Nibbled News

A Bad Day For A Birthday - February 29th

"People love to admit they have bad handwriting or that they can't do math. And they will  readily admit to being awkward. "I'm such a klutz!" But they will never admit to having a poor sense of humor or being a bad driver.'  ---   George Carlin

 

Folks born today, February 29, enter the world plagued with a social handicap. They face the difficult decision of determining exactly when they will celebrate their birthdays with friends and family. It helps if you were born with a sense of humor.

The slap on the backside the doctor gave them in the delivery room on that special recorded day of their entry into the world is easily forgotten. The actual date of their birth is a social reality that they must come to grips with and eventually accept. 

Many accept their fate stoically and with a somewhat reserved sense of humor. Others feel that fiendish calendar creators and mathematicians have doomed them to a lifestyle as carefree as Peter Pan's -- never growing old too quickly.

A friend of mine Craig celebrates his birthday today. He admits that he is 64 years old. The candles on the top of his cake belie the fact. His wife accomodates his wishes and carefully places 16 candles on his homemade cake. It's his sweet sixteen party and  he can easily blow out the candles with one deeply inhaled breath. 

Craig and a number of other folks he has met online share this birthday dilemma.  They have not as yet formed a local support group to celebrate their uniqueness but they do send online birthday cards to one another as freely and as easily as the rest of us do.

Being born on the last day of February might technically excuse a person from not really having to act their age. Biologically, these folks mature at the same rate as the rest of humanity. The only difference is the acutal chronological registering of their birthdate. What do you do when you have to wait four years to enjoy a slice of birthday cake and ice cream?

It would be a nice gesture if greeting card companies would create a special card noting that the recipient is a unique individual who just happened to be born on an unusual date. It's tough buying a regular card for a person who has recently turned eighty but can only celebrate the day every four years.

Happy birthday wishes to all those celebrating today!

TV Ads Overly Concerned About Body Hair

“There's a reason why forty, fifty, and sixty don't look the way they used to, and it's not because of feminism, or better living through exercise. It's because of hair dye. In the 1950's only 7 percent of American women dyed their hair; today there are parts of Manhattan and Los Angeles where there are no gray-haired women at all.”
― Nora Ephron

 

 If you watch any amount of late night television you will eventually begin to notice that many advertisers are beginning to zero in on a major problem that is currently plaguing many, many people these days and apparently growing to pandemic proportions.

What is this threat that is affecting the lives of a great number of men and women these days? Namely,  the absence or the over abundance of body hair. Men and women are actually afraid that they have either too much or not enough of it in all sorts of places on their bodies.

Female viewers are constantly bombarded with a number of gadgets that are guaranteed to rid them of unsightly body hair from their arms, legs, faces and of course that most embarassing of all places the area immediately adjacent to their bikini tan line. 

Lotions, creams, high tech shavers and of course lasers are actively promoted daily to assure women that their concerns are being taken seriously by national advertisers. Informative infomercials employ the services of well known actresses who readily offer their own personal endorsements for the products reliability.

Many of these alleged panaceas even promise that unsightly leg hair and embarassing stubble will be gone forever with just  a few months faithful use of their laser enhanced system. The hair according to the advertisement will be effortlessly removed without the pain and suffering the competitor's hair removal system offers.

Men with thinning hair are also offered quick fixes which will make them look vibrant, sexy, dynamic and desirable. The actors in this commercial sport a full head of hair after supposedly using the restorative process for only thirty days.  They claim that their appearance and their overall confidence has been boosted. Attractive females rave about the new found confidence a full head of hair offers a man.

The commercial warns that this process is not for everyone. I suspect that men will readily shy away from a hair restorative system that requires that an acrylic product resembling human hair be surgically attached to their scalps. The cosmetic affect might be pleasing to the eye but can the invasion on a person's pain threshold and pocketbook justify the expense

A person viewing these "info"-mercials should realize that actors are supposedly portraying real people and events and what is viewed on the television tube is not always the gospel truth. We all want to look our best but we all should take a few minutes to realize that our personal assets are not dependent on an advertisers agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

Dressing Badly For The Warmer Weather?

