Jezebel
maternity wards
Posts Tagged “
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Just Like Dada
Maybe you think you've seen elephants painting - but have you seen an elephant family painting? No, you haven't, because officials Ichihara Zoo near Tokyo swear it's the first case of collaborative pachyderm modern art by an elephant couple and their calf. "(The calf's) father, Terri, is a very good painter," says a zookeeper. "Perhaps Yumeka gets her artistic talent from him." [The Guardian]
Sweet Talk
This Is Not Chick Lit: A Q&A With Writer Janelle Brown
Janelle Brown’s debut novel, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, in addition to including a Bauhaus reference in its title, is essentially about the relationship between Janice Miller and her two daughters, Margaret, 28, and Lizzie, 14. AWEWWE depicts a shining Silicon Valley suburb replete with country club appearances and pool boys. In the grand tradition of the suburban novel, though, beneath the surface of all that material excess lurks despair, accidental pregnancy and general malaise. It's sort of like a modern day, West Coast version of the Ice Storm, but instead of key parties there's…meth. We talked with Janelle, a former staffer at Wired and Salon about her darkly funny book, Maxi, the feminist ‘zine she used to run in the 90s, and the uneasy intersection between art and commerce. More »
The remains of Holley Wimunc, the Fort Bragg Army nurse who went missing on Thursday, have been found. Wimunc's father announced today that authorities have found the remains of his daughter in a brush fire near Camp Lejeune on Sunday. Wimunc's husband, Cpl. John Wimunc, and another Marine, Kyle Ryan Alden, have been arrested for burning a house next door to Holley Wimunc's torched apartment, although the connection between the arrests and Wimunc's apartment and death has not been made by authorities as of yet. [AP]
dirt bag
The World Wigs Out Over Angelina, Brad's Latest Additions
- OMG twins! Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline were born to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt one minute apart on Saturday evening. Apparently Brad was in the delivery room as doctors performed a C-section on Angie: Knox weighed in at slightly over 5 pounds, and Vivienne weighed 5 pounds. Now comes the speculation over the how much photographs of the bébés are worth: The couple has maybe sold the rights to a U.S. publication — maybe People — and the proceeds will go to charity. The number being thrown around is $11 million. [AP]
- Darryn Lyons, owner of Big Pictures, a celebrity photo agency, claims that pix of the twins are worth between $15 and $20 million. The only other photos that "would possibly come that close is Britney Spears giving birth to an alien," he says. [AP]
- Quentin Tarantino is flying to France to meet with Brad Pitt — but about a movie, not about the twins. [Page Six]
- Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Wright and other members of the crew from Oliver Stone's movie W were arrested in a bar fight early Saturday morning in Shreveport, LA. Maybe someone made a Karl Rove joke? [AP]
girl talk
Did Your Parents' Pop Culture Turn You Into A Feminist?
It's come to my attention over the past several days that I am perceived as a "bad feminist." Some readers seem to think I am some sort of woman-hater who only values the opinions of dudes. (Those readers are not dudes.) Um, this is really really not the case. But the realization prompted some soul-searching, because I remember a time just over 20 years ago when I felt outlandishly offended by sexism, mostly because of my immersion in the schlock pop culture of my parents' generation. There was, for starters, the lyrics of the Beach Boys song "California Girls," and further, that such a musical act would receive the endorsement of such a distinguished entertainment property as Full House. More »
Signs Of The Apocalypse
Behold. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Armed. How do these pictures make you feel? Embarrassed? Frightened? Frustrated? Ill? Many many more here. [ONTD, Just Jared]
annals of anorexia
Boy Anorexic Sheds Light On Girl Anorexics
The idea of male anorexics is difficult for many people to wrap their heads around, since they're not heard from -—or talked about — very often. But the documentary I'm a Boy Anorexic, which aired recently on BBC America, follows the story of a few of them. Interestingly, the film also illuminates the issue as it pertains to girls. Listening to the boys' stories on what triggered their anorexia, it's clear that many of their triggers are those found in girls: They were teased by kids in school for being chubby, they wanted to emulate celebrity heroes, etc. The fact that less boys suffer from this is merely evidence that this disease isn't gender specific, but the amount of societal pressures are.
