Why be Normal?

After five years as one of the biggest shows on the TLC network, the Gosselin family is finally calling it quits, at least for now.

It is no secret that Kate Gosselin would continue to film John and Kate Plus 8, minus John, but John Gosselin has stopped production of the show by demanding that TLC stop filming his children because he believes it is detrimental to their well-being.

Although John Gosselin thought the show was a great idea five years ago and has had endless opportunities handed to him because of it, now he believes that it is harmful for his children to be in a reality television show.  This reeks of revenge, an effort to hurt his former wife Kate Gosselin and a way to take some control in a world where he was little more than one of the children himself.

I still don’t really love Kate Gosselin nor do I respect how she treated her former spouse John Gosselin while they were married.  She seems remorseful on the subject, but hindsight is 20/20.

I’m all for Kate Plus 8 to continue without John.  The show provided the children college funds, a beautiful home and the means to travel places they would have never been had the Gosselins never been discovered.

Is it good for any children to be on a reality television show?  Maybe, maybe not, but as parents we all make decisions that we believe are in the best interests of our child.  Child actors have to depend on the parents to make sound decisions and reality television children are no exception.

It seems while John is away, living the bachelor life and spending money as fast as he can, Kate is making sure that they have money put away for the future of her children.  Although she may be harsh, Kate Gosselin is being financially responsible to her children and should be given credit for her ability to provide some stability in the lives of her 8 children.

Imagine the lives of the Gosselin family had they never had a show on television.  They would be living in that tiny house without enough room for their family.   John Gosselin is so unmotivated to work that he would barely be able to put food on the table and Kate Gosselin would be so busy with the eight kids and trying to work that she would have been even more unbearable.

What happened to John and Kate Gosselin is sad.  I still wish they could pull themselves together and go back to the way things were, before the Gosselin Chernobyl. 

So many kids, so few parental arms to give them a hug or a hand when they need it. 

Sammy Sosa cares about his skin.  After years of playing professional baseball in the sun, Sammy Sosa decided to undergo a skin rejuvenation and he has been surprised with the results.

Here is Sammy Sosa, before and after his skin rejuvenation procedure.  Sammy Sosa blames the bleached look on lighting and has stated that if you saw him in person, you wouldn’t really see a difference.

I may not be the best person to judge esthetics, but I think the picture of Sammy Sosa on the left is just a little bit darker than the right.  If I went into a skin rejuvenation procedure and came out with skin several shades lighter or darker, I’d be a bit confused.

Sammy Sosa has stated that he isn’t pulling a Michael Jackson, he is just trying to treat his skin for sun damage.  Sometimes skin rejuvenation procedures produce results that either lighten or darken the skin. 

My big question is, are they going to do the rest Sammy Sosa’s body too?  He’d look awful interesting in a bathing suit.

I can’t help it.  I’m not deeply into politics, but with the onslaught of Rush Limbaugh on television voicing his racist, homophobic opinions I can’t help but add my two cents in.   I understand that Mr. Limbaugh will have no interest in me, a tiny little blogger, but if he can state that he wants the president to fail, I can state that he is a jerk for saying it.

Rush Unleashed, Mr. “I was addicted to pain killers and have been divorced three times”, is having a special on television Tuesday night.  Why do some people cling to the opinion of a man who can’t even get his own personal life under control?

When asked the question:  Is there anything positive you can think to say of Barack Obama, Mr. Limbaugh pauses dramatically and then states, “he reads a teleprompter well and has a good voice.”

This from a man who staunchly supported President Bush, and well, we don’t even need to discuss his shortcomings here.

 Mr. Rush Limbaugh proudly announced that he wants President Obama to fail and claims that this statement is not unpatriotic.  He stated that he wants President Obama’s initiatives to fail because if they succeed, the United States will be in worse shape than it is now.

How does a public figure get away with such irresponsible and wide sweeping statements?  Doesn’t Mr. Limbaugh understand that as an upper echelon member of the Republican Party he only degrades the party as a whole? 

