The Power of Joseph Campbell

I've been spending what little free time I've had this week watching the Joseph Campbell-Bill Moyers interview, The Power of Myth, and I must say that anyone--ANYONE--who hasn't seen this series already should do so, ASAP. A brilliant and deeply spiritual man who is also a wonderful story-teller and engaging speaker as well. Would that I had been alive to attend Sarah Lawrence while he still taught here. Conference work with him must have been fascinating.

Today is Prospective Students day, and my dorm is on show for them, so I'm just going to keep my door open and read this afternoon whilst they pass in and out on their tours. It's cheerfully wet outside today, so there should be nothing like snuggling up with some more reading, a pot of tea, and some soft piano music. My conference reading is slowly, slowly disappearing, amd I should be able to begin writing my paper soon. Good, good news. :)

I'll try to post a picture later, if I'm out and about with the camera. If not, more soon one way or the other.

Merry Mabon, Everyone!

Today is the first day of autumn, or Mabon, according to Celtic mythology. Here in New York, I can feel the season approaching more and more quickly--the wind is restless, the cicadas are slowly being silenced, and even the dogwoods are turning pink and showing off Christmas-red fruit. It is still sundress weather in the daytime, but at night it cools into something smooth and playful, and the two resident skunks here on campus are taking advantage of the mild weather. I see them scrounging in the rubbish bin outside my dormitory almost every night.

I finished the David Attenborough BBC series, The Life of Birds yesterday on my Netflix online account. It was thoroughly enjoyable, although I've endured no end of teasing from Jamie and the others for being such a nature dork. Speaking of which, I've found out about the hiking/exploration group here on campus--GORP, which stands for something of course, but the R eludes me. So far, the groups I have joined or am looking to join are that one and the SLC Stitch N Bitch (so I can learn to knit!).

I'm off to my history of photography class now, so I shall leave this post, but I thought I'd drop in for a hello. Once again, a merry Mabon to everyone, and I hope it cools down in Modesto soon!

A Film/Food Dichotomy

On Friday, I had a rather curious experience regarding watching two very different films about food in one day. The first film I saw, while eating an enormous box of Whoppers and drinking a Coke, was Julie and Julia.

The film was entertaining, and it's portrayal of French cooking left one hungering for lobster, duck, and all other sorts of delicacies. However sick the enormous amount of sugar I had consumed had caused me to feel, I still went home craving Coq Au Vin.

Later in the evening, my bestie and I went to see a film with a far more cynical take on the occupation of eating:

This was certainly one of the best documentaries of the year, in my opinion. It did a good job of presenting facts and appealing to emotions without becoming too sensationalist. Overall, it truly made me rethink the food industry and my own buying habits.

I'm already a label-reader when it comes to every product I buy: food, cosmetics, dish soap, you name it. I have a certain "checklist" which I usually make sure the product meets before I buy it, including things like people-tested, organic, no parabens, no palm oil, etc. But before this movie, I had never really thought about corn and soybeans, and how those industries are mostly ruining our environment and our bodies.

Here's a list posted on the site for the film of 10 simple things you can do to change our food system:

1. Stop drinking soda and other sweetened beverages.

2. Eat at home instead of eating out.

3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.

4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.

5. Meatless Mondays--Go without meat on day a weeks.

6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.

7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer's market.

8. Make a point to know where your food comes from--READ LABELS.

9. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.

10. Demand job protection for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

I hope that anyone out there who reads my blog (if there's anyone out there that reads my blog...) will make a point to see this documentary, learn more about the issues at hand, and make fair choices about the products they choose to consume. We are not helpless to the system!