EATING DISORDERS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE: ALISHA'S STORY...

(Click table to enlarge)

"I think race and size should never be in the same sentence."

~ Alisha

Yesterday, I received this e-mail from Alisha* (*not her real name):

"Hi,

This maybe kinda off subject..........

I think your website is a great way to show people the consequences of eating disorders. I have to tell the truth, I found this site on accident. I belong to a lot of pro ana communities on livejournal.

I know eating disorders are a disease and not a lifestyle. I don't promote them, but I do think being thin is great. I am kinda proud of my eating disorder. I hope to change that one day. I was looking for "thinspiration", and I saw a video on youtube about Isabelle Caro, so I decided to search for articles about her. One of the results I got was your website.

My name is Alisha and I am 18 years old. I'm a black girl who has EDNOS. I have done it all (starve, binge and purge, diet pills, you name it.) I have been seeing a psychiatrist for about 3 years. I'm 5'3 91.8 pounds. I was 88 pounds last week but because of Thanksgiving I have gained a couple of pounds. I would like to weigh about 85 pounds, but I know that's not healthy.

I became very angry when a girl made a comment about my desire to be thin. She said "black girls are supposed to be voluptuous". I got angry because I think race and size should never be in the same sentence. I think that people should know that anyone can suffer from an eating disorder.

I have never seen an article about a black girl with an eating disorder. So, maybe it is ok for people to think all black girls are or should be voluptuous?

I feel alone sometimes because I don't know any black girls with an eating disorder. I would feel embarrassed for people to know I have one because of my race. I just want other girls of all races to know that anyone can have an eating disorder.

I would also like to say your website has opened my eyes. I knew eating disorders kill, but reading the stories about other people shows death is real.

One day maybe I will realize what I have done to myself and start to love myself. I have to be honest I don't know if I even want to. If I get better maybe I can become a counselor or a psychiatrist who helps boys and girls of all races with all types of mental health problems.

Thanks for listening,

Alisha"

Alisha, eating disorders do not discriminate. Anorexia and bulimia strike girls of every race and colour.

From the Psychiatric Times:

"More recent evidence suggests that the pre-valence of anorexia nervosa among African-Americans is higher than previously thought and is rising. A survey of readers of a popular African-American fashion magazine (see picture chart above) found levels of abnormal eating attitudes and body dissatisfaction that were at least as high as a similar survey of Caucasian women, with a significant negative correlation between body dissatisfaction and a strong black identity (Pumariega et al., 1994). It has been hypothesized that thinness is gaining more value within the African-American culture, just as it has in the Caucasian culture (Hsu, 1987).

Other American ethnic groups also may have higher levels of eating disorders than previously recognized (Pate et al., 1992). A recent study of early adolescent girls found that Hispanic and Asian-American girls showed greater body dissatisfaction than white girls (Robinson et al., 1996). Furthermore, another recent study has reported levels of disordered eating attitudes among rural Appalachian adolescents that are comparable to urban rates (Miller et al., in press). Cultural beliefs that may have protected ethnic groups against eating disorders may be eroding as adolescents acculturate to mainstream American culture (Pumariega, 1986)."
(Link: Psychiatric Times)


Alisha, please check out video on laurenasia's * video on Youtube:

Click:

Black Women and Eating Disorders

* Laurenasia:

"Now I'm a Grad student at UMD working on 2 Masters Degrees, the overused Masters in Business Admin and then the wonderfully ridiculous Masters in Financial Managment and Info Systems. The Info systems I kinda like.

Professional model and tutor part time. I have 2 chihuahuas Prince and Duchess.

I wouldn't classify myself as sane. I'm a yogini-Hatha Vinyasa and power.

I've also suffered from clinical Anorexia Nervosa for 6 years. However my happiest time has been during recovery, which is what I'm working on now for the 2nd time around. I also have generalized anxiety disorder, but I finally grew some ovaries and started to upload vids.

If you want to chat, just need an ear to listen, or wanna be internet buddies!!! j/k, but no really... any of these links will lead to that:

http://www.model-lauren.com/
www.myspace.com/Lauren_Asia
modelmeasia.livejournal.com "
(from YouTube)


Please get help before it's too late, Alisha. Eating disorders ARE deadly.

