Enlightening.
In closing: Sears; Fat costs us all; Japan has cute technology so powerful that even the Emperor and his wife are cute; Lululemon; Jobs report stinks; maybe we could fix that with some infrastructure building; silly USA Today thinking facts matter; novel; it’s privacy week; yeah, because making sure all high school graduates can read is a vast conspiracy; and Mark Twain.
On my most recent trip, I had a unique book to read while lounging by a beach of white sand and impossibly blue water. That book was The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow. No, not a fantasy novel for young adults, but a book about women — oddly bereft of feminism. It’s a book about brides and a very special bridal shop in a small Michigan town. You’ll want to keep some tissues close by while you read it. You can get a little taste of it right here.
How did he end up in a bridal shop? When Mr. Zaslow set out to write “a nonfiction book about the love we all wish for our daughters,” he went looking for “a place with great emotion.” His wife suggested a bridal shop. And it’s not just any bridal shop, not one of those big chains or the boutique tucked in an obscure corner of a big department store. Becker’s Bridal has a long history: 4 generations of women in one remarkable family have worked here, in an old “small town” bank building, creating “magic.”
In addition to reading about the strong women of the Becker family and their business, we also follow a number of brides on their journey through the process. This does cause a bit of a muddle towards the last third of the book as the reader jumps from bride to bride, finishing out what happened between their trip to Becker’s and the wedding itself: is Courtney the one who decided not to kiss anyone until she got married? The kindergarten teacher who was in a car wreck? The widow who is getting remarried even though her kids are unhappy with the arrangement? The independent woman who is finally getting married for the first time in her 40s? Or is she the one with rheumatic heart disease? With many brides comes some confusion for anyone without a photographic memory.
As I consider the idea of my second wedding, I found the idea of a “bridal industry” somewhat creepy. No mistake, I understand and respect that there are people who make a living making sure I have a dress that makes me “princess for a day,” seeing to invitations, attiring my entire wedding party, putting together memorable services and receptions. I can’t imagine spending “between $19,907 and $33,178” as most American couples do. Even the cheapest sale dresses at Becker’s are more than I can justify spending on a gown I will — hopefully — only wear once.
Like the “funeral industry,” it doesn’t quite sound right to have an “industry” grow up around profoundly personal moments in somebody’s life. What’s next? Calling religious institutions part of the “faith industry”?
This being said, Mr. Zaslow comes up with some very interesting observations, presented in a rather dry, tangential, New York Times sort of way: brides used to be “smaller,” oh no not because of obesity, but because they “didn’t work out” and “didn’t lift weights” and “didn’t eat the way Americans eat today”; roughly 15% of mothers of the bride want dresses that are “too revealing and sexy,” and 35% have to be reminded that they aren’t the grandmother of the bride; sometimes the boss has to “be a bitch”; and oddly enough, “advances in box-making helped fuel the computer revolution.”
In this world of Brides Behaving Badly, it’s refreshing to see that getting married doesn’t have to be a three ring circus. On the other hand, there’s something odd about a man writing a tear-jerker book about the bridal industry, and saying it’s about “the love we all wish for our daughters.”
Want to discuss this book more? Go check out the conversation already flowing over at the Blogher Book Club.
Disclosure statement: I read this book for the Blogher Book Club. In return for my participation I was given a copy of the book (e-book in this case) and I will receive $20. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed here are my own.
Ok then, who wants a heaping helping of In Closing?: made up words; moron; Anonymous does good; if school was a job, students would get more break time by law; it’s never too early to eat right and move your body; cult; and security theatre.
It sure looks that way!
The California Attorney General has pulled out of the settlement talks and plans to run her own investigation! I wouldn’t be surprised if the New York Attorney General followed, since he‘s already talked about investigating on his own, and says he’s looking forward to talking with her.
For that matter, since Nevada‘s Attorney General has taken Bank of America to court for (allegedly) not abiding by a 2009 agreement on foreclosures and foreclosure fraud, it would make sense for her to join the party as well.
In Closing: The D Word; I miss the old days too; I guess they were in the building so that makes them accessories?; Occupy Wherever (like, say, Vegas); yes, mostly; about time somebody called out this BS; mechanically challenged; hell no!; and Happy October.
There’s a restaurant site down the street that does not appear to attract success.
I forget what the place was originally, other than an expensive build. I feel certain that high expenses are what killed the place.
