New posting, no Veil

Well, here I am with a new posting, first one in a while.

There's no Carnival of the Veil at present, as nobody has made any posts on their blogs, either. Well, at least, nobody has sent any posts to me for inclusion in the latest COV, which may or may not be the same thing.

At the moment I am being entertained (for want of a better word) by one of the illegal lodgers at the house that is rented out next door. Why not move? Well, that's not possible at the moment, as we own our house and current market conditions are against putting our house up for sale.

The man who rents the house and his wife are lovely people, but she has just lost her job, so they have decided to take in lodgers (without the permission of the owner of their house) in order to be able to make the rent which is £650 per month. So we can understand why they have done it. Though it is a pity they have allowed one person who rents a room to bring their megga-powerful sound system.

We (that is, my wife and I) believe this will all end in tears, as the young woman concerned seems to move from house to house in the small town we live in. And she has a reputation for laving her last home with stuff that does not belong to her. Though we can't say anything, as these are rumours only.

I have been very busy lately. One of the reasons why there have been no posts on this blog in a while. The company I work for in my day job has decided to slash the use of freelance contributors, meaning that much of the work the freelance writers did has now fallen on my shoulders. And we had no pay rise last year and no Christmas bonus, either. And two of the firm's support staff (one admin, one in accounts) have been let go due to the way the magazine publishing industry has been hit so very hard in the UK.

I have also being working hard in the evenings trying to make money from my websites and freelance writing. Sometimes I do not finish until 1 or even 2am, and have to get up for work at 7.15am, for another day of writing. You have to do what you have to do in order to survive. My wife works, even though her health is not too good. She has arthritis.

Well, at least I am not in the position of all the Mormons I know. They have to pay 10% of their income to the corporate church. That's £1 in every £10 that they earn.

COV For November

Hi. Welcome to COV for November.

Hope all American readers had a good Thanksgiving.

We kick off with a post from South Bay Soliloquies:

Which states: I Love Colbert" And shows why, with a video of The Colbert Report!

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-love-colbert.html

Next is a post from my blog which covers a case in Australia of alleged lack of action by the Mormon Church regarding a paedophile member

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/11/sex-between-adult-males-and-14-year-old.html

That's it for this time, these are the only entries.

Next edition of COV will be mid January. Please send your entries in by the second week January.

Here it is, the October edition of COV

My exmo book is published. And has earned a foul-mouthed tirade from someone called Matthew. He might wonder why his comment was rejected.

“Matthew, you might wonder why your comment was rejected.

This was because you used an obscene word in your comment.

Now, you might wish to use this type of language in your ward building, but you will NOT use it in comment section of my blog.

You really do need to seek an interview with your Bishop as you seem to be holding your temple recommend under false pretences, you foul-mouthed person.

You are another of the tiresome kind of Mormon that decent Mormons get so (rightly)upset about. The "Don't do as I do, but do as I say" Mormons.”

I think that says it all, really!

Now to the blogs for October:

Some very sad news about Jason.

“Hi Matt,

Out of respect for Jason (Starbright), I have went ahead and made his blog into a 'public domain'-type of site. People can download as much as they want of it until March of next year. The new company understands our
situation and have delayed the aquisition until then.

The current registration will expire in March, and the site will change hands at that time.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Thank you for your support of us while he was with us.

Norma”

http://seeingreality.com/starbright/

My sympathy goes to Norma and everyone else in his family and his friends.

Next, something from Runtu

http://runtu.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/the-real-reasons-i-left-mormonism/

"The Real Reasons I Left Mormonism

OK, I admit it: the problems I listed in my earlier post are not the real reasons I am no longer a practicing and believing Mormon. Here are my true motivations, in no particular order:”

(MATT: Oh, boy! That was very amusing. The trouble is, many TBMs really believe that this is why we leave, the poor souls!”)

This just in from Kita!

My husband & I have started a new blog. It is a collection of personal stories, commentary and news stories about Utah and Mormonism. The url is - http://utahsucks.wordpress.com/blog/. I don't know what to submit. Haven't written anything new about Mormonism in awhile. I've been pissing and moaning about the elections and bailout on http://locokazoo.com. The intro page is an blog entry from my husband Doc and I liked it enough to stick it to the front. That is here - http://utahsucks.wordpress.com/

(MATT: Posts to COV don't have to be about Mormonism. They just have to be by exmos and that's about it. Actually, they don't have to be by exmos, as people who have had their life impacted by Mormonism but who aren't members could submit posts here, should they want to.)

Next, a post from South Bay Soliloquies

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/09/movie-review-tropic-thunder.html

“Movie Review: Tropic Thunder

I saw the trailer for this and thought it would be kind of funny, although I'm not surprised at the controversy that surrounds this film and the issues of Vietnam veterans, the mentally disabled, and race. However, I thought this was a great comedy. Or maybe I just don't get offended as easily.”

(MATT: I rarely -ever- go to see films (movies) at the cinema. Maybe I'll make an exception based on this review)

And now, to my own offering

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-have-finally-published-my-ex-mormon.html

“I have finally published my ex-Mormon Book!

