Seeing people axed on America's Got Talent is never easy, but the nature of the show is that the best and the brightest are booted far too soon. This tale of woe is repeated again and again throughout the season, and tonight, it was Jayna Brown's turn.
Whether it happened immediately after her audition or shortly before the finale, Brown's exit was always bound to be painful. However, it was particularly heart-rending in light of her stupendous performance last night. She's always a great singer, but she brought something truly special to the stage for her final America's Got Talent performance. She should have been rewarded for her fabulous vocals with a spot in the finale, but instead, she was sent home one week too soon.
A lot of people made a point of supporting Brown, but evidently not enough. This clearly upset a few of Brown's biggest fans, who made it quite clear on social media that they were not happy about the results.
Jayna Robbed 1
Jayna Robbed 1
AGT Robbery
AGT Robbery
Brown also took to social media to share her thoughts, but her message was, as expected, very positive. I'm sure she's heartbroken, but she's smart enough to realize that she's enjoyed "an incredible journey" and that her fans know what they're talking about when they assure her that this is just the beginning.
Jayna Brown Instagram
Jayna Brown Instagram
If there's a silver lining in all this, it's that Brown has surely attracted plenty of interest from big names during her stint on America's Got Talent. I would not be surprised at all if she releases an album by the end of next year. She also has a very sizable fan base now, so I doubt she'll struggle to fill up venues if she takes her show on the road. She's a wonderfully talented young woman and I'm convinced that this is just the beginning. Oh yeah, and in case you forgot, she's only 14 years old! In other words, she's just beginning what is bound to be a long and remarkable showbiz career.
Today is kind of confusing for celeb news. Rachel Roy's ex-husband is sparking a feud with Beyoncé and Jay Z because they didn't defend her against cheating rumors (???).
Roy is the No. 1 suspect identified by internet sleuths to be "Becky with the good hair," the woman referenced on Bey's Lemonade album with whom Jay Z reportedly cheated. Roy used to be married to music producer Damon Dash, who was best buds with Jay Z for a long time until they had a mysterious falling out (because Jay slept with Dash's wife, perhaps?).
Anyway, as soon as Lemonade dropped, Beyoncé fans zeroed in on Roy, and according to Dash, the backlash was pretty rough — he says his 16-year-old daughter was bullied online because of all the drama. We have to give him this: That's pretty unacceptable.
"They are cowards," he said in a new interview with Grazia. "They should have stepped up and said something. Adults can go and harass a kid on behalf of an R&B singer? The trolls should have been put in jail for that. It was crazy."
OK, he might be right that the putting the trolls in jail — bullying a kid online is super-low. But this is the trolls' fault, not Jay Z's, and not Beyoncé's.
Later in the interview, when asked to give a hint about whether Roy actually did hook up with Jay Z, Dash didn't give an inch.
"I don't care what Rachel did," he said. "I don't agree with a lot of things she does."
What's the first thing you do when you get to the checkout lines at the supermarket? If you're like us, you probably scout out the shortest line so you can pay and get out of there as soon as possible. Well, guess what! Sometimes a longer line will get you out faster. What?
Yeah. TheNew York Times just came out with a report on how to pick the fastest line at the supermarket, and they've totally schooled us. Here are a few counterintuitive learnings we picked up.
1. The express lane isn't always so express
One shopper with a full cart will get through faster than a few shoppers with just a few items each. That's because there's a lot of time involved in transitioning from one shopper to the next.
2. Those single feeder lines really do get you through faster
These are lines all the shoppers wait in, and the person at the head of the line goes to the first available register. It saves you the pressure of picking the right line. So why don't more stores use them? Because that single, long line looks daunting.
3. Head left
Apparently most people head to the right, so if you go left, you're likely treading uncharted territory.
Some of the other tips are more predictable. It's faster to ring up someone with several of the same item than someone with several different items. Older shoppers take longer. Produce takes forever compared to packages. Place all your goods with the bar code facing your cashier. And chatty cashiers are slower than quiet ones. Also, female cashiers seem to ring up customers more quickly.
The report didn't mention the latest thing holding us all up in checkout lines: using a card with a chip. Do you swipe or insert? Both? Why does inserting take four times as long? Why haven't we all burned our chip cards in protest by now?
swipe or insert
swipe or insert
And it doesn't mention the new self-checkouts that are everywhere lately. Are you faster at ringing up your own groceries because you're trying to get out of there, or do you get held up on things like finding codes for fruit and vegetables?
But when you really think about it, you're not really waiting in that line that long. I used to shop at a hugely popular food co-op in Brooklyn where the lines would wrap around the entire store. Those lines could take up to 30 minutes. But in the rest of America, where the non-fanatics live, it's just a few minutes. It just feels like a long time — in fact, we overestimate the wait by 36 percent.
Anyway, we all know how to make that wait go a lot faster: Pick up those trashy magazines before you get into your line. You could be learning a lot about Taylor Swift's latest vacation in those five or six minutes.
Because those jagged cuts into the face of your pumpkin just don't cut it anymore (and yes, we know that pun was terrible), we're going to make the whole process of Halloween pumpkin carving easy on you. Trust us, when you find a carving tool you love, your jack-o'-lantern carving contest will never be the same again. Not to mention the fact that the right pumpkin carving tool can save you countless hours of frustration — and probably a few fingers.
