Turns out that Kim Kardashian has the same body issues as the rest of us.
While growing up, says Kim, "I was wearing a C cup by the time I was 11. I would go to bed and pray, 'Please, Lord, don't let my boobs grow any bigger.' I hated what was happening."
Yep, I remember those days.
One way to put those insecurities behind her (pun intended): pose nude -- something she'll be doing in the May issue of Harper's Bazaar.
Talk about facing your fear full frontal.
The photos will be shot by Amanda de Cadenet, who also bares her bod (and soul, I'm guessing) in the feature.
Ladies, here's the best part: NO TOUCH-UPS.
A nude Joy Bryant will also be featured. She's got it right when she opines, "Women are the harshest critics of other women. There needs to be a greater acceptance individually and collectively or nothing's ever going to change. You'll never be thin enough, blonde enough, black enough. So enough is enough."
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
The despair felt by the parents of the mentally ill -- especially those whose illnesses, such as schizophrenia, manifest into anger and has caused them to do physical harm to others -- is unfathomable by the rest of us.
These are not bad parents. They are people who love their children, and have done their best to get medical attention for their offspring, despite the expense (psychopharmaceutical drugs can be as much as $100 a pill, even if needed daily), and the stress of all the red tape traps devised by our American health insurance system--not to mention the lack of comprehensive medical care for the mentally ill, once the financial hurdles have been jumped.
Below is an excerpt for the Mother Lode column in the New York Times, in which several parents with mentally ill children who have done similar acts give their perspectives on the Tucson, Arizona killing rampage that injured fourteen, including U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and killed six others.
We can't take healthcare off the table now. In so many ways, our lives depend on our society -- and elected officials -- addressing this topic, and moving forward on workable answers.
I've also included a video, from PBS's NewsHour, on the Tucson and the missed opportunities to prevent it by assessing Laughner's mental health situation. Sadly, Laughner was putting his intentions out there with YouTube videos.
The irony: Arizona had cut $65 million from its mental health social services budget since 2008.
Pima County Sheriff’s OfficeA photograph of Jared L. Loughner released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
With Jared Lee Loughner’s unhinged grin staring out from so many Web sites and newspapers today, parents of troubled young adults are stepping forward, giving glimpses into the pain and impotence that comes when your child has mental illness.
In Chicago, the longtime local CBS news anchor Bill Kurtis shared all that and more with viewers last night, talking publicly for the first time about his son Scott, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and who died in 2009 when he was 38.
In unscripted comments coming after a report on the reasons authorities don’t take action against bizarre behavior before it turns threatening, Kurtis talked of how his son heard voices and suffered from hallucinations, but was not violent. The turn toward violence in the mentally ill, however, can be unpredictable, Kurtis said. “I was told my son went nonviolent, and he was no danger,” he said. “But 10 percent of the crimes are committed by mentally ill people who do turn violent.”
After the newscast Kurtis told the blogger Robert Federer that he decided to speak out because Loughner’s story seemed so familiar. “I never wanted to exploit Scott and the illness, and always thought that if he wanted it to go public, he should be able to make the decision and talk about it,” Kurtis said. “We’d been living with this for so long that when I heard some of the witnesses and observers who came forward Saturday [to describe Loughner], I felt this was the perfect time. In schizophrenia, they say people seem to come in and out. So they can look normal and function normally and go in and buy a gun.”
One can only imagine that Kurtis is putting himself in the shoes of Loughner’s parents and wondering “what if?” That is definitely what Jeannette Halton-Tiggs is doing, and she wrote about it today over on The Daily Beast.
In a column titled “Mother of a Monster,” she describes to columnist Mansfield Frazier how her son, Timothy Halton Jr. was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a police officer.
As she says:
…in truth my Timmy is not, and never was, a monster… what he was cursed to be is one of the literally millions of hopelessly and irrevocably mentally ill individuals in the world today. He suffers from a severe form of paranoid schizophrenia that renders him incapable of controlling his thoughts, emotions or actions when, for a variety of reasons — some beyond his control — he is off his medications. And I did everything humanly possible within my power to keep him on a treatment regimen, but, alas, to no avail.
The reality is, no one can be as deranged as my son, or as Jared Loughner apparently is, without many people being aware of his deteriorating mental condition — yet seemingly no one moved to force him into treatment. The burning question following a mind-boggling incident of this kind should be: “Why do we, as a society, allow known dangerously mentally ill individuals to make their own decisions in regard to receiving treatment?”
There is a powerful contingent of folks in the mental-health care delivery field in this country who posit that no one should be compelled to be treated for their illness unless, and until, they harm someone. This, in itself, is insane … and dangerous to boot. I screamed at the top of my lungs that my son was one day going to hurt someone, or himself, but no one in a position of authority to avert the tragedy would listen or do anything.
That is mostly because Timmy turned 18 and his mother lost legal authority to control whether he took his medicines or was hospitalized or even monitored. Halton-Tiggs cites data which show that “more than 40,000 dangerously mentally ill individuals are roaming America’s streets on any given day, untreated.”
All those individuals are someone’s child.
As Halton-Tiggs concludes: “I’m pretty sure I know what Loughner’s family is going though. The guilt, the shame, the sense of despair.”
Statistics mean that tens of thousands of other parents out there fear one day knowing those feelings as well.
Posh Spice has a bun in the oven. The big question now is if she's carrying it high, or low.
