BJean

WOW!!! 12 Million votes!!! That's nothing to sneeze at. I was absolutely thrilled with the results. I have no doubt that David Archuleta will have a fine career so I'm not worried about that. David Cook is awesome and was more unique and he rocked. The ZZ Top performance was great!! Am I the only one who thought that the Seal/Syesha performance sucked? Actually their stage interaction was great but the song itself was bluddy awful. They murdered Seals great song as far as I was concerned. Was it just me or did anyone else get goose bumps during George Michael's performance? He claimed he had a cold, but I thought it was really fantastic. I was super-surprised! As for Simon, I couldn't help but think he got the results before hand. He's not one to ever want to be wrong and if he hadn't apologized to Cook and claimed to have changed his mind after reviewing the tapes, he would have looked like an idiot when the winner was announced - especially since Cook won by such a large margin. That Simon is crazy like a fox. I had thought that he and Paula were more impressed with Cook all along. And Randy seemed to favor Archuleta a lot of the time. Which I thought was interesting since Randy's such a rocker. But he produces all kinds of stuff now so maybe he was hoping to get a deal with David Archuleta and his dad. Great final show. I'm sorry it's over, but glad too. I've been glued to the screen too much too. Btw, I thought Brooke did really well last night and so did Michael Johns. Carly kind of overdid it a little. My DH thinks she must have a lot of leg tatts since she always keeps them covered up. It was fun seeing some of the earlier contestants like Chakeezie and the male dancer guy - can't think of his name. (They say the mind is the first thing to go....)

gadget since you believe that women do not have the right to choose what will happen to their bodies in the case of unwanted pregnancies, it means that we do not agree. Exclusions for any reason are not acceptable to me. I will never believe that it is right for other people to EVER tell a woman in peril that she does not get to choose what to do when she has become pregnant against her wishes. You've made your case many times about how abortion is killing and that there are no exceptions, I get that. I just don't believe that it is within your rights to tell me that you get to decide for me (and that my beliefs are subordinate to yours) regarding my own body and my embryo's body. I do understand that you believe that you must intervene in order to save unborn children. But I believe that you have no rights to my womb or my fetus - ever. Your beliefs do not trump mine - EVER - when it comes to my living tissue, including my blood, sweat, tears, bones, brain, fertilized egg or unfertilized eggs, or any other part of my person. You will have to incarcerate me and put me on a death watch 24/7 and keep me shackled in restraints in order to have your beliefs enforced on my person. It isn't likely that you will be able to do that and I would resist with my body and soul to keep you from forcing me to do your bidding.

Keep it up. I know it makes you feel good and important. I don't believe that you're fooling most of us. The bottom line is you believe that women should not have the right to choose what happens to them or their baby in utero. I think women do have that right - no matter what the circumstances or conditions. None of the stats or grisley photos or skewed numbers will ever change that for me. Everyone else can decide for themselves. Your purpose is quite clear here however and I am really exhausted from all the things your camp has brought up to try to influence people. I have to hope and believe that most women are not as gullible as some obviously are.

M.O.M. missed you! Congratulations on your fabulous success!!!! Way to go girl!

It is anti-abortion propaganda all printed up in a neat package for the purpose of shocking people and getting support to make it illegal for women to have the choice whether or not to have an abortion. Just because you like its' content doesn't mean it isn't propaganda.

I really enjoyed all three David Cook's performances. You just can't take it away from Archuleta though. The boy has some pipes. I hope someone gets 'hold of him and helps him create a better image. I wouldn't be surprised if David C. threw it so that he could be more independent, however isn't he going to be under the thumb of American Idol anyway? I mean once they agree to the terms and conditions in order to compete, they're committed to the tour, etc., and I would imagine that Idol gets part of the take of anything they wind up recording for a certain period of time. My DS used to be in the rock 'n roll biz and the powers that be are very, very adept at keeping most of the money. The artist is so thrilled to be able to perform, they wind up signing away lots of stuff that bands used to automatically get. It is a very tough business.

