![\"\"](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/404/2026/ge-tolstoy-m.jpg\")
Here is the first in a series of four essays on the Second World War: Why has it been so central to the American imagination for so long? And how much longer will that centrality last?
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/10/here-is-the-first-in.html","date_published":"2026-07-10T20:58:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"20:58","date_timestamp":1783717085,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93702190","content_html":"Freddie on “Our Poptimist Dystopia\":
\n\nsocial.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/09/freddie-on-our-poptimist-dystopia.html","date_published":"2026-07-09T11:07:58+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-09 11:07","date_timestamp":1783595278,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93655319","content_html":"Aesthetic hierarchy of any kind has become the last obscenity, the one judgment we’re no longer permitted to make, because to say that one thing is better than another is to admit that better exists. And if better exists out there, in the world of songs and books and movies, then it exists out here for us too, in the world of our lives, and that way lies the intolerable thought that we might have gone too easy on ourselves. Anti-elitism is the snobbery of those who have decided that the glory of great art is not worth bearing the thought that someone else might...
\n
That story reminds me that my old friend Ken Myers, who has interviewed thousands of people in his time, started out in radio as a student at the University of Maryland, where the very first person he ever interviewed was Johnny Cash.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/08/that-story-reminds-me-that.html","date_published":"2026-07-08T16:14:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-08 16:14","date_timestamp":1783527249,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93654809","content_html":"TIL that when, in 1935, Gertrude Stein did a book tour in support of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, she visited the University of Texas and was interviewed by a student journalist named Walter Cronkite.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/08/til-that-when-in-gertrude.html","date_published":"2026-07-08T16:10:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-08 16:10","date_timestamp":1783527016,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93654704","content_html":"
Nikolai Ge, Portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1882)
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/08/nikolai-ge-portrait-of-leo.html","date_published":"2026-07-08T16:06:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-08 16:06","date_timestamp":1783526797,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93643744","content_html":"The first book published by Random House was a fine-art edition of Voltaire’s Candide, illustrated by Rockwell Kent (who also designed the company’s famous logo).
\n![\"\"](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/404/2026/90-m.jpg\")
How Cecil B. DeMille brought the Bible to American moviegoers.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/08/how-cecil-b-demille-brought.html","date_published":"2026-07-08T12:08:22+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-08 12:08","date_timestamp":1783512502,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93597470","content_html":"I hate VAR so, so much. ⚽️
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/07/i-hate-var-so-so.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T17:26:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 17:26","date_timestamp":1783445181,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93594197","content_html":"The value of a papal encyclical — certainly for non-Catholics and maybe even for Catholics — stems not from the quality of the arguments it makes but rather from the quality of the responses it provokes. Leah Libresco Sargeant’s new piece is an excellent example.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/07/the-value-of-a-papal.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T16:30:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 16:30","date_timestamp":1783441803,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93588117","content_html":"I continue to be bemused by the sheer number of these AI-generated book-promotion scams — I get them every day. Most of them never make it to my inbox, which speaks well for current spam-filtering software, because they look more legit than spam typically does. This too shall pass, and I will be glad when it...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/07/i-continue-to-be-bemused.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T14:22:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 14:22","date_timestamp":1783434162,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93587825","content_html":"Dorothy L. Sayers: Works and Days is now available for pre-order at Amazon as well as the OUP website. (It’s not yet on bookshop.org.) And the pub date has been moved up to September 28!
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/07/dorothy-l-sayers-works-and.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T14:13:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 14:13","date_timestamp":1783433637,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93584079","content_html":"\n\n\nBasically, this is one of those designs that might not totally “work”, but the attempt is so vital and so valiant that it punches through the dimension of merely “working” or “not working” into some other space. We’re never going to bust out of the prison of the mobile-optimized, single-column scroll if we don’t try stuff like this.
\n
I’m so glad Robin linked to this site, which seems to have been made by people who never noticed that the World Wide Web has been taken over by malicious greedy parasite-platforms, but instead just kept experimenting with HTML and CSS in much the same spirit...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/07/robin-sloan-basically-this-is.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T12:52:58+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 12:52","date_timestamp":1783428778,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93555709","content_html":"The USMNT completely unready for this game. I haven’t seen them like this the whole tournament. They are lethargic and confused. How is this possible?
\nSecond half update: I could understand nerves, but this listlessness is inexplicable to me. I’m not sure these guys are even breaking a sweat. Belgium came...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/06/the-usmnt-completely-unready-for.html","date_published":"2026-07-07T00:17:52+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-07 00:17","date_timestamp":1783383472,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93554042","content_html":"The current location of Penguin Random House:
\n![\"Penguin](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fblog.ayjay.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F07%2FPenguin_Random_House_Tower_New_York_2005.jpg\")
Where Random House’s offices were located before a simple publishing house became a vast conglomerate:
\n![\"Villard](\"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/1000x/https%3A%2F%2Fblog.ayjay.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F07%2FVillard_Houses_Mar_2021_08.jpg\")
\nsocial.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/06/daring-fireball-its-one-thing.html","date_published":"2026-07-06T22:43:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-06 22:43","date_timestamp":1783377835,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93547063","content_html":"It’s one thing for Apple to force all of its own app icons into the same identical shape. That would be bad enough, because Apple’s own Mac apps are numerous and popular, and as the platform owner Apple necessarily sets the direction that many third-party apps follow. But it’s just downright spiteful to enforce it platform-wide. Apple decided they’re no longer going to create nice icons with unique, interesting, and most importantly, distinctive shapes — but they’re no longer allow third-party apps to either. It’s like Apple decided every single one of its own apps must wear a...
