Category Archives: Entertainment News

Confusing News Day

It’s a confusing news day for me. For one, I didn’t know Andy Griffith was still alive and two, I thought everyone knew Anderson Cooper was gay…

Andy Griffith, a show before my time. Way before my time. May he rest in peace.

 

As for Anderson Cooper, I am pretty sure I heard that somewhere and on more than one occasion. It’s unfortunate that some media commentators have accused him of using this admission as a publicity stunt. One of those commentators is the infamous Star Jones. Maybe she feels he used this as a publicity stunt because she is someone who uses them frequently. I will never forget the months leading up to her failed marriage, in which she used The View as a stage to pander for free everything for the ceremony.

As far as Anderson is concerned, I think that it is good that he is speaking publicly about being gay. I do not think it is a publicity stunt. Anderson has always come off as genuine. He spends a lot of time doing segments on bullying and its sparked a lot of positive awareness and concern for the children being harassed across the country. It is no doubt that people and kids who are closeted might borrow some courage from Cooper and eventually be who they were born to be rather than living a lie shamed into the closet by close-minded members of our society.

Those stories confused me, but this story just all out baffles me and brings me back to 1998. Jackie and Kelso are back together?! It is rumored that ex-co-stars from That 70’s Show Ashton Kutchner and Mila Kunis are dating. I have to say, he was my least favorite character on the show and it seems that every other movie or show he appears on he plays the same character (himself!).

And of course the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorce saga marches on. If you have not checked it out, read my article Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Split: Is Scientology to Blame?

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Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Split: Is Scientology to Blame?

After five years of marriage, Katie Holmes plans to divorce Tom Cruise and she’s seeking sole custody of their daughter Suri, 5. Columnists speculate that Holmes’, 33, motivation for leaving Cruise, 49, revolves around Cruise’s involvement in The Church of Scientology and the Church’s influence on their five-year old daughter. But one has to wonder the reason for this concern.

Scientology was established by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952. Though it is referred to as a “church,” many prefer to think of Scientology as a cult. L. Ron Hubbard, a famous writer of science fiction novels, did not set out to found a church. Its development began with his authoring of Dianetics, a metaphysical literature based on the theory that negative human experiences and emotional scars, or engrams as he called them, were responsible for physical symptoms and illness.

With Dianetics Hubbard proposed a type of emotional cleansing, or audit, through which the emotional wounds of the subject were revisited and erased thus restoring the subject to a state of Clear. Once achieving a state of Clear, the individual faces challenges with a newly acquired demeanor of calm in which he or she reacts reasonably to situations that would’ve formerly provoked an emotional response. Thus theorizing, through achievement of this state, a Clear individual is in control of their thoughts and is able to think rationally.

Hubbard initially made a lot of money off of this type of “auditing” and his auditing courses. However, after a failed public demonstration of the promises of Dianetics, Hubbard lost public interest and received criticism. Now experiencing financial difficulties, Hubbard had to think of a new plan quickly.

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Chris Brown: Acting like Chris Brown, Again

In recent news, Chris Brown was caught acting like Chris Brown, again, and I’m not surprised.

As you know I rarely say anything bad about anybody, minus Chris Brown, my uncle, and that horrible ex-boyfriend I bring up every once in a while. I don’t really hold grudges against people either…well okay, there are a few, and one of them happens to be Chris Brown. Though I do not know him or Rihanna personally, I cannot stand him for what he did to her. I never saw a black eye that bad in my life, the fact that it was on the face of a petite girl only amplifies its intensity. Though it’s not my place to judge, after his appearance at the Grammy’s this week, I find myself wondering if someone like him deserves forgiveness or should be doomed to a life of social purgatory.

A friend once told me a story about a time that they were waiting for their flight in an airport terminal. Airport terminals aren’t loud but they can be fairly noisy. As he was waiting for the plane to board, the room suddenly became completely silent: you could hear the cliched pin drop. Why did everyone stop talking? He wondered, and then he got his answer when he saw OJ Simpson walk by.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the way OJ was greeted every time he went out in public- until he was incarcerated, again. Does Chris Brown deserve this kind of treatment? Again, it’s not for me to say, but I know if I came face to face with him, I certainly wouldn’t give him the time of day. I think the only way to judge a situation like his is to think about his character and if it has improved since he got caught beating Rihanna. I say got caught because it is pretty hard to believe, with the severity of her injuries, that this was the first time in his life that he slipped and lost control of his fists.