Supposedly a high baby indicates a girl. And after three boys (isn't that half a soccer team?) Mrs. Beckham deserves a little sugar in her life.
Until she knows for certain, it's anyone's guess, though. The UK Times's answer for more spilling ink (or pixels) on the subject is to drag out some old wives' tales as to how to tell a baby's gender. Okay, I'll bite. Did you know that:
1 - A high one means it's a girl. In direct correlation, a low baby bump means it's a boy.
2 - if the unborn baby's heart rate is above 140, it's a girl... if it's under that figure, it's a boy. (Scientists pooh-pooh this one).
3 - If Victoria's cravings are sweet, its girl; sour means boy. (Another one that have the medical establishment rolling in the aisles.)
4 - If David also puts on weight, a girl is on the way.
5 - If Victoria's face gets plump, it's a girl.
6 - A larger left breast means it's a girl. (Hmmmm....how would plastic surgery affect that one?)
7 - Being in New Age California, my friend Bonnie regularly dangles a mystical pendant over the mother-to-be's palm or belly, and watches its movements. If it moves back and forth, it's a boy, whereas movement round and round means a girl.
8 - If Victoria picks up a spare key from the thin end it's a girl.
9 - Finally: women have good instincts about which they're carrying. In fact, one study found that 71 per cent of mothers-to-be correctly guessed the gender of their baby.
The Hub can do better than that. Thus far he's been right 21 out of 20 times.
The birth he missed? Our daughter's, of course. He claimed he didn't see any pigtails, and that threw him off.
How about you? Have you found any old baby gender wives tales to work? If so, I'd like to hear it.
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
It's doubly sweet to me when the library is based in one of the most environmentally awe-inspiring places on earth.
If you have not yet visited Multonomah, County, you're missing some eye candy. It is home to the spectacular falls that carry the county's name, as well as the famed Columbia River Gorge.
It is county seat is Portland, OR.
My husband and I discovered Multnomah County late this summer. After a reading in the Seattle Area, we took to the road to play there (its only a couple of hours away) because Multnomah Falls was on our bucket list.
Every drop lives up to its reputation for breathtaking beauty.
That night and the next we hung in Portland, the county seat and one of the most laid-back food-tastic cities in the country. The restaurants we tried were innovative and reasonably priced. We tried Davis Street Tavern and Clyde Common. Both: To. Die. For.
Of course, no stop in Portland is complete without also perusing the famed Powell's Bookstore. Yes, it had a few copies of SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES--among the multitude of others in its block-to-block-to-block-to-block humongous store! Not to mention its technical bookstore, and academic branch...
It was mid-September, and yes it was drizzling...but that didn't stop us from walks to the riverfront. We weren't the only one. It was also the weekend of Portland's Race for the Cure. Seeing so many pink ribbons makes your heart swell.
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
My gal pal (and consumate pie lady) Kristin Isaacson has inspired me to play "Pass if Forward 2011". Here's how it works:
I promise to send something handmade -- in my case, my pies can't hold a candle to hers. Instead, I'll give one of my books (of my choosing)-- to the first five people who leave a comment. You can do that here in the comment box below, or on my Facebook Fan Page, or my Twitter page.
In return, the first five must ALSO promise to give something, to five others who comment on their posts--and it, too, has to be handmade.
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
As for holiday travel, I'd say this takes the cake: get a look at these poor folks in the Xi'an Railway Station ticket center, in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.
It was taken yesterday (January 5, 2011). Or As China Daily explains:
"Chinese railway doesn't start until Jan 19 this year, but people who're eager to get a seat on the train have already started their struggles. During the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, from Jan 19 to Feb 27, about 230 million trips are expected on Chinese railways, 5.75 million a day. Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, which starts on Feb 3 this year, is China's biggest holiday, during which people return home to be with family."
*[Photo/Xinhua]
If your holiday travel was worse than this, I want to hear from you. Feel free to comment below.The best sob story earns the commentor a signed copy of SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES.
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
If you're looking for family tragedy, just go to the headlines: Lindsay Lohan and her family. Brittney Spears and hers.
And then there's "Octomom," the public moniker for Nadya Suleman, a woman whose only claim to fame is that she gave birth to octuplets. She has a total of fourteen children, thanks to her obsession with assisted reproductive technology.
Oh, and let's not forget that she reshaped her face so that it resembles that of her celebrity idol, Angelina Jolie.
As you can imagine, there has been an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved. Here's hoping that they're checking into her plastic surgeon, too.
She was kicked out of her mother's home. I guess Mama figured out fast that all Octomom wanted was a free live-in babysitter.
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" —Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit
I wasn't fond of him as a man, but I appreciated him as a performer.
If you haven't yet seen the documentary created about his rehearsals for his last tour, THIS IS IT, you're missing something spectacular. Definitely go rent it.
It's odd, though that one of the theories being floated at the hearing regarding his death was that it was a suicide. Yeah, any drug overdose can be considered a slow path to quick death, but come on already. This documentary proves he was a hard worker, a creative genius, and a consumate performer.
"Hollywood's got nothing on the cast of characters living in the bedroom community of Paradise Heights, who have the secrets, sex, money and scandal of an OK! Magazine cover story. Josie Brown is a skilled observer whose clever dialogue and feisty style make for truly entertaining reading." --Jackie Collins, Hollywood Wives
Here is a clip from the documentary on how they created this scene in the show:
Pima County Sheriff’s OfficeA photograph of Jared L. Loughner released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
