{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Micro.blog - Roger Wm. Bennett","home_page_url":"https://micro.blog","feed_url":"https://micro.blog/posts/ReaderJohn","_microblog":{"about":"https://micro.blog/about/api","id":"10256","username":"ReaderJohn","bio":"Retired lawyer, homo adorans (as an Orthodox Christian).\nFor better or worse, autodidact in much of what really matters in life (despite ample formal schooling).\nMy posts are pretty eclectic, but tend toward religion and cynicism about politics.","pronouns":"","is_following":false,"is_you":false,"following_count":213,"discover_count":0},"author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/avatar.jpg"},"items":[{"id":"99701391","content_html":"

Does this exorcist need a social media detox? Celebrity exorcist priest to take one-year ‘media fast’ after meeting with Denver archbishop.

\n\n

I suspect that “celebrity” is the key word.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/22/does-this-exorcist-need-a.html","date_published":"2026-10-22T19:41:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"19:41","date_timestamp":1792698087,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99700746","content_html":"

TIL

\n\n

Reticulated: Resembling or forming a net or network.

\n\n

H/T @Miraz

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/22/til-reticulated-resembling-or-forming.html","date_published":"2026-10-22T19:33:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"19:33","date_timestamp":1792697596,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99700474","content_html":"

@Miraz @JohnBrady I guess the cat is out of the bag: I’ve never lived in a rural area without a “city water” supply. By some measures, this makes me cosmopolitan; by others, provincial.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99700474","date_published":"2026-10-22T19:27:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"19:27","date_timestamp":1792697262,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99700340","content_html":"
    \n
  1. My wife is very indulgent of our grandson.
    2. \n
  2. I learned today that Amazon maintains an “About You” profile on its customers.
    3. \n
  3. My profile was spot-on.
    4. \n
  4. Amazon thinks my wife builds and rides dirt bikes (see point 1).
    5. \n
\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/22/my-wife-is-very-indulgent.html","date_published":"2026-10-22T19:24:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"19:24","date_timestamp":1792697054,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99693132","content_html":"

@Miraz “We don’t have fire hydrants in NZ.” This boggles my mind. How do firefighters fight fires?

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99693132","date_published":"2026-10-22T17:09:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-22 17:09","date_timestamp":1792688980,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99642946","content_html":"

Gratifying to hear that the Bush family is backing über-corrupt Ken Paxton’s Democrat opponent.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/21/gratifying-to-hear-that-the.html","date_published":"2026-10-21T21:49:25+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-21 21:49","date_timestamp":1792619365,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99642911","content_html":"

Ah, the Indiana Senate! microblog.intellectualoid.com

","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/21/ah-the-indiana-senate.html","date_published":"2026-10-21T21:48:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-21 21:48","date_timestamp":1792619284,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99642325","content_html":"

@frjonjordan A very, very fine college.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99642325","date_published":"2026-10-21T21:32:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-21 21:32","date_timestamp":1792618333,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99610955","content_html":"

This story stunned me: U.S. officials privately advise states fearing Trump election meddling - The Washington Post

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/21/this-story-stunned-me-us.html","date_published":"2026-10-21T11:42:31+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-21 11:42","date_timestamp":1792582951,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99576789","content_html":"

My YouTube feed is full of videos supposedly of “sovereign citizens” getting shot down by judges.

\n\n

Thing is, though, not one of them said they were sovereign citizens. They were just your basic “fool for a client” representing themselves, which isn’t the sovereign citizen ideology.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/20/my-youtube-feed-is-full.html","date_published":"2026-10-20T20:56:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 20:56","date_timestamp":1792529801,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99576658","content_html":"

Bruce Cockburn has a new Album, The Blood of Others. Gone are the protest songs, as befits an 81-year-old, arrived are some nice covers.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/20/bruce-cockburn-has-a-new.html","date_published":"2026-10-20T20:53:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 20:53","date_timestamp":1792529636,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99566752","content_html":"

@joshuapsteele From your mouth to God’s ear.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99566752","date_published":"2026-10-20T17:51:12+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 17:51","date_timestamp":1792518672,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99551723","content_html":"

I wish I had saved all the texts I’ve gotten asking for political donations over the past few months. I’ve assumed most of them are scams, plus Psalm 145/146:3.

\n\n

I can’t recall when I last gave to a campaign; must be a decade or more.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/20/i-wish-i-had-saved.html","date_published":"2026-10-20T13:08:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 13:08","date_timestamp":1792501722,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99551274","content_html":"

@ablerism @mwerickson It’s on my public wishlist, so it’s not unlikely that I’ll have it in my near-infinite queue by 12/25.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99551274","date_published":"2026-10-20T12:58:52+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 12:58","date_timestamp":1792501132,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99548342","content_html":"

@bbowman Wow! Forgot that, and love it!

\n

(“Keep up the good ‘content’, Brady,” he added with a wink.)

