Archive for May, 2007
“No, America WANTS crap. Really!”
Great post on the big chocolate manufacturers’ demand that they be allowed to make chocolate out of, basically, wax, instead of actual chocolate. Don’t miss the B.S. line that the companies are simply keeping up with “consumer taste preference.”
That claim reminds me of those Pizza Hut commercials that claim they are “America’s Favorite Pizza” and “Voted Best Tasting.” Meanwhile, most people I know have actually gotten sick off their sweetened sauce and deep-fried crust. But Pizza Huts are ubiquitous in most parts of the country — more so than, say, Z Pizza or California Pizza Kitchen. People who have tasted only Pizza Hut and maybe Domino’s may well vote Pizza Hut as the “best,” simply because they’ve never been given the opportunity to try something better.
The chocolate brands mentioned in the above post — Hershey, Nestle — are ubiquitous, too. But have you tried Ghiradelli or Lindt? If you have, it’s doubtful you’ll ever be able to go back to that oversweetened, transfatted mass-marketed stuff. And as they push to make their products even cheaper and lower-quality, the gulf between real stuff and fake stuff will grow ever wider. The saddest part is, millions of people will think that’s just what chocolate is supposed to taste like.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Something you should know about Nutri-Grain bars
Someone is giving these away free in my office’s break room, maybe because they finally read the ingredients: “Nutri”-Grain bars have high-fructose corn syrup in them. Like, a lot of it. As in, it’s the very first ingredient.
And yet they have the balls to run ads like this.
Don’t trust food companies to tell you what’s healthy. Read labels.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Apparently the F is not for “funny”
Gawker Media has added a new blog to its stable — Jezebel, which covers fashion, celebrities and feminism, among other topics. I’m more into the latter than the first two, so I’ve been bored by some posts and fascinated by others. Overall, it’s worth checking out.
Meanwhile, British-based blog The F-Word is far less amused. Read this post criticizing Jezebel, in which they tear into the out-of-context quotes they feel are most egregious.
Are you back? Good. When I read that post, it occurred to me the writer was not at all familiar with — or really not into — the Gawker sites’ style. Flip, half-serious statements, sarcasm and borderline-offensive shock humor are all part of the game.
I am a daily, if not hourly reader of another Gawker site, Wonkette. Let’s take a typical post and read it in the style of the F-Word:
The Politico devotes a couple hundred inches to Mike Bloomberg for some reason today. They love him, you know, but it’s a shame he’ll never be president. On account of the Jew thing.
Here they blatantly agree with fascist determinism. Wonkette has once again failed to question the white male order of things.
Secondly, Americans are too busy hating Mexicans to even remember to hate Jews these days.
That’s racist!
In other words, Bloomberg will handily defeat Bill Richardson and lead to the Fred Thompson/Rudy Giuliani presidency, and then to all of our deaths in the 600 new 9/11s.
Claiming to be able to predict the future — so typical of arrogant male power-holders. Six HUNDRED 9/11s? Now that’s just fear-mongering.
RICH JEWS DEPT.
Also racist!
So if you think irony and sarcasm are tools of the capitalist-fascist patriarchy, go ahead and be that humorless. It’s a free country. (So is the UK.) Just don’t be surprised when people find you, well, humorless.
Powered by ScribeFire.
How to bend Costco to your will
We made our first-ever trip to Costco on Sunday and showed, I think, remarkable restraint. What I’ve been told by other savvy shoppers is very true: Costco has some incredible deals, but it makes its money by sneaking in lots of stuff that is, almost to the penny, the same price as in the grocery store. (In bigger packages, of course.) Bring a calculator and you’ll be fine.
Here’s a rough guide for Northern Virginia Costcos that I wished someone had provided me. This may already be on the internet somewhere and I’m just not aware; Costco’s Web site isn’t much help, since it’s devoted to online-only deals.
What to grab:
- Garbage bags
- Name-brand soda (works out to about 22 cents a can — a better deal than most generics)
- Canned vegetables
- Butter
- Ziplocs
- Trail mix
What to skip:
- Dishwasher detergent
- Contact lens solution
- Chicken
- Fresh vegetables
Ounce for ounce, those last items all cost the same amount they do anywhere else.
Then there’s the products where the hugeness of the package provides its own diminishing returns. They had giant bottles of the shampoo I use for a decent price, but do I really want to heft a 6-pound bottle every morning? Not to mention finding a place to put it. The person-sized flour bags were almost tempting (due to our incredible breadmaking tempo), but the idea of parceling out the flour into more manageable units and then taking measures to ensure the whole thing doesn’t spoil sounded a little too much like Homer ’s investment in his giant sugar pile. So maintenance costs for these things should be kept in mind, too.
