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June 13, 2011

War Horse and The Book of Mormon

Watched part of the Tony’s last night. The Book of Mormon and War Horse took much of it ~ from what I’ve seen, very well deserved.

Regarding War Horse, have you seen this fabulous TED talk by the puppeteers of the Handspring Puppet Company? The horse puppets are so real, so very real. They act like horses. The most amazing thing.

And then there’s The Book of Mormon. I don’t know much about the show, only the bit they showed last night. It looks really good. It seems like it might be the year of the Mormon, what with it in the news all the time. I was raised in a Mormon community, though my family is not Mormon. (My grandpa settled in northern Wyoming in 1894 and liked to say he “saw ‘em come over the hill.”)

I won’t get in a discussion of theology here, but I did want to say: Meeting someone of the Mormon faith is like meeting a better version of yourself. They come across as happier, healthier, more optimistic, and cleaner than you or I. It’s as if you were transported to an idealized version of the 1950s. It’s a good lesson for me because I tend to focus on the dark side and to wonder what goes on behind closed doors. I give credence to the bad things people do to each other, when I should also emphasize the good in people.

That’s what ideals are for, aren’t they? To remind us to be better, less self-involved, more kind and caring.

Question of the Day:  Why do we tend to be snarky rather than simply strive to be a better person?

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