Thoughts
Finally got to see Amelie tonight. What a delightful movie, I heartily recommend it.

I've been doing some reading and I thought I would write some things about what I have been reading in brief.

The Books
Dude, Where's My Country by Michael Moore. This book asked some very interesting questions about the nature of America's current "regime," as Mr. Moore puts it. I think the questions being asked are quite valid and do need answers, yet there is something that just sort of struck me as wrong about the book. I think the research was good, so that wasn't it. I can't exactly put my finger on what it is, but I think that after the book asked its questions it degenerated in the middle and came back at the end, with the chapters, "How to Talk to Your Conservative Brother-in-Law," and "Bush Removal and Other Spring Cleaning Chores."
In "How to Talk to Your Conservative Brother-in-Law," Mr. Moore outlines how to have good discourse in general, not just about politics, though the chapter is obviously about politics. For example, point four, "Respect them the way you would like to be respected," or point 6, "Admit that the left has made mistakes." These are things that can be applied to any sort of discussion, but are typically forgotten. Typically, if you respect other people's views, they will in turn listen to yours. Similarly, if you admit that you are not perfect, the other person is likely to admit that they too, are not perfect. With those rules in place he turns to his "Bush Removal..." chapter and then asks some very good questions of the Democratic party. This is the thing I liked about the book, it was very nonpartisan. Michael Moore did not, for the most part, favor one party over the other, however, the over all tone of the book was a bit to fanatical for me, though it did ask some very good questions.

I also recently read Al Franken's, Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them): A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. I found this book to be much better written and more informative than the previous book. The one thing I did not like was the partisanship. Al Franken is, if I can tell anything by how he views the Democratic party, a Democrat, or likes them very much. Other than that, this book is a very hysterical look at neo-conservative policy and broadcasting, which seems to throw out the rules I cited above from Mr. Moore's book. I liked the fact that Franken could admit mistakes. In specific, his chapter, "I'm a Bad Liar," in which he and one of his research assistants go to Bob Jones University to expose it. He states, "We'd come to Bob Jones expecting to encounter racist, intolerant homophobes. Instead, we found people who were welcoming, friendly, and extremely nice. A little weird, yes. And no doubt homophobic. But well-meaning. Kind of (p. 275)." He then goes on to apologize, "Doug, Duane, R.J., and especially Gerald, when you finally read this--we're very sorry (p. 276)." I would recommend picking up Al Franken's book, and at least reading Michael Moore's book, but keep in mind, both of these books have a heavy bias, but both of these books have excellent, factual research, and I've spent a fair amount of time searching and verifying their foot and end notes.

I'm also reading Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang. All I can say about this book is, "wicked," but that would be me. If you have a decent background in mathematics, a good background in computer science, and are interested in Quantum Computing, this is an excellent book. The writing is clear, and the exercises take you from the very basics to some fairly complex stuff. If you want to take part in the conversation of quantum computing this is a great starting point.

Gaming Thoughts
The Wife and I have recently started a Call of Cthulu game with some of the other JETs around us. This is the first time I've ever played a horror game, and I must say I enjoy it, though I find it difficult to be frightened of beings from beyond Euclidean space. While I struggle to suspend disbelief during the game, I'm still having much fun. The great Dr. To Pozvid with his prehensile beard. I slept nearly all day yesterday, being Sunday, so I missed about half the game session. All I remember was crazy lizard things down mines. I don't feel so bad because I slept almost all day today as well. I've been a bit ill. I'm preparing for returning home and running a couple demo games of Hero Wars while I'm there. The PBEM is a culturally limited game, with everyone playing a Heortling, but the demo games are planned as multicultural games. This is requiring some additional work on my part, but it has been rewarding. I've also been struggling with a description. The Wife asked me for a literary description of herself by me, and I've penned numerous descriptions in my mind, but none of them have captured the essence of who she is. This is driving me a bit batty. It is one thing to describe the physical realities of a person, but another entirely to weave into that description the nature of the person. There are certainly people that are more beautiful than The Wife, but they lack the context and essence of who she is to me, and I think it is important to capture that essence in her description. It is difficult.

Rising Darkness
Xchaa, the priestess, has run forward toward the Lunar camp in an attempt to see what is going on. She finds that the Lunar camp is still in the middle of preparations and that the smoke she sees rises only from their camp fires. Inside the village is another story. The Lunar commander Jutin is deliberating with the head of the White Deer clan for use of its roads and livestock while they march through to the South. Jutin also insists on sitting in on the council ring to hear the group's story of the dog-creatures.