Leads: Wednesday, May 29th, 2024

When the Pope calls you a faggot in the Vatican, does anyone notice? Apparently, yes.

Not that this would surprise anyone who's been paying attention. Papa Frank upholds the Catholic ban on gay marriage. He has stridently opposed the ordination of gay men. He's compared trans people to nuclear weapons. All of which is to say that he's far and away the most queer-affirming Pope in modern history.

In other news, the Trump jury is deliberating. Biden continues not to be openly horrified by the massacre in Rafah. The world stays ugly. So it goes.

In my corner of the world, I've been doing more reading than I have in a while. I'm listening to the audiobook of Robert Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson, the greatest biography ever written. Much has been written about the concerningly obsessive extent of Caro's research, but not as much has been made of how Caro's research only scratches the surface of Johnson. This isn't a failing on Caro's part - in fact, it's the most interesting part of the book: Johnson is such a contradictory, backstabbing, generous, self-aggrandizing, self-loathing enigma it is impossible to piece together a full portrait of him. Years is the biography Lyndon Johnson deserves, and more.

Caro's research has me thinking about going back to my genealogy. Grandma Anastazie deserves another visit, and I need to interview some distant relatives I spoke to a while back. Research is storytelling.

I'm also reading Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, which is as racist, complex, and riveting as that year in American politics. Tremendous read.

Oh. And I'm playing Dark Souls, because I love difficulty. I beat Gaping Dragon in three tries. That felt nice.

Did I mention that I'm playing it on a Switch Lite?