2019-06-23: current status
2019-06-22: (The USMNT have scored some goals tonight but only when Trinidad got tired. They remain a very …
2019-06-22: We need to be clear-minded about this: the USMNT is, at best, slightly better than Trinidad and …
2019-06-22: Let’s look at the USMNT: Any vaguely coherent attack induces uter panic in the defense, with …
2019-06-22: Also, the USMNT will probably win today, but I wish we could have a serious inquiry into the utter …
2019-06-22: I know that referee-bashing is an international sport these days, and I regret that, but …
2019-06-22: One thing the Apple Watch does poorly: measure activity. Yesterday I took an hour-long walk, then …
2019-06-21: I don’t know what’s typical or normal, but for the record: My wife and I have “never for one …
2019-06-21: A year or so ago I decided that the Apple Watch hardware and software had probably reached a level …
2019-06-21: Commercial websites are, by and large, so aggressively hostile to reading that I work very hard to …
2019-06-17: This from Austin Kleon is spot on. In my experience — and I say this both as a writer and as a …
2019-06-17: Cliff swallows going to and from their nests.
2019-06-17: After reading this I’m thinking that @robinsloan needs to write an Editorial Rejection-Letter Bot. …
2019-06-16: And the flowers strewn across my path.
2019-06-16: It was all worth it for the views.
2019-06-16: And of course I did it, I’m a manly man
2019-06-16: They said the trail is “a little technical in places,” but I didn’t know that meant I’d have to use …
2019-06-15: Pretty far outside Chicago, mind you.
2019-06-12: About to leave town for a week at Laity Lodge, so I’ve posted an early newsletter. I always enjoy …
2019-06-12: Finally, something that will make colleges care about free speech on campus: Gallup finds that …
2019-06-12: My feeling is: the USMNT is not doing well, and will not be doing well anytime soon, because it has …
2019-06-12: Paul Ford: Open source is a movement, and even the charitably inclined would call it an extreme …
2019-06-11: My response to the Raptors fans cheering KD’s injury last night? TORONTO DELENDA EST. 🏀
2019-06-10: This sounds like an absolutely fascinating project from @kfitz. I wonder if her interests might …
2019-06-09: Newsletter time!
2019-06-09: Once again, @robinsloan has got me thinking.
2019-06-08: I really can’t get over this oleander. It’s 10 feet tall now and may soon eat my neighbor’s house.
2019-06-08: The timeline of iTunes, launched 10 months before the iPod in January 2001, follows a familiar …
2019-06-06: TFW you realize that your friends won’t answer your emails but if you were a rando on Twitter …
2019-06-06: This by Dara Horn is so harrowing .. I don’t really have any further words.
2019-06-06: Morning in the back yard
2019-06-05: Scott Alexander continues to be a treasure.
2019-06-04: I love this from Adam Roberts on why Samuel Taylor Coleridge thought of himself as an ostrich.
2019-06-04: I’m thinking that I will continue, as I write my book, to post brief thoughts about the challenges …
2019-06-04: Perhaps the single most vital discipline for me as a writer is to ask myself, paragraph after …
2019-06-03: And I posted a summery edition of my newsletter.
2019-06-03: I wrote for the Atlantic about why Christians probably have to be civil, and then added a coda on my …
2019-06-03: You want to know what it feels like to post a piece that some people may find controversial when you …
2019-06-01: Good Omens is … good. Not great. In every moment devoted to characters other than Crowley and …
2019-06-01: This from Samuel Johnson ought to be the epigraph to every book I write: No expectation is more …
2019-05-31: I keep reading articles in which people detail their hopes for iOS 13, and I’m struck by how …
2019-05-30: Watching the Manson murders played for laughs – even as a subplot – is something I can …
2019-05-30: Hoping that the California team will strike a blow against the tyranny of Canadian imperialism. 🏀
2019-05-30: When you’re writing a book, as I am now, you tend (often unconsciously) to measure your progress in …
2019-05-29: Welp. It’s time for some Serious Editing.
2019-05-29: I made the iced tea, and have cold brew coffee going in the fridge. I made a big breakfast casserole …
2019-05-29: So, Wired, it has come to this.
2019-05-28: Reading this post by David French, who has actually done a great deal throughout his career to live …
2019-05-27: I did something a little different with this issue of my newsletter.
2019-05-26: “The sin of the academic is that he takes so long in coming to the point. Nevertheless, there …
2019-05-26: Malcolm ten years ago today.
2019-05-26: Our great big oleander is getting ever greater and bigger.
2019-05-22: Here’s a little post on my struggles to find a seamless way to write in text files and post to …
2019-05-21: I use RSS rather than Apple News because I prefer to determine what I read rather than rely on an …
2019-05-20: Also, I don’t think I remembered to post a link to my most recent newsletter.
2019-05-20: I posted a brief reflection on that Cal Newport essay on the indie web.
2019-05-20: ♫ I got friends in low places ♫
2019-05-16: Malcolm is very happy after he has played in the garden hose.
2019-05-16: Rule number 1 for defenders: Do not give Megan Rapinoe time on the ball. ⚽️
2019-05-16: When the [Works with Nest] service shuts down in August, it sounds like all of those (probably …
2019-05-16: Me to Netflix: When I tap “play” in the Netflix iOS app, it auto-connects to the Netflix …
2019-05-08: These pictures are from the eastern side of the Skyline Drive this morning. The air was clear …
2019-05-08: Back to my old stomping grounds. Those Grounds haven’t become less beautiful.
2019-05-02: Hey folks: in the fall I’ll be teaching a seminar for our first-year Honors students that can be on …
2019-05-02: “Maybe white racists and nationalists can sit comfortably in the pews of certain churches because …
2019-05-01: Are there good reasons not to use Patreon?
2019-05-01: I hereby announce my Abdication from the role of Guy Who Takes Out the Garbage In This House. I wish …
2019-05-01: Here’s a new edition of the newsletter.
2019-04-26: If certain words and turns of phrase habitual in today’s journalism do not inspire physical disgust, …
2019-04-26: Me, in my car, to Google Maps: “directions to Christ Church Waco” Google Maps: [gives me …
2019-04-24: I just realized today how hard I work to avoid visiting any “professional” website. Every …
2019-04-24: “Imagining yourself in a book club with Pete Buttigieg becomes this election’s having a beer with …
2019-04-23: I think this fixes the bad link in my earlier post about the new edition of my newsletter.
2019-04-22: Just posted a newsletter: the Texas Edition
2019-04-22: I really do love the Ecoflow. Hours and hours of power, and it weighs just a few pounds, so when you …
2019-04-22: Power is out here, but thanks to my Ecoflow River generator we’re still on the internet. And that, …
2019-04-20: Malcolm is a very good boy. As you can see.
2019-04-07: Barney Ronay, speaking the sad truth: There will be those who feel Walker should have been sent …
2019-04-06: The Panenka: Not for Everyone: twitter.com/torontofc… ⚽️
2019-04-05: Freshly posted newsletter
2019-04-04: Caitlin Flanagan channeling Tom Wolfe is utterly inspired.
2019-04-03: Thore Haugstad on Marcelo Bielsa: When Bielsa studies footage, he can follow two games at once. He …
2019-04-01: Huge if true
2019-03-29: Sydney Smith coined the term “anemocracy” – “a people governed by …
2019-03-29: Can’t really believe, now, that at the end of 2016 I was planning to move to Linux. I was so …
2019-03-29: I wrote a brief post summarizing what I do when I get a new Mac.
2019-03-29: Il pane è il bisogno, il vino è la gratuità. – Enzo Bianchi
2019-03-29: In C S Lewis’s letters there’s a story about a man named Phelps who was the Provost of …
2019-03-29: I posted a newsletter. This one is for the print/design nerds.
2019-03-27: The third thing I do when I get a new computer.
2019-03-27: The second thing I do when I get a new computer.
2019-03-27: The first thing I do when I get a new computer.
2019-03-27: Lovely morning at Lake Waco Wetlands — though the wetlands are still waking up to springtime.
2019-03-26: Apple News vs. RSS. Yay RSS.
2019-03-24: Looking forward to watching Wales-Slovakia ⚽️, but the truly key thing is to tune in in time to hear …
2019-03-22: “Next time you read denunciations of systematic racism in society – or the churches – do listen …
2019-03-20: I look like I’m singing “Old Man River.”
2019-03-20: I’m kinda ranting here about the so-called benefits of so-called wireless tech.
2019-03-20: Wow, Apple has now made it possible for me to buy a device that charges the device that charges the …
2019-03-18: I wrote an interim report on the changes I’ve made in my tech life in the past year and the ones I …
2019-03-16: I’m thinking of moving my micro.blog posts from social.ayjay.org to blog.ayjay.org, with post …
2019-03-16: Well, I guess I gotta vote for Beto now.