This membership was an engagement gift, and all in all we’re very happy. We’ll probably make a stock-up trip every month or so, and might drive a bit further out to find a store that’s less crowded. Basically, Pentagon City Costco on a Sunday = National Airport the day before Thanksgiving. We got good deals, but were worn out for the day.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Shake out the sand
Mr. L and I have recently returned from a beach-camping vacation at Hatteras National Seashore. It’s a beautiful, untouched, uncrowded beach (as you can see in the photo — which isn’t mine, but will have to do until I figure out some kind of FTP situation), and if you live anywhere on the East Coast, you really should go. Camping on the national park grounds costs money, but not as much as a hotel would, so it’s a great way to achieve maximum escape for your money. Think of it as an investment in your sanity.
Meanwhile, I’m getting caught up after my days off work, so regular posting will resume next week. Expect a report on our likely first-ever Costco trip this weekend, and at least a recipe or two.
Fifty-seven channels
Here’s a heartening story from CNN: TV networks have faced record low viewership for the last couple of months. This can only be good. Unless all those people are just spaced out in front of Everquest instead.
On a semi-related note, what’s the difference between “stealing cable” and “accepting the accidental gift of cable”? I have recently discovered that the cable company has given us more channels than the very limited number we pay for on the “lifeline” plan. (Yes, it’s really called that. Think about that for a minute.) I worried momentarily that we had a newly opened drain in our house down which to throw time, then shrugged and started loading up the TiVo with Food Network shows. Meanwhile, Mr. L has been mainlining episodes of Mythbusters.
As long as it’s still 15 bucks a month and we are still getting real-life things done, I’m not going to wring my hands too much. And I don’t think channel-surfing will be a very big temptation. As I was reminded by my first run through all 80 or so channels, most of the time there really is nothing on.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Must I be naked to be a feminist?
Here are two books — one a few years old, which I have read, another one brand new, which I have not — both about feminism and freedom from unrealistic body images. And yet both feature disembodied supermodel torsos, with flat stomachs and Photoshop-slender waists. (Note to publishers: No matter what you might think, the “tough” touches — both the hand on the hip and the cutesy-woo lipstick ammo clip — do not hide what you’ve done here.)
Not only do they both feature the size-0 body standard that every woman knows to rail against by now, but they’re even literally disembodied — it’s the “fragmentation” we all learned about in Women’s Studies classes, where women are cut down to individual body parts to make them less powerful, more sexily objectified, without any of that uncomfortable eye contact to remind you that this is another human being.
I say this having read and greatly enjoyed “Fresh Lipstick” when it came out. It’s a fairly serious book that folds together not only fashion, but history, economics and social studies, and asks whether, in deciding the history of feminism, we’ve cut some of the less acceptable (i.e., married, feminine) leaders out of the canon, denying them their role in the revolution. It’s especially interesting because “canon” usually refers to the fight for a minority’s place in the mainstream — not a construct within the minority itself.
I say this only to explain how little it all has to do with lipstick ammo belts slung saucily around skinny little hips. Then again, as I’ve learned from Mimi Smartypants, the writer doesn’t always have a say about what goes on the cover. Some of the reviews on “Fresh Lipstick’s” back jacket don’t do it any favors, either. (“Thanks to Fresh Lipstick feminism will be fashionable.” Well, thank God for that. I was waiting for the day.)
So, I might still pick up “Full Frontal Feminism” at the library, despite the fake-sassy and ridiculously naked woman on the cover. Feministing — the author’s blog — is interesting and substantive, so I’m willing to give her a chance.
But publishers, here’s a hint about the demographic you are ostensibly trying to reach: We’re not skinny and naked. We wear what we like, come in many different sizes, and we’re still waiting for the marketer who knows how to appeal to a smart woman.
Powered by ScribeFire.
A metamoment: What’s a blog for?
I wonder: Maybe there are some mornings when Leo of Zen Habits thinks he’d rather just watch TV; when Erin of Dress a Day does not feel fabulously midriff-banded; when Joy of “Fat Rant” fame doesn’t feel quite so gutsy and beautiful.
I think every writer who starts a new blog that is about something has the inevitable self-conscious moment of “but who am I to say…?” But when you get down to it, it’s not about those occasional periods of weariness and self-doubt. It’s about taking the very best that is in you, and inspiring people with it.
Sure, this blog is about thrift and holistic health and opting out of the whole Frito-industrial complex. But every once in a while, I might crave Cheetos. I wouldn’t say those moments define me — I usually blame hormones — but they happen. Yet they don’t knock me off track. This blog is still an accurate record of my aspirations, a way to share — and by sharing, nurture — what’s best in me.
