Restaurant Reviews

Pad Thai
1986 N Hill Field Rd # 8
Layton, UT 84041-2112
(801) 776-8424
(By the Hill Field Rd and Antelope Dr intersection)

Good Thai food!
Nice ambiance: table cloths on the tables, low (but not dim) lighting, quiet restaurant
Great service.
Reasonable prices (about $10 a plate for dinner.)

I ordered the "Pad Thai" from the menu, which was Thai noodles, veggies, and your choice of meat (I had the shrimp.) I also tried some of my friend's curry--it was also really good.

Little Taste of Britain
1095 N Main St, Layton
(801) 543-5707
across the street from Shopko

Casual dining.
Operated by husband and (British) wife. Friendly service.
Sandwiches: about $4-5. Fish (cod) and chips: about $8.
British Mini-market within the restaurant where you can buy UK grocery-type items.
Their TV was playing an episode of Fawlty Towers, which ought to count for something right there. :)
Closed Sunday and Monday. Open 11 am- 7 pm Tues-Sat

Taggart's
1105 Taggart Ln Morgan, UT 84050
(801) 829-3837 (Phone)

Can I say ROMANTIC!? Too bad I was there with the girls. ;) The outdoor dining is really nice: waterfall, peacocks roaming around, mountain scenery... It's also nice inside, and has big windows for you to enjoy looking at the outside. :)

Good food (I had the soup of the day--artichoke chicken-- and a salad. It was very tasty, although the soup was warmish, not hot; our orders were slow being served; and I thought ten bucks was a little steep for a bowl of soup and a small salad.) Still, I think it would be a great place to go on a date. The menu also includes Mexican foods like enchiladas; and burgers; sandwiches; etc. I went at lunch-time, so I'm not sure if there is a different menu for dinner.

Kim Long Vietnamese Cuisine
1664 Woodland Park Dr # 101
Layton, UT 84041-5630
(801) 779-9586

Those who know better than I do say that the food is very authentic, and I like it.
The menu can be a little intimidating for someone who hasn't had Vietnamese food before, but I'm sure the friendly staff would be happy to assist you in making a selection if you asked for help. I don't know what my dish was called, but it was a light broth with thin meat, rice noodles, and a few vegetables. I also had a "boba" drink which is comparable to a shake. It has a texture almost like a very soft ice cream, and comes in a variety of flavors and is topped with whipped cream. (I had the peach. It was very good.) In the bottom of the drink are little black starchy balls--I guess they are tapioca. They're chewy and different; if you don't like them it's very easy to drink around them.
The prices are great-- my lunch was filling, yet light on the stomach, and about $6.

Go forth and enjoy good dining!

One-line philosophy

When it comes to health, I have a pretty simple philosophy: natural is better. It's amazing how controversial that view can be.

I trust the wisdom of God and nature infinitely more than the "wisdom" of men and science--and sometimes they agree, but when they don't, I'm always on the side of what's natural versus synthetic.

Certainly I am not saying that modern medicine is all bad, but I will be bold enough to assert that there is plenty of bad in it, and it is full of greed-driven practices that have little to do with healing. (Even some M.D.s take a similar view.)

When I write about natural health on this blog, or when I dis on what I consider to be unhealthy, I'm not trying to be obnoxiously preachy or tell others what to do. It is a subject that I am passionate about, and with good reason-- look at all the sickness in our society right now. It's truly alarming. My goal is just to put some information out there, and give people something to consider. For just about any health issue, you can find opposing philosophies and each side claims its own expertise, research, authority, etc. You'll have to use your best informed judgment. My own touchstone is the question: is it natural? (From my own experiences with sickness and being healthy, I've found that natural living and natural medicine are best for keeping me healthy, and for healing when I have a problem.) What do I mean by natural living? I'm talking about being mindful of what we put IN, ON, and AROUND our bodies--which encompasses many things.