Loose Lips
Eva Mendes called out an Interview reporter for making light of her stint in rehab. The reporter said that AA should be changed to "Alcoholics Unanimous" in Hollywood since everyone is in treatment, and Mendez responded, "I'm not making jokes, because people die from this stuff…So, honestly, I think it's a bit tacky that you made a joke. I've got to be honest." • Angelina Jolie remains in the hospital, but last weekend's visits from her brother James and son Maddox surely brightened her day. • A-Rod's divorce lawyer is named Ira Elegant. That is all. [Us, People, Dlisted]
Zimbabwe Recruiting Government Support By Raping Opposition
In a completely unsurprising and yet still intensely nauseating development in the ongoing civil strife in Zimbabwe, members of President Mugabe's ruling party's (ZANU-PF) youth militia are kidnapping and raping young women at torture camps near Mudzi, north of the capital, Harare. The camps have resulted in an "unprecendented" 16 teenage pregnancies reported at the local hospital and are expected to result in a significant rise in the rate of HIV infection, but statistically probably won't do anything to the 34-year life expectancy of women in the country (averages are stubborn like that). The militia men intend to made Mudzi a zone without opposition party (MDC) members, which is obviously what you accomplish by running torture camps and raping and impregnating young women — more recruits. In other news, Mugabe is still the President, he may have all the MDC members arrested when they show up to take their seats in Parliament and the U.S. is issuing press releases condemning the whole thing while likely preparing for a ground war in Iran. [The Times, U.S. Department of State]
Loose Lips
It seems that Amy Winehouse's record company has put her on a sort of house arrest in an attempt to keep her clean. According to a source, "There is also a security guard stationed outside her house around the clock to vet any undesirables. From now on there'll be no more waifs and strays - or fans - coming into her place, wreaking havoc." • Lindsay Lohan went on Ryan Seacrest's radio show to talk about turning 22. "I just want to live a happy healthy year…and be with the person that I care about," Lilo told Ryan. Awwww. • A "source" says that A-Rod's wife Cynthia doesn't believe that her hub and Madonna are "just friends." Eh, already soooo over this Lenny Kravitzy love quadrangle! [Perez, TMZ, Us]
personal, political
My Sexual Assault Is Not Your Political Issue
A lot of electronic ink has been generated this week talking about the story that 3 Welsh Parliamentarians anonymously admitted that they had been sexually assaulted and hadn't reported it. A separate survey of students, also conducted by Amnesty International, showed that 34 percent of the 700 students surveyed believed that "a woman was totally or partially responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted if she was drunk or had been flirtatious." Under normal circumstances, I would use this sentence to summarize the shock evinced by people and the unsubtle implication that these (relatively powerful) women — without anyone knowing the circumstances or the timing of their sexual assaults — should have reported it, and then I would leave it be. But it made me recall the times in my life that people I cared for disrespected my decision not to report mine, so I figured it was about time to throw down the gauntlet. More »
crap email from a dude
"I Could Be Writing To Tell You Your Feature Is Tasteless, Promotes Sexism, And Secures Its Readership By Offering Slanderous And Sensationalized Accounts…"
People often wonder what the fallout of a Crap Email is like. We don't often know! This guy contacted us once, thinking his ex-girlfriend had changed her name to Anna Holmes, even though her name was not Anna; when he finally figured out the deal he good-naturedly defended his doghouse-building skills and retreated back into his proverbial own. Truthfully, he seemed really nice, and I felt a little bad. The same cannot be said for "Christopher Davis," the Ayn Rand prostrating author of last week's "I Am, Right Now, Involved In Something More Important," which many of you felt to be the Douchiest Email Of All Time. Here is definitive proof it was not! A tale told in two parts: one note sent to his ex girlfriend after discovering his Crap Email on our site, one sent to us. (And yes, I bought Ayn Rand's journals last weekend and have been crafting a primer on why she is to be avoided. Although that will seem rather unnecessary in a moment.)
More »
dear diary
Call Girl Breaks Down "The Girlfriend Experience"
If you've ever surfed around on Craigslist erotic services (you know, just for fun), you've probably seen a bunch of different code names for things and a lot of acronyms, one of the most common being GFE, or "girlfriend experience." It's when a dude pays a hooker to assume the role of a "normal" woman having vanilla sex, so he can pretend there's a level of intimacy that isn't typically found in hooker/john interactions. OK, that was a pretty good explanation right? I thought so. Belle, from Secret Diary of a Call Girl tried to explain the same thing on last night's episode, but I think I just did a way better job. Perhaps I should walk around through life, breaking the fourth wall and spewing monologues every five minutes. Wait, but then I'd be boring. Like. This. Show. (I still really like the way Billie Piper talks though.)
Loose Lips
Ok! says that Madonna and A-Rod are having an affair because they worked out at the same gym that one time. Sigh. • Britney really seems to be getting her act together: not only has she been granted more time with her sons as we mentioned earlier, but rumor is she's been working on a new album with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, slated for an early 2009 release. • Into ginge? Here are some pictures of a half-naked Prince Harry. You're welcome! [Radar, Just Jared, Dlisted]
Tweenage Wasteland
Kit Kittredge: American Girl Or Capitalist Pawn? Is There A Difference?
It's hard out there for a living, breathing American girl. It's a morass of mixed messages, A.O. Scott points out in a Times think piece about Kit Kittredge, the Abigail Breslin-helmed American Girl doll-based movie coming out this week. "Who are you supposed to be, or to avoid becoming? A nerd? A ditz? A flirt? A tomboy?" Scott wonders. "What kind of role models are those make-believe princesses, those Bratz and Barbies, to say nothing of the real-life Britneys, Lindsays and Mileys? Mean Girls, Gossip Girls, Girls Gone Wild, Girl Power, You go, girl! What's a girl to do?" And considering the pervasive skankiness of Bratz and their ilk, the American Girls franchise seems like a bastion of true childhood in an increasingly sexualized marketplace. But, as Scott painstakingly notes, it's still part of the marketplace. Jeannette Catsoulis, reviewing Kit for the IHT perfectly summarizes the intrinsic hypocrisy in this Depression-era film. "When you consider that a Kit doll, complete with book and accessories, will currently run you $105, the movie's insistence on the nobility of the indigent might be a tad more difficult to stomach." More »
Crap voicemail from a dude
Dimitri The Lover's History Of Sexual Assault, Weapons Stockpiling And Psychiatric Evaluations
Oh god, here goes. You know how we sort of stopped wanting to hear about Paul Janka when he officially became an accused sex assailant (or actually, come to think of it, when he assaulted me a few months before that?) Well, over the course of a day Dimitri the creep behind a couple fake-seemingly funny voicemails revealed himself to be Dimitri the douchebag with disciples, who revealed himself to be Dmitri a.k.a. James Sears. And yeah, if all the "there's nothing wrong with me" talk on his voicemail wasn't a red enough flag for you, maybe the 1986 concern of the military psychiatrist who evaluated him during his enlistment in the Canadian Army that there was "something seriously wrong" with him is? But don't take it from those shrinks; his psychiatric evaluation when he went to med school states that he got drunk and high on call, made "numerous random and obsessive telephone calls" to women during which he would (only sometimes) jerk off, and was generally immature and narcissistic — but not enough to deny him a medical license. More »
crap email from a dude