2019-03-16: Let’s dispel one myth by replacing it with an even bigger lie
2019-03-16: Auto-brewery syndrome. Noted and saved for possible future use.
2019-03-16: I wrote something about rum and ⚾
2019-03-14: Some brief thoughts on David Martin. RIP.
2019-03-13: Only after writing this post pleading with journalists to get off Twitter did I realize that no …
2019-03-13: What is there necessary for man to know which the psalms are not able to teach?
2019-03-13: Folks who are not getting my newsletter in their email: please write to justin (at) buttondown (dot) …
2019-03-12: My apologies to the folks who aren’t getting my newsletter in their email. I am looking into …
2019-03-11: Another newsletter. I seem to be doing them on an every-six-days schedule.
2019-03-11: Hey somebody please buy me this. (Via the always wonderful Things Magazine.)
2019-03-09: still true
2019-03-07: I have an essay in the new edition of Comment: Prophet of the Human-Built World: An Introduction to …
2019-03-06: It’s time.
2019-03-06: I think of this as two imperative sentences.
2019-03-06: Mister Douthat Comes To Waco is going swimmingly, though I must say that I wish I had noticed before …
2019-03-05: I’ve decided that the thing I do best as a teacher is write on the board. I love to chart …
2019-03-05: A newsletter posted.
2019-02-27: Actual weight: iPad: 1 pound MacBook: 2 pounds MacBook Pro: 3 pounds Perceived weight: iPad: 6 …
2019-02-27: A really special night last night at Milo. (That’s duck fat salted caramel popcorn, which you …
2019-02-27: Here’s a wonderful essay by Edward Mendelson on how Auden responded when Random House decided …
2019-02-27: And then next week, here at Baylor, Ross Douthat and I are going to have a discussion about decadent …
2019-02-27: Heads-up for Philly area folks: this Saturday and Sunday I’ll be speaking about my recent work …
2019-02-23: I wrote a little bit about the two types of email newsletter, the device for flow management and the …
2019-02-23: If you sit in enough faculty meetings, you are likely to underestimate the power of thought. — …
2019-02-14: OUT: texting while walking. IN: Facetiming while walking.
2019-02-13: (Also, I am a cogenital anthropomorphizer, always will be, sorry not sorry.)
2019-02-13: Amen to this xkcd. Opportunity, thanks for the memories. You were awesome.
2019-02-13: I got really excited about Cal Newport’s proposal here and then I realized that if it ever gets …
2019-02-12: The sciences are liberal arts.
2019-02-12: They fixed Twitter!
2019-02-12: Someone really should write a book on this subject.
2019-02-11: Newcastle at Wolves has been an excellent ⚽️ match — it’s a pleasure to watch two teams that might …
2019-02-08: Autoplay videos are excruciating, but they’re only part of the problem: there are also pop-over ads, …
2019-02-08: It’s odd that people always describe J Dilla’s Donuts as an instrumental record, given that it has …
2019-02-08: A superb essay on Patreon and venture capital by @Cheri.
2019-02-07: Fabulous new issue of The Point.
2019-02-07: Been around the block with this one a few times.
2019-02-06: This from @mistercharlie explains why I (a) love my iPad and (b) want to throw it out the window at …
2019-02-06: If you say “Yes, I lied about having a terrible disease, but that was because I have this other …
2019-02-05: Maybe you need to have grown up where and when I did to get it, but I do love Gary “Bud” Smith’s …
2019-02-05: What’s happening in Tasmania is a heartbreaking nightmare.
2019-02-05: A remarkable photo essay on black cops.
2019-02-04: My son and I doing a postmortem.
2019-02-04: I’m needing to get back to Rufi’s Cocina for the incredible tacos (especially al pastor …
2019-02-04: I posted a new edition of my newsletter.
2019-02-03: “The medium was no longer the message, it was just an asshole.”
2019-02-02: Pick up your smartphone and ask, “Does this spark joy?” Then bow to it respectfully, and smash it to …
2019-02-01: “Facebook is willing to spend more than nothing on fact-checking, but not much more than nothing.”
2019-02-01: I paused in the middle of Andrew Roberts’s biography of Churchill to record a few thoughts.
2019-02-01: I am so ahead of this curve. My chief writing soundtrack for the past several years features Apollo …
2019-01-31: Why is it that GoodNotes for iPad transcribes my handwriting quite accurately but I can’t find …
2019-01-31: I love these old editions. I don’t really use them any more, but I like to take them out and …
2019-01-31: (ScannerPro has far more artful presentation, however)
2019-01-31: Update: PDFpen is just as good as ScannerPro at OCRing my handwriting.
2019-01-30: Scanner Pro does an amazing job of recognizing my handwriting.
2019-01-30: Great to see Emma Green’s profile of Jemar Tisby, who is THE REAL DEAL. (Emma is also the real deal …
2019-01-29: John Gruber: “I keep saying Facebook is a criminal enterprise, and I’m not exaggerating.” Yep.
2019-01-29: January 1985: my first winter in Chicagoland, after having been raised in Alabama and spent my grad …
2019-01-29: Working on Lucretius, Plutarch, Charles Taylor — and being reminded of how blessed I am to read and …
2019-01-28: Churchill, when he first assumed a place as Cabinet minister, found himself “assailed by worries,” …
2019-01-28: I put out a new issue of my newsletter today.
2019-01-28: I’m agnostic (😉) about Bible literacy classes in schools, but I’d be enthusiastically supportive of …
2019-01-28: I can’t really enjoy sitting outside in short sleeves because I know that in 48 hours my son …
2019-01-27: E. M. Cioran, Drawn and Quartered: While they were preparing the hemlock, Socrates was learning how …
2019-01-26: I’ve read this book and it’s fantastic. Austin keeps going from strength to strength.
2019-01-26: I love this idea. Apple buying DuckDuckGo would be a win for all of us.
2019-01-23: This makes me long for a list of Journalists Who Are Not on Twitter. I’d like to read them and …
2019-01-23: I posted a new edition of my newsletter.
2019-01-22: Count Malcolm as: intrigued but uncertain
2019-01-21: Super Blood Wolf Moon Super Wolf Blood Moon Super Moon Wolf Blood Moon Blood Super Wolf Blood Wolf …
2019-01-17: There are maybe three people on Instagram I really miss. But I don’t miss Instagram, and this is …
2019-01-17: SRO for Jemar Tisby at Baylor
2019-01-17: It’s fun, but it’s also work.
2019-01-16: Sure, go ahead and reject the only person who can fix this mess. (Via Nina Massey)
2019-01-15: This will be extremely reassuring until other researchers fail to replicate the results and, three …
2019-01-12: Tsundoku. Always tsundoku.
2019-01-11: Not that guy, presumably, but rather this guy.
2019-01-11: I posted a new issue of my newsletter this morning.
2019-01-08: I think I’ve figured out how to deal with my overflowing inbox.
2019-01-08: Nobody yawns the way Malcolm yawns.
2019-01-08: This is my heart, right here.
2019-01-08: Didn’t really expect this editorial shift, but okay.
2019-01-08: I choose not to reflect on the process that led to The Year of Our Lord 1943 being published with so …
2019-01-08: A superb meditation by my old friend Josh Hochschild on virtue, risk management, bullshit detection, …
2019-01-07: The death of Lamin Sanneh is a great loss for the church and the academy. Requiem aeternam dona ei, …
2019-01-02: Couldn’t possibly be more sure
2018-12-28: The newyorker.com version of my Merton essay is considerably shorter than the one I gave them. …
2018-12-28: Last Christmas season I wrote a series of posts about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: One Two …
2018-12-28: I wrote an essay on the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Thomas Merton.
2018-12-25: Family Christmas tradition: our annual viewing of Harlan Ellison’s “Pay the …
2018-12-24: same
2018-12-23: Festive post-church brunch at Milo
2018-12-21: (WOW did that review need a strong edit. One punchdrunk sentence after another.)
2018-12-21: Today in Sentences That Go Places They Really Didn’t Want To Go: “In truth, it wasn’t …
2018-12-21: Though, now that I think about it, I can imagine reasons why the limitation exists.
2018-12-21: As far as I can tell, it’s not possible to include an image in a reply on Micro.blog. I do hope that …
2018-12-21: Well, I’m definitely gonna remain an Anglican rather than moving to some other tradition because I …
2018-12-21: A gardener detective but country murderer magical suddenly Christmas the near elf.
2018-12-21: I wrote a little reflection on why my favorite Christmas song is Charles Brown’s “Please …
2018-12-21: Of course you did
2018-12-21: I wrote a little something about the journalistic catastrophe at Der Spiegel.
