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Just when you thought you thought you had run dry and had resorting to copying (errrr... reading...) other blogs, inspiration comes in the form a cute, blond, J.Crew-size-large-clad package. Old news, for sure, but after TV appearances in Larry King Live, The Rachel Maddow Show and photos all over celebrity gossip sites and magazines, it was quite impossible to ignore Meghan McCain.
It was much harder to ignore the self-appointed face of the New Generation of Republicans, who has blogged, reported and chatted her way into everyone's media dinner plate, when she screamed out "Kiss my fat ass!" on The View.
And that plate was a heaping serving of over-the-daily-recommended-amount of calories. While the genius of Obama camp gaining ground with millions of digital Americans, the Mini-Maverick might just have cracked another relevance code, whether wittingly or not. There is now an open doorway with more-than-half of voting-age women in the United States (in 2006, 29.4 percent of women were overweight and an additional 24.4 percent were obese), who are increasingly gaining advocates and approval, as this country becomes increasingly overweight.
(Figures according to the Centers for Disease control and prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
This video by LeLe is not new, nor is the song, but how can we ignore the genius of these lyrics? A personal favorite verse is: "I see you over there talking to Jean Pierre Le Douche". Le brilliant.
...especially when they hear the new President say things like: "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."
See more of the President's Inaugural Address >here<. And congratulations, America.
It seems like believers have lost the millenia-long exclusivity to religiously-themed mass propaganda. Atheists have now decided to dabble in the art of "spreading the word", starting with a bus sign campaign in the United Kingdom. Could this mark the start of an un-evangelizing movement?
Just when you begin to feel convinced that texting and IM-ing have ended the art of bitching over the phone, a young man in East Midtown shared bits of an intriguing conversation with the other New Yorkers on the sidewalk who, like him, quickly moved away from the workday and into happy hour.
Two pieces well worth recording from that convo are
"Spirituality is the last resort for the weak" and "At least she is not a bible-holding fanatic like the last one".
Here is an interesting follow-up to the “Recession Hangover" post. According to this New York Times article, for years professionals have been tracking correlations between fluctuations in the state of the U.S. Economy and people’s behavioral preferences.
A few no-brainer correlations: 1) Suicide rates increase, and so does the incidence of mental illness; 2) Sales of perishable foods decrease and kitchen cabinet staples become more popular; 3) Property crime theft, such as burglaries and car-theft, go on the rise And then there are the more obscure relationships that, once uncovered, make a lot of sense and allow us to look at the depth of psychological and behavioral impact of economic crises. A study, for example, shows that skirt hemlines tend to drop lower when the economy is in peril—possibly due to women’s subconscious reaction to unstable times, avoiding children by appearing less attractive to men. Men also shift their preferences towards more reassuringly mature-looking pin-up girls and models. (Might be good news for cougar models.) The article also mentions the impact of economic fluctuations on bodily functions (yuck!). The demand for laxatives also trends higher with economies, as people become more stressed and “hold more in”; while deodorants are in high demand during the euphoric good times. My personal favorites are those of the little indulgences. My hair stylist friend reports customers coming in more often, although for less expensive treatments per appointment, for example. And, also cited in the Times article, is the story that Hershey’s chocolate sales have increased in this third quarter and are expecting further sales hikes. Meanwhile, CNN reported two weeks ago that the cosmetic surgery industry has suffered losses too, as customers are opting for more affordable quick fixes, such as Restylene and Botox. We might not afford the $600 designer handbag or $5,000 face-lift, it seems, but we can still get a little pick-me-up from a $2.00 chocolate bar.
