Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Stuff
Its been a pretty slow weekend, with an added day thanks to MLK. I did see a lot of movies though. Rented Zatoichi: the blind swordsman, then saw I "Heart" Huckabees at the cheap theatre which was very good. Last night I went and saw the House of Flying Daggers which was also very good. It was a little heavier on the story compared to Hero, which is both good and bad. Its better to have a good story, but I could watch a whole movie of wire flying Kung Fu action without getting bored. I've also gotten pretty far into Resident Evil 4, where I can control the Pres' daughter Ashley in a helpless sort of way. Quite a few plot twists but I won't spoil any of it for the benefit of those of you playing it.

Monday I went into my favorite record store which I found out was closing down for good, and that really sucks. There was an article in the paper about them where they said that since they are next to campus their primary customers are students, who of course are more and more focused on downloading rather than buying from CD stores. They tried to stay afloat by focusing on indie records, which cater more towards the actual buyers of music but I guess that only lasted so long. I don't really like my other options out here, so it really sucks to see them fail. Also it is 5 minutes from the Chemistry building which provides for a nice break every once in a while.

So after being depressed by the nearly cleared out CD store I popped into the school store and bout the "Big Idea" issue of Adbusters. Its in my opinion one of the best sources of information for things that news glosses over or won't cover. The magazine as a whole has really advanced far beyond the old "advertising is evil" thing and is pretty smart. I'm only a couple of pages in and already some good stuff. Krispy Kreme having a deal with an elementary school for a free donut for every A on the kids report card. Thankfully some people freaked out about this and there is a great quote from a school board official calling it the fast track to childhood obesity or something.

Excerpt:

Don’t stumble. Don’t fall. Lose your mental stride and you’ll end up depressed, bipolar or schizophrenic. You could wake up in a post-war mental ward feeling like your whole past is a hazy dream. And believe it, there are millions out there who know the story: gradually your motivation dims, your sleep becomes disturbed, and you lose clarity of mind. Then you’re in big fucking trouble, for there’s a threshold here, and once you’ve crossed over it’s tough as hell getting back. Sometimes meds help, or even institutionalization, but more often than not you become dependent on the drugs, and then there’s a second monkey on your back.

So how do you keep your mental life from crashing? Start by knowing what you’re up against. When Mexican immigrants arrive in the US, they are not as well-off as Americans, but their rates of mental dysfunction are considerably lower. Within a decade’s time, however, their problems with depression, anxiety and addiction nearly double, to the same levels as the general American population (about 32 percent).

These are the dangers of a toxic culture. Denying them won’t do you any good. What will help are simple things like not living alone and keeping close contacts with family and friends. Live more fully, live in the moment, live more slowly and live more locally. In the meantime, consider injecting your life with extra meaning by joining the mental-ecology movement.

To win the battle of the mind, we need nothing short of a mobilization on par with the ecology movement of the ‘60s. That movement began by redefining the meaning of nature. No longer was it viewed as just a playground for development and resource extraction, but as a living system of which we are a part. We mental environmentalists must launch a similar movement.

If we don’t, one morning we will wake up in a never-ending schizo dream.

Comments (2)