism.)

Mormon Eclecticism vs. Pop Art

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A Motley Vision has an interesting piece asking whether Mormon bands that “clean up” pop songs are expressing a genuine Mormon aesthetic or corrupting the artistic vision of the original artists. The prototypical example, of course, is Clean Flicks. Before being shut down due to law suits, Mormon families could purchase their very own censored editions of popular movies. I think the problem with that approach is that it treats the moral content of art as more or less equivalent to after-market car products: you can add on or take off what you like in discrete chunks. In reality, however, the “bad parts” of movies that Mormons might find objectionable are embedded into the narrative. So on that front, I think the effort to try and reclaim pop art can be essentially a lost cause.

On the other hand, there’s no denying the awesomeness of this song:

And that makes me wonder if another side to the issue is a kind of authentic Mormon eclecticism: taking  what we love and claiming it as our own. Spoiling the Egyptians, one might say. And as far as the artistic vision of the original creators: as long as you’re not claiming the work as your own or copying it wholesale than we’ve got a happy coincidence of Mormon  eclecticism and art-as-remix.

And that might be the real difference between the song above and Clean Flicks. Instead of trying to give you a sanitized version of the original, they’re taking what they like best and making their own art with it. Not only am I OK with that, I think it might even be something to be proud of.

So, About Rape Culture…

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I’ve been meaning to write a short piece about this for the longest time because it bugs me to no end. And now’s as good a time as any.

Please consider the following:

Exhibit A: How To Stop Rapes (But Not So Much Other Crimes)
Exhibit A: How To Stop Rapes (But Not So Much Other Crimes)

Now, this might be a waste of time because the folks who seem to use words like “rape culture” are pretty passionate about it, and my friends who tend to be skeptical of this consider it generally unworthy of response. But I’m going to go for it anyway. 

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Do You Cross Off the Last Item?

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The point of crossing items off a shopping list is to keep track of what items you have left to      get. So there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever to cross the last item off the list. I realized that today when I put the yogurt into my cart, and I hesitated. But then I crossed it out anyway. Wouldn’t you?

Snark and Testimony: Funny Mormon Gif Roundup

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I’ll let you check out this page for the full list of amusing gif’s (which you’ll find funny even if you’re not a Mormon), but I’ve got to paste my favorite here:

When you and your spouse make it through all three hours of church.

Seriously, 3 hours of Church might have made sense in 19th century Utah (what else were they going to do in that desert anyway?), but in the 21st century it strikes me as cruel and unusual punishment. Can’t we just alternate Sunday School and Relief Society / Elders Quorum? I’m a Gospel Doctrine teacher, and I’d be Ok with that…

Outraged Anonymous

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One of the chief responses I’ve gotten to my posts (mostly posted at Times & Seasons) about epistemic humility is that going around thinking that you could be wrong all the time saps your resolve. There are evils to be opposed, wrongs to be rights, and stances to be held and doing all this work requires conviction. If you spend all your time thinking about how you could be wrong, how are you going to have the gumption to go out and do what needs doing?

I’ve thought a lot about this, and about some grand unifying theorem of epistemic humility to cover all my bases, but if such a theorem exists I haven’t found it yet. Instead, I have a somewhat different suggestion. 

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Why I Listen to Screamo

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One of my favorite movies ever.

At this point in my life I really should know better than to play the music and  movies that I like for other people: I have a terrible track record. Starting with playing a Bloodhound Gang song for a girlfriend in high school (I still think Asleep at the Wheel is sort of catchy, but I’m deliberately not linking to it out of shame) and going up through playing Voices of a Distant Star for my parents a couple of years ago. At the conclusion my mother–my own mother–responded with “That was supposed to be good?” For the record: it is very, very good and I highly recommend it. See? I know better, but I still can’t stop.

In that vein, I wrote a long piece that I’m inordinately proud of called “Why I Listen to Screamo” and posted it at Times and Seasons last night. I had misgivings about posting it, but I thought that the piece was interesting even if you didn’t listen to the music. Then again, with several YouTube videos embedded of Thrice, Underoath, and Emery, folks probably will listen to the music. And if you haven’t listened to that kind of music before, it can sound a bit like sonic assault and battery. (The fact that I drew a direct parallel between “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “The Artist in the Ambulance” probably didn’t win me any new friends either!)

