Dad’s frequent flyer miles recently took me back to the Washington, DC area to visit my family and some old friends. I’ve gone back before, but never ventured out and about. The area changed a lot when I was growing up, but I’ve always remembered things just the way I saw them the summer before I left for BYU. (more…)

I’ve just been over to the upper end of the bloggernacle and found the discussion over there very helpful. I make crap zilch at my job, but I’m going to make a donation to your church’s humanitarian fund this Sunday. It seems like the right thing to do. But I want to do more than that. (more…)

I’m beginning to wonder if the sisters are ever coming back. If they don’t I can’t really say I blame them and here’s why:

Last Saturday, not Labor Day weekend, but the weekend before that, I had Dale over for some Dr. Pepper. I’m trying to broaden his horizons beyond beer and kool-aid, but that’s beside the point. We were sitting there looking at the lay of the land, not saying a word to each other the way we usually do. Out of the blue Dale turns to me and asks me if I want to dance, which threw me for a loop because I had him figured for a heterosexual. (more…)

OK, so now I really, really feel bad for not posting for so long. But I have a good excuse: I’ve been busy! That’s right, BUSY. It feels nice to have something to do. No, I don’t have a job yet (a couple of interviews coming up - cross your fingers!), but I have a calling, on the Compassionate Service Committee.

And I have another calling: Ward Pity Date. (more…)

It’s with a little chagrin that I take up Microsoft Word and pound out some thoughts tonight. The fact that I’m sitting in my ergonomic computer chair with Abe and Adam still playing Halo well within hearing distance (whoever said Mormons don’t swear?) means that I’m not wading through toxic flood waters doing more than just looking out for number one. I haven’t stopped thinking about what’s going on down there but my innate ineptitude with any sort of bureaucracy has given me acid reflux whenever I go onto www.redcross.org or www.fema.gov. I’ve gotten as far as registering as a volunteer with the VolunteerMatch link from the Red Cross homepage, but whenever I filled in any parameters for volunteering, I would click “search” and two seconds later read, “No Matches Found In Your Area.” Do you ever get the feeling that you’re driving about 15 miles an hour on a utility road paralleling a very fast interstate where important people driving V-8 engines are speeding off to where everyone else is going, and you want to be going faster, but somehow you missed the on-ramp that everyone else found miles back, and so now you’re stuck on this bumpy road with your grandma’s 1939 Model T? That’s my life. You wouldn’t guess it to see what a charismatic, intelligent guy I am, but I’m hands down the most embarrassing person you ever saw trying to keep track of anything more complicated than paying for a subscription to Nature Conservancy. And even then I miss the annual subscription renewal notice and have to talk to some very polite woman who calls to say, “Were you considering getting another 12 months of the world-class environmental publication,” but whose cotton-candy tone of voice actually says, “You idiot, we go through this every year.”

But that’s not what I want to write about. (more…)

I’ve got some good news; I now have a job. After I can’t remember how many weeks with nothing to do but jobhunt, I started today. It’s not an admin job, it’s not a copy center job, it’s a bona fide position in marketing. I’ll be writing, planning, and actually being a part of things. Hooray!

Bad news: it’s with Altria. (more…)

At Millennial Star, a discussion has started in the comments to the General Conference prediction post about whether or not eating disorders are sins. Some good points are being made, but I worry about putting all compulsions on equal ground. (more…)

One thing that discussions about evolution demonstrate: Arguments about evolution do not evolve.

Naturally, I have little to say about evolution. It just does not matter to me. But it remains a popular topic among bloggers and commenters here in the bloggernacle. (more…)

I’m finished with this blog and its commenters. The almost complete absence of courtesy and the gratuitous personal insults are more than I will abide, and I refuse to continue associating with people who will not lift a finger to defend me. The longer I participate, the less I see anything besides people preening themselves with pedantry. I’m now convinced that most of the bloggernacle is given over to Mormons who glibly eschew basic LDS values in order to sound candid, interesting, or sophisticated. I’ve tried to pretend like none of this matters, but it does.