Whether you prefer the old-fashioned, handheld variety or efficient electronic options, these tools will take your pumpkin designs to a whole new level:
The simple keyhole saw is invaluable for basic pumpkin cuts, such as the picture above. Cutting the lid at a 45-degree angle slanting inward, with the top of the lip larger than the bottom, will keep the lid from falling into the jack-o'-lantern. (Lowe's, $10)
Scraping out the pulp is perhaps the most unpleasant — but necessary — step in pumpkin carving. A serrated-edge scraper spoon by Pumpkin Masters makes the job a whole lot easier. (Amazon.com, $25)
Perfect holes of different sizes are a snap to accomplish with Kemper hole cutters. The fun, free-form polka-dot design pictured above is just one way to use them. (Dick Blick, $3-$4)
For smaller, uniform holes, nothing beats a power drill, such as the Black and Decker model shown above. Chances are, you already have one. You can plot out with pencil where you want to drill the holes, or take a more free-form approach. The polka-dot pumpkin pictured above makes a fun addition to a display of more traditional jack-o'-lanterns. (Home Depot, $58)
If you love the look of shaving the pumpkin shell to create variations in light and texture, such as the spider web design above, get a set of chisels. It takes some practice to get the hang of the technique, though, so practice on another pumpkin or on the back of the one you'll be carving first. (ToolPlanet.com, $14)
You can shave perfect circles into your pumpkin shell, just like in the photo above, simply by using a melon baller, such as the one from OXO SoftWorks. (Target, $9)
Instructions for pumpkin design templates, available in stores and online, often recommend mapping out the design using a pin or needle tool. The pin-prick design gives you exact guidelines for where to cut, without ink or pencil lines left behind when you're finished carving. (Axner, $1)
The simple hand-punched design on the pumpkin pictured above was done with an awl by designer Paul Lowe of New York City. An awl allows for holes slightly larger than pin holes, and can be a good substitute if you don't have a power drill. (Fine Leatherworking, $19)
Cookie cutters are a great way to carve fun and unexpected designs into a pumpkin. You'll need a mallet to hammer the cookie cutter all the way through the pumpkin rind, as in the center photo. Then, if you like, save the cut-outs for an extra decoration on your masterpiece, as shown in the final photo. (Sur la Table, $1)
10. For quick cuts with precision: reciprocating saw
"Nothing beats a reciprocating saw for decapitating a pumpkin," says blogger Tom Nardone of Extreme Pumpkins. Nardone maintains that especially for large pumpkins, nothing gives you a smoother result in a shorter amount of time than a reciprocating saw. He also uses this type of saw to cut out the bottom of a pumpkin, when the design calls for a bottom point of entry rather than a lid. (Home Depot, $119)
For altering the shape of a pumpkin and creating features such as a chin, forehead or large eye sockets, blogger Tom Nardone of Extreme Pumpkins recommends an angle grinder. The pumpkin face above is an example of what can be done using this power tool. "It's sort of like a giant sander," Nardone says. (Amazon, $76)
12. For various small cuts: mini-blade pro pumpkin carving tool
More intricate pumpkin designs call for a variety of mini blades, which can be found in the all-in-one pro pumpkin carving tool. The design featured above requires a high level of skill, but can be accomplished with the help of a template. (ZombiePumpkins.com, $22)
13. For all-in-one electronic carving ease: pumpkin-carving kit
The Dremel all-in-one power tool, specifically made for pumpkin carving, receives rave reviews for its ease of use and professional looking results. It can be used freehand or to create designs from a template. (Lowe's, $30)
Don't have the patience for manually scraping out the pulp from your pumpkin? If you have a power drill, all you'll need to buy is this gutter drill attachment, and the scrape-out process is a breeze. (Amazon.com, $8)
15. For shaving designs from an all-in-one tool: speedball linoleum cutters
Speedball linoleum cutters are not only comfortable to hold and use, they feature five different types of blades, which are all stored inside the tool itself. Their varying sizes and shapes allow for multifaceted designs. (Dick Blick, $8-$12)
Whatever your preference — traditional hand-held tools, tools you have on hand at home or power tools — you can step up your pumpkin carving even by adding just one new device. Just remember, the point of pumpkin decorating is to have fun!
Originally published Oct. 2013. Updated Sept. 2016.
When I was in high school, my bros and I (yeah I had bros, don't judge me... until you read the next bit) spent many weekends driving to the nearest convenience store and brewing up enormous 32 ounce coffee drinks using the "super-caffeinated" brew, multiple shots of espresso and basically anything that would give someone over the age of 21 a heart attack. Incidentally, we were too young to buy booze, so caffeine was our drug of choice until then.
But apparently, some people never grow out of this phase. At Viscous Coffee in Adelaide, South Australia, they're brewing up what's called the "Asskicker," a cup that contains the same amount of caffeine (5 grams) as 52 shots of espresso. That's basically half the amount of caffeine it takes to kill you and 12 times the FDA-recommended daily limit of 400 milligrams, so if you're the type who likes to drink more than one coffee a day, back away... slowly — if you haven't already started getting jacked up on your first cup.
The lethal brew is made by pouring four shots of espresso over four 48-hour-brewed coffee ice cubes and is then topped with 120 milliliters of 10-day cold-brew coffee and four more of the coffee ice cubes. They also use a special method for making their cold-brew coffee that makes it extra-concentrated, and thusly, extra-caffeinated.
Now, to me, this sounds disgusting. And I consider myself to be a coffee lover. I spend a stupid amount of money on single-origin beans, tinker with my French press and pour-over depending on my mood and love stopping in "over-priced" cafés to get a really good cup of coffee. But this just sounds like the caffeine-blaster brews that I made at Cumberland Farms as a 17-year-old.
However, according to the café owner, the Asskicker coffee is actually pretty good, with strong notes of toffee. And since it tastes so good in spite of its nearly lethal makeup, each cup comes with a warning and a recommended time for sipping. The small cup should be enjoyed over two to three hours, while the large size should be drunk over a four- to five-hour period. Otherwise, you basically risk giving yourself a heart attack.
I don't see myself messing around with a brew this potent any time soon. In fact, just reading about it has inspired me to eschew my morning cuppa Joe in favor of some warm lemon water. But it makes me wonder... who out there is brave enough to play with this caffeinated fire?
Jezebel reports that 18-year-old Jackson has been dating Michael Snoddy for about six months now and that he quit his job as a pizza delivery driver and moved in with her.
The report says the young lovebirds are living in one of Michael Jackson's old houses — the L.A. mansion where he grew up and where he wrote "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."