2018-12-20: I haven’t been on Facebook since 2007, but I’ve had an Instagram account for several years. At this …
2018-12-20: Nobody makes me feel like a slacker the way Adam Roberts does.
2018-12-20: He fits the description.
2018-12-19: Just sent an email in which, when I meant to write “my working life,” I wrote instead …
2018-12-18: Also, that last post is a reminder of what happens when I break my One Week Rule — that is, when I …
2018-12-18: This is a useful correction of the Intercept story on Texas’s don’t-boycott-Israel law. …
2018-12-18: Represent
2018-12-18: Visitors
2018-12-18: Really looking forward to seeing how Tony Pulis will do as the new Man Utd manger. ⚽️
2018-12-18: before coffee
2018-12-18: A little late for this, but a few years ago I made a critical edition of Auden’s long poem For …
2018-12-18: Whenever I’m off Twitter I rediscover JOMO — Joy of Missing Out.
2018-12-18: After reading this fascinating essay on Agatha Christie by John Lanchester, I find myself thinking …
2018-12-17: Thanks to @kaa for giving me a heads-up about buttondown.email — way better than TinyLetter. I’ve …
2018-12-17: Current status
2018-12-17: “The vast majority of American citizens are therefore now officially barred from supporting a …
2018-12-17: “In his diary, the Elizabethan entrepreneur Philip Henslowe inventoried the props that were in …
2018-12-17: Kelsey Grammer narrating The Time Machine sounds pretty good.
2018-12-16: “I have come too late to the consciousness of doubt.” — Ezra Pound, age 78
2018-12-16: I see book review after book review after book review that tells me nothing about how well written …
2018-12-16: Apparently I need to look for a new newsletter service — though maybe they’re all this way?
2018-12-15: Don’t try to be morally perfect but do hold grudges. Lotsa great advice on the internet today.
2018-12-14: Milo is just KILLING it.
2018-12-14: A December volunteer
2018-12-13: Mail!
2018-12-12: Very surprised that my new newsletter has picked up 500 subscribers in its first 48 hours. I was …
2018-12-12: I don’t get this. If in order to create a “macPad” you have to have a Mac running …
2018-12-11: A remarkable essay about a remarkable experience, by Patricia Snow.
2018-12-11: Now that there’s a three-woman group called Mountain Man and another three-woman group called …
2018-12-10: Welcome to my world.
2018-12-10: Re: Ezra Pound’s famous dictum “Use no superfluous word, no adjective, which does not …
2018-12-10: Hey L.A. area friends:
2018-12-10: My first newsletter subscriber was @robinsloan, which is encouraging, given that his love for the …
2018-12-10: I’ve finally decided to start a newsletter, which I think will appear more-or-less weekly. If …
2018-12-10: If micro.blog is going to be successful as a platform, I think all of us who participate need to …
2018-12-07: This is a fascinating and harrowing essay, though there are elements of it that I would question.
2018-12-07: Honored to be on John Wilson’s end-of-year book list, and alongside Adam Roberts to boot.
2018-12-07: Final grades turned in! — which means that complaints about final grades will be incoming in 3 …
2018-12-06: Sometimes you can have what seems like a good idea for a class and you can put a lot into it and it …
2018-12-06: ‘The future is already here - it’s just not very evenly distributed,’ science fiction writer …
2018-12-06: This essay by Ted Underwood is one of the most constructive and clear things I’ve seen on the …
2018-12-06: I have been teaching American undergrads since 1982. My experience is that millennials don’t …
2018-12-05: Here’s the thing about voice recognition on iOS: sometimes it transcribes what you say with …
2018-12-05: Well, I have deactivated my Twitter account. Let’s see if my resolve holds this time. (On two or …
2018-12-04: People born within a certain three-month period: Prince Kate Bush Bill Watterson Tim Burton …
2018-12-03: Like, why should I ever been seen in public NOT in a baseball cap?
2018-12-03: I’m thinking that from here on out I’m gonna imitate Steve Reich’s commitment to the baseball cap.
2018-12-03: Two things to be learned from this story: Human relations are reducible to metrics Everything is …
2018-12-02: For Americans today, faith is negotiable, politics isn’t.
2018-12-02: “Today I consider [The New Yorker’s] reporting one of the four essential things to read to …
2018-12-01: My son helping me get perspective
2018-12-01: Goodness
2018-11-30: This is some righteous stuf by @sullydish. (Please click through for the whole thing.)
2018-11-29: “We haven’t stopped appealing to trans-political truths and ideals, but we’ve stopped …
2018-11-26: This is my sixth Texas autumn, and by far the most colorful. I suspect the key is that we’ve had a …
2018-11-26: One last time: please read my review and then read Andrew Delbanco’s extraordinary book.
2018-11-26: “That may be why River fans targeted the Boca Juniors bus: because this was a game they could not …
2018-11-24: How to calculate distances on Earth given that Earth is not a sphere but rather more like an oblate …
2018-11-24: And again.
2018-11-24: I seem to have accidentally taken a photograph of a masterpiece of abstract art.
2018-11-23: “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, …
2018-11-22: We’re not completely without autumn color here in central Texas. (No filters.)
2018-11-21: If you want to know what choices college students have to make if they don’t come from financially …
2018-11-21: You should read every word of @cwellmon’s new essay on the university, but this is the heart and …
2018-11-21: This is going to be hard to believe, but these pastries from @milowaco taste just as good as they …
2018-11-21: “What clashes here of woods gen wonts, blasterlaze gaggin ewokky-gods! Soundefects brékkek békkek …
2018-11-20: I love this commendation of Morning Prayer by @wesleyhill
2018-11-19: At this point it’s hard to write compellingly about the slowly unfolding tragedy of climate change, …
2018-11-19: I love pretty much everything about Anglican worship, but I have a special fondness for the …
2018-11-19: Something recently led me to a Merlin Mann post on why people should have status pages, so I made …
2018-11-19: My collleague Philip Jenkins, who wrote a truly superb book on the religious contexts of the Great …
2018-11-19: Not really what I expected when searching for “Christian calendar” …
2018-11-17: Also, not enough beasts. And while Jude Law was good, I wasted too much time trying to figure out …
2018-11-17: Fantastic Beasts 2 was thoroughly disappointing. Little drama, thanks to its being devoted to …
2018-11-17: Interesting data from Kieran Healy.
2018-11-16: Colleges are in a good position to teach the interfaith literacy and leadership skills in a civic …
2018-11-16: “Without goodness, love and charity, all that is best in us — even divine faith, but passions and …
2018-11-16: Still waiting and hoping for some scandal-plagued Christian leader to take the Profumo Option.
2018-11-16: It is reported that in the US alone, the average adult spends two hours and 51 minutes on their …
2018-11-15: Pauline Bock: Someone needs to call a halt to the excessive afterlife of Potter’s fictional …
2018-11-14: A professional writer, by definition, is a person clothed in self-denial who each and almost every …
2018-11-14: iOS devices, 2026: iPhone iPad
2018-11-14: iOS devices, 2024: 5” iPhone 6” iPhone 7” iPhod 8” iPhad 9” iPad 10” iPad 11” iPad 12” iPad 13” …
2018-11-13: “The resources of institutions of higher learning have gone to teaching students how to …
2018-11-12: You can’t tell from the title — I need to get better at titles — but this is about the influence of …
2018-11-12: I’m reading so much excellent writing this morning! (Letting y’all know about excellent writing is …
2018-11-12: One of the real pleasures of getting older (i.e., OLD) is seeing people you met when they were young …
2018-11-12: This essay by @suzania on the urban localism of the port city is just fabulous — so generative of …
2018-11-09: “Calling bullshit” is like “calling shotgun.” It’s meaningless and powerless unless the people …
2018-11-09: When an app developer’s suggested fix for constant crashing is to tell me to uninstall my operating …
2018-11-07: And here’s something else new I want to try either tomorrow or Friday….
2018-11-07: The food-truck scene in Waco is getting better and better. Today I had a fabulous huarache al pastor …
2018-11-04: A thoughtful comment by Athene Donald on what responsibility women scientists have, or don’t have, …
2018-11-02: This is not a good book, this is a truly great book. I hope to find time soon to say why I think so, …
2018-11-02: Here is a profoundly sobering but also instructive piece by my colleague Philip Jenkins, who knows …
2018-11-01: Hooray for Santi. So great to see him playing this well.
