Metaplanar Babel

We are Virginia Tech

I’m not sure where she got it, but my mother-in-law sent me a pdf with a lovely presentation of Professor Nikki Giovani’s address at the Convocation on April 17, 2007. Somewhat to my surprise, the pdf image prints out very well, so I thought I would share it here, in case any of my fellow Hokies might enjoy it.

Voices from the ‘Net

Another strong voice of support for those affected by Monday’s events, Newsvine’s Miss Dev has written an article based on her own, similar, experience from Columbine High School.

Today We’re all Hokies

Mr. Lansing, a Virginia cartoonist, created a cartoon that I especially liked and granted permission to “send” the image to anyone who might be comforted by it. I hope my posting it here falls under that condition.

A time to grieve

One of the more well-known voices in the web design community, Eric Meyer, wrote a lovely post yesterday, reminding us that we need time to mourn Monday’s tragedy before we can hope to “fix” the problems it brought to light.

Scary days

I haven’t written in a while, but I think I finally have something to talk about. The shootings at Virginia Tech hit me harder than I expected. I haven’t been back in over 5 years, and I don’t think I know anyone who’s there any more. Still, I found myself on the verge of tears several times yesterday while following the story. It’s strange how a place that you spend some time in can become a part of you like that. I’ve been working at James Madison University for longer than I attended classes at Tech, but Tech will always be a special place to me. It deeply saddens me that so much death could have occurred in the halls that I used to walk.

I wonder, what could have driven a student to kill so many? I try to imagine what could have been going through his mind, but all I can think of is the fear that his victims must have felt, the fear that probably touched every member of that campus yesterday. It’s terrifying that one person, a single student, could have so profound an effect on such a large community. In fact, he’s reached out and touched the world, in a way, reminded us all that no matter how safe we try to make ourselves, no matter how comfortable we feel, there can always be that one person out there who is carrying the bullet for us.

I’m not much for prayers, but my heart and my thoughts are with you, Virginia Tech.

Jack’s Back

Did you guys ever play a game called You Don’t Know Jack!? It’s a funny pop trivia game from back in the day, and apparently they now exist on the web, which flat out rocks. It’s actually kinda fun. I really miss this game.

Oh! It’s Smile Time!

Okay, so Angel is a great show. I’ve liked it a lot; it’s very much in the world of gray decisions, without the typical black-and-white, good-and-evil syndrome that plagues so many television shows. Joss is good at that. He populates his shows with very believable real people. But the Smile Time episode has got to be, hands down, the funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen on television. There’s nothing in Buffy or Firefly or even early Angel that touches it. This video will show you why. Go watch it and laugh. It’s Smile Time!

“Only Terrorists have freedom”

I occasionally cruise through Newsvine for articles, though it’s difficult to avoid the typical flamefests that always seem to occur around politics. This morning, I read an article that was succinct and articulate. I don’t really want to get into all the political stuff, because I’m not much for conflict, but Celestina wrote something at the very end of her piece that really struck me, and I wanted to share it in a place where I won’t forget about it (the emphasis is mine, not the original author’s).

Giving up your personal freedoms by necessity demands that you conduct your life in a state of dependence upon our government to protect you, and yet all the evidence indicates that our government is making it more likely, rather than less, that someone will want to attack us. The Terrorists will not rely upon Constitutional freedoms to hide and protect their activities. They will carry on, oblivious to the limits imposed on the rest of us. Just as the prohibition of guns will ensure that only criminals have guns, the prohibition of personal liberty will ensure that only Terrorists have freedom.

Celestina makes a very strong statement here, and it’s a scary one. I’m a little unwilling to believe hardly anything I read in the news or online these days, but I’m finding it difficult to deny the logic of this last paragraph. Her wording that “only Terrorists [will] have freedom” is perhaps a little overdramatic, but it’s interesting food for thought, if nothing else.

IM WTF?

Is it just me, or does it seem odd that someone could be idle longer than they’ve been logged in?

Pwning South Park

Okay, I’m afraid. South Park is doing an episode about World of Warcraft. I almost wish I had cable so we could watch this episode.

I just know Cartman would be one of those obnoxious players that I always wanted to shoot when I was playing.. >.<