Empty Calories & Male Curiosity, #1

Quick Hitters for the holiday, and Going Deep with Lizzo and Sir Mix-A-Lot

QUICK HITTERS:

1. What would Thanksgiving TV be without all news outlets telling us about the national travel patterns? Traffic and airport delays. Am I the only one that doesn’t give a crap?

2. I saw an ad for a Joe Rogan podcast where he interviews the author Sebastian Junger. I didn’t click on it because I have an unabashed hatred of podcasts. However, it did remind me that I have not recommended Mr. Junger, or his newest book, to you yet. “In My Time of Dying” is Junger’s account of a near death experience he had several years ago.

   It is also much more than that. From the man who brought you “The Perfect Storm” (the book that inspired the movie starring George Clooney and Marky Mark) is a book that will amaze you from start to finish. Junger does not profess to have the answers to life’s big questions, but you will enjoy learning what he learned in his quest for those answers.

(my writing assistant Maverick posing with the book)

3. We made homemade pizza this year for our main course on Thanksgiving. Anyone else do something non-traditional? Please share in the comments if so!

4. This week is Rivalry Weekend in college football. Betting tip #27: NEVER bet a rivalry game.

5. In my efforts as a writer I have been focused on the Japanese principle of Kaizen. In short, the idea being to try to improve by 1% each day. By making small, continuous, and daily improvements we can compound that improvement over time.

   At this rate I may be a published author by the year 2073.

6. Lastly, if you haven’t already please consider subscribing to this newsletter. I’d love to push up that 2073 date by a few years and increasing my readership would go a long way towards that goal. And as always, if you’re enjoying reading this please forward to a friend.

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GOING DEEP:

Cosmo Says Your Fat

Go on and admit it, you read that title and finished the lyric: “well I ain't down with that.” If you are a man that song is about our particular predilection to like large female backsides. If you are a woman that song is about the objectification of your gender. 

That being said I know several of you ladies personally that sang “Baby Got Back” to your newborns…so careful about all the judging. You know, lest you be judged and all. 

Moving along, Lizzo was in the news this week. She used to be morbidly obese, and now she is not. Yes, because that’s newsworthy.

Back when she was heavier she said it was cool. “What’s the big deal, my body is beautiful.” She inspired a whole generation of young women to be themselves. To be proud of their bodies. To eat doritos and drink coca-cola to their heart's content. 

At that time Lizzo talked about the machine of capitalism encouraging women and girls that they need to buy this or that to look pretty. That without the newest fashion and makeup accouterments they would not be pretty. 

“Normalize being comfortable with your body,” “Don’t normalize trying to change your body.”

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You can love yourself and not your body. Case in point: I have love handles, and yes, I still love myself. At one point in my life I weighed 215 pounds. Now I hover around 165. I’m not exactly sure where that fifty pounds went but it certainly didn’t come from my love handles. Muffin tops for life I guess. 

Come to think of it, that would make a great t-shirt:

 

Could I workout harder and longer to get rid of them? Probably. Could I eat a few less french fries to help bleed them away? Most definitely. But guess what? I don’t want to. Or more accurately, I don’t want to work that hard. I look alright. I lead a reasonably active and healthy lifestyle. And besides, my wife still finds me attractive.

I think.

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You may have noticed above that I referred to Lizzo as having been morbidly obese. I’m not sure what the preferred nomenclature is for being that way now but I know it is not fat. When our daughter was younger she would chastise me for using that word (she has given up on me by this point).

“It’s mean,” or “that’s not a nice word” were her most common comments as she admonished me. (To be clear, I was not calling her fat. Just other people. I dare say, a truer gentlemen you have not met.)

When I was a boy, and fat, adults referred to me as husky. Or big boned. Friends and football coaches just called me fat. 

(Case in point: When I was 11 our football coach told the entire team at the end of the year party that I’d be a decent player next year if I worked hard at my “push aways” in the offseason. When everyone asked him what “push aways” were he said, “When you’re at the dinner table you need to push away from it.”

Thanks Coach.)

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Back to Lizzo…..she is no longer morbidly obese. Not sure how she did it, but many are postulating that it was the weight loss drug Ozempic. Ozempic is American consumerism at its finest. Want to continue to eat like shit, live a sedentary lifestyle, AND lose weight - we’ve got just the pill for you. 

Many adults struggle with their weight. Our western culture implores us to be everything to everyone, but at the same time be physically beautiful. We all know this is impossible. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get caught up in it. 

Just once I’d love to hear about some celebrity that is struggling with their body come out and just own it. “You know what, I’m not where I want to be right now. Work is crazy. The kids are young. My back is all f’d up. But that’s ok. I’m doing my best, I love myself, and my people love me. Tomorrow is another day.”

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What would his highness himself, Sir Mix-A-Lot, say about all of this? Would he lean towards body positivity or misogyny?  I believe the answer may lie in the track released in the immediate aftermath of his “Baby Got Back” success…..

I hope you enjoyed the inaugural edition of the Empty Calories & Male Curiosity Newsletter. Please subscribe if you haven’t already, and if you’ve already subscribed please forward to a like-minded friend. Thank you!