chewing the fat

I've been told that I should start writing something proper; or, alternatively, that the last few entries were kinda crap.

so, here I go. Something proper, coming right up..

the life of lit has been rather uneventful recently. Been spending lots of time doing rather unproductive stuff like reading trashy star wars novels and playing PES 3 on the PS2.

but on the other hand, I'm playing beach vball again, although the first time was pretty much a washout. Still, this means that things (like the weather) can only get better next time.

went for my medical checkup at CMPB (yes, yet another acronym) yesterday. Essentially wasted a couple of hours of my time undergoing the most exhaustive health tests that SAF money (= your taxes) can buy. And it turns out that I still have to go back next week. I have myself an appointment with an MO to discuss my poor eyesight. This probably means that (best case) the MO will talk to me for 5 minutes, and then tell me I'm PES B; or (more likely) he will conduct some tests and then talk to me for >5 minutes, and then tell me I'm PES B. Fantastic way to spend my free time, man.

while I'm writing about yesterday, I was mildly shocked to find out that the SAF classifies homsexuality as a psychological/mental/personal problem (not too sure which one). Like they expect someone to come up with a cure for it or something. I don't see homosexuality as a problem; that would suggest that there's something harmful about it, which strikes me as terribly far from the truth. I wonder what reasoning brought SAF to this kind of categorization. Probably involves some biology/psychology/quantum mechanics/metaphysics/wossname. Waaaay too complicated for the likes of me to comprehend.

moving from bureaucratic to coporate behemoth, I come to beloved McDonald's. The Golden Arches. Good ol' Mickey D's. A fast food chain by any other name is still a bringer of evil, driving people to their deaths via obesity. At least, that's the message I got from watching 'Super Size Me' today. Yes, no one in their right minds would eat only McDonald's for 30 days straight. But that's beside the point, which is that, thanks to aggressive advertising, lobbying and focus on kids, fast food companies are turning more and more people into (barely mobile) globs of fat, and with all the attendant health problems. That's what the film's trying to say, and it's a message that's graphically and dramatically conveyed.

Obesity and smoking are the two leading preventable causes of death in the US (the world's fattest nation!), according to one of the experts interviewed in the film. In the states, there's a growing public backlash against smoking, and I suspect that this documentary will help spark a similar backlash against fast food and obesity in general. McDonald's certainly cleaned up its act real fast (no more Super-size, for one thing), and it's no wonder: the film makes a compelling argument, and it's certainly going to make me think twice before I step into a fast food restaurant again. No kidding.

domee says I should make a video about eating only army food for 30 days straight. I think I should probably be calling it 'Pity Me'.