Gobble, Gobble

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

It has been a rainy, "cold", blustery, and busy week here in NC. I hosted a party to watch the greatest football game of the year on Saturday, with a STUPENDOUS outcome too by the way. I have attempted to recover, wash the sheets and towels, and prep for new visitors today. I love having family and friends around! It makes me really happy!

This evening we are off to spend the holiday with Husband's family, guests in tow. It has already been decided that Grey's Anatomy will proceed a night of game playing after a turkey induced late afternoon nap. And, there will probably be some crazy Christmas shopping to do on Friday. It's a tradition in my family...although we no longer coerced by my Dad to drag ourselves out of bed at 4 a.m. to 'get the best deals'. It promises be a fun weekend.

Bones & Society

I know that TV is TV and that what is said must be taken with a grain (or two) of salt, but something that was said on last week's episode of Bones struck a cord with me. Just in case you are not familiar with the Wednesday night show, Bones is inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs. On the show, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence Brennan, works at the Jeffersonian Institution and has an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones. Consequently, the FBI calls her in to assist with murder investigations, so it is kind of CSIish, only with a focus on bones. (www.tv.com)

The episode I am referring to had to do with the bones of an elementary aged girl who disappeared from a beauty pageant. (Just think Jon Bennett Ramsey.) Anyhow, what struck a cord was a rant by Dr. Brennan about how a high concern with physical appearance and beauty has been the downfall of ancient societies.

I look at America today and can’t help but wonder, are we the new-age Roman Empire? It scares me that such a high level of caring and concern is given to Hollywood movie, television, & singing stars. I would venture to say that there are probably more shows dedicated to movie stars, makeovers, and plastic surgery, than to the news and people in society who are actually doing things that we should be concerned with. Point in case, the birth of Suri Cruise making the National News. I mean, why does this event constitute coverage on the National Level? It truly scares me.

At one point in the episode, as www.tv.com reports, Dr. Brennan says (to some nine year olds), "So yours is a cultural structure predicated in the equation of beauty with power. You instinctively align yourselves with someone who holds the greatest potential for a societal supremacy. It's a Darwinian pressure you're too young to bare."

Now I have never been a fan of beauty pageants, and especially at such a young age. It just doesn't seem to be right for "baby" girls to be dressed up in heavy make-up and adult-like clothing, pranced in front of a crowded room in order for one of them to be crowned the winner. What the heck is this doing to the self-esteem of all of the "losers"? And, what are these girls really learning from the experience? These little girls are scarey to me. Not beautiful, not cute… frightening. I don't like clowns. I don't like dolls. And, I don't like little scarey pageant girls.

My other rumination is this...what mother would do this to their child? In the episode, the girl's hair was dyed, she had been using a corset in order to gain an hourglass shape, and had been on a very restricted diet. If this was done to a little girl who's mom was on welfare, I am sure that a social worker would cart her away because the mother would be judged as unfit, yet in the 'pageant world' this is okay.

Yes, I understand that Bones is a made up television show and that the show's pageant world was probably dramatized. But, then again, part of me wonders, are pageant really like that? And, in a world where a ‘beautiful’ super star gets a slap on the hand for something an ordinary American would go to jail for, I also have to wonder, is our society doomed because of its ever increasing preoccupation with beauty and fame as power?

Undependable

I know that I promised an update close to a month ago, and that I am very undependable when it comes to writing. I have things to tell but I am simply too lazy at the end of the day to sit at the computer and type. Plus there are too many good shows on television this fall. The weekends have also been chock full of activity, so my lackadaisical Saturday mornings in front of the computer just haven’t happened either.

Work is great. I love my job. After working for non-profit agencies for the past five years, I really don’t know if I could go back to working in the money hungry corporate world. Here is one reason why. This past Saturday I was part of an event called Scouting for the Cure at a mall in Raleigh where girls learned about breast cancer and breast health. There were different activities for various age levels, but I thought that it was great that young women could be educated about breast health so publicly. I was even given the opportunity to learn what a lump might feel like with a hands on demonstration (silicone, not actual flesh). I am a good girl who attempts to do her monthly self-examination, but I have always wondered if I would even know a lump if I felt one. Anyhow, it was great to see the taboos that go along with the female breast fly out the window.

Lots of work related stuff going on but I am attempting not to bore you too much. Husband is gearing up for late nights, early mornings, and lots of weekend work over the next several months. His unit just picked up a group of reservists yesterday who are here until early 2007 for training. As for the job search…no word yet…there have been some complications. It’s a long story of which I will probably never write about, but I am still sending my positive energy to the decision making and all powerful ‘headquarters’.

November promises to be lots of fun. I think that every weekend is already booked. I am helping with the Science Safari (work related) this weekend. (And, you thought that the Girls Scouts only sold cookies!) Next weekend I am flying into D.C. to spend the weekend shopping and catching up with a friend from Germany. The following Saturday I am hosting a party for the biggest game of the year…Ohio State v. Michigan. If anyone wants to come to NC for the festivities, simply e-mail me for directions. Then there is Thanksgiving. And, the next weekend is December.

Speaking of which, we are planning to drive to Ohio for the holiday. I am very excited about this little trip. The possibility of snow on Christmas Eve makes me very happy. And, as is par for the course regarding my fanatical packing tendencies, I will probably be planning for this trip all of December. I mean, who in the right mind would throw cloths into a suitcase the night before and call it good!!?? Oh, the issues with being me.

Anyhow, I must now get ready for work. If you are wondering about the time, I am going in late thanks to comp time for working Saturday, I was suppose to be at spinning class but I opted to sit on my fanny and write instead. I may share more about my laziness on a later occasion. On that note, Robin and Melissa, I need a swift kick in the a** to get me back into the gym please!