Fight Girls

Guilty Pleasure
This is a new category I’m introducing for things which I like that I know I shouldn’t. My list is quite long and includes everything from Air Supply’s “All out of Love” to soft core vampire crime thrillers to “The Bold and the Beautiful.” (Yes, I have no shame.) My newest guilty pleasure has got to be “Fight Girls” on the Oxygen channel (the home to many guilty TV pleasures). 10 women who practice martial arts live and fight together (in and outside of their house) with the goal of muay thai fighting Thai adolescents in Thailand. I think the program’s tag line is, “Friends at home, enemies in the ring.”

Interesting People
Have you heard of Ruby Payne? I read about her in Sunday’s NYT magazine whose theme was class in American. Apparently, she writes book and lectures on class differences. Her primary audience seems to be educators seeking to understand their students. She’s boiled down differences between low, middle and upper classes into 15 categories. For example, she claims that humor in poverty is about people and sex. For the middle class it’s about situations. The upper class laugh at social faux pas. In poverty, the present is most important. In the middle class, it’s the future. And for wealth, it’s the past. She has many critics who accuse her of oversimplifying, offering theories without sufficient supporting evidence and contributing to class bias. But what I think is interesting is the fact that she is at least talking about class difference which Americans like to pretend doesn’t exist.

Television
What did you think of The Sopranos finale? I’m in the camp who thought it ended exactly the way it should have—in limbo with a family mired in moral ambiguity. At the same time as Chase left us hanging though, he gave us plenty of visceral thrills. How cool was it when the SUV with the babies trapped inside was slowed down because of Phil’s head? And what about those last five minutes? That was probably the most suspense I’ve had to endure for a quite a while. When Meadow had trouble parallel parking, I was sure she was going to be the only one of the family left alive at the end. But my favorite part was the very end when everything faded to black in silence. For just a moment, you had to wonder if cable had gone out. Of course, it didn’t because Sunday was just the end of the Sopranos not the end of HBO. (Or so they’d like to think.)

What are your thoughts about the new HBO shows being brought to replace The Sopranos on Sunday night? John from Cincinnati? Flight of the Conchords? I’m bummed Big Love was moved to Monday night, but I’ll keep watching it. I think it’s one of the warmest depiction of families I’ve seen in a long time (And yeah Bill Pullman does have 3 wives but, really, the family is just so normal.)

Have you watched Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel? Each week Bear Grylis has himself dropped off in some godforsaken place (Jungles, Outback, Forests, Mountains) with nothing but his wits. He then has to figure out how to return to civilization. The new season begins on Friday at 9 Eastern if you’re interested in picking up some tricks. One never knows when one might need to know how to wring water out of elephant dung (Yep. We saw him drink it and survive.)


Health and Wellness
An issue of Time was devoted to food. Did anyone see it? One of the articles, “The Science of Appetite,” is especially interested because it discusses in detail the role our body’s chemicals play in appetite.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2...1626795,00.html


Jack LaLanne has got to be among the cheesiest, hammiest guys out there. But he’s an inspiration for anyone trying to stay fit. Check out the video and article on him keeping in mind he’ll soon be 93.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...7051800916.htmlETA: Here's a link to the article itself:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...7061101919.html


New Technology
Every time I’m back in an office environment, I remember how annoying it was to be cold in the summer and hot in the winter. If anyone is suffering from an erratic office climate, check out the new desktop cooler/heaters which are being sold for $300. It only ways a few pounds but it allows you to control your work space.

Quote
“First the stomach, then God.” --One swami quoting another