Damn you Ben and Jerry’s!!!

And damn Tesco to hell for having Ben and Jerry’s ice-creams and sorbets HALF PRICE! I bought some groceries earlier on a two-days-before-pay-day shoe-string budget, however I was not leaving without a tub of B&J since it was half price.  The problem is choice - they have so much!  I decided on Baked Alaska over Chunky Monkey (my current favourite flavour) as I love marshmallows.

You see how this blog brings you only the important news!

And on sensible news Team GB at the Olympics are quality :)  They better make Chris Hoy a knight or there will be riots!

And following on from my previous post…

…in the media you cannot be black or hispanic either:

‘This lunacy insults us all,’ says black TV presenter outraged by L’Oreal’s bleached-out Beyonce

Last updated at 11:43 AM on 14th August 2008
By Mica Paris

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Mica Paris says the lightening of the complexion of black icons in the media is an outrage

The latest ad campaign from L’Oreal has caused a huge stir by featuring a picture of singer Beyonce Knowles looking much lighter-skinned than usual, her hair strawberry blonde. So has the picture been doctored to make her more attractive to white consumers? L’Oreal denies lightening Beyonce’s skin tone, but she’s not the first black or ethnic model to appear in a make-up advert looking bleached out. Here, TV presenter Mica Paris, 39, argues that the campaign is a betrayal of black women.

When I picked up the Daily Mail and saw the two faces of Beyonce staring back at me, I was angry and upset.

In one picture, she looked as she does in the flesh  -  black, beautiful and proud. But in the second  -  a bizarre and unreal image issued by L’Oreal to advertise their products  -  this black icon has been bleached out to the point where it looks like they are trying to turn her white.

It wasn’t even a case of Beyonce’s skin looking paler and washed out. Her hair had also been straightened with not a wave in sight, as if this was just one more step towards making her look Caucasian white instead of African-American.

Transformed: Beyonce modelling for L’Oreal (right)

This is no trick of the light. It’s a deliberate attempt to lighten a black person in the hope of widening her appeal  -  it’s not the only example.

Diana Ross looks much paler than normal in a MAC cosmetics ad, while the Hispanic Eva Longoria is anaemic in a poster for L’Oreal hair products.

What is truly disturbing about the image of Beyonce is that L’Oreal has taken one of the most talented and beautiful black women in the world, and, in my view, has deliberately lightened her colour and hair in order to sell a beauty product.

This has to be the ultimate insult to every black woman out there  -  Beyonce included. It is suggesting that in order to be beautiful and appealing, she needs to be white.

I’ve met Beyonce, and I can’t imagine she would be happy with what they have done. But advertisers panic about using black models  -  it scares them. I am convinced that they believe a black face on a product will alienate white people, and result in a drop in sales.

I can’t believe this would be the case in today’s multi-cultural society  -  but the middle-class, white, middle-aged managers who make these decisions probably come from an entirely different era.

Transformed: Diana Ross, left, and in an ad for MAC cosmetics

They want ‘hip’ Beyonce to endorse their products, as she brings a young and ‘with-it’ feel, but they don’t want to alienate the white big spenders. The answer? Have it both ways  -  a ‘bleached’ black face.

By doing this, they believe they are appealing to the widest audience.

Airbrushing, of course, is perfectly normal. I’ve been airbrushed myself, but never have my very dark skin or straight nose been altered. Nor would I ever allow it to be.

It is hard to make your way as a bright, beautiful and independent black woman in today’s society. Beyonce has fought so hard to get where she has, but the message beaming out from her lightened face, perfectly straight hair and altered image is hugely disturbing.

What does it say to young black girls? Hide the fact that you are black? Your skin colour is something to be ashamed of?

Beyonce’s lightened image screams the message that you can’t stand up and be proud to be black. Yet this is why we are having so much trouble on the streets today. Young black kids can’t see themselves in the media. They are desperate for role models who have become successful. I shudder to think what effect this computer generated image of Beyonce might have on young female fans out there.

Transformed: Eva Longoria, left, also promotes L’Oreal, right

Decades ago, black women in the entertainment industry, such as the singer Josephine Baker, were forced to use lemon juice in an attempt to lighten their skin colour. I thought this was barbaric, but it is no different to what has happened to Beyonce.

Advertisers are nervous about using black models, but with a bit of ‘photoshop’ they try to have it both ways. In the UK, it is rare to see black models used to promote products. When I travel through Italy and the rest of Europe, there are images of beautiful black girls everywhere.

But advertisers should look to the recent example from the Italian Vogue magazine, where one editor dared to print a special edition using black models only. Many warned it would have disastrous results on circulation. But this ‘controversial’ issue, in July this year, sold out.

