Ugh, More Stupid People Exploitation, This Time, More Baby Bumps

Okay, so obviously this young woman is extremely ignorant (or just really good at self-delusion), but what is this BBC show really trying to accomplish? Is it really trying to educate young women and pregnant women about health hazards to their feti? Or, is it just another reality show opportunity to be disgusted by stupid people? "16 & Pregnant" followed by "Teen Mom" may have started out with good intentions: showing how awful it is to be a pregnant teen/teen mother, but its turned into a side-show (complete with US Weekly cover for those featured). This pre-occupation with pregnancy, baby-bumps, teen mothers, stupid pregnant people, surprise pregnancies/babies, etc. Its such a weird phenomenon and shows that seek to further this voyeuristic vein of pop-culture worry me. What are your thoughts, readers?

Khloe Kardashian "Freaking Out" About Possible Infertility

Usmagazine.com reports Khloe Kardashian has concerns about her fertility and talks about it in her season finally.

I think people need to realize that not everyone is willing to talk about their reproductive lives publicly. So the next you about to ask a woman when she is going to have a baby, you might want to think twice. The woman may want kids but is having fertility issues and doesn't want to discuss them with you.

"Passing as Thin" Apparently is Invitation to Fat-Phobic To Share How They Really Feel

So, I went on an OkCupid date last night and it didn't go too well. There are a variety of reasons why I'm not going on a second date (and he's not TOO TOO awful), but one of those reasons is that he's fat-phobic and apparently I've reached a thin enough stage to "pass" as a (if not skinny person), not fat person. Maybe as a fat-identified person, I'm too sensitive, but he had to tell this elaborate story about the indignity of sitting next to a fat person on his last leg of a trip (in 1st class no less--and those seats are way bigger) from Japan. Add insult to injury, dude was not a skinny minny himself--he's probably about 40lbs overweight. It just seemed mean and unnecessary, but it is probably something I'll have to get used to (and at times will be compelled to call people out for and at other times, like a bad first date, just leave alone because I don't want to have to deal with a stranger on the defensive, who will probably just call me a fat bitch for standing up for the fatties...remember, even if I ever achieve "skinny minny" status, women are always great targets for the body-shame/bitch combo by angry dude-bros).

Some converts, like myself, might be compelled to anti-fat tirades because of self-loathing or self-righteousness (I lost weight, why can't everybody?), luckily I'm not one of those people. No matter my size, I'll always be fat-identified and body-diversity promoting. There are so many identity factors that "the man"/the kyriarchy use to divide natural allies, and body acceptance is one of the most powerful, whether its about weight, hair-texture, height, coloring, etc. Only the trim, white man is normative and everybody else is "other," which is bullshit.

So, no second date for dude-bro (he also appears to be a binge drinker and culturally incurious, so those are also valid reasons for not going on date two), but I have a feeling that in my dating life, this will probably just be the first of many "fat people suck" jokes/comments I'll have to get through on my journey to find Mr. Right.

MTO WORD EXCLUSIVE!! NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT KIM KARDASHIAN'S ENGAGEMENT IS A PUBLICITY STUNT!!!! (EVIDENCE INSIDE)

Mediatakeout.com is reporting that Kim Kardashian maybe faking her engagement for publicity.

The reason I bring this topic up is because it seems that society wants women of a certain age to be married and pregnant. Since Kim is in her early thirties. Some insist she can't be happy because she doesn't have a baby or a husband like her sisters. Yet, I think she is very happy playing the field and making $5 million a year.

Also, she was married before I think she knows what it is like. So I think we should get out her business. Because each time we pay attention to her limited talent self she gets a check.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez -- Wet & Wild In Hawaii!

Radaronline.com reports : Young lovebirds Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have turned up the passion a notch -- or ten -- in Maui.

At one point on Thursday, a shirtless Bieber, 17, held the bikini-clad Gomez, 18, up by her backside in the water as they passionately kissed.

Click on the link to see the photo. I have two issue with photo.

1. Why are the paparazzi following the kissing habits of teenagers.

2. Why isn't Selena Gomez getting more slack for being with an underage boy?

I think we as a society over sexualize teenagers to much. Then we want get the courts involved if they start having sex.

Vintage Beauties: Samantha Mathis

Samantha Mathis was picked as a Vintage Beauty for her role in Pump Up the Volume . She gets girl power points for rocking dark hair in a movie, when so many were filled with blonds in the late 80's early 90's.

So, If You Are Anti-Vegetarian Because Hitler "Was a Vegetarian" Then You Might Want to Rethink Your Position

So, according to Vegetarian Food Historian, Rynn Barry, the myth that Hitler was a vegetarian cannot be substantiated. She's written a book, Famous Vegetarians & Their Favorite Recipes available HERE.

She contends: "Mainstream historians have an elastic definition of vegetarianism," he says. "They don't hold Hitler to the same standards as a practicing ethical vegetarian. You can't be a vegetarian and eat liver dumplings."

Frozen Yogurt--How I love thee!