2018-11-01: A politician going after a professor for a Facebook like. “Because you can’t be distinct from your …
2018-10-31: This by @edyong209 is a superb piece of science writing — an utterly lucid explanation of what’s …
2018-10-31: “The creed of the English is that there is no God and that it is wise to pray to him from time to …
2018-10-20: Got my Series 4 Apple Watch last week (birthday present). Absolutely hated it, returned it, went …
2018-10-19: How to make me a happy guy: take me to @LaityLodge, get me talking with @WesleyHill, and let me play …
2018-10-19: From an excellent piece on Paul Scholes by Barney Ronay: Part of the joy of Scholes was the way he …
2018-10-19: That’s right: we’re at the empty gate, no plane, no info about when one is coming, +100 people …
2018-10-19: Today at DFW: an @AmericanAir rep said that if I wanted to change my flight (delay then was 2 …
2018-10-19: “There are of course many points of difference between José Mourinho’s approach to winning at …
2018-10-18: How Mary Midgley rescued me — by Giles Fraser. A lovely tribute.
2018-10-18: So sad to hear of the death of Mary Midgley. I learned so much from reading her. You can get a very …
2018-10-18: This by Rita Koganzon, on former University of Chicago president Hanna Gray, ought to be required …
2018-10-18: I like making coffee several different ways — French press, drip, Aeropress — but if I could only do …
2018-10-17: An absolutely brilliant little post by my colleague Philip Jenkins on the perils of relying on …
2018-10-17: About once a month my wife tells me that she wants this to be the recessional music at her funeral
2018-10-17: Wes and I have our NBA messaging in midseason form, tbh
2018-10-17: Rainy afternoon study companion. I don’t know which of us is sleepier.
2018-10-17: “Kroenke never has to talk to another supporter now. That is fine for him: He does not know anything …
2018-10-17: This by @DamonLinker is so, so right.
2018-10-16: Glad someone finally settled that
2018-10-16: “I predict this sentence will appear in the next thing [Kevin] Kelly writes: ‘The …
2018-10-10: I love this essay by Susan Orlean on libraries. I wrote something a bit like it a few years back.
2018-10-10: This certainly was true in my case.
2018-10-09: This is a truly essential essay by Ian Marcus Corbin in @TWSculture (the best Books & Arts …
2018-10-09: I think I humiliated @Manton’s daughter Meredith in class today by talking about how awesome her dad …
2018-10-09: I’m really glad that y’all are discovering what a marvelous writer @brianphillips is, but just …
2018-10-09: So here’s the promised book news: my next book will be called BREAKING BREAD WITH THE DEAD: …
2018-10-09: When you’re on your deathbed, which will it be: “I can’t believe I wasted decades of my …
2018-10-08: Behold, my new super-simple home page. Muchas gracias to my old friend @bcathey, who kindly wrote …
2018-10-08: Gonna be teaching The History of Disenchantment again next spring: blog.ayjay.org/the-histo…
2018-10-08: Also, I’ve got some exciting book news coming soon — well, exciting to me, anyway — so stay …
2018-10-08: This by @warrenellis is a wonderfully incisive peek into the narrative possibilities of comics. (And …
2018-10-07: A word to the people whose political views I despise: I don’t want you to lose your job, and I do …
2018-10-07: Just saw someone write “abject lesson” instead of “object lesson.” Alas, we …
2018-10-07: This morning at @stalbanswaco I listened to the readings from Job and Mark (on divorce) and thought, …
2018-10-05: This talk by my friend @ahc, if listened to with intelligent care, traces a blueprint for Christian …
2018-10-05: Time will tell, of course, but this strikes me as a shrewd forecast by Rusty Reno. It is difficult …
2018-10-05: My son got sent home from work early today — he works in the Loop — in anticipation of what might …
2018-10-05: Rod Dreher’s regular commenter “Matt in VA” really does bring a lot to the table: …
2018-10-05: Says a psychologist, “The bottom line is that men and women have quite similar psychology other than …
2018-10-05: David Brooks: Over the past few years, hundreds of organizations and thousands of people (myself …
2018-10-04: This by @ebruenig is clear-eyed, incisive, shrewd, deadly accurate, and extremely saddening.
2018-10-04: If you don’t know what Santi has been through — and have a strong stomach — read this. This little …
2018-10-04: Villarreal down 2-3 in added time. They get a penalty. Who cashes it in? My favorite player EVAR, …
2018-10-04: Ramesh Ponnuru asks a great question. Here’s my answer: Imagine the stupidest possible opinion on …
2018-10-04: How I wish I could get the old version of Dark Sky back. The new version is ugly and harder to read; …
2018-10-04: OH on campus: “I mean, what if I die next week and I spent all of this week worrying about next …
2018-10-04: I’m always happy when the desk copies start arriving.
2018-10-03: “If you’d like to find peer-reviewed journals to publish in, we have some suggestions.”
2018-10-03: “Yes, Dr. Strickland, you did win the Nobel Prize, but our research indicates that that prize isn’t …
2018-10-02: For some days now I’ve been looking for an argument against the confirmation of Brett …
2018-10-01: Your Monday morning reminder: You can’t get angry about all the stupid things people say on social …
2018-09-30: Here’s what it looked like before I started to work. What Frank Stitt & co. do at that place is …
2018-09-30: The grilled duck breast I had last night at Highlands was so magnificent that with every bite I just …
2018-09-29: Relationship with son: deteriorating
2018-09-29: This essay by Sarah Perry makes me wonder whether our wide range of pain meds has left many of us …
2018-09-28: This piece on why humans are bad at discerning untrustworthiness fits very nicely with my post from …
2018-09-28: A wonderful post by Philip Jenkins about angels, on Michaelmas Eve.
2018-09-28: These Kavanaugh hearings are turning my world upside down. Someone is telling the truth, which …
2018-09-28: like hell i will
2018-09-27: It was a gorgeous day here in central Texas today and Malcolm thought so too.
2018-09-27: This beautiful account of Leonard Cohen’s last days comes from his son Adam.
2018-09-27: My son and I have sorted the immmediate future of Arsenal ⚽️
2018-09-27: You do your thing, I’ll do my thing.
2018-09-27: “To read old books is to get an education in possibility for next to nothing.” — me
2018-09-26: I’m telling you, great freedom comes to you when you accept that you’re living in the moral …
2018-09-26: You are already able to purchase possible owls, but in a few days you will also be able to purchase …
2018-09-26: (And why do I offer that periodic reminder? Because I occasionally get gently reproachful emails …
2018-09-26: Here’s your periodic reminder that I avoid Twitter and don’t see replies there. I am writing this …
2018-09-26: I just listened to the first episode of the new season of Serial, and if later episodes have even …
2018-09-25: I’ve been extremely unhappy with the idea of Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, but I’m starting to think …
2018-09-24: And I just want to go on the record as saying that I am amazed at the development of micro.blog in …
2018-09-24: It’s really important to distinguish between inconsistency and hypocrisy. We’re all …
2018-09-24: I’ve done my best to fight this trend by keeping all but two of my books under 300 pages.
2018-09-24: I have put up three posts on my blog this morning, and it would be better for all of you to read …
2018-09-24: Here’s a great example of how to respond to a strong but highly disputable claim. (NB: the claim is …
2018-09-24: This remains Morrissey’s best song. I will die on this hill.
2018-09-24: Of all my significant life decisions, here are the ones I always feel great about: Marrying the …
2018-09-23: I’m aware that my site (ayjay.org) is messed up and my blog (blog.ayjay.org) is down. Working on a …
2018-09-23: I love these playing cards.
2018-09-23: My advice for having a good conversation would be different than Cowen’s and Herrera’s alike. My …
2018-09-21: A typically lucid and detailed story by @dlind. But it’s a shame that so much of her best reporting …
2018-09-21: There is a Senate candidate And Beto is his name-o Better than Ted Cruz Better than Ted Cruz Better …
2018-09-21: Herewith a reminder of the most permanently relevant post I have yet written.
2018-09-21: On firing Ian Buruma
2018-09-20: Very excited that my dear friend Mike Foley has supplemented Drinking with the Saints with Drinking …
2018-09-20: Today I had a long conversation with a student, a physics major, who’s an atheist and very …
2018-09-20: On Sloan and Sherlock — @robinsloan, that is.
2018-09-20: The “politics of personal destruction” is the only politics this country now has.
2018-09-19: If you’re a teacher and you assign paper lengths by page-count rather than by word-count you deserve …
2018-09-19: In which I agree that we need thoughtful Christians who have real public influence but wonder how …
2018-09-17: Trying to figure out if I can create a Siri Shortcut to open Drafts in dictation mode. Would be very …
2018-09-17: Outside Abilene
2018-09-16: I find it fascinating that this article is so straightforward about its goal: to interpret the First …
2018-09-15: This Ross Douthat column contains some relatively good news for Christians like me. Unfortunately it …
2018-09-15: “earthquakes and hurricains of the moral World” – Snakes and Ladders
2018-09-15: Pro tip: the Kindle “Popular Highlights” feature is perfect when you want to discover the key …
2018-09-14: Trying and failing to imagine how Ian Buruma could have handled this worse.
