Tourist Fashion – Sequin Insects

shiteous sequins

Tourist Fashion – Patterns (lots of them)

This interesting ensemble speaks for itself

I read somewhere that women see fashion as a means of self-expression. Is she expressing confusion, color blindness, or plain old bad taste?

Fat Disadvantage – Emotional Virtual Reality

Slightly off topic from tourists- but on the topic of DC, and specifically the topic of Congress passing laws for fat America (many of whom are tourists). I found this “Fat Health Care Manifesto” on the Unapologetically Fat blog that I sometimes find humorous to peruse. In a time when this country needs to stay more healthy than ever to reduce the cost of healthcare for everyone, this post describes how fat people (at least this fat person and those who commented) blatantly deny the fact that they are driving up healthcare costs, and force people who work low-paying jobs to deal with illness or to wait hours in the emergency room because they can’t afford preventive care.

Instead, this “doctor” who allows fat people to make excuses for / blame others their sad state, just wants to sit back on the couch with her Bonbons and feel pitiful instead of getting up and doing something about it. It is illogical, ridiculous, and emotional to say the least. (An abundance of fat cells does increase the amount of hormones in a person’s body, by the way.) I despise people who just sit back and accept a $hitty situation instead of trying to fix it like any rational human being would do.

On to the “manifesto” and my commentary… If you have any commentary of your own to add, please do!
Fat Health Care Manifesto

“Blaming fat people for the rising cost of health care is the moral equivelent of punching someone in the face, then suing them for the cost of dry cleaning when they happen to bleed on you.”
–First off, let me say that this is a terrible analogy. Nobody punched you in the stomach to make you fat; you did that all on your own. You can’t blame anybody but yourself for your inadequacy.

“Aside from all the malarky about blaming adipose tissue for everything from genetic disorders to hangnails, most of the rising cost is attributed to “treatment” of “obesity”.
And I say No.
I am putting my foot down.
I will NOT accept blame for the cost of eradicating me.”
–Ok, then just don’t go to the doctor when you get obesity-related illnesses and diabetes. Problem solved.

“I will not accept blame for the side effects of ineffective drugs, crippling elective and uneccesary surgery, institutionalized shame and disordered eating that is forced upon me in the hopes of making me disappear.”
–I’m not really sure what drugs she’s talking about, but spell check would have been helpful.

“I refuse to own the discomfort my body causes others.”
–That’s too bad, because it really is your fault. This “don’t blame me for the consequences of my own actions” attitude is getting pretty prevalent in America these days, and it sends the wrong message to our citizens and our youth.

“I will not admit fault in this, this cultural purge of the two-thirds otherness that reminds them of the futility of their quest for immortality through better pharmaceuticals.”
–I’m still not getting the connection between being fat and taking drugs to be immortal… but I digress.

“I refuse this particular bill. I plead not guilty, and reverse the charges. I am not to blame for their desire to make everyone look, act, eat and sicken alike.”
–This seems poetic, but not necessarily accurate or effective. No one “desires” that you look like everyone else. They just want you to be healthy. They don’t want to spend their hard earned cash to pay for your fat ass when it’s sick because it’s so fat. If I break my ankle running, I won’t ask you to pay for my cast. Return the favor.

Hey unapologetically fat people – you probably have a job (you can afford food), you probably have a nice house to live in (you have a couch, right?), you have a computer (to write pity-me blog posts and comment on them all day) and you probably don’t stress over many things like how to pay the bills or who will take care of your child while you are working 16 hours/day like those without healthcare do. Even stressing about your weight was too much bother, so you’ve decided to deny the issue. Instead of sitting around thinking thoughts of pity on yourself, why don’t you head to the gym and run on a treadmill? Or better yet, go volunteer at a soup kitchen where you can meet people who really need all the food that you take for granted. In the meantime, you might burn some calories. It wouldn’t kill you.

Tourist Directions

This weekend I took my dogs for a walk down by the Potomac at Theodore Roosevelt Island. For those of you visiting, this island has nature walks in the swamp which provide a nice “getaway” from the city. Aside from the planes flying directly overhead as they approach Reagan airport, the sound of cars driving down 66 and the GW parkway, and your proximity to 4 Starbucks within walking distance, you’d never know you were in the city. Anyway, as we left the island and headed back to Rosslyn, a tourist approached me and actually asked this question:

Tourist: “Excuse me, is the Jefferson Memorial on Roosevelt Island?”
Me: “No, the Roosevelt Memorial is on Roosevelt Island.”
Tourist: “Oh really? Then where is it?”

I thought about giving them walking directions, but figured it would be equally as mean as futile.

Stand on the Right!

This picture and commentary was submitted by loyal reader Dan:

Well, I guess it’s hard to stand to the [right] of the escalator when your body mass is taking up the whole thing.

Ironically, I think I see a gym bag….

Global Tourism

I wasn’t aware that you could take a bus from another world, but according to these people, you can. Is that false advertising?

Tye-dyed pants

Is this really necessary?

Tourist Trick – Random Statue Poses

Mom – “Kids – get up on that Lion thing so I can take your picture!”
Kids – “What is that thing, and what does it have to do with Washington DC?”
Mom – “Shut up and look like you’re having fun! Every body say OBAMA”

Locals = Fat, but Trendy

noticed today on my way to work that there were several very large women looking frumpy, and that each of them had a nice, new, large Coach bag. I believe just as much as anyone else that accessories can make the outfit, but if you are >250 lbs, your outfit will always look will like shit, no matter what accessories you don. So what is the point of spending $600 on a Coach bag? News flash: your bag isn’t even big enough to hide inside! People won’t even notice your accessories behind all that flab, frumpiness, and sweater set from Talbots.

My recommendation is to return the Coach bag, get your $600 back, and spend it on a gym membership and personal trainer – or at least a subscription to Women’s Health magazine. In one years time you could go from flab to fab! The bonus? You’ll look good in anything you wear, even if it’s from Target. Then, and only then, should you spend money on accessories – when they can actually compliment the tredy outfit, not BE the trendy outfit.

Locals with Pride

Supporting gay rights? A good decision. Wearing that shirt? Not so much

Gay pride that is. Here is a sampling of the hotness in the gay community here in DC.