Double Feature: Movie Time & Meat Meets Meat
Very vague spoilers regarding the mood and ending of two films:
Two movies that just came out are No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. I kept getting the titles confused because both of them had a fair amount of hype surrounding them. Before I watched them, I overheard someone say that "the movie is long and slow but culminates in the last 15 minutes". Due to my confusion about the titles, I wasn't sure which movie they were referring to.
After watching them both, I'm still confused, because neither of them followed this pattern. They were both long, slow, depressing, and remained (in my opinion) unresolved at the end. I've realized I really need my movies to have happy endings. If good doesn't triumph over evil, I've wasted my time. The only time you can get away with a bad guy winning is if it's a really good twist, or if it leaves the movie open to a sequel. If I want to entertain myself with stories of evil men and their downward spirals into insanity, I can easily look to history, or turn on the news. Movies are my escape to magical worlds where there is always a positive net gain in justice.
I will stress, however, that it was the endings that killed both movies for me. The rest was fairly fantastic. Both had excellent cinematography and TWBB had a really unique, eerie, and engaging soundtrack. I did appreciate the realism as well (up until the ends, which were unfortunately realistic).
If sad movies with sad endings depress you, then don't watch either. Other than that, go for it.
The cow to beef conversion process:
The U.S. Humane Slaughter Act passed in 1958 requires that all livestock be stunned before slaughter. For cows, this is achieved with a captive bolt pistol which pneumatically forces a steel cylinder into the forehead which then retracts by a spring mechanism. Whether penetration is achieved depends on the method, but in all cases is intended (and required) to render the animal unconscious. Once the cow has been properly stunned, its carotid artery is cut and the blood is drained.
There are, of course and unfortunately, exceptions to every rule. Slaughterhouse workers experience poor working conditions and it is believed that they may take out their frustrations on the animals. Skill is required to properly stun each animal so botched jobs are possible. The Humane Slaughter Act only considers the conditions surrounding the imminent death of the animal, not the treatment of it for its lifetime. The Act has deliberately broad areas regarding the preparation of meat for religious purposes, as kosher and Halal meats may require that the animal is "fully sensible when its carotid artery is cut".
I just thought you should all know. There's a lot of heat on either side of the debate, and it's good to seek information. While I agree there are a lot of loose ends and leaks in the process, I'm OK with the current process, as outlined by the law. I believe I would be comfortable stunning and slaughtering my own cow (granted it would be a lot different standing there, but I'd give it a try). And I think you should be too before you bite into your next hamburger. I don't really know how people get off saying that it's such a horrible act if they continue to eat meat products.