The Fat Thing, Revisited. . .Again



In a fair and just world, this would be my "before" and "after"
pictures. Though I think I do look better than Ryan
Reynolds in a fat suit. Not saying I do, I just think I do.


Have you ever met someone who is so good looking, they're almost intimidating? I'm not talking about sexual attraction (though I wouldn't rule it out), I just mean that they're so attractive, it's overwhelming. There's a client who comes into our office from time to time who meets that description. He's dark haired, blue eyed, and has an intense gaze. He's got the reputation of a real womanizer, and I'm really not surprised about that. The first couple of times I saw him, in addition to taking all that in, I did notice that he was carrying 15-20 pounds around the middle that he could stand to lose. But the way he looked, he really pulled it off.

The next few times I saw him, I thought he probably should lay off the pizza and beer, because his 15-20 pounds had grown up to a good 30 or so. And the last time I saw him, he was pushing 45-50 more than he should. Only now, he's been carrying extra weight long enough, his hands and face are getting plump, along with the belly. Suddenly, he's not so intimidating anymore. Now, he's just starting to look like the rest of us!

At the age of 45, I find that without a great deal of effort, I quickly and easily go down the same road. I got an unfortunate blend of genes from my family: skinny genes and weight gain genes. If that seems like a contradiction, it's really not. I grew up a bean pole, literally able to eat as much and as often as I wanted, and never gained an an ounce. As I've segued from decade to decade, the metabolism has slowed down, and my "idle" weight has increased incrementally. I'm still a beanpole, with skinny arms, skinny legs, small chest and shoulders. But I've got the beans now too, with fat collecting around the stomach, butt and face. If I'm not dieting and exercising regularly, I get fat in those areas, and quickly.

At 20, my idle weight was 140. At 30, it was up to 150. At 40, It could be from 160-170, and now at 45? 180-185. Seriously. I don't have to eat a lot, I just have to eat normally and not exercise, and boom, tubbo. And like the good looking guy I mentioned, if I stay fat long enough, my hands get fat enough to change ring sizes, and my face--where the weight goes first, and leaves last--gets rounder, and rounder. Yeah, well, I'm not gonna take it.

Probably not for the last time (but who really knows), I'm hitting the Atkins Diet and the exercise again. I'd tipped the scales at at least 185 (I didn't really want to know), with only a couple of pairs of pants fitting. For a guy who wore a 28" waist in college, growing out of 34"s is just embarrassing. So, 23 out of the last 31 days, I've walked 2 to 5 miles a day. I've been low carbing it for three weeks now. I've got a ways to go, but I'm down to 177 or so. It comes off a lot more slowly than it goes on, as everyone knows.  I doubt I'll ever get down to 140 pounds again without a horrifying disease, but I will get down to less than clinically overweight, which for me is about 165. And though I'll never be so good looking that I'm intimidating, I'm kind of doubting that the guy in my example will again, either!

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Green Lantern

OhboyOhboyOhboy. . .I'd seriously watch Ryan Reynolds in just about anything, but Green Lantern? A DC Comics superhero movie that looks like it has the potential to actually be good? I. Can't. Wait.

Mini DVD Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I finally got around to watching Wolverine, and I've got to say, I'm not sure why it was regarded as something of a failure. I guess like Fantastic Four and its sequel, X-Men III: The Last Stand, Watchmen, Superman Returns and so many other superhero films, the outcry is coming from die-hard comic book fans. The producers "didn't get it right," and so, the movie gets a big FAIL from them.

I'm a super-hero fan from way, way back. But I'm relatively easy to please. All of the above movies mentioned, and many others have pleased me just fine. I understand that the transition from comic books to the silver screen involves changing them to some degree. Having grown up on DC Comics, with their multi-verse concept, "Elseworlds" and "imaginary stories," I understand that each incarnation of any particular character will involve many variations and differences.

That's not to say that all of the changes are good, or that every super-hero movie is great. The Michael Keaton/Val Kilmer/George Clooney Batman series is vastly overrated in my opinion (as is the current Christian Bale one, but for different reasons). Superman III and Supergirl were disappointing (but not without their fun parts), and the less said about Superman IV: The Quest for Peace the better.

But I thought that Wolverine was plenty enjoyable for me. It didn't hurt that we got to see Hugh Jackman in the altogether, and any appearance by a wisecracking Ryan Reynolds is always welcome. I was never a Marvel Comics fan, so I only had a vague familiarity with the many characters introduced in the film. This probably helped, since I had no fan "bible" to go by. The movie manages to give Wolverine a full back-story--only hinted at in X-Men--while neatly tying it into the parent series' storyline.

The movie didn't feel as big or bombastic as Iron Man (one of the best super-hero movies ever made) or Spider-Man, but it didn't feel like it needed to be.  I guess this one needs to be entered into with lowered expectations. Accept it for what it is: the movie version of some of your favorite comic book characters. Leave your fanboy nit pickery at the door, and enjoy.

Recommended.

