I'm starting Weight Watchers again.  I haven't decided if I'm doing it officially ($50 a month with most likely good results) or by myself (free with possibly good results).  I'm feeling pretty cheap so I think I'm going to try by myself first.  I'll let all know how it works out.
FYI, since I'm doing WW again, that means I'm going to start working out again since I haven't worked out in about a month and a half (pathetic I know).  No judgment!
I'm going on a cruise with my mom in early February and I'm hoping to be 20-30 pounds lighter.  Leave some words of encouragement people!!!

I didn't write this, it came from Yahoo!  But I'll list the reasons here because they're so good!

1. Let's just say it: The show humiliates and degrades young women
I was going to search the deep recesses of my Top Model archive for the perfect example of a belittling challenge, but lo! ANTM gave me one just last night. Did anyone catch the fashion show? Can anyone tell me why a made-for-TV fashion event (ie not real) has to involve the models writhing around, on the ground, in what looked motor oil? In addition to this creepily sexual mud fight, the final two contestants, Allison and Teyona, were made to wear bikinis so skimpy that the producers had to blur out Allison's butt cheeks. When it came time for judging, this year's winner Teyona--still clad in that itty bitty bathing suit, though mercifully wiped clean of the black muck--was commended for taking her weave in her hand and whipping it around on the runway like a sexy feather boa. Tyra called this "fierce," I call it "insane-person-looking." Thing is, I understand that humiliation is part of the reality show game, my real problem is how the hosts are always espousing empowerment and female strength and then forcing the contestants into embarrassing scenarios far outside the realm of real-life modeling. It's lame.

2. Let's stop already with the big Top Model lies
There's very little chance that a severely burned person, a fat woman, a girl with a penis, a non-Amazon, or someone older than 22 is going to break into the modeling industry. Period. Let's stop blaming these poor girls for "not wanting it bad enough" or "getting in their own way" and admit that they're on the show  because it's more interesting to say "Tonight on America's Next Top Model: A woman who's a man!" than "Here's another girl who's pretty!" No one is fooled by this stunt casting. In fact, it seems like it hurts people.

3. The show promotes clichéd, outdated stereotypes of gay men
Has anyone else noticed this? The homosexuals on this program range from flaming to...INFERNO! Seriously, consider for a second Mister Jay's over-tanned, over-groomed, Queer-Eye-from-another-planet persona. On the other side, we have Miss Jay's over-the-top queenie, circus show antics. They're like the gays you'd pick to put on Noah's Ark. This is what gay people look and act like (say in robot voice). Sigh.

4. And it promotes racial division
Yes, it is possible, like some kind of reality TV version of West Side Story, that all of the black contestants on ANTM only want to hang out with other people of color and that the white girls only choose to stick together, too. And it's possible that, without producer prompting, nearly every season there's at least one mega-ugly argument in the house about race and who is or isn't a racist.  But it seems awfully fishy to me. More likely, the producers exacerbate these conflicts, edit them so they seem more heated, and promote the heck out of them in sound bites, teasers, and clip shows all season long.

5. Dear ANTM: You have yourselves a socioeconomic problem
You know how in judging Tyra often critiques one girl's clothes and then praises another's? You know how the critique is always really cruel and cringe-inducing, like watching high school mean girls, except on stage? Well, this is big problem that has nothing to do with personal style: Some of those girls can afford nice clothes and some of them can't, and, unless the ANTM producers are willing to dress them or  provide each of the contestants with the same clothing allowance, the quality of what they wear to judging just can't be a factor. It's prejudiced against people who don't have money and it's not OK. Take Teyona, for example. After weeks of having her outfits lambasted, once she received a new wardrobe during the go-see challenge, she was praised for looking like a "real model."  This may have helped her win the competition. Not cool.

6. ...And perhaps cultural sensitivity issues, as well!
Where to start here? With the fact that Tyra announced the contestants' trip to Brazil by having a half-naked PORTUGUESE man (it's just the same language, lady, not the same country) present her with Brazil nuts? Or that, upon arrival in Brazil, the girls headed to a busted shanty town and posed as the Chiquita Banana woman while flanked by stray dogs and poor kids?

7. What a "Top Model is"=total BS
There is a fundamental problem with this show: It lies about what a model needs to be. Most successful models don't talk much. They don't have to act, they don't all have to shill for American beauty brands, and they don't have to be in commercials. I get that part of the ANTM brand is this CoverGirl contract, but every time a judge tells a perfectly good model that she's not Top Model material, I die a little inside. It's also a bad lesson to teach to the world: You have to be good at everything or you're useless.

8. This is best evidenced by Top Models In Action/My life as a Cover Girl
True fact: None of Tyra's Top Model picks has gone on to any kind of significant success as a model. One of them (Naima), actually worked at a coffee shop near my Brooklyn apartment. Have you been watching poor McKee's "My life as a Cover Girl" series? Not to be mean, but it looks more like "My three hours as a Cover Girl." The Girl is in one fashion show! Even Whitney had a better "life"!

9. And the reason for all of this is: They seldom choose the girl who looks like a real model and actually has a shot in the world of real modeling. Which makes the show kind of a sham.
Here are just three examples:
Anya over Whitney (Cycle 10)
Mercedes over Yoanna (Cycle 2)
Yaya over Eva (Cycle 3)
Each of these non-winners had a better chance at being models than the ones who were ultimately chosen. Judges like Janice Dickinson understood this. Which leads us to...