But when will advertisers acknowledge that black, Hispanic and Asian women are also consumers.

Beyonce is a great signing for L’Oreal, she appeals to millions of fans of all races, but to be afraid of what she is, and to alter that to make her commercially acceptable is degrading and infuriating.

If Beyonce wants to show her true colours, she needs to fight back. And if she manages to change the way industry chiefs view darker skin, then she will prove her true worth as a black icon.

That article was snurched from the Mail Online’s Femail section - click here to go directly to the site.  I have nothing to add - the article and the pictures say it all.  Oh and I want a copy of the July Issue of Italian Vogue.

The world is based on how good you look

I was talking to my Mum about the opening ceremony of the olympics.  I said the little girl singing was quite obviously miming and she said I was mean and cynical and was completely wrong.  Ahem Mum:

A pretty girl who won national fame after singing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was only miming.

Wearing a red dress and pigtails, Lin Miaoke charmed a worldwide audience with a rendition of “Ode to the Motherland”.

But the singer was Yang Peiyi, who was not allowed to appear because she is not as “flawless” as nine-year-old Lin.

The show’s musical director said Lin was used because it was in the best interests of the country.

The revelation follows news that a fireworks display used during the opening ceremony was apparently faked.

‘Smiling angel’

Speaking on Beijing Radio station, musical director Chen Qigang said the organisers needed a girl with both a good image and a good voice.

Lin Miaoke performs at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games

They faced a dilemma because although Lin was prettier, seven-year-old Yang had the better voice, Mr Chen said.

“After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture, while using Yang Peiyi’s voice,” he told the radio station.

“The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interest first,” he added.

“The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people.”

Singer Lin, who is being called the “smiling angel”, has already become a media celebrity because of her performance.

She told state-run China Daily that she felt “beautiful” in the red dress she wore during the performance.

Her dad told the newspaper that she already had fans all over the country.

According to Chinese news reports, Yang said she did not regret the decision, saying she was satisfied to have had her voice featured in the opening ceremony.

This is the second “fake” story about the opening ceremony

Viewers around the world saw a display in which 29 firework “footprints” travelled across Beijing from south to north.

But a senior official from the Beijing organising committee (Bocog) confirmed on Tuesday that footage of the display had been produced before the big night.

This was provided to broadcasters for “convenience and theatrical effects”, according to Wang Wei, Bocog’s executive vice-president.

“Because of poor visibility, some previously recorded footage may have been used,” he told a daily press conference.

So because the little girl with the better voice did not “look the part” her face couldn’t be shown.  People are outraged, but get real; this kind of thing has been going on forever and still goes on now.  When I was a child I was gifted at poetry and English Literature.  My work was always chosen to be read out at assembly but I was not allowed to read it out purely based on looks (braces, glasses, race) and the teachers made no secret of it.  They chose who they saw at the prettiest girl in school (who was a thick as pig shit) to read out others work as if it was her own!  In magazines on TV and in films do we ever see mingers or for that matter anyone who looks like a “normal person”?  No we don’t - they are all photogenic, plastic surgeried “beautiful” people.  If you look good and have zero imperfections or flaws you get the best jobs, pay, benefits.  If you are “normal” you get squat.  Get used to it and live with it as it’s never going to change.  Make your own benefits.

Wait until genetically modified children is allowed!

R.I.P

Comedian and Actor Bernie Mac and Soul Legend Isaac Hayes.

So long guys.

Did the West only just realise there is a China?

What is wrong with people?  China were given the Olympics almost a decade ago, yet the bandwagon politicians are all just now moaning about Tibet/China’s Human Rights record/no freedom of speech etc etc.  You’re too late.  Move on and let people enjoy the Olympics.  Politics really has no place in sport.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (N.I.C.E or rather NOT NICE)

These lot have been in the news lately for yet another decision to ban the prescription of an extremely useful drug on the NHS with the reason that it’s not cost effective.  I imagine that if nice was rid of the money used for them (are they a quango?) would be better spent on the drugs which improve the quality of life for those with terminal or chronic debilitating illnesses.

The should change their name to National Institute for Clinical Exclusion.

You might say I have no idea what I’m talking about.  Well I do.  I once had the unfortunate experience of working within a strategic health authority who worked in tandem with NICE.  They preferred to spend taxapayers money on large sums paid to “consultants” and glorified admin staff who were given fancy titles like “project manager for xxxx” and spent huge amounts on “health” projects that were of no benefit to the taxpayer and they loathed nurses (one chief exec reckoned they should be wiped from the face of the earth and replaced with monkeys - f***ing as nurses we paid too much and were a financial drain on resources. idiot that he was.  Many also had very little respect for doctors). The staff from NICE that I met had never been near a hospital or healthcare institution, were not professionally qualified in anything and had about as much common sense as a 2 year old.

