Exploring the Lord’s Prayer and Bad Bunny’s Halftime performance at the Super Bowl (2026). The Our Father is among the most widely known and said prayer in Christianity. A Tradition Remixed reflection about how hearing or saying the Padre Nuestro in Spanish affects how we engage with it.

One: the man is wearing a black wife-beater style shirt. He has reddish hair and dark black skin. There’s a rifle in his hands. It’s aimed at me, at my face. He says “Die white devil”, and then lowers the gun, pointing the barrel at the ground. His choice, a moment where he decided whether I lived or died.

I'm not sure how much I still agree with this story, it's from a long time ago - but the idea about rejecting labels is still solid When I was young I knew a guy who decided that “gay-bashing” was fun. Most of us didn’t know that about him. He was sort of on the periphery of our group. By the time we found out there was no reason for any of us to do anything about it. He’d already received an appropriate reward for his efforts. He tried to beat up the same guy twice and the guy slammed his car into him. Nobody visited him in the hospital. I ran into him many, many years later. I didn’t know who he was. Once he introduced himself I made some noises and then moved away…

The phrase Strong Female Character has become a term of derision… and probably rightly. For the most part, writers who are creating Strong Female Characters are doing so with the intention of creating Strong Female Characters, which usually leads to creating underdeveloped characters.

For those who don’t know, Fermi’s Paradox is this: There are a vast number of stars in the galaxy. There are many planets around those stars, and many of them are absolutely within the Goldilocks zone, the area where life can exist.

This is another old one - but somehow still relevant I have been thinking about this topic for a long time and finally hit on a way to say it that expressed what I wanted to say. An Imperfect Metaphor I like cats. Note, I didn't mention dogs. In fact, I’m more of a dog person than I am a cat person. Saying I like cats doesn’t impact my feelings about dogs at all, despite it being a reality. Think they are fluffy adorable little murder machines and I enjoy cuddling them.

A word of caution — this piece gets pretty personal and discusses some themes around SA and DV, so if you don’t want to read that kind of thing, maybe skip it I grew up with hippies. Sometimes we were in housing co-ops, sometimes we were in communes (both urban and rural), sometimes we were homeless, sometimes we lived in regular apartments with a group of people, and occasionally we even lived in houses (mostly my dad).

Ray was a great guy. You wouldn’t know it if you met him. He’s an older man, homeless, a paranoid schizophrenic. Get him cornered indoors and he might be violent. Actually, it’s pretty likely. I don’t know if Ray is still alive. I haven’t seen him recently and the life expectancy for people like Ray tends to be low. I used to see him all the time.

People Suck TI is a terrible person. That’s not exactly news. I mean, the guy got arrested for weapons charges and then conveniently “found Jesus” and reformed. He manages to still be a terrible person. It’s pretty impressive. Taking your adult daughter to her gynecologist appointment and insisting on the doctor sharing information with you is creepy as fuck and proves that there is something deeply wrong with the man.

This article argues that in Dragon Age, faith functions less as spirituality and more as infrastructure. The Chantry persists not because it is holy, but because belief stabilizes a world defined by chaos, magic, and uncertainty. The Chant of Light absorbs disaster by translating systemic failure into moral explanation, allowing institutions to avoid reform. The Circle of Magi and the Templar Order exist not to protect, but to contain unpredictability and preserve narrative coherence. Hypocrisy is survivable; truth is not. When belief can no longer bear the weight of reality, coercion replaces faith. Dragon Age shows that belief becomes dangerous when it exists to maintain systems rather than help people understand the world.

Another old story - I'm moving everything from Medium over, or almost everything (some stuff is about Medium itself and won't make sense here)

This is an older piece that I just moved over here. I still agree with what I wrote, but damn did J.K. Rowling double down on the shitty views Some thoughts on J.K. Rowling and the leftist reaction to her (probable) transphobia

I would like to hear feedback and comments on my E-book, CHILDREN OF THE NEW SUN. It has generated much controversy and interest since its publication two months ago.

I was always, at least as an adult, comfortable with transgender rights. I was comfortable viewing trans-women as women and trans-men as men. I considered myself pretty evolved in that regard. There was an issue, though — I really didn’t like being referred to as cis. It bothered me, for reasons I guess. Sure, I developed rationalizations; I’m sure you’ve heard them. It was unnecessary because we were the majority, and it could be inferred by the absence of anything else, for example.

Hello, everyone, Dr. Mason. I came across a video titled "10 Hidden Laws of Game Theory That Control Your Life," which had 187,202 views on January 14, 2026. The channel is titled Your Brain on Glitch: The Secrets of Human Psychology. It starts off by saying…

Published in 2003, but still relevant today. Elaine Pagels contrasts the Gospel of John with the Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical text discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammed, Egypt. Very enlightening and controversial. This is a blog post from my author's website johnstrapasonbooks.com

The holidays are a whirlwind—festive lights, full calendars, and the gentle pressure to make everything feel magical. But in the middle of gifting, wrapping, hosting, and hustling, it’s easy to forget the person who keeps it all running: you. This year, give yourself permission to slow down, indulge a little, and savor gifts that support your mind, body, and well-being. Here are thoughtful, sensory-forward self-care items perfect for slipping under your own tree.

We are not accidents of history—we are answers to prayers that survived generations. Our ancestors trusted God with a future they would never see, and through faith, endurance, and sacrifice, they made room for us to stand here today. Black history is holy ground, and our lives are living testimony that what was meant to break us only refined us. We are rising not by permission, but by divine purpose. Our time is now.

The story is a powerful reflection on the strength, resilience, and enduring hope of Black people despite generations of hardship and adversity. It honors ancestors who planted seeds of hope under oppression and celebrates the courage passed down through families, communities, and culture. The narrative emphasizes perseverance in the face of loss, refusal to surrender to despair, and the belief that hope is not only preserved but shared across generations. Ultimately, the story affirms that Black people never back down, never give up, and continue to rise by carrying hope forward.

Design Biology Forensic Evaluation Protocol (DB-FEP) Meanings and Principles Reference Sheet Version 1.0 – Work in progress January 2026