Models: The Real Skinny

This was a documentary on A& E recently that I taped and watched over the weekend.

Very interesting. It focused on four models: two established, two up-and-comers. The two established were Karolina Kurkova whom I found completely generic and unappealing, and Liya Kebede, a black model who's been signed to an upcoming Estee Lauder campaign whom I thought was stunning. She had this bony, angled face that was so elegant-looking; I simply didn't get why everyone was agog for Karolina who looked like another Nikki Taylor with her too-big teeth and her cheesy smile. Ick. I sound harsh I suppose, but I couldn't stand the whole "I'm popular and I'm entitled" attitude I sensed in her--she really didn't seem that humble, especially when she got notification that she was the VH1 Model of the Year.

I found the whole objective discussion of beauty as a business, a commodity fascinating, because of course it interlaps with a lot of things that aren't so cut and dry, like the fact that no matter how they can try to be objective, the fact is a model is going to take it personally when they're rejected; and that no matter how you quantify it, beauty is subjective and transcendent.

Suicide Bombings in Israel

Five suicide bombings in 48 hours.

This, so close to another possible peace agreement, proves more than anything how Palestinian militants--who, let's not forget enjoy the support of 60-70% of the "civilian" population so they are fairly representative--don't. Want. Peace. They don't want it. They don't want to coexist with Israel. They want to wipe it out.

And not just in the Middle East but everywhere. (Remember last July 4, with the guy who had to come over to America specifically to kill Jews over here? Nice. So it really has nothing to do with "Palestine"--it's just about hating Jews. Savage.) It doesn't matter that the Palestinians have a higher standard of living in Israel than almost anywhere else (certainly better than in Jordan). It doesn't matter that for all their bellicose rhetoric, the other ostensibly pro-Palestinian Arab countries have done nothing--nothing--to actually help the Palestinians in any meaningful way (they don't take them in, they don't try to moderate the two sides)--they do nothing but urge on the Palestinians in their terrorism. All that matters is their stupid, pathetic pride which is based on nothing in the last millennium and a half; their terrible, sad pride that's so mightily offended because Israel has handily beaten them in every war and gained ground; Israel has a higher standard of living; Israel has a much higher literacy rate. The only thing the Palestinians are good at is murdering civilians.

Just shaking my head over here. They're savages. The only way they can prove otherwise is to start negotiating in earnest and that means rooting out and destroying the militants. Which they won't do. Because they don't want peace.