Crannóggy Island

  A new kind of sexualised content is appearing on social media - ads for scantily clad and dirty-talking chatbots powered by artificial intelligence.  In recent months, dozens of tech start-ups have been running explicit advertisements on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook for apps that promote “not-safe-for-work experiences.” The ads promise customised pinup girls and chats with “no censoring.” Many feature digitally created potential “girlfriends” with large breasts and tight clothing.  Replika, an AI chatbot originally offering mental health help and emotional support, now runs ads for “ spicy selfies”  and “ hot role play.”  Eva AI invites users to “ create their dream companion,” while Dream Girlfriend promises a girl that “ exceeds your wildest desires” . The app Intimate even offers “ hyper-realistic voice calls   with your virtual partner.” It’s a fast-growing market. All kinds of start-ups are releasing roman...

  Lent, the great and holy fast, comes upon us again.    “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words spoken to us were spoken to Adam and Eve as the Lord admonished them before their exile. When we repeat these words, we remember that we continue that journey into the fallen world. The ashes we receive remind us of two things. First, they remind us of our own mortality. Death is a reality for each of us, but God wants to raise us, even now. Lent is not just about a minor course correction in our life but about a death and resurrection, Christ’s, and ours through Him. Second, ashes remind us of our sinfulness and need for repentance.  In recognising our mortality, sinfulness, and need for the Lord, Jesus speaks to us through the Gospel about the three practices that help us to die to ourselves and to live faithfully according to the Gospel. Prayer helps us die to our own ego to put on the mind of Christ. Almsgiving has us think of ...

Kristofferson introduces this song with a spoken passage where he tells the story of running into Johnny Cash at a recording studio and noticing that Cash looked to be on the verge of death, which inspired the lyric. Cash was in bad shape in the late '60s, but got himself back together with the help of June Carter, whom he married in 1968. At the end of the introduction, Kristofferson dedicates the song to John and June, who helped show him how to beat the Devil. The song is semi-autobiographical, telling the story of a songwriter in Nashville who has fallen on hard times. He's hungry and wanders into a bar where he meets an old man who buys him a beer, grabs his guitar and sings him a song about a world indifferent to his songs, which are destined to be scattered with the swirling winds of time. It seems this surly old man is the Devil himself, praying on the singer at his lowest ebb. But instead of giving up, he perseveres and adds the Devil's song to his repertoire. He ...

This article  in the European Conservative caught my eye. The British monarch has been head of the Church of England since the 1534 Break with Rome. But Prince William could, as king, do away with this tradition of almost half a millennium and split official ties with the Church. That is according to a  report  last week in  The Times . Traditionalists should be concerned by the suggestion, even if for no other reason than that their liberal opponents are so excited by it. “Hereditary monarchy is a dubious enough concept as it is without religious mumbo-jumbo,"    writes   Guardian  columnist Simon Jenkins in an article which urges the future king to “sever the ridiculous ties of church and state.” ‘Small-c’ conservative writer and columnist at  The Mail on Sunday  Peter Hitchens unsurprisingly took the complete opposite line,  writing  that if we don’t believe in the idea the King is chosen by God and rules in God’s name...