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Didn’t Whitney Houston Have It All?

A quick note about Whitney Houston

So many people look at Whitney Houston and other rich and famous celebrities like Lindsay Lohan with disdain. How could someone so beautiful and talented throw it all away? They wonder. They are so ungrateful, they say. It is easy to jump on this hate filled bandwagon, as gossip and trashing the lives of those more rich and famous than ourselves seems to be part of the American culture, but step away and look at the big picture. Did Whitney Houston really have it all? Beauty? yes. Talent? Yes. Money? Yes. Health? No.

These women, like many other people in and out of the spotlight are suffering from a debilitating mental illness called addiction. Addiction can rob you of your life for years and still not kill you. People like Lindsay Lohan and Whitney Houston haven’t been themselves for decade(s). From the outside, the fix looks obvious, but from the inside, every waking moment and even the most simple of tasks is like hard labor. For them, what you and I would call life is thought of as the time spent in between getting a fix.

While the unaddicted are whole (think 100%), the addicted are working with a deficit, a void they will spend years trying to fill with all the wrong things and people. People blame Bobby Brown for introducing Whitney into a world of drugs. This isn’t entirely accurate. He may have introduced her to drugs, but the void was already there before he came around. He didn’t make her susceptible, she already was. She was too weak to say no to a drama filled relationship with him in favor of looking out for her own best interest and too weak to say no to drugs as well. But why? Quite simply, it all comes down to self-esteem. Around the time Bobby Brown came into her life, she was already a pretty big deal. Everyone thought the world of her and maybe she didn’t believe it. Maybe she was too humble to accept this adoration, maybe there was a little voice inside of her screaming that she wasn’t perfect like everyone thought she was, and maybe just maybe she decided she needed to prove it. Doing so would certainly take some of the pressure off.  So even without him it is likely that she would’ve found her way to this type of lifestyle eventually.

It is an unfortunate story with a tragic ending but even astronomical scientists have observed that it is often the biggest and brightest of stars that burn out the fastest.

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Is Maria Really Thinking About Taking Arnold Back? A Quick Look at the Psychology of Women Who Take Back Cheaters

I am not surprised to hear the news, that Maria Shriver is thinking about taking back Arnold Schwarzenegger. Why? Because she has stood by his side after countless alleged infidelities and indiscretions on his part. In one instance there is even video footage, indisputable evidence of him groping the breasts of a British morning show host. The footage is old was widely viewed during the his bid for California Governor Candidacy. Maria stayed with him for many years after this video was exposed; up until the discovery of a secret child he fathered with the house keeper. Even this isn’t enough to keep Maria away.

Many people argue that Maria comes from a family where the men are notorious cheaters so this is why she accepts her husband’s bad behavior. That in some way this is probably why she finds this type of behavior bearable, even acceptable. I disagree. It all comes down to self-esteem.

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The N-Word, The B-Word, and Rihanna

 

A Dutch magazine claims to have used highly offensive terminology to refer to Rihanna in an affectionate manner. Oh really? Lots of people are offended and rightfully so. The two words, the “N-word” and “bitch,” share similarities when it comes to their evolution. Both are derogatory terms and both refer to very specific demographic groups. The “N word” has roots as old as our nation, while the root’s of the derogatory term “bitch” are even older.

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In Memory of Video Stores

Everyone is very sad and mourning the slow death of book stores, while video stores too are all but extinct. When I am elderly I will surely be telling tales of going to Blockbuster on a Friday night and browsing the aisles for the perfect weekend flicks. “You mean there used to be stores where you would, go to to rent movies?” I can’t exactly imagine what type of movie technology we will have by that time, but I’m pretty sure the idea of going to Blockbuster on a Friday night will sound as alien as the stories my grandmother told me about the man who came around once a week to sell them big brick of ice for their ice box. Or the how three times a week, a milk man delivered fresh milk in slender glass bottles to her house. Or how each day they used to get two newspapers: one in the morning, the other in the evening. All of it sounds surreal.

