Thursday 24 July 2008

Boo Tyra Boo!

I'm pretty sure that each and every one of us has their own trashy TV secret. You know, a show that is low on quality but high on addiction factor? Mine is America's Next Top Model. Currently showing in the UK on Living, (at 9am and 6pm) ANTM as it's known, has been threatening to take over my life. It's on everyday. There have been at least 9 series. I keep getting to the end of a series and thinking, "Surely that must be the most recent one". But no, the next day they start all over again! I'm stuck in a cycle of trashy TV hell. Or should that be heaven?

Well today I wasn't quite so happy as I indulged in my now not-so-secret guilty pastime. Let's get something straight - I can deal with the skinny model thing. I may not be happy about it but it's pretty much a fact of life. The cool thing is that recently there has been greater move towards plus-sized models. ANTM has reflected that (although there is an argument that it has merely added a token plus-sized model to each series). But token or not, at least they're there. The series I'm currently watching (that's series 9, fact fans) is no exception. It features a lovely girl called Sarah. Now it just so happens that Sarah started losing some weight once she moved into the model house. She wasn't intending to, it just happened. This is where it gets ridiculous. The judges expressed their concern that she was now not big enough to work as a plus-sized model but nor was she skinny enough to be an average skinny model. What the heck?

So now size-ism has taken a new and twisted direction... if you're skinnier than the average woman then you can model; if you're bigger than the average woman then you can model; if you fall somewhere between the two and are in fact the size of an average woman then au revoir, arrivederci and goodbye! Bonkers.

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Let the sunshine in

Finally! The sun is back - for the moment at least. I'm making the most of its most likely short lived stay by tapping this out in the back garden. The sun is shining, my bones are warming and I can barely read the screen due to the brightness of the aforementioned star.

There's no question that I feel better during the warmer months. Who knows why, but the warmer it is, the less pain I get. There is a bit of a trade-off involved - the heat is good for my aches but does tire me out fairly quickly. Still, I shall not moan for we have seen too little in the way of solar rays this June and July. Roll on August I say!

A mere 24 days to go now until the Olympics! Tell me, why have I arranged to be away with a group of 14-18 year olds for 10 precious days of the competition? Well it's a combination of stupidity and zeal for the gospel. If anyone asks, I will be focusing on the latter! Whatever events I do manage to catch, I hope that they don't involve Dwain Chambers. Chambers finds out on Thursday if his High Court case against the British Olympic Association's lifetime Olympic ban has been successful. I'm with the BOA on this one. He cheated. He admits he cheated. If he says sorry then I hope that the majority of people will forgive him. However, forgiving someone and allowing them to compete in an event that they have brought into disrepute are two very different things. In my mind, if you take illegal performance enhancing drugs then you forfeit the right to continue on in that sport, no matter how sorry you are. Chambers knew the rules and yet still broke them. He was in no way ignorant of the BOA's stance on drug cheats. He shouldn't be going to Beijing. Ironically this is quite the metaphorical storm in a tea cup. Chambers has as much chance of getting a medal next month as I do of marrying Jonny Wilkinson. Actually, he probably has less chance - my charms are not inconsiderable!

Thursday 3 July 2008

They want to ride their bicycles...

Poor little blog. I think it feels neglected. This past week it has been rejected in favour of tennis and studying. Perhaps I should buy it some flowers.



It's not like I didn't give due warning though! Pretty much everything goes by the way side during Wimbledon fortnight. Anyhow, my first OU assignment has been submitted, Andy Murray is out of the Championships and rain is threatening. It seems like a pretty good time to make a comeback and give some much deserved TLC to Ponderings and Ruminations.

So what's been getting my goat recently? So many rants, so little time. From the serious (Mugabe, the C of E, the British government) to the mundane (cyclists and cinema adverts) - most things have the capacity to turn me into a grumpy old woman. Cyclists are my most recent nemesis and it being summer, they've all come out of the woodwork. It's such a hassle trying to pass them. I have to make sure that I don't knock them over, that I don't hit a car coming in the other direction, that I don't lunge for their water bottles when it's a particularly hot day. I'm all for environmentally friendly transport - just not when it gets in my way! So to cap it all, where has my younger sister decided to move to? Cambridge - land of cyclists! No doubt I'll be visiting quite regularly and that can only end well! Oh how I continue to long for the day that teleportation becomes reality. It's been months since I asked those scientists to get cracking on it. Slackers.