Eric Blauer

Perpetua and Felicity: Trampling the Dragon (an excerpt from my recent sermon):

The story of Perpetua and Felicity is not the first record of Christian women facing martyrdom. From the earliest days of the Church, women suffered and died for their faith.

But what makes Perpetua and Felicity stand apart is this: their story is the first deeply personal, widely shared account that centers the voices and experiences of women themselves.

Perpetua’s own words—written in prison—are among the earliest surviving writings by a Christian woman. And the account does not treat these women as background figures in a larger group, but brings them to the forefront: a noblewoman and an enslaved woman, united in faith, facing motherhood, suffering, and death together.

Because of this, their story spread widely in the early Church. It was read publicly, remembered, and treasured. It became one of the clearest and most courageous and powerful Martyr testimonies of Christian women.

Augustine: sermon # 280 on Perpetua and Felicity

“What, after all, could be more glorious than these women, whom men can more easily admire than imitate? But this redounds supremely to the praise of him in whom they believed, and in whose name they ran the race together with faithful zeal…So the dragon was trampled on by the blessed Perpetua's chaste foot and victorious tread, when the ladder by which she would go to God was set up and revealed. Thus the head of the ancient serpent, which had been the ruin of woman as she fell, was made into a step for woman as she ascended.

They have gone ahead of us, they tower over us like giants. If we are not capable of following them in action, let us follow in affection; if not in glory, then certainly in joy and gladness; if not in merit, then in desire; if not in suffering, then in fellow feeling; if not in excellence, then in our close relationship with them. Glory be to the head, by which consideration is given to the hands above and to the feet below.

Just as that one man laid down his life for us all, so the martyrs too imitated him, and laid down their lives for their brothers and sisters; and in order that this bumper crop of Christian peoples might spring up like sprouting seeds, they watered the earth with their blood.”

Keeping Our Small Boat Afloat�by Robert Bly

So many blessings
have been given to us�During the first distribution of light,
that we are admired
in a thousand galaxies
for our grief.

Don’t expect us to appreciate creation
or to avoid mistakes.
Each of us is a latecomer to the earth,
picking up wood for the fire.

Every night another beam of light
slips out from the oyster’s closed eye.
So don’t give up hope�that the door of mercy
may still be open.

Seth and Shem,
tell me, are you still grieving�over the spark of light
that descended
with no defender near
into the Egypt of Mary’s womb?

It’s hard to grasp
how much generosity�is involved in letting us go on breathing,�when we contribute nothing valuable
but our grief.

Each of us deserves to be forgiven,
if only for our persistence
in keeping our small boat afloat�when so many have gone down
in the storm.

(Artist: Anne Packard)

Perpetua and Felicity: Women Martyrs of the Faith

An appetizer from my sermon this Sunday in my series 'Women Where Art Thou?'. An interesting statement in the preface of the early 3rd century letter that speaks of the Charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit at work, and especially for the last days.

Selection from: ‘The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity’

Events: March 7, 203 AD in Carthage, North Africa during the persecution under Septimius Severus.

Preface + final compilation: shortly after, likely 203–205 AD (some think (though debated) that maybe Tertullian is the editor of this)

“Let people take care, however, not to judge the power of the Holy Spirit as though it were confined to particular times. Some later things ought even to be valued more highly, because they are closer to the end of the age, in keeping with the greater outpouring of grace reserved for the final period of the world.

For the Lord says, “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out my Spirit; your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Therefore we—who acknowledge and honor prophecies and receive modern visions as equally promised to us, and who regard the other workings of the Holy Spirit as gifts given to the Church for its service—consider it necessary both to record these things in writing and to preserve them through public reading, for the glory of God.”

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0324.html

“Calling on leaders to humble themselves and admit mistakes no matter what side of the political aisle someone is on is important in every Presidential cycle.

Some people avoid saying anything negative about their preferred political representatives and others can never say anything positive about anyone on the other political side.

Silent and selective tongues or endless cursing are both unhelpful, unhealthy and exhausting.

Proverbs 11:1 — “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/where-is-daniel?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

“The Patchwright” is a ~20–21 minute cyberpunk/sci-fi short film released on YouTube on April 12, 2026, by creator Zack London (known online as Gossip Goblin). It’s part of his larger “Post Fall” or “gammapunk” universe, blending gritty cyberpunk aesthetics with post-apocalyptic elements.

Plot Summary (No Major Spoilers)
In the sprawling, industrial slag heaps of NiiroCradle — a grungy, Blade Runner-esque dystopian world of flesh-and-metal hybrids — a fugitive android seeks out the Patchwright, an unlicensed body mechanic and repairman. The android desperately wants the Patchwright to recover a fragile fragment of a childhood memory.

The story explores themes of identity, memory, humanity, and what it means to “patch” broken beings in a broken world. It features a moody, atmospheric tone with strong world-building, visual storytelling, and emotional depth.

How It Was Made
This is a hybrid AI-assisted film, not a one-prompt “slop” video. Zack London and his team spent roughly five months (some descriptions say many months) on production, treating it like a traditional short film but leveraging AI for visuals.

Key Production Elements:
• Script: Written by Zack London & Jacob Batchelor — starts with a real human script and detailed shot list (not generated from vague prompts).

• Visuals & Animation: Primarily AI-generated using a pipeline of 15–25 tools (e.g., Midjourney for images, Kling, Hailuo, and others for video/animation).

