More Odd Behaviour

Ok, so this one just takes the cake...couldn't resist mentioning this. For two days now I've been seeing this guy come to school with a mask on--like the kind people were wearing around in China during the SARS outbreak. I mean, SARS is sooo two years ago and even then most people in and around Toronto did not walk around with masks on. I had this overwhelming urge to ask the guy WHY he was walking around with a mask over his mouth and nose but then I restrained myself. Those MBAs can be really daunting at times and although some are really nice, most of 'em just either scare me at times (don't ask why) or irritate me (primarily 'cause they act like they own the place). So yeah, my query remains unanswered. I shall wait and see if come Monday he's still walking around with that thing over his mouth but oh, wait a minute, the MBAs have reading week next week...darn...I guess I'll have to wait a week to see what develops. Back to studying for crazy midterms....toodles

Oddities

Have you ever seen people that walk around and have entire conversations and you're left wondering whether the person's on the phone or just talking to themselves for some strange reason? Well, happens to me all the time. I know people are using their earphone thingies and are actually conversing with people over the phone but c'mon...if you're just sitting around on a couch whip out that cellphone and hold it against your ear...Would seriously make my life simpler....

Oh, the other thing I noticed ( I swear I see a lot of odd things in the library...probably should get out more)....Big guy with really small laptop. This guy had his laptop sitting on the table and was squinting just to see what he was typing....and his fingers barely sat across the home row....he looked so incredibly uncomfortable and I wondered why he couldn't have just got a laptop that matched his size better...Probably would have cost him less and saved him from a backache...and (now that eye care is no longer covered under OHIP) would probably have saved him some bills from the optometrist's office. I will never understand....

Raindrops on petals and whiskers on kittens, girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes--NAH...The following are a few of my favourite things

AAAHHHH....I'm back...the crazy week from hell is over...we have peace in Atika-ville for about a week and then its back to crazy, post-reading week madness. But for now I shall enjoy the bliss without thinking about the storm that this calm precedes. I finally got it! I finally got my own copy of the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. One of the best adaptations ever and one of the BEST (if not THE best) movie ever made. I'd like to thank Jane Doe 1,2, &3 (names changed for preservation of privacy) for giving me one of the best birthday gifts ever. Now all I have to do is be able to watch almost 6 hours worth of movie without too many interruptions. There's always someone hogging the TV so I guess it'll have to wait although I don't have that much patience. Owning my own copy of this movie is only second best to owning the novel its based on and owning all five Harry Potter books and owning the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. *SIGH* I'm in heaven. I thought I'd devote this post to my favourite things (not the favourite food type things 'cause I'd never know the answers to those kinda queries). I've already gone on and on about my favourite books and movie. I think I'll give you a taste of the best instrumental piece I've ever heard. Obviously, since this is my post all these things are subjective to my taste but you will have to agree with me that its one of the best instrumentals ever after you've heard it. It's called Jugal bandi and is by my all-time favourite band junoon (www.junoon.com). Here's a link to the instrumental piece. Enjoy! http://www.muziqpakistan.com/ref4.php?song=267 . I love the combination of the guitar, tabla and drums. Absolutely amazing. I'd try to tell you my favourite song but I'd never be able to pick from the numerous from across 3 continents so I won't try. And I promised myself I'd try to keep this one short so I'm going to stop now. I am off...And will wander away from my computer as soon as Jugal bandi stops playing...the end is the best part of the whole piece.

Fat or Fab

For those of you who frequent the downtown Toronto area the picture of the "big" lady on the billboard is probably quite familiar. Dove's campaign for real beauty has been putting up billboard's all over the place with captions like "fat or fab?" asking you to vote online about what you think. I work at the library and run into quite a few interesting articles while I'm shelving-- which I probably shouldn't be reading on the job but ah well...there's usually nothing to do anyways. So, the article I'm attaching to this post is one I ran into yesterday in a publication called the "Marketing Magazine". Its a very interesting perspective that the writer has about the image of beautiful women being created by the homosexual men who control much of the fashion industry. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm still unconvinced that that model was fab...(i'm trying to find a picture but I can't so visit the website at http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com and click on body image)...She was pretty-- YES-- but fab...I dunno. Anyways, read the article and let me know what you think.
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Fat, fab or fantasy
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By David Menzies

