Posts from — January 2008

Not that it is a complete surprise, but Oprah Winfrey will now have her own cable network.

The Discovery Health Network will become OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. This will be a joint venture between Discovery and Oprah’s Harpo Productions with Oprah as the chairman with editorial control even if she doesn’t run the day to day business of the network.

Basically that means it will still be all about Oprah. Its hard not to think of Oprah as an egomaniac, but as Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav said, “There’s no stronger brand in media than the Oprah brand.”

Then again, I look at O Magazine and wonder why every cover has to have Oprah’s face on it. I can’t deny that Oprah has a strong vision and helps many people have better lives, but if her vision requires a big serving of Oprah every time I can only imagine what her network will be like.

According to Ms. Oprah Winfrey, “This network isn’t just about me. It’s using the voice and the brand and the vision, but it really is about creating possibilities for any number of people … to extend the vision in a way that obviously I cannot 24 hours a day.”

Sure it is Oprah! I can’t wait until your syndication deal ends so you can run episode after episode of your show on your network. I will grab one of your magazines and numb out in front of the tv. I can’t wait for that day Oprah, I honestly just can’t wait.

I have been visiting the PostSecret website for a few years now and it is one of the best websites. The secrets are sometimes tragic, sometimes scary, sometimes hard to believe they are true.

Often someone else’s secret is also yours. This one is mine… repeated over and over again during my last snowboarding trip in Colorado.

There have been other secrets on the site that resonated with me. The power of the site is exactly that - your secret is the same secret another person harbors.

Officially, PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Every Sunday visitors check the blog to peruse new secrets and see what secrets their neighbors, friends, and strangers keep. The combination of voyeurism, emotional release, and art all come together for a unique experience.

It began with the simple request for secrets for a group art project: “Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you never shared it with anyone before.”

Over the years, many secrets received about depression and suicide led PostSecret to support the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. They have helped over 2.3 million people and PostSecret could not have chosen a better resource. PostSecret is amazing for many of reasons, the first of all is its ability to help people.

This is Salzburg, Austria at night. I spent a semester abroad there in 2007 and miss it terribly. I love everything about the city - the people, the architecture, the celebration of Mozart, even the bus system!

Its not bad enough that Memphis takes the number one spot on lists for violent crime, but the city also ranks as the Most Sedentary City and Most Obese City, according to Forbes:

Memphis, the most sedentary city on our list, landed at the top for scoring high on every indicator. In terms of BMI, 65% of the population is overweight or obese. Though the city is slightly behind the national rate at 66%, about 30% of its residents neglect to exercise regularly. Combined with the 41 hours of TV watched per week–the national average is 30, assuming that patterns remain relatively constant–the numbers revealed the extent of Memphis’ problem.

“We have heavily invested in a sedentary, sprawling lifestyle,” says Tom Jones, a Memphis-based consultant for Smart City Consulting.

Jones’ former colleague, Carol Coletta, president of the nonprofit organization CEOs for Cities, also points out that the economically bifurcated population, lack of transit options, unwalkable neighborhoods and favored Southern cuisine are a “deadly formula” for the city.

Memphis has a long way to go before these rankings change. At least we are number one! Right? Well, from my perspective the only positive list where Memphis has the top spot is for college basketball. And at this point those guys might be the only active, non-obese people in the city.

Today I began my training! I am training now to run a 5k but my ultimate goal will be to complete triathlons.

Today’s workout: Walk 5 minutes, run 1, walk 4 minutes, run 1, walk 3 minutes, run 1, walk 4 minutes, run 1, walk 5 minutes. Easy, right? It was pretty easy, except for the fact that my shins hurt and my whole body was stiff from last week’s non activity.

My marathon-running friend Meredith is in charge of my training plan. I like the motivation she sent me before I started my training: “Consider yourself staring along a course looking at the finish line that you know, without a doubt, that you will reach.”

I like the system she has set up where she sends me a week of workouts and then we communicate after a few to see if anything needs to be adjusted to my experience that week. I have looked at training plans for triathlons online, and while they are similar to what I am doing, seeing the whole thing at once is overwhelming. This weekly system works better for me.

Well, one day down, many to go. I am excited!

I definitely spent less time on the internet last week as I was in Ohio for a death in the family. The time there felt like a break from reality. I did not pay attention to my eating habits at all. Surrounded by grief, I let myself wallow in the sadness of the occasion and used eating as an escape. Unhealthy and ineffective, my eating over the past week added a few pounds and set me back further from my goals.

Now I am back to my world and ready to get started changing my life. Tomorrow I begin my training program created by a friend in Illinois. Soon I will be running my first 5k and working towards bigger goals!

January 2008! You know what that means. It is time to make some resolutions for the new year.

It is not a bad thing to set goals for the new year. I am fully for this tradition. I think it only becomes a negative thing when they are impossible to complete and end up making you feel bad about yourself.

Here are my three resolutions for the new year (there are others):

Lose 50 pounds. This may sound like a lot of weight but it is a reasonable amount for weight loss this year. Actually losing this weight is necessary so my doctor will no longer hate me. When excess weight starts to affect your health there is nothing to do besides lose the weight. I have reached the point where I must lose the weight.

Complete a 5k. Running three miles is not a terribly difficult feat, but it is harder when you are overweight and out of shape. I would like to start running 5k races for multiple causes, so once I lose weight and get in shape I will start doing this. This goal will be completed probably in the first half of the year. This goal and the next are both just fun ways to accomplish the first goal. They give me a better chance at losing that evil extra weight.

Complete a triathlon. This goal has always been in the back of my mind and only recently had any possibility of success. My friend Meredith is a hardcore triathlete/marathon runner and has encouraged me to pursue this goal offering her knowledge, encouragement, and guidance. Hopefully this will all translate into a completed triathlon sometime this year.

Figure out the next step. This is a transitional time in my life and I have no idea what I will be doing this time next year. Or in 6 months. Soon I will graduate from university and hit the job market. Hopefully in the next few months I will be hit over the head with what I should do next. And a new wardrobe because my first three goals will require one.