Mosaic Ark

This week the ladies of the Mosaic Ark were joined by Robert Kroese, science fiction author extraordinaire! He has 35 published titles to his name and is the founder of Based Con, an annual gathering for authors and fans of science fiction and fantasy. We discussed everything from his humble beginnings as a precocious, aspiring writer in the second grade, through his stint as a software engineer, the inevitability of AI, and the Christian and philosophical world view that informs his writing. —Streamed January 17, 2025Follow Rob on X @robkroeseWebsite: badnovelist.com

2024 has ended and the New Year is but minutes away for some in these United States of America. It’s time for reflection on the past and speculation of the future. Join the ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss the runup to 2025, and especially the most recent X-wars over all things pirate from the East India Trading Company to the modern would-be robber barons of today—Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. We also speculate on the Professor’s potential development of Madam Web-like superpowers due to some unfortunate spider bites. —Streamed December 31, 2024

“O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light, Sun of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!”Thus sings the Church on December 21, the darkest day of the year. On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies discussed the Catholic tradition of preparing for Advent by singing the “O Antiphons,” which are short sung sentences describing a specific aspect of prayerful meditation on the eternal Truth — God’s incarnation in the womb of a virgin named Mary. They are sung at sunset (Vespers) both before and after recitation of Mary’s “Magnificat,” wherein she describes her joy at being chosen by God to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah, who came to banish darkness and death, bringing everlasting light. Each Advent season in America, congregations of Catholics and Protestants participate in this tradition perhaps without knowing that is what they are doing; they sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which is Catholic and has origins that are more than a thousand years old. Join us as we discuss these ancient chants, how they were weaved so thoroughly into our Christian consciousness, and how the Internet is making everything old new again. — Streamed December 19, 2024Melinda Kathleen Reese singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” in the church of Montefrio, Spain: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H6zswBOzxigAmelia McKee, “The O Antiphons and the Stammheim Missal”: https://liturgicalyearinart.substack.com/p/the-o-antiphons-and-the-stammheimThe Stammheim Missal: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/107TJAOn the Advent Lyrics: https://unauthorizedmedievalhistory.blogspot.com/2019/12/episode-12-getting-medieval-on-earendel.html

Myths, threads, and spider webs — that’s what the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed this week. Specifically, we discussed how all information from ancient times through the present, all history, literature, art, science, music, and religion have been compressed into a digital scroll that is now accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This ability to “scroll” information has also allowed people to start seeing the threads that run between all things and times, connecting them through a massive digital web. Quite a modern wonder, wouldn’t you say? Actually, some might say it is a return to the “pre-modern” world. Professor Rachel Fulton Brown has a more accurate take; it is a return to the medieval world. Join the ladies as they discuss what it means to live in the web, how we can distinguish myth from reality, and whether biblically accurate angels look like giant spiders. — Streamed December 13, 2024 On Joseph Campbell: “The God-Ridden Bigotry of the Globalist Monomyth” https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-god-ridden-bigotry-of-globalist.html On egregores: Mary Harrington, “Lily Phillips and the Spreadsheet Egregore” https://www.maryharrington.co.uk/p/lily-phillips-and-the-spreadsheet

Have you noticed the trend lately? “Strong independent woman” is a trope that keeps popping up in movies, television shows, and advertisements, and especially in political advertisements. “Single cat ladies” were the largest group that voted for Kamala Harris in the last election, and groups of witches were casting spells against her opponent. Their number one issue seemed to be the right to an abortion, which is promoted as something strong, independent women need and want. But is this true? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark beg to differ and have some pretty amazing examples to share with you of strong women who became even stronger moms. — Streamed December 6, 2024

Recently on an episode of The Timcast with Tim Pool, Tim was debating with his guests about whether America was created as a Christian nation. John Adams’ 1798 letter to a Massachusetts regiment was offered as evidence that it was, as Adams wrote “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” But what does “religious” mean in this context? What did the founders mean when they allowed for the free exercise of religion? If they meant “Christian,” why didn’t they say the name of Christ in their documents? On this week’s episode of The Mosaic Ark, Professor Rachel Fulton Brown shares some ideas about that.. Listen in and let her know your ideas in the comments! —Streamed November 29, 2024