After about a year of beating my brains out, my book is finally published.

It is called: "Mormonism Con or Cult?" And is published by The Rann Street Press and is available as a download from Lulu at £4.00, that's about $8, I think.

The link to the store is http://stores.lulu.com/Thatsnews

The introduction to the book is:

"I used to be a Mormon, but I am not a Mormon any longer. I have decided to write this book in an attempt to show readers why I decided to become Not a Mormon, any more.”

That's it for this time.

But in memory of Jason I will republish here the original exmo blog list that we published on Jason's site. Thanks Jason, you are a real star:

Here it is! The Infamous Outer Blogness listing:

The Freeway Overpass Starbright
Kipona Loke
Enigma's Thought Spot Enigma
Joseph's Left One substrate
Not A Mormon Matt
Engineering ZekeTheElder
Mormon2Catholic effulgent
Sideon's Sanctuary Sideon
Letters from a Broad... chanson
WanaBeExmo anon
Halfway Demolished Kitchen of the Soul Stray Mutt
The Murphy Mafia The Apostate Paul
TragicComedy TragicMind
The Thought Spot DiggerChick
Agnostic1 Agnostic One
Equality Time Equality
Mormons In The Blogspot MITB
Latter Day Saints LDS
ScottishBrain ScottishBoy
From Rocky Top to the Rockies Jonny
Spiritual Rape Spiritual Rape
Eight Hour Lunch Inig0
Trapped By Mormons Natalie R. Collins
Masters of the Context DeCaf
Cr@ig in the Middle Cr@ig P@xton
La's Self-Discovery UT Laura
Formons Eric
Planet Kolob Blog Aggregator
The Sugar Beet Chris Bigelow
Mormon Agnosticism BYU Alter Ego
Rants and Raves Seneca

The Next COV will be in November. Please get your links in for the November COV.

COV For Sunday 29 June

Here is the delayed COV for Sunday 29 June. I am sorry for the delay, this was due to Yahoo not showing me the contents of any emails!

Still, I have managed to work out a way around this and here we are:-

First up Kita Kazoo:

http://locokazoo.com/2008/06/26/answers-about-mormon-oddities/

“Mormons believe in modern prophecy. During the cold war, starting with the Cuban Missile Crisis, Mormon leaders counseled their followers to store food and other items for survival in case of nuclear holocaust. I find it strange that they continue to do so when there has been nothing to indicate the need for this now.”

Runtu's Rincon strikes up with the following interesting post on his blog:-

http://runtu.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/providing-context/

“I came across this interesting paragraph in the current LDS priesthood/Relief Society manual Teachings of Joseph Smith in a lesson about apostasy (I may write more about this lesson later):

As that year [1837] wore on, a spirit of apostasy grew among some of the Saints in Kirtland. Some members became proud, greedy, and disobedient to the commandments. Some blamed Church leaders for economic problems caused by the failure of a Kirtland financial institution established by Church members.”

(Matt: Yes... Church members did that! Hmmm...)

And from my own blog this time I respond to the comments from Aaron

“These are the comments Aaron made on my Mormonism and MLM post:

"I think you're on to something here. Some of your info is off target.”

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/06/aarons-interesting-points.html

Aaron does not agree with me. And I asked him to provide evidence. If Aaron reads this post, perhaps he will reply.

And from CV Rick Pancakes

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2007/03/pancakes.html

“Separate two eggs very carefully. I use the shells, breaking the eggs in half with a single smack against a glass bowl, you really want to use glass for this, plastic or aluminum just won't work.”

And that's it for now. See you next time with your contribution!

And for some reason, Blogger steadfastly refused to upload the COV image! Oh, well. Maybe it will work in two weeks time!

COV for Sunday June 16

Hi! Sorry about the delay in publication:- This was due to a download of new anti-virus software taking four hours!

First off CV Rick

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2008/05/saturday-meme---glad-im-not-mormon.html

“This is for all my ex-Mormon buddies out there and for those non-Mormons who've read my blog and realized that they grew up more sane and well-adjusted than any Mormon.

Why are you glad you're not Mormon...”

Now South Bay Soliloquies for the Soul

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-guess-youll-do.html

“I recently had a conversation with my mom over the phone regarding the college class I'm taking online. . . .”

(MATT: And it goes downhill from there on in, as they often do, sadly...)

And next is Fiddley Gomme's contribution:

http://fiddley.com/archive/200806/just-give-it-back-and-i-promise-i-wont-call-ins

“Damn, but I was gonna take the sweetest shot of the flag on the front porch with the dusk moon in the sky behind it last night. Into the house I went to grab the camera bag from the sofa table. Not on the sofa table. Up to the bedroom to get the camera bag from the bedside table. I mean, out to the car where I left my camera bag. Err... what? It's not in the car?”

MATT: A similar thing happened to me. With a company camera. Arghhh! Sorry. But I do sort of feel your pain, here...)

And now my contribution.

