Matt's Place

Last evening, Karen and I attended a fundraiser for the St. John’s Hospital Fund for Nursing Excellence. The last of this season’s Toast of the Town party was held at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion. The highlight of the evening was a dance demonstration - complete with musical consort - by the Central Illinois English Country Dancers which gave a demonstration of dances from colonial times. Instead of sitting and enjoying it, the whole audience - including Karen and I - were cajoled into joining in the dancing! I had fun and learned a couple of things. If you get a chance to see these folks, do go, it’s sure to be a fun time. Even though I was on my two left feet, I was welcomed and helped along the way to keep the dance going. A good way to work off the delicious dinner too!

My brother Dennis sent me an email with pictures of this tractor-trailer rig which has a tribute to those killed on 9/11/01. Lest we forget.

This is a great speech given by Cory Doctorow of the Electronic Freedom Foundation and science fiction writer, to Microsoft’s Research Group. It really explains why DRM is bad for invention and innovation. I was fascinated and educated. - Matt

MoMA Online Store Looking for that just right gift for someone? I always try to find unique gifts, it says “I spent time and thought to find this for you!” Try the Museum of Modern Art online store. Many items which dazzle the eye and delight the receiver. - Mat

I love this son of mine! He is a delight to know and to cherish. God Bless him every day of his life. Hugs forever - Dad

Via Timothy McSweeney’s wonderful website, you can read of the above topic and literally (and that word has real meaning here) hundreds of published writings. Some delight, some enrage, some engage, some are humorous, some are touching and tragic. The one’s I’ve read so far are not ordinary, and that is a gem in this universe of verse. - I found this through BoingBoing Always full of interesting items. - Matt

Found this today via Boing Boing - another interesting site to visit. It’s a piece from a freelance journalist currently on assignment for NBC, Kevin Sites, on the effect of War on those of our troops in the front lines. The site, Kevin Sites Blog , is his own ” Dispatches from a life in conflict.”

Derek Ellyson says his memories have already hardened, fixed in his mind. “You never forget the faces. I can describe to you every dead person I’ve seen out here. What their faces looked like, the position they were laying in.”

Sorokin agrees, “War brings a lot of ugly things, you see a lot of ugly things you see other people dead and sometimes when you see somebody dead you see the face of death–the way the guy died. It could be an enemy it could be an ally it doesn’t matter.”

Yet living with those images of death is part of the job–the same one that requires them to pull the trigger. Before going to war soldiers have always had to ask themselves if they’d be willing to die for their cause. But there is a second part to that question which for some, is more difficult to answer: would they kill for it?

For most if not all in the 3rd Platoon–the question is already moot.