These women had watched Christ die. They knew where He was laid. There’s no confusion here, no myth, no “wrong tomb” theory. They came to finish burial customs and to mourn.
And instead, they’re met with something completely unexpected.
The tomb is open. The body is gone.
An angel sits where death was supposed to have the final word.
Look at their reactions. this is what makes this painting hit:
One shields her face, overwhelmed
One leans in, trying to understand what she’s seeing
Another looks frozen between fear and hope
This isn’t celebration yet. This is the moment of realization when everything they thought they knew is breaking apart.
Death was supposed to be the end.
It clearly isn’t.
Bouguereau doesn’t paint chaos or spectacle. He paints something more grounded, the exact second grief collides with resurrection.
Before the preaching.
Before the running.
Before “He is risen” is fully understood.
Just this moment:
The tomb is empty.
The Holy Women at the Tomb — The Holy Women at the Tomb by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
“In the frigid north, before the domestication of dogs, men hunted and patrolled their territory in pairs or alone because the limited caloric resources couldn’t support large tribes. Women needed to stay put with the kids. The necessarily small squad size limited men’s travel. They couldn’t haul much. It restricted when and how they could fight. They were pressed deep into tougher land. If you’re the sort who believes in evolution, this would be maybe fourteen thousand years ago. And then the mystery arrives: these solo operators of the north all the sudden begin to domesticate wolves. Now they’re going out to face the unknown with a true gang who will kill or die for their master, their alpha. They can haul, they can fight, they’ve got warmth in the blizzard. Dogs are an early warning measure, so security improves. This allows the northerners to survive and eventually thrive. Western man owes his existence to dogs. In my particular worldview it’s neither contradiction nor exaggeration to say that dogs are a direct gift from God. That’s why we don’t kill dogs.” – From “King of Dogs”
I still think about this book from time to time, and this passage in particular. I agree wholeheartedly with the statement: “In my particular worldview, it’s neither contradiction nor exaggeration to say that dogs are a direct gift from God.”
But I’ll also add: horses.
Horses are a direct gift from God, too. Dogs and horses are man’s best friends and surely a sign from God that He loves us. Where would we be without them?
Both of these animals, dogs and horses, were first domesticated by ancient peoples of Eurasia, especially the vast and unforgiving lands of the Eurasian Steppe. From this rugged cradle of civilization, mankind gained not just survival, but partnership.
Dogs were first domesticated between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period, likely somewhere in Eurasia perhaps Siberia, Central Asia, or Eastern Europe by nomadic hunter-gatherers. These men lived before agriculture, often alone or in small bands, and found mutual benefit in bonding with tamer gray wolves. These early dogs helped with hunting, offered protection, and gave companionship in the harsh northern wilds.
Then, thousands of years later, another remarkable development occurred on the Eurasian Steppe: the domestication of the horse. Around 3500 to 3000 BC, the Botai people, a pastoralist culture living deep in the Steppe, became the first known humans to domesticate horses. They used them initially for milk and meat, but this marked the beginning of a revolutionary partnership that would eventually change warfare, travel, and human society forever.
Though separated by over 15,000 years and differing in lifestyle, hunter-gatherers for dogs, early herders for horses, these peoples of the Eurasian world gave humanity its most faithful animal allies. Both dogs and horses came from the wilds of Eurasia and the peoples who tamed those wilds.
We owe everything we are to God, to dogs, to horses, and to those first men of the Steppe, strong, resourceful, and blessed with insight. These animals are not merely beasts of burden or companions. They are proof that God did not intend for man to walk alone.
The digital landscape is constantly shifting, with artificial intelligence moving from the realm of science fiction into our everyday tools. My first foray into this world involved creating a custom AI agent – a “Gem” – designed for a purpose close to my interests: literary discernment. This post details my journey in building “The Book Reviewer,” an AI agent designed to provide concise, informative book reviews with a critical eye towards worldview alignment.
Defining the AI Agent: What is a Gemini “Gem”?
For those unfamiliar, a Google Gemini “Gem” is a personalized instance of the Gemini AI model, tailored to perform specific tasks based on the instructions you provide. Think of it as a specialized assistant with a defined role and a clear set of guidelines. The true power of these agents lies in the precision of their instructions – the more detailed and thoughtful your directions, the more effective and relevant the AI’s output will be.
Driven by a desire for book reviews that go beyond simple summaries and delve into an author’s background, critical reception, and potential alignment with specific worldviews (particularly a Traditionalist, right-of-center, or Reformed Protestant perspective), I set out to build “The Book Reviewer.”
Introduction: The Old Order vs. the Revolutionary Tide
The period from the French Revolution through the end of World War II witnessed the dramatic dismantling of Europe’s old monarchic order and the rise of mass ideological regimes. In the traditionalist view espoused by thinkers like Hans-Hermann Hoppe, this transformation was no triumph of progress, but a civilizational tragedy. The centuries-old system of hereditary monarchy, rooted in Christian faith and organic social hierarchy, had provided stability, continuity, and a “spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion” that nurtured European civilization’s highest achievements. The revolutionary tide that began in 1789 swept away these thrones and altars, replacing them with regimes claiming to rule in the name of “the people” – but which all too often produced new forms of despotism and chaos. From the Jacobins of 1793 to the totalitarian dictators of the 20th century, the upheavals of this age can be seen as revolts against throne and altar that paradoxically led to even more absolute and ideologically driven forms of rule. In the words of Hoppe, modern mass democracy itself “has nothing to do with freedom” and is merely a “soft variant of communism”, carrying forward the egalitarian and centralizing impulse of those earlier revolutions. This deep dive will argue that the rise of totalitarian regimes marked the definitive end of the old monarchic systems – and that this was not a change for the better. Adopting an explicitly traditionalist and pro-monarchy stance, we will explore chronologically and thematically how the ancien régime (old order) was undermined and destroyed, and why monarchy’s fall was a civilizational loss that subsequent liberal democracies have not truly repaired.
On June 22, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 1056, a historic piece of legislation that allows gold and silver to function as legal tender in the state. Backed by actual bullion held in the Texas Bullion Depository, this bill enables Texans to use a gold- and silver-backed digital currency in everyday transactions.
💡 Key Provisions of HB 1056
1. Gold and Silver as Legal Tender
Establishes an electronic currency system based on fractional troy ounces of gold and silver.
Currency units are backed 100% by bullion held in a pooled depository account controlled by the Texas Comptroller.
2. Issuance and Redemption
Citizens can deposit money or bullion and receive digital currency units in return.
These units can be redeemed at any time for cash or physical bullion (minus administrative fees).
3. Price Transparency
The Comptroller is required to publish current exchange rates tied to real-time precious metals pricing.
4. Modern Payment Integration
The law anticipates integration with debit cards and mobile apps, allowing Texans to spend gold and silver just like fiat currency.
📅 Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Passed House: May 1, 2025
Passed Senate: May 28, 2025
Signed by Governor Abbott: June 22, 2025
📈 Fiscal Impact
Estimated startup costs: $5.5 million (through mid-2027)
Annual maintenance: ~$2.8 million
Administrative fees will help recover these costs over time, but critics argue the state may still bear a financial burden.
⚖️ Support & Criticism
✅ Supporters Say:
Complies with Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution (states must only make gold and silver legal tender).
Provides Texans with a hedge against inflation and fiat currency instability.
Reinforces state sovereignty and sound money principles.
❌ Critics Warn:
May face federal legal challenges over currency sovereignty.
Could create liability issues for state officials.
The system’s long-term financial viability remains untested.
🔍 Final Thoughts
Texas is once again leading the charge in asserting state sovereignty and offering alternatives to fiat currency. With HB 1056, the Lone Star State becomes the first in the union to create a functioning gold- and silver-backed electronic currency system, grounded in real precious metals.
The success—or failure—of this bold monetary experiment will be closely watched by other states, sound money advocates, and opponents alike.
What do you think? Will this new law be a game changer or a constitutional showdown? Let us know in the comments.
“I don’t feel like dying yet.” – Roberdeau Wheat to his doctor. Wheat proved the doctor wrong, who pronounced that Wheat would surely die from his wounds.
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of an Episcopalian preacher, Wheat moved with his family to Nashville, Tennessee when he was twelve.
Growing in size to 6 foot, 4 inches tall and weighing 240 pounds, Wheat’s physical stature was impressive. He was elected a lieutenant then later as a captain in the First Tennessee Mounted Regiment under General Winfield Scott in the Mexican–American War.