Aphrodite: Let's bail. This is not a discussion. This is one person taking an opportunity to post biased information that is offensive in tone and obvious in nature. It is disgusting to have someone pretend that they wish to discuss a topic when in fact, they wish to beat people up with all manner of propaganda. No one who disagrees has a chance of having their feelings be known or respected in an exchange like this.

Aphrodite: I appreciate your post very much. I was in the process of writing something when your rebuttal came up. This article is proof positive that anyone can and will write just about anything. Of course the purpose of this article is obvious, although it makes absolutely no logical sense. There is no way that the population today can know exactly how many illegal abortions were performed when abortion was illegal and furthermore the exact number of deaths from illegal abortions could not be documented. But it is interesting to see how one group can skew the stats and make subsequent claims and sound believable to those whose beliefs are supported by such misinformation. I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved here. I don't want to either, but it is just things like this that make me feel that I have to.

You know what West Coast? I am the one who said zip it. And the reason I did was because I have been in my head where it sounded like you were. I have tried to be supportive but frank when I wrote a post to someone who was whining about their band not working. But when I read Brandy's thread starter and some of the following posts, I thought this place was a little different than the usual "I was able to eat pizza and a load of bread yesterday" post. So I was defensive for everyone who had posted their heartfelt feelings on this thread and I didn't want any of them to be discouraged by having fingers pointed at them. The fact is, what you posted generated tons of great posts, including your second post! I mean these are some of the best and most honest things I've read in a long time. So I hope you'll never pay any attention to me and never zip it West Coast! You go boy. :wink2:

Devana it is comforting to know you're still around. I'll watch for your posts.

There are some very important differences between the two surgeries. But the physical aspects aside, the problem with people misunderstanding the two surgeries brings the thought that they expect both to result in the same amount of weight loss in the same amount of time. Under certain circumstances and with certain patients, that is definitely possible. But for most bypass patients, they are unable to eat, there are a whole set of physical reasons why they can be in serious jeopardy nutritionally, and GB is considered to be a non-reversible surgical procedure. Things are cut that can't be uncut. With LB patients, there are fewer risks and potential side effects nutritionally. If we ingest enough Protein, we're pretty much good to go. If the band is loose, we can eat lots of food if we want to. The weight loss is often more gradual than with GB patients. This is an over simplification, of course, and I'm no expert that's for sure. However, even though the LB patient can lose as much weight as quickly as a GB patient, it isn't always the case. And I do believe that LB patients must use more self-restraint than the GB patient who often has trouble eating enough food and getting enough nutrition. Also, the GB patient may gain some of the weight back, but usually not as much as the LB patient can. So to have your friends compare you to a GB patient, means that they're expecting you to have the same kind of quick and drastic weight loss as a GB patient. The conditions are very different so NO FAIR!

Congratulations on the wedding turning out so well, Karey! I hope your daughter is very happy. Good luck getting back into physical training. I know you'll take it easy and work into it gradually. It's great that you're determined to keep going!

I'm unfamiliar with their suggested method of discipline. If you have a moment, enlighten me.

That look of incredulity on Simon's face really was priceless! I wasn't sure if he was thinking, WTF, or if he was thinking, man she's blowing the roof off this place.

Plain I sure didn't read your post as highjacking. I read it and it sounds like very interesting and potentially helpful info. It fits quite well with the direction this thread had moved which still relates to the original topic.

WCFG: WTF, do you REALLY think that all of us who've complained on this thread believed that the band would do all the work? For most people what you've posted is absolutely true. I've read lots of posts where people say they've been able to figure out a way to eat pizza, drink cokes and perform other feats of band busting behavior. That's not what this particular post is all about. I notice that you don't get that. Okay fine. State your piece and feel all smug. That's to be expected from someone who has managed to figure it all out and develop into the lovely butterfly that I'm sure you're turning into. Congratulations! Do you feel better? Great. Now zip it. What we're talking about here is something out of the norm. And the reason we're talking about it is because we're hoping that we can figure out why we're in the spot we're in. We've already sucked it up and learned that we can't drink cokes and eat pizza and all that. But we sure don't expect to be genuinely hungry most of the time, be so restricted that we can't eat almost anything, be exercising and still not seeing our weight move in a negative direction. But what am I doing? I shouldn't be trying to explain something to someone who just thinks anyone who is having these kinds of problems is simply sabbotaging their band. I hope you never learn about it the hard way.