"Summer is the season when a man thinks he can cook better on an outdoor grill than his wife can on an indoor stove." ---  Anonymous.

The current warmer summer weather affords many people the ideal opportunity  to catch a great tan, barbeque outdoors to their heart's content, enjoy the great outdoors, go sailing and more importantly wear clothing that not only keeps them cool and comfortable but also makes a very public statement about themselves.

When it comes to making a summer fashion statement about themselves many people throw caution to the wind and tend to lower their own personal good fashion sense.

Although they are keeping cool and comfortable the image that they are projecting to the general public borders on either the scandalous or the extremely bizarre.

This article centers on five areas of  personal style and appearance concerns that we have all been a witness to throughout the long summer months. The following scenarios will be briefly pointed out and discussed for your consideration:

1. Men wearing sandals and black or white socks.
2. Men wearing loafers and no socks with shorts.
3. Females wearing an extremely petite bikini exposing mounds of cellulite deposits.
4. Hairy older men wearing revealing tank tops.
5. Family members wearing black summer wear.


Sandals and Sock Combination

Perhaps I am being a tad too picayune here but the idea of wearing the sandals in the first place was to keep your feet cool and your tan somewhat consistent. Yet men of every age range continue to wear the sandal and sock combination believing they are looking cool. Hey guys get a clue and ditch the socks.

 

Loafers and No socks

The more avante garb male makes his fashion statement by wearing high priced loafers with no socks. What is this about I ask?  Surely if you can afford a $200 pair of designer shoes you can certainly visit a thrift store and purchase a cheap pair of socks. Why not buy some personally monogrammed socks for your tired feet?

 

 Skimpy Bikins and Cellulite

I realize that many women are having their difficulties fighting those unwanted and unsightly mounds of cellulite. But again ladies  try to use discretion and try not to publicly advertise to the world that you have been chosen to be the poster girl for the cellulite female of the month advertising campaign. Using a little bit of fashion discretion here would keep your secret from going public.

 

Hairy Chested Men Tanked Out

Nowadays it seems that older men are anxious to make personal fashion staements about themselves. Overly abundant amounts of chest and back hair that were once politely concealed from public viewing are now making an appearance not only on beaches but also at the supermarket, dentist's office and other places of business. Remember guys ,that at times enough can be way too much of a good thing! The Big Foot look alike contest only happens at Halloween masquarade parties.

 

Black Summer Outfits and Tshirts

You have probably noticed in recent years that national clothing advertisers are attempting to downplay the importance of men wearing brighter colors during the summer months. The ruggedly macho black tshirt has now been modified to include total lines of summer garb designed for the whole family. The tone is somber and tends to downplay the bright , warm and lively spirit of the season. Try to add some color in your life and be daring and wear a pastel colored tshirt once in a while.

 

Closing Clothing Thoughts

I realize that the situations described above have become acceptable and are totally innocuous .  However if you do want to improve your public image and put your best foot forward ask your family and friends for their opinion about the way you currently dress. If they see nothing wrong with the way you are currenly attired then pat yourself on the back for being attune to your body image and personal style.

If this is not your current situation then thank your friends and family for their honesty and if you feel so inclined try to modify your self image in a new and more flattering manner. The final choice is always yours to make. You do owe it to yourself  to project your best public self at all times.

Overly Endowed Women Are Target Market

"Good lingerie joke will make him laugh; good lingerie will make him gasp!"   --   Uncategorized.

Nowadays it seems the svelte and well-tanned models from Victoria Secret are freely prancing their bodies and their enticing lingerie ensembles on the television screen 24 hours a day , every day.

The company apparently believes that over exposure of their new lines of female under garments will seduce a large female consumer market anxious to create some exotic fireworks in their own lives.

While these young, semi nude and nubile female models are a delightful eye candy to many television viewers there still remains a large and ever growing market of female consumers out there who are not receiving their fair share of these immense advertising budgets.

