MormonDaddyBlogs — 2011 April

Amazing Race Mormon Edition

April 30, 2011 by Dennis

Happily married couples typically lack the pyrotechnics that make for scintillating television. Which possibly explains why there aren’t any on this season’s Amazing Race. Moreover, the popular reality show, which follows pairs of contestants all around the world, doesn’t have a married couple of any kind this season.

MDBer Middle-aged Mormon Man has done some crack investigative reporting and has found the secret transcript of a happily married LDS couple’s efforts with one particular challenge on the show. Contestants Hyrum and Tami’s experience was sweet, but likely dooms the chances for any other happily married couples from this community.

Read MMM’s account in Amazing Race: Mormon Edition.

Filed Under: Featured, Film/TV Tagged With: Middle-aged Mormon Man, television

Equal Time

April 28, 2011 by Dennis

Regardless of which side of the bishop’s desk you’re sitting on, the words of wisdom Jeff Lindsay shares in a recent post on his Mormanity blog is good advice.

One of the most unenviable responsibilities of our lay clergy is counseling people through life’s most trying circumstances. Jeff, a former bishop, was discussing the challenge with a Pentecostal minister, who shared with Jeff some sagely guidance on the matter.

Don’t miss Pentecostal Minister Offers Sound Advice to Mormon Bishops (and All of Us).

Filed Under: Featured, General Tagged With: Jeff Lindsay, Mormanity

Breakthrough

April 27, 2011 by Dennis

When last we left Jared Garrett, a writer in search of publication, he had decided to quit.

Not in the sense of hanging up his writing gloves (on the other hand, gloves have never been the most helpful tool in the writer’s toolkit), but in the sense of quitting his quest to get published as soon as possible.

Instead, Jared decided to focus his efforts on improving his craft as a writer, something within his control, leaving the timing of when the rest would follow to forces not entirely within his control.

Since quitting, Jared has made a number of unexpected breakthroughs, from ideas for a series of novels to an idea for a new blog.

And he’s working on putting the ideas into play. Including the new blog, which he calls NotThisButThis, a series of rough sketches presenting contrasting ways of approaching life, one of which is definitely better (no spoilers here; you’ll have to figure it out on your own).

Catch up with post-quitting Jared in A Plug in my Brain as well as his new blog NotThisButThis.

Filed Under: Featured, Writers Tagged With: Jared Garrett, NotThisButThis

Eagles Live

April 26, 2011 by Dennis

A live feed from the nest of a family of eagles in Iowa? Precisely the kind of stuff the internet was made for.

Among thousands of others (yes, that’s 71K+ watching online as this was written), the feed has captured the attention of MDBer Josh Weed. This mesmerizing display of reality TV internet-style has served up more than a few life lessons for Josh, such as one he learned from what he calls the lame stick moment:

The Mommy eagle, not knowing quite what to do with a random stick, just kind of shoved it to the side. But what she didn’t realize was that she trapped one of the babies by the neck so that it couldn’t move. At this point, I had grown attached to the little guys… I was actually kinda starting to stress out. I was talking to the screen. “Mama eagle. Hey! (tap tap tap on the computer screen) You moved the big stick onto your baby’s neck. Baby is contorted now and not moving. He seems pinned to the ground. He might be dying. Hello? (tap tap tap).

Catch the life lesson (beyond putting large sticks on your children’s necks) delivered to Josh courtesy of a nest of fledgling national birds in Life Lessons Learned from Eagles (and while you’re there, you can watch the live feed on Josh’s blog to pick up a few life lessons for yourself along the way).

Filed Under: Featured, Professionals, Writers Tagged With: Josh Weed, The Weed

Moonlight Serenade

April 25, 2011 by Dennis

Young children have a way redefining a parent’s definition of a good night’s sleep. When once in the time B.C. (before children) anything less than a solid eight was a rough night, those miniature midnight marauders can make a parent grateful to be able to string together a pair of three-hour naps before dawn.

As the years go by and the midnight bad dream/need a drink/bathroom help interruptions become fewer and farther between, those experiences can actually become fond memories.

Newcomer to MDB Dale Lott recounts a sweet memory of his 3-year-old daughter’s lunar encounter in Moonshine and Little Things.

Dale’s blog is Editorial Bent, fitting for a corporate editor. He and his wife live in Utah and are parents of five.

Welcome, Dale, to MDB.

Filed Under: Featured, Writers Tagged With: Dale Lott, Editorial Bent, media, writers

Mancraft: From 12 Sheets of Plastic

April 23, 2011 by Dennis

To those of us whose mancraft skills topped out with Pinewood Derby, what John Teal from the U.K. can do with 12 letter-sized sheets of plastic is indistinguishable from magic.

When we last left John, a property maintenance worker who lives in Manchester, England, he had just completed “G” in the midst of an A to Z blogging challenge. That entry, G is for Giraffe, was a fun piece that introduced me to a piece of Cockney rhyming slang I’d never heard before.

But his “P” entry blew me away. In P is for Plastic, John shows how he creates amazingly realistic models of a train starting with nothing more than 12 plain sheets of plastic.

Surely ILM is about to come calling.

And with this entry, MDB is creating a new post category called Mancraft.

Filed Under: Featured, International, Mancraft Tagged With: John Teal, mancraft, U.K.

The Friday Five • Episode 3

April 22, 2011 by Dennis

So much good stuff – not enough days. Hence, The Friday Five:

An Abundance of Pudding. A husband’s offer to volunteer 30 minutes turns into a 9-hour ordeal and an experience never-to-be forgotten. In a good way.