Paris Jackson may have secretly married her new bf
Paris Jackson may have secretly married her new bf
"Michael [Snoddy] quit his job around July, and they moved into the house where Michael [Jackson] grew up," a source close to the pair told Page Six. "Now they’re trying to do this happy family thing. They refer to themselves as a family a lot."
Jackson reportedly receives $8 million a year from her father's estate to cover her living expenses. Snoddy, who is a member of a "psychedelic drum corps," doesn't appear to have sought employment since quitting his pizza delivery job. That would mean he's probably living off Jackson's dime, which has their friends believing they secretly got married, Jezebel reports.
This isn't the first time Jackson has been accused of secretly marrying her boyfriend. Around this time last year, rumors were swirling that Jackson and her then-boyfriend Chester Castellaw had tied the knot six months after they started dating. Jackson and Castellaw broke up shortly after.
“You’re going to spoil that baby,” my mother would say as I toted around my third son. He was always skin-to-skin in a baby-carrying wrap, or being rocked to sleep in someone’s arms. He was so sweet and tiny, and I wanted to soak in his infancy. I told her you can’t spoil a baby. I cited research on how newborns are incapable of manipulation or otherwise being “spoiled.” His head never touched a pillow. I was too smitten with him to put him down.
However, it turns out you can spoil a baby. I know, because eventually I did.
I missed the mark when I should have started pushing for his independence, and now it’s become problematic. My son, who is on the verge of his first birthday, refuses to be put down, cries when anyone dares to suggest he nap in a crib, and is all-around incapable of functioning without being attached to me or my husband.
It was just so easy to let him sleep against my chest while I tended to the demands of my two older children. If he was attached to me, he could handle the noise and bustle without fussing, blissfully sleeping through sibling fights and barking dogs. He would nap and I would stroke his head, taking in his sweet baby smell and the weight of him against me. It was part survival strategy and part selfishness. I held him constantly because I wanted to.
I wanted so badly to cherish my last baby experience that I ignored the need to set up healthy boundaries as he grew. I never transitioned him to napping in his own crib, preferring to wear him around and co-sleep at night. I didn’t put him down to play, because I would rather be holding him. I breastfed on demand and never considered introducing a bottle until it was too late. As a result, I turned him into a Velcro baby who cannot survive without me if I so much as need to use the bathroom. My selfish desire to keep my last baby little has turned into a nightmare; not just for me, but for everyone.
His neediness at this age is not only physically difficult, but it's also unfair to the rest of my family. My other two kids don't get the one-on-one attention they deserve. I feel like I’m always telling them I cannot read them this book, because the baby will rip it apart while seated in my lap or scream so loud over being put down that no one will enjoy the damn book. They always have to wait, because the baby needs me first and always.
The same dynamic is at work in my marriage. My husband doesn't get to share a bed with his wife. And a night away? Forget about it! There is no such thing as alone time for us. We have a baby wedged between us the whole night long. Our evenings are spent passing the baby back and forth as we make dinner and write emails and do housework in turns. I’ve nearly forgotten what it’s like to hug him without a baby in the middle of our non-sexual huddle.
I will never regret relishing the baby stage of my last child, but I wish I had not been so shortsighted in the decisions I made while he was small. Now I look toward his toddler stage and know it will be wrought with difficulties because I decided to “spoil” him as a baby.
It will be harder to move him into his own bed, harder to leave him with a sitter, harder to teach him the independence that should have come naturally. Perhaps I should have listened to my mother, because a spoiled baby is no fun for anyone.
Throughout their stint on The Real Housewives of Orange County, Heather and Terry Dubrow have become more and more sassy toward the other Housewives. But none of that can top the shade they're throwing at the Kardashian-Jenner clan now.
The couple sat down for an interview with DailyMail to promote their new book, Dr. & Mrs. Guinea Pig Present the Only Guide You'll Ever Need to the Best Anti-Aging Treatments, but they talked about a whole lot more than the book (and its crazy mouthful of a title). During the interview, they talked about the prevalence of plastic surgery in reality TV culture — fitting, since Terry is a plastic surgeon. But now that their 12-year-old daughter Maximillia is looking to Kylie Jenner and asking for lip injections, Terry has some harsh words for a few certain reality stars.
"You have celebrities like Kylie Jenner moving the plastic surgery needle by doing things normal people wouldn't do," he said. "My 12-year-old is talking about lip augmentations, so we're having conversations about that at home… It's a scary time — 17- and 18-year-olds are talking about liposuction and Botox. Anyone thinking about it needs frank advice."
And that was the tame part of the interview. The Dubrows got especially snarky when they decided to diss Kim Kardashian's famous rear end.
"You know, just when you thought the Kardashians were done, their ratings doubled, and the same thing is going to happen with butts," Terry said, to which Heather added, "What are those butts going to look like in 20 years?"
Harsh words from a family that makes its living sculpting butts... and other parts.
The Amanda Knox case has stumped investigators and the public for nearly a decade. Though Knox was acquitted twice, lingering questions about her involvement in her roommate's murder still persist.
Now Netflix is releasing a documentary that will chronicle both sides of the story, and they've released two promos — one called "Believe Her," and the other called "Suspect Her."
In the first, the promo paints a picture of Knox as a victim. She is shown in a more sympathetic light with tears and music to match.
Amanda knox believe her trailer
Amanda knox believe her trailer
In the second, the tone is a bit darker, casting doubt on Knox's claims that she wasn't involved in the murder at all.
Amanda knox suspect her trailer
Amanda knox suspect her trailer
What is most captivating about the promos is not really the question of Knox's guilt or innocence, but rather, the fact that this situation — given the evidence they had against Knox — could really happen to anyone.
When we asked the SheKnows team to weigh in on their thoughts based on the promos, I expected some to feel she was guilty while others would think she was innocent. Instead, what we got is a whole ton of sympathy for Knox. Though some were on the fence about her guilt, it wasn't because they actually thought she was guilty but rather, they were withholding final judgment until getting more information from the series.
