Fat. Nothing about that word is appealing at all. In 2007, according to Forbes.com, more than 70% of American adults (ages 15 and up) were classified as obese. Someone is considered obese when their body mass index is greater than or equal to 30. If you want to calculate your BMI, you can go to this website: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm. If your BMI is above 30, you’ve reached a (low) point in your life where you’ve become so fat that people cannot call you overweight anymore. So, for lack of a better saying, let’s make a good situation out of the grenade.
I really do not understand why appearance itself is not good enough motivation for someone to change his or her life style. When you’re a big blob of fat and need to customize your clothing so that you have something to wear, you know you have a problem. I know there are special scenarios where someone will need to tailor their own clothes because of their freakish height or of their monkey like arms, but I am talking about average Americans. Wouldn’t this bother you: the fact that you don’t have a neck and have 4.5 chins? However, some people (yes, even obese people) carry their weight really well and don’t look morbidly massive. They often justify their weight because it doesn’t affect their “look.” To those people, did you know obesity increases your chances of a major disease such as, but not limited to, type II diabetes and heart attacks? Did you know obesity is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States? In reality, you can stop this epidemic if you simply live a healthier life style.
By no means am I advocating becoming anorexic, or picking up any type of eating disorder for that matter. However, I sure as hell am encouraging you to stop being so damn fat. Join a gym. Can’t afford it? Then go for a jog around your block, do push-ups and sit-ups at home, etc. Don’t have time? Go for a walk; JUST DO SOMETHING. Holy shit. I am tired of hearing everlasting excuses for why people can’t maintain normal weight; it’s so easy to do that you really have no excuse. Eat healthier. You really don’t need to have a double premium grilled chicken meal from McDonald’s (2260 calories), a Starbucks Java Chip Frappucino (650 calories) and an Applebee’s chocolate chip cookie sundae (1660 calories). I know a lot of your favorite foods are unhealthy and you shouldn’t give them up; just eat them in healthy quantities and try to mix in healthy foods too. This is one of those times in your life when you can pick your cake and eat it; just take responsibility for your actions. And before any hysteria erupts, let me clarify: when I blogged about standing out, I meant by doing something noteworthy. I don’t want to see your damn gut hanging out.
Don’t be that guy who buys one plane ticket but takes up two seats. Don’t be her either: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/Hawaiian_lady.jpg. Start making moves in your life before life gets to make a move on you.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Gay Marriage
Warning: Post will be unnecessarily very graphic; read at your own caution.
Picture this: ugly, naked man goes down on his wife whose vagina is covered with what one can only assume is her pubic hair. As the husband maneuvers through the jungle, he thinks: “at least I won’t need to floss tonight.” He eventually finds his target and gets busy. Disturbing image, right? Now picture this: two gay guys having anal. I will assume, only because I give my readers the benefit of the doubt, you find the tale of the heterosexual couple more unsettling than the homosexual couple. If you think about, regardless of gender, it’s actually the idea of sex that makes most Americans uncomfortable.
Raised in a protestant nation, conservative Americans are uncomfortable (or simply confused) at the notion of two men (or two women for that matter) loving each other. And if two men shouldn’t love each, then they certainly shouldn’t get married to one another. What I don’t understand is how heterosexual people are affected if two gay people get married. According to dictionary.com marriage is defined as “the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple.” If you notice the key word is “people,” not man and woman.
Marriage is supposed to be a one of the most memorable events that occurs in your life yet ~10% of Americans cannot participate simply because of their sexual orientation. You are not allowed to strip someone of their rights, especially something as simple as marriage, because they are different from you. For those of you who are into “tradition” and live by the constitution, amendment 14 gives all US citizens equal rights under the equal protection clause. Apparently marriage is a privilege, but the problem is that gay people haven’t done anything to not deserve it. You cannot choose to be gay; you just are gay. Watch this standup act by Louis CK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPvVnrV1tow&feature=related. He speaks the truth; idiotic objectors have no reason to deny gays the right to marriage besides the fact that it makes them feel uneasy. It is perfectly natural to feel awkward at the thought of two men making out, but as I pointed out earlier it is also discomforting to think of a straight sexual couple making love. I’m guessing dissidents just hope that gay people will cease to exist; well they are here to stay, so treat them like human beings. Remember, America is a nation based on freedom for all of its citizens.
Blacks became a “whole person” in 1866, woman’s suffrage started in 1919 and now its time to let gays get married. Grow up America; I know I have.
Picture this: ugly, naked man goes down on his wife whose vagina is covered with what one can only assume is her pubic hair. As the husband maneuvers through the jungle, he thinks: “at least I won’t need to floss tonight.” He eventually finds his target and gets busy. Disturbing image, right? Now picture this: two gay guys having anal. I will assume, only because I give my readers the benefit of the doubt, you find the tale of the heterosexual couple more unsettling than the homosexual couple. If you think about, regardless of gender, it’s actually the idea of sex that makes most Americans uncomfortable.