2018-09-14: Every day or two I think about this 2015 note by Warren Ellis. I want what he wants.
2018-09-14: Algorithms are going to fix everything, except that Sony’s algorithms think Sony owns Bach’s music.
2018-09-13: I’m feeling good about the newly redesigned minimalist workspace.
2018-09-13: Almost closed down the place last night at @milowaco, where I had yet another superb meal.
2018-09-13: words and deeds – Snakes and Ladders
2018-09-13: That’s what I want – Snakes and Ladders — a longish post on a remarkable new novel by @arrroberts, …
2018-09-13: Quasi-Fictional Artifact is the name of my new band.
2018-09-12: A friend asked if I am tempted by the new Apple Watch. I replied that I am desperate to avoid owning …
2018-09-12: the report of the Reform Commission – Snakes and Ladders
2018-09-12: Forgot to link to the article that chart appears in: www.nas.org/articles/…
2018-09-12: I dunno, these ratios seem a little low to me…
2018-09-12: Please forgive me for being a little moist-eyed as I wax nostalgic over our old Sears catalog house.
2018-09-12: “I think virtual reality gets more and more beautiful and more and more worthwhile the less you …
2018-09-11: I’ve typed roughly 15,000 words in the past day. And the bad news is that I’m not getting paid for …
2018-09-11: There are far more political signs in the front lawns of my neighborhood — my …
2018-09-10: ICYMI, here’s my conversation with Robert Kehoe about my new book. Topics include military …
2018-09-08: Was watching the US Open women’s final but when it became indistinguishable from being on Twitter I …
2018-09-08: quirky – Snakes and Ladders
2018-09-07: Andrew Sullivan’s metaphor is too true to be good
2018-09-07: This brief resumé of our Constitutional system by @SenSasse is indeed absolutely wonderful, and I …
2018-09-07: I gotta admit this got me a little misty-eyed. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt the …
2018-09-07: Years ago my wife Teri spent 18 months going into the Loop every Wednesday to serve on a grand jury …
2018-09-07: Snakes & Ladders: the face-blind portrait artist
2018-09-07: Snakes & Ladders: the poet’s house
2018-09-07: “The pursuit of genius in architecture is what has most contributed to the unstitching of our urban …
2018-09-06: When I get that feelin’ I want a season of healin’ Cardinal Wuerly Wo-wo-wo-wo Cardinal Wuerly
2018-09-06: WOW is this good by my fellow Alabamian Elaina Plott: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/…
2018-09-05: Here is your periodic reminder that other people’s motives are inaccessible to you in the same way, …
2018-09-05: I have written thousands and thousands of blog posts, and 99.99% of them have gone up with typos. …
2018-09-05: “Mass resignations followed by voluntary testimony to congressional committees are a constitutional …
2018-09-05: How do people actually get their tweets deleted? I’ve used several services and they seem to delete …
2018-09-05: Here’s one reason I do more and more work on my iPad: it’s mine. I have a work-provided MacBook Pro …
2018-09-05: About the McCarrick scandal: if (a) there is no paper trail, or the paper trail is never made …
2018-09-05: Snakes and Ladders: the cult of the virtuoso theologian
2018-09-04: Hit the wrong button accidentally on one, should’ve been 18/20. Still disappointing.
2018-09-04: Chuck Todd knows that people like him aren’t to blame
2018-09-04: “religious myths recycled as ersatz social science”
2018-09-04: On August 25 I predicted that there would be no meaningful response from the Catholic hierarchy to …
2018-09-03: This is a key point about micro.blog.
2018-09-03: Malcolm hates going to the vet but that doesn’t prevent him from looking good doing it.
2018-09-03: I am especially sad about this because the Voice was the very first periodical I ever subscribed to.
2018-09-03: (Goodness, that’s a long blog post — if I’m not careful I could end up writing one half as long as …
2018-09-03: My David Bentley Hart Problem
2018-09-03: “Siri, block ‘Kavanaugh’ and ‘SCOTUS’ and ‘Supreme Court’ on all of my devices for the next week.”
2018-09-02: I hate putting a case on my iPhone — even an ultralight case seems to double the weight — so I took …
2018-09-02: That list was inspired by this, which should explain one key omission.
2018-09-02: Smiths Songs about the Current Man Utd Season Still Ill Barbarism Begins at Home You Just Haven’t …
2018-09-02: Never stop Arsenaling, Arsenal.
2018-08-31: “We have to resist the liberal fantasy in which identities are merely chosen, so we are all free to …
2018-08-31: This is wrong in the way most takes on Nietzsche, approving or disapproving, are wrong: it assumes …
2018-08-30: What Erickson says about conservatives is true of my fellow Christians as well: When faced with the …
2018-08-30: “The Google search algorithm’s bias is not against conservatives. It is against cheap …
2018-08-29: A couple of weeks ago I picked up and started to read Eamon Duffy’s Saints and Sinners: A History of …
2018-08-29: I think n+1 has (has long since) perfected the combination of lofty irony towards everything and …
2018-08-29: Always fun to see an essay that manifests every last one of the vices it decries — right down to the …
2018-08-29: René Girard, please call your office
2018-08-28: Amazingly how fluidly and (apparently) effortlessly Johnny Marr plays this live.
2018-08-28: This is great from my buddy @austinkleon— and a reminder of the weird, weird world we live in where …
2018-08-27: I try to remember those delightful crisp February days, but like Frodo I can’t. “There’s …
2018-08-27: This is about the time of year when the Texas summer frays my patience a bit, and by that I mean …
2018-08-27: This is a thoughtful document created by people I admire … but I can’t sign it, because I wrote a …
2018-08-27: same
2018-08-27: Here’s your periodic reminder that these posts are written at social.ayjay.org and …
2018-08-27: Very glad to see this thoughtful review of my new book, by Bradley J. Birzer in @amconmag.
2018-08-27: Snakes and Ladders: In which I explore the strange and, to me, foreign world of being a graduate …
2018-08-27: Manu Ginobili has retired. We shall not look upon his like again. 🏀 😢 😭
2018-08-27: Snakes & Ladders: a clear choice for the Catholic church
2018-08-26: Here’s a wonderful post by @dancohen that also gives me a very good idea of what I want to do if I …
2018-08-26: D’Angelo’s Black Messiah got a lot of buzz when it came out, but IMO we should still be …
2018-08-26: iOS is cool in so many ways, but this may be the bottom line for me: on my Mac I can always do what …
2018-08-26: Today I tried to select some text on my iPad and the UI simply would not allow me to select what I …
2018-08-26: They’re continuing to do fab things at @milowaco. From this morning’s post-church …
2018-08-25: Dan Ariely: Which version of humanity will we, individually and collectively, choose? Will we open …
2018-08-25: “The federal government cannot keep turning a blind eye while almost one-third of student loan …
2018-08-25: What is a “social media academic”?
2018-08-25: Snakes & Ladders: After Catholic fusionism, what?
2018-08-25: I do think Arsenal will have a great chance to come right back up to the PL after they get relegated …
2018-08-24: At Snakes & Ladders, *Better Call Saul*’s amazing visual homage to Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil.
2018-08-24: My colleague Philip Jenkins raises an important question for churches: What if young people aren’t …
2018-08-24: There are plenty of criticisms to be made of Rod’s project — I’ve made a number of them …
2018-08-24: As I’ve said before, the single most fascinating aspect of the whole controversy over the …
2018-08-24: The world of Apple podcasting is weirdly incestuous. Everyone guests on everyone else’s show, and …
2018-08-24: A brief history of the index
2018-08-24: Lauryn Hill once explained making a concert audience wait for two hours: “The challenge is aligning …
2018-08-24: During the 2016 election, the only signs in my neighborhood in Waco were for Trump and Sanders. Now …
2018-08-23: The more I read about Mastodon the more quickly I walk in the opposite direction….
2018-08-23: This is a magnificent little reflection on Andrei Sinyavsky and subversive writing by @jwilson1812.
2018-08-23: Very excited for my son Wesley, who moved back to Chicago last week and has just taken a job working …
2018-08-22: When I get a new Mac, here are my first installs: BBEdit Dropbox TextExpander Hazel Homebrew pandoc …
2018-08-22: My MacBook Pro (13”) arrived today to replace my MacBook (12”), and I have two initial …
2018-08-22: The last sentence of this points to the real problem for those of us who write books: Word is the …
2018-08-22: I know it’s good for me but oh how this hurts my brain.
2018-08-22: Readings for my Confession and Autobiography class.
