NBCNews.com (the new domain name for what used to be MSNBC.com) had an article today about a new craze in China. Many women are now wearing what's called a facekini at the beach. No, they're not Mexican wrestling wannabees, the idea is to prevent any tanning. They want pale skin and the UV resistant fabric insures their faces won't darken from the sun. (I'm wondering why they go to the beach in the first place, but oh well.)Why pale skin? The article explains that poor people, including the women, have to work in the fields, and their skin darkens as a result of being outside. So pale skin is a sign of wealth and considered more beautiful.
That made me think of a section in the first chapter of Song of Songs, where the bride says,
Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
My mother's sons were angry with me,
They made me keeper of the vineyards.
But my own vineyard I have not kept.
She's saying the same thing in a time/culture that favored the light skin of a woman who lived indoors. Her complexion is ruddy, she doesn't think she's beautiful, and says the other women of Jerusalem stare at her.
BTW, the wool tents that shepherds and bedouins live in out in the hills of Judea are dark - almost black.
Michelle will have two boys to deal with.
Melky Cabrera, an outfielder with the S.F. Giants, has been banned by MLB for 50 games for failing a drug test. The MVP of this year's All Star Game had artificially high levels of testosterone in his system when he was snagged. But wait, there's more! When Cabrera and/or his agent realized he was about to get busted they had an associate set up a fake web site selling a fake supplement so Cabrera could plead that he unintentionally ingested the testosterone while innocently taking the supplement. Now the Feds are involved because all of that violates some Commerce regulation.
Rick Sutcliffe, a former major league pitcher and ESPN analyst has a better idea. He said on ESPN radio that Cabrera shouldn't be here. The player is in the States from his native Dominican Republic on a work visa, he broke the law, so his visa should be pulled and he should be sent back home, never to work here again.
I think I agree! Not only would that be justice for Cabrera it would put the fear of God into other foreign players re. juicing. Give U.S. born players a life-time ban for a first offense and MLB would be PED free in the time it takes for players to run five gallons of diuretic through their system.
Amen and amen!
In other sporting news, a 70-year old woman from L.A. who arrived in NYC to prepare for work as a referee at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament that begins this weekend has been arrested for murdering her 80-year old husband back in CA. Authorities allege that she beat him over the head with a coffee cup.
So many possibilities here, but I'm going to take a bye on all of them.
Hey, we're on a roll here. This sent by my friend, Jim:
Nike has announced that the new "Lebron X" shoe will be priced at about $315. But that's really quite a deal - $315 for a pair of sneakers! - because the shoe will contain sensors that tell the wearer how high they've jumped.
I'm assuming they do that by measuring the time the shoe is off the ground, essentially weightless.
I want to wear a pair sitting in a chair and pick up my feet. How long will it take the shoes to send a message to the Lakers that the replacement for Kobe is in the house?
Who buys these shoes? I'm sure I don't know anyone who will. I suspect the target market for a $315 Lebron shoe is young Black males and/or young guys who think they're legit ballers.
It's called exploitation, and I suppose it's the American way. The point is not, "do they need it?" or, "Is it good for them." The bottom line is, "Will they buy it, and will we make money on it?"
Sometimes that takes an agressive advertising campaign to convince the buying public it will improve their life. Sometimes just attaching the right name to a product is all it takes. And it isn't just unrealistic young males who fall victim to the hucksters.
Look around your house.
5 comments:
We just discussed that same Basketball shoe at our house last night. E tried out last spring and made the MS basketball team. He then went to the neighbors and asked them if they would hire him to mow thier lawn this summer. His motivation for "getting a job".....we are so mean because we have not ever bought him good Basketball shoes...we limit him to $60...my word, aren't we aweful! So he saved all summer and ordered the pair he wanted....(not at $315), and he searched the internet for hours trying to find the best price there was on his selected pair of shoes. Some days I would like to kick Lebron James/Nike/and the rest of their kind for their part in all of this garbage.
Congratulations Grandpa! We are praying for him to make his arrival on the 12th...E thinks that would be very cool.
Stacey
Stacey, that is EXACTLY what happened at our house, and at the same age. We set a limit ($30 all those years ago) and if S wanted to spend more it was his money that would make up the difference. (Note: he did NOT make the b'ball team!)
E has just learned more about finances and money management than a semester of Economics 101 could teach him. I'm betting this scene repeats itself when he's a dad.
So, the cynic in me just wants to start a pool to see who the first person is to get beat, shot or stabbed for a pair of those shoes. Am I reaching too far, the first thing that popped in my head is that they are trying to compare "Lebron X" to Malcolm X?
BJ, I suspect a .38 is a required accessory. Re. the X part, I doubt it. The target market isn't that historically literate.
It's been a great learning summer for E. The guy he is mowing for goes to our church, he is a year out of college and works in a very good job. He would rather spend his time doing things with his friends and his money on having E mow. He started out paying $20 for mowing and weed whacking, then he realized that he was getting a "green" employee who is in fact only 12 years old. He then explained better what he expected and that he would do the trim work himself...now he pays $10 per week. My favorite lesson though came when Alex pre-paid E for two weeks (because he had the cash on him right then) E told me that it was much harder to get up the motivation to go mow after he had already been paid....we got to have a long talk about how not fun it is to work to earn money you have already spent! Boy do I wish I had learned some of this in the same ways he is when I was his age. It is just not the same to have someone tell you as it is to experience it.
Stacey
Post a Comment