Frozen Yogurt--love love love, frozen yogurt and a couple Orange Leaf shops have opened in Lexington recently. I had some and didn't even check the calorie count before going. I know that frozen yogurt is on the light side, but I forgot how light. Check out Orange Leaf's nutrition info HERE. Yes, the listed serving is only 1 ounce and especially at self-serve places, you're putting more than 1 ounce in the cup (although, I think I did a pretty good job of gauging what I could/should eat). Now, the toppings? That's another story. But there's fresh fruit and nuts (as well as candy bar bits). This summer, I'm definitely taking myself (and prolly my niece) for Orange Leaf on a hot day at least once a week. Soooo gooooood.

Workin' Harder For Your Money

Surprise surprise, overweight women make less money than "average" sized women and significantly less than slender women...what about the mens? Slightly overweight men make MORE than "average" sized men. What's the solution? Shape up fatties! Yes, the researchers recommended that discriminated people seek to normalize their weight rather than we have to deal with bias and discrimination on a cultural level.

"That study found that compared to average weight women, those who weighed 25 pounds less made about $15,572 more, and women who weighed 25 pounds more made $13,847 less." That is a, pardon the pun, HUGE difference in pay and I'm feeling kinda ragey about (and poor!!!). Here's the Jezebel take down and HERE is the original study.

Its an international study and the US actually comes in 31st (with Iceland the least discriminatory), so anti-fat bias specifically against women was found to be present in all 134 countries studied. So, that's bad, but what's worse is the incredibly condescending "shape up fatties" message from the researchers at the end of the study summary. The simple minded, pat advice breaks down to: "Focus on what you can replace ice cream with," he said. "Maybe it's yogurt or fruit." 95% of diets fail, but regardless of those statistics, the researchers call on individuals to shape up rather than for anti-fat biases (found globally, though yes, there are still cultures that value and prefer fat women--though, insisting that women conform to being fat is as restrictive and body-diversity denying as insisting that they must be thin) be looked at as serious human rights violations and discrimination. Individual solutions are bunk--people's salaries and social mobility should be based on performance, education, hard work and skills, not suit size. I'm not saying that its impossible to lose weight and keep it off (and for those who do, they tend not to diet, but to integrate a lifestyle of exercise, healthy eating, extra movement whenever they can get it and a host of other things (like sleeping 8-9 hours instead of 6-7) and they tend not to be "thin" but simply "not fat" anymore--going from fat to thin and keeping it that way is really hard to sustain, but getting thinner is more likely to succeed if your goals in mind are health oriented and not specifically aesthetic.

So, dear reader, do you feel like your size has played a role in your salary? Career success? Share in the comments.

Interested in Taking a Yoga Class?

I've been going strong with my Friday yoga classes for over six weeks now--maybe longer actually. I love it. I'm taking a Yin/Yasa class which concentrates on both strength (or heat building) and stretch (poses designed to get deep stretches or cooling poses). Here's the official description from my studio:

Yinyasa features both the active movement of vinyasa, as well as the complementary practice of yin which focuses on release of the deep connective tissues. Like a satisfying exhale after rapid breathing, the passive poses of yin feel deeply relaxing especially following the strength-building poses typical of vinyasa. The goal of this class is to help build focus and strength, and then to enjoy the relief of passive stretching and a more peaceful mind.

I prefer taking yoga at studios rather than gym based classes (where the focus tends to be on the fitness elements more than the overall yogic philosophy). Plus, gym classes often mix in pilates or other strength moves that really don't have anything to do with the natural flow of a traditional yoga class. Although, that's just my bias from trying gym based classes a couple times at a couple different gyms...your gym class might be great and wherever you workout, I recommend checking into a yoga class! HERE is a great resource describing the different styles of yoga and how you might better determine what you'd like the best.

Bridesmaids: Have You Seen it Yet?

Alright, so there's been tons of buzz that the fate of Bridesmaids will either greenlight or kill several other women-centric comedies and that you MUST MUST MUST see this film. Well, that might be true and that sucks--especially since the demographic its supposed to appeal to WOMEN are not some strange sub-set of the population. Women are 51% of the population for goodness sake!!! Of course, the logic is that women will see male-centric movies, but men won't see films led by female protagonists. Well, there were plenty of men (okay, only 33% according to the stats laid out HERE) present and they, along with the women, laughed our collective assess off. It was really funny and not really in a gross-out kinda way alluded to in the previews (yes, there was a pretty bad case of collective food poisoning, but that was part of the overall plot showing Wiigs character trying, but failing to do her duty as Maid of Honor on a seriously restricted budget due to her dream & small business, Cake Baby--a bakery--failing due to the economy. That felt really real and another nice thing about this film was that they didn't try to make everything better, no rich person swept in at the end and gave her back her business like Daddy Warbucks, we were left feeling like she'll figure it out now that she's really clawing her way out of this slump in life, but not exactly how or when. I liked that (I don't think that that really spoils anything in the plot because there's plenty to resolve in the main storyline as well). Anyway, go see Bridesmaids, not because you should due your duty, but because its funny.