2018-08-22: Granted that Eric Raymond is a Problematic Person, but he’s been around through the whole history of …
2018-08-22: One notable and salutary change I’ve seen in my five years here at Baylor: more dogs on campus. Dogs …
2018-08-21: The old Dark Sky looked like a really nice web app. The new Dark Sky looks like a mediocre Android …
2018-08-21: Snakes and Ladders: once more on generational thinking
2018-08-21: The first symptom of returning to class after a summer off: sore throat. I am not used to talking …
2018-08-20: Thanks, folks, for the weather-app suggestions — many weather nerds here on micro.blog!
2018-08-20: One interesting side-effect of using Freedom to limit my Twitter access to a couple of hours a day: …
2018-08-20: Wow, the redesign of Dark Sky is ugly — I don’t even get what look they’re going for. I may need to …
2018-08-20: Thanks for the sympathy about the email situation, folks! One good thing: some of these emails are …
2018-08-20: About Avital Ronell, I have one question.
2018-08-20: I don’t know how your Monday morning started, but mine started this way: I discovered that my …
2018-08-20: Cass Sunstein looks at the wreckage of our social and political order and thinks: What we need is …
2018-08-19: Here I am in @TWSculture on Edward Tenner’s The Efficiency Paradox.
2018-08-19: Let me tell you, @esaumccaulley brought a strong, strong word to the people of @stalbanswaco this …
2018-08-18: I read and enjoy most everything that @michaelbd publishes, but the casual essays he’s doing these …
2018-08-18: So the ⚽️ club I used to support, Arsenal, has lost two matches to start the season, but the club I …
2018-08-18: Snakes and Ladders: episcopal feelings
2018-08-18: The “gradual decay” of Twitter
2018-08-18: Soccer at the highest level just moves too fast for referees to see everything they need to see. It …
2018-08-17: Snakes & Ladders: going big, going small.
2018-08-17: Though that’s a heartwarming story and all that, again: it is perfectly normal in this country …
2018-08-17: It’s still a bit of a jolt to remember that in the richest country in the history of the world …
2018-08-16: When people say “I’m surprised no one has mentioned X,” or “I’m surprised you didn’t consider X,” …
2018-08-16: “Understanding marriage as something that could be improved if we delegated sex to voluptuous …
2018-08-16: “It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Susan Wojcicki, the CEOs of Facebook, …
2018-08-16: Here I am continuing the conversation with Adam Daniel and @cwellmon about universities.
2018-08-16: Just realized that I have a quite complete diary of my travels over the past ten years — in the list …
2018-08-15: There’s still a great deal of work to be done on the book, but most of that work will involve …
2018-08-14: They’ve also played Lorde’s “Royals,” but that just makes me want to hear the infinitely superior …
2018-08-14: I’ve been at this pub long enough that they’ve played Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” twice, which …
2018-08-14: This is great: From the general store to the hardware store. Lord knows I need something innocently …
2018-08-14: Snakes & Ladders: on necks that need millstones around them
2018-08-14: Music from actual islands is sweet, but that from imaginary islands is sweeter….
2018-08-13: Snakes and Ladders: more to come.
2018-08-13: Pretty sure this piece was written by an algorithm.
2018-08-13: When do you think it became one, and how long did that last?
2018-08-13: I would be much more enthusiastic about the war on fake news if I thought the people most vigorously …
2018-08-12: Since “the head of my enemy” is not on this list, I’ll just stay home.
2018-08-12: Second-half thoughts: Torreira looked really good. That’s all I got. ⚽️
2018-08-12: halftime thoughts Ozil’s passing has been extremely and uncharacteristically inaccurate, to the frustration of his …
2018-08-12: Good to see more people trying micro.blog! Please remember that it’s not Twitter and doesn’t want to …
2018-08-12: Liverpool have so many ways to create chances. They have great crossers on the left and the right, …
2018-08-12: Salah with an early goal, what a surprise. Andy Robertson is on his way to greatness. Nothing like …
2018-08-12: Naipaul is like his near-contemporary Wole Soyinka in this important respect: Each is a writer whose …
2018-08-11: Thank God we have people protecting America from exploding Islamist Cadbury bars.
2018-08-11: Nice to see the thoughtful, provocative Bray/Hobbins translation of Genesis 1-11 get some love. It’s …
2018-08-10: If you’re even considering a micro.blog account, please read this excellent overview of the platform …
2018-08-09: Worth remembering: To be famous to to be known for doing something excellent. To be notorious is to …
2018-08-09: Will any disgraced Christian leader in our time take the Profumo Option?
2018-08-08: And Ayjay’s Fourth Law: You will always regret tweeting, but you will never regret not …
2018-08-08: And Ayjay’s Second Law: The least valuable Christian writers to read are those for whom the …
2018-08-08: In case you’re wondering, Ayjay’s First Law is the Law of the Conservation of …
2018-08-08: Ayjay’s Third Law: Given a group of human beings who have the technological capability to …
2018-08-08: It’s a point I’m getting very tired of making. Humans decide what inputs are given, …
2018-08-08: Who’s going to tell Alex P. Miller that humans, those notoriously poor decision-makers, are …
2018-08-08: “I suspect the overlap between groups that insist that Facebook must allow Alex Jones on the …
2018-08-08: Had the best BLT of my life today at @milowaco — on delicious house-baked bread, with hand-cut …
2018-08-08: My friend Mike Foley suggests, in reponse to the clerical sexual abuse crisis, the Jim Foley Option. …
2018-08-08: I know web design isn’t easy, but come on.
2018-08-08: (This is also not the first reminder I’ve had that I’ve written a book that almost no one will like. …
2018-08-08: Anyway: my thanks to Ross for calling attention to the argument — and especially for calling …
2018-08-08: It is possible to renew humane learning without renewing “the humanities,” and to some extent vice …
2018-08-08: Anyway, I think it’s important to distinguish between the humanities (intellectual disciplines …
2018-08-08: The intellectual strategies required to restore Christendom (even partially and covertly) are very …
2018-08-08: There is much to be learned from all my protagonists about intellectual courage and resourcefulness. …
2018-08-08: My own description of the book might be “sobering.” I deeply admire the figures I wrote about, and …
2018-08-08: According to @DouthatNYT, my book is “interesting” — but on the plus side, it’s also “depressing”! …
2018-08-07: Why did I enjoy this post by @sullydish so much? Because he invokes and describes history. It’s rare …
2018-08-07: “I outlived the old future. Give me a new one to live for.” — Warren Ellis
2018-08-07: What happens when an architecture writer plays Minecraft?
2018-08-07: The Pacey Winger confronts the future of Arsenal.
2018-08-06: Escape Email and Get Work Done with Slack — but what’s the point of “escaping email” if what you’re …
2018-08-06: And I can guarantee that your afternoon/evening will be a minimum of 267% better if you listen to …
2018-08-06: You can fnd many versions online of Richard Thompson’s great “Keep Your Distance,” …
2018-08-06: Songs separated at birth: Mazzy Star, “Look on Down from the Bridge” and Yo La Tengo, …
2018-08-06: As for me, I’ve decided that I don’t want to depend on massive multinational tech companies to …
2018-08-06: Yep, @manton is precisely right about this. What Alex Jones is being deprived of is amplification. …
2018-08-05: The sandwiches they show me on TV don’t look that different than the sandwiches I buy at local …
2018-08-05: Snakes & Ladders: How I became nostalgic for the metaphysical thinness of liberal proceduralism.
2018-08-05: Today I read a five-year-old blog post (on academic uses of scripting, if it matters) which …
2018-08-05: The Pacey Winger has a proposal to make the Premier League more exciting through manager-swapping.
2018-08-04: The only thing I don’t get about “René and Georgette Magritte with their Dog After the War” is why a …
2018-08-04: I have had LIFX lights for about a year now, and their rate of response to commands is maybe 20%. I …
2018-08-04: The Atlanta Utd attackers have technique, tactical nous, constant aggression, and absolute …
2018-08-04: If there is a more fun-to-watch ⚽️ team than Atlanta Utd, and I mean anywhere in the world, I don’t …
2018-08-04: Teri mentors a young black girl and told her the other day that some friends were going to a Bruno …
2018-08-04: You’re damn right I have chips and guac with my breakfast tacos.
2018-08-04: This talk by a Google VP is a useful reminder of just how completely unreflective our tech overlords …
2018-08-03: Also, on the Mojave beta – or at least on my Mojave beta – you can’t choose a …
2018-08-03: This is ridiculous (from the Mojave beta).
2018-08-03: There has been so, so much talk about Mister Rogers in recent months, but when I read a story like …
2018-08-03: This defense of socialism is so bad I almost want to write a better one myself, and I am miles from …
2018-08-03: Substance of the story aside, it’s interesting that the guy Rod Dreher quotes here thought that by …
2018-08-03: If you’re looking for me on Twitter, I have one question for you: Why do you seek the living among …
2018-08-03: I get more smug every day about my decades-long strategy of refusing to vote for either of the major …
2018-08-02: Read this by @manton. Apple really needs to be more generous towards the people who make the apps …
2018-08-02: I think I found Teri’s first selfie. Note that she’s wearing her antisocialist element …
2018-08-02: Taken on the plane headed for our honeymoon in Palm Beach, 38 years ago today.
