This is all getting so tiresome. I’ve read East of Eden twice; the whole point is to exercise your agency and decide NOT to be the evil Cathy Ames. The grace theme isn’t about embracing her. It’s about choosing to be AWAY from her and choosing virtue. She’s cruel, manipulative, and malicious. Steinbeck himself referred to her as a “psychic monster with a malformed soul.”
The story is about discerning good from evil and exercising your free will to break the generational sin cycle and choose differently. It radically changed my life. I’m free. I can choose. Timshel!
But instead we’re supposed to sympathize with the villain and fall in love with her, which simply dilutes the good/evil distinction and flattens the moral freedom and imperative to choose the good.
The book illustrates the Fall and its consequences. Newsflash: women are fallen too, and we can be cruel villains.
Rich Rodriguez deserves a major shout-out. An innovator of the spread offense who won almost everywhere except Michigan, came within a few plays of reaching a national championship at West Virginia, took Arizona to a New Year’s Six bowl, rebuilt his career at Jacksonville State, then returned home to West Virginia. Now, after beating Pitt in Year 1 and upsetting Virginia this weekend, the Mountaineers are 3–0. What a coaching journey for Rich Rod.
@Jeffery_Cobb The more I think about it, the more I agree with this. I think the 2nd half was a combo of this conservatism, too many penalties, secondary couldn’t cover, and their QB caught us off guard. Still, the game truly was never in doubt and RR teams always improve down the stretch
@Callihan_ We’re fine. Defense is not though. We decided to sleepwalk the 2nd half. We’ll be better and get the right lineups out there. More guys will rotate in next week
@Callihan_ Everyone in the comments is laughable. We clearly sleepwalked the 2nd half and are trying not to put anything creative on tape. RR’s team always improve throughout the season
Ospreay/Omega was fucking amazing. They worked the perfect story. Kenny played the evil final boss to the top spot to perfection and Ospreay took one insane bump after another. Electric crowd. One of the best AEW matches of all time. Exactly what it should have been.
WHEN YOU REALIZE THE BABY BOOM WASN'T JUST SOLDIERS COMING HOME HORNY.
It was soldiers coming home to the GI Bill free college, 0% down home loans, low-interest business loans.
It was strong unions. Pensions. A house that cost 2 years of salary.
It was confidence that the future was actually going to be better than the present.
That's what produced a baby boom. Not romance. Security.
You want a higher birth rate now?
Give people a future where they know their kids will actually be okay.
That's the whole formula. It's not complicated. It's just expensive, and nobody in charge wants to pay for it twice.