I got to throw an atlatl last week for my TRAD class. I gotta say that’s one inventive weapon. I want one. The record distance for throwing one is 800 feet and it has enough force behind a good throw to go through a sheep. It’s just so simple, yet brilliant. I often have wondered if I would have been able to invent stuff like that if I had no knowledge of the modern world. I like to think I would at least have been able to come up with some stuff. I used to knap rocks in the back yard when I was little, so I probably would have been able to create hand axes, spears and knives. Plus I figure my creative abilities would have been boosted if my life depended on it. Still, I doubt I would have figured out you can increase a spear’s effective range tenfold by using a wooden launching handle. I guess it’s not so different from a catapult, but it doesn’t look like it should work.
So props to you, Paleolithic Man. You are a damn clever fella.

In other news, I finally went hiking with the Swedish exchange students. They seemed to enjoy it a lot, even though one took a prickly pear pad right to the shin. We also talked about the differences and quirks we noticed in the US and Sweden. They say it's hard to find Americans to hang out with. We're really friendly and open if you talk with us at first, but it's more difficult to actually make a new friend. Contrast that with the Swedish experience where chitchatting with a Swede is like pulling teeth, but once they get to know you you'll be friends forever.
They were also interested in finding places/events/activities that were very American or Arizonan. Try thinking about what you would tell someone is something really representative of the US that you would want to share with foreigners. It's kind of hard. I suggested Rodeo Weekend for something Arizonan, Thanksgiving for something all-American and after the hike I took them to the most American place I could think of: The Five and Diner. They loved that, they said it was like being in a movie.

I just noticed tonight that Orion is rising differently than it was when I saw it last year up in Kiruna. Around 11PM in January Orion appears upright on the horizon. That is, his “feet” are on the horizon, rather than at an angle. It’s kinda weird to me that the stars change depending on where you are. The Southern Hemisphere would be even worse, I imagine.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about how much I like Sweden’s landscapes and climate. I suspect some of it may have to do with nostalgia or some cultural ideal I’ve imprinted on. I’m guessing that’s why I like the idea of a two-story house with wooden floors (though I missed carpet so much while I was actually there), a green yard, trees and the like. But I wonder why I like green and forests so much over other landscapes. I’ve had a theory that maybe people have imprinted ideals of beauty and aesthetics for landscapes and environments which might be optimal for them. While I might think a tundra is pretty to look at I definitely wouldn’t consider it a place to live, but an Inuit certainly would. At the same time, would the Inuit consider the Sonoran Desert habitable? At first I didn’t really have much to support my idea but if you think about it, it would make some sense. People all over the world are adapted to environments which their ancestors evolved in and it would be only natural that they would prefer that environment. Now I’m not saying this is anything absolute or that white people can only like European climates, but a subconscious preference might still exist. In some cases it might be prudent for people to heed that preference. For example, Africans will get rickets in northern latitudes if they don’t have a dietary source of Vitamin D, plus melanin increases one’s risk of frostbite. I wonder if Africans would find Sweden as aesthetically pleasing as I would, or might they prefer Tucson?
Also, along the lines of subconscious desires and instincts I learned that shepherd dogs will exhibit shepherding behavior without any actual training to do so. So one can evidently breed a specific behavior into animals, that’s pretty damn impressive considering humans only domesticated dogs around 17,000 years ago. What’s more impressive is that we managed to single out a behavior that is totally against a wolf’s natural instinct. They would rather isolate an animal from a herd and then kill it, but somehow we managed to get dogs to group animals into a herd and protect them. Now, nature can’t account for this entirely, nurture plays some role. I don’t think that feral shepherd dogs would herd their prey like that, but otherwise they act quite differently than dogs bred for other purposes.
I wonder if you could genetically select for a certain instinct in humans. It couldn’t be anything really drastic since our self-awareness can override our natural tendencies. I wonder if you could, say, breed humans to break fall instinctively without having to be taught. I have no idea how you would do that, but it would probably be easier than breeding wolves into shepherd dogs.