What is digital mysticism? When you hear that phrase, do you imagine hermetic robots meditating in a virtual reality landscape chanting ohms? That may be getting a little bit ahead tech-wise. If you imagined that the information technology revolution that we’ve all been living through since Marshall McLuhan coined his famous phrase “The medium is the message,” you’re a little closer to understanding. And if you thought that “digital mysticism” was mankind’s reacquisition of the medieval method of learning you would be right on the mark. On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies were joined by Mark Stahlman, President of the Center for the Study of Digital Life, where we spoke of how today’s social media environment tracks in very similar ways with philosophical developments in ancient Greece, medieval Europe, and modern China. We would love to hear your ideas on this, so please add yours to the comments! —Streamed November 15, 2024 Center for the Study of Digital Life: https://www.digitallife.center

Remember, remember the fifth of November…. Where were you on November 5, 2024 – the day that Donald John Trump was elected to a second term as President of the United States? If you were like the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark, you were up for most of the night watching the national election results, afraid to go to sleep for fear of getting a nasty shock in the morning. Turns out, most of the country felt the same way, although maybe for different reasons depending upon who one hoped would win. It has been a very momentous campaign that capped off four very momentous and traumatic years. To cope with all of this trauma, the memes did flow, and KC collected a bunch of them! Join the ladies as we discuss the election results, the last few weeks that led up to them, and the memes that explain them all. — Streamed November 8, 2024

Who is Fencing Bear? Why, she writes the Blog called Fencing Bear at Prayer! Who is Ancilla Mariae? Why, she hosts the Telegram Channel called Fencing Bear at Prayer and its chatroom called The Dragon Common Room! Who is Professor Rachel Fulton Brown? Why, she is a Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Chicago! As well as the creator of the aforementioned Blog and Telegram channels. Did I also mention that she writes books with a team of poets at another website called The Dragon Common Room, and she hosts the weekly live-stream called The Mosaic Ark that you’re seeing here on YouTube? So why is she adding Substack creator to all of the other hats she wears? Because she has surmised that a lot of people who have enjoyed reading and listening to her thoughts might like to have a single space to learn about all of the different areas where she teaches and creates, and Substack is a good place to do that. Listen in on this week’s Mosaic Ark as the Professor explains how her projects all complement each other and answers viewers’ questions about the work that she and her poets do. —Streamed November 1, 2024

The ladies of the Mosaic Ark are looking at the stars! Captain Zodiac, the Mosaic Ark’s very first guest, once again joined us to share his insights about astrology and its true meaning—which does not include divination he’ll have you know! He and Professor Rachel Fulton Brown discussed the beautiful medieval Christian manuscripts that are currently on display at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The ancient myths and astrological charts used in the manuscripts’ beautiful, gilded illustrations hold an explosion of information about the people who made them and what they believed. But do they have something to say about who we are today? Watch and tell us your ideas in the comments! —Streamed October 25, 2024Getty Exhibit: https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/lumen/index.html

“I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and experiment where wiser men would have left well enough alone.”― Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of MarsWhat does it mean to say that the world was once enchanted, but now it is not? To answer that question, one must ask, “what is a myth, and how can it be both true and false?” On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies were joined by Substack author John Carter (a pseudonym taken from one of his favorite book series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.) John Carter’s imagination is boundless, and with that boundless imagination he asks a lot of fascinating questions about history, science, religion, stories, and myths. One of the big questions of our time is this – what happens to a society built with the imaginative force of myth, when imagination is relegated to secondary status (when acknowledged at all) in the public sphere? If the effect of that secondary status is a crumbling society, how can that society be fixed? In short, how does one reenchant the world? Join us as we wrestle with this concept, and please share your ideas in the comments. —Streamed October 12, 2024Postcards from Barsoom: https://barsoom.substack.com"The Re-enchantment of the World": https://barsoom.substack.com/p/the-reenchantment-of-the-worldDr. John Carter, PhD, on X: @martianwyrdlord

“Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which you give sustenance to Your creatures.” — St. Francis of Assisi, “Canticle of the Creatures” (1225)As the fallen-away followers of our Lord Jesus Christ might have said, this is a hard teaching, especially this week. How do we praise God for “every kind of weather” after the devastating and deadly floods in Appalachia this past week? How did St. Francis do it in the face of the trials of his day? This week the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discuss St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is today (October 4). Was he simply the tree-hugging, animal-loving hippy portrayed by Franco Zeffirelli in his 1972 film? Or was he the devout but shrewd son of a wealthy merchant who founded a world-wide movement? Spoiler alert: He was both! Join us as we talk about why people still love this saint so much, and what he has to teach us about the modern world. — Streamed October 4, 2024

Mimetic Desire. This was the phrase used by René Girard to describe the human condition of wanting to obtain that which others have already obtained; not to be confused with envy, mimetic desire is simply an extension of the way we learn what we should and shouldn’t want — food, shelter, love, etc. Can this be observed in everyday life, in fiction, in geopolitics? Yes, yes, and yes, through a phenomenon called Mimetic Rivalry. Join the ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss some of the more famous mimetic twins, and tell us in the comments if you can see what we see in these pairings: Indiana Jones and René Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Simone de Beauvoir and Mother Theresa of Calcutta (two single ladies and historic contemporaries with two very different ideas about love) and the trifecta of mimetic twins — Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, leaders of the Allies during World War II. —Streamed September 27, 2024

Isis and Osiris. Apollo and Artemis. Donald and Kamala? Twins are memorable features in the world’s mythological systems; they are symbols of duality, balance, and integrating opposites. One might say our myths have conditioned us to look for similarities when presented with two choices. On last week’s Mosaic Ark, we discussed the visual image presented by presidential candidate Kamala Harris and how it might appeal (or not) to women. This week we compared her tweets to those of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Did we see stark contrasts in the messaging of each campaign? Yes and no; we saw twinning. Want to find out what that is? Watch tonight’s stream and peer into the looking glass with us.— Streamed September 20, 2024

“It’s our time.” Vice President Kamala Harris is quoted as having said this recently to her fellow women as she seeks to win one of the most powerful positions of authority in the world, President of the United States. However, the time of powerful women’s leadership has already come and gone… and come and gone… and come and gone again, has it not? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark remember a time not so long ago that the Anglo-American empire lost the longest reigning queen in British history, her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We also remember the second longest reigning monarch in British history, Queen Victoria. But the most iconic British ruler, also a queen, has to be Queen Elizabeth I, and it is with her that Anglo-American women all over the US most closely identify, and why they yearn for a strong, independent woman as their leader. Why? Watch the stream to find out! —Streamed September 13, 2024

What is the Mosaic Ark? What kind of a livestream is it? The best way to describe it is this: it is a cruise ship! The Mosaic Ark takes its viewers on a cruise through an ocean of information, images, art, science, history, and (very occasionally) political events. Professor Rachel Fulton Brown, Medievalist and Tolkien expert, is your cruise director bringing you to interesting ports of call every week with her co-hostesses. They discuss what they see, what it means, how each port is connected to the other ports and how all are oriented towards Christ and His mother, Mary, the Star of the Sea. Come aboard! We’re expecting you! —Streamed August 16, 2024

Watching the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, many people were outraged by the display of drag queen camp and hedonism included in the show, particularly because it was done in a way that many claimed mocked Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Christians world-wide demanded apologies in the strongest of terms. The ladies of the Mosaic Ark were also outraged—but not for the same reason! Presuming that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness,” we argue that the Paris Bacchanalia show was merely trying (poorly) to grasp what it could not reach: the scandalous joy of the Liturgy of the Lamb. —Streamed August 8, 2024

“’Twas our Right!” to write poetry, and thereby speak our creative world into being. In this week’s Mosaic Ark, Professor Rachel Fulton Brown speaks about J.R.R. Tolkien’s creative process, how it began and how he was able to create an entire world using both poetry and prose. But, most importantly, how without his poetry there would’ve been no story; poetry was the engine that drove the vehicle of his prose and without it, there would be no Middle-Earth. So how did he begin? He began at the beginning of course, by first learning how to scan. —Streamed August 2, 2024

Who elects a King? Is it God or the Barons? Who elects a President? Is it the billionaire class, the tech oligarchs, the “donor class”? Is there a difference between any of them and the Barons; between a King and a President? If one looks at the rhetoric of the past and present, there doesn’t seem to be a difference. But there is another similarity between the power struggles of the past and present that might be overlooked: the power of the people to assent to their new rulers or reject them. This is a constant that all would-be rulers know about and use to support their cause of self-promotion. Join the ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss how image and rhetoric can turn a commoner to a King, and a King to an “also ran.” —Streamed July 26, 2024

On July 13th, 2024, former President Donald J. Trump was shot while speaking at a rally for his re-election campaign in Butler County, Pennsylvania. To protect him from getting shot again, the Secret Service agents quickly tackled him to the ground. He was down for what seemed like minutes as the crowd waited anxiously to see if he was alright. Though bleeding, he was alive—the would-be assassin failed. Trump rose to his feet, blood on his face and fist defiantly in the air, and shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” A photographer who was present for the rally had jumped towards the stage in this moment to take pictures, and captured perhaps one of the most iconic pictures of the century. That picture flew through the Internet, across the country and the world, and into the eyes and minds of billions within minutes. What did all of those people see? What did you see? Join the ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss this rare moment where the electronic mosaic was activated world-wide. —Streamed July 19, 2024

Did you hear about those weird secret symbols embedded into the layout of the 19th-century Bomberg Talmud? Or similar layouts, symbols and coded messages found throughout a medieval Christian book called the Glossa Ordinaria? Oh come now, everyone has read Dan Brown. Those monks and rabbis were up to something. There must be a conspiracy “they” don’t want us to know about. Well, no, not really. It was just the medium used to convey the messages of those times, similar to the typical layout of almost all newspapers of today. But why were they so similar? And how does the medium of print and the form of their layouts convey (or amplify) their message? On this week’s Mosaic Ark, the ladies continued to discuss Marshall McLuhan’s The Mechanical Bride, and wondered how the medium of newsprint is affecting society, and whether the medium of the Internet was amplifying this affect. Join us! —Streamed July 12, 2024

In 1951, media guru and secret medievalist Marshall McLuhan published his first book, The Mechanical Bride. His purpose was to encourage his readers to contemplate the way that advertising and technology shape society, both for the advertisers and for their targets – the buying public. The ladies of the Mosaic Ark have been contemplating McLuhan’s writings for several years now and it has shaped the way we see the world and the way we write our own fictional stories. Join us as we discuss McLuhan’s early inspirations and his spookily prophetic observations. —Streamed July 6, 2024

This month the ladies of the Mosaic Ark talked about the sin of pride in its various forms. As Providence would have it, our last stream on this topic occurred one day after the first US presidential debate, where two men sought to convince a nation to give one of them power. Was that debate informative or merely a display of pride? This question got us thinking of two other persons who also sought out power – Prometheus and Satan. In this week’s conclusion of our own “pride month”, we discussed the character traits of Prometheus (from the Greek myths), and Satan, from an Old English poem that contains a speculative meditation on the fall of Adam and Eve (the Genesis of Bodleian MS Junius 11). Join us as we attempt to unravel the characteristics of pride and how we can identify it in ourselves and others. —Streamed June 28, 2024

What does it mean to be proud to be an American? For that matter, what does it mean to be proud to be a German, or an Englishman? Is it pride in the homeland’s culture, language, history? And what of the bad things about its history, do those things negate pride in the nation as a whole? Also, what (and who) makes a nation? This week the ladies of the Mosaic Ark continued to discuss pride, particularly American pride and what that means in the continually expanding ethnic and social demographic of the United States. Bonus: Musical interludes! —Streamed June 21, 2024

“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” These are the words of a proud being. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan is cast out of Heaven, and in his pride boasts that he shall be a king in Hell. The question for the modern reader might well be this: what did Satan do differently than other rebellious people? If Paradise Lost were a modern movie, would Satan be the anti-hero that everyone loves to watch? And if he were a British Colonial in early America, would he be a revolutionary that everyone wants to honor? And if he were a Renaissance-era King, would he be a hero obliterating the Pope’s authority? In our ongoing discussions about the sin of pride, the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark are discovering the many layers of pride in an ever-descending trip back in time. Join us as we peel back each layer to discover the origins of our society’s current difficulty defining virtue and vice. —Streamed June 14, 2024

Pride. It is said that this was the sin that caused Lucifer to be cast down from Heaven, and the same temptation that he offered to Eve in his attempts to destroy her and Adam’s relationship with The Almighty – “Ye shall be like God.” But how does one explain to the people of a rapidly de-Christianizing society that pride is a sin, the most deadly of seven deadly sins, and something that should be rejected? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed this challenge and why it is so difficult. We also discussed pride as the sin which all other sins feed into. As the secular society indulges in a month-long celebration of “Pride,” join us in this first discussion where we begin to break it down. —Streamed June 5, 2024"Draco Layer Three: The Moral or Tropological Sense" https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2023/06/draco-layer-three-tropological-or-moral.html“The Seven Deadlies: Definitions and Remedies” https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2012/06/the-seven-deadlies-definitions-and.html

The Professor asked KC if she could come up with some really stupid questions about the Middle Ages. “Can I? And how!” she said. “Did people bathe more than once a year? Did sanitation exist? Did anyone live past the age of 30? What about witchcraft? Were women thought to be witches because they were folk healers? How many witches were burned at the stake? For those women not burned at the stake, how many were forced into marriage arrangements?” During this week’s Mosaic Ark, we discussed these questions and many more concerning life in the Middle Ages (and yes, including the question “Was Prima Nocta real?”) We also concluded that most people have the wrong idea about the time period they were taught to call “The Dark Ages,” and that those who spread those ideas have a lot to answer for (looking at you Mel Gibson!) —Streamed May 29, 2024

Is there hope for pagan America? What’s that? You didn’t know America was a pagan country?! If you’re like most people, you probably fall into one of two camps: you either think that America is a Christian country or that it is a secular country that practices a kind of religious pluralism, but both of those camps are wrong. John Daniel Davidson joined the ladies of the Mosaic Ark to discuss his new book, Pagan America. In his book, Davidson shows how some of the more disturbing trends in current American public life have direct correlations to the practices of pagan societies of the past, and that the rituals practiced then are also being practiced today, albeit under different names and (at least publicly) for different reasons. We discussed why this is happening, whether there is hope for Christians to live freely in a pagan America, and also whether there is hope for a true Christian America in the future. —Streamed May 22, 2024Buy John's book: https://www.amazon.com/Pagan-America-Decline-Christianity-Dark/dp/1684514444/

When we think of encampments, we may have militaristic visions of Crusader Kings like Baldwin IV and his thousands marching under banners and flags; we might see the Mongol empire marching behind the great Genghis Khan or perhaps Napoleon on his march through Europe. Conversely, we might see peaceful medieval tournaments with their tents and banners, religious pilgrimages or even their more modern equivalent—music festivals! Two weeks ago, there was an encampment at the University of Chicago, around which much discussion has revolved on and off campus. What kind of encampment was it: peaceful or militaristic? Was it just a peaceful demonstration involving students exercising free speech, or was it an event purposefully planned to disrupt, polarize, and provoke a physical police response? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark continue last week’s discussion about the UChicago encampment and wonder if the general public could see the parallels from history. We invite you to listen and tell us what you see.—Streamed May 15, 2024

