Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and file this post under "health," since A) we don't have a "vanity" tag, and B), the skin is the largest organ in your body and outwardly manifests all manner of internal turmoil, as you know. But this is straight up about facials. Salon facials. So whether you consider it an act of maintenance equivalent to your semiannual trip to the dentist, or you consider it a self-indulgent luxury, click over for the rundown on a small, hole-in-the wall salon called Illume.

• Sort of like the dentist except a million times better.

In Tennessee, Republican Governor Bill Haslan has refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. But he must acknowledge that rising health care costs are a problem, right? What's the solution to this problem in Tennessee? ThinkProgress explains:

Twice a year, Tennessee holds a “health care lottery” that gives some hope to the uninsured residents in the state who can’t afford health coverage. Tennesseans who meet certain requirements — in addition to falling below a certain income threshold, they must be elderly, blind, disabled, or a caretaker of a child who qualifies for Medicaid — may call to request an application for the state’s public health insurance program, known as TennCare.

Go read the whole post. It sounds absolutely terrible.

This Reddit Ask Me Anything is pretty fascinating. Here's the introduction:

For work I get to break into hospitals and steal things. It's referred to as a "Physical Penetration Test." It's an integral part of a risk assessment, which is required under 164.308(a)(1) of HIPAA.

I routinely pick locks, steal access badges, impersonate medical personnel, harvest data and credentials, crack passwords, and utilize various social engineering tactics.

My official title is "Information Security Consultant." I have a degree in Information Systems Management, as well as; CCNA, Sec+, and CISA certifications.

Ask Me Anything!

It's easy to forget because we all have jobs, but few things are as interesting as a person talking about the things they do every day. And this job is an especially fascinating one. You should go read the whole interview thread.

Study says:

The report on nearly three million people found that those whose B.M.I. ranked them as overweight had less risk of dying than people of normal weight. And while obese people had a greater mortality risk over all, those at the lowest obesity level (B.M.I. of 30 to 34.9) were not more likely to die than normal-weight people.

There does seem to be some question, at least among the experts quoted in this story, as to whether people ranked overweight by their Body Mass Index live longer because of their weight ("There’s something about extra body fat when you’re older that is providing some reserve," says one expert) or because their weight is just causing them to have increased contact with medical professionals ("You’re more likely to be in your doctor’s office and more likely to be treated," says another expert).

But, this seems clear: “Fat per se is not as bad as we thought."

Every once in a while, the universe conspires to bring us something that is so absurd but that takes itself so seriously that you can't help but be impressed when you finally stop laughing. The new Firebrand Sports, opening soon on NW 14th, hit that on the nose. I stopped in to their open house with a friend during an unintentional detour through First Thursday, and was lured into a preview tour as they deposited complimentary sparkling wine into my hand. I haven't ever had so much unexpected fun touring a gym. The entire concept is centered around two group fitness classes: Pyrolates™, which sounds more like a fire hazard than the pursuit of toned abs, and Full Tilt Cycling™, which is done on a stationary bike that wobbles a lot and looks positively unpleasant for any level of hungover.

This gym's lounge (pictured below) is nearly the size of its fitness facilities. They'll have private shower rooms that are about the size of my bathroom at home. They call their spinning room a "cycling cathedral." It was this same alternating pattern of awesome and laughable that left me bewildered and thoroughly tickled. And they're offering a week of free classes before they officially open, from November 19th through 25th, where you can go in and see this spectacle for yourself, for free. I'm pretty sure I'll be there, and I'm pretty sure the combination of marathon chuckling and their instructors kicking my ass will be the best work-out of my life. Thanks, universe.

• Clare Gordon
• This is a gym.

Studio X, the small gym on SE Stark tucked next to the Bonfire, is a place I've revisited intermittently since I first profiled it when it opened in 2009. They have a variety of boot camp-style classes (as well as yoga and Pilates) that feature circuit training heavily (one thing I really like is that they have lots of water breaks built into their programs, which helps save some pain on the sports-massage table), all the instructors are cool, and the space itself is clean and modern.

I've been under a pretty steady grind of stress since about March, segueing from producing a big event (Open Season, if that's not obvious) immediately into the emotional/financial roller coaster of first-time home buying, and I'm getting married in two scant months. Sometimes when I'm stressed out I lose my appetite, but lately it's had the opposite effect, making me crave comfort foods (mostly cheese, which I've been caving on, despite having been non-dairy for the past few years), plus I've been cultivating a disturbing capacity for chardonnay. I've never stopped working out—I run 10-20 miles a week, plus biking and walking a lot—but I need a shot in the arm, especially in the face of mounting pressure to look "my best" at the wedding. It really, really doesn't help that I'm five pounds over what I was six months ago (thanks, CHEESE), which totally pisses me off.

And so, on the suggestion of a friend, I signed up for Studio X's X-Press Boot Camp, reintroducing things like, oh, upper-body exercise to my life, as well as making a so-far valiant attempt at calorie counting, something I've always doubted the accuracy of and shunned as too much hassle.

• Studio X

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