Bananation

If you are a bigorexic, the news reported in Merlion Times will probably make you rethink about your body now. What kind of damages had already been done "backstage" as we parade our gargantuan physique among a sea of admirers? Maybe, we will be fine. Afterall, the report is untrue and we will all live till 80 and die looking big. I said so because I wrote that report.

I liken Danny's death to possibly mine. Whether it is anorexia or bigorexia, men or women, we are all to blame for harming our health in the name of vainity. We are all vain - admit it graciously or become a denier in the fashion closet. Guys in particular are catching up with vanity, thus giving birth to a new fashion sensitive breed - metrosexual. My first success in the subject of vanity was when I put on 33 lbs of mass to my skinny frame. I look muscular and feel masculine. When I was skinny then, nothing looked good in me; now, everything fits. Even if I'm undressed, I still look good. Naturally, I work towards a bigger body. I didn't think it's wise to stop building my body because I'm not that dangerously bigorexic yet. I don't touch steroids, so that should speak for itself. Having said that, I'm not assuming that all supplements purchased at any reputable drug stores are clinically test and therefore, 100% safe for consumption in the long term. This is evident from the recent report that a high-class beauty product endorsed by mega-star status celebrities, contains chemicals detrimental to our health. So if I'm not that bigorexic yet to warrant an alarm, then what the hell am I trying to say?

Well, have you ever told yourself "what a pity" when someone great die? I did. These people, such as Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Teresa, did great things which changed other people's life. They look clean and presentable but never handsome or pretty. Their beauties are of higher calibre and even the drop-dead gorgeous league is insignificant when compared to them. However, to make any sense we must always compare an apple with an apple. Honestly, I am much more affected when good-looking people aged and died. Pretty shallow, huh? By the way, I don't mean I'm good-looking. It just makes more sense to compare with good-lookers on the subject of vanity.

If you are of my age or in the 30's range, you wouldn't have known the 1950's legendary actors, Gene Kelly and Marlon Brando. By chance, I came to know them 56 years after their popularity.
Things start to get melancholic when I watched their movies recently. For the first time, I was watching dead actors and actress reliving their moments on digitalised DVDs.

I always have a thing for the past. I was called "a young man with an old heart". The fact that the past is a distant world to me makes me curious and fall in love with it. I'm sure that those who did not survive our time would probably echo my sentiment. On the other hand, If I were 33 in the year 1950, I will then wish to be born later to see the modern world. I will write about my nostlagia in the next blog. Now, back to Gene and Marlon.

If you haven't heard of them, here is a brief, superficial comparison between the two:

• Gene Kelly is refined and handsome. He could sing and tap-dance to the tunes of the renowned "Singing in the Rain" and "I got Rhythm". He has a just-nice built to match his height.

• Marlon Brando's bad boy image is alluring. Keep away your china or he would toss and break them in a fist of anger. He had a muscular body that looked sinfully seductive in tight t-shirt.

I said it was superificial because I have only seen "A Streetcar named Desire", "Singing in the Rain" and "An American in Paris", and I am already concluding how great they are. At least, I can't be wronged about their physical charm. What upset me was when I saw how they aged and lost their heyday charm from the photos in the Internet. Reading about their death upset me furhter. I know everyone dies eventually; so why should their death be different? I don't know. If I say that I love their movies and adore their handsome faces, would that explain? I spent my teenage years imitating Tom Crusie's cool, pilot look from Top Gun in the 1980's and followed him in all his impossible missions. Today, he is still alive. Even if he passes on like other celebrities in my era, I wouldn't feel as sad as those were already acting before I was born. Got my point? It saddens me to acknowledge that Gene Kelly, a man once so agile and lively became a feeble, old man and died of stroke. It disturbs me and yet wins my admiration for Marlon Brando, who retaliated against glamor by becoming obese to prove that he was not just a pretty face who can't act. As a Mr Vain truly, I do not have the courage to do the same, knowing how hard it has been to acheive a muscular body. That is, however, not my point. My question is: "why are we chasing after vainity when sooner or later they died with us?" Why can't I challenge vanity instead of succumbing to it? Surely, I can tell myself that I am satisfied with looking presentable and most importantly feeling healthy without the want to look muscular and macho. If I'm gonna lose those size and charm as I aged and died like Gene and Marlo, I am better off investing my time and money with higher priorities. That is very noble but it's not going to work for me. I am born vain. If a big body makes me happy and attractive, why should I stop working towards having one? I can't go to the gym when I die, can I?