Here are some real statements from Pope Leo that many people who have been sharing fake memes seem to have been looking for.

Pope Leo XIV, who has made peace and unity priorities of his pontificate, emphasized that “the more we are reconciled, the more we Christians can bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a proclamation of hope for all” and, in the words of Pope Francis, “a message of peace and universal…

Touch Me Now: York Plays 2025

A cast of hundreds participated in a public medieval re-enactment dramatizing the Christian story from Creation through Final Judgement at the University of Toronto a few weeks ago.  I attended as the event videographer. I had at least three cameras running at all times — sometimes five — while a roving camera also caught the…

How to be a Medieval Spectator (Intro to Toronto York Plays 2025)

This is what I’m in Toronto to observe.  Similar:"I don't view Shakespeare's work as intimidating anymore." — midterm reflection from coll… “It has made me more confident in my…AcademiaBing’s A.I. Chat Reveals Its Feelings: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’In a two-hour conversation with our colu…Current_EventsYouth Can Check Out Briefcases, Neckties via NYPL Grow Up…

Stop sharing those unsourced memes about “be woke” and “God doesn’t need soldiers” — here’s what Pope Leo XIV is actually saying.

Pope Leo XIV, in his first address to journalists at the Vatican, called for the release of imprisoned journalists, championed the free press, and urged caution about AI. My social media feed is full of memes that purport to represent the words of Leo XIV. Legitimate news sources have already published stories about Pope Leo…

This morning I awoke to YouTube’s live footage of crowds circling a mosque in Mecca. For months I’ve been looking at my own simulated crowds from a similar angle and I was a bit disoriented.

Similar:Short-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year…https://youtu.be/-cJp-kelrL8  AestheticsCanadians Love Poop, Americans Love Pizza: How Emojis Fare Worldwide The company SwiftKey analyzed more tha…AestheticsConfessions of a Former Bastard CopMedium is not a peer-reviewed source, an…CultureJournalism 101: I fixed this meme for you.I can sympathize with the sentiment, but…CultureA support sloop…

Jesus Christ Superstar

I have a daughter who does things. Her next is ensemble/musician/understudy for Mary Magdelene in Jesus Christ Superstar, Pittsburgh Musical Theater Apr 3-13. Similar:The #Blender3D #eevee denoising filter gives off a pretty amazing Caldecott prize-winning …The filter won’t replace real hand-drawn…AestheticsHitting the weekend with just 6 ungraded papers. #partylikeaprof Hitting the weekend with just 6…

Rapture #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 10) Sisko’s “visions” complicate politics, faith and family

Rewatching ST:DS9 Kira is moved by the interest Sisko shows in an artifact recently recovered from the Cardassians. After a classic “zoom in and enhance” scene where Sisko uses a reflection to unlock an archaeological mystery, a technobabble accident flabbergasts Sisko’s neural jimberjams, which Bashir says will likely give him heightened sensory experiences for a…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad of internet plagiarism, ethnically diverse anthropomorphic recyclables, EverQuest, and VeggieTales

In September, 2003, I was blogging about What the NY Times called the “campus fad” of Internet plagiarism. “What Does a Professor Do All Day?” (Clearly we are wasting our time whenever we are not standing in front of a classroom.) “Graphic Artist Carefully Assigns Ethnicities To Anthropomorphic Recyclables“ Leni Riefenstahl Dies (although she distanced…

Accession #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 17) Sisko rethinks his role as Emissary when a poet from Bajor’s past claims the title

Rewatching ST:DS9 Bashir reluctantly helps O’Brien clean up before Keiko is due to return after an extended absence. At the family reunion, little Molly points to her mother’s belly and announces she has a little brother. At the request of Kira and her mentor Porta, Sisko blesses a young couple. He’s not thrilled with his…

That story about the pope requiring Catholics to fast from meat as part of a deal with the fishing industry? Never happened.

That story about the pope requiring Catholics to eat fish as part of a deal with fishing industry?   For some reason people keep sharing this story with the idea that the economic angle is scandalous, or it supports the assertion that the Catholic church is corrupt, or that liturgical practices not literally described in…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In June, 2002, I was blogging about… a female autistic scholars lament, Dr. Seuss, Orthodox Christianity and coding, Shakespeare, and weblogs after 9/11

In June, 2002, I was blogging about A female autistic scholar’s lament The origins of Horton Hears a Who A NatGeo article on the media-saturated life of Iowa college students The function of “er” in speech A Pravda article on parallels between Orthodox Christianity and computer programming Dr. Toast’s Amazing World of Toast (I really…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In March, 2002, I was blogging about…

In March, 2002, I was blogging about The coming era of participatory news The “Worst Manual Contest” Ancient “Domesday Book” outlives electronic version (that article is also gone… but here’s contemporary coverage from Slashdot) My own text-adventure game “Fine-Tuned: An Auto-mated Romance“ PBS special “Merchants of Cool” (early observations about the cultural feedback loop as…

Rightful Heir (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 23) Worf’s quest for the return of a fabled Klingon threatens the Klingon Empire’s status quo

Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacteristically late for a shift because he was distracted by a ritual to invoke the fabled warrior Kahless. He tells Picard that since meeting the young Klingons who grew up with no knowledge of their heritage (s6e16&17 “Birthright“), he has felt “empty,” and feels the need to test his faith. Picard…