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I don’t watch A&E much anymore, not since they became overrun with shows like Family Jewels and Dog the Bounty Hunter and sold their souls to be a 24/7 ad service for Big Pharma. But Heavy looked interesting. Take a bunch of morbidly obese individuals and introduce some major lifestyle changes. See what happens.

We watched the debut episode and while it was great to see the intense exercise regimen providing benefit to the two participants, they barely touched on diet. No details were provided as to their before/after meal plans. The show mostly focused on getting the participants moving, with lots of intense workout footage in a special treatment facility. From what little they did show about nutrition, it seems the show is following the calories-in/calories-out model, with the emphasis on caloric reduction and lean choices.

While people who are morbidly obese obviously need to improve their motor abilities, exercise is only about a third of the story. Up to two-thirds of their success (maybe more) will rely on diet, and this is where the show fails. I guess food is boring when you can show “action” footage of obese people barely walking a few feet or collapsing in a whimpering, sweaty mess. Doesn’t compare to shots of them sizzling a chicken breast or steaming some fresh veggies. Indeed, aside from a comment that Tom needed upwards of 10,000 calories daily just to survive and a quick trip to the lean meats counter at a grocery store, there was nothing, nada, zippo, about what these folks were being fed or how they were being educated about meal planning and preparation.

The other issue that bothered me was the slight implication that these individuals are obese by choice. They are weak, they are lazy, they do nothing but sit around and eat junk food, etc. I used to believe that, but after learning more about how insulin regulates fat tissue (and how diet regulates insulin), I’m more inclined to think that in many cases there is a metabolic disorder at work. Some people are more or less victims of a genetic predisposition to store and accumulate more fat while their bodies try to conserve energy. This leads to excessive cravings for sweet and sugary foods while the body signals them to be less active. The idea that their lifestyles could possibly be related to a regulatory disorder was never mentioned or explored. So less weeping women on treadmills, more scientific theories about how and why people become fat.

For people who might look to this show for guidance about their own weight situation, they might find inspiration in seeing some of the success stories. But they will find very little information about how to properly adjust their diets. Exercise is the primary focus of this show, and while it certainly has its benefits towards living a healthier lifestyle, it is really only a supplement to proper nutrition. Without the diet component being properly dialed in, exercise will yield little or no results.

By choosing to focus on only one aspect of weight loss, Heavy seems to be  just another reality show designed more for high drama and emotional exploitation than an informative and inspirational approach to sustained and manageable weight loss. I applaud the participants for trying to change their lives for the better and I might watch a few more episodes to see if the format improves. But for now the show was an overall disappointment.

What a bunch of douchebags. Proving that they have no concept of “context” or “irony” when it comes to art, the CBSC have ruled the Dire Straits song “Money for Nothing” as being offensive and unworthy of radio airplay in Canada  (story).

Gee, the song has only been in constant rotation since the mid-80′s. Sung from the perspective of a bigoted and politically incorrect blue-collar worker, the word “faggot” is used to describe the long-haired girly-looking musicians that he sees on MTV, making all that mad cash “for nothin’” while he breaks his back doing manual labour for modest pay. Remember, this was the era of Boy George and effeminate looking pop stars. What prompted this banning after almost 30 years? Why, someone in St John’s, NF complained that the song made a booboo on their precious feelings.

If the CBSC panel had any brains or integrity, they would have examined the lyrics, discovered the obvious context and intent surrounding the use of the word, and politely told this idiot to stop wasting their time. Rather than issue a ruling that makes this country a laughingstock, they could have advised this clown to nurse their butt-hurt by turning off the radio when the song comes on and, if they own a copy, selling their Brothers in Arms record. Then they could go back to their warm safe world where nothing bad ever happens and nobody ever says or thinks bad things.

This wouldn’t have pissed me off so much if the politically-correct historical revisionists hadn’t recently attacked Huckleberry Finn. Sorry folks, but one of the purposes of art is to point out and make us think about the unpleasant things in life. The words being excised and glossed over are not discriminatory or hateful within their intended context. Seeing how we once were helps us to appreciate how far we’ve come. Or, in the case of revisionist publishers and “standards” councils, how far we still need to go.

Quebec bans religious teaching in publicly subsidized daycares

Cue the outrage:

Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal is prepared to challenge the new policy in court on the grounds it tramples on religious rights.

“What is the problem the Quebec government wants to fix?” Mr. Elmenyawi asked. “Are we going to have to stop teaching some of the moral values, like loving your parents, which are emphasized from a religious point of view?”

Yes, we all have to be taught to love our parents. As a godless heathen, it is all I can do to control my urges to rape, steal, murder, and burn everything to the ground. I guess the concept of laws, along with a common sense of ethics developed through centuries of an evolving social contract, isn’t worth squat when we have the threat of Eternal Damnation (™) to keep us all in line.

According to the holier-than-thou types, religion provides a shining example of how to lead a morally righteous life. This, I guess, despite it being used as a means of war, oppression, terrorism, sexual abuse, and deception by many of its leaders and proponents. Yes, if we truly want to unite the world in peace and brotherhood, religion is obviously the way to go.

Teach your kids how to abandon rational thought and submit to religious authorities at home, Mr. Elmenyawi. On your dime.

Forget about teaching kids “religious” morals. Maybe someone should teach some religiously-minded adults that it’s not okay to beat and kill their own wives, sisters, and daughters. Like this asshole, this asshole, and these “alleged” assholes. But I guess they never picked up any of that deranged thinking from their religious brain-washing factories, did they?

(So-called “honour killings” are not limited to Muslims or any other religious or “caste” group. But they do seem particularly good at it.)

Religion, much like a crazy uncle who can’t keep his pants on in public, belongs at home, not in a publicly funded school or institution. The rest of us are trying to move this little species of ours forward, not back to the ignorant Dark Ages of the mystical sand-cults.

Bon décision, Quebec.

Submitted for your amusement, a few Halloween photos from long ago…

What is it about old photos that makes them so damn creepy?

I can’t figure out why people are still lining up like lemmings to buy Tim Hortons coffee when there is a cheaper, and dare I say better, option available at their local Mickie D’s. A dollar forty-nine gets you a steaming cup of  java in a cup so large that Timmies would call it a bucket. Indeed, Hortons has been gradually shrinking their cup sizes for years (while increasing their prices). It’s getting to the point now that a “small” will soon be served in a shot glass.

Combined with their crappy flash-frozen baked goods and laughable steeped tea (I’m guessing they took flack for charging small, medium, and large prices for tea, despite the fact customers were only getting extra water with their single tea bag), I’m amazed at the line-ups that you still see at the drive-thrus, at least here in the Maritimes where Hortons coffee has a cult-like hold on the populace. Or maybe it’s the fat-laden cream that they are really addicted to.

Give the McDonald’s roast a try. According to taste tests, these “experts” agree that it simply tastes better.