They generated and refined hundreds or thousands of images and clips per scene to maintain character and environment consistency across shots — a major challenge in AI filmmaking.

• Human Craft Layers:
◦ Full voice cast (real human actors, not AI voices).
◦ Original score.
◦ Foley artist for sound effects.
◦ Cinematography, animation, color grading, and editing by a small international team (e.g., Manu Mac Donnell on visual design, Alexandru Mihai on cinematography, Sergio Lopes on animation, etc.).
◦ Edited in DaVinci Resolve like a conventional film.25
• Directed & Produced by Zack London under Gossip Goblin Inc.
London’s philosophy: AI is a powerful tool, but strong storytelling, vision, and traditional post-production craft are what elevate it beyond generic content. He has described pushing the AI away from its “default slop” style to create a distinctive aesthetic.

Context & Reception
• This is London’s first major longer-form effort after building a huge following (over 1M on Instagram/YouTube) with shorter AI-generated sci-fi vignettes and narrated worlds.

• It’s part of an emerging wave of ambitious independent AI filmmaking. Hollywood Reporter has profiled him as a potential “George Lucas of the AI age.”

• Early reactions praise the atmosphere, consistency, sound design, and emotional weight — calling it a big step forward for AI cinema.

You can watch it here: THE PATCHWRIGHT on YouTube (recommended in 4K). It’s a strong example of how talented creators are using AI not to replace filmmaking, but to make ambitious genre stories possible on a much smaller budget and scale.

THE PATCHWRIGHT | Sci-Fi Short Film *FOR BEST RESULTS - WATCH THE PATCHWRIGHT IN 4K* In the sprawling slag heaps of NiiroCradle, a fugitive android visits the Patchwright, an unlicensed body me...

https://youtu.be/0xTVE2BMWlg?si=8sdhQH7o1yqCjqLC

Official Trailer | Merlin's Isle: The Tale this Land Still Keeps Visit https://merlinsisle.com/ for more information on the project and pre-order Volume 1, Galahad and the Grail at The Rabbit Room Store.Poet Malcolm Guite ...

So good

“Ramble On” - Robert Plant with Saving Grace (LIVE on The Late Show) Rock legend Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace stick around for a bonus performance of the Led Zeppelin classic, “Ramble On.” Listen to Robert Plant’s la...

“Bards drag out the heart kicking and screaming and compel her to wail, to weep and to prophesy, to slit her throat on the knife of brutal truthfulness. Honesty strangles herself with her own hands, it’s a Greek tragedy for sure; but a necessary death that testifies that there are still those who know how to really live.”

Read and listen (explicit lyrics/addiction/depression):
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/the-haunting-songs?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Excerpt:
"I share all of this because there’s so much pressure and expectation today to conform and perform in churches, for people and pastors. The standards assumed by many are often completely foreign to who Jesus was and how he modeled life.

We understand that the type of discipleship modeled by Jesus isn’t considered ‘wise’ by many in church and leadership circles today:

-He had a questionable reputation surrounding his mother’s pregnancy story. (Matt 1:18)

-He was raised across the tracks in a working poor family. (John 1:46)

-He had a wild, hippy cousin who lived off grid, made his own clothes and followed a strange bro-science diet. (John 3:1-6)

-His first sermon didn’t go over well in his home church and ended with the congregation trying to throw him off a cliff. (Luke 4:28-30)

-His first miracle was to provide barrels of the best wine ever made at a wedding that had already run out (120–180 gallons: roughly 500–900 bottles). (John 2:1-1)

-He picked a motley crew of disciples from all kinds of questionable margins: cussing sailors, tax swindlers, hot headed political types who were part of a radical political group dedicated to overthrowing Roman rule in Judea. (Matt. 10:2-4)

-He attracted a lot of women who started following him everywhere and giving him lots of money. (Matthew 27:55-56)

-He would meet with questionable women alone (John 4:1–42)

-He put a thief in charge of the group finances even though he knew he was stealing money from them. (John 12:4–6)

-His first disciple to be sent to announce his resurrection was a woman who had been possessed by seven devils. (Mark 16:9-11)

This puts a different light on the whole “you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” mantra doesn’t it? (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Read more:
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/jesus-alone?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

The Gospels are the Good News of a New Creation. In this new creation there was a garden that centered on the tree of life. There was a garden with no Angels barring the way in, but Angels proclaiming an open grave. This garden wasn’t where a story of sin arose, but the place where a Savior arose. Here in this garden another woman met God, a faithful and obedient woman.

Read more:
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericblauer/p/mary-magdalene?r=eygg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

My Way, Truth and Life

My way is in the hedgerows and furrows of disappointment.

Between the nail and the hand
The whip and the back
The brow and the thorn
The grave and the garden

Between the promise and vow
The face and the veil
The bed and the marriage
The two and the one

Between the lips and the kiss
The touch and the longing
The breath and the ecstasy
The heart and the breast

Between the womb and the wailing
The suckle and the cup
The hand held and the letting go
The welcome and the goodbye

Between the pen and the paper
The thought and the story
The truth and the struggle
The words and the wisdom

Between the pew and the pulpit
The tongue and the interpretation
The prayer and the answer
The entrance and the exit

I live between dirt and the shovel
The seed and the flower
The hope and the harvest
The taste and the fruit

I live between time and eternity
The dawn and the dusk
The day and the hour
The minute and the second

(My poem and art)