Curves CEO fuses theology and fitness in franchises

Were you under the impression that Curves was just a fitness chain for women? It's also a medium for its CEO, Gary Heavin, to spread the Gospel and donate money to the anti-choice group, Operation Save America.

Some customers might not be comfortable with the fusion of theology and fitness. ``We get a lot of heat because we're so expressive of our faith, and we encourage our faith,'' Heavin says. Such expressions include Christian music that his wife produces, and articulated Judeo-Christian values in Heavin's newest book, ``Curves: Permanent Results Without Permanent Dieting'' ($23.95, Penguin/Putnam Publishing).

Heavin's philanthropy reflects his deep beliefs. For example, he gives to pregnancy centers supported by Operation Save America, the anti-abortion group whose purpose, according to its Web site, ``unashamedly takes up the cause of preborn children in the name of Jesus Christ.''

He does more than "give to pregnancy centers". According to this gushing tribute on the Operation Save America website, he used his influence to send charity money raised by a local Race for a Cure to a Christian health organization as opposed to Planned Parenthood:

Obviously, Mr. Heavin went way beyond just exercising his considerable influence. He stepped up to the plate in a major way. As a result, no longer can Planned Parenthood claim the high moral ground that has deceived the masses by stating they provide services for women that nobody else does. No longer will women be enslaved to receiving "health care" from an odious organization that kills children, spreads immorality, and has provided a safe haven for pedophiles that prey upon our daughters. Mr. Heavin has removed the mask of legitimacy from Planned Parenthood and is helping to make their "services" obsolete."

Quilt Patch

I'm part of a message board whose hosts just got married. A bunch of us are each contributing a square to a clever person who is going to make a quilt to mark the occasion. I appliqued a heart of the same fabric and embroidered the couples' names, wedding date and my name (the blurred out bits), and also embroidered lines radianting out from the heart.

I hadn't intended the patch to come out quite so stereotypically counterculture, but I like it. Even though it has Deadhead tendencies. That's okay, I have a soft spot for hippie looks. Let's hope the happy couple does as well.

I can't believe what a grouchy bitch I am today. The noise of shuffling paper from the next cubicle makes me want dump hot coffee over the wall. Boiling pitch would be even better.

I am in a mood. No other way of putting it.

There's reasons for it, but those are excuses more than anything else. I feel frustrated over my job, over the people I work with, over various personal things, over not having enough time for pursuits that interest me much more than work, over money, over not being able to go outside and enjoy the first nice weather we've had in six months, over our oceans being trashed, over humanity acting like shits, over the fact that our incompetent president is currently ahead Kerry in the polls, over not getting a good night's sleep, over having to clean the house before my allergies act up again, over my fear of flying and I'm sure a bunch more things I've completely forgotten about.

When you get right down to it, this is all just a lot of blather that ignores the essential facts. I'm in a mood.

I also feel shitty for not being more content with the good aspects of my life. Because, there are a lot of good aspects, but I just don't feel like seeing them at the moment. Self-indulgent, spoiled, whiny, child of the middle class! I need a time out.

Instead, I have a meeting at work where we're going to be "brainstorming". This should be good.

Chernobyl By Motorcycle

Ukranian biker Elena takes us on a tour of the Chernobyl "dead zone". Very strange and sad, highly recommended.

Reversing Vandalism

For nearly a year, a vandal mutilated more than 600 books on gay and lesbian themes at the San Francisco Public Library. Without explanation, he carved up covers and pages and left small typewritten slips of paper advertising a Bible radio station tucked inside the damaged works. Ironically, his attempt to rid the library of these books resulted in a far stronger statement from the community: With help from artists around the country, the San Francisco Public Library transformed the crime into an art show titled "Reversing Vandalism," which features more than 200 works of various mediums and is on view in three galleries at the library through May 2.

The article and the slideshow link are here.

Do You Think With That Brain?

Dense Coworker: "Today's tax day!"

Me: ?

DC: "April 14th!"

Me: "Tax day is April 15th."

DC:"It is?"

Me: "Yes. You have all of tomorrow to send in your taxes."

DC: "Really? I'm a whole day early!"

The eerie part of this conversation was that my co-worker seemed genuinely surprised. I can understand blanking and saying something silly, but I can't understand a working, tax-paying American adult who doesn't know.

Office Politics

Have you ever worked with an idiot who projects a false image of competence by tooting their own horn every time they manage to exhale successfully?

Can you explain to me why this strategy works? (I keep coming up with the "most people are mindless sheep" theory, but I'm willing to listen to other suggestions.)

