Sucky+Sucky DOES NOT = Good!

I know I've been pretty clear on my feelings about commercial diet programs (hello, disordered eating!), and I've already posted a rant about ads (90% are dumb. Unless they have puppies or kitties. Or horsies.) But ADS for COMMERCIAL DIET PROGRAMS just may be my own personal version of hell. Along with copiers that run out of toner and still don't work after you've replaced the cartridge. You know, the ones that STILL say "out of toner" for an hour afterwards, just when your boss is screaming that she needs 400 copies of her presentation RIGHT NOW!
Oh, and traffic on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. 'Cause it doesn't matter what time of the day or night it is, it's ALWAYS congested!
Anyway, I read recently that the voiceover for those godawful Weight Watchers commercials (with the cute little fuzzy hunger guy, who really should be treated better than he is in those ads) is...wait for it...Janeane Garafalo!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But then I continued to read. She says she needs the work. She also says that she has lost A LOT of weight recently in order to keep working, and that she feels like she has sold out. And she's very clear that it's all about her career; she's very honest about the fact that she is not healthy, drinking LOTS of coffee and smoking more than ever. Adding to the the problem, as I see it, is that she has also committed the cardinal sin of turning 40 a few years ago.
Yeah, how dare she? Persue a career in TV and film when she's so OLD!!!!!!
But I wish she wouldn't. Hurt herself, that is. I wish she'd either leave Hollywood or just be who she is.
I also saw a Nutri-System ad, in which the female TV personality says "I know I'm not an average girl. I LOVE sports!" Um, excuse me?!?!?! Then a football comes sailing towards her and *gasp!* SHE ACTUALLY CATCHES IT!!!!!! OMG!!!! After which she says "How many girls can do THAT?"
Um, I can do that, AND I'M A KLUTZ!!!!!!!!
And, uh, how about all those FEMALE ATHLETES?!?!?!?! Professional, amateur, high school? I'm guessing they pretty much love sports, too. Surely even the ad agencies have heard of Title Freakin' Nine!!!!!!
So here we are, in 2009, and we still have the same old stereotypes. Girls don't like sports. Women should do everything intheir power to get skinny. Hunger is BAD!!!!! It must be ignored or, better yet, fought into submission!!!!! Not like it's a natural bodily function that helps us to survive, or anything.
Oh. And this morning, online, I saw a story about a gay elephant.
Yup. In a European zoo they've built a huge elephant enclosure, brought in 5 females and a male, and are trying to increase the population. Problem is, the stud doesn't seem to be too interested in the ladies, and a local conservative politician is peeved.
So, I had a couple of thoughts: for one thing, they said that the elephant is 10 years old, and elephants don't hit "puberty," as it were, until 14. So it's kinda like the difference between being in elementary school, when girls are ickygrossstupid, and middle school, when girls are weirdbutcute. Secondly, if it turns out the elephant IS gay, then doesn't that mean that homosexuality is NATURAL, something people (and elephants) are BORN with? After all, I highly doubt this elephant has been going out to gay bars with friends, being "corrupted" by the media into believing that it's an "acceptable lifestyle." It's not like he has a CHOICE.
So, gay elephant=proof that homosexuality is normal and natural, right?
I guess this means we'll just have to repeal Proposition Hate-I mean-8.
Sorry to get all political here, but some things just pi** me off. And bigotry, nasty stereotypes, and Hollywood are three of them.