Tuesday Trash

Is it Tuesday already? There's 3 good things about it being Tuesday.

• It's no longer Monday.
• We're closer to Friday.
• We get to talk about celebrities!

Told ya!! 3 good things!! This editing of Tuesday Trash is going to center on the ever present Ms. Miley Cyrus. I mean, what happened to her? Seriously. She was an adorable child, a popularly cute teenager, and now .. well .. I'm not sure what she is. As much as I had to admit it, she's still a beautiful girl, she's just presenting herself all wrong. 

She was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992. She was given the nickname 'Smiley' by her parents which morphed into the way we know her today as Miley. She officially (and I'm assuming legally) changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008. When Miley was 11, she was cast on the Disney© series Hannah Montana© and shot to stardom. I believe she would have been in the spotlight, eventually, even without the help of the Disney Channel show - simply because of who her father is.

While it wasn't MY favorite show, my daughter absolutely LOVED it, so we watched a LOT of Hannah Montana. I'm not kidding. We watched a LOT of it. We watched Miley Stewart masquerade as Hannah Montana and live The Best of Both Worlds (yeah .. I went there). We watched Miley and Lilly and Jackson and Oliver. We watched a LOT of Hannah Montana. We even own Hannah Montana: The Movie. Then .. something happened. 

Miley Cyrus wanted to break free from the squeaky clean image that she had spent years making. She wanted the world to know that she wasn't Hannah Montana anymore, and that she was more than okay with that. I'm just not so sure everyone else was as comfortable as she was/is. 

We've all seen this video, and if you haven't, well .. there you go. You've been warned, she swings naked on a wrecking ball. She licks a sledgehammer. And, the most annoying thing about it (well in my humble opinion anyway) is that she has very visible spit strings in her mouth during the close up shots. Yes. That's what makes me uncomfortable about this video. Not the nakedness, or the making out with inanimate objects. It's the spit strings in her mouth.

Then of course there's the MTV VMA performance with Robin Thicke. I'm not sure exactly what that was .. and I'm not going to share that video, because, well, it's wildly inappropriate. Now. Here's how I feel about why she's doing what she's doing. It might not make sense to a lot of people, but, she didn't want to be always identified as Hannah Montana. I think she's succeeded at that. She was afraid that image would get lost in the shuffle of Hollywood, so she created a new one. Guess what? It worked. We're ALL still talking about her, and wondering what she'll do next. As much as I hate to say it, it's brilliant. The more over the top things she does, the more she stays relevant. People like me (and the ones that actually make a living off of talking about her) will continue to feed the beast, and she'll continue to stay relevant. 

Love her or hate her, I don't think she's going anywhere any time soon. 

How do you feel about Miley? Are you a fan ...or nah? Let me know what you think.

Until Next Time .. 

Tuesday Trash

Last week I mentioned that I might make this a weekly thing. Dishing about Celebrities. Apparently, my 'might' turned into 'am', and here we are.

I want to make something VERY clear, before I even get started on this. The reason I've chosen this specific topic, is not to call attention to the person involved, but more to call attention to the very issue itself. I am not in ANY way trying to keep this creep relevant - trust me.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm talking about the incident that occurred in February of this year (but has just recently made headlines) between Baltimore Ravens former running back Ray Rice and his then fianceé (yet, current wife) Janay Palmer.

The incident took place February 15th, at the Revel Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. There's security camera footage (yes I've seen it, and no I will NOT be posting it) showing what appears to be the two having an argument outside of the elevator.  It's what happens once they're inside the elevator that has my stomach in knots.

Their argument becomes more intense, and it's ended abruptly when Rice delivers a closed-fist punch to the face of Palmer. Yes. A grown man, punches the woman he's supposed to love, square in the face. She hit the wall of the elevator, and ended up on the floor. Knocked out cold. Rice attempts to move her unconscious body, from it's slumped position, at least once before the doors open. Once they open, he then attempts to move her still unconscious body out of the elevator, but he's unsuccessful. That's when you see her start to come to, and security arrives on the scene.

It was not only hard to watch, but it's been just as hard to forget. There is nothing worse to me than a man who believes a woman is nothing more than a punching bag. Whether it's physical, verbal, or even mental abuse - it needs to STOP! Far too many women in this beautiful country, live in fear every day.

According to Safe Horizon, 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic violence in her lifetime. Did you read that people? 1 in 4 women! Think about that for just a minute. Take 3 women you know, include yourself (you now have 4), according to that statistic, 1 of you will experience domestic violence at some point in your life. I know you don't want it to be you, and I know you don't want it to be any of your 3 friends. So, what are we going to do about it?

