Faux Real part 2

In keeping with yesterday's rant on fake, here's a great fake commercial:

It's Faux Real

I've been thinking recently about how people today are embracing fake as the norm. 
We all know people with fake body parts:

Breasts -Nature didn't give that many women 38Ds
Hair - Oh, please. Everyone over 50 has grey hair. Not everyone has long thick hair. Some don't have any.
Teeth - Real teeth don't glow in the dark.

Eyelashes - Even the thickest natural lashes don't project 2 inches from the face

Nails - Real fingernails don't look like claws

Tans - Leather skin is only in fashion in Florida

Eyes - Cat eye contacts belong in cats, not humans

Generally they are found on fake people with fake smiles who are fake friends.

Houses have also become fake. Hardwood floors are now made of plastic.  So are fancy stair railings and fences. And Roman/Greek columns are now made of aluminum.  Shake and slate shingles are now fiberglass.  There's fake brick that needs no mortar. The homes are protected by fake security cameras. 

The houses are filled with people watching fake wrestling on television while surrounded by fake plants and fake flowers, fake Christmas trees, fake fireplaces, fake fur, fake diamonds, and fake orgasms.

Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships. — Sharon Stone

Food is also becoming fake.  There's fake sugar, fake fat, fake cheese, fake soda pop.

I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut — is unnatural, almost immoral, a bane to good eating and good cooking. — Julia Child

Let's not forget fake i.d.s, fake designer items, fake tattoos, fake photos, fake checks, fake money.


Even our language is embracing this phenomena:

"It's like kind of  a big deal." 

"Like it's totally awesome." 

 

Yeah it's not awesome, just like it.

ABC Reporter Bill Weir came up with other excuses for use of the word "like."  (I couldn't embed it in this post so you'll need to follow this link.)  It's like a news report, but isn't real because it's full of fake punches in the face.

Yes indeed, we can even say that there is fake news reporting...unless you're one of those who think The Onion is real news.

My childhood was spent with real men and women with real bodies.  We lived in a real house with real wood floors and real flowers and ate real food. We spoke proper English.

But all that's like history now.

The New Christmas Sweater

My husband has always liked to wear cardigan sweaters.  For a long time that was not something I wanted many people to know.  They were generally put into the same category as ugly Christmas sweaters.  Now that wearing cardigans is cool I'll let the secret out.

I had been wanting to give him a new cardigan for Christmas for several years, but only this season was I able to find an abundance of choices and finally made a purchase.  He was thrilled with the new one and even threw out two old holely ones from his closet.

I thank the hipsters for the cardigan popularity.  Adding an old cardigan from the Goodwill store as an accessory to jeans and a t-shirt can make any 20-30 year old someone look edgy.  Top it off with a soho hat and thick black rimmed glasses and you've really made a statement. Add a loosely tied tie at the neck for even more awesomeness. Who knew that dressing like old men could become popular?

Now that they've started the trend, you can get new cardigans at the mall instead of worn out ones from the thrift shops.

Someone even has a tumbler photo blog of "Men in Cardigans."

OK, so hubby doesn't look quite as cool as the guys in the photo blog, and he doesn't wear his cardigan over a t-shirt, and if he wears a tie it will be worn properly tight around the neck.  So he's not a hipster; he looks more like this:

But, hey, who doesn't love Mr. Rogers?

A New Christmas

My older daughter remarked Christmas Eve that the dining room table at her grandmother's house had different people in different places this year.

My father-in-law wasn't there (died in April).  My niece's fiancee was sitting in the chair that used to hold my brother (died in 2007).  My sister-in-law's boyfriend sat at the end of the table where one of the nephews used to sit. He moved to the other side of the table.  My mother wasn't sitting near the dining room door at the kitchen table with me (died in April). My spouse had taken her place and younger daughter joined us there.  Only a couple people were sitting where they had for 20+ Christmases before.

The traditional menu was the same, the food good and bountiful as usual.  Conversations were lively and merry.

It was just different this year. Good, but different.

Music Monday

A little country to start the week.

Tuesday Titillation

Dickman's Meat & Deli was in danger of closing due to the cost of complying with government regulations.  The owner, however, negotiated with city officials and was able to get the remodeling costs lowered. Tucson residents seem happy that Dickman's Meat will still be selling homemade sausages.  The meat shop is known for their good selection of variety meats and their own jerky.

The deli is owned by a woman, but not Lorena Bobbitt.

Music Monday - Ray Charles

Was it a sin that this down and dirty performance took place in a monastery?