Mayday

Being from the fine state of Texas, I have to say, we don't usually celebrate May Day in any way. At least not like they do up here, apparently, and for good reason. In parts of the country that get real snow, it's a celebration of spring's arrival - finally!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I had no plans to end up smack dab in the middle of Mayfair festivities in Harvard Square today. But, between the two films I saw (more on that later), which were at different theatres, I had to walk through the square which was packed. A little too many folks for my taste, but all the local businesses had teams doing chalk art in a competition on Church Street. This wasn't my personal favorite shot, but it does contain the most impressive piece - yes, that Hitchcock is done in CHALK.

Today, I saw a couple of films as a part of the Boston Independent Film Festival. Thoughts:

1. The City Dark

This was about light pollution more or less, and how living in cities obscures our connection to the night sky. It was also about how an overabundance of light 24/7 affects humans and wildlife both physically and spiritually.

This movie hit home, made me want to be in the middle of nowhere in Texas immediately, and made me think about slowing down. The dream life I'm always talking about - moving more slowly in a place where it would be okay to do. A place in touch with everything around us.

Overall, really good documentary (highly recommended) and I learned quite a few things about light pollution and the issues surrounding it.

2. If A Tree Falls

This was about Daniel McGowan, a US environmental activist currently serving time for arson (labeled by the US government specifically as eco-terrorism) committed with the Earth Liberation Front.

This film totally blew me out of the water. I went into it knowing very little about ELF, except for that they were eco-terrorists who blew up buildings. Definitely learned a lot in this film, which managed to present a totally unbiased look at the circumstances surrounding the crimes and the prosecution of those involved.

The film is slated to go on to be formally released, and will be on PBS and BBC in the fall. I recommend it highly. It also made me homesick for wild places, and there was some truly disturbing vintage doc footage in there that would make anyone question what we as people do to each other under the guise of politics. Sigh. But it was really a great film. Best documentary I've seen in a while.

So it was a day well spent. Listening to some music now, watching Ronnie adorably curled up near the foot of the bed. He's quite a cat.