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KATE'S STORY...

Kate's e-mail to me...

"I've been thinking about writing to you for a long time, but Arielle's Mantra was so powerful and true that I thought I'd just do it now. I'm not a native speaker of the English language, so please excuse weird expressions or spelling mistakes.

I am a twenty-year-old student from Germany and have been the odd one out since... well, since always. Never was one of the skinny children, never was very feminine or adjusted. I just kinda did my thing, and that was fine. Until someone knocked on my door, and this someone was Mr. Puberty.

Now, Mr.Puberty decided to give me large hips due to my Spanish ancestors, also a very rebellious mind and a loud voice to go with that. Which is definitely not bad from where I stand now, but imagine being the only one like that. So the bullying at school started. Along with my taste of music, my style changed and that made me even more of an outsider to my peers - I was literally the black sheep.

And thank you Mr. Puberty, thank you DNA, somewhere along the way I developed depression and eventually attempted to kill myself at the age of 16.

Then the genius who called himself shrink fancied the idea of medicating me instead of talking to me, and since cutting myself was now forbidden I went numb. There's really no other way of putting it. Everything around me just happened, and I was somewhere in there, hands tied to my back.

Before my suicide attempt I had put on a little weight, about 6 lbs to be precise. Nothing from my view now. And my mother had nothing else to do than to tell me how I would feel better if I lost that weight again. (Note to self: Remember your mom used to be bulimic when you were a child the next time she says how fat you've gotten) So I lost that weight. And there, I felt something again! Compliments aren't exactly an emotion, but it's pretty close.

So Why stop?, I thought and got really thin, lollypop-thin. Not pretty. Then, thanks to an ex-boyfriend, I gained back everything, and after he dumped me, even more. My anorexia/bulimia developed into binge-eating/ednos, but my thinking remained the same. Imagine that all you want is wasting away and all you do out of misery is eat. And eat more. I assure you, one hell of a blast I had there.

This didn't really change for a long time, until maybe 2 months ago. I don't know what it was, a good friend maybe, maybe my wounds healing, maybe something greater. Something in my mind clicked, and I wondered: What's so wrong with being closer to Scarlett Johansson than to Kate Moss? And I really couldn't think of an answer.

So here's the deal:

No matter what comes your way, keep going.

If you're lucky and strong enough, you take it as a challenge.

But it is not until you decide to do something that things change.

I wasted half of my youth on being miserable, and it's only now that I see what I missed.

Yes, you might not feel that way, but you ARE able to fight.

You just have to believe and start.

And then keep going.

I still often stand in front of the mirror and think how great I would look if I lost 30lbs, but my life was nothing when I was thin. I was nothing.

Now I am a radiating, almost happy woman.

Yeah, I'm still not exactly self-confident, but it's the moments when I say "You know what? I don't care." that make me truly proud.

Like Arielle said: It IS possible.

Kate"


(((Kate))) Thanks so much for writing and for sharing your poignant & inspirational story. Sincerest best wishes on your recovery.

~ Medusa



Link to image:

http://dollopsoflight.com/contents/media/believe_in_yourself.jpg

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EATING DISORDERS & RECOVERY: ARIELLE'S "MANTRA"...

Arielle Bair (Becker)

I can't tell you how delighted I was to receive the e-mail below from my dear friend, Arielle, last night in response to my post, AN OPEN INVITATION: SHARE YOUR STORY, THOUGHTS, OPINIONS...

After recovering herself, Arielle has committed her life to helping others who are struggling with eating disorders. Her compassion and dedication have no bounds, and I am honoured to have her as a friend.

Here is Arielle's e-mail:

"Hi there, I just read the latest post on your wonderful blog and thought I'd drop you a line to share some of my thoughts. As you know, I have quite a few thoughts regarding eating disorders (!) so I thought to myself, if I had to choose one thing to say to Medusa's readers, what would it be?

And here's what I decided. I feel very strongly about it, so I thought I'd share it with you and your readers, if you so choose. I know you get a ton of mail and I can certainly relate to that!

