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.

Should we publish COV every 4 weeks?

There are only two entries this time, one from Gunner and one from myself.

It's possible some people are on holiday, so perhaps we should keep it every two weeks? Or would you be happier with every four weeks? Perhaps the 1st Sunday in every month? Please let me know what you think about this.

Firstly a welcome return to Gunner, the founder of this particular feast! (Charles Dickens reference)

http://tomanyquestions.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-point.html

I'm back to blogging more on my religious blog so here goes.

Gunner

Thanks, Gunner! Here is my contribution. An response to someone who refuses to accept that the fundamentalist Mormons are Mormons.
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/07/are-you-certain-about-that-david.html

COV Sunday 13 July

Welcome to this issue of COV. We start off with a welcome return from Sinister Porpoise
http://sinisterporpoise.blogspot.com/2008/07/children-will-suffer-in-same-sex.html
"As human beings we often make poorly conceived arguments on issues we feel strongly on. The commenter from the Vanessa Honda pohotography blog is one such example when she claims that children will suffer as a result of same-sex marriages. She also makes a historically inaccurate statement that the idea of viewing marriages as a social contract is a new one."

Now on to a contribution from Blog Happens
http://averticalbloghappens.blogspot.com/2008/07/deeper-thoughts-today.html
Deeper Thoughts
"Tomorrow is Emma's birthday. We're having a small shingdig with her buddies and my family. The Evil Sister is coming over too - we're making an attempt at amends - wish me luck!Want to hear a sad story about that sister? She's a super Mormon. Has four kids."
(Matt: It is a sad story. Made so by Mormonism, I fear…)
Now South Bay Soliloquies
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/07/fourth-of-july-5k.html
A story of 5k fuelled by bananas and Nutella!
My official time was 37:25. That's really good for me.I ran with a friend from work and his daughter. If I didn't run with them I think my time would have been a lot slower.
And lastly, my post
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/07/mormon-church-issues-sinister-threat-to.html
A threat to the world’s media from the Mormon Church!
Apparently some Mormons do not see this as a threat to the media. As I pointed out, as a journalist for some 30 years, I know a threat when I see one!)

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 20 April

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun?

First in this edition is this from CV Rick Nina Writer, who writes on Fast Sunday. Always seemed very slooow to me!

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2008/04/growing-up-mo-1.htmlhavnig fun?
"Let me tell you what Fast Sunday is all about in the Mormon world. It was the one weekend a month that I hated more than any other, it was dread, it was the pain and suffering that can only come from the directives of a vengeful God.

My father never did anything halfway when it came to adhering to the principles and precepts of the gospel until after I had moved out of his house. I hear he softened a bit for the younger kids but I'm not in touch with them enough to know if this is true. However back in the day, when it came to Fast Sunday there was no softness in the old man."

And next one from Eight Hour Lunch. It's not long, So I am not going to quote from anything, but but the title. "Your Doing it Wrong!" And you know, I think he might have a point!

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2008/04/youre-doing-it-wrong.html


And next something rather moving from South Bay Soliloquies:

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/04/carolyn-jessop-on-her-escape-from-flds.html

It links to a video interview of Carolyn Jessop on her Escape from the FLDS and her book.

http://averticalbloghappens.blogspot.com/2008/04/hooray-for-religion.html
Wow. How wield! THIS one's hyperlink worked!
"Hooray for religion, writes Blog Happens:

Let me start off by warning you all that I am a whirling tornado of hormones right now. I'm on day twelve of freakin' fertility shots and I am truly amazed that I am still a.) alive b.) still employed and c.) still married. Poor Military Man.
And my own current blog entry takes a look at the FLDS raid and takes a look at who is realy responsible for all this:

And here is my blog entry
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/04/flds-in-texas.html

"The FLDS story will, to coin an old journalistic expression, run and run. Especially when lawyers for the FLDS get involved. And just wait for self-proclaimed civil Rights lawyers to get their snouts in the trough!

Some people have questioned the propriety of the raid/s in that they offend their liberal sensibilities. These seem to run along the lines of: "People should be allowed to do what they want on their own property" and "parents should have a right to bring up their own children in any way that they see fit." Yes, but not if that bringing up of children utilises what boils down to torture techniques outlawed by International Military Conventions for use against enemy combatants, let alone against your own toddlers and children, for goodness sake!"

That's all the entries for this issue.

See you next time, in two weeks when we will have more about TSCC and Mormonism, the FLDS and whatever else we want to blog about.

Cheers!

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!

COV for Sunday 24 February

Welcome to the COV for Sunday 24 February.

We start this time with a submission from the blog South Bay Soliloquies

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/02/ugly-american.html

"I've been having a couple instances of culture shock recently. Here's an anecdote.

I was relaying a story from my vacation today to someone I know. The story involved my grandmother saying something to me in Chinese that I didn't understand.

The person laughed and said, "so she was like, [unintelligible babble that an average American would think sounded like Chinese]"."

(MATT: There’s a lot of that about. It happens in Britain too, sadly.)

And in his blog, Doug looks at misplaced environmental concern. And makes a good point, too…

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2008/02/misdirected-environmental-conc.html

“It has now been snowing since 3:30 this afternoon in what I'm pretty sure is the BILLIONTH fucking snowstorm of this never-ending winter. As I looked out the window at the buckets of fluffy stuff falling from the sky, it got me thinking about just one thing—global warming.”