“I heard my momma cry / I heard her pray the night Chicago died / Brother, what a night it really was / Brother, what a fight it really was / Glory be!”This song about fights between gangs and cops in 1920s Chicago was all the rage back in the 1970s. There’s a lot of appeal to nostalgia in it. But were people nostalgic for violence, or were they longing to be in a dramatic moment—a moment that matters? Last week, the University of Chicago hosted an encampment of protestors who gathered in support of the Palestinians of Gaza and made demands that the University divest from Israel. But the encampment also attracted protestors of issues unrelated to that war, and eventually attracted counter-protestors. The mini “community” that sprang up in the encampment was forcibly (and thankfully, peacefully) dismantled one week later and neither they, nor the counter protestors, nor any police were hurt. Chicago didn’t die! As the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed these events, we kept returning to the same question: what attracts people to these types of events? Are they simply dedicated to their cause, or do they also long for something more—a connection with others, a feeling of collective purpose? Join us as we discuss. —Streamed May 8, 2024

Once upon a time in the Middle Ages, in a geographic area comprised of a patchwork collection of hundreds of separate Duchies ruled over by hundreds of Dukes, a loyalty was misplaced. Doesn’t sound like a very inspiring fairy tale, does it? But you must admit that it does sound similar to the current landscape of social media. There are hundreds of different platforms within larger platforms for social, news and entertainment media, each with their own “Duke” (or Duchess) demanding trust and loyalty of their followers. Which one do you trust? Are you loyal to any of them? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed how the misplaced trust of the eleventh century’s Hugh IV of Lusignan provided the perfect example of how trust and loyalty have always been a hotly contested issue even as it has always been demanded by people of power and influence. Please enjoy watching our lively discussion, or I’m afraid that Baldric shall have to be very severely beaten! —Streamed May 1, 2024Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/agreement.asp

“A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Alexander Pope wrote these words in 1711 at the tender age of 22, and thereby created one of the understatements of the millennium. At least that is what the Dragon Common Room discovered as it began writing its first epic poem, Centrism Games. Join the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss our admiration for Pope’s skill in writing satire in iambic pentameter, how it inspired us to write Centrism Games in the same style, and how that style of writing had an almost magical ability to assist us in the focus and direction of the story we wrote. —Streamed April 24, 2024

“What is truth?” This question asked of Christ by Pilate 1,991 years ago seems to also be the question of this age. Five generations after women were granted the right to vote, every artistic endeavor (most notably in architecture) has changed for the worse and every institution has been morally compromised, nowhere more starkly than in relationships between men and women. The very foundations of our society both literally and figuratively have been degraded. But are women to blame? Are men to blame? There is confusion among the youngest adults of this fifth generation, and those not despairing are looking for answers in the past. Evita Duffy-Alfonso joins the ladies of the Mosaic Ark to discuss the challenges faced by Gen Z, and the hope that she sees in them. —Streamed April 17, 2024

“It’s the end of the world as we know it…and I feel fine.” Props to Michael Stipe. Eclipse 2024 happened, the world did not end, and everyone is feeling fine. This is good news! But why might some people have thought that something big was going to happen? Why were some people looking for significance in an entirely predictable event? Have there been significant events in history that occurred during other astronomical displays? Or are people simply trying to place themselves into the ongoing story of creation; are they trying to feel some of that significance? The ladies of the Mosaic Arc discuss eclipses, comets, the doomsdays that weren’t, and KC’s need for additional reading about the people of the middle ages! —Streamed April 10, 2024

Did you hear the news? Christians of the Middle Ages hated the Jews, frequently accused them of murders they didn’t commit, and forced them to live in constant fear! Or at least, if you listened to Rabbi Michael Barclay schooling Candace Owens before she was subsequently “let go” by the Daily Wire, you would think exactly that. But in all of the rancor, and (if rumors are to be believed) damage control now being done by the Daily Wire over these allegations, did you ever stop to think if they were true? Was it a fact that Medieval Europe was a hotbed of Christian hatred against Jewish communities? Listen in as Professor of Medieval History, Rachel Fulton Brown lays down the facts for KC (who is definitely not a professor of any kind!). —Streamed April 3, 2024

