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.
Can’t find it now but someone pointed out how the aesthetics of SUCCESSION showed how utterly bland these people’s lives were. Unimaginable financial resources and just existing in drab featureless rooms. Travel the world to sit in another identical gray box with boring furniture and generic snacks.
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Can’t find it now but someone pointed out how the aesthetics of SUCCESSION showed how utterly bland these people’s lives were. Unimaginable financial resources and just existing in drab featureless rooms. Travel the world to sit in another identical gray box with boring furniture and generic snacks.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 AM
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
the twin apotheoses of Cartesian dualism
It's kind of fascinating to me that two of the prime obsessions of the 21st century science are "meat without mind" and "mind without meat"
If people want to do this, we need to learn how to make a bunch of enzymes at scale and it may actually not be possible for cheaper than real meat for a long time
November 11, 2025 at 12:16 PM
the twin apotheoses of Cartesian dualism
A Camaldolese monk once told me that inside all of us, there is a gap, longing to be filled. Weirdly, it's very easy to fill the gap: sex, drugs, consumerism, food, etc. But it drains too quickly; need something real to fill it, but real means humanity and humility and is thus unachievable for some.
This applies to a lot of rich powerful people, who clearly cannot understand affection, love or joy, and just try to fill the black hole where their souls should be with infinite money, and it’s never ever going to be enough.
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 AM
A Camaldolese monk once told me that inside all of us, there is a gap, longing to be filled. Weirdly, it's very easy to fill the gap: sex, drugs, consumerism, food, etc. But it drains too quickly; need something real to fill it, but real means humanity and humility and is thus unachievable for some.
my (not super fancy/expensive but I like it) watch that I got right before entering the Jesuits has finally started breaking down so I took it to a repair shop; the guy nodded appreciatively and said “this is good watch” in a light eastern european accent and I felt so good for having chosen wisely
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
my (not super fancy/expensive but I like it) watch that I got right before entering the Jesuits has finally started breaking down so I took it to a repair shop; the guy nodded appreciatively and said “this is good watch” in a light eastern european accent and I felt so good for having chosen wisely
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
We are out here fighting over whether we should keep burning the atmosphere or if people should have enough food to eat, and meanwhile the spiders are learning to cooperate. You do not want the spiders to cooperate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
Stinking, Spongy, Dark, Huge: A Spider Web Unlike Any Seen Before
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
We are out here fighting over whether we should keep burning the atmosphere or if people should have enough food to eat, and meanwhile the spiders are learning to cooperate. You do not want the spiders to cooperate.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/s...
cosign; please more people watch this show I know it's on a streaming service that you probably don't have but it also has For All Mankind and Acapulco and other fun stuff check it out and then talk to me about Pluribus plz
PLURIBUS
IS FUN
IS FUN
November 10, 2025 at 6:28 PM
cosign; please more people watch this show I know it's on a streaming service that you probably don't have but it also has For All Mankind and Acapulco and other fun stuff check it out and then talk to me about Pluribus plz
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local authorities deny catholic prisoners the Eucharist, bishop arrives, Papal sanction may follow”
Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José María Garcia-Maldonado at ICE detention facility: “Being here is an act of holiness…soon we will seek access to the facility to bring the Eucharist to our brothers and sisters; if they say no again, we will keep praying.”
November 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local authorities deny catholic prisoners the Eucharist, bishop arrives, Papal sanction may follow”
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
The Pope out here guest lecturing in the iSchools.
November 7, 2025 at 5:39 PM
The Pope out here guest lecturing in the iSchools.
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 7, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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
Having won GOTY at (the predecessor of) TGA and the same thing at the GDC awards, I can tell you the one that was from fellow developers meant *much* more to me.
(who knows what will happen with GDC now, but the point remains)
(also awards in general are kinda dumb, but I get it)
(who knows what will happen with GDC now, but the point remains)
(also awards in general are kinda dumb, but I get it)
A note about the TGAs worth remembering as this Future Class story unfolds: it’s a marketing beat, consumer-facing, and voted on by media/influencers. Developers are, by design, not included or considered in the structure. Which feels bad! www.polygon.com/explained/49...
How The Game Awards voting works
It’s the press and fans, not game devs, who vote on The Game Awards
www.polygon.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Having won GOTY at (the predecessor of) TGA and the same thing at the GDC awards, I can tell you the one that was from fellow developers meant *much* more to me.
(who knows what will happen with GDC now, but the point remains)
(also awards in general are kinda dumb, but I get it)
(who knows what will happen with GDC now, but the point remains)
(also awards in general are kinda dumb, but I get it)
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
in honor of sandwich guy going free
(after I posted this I started outlining a screenplay for said legal drama but got lost in researching the various famous historical instances)
(after I posted this I started outlining a screenplay for said legal drama but got lost in researching the various famous historical instances)
A high-profile well-made legal drama that centered around jury nullification could be an excellent use of didactic art for the public good.
Everyone should know about jury nullification!
A jury has an absolute right to return any verdict it chooses. You can return a verdict of NOT GUILTY if you consider a law, punishment, or prosecutor unjust.
Mind you, if you mention this during selection, you may not end up on a jury.
Pass it on!
A jury has an absolute right to return any verdict it chooses. You can return a verdict of NOT GUILTY if you consider a law, punishment, or prosecutor unjust.
Mind you, if you mention this during selection, you may not end up on a jury.
Pass it on!
November 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
in honor of sandwich guy going free
(after I posted this I started outlining a screenplay for said legal drama but got lost in researching the various famous historical instances)
(after I posted this I started outlining a screenplay for said legal drama but got lost in researching the various famous historical instances)
I have no children but my most dad-coded moment (to date) was winning pub trivia by knowing the Gordon Lightfoot song.
