JKane

I agree that it's the perfect level of snark (or could even use more) for Russia, but the Snowden stuff is in conflict with many people's views of the man PLUS it will date the article.

Can't wait!

I agree that long term fasting is no solution. A good general foundation in eating healthy like Tim Ferris' "slow carb" thing is key (or Weight Watchers, or a dozen other things as long as it's healthy foods instead a fad single food or crap energy bars they sell you...). But once you've got that baseline, a 16-24 hour fast is a great way to "undo" an overindulgence, cheat day, or start to work off a vacation, I think we agree.

The only thing useful or memorable in the movie Super Size Me was the illustration of how much sugar is in soft drinks. That did it for me, generally drink iced tea now, the occasional Coke Zero or diet Dr. Pepper. One major precept of most serious diets is DON'T DRINK CALORIES. I think Starbuck's frappuccinos have probably added significantly to the average American's waist line because they don't realize it's basically a milkshake. Haven't found a light beer I particularly like, but I don't drink beer all that much and when I do it's something that tastes good to me (Heff or Belgian Whites, mostly).

I would too, but instead of owning it (he did awkwardly try to at first, if I recall) he acted ashamed, apologized, and promised not to do it again. Which opens one up for blackmail (if he wasn't so incompetent at it) and makes it a spectacle.

The attention has already gotten a pretty good response from Stoli, and it earns them some sympathy from me, but Dan Savage's reply to their response is even more compelling, to me anyway. Both below: An Open Letter from the CEO of Stolichnaya Vodka to the LGBT community. The recent dreadful actions taken by the Russian Government limiting the rights of the LGBT community and the passionate reaction of the community have prompted me to write this letter to you. I want to stress that Stoli firmly opposes such attitude and actions. Indeed, as a company that encourages transparency and fairness, we are upset and angry. Stolichnaya Vodka has always been, and continues to be a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community. We also thank the community for having adopted Stoli as their vodka of preference. In the US, the brand’s commitment to the LGBT community has been ongoing for years. Among the best examples, I can cite the series produced by Stoli in 2006 called “Be Real: Stories from Queer America” which featured short documentaries on real life stories depicting the challenges and accomplishments of the LGBT community in the United States ( http://www.logotv.com/shows/dyn/be_real_series/series.jhtml [1] ) Stoli is very proud of its current exclusive national partnership with Gaycities.com and Queerty.com in search of the Most Original Stoli Guy. This is a fantastic program that started as a local initiative in Colorado and became a national platform. Previous national initiatives included serving as the official vodka of the Miami Gay Pride Week as well as ongoing events with focus on Pride month. Some great examples from other parts of the world are the support to the Durban Gay Pride, in South Africa ( http://www.durbanpride.org [2] ), the Pride Parade in Vienna, in cooperation with HOSI and CT, the largest LGBT communities in Austria and the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, taking place this weekend. This letter also gives me the opportunity to clear some of the confusion surrounding the Stolichnaya brand, based on facts found online that often inaccurately link our company to the Russian Government. The Russian government has no ownership interest or control over the Stoli brand that is privately owned by SPI Group, headquartered in Luxembourg in the heart of Western Europe. Stoli’s production process involves both Russia and Latvia. Stoli is made from Russian ingredients (wheat, rye and raw alcohol) blended with pure artesian well water at our historic distillery and bottling facility Latvijas Balzams ( www.lb.lv [3] ) in Riga, Latvia (formerly part of the Russian Empire and then of the Soviet Union). Latvijas Balzams did not recently become part of the Stoli heritage, but has been one of its main production and bottling facilities since 1948. This has allowed the brand to deliver the outstanding quality it is recognized for consistently across the years. What changed in the last years is politics, with Latvia becoming an independent state part of the EU. We fully support and endorse your objectives to fight against prejudice in Russia. In the past decade, SPI has been actively advocating in favor of freedom, tolerance and openness in society, standing very passionately on the side of the LGBT community and will continue to support any effective initiative in that direction. Sincerely yours Val Mendeleev Chief Executive Officer SPI Group --- The reply... --- For the record: Regardless of where SPI Group's corporate offices are located, the company is owned by Yuri Scheffler, one of the 100 richest men in Russia. SPI is a Russian corporation, Stoli is a Russian vodka. And while it's nice that SPI is willing to market to homos who are lucky enough to live in Austria, the US, and South Africa, what has SPI done in Russia? The group has sponsored gay pride events in Vienna and Miami. That's nice. But have they sponsored gay pride events in Moscow or St. Petersburg? Val says that Stoli is upset and angry. That's nice. So has Stoli said anything to the Russian authorities? Has Yuri Scheffler expressed his anger in an open letter to Vladimir Putin? Did the SPI Group speak the fuck up before the Russian government passed a law that made it a crime to be openly gay and a crime to publicly support someone who is openly gay? Frankly I'm not interested in Stoli's marketing efforts in the West. I'm interested in what this Russian-owned company is doing in Russia. And from this letter it's clear they've done and they only plan on doing squat.

