A school district in Lehi, Utah, is on the defensive after its decision to out a student to his parents, and the situation backfiring. We are not going to back down,” a spokeswoman for the school district said. “We take bullying very, very seriously. The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education…
The Economic Role of Mothers
A Dec 2011 APA study is making its way through the news suggesting that mothers who work part-time are happier and healthier than stay-at-homes and full-time mothers, and they make good parents. A good summary of the study can be found here. Regarding the “mommy wars” or the debate in…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Comedy of Errors Edition!
It’s hard to tell which story generated more satire: Rick Perry and his interesting ad (with a little help from his friends), or BYU Idaho — which may or may not have banned “skinny jeans”. Perhaps the “skinny jeans” one, since it spawned some great riffs on modesty and other…
Criticism, Power, and Validation
If a subordinate gives you negative feedback, it often implies a bigger compliment. It means that people trust you because you conduct yourself with integrity. Otherwise, your subordinates wouldn’t dare to speak up. Good for you. Of course, I would rather be praised than criticized but when somebody over whom…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: War on Christmas Edition!
December has just started, but the War on Christmas has already taken a rather frightening turn, according to these photos J. Seth Anderson found: Scared yet? In other holiday ideas, check out these stocking stuffers or make your own, and don’t forget the less-fortunate! There was an interesting theme this…
So a Mormon missionary walks into a gay bar…
Steven met a Mormon missionary in a gay bar twenty years ago, joined his church, has lived with him ever since. But apparently, nobody in this story is actually gay. Check out FAIR Blog for the inside scoop. From the link: Steven Wilson is a member of the Church living…
Exmo/DAMU history collaborative timeline!
Tolworthy wrote me the other day to point out that there’s a discussion thread on the old foyer that has been continuously running for more than seven years, and asked if there are any to top it. Does anyone here know? Then he waxed philosophical: Next year the thread reaches…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Thanksgiving Edition!
Celebrating Thanksgiving this year (and Black Friday), people have expressed thanks for lots of things: real authentic connections to so many people, damn fine loin fruit, blog readers, a great family and support system, lots of stuff, giving without prejudice, being out of the church, being a gay man and…
A road-trip out of crazy: “Hippie Boy,” by Ingrid Ricks
Dad was a master salesman who could talk anyone into anything, and life on the road with him was the wildest adventure any kid could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, since he was often unreliable and occasionally violent, it wasn’t always the good kind of adventure — but it was a great…
The Armpit of the Mission Field: “Heaven Up Here” by John K. Williams
When John got his mission call to Bolivia, it was like a joke come true. Before the letter came, he and his friends had a running gag that he’d be sent there — because it’s the clich worst-possible foreign mission (see here for a coincidental example). Then he really got…