A little Moonday weekend report

This Moonday weekend has been a restful and relatively uneventful weekend. I didn't practice yesterday. Sunday being my designated rest day, I didn't practice today either, although I did a few Surya As and Bs (that doesn't count :-))

I went on a big information binge this weekend; I basically took in a lot of information, in the same way in which somebody might binge on sugar or potato chips (oh, I like potato chips too, and I had a number of those this weekend :-)). I guess that's what happens when one doesn't practice; the extra time and energy has to go somewhere.

The interesting thing about my information binges is that I tend to gravitate towards taking in information that is not exactly cheery. Two cases in point:

(1) On Friday night, I watched this German movie, The White Ribbon. I like German movies, because I studied German for a couple of years in school, and although I don't speak it well, I really love the guttural sounds of the language and the gravity of its cadence (I also happen to think that French is overrated, but I'll leave it at that :-)). Watching German movies and listening to people speak German brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me. I hope I can go live in Germany for a little bit someday; maybe I'll get my German back that way. Anyway, the movie is about the repressive experiences a group of children went through in a little German village on the eve of WWI. For example, the pastor of the village is this really staunch disciplinarian who punishes his children for small infractions by making them wear a white ribbon on their arms (hence the movie's title) to remind them of their guilt and of the importance of purity and innocence. The movie is essentially a study in the psychology of childhood repression. Although the director doesn't say this directly, there is a suggestion that a close link exists between this repression and the subsequent atrocities that many Germans went on to commit during the two world wars.

(2) Yesterday evening, I read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. I had been wanting to read it for the longest time. Basically, Zinn tells the history of the United States from the perspective of common people, especially people who have been oppressed or subject to persecution. It's very refreshing yet sobering at the same time. Not an easy read, but it definitely gives an important alternative perspective to the way history is normally written, which is from the perspective of the rich and powerful in society. I think every college kid needs to read this.   

That was a lot of information to take in over a weekend, don't you think? I'm so looking forward to getting back into the swing of my regular practice tomorrow.