I saw mention of this today, there are many purely Russian vodkas (the country may even have involvement in some...) and I do support gay boycotting of them. Sure it's only a drop in the bucket but if we can do half as a good a job publicizing it as "Million" Mom's (and the like) do with their horseshit it can at least help to make people aware of the issue. Damn. I don't drink much vodka but I just realized that the two I especially liked I won't be having again for the foreseeable future: Zyr and Jewel of Russia... good thing I'm learning to like scotch, I guess. And for those needing to resupply their liqueur cabinets, Costco has two different Kirkland (store) brand vodkas that are good--and cheap!

I was interested right until I saw Jane Espenson's involvement. She's ruined so many promising properties now that I'm convinced Buffy and BSG were good in spite of her involvement--not due to it! What she did to Torchwood is unforgivable and her unfettered on Battlestar Galactica gave us The Plan (and the first season of Caprica)...

I was a huge fan of Wiener before, now, not at all. Especially since it's a democratic primary he needs to lose and go away. He's an embarrassment. If he wasn't running as a married family man--who apologized for past indiscretions and *promised not to do it again* it wouldn't be a big deal. As with Clinton, the lie (Wiener's "Changed Man" cover story as he was actively still doing *worse* than what got him in trouble in the first place) is a bigger issue than the actions themselves... Even putting aside any Puritanical reaction the lack of discretion / basic common sense makes him ineligible for public office. The Daily Show did a great segment on him Weds. night. I would still like to see Spitzer back in office though...

Don't I know it! But I also know that most of it is crap. This is where the love it or leave it comes in. Yes, sometimes I'm tempted by candy in the check-out isle, etc... but I know exactly what they all taste like and it's just not that special. I'd rather have an amazing desert at a good restaurant (on cheat day) than that Kit Kat, because even with Dark Chocolate it just doesn't actually taste like much! Same for a good $10+ dollar burger (on wheat bun, no mayo) *with friends* instead of wolfing down crappy fast food during the week. It helps that I have friends who are also trying to eat healthy, so we can do a pretty carb-free BBQ or hit Zankou Chicken (LA area Mediterranean/Armenian chain) after a hike. At home I only have healthy stuff and I'm by no means a chef, but I can saute spinach pretty damn well and have recently discovered how to make a damn fine omelet with some stir-fry vegetables (big bag from Costco freezer section) topped with salsa (again, start to eat healthy and you'll crave healthy). And I try to avoid eating at night at home, instead I try to have a protein shake (Costco has good pre-made ones with 30g protein each)... otherwise once I start at night I tend to eat ALL THE THINGS, and even though it's healthy you *can* eat too much, especially fruit, popcorn and "healthy fats" (nuts, avocado...). Tim Ferris has some good guidelines and ways to think about things, but any diet that says you can eat an unlimited amount of *anything* is mistaken... especially when you have the stomach capacity of a ~400lbs man. One other trick I've picked up which seems to help is short term fasting after overindulging or a cheat day. Hitting 12 hours is easy (stop eating at 9PM, don't eat again 'till 9AM) and adding a couple extra hours (waiting 'till lunch) to get up to 16 or so seems to have real benefit and really isn't hard when I've stuffed myself the previous day. And thanks!

Thank you!

When in the mood for hot I get a Red Eye (coffee with an extra shot), usually in the mood for cold so I get an iced coffee, put in a splash of non-fat milk and a Sugar in the Raw or two. Crunchy sugar, one tenth the calories of the fraps, caffeine high... hmm, could ask them to blend that maybe... But I don't hit Starbucks often, so much cheaper to just make coffee at home.

This started as a response to Four Aces's thread about morning show talking head diet of the week, but I wanted as many to see it as might need to... Calories in VS. calories burned. That's it. There is no miracle diet advice that will magically make us able to eat 4k+ calories a day and lose weight, save spending 16 hours a day killing ourselves at the gym. And watching morning shows is especially unproductive. They specialize in bullshit diet advice and "breakthroughs" that contradict each other day to day. It's not about anything remotely like providing medical advice, their only drive in the world is ratings--so that their advertisers will buy slots to sell you high-calorie over-processed crap every break. When you've really had enough and can't see your health deteriorate any further, it's time to take major action. For me the action was throwing out every food in my house and committing to a medically supervised diet for ~6 months. What really helped was I sick of food--there was nothing I just couldn't go 6+ months without eating again because I'd already eaten so much of all my favorites so often. It was also nice because the meals were already in the house, nothing to overindulge in or make too much of or get dressed and go out for. At times it will be hard, but let your lazyness work for you... And if that isn't enoough you can try the various diet prescriptions, they may help (a bit, again, no magic bullet) to curb your cravings (and they can boost your energy to be active). If hardcore diet alone won't work or you know you can't stay on the path once you've shed the pounds then look at the surgeries. My take was always fuck Lap Band, too much of a band-aid, easy to eat around. Full laproscopic bypass was where I'd figured I'd go if the diet and subsequent lifestyle change didn't work for me. But neither are a magic bullet and many people end up managing to negate them and gain weight back PLUS get the added bonus of a lifetime of complications from the surgery. Even with surgery you have to want it more than you want that crappy week-old doughnut at 7-11. And if you honestly think you *need* that doughnut... well, time to go ahead and pre-order the super-sized coffin. Either way, as the pounds come off, you'll be able to do more and more physically. You'll also find watching TV to be torture, because every ad is a big juicy burger that you clearly see even in fast forward. So go do something instead. Try everything. You'll suck at it at first and be easily tired, but keep going back, make it a habit, and fuck being self conscious. You're bettering yourself and will have probably already lost more than the bitch whom you *think* is judging you has probably ever weighed. Meetup has some great hiking and other miscellaneous fitness groups, by the way. Sadly, there is no 'end' or 'goal' after which you can go back to anything approaching your old ways. When you weigh a lot you burn a lot more calories (1000+ a day additional)--even just sitting around--than when you've gotten down to a healthier weight. So if you ever start to eat like when you were big the weight comes back SO MUCH faster than you've put on additional weight in the past. But, good news is that after as little and as bland as you eat while losing the weight even the healthiest thing at your favorite place will be 10X more tasty than your favorite thing there was when you were eating yourself to death. Start to eat healthy foods (in moderation--despite what any talking head or diet fad book says--you can eat too much of almost anything) and you'll start to crave healthy foods. And one of the most helpful things I ever heard: If I don't fucking love it, I don't eat it. Once you're maintaining a healthy weight you'll have the occasional bad thing, some plans (I do like Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Body--though despite what he says you can go too far on cheat day) even encourage an occasional day off. But don't stuff yourself full of anything that isn't orgasmic. And that's in the future, don't read about and fixate on food you will/can eat in the future while you're working on losing weight NOW.

What did I ever do to you, Suckrates?

I only saw the first episode but was massively unimpressed. Glad it's some people's cup of tea--or it got better. Streaming the show is almost certainly free w/ Amazon Prime and that's just a side benefit to discounts and free expedited shipping if you shop their often!

Asian guy was indeed very hot, pretty much nothing else to recommend this movie. IF YOU SEE IT, DO NOT DO SO SOBER! Saw the first one at a theater that served beer, improved it immensely. This one, stone sober, was horrible. Typical phoned-in Bruce Willis, no chemistry whatsoever between him and MLP. Malkovich was stoned/drunk/phoning in as well. The 5 or so minutes of Hellen Mirren were about the only moments worth a damn other than aforementioned asian hottie.

Not at all sure that's clear to anybody. No argument from me that it's overly complicated and the proposal above would be better, but in states with democratic majorities who want to see it succeed such as California and New York it's already shown a surprising amount of promise on making rates reasonable. Many of us who found it impossible to get or afford coverage before can't wait. And many more have already benefited from large sections of the law already in effect. Three points: There's really nothing that could've made the US healtcare 'system' worse than it currently is. The health and even life itself of the populous is something the government by every right ought to have a major interest in, instead of it being a profit center for a bunch of billion-dollar industries. Every single asshat on Fox bloviating about the horrors of gov't healthcare finds/found it good enough for their own parents.

Capacity problems too. A couple years ago a friend who lived in Venice had T-Mobile and whenever the tourists hit (every weekend) he couldn't place or receive calls. Don't know if that's been improved at all, but it always seemed a second-rate network. Not that ATT is much of a prize...

The book is good, though it suffers from being familiar because it was an instant classic and many parts were copied into other things in the many years since it came out. Where the universe really gets interesting is the sequels, I really liked some of the ideas in them (the original ones, not talking about the 'Bean' moneygrab). That Mormon asshole bigot can write.

I've been saying this for years. Make medicare available everyone at cost +20%. That 20% gives private companies room to compete and is used to stabilize the medicare trust fund for the elderly and provide for more coverage of low income persons.

I'm also not wild about the size, and will miss having a real keyboard... But for size, there is also now a G 4 mini, and soon to be an HTC One mini.

Except for default Google Maps / Navigation... and anything you would like to interact with the system further than Apple will allow it to. I've been considering the S4 too. Thing is ATT has the most compelling version, the Active. Except I've not yet had a problem damaging my phone with water or covering it in food (the main danger shown in the ad).