{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"talqix.cloud - Roger Wm. Bennett","home_page_url":"https://talqix.cloud","feed_url":"https://talqix.cloud/posts/ReaderJohn","_microblog":{"about":"https://talqix.cloud/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":206,"discover_count":0},"author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/avatar.jpg"},"items":[{"id":"92111974","content_html":"

With all the UFO/UAP stuff flooding popular media lately, it was time to update my vaccination.

\n\n

So I poked around in Fermi Paradox and the physics of interstellar transport. Added metadata and then went to file it digitally.

\n\n

I had no apt folder, but settled on “Travel.”

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/13/with-all-the-ufouap-stuff.html","date_published":"2026-06-13T15:36:36+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"15:36","date_timestamp":1781364996,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"92103556","content_html":"

Power came back after 20 ½ hours. I should have bought enough generator to power the air conditioner.

\n\n

Internet was down over much of the city as well. It seems that Metronet has a virtual monopoly on Internet in my fair city. They got that back up before we got power.

\n\n

A reminder of fragility.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/13/power-is-back-after-hours.html","date_published":"2026-06-13T12:34:08+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"12:34","date_timestamp":1781354048,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"92051208","content_html":"

We have been without power for almost 16 hours now (we have a household generator that powers the basic necessities) and also without Internet. (That brief storm did a heck of a lot of damage.) So I will be watching things here even less than usual.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/12/we-have-been-without-power.html","date_published":"2026-06-12T16:49:22+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-12 16:49","date_timestamp":1781282962,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91983911","content_html":"

The Department of Defense de-Christianizing the LDS Church was clumsy, but they were working in an area where it’s hard to be sufficiently agile. The Legal Spirits podcast explains (and the explanation is mercifully short).

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/11/the-department-of-defense-dechristianizing.html","date_published":"2026-06-11T17:34:08+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-11 17:34","date_timestamp":1781199248,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91971249","content_html":"

@jabel I don’t do cold brew and hadn’t thought about the caffeine. So I asked Claude.

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@grmr I checked the ESPN app and saw the Spurs big lead (after 1st quarter), watched second quarter live, went to bed happy and confident.

\n

For sheer basketball drama, that was an epic game.

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@grmr Well, so much for a sweep. Spurs aren’t looking the least bit green tonight. There is hope.

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@JohnBrady Well, that‘s intriguing. It can supplement Pieper’s Leisure: The Basis of Culture.

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@ablerism My grandson graduated H.S. a few Sundays ago. I wanted to confiscate some air horns or implant them in unmentionable places.

\n

I guess the “party” style has reached flyover country, too.

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I’m kind of enjoying this dumb free Grug app.

\n\n

\"\"

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/08/im-kind-of-enjoying-this.html","date_published":"2026-06-08T16:45:54+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 16:45","date_timestamp":1780937154,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91754879","content_html":"

Granted, I’m a fan of Apple, but I draw the line at sitting through the WWDC. A I need to know I’ll learn from news reports and changes to the product lineup at their website.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/08/granted-im-a-fan-of.html","date_published":"2026-06-08T13:12:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 13:12","date_timestamp":1780924377,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91750709","content_html":"
\n

Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea on Monday for a state visit. The Chinese president’s first overseas trip this year will showcase China as a global power capable of friendly relations even with troublemakers.

\n
\n\n

Economist World in Brief.

\n\n

Ummmm, like China and North Korea share a border, right?

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/08/xi-jinping-arrived-in-north.html","date_published":"2026-06-08T11:54:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 11:54","date_timestamp":1780919644,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91747869","content_html":"
\n

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, formally known as the Secretary of Defense, warned on June 6 that Europe faced what he called an invasion of dangerous ideologies arriving by sea, linking immigration to the legacy of the D-Day landings in remarks in Normandy.

\n
\n\n

Ummmm. Like, Normandy is in Europe, right?

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/08/secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth.html","date_published":"2026-06-08T10:48:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 10:48","date_timestamp":1780915689,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91747418","content_html":"

@jonah I’d never heard that story before, nor was I aware of the official CofE stance.

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@aa We had a lot of fun in public elementary school with flag football. Meanwhile, the Catholic elementary school kids were suited up playing the contact sport. #50s

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@canneddragons Well, it’s a pretty lousy icon, but as secular art it has some appeal to me.

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91747167","date_published":"2026-06-08T10:26:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-08 10:26","date_timestamp":1780914387,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91650792","content_html":"

@grmr I’ve got YouTubeTV set up to record playoff games, but I sat up past 11 pm for the first two, rooting laconically for the Spurs. I don’t think I’ll sit up again unless the series tightens greatly.

