taiji, japan

this weekend i wanted to watch a scary movie so dave and i stopped at red box and got a movie called the cove. needless to say it ended up being a documentary, opposite of a thriller, but was scary in a completely different way. the film won an oscar and its story is quite riviting. have you ever heard of the killing of dolphins in taiji, japan? every year approximately 23,000 dolphins are slaughtered in a small cove. the video showed the grueling footage and even had interviews with japanese officials.

you should check out the video if you have a chance. or at least the promo they show on the site. it blew my mind. especially the fact that japanese officials are paying small countries to back out  of whale saving conventions so they can continue with the killings. not only is it awful for the animals, but the meat has mercury which is poisonous to humans.

more interesting stuff:

- the restaurant "the hump" in santa monica was closed last month for selling fin whale meat in its sushi. gross.

- japanese officials were force feeding children dolphin meat in schools until this film was produced and the toxic effects of dolphin meat were brought to light.

- the old tv show flipper is assumed to have "the worst" effect on the dolphin population because of the enslaving of dolphins for publicity and money making. we should think about this kind of stuff when we make movies and shows. look out elmo (ok, just kidding).