All in all, we seemed to agree that the promos definitely do a good job of painting Knox as innocent or, at the very least, deserving of some reasonable doubt. The "Suspect Her" promo leaves much to be desired when it comes to actually looking at Knox as a viable suspect.
Here's what the SheKnows team had to say.
Adriana Velez, Food Editor: Innocent
I thought the innocent trailer was more effective. She's more emotional. You get that horror of being falsely accused of murder in a foreign country, how scary that would be, how confusing. The second one... eh, I didn't feel like they made a compelling enough case.
Colleen Stinchcombe, Experts Editor: Innocent
They talk about how she was doing “cartwheels” and how that wasn’t something a grieving person does. That kind of talk is extremely problematic to me. We have this idea that grief looks like one thing — sobbing, heartbroken — and that anything that deviates from that is a kind of implication to someone’s guilt. But I feel like grief looks like a million things, and whether it “looks” like someone is grieving is really poor evidence.
What stood out the most in the sympathetic trailer was that they portrayed her as kid playing at being a grown-up and how the ordeal really drove that home for her. Although, that does sound a bit like a justification for doing ill deeds as well. In the guilty trailer, they're trying to make you think she's a psychopath, but fail to show any damning evidence of her being one.
Kristine Cannon, Entertainment Editor: Innocent
The "innocent" promo definitely hit me hard. It made me feel for her — especially the shots of her crying.
Melissa Kirsch, Deputy Editor: Innocent
The tears were a little much, but damn, what she went through, she’s probably on the verge of tears always and forever now. I believe she’s innocent, I believe this documentary is going to do little to shake my conviction, and I’m a little disappointed because I really want to be convinced otherwise. But I have a feeling I’ll emerge thinking what is probably true: Rudy Guede did it.
Jessica Hickam, Assignment Editor: Innocent
The line where Knox said either she was "a psychopath in sheep's clothing" or she was "you" struck a chord with me. Whether or not Knox is guilty or innocent of the murder, there is no way she should have been convicted. The media, both here and abroad, had a field day with crazy, untrue stories about Knox that were so blown out of proportion. She was ostracized before the trial even began and without being given a fair chance.
The first time I watched the trailers, I was turned off by the sympathetic one. For some reason, the tears seemed forced and some of the comments seemed disingenuous. But watching both for a second time, the sympathetic trailer definitely gave me chills, while the guilty trailer did very little. I still don't have a solid stance on whether or not I think she's guilty, but I did feel sympathy towards her. In the same respect, she scared me. I'm torn, so bravo, Netflix, I'll have to watch the whole thing.
The Amanda Knox documentary will be released Sept. 30 on Netflix.
Do you believe Amanda Knox or suspect her based on the Netflix promos?
So what if Janet Jackson has been staying out of the public eye for the most part since announcing her pregnancy? It doesn't necessarily mean anything other than that she wants a little privacy while she enjoys baking that baby.
But of course, the fact that Jackson has only been spotted out in public once since her baby announcement is sparking some rumors, and a lot of them are just ridiculous.
A radio station in Houston seems to be the source of a lot of the crazier rumors. The station posted an article to its website saying an insider close to Jackson had said she hasn't been seen publicly because she's on bed rest. That part actually seems possible, if not even probable, since Jackson is nearly 50, much older than most pregnant women, and may be facing complications due to her age — the source says she's "at risk for serious complications."
But the other inside scoop from this source is that Jackson is avoiding being seen in public because bed rest has made her balloon up to 250 pounds.
"This pregnancy is doing a number on her," the alleged insider said. "She didn’t want anyone to see that she was already getting huge."
That one is a little harder to believe.
Regardless of the reason that Jackson is staying out of the spotlight, her brother, Tito Jackson, has dished to the press that no one in the family knows the gender of her baby; they're all just hoping for a healthy newborn, he said.
It's a modern-day miracle. Eagle-eyed tabloid types spotted Natalie Portman rubbing her belly on the red carpet recently and made assumptions (as one does) that the Jackie star was pregnant with baby No. 2.
And it looks like they were right! Hey, even a stopped clock gets it right twice a day.
Portman and choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied have a little boy named Aleph, who was born in 2011. The 5-year-old is apparently expecting a little brother or sister. Although there's no word on the due date, the pregnancy is well-timed... at least according to science.
Five years means starting all over again for the couple who is probably done with diapers and baby bottles, but spacing kids at least four years apart is widely considered a good thing for older kids, who get the chance to bond with Mom and Dad one to one before starting school, and for younger kids, who get to enjoy the same benefit because their older sibling is out of the house for much of the day. There's even science that indicates boys in particular benefit from larger age gaps, especially if they're the eldest child. So this is all good for little Aleph.
Oh, and it's good news for his mom too. Studies show that moms who space kids by at least four years take less of a career hit than do moms who have kids closer together.
With Portman already getting kudos for nailing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in her upcoming biopic, it doesn't look like she has much to worry about in terms of career anyway. But it never hurts, right?
The French philosopher, Michel de Montaigne was born in 1533 and was an intellectual who spent his writing life knocking the arrogance of intellectuals. In his great masterpiece, "The Essays", he comes across as relentlessly wise and intelligent — and funny. Most poignantly he said, “Kings and philosophers shit, and so do ladies.”
I’ve never liked taking a shit in a public bathroom. I have a hard enough time going pee in a public bathroom. I will thank my mother for this anal (pun intended) avoidance. My teenage son can equally thank me for passing along this mishigas. Both of us will sooner prairie dog it for an eight-hour drive than go in a gas station bathroom.
Potty training in Russia is a major deal. At nine months my mother was putting me on a “garshawk,” a Russian potty which essentially looked like a stainless pot for boiling water. This explains why one of the hilarious anecdotes of my childhood is that I crawled over to a real kitchen pot and took a crap in it proudly. I don’t know exactly when I was officially toilet trained to the point of asking to go to the bathroom but I do know I peed my bed at night until we came to America when I was 4 and a half years old. When we arrived in NYC, my grandmother, who had been living here for two full years, instantly knew the solution to my bedwetting woes: A disposable diaper. The story goes that I spent one night in a size 5 Pampers and I never peed the bed again.