After remaining empty for a while, it became an “Asian fusion seafood restaurant.” Hey, this is Vegas, we can support that sort of thing. Of course maybe if the site weren’t within a few hundred feet of not one, but two nationally known chains of “Asian fusion seafood restaurants,” and down the street from a notable modern sushi bar, it might have done better. Oh yeah, they maybe could have had some advertising. But it was clearly an expensive build, so maybe they didn’t have money to let people know it was actually open.
After remaining empty for another long while, the building got a new paint job in colors that suggested Mexican or some other sort of Latin cuisine, and signage for a new restaurant. It never opened. I remember seeing some sofas out by the dumpster behind the building. Yet another expensive build.
Then the sign changed again, and signs of what was by my count a 4th expensive interior redesign began. The name of the place? Hotel California. Yeah, like this:
Right, because everybody wants to go eat dinner someplace where they’ve got no wine, but plenty of pink champagne on ice. And you have to stab your dinner to death with a steely knife. Oh, and you might not be allowed to leave after you pay your check. Happy Hour indeed.
As if that’s not enough, we have a California Hotel here in Vegas.
Yesterday, I noticed that the sign — which by the way looks like it was painted by teenagers from Acapulco — had changed. It’s now the “Baja California.”
The big, brass, expensive-looking letters on the front of the building still read HC.
In Closing: truth; I hope this really happened; do you think the Republicans would be willing to put tax rates where they were during the Reagan Administration?; Not Gonna Happen! There can never be a Get Out of the Security Line Free card!; when ideology is more important than science; Al Jazeera prints the truth; another victory lap around the shark tank; “die, bitch”; and the last dinosaur.
International No Diet Day is May 6. I know some of my readers practice “No Diet Day” every day, and I mean them no offense by this post. I recognize that there is a small minority of people — mostly people with a decades long history of dieting and failing and/or people recovering from eating disorders — for whom dieting is a detrimental if not downright pathological activity.
I first learned of the existence of this day from this defacement of their Wikipedia entry. As a result, I took a look at their website. It makes my brain hurt. From it’s whimsical use of Comic Sans in a serious document to it’s chronic misuse of scientific information, I just can’t imagine taking International No Diet Day seriously.
One of the goals of the occasion is to “Recognize how dieting perpetuates violence against women”. Excuse me? There are people who assault women over the issue of dieting? Failing to “recognize” that, here! I’m sorry for the narrow-minded viewpoint that “violence” implies “physically hurting someone,” but Merriam-Webster’s got my back on this one. Am I seriously missing news stories about women being beaten up for eating a donut? For not eating a donut?? To add insult to imagined injury, I can’t find any information on their site that would support or clarify this goal. If they want to argue that there are people who make fun of dieters and people who make fun of fat people, I can agree with that. Calling it “violence” undermines their movement.
Let’s move on to their “facts” and figures about dieting. Between “90 and 99%” of diets don’t work forever? Pretty big range there! Sure would have been nice to link to a study or two, preferably ones that use those numbers. There’s reasons for diet failure, of course, and most of them can be controlled. Then “virtually all” dieters gain it back? That’s a big shock to me, my family, my friends, and many people on the internet.
Yes, it’s true that the “diet industry” and diet scams earn a lot of money from people who desperately want to get thin, but can’t get the hang of eating healthy foods in reasonable quantities and engaging in physical activity. Want to have a “Boycott Diet Industry Vultures Day”? A “Say No To Crappy Diet Food Day,” or “No Diet Shakes for Me Day”? Perhaps just simply a “Don’t Waste Money On Stuff That Doesn’t Work Day”? I’m there.
In the end, the “facts” and figures section has a lot of statistics and mentions studies, but provides no data or links or actual scientific papers to back them up. 5% of college aged women are anorexic or bulimic? Seriously? Based on what information? Almost a third of women in their 20s and early 30s have bone mass problems? Really? Tell me, did the makers of Boniva do that study? Where did the data on 9 and 10 year olds dieting come from, a child modeling agency? How hard is it to find citations online? There’s these miracle things called “search engines” now. An English teacher would have a “Field Day” with “International No Diet Day.”