They don’t seem to realise that the decisions they make force doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists to breach their Codes of Professional Conduct.  We are obliged by law to give the best care and treatmentsm, yet NICE stops us from doing so on a whim.

Get rid of NICE.  Get rid of stupid wasteful projects.  Let doctors, nurses and other professionals get on with the job of offering the highest possible treatments and care.

Bug

Does everyone in England have the same virus at the moment?  I’ve got it, my gardener has it, the neighbours, friends in London have it, family in London/Norfolk have it, colleagues have it, friends in Suffolk have it, a friend in Essex has it.  It’s a nightmare.  I feel a conspiracy theory coming on…

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On the bright side I have a new DVD player.  Had a couple of days but not set it up yet.  The current pants aerial doesn’t really inspire me to want to watch a bad snowed over picture.  Aerial fitters are coming with a new one next week.

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Cinema in the summer holidays.  Do filmakers ever think?  There are a few films I’d like to see at the moment, however it is the the school summer holidays at the moment and if you’ve ever tried to watch a good film in the cinema this time and you don’t have children (or are taking children to see a kids film) then you know what a nightmare it is.  Why do they release as many films as possible during the summer?  Cinemas can you please have an over 25s screen?  Thanks.

Updates

Birthday

Had my party at the weekend and it was brilliant!  I even had a birthday cake complete with candles and 40th written out in pink jellies which my little nephews kept trying to steal.  A wonderful time was had by all and the weather was fab.

I’d still like to do a couple more things for my birthday - day or weekend at a spa and a hot air balloon ride which is something I have wanted to do since I saw a hot air balloon race fly over our house when I was about 5 years old.

Fitness

More reasons to practice what I preach.  This was on the BBC website today and I have to agree it’s one of the most convincing studies for a long while:

Women who want to lose weight - and keep it off - need to be exercising for almost an hour, five days a week, according to US experts.

The University of Pittsburgh study found the 55-minute regime was the minimum needed to maintain a 10% drop in weight.

Only a quarter of the 200 women in the study managed to lose this amount.

A UK expert said it was clear that regular moderate exercise was the way to lose weight, and keep it off.

Thirty minutes a day is good for general health, but if you want to lose weight, you need to be doing more, and if you want to sustain weight loss, you need to be doing even more than that Professor Paul Gately Leeds Metropolitan University

Approximately two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, with some estimates suggesting this could rise to nine in ten by 2050.

Research points to a combination of exercise and calorie control as having the best chance of success in weight loss - although the majority of people who attempt these diets fail to keep the weight off.

The latest research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal, confirms that plenty of exercise is a key ingredient of success.

The Pittsburgh researchers looked at a group of overweight and obese women over a four year period.

They were all told to eat between 1,200 and 1,500 calories a day, and split into four different exercise programmes, varying the intensity and amount of exercise carried out.

After six months, women in all four groups had lost up to 10% of their body weight - but most could not keep this going.

The women who did maintain the 10% loss were those who reported doing more exercise, on average 275 minutes per week.

Hour target

In the UK, everyone is encouraged to manage at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, but scientists say that people wanting to maintain weight loss need much more.

Professor Paul Gately, a specialist in exercise and obesity, from Leeds Metropolitan University, said: “This study is excellent - it’s the best evidence that this higher level of exercise is needed.

“Thirty minutes a day is good for general health, but if you want to lose weight, you need to be doing more, and if you want to sustain weight loss, you need to be doing even more than that.

“In this country, between an hour and 90 minutes of exercise a day is the recommended level for maintaining weight loss.”

He said that “moderate” exercise covered anything that made you slightly breathless, from brisk walking to gardening.

Some US researchers have been looking at novel ways to increase the level of activity among those with “couch potato” lifestyles.

Dr James Levine is helping develop the “Walkstation”, a computer terminal with a treadmill instead of a chair.

Writing in the same journal, he said: “Sitting at one’s desk uses barely any more calories than staying in bed, but walking at 1mph while working increases caloric expenditure by approximately 125 calories an hour.”

I know that initially exercise was what helped me stay slim and a size 10 however since I’ve become an exercise slacker I notice I’m more needing more size 12s then 10s so it’s time to get back that exercise mindset.   I would love to be going to gymophobics again but there isn’t one for 30 miles so I better get a set of weights and do a bit of home exercise and a bit more walking.

