I just read and watched Countdown to Zero and it's rather... um... shocking. I know we live in a weight-obsessed world and everyone wants to be thin. I think it's not just the media that is at fault, there's peer pressure and also our sense of self where we need to push ourselves to the extreme as if to prove something. A need to see how far we can go. We, as people, had always been fascinated by extremes. It's like staring at a train wreck. Why did you think that freak shows were so popular? Or that there's a Guinness World Records?

Fattest person. Smallest waist. Tallest person. Longest hair. We all want to set a record. We all want to be amazing, admired, loved.

But hell. That was quite crazy.

I applaud her though for taking on a crazy experiment (even though she doesn't believe in it) and documenting it. I like crazy experiments, doing things just to a) show you can do it, or b) for the sake of the experience. I don't think I can ever do what she did though because I like food too much to give it up and I don't really have that kind of discipline. I mean, 8 weeks! That's way too long when my memory probably doesn't exceed 15 minutes. Hehe. I'm all for "instant payoff", so I take on short, quick projects to entertain myself.