On BYU, Guy Fawkes, and Bloggersnacking

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Utah. I was there to give a faculty lecture at the BYU religion department (speaking about my FARMS-funded ancient beekeeping project). For this mission-field blogger, it was also fun to schmooze with some of the bloggernacle elite. First up, FPR's John C., an old mate from Johns Hopkins. John C. is a wonderful human being and funny to boot. I stayed with John and his wife in Orem. Much to my delight they had planned a Guy Fawkes bonfire in their yard, complete with an effigy of old Guy, that dastardly continental Catholic who tried to blow up Parliament 400 years ago today. At BYU, I ran into Frank McIntyre in his nasty, pre-fab office. During the lulls in our conversation about socialized medicine, Frank told me of the joys of tracing IP's. The Great and Spacious SLC Bloggersnacker was at the Fowles' home. Alli is the best and most patient host ever: she supplied the cheese and the pumpkin soup and raised nary an eyebrow over our bannergate gossipping. Bob Caswell (who designs his anti-BYU posts around his wife's experiences there, it seems) told us that he wasn't that liberal. The Fowles brothers, J-Max and the ever cheerful John Dehlin debated (nay, argued) over the virtue of ad-hominem attacks and whether Sunstone was evil. It was decided in the end that Steve Evans was indeed evil, and that he should stop paying all these people to comment on how much they love him. Ryan Bell, on the other hand, is not evil, even though he admitted that he hates law and only practices it because he wants to get rich. The other consensus: bloggernacle denizens are not normal Mormons. Oh, and John F. claims he was taught about Joseph's peepstone in CTR class.