Hmmm. I think that title could qualify as short modern poetry rather than a title or prose. But never mind that. I was thinking about shit today. Or rather lack of shit in my life. And especially compared to most other people’s lives. Which was where I got the idea for this post and its title. And just a warning, because shit is too much information (TMI) for some people, you might not want to read further unless you can tolerate shitty humour.
thoughts
Don’t Forget the Innocents Who Died and Are Affected by War
This Remembrance / Veterans Day, I am not only remembering the veterans who died and fought for our freedom, but I am also remember the innocents who also suffered for it. Their names are often not as well registered and kept so they are more easily forgotten, especially by the victors who remember their deads more and who write the history to come.
Don’t You Love a Good World Drama like with the Chilean Miners?
Like a tens of millions of people around the world, I am watching the final phases leading to the rescue capsule attempt to extract the first of 33 Chilean miners trapped for 68 days now. I really am, blogging during commercials.
There always seems to be “big” breaking news these days, especially on all news network like CNN or CBC Newsworld in Canada. However, every once in a while, something really big comes along, and it is really something to see and feel the world focused on an event like this. I know people watching. I see updates on my Facebook page. I can see people watching walking around in public areas with television screens. Even some sports bars have this drama instead of sports because, in all honesty, it’s far more drama than any sport can provide.
Speaking of television, I wonder what the event will do to the television ratings of shows tonight? And who’s going to be saying I was watching (fill in a Tuesday night show) instead of this at the water cooler at work on Wednesday? What are people going to think of them?
I’m not one to be glued to the television, and definitely not a news junkie, but I can’t remember being this captivated by news since 9/11, and then the start of the Iraq War before that in the 1990s. Very fortunately, this has a much more hopeful and inspirational tone.
But let’s not forget, things could still go wrong. They talk about the potential technical problems. They talk about the potential problems with the physical and mental health of the men as they will take this journey up the shaft back into the world, and the journey back into the social world as everything would have changed in their lives. Not just by the event but family dynamics that made due without them. Roles will have been changed and may forever be changed. Some will use the mine ordeal as excuses to warrant deserving any number of things in their relationships, which will only be tolerated for some time. Certainly, potential career changes will have to be contemplated as going back down into a mine for the next shift won’t be so easy. There will be the media and social circus that some won’t handle well, whether from stress or new opportunities for which they will abandon their old families and/or livelihood given the temptations of fame, and maybe money that comes with it as far as interviews, book and/or movie deals, etc. So much to adapt to and handle that I wonder if 5 or 10 years from now, some of the miners might say the time after the ordeal was more difficult for them to handle than the ordeal itself of being trapped for all that time. Most people can’t handle fame, you know… even the ones who have been living in it for a long time.
Despite all the things anticipated, I can’t help wonder if there might be any potential drama back in the mine when the time comes to get the men out one by one. There’s been a list drawn up, but what if someone decides to buck that at the last moment? It might be out of panic not to have to wait so long, or maybe for some other reasons. There will be rescuers sent down who could be taken hostage, and so on. Humans are a little unpredictable in that sense.
And they will have to repeat this journey 33 miners times so there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong.
And what then when something goes wrong? Will they cut off the coverage?
Well, I’ll try not to think about it. Let’s not anyone think about it.
Positive thinking from here on in for everyone’s safety. It might take 2-3 days in total for everyone to get out so after the euphoria of the first rescue, there will still be lots of anticipation and one more spike when the last person comes up.
In the meanwhile, I’ll go and pray. I’m not religious, but I’m not against praying to all the deities out there, either. Let’s just say I believe in praying.
Best wishes to the Chilean miners for a safe return to the surface and to a more regular life. The world is with you.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Reading Level: 7.7
Hey (fat) Girl Friend, Wanna Be My Bridesmaid (so I can look thin)?
Here’s definitely something to think about the next time you are at a wedding, or see someone’s wedding pictures!