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99548342","date_published":"2026-10-20T11:49:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 11:49","date_timestamp":1792496969,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99548159","content_html":"

It is written somewhere in the stars that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese should forever be rivals, but with the Fever out of the WNBA tournament, I’ll take Reese’s 30 points and 16 rebounds as a pretty okay showing.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/20/it-is-written-somewhere-in.html","date_published":"2026-10-20T11:46:29+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 11:46","date_timestamp":1792496789,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99525795","content_html":"

@jabel Yes, it’s got some similarities. We humans (at least in the West) look like mad for patterns to make sense of things.

\n

I made a special trip to New York City in 2019 for the primary purpose of seeing Heroes of the Fouth Turning (a couple of days at the Metropolitan Museum sealed the deal).

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99525795","date_published":"2026-10-20T02:44:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-20 02:44","date_timestamp":1792464297,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99517852","content_html":"
\n

The thing that will keep the United States united is nothing more and nothing less than the ability and willingness of Americans to consciously impose restraints on themselves and restraints on how far they will go, rhetorically and otherwise, to express their disagreements with their fellow Americans. You have to start from the position “no American is my enemy.” I don’t have to like him, I don’t have to agree with him, but no American is my enemy …

\n\n

…

\n\n

Not much matters. The things that matter matter hugely, but not much actually matters.

\n
\n\n

Jeffrey Goldberg, interviewed by David Brooks.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/the-thing-that-will-keep.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T22:24:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 22:24","date_timestamp":1792448682,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99517774","content_html":"

I take some comfort in the theory that the US seems destined to go through painful political spasms every 60 years or so, and the 2020s had a target painted on them.

\n\n

The good news is we always (so far anyway) recover.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/i-take-some-comfort-in.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T22:22:11+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 22:22","date_timestamp":1792448531,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99499140","content_html":"

@bethanyh Your questions are a legitimate part of the reckoning. We’ve done our own household, personal version of the reckoning, but if we have no guns in the house, let alone carry permits, I’m not going to put it in print.

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I’m not a particular fan of the 2nd Amendment, but this sort of thing should be part of our reckoning on guns.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/im-not-a-particular-fan.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T14:25:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 14:25","date_timestamp":1792419916,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99494932","content_html":"

If you hear anyone bragging about the explosion in numbers of “No Kings” protests, be advised, anecdotally, that our local No Kings rally was divided into five rallies for higher visibility.

\n

Just sayin'.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/if-you-hear-anyone-bragging.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T13:40:51+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 13:40","date_timestamp":1792417251,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99494185","content_html":"

Sigh.

\n

‘Mystery continues:’ Purdue-backed expedition to uncover Earhart’s plane finds trees, instead.

\n

I saw the photos. Those trees look a lot like a submerged plane.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/sigh-mystery-continues-purduebacked-expedition.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T13:16:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 13:16","date_timestamp":1792415813,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99493299","content_html":"

@davoh I’m gonna borrow that, with credit of course.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99493299","date_published":"2026-10-19T12:54:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 12:54","date_timestamp":1792414467,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99493169","content_html":"

Reflections on constrained preaching in a parish with many newcomers. The Gospel for People battered by bad religion .

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/19/reflections-on-constrained-preaching-in.html","date_published":"2026-10-19T12:51:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-19 12:51","date_timestamp":1792414278,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99442392","content_html":"

@ReaderJohn By “ending in fcu,” I’m not referring to a top-level domain, but the address before the “dot”.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99442392","date_published":"2026-10-18T11:53:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-18 11:53","date_timestamp":1792324385,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99442312","content_html":"

Does anyone know why so much high-production-value spam is coming from (one or more - I’m not sure) domains ending in “fcu”? Did someone hack a major shared Credit Union server?

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/18/does-anyone-know-why-so.html","date_published":"2026-10-18T11:49:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-18 11:49","date_timestamp":1792324182,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99334955","content_html":"

@cjhubbs @JimRain In the lower left corner, there are controls for the view, allowing you to see (what I find especially interesting) winds at altitude as well as surface winds.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99334955","date_published":"2026-10-16T12:38:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-16 12:38","date_timestamp":1792154307,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99329759","content_html":"

@tinyroofnail @JimRain I think it was Meilander who wrote a deeply humane and realistic meditation oh interdependency and titled it I Want to Be a Burden on My Children.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99329759","date_published":"2026-10-16T10:36:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-16 10:36","date_timestamp":1792146973,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99329468","content_html":"

Some days this fascinating weather map (H/T @miraz) is a yawner. This is not one of those days for the North American map.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/16/some-days-this-fascinating-weather.html","date_published":"2026-10-16T10:30:47+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-16 10:30","date_timestamp":1792146647,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99293672","content_html":"

I think Idagio’s “Contemporary Classical Meditation” playlist is what we used to call “New Age.”

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/15/i-think-idagios-contemporary-classical.html","date_published":"2026-10-15T19:05:13+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-15 19:05","date_timestamp":1792091113,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99210430","content_html":"

@jabel Oh you sentimentalist, you! You remembered!

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Oddly, the best first-and-last date of my life was a friend from high school my freshman college year. Both of us had romantic interests elsewhere, so we went to a concert together. Laughed our heads off for hours afterward.