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Green Lantern

This has the potential to be really great, or really bad.  I'm hoping for great. One of DC Comics' most classic heroes and Ryan Reynolds?  It had better not suck.

Ryan Reynolds: The Price of a Gallon of Gas

I agree with what Ryan Reynolds is saying here, and. . .I. . .oh, who am I kidding. Even if I didn't, I'd watch him just stand there.

Entertainment Weekly Reveals Green Lantern Costume

I haven't gotten excited enough to see much at the movie theaters this year.  I think the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street was the last one I went to. But as a long-time (we're talking 35-years plus) fan of DC Comics, I'm excited about Ryan Reynolds' The Green Lantern.  As a superhero, GL would be almost impossible to depict in live action, were it not for today's CGI technology.  So, it's good that they didn't try to do this character much sooner than they did.

While it is not unheard of to have the same actors turn up in different superhero adaptations (Chris Evans in Fantastic Four and Captain America), this is Ryan Reynolds' fourth, unless I've lost count.  Before GL, he was Deadpool in Wolverine (and will play the character in a spinoff), Captain Excellent in Paper Man and Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity.  There was even a lot of chatter about him playing The Flash. I'd watch Reynolds in just about anything (and Evans is no slouch either!), but that might be one superhero too far.

And what of the costume?  The silver age Green Lantern always had a costume problem. At first, it looked like a green tank-top with a turtleneck collar, long shoulder-length white gloves, and a shiny emerald ring.  It was bad superhero drag.  The mask didn't do much to hide Hal Jordan's identity either.  Over the years, they changed the design a bit, pulling some green shoulder caps out of the tank-top look, and that pretty much fixed it. Except for the long white gloves.  It never made sense to me that they'd be white, considering how easily they'd get dirty, and who wears gloves under a ring?

The movie version couldn't depart too radically, or they've lost their target audience. There have been enough changes over the years though, to give them some flexibility.  But I'm not sure they went the right way with it. It looks like someone skinned Ryan's torso, and then painted his muscle fibers green.  Maybe it will look better in motion.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

DC Comics to Join Marvel With Full Movie Slate?

Image from source, Bam! Kapow!

I got a little too excited when I first read the headline for the article excerpted below. For years (and several times here on the blog) I have lamented that the movie treatments for DC Comics heroes have been sparse. Sure, Batman gets lots of box office love, and Superman didn't do badly at all, despite what you've heard. But several of the big DC projects have been stuck in development hell, much to the consternation of this ageing comic book fan.

But the article below doesn't cheer me too much. Several of the projects are titles I was never a fan of, and others (like The Flash and Shazam!) are as nebulous as ever. What baffles me is that DC's movie studio is frakkin' Warner Brothers. Why is it so difficult to take these established characters with thousands of pages, and several decades worth of stories, and put them into decent movies? The Marvel Comics-based Iron Man was a smash, and that is one of the least believable (and not relatively well known) heroes they could have picked! I hope these movies come to pass, and are successful, to stop Warner from being so timid.

[Excerpt]

Watch Out Marvel! DC Is Coming!

DC Comics’ movie adaptations are a force to be reckoned with…

If you thought the Marvel movie lineup for the next 4 years was impressive, wait’ll you get a load of DC.

Scheduled for release are:
The Losers, which begins filming this week in Puerto Rico;
Jonah Hex, which recently wrapped;
Green Lantern, which now stars Ryan Reynolds;
Red, starring Bruce Willis (and recently added Morgan Freeman). . .

Read more at: Bam! Kapow!

Movies I Can't Wait to See: Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds!

Image from source, Just Jared

I mean, c'mon, who doesn't like Ryan Reynolds? And while Green Lantern was always my brother's favorite superhero, and mine was a tie between The Flash and Shazam! (the original Captain Marvel), I'm still excited to see any of the big DC Comics heroes get a big feature. We've been waiting forever for Wonder Woman and Justice League of America. Batman has been done to death, and despite its success has never been a favorite of mine. I loved Superman Returns, but no one agrees with me.

Green Lantern is probably one of the toughest DC heroes to do justice to (the others being Plastic Man, Metel Men, Metamorpho, Elongated Man and Firestorm). His power is basically to generate anything from his green power ring. These days, that certainly seems doable, especially in light of Transformers. I guess they could do Firestorm if Green Lantern works, since the transformative powers are similar. Anyway, I'm excited. Let's hope this one actually happens.

[Excerpt]

Ryan Reynolds is Green Lantern

The Proposal star Ryan Reynolds will headline the live-action superhero flick, Green Lantern. He most recently played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. . .

Read more at: JustJared.com

Funny or Die: Betty White, Ryan Reynolds & Sandra Bullock

I'm a big Betty White fan, especially when she "works blue." This clip might go on a little too long, but it's funny. Oh, and I have heard of Ryan Reynolds, and would pay to see him stare at the camera, but that's just me. Sandra Bullock's not bad either. This is for the film The Proposal.

Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds: Behind the Scenes of The Proposal from Betty White

And one of my favorite images of Betty. . .



Source: Kenneth in the (212)