\n
WSJ:
\n\n\nAmerican allies have begun pushing the gas pedal on an unprecedented experiment in de-Americanization. Authorities from France to the Netherlands are quietly removing American tech from their systems, adopting European open-source software and urging civil servants to no longer use Microsoft Teams or Office. Belatedly, they are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to try to boost Europe’s own private space firms, AI companies, and data centers, to avoid leaning on U.S. juggernauts.
\n
I’m not sure Europe/Canada/etc. have the determination required to become a third nexus of technological power,...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/06/wsj-american-allies-have-begun.html","date_published":"2026-07-06T20:27:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-06 20:27","date_timestamp":1783369660,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93546212","content_html":"![](\"https://micro.blog/books/9781400060276/cover.jpg\")
\nCurrently reading: Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built by Gayle Feldman. Gonna be working on this one for a while. 📚
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/06/currently-reading-nothing-random-bennett.html","date_published":"2026-07-06T20:11:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-06 20:11","date_timestamp":1783368669,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93475012","content_html":"I asked for a latte from Starbucks but when I got home discovered that they had given me a mocha. So with every sip I taste not the sweetness of chocolate syrup but the bitterness of thwarted desire.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/05/i-asked-for-a-latte.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T13:27:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 13:27","date_timestamp":1783258064,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93473695","content_html":"(it is funny, and telling, that in the current media environment a book published in 2011 may as well have been published in 1611.)
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/05/it-is-funny-and-telling.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T12:47:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 12:47","date_timestamp":1783255648,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93473282","content_html":"Here’s an interview about renewing the pleasure of reading in an age of distraction. Someone ought to write a book about that. Oh wait.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/05/heres-an-interview-about-renewing.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T12:31:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 12:31","date_timestamp":1783254676,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93453655","content_html":"Currently listening: the Vince Guaraldi Trio, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. Righteous. 🎵
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/04/currently-listening-the-vince-guaraldi.html","date_published":"2026-07-05T01:44:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-05 01:44","date_timestamp":1783215844,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93423370","content_html":"“I am 100% sure I am not a genius, but at the same time, I am 100% sure I am not a fool.” — Carlo Ancelotti. I’m thinking of adopting this as my motto.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/04/i-am-sure-i-am.html","date_published":"2026-07-04T11:45:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-04 11:45","date_timestamp":1783165548,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93422704","content_html":"Still slightly vibrating from that 🇦🇷 - 🇨🇻 match last night — one of the best I’ve ever seen. Cape Verde were magnificent: organized, disciplined, and utterly fearless. They came not to cower in a low block but to defend aggressively and take their chances. Wonderful stuff. ⚽️
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/04/still-slightly-vibrating-from-that.html","date_published":"2026-07-04T11:35:28+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-04 11:35","date_timestamp":1783164928,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93382538","content_html":"@manginajoe Austin’s line to me is always “Open web, empty pockets” 😂
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/93382538","date_published":"2026-07-03T17:39:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 17:39","date_timestamp":1783100396,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93376628","content_html":"@manginajoe Good to see you here, Joe!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/93376628","date_published":"2026-07-03T15:35:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 15:35","date_timestamp":1783092915,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93367343","content_html":"To the tune of “Gilligan’s Island”:
\nNow sit right down and you’ll hear a tale
\nA tale of a rampant seal
\nWho’s damaging this coastal town
\nA hooligan named Neil
(via Adam Roberts)
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/03/to-the-tune-of-gilligans.html","date_published":"2026-07-03T11:57:24+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-03 11:57","date_timestamp":1783079844,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93319860","content_html":"In which I make a mighty vow: I pledge my blogging, my linking, and my sacred honour to the open web.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/07/02/in-which-i-make-a.html","date_published":"2026-07-02T16:32:51+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-02 16:32","date_timestamp":1783009971,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"93251102","content_html":"@manton I am really excited about this! I want to do more audio posts and while I’ve found Wavelength the ideal way to do that, I’ve been a little worried about the lack of development. So, good news indeed.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/93251102","date_published":"2026-07-01T14:14:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-01 14:14","date_timestamp":1782915297,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"93193837","content_html":"@manton My $.02: If people want/need to know who’s following them, micro.blog’s extensive cross-posting to platforms built for that kind of engagement meets the need. There’s no need for micro.blog itself to replicate what every social-media platform already does. And that micro.blog does not do follower counts etc. is a useful reminder that we don’t have to do things the way we learned to do them on Twitter back in the day.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/93193837","date_published":"2026-06-30T15:42:15+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-30 15:42","date_timestamp":1782834135,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92900522","content_html":"@grmr Doesn’t quite look like my view from the Frio!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92900522","date_published":"2026-06-25T19:26:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-25 19:26","date_timestamp":1782415569,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92895175","content_html":"@manton I don’t think many people realize how much that bad ankle compromised him in the playoffs. He’s a key piece of the puzzle.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92895175","date_published":"2026-06-25T17:45:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-25 17:45","date_timestamp":1782409548,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92740207","content_html":"@dancohen This may well be!