so ends 2008.

last night on the train i was reading about the voluntary human extinction movement, an organisation whose members believe that "the hopeful alternative to the extinction of millions of species of plants and animals is the voluntary extinction of one species...us". the notion is refreshing -- psychology is almost by definition a tediously anthropocentric discipline, and i think it's good for me once in a while to forget the ways in which humans are special and meditate on the many other ways in which we are not. i always think that p.d. james got it wrong in children of men: that the prospect of human extinction, voluntary or otherwise, will not ultimately be terrifying, but after a short while will be humbling, and finally, liberating. not having to think about legacy or posterity seems to me one of the best ways to live in the now, a path to contentment all to easy to stray from.

anyway, make nice plans for 2009, but not too many of them. i'm going out now to get wasted. happy new year!