Interesting Article on the Importance of Darkness

Here's an article (one of many) on the importance of darkness. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,608417,00.html

In a 'bright lights, big city' world, it can be very difficult to find absolute darkness. Have you ever been in a place that dark, where you look up at the night sky and can literally see thousands of stars? Where the only light comes from the moon, and the comfort of darkness engulfs you. It is a rare and beautiful experience. It is crucial in our sleep cycle as well as our overall well-being as humans, but it also has an effect on the environment and natural life.

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I just finished writing a paper about sex and violence in Romeo and Juliet! It was intriguing... and now it's done! Yay :) I hope my professor likes it... So here are some random thoughts...

1. The game "Bunko" (bunco? not sure how to spell it) is AMAZING! It takes no skill, goes fast, and is fun! I like it.
2. Yay for themed parties! I want to host a twenties party, a card-making party, a candy-making party, a murder mystery party, a sappy chick flick party, and a casino night... ALL TOGETHER! Well no not really together... but that would be pretty intense.
3. I like to plan things like road trips. There are three that I'll be going on with friends in the next five months and I'm already starting to plan the one I'm in charge of. Is that strange?
4. Global warming really sucks. I bite my thumb at it sir, and say "a pox on ye!"
5. I find myself hilarious late at night.
6. Rolos? Excellent name for an exquisite candy- delectable drops of caramel ROLLED in a chocolatey blanket of goodness then adorned with shiny gold foil? First you get to unwrap this delicious present, then you savour its chewy caramely gooey chocolatey yumfulness, and satisfied, you realize that you have consumed an ounce of pure happiness. It makes you bubbly inside, and inspires you to be a better person.

Whilst perusing the internet...

I found this incredibly awesome website. It's so simple in its awesomeness, yet unique and hilarious. Well, at least I found it humorous. Perhaps this speaks to my nerd-hood. It's called "Infrared Zoo" and it has pictures of a bunch of different animals shown in infrared. I don't own or have anything to do with it- I just thought it was cool. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/zoo.html

"Sicko"

Tonight I was at my grandpa's house and he was watching Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" about the healthcare system in the U.S. versus other first-world countries. Now granted, I have to take Moore's work with a grain of salt, but what I saw absolutely disgusted and infuriated me. I love America and the freedoms that we have here, but in some ways it has and continues to disappoint me. It is said that you can measure a nation by the way it treats its worst-off citizens. We are the most affluent country in the world (I think), and yet we can't afford to provide basic healthcare for everyone? We can't afford to give every young adult the opportunity at a college education? We can't afford to establish better public schools? We can't afford to raise the minimum wage to an amount that someone can actually live on? It's a difficult reality to recognize, but perhaps by taking off our rose-colored glasses we can make a change. Or is it too late? Is America so controlled by big businesses and people with power and money that we forget about compassion and loyalty towards the citizens upon whose backs it has been raised? Murderers and rapists get full medical care and an ample supply of food in jail, yet we can't extend that 'luxury' to the homeless who never commited a crime? Our veterans suffering from PTSD and other such war-caused afflictions often lose their jobs due to illness and live on the streets as beggars, and we turn a blind eye. People who are dying are thrown out of hospitals because they cannot provide proof of insurance. What has happened to us? More importantly, how do we change it?

That Horrible Day That Comes Once a Year

Everyone has a least favorite day of the year. It may be the anniversary of a loved one's death or maybe the day taxes are due. Perhaps someone abhors St. Patrick's Day because they forgot to wear green and are therefore ruthlessly pinched. Whatever it may be, I wholeheartedly respect this tradition of loathing a specific day once a year. Mine is Valentines' Day.

Back in the years of elementary school, I looked forward to Valentines' Day every year. It was an opportunity to show off our creativity in shoebox-decorating, as well as consume copious amounts of candy (second only to Halloween). I dressed for the occasion in pinks, purples, frills, and hearts galore.

So why has this changed? One word. It starts with 's' and ends with 'ingle'.

-I frequent the grocery store, and this time rather than being pleasantly greeted by bright boxes of Fruit Loops and cans of hearty vegetable soup, I am blinded by gigantic red heart-shaped balloons with the words "I Love You" screaming at me in a loopy font of sickness.
-I sit in class and spot an advertisement for engagement rings. IN CLASS.
-I go to Barnes & Noble to look for a cookbook and right there in the front of the store I see a whole table of books on romance (actually, sex), looking in pink and red like Cupid vomited all over them.
-I run crying down the street to escape the madness and there are couples everywhere, holding hands, playing footsies, making out, all staring at me and my blatant singleness!

Okay well... that last one was a bit of a stretch, but SERIOUSLY! I feel so singled out (ha... ha... ha...) I want to run up and down neighborhood streets on a rabid goat, throwing green party confetti into everyone's hair while proudly proclaiming that nothing is wrong with me because I don't have a significant other.