Movies, The Earth, My World

So, I have never really been a huge eco-chick. Somehow I missed that stage in my development. However, living in Madison has been working on me, as well as some other variables. I am now a card carrying locally grown produce buyer, as well as recycled grocery bag user (when I remember), and have been on an "organic preferred" kick for quite a while. Something that I had been worrying about though, and had dismissed as "eco crazy speak" was the topic of global warming. Through a weird series of links (gotta love the internet), I ended up looking into global warming - EEP! Talk about a problem!

So, since I know you guys are dying to know, here is how I ended up on this topic. I rented Blood Diamond, a fabulous movie in its own right, made particularly phenomenal by the message it had to convey. While not entirely historically accurate, the message and increasing awareness of Conflict Diamonds are important. I had been first made aware of conflict diamonds by a friend, but being a bit skeptical of, well, everything, I figured he was blowing things out of proportion. Turns out he wasn't! Anyway, so after watching the movie a few times, I wanted to look into the historical background, get the real scoop. I was horrified at how well the movie had conveyed the FEEL of the situation. That foray into the Kimberley process, and the making of Blood Diamond also led me to youtube interviews with the actors in the movie, and yes, embarassingly to the Leonardo DiCaprio website (I know!). For those of you who don't know, DiCaprio has waged somewhat of a personal war on global warming, and I was quite impressed with the information and media his foundation had put together (and yes, I do actually want to see the 11th hour). I have no idea whether he is *actually* a good man, or just has a phenomenal publicist, but I was surprised to see someone who I wasn't appalled at young children looking at as a role model (which was amazing in its own right). ANYWAY, from there I found all sorts of information on the state of world ecology, and that did horrify me. So, be forewarned, more environmental tidbits forthcoming.

So, on a less important, but equally (or more) amusing point, the OTHER thing I found on my foray was the movie The Departed. I know, where have I been for the last year (umm, Grad School!), apparently they were up for all sorts of awards, but I just found them. lol. If you haven't seen either Blood Diamond or The Departed you SHOULD. I rarely see a movie that just enthralls me, but they both did. Ok... not bad for my first post when I didn't know what to write. :) Have fantastic days!!!