The mind is a powerful thang... I really don't think we've begun to understand what our brains are capable of.

kat: I just re-read your post about your friend. I am beginning to think that for many people, having too much restriction is totally counter productive. I was doing fine again, losing slowly but finally losing again. I went in for a fill 2 weeks ago and now I'm really restricted and have not lost an ounce and have probably gained a little. That's with being able to eat less food. It is so frustrating to try to eat and not be able to get much down without having an episode. Afterwards you're totally unhappy, you don't feel that you've eaten and you tend to graze on small things that don't bother you - a few nuts here and there, a little ice cream, whatever... and the next thing you know you're back sliding and gaining. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! :biggrin:

Have any of you read anything about studies where they have tried to pinpoint differences in the brains of people who are very firmly religious vs. those who do not believe in God or a higher power? They're also considering the possibility that when people "witness" aliens, it is actually caused by a phenomenon that occurs in some people's brains. Am I the only one who has heard about these things?

I love Rock Star! I really wish they would do another one! Yeah, Fantasia. I keep thinking she's going to take a dump on the stage when she's singing. That was such a frenetic song it made me wonder if she's doing some of what Whitney got in trouble for.

You know I love David Cook, but I do think you make an excellent point, MissyG. David A. can use some serious coaching and promoting and David C. probably needs to be able to tap into his creative side more. I thought that Syesha was a great presence in the competition. Early on I didn't care for her because she seemed to force the upper registers too much for me. But you know she really did handle everything with a whole lot of maturity and there's no question that she has an important career ahead of her. I think she has a better voice than Vanessa Williams and probably overall is, as you said, classier. They're both breathtakingly beautiful. I also think that the show suffered after Carly and Brooke left. In fact there were several early competitors that I really enjoyed watching. I thought this whole group was top-notch. I was more engaged this time than ever before in the show from beginning to now. I'm always surprised when I hear someone say they don't think this group was all that good. My DIL asked me if I'd forgotten Melinda (who we all loved). Which makes me wonder - what happened to Melinda? What did ya'll think of whatzername's performance - last years winner? I cannot think of her name right this minute. Brain freeze. She sort of put Lucy to shame with the hair color.

The man made what we call a "miraculous recovery" however I don't believe that what the doctor said indicated that he actually believed that it was a miracle. The fact that the odds were stacked against the patient doesn't prove that a miracle took place. If the man had lost huge amounts of blood, had multiple life threatening wounds and did not receive any medical attention, but his wounds closed themselves and the man had no ill effects from the loss of blood, and he just jumped up off the ground, raised his arms and said, "ta-da, want to see me do that again?" Now that would probably be accepted as a miracle. I don't mean to sound smart alecky, but I was wondering what things we might discuss that everyone could agree was a miracle too. That one sure doesn't do it for me.

Not a big Disney fan? Or just missed that particular one? It's been around forever. I recommend it if you ever get a chance to see it. Are you rooting for Syesha to win, MissyG? Or David Archuleta?

Gotcha. I was never quite sure which side of the fence you were really on at that thread. I think you believe in women's rights as it relates to that topic, right? But you were very gentle about it. And that's a good thing! After a while, I tend to become abrasive because I feel so strongly about it. And that's of course a big turn off to most people. Which is understandable!

Oh. Yep. That was one of the places where I've been targeted and felt a bit persecuted. And nope, I don't want to rehash that again either! I was only trying to divert some attention away from the attack/counterattack going on here. I now understand why it made people uncomfortable when it was happening elsewhere. When you're in the middle of it you're simply trying to have your say and you are attempting to explain yourself. It can be difficult to understand when people try to intervene and shut it down if you're the one swapping barbs. :thumbup: