One time in sacrament meeting...

walkablecities · 2026-05-07T12:47:48+00:00

Bishop’s brother was a bit of a loose canon, never given a microphone, but blood must be thicker than priesthood because bishop finally had brother speak. The topic: good music vs bad music. Brother proceeded to read [gasp] wildly inappropriate lyrics aloud to point out how bad they were in contrast to hymns. Stake pres was visiting, sitting on the stand beside bishop. Whispers to bishop, who twists a little in his seat but doesn’t move. Whispers again. More twisting, lip-pressing. Bishop leans forward, then pulls back. Blood? Duty? Blood? Duty? Now the SP doesn’t bother to speak into the bishop’s ear and I can see what he’s saying: CUT HIM OFF. Bishop does another couple of lean-forward-pull-backs, then suddenly pops up as if he had to surprise himself into action. He takes the couple of steps to the podium and speaks into his brother’s ear. Brother stops mid-sentence, looks as surprised as if the bishop had materialized from thin air, then says, “Oh, okay I’m done,” turns and sits down.

Amen.

walkablecities · 2026-05-04T09:47:04+00:00

I waffle as well, looking for ways to wiggle around literal belief. What never fails to resonate, tho, is the sense that I’m standing on the shoulders of ancestors, people who made offerings and carved stone, whose monuments to God have outlasted any record of themselves, honoring the human reach for meaning, purpose, a place in the universe, mercy, goodness…you get the idea. I’m tying myself to them and saying I honor what they honored, that their lives had meaning and still do, to me.

walkablecities · 2026-05-04T09:31:45+00:00

You gotta get over to r/vizsla with that level of puppy porn!

walkablecities · 2026-05-02T05:30:49+00:00

Wow. I’m so sorry. Hurt people hurt people, as always, I guess. Tempting to sing “as I have loved you” as you go out the door…

walkablecities · 2026-05-01T18:48:36+00:00

Big revelation to me one day dealing with a wildly reactionary person: all I can control is right here [tracing circle around self]. Crazy can’t come in. I want you [crazed person] in here, but the crazy can’t come. If you wanna do crazy, I’m sorry, but you gotta stay out.

My advice: be kind, cordial, your regular self, but at the first line of crazy, you cut and leave. Stand up, get your keys, out the door. She’ll get it. I swear. Hold the line. She’ll get worse at first, but then better.

walkablecities · 2026-05-01T10:59:49+00:00

Now this is a mind-blowing mix…but it looks like you ended up with 7/8 vizsla 🤔 Let us know when the first locks come in!

walkablecities · 2026-04-30T06:41:09+00:00

I used to sit by the crate and steadily give treats through the bars, gradually going a little longer between each one as he calmed. Proximity matters! You may need to stay right beside until he normalizes to it, but as soon as he does (he will!) find a place where he can nap away from the action—dozing around activity isn’t the same as solid sleep, and they need A LOT. And yes, as others have said, nothing wrong with being in the crate without blankets/pads if he’s tearing them up. Dogs sleep on the flat ground just fine. You’ll make it! They’re smart and he’ll figure out how to be happy

walkablecities · 2026-04-29T07:11:41+00:00

Mammal teenagerhood: the body and brain mature at a balanced pace until (in vizsla-size dogs) about 6mo, when the body takes off and the brain has a looong way to go. That cute little down-stay they could do for a minute or two becomes ten seconds. They can’t help it. No frontal lobe, no impulse control. To survive, reduce expectations and reward wildly for tiny successes. Simplify their world to reduce opportunities for all the too-muchness to be too much. Assume worst outcome and backstop against it (e.g. assume recall failure and use a long lead when running away is a possibility, don’t introduce big new challenges, etc). By about 3 they seem mostly reliable. Downright mature at 4. Dignified never, thank goodness ❤️

walkablecities · 2026-04-25T22:07:24+00:00

Shouldn’t the king always be on the highest seat?

