[alive and kicking] this is human interaction

You can forget the droning pollies with their hermetically sealed consciences and platitudes which we bloggers rail against. You can forget our clever little pieces about Andrew Jackson and Russia.

If you want to see a living, hurting, sometimes angry, actually alive person, go here and read of her heartache [although there's something a bit ghoulish about doing that] and then this amazing post:

I dropped my books in my colleague's hands, walked right up to the man and demanded that he talk to me.

"You want to have a discussion about abortion?" I said. "You want a conversation? Talk to me. Stop yelling and let me speak."

He ignored me.

So I did something completely out of character—I don't know what possessed me— I climbed up on the planter beside him and shouted over him until he shut up.

I was nervous and furious and I stammered to find the right words, but the students were yelling at him to be quiet.

"You had your chance to preach," one girl said. "Let her talk!"

This is what living is, what not being brain dead is all about.