August 7, 2004

According to this article in The New Yorker, the military is now offering free plastic surgery as an incentive for duty.

"Personnel in all four branches of the military and members of their immediate families can get face-lifts, nose jobs, breast enlargements, liposuction, or any other kind of elective cosmetic alteration, at taxpayer expense," Karen Schaler wrote.

I exercise to stay healthy, but wish there was an easier way. What's your exercise personality?

August 5, 2004

If you missed Barack Obama's rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention, do yourself a favor and listen to it online. During his 18 minutes at the podium, he wowed millions of Americans with his intelligence, idealism and charisma. If he lives up to his lofty political promises, I wouldn't be surprised to see Obama become president one day.

"For the Next X," a CD featuring songs by Tori Amos, matchbox twenty, Charlotte Martin, the Indigo Girls, Michelle Branch and others, arrived in the mail this week. All proceeds from the sale of this compilation go to support the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault organization in America. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-HOPE and sponsors programs to educate the public, help sexual assault victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

August 4, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I discuss the issue of gay marriage.

* Percy Bysshe Shelley - 8/4/1792
* Guy de Maupassant - 8/5/1850
* Alfred Lord Tennyson - 8/6/1809
* Piers Anthony - 8/6/34
* Sandy Cummins - 8/7/71
* Jonathan Kellerman -8/9/49
* Andre Dubus - 8/11/36

August 3, 2004

I wish I could give a copy of "The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" by Wendy Shanker to every woman in America. Shanker is a humor columnist for Grace magazine and the former host of the Oxygen Channel show, "She-Commerce." She's also a fat, healthy, beautiful, talented writer who understands how fucked up women in this country have become over the issue of size.

In the book, Shanker discusses her own struggles with dieting. She rips apart America's thin-obsessed culture and bemoans the pain-in-the-ass process of buying fashionable full-figured clothing. Best of all, Shanker encourages women of all sizes (including thin women who think they're fat) to reconsider their body image issues and focus their energies on more important pursuits.

"At a funeral packed with hundreds of family members, neighbors and friends, people had all sorts of things to say about my mom. They said she was kind, and smart, a good friend and wife and mom and daughter, a great entertainer with a beautiful smile. And guess what? No one said, 'It's too bad she couldn't lose those 20 pounds.' Or 'If only she would've done step aerobics, she could have had real power hamstrings.' No one checked to see what size skirt she wearing in her coffin."
--Wendy Shanker

August 2, 2004

The TV show "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" received the American Psychological Association's Golden Psi Media Award last week for providing an accurate and responsible portrayal of therapists. I can understand why. The shrinks on the show help solve crimes by profiling suspects, provide useful court testimony and never sleep with their patients.

Have you heard of the CSI Effect? Apparently, jurors in Baltimore have become so enamored with the TV show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" that they're actually expecting prosecutors to make murder cases based on physical or scientific evidence. This expectation has led to several acquittals because fewer than 10 percent of the city's homicide cases involve fingerprint or DNA evidence.

Past Afterthoughts