A few non-exciting life updates. I'm addicted to buying movies here. How can you pass up 3 perfect quality DVDs for just 5 dollars? They also have a lot of movies here that aren't readily available in the United States: that old Disney Swiss Family Robinson movie, for example. I loved that movie when I was little and seriously doubt it's easy to buy in the US. I'm also stocking up on my awesome Disney animated classics and old school MK&A films. My most recent acquisition? The newest Star Trek- now, THAT is a movie. (It's also really clever how when "Vulcan" is used as a disdainful adjective, and "Spock" is shouted in anger, they both sound a bit like the f-word.)

I've also been doing a good amount of reading. I've realized that my 2 hour round trip commute to and from classes is a good place to get at something semi-useful done. I've gone through The Omnivore's Dilemma, which Mike assured would turn me vegetarian. While I am still a happy meat-eater and an apparently unchanging McDonald's addict, it did provide a fascinating look at the commercial farming industry in the United States, as well as the American view of food in general. The book details the journey of a meal, a journey which provokes questions about the morality of eating animals, questions about the losses we've suffered now that we hunt for sustenance in a supermarket and not the forest, and questions about the reasons behind the current methods of industrial food production and consumption (in terms of health, morality, finances and sustainability). Some of the author's personal conclusions I don't agree with, but nevertheless he caused me to do a lot of thinking on my own and some research into sustainable farming and development. Needless to say, it is definitely a book I think everyone should read at some point.

I also finished the book Three Cups of Tea. This noveltells the story of a mountain climber-turned philanthropist, Greg Something, who has at this point built over a hundred schools in poor rural Himalayan villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He builds them especially for girls, who are otherwise untaught in the predominantly Muslim areas. The majority of the schools in these areas are run by extremist groups; the only education these kids have, if they have any, is an indoctrination of anti-American values. One of Greg's arguments is that education is the true weapon against Middle Eastern extremist terrorism. If we provide these people with an objective education and tools to make their own intelligent decisions, we will really be doing something about terrorism and the anti-American feeling, as well as bettering the communities. I haven't read a book as inspiring as this one in a while, if ever. The book really speaks for the theory that one person can make a difference, and I've never wanted to change the world so much as when I finished this book.

Finally, as an end of this little media update, I've recently discovered two poems I'd like to share with you. I've never really appreciated or understood poetry, but I've been feeling a bit emo, and these two poems really struck a chord with me. The first poem, written by Don Marquis, is called "The Lesson of the Moth." The last few lines are my favorite- they really capture the human condition for me. We are all looking for a purpose, a goal, something to dedicate ourselves to, are we not? The second poem I believe is a bit trite at this point, but I'd never read it in its entirety, and there's a reason clichés become clichés, right? At one point they were new and ingenious, and the fact that they have been a bit overused doesn't necessarily change the ingenuity. This poem is called "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley.

That's all for now. I can only watch so many movies and read so many books at once! Jeesh. As Spock would say, "Live long and prosper." Until next time (and judging by my blogging habits since August, you don't know when that will be, unfortunately!)