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/06/they-do-not-like-it-but-tough.html

“The official Mormon Church really does not like it when people call members of the FLDS Mormons.

Well, that's just too bad! For, in reality, members of the FLDS have just as much right to be called Mormons as the members of the LDS church. After all, don't both churches consider Smith and Young as their founders?”

That's it, for this time.

Two weeks time, we'll do it all again. With different stuff, obviously...

COV for Sunday 6 April

The latest edition of COV is here!

First up Runtu with some humour.

http://runtu.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/there-might-be-something-wrong-with-your-religion-if/


"There might be something wrong with your religion if …

You think it’s perfectly fine for your leader to have sex with teenagers and married women, but you tell your children you’d rather they be dead than lose their virginity.

“Singles Ward” is good, but “Schindler’s List” is inappropriate due to its “R” rating.

Everyone in your church was “saved for the last days,” but everyone else just happened to be born in really wicked times."

(MAT: This is freaky. It touches on a subject in my post for this week!)


And from Emerging from the ashes we find Baptism for the dead part 2 (includes link to part 1)

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2008/03/baptisms-for-dead-part-2.html

"The interview went well enough. I dressed up in my Sunday clothes, a dress I hated. But then, I hated all dresses. Just was not my thing. An interview with a member of the bishopric, though, required dressing up. It's how it was done, especially in my family.

Over at the church, I sat on the old orange couch in the foyer, my hands planted under my legs as I stared at the red-orange industrial carpet. Brother Hicks, the executive secretary, called my name and escorted me into the bishop's office. I was especially shy as a kid, so "don't speak until you are spoken to" was easy enough for me. Actually, adults had a hard time getting me to answer at all. But these were questions I had to answer, and answer correctly, without guilt on my face, if I wanted the temple recommend to go do baptisms."

Next up is South Bay Soliloquries

A great gig and an approach by a dirty, smelly idiot.

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/03/spencer-day-at-hotel-cafe.html

"Last night Spencer Day debuted at the Hotel Cafe. For some reason I thought the Hotel Cafe was in downtown, but I was wrong; it's in Hollywood.

Even living in LA, Hollywood still feels like a strange, foreign city to me, full of nightclubs, bars, and tourist attractions. But I digress.

Spencer found me on MySpace a couple months ago and sent me a nice note. Most of the musician "friend" requests are fairly impersonal, but I felt that Mr. Day looked at my profile and (correctly) judged that I might be interested in his music, then sent a note to say so. Classy."


Easter Explained by Fiddley Gomme
http://fiddley.com/archive/200803/easter-explained

"I got so confused by the early Easter this year and got so wrapped up in the commercialism of the holiday that I nearly forgot to remember the true meaning of the day. Yes, Easter is a converted Pagan sun ritual. No, there's not really a giant rabbit that hides eggs all over your yard only to be found rotting under a tomato plant, weeks later by your dog."

(MATT: My wife, with the cynicism born of gaining a ThD, calls Easter The Festival of Chocolates and Christmas the Festival of Trees...)

And here is my post for this issue...

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-not-that-bad-so-what-so-why-should.html

Mormonism, someone told me, "it's not all that bad."

My reply might have surprised them. I said: "Well, so what? It's bad enough and that is enough for me!"

I have tried to hyperlink the blog posts, but it did not work. Sorry about that!

See you in two weeks time!

COV for Sunday March 9

Hello and welcome to COV for this week. I am afraid you might have to copy and paste links this time. My version of Word will not work as I have not been able to register it, as it refuses to acknowlede that I am online using a wireless modem and Firefox. So much for modern technology. Unless I can fix it in another way!


This from Kita Kazoo:

Here's my submission - This post is an experiment, I am trying to politically stir up the progressive Utah Mormons by teaching them their religion.
http://locokazoo.com/2008/03/06/utahs-silent-majority/
(MATT: Looks like a cool idea)

This one is from Corn Child

http://averticalbloghappens.blogspot.com/2008/02/screeching-to-halt.html

The last week has been a total letdown. I have this overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety that I just can't seem to shake. I've been flying at 250 miles an hour for the last year and a half, working towards the big degree, and suddenly I'm done! Wham! There's no gradual descent back into reality. It's just over.

(MATT: This happens. The first semester I was a Mormon and finishing the exams left me feeling down for a couple of weeks. The next semester I was an ex-Mormon and we had a damn good party fuelled by much booze in the Student Union Bar, with the booze atradically discounted prices. And I had not a minute of post-exam depression.)

And Here's one form the archives of From The Ashes
http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2006/12/sleep-induced-conversation-with-mormon.html


The next blog entry is from South Bay Soliloquies.
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-morning-routine.html

"I added something to my morning routine today that I think will require a little extra coordination and some practice.

I tend to drink a lot of tea as my caffeine source, but sometimes I just have to have a cup of coffee. Especially since my exposure to using sweetened condensed milk as creamer."

(Condensed milk is great. Try whipping it. It whips up well.)

And last, here is mine.
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-come-joe-smith-never-mentioned-this.html

See you next time! And please keep those blog posts flooding in!