Shane Liesegang, SJ
@sjml.bsky.social
🎭 theater kid turned 🎮 game dev turned ✝️ Jesuit [scholastic/deacon]
past: skyrim, fallout, god of war, novitiate, philosophy/political econ, refugee aid (🇱🇧🇮🇶🇯🇴🇸🇾), theology, starfield, migrant care (🇵🇭)
present: theology in Boston
https://shaneliesegang.com
past: skyrim, fallout, god of war, novitiate, philosophy/political econ, refugee aid (🇱🇧🇮🇶🇯🇴🇸🇾), theology, starfield, migrant care (🇵🇭)
present: theology in Boston
https://shaneliesegang.com
Pinned
Shane Liesegang, SJ
@sjml.bsky.social
· Feb 3
I'm increasingly skeptical that "another birdsite" is the answer but there's so many people I can only keep in touch with on the social, so here we are. My old feed was a mix of lefty politics, tech/games, and religion. Trying to find more of the same, but now with migration/refugee stuff thrown in.
hi it's me, one of the people who actually likes the modern day and Isu nonsense in Assassin's Creed games and I just finished the latest one and it had none of that?!
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a crowd of people .
Alt: The clip from Arrested Development where Tobias asserts to the crowd "There are dozens of us! Dozens!" I think he's also holding a corn dog? That's not relevant, though.
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:35 AM
hi it's me, one of the people who actually likes the modern day and Isu nonsense in Assassin's Creed games and I just finished the latest one and it had none of that?!
I think part of what commercial LLMs have revealed is how appealing people find a non-judgmental conversation partner. We have so few spaces, especially free ones, where you can express insecurities or ask embarrassing questions, and even the kindest of humans hit fatigue at some point.
This is so soulless, I can't stand it. We have BRAINS. We can USE THEM.
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I think part of what commercial LLMs have revealed is how appealing people find a non-judgmental conversation partner. We have so few spaces, especially free ones, where you can express insecurities or ask embarrassing questions, and even the kindest of humans hit fatigue at some point.
Scouting was where I learned that there are forms of authority that don't rely solely on assertion of will. That there is a masculinity that doesn't involve dominance. But I'm also the kind of man Hegseth would probably find "weak."
Then again, I'm an Eagle Scout and he never held any rank, so.
Then again, I'm an Eagle Scout and he never held any rank, so.
This is the Scout Law (say it with me!): "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent." Scouting America hasn't changed its values at all. It has simply recognized that they aren't exclusively male.
Is it a 'masculine value' to melt down about some new fake shit every week?
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Scouting was where I learned that there are forms of authority that don't rely solely on assertion of will. That there is a masculinity that doesn't involve dominance. But I'm also the kind of man Hegseth would probably find "weak."
Then again, I'm an Eagle Scout and he never held any rank, so.
Then again, I'm an Eagle Scout and he never held any rank, so.
Zuck, Huang, and Cook are all standing in “keynote pose” which I guess is like T-pose for CEOs but is somewhat revealing of the training data
I've seen this image enough now that I feel like I should point out it's fake.
November 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Zuck, Huang, and Cook are all standing in “keynote pose” which I guess is like T-pose for CEOs but is somewhat revealing of the training data
"If you really want to laugh at a party, use Grok to come up with an epic roast of someone."
What this has confirmed to me is that with the tiniest percentage of a fraction of the whiff of a dream of Musk's wealth, I am confident I could throw a better party.
What this has confirmed to me is that with the tiniest percentage of a fraction of the whiff of a dream of Musk's wealth, I am confident I could throw a better party.
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"If you really want to laugh at a party, use Grok to come up with an epic roast of someone."
What this has confirmed to me is that with the tiniest percentage of a fraction of the whiff of a dream of Musk's wealth, I am confident I could throw a better party.
What this has confirmed to me is that with the tiniest percentage of a fraction of the whiff of a dream of Musk's wealth, I am confident I could throw a better party.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
"Studios don’t want to address toxicity against their employees because they see it as confronting the dark sides of their community, which they believe is a core demographic."
Yep, pretty much. Even in the face of quantifiable evidence to the contrary.
