Winding down a sorta soggy now sunny 4th of July weekend with a
Wachusett Summer Wheat Ale...
This was a pretty neat story:
OMAHA, Neb. -- Dara Torres' eyes were watery and not from just having climbed out of the pool. She was crying at the cheers from 13,247 fans who saw the 41-year-old mother complete her improbable Olympic comeback.What a feat! Some have been suggested that her performance was chemically enhanced, but:
That's why she volunteered for extra drug testing this time around. She was accepted into a new program that focuses on a dozen athletes in different sports, subjecting them to additional testing and the latest technology.
Since March, she's been tested at least a dozen times, with testers drawing five vials of blood from her body each time to look for the telltale signs of illegal drugs.Good for her! (Yes, I'd
kill for her body... and I absolutely
hated Yahoo's headline:
Middle-aged mom triumphs. 41? Middle-aged?! Ack!!!)
FWIW... I came across the following on one of the Yahoo T groups I belong to:
http://io9.com/362025/why-all-female-superheroes-look-the-same has a graph to go along with the story "Why All Female Superheros Look the Same." This graph is useful to demonstrate that if we wish to be more likely to be perceived as biogals we need to get very slim or very fat. Notice the blue and red dashed lines. These are the graphs of the weights of normal men and women in the 20 - 29 y/o age range. They overlap at two points. Roughly BMI 20 and 33. Below BMI 20 and above BMI 33 a person is more likely to be female than male. At weights between this range a person is more likely to be male... You can see that a typical woman increases her weight by about a pound per year. I'm days away from age 53 and am 5' 7.5" which I'll round to 5' 8". For me anybody weight of about 153 or less OR 239 or more makes me significantly more likely to be read as a biogal than all weights in between. My experience strongly suggests these ideas are correct. I was less than 150 pounds for several months and was rarely "read." Additionally it was fairly common for men to hit on me. I'm in my 170s now and frequently read plus I'd probably have to pay a guy to sleep with me unless I go with street people or married men, both groups who sleep with anyone. Also, I have some MTF TS friends who are quite obese and they pass well and tend to have little problem finding men if they're into them.My .02? There may be something to this. Many- most?- slender TGals often have little trouble getting by without being "read", as long as their hair, makeup, attire, etc... is appropriate (and if they're not
well over 6' tall!) Similarly I've seen and known more than a few "large and lovely" TGals who- again, with appropriate hair, makeup, attire, etc...- often aren't "read" (additional body fat may tend to "soften" their appearance.) At 5'6", I feel more comfortable and confident being closer to a welterweight than a middleweight (do the math, sports fans!) I've never- or at least, have yet- aspired to be "waif" thin, for me, a lightweight (alright Kel, enuf with the
boxing weight classes, you!) I prefer, and believe I look healthiest and best with, more of a lean but femininely athletic build. If the transgal's observations quoted above ring true, it is more difficult easily "passing" if one has an average/typical- ie, not too big nor too small- male physique.
This (
Ernesto's Bianco) just
might be better than sex! (It may be- I suppose it depends upon the sex... ) There are sooooo many good slices in the North End, various styles, but Ernesto's takes a back seat to no one when it comes to Neapolitan, and their white pizza is to-die for!
In previous postings I've made reference to my appreciation of the, um, acting abilities of Matthew McConaughey (he
is a good actor, tho' I'd watch him read the phone book!) Another actor I've similarly always appreciated is
Chris Noth; I've yet to see the big-screen version of
Sex and the City but I "liked"
him in the HBO series, and back to his days as Det. Mike Logan in the first
Law & Order (sumthin' about an Irish Catholic cop gets me- go figure!) On the distaff side, I've always found Elisabeth Shue to be a very under-rated actress; another actress whom I've always found gives a fine performance (as well as appearing an attractive and sophisticated woman-
and one who shares the same birth date as me!) is
Diane Lane- I've yet to see her last few, but I liked her in
Hollywoodland, and luved her in
Must Love Dogs...My five all-time best rock songs- nothing sophisticated or controversial or sentimental, just songs that you know by heart and that can always get your head bobbing, your heart pounding, your toes tapping:
5-
You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC: Knocking me out with those American thighs!
4-
Travelin' Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival: Swamp Rock (if not Hockomock Swamp rock)
3-
Rock And Roll, Led Zeppelin:
Its been a long time since I did the stroll...2-
Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen: Reason #1 why he's The Boss!
1-
Brown Sugar, Rolling Stones: Politically incorrect as hell; everything rock should be!
Send me some of yours...
"I said yeah, yeah, yeah- woo..."