For those who haven’t heard, filmmaker (and sometimes actor) Kevin Smith was recently kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight as part of their “too fat to fly” policy. Although he was already seated with the armrests down, the captain of the flight publicly humiliated Smith by having flight attendants escort him off the seated flight because he was a “safety risk.” To read the full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_en_mo/us_people_kevin_smith or listen to Smith’s podcast: http://smodcast.com

I bring up this event because it sheds public light on a very troubling matter for all of us fatties out there in travel land. How can we balance the physical and emotional needs of passengers with our demand for low-priced fares? Unlike many overweight people, I don’t resent the fact that most passengers (FA’s notwithstanding) don’t want to be encroached on by extra large people in the seats next to them. Frankly, I don’t like touching strangers and some people – fat and thin alike – can’t be trusted with personal hygiene tasks. When my husband and I travel, we either sit next to each other (he’s slim and likes it when I encroach on him) or, for longer flights, purchase three seats for the two of us.

If I were flying alone, however, I would be resentful of having to purchase two seats when I take up approximately one and a quarter seats. Similarly, I would resent paying up to eight times as much for a larger seat in business class than what I would pay in coach. Business class doesn’t afford me eight times as much comfort, eight times as much space, eight times as much liquor, or eight times as much convenience. I would be happy, though, to pay one and a half times the price for a seat that was one and a half times wider.

Why not get rid of “first class” seating and create a section on every plane where people can pay a reasonable amount more for larger seating? Two more expensive seats in a row instead of three miniscule ones. I bet there are many people, fat and thin, who would be willing to pay more, if the price wasn’t disproportionately exorbitant. Apart from the initial refitting costs, it would decrease gas costs for the airline since two people usually weigh less than three and carry luggage for two people rather than three. If regular three tickets cost $100 apiece and two large tickets cost $150 apiece, where is the problem? The airlines still make virtually the same amount of money and passengers actually have *gasp* options!

I know it’s been a while since I updated my Casual Carrie photo section, so I just added two small folders - one from this past Christmas and one from this weekend when I was dragging my mom around Colorado Springs and Boulder (she came to visit me for my birthday!) Hope you enjoy!

Are you following me on twitter yet? Find me here: http://twitter.com/carrieland

Most of the time I post random nonsense like everybody else on twitter, but sometimes piccies too!

And, while you are at it, make sure to add some of my favorite webgirls:

@bbwpennylane
@hotfattygirl
@hotlilly
@CurvyScarlette
@elishajade
@buxombbws
@Fetish_BBW
@ReenayeStarr
@SUGARMOORE
@MsCurvyNurse
@mandyblake
@DirtyLittleDiva
@BigGalsLingerie
@KittyBuffieKat
@SiciliaCurves
@SSBBWKellieKay
@bigcutiejae
@Plump_Princess
@SynfulDame
@BBWSamanthaP
@pinkbbw
@tonitails
@AmazonAmanda
@DreamNetJade
@RedWhtBeautiful
@desireedevine
@bigbuttnicole
@GwenDolan
@BBWOlivia
@BODaciousSecret
@BBWBonita
@FayeDaniels
@LushesThunder
@BodaciousRoxxie

I love to read and do it with gusto, consuming words at virtually the same rate that I consume pasta, which is pretty impressive haha. I read mostly fiction these days, but throw in the occasional memoir now and again. My favorite genres are post apocalyptic/dystopian fiction and, of course, zombie novels. I keep track of my books on Facebook’s LivingSocial utility, so here’s a rundown of what I’ve read in 2009 and how I rated them. My 1-5 star ratings are based on how much I enjoyed reading the book – not necessarily the quality of the book.

