Tag: celebrities

The Boys We Used To Love: Then and Now

Scott Baio, Patrick Dempsey and LL Cool J (pre Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS days respectively) were just three of the boys we were innocently (or not so innocently) crushing on the 80s and 90s.  There are moments when I casually forget how old I am and then I see one of these former teen heartthrobs playing the father of a teen in a movie and I’m like, “oh, yeah, that’s how old.”

So I thought, why don’t we all take a “that’s how old” walk down memory lane to check out some of those heartthrobs and what they look like now.  Once I started putting the list together I realized it would take me hours to include just 20 of these guys, so I’m starting with 5. These aren’t the top 5 most beloved teen heartthrobs of the 80’s, they’re not even necessarily the ones I loved the most (and did you see the hair on Uncle Jesse?) but I promise you, a bunch of us – probably you too – thought at least one of these guys was all that back in the 80’s and 90’s. Maybe you still do. Justin Beiber, eat your heart out…

 

 

 

Next week, Part II: Wham (George Michael gay? people with eyes no one saw that coming), Boy George (see a trend here), and Jason Bateman.

 

It’s a different world

Miley and JuneIt really is a different world. I’m not referring to one of my favorite TV shows of all time A Different World, I’m talking about the actual world we live in today. By we I mean women. And specifically, any woman born circa 1970s or earlier. So why am I stating the obvious? It’s really an excuse to share a great story my aunt told me about one of my young cousins.

My cousin accompanied my aunt to a doctor’s appointment. My aunt’s doctor is a man, a fact that completely shocked my five year old cousin. She was shocked to learn that boys can be doctors too. You see her doctor is a woman and a couple of her aunts are nurses. When you think about it, that’s pretty cool.

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Act your age not your shoe size: It’s ok to grow up

mariah carey memoirs Prince may have said it best, but it’s a sentiment many of us can relate to – Act your age, not your shoe size.  Lately, in the rush to proclaim 40 as the new 30 – or even 25 – we’ve noticed a trend of 40 year old women who seem, frankly, afraid to grow up.  While the phenomenon is most clearly evident in celebrities whose attire, song lyrics and on-stage movements mimic those of pubescent teens, it’s evident in everyday life as well.

We see it the cliquey group of friends who brag about who they’re wearing and what they’re driving in the never ending effort to best their own circle of friends. It’s evident in discussions about relationships that sound like they’re being had by naive 16 year olds, not 40 year olds who’ve been around the block a few times. And it’s hinted at in conversations that center around who likes who and who’s not our friend anymore (insert pouted lip visual here.) Life, relationships and our own insecurities are difficult to navigate for sure, but at some point, it really is ok to grow up.

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The timeless and dangerous pursuit of “perfection”

HEIDI-MONTAG-PLASTIC-SURGERY-PHOTOS-horizontal There are so many reasons Heidi Montag’s recent marathon 10-hour plastic surgery has us slack jawed and saddened, we hardly know where to start. We feel bad for the c-list reality show celebrity and female half of  Spencer Pratt “Speidi” phenomenon, particularly because before this latest event, we paid very little attention to her.  For those of you still paying little attention to her, in November, the 23 year old underwent a 10-hour plastic surgery session that included among other things:

Why Margaret loves Queen Latifah, turning 40 and focusing on a better Margaret

So, I’m trolling the web for women talking and writing about turning 40 and come across this great post at a blog called Just Margaret. It’s called Why I love Queen Latifah and being a fan of “The Queen” myself, I checked it out. Turns out, Margaret is turning 40 soon, is “kind of” excited about it, has lost 25 pounds along the way, and like most of us turning 40 is doing a bit of reflecting…

Why I Love Queen Latifah
by Margaret Barney
queen-latifah-07

This woman is amazing.

I *love* Queen Latifah. She’s intelligent, funny, incredibly talented. I see her on talk shows, and I just adore her–I want to *know* her because I get the sense that she’s just got so much love and goodwill emanating from her…and that she shares that with the people around her.
So, she was on Ellen the other morning. (I am also a huge fan of Ellen, for pretty much the same basic reasons.) And she’s talking about this being the year that she’s turning the big Four-Oh. Ellen asked her what she thought of it, and I was so thrilled to hear her say that she’s not all worked up about turning forty. That she’s sort of looking forward to it, and that she feels good about it.

I actually think that I really *love* that woman. Because her attitude about getting a bit older is right on! I guess it doesn’t hurt that I happen to be feeling the same way. But I’m thrilled to see my contemporary say loudly and proudly that, “Hell Yeah! I *am* getting older!” Older, better, growing and learning. My concerns, my quiet little “frettable” thoughts (I made that word up–‘frettable’–meaning something over which I will likely fret) are shifting. I worry less about appearances, more about substance. I feel as if I’ve only just begun (yeah, I know you hear the strains of The Carpenters when you read that!) and that there is opportunity awaiting me–mine for the taking.

Turns out…Queen Latifah’s birthday is the day before mine. She is exactly one day older than me (and shares the birthday with one of my older sisters). I always thought of her as younger than me, not that it mattered all that much to me, but I somehow was a little bit thrilled at how close in age we really are.
I’m kind of excited about turning 40. And admittedly, I’m also doing a bit of reflection–there’s quite a few more wrinkles than when I got married 10 years ago. Definitely more grey hair. I’ve not taken to covering those greys, either, and boy are they prolific! My feeling is, “Damn it! I earned those!” They’re my badge of survival. Not just survival…success!

And I’ve changed. I’ve grown. I’ve soldiered through some serious challenges in my time on this planet. And with Forty on the horizon, I decided to spend a bit more time focusing on my own health

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