Documentary Overload

I have completely shut down.  I am down to the bare-bones necessities of life.  I eat.  I sleep.  I change diapers.  I pee...a lot.  I am currently keeping 4 people alive (one really large person and 3 very small people) and trying to keep my husband happy with good food and a cheery attitude.  Except when I am trying to stand up or hobbling to the bathroom while my hips readjust from horizontal to vertical positions.  Then I am the grouchiest, loudest, most dramatic, complainer ever!!

But it is ALL for a good cause!!!

During the course of the last few weeks, I have officially begun winter hibernation.  I have a stock of brownies in the fridge and all the Netflix movies a girl could want.  Currently, I'm on a documentary binge.  I thought it important to share all of the documentaries I have watched over the course of the last few weeks with you.  Mostly because I am highly influenced by the opinions of others and watch almost every movie someone recommends to me.  So perhaps a couple of you might benefit from my schmorgasbord of documentaries here.  You must watch them all!  If you aren't in the mood for documentaries now, save them until you are ready.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

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1) The first one we stumbled on was called Fat Head (watch instantly on Netflix).  Originally, I wanted to pull out all of the fantastic quotes from this movie and list them for you, but that requires watching it over again and I don't have the motivation.  You must watch it!!  It is super entertaining and takes a realistic look at food from the viewpoint of consumer responsibility.  He radically suggests that McDonalds is NOT shoving super-sized french fries down your throat every day.  He even outlined how the government-run agencies blasted fast food restaurants for using healthy animal fats to fry their foods back in the day.  They then turned to the "healthy" alternative of partially-hydrogenated oils.  YUCK!!  This was the most entertaining by far of all the documentaries and my new favorite!

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2) We also watched Waiting for Superman - a documentary about the public education system.  Made me want to stop paying my taxes altogether until they treat teachers as in any other business.  If you are a good teacher - you get a paycheck.  If you are a terrible teacher, you're fired!  Simple as that.  It was a real eye-opener!  Had you ever heard of the rubber rooms for suspended teachers in New York?

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3) Okay - next is The Future of Food.  It is a MUST SEE!!!  All about genetically modified foods and the evil giant corporation (I mean that in all sincerity) Monsanto.  I had heard the name Monsanto once or twice but never fully grasped the pure evilness of their business practices and their under the table dealings with the US Government.  A big thank you to Obama for quietly giving this corporation all the rights in the world to poison, not only the US, but also the world...  (You can also watch this documentary on Hulu and Youtube!)

(Oh!  And I finally watched Food, Inc.  That was also very good - but at this point, I think I'm the only person in the US who hadn't seen it!)

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4) Speeeeaaaaaaakkkking of Obama, Media Malpractice is especially important to watch right now before the election!  It is no secret that the media has been spinning things for years.  That's fine.  But until everyone realizes it and does their own research, we are in trouble.  This documentary was awesome!  Whether or not you voted for Obama, rode the Palin-hating or loving train, or plan on writing in Mickey Mouse this election, and you really should watch it!!  (All this comes from a Canadian citizen living in the US and regretting not being able to vote!!)

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5 and 6) And, speaking of media not giving us the full story on stuff - how is it that I am 30 years old and NEVER understood the reality of North Korea?????  I heard jokes about Kim Jong Il's hair and height, but never fully recognized what was happening in North Korea.  I watched two amazing documentaries that are definitely begging your time and attention: Kimjongilia and National Geographic: Inside North Korea.  My heart aches for the people oppressed in North Korea - starving, imprisoned, brainwashed.  I am so embarrassed I never knew the full story.  But I am so glad I found these two documentaries.


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7) The best of them all was the 2005 Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi States series I found this week.  I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau when I was in Europe.  It was eye-opening and I felt very well educated about what happened.  But the full history behind the Holocaust is so extensive and disturbing that it is hard to fully comprehend it all.  I found this amazing 6 part documentary on Netflix that you MUST watch!  The movie world is saturated with Hitler/Nazi/Holocaust movies, but they don't cover the complete story.  This series was extremely well-done and informative with interviews from survivors.  

8)  And lastly, to lighten things up, we (we being me and the kids while Jason was at work) watched the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary.  (A facebook friend I respect posted that she liked this one - so I had to try it!)  Did you know he is actually quite talented???  I have a new respect for him even though I only know one of his songs.  (I still believe there is no hope for him.  He will turn out like all the other pop stars and I will be sad for him when he is all over the tabloids.)

Okay - so now you know what I have been doing the last few weeks.  A whole lotta NOTHING!  But the reality is that I will have very little lounging time in a month.  Baby is due February 12th!  So I am vegging out now and relaxing.  A little Downton Abbey Season 2 perhaps?  YES PLEASE!!!  (More than a couple people are raving about it online and it is SOOO good!!)

I should add that I have a legitimate excuse for not blogging.  The chair where my computer is located is soooo uncomfortable when you are 9 months pregnant!!!

Let me know if you watch (or have watched) any of the documentaries.  And please recommend more to me!  I have a month of quality time to spend on the couch eating bon bons and ignoring my chores.

And, in case you have no interest or time to waste in front of the TV with all those documentaries, I leave you with this hilarious dance party by Elena.  I have been trying to catch her signature move on camera for weeks now and I finally did it!  I don't know what it is about her dancing, but her arms take on a whole rhythm of their own and I hope she never picks up any new moves!