Plague War by Jeff Carlson – 2.5
Infected: A Novel by Scott Sigler – 3.0
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – 4.0
As the World Dies: Fighting to Survive: A Zombie Trilogy by Rhiannon Frater – 3.5
A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs – 4.0
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – 4.5
The Postman by David Brin – 4.5
The Rift by Walter J. Williams – 3.5
Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs – 3.5
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – 4.0
The Rising by Brian Keene – 4.0
Into the Forest by Jean Hegland – 4.5
City of the Dead by Brian Keene – 3.5
The Possessors by John Christopher – 3.5
The Long Walk by Stephen King – 4.0
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman – 3.5
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood – 3.5
Warday: And the Journey Onward by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka – 3.0
Lord of the Flies by William Golding – 4.5
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro – 4.0
The Woods by Harlan Coben – 4.0
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood – 2.5
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben – 4.0
Castaways by Brian Keene – 3.0
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz – 4.0
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain – 4.0
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson – 3.5
Tell No One by Harlan Coben – 3.5
Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald – 4.0
The Conqueror Worms by Brian Keene – 3.5
Sarah’s Key: A Novel by Tatiana de Rosnay – 3.5
Gone for Good by Harlan Coben – 3.5
Footprints of Thunder by James F. David – 4.0
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm – 3.5
Nature’s End: The Consequences of the 20th Century by Strieber & Kunetka – 3.5
The Descent by Jeff Long – 4.5
Dies the Fire by SM Stirling – 3.5
Just One Look by Harlan Coben – 3.0
In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster – 4.0

I hope this holiday season finds you and your loved ones happy, healthy and full of joy! For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a very merry day and for those of you who have already celebrated your holiday of choice, have a Happy New Year! Here’s to 2010!

Love,
Carrie

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were heading out to a luxury home that we had rented for shoots and, let me tell you, it turned out to be quite the adventure! While the house was lovely, it was INFESTED with mice! Yikes!

I didn’t even know I was afraid of mice until I saw them about once or twice an hour for three days. I was pretty much jumping out of my skin the entire weekend and, to top it off, I got pretty much no sleep! Luckily, my hubby convinced me to stay past the first night, though, or my significant investment in this rental would have gone to pot with just five shoots done on the first night. I also managed to make it through a second night - even through an episode watching my husband chase and corner a mouse in the bedroom walk-in closet so that he could catch it and release it outside. A third night, however, I simply couldn’t bear. I needed some sleep!

But we did still manage to get 14 shoots and 14 videos done for all my awesome members out there – can’t wait to show you all of them!

Big hugs and kisses for all!
~Carrie

So, as of late, I have been trying to update with a video for every photoset I do and we shot one for this most recent set with the green sweater and blue skirt, but unfortunately we can’t find it! When you have been shooting as long as we have for both myself and other models, you tend to accumulate a huge number of tiny, unlabeled video tapes lol. Suffice it to say, we are still looking for it and will post it if/when we find it Sorry, guys!

Today I am heading out to Colorado Springs to this amazing rental house to do a plethora of hot and sexy photosets and videos for the site! Even though we have our own studio, we always get the urge to head for new space to shoot in to keep things fresh. I’m hoping there won’t be too much snow on the ground so that I can get some outdoor sets without freezing my nipples off, but a girl’s gotta be careful! lol…. It’s sort of a weird way to spend the holiday weekend, but what the hell - I’m ready to work my ass off for ya! Can’t wait to show you what I got in store when I return from my trip!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans out there! I was going to take this week off completely, but you know me - my workaholic tendencies always end up getting the best of me! Since I couldn’t leave all my girls in the lurch and had to update their sites anyway, I figured I would update my site as well. So I put up a small set and video that I’ve been holding back because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use it - hopefully you like it more than I do! lol

This year I am thankful for many things… for my wonderful family and friends, for my healthy puppies, for being able to keep my job even as others were laid off, for having a nice roof over my head, for not feeling the hunger that many less fortunate people do at this time - and last but certainly not least, for my amazing fans and extended internet family. You guys are awesome and I feel privileged to receive your sweet comments and emails all throughout the year.

I hope that everybody reading this has many things that they can be thankful for, even if times are hard. I wish you a holiday season filled with love, joy and the laughter of loved ones.

There are few causes that I feel *truly* passionate about these days, but one of them is the fight for equality in the law for all people - gay, straight, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual or otherwise. Sexual discrimination and size discrimination are the last two acceptable forms of bigotry in this country and I believe that all people should be afforded the same rights under the eyes of the law, including marriage and family benefits. Today, October 11th, is National Coming Out Day and people are marching on Washington in the National Equality March to make their voices heard. I wish I still lived in DC so I could be out there with them, but for now, I will have to be content to voice my support in other ways and support the people who are fighting the good fight - http://equalityacrossamerica.org/blog/?page_id=19.