It's the time of year that the flu shot is being plugged just about everywhere you look. I'm not going to be getting a flu shot, never have, never plan to. (Personally I think one of the causes of the flu is a belief in seasonal sickness, but that's a topic for another post...I haven't had a flu in years. Can't even remember the last time I had it--which is happy.) In an effort to offer a different perspective and encourage people to be questioning and discriminating consumers, may I suggest that you look at this one page website on flu shots: http://www.advancedhealthplan.com/flushots.html

What do I do in lieu of the flu shot? First of all, I try to lay off the sugar that is rampant from Halloween to Easter. It's not that I don't have any treats during the holiday season, I certainly do, but I also understand that eating lots of garbage is like sending out engraved invitations for illness to come and hang out in your body. So a good diet of natural foods and drinking water is essential. I also wash my hands a lot, and wash every time I come home from a store or public place. I use the winter setting on my ceiling fan, and occasionally open the window in the fall and winter, because stuffy air is an AWESOME breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. Obviously exercise and a healthy emotional state are also important. And as extra defense I use an essential oil called Thieves to boost my immunity and ward-off airborne disease. At the first sign of a cold or a bug I pounce on it with herbs, oils, accupressure, homeopathics, or any number of other natural medicine remedies. I don't get sick as often, I recover faster if I do, and I'm not getting side-effects or doing harm to my body's organs. Sounds good to me. If that's controversial, nutty, and backwards, ah well.

Kitchen Needs

I was introduced to a great kitchen needs store when I was in California, and I am so happy to find out that we have one in Utah at the Gateway! It's Sur La Table! They have some fun things that are difficult to find elsewhere. Their prices are not cheap, but reasonable for what you get in quality.

Another fun store for cooking products is Orson Gygi, also in Salt Lake City. Gygi is a restaurant supply company-- it appeals to my inner chef. :)

India Imported

When I was in Rome I met a Catholic priest from India who spoke 13 different languages!
The catacomb tours were ending for the day, and he and another priest walked alongside their bicycles down the Appian Way with my traveling companions and myself. The friendly priest asked where we where from and what places we were visiting in Italy. "Have you been to India?" he asked. "No." I had to admit.
"Oh, don't say that! Say, 'not yet...' " he told me. :) I thought it was so charming.

On Saturday September 12, the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork is holding their 23rd annual "India Fest" -- I haven't been...not yet, however I went to their Llama Fest last year, and that was a lot of fun. If you have an interest in Indian culture, this is a good way to experience a little flavor of India. For more information, follow the link here.

If you go, I recommend taking bottled water, some spending cash, and plan on wearing shoes that are comfortable to walk in, and easy to take off to go inside the temple.


If you're looking for something a little further north, I recommend the restaurant Taste of India in Layton. It's near Barnes and Noble. A menu and directions are available on their website. I like the vegetable korma (rice and vegetables with a delicious Indian sauce) and garlic naan (Indian flat bread). I haven't had their mango lassi, not yet, but I had it an an Indian restuarant in L.A. and it was really good. It's a smooth drink with yogurt and mango.

Enjoy!

S.O.A.P.

We could call this post the “significant other appreciation post” because all of you out there in Married Land will be rejoicing in your residency there. Just for kicks, I decided to write a little bit about the ever entertaining singles’ scene. It is nothing if not hilarious.

So I actually like being set up on blind dates. I have friends who HATE them and refuse to be set up. If I had their horror stories I’m sure I’d feel the same way, but thus far I’ve never had an awful blind date. When you’ve graduated from college and don’t meet new people quite so often, a blind date (and/or an introduction through mutual friends) can be a good opportunity to do so --if you trust the person setting you up and know enough about who you’re being lined up with. Furthermore, with a blind date you get to bypass that obnoxious “pre-first date stage” characterized by juvenile flirting and guessing/waiting games. I could easily live without that phase.

Okay, so I say all that to say this: recently, with reluctance, I decided to experiment with the online dating phenomenon. I mean, it kind of works like a blind date, except that you get to do all the screening yourself. In theory it’s an immensely practical way to find people who are interested in dating. Simplicity, right? In spite of my long-held perception that you don’t go online unless you’re desperate, and you’re not desperate unless there’s something wrong with you that you can’t find what you’re looking for in a more conventional way, I ventured to TRY it… Not because I was desperate, or there was something wrong with me (LOL) but because I realized that I held a rather broad and unforgiving stereotype. What the heck? Not much to lose.

I subscribed for two months, and although I don’t plan to continue using dating sites, my short experience was not altogether bad, and I have had plenty of belly laughs at some of the absurdities I’ve encountered. I love introductions on dating websites, because some men are so creative in the way they try to put their best foot forward. I’m sure the women are just as terrible -if not worse, but since I don’t look at their profiles, I really couldn’t say. Here are a few gems I’ve found in my cyber-browsing. (I am not making these up, although out of the goodness of my heart I did change incorrect spellings, and lack of capitalization and punctuation.)

