“The employees of Charming Shoppes and Lane Bryant are deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from this horrific event,” the statement said. “We grieve for the innocent victims and our primary concern at this time is for the families and loved ones of those fatally injured.”

Police tape flapped in the wind in front of the boarded-up store, while mourners erected a makeshift memorial of five white crosses and flowers in the parking lot.

My heart goes out to the friends and families of the victims.

So I did not actually see Paris Hilton in Paris but my friend did. She was posing with all these industry big-wigs and my friend thought that as soon as she entered the room the place suddenly felt like a strip club! We had a long chat about how she is like an American icon and stuff, but I argued that no one that skinny could symbolise America’s over-indulgent culture :-) We both agreed tho that there is not much Paris in Paris Hilton.

I forgot to mention that when you are flinging the hot dogs, etc. at Paris, her dog will leap up and eat them if you aim wrong. I played this after having a couple of beers and I just had to laugh. It’s totally ridiculous.

Kai Hibbard, 29, from Eagle River, Alaska, lost 118 pounds last season. She recently wrote on a blog that in the two weeks before the finale she severely dehydrated herself using asparagus (a diuretic), colonics and six-hour stretches of hopping in and out of a sauna. She lost 19 pounds, which as she joked, rebounded to her rear end “almost immediately.”

Rob Cooper, 39, from Edmonton, Alberta, who dropped to 187 pounds from 475 pounds on his own, said that the show can be counterproductive. According to his logic, if you’re losing two pounds a week and you’re watching “The Biggest Loser,” you probably think your diet is going horribly. If you lose two pounds a week and you’re not watching the show, you probably think your diet is going great.

Mr. Cooper, who is now a motivational coach, lost his weight over three years, first by introducing whole foods to his diet, then adding exercise. In his view, drastic weight loss depends on a deep motivation to take care of oneself, plus a sense of accomplishment as the pounds slip off.

The television show “can actually depress a lot of people,” Mr. Cooper said, especially when their steady weight loss cannot compare to the double-digit zingers on the screen. “That’s the opposite of what you want,” he said.

So if, for whatever reason, you’re out there trying to lose weight, don’t compare yourself to contestants on a reality show with more time, more resources, and cameras pointed at them at all times. Be healthy, be happy, and give yourself a break once in a while, okay?

I was running unaware—running after Patrick Bush because it was the summer after 5th grade and running was fun and fast. I was running through the grass, near the fence, not quite catching him, now closer, laughing laughing out of breath. Then he turned and ran after me. I circled around the slide and the diving boards, then he said it. “Wow. You have Thunder Thighs. Maybe you shouldn’t be running around the pool like that that.” … I have thought about my thighs once a day (or more) every day since.

Thanks to Amy for the link.

“And really, she doesn’t look that fat to me. If I passed her in the street, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about her weight. I’m pretty surprised when she says she’s 224 pounds. I would have guessed 190, tops. The Fat Rant is very entertaining. This Joy Nash has a flair for performance that I definitely don’t share (I’m a writer, after all). She has a lot of good things to say. People shouldn’t be so hung up on appearances, clothing manufacturers should get a clue, and you should definitely smile and be polite to everyone no matter what their size, shape, or degree of beauty. But I don’t agree most people can’t lose weight if they really want to (for the right reasons, of course.)”

It’s not really very ranty, but she lists a lot of reasons why she “shouldn’t” have been able to lose weight (like genetics, carbohydrates, pregnancy, and a hatred of exercise) but says she did it anyway. So, which Joy Nash is right for you?