papier-mâché and little Napoleons

I rarely write of the health and fitness industry because in-truth, rarely is there something in the industry worthy of writing about. Amongst the decaying reminders of what once was but is no longer are the papier-mâché promises and darling little Napoleons who have been developed to rid the public of its money.

The substance of the industry has been bled-out on the streets and the seductive dance of the master marketer to a dumbed-down and bloated generation has emerged in its place. Logic and reasoning can only be argued when obvious assumptions can be made but when "the obvious" is no longer obvious, how can you reason?

The dirty little secret of the industry that no-one will say for it may upset the public junk addiction to the inane, is that the industry has little to do with health and fitness but everything about selling ridiculous notions, potions and silly little figure-heads who "never were" or should I say, will never know what it is to lead by example and live a healthy, active and virile life.

Sadly the bloated beast of a public has long since readied itself for a stagnant life and so too will never know the sensuality of living life to its fullest. The simple four-letter word, life, is one that has no second-chances, where tomorrow may never come and yesterday is history. Yet so much of society is trapped watching precious time drift away and as time drifts away so painfully slow, it can never be recaptured and is forever lost. As life's subscription begins to run-out the precious nature of time is the one bauble we cannot buy yet the only one that gleams in our eye's.

And so as I look out once again at this papier-mâché industry, built of darling little Napoleons whose meager self-esteem and ever-so fragile male-ego is carefully hidden behind the pretty well-posed black t-shirt clad photo ops, many questions loom. The absence of healthy activities in society has been led by a narcissistic industry that is void of participation and passion in life, ripe with the lies and over-indulgences of marketing and led by those that find courage with a familiar dosage of what doesn't curse through their own claret and what screams through me non-stop.

Truthfully I have no great answers and have succumbed to the realization that the problem will not let up and only continue to gain strength as much of the public races faster faster towards a life of half-truths and what might-have-beens. It is a industry where the obvious in so no longer obvious and one that I have sped-by long ago.

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the beauty of the round ball..of equal sides that brings people from around the world together...

UEFA Cup; first leg of the round of 32 commences tomorrow with a series of outstanding matches....

FC Zenit St. Petersburg- Villarreal Club de Fútbol SAD
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü - Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball
AEK FC - Getafe Club de Fútbol
SK Brann (Sportsklubben Brann) - Everton
SV Werder Bremen - Sporting Clube de Braga
Olympique de Marseille - FC Spartak Moscow
PSV Eindhoven - Helsingborgs IF
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht - FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Rangers FC - Panathinaikos A.O.
Sporting Clube de Portugal - FC Basel

Thursday
Aberdeen - FC Bayern München
FC Zürich - Hamburger SV
Rosenborg Ballklub (RBK) - ACF Fiorentina
SK Slavia Praha - Tottenham
Bolton - Club Atlético de Madrid
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - FC Nürnberg