On July 6, the Daily Telegraph in the UK ran a story about how one-third of engaged British women in a survey by Slim Fast admitted they would choose an overweight friend for a bridesmaid to make them look better (i.e. thinner) on their wedding day (and the photos from that day that would be cherished as long as the marriage lasts).
OH MY!!!
That was my first reaction. Insecurity and vanity have gone to new heights! While I’m sure this is nothing new after thinking about it, just the thought shocked me… though I’m not a woman so that would go far to explain why. I did know about women having bigger purses to make them look thinner, tight stuff to hold it in, curved lines to fool the eyes on actual size and shapes of their bodies, having an uglier friend be their “wingman” out on the town so they’d look more attractive (guys do the same thing though not me), etc. But this was way above and beyond that for me because this threw out true friendships for obesity!
OUCH!!!
That was my second reaction. If this ever really got out, every woman who will ever get asked, or not asked, to be a bridesmaid, is probably going to think about this reason as a possibility first. If she didn’t get asked, the reaction might be just a slight snark. If she did get asked, especially when she didn’t think she was among the bride’s top 3-5 friends, she might be outright insulted. Now, I know brides also take bridesmaids from her family or the groom’s family, too, to include them in the wedding party a little more. But hey, now there is a great excuse to eliminate some thin friends without telling them the truth about how insecure you were!
Just the thought you could have been included or excluded among the bridesmaids for your weight is just NASTY!!!
Now, this “one third” group is just those who admitted it! I wonder how many didn’t admit it???
And how many who would undoubtedly be in self-denial about it?
Come on. People are in denial about all sorts of ludicrous things. That’s why admitting you have a problem is truly the first step towards solving it… whether it’d be addiction or something light and simple.
Worse, what do you think those rates would be in America these days, where obesity is literally an epidemic?
Literally means statistically cause they’ve got far more than enough numbers to prove it!
Good Lord!
There were a few other eye opening details from this survey, like how brides diet before their wedding and such. However, they weren’t surprising to me. People, men and women, do all kinds of crap to their bodies that are far worse, and friendships were not at stake here.
There was also a result about how the women surveyed said buying a new outfit boosted their confidence. Hey, you think marketers don’t know this when they advertise to women? And don’t give me the “that’s BRITISH women” or “that doesn’t apply to me” stuff. If it didn’t, the woman is uncommon, if not rarer than that. Too bad the odds are she’s probably not nearly as uncommon as she thinks she is there. That uniqueness affliction is true for all humans as many psychology studies have shown. Also refer to note above on “denial”.
But I especially loved the 40% who said new shoes made them feel better about their appearance. Maybe so, but if that feeling better has anything to do with men looking at them, and a lot of it is, let me share the news the men aren’t likely looking at their feet if the men were checking them over! The eyes stop far above the feet!
That’s enough of all that for now, though. It’s plenty to chew on. But maybe you’d like to answer a couple of these questions knowing results from that SlimFast survey. This is not meant to be scientific or anything. Just throwing some thoughts out there in hopes the people who respond would be honest, and seeing what comes back.
If the Sim Fast survey were correct and you’ve had a chance to be in more than 3 bridesmaid parties in the past 5 years or so, statistics say you should probably answer “yes”.
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If the Slim Fast survey were accurate, and you have 3 or more married female friends whose wedding you have attended, statistics say you would probably answer “yes”. Let’s see if the men’s opinion differ from the women’s below. Don’t tell your friends if you answered “yes”, though, cause you know they’ll ask you which friend/s prompted the answer. For women who like to gossip, and there are many who do, this could be “fun” (aka nasty) gossip!
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If the Slim Fast survey were accurate, and you have 3 or more married female friends whose wedding you have attended, statistics say you would probably answer “yes”. Compare to the men’s results above. Don’t tell your friends if you answered “yes”, though, cause you know they’ll ask you which friend/s prompted the answer. For women who like to gossip, and there are many who do, this could be “fun” (aka nasty) gossip!
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Flesch-Kincaid Grade Reading Level: 6.5
Digital Citizen 