Celebrity Style

Red Carpet Buzz: Anne Hathaway

The actress in Alexander McQueen at the NYC premiere of 'One Day'

Who:  Anne Hathaway
What:  The One Day premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 Theater in New York on August 8.
Wear:  Alexander McQueen resort 2012 dress, Tiffany & Co. jewelry, Christian Louboutin heels
Anne Hathaway's no stranger to stealing the show on the red carpet—and she did just that at the premiere for her new movie One Day in New York City. Wearing a dazzling Alexander McQueen resort number, the actress stunned in the black strapless dress with a gold-embroidered bodice. While the flattering A-line dress complimented her toned physique (she's currently shooting The Dark Knight Rises as Catwoman, no wonder), Hathaway completed the look with sparkly pointy-toe Louboutins and gems by Tiffany & Co.
One Day, also starring Jim Sturgess, is a rom-com about college friends who hook up on graduation day, and what happens down the road because of it. The movie hits theaters August 19.



Who to see next...

Who: Beyoncé Knowles
What:  Good Morning America Concert Series in New York City’s Central Park, July 1^st
Wear: Julien Macdonald knit dress, Stuart Weitzman gold striped pumps
The unstoppable Beyoncé took her always crowd-pleasing talent and beauty to Central Park this morning as a part of the GMA Concert Series to promote her latest album, 4. The 29-year-old, who has never performed at Central Park in her 15-year career, tells Good Morning America that fans have waited since yesterday to watch her perform. Beyoncé worked the stage in Stuart Weitzman striped pumps lined with Swarovski crystals and a fringe-knitted yellow Julien Macdonald dress as she sang her latest single, 'Best I Never Had.'
Beyoncé returns to the limelight after three years of silence and tops the iTunes chart with 4 as the number-one album sold just one week after its release. This diva has won 16 Grammys, boasts nine number-one songs, 24 top ten songs, and sold 75 million records. Girls may run the world, but they’re taking your lead, Beyoncé.


Who to see next...
 

Who: Blake Lively
What: BAFTA Brits To Watch event held at Belasco Theatre in L.A. on July 9
Wear: Marchesa dress, Lorraine Shwartz jewels, and Christian Louboutin heels
Blake Lively joined the Duke and Duchess at the BAFTA Brits to Watch charity event in LA this weekend wearing this one-shouldered Marchesa gown from the spring 2011 collection. The muted grey color did wonders for her bronzed glow, which—when taken together with the dress' delicate embroidery and subtly sheer chiffon fabric—made it a radiant look on the elegant red carpet. Lively, who typically opts for more form-fitting looks (and has every reason to flaunt her fab figure), covered up for a change and completed her look with Lorraine Shwartz jewels and Christian Louboutin heels. Her loose wind-swept up do added to the easy elegance of the whole package.

Who to see next...

Who: Kelly Rowland
What: 2011 BET Awards on June 26
Wear: Notte by Marchesa cocktail dress, Jimmy Choo nude shoes, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry
Kelly Rowland, who was recently appointed a judge on British X Factor, returned to this side of the pond for a sexy performance of "Motivation" with Trey Songz at last night's BET Awards held at downtown L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium. The former Destiny’s Child singer brightened up the red carpet in a radiant, ruffled fuchsia Notte by Marchesa cocktail dress, strappy nude Jimmy Choo sandals, and jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz. On personal style, the R&B singer-songwriter's said: “I like to see what I have first, see what everyone else is doing, and then I put my own shake on stuff so it’s my own."

Beauty Advice

Just as the eyes are the windows to the soul, your facial features can forecast if you're predisposed to age well. Skin-care experts say these visible signs combined with lifestyle choices and an understanding of your genetic makeup can give a surprisingly accurate reading of how Mother Nature’s hands will shape and transform your face over time.
The first facial asset you can hope to be blessed with: a round or heart-shaped visage, versus a long, thin one that is more prone to fat loss. Though you may have cursed its fuller appearance growing up, facial skin that has an increased number of fat cells maintains a youthful look longer.

