Heh, let's see if anyone notices me updating. So I have to write a research paper So far I have: Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, despite being written almost seven-hundred years ago, is still a shockingly modern work of art. Dante’s masterful synthesis of the secular and the religious, the literal and the allegorical, the historical and the fictional, pride and humility, sympathy and indignation, antiquity and contemporary, are just part of the reason this is true. His ingenious metaphors and constant allusions to classical literature also play a role. Before delving into the details of the literary devices and inner workings of the Divine Comedy, it is necessary to perform a brief overview of Dante’s life and times. At the age of eight, Dante first saw a girl (of the same age) named Beatrice (generally accepted as Beatrice Portinari). Beatrice would not only become the inspiration for Dante’s La Vita Nuova, but would become his savior in the Divine Comedy. Little is known about Dante’s true relation to Beatrice, and it remains a mystery whether things happened the way Dante portrays them in La Vita Nuova or Dante merely used Beatrice as a poetical muse for his writing. All through Dante’s life, he was entangled in the politics of Florence, his native city. There was general strife in So yeah, that's all I have. I stopped in mid sentence.  I did finish the Inferno though. I'm on Purgatorio now. Pretty interesting stuff. I'm also trying to read The Prince and Childe Harold. Also we rearranged my living room. And also got the carpet clean. Mostly. It's pretty spiffy. And yeah, I've been fairly busy. Fairly busy. Fairly busy. Fairly busy. So yeah. And boy, no one on the student council seems too inclined towards talking. It's astounding. I'm astounded. I'm also going to make phone calls. And pull teeth. And so help me, work will get done. I'm also turning 18 in relatively short order. Blah. Bah. I don't want to go to college. I don't want to go and never come back. But I suppose things must happen for things to happen. Oh, and I printed up all the writing I've written and put it in the fireproof safe in my garage. I actually found the beginning of something I actually intended to post on xanga like two years ago. It's about three quarters of a page long, and it's a treatise on getting talkative idiots to shut up. It's not bad, actually. I should finish it sometime. But anyhow, I don't really have much to say. I just felt like updating 'cause I'm bored and don't feel like writing the research paper that's do in a week. Or the editorial that's do tomorrow. And I don't feel like trying to wrap my mind around Lord Byron. And I'm a little Dante'd out at the moment. Machievelli's a fun read though. I kind of want to kill all my enemies and declare myself ruler of something now. Terribly subversive stuff. Or maybe I'll just play a violent video game. Or maybe I won't. I dunno, I've been a little out of it lately. And grouchy. I always feel bad when I'm grouchy. Sometimes. Sometimes I don't. But sometimes I do. And I haven't been to church in eons. Speaking of eons, I did the crossword puzzle in Foxtrot today. I had to get my parents' help for some of it though. Anyhow, I'm rather jazzed about being able to vote. Oh, and feedback issue of the day: should I be a lawyer, psychologist, or professor? P.S. great song... | 