Another film that looks like it is challenging our view of what a comedy can be is Jumping the Broom, which, much like Bridesmaids, is a comedy that dares to talk/show/think about issues of class. I haven't seen Jumping the Broom yet and I have read one very critical take on it HERE, but I have also seen several positive reviews over at Jezebel (though not an indepth review that it deserves, Jezzies--it was just contrasted in the concluding paragraph in a review of the new Kate Hudson vehicle, Something Borrowed, HERE.). Anyway, class is something that the movies have tended to shy away from in recent years--Hollywood prefers to show us the safe happy lives of the upper-middle class, the outright rich or the damn dirty poor--working class, working poor, middle-middle class, these folks rarely get to see their lives reflected on the silver screen. Jumping the Broom takes that a bit further by showing a tension between a working class family and an upper-middle class (no, probably outright rich family, but they are supposed to be upper-middle class I think) within the African American community. One of the producers is a preacher from Atlanta, so the critical Pandagon article really casts his eye on how the resolution seems "too pat" through commonalities reached through "the Black Church." So, I haven't seen it yet, but I will this weekend.

Overall, I'm glad to see two comedies taking on issues of class, a subject that begs for examination!

Home Neat Home

So, I'm really impressed with Kath's (she of Kath Eats Real Food or KERF) series on organic cleaning and her general organizational philosophy. She's a great food and lifestyle blogger who I admire for many reasons, she eats well and she eats for pleasure, she works out--and for the joy of movement, not just to reach or maintain some aesthetic ideal--she also seems pretty eco minded without being preachy and of course, its been fascinating to watch the process it takes to open a Great Harvest Bread Franchise (something that I've thought of doing before). I also really enjoyed her post regarding budgeting, which was really enlightening, but she certainly takes the cake when it comes to organizing her home. LisaD is actually quite the organizational maven, btw, so she might want to share her tips sometime, but for someone who integrates organization and aesthetically pleasing living spaces, Kath excels like no one else on the internet (on a real person budget I should add--sure, there are perfect design blogs and home decorating blogs, but the budgets?). Anyway, check out Kath's series and report back on your favorite organizing/cleaning tips in the comments. When I set up my next apartment, I will try to document my (very on a budget) approach.

PastaQueen No More, Long Live the Queen

So, Jennette Fulda, she of PastaQueen is folding her current blog--a blog I've been a fan of ages that detailed her weight loss of 200lbs--she's not completely giving up blogging, she's just doing it under her real name and a new domain site that more fully expresses who she is today. Her new blog will be over at JenFul.com. She's leaving her archives up, so feel free to browse her storied blog for inspiration and to see her story unfold--which covers the writing and release of not one, but two books (the latest, "Chocolate and Vicodin" details her journey to try to cure her chronic headache). She's super cool, so if you aren't a reader already, consider looking her up.

Sex & Soda

NSFW!!!

This was really interesting to watch. Two things of note: 1.) I totally remember that Cindy Crawford ad and today she'd prolly be called fat if she were a contemporary model; 2.) the German Sprite ad at the end is crazy and worth watching the entire video to get to...yes, I would like European modeled healthcare/work-life balance, etc. but I could totally pass on their tv commercials.

Accidental Hiatus?!?

I think that I might have accidentally take a hiatus for a month or so! Sorry, my bad--it was totally not planned! Well, I'm back and LisaD, luckily, has not been as absent as I have over the past 4-6 weeks, so there have been some posts, but in recompense I will have a POST A DAY all week and try to maintain that level as best I can. I mean, really, is there really ever a day that goes by when the interwebs don't deliver us up a new health trend to follow or debunk? Nah, plus of course, where would y'all be without my journaling of my weight-loss/attempts at meeting fitness goals (or Lisa's?).

Anywho, I'll just give a brief over-view of what's been going down with me...let's see, how much weight am I down now, oh, yes: 56.2lbs!!! The other day, I tried to carry 35lbs of cat litter from the trunk of my car into the house and it was SO DAMN HARD, I can't imagine that I used to carry that around on my body!!! I'm more than half-way to my goal, which is an even 100lbs. I've also been quite regular with the Friday Yoga classes, btw! So much so, that not only do I feel a difference in my own form and ability, but in that "body awareness" that you hear all the yogi's rave about--yoga really does help you pay attention. So, those are two good things. What needs improvement, well, I totally skipped the gym and all cardio last week. I've packed my gym bag (since the rain has made it difficult to walk/jog outdoors for a while), charged up my ipod and I'm heading over to the gym right after work. I'm even thinking about taking a Cardio Kickboxing class on Thursday--whadda think? Will I become a super awesome kick-boxer or more likely, will I somehow manage to injure myself or another? If I do start that class, it'll prolly be next week due to scheduling.

Race Problem in Ireland

According to The Daily Mail and Mediatakeout.com report that other countries are still have problems with inter-racial dating. The the current Miss Ireland is getting hate speech and threats direct at her because she is dating a black Nigerian man. This is an important story in race dialogue, because many time Americans are held as the poster child or race inequalities, but every country is working with dealing with difference in both positive and negative ways.