And Sister Mary Lisa sends her very welcome submission concerning an email someone has sent her:

http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2008/02/dear-sml-falling-for-someone.html

Dear SML - Falling for Someone

Dear SML:

I'm in a quandary. I've got a problem and could use your sage advice. You see, I've been married for a long time. Always faithful and true. Never strayed. Never thought I would even be tempted to, honestly. Most of that time, I was in the Mormon church and believed that the issue of marital fidelity was, like almost every moral issue, "black and white" with no shades of gray. I left the church (mentally at least) a couple years ago, and now I see moral ambiguity and nuance everywhere.

I love my wife and my family. But the last few years have been tough marriage-wise. We don't have the same spark we once did. She has trouble talking to me about things that are important to me, and does not respect my "hobbies," which she finds a waste of time. We are more like roommates (with "benefits") than an intimate partnership. Last year, my wife had an emotional affair (EA) (at least I am 95% sure it did not escalate to physical) with a co-worker that she has had a crush on for a few years now. She stopped working with him after I found out about it, and I think she was scared that if she had kept seeing him daily it would escalate. Lately, she has begun communicating with him again.”

SML offers some sage advice. Take a look, see if you can add some of your own advice and experiences.

This next blog post is from the Doc

http://locokazoo.com/2008/02/21/america-the-big-lie-wheres-the-apple-pie/

“Intro - Americans have bought the lies of unscrupulous politicians who are running a “protection” scam based on invented threats - Politicians who promote fear in order to REDUCE FREEDOM so that they and their benefactors can rape the public. I am amazed at the resentment I engender by sticking up for my supposedly protected rights (freedom and liberty) and for the rights of others. It seems that Americans have no idea what America is all about anymore.”

And this is from KitaKazoo

http://www.religioustattoos.net/

"Intro - It could it be that tattoos are more than just “a way for people to express their uniqueness and set themselves apart,” as Salt Lake City Tattoo Convention sponsor C.J. Starkey claims. With a history of over 6000 years of use in spiritual & religious ceremony they could become, the new symbol of spirituality for twenty first century America."

(MATT: Here’s a question for Doc and Kita, who are tattooing experts. And anyone else who happens to read this note: The Mark that was given to the tribe of Cain. Could this mark have been a way of explaining why a particular tribe chose to wear a tattoo? Just a thought that has occurred to me on and off for several years…)

And now a post from Emerging From the Ashes

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2008/02/homophobia-in-utah.html

“Homophobia in Utah

Visiting Utah has its advantages, like spending time with my family, letting my son play with his cousins, and frequent DAMU meet-ups. But then there's the Utah conservatism, the Sean Hannity on the radio, the church on every corner, the weird looks you get for ordering alcohol at dinner. And every time I'm here, I somehow end up in a frustrating conversation about homosexuality with some member of my family. I'm probably guilty of starting these conversations, to be fair. But then I ask myself, why? Why do I bother?

Yesterday I had a long conversation with my mom and a couple of my sisters about homosexuality. My mom kept calling people who are bisexual and anywhere on the spectrum except the two extremes "not particular" about where they get sex. As if that's all there was to it. It is so totally offensive. She also has this idea that gay people just sleep around with anybody and everybody. She accepts that "some people are just born that way" but thinks that most are just influenced by culture and want to experiment and "get it anywhere they can."”

(Matt: Oddly enough, your sister would have been right if she had been talking about a woman I knew at college. She decided to experiment with homosexuality. She slept with a female student who was openly gay, “just so I could see what it was like,” she said, afterwards. (She was an utter loony who had decided to use her own life as a social sciences experiment. She was doing a degree in Social Sciences) She next decided to experiment with the idea of seducing a younger man, and then deliberately dropping him "to study his reactions." He was also a fellow student in our year.

Both victims of her experiments were of course utterly crushed and devastated by her ‘experiments’ and the lies she had told them, and it cost her a lot of her friends. But I feel she was the exception, and not the rule…)

And now here is my blog submission

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/02/persecution-persecution-persecution-oh.html

“Persecution, persecution, persecution! Oh! You poor Mormons!

The flowing question was posted on Yahoo! Answers, the other day:

“Mormon haters, why do you hate the mormons? what did we do to you?

i want to know why you dislike or hate the mormons. dont give me the stuff about they said this and this and this so i hate them, because newsflash, people are going to say things you disagree with. so cry me a river, build me a bridge, and GET OVER IT. otherwise tell me why you vow our downfall and suffering.”

Oh, the arrogance of youth!”

That’s it for this issue. See you in a fortnight’s time!

COV is up

Hi! Hope you had a good weekend. We are having unseasonably warm weather here, but I expect we will suffer for it later in the month. For that is the way with British weather!

First we start with An Eight Hour Lunch

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2008/01/good-riddance.html

“Adios, Mr. Hinckley. Too bad you couldn't take Fred Phelps with you. The only thing I can say positively about you is that thanks to your ministry of shameless and cynical self aggrandizement, there are less people who believe in Joseph Smith's con game now than there might have otherwise been.

There are then several highlights you won't get from the local news media. Actually Mr Hinckley’s death hardly raised a splash in the UK media. And without RFM I still would not know he was dead!

Next we have Kita Kazoo’s post

http://kitakazoo.com/2008/01/31/putting-away-the-fangs-and-getting-out-the-white-flags/

“Putting Away the Fangs and Getting Out the White Flags

One of my most favorite parts of reading newspapers online is the comments. There are so many different ways to look at every issue and having the public input has in my opinion made the news so much more interesting and informative. I learn a lot from reading the different perspectives expressed by individuals who have taken the time to give their input.

I read the news in both my home states, in both the liberal and conservative papers and then I read the Times and Post. Even though there is just as much conflict between the different camps conservative and liberal in all of the newspapers, there is a big difference between the comments in the Michigan & national news papers and the ones in Utah.