Prominent cheekbones are also considered golden. “If you’re blessed with nice high cheekbones, you definitely hit the jackpot,” says celebrity aesthetician Renée Rouleau. “Your cheeks won’t sag as much over time because they’re lifted and supported by the cheekbones.”
Other prized attributes include a darker, more melanin-rich complexion (fine lines and wrinkles tend to show up sooner on fairer tones) and oily or combination skin. According to New York City dermatologist David E. Bank, MD, FAAD, there’s truth to the belief that face oil provides an antidote to wrinkles by keeping the dermis plump with hydration.
But just because you might not have been born with an optimal face shape or skin type doesn’t mean you’re doomed—experts agree that hereditary traits account for far less of visible aging than is generally perceived. “Only 20 percent of how we age is genetics. We inherit bone structure and skin color, for better or worse; it’s what you do with these things that makes a difference,” says Oakland, California dermatologist Katie Rodan, MD, co-founder of the Rodan + Fields Dermatologists skin-care line.
Topping the list of factors you can control is no shocker: Sun exposure is aging’s greatest accomplice. “You hear it over and over again, but that’s because it’s true,” says Bank. “The sun’s rays break down collagen and elastin in the skin, causing wrinkles.” Other well-documented culprits include smoking, which starves skin of the oxygen it needs to replenish and look vibrant, as well as sleep deprivation, which robs the complexion of adequate time for cell turnover and regeneration, adds Rouleau.
Less-known lifestyle sins that may speed up your aging clock include yo-yo dieting and poor nutrition. A diet devoid of healthy fats, vitamins, and hydration can turn skin gaunt over time—a condition that’s exceedingly difficult to treat without cosmetic surgery. Stress can have a similar affect by pumping inflammation-causing toxins into the body, which—combined with eyebrow furrowing and other worried expressions—can rapidly break down collagen.
Rest and relaxation are obvious stress fighters—but even beauty sleep can be a silent offender. While sleep itself is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your skin, making it a habit to always lie on your side or directly on your face can be detrimental. “Sleep wrinkles can form if you rest your head in the same position night after night for years,” says Bank.
No matter what steps you take, however, you can’t ward off fine lines and wrinkles permanently. But being aware of other markers of age can put you ahead of the curve.
Among the chief giveaways of older age is dull and unevenly pigmented skin—a fact that Hollywood is well aware of (makeup artists will paint liver-colored spots onto actors' complexions to make them appear older for roles). Other red flags are a slackened jawline, thinning lips and skin, drained color, an eroded brow bone, hooded eyelids, a droopy nose, and sparse brows, says Rodan.
“As you age, the outer half of your eyebrow loses its shape and definition, partly due to the natural aging process and partly from over-tweezing when you were younger,” says Rouleau. The same thinning-hair phenomenon appears in lashes, as they become less pigmented and sparser with time.
Fortunately, for those who wish to conspire with youth, today’s bag of tricks can mitigate these aging symptoms more effectively than ever before.
Fillers such as Juvederm, Thermage, Perlane, and Sculptra are used to replace volume loss in the “triangle of youth,” a term Bank uses to describe the widest center part of the face. In your younger years, the triangle of youth places its lengthiest points at the cheekbones and temples but eventually inverts to the “pyramid of age” as gravity causes sagging and widening of the jawline and jowls. Fillers help reverse the triangle back to its earlier, more buoyant position.
Meanwhile, Rodan says a droopy nose and furrowed brow can be easily corrected with Botox injections administered by an expert. Dermatologist-guided use of the skin lightener hydroquinone is your best bet for a dramatic difference in pigmentation issues. And prescription lash-growth drug Latisse is successfully used off-label on many brows—though that may soon become a substantiated claim, as parent company Allergan is currently conducting clinical trials in hopes of getting FDA approval for Latisse use on arches in addition to lashes.
Not all tricks require an appointment with a dermatologist. “Through lifestyle choices and using the right nonprescription skincare products, you can impact aging by 10 years in either direction,” says Rodan. For plumper, smoother skin, she recommends applying topical creams with retinol and peptides. And for a healthier glow—to compensate for age-induced loss of blood vessels and decreased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the complexion—Rouleau suggests using a brighter blush and going for face products with vasodilators like ginseng and mint.