Jeff Lindsay’s post in Mormanity shows that were more than just about the Jello at LDS functions. Sometimes, we’re about the pudding. Read An Abundance of Pudding.

The Easter Egg Miracle. Funny guys Kirby Heyborne and Lincoln Hoppe are at it again, just in time for Easter.

Kirby is the “kerB” in kerBLINK, Lincoln is the “LINK”. While the duo specializes in funny business, their aim is for something a little more serious. They are trying to create a place where families can come view good, funny, clean videos and other creative content. They hope to soon be site that features other people’s content as well, offering a more family-friendly version of sites like funnyordie.com.

We wish them all the best. For now, let them entertain you with An Easter Treat. Bring a tissue.

Smiling Guy Revealed! His winning smile will be an indelible memory from April’s General Conference. But who is he? What were his intentions? And is he single?

These questions raged throughout the LDS blogosphere, but leave it to a newcomer to MDB to land the Oprah-sized interview. Paul Wilson, co-owner of LDSFriends.com, tracked down the smiling guy in Australia and lined up a webcam interview. Paul and his wife have two daughters. He serves in the bishopric of his ward in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Welcome Paul and his blog to MDB by watching Interviewing Smiling Guy, who turns out to be Dan Smith, a self-employed carpenter from Melbourne. (And yes, ladies, he’s single.)

No Peace in the Restroom. With seven children under age 14, it’s been years since Ken Craig has been able to use the restroom in peace.

“Dad, look! I’m waving at you! (Little fingers sticking out from under the door.)”

Read Ken’s fun post, Reader’s Indigestion.

Pennies from Heaven. Another newcomer to MDB is from a blogger known only as Middle-aged Mormon Man.

MDB has learned that MMM is the father of 5, happily married, active in church service, and a former Bishop.

“Am quite ‘orthodox,’ in my beliefs,” writes MMM, “but feel we can joke and have fun within our unique culture.”

For his 99th post, he created a video to demonstrate how family budgets work using a table full of pennies. Welcome MMM to MDB by watching Family Finances – Penny Wise.

Filed Under: Actors, Featured, Film/TV, General Tagged With: Jeff Lindsay, Ken Craig, kerBLINK, kirby heyborne, LDSFriends, lincoln hoppe, Middle-aged Mormon Man, Modern Mormon Men, Mormanity, Paul Wilson

Funny Bugs

April 21, 2011 by Dennis

When it comes to parenting kids with chronic medical conditions, it can be a particular challenge for the dads. Our tendency is to want to fix things, and when the thing can’t be fixed, it can throw us.

Our wives, bless them, typically step into high gear as the primary caregiver, which can be demanding at the best of times, but even more so when there are chronic medical conditions.

But for the men, sometimes the best thing we can do is to try our best to be upbeat and supportive.

A splendid example of this is Cameron Moll’s recent post, Funny Bugs. Cameron lives in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife and four sons. His 7-year-old has Type 1 Diabetes.

Among his many talents, Cameron is a designer. (When you get a chance, be sure to check out his design of the Roman Coliseum using type!)

Cameron is using his talents, as well as his love as a father, to create in his limited spare time a family project called Funny Bugs, a non-profit site that will give kids with Type 1 diabetes a place to have “a fun, educational, and social experience for managing their diabetes.” The official “chieftain” of the project is Cameron’s 7-year-old, who inspired the design with his sketches (pictured above).

As a designer, Cameron includes in his post some technical details that went way over my head, but what comes through crystal clear is a father’s love. Don’t miss Cameron’s post, The Making of FunnyBugs.org.

Welcome Cameron Moll to MDB.

Filed Under: Featured, Media, Writers Tagged With: Cameron Moll, designer, writers

How Manly Men Roll

April 20, 2011 by Dennis

For guys like (ahem) me who struggle with even the most basic items on the honey do list (with Lefty Lucy, is it my left or the thing’s left?) or can only bowl in the three figures with the help of gutter bumpers, the Art of Manliness is a godsend.

The blog, dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man, is authored by husband and wife team Brett and Kate McKay. It features articles to help us be better husbands, better fathers, and better men. Oh, and better bowlers. It has become hugely successful, suggesting perhaps that those of us feeling the need to shore up our manliness from time to time may not be as alone as we feel.

So, before you embarrass yourself again on the lanes, be sure to visit Brett’s post, How to Bowl a Strike. (Apparently, there are techniques involved. Who knew?) If you like what you see, you’ll find the website to be a treasure trove of information on how to be a manlier man. (Apparently, there are techniques for that, too!)

The McKays live in Tulsa, OK. After graduating with a BA in Letters, Brett went on to pursue his lifelong goal of going to law school. He started the blog while attending the University of Tulsa College of Law, as something fun to do in his spare time (law school is pretty famous for offering its students plenty of that). The website really took off, and today he juggles working on the blog with working for a legal research company.

MDB welcomes the McKays.

Filed Under: Featured, General, Sports Tagged With: Art of Manliness, Brett McKay, sports

John Teal

April 19, 2011 by Dennis

John Teal has the distinction of being our first international blogger on MDB. He blogs from his home in Manchester, England, where he lives with his wife and three teenage children. John is self-employed and works in property maintenance.

“Hi, I stumbled across you guys on the net today. I was surprised to find a gathering of fellow Mormon Daddy bloggers,” wrote John. “I had almost resigned myself to being a lone man in the wilderness of Mormon Mommy bloggers!”

John’s blog is RJR Daydreamer.

Filed Under: MDBer