Telly

I think I mentioned I have a telly again.  I have a huge widescreen TV.  Had it 3 weeks now an haven’t watched it as the aerial on this house doesn’t pick anything up.  As I rent I am forbidden from getting it upgraded in case the roof is damaged or some other rubbish so my options are Sky or Freesat as there is already a dish in place.  My TV has built in freeview and I was reading on my new-best-friend aerial forum that it’s possible to use a high powered indoor aerial to boost the signal.  I went on to Ricability to see their aerial reviews and bought the one that had a 96% rating (the one they found had the highest performance even in areas with crappy signals on analogue).  I shall report back whether it works or not.

Lazy

I got up early with every intention of going into work.  I’m still at home and it’s 5.30pm!  Meh.  I only work three days a week and I’m the only member of staff who hasn’t taken the summer off.  I’ll work tomorrow instead.  I have a huge load of marking to do so I can do that from home.

Car

My car has turned against me - I reckon it’s because I keep saying I want a BMW 6 series.  The on board computer has decided not to recognise that the doors are closed meaning the internal light won’t go off so  the central locking can’t be engaged without setting off the alarm.  Fortunately the car can be locked manually.  I’ve booked it into renault.  It’s a known problem (it’s mentioned in the manual) so should be easy to fix without too much expense.

More Lazy

I’ve decided I really do not like having to trudge around shops.  That is practically unheard of for a woman but I mean supermarkets.  Cloth shops are fine if you can afford to splash out but grocery shopping is hellish.  So Tesco is my new best friend.  Sod it.  Quick and easy and I’m not tempted to impulse buy things I don’t need.

Creatures

Last night I managed to rid (read kill) the big spider on my wall.  I turned round for a sec only to turn back to see and even bigger spider had replaced it. So I got an even bigger shoe! Ha Ha Ha!!  It occurred to me that when I’m exhausted spider phobia doesn’t affect me so much.  Interesting.

I don’t know what happened…

…I finally did get to Ipswich, however I was walking back to the car park after sorting out a few bills when something grabbed me and pulled me into Laura Ashley! It’s a real hazzard when that happens. It then made me pick up 4 pretty dresses, try them on and then buy one!! It’s actually a very lovely dress and even more pleasurable since I still can’t get used to trying on things that are a size 10 or 12 And best of all? It was reduced from £100 to £29 - shopping result! It’s a long flowing summer dress which I shall wear to my 40th BBQ birthday party today.

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In car air-con: since it’s sweltering and traffic is sometimes a bitch the air-con is having to go on. It uses up masses of petrol though. Why is this?

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I have a Sky dish on my house though I don’t have Sky. I was wondering if the dish can be used to other digital stuff like freeview (being as I don’t really understand the different signal inputs) so did a search. I found a forum about aerials which answered my question, however read the entire three pages as it descends into comedy gold with the amount of P*** taking on pages 2 and 3.

For those who can be bothered to read the whole thread here’s the best bits:

“Can a sky dish be used as a wok”?

“A mesh one ? - no - but they do make good salad drainers”

“Just remember to clean off the bird poop first”

“I think so, just make sure you subscribe to the chinese food channel and have signed up for the pay-per-meal service”

“So it’s not a Free-to-Eat channel then”?

“It might not be Free-To-Eat, but it’s timeshared with the “Tandoori Global Positioning Device And Tree Branch Lopper” channel”

“I’ve just [seen] a dreadful news headline in the Daily Garbage:
“Murdoch buys 17% stake in Independent Wok Manufacturers”

“That’s the end of Wok TV for good now. Now we will need to subsribe to the ‘All meals’ package, as the main course will not be available on Wok Basic, and now the Fortune Cookie quiz channel will launch on Free-To-Eat TV”.

LOL! Nerd humour is always good.

Procrastination - I am the doyenne

I have to go to in Ipswich today. I’m finding everything to do but go. It will be hot, it will be full of screaming kids on school holiday, it will most likely irritate me, there is a particular person there I wish to avoid who will most like be in my way and it takes about an hour to drive there in traffic. QQ. I need to find something that will change my whole attitude to going there.

The only thing I can come up with is to buy something nice for myself. Like a PS3. Or a BMW six series.  Or at least go and salivate at one.

In the news today and yesterday: illegal music downloads. I think the music companies are making a huge mistake by making ISPs sign up to some threat fiasco. I don’t bother downloading music for free as most of it is crap. If there’s anything I like I buy it off iTunes. I reckon most people download the song to hear it, but judging by how packed hmv et al I’m guessing they go buy it anyway. Now they won’t be able to hear a sample before they buy I reckon they just won’t bother equalling losses for the music fat cats. The best solution would be to make everything (music, tv, films) available to download for your own use or to watch online (in the case of TV/Film) for a price as so many people would be willing to pay. And get more titles in iTunes. So often I go to buy a song and it’s not on there so I end having to buy an entire album, most of which is usually rubbish.