I consider this a mantra of sorts. A declaration. A personal proclamation to take to heart.

Recovery is possible.

It's not a guarantee. It's a possibility.

It's not simple. It is difficult and sometimes seems impossible.

It's not a one-step process. It's a multi-step process complete with twists and turns and bending roads...and roads you didn't even know were there.

It's not the same for everyone.

It's not always a happy process. It's not always a sad process.

It IS empowering.

It's not about pleasing other people. It is not about them. It's about YOU.

It's not about perfection. It IS about emotion. It IS about honesty. It IS about self-discovery and self-affirmation.

It's not about what you don't have. It's about using what you've got.

It's not about hiding. It's about finding and displaying.

It's not a quick-fix. It's a lifelong plan set into motion by truth and nurturing and self-love.

It's not about external factors or environment. It IS about what's within.

It is not crazy. It IS real.

Recovery is possible.

I think reading and re-reading this "mantra" is a good way to keep things in perspective.

So there you have it. That's what I'd share. :) If you'd like to share it on your blog, you have my permission. I wrote it all.

Take care,
Arielle

Arielle Lee Bair (Becker)
arielle.becker@gmail.com

Please take a moment to check out Arielle's websites. They're amazing:

http://tearstowords.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/arielleleebair

http://arielleleebecker.blogspot.com

From Arielle's blog...

"About Arielle Bair (Becker)"

"I am a woman with a story, a voice, and a commitment. I married the love of my life in April 2008 and am very happy. I am dedicated to helping others in the best way I know how: my writing. Writing helped me on my way to recovery and I have a sincere passion to be, at the very least, an understanding voice amid the pain of eating disorders and all that they bring. I've never been happier, so I know that health--mental, physical, and emotional--is possible. I'm an ANAD Eating Disorder Support Group Leader in the Lehigh Valley area. I have a goal, and that goal is to share, care, and write the words that make sense. I hope that you will share, care, and write along with me."

Thanks so much, Arielle, for sharing your wisdom, and for all you do in helping others who are battling eating disorders. You rock.

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ERASING THE YEARS WITH PHOTOSHOP...

Before

If you ever had any doubt as to what a Photoshopper can do to a photo, check out this metamorphosis:

After

Amazing, no?

Check out this link to see how the photoshopper, Bitcloud, erased the years...

Photoshop Tutorial: Fountain of Youth

Perhaps Ralph Lauren should hire this guy.

THE SKINNY ON RALPH LAUREN & THE PHOTOSHOPPING DEBACLE...

Frankly, I prefer to erase the years with clothespins...

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AN OPEN INVITATION: SHARE YOUR STORY, THOUGHTS, OPINIONS...

The Writer by Richard Baumgart

UPDATE

As I am no longer updating my blog, I will no longer be posting stories.  Thanks so much for your past submissions.

I regularly receive many thought-provoking comments and stories from many of my readers, so I've decided to open up my blog and share some of them with you.

If you have a story or opinion you'd like to share, or issue you'd like to raise, about eating disorders, depression, pro ana, etc., please forward it to me, granting me permission to post it.

If you have a picture or photo that's meaningful to you that you'd like posted with your story, please send it along to me. It can be a photo (or photos) of yourself or, if you're uncomfortable with that, just a picture that you like (an inspirational photo, etc.).

My e-mail address is ...

I can't promise I'll post every submission as I receive hundreds of e-mails weekly. I hope you'll understand.


To start things off, below is a comment I received today from Keka - Surfer Girl:

"Hi, i wanted to post the next comment on your blog about aimee moore, but it is too long. Maybe you can do something about it... maybe it can help someone. Regards xxx

This is not a problem of someone in particular. This is a problem with the whole human society. You don't need to be an engineer to look around and see what's happening around you. Society is going crazy, nearly everybody is under medication for different levels of depression and other mental disorders. Such people usually have feelings of sadness, anxiety, desperation, low self-esteem.

