p90x |

Let's hear it for soul-crushing standards!

April 6, 2011

Is Victoria’s Secret finally setting some realistic standards?

Well, yes and no.

Model Candice Swanepoel (I am so glad I can just write this and not have to pronounce it) has gotten some flak from the press and the modeling industry because she’s getting too thin. Let that sink in for a moment. A model is TOO THIN for the modeling industry.

It’s not the first time this has happened. Alessandra Ambrosio was criticized last year for also being too thin, and in general, I get the feeling that the public is starting to really wise up about the whole “I need to be thin to be beautiful” mentality.

Plus-size model by ~Allexxandhry on deviant ART

On the other hand, I really can’t see a difference between Candice and the other models Victoria’s Secret hires. The company says that the models need to be thin but muscular and they’ve taken some damage for moving away from curvier models.

Why not just say “healthy” instead of curvy? I guess they’re implying “bottylicious” is not healthy.

Anyway, it’s really confusing when you consider that that some women really do get this thin on their own. They don’t starve themselves or anything. They just have a really strong metabolism. That’s fine. Some women have to work harder at it. That’s also fine. And you know what?

I think Candice looks like Jack Skellington.

Dying to be Thin by ~anorexic-butterfly55 on deviant ART

I’m sorry, but she does. Most of these models do. It’s one thing to be thin. Thin does not mean “anorexic.” You can be thin and healthy, but half these models look like they’d faint if they tried to climb a flight of stairs.

You can, however, be well-proportioned and slim. It’s doable. Jessica Biel is the best example I can think of right now. At least for the third Blade movie (oh dear gods, I can still remember it), she put on muscle and was fit.

Even if you’re not superheroine-shaped, a woman’s beauty isn’t about how she looks (as cliché as that sounds). Women just need confidence. How do does she feel about herself and ow does she handle herself? That’s the best way to gauge a woman’s sexiness. Even then, looking like you’re not a P90X participant is not the deal breaker. Looks are not the only deciding factor. I’ve been around women who conformed to “normal” standards of beauty and yet were ugly right to the bone. Confident, yes, but conceited, self-centered, and otherwise emotionally reprehensible.

Beauty is about YOU. If anyone ever tells you or makes you feel otherwise, kick him in the nads. And if it’s a girl, punch her in the ovaries. Hard.

And no, I’m not being a hypocrite by calling Candice too thin and saying beauty is on the inside. Girl looks like a dead body on CSI. She looks like her shadow weighs more. Even if she was Mother Theresa, I’d beg her to eat a cheeseburger for her own benefit.

Beauty by ~TroyBlue on deviant ART

Let’s get some links up in this.

Ah-nold is done with politics, but he’s going back to entertainment in a new endeavor called “The Governator.” He stars as a politician who saves the world as a nigh-invincible superhero. Sound like a fantasy? The first trailer looks like, well… what Ah-nold thinks he looks like in an action role.

Congratulations to Arizona. You’ve now made it illegal to question the tax breaks religious organization receive. Way to go.

Speaking of beauty standards, in Brazil, a murder inmate won a beauty pageant. No, really.

If the you have the cash or know-how, check out these steampunk items.

A girl was denied a horse to fulfill her dream… so she used a cow.

Amanda Fucking Palmer has a few words to say about speaking out at concerts and the standards we use for music.

Have you ever had THAT awkward moment. You know the one I mean.

Jake over at Poor Richard’s Mixology is a great writer. I’m not saying that just because he’s my Sigma Nu brother. He and Zac have a wonderful blog, but this is the best use of visuals to accompany text I’ve seen in a long time. Keep it up, guys!

Saint Ray Bradbury the Awesome has some advice for children.

And finally, although I’m very hesitant of anything involving Ryan Reynolds, I’m very curious to see Green Lantern. The new footage recently released shows us a little more of the Green Lantern universe and, just maybe, as far of a shot as it sounds, Reynolds might pull it off if he can get past the Sandler-esque comedy he usually does. See you Friday!

"I am a mighty demon slayer!"

July 19, 2010

Work is picking up and it will be a heavy month or so, so expect shorter articles for the time being.

That being said, I’ve had some time to look through the interwebs and found a story that’s a bit on the weird side.

Yes, it looks like the internet, that bastion of anonymity and baseless, emotional attacks based on nothing more than screen names and misspelled postings is embracing the concept of responsibility for one’s comments. Starting later this month, Blizzard will make posters use their real names in its forums. You can have the option of putting your character name beside it so people can know who you are.

Did I miss something? Granted, I’m a tabletop player, but isn’t half the fun of these online communities the ability to disappear and become a new person?

I was there at the dawn of the internet generation, in the Long, Long Ago Time…

Kickin’ it old school by ~Secret-Agent-Nikita on deviant ART

I remember when chat rooms were still fairly new. I remember when computers made that sound like electricity itself was choking on its own vomit while a modem dialed and hooked up to the internet. The ability to meet and interact with new people was so new, so exciting, especially considering the ability to meet people with nothing more than a name and a brief, perhaps fake description.

It was like the Wild West, only with a lot more penis jokes.

Years passed and now the ability to sign up for an online service, game, or just talk with people who know you as Aleena, elven priestess of the Dark Sisters, instead of, say, Earl, has become common-place.

And is that a good thing?

I’m really torn on this whole issue. On the one hand, I want the ability to explore, comment, and otherwise go about my business without giving people too much information about myself. On the other hand, I understand why these measures may be necessary. Think back to the last forum you went to. Even better, check out Youtube comments. The amount of idiocy, bigotry, and downright nastiness is enough to make anyone long for Orwellian control sometimes, but only for a moment.

Holding people accountable of their actions on the internet, or anywhere really, is a noble endeavor, but do we loose something in the process?

It’s tricky. I want people held accountable for their actions, but I don’t want people giving out information that could be used to find them in real life at some point. Having moderators on these boards is just a temporary solution and prone to favoritism.

I guess like any technology, it’s going to take a while to find a way to really live with this kind of thing.

And now on to the links!

South Korea has developed a robot sentry armed to the nines. Now all we have to do is develop some really good Artificial Intelligence and we’ve got us a Robot Apocalypse, folks!

Speaking of the olden days… they’re bringing back Beavis and Butthead? Apparently, MTV wants to air more music videos and thinks bringing back this think-tank will give them that opportunity. But, uhm… isn’t this MUSIC Television?! Isn’t it supposed to be their job already?! It’s like a cop trying to find a good excuse to carry a gun.

My hatred of all things Twilight is well-known among regular readers, but the rumor that Taylor Lautner may play a young Wolverine in a future film fills me with a range unknown to me since the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.

The P90X workout has been selling like condoms on Spring Break. I use it, and apparently some members of the government are also using it. And it looks like this could also include Obama. Nice!

And speaking of the internet, it looks like reading real books makes you smarter. Intern3tz makez you the dumb. Who would have thought?

Do you want an organic weed wacker? Oddly enough, we have scores of them down here and across the country: goats. Do you have a goat? You could start your own lawn service!

Tired of co-workers stealing your lunch? Get this genius anti-theft sandwich bag!

Finally, the Old Spice commercials have really blown up, but leave it to my fellow academics to make perhaps the best parody I’ve ever seen on this meme. I’ve never wanted to go to a library so much.

Beauty and the “Common” Woman

St0p Th4t!