From: ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright)
Subject: Re: Any Available Jewish Men Out There??
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 22:54:18 GMT
Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

In <JULIE.93Jan11191949@cucbs.chem.columbia.edu> julie@cucbs.chem.columbia.edu (Julie Wright) writes:

>If you've developed your mind so thoroughly, why don't you share more
>thoughts with us on things other than the 57th rehash of the Great
>Exercise Debate?  

I'd be glad to.  What subject would you like to hear my thoughts on?
I assumed that, when writing in soc.singles, I should restrict my 
subjects to my experiences in that area.  If you think it more appropriate
for me to write about military strategy and tactics, spacecraft design, 
computer graphics, Shakespearean productions, Austrian economics, or the 
latest Niven & Pournelle novel, I can do so. 

Or do you mean I should write about things like "the most romantic
date I've ever had" or how to buy chocolate or flowers?  Well, I
could write about my girlfriend and I horsepacking to an isolated 
cabin, in the dead of winter, spending the night next to the fireplace,
with the wind whipping against the shutters and the wolves howling
outside, the smell of homemade bread filling the room... but I expect
to get paid when I write fiction.  I could write about the time I spent
all day baking a chocolate dessert for a woman I planned to ask out,
before she informed me that she would "feel like a lesbian" dating 
a man like me.... No, on second thought, I couldn't write about that.
It hurts too much.

Even though this is soc.singles, it seems the only people you
really want to hear from are those who have already found someone.


>Hell, it's probably more than 57 times; I haven't been around very long.  
>Your case would be a lot more convincing if you seemed
>to have other things to say about other aspects of life, as both Charlie
>and Trygve do.    

And if you turn on your television set tonight, you can hear a
rehash of Why Anyone Who Does Not Exercise Is Going To Hell for
the 457,000th time.  Why do you still find that convincing?
When was the last time you saw our National Fitness Czar, Arnold
Schwartzenegger, talk about anything besides his muscles?

I only remember one time when someone in soc.singles asked me 
about "other aspects of my life."  And when I answered, Trygve 
instantly changed from "you'll never find anyone sitting around 
your apartment" to "that's why you don't have anyone -- you're 
involved in so many activities you don't have time."  (He does
pride himself on avoiding foolish consistency, remember.)



>I know lots of women who exercise, including myself, and I don't think
>*any* of them list it as a requirement for men they get involved with.

Or at least, that's what they tell you.  But national polls show
that only 7% consider physical appearance unimportant.  Dr. Barry
Glassner analyzed personal ads from 10 newspapers and magazines and
found "words like 'athletic' and 'well-built' appear in a majority
of the men's descriptions of themselves and women's descriptions of
their desired mates."  And having asked out hundreds of women in my
lifetime, I know that's closer to the truth than what your friends
tell you. 



>All of us are inclined to think of it as a plus, but it's one of *many* 
>qualities we look for, and can certainly be overruled by a nice smile 
>or a friendly manner or a shared interest or many other things.  

Shared interests take time to uncover.  If someone has already
judged you negatively on your appearance, he's unlikely to give
you that time.


>I know a lot of women who wouldn't want to put up with intolerance or
>obsessiveness, but very few who care much about whether their partners
>exercise or not, as long as they're basically healthy 

But the fitness movement claims you *can't* be basically healthy 
unless you exercise regularly.  Do you think anyone can spend time
around a gym and not hear that 500 times a day?  Do you think they
don't believe it?  (If so, why is someone so skeptical in the gym
to begin with?)





Newsgroups: soc.singles