Assistant Professor at Pepperdine | writes on Syriac Christian exegesis, early Islam, and construction of religious identityhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3myl2o334u22wIf anyone still doubted what AI is doing to the kids' brains, the average on the objective portion of my (closed-note, handwritten) midterm is down almost 10% since 2024. This is with very little change to the content covered, same format, similar questions, and same quizzes/reading guides, etc.23 Oct 2026 20:52 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3myl2o334u22whttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3myfqcjrlsc2bWe just did some calculations for a committee I'm on, and no one will be surprised to hear that our incoming faculty salaries have lost 11.6% purchasing power since 2020 while upper admin salaries have all increased in purchasing power (sometimes by a lot, by like 15-75-250%!!!) 🙃😐21 Oct 2026 18:03 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3myfqcjrlsc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3myatdcsstc25I have several pieces tied up in publishing purgatory as the tenure clocks ticks down, so it was especially exciting to get proofs on this essay from the 2023 Shifting Frontiers Conference!19 Oct 2026 19:14 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3myatdcsstc25https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mxzgcdilt22bI do not think I have ever spelled "Maccabean" correctly on the first try.16 Oct 2026 20:32 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxzgcdilt22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mxuftg3qc22kWent to start my #SBLAAR26 paper and realized that past Laura had already written the first draft of the presentation! Not sure if I should be concerned that I didn't at all remember doing this. Anyway, you can hear me pay homage to Susan Harvey & talk Ephrem's stinky opponents on Monday morn.14 Oct 2026 20:40 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxuftg3qc22khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mxdc6mhmj22kI honestly cannot wait for Brady’s boot episode. It’s going to be the Ballad of Drew Christie all over again and it’s going to be delightful. #Survivor5108 Oct 2026 01:20 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxdc6mhmj22khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mxdbgwcf522kThe last two episodes have had wild character arc swings between one guy cutting off his thumb but begging to stay and another manufacturing a fear of infection so he can quietly quit, but I’m kinda here for it? #Survivor5108 Oct 2026 01:07 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxdbgwcf522khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mwbsoujzhs2bThe über rich do not live in the same world as you or I. This guy's shock at totally normal security implies he goes years w/out pumping gas and suggests he's been offloading all sorts of typical tasks to human assts for a long time, & it's not surprising that he'd see an AI asst as the same thing. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Sep 2026 17:45 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwbsoujzhs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mv3tt4evac2eI am not in the mood to be gaslit by recaptcha this morning. I selected all the motorcycles! and buses! and crosswalks! there are four lights!!!09 Sep 2026 15:24 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3tt4evac2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mupjq6pms225The beginning-of-the-school-year respiratory virus has arrived right on schedule. 😐 Glad to have a long weekend to rest.04 Sep 2026 17:51 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mupjq6pms225https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mtx4fyrnkk2cEvery fall semester I forget that there is such a thing as being "in teaching shape," so I get home after the second day of school and my legs are tired, my voice is tired, and my brain feels like mush from too many hours of extroverting.26 Aug 2026 00:49 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtx4fyrnkk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mrna7lzjjk2gCome be my neighbor in the LA area! [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Jul 2026 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrna7lzjjk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mrna4igk4s2gIf anyone's wondering how the desk riser/walking pad set up is going, it's great! I do most of my grading, reading on a screen, email writing, and other not very deep work tasks while walking at 1 mph. If I'm actively writing I usually need to turn the pad off and just stand.27 Jul 2026 15:38 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrna4igk4s2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mrgj5tft322rSo, the guy famous for finding immunity idols just won an immunity idol, right? #bb2824 Jul 2026 23:32 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrgj5tft322rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mqojvnx5ok24If anyone wondered, I will be sitting at my gate for 3 hours and I am indeed rather cranky about it. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Jul 2026 10:41 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqojvnx5ok24https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mpbqdt4xvk2jI'm striking out in all the usual places... Syriacists, has anyone figured out how to get Word for Mac to stop breaking connections between letters after diacritical marks? (keyboard/font work fine in google docs, mellel, and on a PC, it's just this dang Mac Word update that finally snuck through)27 Jun 2026 15:06 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbqdt4xvk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mpbq5pt4rs2jAfter assembling my new standng desk, I put on my heat compression mask for dry eyes while laying on my cervical traction pillow and think: is middle age is just an ever-expanding nighttime routine?27 Jun 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbq5pt4rs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mnukyzq65227I'm planning for my first Oxford Patristics in 2027--any seasoned experts have tips for accommodation?09 Jun 2026 16:01 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnukyzq65227https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mnagcnjlbc2iThis is what it currently sounds like in my on-campus office. We did not receive any sort of construction notice. 🙃01 Jun 2026 15:44 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnagcnjlbc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mnafxlm66k2iMy kids have had a Sherri, Shari, Cheryl, Sharine, and Shari (another one!), if anyone is looking for anecdotal evidence on most common names for preschool teachers.01 Jun 2026 15:38 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnafxlm66k2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mkv4yx4hvs25The first appearance of the Drs. Estes at graduation.02 May 2026 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkv4yx4hvs25https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mksodyjzbk2jThe university-required travel company is insisting we take a 3.5 hour layover instead of a 2 hour layover, so you all can look forward to me complaining in July about arriving to my gate 2+hours early. 😇01 May 2026 17:40 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksodyjzbk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mkiqxq3x3c25This seems like a great opportunity! (and can confirm, STL is great) [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Apr 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkiqxq3x3c25https://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mjzhw6onhc2tI'm honored to have been invited to join this remarkable group of scholars! Looking forward to sharing some thoughts on imagined prayers in the metrical homilies of Jacob of Serugh. [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Apr 2026 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjzhw6onhc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mjp5pbzu2s2kNot a single one of my 33 students told me that the Canvas module for today wasn't published (meaning, not a single one of my 33 students did the reading, meaning we're all going to encountering Kant together for the first time in class). Pray for me.17 Apr 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp5pbzu2s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mjkkwagrfk2kIf you're wondering how it feels to finally have my kids back in school after their two-week spring break that did not align with my university's break, the answer is: it feels like 1500 new words towards my current project!!15 Apr 2026 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkkwagrfk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mik5pw3nrk2sA dear friend shared her Olympics local presale slot with me and now we're headed to the Men's Team Artistic Gymnastics finals at #LA28 (plus tennis and women's soccer!) fingers crossed we get another "pommel horse guy" moment of brilliance02 Apr 2026 21:31 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mik5pw3nrk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mifvkff2l22kAs #SBLAAR26 paper acceptances go out, anyone who’s trying to figure out to juggle parenting while at a national conference should say hi! I presented at my first SBL w/my 4 month old in the audience (paper title, appropriately, was “Babes Who Need Milk: some subtitle about anti-Jewish polemic”)01 Apr 2026 04:54 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mifvkff2l22khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mifusyxzgk2kIt’s been couple years since I’ve presented a proper paper at #SBLAAR, but I couldn’t miss the chance to riff off Susan Ashbrook Harvey in honor of Scenting Salvation’s 20th anniversary. See you in Denver!01 Apr 2026 04:41 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mifusyxzgk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/lblestes.bsky.social/post/3mhtuylmxh22qWatching my tiny alma mater play Oklahoma’s only HBCU for the NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship tonight. There’s something really charming about college athletics sans the crazy money and marketing machines.25 Mar 2026 00:56 +0000at://did:plc:ool26jezkbmalujory6umans/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhtuylmxh22q