Why are we still fixated on the skinny supermodel body image? DAVID MENZIES offers a theory that dares not speak its name

For several weeks, Tabatha Roman was the highlight of my commute along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. There she stood, soaring eight-storeys high, flashing her pearly white smile and tussling her lustrous chestnut brown hair, all the while displaying a mischievous glint in her eyes. She came across as a kinder, gentler Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Meanwhile, in the right hand corner of the massive billboard was a call for votes: Is Roman fab? Or fat?
Oh, did I neglect to mention that Roman, 34, sports a Rubenesque physique?
Make no mistake: Plus size or not, Roman is a beautiful woman (she's actually not a model, but an account executive with Ogilvy & Mather in New York). I voted "fab." (The final score, by the way, after more than 9,000 calls: 51% fat; 49% fab.)
The gargantuan poster was part of Dove's ongoing "Campaign For Real Beauty" promotion. Besides the fat/ fab query, there are other ongoing polls: Are freckles "ugly spots" or "beauty spots"? Is faded hair "grey" or "gorgeous"?
Yet, the more I dwelled upon the Roman referendum, the more miffed I became. Granted Roman will likely never fit into a size 6 dress. But who cares? Surely beauty is measured by something other than body fat calipers.
Indeed, the underlying message from Dove is that for far too long, beauty has been defined by narrow, stifling stereotypes. That's not exactly late breaking news. But it got me thinking: With respect to female body size, how did the media-endorsed image of feminine perfection-i.e., the supermodel-come into being in the first place? After all, only a single percentile of the world's women are capable of achieving-and maintaining- such a physique. Who's calling the shots? And who truly believes that a buttocks-and bosom- deficient supermodel has a body to die for?
I sought enlightenment from the very beautiful Lisa Tant, editor of Canada's pre-eminent fashion magazine, Flare. What's the deal with these stick-figure women being hailed as the feminine ideal? I asked. Tant's response: The fashion business is all about "presenting a fantasy." And, she says, those teensy-weensy clothes-hanger models trotting down the Paris and Milan runways represent the sort of women Flare's predominately female audience wants to gaze upon.
Granted, Tant has forgotten more about the beauty business than I'll ever learn. Still, I'm left wondering: Do real women with real curves and real lives truly crave the anemic-looking body image popularized by high fashion? And just what is this "fantasy" the fashion industry is selling-the joy of anorexia nervosa?
My personal theory as to why a malnourished waif like Kate Moss is a renowned supermodel is that homosexual men control much of the fashion industry. One could make a compelling argument that the lanky physique of Moss has far more in common with the body of a teenage boy than a curvaceous, mature woman.
How sad that in our allegedly enlightened age, there exists a stigma to being big and beautiful. That's the message of a play currently running off-Broadway (and receiving rave reviews), Fat Pig. Tom, a handsome young professional, meets the plus-sized Helen. To his amazement, he finds her both intellectually witty and physically attractive. He eventually falls in love with Helen, but as the relationship develops, Tom must endure mockery from his male co-workers and verbal abuse from his ex-girlfriend. None of them can believe Tom is actually smitten by such a "fat pig." (Helen is played by Ashlie Atkinson, who is quite attractive even though she stands 5', 8" and weighs 200 lbs.)
In recent media reports, Atkinson says Fat Pig is really about bravery and "feeling positive about yourself when all the messages you get from society and the media tell you you should be ashamed of yourself. In America, there's a lot of people that would rather risk death than disapproval."
Those who accept and appreciate "plus-size" beauty should tip their hats to the creators of Fat Pig and to Dove's ongoing ad campaign. Even so, I fear that changing preconceived notions of what constitutes the feminine ideal will likely take years, if not generations, to achieve. Case in point: When my friend Brian gazed upon the Dove billboard featuring Roman, he said he was going to vote fat. "She's not a pig or anything," said Brian, who, ironically, sports a Molson muscle himself. "But fab? No. She's chunky. She's fat."
Judging by Brian's caustic comments and the final vote tally (almost a 50/50 dead heat), Dove has its work cut out for it when it comes to popularizing the message that beauty is indeed more than skin deep.