In Utah almost every stories comment section turns into a punching match between the “gentiles” and the Mormons who prefer to be known as “members”.”

And now a post from Mind on Fire, which deals with 10 misconceptions about atheists:

http://www.mindonfire.com/2008/01/30/ten-common-misconceptions-about-atheists/

“10. We eat babies.

No, but we think about it sometimes. Mmmmm, baby…”

Sounds fun. Where can we sign up? (Just kidding!)

And now, something Emerging From the Ashes

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2008/02/been-reading.html

Warning. This WILL make you very hungry indeed!

Been reading

I've been reading this fabulous book, eat, pray, love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. You've likely heard of it or at least seen it around, as it is a #1 New York Times Bestseller, as the cover proudly proclaims. It was recommended to me by both my devout mother-in-law and by fellow DAMU blogger, love medicine (who has exponentially expanded my To Read list).

The first section, "eat," is about a four-month stay in Italy, where the author practices the art of indulgence by learning Italian--for no other reason than she wants to--and by eating wonderful, delicious Italian food. There's this great chapter where she describes seeking out the best pizza place in Naples, the city where pizza began. Get this: she's eating the Best Pizza in the World. She gushes about this pizza with it's thin crust, perfectly flavored red sauce, and fresh mozzarella (once you've gone fresh, you can't go back). I tell you, she practically describes a food-gasm about this pizza. Tears of joy over the cheese. Shit, I almost had a food-gasm myself just reading about it. I thought back to the best pizza I've ever had, in New York City, with fellow exmos Meg & Jack Slate, hank rearden, lisesymom & exV, and juggler vain. We were there for lunch, I had skipped class and taken the train in just for this lunch, and we ate pepperoni pizza with rolls and red wine. The sauce was perfect, the crust was crisp but melt-in-your-mouth wonderful, and the fresh mozzarella just made this pizza. I can't imagine the pizza in Naples.”

And now something from Starbright

http://www.seeingreality.com/starbright/?p=180

“He’s finally dead. Not to be unsympathetic, but can you imagine the depth of damage control the new president - Tommy Gun Monson - is going to have to do in order to reverse the negative outlook on the LDS Church? It’ll never work. The damage is already done. Of course there’s the living prophet vs. dead prophet doctrine. Hmm.”

(A side note from Matt:-

I always have a copy of the invites to post to COV sent to my own Yahoo mailbox. It sent my own Yahoo email straight to my Yahoo Spam folder. Gee, Yahoo. Thanks. I think!)

And now, finally, my own contribution to COV

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/02/hello-there-and-goodbye-there-rejected.html

“For the first time in absolutely ages I had to reject a comment on this blog. Not because it was filled with the usual vacuous and vapid maudlin "pity poor, persecuted, me" tripe and twaddle of so many Mormons. Which it was. Nor that it was filled with enough strawmen to furnish 1,000 stage versions of The Wizard of Oz. Which it was.

Was it the fact that it was "uber-filled" with Mormon braggadocio. "You know that Mormons are some of the brightest and best moral charaters (sic) in society."”

See you in two weeks time!

Extra! Extra! Late final! Additions to the 27/01/2008 COV

"Here ya go!"

http://sideon.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/articles-of-faith/

“And so it came to pass that Chanson posted an extensive list of the bloggers of Outer Blogness. An inspired moment led this fearless heathen to post this comment:

“By golly, that’s a lot of Outer Blogness. I’m thinkin’ a collaborative Book of Exmormon would be nifty - we could pilfer the best and brightest ideas, concepts, images and create one serialized book that celebrates diversity, sexuality, the various isms or ologies, with a nice hat tip towards adult erotica (visual or textual). May the farce be with you. Drats, that’s already taken, but I’m sure one of us thought of it first! We can backdate our journals to prove it.” “

http://www.seeingreality.com/starbright/?p=178

“In memory of Robert “Bobby” James Fischer (9 Mar 1943 - 18 Jan 2008)”

(MATTT: And also, let’s just mention the fact that Mr Gordon Hinckley is dead. I was going to write something witty, but I thought: “Oh, sod it! The poor old chap is dead, let him rest in peace.”)

Carnival of the Veil for Sunday January 27

Welcome to this issue of The Carnival of the Veil. IT is a very peaceful Sunday lunchtime as I write this issue of COV.

My wife is downstairs chatting to a friend, the parrots are dozing, and so are the cats. The sun has gone behind some rain clouds. They aren’t raining yet, but they look as if it is only a matter of time before they do!

And here I sit upstairs on my study, working away. I have taken a break from writing articles for my online news magazines to get the COV up on line. If you would like to take a look at my online magazines you can access them via www.thatsnews.org.uk.

Enough self-promotion! On with the show!

First we kick off with a post from fiddley.com’s In The News blog at

http://fiddley.com/archive/200801/in_the_news_double_entendres_and_double_standards

“When asked about newly-inaugurated Salt Lake City mayor Ralph Becker's proposed registry for domestic partners, State Senator Chris Buttars (R - West Jordan) replied, "I have great empathy for that kind of thing. I have no problem with people sharing insurance or their wills, estates, real estate or lives. I just have to be certain we're not coming in the back door of the Amendment 3 [ban on gay marriage and civil unions]."

I'm sorry... did he just say, coming in the back door of Amendment 3? I thought so. Poor choice of words, Senator Butthole. Personally, I hope the registry gives Amendment 3 a reach-around and a Dirty Sanchez.”

