Monday night we watched Batman Begins. In the extras, they talk about using a new martial art called Keysi to create a unique fighting style for Batman. And man, is it awesome: the two fighters are nearly touching the whole time, moving around each other’s bodies like an intricate dance. The movements are quick and precise, and quite graceful to boot. For some reason, all this beautiful fighting (and having sooo much sugar over break) inspired me to get in shape. So, I’ve started running every morning. And stopped eating all deserts and sugary snacks (except yogurt, Naked juice, and cereal bars, which have lots of vitamins and calcium that I need). Bwa! What is this health madness?

Tuesday, my Hiking Around Portland class started. I wore a t-shirt. It started raining. Fun, fun. But seriously? It was fun! I got to meet a few new interesting people, enjoy a beautiful Portland park, and be cleansed by the rain. And tell zombie jokes: What does the zombie weather man predict for today? “Raaaaiiiinnnns…” What does someone do when they’ve heard too many zombie jokes? “Complaaaaaiiiiinnns…” You get the idea.

Speaking of the brain-dead half-alive creatures, some scientists are trying to create life from scratch. They’re using droplets of fatty acids combined with a multifunctional molecule, PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid), to meet all the “requirements” for life: containment, heredity, and metabolism. Interestingly, these have already been met by some artificial life forms, namely Avida. Still, getting some completely new forms of organic life on Earth would be exciting! Then again, isn’t naming it “The Los Alamos Bug” just asking for future irony?