Is a bra necessary?

I always thought that it is a good idea to peruse foreign websites to see what people across the pond are thinking.
Especially the French! Those untrustworthy mollusks chomping/Beaujolais quaffing rabble-rousers!

Anyway, yesterday I came across an interesting tidbit .

After conducting a study of a large group of women (aged 18 to 35), sports medicine doctor Jean-Denis Rouillon is proffering that wearing a bra is totally unnecessary. At least for young women.

Eugène_Delacroix_-_Liberty_Leading_the_People_28th_July_1830_-_WGA6177 - Version 2

He is postulating that if a woman starts wearing a bra right after puberty, it will inhibit and weaken breasts natural suspension mechanism.
Holy Toledo!

If women start wearing bras at an early age, they will start relying on them and remain hooked for the rest of their lives.
And that’s, by the way, is what Victoria’s Secrets is pushing women to do.

But In fact, says the good doctor, women don’t need to wear bras. It is a scientific fact!

This is a fascinating bit of news and I suspect that the powerful bra-lobby is not going to take this hanging down.
Just like the gun lobby, they are prepared to mount a large twin counterattack.

Victoria’s Secrets and Frederick’s of Hollywood are already saying that “it is the inalienable right of women to keep and bear bras” and “It is not bras that need breasts, but breasts that need bras”.

Breasts in America have acquired an almost mythical status.
You must have breasts, women are told, and the bigger the better.
And if pobrecita, you are breast challenged, we will sell you some.

Young girls already traumatized by the onset of puberty will do almost anything to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

And since in America everything is outrageous, be prepared to see nubile girls sporting gigantic mammary appendages hanging around.
But with these big guns you will need some support and that’s what the bra lobby, working hand in hand with the plastic surgeons pressure group, is pushing for.

Do you need to wear a bra? Judging by their gravity defying attires, Hollywood hotties have already spoken and it is certainly not up to a man to weigh what’s good for women.

Alain

 

Pétanque psychology

I play pétanque about once a week. Friendly little games on the local field.
Everybody meets on the court, teams are formed and we go at it.

Some players are known as “shooters” and some as “pointers”.
There are also some bi-players (it’s not what you think) who can point but also shoot if the designated shooter runs out of ammo.

Shooters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are tall, some are short, some are skinny and some are chubby. They all can shoot of course, but what differentiates them from one another is their approach, their conception of the game.

Some shooters do not hesitate to fire their balls while some dither, preferring to take a “wait and see” attitude.
This is not my cup of “pastis”.

To me, a shooter has to be proactive. He should shoot without any hesitation if the situation calls for it. Procrastination is the antithesis of success.
If right at the beginning of a game, an enemy ball is hugging the cochonnet, it has to go. And sooner than later.
Waiting to shoot can become problematic, especially when enemy boules begin to mass in front of the target.

IMG_6407 - Version 2At the same time, a shooter shouldn’t target a ball just because it is in the close proximity of the cochonnet. He has to weigh the pros and the cons of his action and be in agreement with the pointer.
If they constantly differ about what to do (it happens), disharmony will sink the ship.

A true shooter is somebody who can shoot “au fer” (to the iron) and who can send his balls flying over enemy lines.
If you are shooting “ a la rafle” or “a la rasbaille” (your ball hitting the ground before hitting the target) your options are more limited. The minute a ball blocks a direct path to the intended target, your shooting is impeded.

Useless to say that if you are a “rasbailleur” you are not considered a true shooter and are often looked down by “real” shooters.
A “rasbailleur” nevertheless can be successful, but he is definitely not as effective and glamorous as a “tireur au fer”.

In pétanque games both sides have artillery, but big guns need to be used judiciously. A gunner has only a limited number of shots in his quiver and the strategy of a weaker team is to quickly defang the opposite shooter.
That’s the job of the pointer; to place exquisitely accurate shots and force the opposing shooter to spend his ammunition.

But games are not won by shooters alone. Pointers deserve a large part of the credit.
They are the foot soldiers of pétanque wars and without them victory can prove elusive.

To sum it up, a game is won by the skills of both, pointers and shooters, but ultimately by the cooperation and the decisive strategy adopted by the team.

Alain

 

 

Unresolved problem

I happen to live with a woman afflicted with a strange condition.
She is unable to keep anything closed or locked up. Doors, closets, drawers, jars, bottles… everything is left hazardously open or half open, which makes matters even worse.
A jar cap might find its way back on top of the jar but in such a loose and unsecured fashion that it literally begs for an accident to happen.
I am pretty sure that there is a medical term for this disorder, but I don’t know what it is and I would be extremely grateful to anybody for setting me straight.
And if there is no such a term, there is a pressing need to identify and name this condition.

Strangely enough, even though nobody talks about it, it seems that a large number of people (mainly of the female persuasion) is afflicted with this disorder.

Bride of Frankenstein 4

I know that some folks are working night and day to find cures for cancer and some other terrible diseases, but they ought (for the greater good of humanity) to also spend some time researching and eventually curing this pathological quirk.

No amount of begging or threatening seems to work. Closets and jars remain obstinately unsecured.
This illness probably stems from a deep sense of persecution that these individuals must have experienced in their youth.
They must have been abused to such an extent that no matter what, they cannot resolve to keep a door or a jar closed.
A little bit like an ex-POW unable to sleep in a closed room.

For people who don’t have to live in close proximity of those individuals, this aberration might sound a little inconsequential.
But they don’t understand the mental anguish experienced by persons having to survive in such a booby-trapped environment.
Just like an Improvised Explosive Device, a half-closed jar can go off anytime and inflict horrific mental wounds upon the recipient.

I am contemplating wearing a bulletproof jacket or, sending her to a re-education camp.
If this proves unable to remedy her condition, I might have to resort to electroshocks.

It worked for the bride of Frankenstein, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for this poor soul.

Alain