(MATT: And this from a senator called BUTTarse or something like that…)

And now South Bay Soliloquies (Has to be one of the coolest blog names ever)

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/01/divided.html

“I want to be in a relationship but I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want me, someone who doesn't, for want of a better term, suck.
I want to be single but I hate waking up in the morning to myself in the cold. I hate not having anyone to share my life with.
I feel like I'm missing a huge part of why I'm single and yet other people's advice seriously annoys me. I'm convinced that every theory on why single people are single is full of enough cow manure you could swim in it.”

(MATT: Life sometimes is a bit of a pain in the bottom, isn’t it? My specialist subject is stating the bleedin’ obvious!)

But now a book review from South Bay Soliloquies

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/01/book-review-if-love-is-game-these-are.html

“Most self-help books aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Most of them are filled with some of the most unloving language possible, blaming the other sex for your relationship problems, immature coping techniques, etc. Most I think create more drama than they resolve.

I'm most probably not the most emotionally mature 24 year old on the planet, and the past month has certainly not been a good one for me in terms of maturity. However, at least I see that flaw on me and I know it's something I can work on.

I first read major portions of If Love is a Game, These are the Rules in Barnes and Noble about a year ago. This book is without a doubt the most honest, truly open book on fixing ourselves and by extension our relationships. How do we authentically get the love we truly want and deserve? How do we build a sense of our own self-worth? How do we maintain love once we've found it? This book will teach you that and more.”

(MATT: Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time for being mature later on in life. Although I seem to be less mature now at 50 than I was at 25. Oh, well!)

Next up is a post from Emerging From the Ashes

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2007/12/immorality-education.html

“Like other Mormon young women (doesn't everyone else call them teenagers or youth?), I had the importance of "morality" drilled into me. Morals and ethics are fine things, but in Mormon parlance, "morality" means one thing: abstinence from sex. Conversely, "immorality" means having sex. Why the terms took on such specific meanings I cannot fathom, and I believe it creates a skewed idea of what morality actually is, but that the topic of this post. What I want to talk about is the Mormon version of teaching youth about sex.

As a youth, I was taught that immorality (which I always had to sort out in my head as different from immortality, another hot topic in Mormon churches) was bad, bad, bad, to be avoided at all costs, and just downright bad. Fornication was listed as the third worst sin, after murder (number two), and denying the Spirit (whatever that means). How messed up is that? Also, if you were "immoral," you were unworthy to go to the temple. And it was the temple where you wanted to get married, to start your eternal family, so you had better avoid immorality!”

(MATT: Odd, isn’t it, that although Mormon young people are not allowed to f**k with their bodies, the Mormon Church likes to f**k with their minds…)

Kita Kazoo sends in this link from the Desert News. I thank God my parents never emigrated to Utah as they planned at one time.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695246368,00.html

“Gregory "Doc" Lowery, owner of Happy Valley Tattoo & Piercing, believes American Fork police trampled his civil rights when they raided his shop in early January looking for what police say were questionable photographs.

Police obtained a search warrant for the shop after a man called police and said his daughter had seen photographs he felt were inappropriate for minors to view, said Lt. Darren Falslev. They executed the search warrant on Jan. 3 and took the pictures, photos of genital piercings, for further investigation. Falslev said police have turned their findings over to the county attorney's office, which will decide whether to file charges.”

(MATT: FWIW, I left a comment there.)

And now from CV Rick, Ninja Writer

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2008/01/i-never-had-a-p.html

“When I was sixteen years old I wanted to have a party. I was fairly popular, on the basketball team, a track star, getting good grades, and there wasn't anyone of note who wanted to beat me up. It was a pretty good year.

I went to my parents and asked if I could have a party. Mom smiled brightly, I remember. “That could be fun,”she said. This was an opportunity to make me happy at home, and as a teenager, I didn't have much happy time in the house.

“No,” my father said.

“But, why not?” I asked.

“There is no reason to have a party here. If you want to have a party, then just ask the clerk if you can reserve the gymnasium.”

“At the church?” I couldn't have wrung any more disappointment from my voice if I'd twisted my tongue like a rag.

“Nothing wrong with the church. There's a kitchen, the gym's big, and it'll fit all your friends.” He was staring at me, daring me. I knew he had his comeback locked and loaded, and I was set to release the target.

“Not all of my friends are Mormon,” I protested.

He fired, “Then it would be a perfect opportunity to fellowship them. You could give them your testimony.” “

(MATT: What a bloody nightmare.)

And now for my post. This is not a problem I have ever had to deal with, thank God. But I posted it because it is clearly something that a lot of people deal with. It is from the male perspective, though I know that many women will have to deal with the same issues.

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/01/your-ex-partner-has-someone-new-and.html

“Your ex partner has someone new and introduced your kids - handle that!

The Biggest Ask

How do you come to terms with the fact that your ex-partner has someone new in their life and your children have met this new person?

Remember, it is completely acceptable and natural for your partner to move on and find themselves a new companion and partner. In fact, at some point in the future, you will be doing exactly the same, if you haven’t already.

First of all, that rising tide of nausea you feel when you first find out, and the waves of stress you feel when you start to hear all about them, is completely normal; as are all the other feelings that wash over you – anger, resentment, confusion, hurt, jealousy, loss and betrayal. Regardless of what caused you to separate from your ex-partner, it is quite likely that you will experience at least some, if not all, of these feelings at one point or another.”

See you in two weeks time!

Hi. Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. And welcome to this edition of Carnival of the Veil.

Firstly let’s take a look at Eight Hour Lunch

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2008/01/big-fat-friday-bff-invitation.html

“A couple of years ago on a bulletin board I used to visit, a bunch of us started a remote workout group. Of course distance prevented any of us from actually meeting each other, but we reported in regularly with our progress. For a long time it was a great way to get or stay in shape and make new friends.

So with that in mind, I'd like to propose BFF - Big Fat Friday as an online group event. I've already written chapter one, but I'd love for a bunch of you to join me in your fitness goals for the new year.”

(MATT: Now that’s an interesting idea. Somewhat scary, but an interesting idea never-the-less!)

Kita doesn’t think she will have anything for this issue, but kindly points out that Doc does. http://docloco.com/2008/01/utah-police-violate-church-pt-2.html

“Rev. Dr. Gregory Lowrey

Healer, Counselor, CEO

In Part 2 of this report, I will try to summarize Part 1 and include a summary history of the efforts of American Fork City to harass Whole Life Ministries since we moved to American Fork, Utah in March 2007.

Since writing part 1, I have been in contact with several private and government agencies regarding this matter and have found support at the County, State and Federal levels of Government while locally; American Fork Government is typically giving me the cold shoulder.”

(MATT: Having read this report all I can say is thank God my parents did not emigrate to Utah from Britain as they at one time planned to do.)

And this just in hot off the presses from Eight Hour Lunch!

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2008/01/porn-again.html

“A few days ago someone told me with confidence that Utah leads the nation in porn consumption.”

(Matt: But Eight Hour Lunch remains to be convinced! -Though wasn’t there something on the RFM board not so long back about Google Search terms and didn’t porn search terms crop up rather a lot in SLC?)

And the next post is one from South Bay Soliloquies:

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2008/01/date-night.html

“I'm made dinner tonight for a fellow. He's a nice fellow - I'm afraid I'm going to screw it up. But then, do I really want to be in a relationship? I mean, some aspects of relationships are nice, but I don't know if I really want to deal with some one else's issues. I have enough troubles dealing with my own!”

(MATT: If you fed him the recipes that you posted on your blog, he might not want to leave!)

And here is my contribution for this edition of COV

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2008/01/big-love-complete-first-season-debuts.html

“Big Love The Complete First Season Debuts on DVD 3 March in UK

"Fascinating...first-rate drama" - Time Magazine

How would you cope with being one of three wives to your devoted husband, competing for his time and affection?

Find out what it would be like the easier way as multiple Emmy® Award and Golden Globe® Award nominee BIG LOVE finally finds itself wed to DVD as The Complete First Season debuts on 3 March 2008 from HBO Video.

All 12 episodes and exclusive special features will be presented across 5 discs at the 'family value' price of £39.99 RRP….

“…The series, as broadcast on five tells the story of Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a practicing Mormon fundamentalist polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children.”

(MATT: Oh. Did I mention that they were a family of Mormon fundamentalist polygamists? Oh, dear. I did!)

Do you know anyone who runs an exmoblog and who doesn’t submit it to COV? Please pass on an invitation to them to start submitting posts from their blogs.

See you all in two weeks time at the next edition of COV.

The Last COV for 2007!

Hi! Welcome to the last COV for 2007. A bit sparse this issue, but with the holiday season, that’s only to be expected.

The first is a review of The Golden Compass from the Eight Hour Lunch blog. Actually, no, that’s not quite true. It is a review of a campaign to smear the film. Glad to see Eight Hour Lunch back with blogs.

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2007/12/-vatican-newspaper-pans.html
“I've been following with some disgust the Catholic smear campaign against The Golden Compass. I know I'm a little late to the controversy, but that's because I've been busy doing something the critics at the Vatican were either too busy or too dishonest to do--I'm actually reading it.

I'm two-thirds of the way through the last book of the trilogy now, and I'd recommend the books to anyone. As I've read, the main characters have demonstrated nothing if not a driving hope for a better life and a deep and loyal commitment to the people who deserve their love. Pullman's clever and engaging style create a universe that's easy and enjoyable to immerse yourself in.”

(COV EDITOR: I have to admit I can’t get into Pullman’s style. Not my cup of tea, somehow…)

And the second one is another submission from Eight Hour Lunch. Two for the price of one! Can’t be a bad deal!

http://www.eighthourlunch.com/2007/12/not-a-bad-year.html

“Fighting a Losing Battle
Good news (un)faithful readers and podcast listeners! Your diligent work on the Web is starting to show returns. Mormon "apostle" Melvin Russell Ballard wants the faithful to step up the blogging!

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches.”

Well, I've got news for you Melvin, your church doesn't have a leg to stand on even as you define it. As one of your sincere and devoted critics please allow me to congratulate you for arriving (albeit embarrassingly late) to the party.

Before you get too excited imagining the hoards of devoted young believers falling over themselves to follow your counsel, consider the humble numbers of this single blog. Last year, the Eight Hour Lunch Podcast was downloaded 14,582 times. Since January 1, 2007 this single site has served over 33,530 pages. And I've done a piss-poor job of keeping it current.”

(COV EDITOR: Great post! It makes some very telling points. But what faithful Mormon knows what their church teaches now? (Hinckley has spent so long denying the basic tenets of Mormon Doctrine that they are wandering around wondering who or what to believe.)

And from me, Matt, here is my post-Christmas post

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/post-christmas-musings-from-matt.html

“Hi. Hope you all had a good Christmas. I did. Champagne, wine, Sherry, Scotch, Port, real ale, lager, tea, coffee and some Vimto, too. (Vimto is a cordial that you add to water, though it is also available as a ready mixed drink, often carbonated. So you see the difference between me and a Mormon is that I can chose to drink alcohol or to not drink alcohol. Mormons do not have the luxury of free will.”

Also, a bit of fun with online photomanipulation of Mormon prophets

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/fun-photomanipulating-brigham-young-and.html

And also, a bit of fun, the Nativity story, seem from the point of view of the Cat at the Inn.

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/cats-nativity-story-for-christmas.html

Hope you enjoy that piece of fiction.

Happy New Year!
See you in two weeks time!

COV 16th December 2007

Well, here we are. The last COV before Christmas! I nearly have all of my Christmas shopping done, but will probably be out on Christmas Eve, doing some last minute gift buying!

But on with the COV for 16th of December!

Sideon writes:
Here's the link for my COV contribution, which is about Romney. I love the guy like I love George Bush and Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, which is the kind of love that can best be measured with an electronic microscope. Other measurements would require a ruler, but that's another topic for another day.

http://sideon.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/sl-trib-comments-about-romney

“SL Trib comments about Romney
It’s been curious seeing the headlines change through the day about Romney and his “historic” speech. Initially, the headlines highlighted this gem: “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.” (Hey Jesus, can you come back down here and bitch-slap your followers starting with Romney, please pretty please?)”


And now to From the Ashes a Christmas-themed posting
http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2006/12/winter-solstice-and-ritual.html

“I grew up thinking that pagans were the epitome of evil. Worse than Catholics or Muslims, because at least they believed in God. My exposure to pagans and paganism was extremely limited, of course. My only exposure, I think, was from the movie Dragnet with Dan Aykroyd. Those pagans partied, did drugs, stole police cars, dressed in animal skins, and sacrificed virgins. And wasn't there something about playboy bunnies? They were bad. Okay, so I still think sacrificing virgins or anyone else is definitely not a good idea, but my thoughts on paganism have changed.”

MATT INTERJECTS: This was the Mormon upbringing that I had, too. I tried to square it with the fact that my Grandmother was a descendent of the Wise Women of Wales (she could cure warts, for example) and I failed. Grandmother would be pleased with the fact that I left Mormonism)


And a Christmas time post From The Ashes Post

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2007/12/were-happier-than-everyone-else.html

“We got roped into attending a Baptist church's Christmas choir performance today, as my father-in-law was playing in the orchestra. Not our cup of tea, but we wanted to go at least to support him. You know, the "the relationship is most important" mantra I'm trying to use to negotiate this Mormon-EvilAtheist divide in the family.”

And next we go over to the blog of Sister Mary Lisa
http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-i-were-free-from-all-fear-i-would.html

“If I were free of all fear, I would...
I have an idea that I'd like to try with the help of my friends who read my blog. Once a very good friend gave me the assignment to write about this topic:

I posted it elsewhere, and it was raw and scary and amazing to write about my fears and to interact with others about them from the relative anonymity of the internet. So I hereby propose that it'd be cool for anyone who wishes to anonymously send me their thoughts on this topic, and I'll post them here for anyone to read and comment on. Trust me, this is way cool to do. It puts you in touch with yourself in a way that is not common, and I was so glad I did it.”

Now to South Bay Soliloquies

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/12/bricked-ipod-update.html

This is really scary and NOT for the fainthearted! It’s about IPod surgery!!

“Bricked iPod, Update
I finally got around to cracking my iPod case open. It took a penknife and a guitar pick. If you try this at home, know that there's a little trick to it and you really have to dig at the case to get it to pop open the first time. There are videos floating around on youTube if you want a little guidance.”


And here’s one from CV Rick aka Ninja Writer but NOT Clutch, as that’s not what he is known by in the Blogosphere. Sorry ‘bout that. I’ll keep that in mind for the future!

Hey,

Here's my submission.
http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2007/12/growing-up-morm.html

It's about the Christmas Tree, so that's appropriate.


And here is the submission of Matt

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-think-my-brother-has-problem-with-me.html

“I think my brother has a problem with me. But I am not entirely certain why. In fact, in truth, I haven’t got the foggiest notion what crap he is pulling through him! Seriously I would like some input on this one as it is a puzzle to me. Can you please comment on this problem I have? I think there might be multiple causes.”

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, folks!

The next COV will be Sunday 30th of December.

Here it is! The latest issue of COV for Sunday 2nd December

This week (says aneweric) I speak my mind about the current flap concerning the speech given by Julie Beck at LDS conference, and how many LDS women are banding together to protest the image of an ideal woman as espoused by Beck.

“Yesterday I posted the "talk" given by Julie Beck, Relief Society General President, unedited. I needed to think about how I wanted to formulate my final response to this topic, so I posted it without commentary. I gave myself some time to mull it over.

In my opinion, Beck is either kidding herself or acting as a flunky for church leadership.

I see why the group at whatwomenknow.org are upset with Beck. In one short, relatively inane address Beck managed to insult just about any woman, LDS or not. Despite my feelings on this subject, I will focus more on the technical aspects of her speech as well as the meaning of her words.”

Eric’s analysis of what Beck said is on the money, to my way of thinking. Of course, it is possible that Beck was only saying what she had been told to say. The GOF (Grand Old Fossils) of TSCC (The So-called Church) might have wanted this message sent out to out of control Mormon females. “Some of them have GASP!- got more than one piercing! And of them are not popping out babies like rabbits! We must stop this wild behaviour!”

Next up is something rather special from Kita Kazoo. It is an article she has written for her own webpage:

”This week I have written an article for our webpage that I want to submit. http://happy-valley-tattoo.com/2007/11/mormon-tattoo-piercing-controversy.html”

This is a very well researched piece. One quote from it is “To further the injury of one’s personal opinion of fashion being stated as if it is a law from God, President Hinckley allows for one sort of permanent decorative change to ones appearance and not another, which seems hypocritical to me. Mr. Hinckley allows within the church for women to have their faces tattooed with permanent cosmetics and wear pierced earrings, (but one pair only – one in each ear) as those are socially acceptable with in his peer group.”