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92740207","date_published":"2026-06-23T15:46:08+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-23 15:46","date_timestamp":1782229568,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92728509","content_html":"@dancohen The first answer is correct! Check the mail for your prize.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92728509","date_published":"2026-06-23T12:40:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-23 12:40","date_timestamp":1782218401,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92563137","content_html":"@ablerism @mwerickson One year, back in the Nineties I think, Coles was the speaker at Wheaton’s Faculty Development Day. He was inspiring, to say the least.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92563137","date_published":"2026-06-20T18:15:34+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-20 18:15","date_timestamp":1781979334,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92289231","content_html":"@manton Hard to pick a winner!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92289231","date_published":"2026-06-16T14:13:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-16 14:13","date_timestamp":1781619239,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92286903","content_html":"@ablerism I told Aaron Z that that should be a new ministry for him.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92286903","date_published":"2026-06-16T13:33:07+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-16 13:33","date_timestamp":1781616787,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92075598","content_html":"@manton I wish that something like iocaine was implenmentable on micro.blog. I’m not formally requesting it and don’t expect it, but it would be cool.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92075598","date_published":"2026-06-12T23:13:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-12 23:13","date_timestamp":1781306006,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"92054328","content_html":"@frjonjordan Well, it’s been a few years since I’ve been in Rome, but I don’t recall seeing such things….
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/92054328","date_published":"2026-06-12T17:25:51+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-12 17:25","date_timestamp":1781285151,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91424521","content_html":"\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91424521","date_published":"2026-06-02T21:48:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-02 21:48","date_timestamp":1780436907,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91412774","content_html":"@patrickrhone I mighta known the guy from NOLA would understand the importance of the groove.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91412774","date_published":"2026-06-02T18:42:43+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-02 18:42","date_timestamp":1780425763,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91350166","content_html":"\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91350166","date_published":"2026-06-01T20:03:20+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 20:03","date_timestamp":1780344200,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91348035","content_html":"@patrickrhone The question for me is not whether those commandments are sufficient. They are! But what happens when I fail to keep them? What happens when I fall short? That’s when I turn to John 14.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91348035","date_published":"2026-06-01T19:33:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 19:33","date_timestamp":1780342397,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91347866","content_html":"@patrickrhone I am retired from all forms of public speaking, including podcasting! Maybe I’ll comment further later, but note that I didn’t say anything at all about Talarico or his politics. I just need something more powerful from church than I could get from scrolling through BlueSky.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91347866","date_published":"2026-06-01T19:29:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 19:29","date_timestamp":1780342141,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91157114","content_html":"@manton I mean, they’re preaching to the choir, not to “normies.” But if they and people like them don’t learn to take our concerns seriously and respond with evidence rather than mockery, things could go very wrong for the Big Tech companies.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91157114","date_published":"2026-05-29T16:40:51+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-29 16:40","date_timestamp":1780072851,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91156120","content_html":"@manton Their sneering at “normies” who have gone “off the reservation” is exactly why so many people hate big tech and its shills.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91156120","date_published":"2026-05-29T16:17:38+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-29 16:17","date_timestamp":1780071458,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91084999","content_html":"@manton Yep, that’s why I say we really need to be thinking about this. One way or another, the recognition that people now receive for AI-generated work will get harder to come by. Remember The Incredibles, when Dash’s mom says “Everybody is special,” and he mutters, “Which is another way of saying that nobody is.”
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91084999","date_published":"2026-05-28T15:43:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-28 15:43","date_timestamp":1779983024,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91024191","content_html":"@manton That’s a troubling blog post — he doesn’t seem altogether stable. He says that IF Silver Lake win they will destroy WordPress, then he says they have already won. He doesn’t seem aware of the decisions he made that led to this situation. I’m worried for him.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91024191","date_published":"2026-05-27T19:11:46+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 19:11","date_timestamp":1779909106,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91006900","content_html":"@help FYI, photos are showing up in the “Posts” list but not in the timeline or on my blog.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/91006900","date_published":"2026-05-27T13:18:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 13:18","date_timestamp":1779887930,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90840279","content_html":"@manton I want to love it, but the size of that bezel!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/90840279","date_published":"2026-05-24T20:03:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-24 20:03","date_timestamp":1779652982,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"90556075","content_html":"@wcaleb This is making me think I should actually read the ones that are coming to me.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/90556075","date_published":"2026-05-20T12:21:18+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-20 12:21","date_timestamp":1779279678,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}![logo](\"https://i.pinimg.com/736x/97/b4/6e/97b46ec18e230a0cef0789e3570016c3.jpg\"){kind=link}