Mormon Bloggers

Meat Loaf is the gatekeeper to all things awesome. This post has been percolating in my mind for the past few weeks, but when Kelsy posted an eerily similar post about the magic of Steve Buscemi, I knew it was time for action. It is beautiful to have the kind of friends who can shout with me, with a glorious mixture of shock and joy, “SO-AND-SO IS IN THIS?!?” Here is the thing. If Meat Loaf is in a movie, it is either awesome to begin with or it becomes awesome because he is in it. Let’s start with the most obvious example. Robert Paulson in Fight Club. Not only was this an amazing film, Meat Loaf rocked this particular character by playing him with both affection and a lack of vanity. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this movie is actually a little bit better than the book, and the book was pretty good. If you know me, you know this is the highest compliment I can give a film. Eddie in the Rocky Horror Picture Show I went to one of those... Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a cause to celebrate! Especially for dad’s who still play or want to play video games.  After years of research indicating that video gaming has negative influence on an individual, Brigham Young University researchers have found a positive in video gaming.  It is a daddy-daughter thing. In a study of boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16, the researchers found that girls who played with a parent had positive outcomes.  The girls that played with a parent overall behaved better, felt a greater connection to family, had stronger resiliency, and less likely to be depressed or anxious. These positive outcomes were only seen when playing age appropriate games. The amount of co-playing time with a parent is relatively the same between boys and girls. However, boys tend to play more video games overall than girls. The boys showed no difference in positive outcomes with our without a parent playing with them. What’s interesting is the games youth will... Read the rest of this entry »

I scared my oldest son away from reading for awhile. I pushed too hard when he was four because I wanted him to read early and prove to the world that he was a genius and I was an amazing mother. Besides overwhelming him, we lost the joy of just reading together. After backing away from any type of reading instruction for over a year, we were able to make progress and read together happily again thanks to the library summer reading program and the Berenstain Bears. He was about six and a half when he realized he had read a book on his own and he was overjoyed. I hope I always have the memory of him jumping up and shouting “I’m reading! I’m starting to read!” I had known he had more skills than he believed and now he was aware too. Within a few months he was reading chapter books. He is now a self-proclaimed book worm. My second son decided to learn to read shortly after turning five. He made his intent clear to me and I thought I could be helpful and checked out... Read the rest of this entry »

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The poll is closed, and the results are in. I am disappointed that so many of you dishonest doofuses claimed to be my mother. I only have one. Sheesh. In accordance with the people, the picture stays the same. This will save me time and effort, so thanks. xoxoxxoxox ek  Read More →

I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do with this week’s theme–if it should be a reflection on a specific example or a list, or just a free-write. So, in the seat-of-my-pants spirit that birthed blogging back in the ’90s, I am just going to start writing and see what comes of it. I think I am about as greedy as the average American. I don’t care as much about having nice things as some people, but I would like, for example, an iPhone. I don’t even know why. Wait! Yes I do! Because of the Google Maps app. Anyway, I also buy clothes at thrift stores even when I probably shouldn’t. Right now I cannot afford to be greedy because I have lots and lots of medical bills. However, that did not stop me from buying a six-dollar book today. I shan’t tell you what book it was. Greedy also has a non-acquisition connotation, I suppose. Of all the Deadly Sins, Greed is the only one that relates directly to coveting, which is one of the... Read the rest of this entry »

“In experiments, I noticed that earthworms frequently clustered and formed a compact patch when they were out of the soil,” Zirbes told the BBC. I spent like fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to capitalize the title sentence before giving up. So I doubt anyone thinks of earthworms as social or intelligent creatures, because they are ugly and drown in puddles more frequently than other creatures, but I still really like them. So does Lara Zirbes at the University of Liege in Belgium. For her PhD dissertation, she conducted a series of studies to determine whether earthworms demonstrate herd behavior. She rigged up a bunch of mazes and sent earthworms through them, and it turns out that they do! Apparently earthworms communicate through touch and prefer to travel in groups. When placed in a chamber together, worms will follow the same path. Unlike ants and other social insects, worms communicate using direct physical contact rather than pheromone trails.... Read the rest of this entry »

“In experiments, I noticed that earthworms frequently clustered and formed a compact patch when they were out of the soil,” Zirbes told the BBC. I spent like fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to capitalize the title sentence before giving up. So I doubt anyone thinks of earthworms as social or intelligent creatures, because they are ugly and drown in puddles more frequently than other creatures, but I still really like them. So does Lara Zirbes at the University of Liege in Belgium. For her PhD dissertation, she conducted a series of studies to determine whether earthworms demonstrate herd behavior. She rigged up a bunch of mazes and sent earthworms through them, and it turns out that they do! Apparently earthworms communicate through touch and prefer to travel in groups. When placed in a chamber together, worms will follow the same path. Unlike ants and other social insects, worms communicate using direct physical contact rather than pheromone trails.... Read the rest of this entry »

The day the Nazis invaded France, hours before the soldiers arrived, Margret and H.A. Rey fled the country on bicycles. That is so punk rock.  Read More →

UPDATE to post below: If any of you have sent me stories and haven’t received a reply, please do send again. My email has been playing up recently, and I don’t want to miss anything.  *************************************************** I’m so excited about this new family history book I’m compiling. It fills my mind day and night. I dream about it, and wake up in the early hours to jot down thoughts. The book consists of stories about miracles that happen while doing family history research–those uplifting occasions when you realize you’ve received help finding vital information. Wonderful things happen with family history and I feel many people around the world will enjoy reading about them. If you’d like me to consider your story for inclusion in this new book, please email me at xtrafam@yahoo.com as soon as possible. I’m happy to edit and help with the writing if necessary. Please also forward this information to all friends and... Read the rest of this entry »

I used to want to be an editor. I like marking up papers and being right, and it’s the only thing one can do with a Bachelor’s in English Linguistics without going to graduate school or learning how to program computers. It was pretty much my only chance to be employable, so I went with it. Then I took an editing class where we practiced editing real material, and I hated it more than I have ever hated anything in my life. I think it’s because people can be real idiots, and I have no patience for it. If you can’t write, why are you writing a book? No, your writing is terrible. YOU shut up. My career as an editor would have been short-lived. Or I would have become an agent within a matter of weeks. Seemingly unrelated tangent! Have you ever heard of the infant literacy program Your Baby Can Read? It’s like the poor man’s Baby Einstein. Although unlike Baby Einstein, YBCR hasn’t been sued for false advertising … yet. Basically... Read the rest of this entry »

I have twice dreamt about being mauled by a bear. In both of these dreams, the bear ripped my stomach open and I lay there, dying while holding my insides in with my hands. The first time I had this dream I believe I was alone, the second I was with some friends–the same friends with whom I had gone backpacking a few months prior. They expressed sadness that I had been mauled by a bear, and I took comfort in their friendship in my last moments. I mentioned these dreams offhand to my father a few days ago, and he expressed concern about my psychic balance. But he’s kind of a paranoid guy who believes in astrology, so let’s disregard his opinion for now and consult Dr. Google. According to the VERY legit-seeming website dreammoods.com, my dream signifies change and a need to be more open with others. “To see a bear in your dream, symbolizes independence, the cycle of life, death and renewal. It may signal of period of introspection and thinking. The dream... Read the rest of this entry »