As a society, as a nation united, we have to do something. Going back to Ray Rice for a moment. The Baltimore Ravens have suspended him from play, indefinitely. Good. He shouldn't be allowed to continue to make millions of dollars for punching his girl in the face. Because lets face it. That's how he'll for the rest of his life, be known. Regardless of how well he played football, he's now going to be branded as a 'wife-beater' (as well he should).

Okay. We know that something has to change, but what can we do? How can we make a difference?
Did you know that most domestic violence incidents are NEVER reported? You can help change that. Speak up! If you're out, and you witness something .. SPEAK up!

If you're a victim, reach out! There are resources here to help you! Call the Domestic Violence hot line at 800-621-HOPE(4673). You don't have to suffer through it anymore. You're worth more than that.  Don't EVER let anyone, any MAN, make you believe otherwise.

Until Next Time .. 

Celebrity Dirt

OK, so it's not really dirt, it's more of me dishing dirt (or talking smack, whichever you prefer) but you have to admit that anything involving celebrities, gets us going. Why do you suppose that is? Aren't these regular people, just like you and me? Well, maybe not just like you and me, but you know what I mean.

I think this post is going to turn into what celebrities annoy the hell out of me, and why. I'm totally OK with that, seeing as how they get on my nerves and all. I'm also certain I'm not the only one in the world that feels that way.

Take the Kardashian family for example. I'm going to be completely honest, I've only ever watched a handful of episodes, and I'm completely OK with that. I don't care enough about them, or their issues to make it a weekly ritual. No judgement for those that enjoy the show, I just don't get the draw. The relationship that Kris Jenner has with her children, in my humble opinion, is quite unhealthy. She calls herself their 'Mom-ager' and takes pride in the fact that she handles all of their business matters. I personally think she's exploiting her children, all of them. but that's just me.

Moving on to Kourtney K, and her baby daddy Scott Discick. Can you get anymore dysfunctional? She doesn't trust him half the time, and he doesn't respect her enough to be honest with her. I honestly think that Scott Discick thinks way more of himself than most people do. He's got that 'I'm-better-than-you-so-you're-not-important' attitude, and it annoys the snot out of me. His Twitter handle is @LordBeWithYou ... umm .. OK. I saw in a preview this past week where Kourtney drops the fact that she's pregnant with their third child, and Scott straight flipped out. He told her "You just keep suckering me into these kids", and that he couldn't afford anymore children. You DO understand how she got that way, right? If you can't afford anymore children, keep it in your pants! She didn't get that way on her own, trust me. Get off your high horse, and be a man. For real.

Then there's Khloé.  I actually feel bad for Khloé.  If I had to pick a favorite of the group, she'd be it. She's gotten married and divorced on national television. Yes, she signed up for it (or is this a Mom-ager thing), but shouldn't somethings be private for everyone? Even if they are celebrities? I think that's my biggest pet-peeve with these type of situations. We're so wrapped up in the lives of celebrities, we forget that their actually human beings, with real feelings. This person is someones mother, sister, aunt, .. you get where I'm going. Imagine if it were YOUR family member. Wouldn't you want a little more respect for their privacy? I know I would.

Bruce Jenner.  I don't know what to say about Mr. Jenner. He was a gold-medal winner in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and now he's famously known as Mr. Kris Kardashian-Jenner. He seems to be quite OK with that however, so more power to him I suppose. He has 2 daughters with Kris, Kendall and Kylie, and then (I think) 4 other children. We only ever hear about Kendall and Kylie, sometimes Brody will make an appearance, but not very often.

I've save the best (or in my opinion the worst) for last. Kim. When I think about the joke that is Kim Kardashian, confusion is the first thing that pops into my mind. I don't get why she's so famous. I think it all goes back to her sex-tape that was leaked quite a few years ago. I mean, sure, she's pretty, and she has big boobs and an even bigger butt, and yet an even bigger ego .. but there's nothing special about her. She's a spoiled, entitled, rich-kid brat. She dates and then marries (and even divorces) for attention. She was married to Kris Humphres for all of 20 minutes, and then decided it wasn't for her. She had the HUGE, and I mean HUGE wedding that cost multiple millions of dollars, all for ratings. It worked. Then there was the divorce, the highly publicized relationship with Kanye West, the pregnancy, the birth of their child, and then the other wedding that cost multiple millions of dollars. I know it seems like I know a lot about her even though I say I don't watch their show, but come on. How can one NOT know about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. This is what they strive for. And here I am, helping there cause. 5 whole paragraphs devoted to this family of attention whores. Good job Amanda! Way to fuel the machine.

Moving on.

