I was at the gym tonight, and just a little more self-conscious than I was yesterday before I started reading some of this thread (can't even read all of the headlines from BrightStar, that LW is out of control...)

I am male, single, straight, 43, and pretty fit but still kind of chunky since I like food and lack will power. Pictures in magazines don't effect me as much as real people - the models in the mags are so unreal that they are completely irrelevant to my life (at least that is what I tell myself).

But even in the real world, there are people who are super fit and/or super attractive (always a couple at the gym that everybody notices - the really ripped GQ guy, or the naturally curvy AND fit girl), and it does make me aware of my short comings (blah skin, average looks, no wash board abs, blah clothes). At the end of my workout, I do wonder what anybody who might notice thinks when I stretch and my shirt pops up to reveal... not a wash board, but kind of a paunch. Not so interested in the guys' opinion, but I do wonder if that girl that I am kind of interested in saw that. Not too impressive if she is comparing me to the guy that could be on the cover of some mag.

I usually need to preview my posts 4 or 5 times to get rid of all of my typos and formatting woes. Then I usually realize I left off one of the best points supporting my argument. *sigh*

It took me 2 previews just for this one and this one is short, but I can't type and the wine I had with dinner is having its effect...

I don't want to ever see this woman again. She should never, ever, be given as much responsibility as she has already been handed by the voters of Alaska (about whom I now have serious doubts regarding their common sense). Caribou Barbie is right where she belongs: back home in Wasilla.

If the citizens of Alaska decide to send someone to Washington, DC to represent their interests - knowing fully well that she has no interest or knowledge in national or international issues - then they are silly fools and I have no choice but to start a campaign to demote Alaska from statehood to US territory. They simply wouldn't deserve the status of being a state. No cessation, mind you - just recognition that they don't really know what they are doing when it comes to politics.

Redemption for Alaska comes when Caribou Barbie finishes her governor's term and goes back to Wasilla to hand out tokens at a car wash and trade recipes for moose jerky.

AND WE NEVER HEAR FROM HER AGAIN!

EVER.

If the citizens of Alaska decide to send someone to Washington, DC to represent their interests - knowing fully well that she has no interest or knowledge in national or international issues - then I have no choice but to start a campaign to demote Alaska from statehood to US territory. They simply wouldn't deserve the status of being a state. No cessation, mind you - just recognition that they don't really know what they are doing when it comes to politics.

Redemption comes when Caribou Barbie finishes her term and goes back to Wasilla to manage a car wash.

AND WE NEVER HEAR FROM HER AGAIN!

EVER.

Use the "<blockquote>" taq to offset your comment from something like the items you attribute to Summers.

On a quick read I thought those items were your opinion and was beginning to think poorly of you. On re-read I agree that this guy sounds like he has no heart and reduces human suffering down to simple dollars and cents, and seems like he has no need to trouble himself with concepts like morality.

I drove a taxi for about 7 years in Denver, mostly nights, and I saw those groups of cool young folks like liflelike and her friends. They all liked the fact that the "cool" chick they hung out with didn't judge them when they tried their game with other girls, and the cool chick really dug that she got to see the real side of her "friends". Guess what happened after we dropped off the "cool" chick? The guys often changed a bit when she wasn't around. And she thinks she knows them, uh huh, right.

lifelike you may think you have seen a wide sampling of a lot of diverse situations, but there is one underlying thing that is true about every one of your life experiences in "this many states" and "that many cities" - you were there with people you chose to be with. If you think the experiences of one person are sufficient to form general conclusions about the behavior of all men, you're full of sh*t. I have seen far more people in the back seat of a cab, who represent a far broader cross section of society and I can say people are just *slightly* more complex than you think, men included. If you think you have them all figured out because the players you chose to hang with let you see the "real" side of them, you are fooling yourself.

Thank you for writing about them and sharing them with us. They honor your father in a way that I am sure makes him proud.