10. Last, the Tyra butt-kissing is bad for everyone
Imagine how cool it could be if the judges were ever allowed to disagree, if there was actual dialogue about each model's performance and actual insider information about the industry that didn't solely come from Tyra's point of view. A more diverse dynamic might create an interesting program about modeling, the way Project Runway is a fascinating program about fashion design. What we have now is a massive diva/demigod and a bunch of puppets who laugh at all of her jokes, jibe with all of her bad decisions, and go along with each of her increasingly weird and degrading shenanigans. The only two people I have ever seen challenge Tyra--Janice and Paulina--were both fired. So there's that.

Sorry Peeps, I'm tired.  Work is hard right now.  Be  back lata

Ok, so my good friend has had two bad break-ups in the last year, and being the wonderful person that I am, I offered my (lack of) Wiccan capabilities to her!

Tomorrow night, we are casting a "freedom spell".  The purpose to stop her heart ache, and let her spirit be free from the two a$$holes that broke her heart.  I wanted something much more sinister, but the ingredients for those were really long.... take a look for yourself

1 Black Couple Candle or 1 Black Figural Break-Up (Divorce) Candle
1 bottle Crossing Oil
1 packet Crossing Sachet Powder
1 packet Crossing Incense Powders
1 packet Hotfoot Powder
1 packet Goofer Dust
1 Bottle containing
9 Pins, 9 Needles, 9 Nails, black dog hair, black cat hair
1 packet Devil's Shoe Strings Curio
1 packet Devil Pod Curio
1 packet Hyssop Herb
2 White Offertory Candles

I don't even know what half of that stuff is!  So then I found this spell, which started off easy enough:

Ingredients: ginger, cinnamon, salt, pepper, lemon, water and rose petals. Now here's the tools you will need: black candle, something to light the candle with, spoon to stir with and a rock and cup. Now light the candle and say one time: dark sides make me stop loving this man/woman Name (say full name).

Then take all of the ingredients and put into the cup but before drinking say this 3 times: "With this potion I banish my feelings for (say his/her full name) Forever." Now drink the potion.

She has to drink that crap??  Ew!  I don't  think she would.  So then I found ANOTHER spell that seemed easy enough.

Take a picture of your scorned lover, along with the following items:
Black Candle
Matches
Light the candle and say the following as you light the picture on fire:
"Your love will wither and depart, from my life and from my heart.  Let me be (name) and go away, your presence no will bring  joy to my day."
Keep repeating this until the picture has burned completely.  Then using a broom, sweep the ashes away from your home. 

Sounds easy enough!!  We're going to try it tomorrow, and I plan on wearing a VERY witchy outfit (all black, long flowy skirt, silver jewelry, etc)  And listening to Stevie to get us in the mood.  I'll let you know how it works out!

Tonight I babysat for my nephews.  They were so adorably cute and well behaved.  I wish I had taken my camera to take a picture of them.  I made them some cupcakes.  I ended up making them look like hedgehogs, although they didn't turn out as well as Martha Stewart's, but oh well.

It's been awhile since I've written because I didn't have much to say.  I did come to the realization that I wish I had been born a witch.  Here's the reasoning:

- Some of my favorites movies of ALL time deal with witches, "Bewitched" and "Practical Magic"
- My favorite show of all time (possibly even beating out "Buffy") is about witches: "Charmed"
- I LOVE Stevie Nicks, and even though she denies it, everyone knows she's a witch.
- My favorite Fleetwood Mac song is about a Welsh witch (Rhiannon)
- I love the color black, but it does nothing for my coloring so I don't wear it often.
- I even watch crappy movies about witches ("The Covenant", "The Craft")
- Every year when I was younger, I was a witch for Halloween.  Lame costume, but definitely a sign of some sort.

I REALLY wish I could have one magical power.  I think if I could choose, it would be the ability to freeze time.  Of course I would be a really evil and morally wrong witch if I did have that power (rob banks, have my way with people, etc), so perhaps that's why I was never blessed with wiccan abilities (either that, or they just don't exist.)

This is a pic of SJP on the set of the new SATC movie.

I sincerely hope this is a flashback to the 80s.  Unfortunately, half the stuff Carrie wore as a matter of modern course looked more wackily 80s than this, which makes me worry that this segment was somehow costumed with an eye toward, like, modern accessibility/trend-setting, all of which is just a roundabout way of saying, if we all end up looking like droopy Flashdance rejects next summer, Pat Field, I WILL CUT YOU.

I can't quite see why Osama is obsessed with her, but I will admit that I think she's beautiful.  And even through all of the drama (her drug habits and the whole she used to be married to HIM) she has aged amazingly well.  I suppose that's what millions of dollars can do.

She's going to be on Oprah for the season premiere.  My sister and I have been talking about it for about two weeks.  We are both VERY excited to see what she's going to be like and if Oprah is going to be tough on her.  I hope she is! 

I don't have high hopes for her new album though.  I mean, I always thought her music was kind of old timey, but here are some of my favorites:

- I'm Every Woman
- It's Not Right, But it's Okay (the remix)
- Queen of the Night
- I'm Your Baby Tonight
- All the Man that I Need
- You Give Good Love