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How can it be that plus size women want to idealize themselves as perfect, when perfect is different to many people? Culturally as a nation we see "perfect" now a day's as being skinny, because you can be a beautiful plus size model, but still be overlooked by a skinner version. So how can we evaluate perfect? But this article only makes sense on two levels to me.

 http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/do-plus-size-models-make-women-feel-bad-about-themselves-1173186/#poll-BD54121832B011DFBA43F0FC7608A6B2

First off, right now our country is on a skinny health trip, which means, if you look skinny you are perceived healthier than those of a heavy weight or size. Which can change soon with the new focus on being actively healthy because of "skinny fat".

Secondly, plus size women only have lower self-esteem because they are constantly told that they are not as pretty as thinner women. Society creates this self-esteem issue, because look at some of the really dangerously thin women and ask them why they don't shop or enjoy the way they look. Plus, if they made clothing that was pretty for plus size women things could be different as well.

What do you think, can plus size models hinder you from buying clothing, shoes, watches or anything? Do you think that seeing plus size models make it more diverse when it comes to adds, because not everyone can be this size 0-4 frame?

 

We see it in movies and TV shows, but is it true in real life? The common stereotype that athletes dominate on the field but they also party just as hard on the weekend it present in our media in today society. But how does the research hold up to this societal perspective? As I look back on my high school and their policies I remember one specific one that was implemented during my sophomore year. This police targeted athletes and the use of alcohol. Student athletes that were caught using alcohol for the first time were suspended from a portion on their sports season. The second offense was suspension for the entire year, and the third was elimination from sports for the rest of their high school time. This gave off the impression that alcohol consumption and athletics were strongly correlated. A study done and presented on ABC's Health website targets this idea. 1300 students were surveyed linking violence, drinking and binge drinking to the competition attitudes of athletes; more specifically this article target competitive, contact sports such as football.  I this study, researches found that men who participated in these sports were more likely to develop violent behaviors that stemmed from the glory, power, and special behavior they were treated to on and off the field by their peer, coaches, and parents.  Researchers argue that these results do not mean men who play football are more likely to drink and demonstrate violent behavior but men that play football in general have more characteristics that lead them to become more apt to participate in these behaviors. These researchers strongly support that football does not cause these behaviors but co-exist with these individuals. Other researcher beg to differ in that parents and coach are neglecting to distil values in these athletes therefore they feel as though the rules do no apply to them eliciting this violent behavior and adolescent alcohol consumption obsession that we see among athletes. This article brought up some very interesting thoughts about the rules and regulation of athletes. After reading this blog and the article did you school have a alcohol policy outline in their code of conduct as mine did? If so, what was it? Also, do you think that completive sports such as football are the cause of this violent behavior that we are seeing in young adolescent men or do you take the stand that this is not a causation correlation but merely a co-existing characteristic overlap and children who are more violent and drawn to alcohol are teen are more apt to choose to participate in competitive and contact sports such as football?

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/team-sports-linked-teen-drinking-violence/story?id=9019219&page=1

As many of you know, the winter Olympics began last Friday.  I LOVE the olympics and seem to have it on at all times.  Last night (February 17, 2010) was the halfpipe competition.  During the competition Shawn White did a trick that had never been done before.  That trick, the Double McTwist 1260, was not done to win the competition - because his previous run had locked the gold metal - it was done during what was a victory lap.  The Double McTwist 1260 is when a rider competes 3 1/2 turns while also flipping head-over-heals two times.  His victory run was said to have been "epic."

For this post I wanted to find a really neat video to share. But instead I found a few and decided instead of sharing a video I wanted to share this whole site.  Maybe more people than I'm aware of know about TED but I just think it is a neat site to go to and learn and hear other opinions on various topics. So I want to encourage you all to go to this site and check out the different themes of videos and find one that is for YOU!

TED has the catch phrase "Ideas worth spreading".  They hold a few conferences each year where speakers will come and spread their idea.  They have some interesting topics that anyone could enjoy.  You should check it out!

I got carried away watching a few videos and decided to post one up anyway.  Do you remember the golden rule from when you were a kid?  "Treat others the way you want to be treated".  This stopped me in my tracks and made me really rethink how I was going about life now.  What would happen in this world if everyone started to live by that golden rule?  We should be sensitive to other's emotions by thinking of our own emotions.  I heard this analogy from someone else so I can't take all of the credit, (but just think about it).  Say you're driving and you realize you need to be over a lane, like NOW.  So you pull in front of someone and cut them off.  The way you react is most likely like, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" and you just feel bad and apologetic.  But then on the other side of that coin, when someone pulls in front of you or cuts you off you might blow up, curse at them, call them names...make assumptions.  We should just be empathetic of others (just think what the world would be like if we did.)
   
http://www.ted.com/talks/karen_armstrong_let_s_revive_the_golden_rule.html

Here is the link to the website:
www.ted.com
From there you can explore, and please, post a comment with a video you watched or liked.

http://www.themedguru.com/20100114/newsfeature/people-happiest-during-weekends-study-86131803.html

I found this article to be rather interesting, the study suggests that weekends have a significant effect on the body. Researchers suggest that, "simply being in charge of your own day, spending quality time with family, provides better mood, greater vitality and (fewer) physical ailments from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon."

 

While the results of this study are probably to be expected - most people are visibly happier on the weekends -  it is interesting to hear about what they believe specifically causes physiological changes, such as hormone release, and a more positive attitude overall.

 

They attribute some of these changes to higher feelings of autonomy. At first, I wondered if this effect was mainly seen in those with relatively low paying jobs (those with consistently low autonomy throughout the week), but the effect was found regardless of occupation, age, gender, or relationship status.

 

I actually found it very interesting that even those with high status jobs experience this effect on weekends. I have generally thought that workers with high status already tend to have significantly higher levels of autonomy and leisure, so the presence of the weekend would not make as much of a difference to them. According to this study, I may be wrong.

 

 I wonder if another reason for this affect is that people are often able to rest more on weekends. In BioPsychology I remember the author (John Pinel) mentioning that over time people can gradually reduce the amount of time they sleep to as little as two hours per night with only minor effects, but I have not yet looked at the studies on which he based those statements. I wonder how much of a role (perhaps 2 additional hours) additional sleep can play in improving one's mental and physical condition. I find studies involving sleep to be among the most interesting, and from what I have read it seems like much more research needs to be conducted in this area.   

 

Another question I have is, "Why don't the effects seem to carry past Sunday afternoon?" I suppose the answer may lie in their original report, but if it does it would be rather odd for them not to have included it in the article. I have often heard people say that they will be revitalized and refreshed for work after the weekend, but in my experience I'm not sure people tend to be any better or any worse at their jobs whether it is a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. In any case, I think some of the questions that arise from this article merit further research.