I'm just sitting here this morning, checking my email, reading the news on BBC and CNN, and as usual I have the television on in the background. As I'm reading about the plane skidding off of the runway last night in Chicago, I hear a woman on QVC say "It's faux fur like a beaver would be . . . " and for some reason this seems hilarious to me. What the hell does that mean?

First of all, admitting that I have QVC on my television is embarassing enough, I know. But I have to say I get a certain weird kind of enjoyment listening to the hosts babble on and on about whatever they're selling. Have you ever watched QVC? It is truly amazing how much a human can talk. I'm certain that one of their main goals as hosts is to never, ever, not even for one second, stop talking. They must speak in a continuous flow of sales talk which consists mostly of product description and lots and lots of superlatives and adjectives. I've also noticed that they very rarely say anything about actually "buying" an item. No, discussing buying would be an actual reference to money. They say things like "pick one up" or "order" but never refer to buying items. It's all part of the big consumer illusion.

Even though QVC is weird, I admit, and watching or listening to it is possibly even weirder, I have to give them credit for using plenty of models who actually seem to reflect the fact that bigger women exist and buy clothes. Sure, they also use some stereotypically slender models, whom of course are a reflection of reality as well. But in every show that I've seen they utilize at least one and usually two women who are bigger, and often are truly plus-sized. They are gorgeous and big and fat and I applaud QVC for flaunting them as models on television. QVC also charges the same prices for small, petite and plus-sized clothing. Bravo for that! Are you listening J. Jill, Nordstrom, and almost everyone else?