Raised in a protestant nation, conservative Americans are uncomfortable (or simply confused) at the notion of two men (or two women for that matter) loving each other. And if two men shouldn’t love each, then they certainly shouldn’t get married to one another. What I don’t understand is how heterosexual people are affected if two gay people get married. According to dictionary.com marriage is defined as “the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple.” If you notice the key word is “people,” not man and woman.
Marriage is supposed to be a one of the most memorable events that occurs in your life yet ~10% of Americans cannot participate simply because of their sexual orientation. You are not allowed to strip someone of their rights, especially something as simple as marriage, because they are different from you. For those of you who are into “tradition” and live by the constitution, amendment 14 gives all US citizens equal rights under the equal protection clause. Apparently marriage is a privilege, but the problem is that gay people haven’t done anything to not deserve it. You cannot choose to be gay; you just are gay. Watch this standup act by Louis CK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPvVnrV1tow&feature=related. He speaks the truth; idiotic objectors have no reason to deny gays the right to marriage besides the fact that it makes them feel uneasy. It is perfectly natural to feel awkward at the thought of two men making out, but as I pointed out earlier it is also discomforting to think of a straight sexual couple making love. I’m guessing dissidents just hope that gay people will cease to exist; well they are here to stay, so treat them like human beings. Remember, America is a nation based on freedom for all of its citizens.
Blacks became a “whole person” in 1866, woman’s suffrage started in 1919 and now its time to let gays get married. Grow up America; I know I have.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Culturally Diverse
I am Indian and by this I mean "brown," not "red." And although, I do not want to diminish what an intrepid explorer Christopher Columbus was, I must acknowledge how much he screwed future Indian-Americans when he accidentally coined the indigenous people of the Americas “Indian.” To make matters worse, the Native Americans are still, 519 years later, being referred to as Indian. Nevertheless, this post is about accepting being diverse. Many people struggle with the idea of being different, which is why they prefer to blend in and divert any unwanted attention they may be receiving. It is difficult to be a part of the minority rather than the majority, but I think this is something you should embrace.
Growing up in the USA, the land of freedom and opportunity, I have almost never found any difficulty in expressing my heritage. The fact that I was raised in New York City, where diversity is more common than your good ole WASP (white anglo-saxon protestant), only helps my cause. Thus, a big challenge I faced when I enrolled in Dartmouth—a place where Frisbee is a sport, people own argyle headbands and Asian fever spread like AIDs did in Africa (talk about white)—was maintaining my identity. It was crucial that people understood that I was “brown” and proud, even though I did math like an East Asian and dressed like I was from Connecticut. Obviously there is no way to define how to be Indian, but it’s just something you can tell.
I have seen many people who become “white washed” (another term that doesn’t have an actual definition, but you know who they are) and often neglect the culture they were brought up in. I feel as if this is an easy way out and individuals are failing to recognize the adversity non-whites have overcome in this country, many of whom were either your or someone you knows ancestors. From Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to the large influx of immigrants to Ellis Island, America has come a long way to throw away its diversity label. It took the country 171 years to have its first non-WASP president, John F. Kennedy, and the only part of WASP he wasn’t was the “P” portion; he was Roman-Catholic. Still, I am most definitely NOT encouraging being a fob (fresh off the boat). Fobs who refuse to learn baseball because they think cricket is superior and use powder instead of real deodorant are infuriating. Those types of people need to learn that it is imperative to adapt certain parts of another culture, especially when it comes to hygiene. Learning a healthy balance between being “white washed” and being a “fob” will not only make you interesting, but will give you a sense of gratification.
So to my reader I leave you with one thing: Don’t try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out.
Growing up in the USA, the land of freedom and opportunity, I have almost never found any difficulty in expressing my heritage. The fact that I was raised in New York City, where diversity is more common than your good ole WASP (white anglo-saxon protestant), only helps my cause. Thus, a big challenge I faced when I enrolled in Dartmouth—a place where Frisbee is a sport, people own argyle headbands and Asian fever spread like AIDs did in Africa (talk about white)—was maintaining my identity. It was crucial that people understood that I was “brown” and proud, even though I did math like an East Asian and dressed like I was from Connecticut. Obviously there is no way to define how to be Indian, but it’s just something you can tell.
I have seen many people who become “white washed” (another term that doesn’t have an actual definition, but you know who they are) and often neglect the culture they were brought up in. I feel as if this is an easy way out and individuals are failing to recognize the adversity non-whites have overcome in this country, many of whom were either your or someone you knows ancestors. From Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to the large influx of immigrants to Ellis Island, America has come a long way to throw away its diversity label. It took the country 171 years to have its first non-WASP president, John F. Kennedy, and the only part of WASP he wasn’t was the “P” portion; he was Roman-Catholic. Still, I am most definitely NOT encouraging being a fob (fresh off the boat). Fobs who refuse to learn baseball because they think cricket is superior and use powder instead of real deodorant are infuriating. Those types of people need to learn that it is imperative to adapt certain parts of another culture, especially when it comes to hygiene. Learning a healthy balance between being “white washed” and being a “fob” will not only make you interesting, but will give you a sense of gratification.
So to my reader I leave you with one thing: Don’t try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out.
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