Alex Ezell

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:49:06 -0500

The Faith of Beasts just arrived. Sorry Dostoyevsky, you’re getting back-burnered for a bit.

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:09:56 -0500

Make this cool again.

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:05:34 -0500

Is there a word for that feeling that you’re on the cusp of a big change in life? Not necessarily a bad change just some kind of major change. Whatever that word might be, I’m feeling it.

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:26:03 -0500

I went to Mass this morning at the monastery down in Whitesville. It was my first time visiting. It is an incredibly beautiful place. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours as the sun rose set quite a tone for the day. Let’s pray the rest of the day lives up to the promise.

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:07:56 -0500

Ross Douthat and Ben Sasse talk about death

This is a fascinating interview. As Brent Beshore writes here, “If you’re watching a dying man who’s freer than you are, it begs questions that demand answers.”

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:08:52 -0500

When I look at the Youtube Family Plan on my phone, it $34.99/month.

When I look in my browser, it’s $26.99.

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:27:39 -0500

It turns out I might be a daily Mass person. I’ve been hitting up early morning masses 4 out 5 weekdays the last few weeks. It just feels like the best way to start my day now. Who am I?

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:44:12 -0500

If ever I was meant to get a crossword answer correct, this is the one.

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:07:21 -0500

YouTube Premium for the family is $34.99/month now. That’s crazy.

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:49:17 -0500

Aadam Jacobs Collection

This is an incredible collection of live recordings from the mid-1980s until about 2012 or so. It’s great to see the Internet Archive making it possible to preserve these recordings.

This Tracy Chapman show from 1988 is a favorite so far.

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:49:15 -0500

I’m struggling with the impulse to shrink into my church, my home, and my gym. As Christians, we are encouraged to engage with the world to spread the good news. It’s a challenge given the state of the world. Those who regularly put themselves into places and situations where sin and evil abound are doing the hard work. My prayer is that whatever charism I have helps put me in the places I need to be to help others find His love and grace.

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:59:32 -0500

Over the Easter weekend, I was confirmed into the Catholic Church. What a beautiful day it was.

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:01:09 -0500

My local news outlet has an RSS feed which is great. However, they also include the obituaries in that feed. It’s sobering watching the names roll by over the course of the day. I live in a small town and there are still SO MANY obituaries every day. Life is precious and all too short.

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 08:56:08 -0500

U2 has always been “a Christian band” in multiple senses of that phrase except the one most people think of. This new Easter Lily EP obviously leans into that in a big way. I haven’t listened to much U2 in the last 15 years and this was a nice surprise.

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:18:18 -0500

Increases in people joining the Catholic Church

The Diocese of Owensboro doesn’t have their data on this map. The bishop told us last night there were 250 last year and over 400 this year. So, our diocese is near the top of the list. That 400 is a record total number since maybe 1930.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:10:23 -0500

The Chrism Mass tonight was beautiful. It’s so powerful seeing a community come together to participate in the Eucharist. I can’t wait to be in full communion with the church on Saturday night and to wake up Easter Sunday to the joy that is the Risen Christ.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:37:46 -0500

That overnight on-call is tough for an old man like me. I’m dragging this afternoon.

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 23:59:53 -0500

So many lunges at the gym this morning. My hips aren’t working.

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:02:38 -0500

Amazing day today. Fixed a weird bug early and then met some great dudes to help them with their. CrossFit Quarterfinals workouts. Came home and helped triage some work issues. Then, back to the gym for more Quarterfinals efforts. I loved the combo of hard work on multiple vectors.

AI and the Church, Again

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:27:35 -0500

Jim Morin on AI and the church: A Disembodied Gospel

This seems quite reasonable to me. As someone who uses LLMs daily for my coding work, I have been intrigued by tools like Magisterium AI and Truthly AI for study and research. Morin comments:

And in some cases, engagement with other sources may even promote a kind of remote communion with their authors. Perhaps a priest could use A.I. in this way, without slowly abdicating his personal vocation to preach the gospel as an act of love. I doubt it. Power and comfort have long been the enemies of the priesthood.

I’m not preparing or delivering homilies but this caution about a “slow abdication” of vocation or, in my words, personal agency, is a real fear. I feel it creeping up on my in my coding work even though I have almost 30 years of experience in that endeavor. Why wouldn’t it sneak up on me when I’m engaged in an activity with which I have much less experience and much higher expectations?

For now, I keep the faith-focused LLMs at a long arms reach. Occasional use for very specific research questions mostly to point me to primary sources where I can continue using my brain to read and engage with the topics I’m studying. Is it little more than a friendlier search engine? I don’t know. It feels dangerous and that’s why I’m wary.

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 07:22:03 -0500

I gathered some ideas of how to convert more folks when they visit my clothing store at Deathless. I was not prepared to “feel” some kind of way about these sorts of updates. It all feels so smarmy. I think I’m going to try something quite different. Zero sales is still zero sales so why not?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 22:29:33 -0500

The Madison is probably the best work Taylor Sheridan has done. What stands out the most is how good Kurt Russell is. When he’s on screen, you can’t look away. When he’s not on-screen, you can’t wait for him to come back. I’m looking forward to the second season.

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:31:02 -0500

Whipsaw brain day today. Mass -> Work -> Confession -> Work -> Volunteer Committee Meeting -> Work -> Holy Week Prep

Switching my brain gears between these things is tough. I get stuck ruminating on the last thing and miss the now thing.

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:12:44 -0500

How is there not an HVAC controller that has any logic to it? I want my house to be 68 degrees all the time. Why do I have to tell the thermostat when to shift from A/C to heat?

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:47:30 -0500

When they start smashing up bells made in that exact building 140 years earlier, it really makes for quite a story.

Tom Scott smashes a bell