I know it is not easy to understand this people. But nowadays people are so blinded. Blinded by materialism and keeping up appearances. They are too busy giving an image to the world that most of time they forget who they really are and eventually they become the character they're trying to show. They tell themselves so much their own lie that eventually they believe it. But unconsciuosly our real one is still there, fighting to reach the surface, and we keep pushing it down to hide it, as if we are ashamed of our own self. From this internal and unconcious fight come the most of the problems. The ones that think they are completely sure of who they are, are the most blinded. Nobody can escape of what society has taught us, most of it unconciously, since we are a part of it we have a part of it within ourselves.

All natural things inseparable from our human nature are seen as evil. The necessities of our own body as expelling out the gas and waste substances after digestion, sex, and stuff like that look ‘ugly’ and ‘low-class’ to the eyes of others and everybody tries to pretend that that kind of things never happen to them. Disguising our own nature and pretending to be who we are not is what our society cares about. When you trying to negate what is in your nature and fight against it, you create a disorder.

In our society, you have to behave and look and be in a specific way to have success and to be accepted by other people that are getting as sick as you. We have even created ROLES that you must play depending on your sexuality. But there is not such a thing as a boy or girl behavior, you are who you are and that’s all. The problem is that our education is based on this long-held beliefs that it seems impossible to think they can be in any other way.

Society nowadays got stuck in the surface and together with it, the old great values are fading away. We are a lot more of what we can just see with our eyes. And not only us, the whole universe contains elements invisible to us. If we and our world are much more than what can be seen, why society focuses just and only on the surface of things? Because it is easier.

In the same way we have created this material-based society, we can create a different one, based on what actually matters.

What will you do when your beauty fades away? It means that when people get old must be left aside because they don’t fit anymore in the created pattern of perfection? And what is perfection? What may be the perfect landscape for you, can be not that beautiful for other people. Perfection is based on our own taste and points of view. And what we see beautiful can be ugly or indifferent to another one. Perfection does not exist as a fixed pattern, but some smart-ass has imposed it to us, together with the rule that if you don’t fit in it, you are useless. As so, we allow ourselves to make fun of those who are left outside, thinking that they are not that much worthy and feeding our own surface-based ego.

And so, we are getting the society we are looking for: a group of sick people trying to fit desperately in our pattern of perfection and beauty, with no brain that can think by itself but a brain that follows the rules imposed by society and that has unconsciously lost its ability of deciding anything outside that no-sense rules, even the ones related your own tastes and free will, because that rules are all you have learnt since you were born and it is easier to follow what you already know than teach your brain to start to think by itself. A society formed by a bunch of blinded people, unable to see beyond the skin, looking for happiness in the wrong direction and creating a fake feeling of happiness to fill the emptiness they feel. And happiness is not on money, or being popular, or fashion shoes. It is bigger than all that, and simpler at the same time. If we can look younger, and more beautiful and we are richer as the years go by, why people is more and more unhappy? Don’t you think we are doing something wrong? And can it be that we are looking for happiness on the wrong direction and placing it in other people hands instead of looking for it inside of ourselves?

A sick society as the one we are living in is creating the most of the problems that humanity is suffering in an individual or global way. Society has taught us that the more you have the happier you will be, and so you can find sick-minded people that can never have enough, people all confused and lost, looking for happiness in the wrong places, drowning in drugs and materialism and completely unable to realize that they are following a rule printed on their brains that, by their own experience, it is not a correct rule since it is not leading them to happiness. But instead of start their own ideas and become conscious of the actual situation, they keep on sticking stubbornly to their old imposed beliefs. Society has taught us that you must look beautiful to be successful and loved and so, we get a lot of surface-beauty based marriages that failed once the beauty starts to fade away with the years. Society is also bringing a new sick-minded generation starving themselves, desperate to look ‘perfect’ and get an admission ticket. Sex-obsessed people, rapists and so on are mind disorders created, most of the time, by the negation of our nature and seeing as bad and evil something that is innate to us and to every living form in the earth: sex. And this, together with the focusing on the surface, we have also forgotten that sex is more than just physical pleasure but a way to show love. What are we expecting if we have even dared to play in the name of love…

Some centuries ago no men liked skinny and sun-tanned women. They never put their eyes on them because they didn't look pretty like that. Before the wedding, women spent several days at home, so their skin got white and soft and they could put on a little weight with the lack of exercise. Nobody like this today…what has changed in people’s mind? Is there any change in men’s brains? Not at all. Nothing has change. It’s only that we move with the trends that somebody dictates. Someone tell us what things we must like now and we all follow like a herd, without even noticing they are manipulating us.

