Speaking as an old, it's very nearly a daily experience for me to read an article, or even just see a headline, which makes me feel like I'm living in a future world written by Phillip K. Dick.

> Is Peter Thiel the target of Pope Leo's Gandalf quote? An investigation. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…

#WTF #AI #news #religion #Tolkien

Is Peter Thiel the target of Pope Leo's Gandalf quote? An investigation.

Parsing a papal proclamation.

^{Nate Anderson (Ars Technica)}

Da Pope has dropped an #encyclical. An encyclical is a pastoral letter issued by the #Pope.

Historically encyclicals serve as a key instrument of the Pope’s ordinary magisterium to guide the faithful on matters of faith, morals, devotion, or social discipline, they are generally not infallible pronouncements ex cathedra.

I’m still reading and digesting, but a quick skim suggests that this is the biggest thing to drop from the #Vatican in my lifetime.

There’s, #AI, there’s transhumanism, there’s social contract, he apologizes for the Church’s blind eye to #slavery, he declared that “just war” is no longer a thing…in a change of policy held since the Crusades. He calls for #OpenSource, he quotes #Tolkien. (I like Da Pope.)

There’s a lot. You can read it here. It’s gonna take me a while to map it all out.

vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/…

Isengard Mysticism - Shards of Narsil (Andúril)
Rather than retelling specific narratives, Isengard Mysticism aims to evoke the emotional and spiritual essence of the legendarium: the weight of ancient kingdoms, the melancholy of passing ages, the simple pleasures of smoking pipe weed, and the quiet awe of lands untouched by the modern age.
isengardmysticism.bandcamp.com…

#nowplaying #tolkien #dungeonsynth

Shards of Narsil (Andúril), by Isengard Mysticism

8 track album

^{Isengard Mysticism}