Take the wrong lesson from a movie:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is a perfectly valid basis for a system of government.

Session 0 in the last two campaigns I DM’d. N neither did players follow what the module thought they would do. I ended up making everything up.

“Weird” was code in this context for “creeps.”

While I’m not taking sides, I would point out that the pontificate as an institution has survived and outlasted plenty of hostile rulers and dynasties.

BREAKING: The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine just issued a formal statement defending Pope Leo XIV's teaching authority on just war doctrine — less than twelve hours after JD Vance told a Turning Point USA crowd the pope should “be careful” talking theology.

This is a serious escalation.

Media should quote him in full more.

Vance Says Pope Wrong About Catholic Theology - Who’s Right?

The “we know better than everyone” vibe is one of the defining characteristics of this administration. RFK Jr. knows better than doctors, for example.

The other pillars of this administration are racism, corruption, and incompetence.

🙄🙄🙄

What would be really funny is if the Pope excommunicated him.

He agreed to be the president’s punching bag. He knew what he was getting into, and he’s certainly leaned into the bigotry and incompetence of the current administration.

This jogged a memory: in fifth grade I wrote an essay about wanting to be an astronomer with a radio telescope when I grew up.

The Moon eclipsing the Earth

A crescent Earth over the Moon

A crescent Earth over the Moon

An eclipse and photos of a crescent Earthrise. From the Artemis 2 mission. From here: www.nasa.gov/gallery/luna...

Even Closer Now - NASA art002e009276 (April 6, 2026) - In this view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible at the top half of the Moon disk. It is identifiable by the dark splotches. These...

The dark side of the Moon, from the Artemis II mission. Almost looks like the 😮 emoji.

www.nasa.gov/image-detail...

I think the reason AI propagandists are so flustered by the fact that no real writer wants to use their idiotic tools is that they themselves don't enjoy writing. They see it as a boring arduous chore to be avoided, while real writers actually enjoy writing and actually care about the quality of it.

A student doing a site visit to observe a Catholic service just commented that when they started Mass he thought it was a snack break in the middle and I’m just dying here.

That might be slightly more than Game of Thrones.

That assumes it’s light he will see.

Finally watching this now!

This whole thread is joyful to read. It’s relaxing.

Back home from Breakout Con in Toronto, and all ready to apply what I’ve learned to TPK my players.

Seriously, though, gaming cons are great not just for fun but to spark creativity and new ways to think about gaming.

lol, though it’s hard to see the universe telling me “have you considered atheism?”

And I end the night with a misunderstanding. Forgot to eat dinner, so stopped for some slices of pizza.

Apparently they don’t just have slices, and I brought two pizzas back to my hotel. I know what I’m eating for breakfast.

In other news, I found an Iraqi restaurant to eat lunch at today. I had the chicken tikka, with roast veggies and garlic sauce, plus lentil soup and some fluffy sesame bread. Excellent food.

I really didn’t know what to make of it. Wish I hadn’t been in kind of a rush or I definitely would have talked his ear off.

6/6

It seemed an odd thing to ask a stranger, especially given that he didn’t know I spent years studying India’s religions and philosophy, learning Sanskrit, and traveling to India.

5/6

The Charvakas were this relatively obscure school of thought from ancient India that had a materialistic philosophy.

Like, that there were no gods or souls, that the only thing that existed was matter.

4/6

And out of the blue he asks me if I’m familiar with the Charvakas.

The what? Good god, I haven’t thought about the Charvakas since I was in grad school twenty years ago.

3/6

He’s decided he’s going to chat with me while I’m waiting for my order and trying to leave. Okay, sure, some people are just friendly. No problem.

I tell him I teach courses in the humanities, keeping it general.

2/6

I’m in Toronto and had a weird Tim Hortons experience earlier.

First, one of the employees complimented me on my hair. Now, guys don’t usually compliment my hair, but that’s not the weirdest part.

1/6

There was a Black Mirror episode about this.

Gaming night quote: “that guy’s ego is like a Bag of Holding.”