“On The Pier” (taken on 9/11/01) is Creative Commons licensed by *Hiro. July 2nd, 2001 is Mind on Fire’s birthday. The birthing process was painful, since I hand-coded the site and put much more effort into the design and scripty goodness than I do now. Here’s kind of what it looked like on July 23rd [...]

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Just got home. The event was full to the brim and spilling down the sides with courtesy. Surprisingly, it felt good to greet a few old friends (I’ve known some of the men for nearly 20 years). It will take me some time to process this, but I feel pretty damn fine at the moment. [...]

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Many of you are visiting for the first time, or are visiting after a long hiatus. I’m fascinated by the glimpses I’ve caught of many of you in the comments. I wanted to open up a post so that you can introduce yourself, if you so desire. No pressure! Whether or not you’re a regular, [...]

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The most common question aimed at me in the past day is why I’m bothering to go to this council at all. This query has come from the devout, from former mormons, from irreligious friends. It certainly would be easier on me, on Jana, on the men in that high council room if I didn’t [...]

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Jana and I had a great anniversary weekend. Thank you, everyone, for your well-wishes. We had dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant, fit in a Saturday afternoon beer and cheese tasting (serendipitously running into @clankyrobot and friends), lost a couple of hours in what may be the OC’s last great used bookseller (The Bookman in [...]

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I’ve always liked this song—even before I heard the version that included /Canticle. It’s the kind of folk song that is enduring. The words and the music get under my skin, like a clan tattoo, indelible and a mark of whom I am, and make me want to learn to play the guitar (or fiddle). [...]

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I’ve seen a lot of political debate recently on FaceBook. Sometimes the discussion is civil and even enlightening, but more often than not it begins with unconsidered slogans and degenerates into ad hominem attacks. (I don’t have problems with slogans and witticisms as a starting point, but people need to be ready to defend or [...]

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One bright morning a childhood ago, Jana and I knelt across an altar, our right hands clasped in one of the secret grips of Melchizedek. A kind old man proclaimed that by God’s authority we were “sealed for time and all eternity.” With this ritual, we began our life journey together. We stripped the green [...]

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