Friday, October 19, 2007

Page 1 Consider (10/19)

  • The Biggest Baby: How pathetic that some fatties are now complaining that they're feeling alienated and uninspired by contestants on "The Biggest Loser" who are too successful at losing weight. Truly shameful. Too self-absorbed to be able to be happy for someone else's success? Might as well eat a cake. (NYT)

  • The KY Incident: Call it GOP politics as usual: When you're back is up against the wall reach for the gay smear. But this time was it too much of a stretch for even Republicans? (365Gay)

  • Going Down (Under): If you thought those brawny COLT men wore nothing but denim and leather, think again. They've just teamed up with Aussiebum underwear for their latest project, "Hawai'i." (Adult-ish - JohnRutherford)

  • United Sam Wants YOU! (Well, not you): The Army, Navy, and Air Force were caught red-faced when they found out they were advertising for new recruits on GLEE.com, a site for gay and lesbian professionals. Perhaps hanging signs in airport bathroom stalls would suit the U.S. military's needs more efficiently. (Advocate)

  • Gossip Girl: Ted Casablanca sure wants Jake Gyllenhaal to be on our team (hey, don't we all?), but I'm just not feeling it. Here's what his spies have to say about Jake's latest "exploits with fellow actor Austin Nicholas." (AwfulTruth)

  • To Serb, With Love? How do you feel about baby-faced tennis star Novak Djokovic's newly grown goatee? (TSF)

  • Friend of Dorothy: Former Chicago mayor Harold Washington was posthumously inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Thursday night. (365Gay)

  • ENDA End-Up: Democrats on Thursday sent to the full House legislation that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals, despite bitter complaints from some because transgendered workers would not be protected under the bill. Democratic leaders pushed forward the current bill after discovering that including transgendered workers in the legislation would cause it to fail in the full House, and promised to try and get additional legislation in the future. (AP)

  • Philadelphia 'Freedom': Refusing to disavow the Boy Scouts of America ban on gays will cost its local branch $200,000 a year if it wants to keep its headquarters in a building owned by the city. Valuable lessons all young boys should learn. (365Gay)

  • Spot Advertising: Have you found yourself reaching for the phone in the middle of the night mesmerized by those infomercials for ProActiv Solution only to remember that you don't need to sign your life away for an occasional blemish? You're not alone -- and no, it doesn't really do anything more than the $4 stuff at the drugstore. (NYT)

    • Posted by Kenneth M. Walsh at 9:00 AM



    2 comments:

    zooplah said...

    This is perhaps a bit off-topic, but I fail to see the appeal of The Biggest Loser. The focus keeps alternating between the different contestants, so it's hard to really feel for any of them. Then, they get weighed in, and the water works begin (it's a bit too melodramatic). Bob Harper is pretty hot, though.

    The Discovery Channel did a better show a few years ago, but I can't remember its name. On the show, no one got voted off and the guy who lost the most weight didn't win. It was because small lifestyle changes and sustainable increased activity are what lead to permanent weight loss. If you work out hours a day and starve yourself, you'll lose weight, but you can't keep it up forever and will gain back the weight, which is worse for your health than just staying fat in the first place.

    I understand why things are the way the are on the two shows. NBC gets ratings from being entertaining; Discovery from being educational. Extraordinary losses get the ratings, but losing weight is more pleasant and permanent if you take it slow, no more than two pounds a week. After all, losing weight shouldn't be about winning; it should be about starting the first day of the rest of your healthier, longer life. About The Biggest Loser and its ratings grabbing, to quote Mr. Spock, "I don't agree. I understand."

    I, however, do not understand your viewpoint "some fatties are now complaining that they're feeling alienated and uninspired by contestants on "The Biggest Loser" who are too successful at losing weight." Did you even RTFA? The contestants are losing weight too fast and too dangerously, and giving the general public the idea that if they don't lose weight that fast, they're failing, while losing weight slowly and in a sustainable manner are the ways to keep a healthy, lean body. (From a health standpoint, healthy is more important than lean.)

    About ENDA, that's good. But I don't think it's really that big of a problem. I don't personally know of anyone who got fired or discriminated against in any way because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I have this gay waiter who's an acquaintance of mine, and he told how his boss stood up for him when customers were being homophobic. It's just bad business not to get the most qualified person for the job, without regard to whether he or she is a member of a majority group.

    2:24 PM
    Anonymous said...

    Zooplah: Did YOU even read the article? I quote:

    "I find myself in the beginning of every season raring to go,” said Renee Peters, 35, a serial dieter and computer programmer in Atlanta, who is the host of the online weight-loss forum the Fatfighters. “But then they’ve lost 70 pounds and I’ve only lost 5 in the same time frame, and I find myself eating ice cream.”

    7:29 PM

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