Earth Democracy

Since CGIU, I've been making an effort to read more non-fiction. It even pained me a little to say that because seriously, I don't think I have read a non-fiction book for fun since I went through an Audrey Hepburn biography phase in middle school. The speakers at CGIU were just so engaging and committed and amazing, though, that I couldn't not learn more about them and their work. Ergo, to add to my book list for this year, I want to tell you about Earth Democracy, by Vandana Shiva.

She is an environmental activist, an ecofeminist, and has done a whole lot of amazing work on affecting change with regard to corporate biopiracy and agricultural inefficiency. Earth Democracy is an idea and movement surrounding the idea that we are all connected by compassion and nature, and not greed and profit. She talks about how we can change the current agricultural system so as to conserve resources and benefit more people. Reminded me a lot of the Circle of Life, to be honest. One of the things I loved about this book was the number of examples and case studies she used to illustrate her points, because they really helped me understand an otherwise dense topic that was fairly out of my little biology-comfort-zone. The book was eye-opening, but be warned if you give it a try, she is unrelenting. It definitely wasn't impartial on the subject. Next up, Bill Clinton!

Keeping Sharp

A side-effect of having graduated, I think, is that I seem to spend less time forcibly stimulating my mind. I mean not just absorbing, but really working through new material and understanding it. I have certainly learned a lot in the past few months, but I don't think very much of it has the same quality of information stored as when, say, I spent a week diagramming and memorizing how respiration works in excruciating detail for a physiology class.

I know that basically everyone experiences this, and none so much as those involved in academia, but I am really a bit unsure what to do about it and I'm already a little worried about what veering away from "hard science" for a little bit to do my Masters might do to me. I just want the quality of my brain to remain unhindered as I move through my adult prime. I've been watching a lot of TED talks, reading more, and trolling through Khan Academy videos on random subjects just to keep fresh, but somehow even that doesn't seem quite enough. Don't get me wrong, I could be trying harder, seeing as I also sometimes decide to watch 12 episodes of Community back-to-back and call it a day, but still. How do you guys keep your minds keen?

Twisted Broadway

Just watch it.
I love a good combination of dance and Broadway tunes and this tango is flawless. Makes me want to learn. I'd need to find someone to rope into doing it with me, though, which is not an easy task, sadly.

Birthday Week!

Today is my birthday!!

Can you guess which one from the picture, haha? I get childishly and stupidly excited about my birthday. I think it's because I'm kind of a youngin' amongst my friends, but this year I feel like I have good reason at least. Yesterday, I kept having to stop and take moments cause I think I was freaking out a little, haha. My best friend, Amy, is visiting all week and we have fun plans! And then there is our school's huge music festival on Friday and a Team Starkid concert on Sunday! Between all those things and work and planning for a trip to Vegas next weekend and for my trip to India in a month (oh man, it's in a month! how did that happen?!), and packing to move out of my apartment, I am going to be crazy busy for a while. Apologies, again, if blogging gets the short end of the priority-stick for a little while, but I will hopefully have lots of fun pictures and memories to share after!

Mother's Day

I was thinking of a post for my mom today, but I was stumped because I did that last year, and I wasn't sure I could top that post. Then, as I was thinking about it, I realized, I don't have to top my previous posts or presents or reverence of my mom every year. Sometimes, it's not about winning, it's just about caring and loving and recognizing what you have and how much it means to you. I constantly have to remind myself of this, especially since my brother and I are incredibly competitive (and he pretty epically won Mother's Day last year, as much as it pains me to say it).

I love my mom so so much, and even though we don't get along sometimes, I am so grateful to her and for everything she's done toward raising me right and making me strong. She's actually the best.


So, to my mommy and to all you mommies out there,
Happy Mother's Day!

Tuesday Tunes!

I'm going through a really busy phase right now both personally and at work, so this is my apology for possibly dropping the blogging ball. The genres are jumping all over the place today, but when have I ever showed any musical consistency?


1. "Otherside" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
2. "Save Me, San Francisco" - Train
3. "Atlas Hands" - Benjamin Francis Leftwich
4. "All The Right Moves" - OneRepublic
5. "Poison & Wine" - The Civil Wars

Never Let Me Go

First off, I want to say a huge thanks to all of you who checked out Project RISHI and liked it on Facebook. Honestly, I wasn't expecting such a flood of response, but I am so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you.

I watched this movie the other night on a whim. I didn't know it was based on a book, actually, but I might give this book a shot, because the movie adaptation was absolutely stunning. Funnily enough, it fell right in with my dystopia thing, which I didn't know going into it! The story is a romantic drama set to the background of ethical complications in an alternately developed (maybe not totally dystopian) society. One of the things I loved about this movie was the incredible subtlety with which the relationships were handled. I have a hard time with romcoms because as fun as they are, it never feels like there's any depth to the relationships. In this one, it's really a nod to the talent of the actors (Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley) that I could feel every little emotion the characters went through. The premise was new to me, but well thought out and executed. There's a bit of a twist at the end that's not entirely unpredictable, but emotional all the same. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie!