K-E Diet For Brides

Thank you, Good Morning America, for this article.
Here's another example of some women being so obsessed with their Special Day that they take an extreme measure to drop weight quickly. I wonder how many of these women have spent more time thinking about their wedding dress than they have about how to be a good wife? I wonder how many of these women prepared for their wedding day in more meaningful ways, such as thoroughly discussing important issues faced by married couples? How many have financially prepared for marriage?

How many of these women are shacking up with heir husband-to-be? How many have children with him? How many of these women are going to gain the weight back, and then some, almost as fast as they lost it?

No matter. What really matters is fitting in to that really expensive white dress for that Special Day.

Brides-to-be looking to shed that final 10, 15 or 20 pounds in order to fit into their dream wedding gown have taken a controversial approach to crash dieting that involves inserting a feeding tube into their noses for up to 10 days for a quick fix to rapid weight loss.

The K-E diet, which boasts promises of shedding 20 pounds in 10 days, is an increasingly popular alternative to ordinary calorie-counting programs. The program has dieters inserting a feeding tube into their nose that runs to the stomach. They're fed a constant slow drip of protein and fat, mixed with water, which contains zero carbohydrates and totals 800 calories a day.

I bet this looks really good at the rehearsal dinner.

Di Pietro says patients are under a doctor's supervision, although they're not hospitalized during the dieting process. Instead, they carry the food solution with them, in a bag, like a purse, keeping the tube in their nose for 10 days straight. Di Pietro says there are few side effects.

"The main side effects are bad breath; there is some constipation because there is no fiber in the food," he said.

Bet that makes for some fun on the wedding night.

Dr. Di Pietro charges $1,500 for the 10-day plan, and says the before-and-after pictures sell themselves.

Who cares about cost? Most women marry men who earn more than they do. So it is going to be his bill to pay.

My ultimate point is this: too many women focus too much on the wedding in ratio to the marriage itself. I do believe weddings should be lovely celebrations of holy matrimony. But I am thankful to this day that my wife was a reasonable bride.

The Future of Audio Talk Shows?

An interesting development in media happened a week ago. After over three years of waiting for his contract to end (getting paid nicely... he has the same agent as Howard Stern), Tom Leykis resumed his eponymous show, but he's doing it online.

As he points out, technology is progressing such so that new cars, new handheld devices, and home entertainment centers will be able to get live streaming audio from the Internet just like they do from AM, FM, and satellites. This means his potential will grow and his actual audience may grow as well.

His show was in very high demand last Monday and it was crashing web servers with all of the demand. Those trying to access his show might have had trouble doing so.

A fits his personality, he owns the whole operation (his company also streams audio for music and other things) and is not limited by bosses or the FCC or Canadia watchdogs, so he speaks very frankly (including what he thinks about various people in radio) and will use any language doing so - as will his callers. His show is targeted towards males, especially young, unmarried, unchurched males... and the women who want to know what these males are thinking. It is unlike any talk radio you'll hear. Leykis even says it isn't radio, since radio is an appliace. It is live streaming audio. The closest thing it can be compared to is satellite radio's Howard Stern (Leykis shares an agent with Stern, and praises Stern) and podcaster Adam Carolla (sounds like there's no love lost between Adam and Tom) - both themselves refugees from terrestrial radio. Leykis skillfully, bluntly, and often humorously spouts his opinions on current events, pop culture icons, radio hosts, politicians, monetary policy, investing, workplace culture, women, sex, relationships... just about anything. Anyone living on a steady diet of right-wing talk radio, syndicated or local newstalk, religious broadcasting, or bland, politically-correct public or otherwise Leftist radio may find Leykis' audio content disconcerting or a breath of fresh air, depending on their perspective. Just one example - if a caller asks for the call to be ended "Whitney Houston style", he (someone working for him, actually) will play a sample of one of her songs followed by the sound of someone drowning. If you think that's in poor taste, stick around for someone to ask to be "taken out Andrea Yates style".

Leykis does sell advertising time, but so far the ad breaks are short and he also hopes to get revenue from subscriptions that grant people access to podcasts of the show, including the ability to pick and choose which hours they want to listen to, when they want to listen to them... and high quality live audio. Otherwise, people can listen to the live stream for free (like here), or hear it while it repeats constantly until the next live broadcast.

As more of this happens with "radio" and "television", I will be curious to see if the traditional legacy broadcast stations and networks survive. It is so easy to order content on-demand now, and watch it with a portable appliance. My mother has dropped cable and satellite television companies and simply has her big screen hooked up to a computer so she can watch Netflix and DVDs. The shows to which I listen that run on terrestrial or satellite radio I usually listen to via an online stream or podcast.

As I've written over and over again, I think Leykis misses the mark on some important things. But he does have a show many will find entertaining and helpful, and I do think he gets a lot right when it comes to how males are treated and how guys can protect themselves.

ON MY SHIFT IN OHIO: Look Up "Anita Hill"

"ON MY SHIFT IN OHIO" wrote in to Dear Abby:

I'm a 27-year-old professional who works long hours at a hospital.

She probably doesn't remember Anita Hill, because she is too young.

Dating isn't easy for me, so I decided to try an online service.

That's understandable, given the hours.

My first time online I recognized a co-worker I see on a regular basis and have always exchanged smiles with, but don't know personally. I wrote him a message just to say hi.

BZZZZZT WRONG! Well, since you're female and most of HR is female, you have nothing to worry about. But you shouldn't have done that.

I didn't say I was interested in him. I never heard back from him.

He's trying not to get fired and sued.

Since I sent that message he has checked my profile several times.

He shouldn't do that. He's risking his job, his finances, and putting your employer at risk.

But when he sees me in the hallways, he turns red and now just gives me half-smiles.

He should ignore you completely.

I was waiting at the elevator with him the other day, but he was so embarrassed by the silence that I bailed and took the stairs.

That was merciful of you.

He continues to smile, but I'm not sure what to say to him the next time I see him.

Nothing. Do not interact with him at all. Unless you want to get him fired and score some money from suing your employer.

I think it's rude that he didn't reply to my message -- even with a "See you around!" -- but I'm too embarrassed to do or say anything when I encounter him.

Yeah, well, welcome to the world creating by laws, courts, lawsuits, and employer policies. Never mind that people have met their spouses on the job. Now, whether or not a man keeps his job or an employer has to pay out is entirely up to the whims of a woman. Man A can say X, Y, and Z to a woman and get fired. Man B can say the exact same thing to the exact same woman and get laid. It is all up to her whims. It doesn't matter if you wouldn't get the man fired or sue your employer - the fact is, you can. And some women do. Besides, you might become one of those women if you dated him and then he dumped you. It is just too risky for men. This is what we're doing to our brothers and sons, as well as our sisters and daughters who would, in the past, find a good husband on the job.

Men used to say X, Y, and Z to each other and there was no problem. Now, if a woman overhears them saying that to each other, they can get fired.

Dear Abby responded:

The next time you run into him in the hall, just say hello. If he has any manners at all, he'll return your greeting and it may melt the ice.

Easy for you to say, DA. You don't have a penis (as far as I know). It's not about manners. It is about survival. Enjoy the world that lawyers, juries, "sensitive" men, and anti-male feminists (not all feminists are anti-male) have created. It's great, isn't it?