Toxic Sludge is good for you.
Democracy is the labeled American system of government which claims dedication to freedom for all citizens for self-governance and the pursuit of happiness. It has become stereotyped in my view, with a kind of democracy-washing that occurs from my frequent disappointment, or prepackaged influences from its systems. I think real democracy has been lost or greatly diminished for a long time, and is found in more local functions like town meetings or grassroots efforts. From reading this chapter I recognized the struggles of PR against angry and combative American citizens. I think this is an important perspective to consider when trying to overcome their propaganda and take collective action against them, and to know the harder you fight, the harder they sweat. So it's only a matter of publicity and getting as many individuals involved as possible. Although this is much easier said than done, it's important to understand the potency of activism and the fluidity of power. I think the first step of adjusting the capitalist economic system is by eliminating the “conflict of interest” by somehow acknowledging and awarding those who use of PR is well intentioned and honest, as well as those who are economically mindful. Otherwise, I believe grassroots activism will make the biggest difference, because you really can't fool all of the people all of the time and people are getting more sick, more quickly of this pre-packaged molding for American cultural consumerism. I think a truly just society wouldn't use Americans' boredom and systematic categorization to regurgitate back to us and basically control our economic tendencies and demographics. I hope to find a meaningful role in this, and at this point I have yet to be involved in major activism, but I would be interested in taking action in the future for ecological causes and what not. Otherwise, I talk about these things with lots of folks and love getting heated over a good debate.
Sitting in centennial woods: I had a good experience, it was very sunny but still a bit chilly. I saw a lot of birds: Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, and some Turkey Vultures. It is still very moist and really muddy in some parts, I'm getting excited to go foraging for Fiddleheads!!!!!
Watching TV: South Park, latest episode on facebook and “getting sucked in”, was funny. Watched it with a bunch of kids, good interactions during commercials, some not good ones.
Watching TV was definitely much easier, because I only had to go down the hall to a friend's room, whereas I had to walk a good distance to the woods. Although there is no real “info flow” in the woods, it was easier to see what was coming during my outdoor experience than on the television, where it was an unknown ending. The experience in the woods taught me a much less obvious lesson than South Park, where it was all spelled out in the plot. It gave me a time for self-reflection and mind clarity, where as the show filled my head with images and sounds that were distracting. I think knowledge is portrayed more elegantly in the natural world, and very redundantly on television. I think this experience tells us the importance of time well spent in nature, and that people need to shut their tvs off right away to save their sanity.

PSA: My group is doing well, we did some video recording on friday at the davis center trash cans, which was successful. We are going to download what we shot during class and outline the sequence and layout of the PSA.