Is it possible that Mr Hinckley just hasn’t heard of permanent cosmetics at his advanced time in life? So this means that his decisions –and here’s a shocker!- are based not on revelations from God but on his own prejudicial views, only!

And now, here’s one from Clutch. Quite a sad one, actually.

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2007/11/growing-up-mo-4.html

“I watched my father's music choices change as he gave his life over to the Mormon church.”

(Yes, the Mormon church destroyed my family’s happy pre-Mormon life, too, slowly, for several years after my mother decided we were going to become Mormons. Then there was none of it left…)

And from South Bay Soliloquies, a movie review of Hitman. (Or a film review for us Brits. Some of which still call them The Flicks, based on the original touring Victorian showmen who used to tour with hand-cranked devices with moving images caused by the flicking of pictures…)

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/11/movie-review-hitman.html

And here is mine for this issue:-

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/12/agenda-take-your-agenda-and-shove-it.html

“Agenda? Take your agenda and shove it!

Sometimes the RFM board pisses me off. There are some people who use it to push a particular agenda. These usually have naff-all to do with the real agenda of the board, that of Recovery From Mormonism.”

That’s it for this issue!

See you in two weeks time, Sunday 23^rd December. Yes. That’s Christmas week. Have fun! And please do send your entry in.

Maybe we could have a bit of Christmas fun with that one…

Carnival of the Veil Blast from the past! AKA COV Eighteen and a half!

Thanks for your archived posts. Here they are

This is from Clutch

“And here's one of my favorites from my blog, it's about how a Mormon 

family can certainly interfere with young relationships:”

http://www.cvrick.com/cv_rick/2007/07/growing-up-mo-3.html

And from South Bay Soliloquies a rather sobering post about sexual violence in Utah

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2006/03/sexual-violence-in-utah.html

And here is my achieved post as to why MLMs seem to be so very popular amongst Mormons

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2006/08/why-do-so-many-mormons-enter-mlm.html

Should this be a new, occasional feature of COV? What does everyone think?

Ex-Mormon Carnival of the Veil October 21 2007

Hello and welcome to this issue of Carnival of the Veil. At present we are having unusually warm sunny days. This is not uncommon in October in Britain. But the cloudless days give way to cloudless nights and the damp cold does then start to bite. And we are getting ground frosts. Time to get the vulnerable plants under cover or in doors. We are sharing our kitchen with two potted trees at the moment. Eventually when we build a conservatory, they will live in there.

First off this time is a post from South Bay Soliloquise

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/10/knotts-scary-farm-2007.html

“I went to Knott's Scary Farm last night.I had, for want of a better, more intense, more descriptive phrase, a blast. Everyone in our party of six got spooked at least twice.Some friends from my happy hour group got together and we carpooled down to Buena Park. For dinner we went to the pre-scare dinner special buffet - Mrs. Knott's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, assorted salads, dinner rolls (with boysenberry jam!) and pie. I, of course, had to have a slice of the boysenberry pie. The fried chicken was most delicious.”

Sounds like a great time was had by all!

Next up is Equality’s Blog.

http://equalitysblog.typepad.com/equality_time/2007/10/recommended-sit.html

“With all the great resources out there for people who are engaged in religious studies generally and Mormon studies in particular, I thought I would start a new recurring feature here at Equality Time to help people find the best blogs and web sites out there on the "Internets" that deal with these subjects. For the inaugural post in what I intend to be a regular series, I feature a newly created blog by a talented artist (who, it seems, at this point wants to remain anonymous). The blog is called Images of the Restoration. The author/artist of this blog has created a number of compelling depictions of events from Mormon history--events that Mormon apologists, studious members of the LDS Church who venture outside the correlated materials, and critics of the LDS Church alike are aware of but which are seldom if ever mentioned or depicted in official LDS Church lesson materials.”

Cool! Looks like this could be a really great idea for a continuing series on the blog.

Sister Mary Lisa (blogger and artist) is here with

http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/10/leavin-on-jet-plane-part-three.html

“Jet lag was a term I had heard of but had never experienced until I arrived at that scouting lodge in Austria. We were shown into big rooms full of single twin beds and bunkbeds, where we all fell into an exhausted sleep almost immediately.

I discovered cultural differences the next morning while getting ready that until then I had been ignorant of. Standing at the sink next to a girl from France, I reached for the cold faucet and turned it on at the exact same time she turned on the hot. We had each also simultaneously lowered our toothbrushes under the water to get the toothpaste wet before brushing. We looked at each other in surprise, and she spoke first. “You use cold water when you brush your teeth?!” I replied, “You use hot?!” Interesting. I let her go first. She shook her head and laughed about using cold water with another French girl.”

(HOT water? Gosh! Do these French people have no shame? No sense of conservation?!)
By the way, I might have mentioned this before, but Sister Mary Lisa has the coolest photograph I have ever seen on any blog. Ever. Just check it out to see what I mean.


And from Fiddley Gomme we have a General Conference blog post
http://fiddley.com/archive/200710/conference_weekend “Around our house, LDS General Conference has become and excuse for Donna to hole up in her craft room and scrapbook with a friend. For them, the weekend is meant to be free of spouses and children. An orgy of die-cuts and heart-shaped punches, not to be interrupted by the trivial goings-on of the rest of us.” Crafting is a damn serious business! And finally, here is my blog for this edition of Carnival of the Veil http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/10/matt-really-must-get-his-act-together.html “I really must get my act together and finish of my book. I am writing my very own “book of the bog” a book based on the best of my posts here at Notamormon.
Why? Well I have always wanted to write a book and as I already have the material that I have published on the blog it would seem to be silly to ignore that wealth of material.”