I know that, in a sense, I should stop. But I’m not sure if I really want to or not. Playing eclectic music and movies for people backfires more often than not, but I’m sort of hoping it’s like a high-risk / high-reward activity. Maybe the “hits” will be fewer, but the connections formed will be all the sweeter for it? Who knows, but if any of this has drawn your interest, go read my original piece and let me know (there) what you think.

Meet the Difficult Run Editors

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Nathaniel

Nathaniel

Nathaniel launched Difficult Run in November 2012 and ran the website alone until August 2013, when he invited the first Difficult Run Editors to join him in adding content to the site.

Nathaniel’s background is in math, systems engineering, and economics. He is interested in technology, science fiction, and theology. He is an avid runner, but not a very fast one. He currently works as chief scientist for a software development and consulting firm in Richmond, VA. He is married to fellow DREditor Ro and together they have two little children.

In addition to Difficult Run, Nathaniel blogs regularly for Times And Seasons and writes a lot of reviews on Goodreads.

All posts by Nathaniel.

Adam

Adam

Without a post-graduate degree nor any current plans to obtain one, Adam must compensate by being louder. He has a background in computer science and has worked in web technology for a number of years. He, like everyone, enjoys discussions about politics, science, religion and technology. He loves his wife, reading, video games, basketball, and Jeff Goldblum.

All posts by Adam.

Allen

Allen

Allen is obsessed with books. When moving to the USA he packed two suitcases full of them, and dreads being stuck without something to read. He is pursuing a major in journalism, is married to an amazing woman and together raise a beautiful daughter. His interests include religion, Jewish, Eastern European, and Middle-Eastern history and current affairs. He has also been known to have an allergic reaction to the term “literary theory.”

All posts by Allen.

Bryan

Bryan

Bryan is a chemical engineer, a materials science master’s student, and a Catholic. His interests include country western dancing, camping, video gaming, target shooting, and (unsurprisingly) debate. If it exists, he will argue about it.

All posts by Bryan.

Ro

Ro

Robin (Ro) joined this blog because she is awesome. She’s not very wordy. The End.

No, OK. Ro is a PhD student in Computer Science with a strong background in Mathematics. She thinks running is for crazy people. She enjoys reading, playing games, doing family history, and baking pies. All of these she rarely gets to do because she is a PhD student. With children.

Ro doesn’t blog anywhere else. See excuse above. (Full disclosure: Ro and Nathaniel are married.)

All posts by Ro.

Walker

Walker

Walker joined Difficult Run as an editor in August 2013.

Walker is currently a grad student at John Hopkins University. He also did previous graduate work at the University of North Texas. His interests include religion (particularly Mormonism), economics, management, psychology, and public policy. He attempts to juggle these interests with his need to play guitar, an unhealthy obsession with James Bond movies (note the tux), and his lovely wife.

In addition to Difficult Run, Walker also blogs at Times & Seasons and Worlds Without End.

All posts by Walker.

Mahonri (Emeritus)

Mahonri

Mahonri Stewart is a national award winning playwright, with over a dozen of his plays produced in both the United States and Europe. He is also working on becoming a screenwriter, having had his screenplays optioned and win film festival prizes. He would also love to work in television some day, as he loves long form storytelling. Mahonri is currently an MFA Dramatic Writing student at Arizona State University so that he can officially legitimize his impractical career choices. He is very happy to be a husband and a father, and has an unhealthy obsession with Doctor Who and the X-Men. He also blogs at And My Soul Hungered, Magic and Mutants, and the Association for Mormon Letters’s Dawning of a Brighter Day.

Mahonri went on emeritus status in March 2014 to focus on other projects.

All posts by Mahonri.

Monica (Emeritus)

Monica

Monica is earning her master’s in forensic science with a focus on DNA; she has a bachelor’s in chemical biology. Her interests include biology, the justice system, swing dancing, and the Epic Rap Battles of History. She has a toddler, an internship, a job, and a thesis. After that comes blogging.

Monica went on emeritus status in January 2016 to tend to her little vampire.

All posts by Monica.