Make It Happen

Happy 2009 everyone. January usually means one thing to all of us — making and keeping those pesky New Year’s resolutions. Last year I was able to maintain my resolution through the end of February — a personal record — before I caved into the pressures and stress inherent in living in L.A. My fitness trainer and I have a love/hate relationship — he loves that my insatiable need for carbs necessitates his services and I hate that I’m going to have to start shelling out cash to see him again. I spent the recent December holidays visiting friends in London and was treated to many sumptuous meals that culminated in impossible-to-resist Christmas puddings. These decadent late-night indulgences have led to vigorous early morning workouts (to avoid the early evening crowds), which — fingers crossed — I will keep up more diligently than last year. Which brings me to our annual “Health, Fitness and Clean Living” issue. If you folks are stronger than I am, then the features section of this issue beginning on page 40 offer many articles that you’ll undoubtedly find useful for getting and staying in shape this year.

As I write this, it’s just over a week until President-elect Obama’s inauguration. Like many others, my excitement has been soured by the selection of the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation. Defendents of the pastor of California’s Saddleback Church have sidestepped his anti-gay rhetoric by touting the work he has done on behalf of HIV/AIDS in Africa. However, just this week, more incriminating evidence of Warren’s bias has come to light. Max Blumenthal has investigated Warren’s work and affiliations in Africa on his must-read blog The Daily Beast, and the results are infuriating. Has Obama made a mistake in selecting Warren? Everyone seems to have a different opinion. It was shocking to many of us to read Melissa Etheridge’s defense of the reverend, after she arranged a meeting with him. Borrowing a phrase that was thrown around at those early supporters of Obama, a friend asked if Etheridge has been drinking the Kool Aid. If we’re wrong about Warren, why has this man not made any public statements refuting the comparison he made of gay marriage to incest and pedophilia? The first few months of Obama’s presidency are going to be interesting to observe.

I hope you enjoy this issue and as always, I welcome your feedback. Write in to letters@frontierspublishing.com to let us know what you think.

Yours,

Jeremy Kinser
Editor in Chief