\n

I fear she has died.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99210430","date_published":"2026-10-14T12:39:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-14 12:39","date_timestamp":1791981582,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99210048","content_html":"

@JimRain Yeah. That’s it. At about 18 months, I was saying “Covid is an excellent excuse to unleash my inner introvert.”

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The parallels to today become even more acute when Percy turns to religion. Political divides in Love in the Ruins have penetrated the churches, mainline Protestants aligning with the left and evangelicals with the right. Meanwhile, orthodox Catholics are but a remnant, most believers having joined either the American Catholic Church––which only prays the Latin Mass and plays the national anthem during the elevation of the Eucharist––or a coalition of Germanic schismatics, who have done away with the vow of celibacy as a prerequisite for priesthood.

\n
\n

Collin Slowey, Walker Percy’s Prescient Dystopia

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/13/the-parallels-to-today-become.html","date_published":"2026-10-13T10:21:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-13 10:21","date_timestamp":1791886877,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99141258","content_html":"

@jabel I got tipped off to that a few weekends ago when we hosted a black Orthodox nun overnight and sat up chatting.

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The Creation: microblog.intellectualoid.com

","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/12/the-creation.html","date_published":"2026-10-12T13:42:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-12 13:42","date_timestamp":1791812524,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99090749","content_html":"

@JohnBrady I should have memorized more poetry decades ago, when my memorizer worked better. But I’m working on it.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/99090749","date_published":"2026-10-12T12:50:22+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-12 12:50","date_timestamp":1791809422,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"99088613","content_html":"

The Leaders of the Crowd: microblog.intellectualoid.com

","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/12/the-leaders-of-the-crowd.html","date_published":"2026-10-12T11:47:49+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-12 11:47","date_timestamp":1791805669,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"99088484","content_html":"

An Irish Airman Foresees his Death: microblog.intellectualoid.com

","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/12/an-irish-airman-foresees-his.html","date_published":"2026-10-12T11:43:35+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-12 11:43","date_timestamp":1791805415,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98960922","content_html":"

@eastbrad And that is the answer to my question “should I drop the free press?”

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98960922","date_published":"2026-10-09T21:22:24+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 21:22","date_timestamp":1791580944,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98942749","content_html":"

@lukemperez Memory eternal!

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98942749","date_published":"2026-10-09T15:13:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 15:13","date_timestamp":1791558817,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98939500","content_html":"

@joshuapsteele No problem with that public square profile.

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But I enthusiastically support the Becket Fund which does speak up for “vulnerable others” (e.g., Mahmoud v. Taylor). But when the church (Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm v. Prince) or Christians (Taylor v. Sunnyvale School District) are othered, it stands up for them, too.

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There’s another group, that I won’t name, that is less apt to defend non-Christians - probably because their fundagelical base wouldn’t like it.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98939500","date_published":"2026-10-09T14:15:24+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 14:15","date_timestamp":1791555324,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98938460","content_html":"

@ReaderJohn Oh! It’s not until December 3! I’ll bet they’re going to make it pay-per-view before then!

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98938460","date_published":"2026-10-09T13:57:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 13:57","date_timestamp":1791554277,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98931972","content_html":"

The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be live-streamed.

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Of course it will, but they can’t force me to watch it.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/09/the-firing-squad-execution-of.html","date_published":"2026-10-09T11:36:19+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 11:36","date_timestamp":1791545779,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98931401","content_html":"

@jabel “I’m all in favor of male modesty,” said the geezer with a body nobody would want to look at anyway, “but opposed to fetishes and shibboleths.”

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98931401","date_published":"2026-10-09T11:22:22+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 11:22","date_timestamp":1791544942,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98931309","content_html":"

@jabel My weird religious content would involve Sunday afternoon religious broadcasts on low-wattage radio stations down south. “Fornification, idolotary and lashviciousness …” for instance. Or stalling so “Brother Doyle and his daughters can get here and favor us with some music.”

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98931309","date_published":"2026-10-09T11:19:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-09 11:19","date_timestamp":1791544755,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98873413","content_html":"

Alabama Public University Professors Must Now Call Gulf of Mexico “Gulf of America” (Except When Speaking on “Historical” Questions).

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Apart from being unconstitutional in a wide swath of situations (but not all), this law is petty and stupid. Have Alabama legislators nothing better to do?

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/10/08/alabama-public-university-professors-must.html","date_published":"2026-10-08T13:09:58+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-08 13:09","date_timestamp":1791464998,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98807361","content_html":"

@KyleEssary I’m not entitled to an opinion on Texas politics, but my un-entitled opinion is that Paxton’s shameless corruption and the general need to take the GOP to the woodshed (for prostrating before Orange Sauron) suffice to justify a Talarico vote. Cornyn would have been a closer call.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98807361","date_published":"2026-10-07T11:11:52+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-07 11:11","date_timestamp":1791371512,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98806912","content_html":"

@bradleyandroos Not too niche.

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98806912","date_published":"2026-10-07T11:00:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-07 11:00","date_timestamp":1791370855,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98751836","content_html":"

@jabel That’s why I said “glimmer.”

\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ReaderJohn/98751836","date_published":"2026-10-06T13:02:12+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Fmicro.blog%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-10-06 13:02","date_timestamp":1791291732,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}