I cannot say that I say this often, but I am with George Michael – “I gotta’ have faith.”

Today in The Forum there is an article about an upcoming article in Men’s Health magazine that ranks Fargo at 94 out of 100 cities in “religious devotion” (the magazine’s latest Metrogrades comparison).  I won’t even bother detailing why the criteria used is so wholly lacking (or perhaps that should have been holy lacking?) or spend time discussing the futility in measuring religiosity via static measurements – after all, we are talking about Men’s Health magazine.  I should clue you in now (should you be unaware) that all the content in that magazine is not equal.

I’ll admit that when I have an opportunity to peruse the magazine while lingering in an airport bookstore I mostly look at the pictures – the magazine does offer some very pleasing eye candy.  Not that they don’t have the occasional worthwhile article – they certainly do – but I am woman enough to tell you that it typically isn’t the articles that draws me to it (hey, I gotta’ be real here).

It wasn’t even a year ago that Fargo was lauded in Men’s Health magazine as being in the top five of the best cities for men in the nation.  That measurement looked at categories such as life, health and fitness – which are arguably easier to measure via static measurements than “religious devotion” – but still, the measurement is only as good as the measurement tool itself.

I guess I could pose the seemingly obvious question at this point of whether a lack of “religious devotion” helped or hindered Fargo’s climb in the best city for men ranking…but I surmise that would require me to discuss in depth the correlation between hedonism and happiness and juxtapose it with religious doctrine…yeah, seems like too much work for a Saturday.

I will just have to settle with the belief (i.e., have faith) that these Men’s Health Metrogrades are 50% loosely linked statistics and 50% over-hyped fluffery…but the glossy pictures of fabulously fit, apparently charming and hopelessly debonair men- well now, that is the real deal and what keeps me going back (and of course that occasional article worth reading).  😉

Day four hundred and ninety-five of the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C