Twenty-nine sailors drowned when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes' icy waters on Nov. 10, 1975. The ship was immortalized in a surprise hit 1976 folk ballad by Gordon Lightfoot. n.pr/3JKj19D
50 years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 'rock star' ship, sank in Lake Superior
Twenty-nine sailors drowned when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes' icy waters on Nov. 10, 1975. The ship was immortalized in a surprise hit 1976 folk ballad by Gordon Lightfoot.
n.pr
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM
I have no children but my most dad-coded moment (to date) was winning pub trivia by knowing the Gordon Lightfoot song.
Hope is such a delicate thing because it's too easily conflated with a toxic positivity or a pollyanna attitude — hope is hard, and honest, and real, and requires effort to maintain. But it motivates the work that needs to be done; it becomes self-fulfilling but beyond our horizons.
Yup! 100000% its hard to tell people to hope because hope is very very hard to cultivate and maintain. It requires an extremely difficult to reach and harder to maintain minimum threshold of faith with the implicit understanding that you may not be rewarded for it in your lifetime. Thats a HARD ask.
November 5, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Hope is such a delicate thing because it's too easily conflated with a toxic positivity or a pollyanna attitude — hope is hard, and honest, and real, and requires effort to maintain. But it motivates the work that needs to be done; it becomes self-fulfilling but beyond our horizons.
Every city deserves to have a mayor who loves the city. It's weird how rare that is. Apart from all the wonky coalition building stuff people can work backwards to explain how he won, the impressive rise was because people were attracted to a genuine sense of "this guy actually knows and likes NYC."
November 5, 2025 at 4:45 AM
Every city deserves to have a mayor who loves the city. It's weird how rare that is. Apart from all the wonky coalition building stuff people can work backwards to explain how he won, the impressive rise was because people were attracted to a genuine sense of "this guy actually knows and likes NYC."
I want to share all y'all's hilarious takes with the group chat, but
November 5, 2025 at 1:36 AM
I want to share all y'all's hilarious takes with the group chat, but
Man, every time I read Godot release notes I get hyped up to make a game again. Someone invent a 35-hour day so I can do this plz.
We hope everyone had a happy Halloween! 🎃
…What's that? "Cool costume"? Well, we're flattered, but this is actually our new look! Read all about it in the latest #GodotEngine 4.6 development snapshot:
godotengine.org/article/dev-...
…What's that? "Cool costume"? Well, we're flattered, but this is actually our new look! Read all about it in the latest #GodotEngine 4.6 development snapshot:
godotengine.org/article/dev-...
Dev snapshot: Godot 4.6 dev 3 – Godot Engine
Rocking a new look!
godotengine.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Man, every time I read Godot release notes I get hyped up to make a game again. Someone invent a 35-hour day so I can do this plz.
Reposted by Shane Liesegang, SJ
Oh — the situation has escalated.
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
November 4, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Oh — the situation has escalated.
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
I assume people smarter and better-connected than I am have already thought of this, but I really hope someone's working Mackenzie Scott to fund some new diversified media empire with a substantial investigative journalism wing, slick production values, and a modern social media literacy.
Again Mackenzie Scott ftw www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/11/03/s...
Spelman College receives $38 million ‘unrestricted’ gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
The university says Scott’s gift lets it address expanding financial aid and scholarship support and investing in a state-of-the-art technology infrastructure “to enhance the academic experience.”
www.atlantanewsfirst.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I assume people smarter and better-connected than I am have already thought of this, but I really hope someone's working Mackenzie Scott to fund some new diversified media empire with a substantial investigative journalism wing, slick production values, and a modern social media literacy.
When I first got into espresso I asked my coffee guy about machines. He immediately said "You don't want one." Why not? "The one you'll actually want costs $3000. Get a $30 AeroPress; not true espresso but like 80% of the way there." (Before the vow of poverty, but that ratio was still persusasive.)
the fun thing about home espresso brewing is it will absolutely not save you money, especially if you are the kind of person who tends to become obsessive about technical details
November 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
When I first got into espresso I asked my coffee guy about machines. He immediately said "You don't want one." Why not? "The one you'll actually want costs $3000. Get a $30 AeroPress; not true espresso but like 80% of the way there." (Before the vow of poverty, but that ratio was still persusasive.)
I've said before how much of my life is explaining tech+games to religious people (and how much I prefer explaining God+religion to games people) and this right here is the kind of thing that makes me says "oh no, some Boomer Jesuit is gonna ask me about Fortnite again"
“Mmmmm I hate to say it Homie but we may have to team up if we have any hope of defeating Krusty”
November 3, 2025 at 4:20 AM
I've said before how much of my life is explaining tech+games to religious people (and how much I prefer explaining God+religion to games people) and this right here is the kind of thing that makes me says "oh no, some Boomer Jesuit is gonna ask me about Fortnite again"
"Stanley Tucci, from The Core"
I think everybody has a “Wallace Shawn from Young Sheldon” — my first one would probably be “Vincent Price, the guy who did the voice of Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective”
November 3, 2025 at 2:58 AM
"Stanley Tucci, from The Core"
Your local Saint Vincent de Paul usually also has good deals on second-hand furniture where the proceeds go towards their other work. They do a lot of good!
Also, Google "Society of Saint Vincent de Paul" and your home town to find a local conference (chapter) near you. We're a Catholic organization over 200 years old that seeks to help people who are hungry or have housing and other material needs. And we don't proselytize.
You can search for your local food banks. Also, many churches provide food pantry services, so if you live in a large city and want to target specifically helping your neighbors, you can search for churches nearby running one.
November 3, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Your local Saint Vincent de Paul usually also has good deals on second-hand furniture where the proceeds go towards their other work. They do a lot of good!