Yep, pretty much. Even in the face of quantifiable evidence to the contrary.
Two months after firing over Charlie Kirk comments, Ghost of Yotei dev blames harassment campaign, not 'bad joke'
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
"Studios don’t want to address toxicity against their employees because they see it as confronting the dark sides of their community, which they believe is a core demographic."
Yep, pretty much. Even in the face of quantifiable evidence to the contrary.
Yep, pretty much. Even in the face of quantifiable evidence to the contrary.
Good thread with good thinkers and nuance and practicality and generosity of spirit and things.
A friend who teaches theology shared with me a post about CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, which discusses foundational Christian logic across denominations. It reminded me of Dale's tweet below, and I wanted to share some thoughts here regarding modesty and respectability, which are often hot topics.
November 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Good thread with good thinkers and nuance and practicality and generosity of spirit and things.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
(slaps the lickably vivid aquamarine casing of the 37-pound machine) this baby can hold SO many wistful memories of a less complicated time in your life
November 24, 2025 at 9:20 AM
(slaps the lickably vivid aquamarine casing of the 37-pound machine) this baby can hold SO many wistful memories of a less complicated time in your life
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
we already figured out the ideal computer shape and must retvrn
November 24, 2025 at 9:02 AM
we already figured out the ideal computer shape and must retvrn
YouTube exacerbated this, for sure, but didn't invent it… Back when I followed these things closely I remember a certain subset of games journalists (by no means all or most or even a lot, but more than a handful) whose opinions would shift in lockstep to match whatever Penny Arcade said.
Always funny when you can pinpoint the exact moment a YouTuber articulated a specific criticism because all of a sudden every discussion has it come up with identical phrasing when no one has mentioned it before.
November 24, 2025 at 12:31 PM
YouTube exacerbated this, for sure, but didn't invent it… Back when I followed these things closely I remember a certain subset of games journalists (by no means all or most or even a lot, but more than a handful) whose opinions would shift in lockstep to match whatever Penny Arcade said.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Catholic pet peeve: when churches only offer face-to-face confession. Let me be anonymous please!
(I think this also might be a violation of canon law but don’t want to be That Guy™ and thus make myself even more memorable.)
(I think this also might be a violation of canon law but don’t want to be That Guy™ and thus make myself even more memorable.)
November 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Catholic pet peeve: when churches only offer face-to-face confession. Let me be anonymous please!
(I think this also might be a violation of canon law but don’t want to be That Guy™ and thus make myself even more memorable.)
(I think this also might be a violation of canon law but don’t want to be That Guy™ and thus make myself even more memorable.)
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
Not much to say about Trans Day of Remembrance anymore besides “try loving and celebrating us while we are alive”
November 20, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Not much to say about Trans Day of Remembrance anymore besides “try loving and celebrating us while we are alive”
Not sure why Aftermath posted it again today but always happy to remember the time @rcmacleod.bsky.social took a whole bunch of my rambling nonsense and wrapped it in his well-crafted coherent prose to give a nuanced and interesting account of sainthood and games and stuff.
The politics, theology, and hype behind the first gamer saint
aftermath.site/carlo-acutis-g...
aftermath.site/carlo-acutis-g...
November 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Not sure why Aftermath posted it again today but always happy to remember the time @rcmacleod.bsky.social took a whole bunch of my rambling nonsense and wrapped it in his well-crafted coherent prose to give a nuanced and interesting account of sainthood and games and stuff.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
Today is Trans Day of Remembrance. Since 31st October 2024, at least 340 trans people have lost their lives to anti-trans violence, or suicide. Transphobia kills. Please be an ally every day. tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports?from...
Remembering Our Dead - Reports
1 Nov 2024 to 20 Nov 2025
tdor.translivesmatter.info
November 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Today is Trans Day of Remembrance. Since 31st October 2024, at least 340 trans people have lost their lives to anti-trans violence, or suicide. Transphobia kills. Please be an ally every day. tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports?from...
“I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.”
psst, no one is struggling with this - we are trying to create singular things that resonate with a huge audience or resonate hugely with a specific audience. We "struggle" with how tech and VC funding has broken almost every creative economy we have. So thanks but no thanks
November 20, 2025 at 12:33 AM
“I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.”
