Parsing multiple lines from text file using regex

[Roy Smith]

In article <op.w5mwa3iaa8ncjz at gnudebeest>,
 "Rhodri James" <rhodri at wildebst.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> I really, really wouldn't do this with a single regexp.  You'll get a much  
> easier to understand program if you implement a small state machine  
> instead.

And what is a regex if not a small state machine?