Did you, or have you watched past seasons of VH1's Couples Therapy? No? Me either. So I guess I can't say too much about it, other than, why? Like I said before, something things, should be private for everyone. Why we have this need to know the ins-and-outs of celebrity lives, is something I'll never understand. Why is it intriguing to watch these couples struggle? Some of them don't make it. That's sad. Why does that have to be televised, and cheapened? In my opinion it cheapens the entire relationship. Again, I know they signed up for it, but still. That's just to feed another hunger that we as a society have. The need for money, and attention - the root of all evil. Why is it necessary to call attention to every single aspect of your life? Why do you feel the need to allow camera crews to follow you around 24/7, with the only exception (for most shows anyway) being when you're in the bathroom? I just don't get it.

Maybe this is why I'm not rich (aside from the fact that I'm not interesting enough to have camera crews follow me around). While I don't necessarily understand why celebrities allow this to happen, and while I most definitely have the reality shows I dislike, I also have some that I absolutely love.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you for watching celebrity shows (I watch them too), or being interested in the gossip about their everyday lives (I've just devoted an entire blog post to gossip). Honestly, I'm not. I do it too (case in point). I have celebrity shows (even if they're only celebrities due to the shows) that I watch too. You'll never find judgement here (and if you do, kick me in the pants).

This is another little snot that I find über annoying. I will admit (with some embarrassment) that there are a few of his songs I actually like, but that's all I like about him. He has, quite possibly, one of the coolest jobs in the world, yet, he's a simple idiot. From throwing eggs on his neighbors house, to driving while intoxicated (and being under age) he's taken the role-model status that he has, and flushed it for a bad-boy image, with no regard for anyone but himself. Even if you don't believe (no pun intended) him to be a role-model, let's face it folks, he is. Teenage (and sometimes much, much older) girls across the planet swoon over the ball of chaos that is Justin Bieber like their lives depend on it. My oldest daughter, used to be one of them. She's since moved on, thank God! Anything he says, does, or even wears is super important to these girls, and he doesn't seem to care. If he does care, he sure has a weird way of showing it. Take your celebrity, and use it for something good. Teach the young men that look up to you, and the young ladies that want to be with you - that there's more to life than parties. I think that's my biggest problem with young celebrities. They don't seem to care that their everyday lives, have such an impact on the youth of today. I'd really like to knock some sense into their brains. I'd even do it for free!

Oh my gosh. I can not stand these guys. Anytime there's anything that might possibly have something to do with race, you know that Jesse Jackson, and Rev. Al Sharpton are going to have an opinion, and be right in the middle of it. Bringing 'awareness' or so they say. More like bringing their simple-minded, prejudiced opinions to the forefront of a sensitive situation. I think these two idiots are the most prejudiced of them all. It's not always about race, but you wouldn't know that based on these 2 imbeciles.

I think I've saved the most annoying for last. Gilbert Gottfried. I don't know what it is about him that gets my goat so riled up (no, I don't have an actual goat). He's just plain obnoxious. All the time. I watched an episode of some show, I think it may have been Celebrity Wife Swap, where he swapped spouses with Alan Thicke. I don't know HOW this man keeps the wife he does have around. Anniversary gift shopping at the thrift store, only going out to dinner if he can have a table IN the kitchen, so he can get the food scraps. I mean, come on! I'm all for saving a few pennies, but seriously. This man probably has more money than he'll ever be able to spend, but he refuses to spend what he does have. Sure that might be smart in some aspects, but I think his actions are a bit unjustified. Maybe it's my opinion, and mine alone, but I even find this man annoying when you can't see his face. Whether it's as the voice of Iago in Aladdin, or the voice of the Afflac duck - he makes my skin crawl. I can't be the only one, right?

I think I'll stop here (and I've just noticed that I'm back to my magical number of five). I don't want to come across as being that person, the one that likes to celebrity bash, because really I'm not. I just have very strong opinions about some of them. Mostly, at least I feel anyway, my opinions are warranted - but even if they're not, they're MY opinions. I'm not out to make you believe the same way I do about these people. You can think whatever you want, and my opinion of you will not change (my opinion of these people will not change either), and if you can handle that, then we'll be fine!

The more and more I think about it, there are a LOT of celebrities that I can't stand. I think I just figured out a weekly blog-series. Tuesday Trash (even thought today isn't Tuesday, and it might change names before I do it again).  We'll see how long I actually keep this one up (considering I just used five off of my annoying list).

I want to know what you think. Do you ..

1. Share the same feelings about any of these celebrities?
2. Think I'm completely out of touch with reality?

Let me know! I'm interested in what you have to say. 

Until Next Time ...