Nobody is guilty. Actually we are all victims of our own society and it is ONLY in our own hands to change it. But the first step is to realize what is going on and accept that we are behaving in this way.

Why do you think people don’t understand mental problems? Because they cannot see them with their eyes. But the problems are ACTUALLY there, aren’t they? Everybody can understand you cannot run because you have a broken leg, but just a few can understand how much yourself hurts that you need to harm your body, because nobody can see that you have a ‘broken leg’ within your mind.

I don’t want to be part of a society in which someone else dares to tell me how I have to FEEL, and to BE, and to LOOK. I don’t want to be a part of the herd because I have a brain that can think by itself. I don’t want to have to hide my nature when I walk on the streets. I just want to be happy now that I understood certain things and I could find my way back to sanity. Sanity that is criticized by lots of people in their struggle to put me down to feed their ego. I don’t blame them. I wish they knew how to fill their emptiness with love and respect for everything, since real love is key. I don’t hurt myself anymore and I accept that I can have moments of sadness as everybody else and there is nothing wrong with it. I stopped filling my emptiness with alcohol and learnt how to feel connected to the rest of the universe instead. I enjoy eating healthy because my body feels good, and also I enjoy eating my chocolate or a cake whenever I fancy it. And because it is not forbidden for me, I don’t fancy it all the time. I love to feel the sun on my face and feed the birds in my window. I don’t go out to fashion night clubs that much, only when I fancy a dance. I exercise everyday and read a lot. My dream is not anymore to become a Hollywood star. I just want a small wooden house by the sea, with a vegetables garden on the back. I want to stay close to Nature because Nature is what we all are.

This goes to everyone that got lost along the way. I really hope you find yourselves.

charlie_angel_sarah@hotmail.com Use my email if you think I can help you.

Love for everyone. Keka"

Thoughts?

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DEMI MOORE: A TALE OF A BALMAIN DRESS, A MISSING HIP, A BODY SNATCHER, AND A PHOTOCHOPPER

The furor over Demi Moore's missing hip on the cover of W Magazine has escalated into allegations now of Miss Moore's head being photochopped onto the neck of model, Anja Rubik.

Miss Moore and her missing hip in the Balmain dress

Anja Rubik on the runway in the same Balmain dress

On the left, a superimposition of the Anja Rubik photo on the cover photo of Demi Moore.

Check out the story here:

Pop Culture Madness

Pop Culture Madness Follow-up

I'm Not Obsessed

Celebrity Gossip

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HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY BLOG PAGES LOADING?

UPDATE: Problem fixed :^)

If you're using Internet Explorer, you may have problems with my blog pages loading properly. There's a glitch with IE which I'm trying to resolve before tearing all my hair out.

Firefox works like a charm, so please use that browser until I get this IE mess sorted out.

Thanks.

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ANOREXIC TWINS: SONIA & JULIA'S STORY

The story of Sonia and Julia is so compelling...truly, a must see:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

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HEIDI DIAZ & KIMKINS: THE DIET, THE FRAUD & THE COURT

Photos Heidi Diaz (aka Kimmer) showing she had never followed her own starvation diet, Kimkins

If you, personally, joined Kimkins, or know of anyone else who joined Kimkins, please direct them to this notice so that as many of the 40,000 people affected by the scam perpetrated by Heidi Diaz (also known as Kimmer) will know that they are part of the Class and can opt out, allowing Heidi Diaz to keep their money, or, alternatively, retaining their right to sue Heidi Diaz & Kimkins independently.


Heidi Diaz on the left, and other pictures she posted on her website fraudulently purporting to be her after she had lost weight "doing" Kimkins.

The Court has spoken...

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.

INTRODUCTION

1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.

2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.

3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.

THE LITIGATION

The Plaintiffs’ Claims

5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.