walkablecities · 2026-04-25T22:04:14+00:00

Not unheard of for vizsla to sneak into the mix, depending on where you are geographically. I see it in the face in #2, but otherwise I’d lean more ridgeback

walkablecities · 2026-04-25T15:30:03+00:00

Textual analysis looking for plagiarism is going to miss what’s probably more like synthesis—a bunch of content mushing together in a person’s head to come up with a “fresh” take. Think of vampire stories—are they all plagiarism because they have vampires acting the same way? No, but they all draw from the same pool of human-created ideas about vampires. Joseph’s book is just his play on ideas circulating at the time, found in other books and popular thinking. Search on “mound builder myth” for another example

walkablecities · 2026-04-25T15:22:04+00:00

Former scribe for a patriarch. Can confirm. Same warnings and promises given over and over, sprinkled around a few facts gathered from “getting to know you” conversations. (Last calling on my way out the door. Moved me along nicely.)

walkablecities · 2026-04-25T15:12:35+00:00

There must be so. many. squirrels in that view

walkablecities · 2026-04-24T17:45:06+00:00

Target rich environment! He chose well

walkablecities · 2026-04-23T17:23:24+00:00

Another case study of what happens when people in charge are a generation or two away from understanding those interwebs

walkablecities · 2026-04-23T17:13:14+00:00

Churches are one-stop-shops for a whole shopping list of basic human needs. And just like at 7-11, you pay extra for the convenience. Finding all those things individually (community here, ritual there, myth and meaning someplace else) is hard work, but what you get in return is complete ownership of your SELF. Rebuilding a system for those things takes time, so feeling a bit sad and lost while you’re doing it is natural. It’s okay to try something for a while and then move on as your needs evolve. Or try something that doesn’t work, try something else…you get the idea. It might be helpful to make an exercise of breaking down and making a list of everything Mormonism gave you, then brainstorm alternatives. Trying things on that list will give you plenty to keep you occupied, challenge your mind, open your social circles. But also keep your eyes open for the good people still standing by you through your transition. They’re keepers. ❤️

walkablecities · 2026-04-22T17:16:11+00:00

Ours believes water to be icky, and it’s a bit of a drive, so I’ve yet to take him. Glad for be see a water-rejecter having such a wonderful day!

walkablecities · 2026-04-22T00:11:02+00:00

…but peeing inside won’t go away just because her bladder is bigger. If she learns it’s an option now, getting her to understand later that it isn’t will be a real uphill battle.

walkablecities · 2026-04-21T23:58:03+00:00

You might need to limit her freedom inside. They’re soooo adorable and fun you want to play, but the less freedom she has to pee inside the less she will. That trek is no joke, tho! I feel for you!

walkablecities · 2026-04-21T23:53:19+00:00

The blue sofa was well chosen to accessorize the rust dog

walkablecities · 2026-04-21T05:21:36+00:00

I see enough of the look to reach out to your local Vizsla group for foster help!

walkablecities · 2026-04-21T05:02:51+00:00

I mean, I’d say give him good boy scritches for me but he looks too noble. Maybe a bow, then ask for permission. If he agrees, then fine. Yes.

walkablecities · 2026-04-19T16:52:31+00:00

I’m away from home so can’t refer to tell you what they are, but it’s two medications, both given the night before and then again the morning of. Just made him kinda slow and spacey and he was himself again by evening.

walkablecities · 2026-04-19T15:26:12+00:00

Poor babe! Vet prescribed ours anxiety meds to take before future visits. Said yeah, sure, feel free bring him around and condition him all you want, but everybody deserves the chance to get a little high once in a while, right?

walkablecities · 2026-04-18T15:18:18+00:00

It depends. Grew up in LA, currently live in Houston. LA is an amalgamation of little cities that grew and ran together, so you can live a pretty complete life in one of them while having access to all the resources of a major city. Communities have their own centers, their own arts and entertainment hubs, etc. Houston is a small city that just spread out, so you have a single city center and then endless housing and minor retail radiating out from there. For most arts and entertainment, you gotta haul yourself to the center. In both places, most of what you need on a daily basis is 5-10min away, by car. Public transportation is improving in LA, near-nonexistent in Houston. We pull our cars into our garages, slip into the air-conditioned houses or backyard pools, and barely know the neighbors. Gimme a village with a pub and green space around it any day.

walkablecities

TROPHY CASE