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
Robert McCall ‘Visitation’ (24” x 30”, oil on canvas, 1981)
November 20, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Robert McCall ‘Visitation’ (24” x 30”, oil on canvas, 1981)
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
It's not a foolproof plan but every political debate from now on should be a Normal Guy competition. Ask them to describe grocery shopping in detail. Talk about what it's like to have a friend
November 19, 2025 at 2:13 AM
It's not a foolproof plan but every political debate from now on should be a Normal Guy competition. Ask them to describe grocery shopping in detail. Talk about what it's like to have a friend
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
Happy birthday to the Soviet linguist Yuri Knorozov who casually deciphered the Mayan script in 1952 and got pissed when editors removed his cat as co-author on papers or cropped her out of his author headshot (the only picture of himself he even liked)
November 19, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Happy birthday to the Soviet linguist Yuri Knorozov who casually deciphered the Mayan script in 1952 and got pissed when editors removed his cat as co-author on papers or cropped her out of his author headshot (the only picture of himself he even liked)
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
This might be an unpopular opinion but what this baby seal is doing is very special to me, personally.
November 18, 2025 at 4:49 PM
This might be an unpopular opinion but what this baby seal is doing is very special to me, personally.
I spent so long wanting / wanting to make "The Wire Season 3: The Game" but instead someone made me "The Wire Season 5: The Game" and I think I will be content with that.
REVIEW: In the last two weeks, I've spent 30+ hours playing the remarkable News Tower, a PC/Mac strategy game about chasing deadlines and making hard choices while publishing a weekly newspaper in New York City in the 1930s.
www.gamefile.news/p/news-tower...
www.gamefile.news/p/news-tower...
My new surprise obsession: A game about running a 1930s newspaper
In News Tower, I published lies for the mob, then printed a blank front page to impress an artist. Review: I had an amazing time.
www.gamefile.news
November 19, 2025 at 3:05 AM
I spent so long wanting / wanting to make "The Wire Season 3: The Game" but instead someone made me "The Wire Season 5: The Game" and I think I will be content with that.
a) all these men are super gross
b) reminder that the "only MDs should be called doctor and anything else is pretension" is wild when you recall that physicians were the initially ones to borrow/steal the "doctor" title from academia because... wait for it... it was more respectable!
b) reminder that the "only MDs should be called doctor and anything else is pretension" is wild when you recall that physicians were the initially ones to borrow/steal the "doctor" title from academia because... wait for it... it was more respectable!
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 18, 2025 at 1:44 AM
a) all these men are super gross
b) reminder that the "only MDs should be called doctor and anything else is pretension" is wild when you recall that physicians were the initially ones to borrow/steal the "doctor" title from academia because... wait for it... it was more respectable!
b) reminder that the "only MDs should be called doctor and anything else is pretension" is wild when you recall that physicians were the initially ones to borrow/steal the "doctor" title from academia because... wait for it... it was more respectable!
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
[astronomers clamoring] is a regular occurrence at the VLA, even when we're not on tv.
#Pluribus #VeryLargeArray #Astronomy
#Pluribus #VeryLargeArray #Astronomy
only a little ways into Pluribus but this is the kind of screen that basically guarantees I will want to watch the rest of it
![A bunch of cars parked outside the Very Large Array. subtitles say "[astronomers clamoring]"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sbbklyrrb5xfb43mfhypi2f7/bafkreibrtfclubrq7t2bgepd7th5dobllapyqxj57hzkddmn4a4szmavdq@jpeg)
November 17, 2025 at 10:48 PM
[astronomers clamoring] is a regular occurrence at the VLA, even when we're not on tv.
#Pluribus #VeryLargeArray #Astronomy
#Pluribus #VeryLargeArray #Astronomy
this is like a parody thing that someone made up to mock bloated college administrations and yet is real! (I’m sure they do good stuff, but reading their website I’m not 100% clear on what it is.)
November 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
this is like a parody thing that someone made up to mock bloated college administrations and yet is real! (I’m sure they do good stuff, but reading their website I’m not 100% clear on what it is.)