MormonDaddyBlogs — Larry Richman

The Friday Five • Episode 1

April 8, 2011 by Dennis

So much good stuff – not enough days. Hence, MDB is introducing The Friday Five, highlighting posts in the MDB community. So, without further ado, here’s the first edition of The Friday Five:

Bishops Popping Up Everywhere. A pair of bishops have a unique approach to opening the door to their youth. Here’s a fun little YouTube video by Bishop Mike and the MDB Community’s very own Ken Craig.

With their video at 1,828 hits as of this writing, it’s clear the door is open. Watch the video at Not From the Pulpit.

Poultrygeist. If you’ve followed MDB very much at all, you’ve seen some of the fine work of cinematographer Rod Santiano. In a recent website overhaul, Rod recently came across one of his earliest surviving pieces in his body of work.

See the origins of this creative fellow in the budding stages of his career by watching Poultrygeist (but don’t watch it too close to bedtime) (or just before lunchtime) (especially if you’re thinking KFC).

Mouse Hunt. One of the less glamorous duties that sometimes falls to dads is rodent warrior. This is especially true if your house is close to a river.

MDB Community member Tucker Dansie recounts some of his experiences reliving his own version of the adventures in the movie “Mouse Hunt” in A Visit from Mickey Mouse.

Spiritual Movie. In this case, “spiritual” movie means both a movie that will move you spiritually and a movie that is without a physical body. In LDS Media Talk, Larry Richman describes how “Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration” is being made available to anyone online (including in HD) or for download. As such, it isn’t being delivered via DVD (remember those copies of the Ensign that wouldn’t bend?).

I remember less than a decade ago, we did a run of our first Liken movie on VHS as well as DVD (still have plenty of those old VHS movies in a warehouse). Now DVDs are starting to lose their grip. The more things change… Read (and while you’re there, download) the First Full-Length LDS Church Movie Downloadable.

Book of Mormon on Broadway. Sneaking in a trio here. First up is Ken Jennings. It isn’t really a blog, but it is an opinion piece written by Mr. Jeopardy himself on the Book of Mormon, a new musical on Broadway that takes a comic stab at our faith. Read Ken Jennings Takes on Broadway.

Roger Hansen also took at look at this subject in a recent post on his site, Tired Road Warrior, Can We Mormons Take a Punch?

And finally, some obscure director of a series of children’s movies takes a look at a faint tie he has to the show. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of, but still. Read Liken’s Brush with the Great White Way.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Dennis Agle, directors, film, Ken Craig, Larry Richman, mormon daddy blogs, roderick santiano, Tucker Dansie, videos, writers

Reflections on General Conference

April 5, 2011 by Dennis

Photo courtesy of Todd McKinley

Twice a year, members all around the world call time out on pretty much everything else and (armed with a lengthy menu of options to choose from courtesy of 10 hours of inspired counsel of our leaders) take stock.

Here is a sampling of some reflections from members of the MDB community (including two newcomers!) on the 181st General Conference:

Braden Bell

As a teacher of theater and music at a private school in the Nashville area, Braden Bell knows his blog is bound to visited by members and non-members alike. With all who care to drop by, he shares a profound experience he had over the weekend: hearing a living prophet of God speak.

“I know that sounds crazy and I thought about not writing this. But this is my blog, a place for me to reflect and ponder,” writes this father of five. Read the rest of his post, What I Believe: A Prophet of God.

LDS Media Talk

For you dads of youth, Larry Richman shares the following link featuring highlights for youth from General Conference, LDS General Conference Video Highlights for Youth. You may wish to pass the link along to your youth, and you really should, but don’t be surprised if you find these bite-sized highlights of some of the best stories from conference appealing to their dads, too.

Photo courtesy of Lee Ann Lavender

Mormanity

A new member of the MDB community is Jeff Lindsay, an author of a book on innovation/IP strategy, inventor, patent agent, and holder of a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. In other words, Jeff’s a pretty smart fellow. Hence, when Jeff calls General Conference A Great Way to Experience the Real Teachings and Spirit of the Church, we’re inclined to want to read on. You will, too. Enjoy.

Mormon Life Hacker

Another new member of the MDB community is Tevya Washburn, named after Rev-Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof” (but neither Jewish nor Russian). Tevya, who is a husband and father, is a man of many talents, including entrepreneur, graphic designer, WordPress expert and historian. On top of all that, he is also one of the primary authors of Mormon Life Hacker (“life hack” refers to various shortcuts and automation techniques to make working time far more effective — and what Mormon dad couldn’t use a little of that?).

Tevya’s recent post gives us an opportunity to weigh in the funniest moments from General Conference. See what others have to say and chime in with your input in What Are the Funniest Moments From Conference?

Jeff Westover

Jeff Westover takes a look at the differences between what the media report our leaders say and what they actually say in Itching Ears and False Doctrine. In another post, Jeff discusses Retaining the Glow of General Conference.

Plenty to reflect upon over the next six months until we call a collective time out again in October. In the meantime, the talks themselves are available here.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Braden Bell, Jeff Lindsay, jeff westover, Larry Richman, LDS Media Talk, Mormanity, Mormon Life Hacker, Tevya Washburn

Not Just a Pretty Face

March 26, 2011 by Dennis

We hear in church about the perils of the internet. Indeed, some church members equate the internet with all that is evil and want nothing to do with it.

Institutionally, however, it is a different story. While exercising and espousing caution, the Church is noted for embracing social media and all the good that the internet has to offer, from its various YouTube channels to its harnessing of thousands and thousands of volunteers and their home PCs worldwide in the massive genealogical indexing effort.

This embrace was especially evidenced this week, when Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg came to speak at BYU. There have been many reports about Zuckerberg’s visit in the media, but I was most interested to read about Zuckerberg’s remarks in Larry Richman’s blog.

Officially, Larry is the Director of Product Awareness for curriculum materials for the Church. But unofficially, he is what may be the Church’s top social media evangelist. His blog was originally called ldsWebguy, but has since been renamed LDS Media Talk.

Welcome Larry to MormonDaddyBlogs. Don’t miss his take on the Zuckerberg’s remarks, Facebook is Not Just a Face Book.