Instead of politics, I’ll write about a book I read recently. The Five People you meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom, was a rather provocative and interesting read for me. I won’t pen an entire review here. Rather, I’ll share some of the aspects that make this book both amazing and disgusting, simultaneously.

First off, I found the book provocative and emotional. Albom managed, in a bumbling way, to reach out and tell me a story which really provided an interesting viewpoint on life, death and what happens in between.

Note I said bumbling. This is because, in between some beautiful quotes and bits of action, Mitch writes like an overtired twelve-year old. With a hacking cough.

Anyways, it’s good to be back.

And I’ll point out that, although my ranting about the subject which is not in this post has been slightly excessive, at least it carried this blog along while my co writers were shirking.

I have, of late, began my education in the ways of saber fencing, which was a most exhilarating experience for one who has fenced foil most of their life, and perhaps a longer post on the subject is in order.

Also, I have for quite a while wished to write a pair of posts, on the subjects of open-source software and keeping one’s computer organized, both of which I hope to write and post soon.

Your writer

It’s all about the pride now.

Any candidate who had the good of the Democratic Party in mind would have, in Clinton’s position, stepped out of the race long ago to allow the obvious forerunner to hit the November elections with momentum and support. They would realize that prolonging the nomination is splintering and weakening the party. They would put their pride aside and do what is for the best of the Democratic Party.

Clinton’s not a candidate who has the good of the party in mind.

Even though she cannot win at this point unless she gets, perhaps, ninety percent wins in all the remaining states, she continues to pour money into her campaign and pretend that she stands a chance. The truth, however, is that she can’t stand to lose. She’s like an immature child in that she can’t accept lost, so she’s going to be sure to take her opponent, Obama, down with her.

This prolonged division in the party is allowing McCain to pull far ahead of both candidates (recent polls indicate that he would win against either.) And, at this rate, unless Hillary pulls out and throws support to her party and not her pride, we’re going to see another Republican—no, another Bush–sitting in the white house.

Ugh.

Your writer,

We really should write about something other than politics.

Anything at all.

I didn’t watch it. But, I heard about it. At the Kentucky Derby, the horse that Mrs. Clinton endorsed had a bit of bad luck. Lots, actually. She ended up euthanized.

I’d recommend reading the full story here.

I feel terrible. I really do. It’s very unfair to the horse, that something like this should happen.

On a positive note, one of these days I bet I’ll think of something other than good old Hil’ to write about.

I just hope she doesn’t agree with me.

Of late, I have been offered the distinct honor of a place in the oh-so-hallowed order of the Ubiquitous Academicians, on account of my continual disability to post to Zealous Couch Potatoes, which I had until now called my blogging home. Let it be known that I hold no animosity toward Zealous Couch Potatoes, or its couch potato-in-chief, the illustrious Michael Allison, but, due to what appears to be a technical error, I can post there no longer.

I found myself complaining about this deplorable state of blog-homelessness to Ethan, who, as I’m sure you all know, is the co-owner of this blog, and he made the kind offer of a seat here. Drinks were not shared, politicians were not bribed, wars were not fought, and here I am.

Ethan and Nick forced be to sign a solemn oath that I would uphold the Ubiquitous Academicians standard of clever, intellectual blog posts, and I shall try as hard as possible to uphold this. I am certainly looking forward to my hopefully long and undoubtedly interesting tenure here.

I realize this post is rather brief, but I encourage you, the devoted reader, to await further material from both myself and my esteemed co-authors.

The movie itself is rather lacking. It is essentially made up of a number of lectures that use far too many words to explain relatively simple concepts, which can be a bit tiresome, and Tom Cruise continues to disturb me, but the underlying message is a good one. Lions for Lambs tells its audience that, in this day and age, every person should become involved in defining events of the time. The film explores both participation in political and military change, but it does not point either out as the definitive path, rather, it communicates the more general political or moral theme of participation in change.

I might not recommend this movie, but I can fully support the message behind it.

Your writer,

I would like to show you to a clear and insightful article written by Stephen King. This column, which King wrote for Entertainment Weekly, clearly demonstrates my thoughts on the predicament of video game violence, ratings, and the constant disputes centered around them. The column manages to address my foremost point of frustration with the argument to ban violent video games or make them illegal for minors: it is a double-standard. Brutal, disgustingly violent movies such as Hotel and Saw predominate in today’s film industry, and they are NOT illegal for minors to view. These films trump, in there vehemence, anything that even the most violent video games have to offer.

Secondly, the column looks at the continuous conflicts over video games in the context of the grand scheme of things. King rightfully points out that politicians love to use violent entertainment as a scapegoat to pin the fundamental problems of the modern world on. He also reminds us that many entertainment mediums have undergone similar scrutiny (comics, rock music, etc.).

Stephen King manages to debunk the ludicrousness of the anti-video game debate with great succinctness and eloquence, making this an excellent read for anyone remotely interested in the topical debate.

Lastly, if the subject of video game politics interests you even remotely, I’d recommend you pay a visit to Game Politics, a monumental resource on the topic of video games in relation to politics.

Your writer,

An afterthought: Thank you, Ethan, for managing, unlike myself, to keep up with this project of ours.

Basically, I don’t have very strong opinions about the Olympics. However, when ridiculous hypocrites create an atmosphere of fear and animosity during the celebration of a wonderful attempt at unity and sportsmanship, I am truly disgusted. I’m referring, of course, to the protesters for Tibet. Now I will admit, I’m not very informed on this conflict, so I won’t speak too ardently – but from what I have observed, the Tibetan people really do need our support, and China seems to be out of line. That’s all I will say.

But people – come on! When there is a close ratio of security personnel to spectators, you’ve must admit there is a problem. When people are being leaping around and attacking each other like battle-crazy barbarians, there must be a problem.

Especially when it’s being done in the name of PEACE!

You know, if you really cared about the Tibetan people, you’d be doing something to help them – not ruining this honored celebration.

And on the other side of the coin, it’s a flame! While it is symbolic, and crucial to the ceremony, it’s certainly not worth all this insanity.

Basically, I wish people would use theirs heads, instead of charging off to make peace using violence.

In case you didn’t notice, wordpress has just – and I mean just - updated their site. (Actually, they could have done it anywhere in the past 24ish hours. That’s what I get for using ScribeFire.)

The appearance seems to be the only thing, but I haven’t explored it very closely yet. So far, my opinions are mixed. It’s new and strange, and I’m somewhat lost.
That having been said, I like what I see. Many options seem more accessible – all my blogs are listed across the top of my window, instead of that silly drop-down menu I had to use before (which is still there; but I can smugly ignore it.)

Actually, it looks similar to Vista. I’m not sure how this is relevant, but it’s an observation I have made.

This post is brief because I’ve already posted today – I just figured I’d weigh in on the new subject matter at hand, while it’s still fresh.