Throughout our immigration experience in Austria and Italy, my mother carried a portable potty and toilet paper everywhere we went. Apparently, this taught me that I cannot have my ass touch a public toilet seat because I will get some horrible bacterial infection which will have either terminal or eternal effects.
My husband has none of these phobias. He’ll take a shit anywhere there’s a hole in the ground. I am horrified by this notion.
Twenty years ago, after college, I went on a backpacking trip for two months through Europe. The overnight train ride water closets and tiny airplane bathrooms have galvanized into one “grossest bathroom ever” memory. Those cramped spaces forced me to touch much more than I’m comfortable confronting. I’m not Howie Mandel bad, but I WILL NOT EVER let my ass touch a strange toilet seat, no matter if I’m going number one or number two. On one overnight train ride, after some bad paella in Barcelona, I desperately needed to eject the remnants on the locomotive latrine. I recall holding onto the door for dear life, partially for balance and mainly to ensure no one came in accidentally. My brain is blocking why I didn’t line the seat with toilet paper, as desperate situations had demanded in the past. As my stomach contracted and the train traversed the rockiest terrain in Europe, I prayed my squatting thighs could maintain their hovering stance above the toilet and not accidentally crap on my feet.
When I worked at the advertising agency for five years, I had to find alternative ways to take a shit because the main bathroom with its five stalls and two-inch gaps flanking the lock did not offer sufficient privacy for my neurotic toilet habits. I discovered another bathroom, on the other side of the office, with only one toilet and a secret passcode to get in. I told only my sister and my assistant about the shitter of solitude and I coined it “The Executive.” The Executive saved my stomach for half a decade.
With my second child, my 6-year-old daughter, I dare say I’ve become more relaxed. It was forced on me by her father who I learned had taken her to the public bathroom a few times and not lined the seat or made her squat. He said he spit on some toilet paper and wiped it off. I learned that at kindergarten she sat directly on the seat! I also discovered that after dozens of encounters, zero diseases crawled up her butt. (Knock on wood, spit three times over my left shoulder.)
Did I accept this life lesson from my daughter? Have I loosened up about my public bowel movements? Nope. Never. Some things are good to hold onto - like a private poop in my own bathroom.
The makeup artist dabbed concealer under my eyes and then sponged foundation across my face. Stepping back and pausing for a moment, she asked a question that was designed as more of a statement than an inquiry, “Do you get Botox or filler?” It was obvious that she already knew the answer: No, I don’t.
I’m fifty-five years old and I have nothing injected in my face or anywhere else at this time. It’s true that there was a time in my life when I did get Botox around my eyes but I thought it made me look strange. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging. I think people should do what works for them with regard to cosmetic surgery and procedures. Having said that, I am often surprised to what extent some women and men go to in their quest to stave off the physical signs of aging, only to end up looking odd.
It’s a fact that I am getting older, and you are too. Whether I like it or not, my face and body are changing and aging. When the makeup artist asked me that question, the first thing I thought was, “Way to make someone feel confident before getting in front of a camera”. Later I thought of the underlying issue: age shaming. When did it become so offensive to show the natural signs of a life well lived? I look around the town I live in, Boulder, Colorado, and I see men and women who wear their grey hair like a badge of honor — and it’s sexy as hell.
I watch my husband’s head turn to glance at a healthy looking silver fox strutting across the parking lot of our local grocery store, and I can’t blame him for looking. When she smiles, she has gorgeous lines that accent her joyful face and her confidence is enviable.
Believe me, there are many-a-days when I wake up to this well lived-in face of mine and I ask myself, “damn, what happened here?” I see my puffy lined eyes staring back at me, but the truth is, I love my face and body. It took me forty years or so to get to this place of acceptance. Two weeks or two years from now, I may decide to have work done and I’m at peace with that too. It’s really about personal choice as far as how I, or anybody else, wishes to look.
When the make-up artist, a woman approximately the same age as me, added, “it’s not too late, you can still get some filler”, I laughed under my breath a bit. But the truth is, it made me mad, and sad. Mad because this was a sister casting shade on me, and that is never cool. Sad that she was so focused on her perception of beauty that she couldn’t see what made me, and likely many other men and women, lovely in our own right. I got that her job was to make me look as good as possible, but when it crossed the line to not accepting my natural face, it a became an issue for me. Could she not see the sparkle in my eyes that showed what a rich and happy life I lead?
Apparently not, and that is fine. It does make me wonder how she views her own self-worth and ties it to her appearance. More importantly, how many men and woman of varying ages has she questioned about the way they look who walk away feeling less than when they arrived?
At the end of the day, we are all a little older than we were this morning. It’s a reminder to not waste precious time on insignificant happenings and thoughts, to brush off the negative, embrace what is good in our lives and move forward on our journey in a productive way, hopefully finding joy in the small and meaningful things that pass through our days.
The Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead is fast approaching, and that can only mean one thing: We’re finally going to find out who Negan killed in the Season 6 finale.
If you were hoping that the second promo for Season 7 would hold any clues as to who Negan’s victim is, be ready to be disappointed. The newly released trailer doesn’t give any real clues, leaving the fate of main characters like Rick, Daryl and Glenn a mystery. While that could mean that everyone at Negan’s mercy has an equal chance of being the victim, many have taken it as confirmation that Maggie is the one who will be getting a baseball bat to the head in the upcoming season premiere.
The Walking Dead Season 7 promo
The Walking Dead Season 7 promo
Fans have been toying with the theory that Maggie is Negan’s victim all summer, but are they right? Is Negan evil enough that he would really kill a pregnant lady? According to the Walking Dead fandom, he most definitely is. The most popular theory of what happened at the end of TWD’s Season 6 finale is that Negan killed Maggie, and there’s evidence.