\n

Wemby has disappointed, and the Spurs show signs of needing more seasoning. I fear a sweep.

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@adders Yeah. AI is terrific at stuff like that.

\n

Claude helped me, an aging doofus with no knowledge of CSS sheets, to spiffy up my MB posts when viewed on the web.

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91532237","date_published":"2026-06-04T14:58:44+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-04 14:58","date_timestamp":1780585124,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91525172","content_html":"

@JohnBrady That’s perfectly analogous to my thinking when we built. The Nave was designed for a standing capacity of 180. It was not designed for expansion (though the non-worship space was so designed).

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91525172","date_published":"2026-06-04T11:45:07+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-04 11:45","date_timestamp":1780573507,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91524439","content_html":"

@bbowman Interesting. New folks are beating down our doors. I’d advocate boosting a second Orthodox Church in the area. Building capacity aside, how many souls can one Priest really “pastor”?

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91524439","date_published":"2026-06-04T11:16:26+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-04 11:16","date_timestamp":1780571786,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91467896","content_html":"

Indiana and Tennessee Declare June as Nuclear Family Month.

\n\n

Not Invented Here: The late Patriarch Ilya of Georgia declared a Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents, which ended up, and may have begun, opposite an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/03/indiana-and-tennessee-declare-june.html","date_published":"2026-06-03T14:32:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-03 14:32","date_timestamp":1780497121,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91462093","content_html":"

@JohnBrady All us bien pensants are in opposition. It’s hard keeping track of who coined what.

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If your right-hemisphere doesn’t recoil instinctively from the Arc de Trump, I’m not sure these left-hemisphere arguments will sway you.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/03/if-your-righthemisphere-doesnt-recoil.html","date_published":"2026-06-03T12:40:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-03 12:40","date_timestamp":1780490455,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91461594","content_html":"

I’m furious with Bret Stephens (NYT) for beating me to “President Ozymandias.”

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/03/im-furious-with-bret-stephens.html","date_published":"2026-06-03T12:35:17+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-03 12:35","date_timestamp":1780490117,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91413231","content_html":"

@cjhubbs Oh, man! Gotta share that with my son.

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91413231","date_published":"2026-06-02T18:52:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-02 18:52","date_timestamp":1780426334,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91407558","content_html":"

@joshuapsteele @JohnBrady Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. (Ecclesiastes 12:1). I suspect that the President’s evil days have come, the years drawn nigh.

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91407558","date_published":"2026-06-02T17:44:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-02 17:44","date_timestamp":1780422277,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91390859","content_html":"

Michael Jochum, The Lounge Act at the end of the Empire.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/02/michael-jochum-the-lounge-act.html","date_published":"2026-06-02T12:40:46+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-02 12:40","date_timestamp":1780404046,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91346914","content_html":"

@JimRain @ayjay

\n

> Texas goes through these phases from time to time. Imagine a rich, middle-aged car salesman who ditches his wife and starts dating a 21-year-old stripper with a meth problem, and then imagine that guy is a state — that’s Texas.

\n

Kevin D. Williamson

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91346914","date_published":"2026-06-01T19:04:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 19:04","date_timestamp":1780340699,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91327879","content_html":"

Mark your calendar for yesterday. Rod Dreher is back in the USA, and is surprised to be so giddy about it.

\n

How giddy? An entire post where not once was the sky about to fall! That’s how giddy.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/06/01/mark-your-calendar-for-yesterday.html","date_published":"2026-06-01T14:21:59+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-06-01 14:21","date_timestamp":1780323719,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91222615","content_html":"

There sure are a lot of enthusiastic people watching Arsenal vs. Paris Saint Germain live. Who knew?

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/30/there-sure-are-a-lot.html","date_published":"2026-05-30T17:32:31+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-30 17:32","date_timestamp":1780162351,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91222127","content_html":"

@tinyroofnail Kevin has a real way with words. The idjits at the Atlantic who cancelled him after management had announced his hiring did their employer no favors.

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@jabel It’s not just you or your week. I just posted my “big blog” collection of the past few days. America’s looming 250th is surfacing a lot of negativity, and I gave it fairly free rein. Morose thoughts at the Semiquincentennial

\n","url":"https://talqix.cloud/ReaderJohn/91208394","date_published":"2026-05-30T12:39:46+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-30 12:39","date_timestamp":1780144786,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"91169956","content_html":"

I’m a boomer from the subset that, at age 77, can sit in front of the computer, catching up on paperwork and reading, with Crosby, Stills, Nash (and sometimes Young) playing, fairly loud, but it’s background music to my ears. I know I can because that’s what I’m currently doing.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/29/im-a-boomer-from-the.html","date_published":"2026-05-29T19:42:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-29 19:42","date_timestamp":1780083757,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91152955","content_html":"

I will never presume to write another word about UFC on the White House Lawn, because I’ll never top Kevin D. Williamson.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/29/i-will-never-presume-to.html","date_published":"2026-05-29T15:39:41+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-29 15:39","date_timestamp":1780069181,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91143293","content_html":"

My hard-working slacker grandson graduates HS Sunday. He turned off his alarm and went back to sleep this morning, and would have missed a job interview at Loews had my son not noticed. He wants to become an F1 mechanic.