2018-08-01: Re auto-play videos: when one starts, I instantly hit command-w. Likewise when a site demands that I …
2018-08-01: Michelle Dawson on autism as “atypical information processing” — utterly fascinating stuff.
2018-08-01: Gotta say, the NYT is making some really interesting hires these days.
2018-08-01: And here is an extremely thoughtful response to Leah Libresco’s essay by @matthew_loftus.
2018-08-01: This from @leahlibresco is a wonderful example of how faith, rather than being at odds with reason, …
2018-07-31: Turns out that Techny Towers, where I’m attending a conference, is built around a surprisingly large …
2018-07-30: It’s a future I worry about
2018-07-29: This is … quite a chart.
2018-07-29: A look in context at the peculiar structure I took a close-up photo of yesterday.
2018-07-28: I don’t miss this about Chicago: nightmarish traffic. This was outbound I-90 around noon on …
2018-07-28: This is in the back parking lot of my hotel.
2018-07-28: Morning exercise class
2018-07-27: Very good point by @damonlinker, which Freddie deBoer has also made: social democrats aren’t …
2018-07-27: Warren Ellis: RSS isn’t dead. Social media works great for link notifications, not so much for …
2018-07-26: After just one visit, I’m already a big fan of the cocktails at @scofflaw
2018-07-26: This is a new one: TSA going through my backpack and re-scanning it after removing … my …
2018-07-25: We picked up this little guy eleven years ago.
2018-07-25: Wow, Charlie Stross has a rosy picture of what’s to come re: Brexit
2018-07-24: A thoroughly researched, beautifully constructed story by my former student @elizabethjdias. (She …
2018-07-24: I get grief for sweatervests when people wear these??
2018-07-24: There are so many … what to call them … say, chamber-pop collectives these days. What …
2018-07-23: My conquest of Asia proceeds apace.
2018-07-23: “Institutional academic freedom is the death of academic freedom.”
2018-07-23: Moniac (Monetary National Income Analogue Computer)
2018-07-23: not sure this is at all a thing
2018-07-23: A song that ought to be praised and discussed more: “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their …
2018-07-23: Re: the current conversation about whom to block on Twitter, I might suggest an alternative: just …
2018-07-23: Media Stability and Obsolescence Ratings – Museum Of Obsolete Media
2018-07-23: Another excellent post by a friend: my colleague Philip Jenkins on the 50th anniversary of Humanae …
2018-07-23: A lovely meditation on soccer and play (in Jamaica and Nigeria) by my dear friend Garnette Cadogan.
2018-07-22: “I can’t believe I get to do this for a living!” (via my friend Richard Gibson)
2018-07-20: A moving, illuminating letter from Michael Jarrett, a priest at Trinity on the Border in La Feria, …
2018-07-20: My colleague Philip Jenkins explains the relationship between fertility and secularization, and why …
2018-07-19: The Author Is Not as Dead as Claimed - Los Angeles Review of Books — Didn’t really plan to take a …
2018-07-19: How MySpace taught people to code (or at least to find and paste code snippets, which is also an …
2018-07-19: Kyoto looks like a movie set – maybe is a movie set.
2018-07-19: Just went outside for about five minutes and feel that I need to jump into an ice bath and get IV …
2018-07-19: New kind of spam showing up over the past few months: “Confirm to unsubscribe from these …
2018-07-18: I am surprised and pleased to say that the beta of Mojave is working great for me. It connects to …
2018-07-18: Some enterprising company needs to start making Wisdom of SIlenus onesies and bibs for the children …
2018-07-18: Via Panel Pulp. A whole bunch of people in this country could use a heart stimulant right about now, …
2018-07-18: Last year I read Dave Hutchinson’s Europe in Autumn and loved it, but got sidetracked and am only …
2018-07-17: 🔥 😱 🔥
2018-07-17: It’s interesting to read @dancohen’s post “In Praise of Email” in conjunction with @manton’s post on …
2018-07-17: And, as I occasionally remind y’all, I’m writing from micro.blog and hang out only there — I try …
2018-07-17: My personal internet presence, like Gallia, est omnis divisa in partes tres: ayjay.org a collection …
2018-07-16: Now Philip, how ‘bout you bring Grandpa some of that hot cocoa. And Claire, since Grandpa’s hands …
2018-07-16: Yes indeed, young‘uns, times have changed! And believe it or not, when Grandpa started writing his …
2018-07-16: The people Grandpa wrote about in his book — well, they would have been puzzled indeed by an …
2018-07-16: Why, in those days, hard though it may be for you to credit, thoughtful Christians believed that …
2018-07-16: Now, children, gather round while Grandpa tells you about those people in his book — they were …
2018-07-16: Another peek
2018-07-16: So this arrived today…
2018-07-16: I made some fabulous blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning and since I have a lot of batter …
2018-07-15: Just read The Lake Boy by @arrroberts — a remarkable novella, like an 18th c. Gothic romance but …
2018-07-15: Now that the World Cup is over and it’s time to turn back to baseball … I’m feeling less than …
2018-07-15: I missed everything except the Lloris buffoonery and I did it for CHURCH, for GOD, okay?? So you can …
2018-07-15: So it’s France 3 Croatia 1 Mandzukic 2 do I have that right
2018-07-15: Couldn’t watch the first hour of the match because I was speaking in church but nbd I only missed …
2018-07-15: I had completely forgotten, until @drdrang reminded me, that for a couple of years the primary way I …
2018-07-15: “I best commend civility by practicing it myself rather than chastising other people for their …
2018-07-14: Trollope and Brexit – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-14: I think one difference between @kfitz’s experience and mine is that she has had the courage and …
2018-07-14: This is a really interesting post by @kfitz in response to my posts on blogging and scholarship. …
2018-07-13: “Hi, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn”
2018-07-13: So apparently the first copy of my new book is at my office. But to see it I would actually have to …
2018-07-13: Every time I go back and take a peek at Twitter I am amazed all over again by the topics people …
2018-07-13: Art installation
2018-07-13: I owe those posts largely to interactions with @austinkleon, @robinsloan, and @dancohen.
2018-07-13: I originally posted these out of order, but I think that’s fixed now. Two posts on the …
2018-07-12: Re: yesterday’s reference to Oakeshott, see an Oakeshottian essay of mine on what I call “Ecclesial …
2018-07-12: I think I would totally love working at home all the time if I could suppress that part of my brain …
2018-07-12: I actually had inside info that new MacBook Pros were coming out: it had to happen because I ordered …
2018-07-12: The Digital South and Digital Evolution
2018-07-11: I think almost every day, these days, of this little note by Michael Oakeshott.
2018-07-11: Official motto of Gareth Southgate: A Weskit Is the Best Kit
2018-07-11: Live shot of my pre-match preparations
2018-07-11: it me
2018-07-11: I’ll be wearing my MAGA cap while watching England-Croatia because it’s so exciting to see Gareth …
2018-07-10: Hard to see what the problem could be…
2018-07-10: For a long time my standard Old Fashioned was: bourbon Regan’s orange bitters simple syrup lemon …
2018-07-10: This Instagram account sends me right back to the best part of my teen years – collecting and …
2018-07-10: Well, that was a curiously unsatisfying match.
2018-07-10: D’OH Bruyne!
2018-07-10: D’OH-livier!
2018-07-10: Oh good, I had Umtiti in First Goal Bingo
2018-07-10: Goodness, the mass of footballing talent out there on that pitch right now….
2018-07-10: I for one never thought AgileBits would acquire Apple
2018-07-10: This is just a fantastic post by @austinkleon. Don’t ask what it’s about, just go read …
2018-07-10: Yes, of course a player’s hands go to his head after missing a shot. But what happens then? I …
2018-07-09: (Image in that previous post courtesy of my friend Richard Gibson, who has been poring over old …
2018-07-09: Remarkable how little has changed.
2018-07-09: Re-reading Phineas Redux, which partly concerns a plan to disestablish the Church of England, I …
2018-07-09: Another fantastically informative post by @dlind — I’ve learned SO much from her over the past few …
2018-07-09: Re-setting my mental clock, thanks in part to micro.blog — big shout-out to @manton.
2018-07-09: soccer and the impediments to success – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-09: The most “on brand” story about me from my childhood? Probably when my mom told me that my school …
2018-07-08: God bless this person who thought the chili pepper at RateMyProfessors means “stimulating lectures”
2018-07-07: футбол возвращается домой
2018-07-07: “I am big; it’s the readers who got small” — Harold Jacobson
2018-07-07: The last time England made it to the semifinals of the World Cup, I became a soccer fan.
2018-07-07: Also: goodness, Sweden are terrible at defending set pieces
2018-07-07: ALLEZ ALLI
2018-07-07: Raheem Sterling, trickster god of footy
2018-07-07: But you tell me over and over and over again my friend, / Ah, you don’t believe #SWE’s on the …
2018-07-07: Harry “Eve of Destruction” Maguire
2018-07-07: I guess #ENG are doing okay from set pieces, but I feel confident they’d do much better if Harry …
2018-07-07: 👑 HARRY 👑
2018-07-07: “And football said to England, ‘I was not threatening you — I was merely surprised to see you here …
2018-07-07: Just checking: Has ⚽️ come home yet?
2018-07-06: A neural network creates video game titles: Alien in the Fires Lots of Doom Pirate Devil Blood …
2018-07-06: Hazard has been absolutely heroic.
2018-07-06: The whole Belgium side look exhausted. I don’t see how they can hold out.
2018-07-06: Courtois has been just superb today (so far). I attribute his success to his excellent height. ⚽️
2018-07-06: This Brazil side seems a good bit more emotionally resilient than the one four years ago, but right …
2018-07-06: What a magnificent player De Bruyne is ⚽️
2018-07-06: Snakes & Ladders: and he cried when he realized that there were no more stars to exploit
2018-07-06: Just a reminder that all these posts come from social.ayjay.org, a micro.blog account — I don’t even …
2018-07-06: Milton’s God (and Google’s) – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-06: The Rings of Saturn – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-06: Re-upping ⚽️
2018-07-06: “an America that is wealthier and lonelier, that has higher standards of living but lives marked by …
2018-07-06: The Rings of Saturn – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-05: Well, Apple has decided to take Maps seriously — now that Google Maps is so entrenched, because so …
2018-07-05: My son has just moved to Chicago and I’m giving him some fatherly advice.
2018-07-05: You’ve got to be impressed when courage, steadfastness and resolute commitment to get results for …
2018-07-05: I’ve been thinking about Instagram’s refusal to offer users the option of a …
2018-07-05: Snakes & Ladders: re-reading Trollope
2018-07-05: “We await the kingdom, we don’t impose it.”
2018-07-05: This is a great post from my buddy Austin, and of course I’ve been thinking about these matters a …
2018-07-05: Goodness, Coda for iOS is an amazing app: feature-rich, with a beautifully designed UI, and …
2018-07-04: Principalities, Powers, and BLM – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-04: (you can probably tell that I’m getting through my Instapaper queue this morning)
2018-07-04: signed with that cross – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-04: Another good case for reclaiming RSS, the open web, and duplicated (i.e. backed-up) content.
2018-07-04: “The disquieting strategic implication of this finding is that if a school wants to get its alumni …
2018-07-04: where citizens were, there shall users be – Snakes and Ladders
2018-07-04: This is a harrowing and heartbreaking but also deeply informative essay about living with mental …
2018-07-04: … had it not been for his tragically premature death at the tender age of 139.
2018-07-04: The Pacey Winger is happy for Gareth Southgate
2018-07-04: “The Rymek Bluetooth mechanical keyboard fits right into the niche, immediately piquing my …
2018-07-03: Evening walk
2018-07-03: There’ll always be an England
2018-07-03: We learned in the 2010 World Cup that leaping up and planting studs in a guy’s chest was only a …
2018-07-03: This has been the World Cup of Blazing Shots Miles Over the Bar
2018-07-03: Malcolm is very meditative this morning.
2018-07-03: Okay, so I have re-enabled cross-posting from micro.blog to Twitter. I will only be posting from …
2018-07-03: On the bedside tables at Laity Lodge
2018-07-02: This is a test post from Sunlit
2018-07-02: One last photo from the weekend: I enjoyed looking at this peach tree outside the Great Hall, but I …
2018-07-02: Leaving Laity Lodge on the good old river road….
2018-07-02: On a recent road trip I spent a good deal of time listening to NBA podcasts, and was struck, and …
2018-07-02: I love so much the way Japan played that match. They didn’t go into a shell when ahead 2-0, and when …
2018-07-02: Pretty sure that the Steve Miller Band and Huey Lewis and the News are the Official Music of the …
2018-07-02: I think Neymar just needs to realize that his pain tolerance is not high enough for him to play …
2018-07-01: Past the wildflower season but there were still some lovely ones at Laity Lodge
2018-06-29: Greetings from one of my favorite places in the world, Laity Lodge on the Frio River.
2018-06-28: The Senegal coach Aliou Cisse looks like he’s ready to star in a sequel to Pulp Fiction.
2018-06-28: I’ve recently been reminded of the sheer misery that can be involved in working with literary …
2018-06-27: I think I would be just fine using iOS all the time except that (a) there’s no document-conversion …
2018-06-27: I’ve been wondering for some time whether I might be able to go iOS only, and now that my attempt to …
2018-06-26: This evening on my walk I was listening to “Jumping Fences” by Olivia Tremor Control and realized …
2018-06-22: Pasta with pesto, broiled tomatoes with a mayo/Parmesan/chive topping (basil and tomatoes from the …
2018-06-22: Hey, if I know you and you’re here on micro.blog, please let me know!
2018-06-12: Davis Mountains State Park (there’s a small herd of pronghorn antelope down below but you can’t see …
2018-06-12: View from the Observatory
2018-06-12: McDonald Observatory
2018-06-12: June flowers in the Chihuahuan desert of West Texas
2018-06-08: June in central Texas (St Alban’s Church)
2018-06-08: I can never quite get over magnolias
2018-06-07: This one (from one my favorite places, Odd Duck in Austin) is called “Peaching to the Choir”
2018-06-06: One more from the Wetlands
2018-06-06: Lake Waco Wetlands, where most of the wildflowers have passed their bloom — but not all.
2018-06-05: Also contemplation (at Joe T Garcia’s — last time I was here I was drinking margaritas with Chip …
2018-06-05: contemplation
2018-06-05: Also Anselm Kiefer
2018-06-05: Anselm Kiefer, Book with Wings
2018-06-05: Kimbell Art Museum
2018-06-05: Fort Worth Botanic Garden
2018-06-02: Of course this is a word. “She blinded me with scients.” Duh.
2018-06-02: I like walking in my neighborhood primarily because of all the live oaks — but I can’t really …
2018-06-01: You know, Jaron Lanier makes a strong case. I have deactivated my Instagram account, which was …
2018-05-26: Malcolm posing for his photo shoot this morning.
2018-05-23: I really do think this is a great service, and I’d like to be here regularly, but I wonder how much …
2018-05-23: I read a number of early- to mid-career Philip Roth novels, and … that’s all I need to read. …
2018-05-23: Damon Linker: I think the pope’s strategy for a longer game displays greater psychological …
2018-05-23: Morning walk.
2018-05-23: The Pacey Winger approves of the hire of Unai Emery.
2018-05-23: John Ruskin: Fit the Second #textpatterns
2018-05-22: This is great: Austin Kleon on writing and publishing. Note how Austin treats every experience as …
2018-05-22: My favorite neighborhood tree.
2018-05-22: OED word of the Day: pulveratrix, n. A bird which maintains its feathers by driving dust into the …
2018-05-22: John Ruskin: Fit the First #textpatterns
2018-05-21: Design thinking would be great except that it’s neither design nor thinking.
2018-05-21: If you’re inclined to think that reggae is over, let Etana set you straight about that.
2018-05-21: Regent’s Park
2018-05-21: So as long as Twitter’s API allows it, these micro.blog posts will be cross-posted to Twitter, but I …
2018-05-21: This may look like a Twitter post to you folks on Twitter, but in fact it’s a micro.blog post. My …
2018-05-21: (How I wish I could correct iOS’s auto-misspellings in my posts, but it seems that what I have …
2018-05-21: The pulpit of Holy Trinity Sloane Square
2018-05-21: The lectern of Holy Trinity Sloane Square
2018-05-20: So happy for Thomas Pynchon, who may finally have some financial security. Whew.
2018-05-19: Courtauld Gallery
2018-05-18: Another reason to despise Instagram’s non-linear feed: I just discovered that some dear friends are …
2018-05-18: Sunset over the Thames.
2018-05-14: It appears that I am allergic to London in May. I have never had an allergic breakout like the one I …
2018-05-12: Okay, here’s one more test, after which I’ll stop. I’m wondering how micro.blog …
2018-05-12: I’m still testing this. Here’s a lovely piece of electronic music.
2018-05-12: This is another test of micro.blog cross-posting to Twitter.
2018-05-11: This is a text, this is only a text.
2018-04-19: Afternoon on Baylor’s campus
2018-04-19: Morning on Baylor’s campus