The biggest reason fans seem to believe that Negan will kill pregnant Maggie in the opening of Season 7 is that the actress who plays Maggie, Lauren Cohan, hasn’t been spotted much on set aside from the first week, during which each cast member filmed a death scene in case of leaks. Furthermore, fans have noticed that Cohan’s social media profiles appear to be suspiciously TWD-free as of late, confirming rumors that she hasn’t been on set. Granted, TWD probably knows how to be sneaky when it comes to filming, and social media updates can be scheduled, photos changed, etc. Still, if it is true that Cohan hasn’t been on set, then either Maggie is dead or severely injured.
Thematically, Maggie’s death would be devastating, which is exactly what TWD producers and writers are hoping for in the season premiere. “The kickback effects from that [death], what it makes every one into, how people react, how the world changes for everyone, that’s the next part of the story,” said executive producer Scott M. Gimple in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. For a death to have that much impact, it has to be big for every member of the group. And Maggie certainly fits the bill.
The process of elimination narrows down the pool of possible victims. Michael Cudlitz, who plays Abraham on The Walking Dead, told Popsugar that Abraham and Negan would co-exist in the coming season, suggesting he’s not the one to die. It’s unlikely that Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is the victim, as he’s the leader of the group and the series’ main protagonist. In the end, fans seem to favor either Maggie or Glenn as the potential victim — both heartbreaking scenarios. Fans, along with writers at Vanity Fair and TV Guide, appear to have locked onto Maggie as the victim because of one very simple reason: Glenn wouldn’t be a big enough surprise.
In the comics, Glenn is Negan’s first victim, and his death propels Maggie into a new role of single motherhood and even more badass protector. But, TWD loves its surprises, and staying true to the source material by killing Glenn would be hard on fans, yes, but it wouldn’t have the same shock-factor as killing Maggie — especially a pregnant Maggie. Killing Maggie, someone so close to Glenn, would have fallout for every character, not only because she is a beloved member of the group, but because she’s also pregnant. With her dies her unborn child — a fate that feels crueler when it comes at the hands of a human as opposed to a walker. By killing Maggie, Negan would effectively kill any hope the characters have of a safe, innocent future. It would also establish him as a man not to be messed with, a man without mercy.
If, like me, you find the idea of Maggie dying completely unacceptable (ditto for Glenn, by the way), there is still hope that she can survive the season premiere. In an interview with Comicbook, Gimple promised that fans would find out what was causing Maggie’s pregnancy complications, something that doesn’t seem likely if she dies in the first minutes of the season. “I don’t want to say exactly what it is but the exact diagnosis will be shared one way or the other. We’ll find out one way or another what happened,” Gimple said. OK, so the whole “one way or another” part of the quote is a bit worrisome, but, hey, at least it’s hope!
I, for one, am not convinced that Maggie will be getting her head bashed in any time soon. Then again, I am a hopeless romantic — it's against my nature to believe that either Maggie or Glenn won't survive the coming season premiere. That said, if it's between Maggie and Glenn, then my money's on Maggie. Her death would be so much more devastating for the other characters and viewers. Plus, the graphic death of a pregnant character doesn't happen a lot on television, and if The Walking Dead wants to get people talking, killing Maggie is a sure way to do it.
Do you think Maggie is going to die in The Walking Dead's Season 7 premiere?
Yet another thing in the news regarding safe spaces has people totally pissed off… for all the wrong reasons. When Cal State Los Angeles offered separate housing for black students as a means of allowing these students the ability to sidestep microaggressions, at least at home, some people got really upset, calling it segregation and saying it harkens back to our (not very distant) days of keeping people of different races apart.
However, call it what you want, but "segregated" college housing doesn’t mean a return to segregation. Here’s what these people are missing. One, this isn't a requirement for students of color. Mixed housing still exists, and people who want to live with and share living spaces with people of different races still have that option. This isn’t forcing anyone to do anything, and at the end of the day, offended white people, do you really want to live with someone who doesn’t want to live with you?
Actually, instead of getting angry at students who want "segregated" housing, maybe we should focus our anger and attention on the context that has them feeling so exhausted and afraid that they feel they can't be in racially diverse groups. Instead of acquiescing to your knee-jerk reaction and getting offended (you know, the thing you accuse us pro-safe space people of doing?), pause. Think about it. Ask yourself: What has these kids so drained that the thought of living with white kids it's just not doable?
And honestly, you’ll end up with a lot of answers. Between police brutality and the continued murders of black people that are brushed under the rug, it’s hard to be a black person right now who doesn’t feel like you’re constantly in danger. It makes me think of women who want female-only housing and LGBT students who want LGBT-only housing. Is it a permanent solution? Maybe not. But is it the worst solution to have for now, while we work to become a culture that isn’t quite so aggressively and violently anti-black? I can’t say that it is.
You might say that these students should suck it up and deal with the racism. After all, isn’t college all about being exposed to diversity and learning from and about people of different backgrounds? Isn’t a diversity of colors in a dialogue always a good thing? But what you’d be missing is that “diversity” on college campuses often comes at a cost, with that cost being the well being of marginalized groups. What is a theoretical discussion about, say, racism or sexism or homophobia to one college student is a reminder of dehumanization to a kid of color, a woman or an LGBT student. It means sitting in silence while your fellow classmates debate your humanity.
Can we really blame these kids for wanting a break?
Fall is the perfect time of year to travel. The summer crowds have gone home, children are back in school, and for many destinations, the rates for accommodations have started to drop along with the temperatures. If you’re planning a getaway this fall, put Portland, Maine high on your list. This vibrant coastal city and the surrounding area in New England provide the backdrop for some of nature’s most spectacular fall shows.
Here are some reasons Portland needs to be your next vacation spot.
