Temple

Hello! Now that the string piece is completed I look forward to blogging a bit more. Writing can really help with clarifying developing thought patterns, and more importantly, blogging is a really enjoyable way to interact with others.

I just finished watching the incredible HBO movie "Temple Grandin". I encourage everyone to watch it. If you are interested in science, in autism, in focus in the face of adversity, in life itself, then you will enjoy it.

Ms. Grandin was able to use the unique perspective her autism afforded her to really look through the "way things are done" and find a better way, a more humane way, to treat animals in feedlots and slaughterhouses. She is currently a professor at Colorado State, a consultant to the livestock industry and an advocate for those with autism. Here is a link to her Wikipedia page - Temple

Claire Danes is absolutely amazing in the lead role. She is so amazing that I didn't recognize it at first. She is so utterly convincing in her portrayal of Temple Grandin that you forget her efforts and feel as though you are watching the subject directly. Amazing stuff.

Thanks to Susan for keeping after me to watch this movie!

"I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to give those animals a decent life and we've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect." - Temple Grandin

Other quotes from the movie:

"Where did it go?" -Temple on seeing a dead horse. The more you contemplate this question, the more profound and mysterious it becomes.

"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be. We owe them some respect. I touched the first cow that was being stunned. In a few seconds it was going to be just another piece of beef, but in that moment it was still an individual. It was calm and then it was gone. I became aware of how precious life was..."