I've just finished Labyrinths. Amazing. I suspect that it will end
up being my favorite out of all the books assigned. Long ago, I read
some of the works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, another Latin American
magic realist. I'll be heading right back to his One Hundred Years of
Solitude as soon as I get the chance.

There were many interesting ideas thrown at me, but I've found a few
to discuss.

I've read The Circular Ruins before, and at the time I'd mistaken if
for Gabriel Marquez. I love the story for itself, and more for
Borges's use of the dreaming motif to refute the ideas of Berkeley and
Hume.

The Lottery in Babylon; I'm sure I'm misinterpreting the point of the
story, but I began to equate "the Company" with "Fate". Try it, it
embodies fate.

Three Versions of Judas. Such simple questions. . .was Judas required
for Christ's crucifixion? Does that mean Judas wasn't acting out of
free-will, merely a tool for God? Why did it take Judas's betrayal
for the authorities to locate a man who was raising the dead?
Nowadays, news like that travels pretty quick.

Deutsches Requiem. For those of you who hate Nietzche, here's your
story. Enter the mind of someone who carried Nietzche's ideal further
than it should have gone.

The Immortal. Hardly an original concept, but beautiful in the retelling.

The God's Script. If you had ultimate power, would you use it? If
you were trapped as a prisoner, and your only means of escape was to
wield the Power of God, could you demure?

The Wall and the Books. As usual, I am amazed at what we are capable
of. Imagine building a wall between Miami and the North Pole, then
destroying all the knowledge on one side.

--Rick