1. Portland has some of the best seafood in the U.S.
Image: Roger Pratesi - PratesiLiving.com
Coastal Maine is known for its lobster and fresh seafood and there’s no better place than Portland to satisfy your seafood craving. The city has more restaurants per capita than any other in the U.S. and you're sure to find shellfish and fresh fish on most menus. Eventide Oyster Co., consistently ranked one of the best restaurants in town, features a raw oyster bar with an impressive array of local oysters and bivalves from far-away places and a regional favorite, their New England Clam Bake.
2. Nature lovers will adore it
Portland is a great place for nature lovers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts, especially when fall foliage is at its peak and nature puts on an impressive display of brilliant colors painted by maples, oak, ash, sumac and elm trees. Bradbury Mountain State Park in Freeport (just 20 minutes away) is known as the best place to see the fall foliage.
3. All the food, wine, and beer festivals you could want
Image: Roger Pratesi - PratesiLiving.com
In September, the city hosts a Belgian Beer Fest and the third weekend of October is Portland’s food and spirits festival, Harvest on the Harbor. Events include a Sustainable Seafood Supper in partnership with The Gulf of Maine Research Institute, a Maine Lobster Chef Celebration, and the Chef Showcase, featuring nibbles by local chefs and cocktails by Portland’s talented mixologists. For beer aficionados, Portland was recently named the No. 1 City for Craft Breweries. If you visit November 4–10, you’ll be just in time for Portland Beer Week.
Art galleries, a theater company and museums line the streets from Congress Street to the West End. If you’re lucky enough to be there the first Friday of the month, the arts district plays host to a self-guided walking tour where visitors are welcomed free of charge and offered food and wine along the way. Take part in a walking tour of Old Port, the harbor area that is now filled with restaurants, boutiques, and bars. These cobblestone streets are lined with 19th century buildings and overlook the ships and fishing piers in the harbor.
If you love lobstah rolls and fried clams (and you will after this trip), don’t miss visiting some of the areas famed lobster shacks before they close for the season. Enjoy lunch with a view at one of the area’s notable lighthouses at The Lobster Shack on Two Lights Road in Cape Elizabeth. One of Maine’s most popular lobster shacks, they serve up classic New England fare on the rocky shores beneath the lighthouses on the hill while listening to the crashing waves and seagulls flying overhead.
To view some of the area’s marine wildlife, such as seals or whales, take one of the local seafaring excursions or book a trip to see Casco Bay with Portland Schooner Co. Go back in time as you board one of their two authentic sailing vessels built in the early 1900s and see the beautiful rocky coastline from a different vantage point on the water.
There are a number of modern upscale hotels conveniently located in the city, such as The Press Hotel, Autograph Collection and Portland Harbor Hotel, along with several smaller boutique properties and B&Bs. If you love the scent of the ocean breezes and want to stay on the beach, book a room at Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth. This charming luxury resort property features several types of accommodations , excellent dining, a spa, and is very pet friendly. For a memorable evening, enjoy a glass of wine in their Adirondack chairs while warmed by the fire overlooking Crescent Beach at sunset.
Babysitter wages are a hot topic. I regularly see posts on my Facebook feed asking what the going rate is… or how little parents can get away with paying. A thread on parenting site Mumsnet went viral (and divided opinion) recently, started by a mother who admitted she resents paying minimum wage to someone to look after her children.
This mom said her babysitter had requested a pay rise in line with the U.K. minimum wage, and revealed that she thought the amount was too much for "just sitting and watching TV."
I can’t relate to this at all. Of all the things you might pay people to do for you because you can’t or won’t do them yourself (clean your house, wash your windows, mow your lawn, do your laundry) surely the most important task of all is caring for your kids?
I understand that people use babysitters for different reasons. It's a little different if you have a medical or work emergency or have absolutely no other childcare options and really can't afford to pay more than minimum wage, than if you're out socializing without your kids. If we're talking about the latter, I can't understand why some parents get so stingy with their sitters.
I definitely don’t begrudge paying my babysitter more than minimum wage. In fact, I want to. It helps that I don’t leave my children with a sitter very often, so it’s not a massive regular expense for me. For my sitter's age, the minimum wage is £3.87 (approximately $5.63) per hour, and I pay her £6 ($8.72 per hour), always rounding up to the nearest hour. I think this is more than fair.
A babysitter's rate shouldn't depend on how well-behaved or demanding your kids are. It shouldn't matter whether your kids are little angels or complete nightmares, or whether they fall asleep in seconds or want to party all night (although if they are havoc-wreaking party animals, you might think about bumping up the sitter's rate a little or you may never see her again). All that matters is that you're not there to watch your children, so you need to have peace of mind that the person who has responsibility for them in your absence is giving the job her absolute all.
For me, this could mean reading my daughter a dozen bedtime stories because she refuses to go to sleep, or enduring a two-hour jigsaw puzzle session with my son. When the kids are awake, the sitter should give them her full attention. That’s what I’m paying her for. But when they’re asleep, she can do whatever the hell she wants. She can spend hours watching TV or FaceTiming her boyfriend. I don’t care. I know that if the kids wake up and need her, she’ll be there in a shot, because she knows that's what she's there to do.
My babysitter doesn’t have unrealistic expectations of her future earning potential because I pay her more than the going rate to watch my kids. She’s a smart girl (I wouldn’t hire her if she wasn’t) and she knows that babysitting isn’t a regular job. There’s no contract, no guaranteed hours, no sick pay. She’s not working in an office or a bar — she’s working in my home and her sole responsibility, for those brief few hours, is to make sure my children are happy and safe. Effectively, she’s a stand-in parent for me, which is priceless.
I know I’m lucky to have an awesome babysitter. If she weren’t so great with my kids, I wouldn’t be paying her anything because she wouldn’t be looking after them at all. Which simply reinforces my belief that if you find a great sitter, you gotta make sure you hold onto them — and pay them what they deserve. Because if you have a sitter who thinks you don't value her, there's the chance she might not value your kids.