Domestic Violence Safety Plan

SAFETY AT HOME
Develop a safety plan and discuss it with your children. Review the plan as often as possible. Change the locks and install devices to secure your windows. Make sure your children's school, day-care center, or camp know who is authorized to pick up your children. Tell your neighbors and landlord that your abuser no longer lives there and ask them to call the police if they see him or her near your home. Before you resume a potentially abusive relationship, discuss alternatives with someone you trust.
SAFETY IN PUBLIC OR AT WORK
If you have an order of protection, keep it with you at all times. Inform building security and coworkers you trust of your situation. If possible, provide a photograph of your abuser to building security. Vary your routes to and from work and arrange for someone to escort you to your car, bus, or train. Plan what to do in various situations if the abuser confronts you.

SAFETY DURING VOLATILE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INCIDENT
If an argument seems unavoidable, move to a room or area with easy access to an exit - not a bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere near weapons. Identify which door, window, stairwell or elevator offers the quickest way out of the home - and practice your route. Have a bag packed and ready. Keep it in an undisclosed but accessible place where you can retrieve it quickly. Find neighbors you can tell about the violence and ask that they call the police if they hear a disturbance. Devise a code word to use with your children, family, and friends when you need the police. Decide where you will go if you have to leave, even if you do not think it will come to that. Use your instincts and judgement. Consider giving the abuser what he or she wants to defuse a dangerous situation. You have a right to protect yourself when you are in danger. You do not deserve to be battered or threatened.

How does Domestic Violence Affect Children?

The tragic reality is that anytime a mother is abused by her partner, the children are also affected in both overt and subtle ways. What hurts the mother, hurts the children.
When a mother is abused, the children may feel guilty that they cannot protect her, or that they are the cause of the strife. They may themselves be abused, or neglected while the mother attempts to deal with the trauma. The rate of child abuse is 6-15 times higher in families where the mother is abused.
Children get hurt when they see their parents being yelled at, pushed, or hit. They may feel confusion, stress, fear, shame, or think that they caused the problem. Children grow up learning that it's okay to hurt other people or let other people hurt them. A third of all children who see their mothers beaten develop emotional problems. Boys who see their fathers beat their mothers are ten times more likely to be abusive in their adult intimate relationships.
Children may exhibit emotional problems, cry excessively, or be withdrawn or shy. Children may have difficulty making friends or have fear of adults. Children may suffer from depression and excessive absences from school. Children may use violence for solving problems at school and home. Children may be at greater risk of being a runaway, being suicidal, or committing criminal acts as juveniles and adults. Children who are experiencing stress may show it indifferent ways, including difficulty in sleeping, bedwetting, over-achieving, behavior problems, withdrawing, stomach aches, headaches and/or diarrhea.
Children who grow up in violent homes have much higher risks of becoming drug or alcohol abusers or being involved in abusive relationships, as a batterer or a victim. Children do not have to be abused themselves in order to be impacted by violence in the home.
The only answer to this problem is to treat domestic violence for what it is - a crime. We must fight the societal values that reinforce the stereotypes that encourage men to act aggressively and use violence to solve problems; that women are weak and submissive and should accept male dominance as the norm. Children must be taught at an early age non-violent conflict resolution.

How does Domestic Violence Affect Children?