The Grudge 2 with Amber Tamblyn and Takako Fuji. I don't normally go to see horror movies in theaters, but I was offered free tickets, so how could I refuse? Having never seen the first one, I'm not sure how it compares but I'm told it's better-ish. The overwhelming sentiment is that it isn't as creepy as the Japanese Ju-an movies upon which they were based. Quite a few people said it sucked, but I'm inclined to dismiss their opinions for a couple of reasons. First, I gauge horror movies' quality on how scary they are, not their subtle acting, logical plots or character development. Since I get the feeling that those are most people's criteria, they might be right, but since the movie was indeed scary, I say it was good. The other group of people who said it sucked I dismiss because they don't provide any constructive criticism and I suspect are trying to rationalize a way not to be scared when they go to bed. For example, when asked what he thought could have been better about the movie, one guy I watched it with said, "If they didn't make it suck so much!" he then said how it was so funny and he didn't get why everyone was so afraid of "the albino kid." Dude, it's OK to say a scary movie scared, you don't need to put on some macho bullshit act.
My old roommate had more constructive opinions of the movie: having seen the Japanese version, he felt that the obligatory American origin/explanation scenes took something away from the movie. He suggested that in the original, rather than giving the characters hope, they just know they're going to die and there's nothing they can do about it. While that kind of fatalism can definitely be scary, I think there's also something to be said for dangling hope in front of the characters, then taking it away. He also felt that the number of jump scenes was too much and by the end you kind of got desensitized to them, whereas the Japanese ones use them sparingly and to a greater effect.
I think it's always strange that no one ever thinks to fight against the ghost, certainly they don't have anything to lose. Granted, there are some instances where they are caught totally by surprise, but there are some times when they had ample time for a punch, kick, anything, but they don't. I think that's one thing some of the moviegoers didn't get, the ghosts, aside from being seemingly omnipotent and creepy looking induce paralytic fear, preventing people from doing anything. In that thought of what would happen if someone fought back, we wondered who would be able to. One person had suggested they would like to see the ghost from the Grudge vs. Constantine. That would certainly be an interesting fight. I, on the other hand, think that the ghost vs. aliens a la Communion or Taken would be a pretty interesting fight to see as well. I keep hoping someone will make an aliens vs. ghosts movie, or at least a short film.

I'm experiencing little bits of culture shock as I go through the semester, odd things that I see on campus. Notably, the fundies going around campus stopping random people and asking them about their beliefs and trying to guilt trip them into converting. Here's a fun tip: demonstrate any knowledge of the Bible that contradicts what they're trying to sell you and they'll get all defensive. It's good to be back in the US, where I am persecuted for my beliefs and not where I was born. It's a purer form of intolerance, no?
Not too long ago I had lunch with one of the Swedish students at the U of A. It's kind of funny to me that he and the rest of the international students will hang out with each other for the most part with less interaction among natives. When I went abroad I figured I'd be spending most of my time with Swedes, but for the most part I was around international students. It's just a hoot to see that that's exactly what they're doing. It's a strange kind of thing, seeing a strange culture through my eyes, then coming back and seeing those strangers see my world through their eyes.
This guy has evidently embraced American fast food culture totally, he claims that's all he ever eats. I kind of hope he was exaggerating, but I dunno. It's funny that our fast food culture is one of the (MANY) things we're criticized for and he's all for it. Of course, who can't appreciate the fact that a "large" serving in Sweden is ridiculously expensive and has the same amount of food as an American "small" serving? Since he is so interested in absorbing American culture, I offered him some of my root beer. Curious, he sampled my "beer" and predictably, was disgusted. Hilarious, I tell you. He was even more astonished that I drank the whole thing and that it wasn't some kind of practical joke.
Really, it seems only Americans like root beer. It actually reminds me of an episode of Deep Space Nine, where two aliens are at a bar trying to find the appeal in root beer:
Quark: What do you think?
Garak: It's vile.
Q: I know. It's so bubbly and cloying and happy.
G: Just like the Federation.
Q: But you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you start to like it.
G: It's insidious.
Q: Just like the Federation.

That’s about right, just with America instead of the Federation. And like root beer, if you have enough of America, you do start to like it. Now all I need to do is get the Swedes to appreciate the simple joy of a PBJ.

So the other day we’re driving to the dojo and see a license plate that says, “Be an organ donor” so we joked that we would go in and just donate a liver like one might go in and donate blood. So then here’s a weird thought: could one conceivably commit suicide by organ donation? That is, donate a vital organ, or better yet, donate all your organs. The doctors would be labeled as highly unethical, but on the other hand if the “patient” comes up to them and tells them they are suicidal and will kill themselves one way or another, it’s in the doctor’s hands whether or not the waste of life is a complete waste. All organs could be salvaged as well as marrow and all the blood. Gruesome, yes, but remember that the selfish act of suicide would be mitigated by the selflessness of offering your entire body to those in need who do want to live. Suppose each organ goes to a separate person, saving each of their lives. Would this form of suicide then be looked down upon? The only problem is finding doctors who would utterly violate the Hippocratic oath and intentionally kill and essentially gut their patients even if it was the patient’s expressed wish. They would be reviled even more than abortion doctors. But perhaps some ethical concerns might be evaded if one considers that the killing of one patient ultimately benefits many more. Consider it an expansion on the logic of triage: the patient has a low chance of survival (because he’s suicidal) while other patients who will die without treatment (an organ transplant or blood transfusion) still have a chance if the doctor administers treatment in time. In a triage scenario, the doctor administers treatment to the other patients and neglects the patient with a lower chance of survival, essentially killing him. In this way a doctor sacrifices the life of one to save the life of another, this doctor would not be considered unethical, in fact they might be praised for their cool professional approach and understanding that not everyone can be saved. In a triage situation the tradeoff of life might be one to one, but in this scenario the sacrifice of one ultimately benefits many more.
So would people opt to commit suicide in this fashion? Would the doctors be willing to go through with it? Would the general public accept it even when weighing in the benefit it would have to those on an organ waiting list? Do the needs of the many truly outweigh the needs of the few?