Advanced Film Criticism, Monday, Period 1

[usedtowhizz.livejournal.com]

"You know what's bad?" James asked the class. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "Drugs."

"...Yeah, yeah, I know, stay with me here. You know what else is bad? Bad science. Also, movies with Bradley Cooper. Just that guy's voice gets to me. Ugh," James said, since if he was going to be in a movie, it would be for Sony. "But sometimes if you take all three and mash them together, you get something dumb enough to be kind of entertaining."

"But just so we're all on the same page, we don't use 10% of our brains and if you ever claim that, have somebody slap you in the head since it's 90% empty and you're apparently not going to lose anything important according to you."

"Okay, let's watch the movie."

Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

Last night, an automated message had gone out to everyone - by computer for those who could use one, and by printed, mailed note to those who couldn't - telling them to meet in a classroom instead of on the dorms this time.

It would swiftly become clear why, as a komodo dragon entered the room with a kitten sitting on his head. A few moments later, a nexu followed, grinning his intensely unsettling grin at the class. The nexu sat down in the corner and immediately began grooming his own behind.

The kitten hopped up on the desk and batted at the computer keyboard lying on top of it.

A projector beamed Ender's image onto the wall behind the circus.

"If you're seeing this," said Ender in the video, "I'm currently transformed into something else, most likely a komodo dragon - a large lizard - though it's entirely possible the island has come up with something else for me. My teaching assistant and my partner will also have been inconvenienced, or one of them would be the one teaching you today."

The Ender in the video smiled faintly.

"I think this is an excellent time to discuss the ethics of transformation," he said. "Learning experience? Drastic betrayal of consent by an omniscient island entity? An unfortunate consequence of living on this island, much like floods and earthquakes are elsewhere? Has it happened to you, or are you afraid it will, and what measures have you taken to cope with it? Are you considering taking some now?"

There was a short pause.

"I'll be attempting to communicate with you through a translator, who will digitally print my answers on this very screen," he said. "I hope that she will remain true to the actual meaning of my words and not play tricks on you, but be forewarned there is someone else paying some attention right now. She won't betray anything said in this room to anyone outside of it, mind, but I felt full disclosure was important here."

The projector clicked off.