“I’ve been described as a walking aphrodisiac.”

“I’m not just eye-candy. Send me a message to get to know the deeper side of me.”

“Just to let you know, I’m a hustler.”

“I am me. I can't really thing of a better way to describe myself than that.”

“As a medical student, I’m approaching the $200K debt mark.”

“Ok, the Basics: I want to get married and start a family. Any questions? Are you ready to apply? All applicants will receive a kind and proper response. Will you be the one selected?”

"I'm not proud of my egotism, I'm just proud of myself."

“Hello! I'm a 24 year old grade "A" hottie going to school at BYU-I in Rexburg. I'm totally shallow and superficial, and am only interested in cute girls with sexy feet and straight white teeth. Girls with buckteeth and yellow toenails need not apply. Also, if you have a figure that makes you look more like a manatee than a person, please, please, PLEASE try and prey on another young, hot, naive man. I'm tired of being taken advantage of because of my looks. Facial hair on women is another huge no-no.
Anyways, I'm looking for Miss Perfect, so if you think you have what it takes to entertain me, then by all means, send me a message. If not, I wish you luck with one of the many available 50 year old perverts on this website that are also looking for love.”

And my personal favorite, only because I actually met this one: “I am #1 at being awesome. I am everything you've dreamed about in a man, times 10.”

Gee, with selection like this, finding the love of my life should be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Back to the drawing board.

America the Beautiful

Recently I received a letter from the Social Security Administration in the mail. In part it said,

"In 2017 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only about 78 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits."

These estimations are based on the intermediate assumptions from the Social Security Trustees' Annual Report to Congress. I wonder if the estimate took into account the next three and half years under a certain administration, but I digress...

How can an agency that collects money out of people's pay checks reach a point where it pays out more than it collects?!

When I hear about the corruption and outrageous stupidity in our national entities it makes me wish that I knew more about what the problems were, how they got that way, what the solution is, and how to put it into action. It seems like such a mess that it overwhelms me to even want to think about it, but I think I do need to think about it. And I think all of us need to think about it. There comes a point where it isn't enough to be complacently ignorant and try and go about our lives minding our own business.

"...All experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." -The Declaration of Independence.

Our representatives seem to have forgotten that they work for us, we don't work for them. I don't pretend to have all of the answers and remedies, but I do think we need to study the Constitution; be more aware of the bills and legislature that are being proposed and passed; make the most informed voting decisions we can make (beginning on a local level and expanding from there); become more educated about what is going on (from a variety of biases); and as Latter Day Saints, do everything we can to fortify our personal righteousness and share those values and principles that bring peace and happiness with the rest of the world.

American citizens have a great responsibility. Brigham Young stated, “Will the Constitution be destroyed? No: it will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, 'The time will come when the destiny of this nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.' It will be so.” (Journal of Discourses, 7:15.)

I want to do whatever is in my power to "step forth" -- I love my country, and I hope for its future to be more commendable than its present. My sentiments are that of these lines from "America the Beautiful"

"America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law."

Gopher Broke

Blur Studio did a brilliant job with this short, "Gopher Broke"- it's one of my favorites.

3 Music Websites Worth Visiting

Pandora.com and Last.fm. Type in titles and artists you like, and these sites will find music that has a similar sound/style and let you listen for free. What a great way to find new music!

Midomi.com If you've ever had a tune in your head and wondered what it was called or who sang it, this site lets you hum or sing part of it and locates matches for you. Nice, eh? (It also works with classical/instrumental pieces.)

(After visiting these sites, you can go to playlist.com and create free playlists and listen music organized the way you want it, for free from your computer!)

Twilight for Men (and the rest of us who just don't get it)

Some people have little "shoulder angels" that help guide their decisions. I have a shoulder cow.

Anytime I hear of something that is exciting mass hysteria, I'm a skeptic. For example, when I hear that such and such a book or a movie is "Like, SOOOOOOOO GOOD" my shoulder cow "moo"s loudly in my ear. I think it's the call of the dumb herd. It's not that I don't ever participate in culturally popular trends; it's just that I'd like to think I'm sometimes a little more discriminating than your average consumer. While I was working at the library it was readily apparent which books were being read, a lot. And I'll admit that out of curiosity and objectivity, I put my name on a hold list as long as the phone book, and waited to take home a copy of Twilight. It sat untouched in my room for a time, and then went back to the library, barely browsed through. I just have a low tolerance for cheesy. When the last Twilight book came out, I had heard enough about the plot to be fairly well filled in, so I did the unthinkable to Twilight fanatics. I opened Breaking Dawn to the last page and read it. Curiosity satisfied, I moved on.