What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women? With all due respect to the mighty Conan, the women of the Mosaic Ark believe it is discussing the idea of God as a Tabletop RPG designer with the mighty Alexander Macris, who writes in Substack under the title "Contemplations on the Tree of Woe." In tonight’s stream, we discussed his lifelong obsession with RPGs, the RPG he designed and successfully launched on Kickstarter, and some of the contemplations he has had about the nature of God and His relationship to mankind. Oh, and we also briefly discussed the fact that Orcs are real, because of course we did! Join us for a magical evening—with chocolate! —Streamed March 27, 2024 Follow Alexandris Macris on X: @archon Adventurer Conqueror King System: https://autarch.co Contemplations on the Tree of Woe: https://treeofwoe.substack.com

January 6, 2021—The feast of the Epiphany in the Western Christian calendar, but was it also an epiphany for the country? That was the day that Jacob Angeli Chansley, also known as Q-Shaman, entered the Senate Chamber and invoked God in a prayer for America. Moments before, a member of the Capitol’s security who had escorted him there, told him that this place was “the sacredest space.” Sacred to whom (or what?) That was the question the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed in tonight’s livestream. We reviewed the public buildings, monuments and the architecture of Washington D.C. for clues, and the character of the men that built them. We discussed the power of symbolism and the recognition it ignites in the human imagination, and wondered if the prayers of Jacob Angeli (multiple angels) in that “sacredest place” began a monumental shift in the world as we know it. —Streamed March 20, 2024 “The Sacredest Place,” January 21, 2021 https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-sacredest-place.html

In many ways, Dune 2 is an old-fashioned sword-and-sandals epic in the mold of Ben Hur. It has sweeping desert landscapes, costumed figures wearing robes flowing in the breeze, gladiatorial fights, and Greek-tragedy levels of dramatic exposition. In that sense, it is a real popcorn movie. But what if we told you that it was also a religious experience? This is what the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark concluded from their viewing and discussion of the second of Director Denis Villeneuve’s films interpreting Frank Herbert’s classic novel. Images and sound were the driving force of this film’s power, and both were infused with religious influences. We believe that this is what is resonating the most with audiences. It is a love story, but maybe not the one they thought! —Streamed March 13, 2024

Two weeks ago the ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed the interview of the century between Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin. This week, we looked at the body language of both men and asked what, if anything, could be inferred from it. Was Tucker in control of that interview, or did Putin take the reins? Was Putin nervous when he took off his watch, or was there something else to it? Is Putin an Alpha male and is that even important in the age of women’s electoral power? We hope our discussion answers some of these questions and sparks even more! — Streamed March 6, 2024

In February 2024, Tucker Carlson stood in front of the onion domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and announced his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some call Putin a brutal dictator with plans for military expansion after he invaded Ukraine. Some call Carlson a traitor for meeting with him. The two-hour long interview that aired on X included many questions and many layers of answers from ancient history to 21st century diplomacy. The format of the interview itself held many more unspoken layers. Is Putin an ogre? Or an onion? Both have layers! Take a deep dive with the ladies of the Ark as we attempt to peel them away to reveal the backstory within. —Streamed February 22, 2024

It's Valentine's Day, and the Queen is making a list. Will you be on it? Why do women make lists? Is this the key to their power over other women? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark are determined to describe the FSSH (if it exists), and tonight we talked about Queens and the making of lists. What is a "Queen?” Or more properly, what makes a Queen and why do the women in her social circle follow her? Why is fashion so important to women? Is it always the prettiest girl in the circle who is the Queen? And why should men always wear nice shoes? OK, that last part is not really related to the FSSH. Or is it? Come listen to our conversation, and you be the judge. —Streamed February 14, 2024

The Ark returns to lift the lid on the Female Socio-Sexual Hierarchy (FSSH). It’s been an eventful online battle this week between the sexes, as men and women have swarmed in the chats to vehemently deny or confirm the existence of the FSSH. Many say they can’t see it. But how does it look from the perspective of women? Dragon Common Room’s K J Crilly sits down with the Professor to talk about elves, witches, queens and weaving the women’s world. —Streamed February 7, 2024 "The Female of the Species": https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-female-of-species.html

