Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974-1,00.html

The article is rather long but the conclusions of some studies mentioned are quite interesting.

Some of my female friends went to yoga or aerobic classes after work to stay thin or to lose weight. However, this article poses a question: does exercising really make you lose weight? According to the author, the answer to this question is “NO”. You can read the article to find out why (If you can not read the whole article before our discussion, please read page 1. You can finish it later on.)

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you exercise regularly? What kind of exercise do you do? Why do or do not exercise?

2. Have you (or your friends) ever tried to lose weight or go on a diet? What are your (or your friends’) ways to lose weight?

3. Celebrities and fashion models always care much more about their weight and appearance than normal people do. Do you think “thinner is prettier?”

4. Imagine that you are in a “Girlfriend or Boyfriend Supermarket” where there are only two kind of people left for you to choose from to be your girlfriend or boyfriend, would you choose someone who is obese but rather funny and have a sense of humor or someone who have perfect body (thin and have muscles) but rather a boring person?

5. To be announced later in our discussion.

PLASTIC SURGERY

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/19/korea.beauty/index.html?iref=allsearch

“Nature is beauty” is out of date, while plastic surgery is catching on in all races and ages. In the film, a 12-year-old Korean girl wants her eyelids to be done with plastic surgery because she thinks that having Western-like eyelids would make her pretty and give her a bright future. Also, many parents are eager for their children to be successful, so they will invest their money in plastic surgery to transform their kids’ appearance, even the tongue muscle.

1. How do you define beauty? Do you think it has a correct answer?

2. Do you know someone who had plastic surgery? How did they look like before and after?

3. Do you think the government should ban the plastic (cosmetic) surgery for children, even if they have their parents’ permission?

4. It seems like that more females undertake plastic surgeries than males. Do you think appearance is more important for woman?

5. Have you ever considered having plastic surgery? If yes, which part of yourself do you dislike?

6. Would you mind if your partner had or is going to have plastic surgery?

Are you a fast food fan?

A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac few weekenks ago, 39 years passed to the day after eating his first Big Mac.

Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald’s in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald’s most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske’s feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.

"I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," he said. "I have no intentions of changing. It’s still my favorite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day."

Gorske, who appeared in the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," which examined the fast food industry, looks nothing like one might expect of a fast food junkie. He’s trim and walks regularly for exercise, and he attributes his build to being "hyperactive."

Discussions:

1.Are you a fast food fan like the role in this article?Or do think this guy is crazy?

2.Do you have preference to fast food(whatever Mcdonald, KFC, Carl's Junior, or any other brand)?

3.Do you think fast food is good or will it make people have obesity? Why?

4.How often do you east fast food? Why?

5.Do you think having a meal with your chasing target at fast food restaurant is stingy? Why? Why not?

Discrimination against homosexuality

Here is a video which I saw on a friend's Facebook wall. I was quite touched about the humanity shown in it and I was also interested in this kind of test to the public. Let's have some discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0bzup1jQEJE

1. After watching the video, assume you were one of the customers in that restaurant when the thing happened, what will you do?

2. "Texas is one of the 29 states where guys can be refused service." What do you think about this announcement?

3. When you see a homosexual couple, do you tend to observe more than what you do to straight couple? And what do you think if you see them hold hands, hug, or even kiss in public?

4. Do you have preference for lesbian other than gays? Do you think people do act differently when they face gays and lesbians?

5. What do you think it will happen when the same test applies in Taiwan?

6. New York just passed the law to legalize same-sax marriage, but the opposite voice seems won't give up fighting, the opposition plans to use methods to weaken the power of those legislators who vote for the law. What do you think about the news?

Study session cancel tonight.

Dears,
I'm so sorry I totally forgot to prepare the topic for tonight until now. I've been through a crazy week. And I don't wanna rush having one without preparing well, so please allow me to cancel. I'm deeply sorry about this, please accept my sincere apology>

6/19 Harsh Light on Two Men, but Glare Falls on Women

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/us/19schwarzenegger.html?_r=1&ref=arnoldschwarzenegger

Only days after Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, was accused of sexually assaulting a maid at a New York hotel, Arnold Schwarzengger, the former governor of California, admitted that he had fathered a child with a household employee and hid a the child from his wife for 10 years. The question on many women's minds in recent weeks was the same cry of outrage that hangs over every male sex scandal:" How could he be such a pig?" So, are men just born this way? What are you gonna do with cheating?

Questions:

1. From Tiger Woods to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and then Arnold Schwarzenegger, do you think men are more likely to have an affair when they are getting more power? Does power really turn regular guys into sexual predators?

2. Will you lose the faith on those celebrities having several affairs or accused of sexual harassment? Or do you think their profession has nothing to do with their private life? (e.g. You are a big fan of Tiger Woods, but you still love him after he said he has sex addiction. Because you think you just like to watch him play golf. It doesn’t matter how his behavior is like. )

3. When having an affair, women are accused of infidelity and disloyalty, but men are just being called “playboys” or “predators”. (It’s not necessarily so, but under most circumstances, especially in Chinese society.) Why’s that different treatment on different genders?

4. It seems like marriage doesn’t guarantee you a better relationship, and there are numerous cases describing the unhappy marriage. Do you still have faith on marriage? What does it mean for you to get married?

5. If your better half cheat on you and have an affair with the third person, how are you gonna do with this, and what about the children? Will you tell them the truth?

Taiwan welcomes individual Chinese tourists

After a long talk with China authorities, individual travelers from Mainland China are finally able to visit Taiwan by the end of this month. As reported in news, department stores, food vendors in night markets and gift shops are happy to see this finally happens and have well prepared to welcome these tourists from China. However, except positive effects on local economy, individual tourists also bring possible problems to us. So read the article below and share with us your views about self-organised individual trip policy （自由行） and views about Chinese people in general.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/06/09/2003505339

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2011/06/02/304670/Individual-China.htm

1. Do you support “self-organised individual trip policy” or are you against it? What are your points?

2. Tourists from other countries can travel around Taiwan or go to any places as they wish except tourists from Mainland China. Do you think it is a little bit unfair for them because they receive different treatment?

3. From my personal experiences, some of my friends quite dislike people from Mainland China (of course some really like them or perceive neutral thoughts). What are your attitudes towards people from Mainland China? Do you have any good and bad personal experiences to share?

4. After we have more close contacts with people from Mainland China, in your opinion, do you think this will change Taiwan’s relationship with China?

5. Since this policy will take effect at the end of this month, do you think this will help KMT win more ballots?