These women are the regular sized females who are forced to scour the magazines and the interet in the hopes of finding the right type and size of foundation garments their bodies require.

The major players in the catalogue marketing business seem to have neglected those women who are no longer lithe and  lean but in fact somewhere  in between.

A stroll through any department store's female foundation  aisles reveals that the complaining women truly have a defensible case on their side.

A number of recent advertising spots aimed at those women over 40 used overly endowed females to advertise and capture the 40 and up market segment.

Not every woman in that age category should be expected to possess even these models' idyllically unrealistic proportions.

The low end department stores are even worse in the way they display their foundation ware. Many times the bras are placed on display racks that give the illusion of being abandoned inner tubes in a corner garage managed by uninvolved sales associates.

Many women I spoke with felt slighted and very much frustrated by the fact that the large foundation manufacturers have abandoned them and have begun courting a frivolous market segment.

Victoria's Secret and a number of the more prominent manufacturers should seriously re examine their advertising strategies and dollar allotments so as to once again recapture a market whose only fault in the total equation revolves around having the wrong physical proportions.

 

Poised Adults Also Doing The Potty Dance

 

It's not exactly an Arthur Murray endorsed and sanctioned dance routine but one dance that is certainly capturing the imagination of the entire nation if not the world is the "potty dance".

The dance moves may not be graceful but the overall effect is a welcomed feeling of physical relief and overall relief for the wearer.

An ever increasing number of adults these days are finding themselves forced to wear these types of protective undergarments and are also discovering a new freedom and mobility they never before experienced.

Urinary incontinence is a loss of bladder control and is becoming more prevalent in older people. It is never "normal" at any age and unfortunately the condition is often under diagnosed, under reported and many health care professionals themselves remain uneducated about the condition.

This condition indicates that something has possibly gone wrong with a person's urinary tract. A recent commercial featuring Whoopi Goldberg states that one in three women suffer from this condition.

This commercial uses wit and advertising savvy to inform women that this condition is not that rare and that in effect two of their friends may secretly be suffering from the condition.

You may think that this problem is a normal part of aging. It just might be but it is also a treatable situation. More women than men suffer from it. There are different types of incontinence and diagnosing the correct one is very important to effective treatment.

Many advertisers these days seem somewhat squeamish to create any type of creative marketing campaign aimed at this condition's increasing market share.

The safer ads these days focus on male loss of erection, female bowel problems ( especially troublesome in a passenger plane) and those every popular lighter days feminine pads.

It may be the time for creative writing consultants in both Hollywood and on Wall Street to create effective and informative advertising campaigns and prime time characters who use the undergraments and are not embarassed by the fact they suffer from incontinence.

 

Is Your Tush Worth A $6000 Overhaul?

If you are female, have $6000 sitting in your bank account laying idle and not gaining much accrued interest and you want to use that money to invest in yourself  then the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) may be the investment you are seeking.

 

The  BBL is described by its practioners as a fat-grafting procedure which not only reshapes a tired and aged butt but also reshapes the entire midsection.

 

The procedure liposuctions the abdomen, flank and thighs and then by adding that fat to the buttocks recreates a more youthful and perky look to the patient's tush. It creates the impression of a lift but in actuality is an enhancement.

 

Most patients want curves and not merely a bigger butt. They have tried exercising routines,firm up machines, twisting bun machines and potions and lotions promising to transform their body and buns into something more  youthful and perky.

 

Even though the price tag for most folks is exorbitant it should be noted that the procedure itself is culturally, media and fashion driven. Fifty year old women in South America still wear bikinis thanks to the technique. A majority of women in Arizona reportedly endorse this medical procedure.

 

Most women want a more youthful and perky looking butt. The BBL is a technically tricky procedure and at times the risks to a woman's health far outweigh the apparent benefits of having a taut and perky butt.

