I hate the media coverage of Presidential politics. They act as if we are in England and voting which royalty to crown.

I also hate incessant non-stop talk about the war. Same old things for how many years now. Ack! Beating the war drums.

Some say more and more soldiers are losing faith in the mission.

In an interview this morning the wife of a soldier with five kids, says she dreads the prospect of her husband coming home in a casket. If her kids ask the question why did daddy die, her answer would be for Iraq, not for the US.

I don't know... I finished it without any problems...

I am going to have to read about that Fallout 3. I enjoyed most of the previous Fallouts (you ever play Wasteland, the precursor from the 80s?).

I liked playing the Mass Multiplayer games online from Star Wars Galaxies and Everquest (back in the day) to FFXI, City of Heroes, WoW and Vanguard later.

Unless you really just enjoy killing people ;} I am told you can do that in SL in the combat sims and have seen some of the weaponry. You could even build your own weapons and shields and such. Scripting would be a breeze for you.

My hubby is/was a big Unreal fan. But, now in SL, he has bought a nightclub and is rebuilding it for a grand reopening this weekend. He's having a blast creating things. He may yet turn to murder and mayhem. I do know he's having a fabulous time.

EDIT: You'd also bring some cool to the Dem side of the SL political spectrum. They desperately need some character.

have you ever played Earthbound/Mother 2? I'm not a big gamer, but that one knocks me out every time. There's a great article here arguing that the game is conceptually among the most sophisticated ever created: perhaps the closest to a work of art that video gaming has ever come. But that writer makes the case much better than I do, so just check it out.

has suggested that this report has been "sanitized" for general release. Horrors! Who would do such a thing to the American people?

Specifically, they question why this report doesn't address the issue that the US troop presence in Iraq is a recruiting boom for Al Queda, as had been mentioned in previous NIE reports.

I'm shocked!

Also guessed on those two, not sure which I got wrong (too lazy to go back and check).

Not bad for a girl, heh

Not bad for an English lit guy.

I somehow scored better on the math portion of the GREs than the verbal. I didn't even study for the math, but I think the lack of pressure (English dept's don't even look at math scores) helped.

9/10

$$$$$$$$ 

I watched the live feed last year...

I was tired and half incapacitated (rocking the baby) last night when I read it so I could not comment extensively. Great close reading analysis for a more lay audience (you could do more with some of the imagery and word choice such as 'fall' and the religious motif for a more advanced readership, but I see you have to attempt to be both concise and inviting to the average kos reader without overwhelming them). As stated frequently in the comments, I never read Masters but I will take a look when I can. Thanks for the introduction.

The diaries look like a lot of work, so I commend you for your effort. If you ever need a vacation, email me and I will send you some drafts of filler you can use until you return. I'm looking forward to the series (especially next week).

Perhaps you can cross-post it here in the regular diaries too.

Just wow. I really enjoy your online lectures. You are exceptionally good at what you do.

Well, even though it was on dkos I followed your link and read your actual diary. I didn't go through the comments. I honestly found it to be an interesting read, and I agree with purpleface that you do a good job of providing your analysis of the story. So I just want to say up front that I think your did a great job there.

Your comments provoked some thoughts, which I suppose is what you were hoping to do, and I want to share them with you but I do not mean for them to diminish my opening comment in any way.

As I read the text of Masters and then your analysis of that section, I was struck by what I discern to be your own personal perspectives and biases showing through in the interpretation. There is nothing wrong with that and everyone would do the same, so this is not a criticism.

For example, you spoke with such disdain for "religion" in a couple of sections. Now I can see how you might find the meanings you were looking for in Master's text, and I don't even claim that your interpretation was wrong or anything like that, but I believe that you interpreted the text through the filter of your own personal experiences, which is only natural. It was not as clear to me that Masters was making the specific message, or at least not making it as strongly as you seemed to take it.

As a result, I did not have as strong a reaction to Master's writing as you seem to have. What I mean is that I didn't necessarily get as strong a message out of the text as seemed to come through in your analysis. This is just an observation and nothing more.

I do wonder, however, if we are not observing another phenomenon of a great writer, which is that what they write ends up speaking to the individual and allows the individual to find the things that they want to take from the stories (as they interpret them through their own personal experience base). It is not uncommon for people to interpret the meaning of say, songs, differently. Good literature is the same thing, I suppose.

I think that this is happening in this case because, as you said in your text, you are looking for the meanings between the stories by juxtaposing them with one another. This is not an invalid thing to do but this is where the personal experiences of the reader tends to influence the message, correct?

Your thoughts?