Rough Stone Rolling

I read a moving blog entry today, by a bishop who struggles to find the right words for those who are in mourning. I’m grateful for his admission because that’s my problem. Digging deep. searching for something remotely comforting to say, I instead stammer, probably coming off like a guy who’s mentally flipping through his [...]

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A friend died about a month ago and we attended his funeral service at our old ward building. I knew John for about 23 years, and while I wouldn’t say we were tight, spending that much time in close proximity can’t help but create some moments of camaraderie.
The chapel was filled with a lot of [...]

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We’re very active in the Church, but mine is not a particularly religious family. That is to say, we’ll find where the sacrament meeting is wherever we’re vacationing, but we don’t quote scripture to each other in conversation, or note how a particular challenge we’re facing reminds us of something Elder Bednar said in a [...]

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A strange occurrence became stranger still yesterday as I pursued the origins of a mysterious slip of paper in my mailbox.
Usually when I get one of those yellow notes from the postman, saying he tried to deliver a certified letter (and here are the options of how to get it to me) I get a [...]

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Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s been a while. But listen, it isn’t because my interest in the site’s waning or I got shanked in chow cause a’ what happened to T-Bone in the showers. For some reason, life just suddenly went into overdrive. Miss D’s schedule got busier– but so did the Mrs’, so that [...]

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It’s become a hobby for me to follow the news stories related to Prop 8 and its fallout. I like using Google News because it draws stories from journalistic monoliths like the New York Times as well as little bedroom community papers and blogs, and the spectrum of “voices” captured in the comments sections are [...]

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I have to say, growing up as a teen in the 70’s was a blast. The clothes were fun (especially on the girls), the mood was easier, stereos were amazing, muscle-powered objects d’art, the drive-in theaters were laboratories for some pretty intense summer magic. Needless to say, I miss those times.

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Eightmaps has gotten a lot of press regarding the “outting” of contributors to Prop 8. Essentially, it’s a Google Maps page devoted to flagging donors’ names, employment and the amount they gave toward the passing of the proposition.
It’s also considered a major coup for the opposition when the courts said the contributors’ identities couldn’t be [...]

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I saw two brilliant, deeply affecting movies this weekend: Gran Torino and The Wrestler. The characters in both films were broken, regretful old men looking for redemption, and the actors who played them both nailed their parts with sublime majesty. It’s no wonder Mickey Rourke is up for Best Actor– he was Randy “The Ram” [...]

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Fresh out of the box, Obama’s new Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is already taking whacks at the hornet’s nest. The big issue: Religious organizations that accept federal funding will have to expand their hiring to include those outside of their faith. Some clergy “get it” and are either going to find ways to [...]

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I was recently invited on Facebook to write down 25 random things about myself and then send them to 25 friends with the instruction to do the same. Sort of a “pay-it-forward” kind of a thing. Well, it was an interesting enough exercise that I went for it, and by the time I was done, there [...]

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The gay community has squealed every which way ’til Tuesday about their so-called civil rights in California, and now the California adoption agencies are taking advantage of the charged climate to push their own agenda. Launching an aggressive billboard campaign, local agencies are now reaching out to the gay community, encouraging them to adopt children.
Proponents [...]

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One of the more interesting characters in my lifetime is G. Gordon Liddy: lawyer, FBI agent, CIA operative and Watergate burglar. While the others tossed the hot potato of blame at each other during the Watergate investigation, Liddy fearlessly took the heat and went to prison for his president.  During my university years he was [...]

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I wonder how many members say, “I’m not going to watch the Super Bowl because I want to keep the Sabbath Day holy.” Or how many actually TiVo the game so they can watch it on Tuesday (Monday being FHE). Is the Super Bowl really a violation of the Sabbath Day? Well, then slap the [...]

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I hate slow.
Clumping through the ritual of waiting for others every day has etched deep, cankering grooves in my psyche. People insist on stepping in front of me only to walk at half my speed– sometimes less than half. How do they get anything done, practically loitering there in the path like they’re on a [...]

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Coming into a new year, I find myself entangled in a new, extremely intense relationship. Cheesy though it may sound, it’s developed into a blistering love affair and I see no way out– not that I’d take it if you showed me the way. If you told me 6 months ago that I’d be caught in such a situation, [...]

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If Barack Obama’s campaign rhetoric is put into law, 2009 will be the year homosexuality becomes a civil right.
During the campaign, Obama said the issue of gay rights “is about who we are as Americans.” On Change.gov under the heading “civil rights,” Obama promises legal protection for “gender identity” and “gender expression,” expansion of “hate crime” statutes and homosexual [...]

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To All My Valued Employees:
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company and, more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn’t pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job, [...]

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In sacrament meeting last Sunday our stake president surprised us with an announcement regarding our February ward conference:
We’re having an open house.
In light of all the tumultuous press the Church has gotten lately, our stake leadership feels prompted to have us invite non-member friends and neighbors to our 3-hour block. In the first hour we’ll [...]

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When I was in the 7th-9th grade, I palled around with a  borderline delinquent named Doug.
Together we would sluff the Evergreen Jr. High spirit assemblies (opting instead to get breakfast at the Hungry Hermit on 33rd South) or take a cab downtown to grab some dinner and catch a midnight movie when our parents thought we [...]

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