Carnival of the Veil 7 October 2007

Welcome to this edition of Carnival of the Veil, for 7 October, 2007.

First we kick of with something from South Bay Soliloquies.

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/10/im-leaf-on-wind-watch-me-soar.html

“I don't know what happened the past couple of days that turned my mood around.

Okay, I have an idea, but I never knew that it would bring me into the happiest state I've ever known myself to be in. I wish I could share the gritty details but it's a little too personal to share with the world. Some secrets are best left secrets.”

And another one

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/10/tied-to-ideals.html

“It never ceases to amaze me how much we value ideas, especially those ideas pertaining to hope, freedom, and happiness. Those ideas enrich our souls and give meaning to life.

I think this is why I enjoy reading dystopian fiction so much - in forcing a society to live up to an ideal, the society ends up robbing the people belonging to it the very things most societies (and people) should value most.”

And here is Emerging From the Ashes. (Being from Britain, I always expect this to be about Cricket. But of course, it never is! -The Ashes is a major Cricket Tournament between The MCC (The English/Welsh cricket team and the Australians)

http://emergingfromtheashes.blogspot.com/2007/09/remembering.html

“Do all churches do this? Do all churches eulogize and remember a person as if he had been a perfect, faithful, believing member? Even when he hadn't been to church since he was old enough to tell his parents, "I ain't goin' "? Do they all pick songs to sing at the funeral that the deceased probably didn't recognize, let alone like?

"Rebellion" and swearing and alcoholism and bar fights and no-mission and no-temple are all rendered "free spirit" and "did things his own way," with a sideways smile. They are, I suppose, trying their best to be nice and polite and remember the best of him. Which is fine. Who doesn't want to be remembered well? For people to forget the foibles and faults. But foibles and faults according to whom? The deceased? Sure, I'd bet he'd admit he did some stupid things in his life, that there were some things that he'd not repeat if he had the chance.

A special post, next. A guest appearance from Fiddley Gomme’s wife! Who is marking a very important anniversary!

http://fiddley.com/archive/200709/its_all_about_me

“Since tomorrow is the fifteenth anniversary of our first date, and of my nineteenth birthday (don't spend too much time doing the math) I thought it was time I formally introduce myself.

My name is Donna and I am married to Pete. We have been married most of those fifteen years and have 4 beautiful girls. And I'm not just saying that because they are mine, everyone says so. Even the ones that don't look like me.”

And here is my effort for this time

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/10/general-conference-it-used-to-be.html

"General Conference. My God. That used to be so important to us, as a Mormon family, living in Britain.

We used to have to go by coach to the Stake Centre 30 to 40 miles away and join with everyone from the stake listening to the conference brought by transatlantic cable."

And that is it until next time in two weeks. Please do send your entry in to matt_exmo@yahoo.co.uk in time for Sunday 21 October. See you then!

PS. If you know anyone who has an exmo blog but who doesn't subscribe to COV, please forward an invite for them to get on board!

Welcome to the Carnival of the Veil!

We start this edition with a posting from the blog of paranoidfr33k, with a posting explaining why paranoidfr33k is paranoid.

http://paranoidfr33k.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-i-am-paranoid.html

“Why am I paranoid? Because everyone is out to get me. Thats why! If you were in my position, you would be paranoid too.” (ED: That’s not paranoia! It is enlightened self-protection and commonsense! Actually, paranoidfr33k makes some very good points on what it is like to be an exmo if your family is still very much in…)

The next post is from South Bay Soliloquies who is suffering at the moment. My thoughts go out to you. It is tough, but hang on in there…
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/09/loss-of-great-love.html
“I lost a Great Love tonight.I have no one with whom to share my bed, my food, my home, or my life with. Not to mention my dreams, the great sorrows and triumphs of life, and my soul.”

On, now, to Thoughts from Sister Mary Lisa who writes on the topic of Utah drivers. (Who are, probably, mainly Mormon)

http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/09/utah-drivers.html

“OK, I had to laugh at Melliferous Pants' blog...she's so damn funny. She recently moved to Utah from California and has discovered the suckiness that is Utah drivers.”
And DO have fun with the comments on the good Sister’s post!

This next one is from Utarnia who has a heartfelt plea that I am sure we can all sympathise with:

http://utarnia.com/2007/09/uncle.html

“I give up! I just want to be normal! No more Mormonism - ever again! I'm sick of the way I get treated. The stares... The pointing... God two year olds have better manners. The inaction and lies from the local police when my business is attacked by lunatics.”

And here is the Eight Hour Lunch contribution
http://www.eighthourlunch.com/archives/20070930.php#episode23

This week’s podcast starts with some cool music and an apology. And it is clear that there has not been a lunch anything like eight hours in length for our host! The podcast includes an interview with the host/owner of http://www.postmormon.org/ and listener’s letters. Including a drink of the week from Nicole, and a whole lot more.

And finally, here is my contribution.

In March 2006 I posted about the bitterness and anger that I felt about the Mormon Church. Someone read this post within the past week and sent me a comment, which I allowed to be published on the site.

This is what Sam said:
“Hey Matt - sorry to hear of your bad experiences with mormonism. You have every right to be angry. Unfortunately as long as you have bitterness and hatred, it still has power over you. If you want to be free, it has to be God's way - through forgiveness. If you want help to come out from under this curse through Jesus, go to freedomkeepers.com or boblarson.com”

Well, that’s kind of Sam. But exactly how do you forgive a Mormon? Can Mormons really accept forgiveness?
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/09/bitterness-and-anger-against-mormonism.html

See you later, in two weeks time.