Christ, if I ever want a raise, I'm going to have to start issuing press releases every time I manage to sharpen a pencil without cutting myself.

These kids are going to grow up to be S&M furries,

First, the Passion of the Christ. Now, the Torment of the Easter Bunny.

I Share A Penninsula With These People?

Barnstable fight breaks knife in man's skull

HYANNIS – A 45-year-old East Falmouth man is in stable condition after undergoing surgery to remove a knife tip embedded in his skull.

Oh, those long Cape winters. Thank the Gods the herring are due back any day now.

More Fabric

I found a fabric (and other stuff) website absolutely out of my price range called DecoDame and another site specializing in contemporary fabric called Fabricadabra.

Fabricadabra has a nice little system, if you want a fabric sample, you can borrow it from them through the mail. They send it to you and include return postage and packaging to send it back, like Netflix. Is that cool or is that cool?

Have you seen this fabric?

I had an idea for making this fabric into a duvet cover. The blue and green print, not the denim part. I didn't buy it when I should've. It turns out that the fabric is from the Indochine collection of Alexander Henry. The company makes beautiful, beautiful fabric, but with very limited production runs. Once it's gone, it's gone.

You know how they tell you that if you see something you really, really, really like for fabric (beads, stones) you should buy it? They're so so right. I've been so mad at myself for not buying this fabric.

I've been haunting the fabric search sites. Which has actually turned out to be a good deal. Everyone I've corresponded with has been incredibly nice and helpful. Crafty people usually are.

This company may be my savior. We've been exchanging emails and they just sent a sample and it turned out to be the right stuff. Then I'll have to actually make the duvet cover.

I still have the future kitchen curtain in pieces in the living room. And, the square I'm making for a friend's wedding quilt.

Life is full of unfinished projects, mine's just a little fuller than most.

Drat

We're going out to lunch today at work and I don't have my camera. If I'd known, I'd have gotten a shot of this restaurant's potty for the potty album.

If memory serves me correctly, their potty is the size of a closet and decorated within an inch of its life too. Double drat.

Can't Wait

New episode tonight!I never watch reality shows, but I'm addicted to Mad, Mad House.

In a nutshell,

Five practitioners of "alternative lifestyles" — a Wiccan, a Naturist, a Modern Primitive, a Voodoo Priestess and a real-life Vampire (known collectively as the Alts) — rule the roost. Meanwhile, 10 ordinary folks move into the House as the Alts' Guests — and compete against one another for the $100,000 jackpot.

Wait a minute, that sounds like my first apartment. Except, it was too cold for anyone to be a Naturist (western Massachusetts doesn't mix with recreational nudity) and the Modern Primitive thing wasn't really known outside of an address or two in California. Hell, no one had even heard of Goths back then. I knew one Goth from Seattle and that was it.

We were "the Witches upstairs". One housemate had been in the Weathermen, another was crazily wonderfully sex positive. She ordered so much stuff from adult suppliers that we were constantly getting free samples of porn, videos and toys. And in case you ever wondered? Vibrators make great cat toys.

We knew an Anne Rice fanatic who "was a vampire". The Spousal Unit was typing corrections for someone who was channeling the Virgin Mary and had written a book.

Anyway, back to the show. In the Neo-Pagan world (and I believe in the science fiction world) there's something called "Freaking the Mundanes". It's when you act...well, like a freak in public. You go out wearing your Spock ears or your Viking longsword or all you're all in black with the twenty dripping pentacles.

The goal is to get people to stare. If people look visibly bothered, disturbed, get up and walk to the other side of the room? Even better!

Freaking the Mundanes is immature. But, it's rather fun.

If you get deeply enough into it and have a certain level of self-denial, you can be Indignant! Angry! that you wore a corset and fishnets to an IHOP brunch and people stared. How! Dare! They!

The delight of Mad Mad House is that it's one long round of Freaking the Mundanes. I cackle whenever one of the Guests is clearly curling around the edges over the latest weird ass thing an Alt is doing, but also desparately trying to be polite because they want to win $100,000.

One gal has already had a complete meltdown upon being eliminated and screamed and cried and called everyone a freak. It was all good.

I like seeing dumb social conservatives squirm and tantrum and whine. It warms the cockles of my dark little heart when they come face to face with the reality that there's life beyong their cramped futureless little world.

It's not all Shock and Awe though. I very frequently find myself touched by how concerned the Alts are with the wellbeing of their Guests and how lovely and openminded some of the Guests have been. There have also been moments where clearly both parties were uncomfortable, but trying to handle it with dignity. Gives me hope for the human race.

If this series comes out on DVD, I am SO buying it.