This isn’t exactly what I wanted to post about, that might have to wait a day or two, but it’s suddenly become important to talk about it. I guess I was naive to think when we started this blog that we’d never have to ban anybody. (more…)

I wanted to name this post “Don’t Hate Me,” but Septimus has used that title already.

To all those who responded to my insults with kind words, I owe you a very special thanks.

Have you ever done something rash and very quickly regretted it? Please try to understand. I still have serious issues with some participants in the bloggernacle, but I’m guilty of having painted with too broad a brush. I owe so many of you an apology.

I’ve been candid about my taking anti-depressants, so I should be candid that I’m thinking about stopping. I’ve been having mood swings. Sometimes the smallest thing can set me off. I’m not sure if it’s me or if it’s a side effect. I wish things were simpler.

To my co-bloggers, Jenn, Mari, Greg, Aaron, and Septimus: I love you all. Thanks for your support and for being so patient with me. I can’t imagine a group of people that I’d rather blog with.

I think we should all pray more. Most of you probably pray all the time I bet, so maybe you should pray less, but just with more real intent. I only say that because fewer prayers, but really meaning it, that’s what’s worked for me. I’ve recently had some prayers answered. (more…)

The input we gathered on the banning thread and a lot of behind the scenes discussions have led to a new banning policy for our blog. (more…)

The Church pamphlet “For the Strength of Youth” states:

Because sexual intimacy is so sacred, the Lord requires self-control and purity before marriage as well as full fidelity after marriage. In dating, treat your date with respect, and expect your date to show that same respect to you. Never treat your date as an object to be used for your own lustful desires or ego. Improper physical contact can cause a loss of self-control. Always stay in control of yourself and your physical feelings…The Lord specifically forbids certain behaviors, including…petting.

Why do I think that it’s not such a big deal to get felt up? (more…)

Best known for his ability to play no-nonsense, gruff characters, Wilford Brimley is among the most recognizable actors in Hollywood. His acting credits include The High Road to China (1983), The Natural (1984), Cocoon (1985), Hard Target (1993), The Firm (1993), My Fellow Americans (1996), In and Out (1997), Brigham City (2001), and The Road Home (2003). Moreover, according to ldsfilm.com, he’s Mormon.

And today, he turns 71. Happy Birthday!

I, Greg Fox, a founding blogger of Banner of Heaven, motion to ban DKL from this site effective as soon as we reach consensus about it. Let it be swift, let it be clean, let it be unmistakable. (more…)

Thanks to everyone who had advice for me when my mother moved in with us. So far, things have gone surprisingly well, with a few exceptions. It really helped that we took the time to discuss our expectations and lay a few ground rules. But it’s becoming clear to me that I didn’t anticipate some realities of living with a newly single (again!) relative. (more…)

Greg, you’re a good kid and I love you like a brother, but you’re way off base with this, and I can only hope those were your words and not Miranda’s. DKL doesn’t need to get banned, all he needs is a big hug. (more…)

My son Park and my daughter Emily started 2nd grade and half-day kindergarten last month, and there are a couple of things that bother me about their school. (more…)

I’m glad to see that in my absence the blog was kept plenty busy by such weighty matters. Like makeup on men. And hand wringing about characters like DKL. And old farts going country dancing. And fake boobs. And boobs in the moonlight, not so alone after all. Sorry to be sarcastic. Don’t get me wrong. Except for makeup on men I don’t have anything against the above stuff. For example I’ve had some fun country dancing. And I’ll admit I’m as intriged by boobs as the next guy. But not fake boobs. A pair of well formed natural B’s or even A’s really, beat fake D’s any day in my book. Though I’m sure we all could agree, that a pair of exsquisit natural C’s is among the most supernal of divine creations. Especially when they… Well, but now I guess I’m getting carried away. C’s and D’s were not the kind of weighty matters I had in mind when I started this paragraph. (more…)