6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:

• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com

Heidi Diaz and her fake persona, Kim Drake

• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”

• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lies about “Drake’s” purported weight loss

• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Woman’s World magazine


Woman's World Magazine apology

• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published them on the Kimkins.com Website

• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements

• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law

• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships when, in fact, Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim

• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.

The Defendants’ Position

7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.

THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER

8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.

9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.

THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONSREGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS

10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS

11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Website from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.

OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.

WHERE TO GO & WHO TO CONTACT SHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION

13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:

• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.

• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and who the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:

John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879

Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017

Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232

If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing to make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond; however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.

There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class, so please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.

DATE: November *, 2009
Hon. * ,Presiding Judge

Did you know that Heidi Diaz is still online, running Kimkins? Unbelievable.

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THE SKINNY ON RALPH LAUREN & THE PHOTOSHOPPING DEBACLE...

The controversial photo of Filippa Hamilton by Ralph Lauren

I am late to this party, but just had to weigh in on this controversy.

I've always been a huge fan of Ralph Lauren's beautiful, understated, classic designs. I've bought his clothing for years. So to say that I was appalled by his Art Department's aggressive Photoshopping (Photochopping?) of a picture of Filippa Hamilton, and then learning that the company fired her in April of 2009 for being too fat, is a gross understatement.

Filippa is 23 years old, 5 feet 10 inches, and 120 pounds...a size 4. She had worked as a model for Ralph Lauren for 8 years. 8 years! And out of the blue Filippa was given the news that she was too large for Lauren's clothes. Huh?

Here is the Photoshopped pic of Filippa Hamilton that raised the ire of millions:

And here is how Filippa really looks:

Michael K @ Dlisted said it best:

"Ralph Lauren Fired This Model For Being A Fatty Fat Fatty

You might have already seen the ridiculous Ralph Lauren ad on the left which was Photoshopped by a cross-eyed chihuahua who has a bad case of ADD and a strange fascination with tree branches. After everyone cried "outrage" over the pic, Ralph Lauren issued some half-assed apology saying they take full responsibility...blah..blah...blah. The model in the picture, Filippa Hamilton, doesn't actually look like that in real life. Filippa's head is actually bigger than her hips. Nuts, I know.

At 5'10" and 120lbs, Filippa is pretty svelte, but she still isn't skinny enough for Ralph Lauren. On the Today show this morning, Filippa said Ralph Lauren sent her to the guillotine, because she didn't look like she might fall over if you a blew a kiss at her.

Filippa said, "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore. I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy." ...

Ralph Lauren confirmed to the NYDN that they pink-slipped Filippa "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."

Maybe this has something to do with the recession. Maybe the brains at Ralph Lauren think that since people can't buy food, we will all look like malnourished praying (for food) mantises. Not only that, why pay Filippa when they can pull some random kid off the street and give them a couple of Skittles to draw the next Ralph Lauren ad..."


Lauren's apology about the Filippa Hamilton fiasco fell flat when a few days later another photo appeared in a shop in Sydney, Australia featuring model Valentina Zelyaeva. Her body in the photo had been trimmed via the wonders of Photoshop:

Before

After

To hear Filippa talking about her firing by Ralph Lauren on the Today Show, watch this video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This article in the Daily Mail is also a good read:

Ralph Lauren - New Photoshop Row

A word of advice to Lauren's Art Department: Take some anatomy lessons...STAT.




Links:

http://dlisted.com/node/34359
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/06/the-criticism-that-r.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33307721/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/

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A LIFE & DEATH STRUGGLE...

The film clip below from the 1988 Academy-Award-nominated film L'Ours (The Bear) was shot by French filmmaker, Jean-Jacques Annaud, over a six-year period in the wilds of beautiful British Columbia, where I lived for many years.



Jean-Jacques Annaud

In short, an orphaned bear cub is stalked by a cougar...and the hunt is on.

The photography and sound effects are brilliant, and you'll be holding your breath as you watch the unfolding drama. Below is just one small scene from the film, and it's amazing:



Click here to watch the clip in a larger format:

The Bear

The full movie, which has been compared to March of the Penguins, is available on DVD:



What a great Christmas stocking stuffer this would be.

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