Quotulatiousness

October 12, 2009

Object to skeletal fashion models? You’re a “fat mummy”

Filed under: Media — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 13:14

Karl Lagerfeld puts you into your place, fatty:

Karl Lagerfeld, the eccentric German fashion tsar, has waded into the debate about size-zero models by saying that people want to look at “skinny models” and classing those who complain as “fat mummies”.

Lagerfeld, 71, was reacting to the magazine Brigitte‘s announcement last week that it will in future use “ordinary, realistic” women rather than professional models in its photo shoots. He said the decision by Germany’s most popular women’s magazine was “absurd” and driven by overweight women who did not like to be reminded of their weight issues.

“These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly,” said Lagerfeld in an interview with the magazine Focus. The designer, who lost a lot of weight himself when he went on a strict low-carbohydrate diet several years ago, added that the world of fashion was all to do “with dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women”

The complaint about ultra-thin models has a lot of merit: the model is chosen to be as close to a clothes-hanger as possible, to improve the sales of the item at retail. It’s easier to persuade buyers to buy things that look like they do on the runway when they’re in the store.

The fact that the majority of women in western cultures don’t come close to fitting that sort of clothing is largely ignored. The designers tend to prefer clothes that do not provide room for typical womens’ hips, breasts and curves. One sometimes wonders if the clothing is supposed to be equally attractive on bone-thin fashion models or young teenage boys . . .

lauren_model_photoshopped

Image from BoingBoing. Extreme photoshopping in the original ad.

Protip: a police station parking lot is not a “private place”

Filed under: Britain, Law — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 12:59

BBC News reports that a couple of Edinburgh pub-goers chose a particularly unsuitable place to go have sex after meeting in the pub:

An amorous couple have been fined for having sex in broad daylight — in a police station car park.

Leanne Richardson, 26, and Ross Welsh, 30, had to be physically stopped mid sex act by officers from Portobello police station in Edinburgh.

They both pleaded guilty to committing a breach of the peace in the car park on 21 April and were fined £200.

QotD: Next Nobel Prize nominations

Filed under: Bureaucracy, Humour, Quotations — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 12:19

In the light of this week’s ridiculous announcement that Barack H. Obama had been given a Nobel Peace Prize, for no perceivable reason — the same empty honor having previously been bestowed upon such luminaries as Jimmy Carter and Albert Gore — it is my honor and pleasure to present you with our own nominations for the next Nobel Prize.

Briefly, I thought hard myself about Madonna (words I never thought I’d see myself say), although I’m certain that excellent cases might be made — employing the Nobel committee’s apparent guidlines — for Gary Glitter, David Hasselhoff, Peewee Herman, Charles Manson, Paris Hilton, Lou Costello, Hello Kitty, or Jack the Ripper. Basically anybody who can afford a box of Crackerjack to look for the prize inside.

L. Neil Smith, Libertarian Enterprise, 2009-10-12

Vikings improve to 5-0 with win over Rams

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 11:18

Probably thanks to the “Brett Favre” factor, I’m having the opportunity to watch more Vikings games on TV this year than in almost any previous year. It almost makes me regret my earlier “stay retired, Brett” posts.

St. Louis self-destructed in this game, turning the ball over repeatedly within a few yards of the goal line, denying themselves great scoring opportunities. The Vikings defence looked very ordinary as the Rams moved up and down the field, but posted very few points (final score 38-10). Turnovers literally were the story in the game: the Rams fumbled, the Vikings didn’t.

As far as individual performances went, the usual names were there (Favre, Allen, Peterson), but some less familiar names got frequent mentions: Benny Sapp seemed to be in on every defensive play, Tyrell Johnson had an interception and a very athletic pass deflection, while Karl Paymah got victimized for the Rams’ only TD after he replaced Antoine Winfield. Adrian Peterson scored two TDs, but again didn’t have a lot of yards.

Update: Tim Olsen quotes “Eaten Purple People” about past Vikings teams:

Short week, road game, coming off of a big emotional win….hmmmmm.

In the Denny era this game was as good as pre-lost.

In the Tice era, the staff would be game planning for the Ravens game and starting the party planning for the bye week.

When TJack ran the show, you could count on as many fumbled snaps as were necessary to keep the Rams in it for the whole game.

In the early Chilly era, we would run a variety of plays designed to gain 3.33 yards if executed perfectly and then hope the measurement crew bailed us out.

But E.P.P. is here to tell you — not this year. We remember the 1998 Vikings that would win these games by 3-4 TD’s going away.

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