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	<title>The Zen Pagan</title>
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		<title>Chess Grifters, Chinese Rooms, and AI</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/10/chess-grifters-chinese-rooms-and-ai/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/10/chess-grifters-chinese-rooms-and-ai/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:56:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Discordianism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno-Pagan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chinese room]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[con game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harry Anderson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turing test]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=5096</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[LLM AI systems do not "understand" anything. So don't be a sucker. As Harry the Hat might tell you, never draw to an inside straight, never play poker with a guy who does card tricks, and never mistake an LLM for a person.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/10/chess-grifters-chinese-rooms-and-ai/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Jason Arday, Con Man</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/09/jason-arday-con-man/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/09/jason-arday-con-man/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2026 02:51:15 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[archetypes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Con Man]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jason Arday]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=5069</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Academia's self-image as a force for justice and progress left it vulnerable to Jason Arday, a fraudster who would re-enforce that image. ]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/09/jason-arday-con-man/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Starwood 2026 &#8212; This Is Not A Review</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/08/starwood-2026-this-is-not-a-review/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/08/starwood-2026-this-is-not-a-review/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:14:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Blogging Life and Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Starwood]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=5047</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Know that part of the magick is that you are where you need to be. So if you were at Starwood this year...know that you were in the right place at the right time. If you were not, and reading about this makes you wish that you were...know that you were *still* in the right place.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/08/starwood-2026-this-is-not-a-review/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Miracles Are Only Temporary</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/03/miracles-are-only-temporary/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/03/miracles-are-only-temporary/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:48:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Because I Could Not Stop For Death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Blogging Life and Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Hesford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Starwood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Telesma]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=5014</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Even miracles, it turns out, are only temporary. It's tempting to get angry about that, to shake a fist at the sky and demand an answer from the universe about how it can give us something wonderful and then take it away.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/03/miracles-are-only-temporary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Thank You, Ms. G.</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/02/thank-you-ms-g/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/02/thank-you-ms-g/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 02:27:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Because I Could Not Stop For Death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Blogging Life and Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[massage]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4981</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[She's not the first regular patient of mine there to pass on, but she was only in her mid 40s, with kids still in school; that hits different. It is an honor and a blessing and a privilege to do this work. But today, no question, it kicked me in the heart.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/02/thank-you-ms-g/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Partnering Up in 2026</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/01/partnering-up-in-2026/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/01/partnering-up-in-2026/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:48:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[2017 52 Makeup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Blogging Life and Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seasonal Musings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2026]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[partnership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sigils]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4965</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We have to work together. The system of exploitative capitalism, the "1%" that runs the world is quite happy to see people squabbling, "canceling" each other over culture war issues, staying lonely and perplexed, fearful and suspicious of each other.

So I offer this theme for the year and this sigil, to manifest partnership in different aspects of life -- both being open to finding partners for life, for business, for artistic creation, for magick, for building a better world, for all these things -- and also trying to be a good partner myself.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2026/01/partnering-up-in-2026/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Holiday Lights, Solstice Fires, and Jizo&#8217;s Jewel</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/12/holiday-lights-solstice-fires-and-jizos-jewel/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/12/holiday-lights-solstice-fires-and-jizos-jewel/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2025 01:50:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Because I Could Not Stop For Death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Blogging Life and Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seasonal Musings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jim Swiss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jizo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winter Solstice]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4944</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Tonight, I turned on the holiday lights and set up my little Winter Solstice ritual of keeping candles and oil lamps going through the night, to guide back the sun. Back in January 2017, I started another holiday tradition of leaving my lights on through Imbolc (which I’ve always taken as February 2, Candlemas and [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/12/holiday-lights-solstice-fires-and-jizos-jewel/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Comfort The Dying; We&#8217;re All Dying</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/03/comfort-the-dying-were-all-dying/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/03/comfort-the-dying-were-all-dying/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2025 05:33:34 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Because I Could Not Stop For Death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[massage]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4937</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It's a simple syllogism: Comfort the dying. Everyone is dying. Therefore, comfort everyone. In this time of increasing anger towards the "other" -- whether the "other" for you is the blue-haired non-binary person or the red-hatted MAGA voter -- it seems a radical idea.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/03/comfort-the-dying-were-all-dying/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Communication: A Sigil for 2025</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/01/communication-a-sigil-for-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/01/communication-a-sigil-for-2025/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jan 2025 05:02:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seasonal Musings]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4928</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In a time when so many are deliberately cutting off communication -- calling for their political opponents to be censored, or celebrating the idea of going "no contact" with their families over political or cultural disagreements -- I think we need to take a stand for keeping the lines of communication open.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2025/01/communication-a-sigil-for-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fixing the Mailbox: A Holiday Omen</title>
		<link>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2024/12/fixing-the-mailbox-a-holiday-omen/</link>
					<comments>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2024/12/fixing-the-mailbox-a-holiday-omen/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Swiss]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 01:23:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seasonal Musings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yule]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/?p=4915</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[So I'm making that my theme for 2025: communication. Let the way be opened, not just between the realm of spirit and the realm of humanity, but within the realm of humanity.Let's fix our mailboxes so we can receive messages from all over. We don't have to agree with the people sending those messages, but if we're going to solve our planetary problems, we have to hear the messages.]]></description>
		
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thezenpagan/2024/12/fixing-the-mailbox-a-holiday-omen/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
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