A comical look at the situation:
http://www.nist.org/news.php?extend.164

I just couldn't resist. There are good technical references at the end but you could have found those anywhere. You can also find technical links at the original post in this forum. Please post any comments back here.

I've just read A Tragic Comedy or To patch or not to patch, that is the question MS06-042 doth inquire as it also is named. The title already shows the central emotional focus of the story: conflict. It is apparent in the duality of tragedy and comedy we meet in the title. The author also uses the much, some say overly much, quoted piece of monologue found in everyones favorite: Hamlet.

After liberally using Shakespeare in the initial parts of the work the author then attempts to stand on his own literary legs. Even that works and when reaching the peak he is even flourishing: "At least not until they fixed the fix to the fix (so to speak)." Then he starts the decent into the abyss, to truly bring the conflict of tragedy into what has thus far seemed quite humorous.

In the end the author is so distraught he cannot even bring himself to find comfort in Shakespeare, so he contends with crying out for all thos crying in chorus with him.

Overall it was a splendid work. The emotional conflict the author uses as basis and how he uses the conflict of comedy/tragedy to display it is fabulous. He also manages to bridge the past and the future by a liberal use of Shakespeare combined with a topic which is decidedly current. Now, if only it were fiction...

"...A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Macbeth, 5. 5