The tragic reality is that anytime a mother is abused by her partner, the children are also affected in both overt and subtle ways. What hurts the mother, hurts the children.
When a mother is abused, the children may feel guilty that they cannot protect her, or that they are the cause of the strife. They may themselves be abused, or neglected while the mother attempts to deal with the trauma. The rate of child abuse is 6-15 times higher in families where the mother is abused.
Children get hurt when they see their parents being yelled at, pushed, or hit. They may feel confusion, stress, fear, shame, or think that they caused the problem. Children grow up learning that it's okay to hurt other people or let other people hurt them. A third of all children who see their mothers beaten develop emotional problems. Boys who see their fathers beat their mothers are ten times more likely to be abusive in their adult intimate relationships.
Children may exhibit emotional problems, cry excessively, or be withdrawn or shy. Children may have difficulty making friends or have fear of adults. Children may suffer from depression and excessive absences from school. Children may use violence for solving problems at school and home. Children may be at greater risk of being a runaway, being suicidal, or committing criminal acts as juveniles and adults. Children who are experiencing stress may show it indifferent ways, including difficulty in sleeping, bedwetting, over-achieving, behavior problems, withdrawing, stomach aches, headaches and/or diarrhea.
Children who grow up in violent homes have much higher risks of becoming drug or alcohol abusers or being involved in abusive relationships, as a batterer or a victim. Children do not have to be abused themselves in order to be impacted by violence in the home.
The only answer to this problem is to treat domestic violence for what it is - a crime. We must fight the societal values that reinforce the stereotypes that encourage men to act aggressively and use violence to solve problems; that women are weak and submissive and should accept male dominance as the norm. Children must be taught at an early age non-violent conflict resolution.

Joke of The Year...

There was a man who had had a headache for twenty years and was at the point where he wanted to end his own life, but he decided to go to a specialist first.
No doctor could solve his problem, until finally one of them said "You have a very rare problem, your testicles are pressed up against your spine causing your headache. The only way to remedy it is to remove your testicles."
The man hesitantly agrees and gets them removed.
On his way home he walks past a taylor shop with a sign saying "ALL SUITS HALF PRICE"
Being in need of a new suit he walks in where a man greets him and says "Hello Sir I see you want a suit, I would say that you are a 34 sleeve and a 24 pant."
"Wow! How did you know that?" said the man.
"Why Sir I've been in this business for 40 years. Would you like shoes to go with that?"
"Sure" says the man. "Okay I'd say that you're a size 10 wide."
"Ok, now you're freaking me out...Thats a great talent" says the man.
"Thanks" replied the shopkeeper, "Now how about some undergarments?"
"Ok see if you can guess my size", said the man.
"Easy 36" said the shopkeeper.
"Nope 34" replied the man.
To which the shopkeeper exclaimed "Impossible a size 34 would skwish your testicles against your spine and you'de get a headache".

Next...

Three kids come down to the kitchen and sit around the breakfast table. The mother asks the oldest boy what he’d like to eat. "I’ll have some fuckin’ French toast," he says. The mother is outraged at his language, hits him, and sends him upstairs. She asks the middle child what he wants. "Well, I guess that leaves more fuckin’ French toast for me," he says. She is livid, smacks him, and sends him away. Finally she asks the youngest son what he wants for breakfast. "I don’t know," he says meekly, "but I definitely don’t want the fuckin’ French toast.

Next....

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.” The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, “Which do you want, son?” The boy takes the quarters and leaves. “What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!” Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. “Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?” The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because the day I take the dollar, the game is over!”

Next...

A newlywed couple moves into their new house. One day the husband comes home from work and his wife says, "Honey, you know, in the upstairs bathroom one of the pipes is leaking, could you fix it?" The husband says, "What do I look like, Mr. Plumber?" A few days go by, and he comes home from work and his wife says, "Honey, the car won't start. I think it needs a new battery. Could you change it for me?" He says: "What do I look like, Mr. Goodwrench?" Another few days go by, and it's raining pretty hard. The wife finds a leak in the roof. She says, "Honey, there's a leak on the roof! Can you please fix it?" He says, "What do I look like, Bob Vila?" The next day the husband comes home, and the roof is fixed. So is the plumbing. So is the car. He asks his wife what happened. "Oh, I had a handyman come in and fix them," she says. "Great! How much is that going to cost me?" he snarls. Wife says: "Nothing. He said he'd do it for free if I either baked him a cake or slept with him." "Uh, well, what kind of cake did you make?" asks the husband. "What do I look like," she says, "Betty Crocker?"

Next...

