Have you ever seen a rooster with its intestines hanging out?

I just read Marie Martin's blog at tinylittledog.com. I suggest you read her blog today after you read mine. Mind you, she's a much more talented writer, but she covered the theme of bird cruelty recently.

Anyway, I sort of saw my first cock fight tonight. It was too crowded to get any real peek, although I saw the aftermath--a lot of money changing hands, a torn up, totally calm, bloodied rooster, and his immediate trip to the birdy gallows.

I was a little grossed out. Only men attended the event. The women must be way too smart. It really is boring. Before they fight, there's a lot of rooster posturing and the ring leader asks for bets for about a half hour. It really is too ridiculous to be appalling. They all look stupid. Its a sick addiction similar to the one in Tokyo where I witnessed men in business suits playing pachinko, feeding thousands of little steel balls all night into a complicated slot machine for a small payout...absolutely pathetic.

Krista and I hiked 4 miles in the rice fields this afternoon. I have never seen such beauty. These are the terraced rice fields--the kind you see in National Geographic. Colored flags atached to bamboo poles wave in the breeze to scare away hungry birds. Shrines to the rice goddess are everywhere. Sixty year old men and women carry loads of rice on their heads, balancing the load as the walk down raised trails and bridges. The intricate system of canals and streams that irrigate the fields were rushing at full force due to last nights heavy rain. We sat and rested on the sides of these canals when we got to hot. Later in the afternoon, we laid down in a shady reed and bamboo hut. It was lazy and glorious.

Fact: Krista hasn't pooped for 5 days. Her belly is all hard. I'll keep you posted.