I had a weird dream this morning. Aside from the beginning of it, where I was debating whether or not I should try out for American Idol, the rest of the dream was quite unusual. I was the passenger in a car. We drove through a shopping plaza parking lot. The sky was dark but then there was a rainbow that shot across the sky. My attention was diverted to the people who were walking on the sidewalk. There was something weird about them but at first I couldn’t figure out what it was, I squinted my eyes and looked harder, trying to perceive what it was that registered in my brain as odd-without-explanation, and then it hit me,

“Why are those people in black and white?” I asked my Aunt who I now noticed was driving the car. Though the dream was in color and looked much like reality, the people in it were black and white like an old TV show or movie.

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Kim Kardashian: Domestic Abuser?

Please check out my article, “Kim Kardashian: Domestic Abuser?” on The Huffington Post

People are horrified over the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s in which Kim Kardashian takes a closed fist swing at husband Kris Humphries. Despite the entire scenario being caught on camera, many viewers are still wondering — is this domestic violence?

How is this a disputable question? Though some have tried to downplay her violent reaction by calling it “playful,” throwing a fist at your husband is not playful and technically falls under the category of domestic violence. It seems that because Kim is a woman people are confused as to whether or not her action falls into the “domestic violence” category. My answer: yes, it absolutely does.

Here is the dictionary definition of domestic violence “violence committed by one family or household member against another — see also restraining order.” They are husband and wife therefore it certainly qualifies. If they were strangers and she did this is would still be labeled violence just not domestic violence.

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Domestic Violence and Kim Kardashian

People are horrified over the episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s in which Kim Kardashian takes a closed fist swing at then husband Kris Humprhies. Yet many viewers are still wondering- is this domestic violence?

How is this a disputable question? Though the media has tried to spin her violent reaction as “playful violence” throwing a fist is just that: domestic violence. I believe that because Kim is a woman people are confused whether or not her action falls into the “domestic violence” category. My answer: yes, it absolutely does.

Here is the Dictionary.com definition of domestic violenceviolence committed by one family or household member against another —see also restraining order.” They are husband and wife therefore it certainly qualifies. If they were strangers and she did this is would still be entitled violence just not domestic violence.

Are people quick to defend her because she is physically smaller and weaker than her husband and he could possibly “take it?” Keep your judgements to yourself people, no man deserves the humiliation that goes along with being beat up by a woman despite whether or not he can physically “take it.” It is the emotional and psychological impact that lasts long after the physical bruises have faded. Men are often silent victims when it comes to being victims of rape and/or domestic violence.  For male victims of domestic abuse and rape it is even more stigmatized by society than it is for female victims (though neither have it easy). Society unfairly labels men who complain about violence from a partner as “not real men” or just plain weak. This is wrong. Anytime a person is abused by a family member it is domestic violence whether it is a female or male throwing the punches.

The other thing that really alarms me about the whole scenario is her immediate reaction- to throw a closed fist punch at him. If it was as “playful” as her public relations team would like you to believe, she may have swatted him away, even lightly smacked him. Those reactions are not necessarily acceptable, but certainly not as shocking as throwing a punch. And just imagine how outraged Americans would be if it was the other way around: Kris throwing the punch at Kim. Just my two cents…

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Chaz Bono Joins the Cast of Dancing with the Stars: How Will This Impact the Transgender Community?

Chax Bono, DWTS

   In the past year, Chaz Bono has become the unofficial spokesperson for the transgender community. Right now, gay marriage in the US is an issue that most people are familiar with to some extent, while transgender individuals still puzzle and scare some people. With the opposition that gay Americans have received for demanding the same rights attained by their heterosexual neighbors, you can only imagine how a transgender individual would be received. The subject itself is still very taboo and saved for satirical movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Often, transgender and transsexual individuals are considered more of a freak or joke than individuals with thoughts and feelings.

When I heard that Chastity Bono was going through a sex change, I was surprised as much as anyone else. I’ve known several transgender people, none of whom have made the transition. It is understandable why there are not more people in the world like Chaz Bono. Most people would got be open and comfortable being their true selves when it so brazenly goes against the grain of what public opinion currently deems acceptable. But imagine what it would feel like-to be born in the wrong body. That is often how a transgender person describes the way they feel about themselves.

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