From the Home Office in Sioux City, Iowa

Perhaps the biggest pop culture development of the Spring has been David Letterman announcing he'll retire from his late-night show next year, and Stephen Colbert being chosen as his replacement. Colbert is extremely talented and will likely do a great job, but I LOVE The Colbert Report and will be sad to see it end.

Earlier this week, Colbert appeared on Dave's show for the first time since the announcement. But that ended up not being the coolest part of the episode. I had somewhat of a personal connection to that night's Top Ten List.



The wedding DJ the camera cuts to a few times is the husband of my long-time friend Larissa. I met Larissa when we were part of the same BYU NYC internship program, and even though we've lived near each other most of the ensuing 11 years (first in Provo, now SLC), I think we've actually seen each other more in New York than in Utah in that time. You can see her on DJ Rob's left in the video, and you can also read more about the background story on his blog.

That video combines three of my favorite things: seeing friends on TV, the Top Ten List, and mild sacrilege. I love mild sacrilege. For example: my birthday fell on Easter, so last Sunday I got to choose the menu for family dinner. We had pasta and garlic bread--classic Easter fare. The bread had cheese on it, and as one of my sisters pulled the melted deliciousness off to eat it separately, I quipped, "cheeses rose from the bread." (Get it?!)

I also played off the Church's Easter social media push (two other things I love, the LDS Church and social media) with this tweet:

Since I've already started down this path, might as go all the way and combine these two ideas. Therefore,I present to you...

The Top Ten Modified Versions of the #BecauseOfHim Hashtag

10. #BecauseOfHymns

(As in, "#BecauseOfHymns, I can tinker with the hashtag without getting too far off topic.")

9. #BecauseOfHIM

(As in, "#BecauseOfHIM, my impressionable young daughters will be scarred for life.")

8. #BeCosOfHim

(As in, "I bet Bill Cosby has some humorous observations about the Easter Bunny and jelly beans. #BeCosOfHim")

7. #BecauseOfHaim

(As in, "BecauseOfHaim, my Easter playlist features at least one group who doesn't celebrate this holiday.")

6.  #BecauseOfH&M

(As in, "BecauseOfH&M, every girl at church will be wearing the same new Easter dress."

5. #BecauseOfHmm

(As in, "I wonder if I actually have enough ideas to fill this entire list. #BecauseOfHmm")

4. #BecauseOfHam

(As in, "I ate so much at Easter dinner, it will be three days before I can get back up again. #BecauseOfHam")

3. #PorqueDePork

(As in, the Spanish counterpart of #BecauseOfHam. Well, kind of Spanish. And kind of a counterpart. Also kind of Scandinavian--saying "porque de pork" in the right way makes you sound like the Swedish Chef. Speaking of Muppets...)

2. #Beaker'sAHim

(As in, "#Beaker'sAHim, right? I mean, the 'meep meeps' are high pitched, but he is a dude, right? Right?")

1. #BecauseOfMim

(As in, "The wizard's duel from Sword in the Stone is my favorite scene from any Disney movie ever. #BecauseOfMim")

Not a great video, but the only one I could find with the full duel that also has at least somewhat passable audio. I really do love this clip.

(If you're a week behind my ward, then this week's Sunday School lesson includes Moses' reception of the original Top Ten List. I thought that was the upcoming lesson for my ward too, but we're actually on this one. Oops. I've been getting ready for finals and apparently my brain is all jumbled. #BecauseOfHom[ework])