Classes, movies, and books

Hello all! Well I'm back at uni and have been very busy with classes, experiment-running, and meetings. I'm taking Neuropsychology, Psychology, Crime and Law, Spanish language, and Spanish literature. So far all of my classes are going pretty well. Spanish language is particularly fun as the teacher is very enthusiastic. Psyc, Crime and Law is also fascinating because the professor in charge has a lot of experience working with violent criminals and really knows her stuff. We've been talking about factors that contribute to crime as well as what kinds of programs and sentences reduce reoffending by released criminals. The overriding message so far has been that more punitive approaches do not work, as far as reducing reoffending goes. (Of course, that's not to say that such punishments don't serve other useful purposes, but in terms of turning criminals away from crime, the evidence suggests that they're not the way to go.)

I had a pretty good break and did a bit of hiking. I'll put some photos below. Since school started again, my main source of entertainment has come from the New Zealand International Film Festival. The festival happens once a year and there are always tons of really interesting-sounding movies on. This year I've actually managed to make it to several, mostly because my flatmate works at one of the cinemas involved and has inside info on ticket availability and things. The highlights so far have been Dead Snow, a Norwegian movie about Nazi zombies, and Examined Life, which basically involved several big-name philosophers being given free rein for ten minutes each. I highly recommend the Nazi zombies, if you're into that kind of thing. It was very gross in spots, but also very funny. The philosophy was appropriately thought-provoking and occasionally bemusing.

As my final topic for the day, a book plug! I want to recommend Lipstick Jihad, by Azadeh Moaveni, for anybody who's been following the recent goings-on in Iran. It's an autobiographical account of an Iranian-American woman who goes back to Iran in the 90's after growing up in the States. It really made the country come alive for me and certainly makes me read the news regarding the political unrest differently than I would have otherwise. Among other things, she describes how Iranians spend huge amounts of time and energy getting around the restrictions placed on them. One caveat, though: a major focus of the book is on the author's search for identity. Undoubtedly, this is very important, but sometimes it seemed (for me, but then maybe I'm just cold-hearted!) that she was spending a few more pages on soul-searching than were strictly necessary. Still, a great book that anybody interested in Iran should read!



This is from a small lake which is part of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, a large area that they try to keep free from predators in order to protect native animals (mostly birds). This valley is basically across the street from my flat, but I had no idea it was there until recently!

Here is the view from a road near my flat.

The windmills along the way during one of my hikes. There was barely any wind that day (very unusually for Wellington), so they were moving barely at all. Seeing them rising from the hills was a little bit creepy.

Looking out towards west coast of the bottom of the North island.