He left the military due to illness and returned to Louisiana, where he was elected a representative of New Orleans to the Louisiana State Legislature in 1848. He was admitted to the bar in 1849.
Subsequently, his wanderlust inspired him to undertake a series of international mercenary and filibuster adventures. He was commissioned a colonel by Narciso López in his Cuban filibustering expedition.
He travelled to Italy to serve under Garibaldi but soon left when his state seceded from the Union.
Civil War and death
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Wheat returned to New Orleans. Financed by backers of his previous Nicaragua adventures, he scoured the wharves of New Orleans to organize what became known as “Wheat’s Special Battalion”, or the “Louisiana Tigers“, a hard fighting, hard living unit that performed well on the battlefield but was renowned for its lack of discipline. The battalion, which numbered 500 men, consisted of immigrants from Ireland and Germany, as well as natives of New Orleans. Most of the men were “street toughs”. They were generally considered to be at the “bottom of the barrel” socially. They were very loyal to Wheat, who was a charismatic and remarkably humble leader of men.
Arriving in Virginia just in time to participate in the First Battle of Bull Run, Wheat and his Tigers performed well in combat. Wheat took a Union bullet through both lungs in the battle; informed by a surgeon that there was no instance on record of a man surviving such a wound, Wheat replied, “Well then, I will put my case on record.”[2]
When his unit was placed under the command of then Brig. Gen.Richard Taylor in November 1861, conflict arose between the Tigers and Taylor. The conflict was resolved when Taylor commanded the execution of two enlisted Tigers who had been found guilty of drunkenness and insubordination.
I wonder what percentage of dreams, as we get older, become simple mental replays of people who aren’t around anymore.
I find myself relating to Ed Tom dialogue more the older I get.
“And in the dream I knew that he was goin on ahead and that he was fixin to make afire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up.”
I watched a movie last night—a typical horror flick where a yuppie couple ventures into a rural area, encounters hillbillies, and ends up hunted, tortured, and murdered. The only twist was that this one took place in the UK.
Are movies and media a complete inversion of reality? In real life, a yuppie couple might visit the countryside, enjoy a few nice meals, take in the scenery, and return to their urban lives after a refreshing getaway. The worst they might face could be a minor irritation like a local asking, ‘Here to see the sights?’ They’d then head back to their concrete jungle, where their diet consists of soy and high fructose corn syrup.
Why don’t they ever make a horror movie about a nice rural family visiting the city to see the bright lights and museums, only to find themselves hunted through a grim urban landscape like Detroit or Chiraq? In reality, a movie about country folk in the city would probably end within 15 minutes: ‘Family goes to the city, takes mass transit, wife and children are pushed in front of an incoming train by a homeless man,’ or ‘Dad drives into the city and gets shot at a random intersection for no reason’… roll credits. The film would be over in 10 minutes.
I suppose it’s at least a subtle acknowledgment that Hollywood imagines country folk as having the agency to set up a brutal cat-and-mouse game with city dwellers.
The only movie I can think of where suburban or rural people encounter horror in the city is when a group of hockey fans takes a shortcut to a Red Wings game and gets hunted down by a gang led by none other than Denis Leary. Detroit gang leader, Denis Leary.
What kind of mind dreams up such a complete inversion of reality? I have to say, I’m not fond of whoever concocts these movie ideas.
I read Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts earlier this year. For some reason, a quote of Napoleon’s popped into my mind today. Napoleon said on arrival in Paris, “I found the Crown of France just lying in the gutter. I picked it up with the tip of my sword, and it was mine.”
I wondered if there was artwork out there that depicted this. I couldn’t find any, so I had DALL-E 3 make some for me.
Deep thought of the day, while mowing the back yard. The USSR had Potemkin villages, while we now have advertainment and media. Potemkin villages were used to deceive the outside world into thinking that life was bearable within the USSR.
Our advertainment and media are employed to deceive Americans into believing that our own system is tolerable and different from what it truly is. It’s a Potemkin village to trick those already inside of the system. Worse yet, these methods have the deleterious effect of making everyone external of the system to want to come here.
At least the USSR Potemkin villages had some substance to them, like lumber. However, our modern-day American Potemkin villages would be completely wiped out by an EMP with nothing useful to pick through and in a far worse shape than before.
Prompts – American Potemkin village hyper realism Bird’s-eye view, mushroom cloud in distance.
Thought and Memory 