Now this is not a rant about the quality of today's programming although there seems to be a thinning trend to the substance of said programs. No, this is not a rant about that, nor is it even about the constant bombardment of TV ads every 5 minutes..

But as we, the viewing public, mortals amongst mortals struggle with daily notions of health, money and happiness, we are also confronted with the images of the very healthy, very beautiful, and oh so very seemingly happy actors that populate our favorite programs.

Now I know women (and men) are susceptible to the odd moment of vulnerability, bombarded as we are constantly with images of health products, diet pills, and exercise programs and equipment designed to be the precise and very last missing element in our endeavor of weight loss. And when confronted with perfect people on our TV programs, it is not unreasonable to feel somewhat threatened by the images they project so I was not surprised that my seemingly innocent comment caused my wife to come face to face with her very own boogie man.

A particular book on lose the fat, burn the muscle was immediately purchased and is being read right as I type these lines.

In addition, my wife ordered a supply of weight loss pills called phentremine which has the promise of accelerated weight loss whilst at the same time being safe.

As for me, I will have to remember to keep quiet the next time, and of course, it wouldn't do me any harm if I was to lose weight myself.