Now don't get me wrong, I like reading about unhealthy teenage romances as much as the next person... Oh, wait a minute... No I don't. Hmm...Yeah, the more I've learned about the story, the less I understand why some people love it.

I watched the movie. Heh, heh. That was, uh, socially enlightening, and made me feel happy that I'd only given up two hours of my life to the storyline. My "favorite" scene of the movie was in the woods, where sparkle boy is giving Bella the low-down on just how monstrous he really is.
"I've killed people."
And she says what any teenager in love for no apparent reason would say,
"It doesn't matter."
Really? It doesn't matter? I think that would be a definite deal breaker for me. I'm so picky. It's probably why I'm still single. Anyway, I don't get Twilight, but the funniest explanation I've heard about its popularity is an article my friend read me, "Twilight for Men"-- here it is, enjoy. And as an encore, at the end of the post is a "movies in minutes" version of Twilight the movie that is pretty hilarious.

'Twilight' for men: All men are vampires
By Michael De Groote
MormonTimes.com writer
Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2009


It would be easy for a man to mock "Twilight" by Mormon author Stephenie Meyer. But the novel, which chronicles the swooning and ogling of teenager Bella for her vampire boyfriend Edward, should be required reading for all men.

True, a man might find himself screaming at Edward: "Bite her! Just bite her already!"

True, he might fling the book against the wall a few times in frustration -- especially when (spoiler alert!) the final great vampire showdown takes place while the first-person narrator is unconscious, which means there is no action description of what would have been the best part of the book: vampires fighting vampires.

But if a man can read the book -- which, by the way, might make a great movie someday -- he just might come away with an amazing insight into what women want.

And what do women want?

Edward is described as a "beautiful boy" with "perfect lips" and a "voice like velvet." Edward has a "dazzling face" and, let's mention it again, "flawless lips." Again and again he is described as beautiful and gorgeous. He is strong, dark and beautiful. He is immensely talented and beautiful. He is sensitive and beautiful. He is moody and beautiful. Women and girls love him even though his ever-so-beautiful lips are cold and probably stained with cougar blood.

In other words, Edward is the perfect man. And the good part is, every man is Edward.

"But hold on a second," you may say. "I am not even handsome, let alone 'beautiful with perfect lips' -- I'm not sure I want to have perfect lips, I'm not sure I even want to know what perfect lips look like."

But now I am going to give you the secret for understanding "Twilight" and when you understand Bella and Edward you will thereby understand all women.

"Twilight" came from a woman's real-life, middle-of-the-night dream.

In other words, this novel grew out of a woman's subconscious mind. It is telling us things she does not really want us to know.

This, by the way, is a good place to take a moment to encourage you to never tell another person your dreams. If you are the type of person who has no difficulty figuring out the symbolism in your dreams, you probably aren't going around blabbing about your nightmares. If you can't figure out the symbolism in your dreams then beware -- other people will figure out every embarrassing personally revealing detail for you.

And, true to form, this instance of Stephenie Meyer's dream is also personally revealing.

We've looked at Edward. Let's look at Bella. Bella is good-looking enough. She is smart. She is brave. She has pluck. She is clumsy. And, she smells good -- especially to Edward who wants to drink all her blood, except that he loves her and that would end the relationship.

In the topsy-turvy world of symbolism, Edward is every man and Bella is every woman.

Yes, gentlemen. We are vampires.

In a woman's mind, we are Edward. OK, so we are not perfect in our looks, but remember this is subconscious symbolism. Edward's perfection is symbolic of all the love and good things we represent to the women in our lives. It is the good us.

But we are also vampires -- we have the ability to make life miserable for women. We can give into our own desires without regard of how it would destroy their lives.

We have the power to dazzle or destroy.

I am not going to get into anything deeper than this. There are other aspects, perhaps, to this that are best left for MormonTimes.com columnist Laura Brotherson.

What is it about Edward that Bella and all Meyer's fans love? He controls his vampirish impulses and deep desires because he loves Bella. Bella knows he has these desires and admires him more than she would if he did not have these desires.

Sure, he wants to drink her blood, but even more than that, he wants her to be happy and live.

What could be more beautiful?

Urban Legends

This is a fun website to visit whenever you get an e-rumor: truthorfiction.com
Some of the categories they set the record straight on include: politics, celebrities, medical, warnings, etc.

Daily Dose of Mercury?

Yikes! Here's yet another compelling reason to eliminate high-fructose corn syrup from your diet, in spite of the fact that it is an ingredient in so many foods we know and love--or maybe even more so, because it is in so many of the foods we know and love. A study has shown that HFCS contains mercury!

The industry is running scared as people are wising up to how bad for you HFCS really is. The Corn Refiners Association is paying the big bucks for television spots and major magazine ads that claim HFCS is "nutritionally the same as table sugar" (which is also not good for you, but I digress...)

To read the article from Taste For Life Magazine click here
or read it below:

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Related : bran dairy product breakfast health review ingredient snack chemical plant tea children meat environment lunch

Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.

In the first study, published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS.

And in the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was found most commonly in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.

But an organization representing the refiners is disputing the results published in Environmental Health.

"This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance," said Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, in a statement. "Our industry has used mercury-free versions of the two re-agents mentioned in the study, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda, for several years. These mercury-free re-agents perform important functions, including adjusting pH balances."

However, the IATP told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that four plants in Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and West Virginia still use "mercury-cell" technology that can lead to contamination.

IATP's Ben Lilliston also told HealthDay that the Environmental Health findings were based on information gathered by the FDA in 2005.

And the group's own study, while not peer-reviewed, was based on products "bought off the shelf in the autumn of 2008," Lilliston added.

The use of mercury-contaminated caustic soda in the production of HFCS is common. The contamination occurs when mercury cells are used to produce caustic soda.

"The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury. The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients," Wallinga said in his prepared statement.

Funeral for a Fish/ How to Not Be Eaten By a Leopard

Little Paula was in the garden filling in a hole when her neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was doing, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Paula?" "My goldfish died," replied Paula tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him." The neighbor was concerned. "I am so sorry for your loss but that seems to be an awfully big hole for a little tiny goldfish, isn't it?" Paula nicely patted down the last heap of earth on the grave and then replied, "That's because he's inside your horrible cat."


A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company. One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that she's lost. Wandering about, she notices a leopard heading rapidly in her direction with the intention of having lunch. The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in trouble now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, she immediately settles down to chew on the bones with her back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with her back to her attackers, pretending she hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says: "Where's that blasted monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Blog Entry Praises Church Welfare Program

Yeah! I'm always happy when I read positive things being said about the LDS Church. I found the following on Dr. Laura's Blog:

Blessings in Disguise

December 18, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Charity, Economy, Marriage, Mormons, Relationships, Values Email This Post

"I have always been impressed with the mentality of the Mormons with respect to the issue of charity. I had a tour of their main charity facilities, and was amazed at what I saw and learned. There are absolutely no handouts – they barter!

Here’s how it works: if you could lose your home, or if you need food, clothing, medicine or toys for your children, the Church takes financial care of your needs. In exchange, you provide services to the very mechanism that rescued you. This means that folks in the bakeries are people who have benefited from the charitable services; those helping in the stores that sell thrift clothing, housewares and food are those who have benefited from the charitable services, and so on.

The basic concept is to preserve a sense of dignity and pride in those who have temporary need by giving them an opportunity to use their skills in the service of others. Walking around the premises, I felt the uplifted attitude of all who were there: smiles, waves, and straight backs.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints provides for people all over the world – not only with goods and goodwill, but with the opportunity to not lose a sense of self when “things” are lost.

I probably sound like an advertisement for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am not a member of their religion, but I am impressed with their charitable philosophy, because I believe it teaches our children their real value, while motivating and uplifting them at the same time.

Their young people who graduate high school are expected to go on two-year “missions,” reminiscent of the Peace Corps. These young people come back much more mature, as they’ve experienced the pain and need of others, and have sacrificed two years of their own comfort to be of service to others.
Other youngsters just don’t want to skip a beat in their acquisition of iPods, cell phones, and other “Internet in your hand” gadgets.

I believe that the economic disaster our country is in right now is a kind of blessing in disguise with respect to values. Without values, life just provides us with “things,” but not necessarily with any profound meaning."