The Ark welcomes you to a house party. But whose house? RFB and Kilts reflect on Ken’s revolutionary takeover of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, and why the creation of the Mojo Dojo Casa House has polarised the sexes. Was Ken justified? Or was Barbie a victim of the patriarchy? We take a look at the dynamics of the Kendom, and of Lobstercide—what happens when the girls take over the boys’ game? The hostess invites you to play the game of the sexes on the Mosaic Ark. —Streamed January 31, 2024

This is the one you’ve all been waiting for: the Ark takes on the Female Socio-Sexual Hierarchy! You’ve probably all heard of Sigma and Alpha males. But do women have the same categories? Looking at examples of female pop icons and female relationships, we look to “Heathers,” the dreaded “Mean Girls,” and of course beloved “Barbie,” and the Ark discovers what the Female SSH actually is and how to navigate it. Join the Professor and Kilts for the official breakdown of The Female SSH. —Streamed January 24, 2024

AntiCatholic streamers are livid. Apparently Rome has been hiding books from humanity in its library, and even created its own dogma for Catholics to blindly follow in service to the Roman Pope. In this episode of the Mosaic Ark, RFB reads from three top secret books that were buried in the Vatican Secret Archives. How did she get access? Join us in discovering the hidden truth of the Vatican Secret Archives, manuscripts like The Nag Hammadi Library and The Other Bible. What influence do the lost books have on Christians? Have secret texts been purposefully hidden from Christendom, or has Christendom forgotten how to read its own texts? —Streamed January 17, 2024

The Ark unrolls the tinfoil and is ready uncover the conspiracies! Have you ever wondered why history seems so complicated? How do we know what really happened, and why is it so taboo to question the official story? Join us as we play Conspiracy Theory bingo and figure out once and for all why public crises generate enormous energy in populations; how going to the Moon helped the American Empire feel good about itself; why 9/11 was probably an inside job; why the QAnon was supporting Trump and of course, who are the aliens; and finally, what is going on with those New York synagogue tunnels? Why do these stories have the power that they do to misdirect and confound? — Streamed January 10, 2024

The Ark launches into 2024 with a meme deal, and we shuffle the electronic deck to reflect on the forces moving in the world in this Year of the Dragon. What kind of things can we expect this year, given the patterns of history? Does civilization work like a machine, or do the relationships between people make or break events? Do family feuds feel like world wars because the world wars were giant family feuds? Join us as the Professor and the Pigeon deal the memes and find the themes for the next year in the stream! —Streamed January 3, 2024

The Ark wraps up the year of Our Lord 2023 with our Christmas stream, and we're full of fudge and predictions! What is in store for the malls and markets of the world in the current global conflict over control and access to the Red Sea shipping lane? How long will the mythology of the American Empire hold up when its Pax Americana no longer has a navy to control the seas? Are we going to see the global financial system collapse, or just the mechanism of bureaucracy that controls the debts in certain regions? Join us as we unbox the future by revisiting the past, and watch history in the making! —Streamed December 27, 2023

The Ark is celebrating Advent season with a meditation on the reason for the season. So, is Christmas really paganism turned into a Christian holiday? The Professor reads from the third Advent homily of the Venerable Bede, the great English scholar and creator of Anglo-Saxon history. What did Bede understand about the significance of trees in the Christian world? And why did our Saviour come through a Burning Bush in Palestine, and not as a Godzilla-sized Messiah to stomp out the evil from the world? Light up your tree and join us for the Advent of the Light of the World. —Streamed December 13, 2023

The Ark welcomes the Aetherczar on board again! Hans G. Schantz (scientist and author of The Wise of Heart, The Hidden Truth, and The Art & Science of Ultrawideband Antennas) joins us to discuss the Enlightened world of Sir Francis Bacon, Science and the cult of Scientism. How do our idols influence our ability to find or see truth? Is the pursuit of scientific knowledge the means and end of human life itself, and what kind of future do we face if Scientists become the managers of mankind’s existence? —Streamed December 6, 2023The Aetherczar’s Substack: https://substack.com/@aetherczar