It's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and a man makes his way to his seat right at center ice. He sits down, noticing that the seat next to him is empty. He leans over and asks his neighbor if someone will be sitting there. "No" says the neighbor. "The seat is empty." "This is incredible," said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the Stanley Cup and not use it?" The neighbor says, "Well, actually, the seat belongs to me. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Stanley Cup we haven't been to together since we got married." "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's terrible... But couldn't you find someone else, a friend or relative, or even a neighbor to take the seat?" The man shakes his head. "No,” he says. “They're all at the funeral."

Next...

My grandfather always said, "Don't watch your money; watch your health." So one day while I was watching my health, someone stole my money. It was my grandfather.

Man Kills His Wife and 5 Children 

LOS ANGELES — A man shot and killed his wife and five young children before taking his own life Tuesday, apparently out of despair after the couple lost their jobs at a hospital, the police and city officials said.

Officers responding to 911 calls placed by the man, Ervin A. Lupoe, and by a television station to which Mr. Lupoe had sent a fax around 8:30 a.m., found seven bodies in a house in Wilmington, a working-class neighborhood near the Port of Los Angeles.
A police spokesman said the bodies were identified as Mr. Lupoe; his wife, Ana; their 8-year-old daughter and two sets of twins (5-year-old girls and 2-year-old boys).
Mr. Lupoe had telephoned and sent a fax to KABC-TV that indicated “he was despondent over a job situation and he saw no reasonable way out,” said Lt. John Romero, a police spokesman.
The two-page, typewritten letter made clear he was going to kill his family and himself. The station quickly called 911 to report the letter and then posted it on the station Web site after the bodies were discovered.
The letter said Mr. Lupoe and his wife had worked as medical technicians at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in West Los Angeles, but recently lost their jobs after a dispute with an administrator.
The administrator, it said, had asked them on an unspecified day why they had come to work, and then added, “You should have blown your brains out.”
Two days after the confrontation, the letter said, the Lupoes lost their jobs and began planning their deaths and those of their children.
“Why leave the children to a stranger?” Mr. Lupoe said his wife had asked. “So, here we are,” he wrote.
Kaiser Permanente officials issued a statement confirming the couple had worked at their hospital in West Los Angeles but would not say when they had lost their jobs or provide other details. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of the Lupoe family,” the statement said.
Although the police are treating the case as a murder-suicide, Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner said the police were still sorting through a discrepancy.
Contrary to his fax and reported call to the television station, the man told a 911 operator he had arrived home and found his family dead, Deputy Chief Garner said. But investigators found a revolver next to Mr. Lupoe’s body, the only weapon in the home, he said.
The police said they found the bodies of the three daughters next to their father in a front bedroom upstairs. The boys were with their mother in a back bedroom on the same floor.
“A man who recently lost his job allowed the despair to put him over the edge,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who held a news conference outside the house. “Unfortunately, this has been an all-too-common story in the last few months. But that does not and should not lead people to resort to desperate measures.”
A man killed his ex-wife, her parents and friends at a Christmas party in West Covina last month after losing his job. In October, a 45-year-old father of three shot and killed his wife and children in their Porter Ranch home after describing financial stress in a suicide note.
Mayor Villaraigosa urged Los Angeles residents experiencing financial stress to talk to friends and neighbors and seek counseling “to get back on their feet and keep their families afloat.”
Cecilia Yvar, 68, whose grandson often played with the Lupoes’ 5-year-old twins, said the family moved to the neighborhood four years ago. The Lupoes added a second story to their home last year, Ms. Yvar said, and landscaping to their backyard.
“Maybe too much money, too much stress,” she said while wiping away tears.
Ms. Yvar said the couple kept to themselves, but greeted their neighbors warmly each day. On Sunday, she said, they appeared unhappy as they walked together outside.
Yolanda and Oscar Lopez, who have lived in the area three months, said they had seen the Lupoes in the neighborhood.
“There’s so much pressure from the economy and people out of work and stuff,” Mr. Lopez, 28, said. “But adults, they know there are other options. You don’t have to do this.”