 

 Most critics of the procedure state that it is not a total slam dunk . It is marketed as being minimally invasive but the technique is also challenging. Critics state that up to 60 per cent of the transferred body fat may die or be reabsorbed into the body within the first four days.

 

The fat that is taken from the midsection and injected into the butt area has to grow new blood vessels in order to survive. It has to be treated very carefully so that the fat cells are not damaged when they are transferred from one area of the body to another.

 

But if you have the cash sitting in your bank account not making much interest then perhaps you are willing to take the plunge and have your butt beautified. I still think good old fashioned exercise is the best way to modify the way your body looks.

 

I suppose that many women will discover that their tummies are indeed slimmer and their buns higher and more alluring. However does the need to look younger by medical procedure minimize the risks women take in having the operation in the first place?

 

The choice of course is always up to the consumer. Many times though vanity tends to win out over reality. Feeling younger inside is more a matter of attitude and not something that a medical procedure does to momentarily turn back the effects of time.

Are you a boot person or a shoe person? Why?

I don't think there is a hard and fast line of division separating a boot person from a shoe person. Why not have a friendly blend of both?

There are times and situations where shoes are appropriate and other circumstances where boots are the norm.

 I cannot however see a person wearing a pair of expensive dress shoes at a construction site.

Nor can I visualize someone wearing clod hoppers at a formal dinner invitation.

 However fashion trends and times may approve the voluntary mixing of appropriate footwear with inappropriate settings and situations.

Fashion trends and tastes are as fickle as the seasons.

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Many Women Have Never Ever Been Correctly Fitted For A Bra

There seems to be a topic that to many people constitutes a taboo subject not worthy of much public exposure. This seemingly forbidden object of contrived inattention and apparent female embarrassment involves a particular item of clothing for many women.: finding a bra that is comfortable and fitted especially for them.

 

Many women have no real idea as to the correct size of bra they should be wearing. Victoria Secret magazine taunts men with the many sizes, colors and models housed within its pages. This magazine and similar publications offer the glitz and the glamour of wearing a sexy bra and seem to ignore the comfort side of the garment.

The models displayed in this magazine are all young, in great shape and apparently wearing bras made especially for them Yet, if a show of hands were requested, I would wager that many real women today are wearing an incorrectly sized bra.

Not that many female foundation suppliers offer women the chance to be correctly fitted for an undergarment well-suited for their bodies. The majority of females merely flounder about hoping that one day they will discover the perfect bra for themselves.

The majority of women foundation shoppers nervously glance about this magazine or the women’s lingerie section of national retail magazines and choose a style of bra they feel is right for them and their body type.

One women’s lingerie outfitter , Les Saissons, posts a disclaimer outside of its boutique stating out rightly that eight out of every ten women have never been properly fitted for the bra they are currently wearing. The majority rely on a trial and error approach to choosing a properly fitting undergarment for themselves.

As much as women might find the experience embarrassing or awkward, every bra-wearing woman knows that being fitted for a bra is a crucial part of buying underwear that is well fitting, comfortable and supportive. Style, color and sexiness takes a back seat to comfort.

Women who rely solely on the trial-and-error approach to finding a proper fitting bra might be commended for their perseverance and tenacity but they also are highly unlikely to discover their correct size using this method. The bras they do eventually select fit badly, offer little to minimal support and places a strain on their shoulders and back muscles.

One female foundation expert counsels women to get over their initial embarrassment and find an expert fitter who can assist them. The actual process of correctly fitting the bra to the woman is reportedly a tricky process and as a result many undergarment manufacturers have specially trained experts travel nationally and assist women in this quest for comfort.

In the United Kingdom one brand manufacturer , Freya, recently launched it’s Holy Fit online campaign to encourage more women to get themselves properly fitted. (1)

Manufacturers in North America should also get on the band wagon to market to the millions of females who currently lack a proper fitting garment and who have probably given up on finding a proper fitting, comfortable and alluring undergarment for themselves.

 Reference URL

1.< http://www.thedevilyouknow.co.uk/good-fit-freya.html>