Man, you really gotta wonder why people sign up for reality dating shows. Sure, it seems like a fun idea for a hot second, but then you realize that if you have ever done anything remotely scandalous in your entire life, that shit is going to be dragged out in broad daylight for the whole world to see.
Case in point: Robert Sepúlveda Jr. of Logo's Finding Prince Charming — basically the gay version of The Bachelor — was recently outed as a former prostitute. It's also been reported he has done a little porn.
But Sepúlveda Jr. recently sat down with Access Hollywood to set the record straight about his past and let everyone know that his escorting days ended in his twenties. Turns out his tale is actually the age-old "working my way through college" story.
"I was working at a furniture store that went out of the business," he said. "In college, my parents were paying for half of my tuition. I was responsible for the other half. The business went out of business, the furniture store, and I really had just a couple weeks to figure out what I was going to do. I basically had no money in my account. I had asked friends before for rent and just to help me out and I had to take control of the situation and take control of my life."
Sepúlveda Jr. didn't come right out and say that he was soliciting sex back in the day, but he didn't exactly say he didn't, either.
"I guess everybody understands what an escort is," he said when asked if he went out on dates and had physical relations. "Whatever happens between two consensual adults is consensual and I'm in total control of what I want to do or don't want to do."
And the porn? Well, according to Sepúlveda Jr., that rumor stems from the leak of a private video he sent an ex.
"I've never done porn in my entire life,' he stated. "There was a video that I sent out to an ex-boyfriend. And people out there, don’t send out videos, it always comes back. I sent it out to my ex-boyfriend and when I started to do more television and modeling work, it was posted on a Tumblr site. And it just went viral and it’s a real violation for someone to post something that you sent privately and then have the world see it. It’s a violation."
Heed Sepúlveda Jr.'s wisdom, here, people! Don't ever send nudes to anyone — no matter how much you trust them at the time. Oh, and don't sign up for a reality show unless you already have a pre-written statement about every dirty deed you've done.
Watch Sepúlveda Jr. talk about his past below.
Finding Prince Charming interview
Finding Prince Charming interview
Finding Prince Charming debuts on Logo and VH1 on Sep. 8 at 9/8c.
Is there anything Beyoncé and Jay Z don't do together?
They rock the red carpet, make beautiful babies, dominated the world in their 2014 On the Run tour and, heck, have probably even orchestrated all those crazy cheating scandal rumors for the PR, as well.
Now, word on the street has it the couple might debut a joint album just in time for Christmas. That's right, sources say that their much talked about collaboration will drop as soon as December.
Beyonce/Jay Z collabo tweet
Beyonce/Jay Z collabo tweet
Page Six reported in May that the secretly recorded album is, in essence, the couple's response to all the speculation Beyoncé's lyric "Becky with the good hair" set off when she debuted her visual album, Lemonade, back in April.
"Jay and Beyoncé were never going to do an interview to address all the questions that came up after Lemonade," a source told Page Six. "It’s more their style to respond through music."
Ain't that the truth. Time and again, gossip and rumors have swirled around the state of Beyoncé and Jay Z's relationship, but they — or any of their reps — have never once publicly addressed any of the talk.
But that's probably because they want the rumors to keep flowing, at least according to Beyoncé's dad, Mathew Knowles, who claims Beyoncé and Jay Z created and perpetuated all of the divorce speculation that was making the rounds before the On the Run tour started up. Knowles even went so far as to say the couple staged the infamous Solange/Jay Z brawl at an after-party for the Met Gala in May 2014.
"[They needed something to] ignite the tour. It's called a Jedi mind trick," Knowles said on a radio show in 2014. "A Jedi mind trick fools you a lot of times. All I know is that everyone is talking about it. Ticket sales went up. Solange's album sales went up 200 percent."
Of course, the Beyhive isn't really worrying too much about cheating gossip right now. They're just freaking out at the prospect of new music from their favorite power couple.
Bey Z tweets
Bey Z tweets
Are you excited for a new Beyoncé/Jay Z collabo album?
Oh, love. It should be avoided at all costs in the Big Brother house, unless you believe your relationship has the strength to endure the measures you may have to take to win the game, or you don't end up resenting your loved one for making poor choices and convincing you to go along with them. On Thursday's new episode of Big Brother, Natalie and James' showmance was in peril when both of them went up for eviction, and despite James spending the time leading up to the eviction moping and cursing God for his role in getting them both into this situation, it was Natalie who was sent packing. Can whatever they sort of had going this season survive her ousting and become something more?
In her post-eviction interview with Julie Chen, Natalie, clad in glitter and holding a plant, said that she wouldn't eliminate the possibility of a romance with James. The two have been canoodling (ish) this entire time and he hasn't exactly held back from telling her he wants to be more than friends. Natalie admitted that in a high-pressure atmosphere like the Big Brother house, where you're cut off from contact with the outside world, you sometimes say things you don't mean, which explains her behavior earlier in the week, when she went to Victor, Paul, Nicole and Corey and told them that she'd trusted the wrong people because she thought James had the right idea. I wish we'd seen this Natalie, the one who actually plays the game, earlier, but unfortunately, it's too late now, and to be fair to James, Natalie does have her own brain and could have acted accordingly, instead of doing what James thought was best. (Unrelated, but sadly, as Nicole pointed out in her goodbye to Natalie, this means she's the last woman in the house.)
Also in her interview, Natalie said she does hope James continues in the game and she doesn't want to see him end up on the jury. It's nice that she's still rooting for him, but honestly, I think it's all a pipe dream that James will win, or even keep hanging around the house, at this point. He seems defeated over his role in Natalie's eviction, so unless he pulls out some kind of wondrous victory over the other housemates and ends up Head of Household, he'll probably be next to leave. You never know in this game, though — it's James versus the Final Four, and I still wouldn't put it past Paul and Victor to try and take out Nicole or Corey. And maybe if James ends up in the Jury House, he and Natalie can get going on taking things to the next level, unless it turns out that she really is mad at him for his role in her eviction.
Image: AMC
