I understand it did well in China, despite a boycott cum possible PR stunt by a Chinese designer.

I didn’t find many of its tropes tired. If anything, the Kung Fu stuff, the Chinese stuff, I thought was definitely in keeping with the Kung Fu Movie traditions and also some of it was quite lovely.

Even [...]]]> I liked it.

I understand it did well in China, despite a boycott cum possible PR stunt by a Chinese designer.

I didn’t find many of its tropes tired. If anything, the Kung Fu stuff, the Chinese stuff, I thought was definitely in keeping with the Kung Fu Movie traditions and also some of it was quite lovely.

Even the anti-fat sentiment was clearly the characters’ problems. Po, the panda in question, voiced by Jack Black, gets fitter and more flexible and definitely more kick-ass but his shape doesn’t change, and the characters who oppose his shape either get over themselves or get their butts whupped. There were some tired tropes in the storytelling in that respect, but I also think that in the end the story redeemed itself (no, not all fat people/pandas are fat because they eat when they’re depressed or stressed).

So yeah, I liked it.

Stick that in your pipes and smoke it, alla youse who think I am only negative-man.

This weekend there’s been a lot of stupid out in the world. I heard that at WisCon, where I would have wanted to be, had I not been selling/buying houses, there was [...]]]> I’ve always had trouble staying angry. At worst, I think, I’ve been angry for 2 hours-long. 2 hours. Some folks make it last a lifetime.

This weekend there’s been a lot of stupid out in the world. I heard that at WisCon, where I would have wanted to be, had I not been selling/buying houses, there was some particularly unthinking stupid at what should have been a fat-positive panel, but that one of my good friends (even though I don’t know her that well) saved it, did her job as a moderator, and changed the tone of the panel when the other panelists didn’t really do their jobs so well.

There’s also Clinton and comments about assassination, and implicitly, about race. For about 10 minutes this morning I seriously considered just throwing in the towel. About fat acceptance, about anti-racism, just figuring if folks were with me, they already were. If they weren’t, then fine, whatever.

But the anger went away and I’m left with who I am, which is a warrior (thank you, Rea), and I’m here to fight. So let’s do this thing.

Additionally, Junkfood Science has a very well written summary of a seminal 1940′s study on starvation and physiological/psychological responses to starvation, as well as what happens when starvation is remedied and folks’ eating habits [...]]]> The BBC on the recent University College London study on 5,000 twins (identical and fraternal) that demonstrates that “Obesity ‘may be largely genetic’”.

Additionally, Junkfood Science has a very well written summary of a seminal 1940′s study on starvation and physiological/psychological responses to starvation, as well as what happens when starvation is remedied and folks’ eating habits adjust. In fact, there seems to be very little cause to say that folks who eat a lot after going on starvation diets are “overeating”, and apparently body weights return to almost the same as before starvation within 9 months of returning to a situation where access to food is unfettered.

There’s a new show on Lifetime that actually makes me want to watch it, because while it seems like it might focus on hourglass women, it also focuses on real bodies, real women, and the host, Carson Kressley, and [...]]]> Got this via my friends’ shared Google Reader items, who got it via a The Pretty Pear post.

There’s a new show on Lifetime that actually makes me want to watch it, because while it seems like it might focus on hourglass women, it also focuses on real bodies, real women, and the host, Carson Kressley, and the rest of the show (editing, certainly, though I’m not of sure the agenda of all the creative talents involved) make it a priority to get the women involved in the show to love their bodies. In the premier episode, which you can watch online on the linked site (How To Look Good Naked). Layla starts out talking about losing weight (40 lbs) and ends up (after 5 days with the host), modelling nude and asking folks to rate her nude picture (a picture with all bits hidden but curves accentuated) on the street, to her face, albeit with cameras on them, so I assume most of these strangers were on good behavior. Also, she ends up saying that she plans to diet no more, which is a bonus.

Given the 30 minutes or so of the premier, there were no really heinous language or concept gaffs I saw, and mostly it was about a pretty woman overcoming society-instilled self-imposed and internalized barriers to looking and feeling hot (which reminded me a lot of the kinds of things misia has taught in her body-acceptance classes, though obviously done up for TV and Hollywood with a bit of extra glam/flash). It is a reality show, though, so be prepared for the host/show taking some privacy liberties that would have pretty much anyone not used to the lens and the stage crawling out of their skins with anxiety. I assume that she signed away rights to control of her image to at least a certain extent when deciding to participate in the show at all.

Also, beware that the language is not as overall empowering and supportive in the flash interface that talks about overall fashion sensibility (though I’ve never really been impressed with the fashion world in general that way). I don’t remember the host talking this way to Layla in the premier video, but the flash fashion guide for different body types does use the phrases “problem area” and “slimming” in a lot of the copy. Not as good a job as the video clip.

Overall, I was quite impressed by the premier. A solid, good effort, with no gaffs I saw. I am curious as to whether the whole show will be as accepting/empowering.