There is one more “goal” that needs mentioning, one apparently too controversial for the frontpage of their site or the Wikipedia entry: “To educate the public about the dangers of weight-loss surgery, diet drugs, and size-biased medical treatment.” By “size-biased medical treatment,” they mean the idea that your doctor thinks you will be healthier in the long run if you lose some weight and keep it off. Here’s the facts: study after study shows that obese people are at higher risk for a variety of cancers (oh look, I used a search engine to find a gaggle of studies!); obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease; obesity is a risk factor for osteoarthritis in the joints of the lower body; obesity is a risk factor for diabetes (at least one doctor I know insists that if you are overweight, you will eventually become diabetic. Sobering stuff). If it is “size-biased medical treatment” to point these things out, I hope all doctors are so biased.
In Closing: TV ownership in America on the decline, both due to poverty and internet delivery of video; FDA getting ability to do something about food safety; flashmob robbery; waaah; small business hiring disappointing; we’ve all gone crazy; Orwell would be proud indeed; propaganda; “Dude, I need, like, about 250 sliders, man”; thank you, anti-vax morons; and an interesting view of 2012.
Ladies and gentlemen, the reason that GDP looks fine while to the rest of us the economy looks like a rusted out Ford Escort with a leaky power steering pump and a transmission that slips now and then: A typical hedge fund manager, in just one hour, “earns” what it would take you or I 47 years to accumulate. And at the end of the day, he doesn’t even make anything as useful or durable as a latte. After all, he did not cause the money he “makes” to come into being, only to come into his pocket. Even better yet, if you were to close one simple tax loophole, the top 25 of them would pay an additional $4,400,000,000 in taxes.
When even the IMF notices that we’ve got an income inequality problem in this country, you know it’s really bad.
In Closing: even Republicans think it’s a bad idea to slash Medicare; yeah, that could be why they’re fat; truly sad; stereotype theatre; I notice that sunshine and fortified milk are not on this list; the long version; riffing on a theme; caffeine!; oh yeah, that‘s gonna help; truth; incompetent photoshop tricks; better than it could have been; just in case you ever wondered what they ate; soldier fitness; have a Koch and a smile.
I’m having trouble figuring out where to begin on this one.
So Steven Seagal is now filming his little cop-show in Arizona, with Everyone’s Least Favorite Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. Mr. Seagal just happened to be along on a little raid of a suspected cock-fighting operation. Rather than do something rational like knock on the door yelling “THIS IS THE POLICE AND WE HAVE A WARRANT!”, somebody decided that the most prudent way to conduct this operation was to have “armored vehicles, including a tank” come through the neighborhood and knock one wall of the suspect’s home down. Neighbors panicked and called 911. It turns out that the suspect was alone and unarmed in the home. In the end, “Thousands of dollars in damages were made to the property and 115 birds were euthanized on the spot.”
Now, I’m going to ignore the nagging suspicion that maybe the chickens were in fact run over by the tank.
I’m even going to ignore the fact that the suspect in this case is still a suspect — innocent until proven guilty and all — who has just had his home made uninhabitable and un-securable. Nor will he be able to make arrangements for repairs to make his home secure until he can post bail or be found innocent. In other words, he’d better plan on never seeing any of his possessions again.
I’ll even ignore the undue fear created by police officers in the community, the role of the TV cameras, and all the controversy that curls around Sheriff Arpaio like Rapunzel’s hair.
Here’s my question: in a day and age of budget cuts everywhere, how and why does any civilian law enforcement agency own and maintain a TANK?
Seriously, with cash-strapped state and local governments everywhere you look, don’t you think that just maybe the tanks and other armored vehicles should be the first thing to go? Is it really that important to be able to knock down the occasional wall? And if so, wouldn’t it be more cost effective to rent an tank team from the local National Guard unit for the afternoon?
Not even Radley Balko knew what to say about this one. What a shame he’s moving to HuffPo.
In closing: HowTo; Sahara; Democrats don’t do P90X?; zombie nuclear dump; flipflop; Thorium; who could have thought that “metabolic abnormalities in obese teens may relate to poor diets”??; Busted has a point; shirt; uncertainty; and that’s it for the day.
It seems that March’s second day
is a special birthing day,
for Dr. Seuss of children’s lore
joined our world in Nineteen Four!
Should I, could I make a cake?
That’s fattening, for goodness sake!
Maybe I should write a poem
Though, truth is, I didn’t know him.
You could go to a memorial,
or to a library for a tutorial.
Perhaps Seussville seems like fun
(think so? You’re not the only one!)