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Peggy Noonan, Becoming Who You Are Ain’t for Sissies, was a balm for me.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/29/my-hardworking-slacker-grandson-graduates.html","date_published":"2026-05-29T12:39:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-29 12:39","date_timestamp":1780058395,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91141930","content_html":"

@joshuapsteele What @JohnBrady said. (But in the back of my mind, this caveat aphorism: Christ didn’t come to make bad men good but to make dead men live.)

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@isaacgreene If your locale was anything like Lafayette (home of Purdue) Indiana, he was probably an Italian with a name like, oh, Cassini.

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(I don’t know who does that quality of work locally now that Cassini is closed.)

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@JohnBrady Oh: I remember well as a newlywed developing a sudden appreciation for cabbage, and the joy we felt when box macaroni and cheese was on sale for $0.15 (usually $0.19, higher if you insisted on Kraft).

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@JohnBrady Grad students subsisting on Ramen Noodles was a veritable même a few years back.

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If I were worried about grocery bills (and I suspect that some on MB are worried), I would print and pore over How to Eat Well on the Cheap - The Dispatch (gift link).

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/28/if-i-were-worried-about.html","date_published":"2026-05-28T19:57:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-28 19:57","date_timestamp":1779998226,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"91003039","content_html":"

@isaacgreene thanks for the tip 

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Ohmigosh! I’ve known of Christian Wiman as a poet for many years now, but (1) I’m not sure I’ve really sampled him and (2) his poems collected in the volume Christian Poetry in America Since 1940 has really whetted my appetite. For instance:

\n\n

ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FINDING NEW BELIEFS

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All my friends are finding...

microblog.intellectualoid.com","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/26/ohmigosh-ive-known-of-christian.html","date_published":"2026-05-27T02:27:42+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-27 02:27","date_timestamp":1779848862,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90958509","content_html":"

@ReaderJohn I read the 64,500-word figure somewhere. It’s actually a little over 41,000.

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@JohnBrady I have sung quite a few funerals over the year. After my first one, I summed it up as “He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s really and truly dead, and soon you’ll be dead, too.” I’ve grasped nuances better since then.

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My Man Mitch (Daniels) returns to Purdue as Interim President after Mung Chiang headed to Evanston to lead Northwestern (I suspect that Chiang’s wife, an MD, will appreciate a high-class teaching hospital).

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The headline was America’s sermons are becoming op-eds.

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The reality, be it remembered, proved to be America’s sermons from the mostly-evangelical pastors who stream their sermons so we can use AI-related tools to transcribe and analyze them, are more political than we, your betters, think proper.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/24/the-headline-was-americas-sermons.html","date_published":"2026-05-24T10:53:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-24 10:53","date_timestamp":1779619982,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90781117","content_html":"

Eighth Day Books lives on! microblog.intellectualoid.com

","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/23/eighth-day-books-lives-on.html","date_published":"2026-05-23T17:02:50+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 17:02","date_timestamp":1779555770,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":true,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"90768738","content_html":"

Free associating: During an administration a few decades ago, I put a bumper sticker on our car that said “My contempt with the current administration cannot be expressed here.” Then it became my wife’s car as I got something else.

\n

She was irate when I presumed to remove the sticker from her car.

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The Pennsylvania Constitution protects the right to earn an honest living free of unreasonable regulations. Who knew?

\n

The Institute for Justice is checking its teeth.

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This morning’s Epistle reading (Acts 20:7-12) reminds me that Christianity Today used to have a fortnightly potpourri column, anonymous if memory serves, titled Eutychus and His Kin - sort of like First Things' While We’re At It in spirit.

\n","summary":"","url":"https://microblog.intellectualoid.com/2026/05/23/this-mornings-epistle-reading-acts.html","date_published":"2026-05-23T11:11:05+00:00","author":{"name":"Roger Wm. Bennett","url":"http://intellectualoid.com","avatar":"https://cdn.talqix.cloud/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Ftalqix.cloud%2FReaderJohn%2Favatar.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ReaderJohn"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-05-23 11:11","date_timestamp":1779534665,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}}]}