Perhaps we could slice up some rare, Who roast beast,
with Green Eggs and Ham for a tasty feast!
Could wacky Wikis be your speed?
Or should we just sit down… and read?
In closing: Canadians prefer their news be made of truth; on taxes; uh, bad idea; so be it; which version do you like better?; ok, that sounds like a spending cut I can support; Timmy stamps his foot; right to work; too much sugar still isn’t good for you; unclear on how the government gets revenue; I saw the news today, oh boy; we’re doin it wrong; and time warp.
Now here’s the thing. Go ahead and call the records office of the county where you were born. Tell them you need a copy of your birth certificate. It might cost you $10. I am willing to bet that 9 out of 10 of you will end up with a fresh computer printout of your birth certificate, rather than a certified copy of the “original” one with the signature of the doctor who delivered you. So by wingnut standards, you can’t prove you were born in the United States.
Furthermore, Hawaii is part of the United States. If you don’t know this, you really shouldn’t be allowed to vote.
And don’t even get me started on Boehner and the Budget. As Ezra Klein said on NPR this morning, if anybody in Washington were serious about cutting the deficit, they wouldn’t have extended the Bush tax cuts!
In Closing: 7 kinds of malicious hackers; truth; crime victims need not apply?; Susie‘s right; the House may have shoved it through, but the Senate can still stop the PATRIOT Act from being renewed; please tell me this was no shock; taking Kate to task; collider; and lessons of Star Wars.
Seriously. If I write about any of the crap spewing from Washington — whether from Congress, Timmy Geithner, or our gutless President who is more conservative than Nixon or Reagan — I’m likely to say something regrettable. So here’s what some other people have to say. As it is, I use a little more salty language than normal, so deal with it.
Here’s something on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You know, the group of fatcat businessmen that President Obama was begging to create jobs? What a bunch of “greedy fucks.”
Here’s what an 11 year old girl has to say about Gitmo. Notice where she admits that some of her information may be biased? I have hope for the critical thinking skills of the next generation, somewhat less hope that the War on Terror will ever end.
There’s a lot to be said about Egypt today. How about we start with a picture:
But really, this sums up my thoughts well.
There’s really a lot to say about the Anti-Woman forces calling themselves “Pro-Life”, but I’ll let Nancy start the parade. Remember, HR3 has a much wider reach than most people know. That’s even before we start talking about conscience clauses that would allow ignorant ******* to turn people away whose pregnancies can kill them. That’s before we talk about the fact that if these ******** had their way, women whose “babies” would be born with fatal birth defects would be forced to carry that corpse to term, endure dozens of well meaning people asking “Is it a boy or a girl? Have you picked a name??”, go through all the complications of pregnancy including the possibility of death in labor, all so some ******** can pretend he — and I do mean HE — is preventing abortions. People who think that is acceptable can rot in hell. Republicans want to cut family planning too, so we know they don’t really give a damn about preventing abortions.
Here’s something on states declaring bankruptcy to get out of paying people the retirement funds they were promised — and remember, state employees pay no Social Security taxes, so those pensions may be all they’ve got.
Speaking of bankruptcy, here’s something on how the bankruptcy “reform” of a few years back contributed to the foreclosure mess.
Nobody seems to remember that almost all regulations are put in place to protect somebody. Of course it’s dumb to say that regulations are automatically “job killing.” If the people whining about “job killing” gave a shit about jobs, maybe they wouldn’t be trying to cut and gut jobs programs! Here’s an urgent message for our elected officials: JOBS are still the number one issue on Americans’ minds. Put people to work, and some of the other problems — national deficit, social security, foreclosures — might start to fix themselves.
But this one really makes me mad. Ornery has it right when he calls the move to cut emergency funding for heating in the middle of a colder than average winter “so fucking tone deaf it boggles my fucking mind.” Heaven forbid we should raise taxes on people making, say, a million dollars a year when we can just freeze Granny to death! Who needs a death panel when you’ve got a blizzard? Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!
See how mad I am, and all I’m really doing is quoting other people? Over the weekend I promise to have something happier to say… about something.
In Closing: Kafka-san; tip of the iceberg?; junk fees and foreclosure; too lazy; secret air travel; pot of gold; is it snarky if it’s true?; the status quo is bad; on conservatives and the Bible; city-states; zero tolerance means zero thinking; vaccinate; the budget.