Let President Obama do his job and critique it,  that is patriotic.   Hoping the President of the United States fails, regardless of your political affiliations, is unpatriotic no matter how you look at it.

As one of the many, many bloggers out there, I too have an opinion about the death of Michael Jackson that has been clogging up the media for the past two months.

After careful investigation, his death is now being ruled a homicide.  It is ruled a homicide because it is clear that someone else was a factor in Michael Jackson’s death.  Of course Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who gave Michael Jackson propofol 10 minutes before he stopped breathing is the likely (and only) suspect, but what about Michael Jackson himself who demanded the drug be administered?

The timeline of medications administered is reportedly this:

1:30 am  10 milligrams of valium

2 am  2 milligrams of ativan

3 am 2 milligrams of versed

5 am 2 milligrams of ativan

7:30 am 2 milligrams of versed

10:40 am 25 milligrams of propofol.

Reportedly Michael Jackson demanded that Dr. Conrad Murray administer the propofol and after 10 minutes of watching Michael Jackson, Dr. Murray reports going to the restroom and returning to a non-breathing Jackson.

Dr. Murray did not call 911 for one hour and twenty minutes after finding Michael Jackson not breathing but managed to call three different people on his cell phone.  It reeks of fear for what he had done, for the meds he administered and the knowledge that he should have been the doctor and not listened to a patient willing to pay him outrageously for his ability to prescribe legal drugs.

What I think we have is a legal drug prescriber purchased by Michael Jackson who knew that no doctor would prescribe such ridiculous amounts of sedatives and anti-anxiety medications without the lure of huge financial gain.

He’s dead, so Michael Jackson has paid the ultimate price for his drug addiction and Dr. Conrad Murray is going to have to try and justify his actions for months to come. 

It is my opinion that some of the responsibility for the death of Michael Jackson lies with Michael Jackson himself.  That his increasing need for sedatives was a cumulative effect from overuse and that luring a doctor in with money (and let’s not forget how famous he was) was Michael Jackson’s doing.

Should Conrad Murray have prescribed and administered such powerful medications?  Only professionals and the courts will be able to determine if his actions were out of line, but what we should remember is that Dr. Conrad Murray did not sneak his way into Michael Jackson’s room in the middle of the night and begin administering drugs.  He was hired and Michael Jackson knew what he was doing.

First Lady Michelle Obama is wearing *gasp* shorts, and on vacation with her family no less!  How do we live with such a scandal?

Here’s a picture of Michelle Obama right here, walking on the White House lawn with the family dog Bo.  Again, she is wearing a pair of shorts.

What are we, the public, to think of such an escapade?

That she was HOT and wanted to enjoy the nice weather. 

Are we really so focused on what people wear instead of who they are that when the First Lady wears shorts it becomes headline news?

This picture was taken earlier in the summer and now scandal is hitting again because Michelle Obama wore shorts while vacationing with her family.  Some argue she is a role model and shouldn’t be seen in shorts. 

They aren’t exactly hot pants and she isn’t holding onto a stripper pole as she walks off of Air Force One.

Maybe we need to focus on what matters, like the reasons why we care if Michelle Obama wears shorts and why we think this is so destructive to society.  Does any mother out there (or father) really think that their daughter is going to be negatively influenced by Michelle Obama because she has on a pair of madras shorts?

Michelle Obama wearing shorts tells me that she is one of us, that she gets hot and she wants to be comfortable.  She is telling me with her actions that expensive suits are hot and she isn’t going to succumb to the “pain for beauty” mantra that many women foolishly subscribe to.

I’m all for shorts, whether on Michelle Obama, the Pope or anyone else that wants to stay cool on a hot day.  Stay cool Ms. Obama, you have more important things to do than care if you are wearing shorts are not.

Kate Gosselin, from the hit TLC reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8, was recently “caught” by the paparazzi spanking her daughter Leah.  In Touch magazine plastered this picture on the front page of their magazine.

Cara and Alexis (?) are standing by, watching the whole thing.  From the looks of it, they are hardly traumatized and probably figure that their sister Leah is getting a little bit of what was coming to her for not behaving.

I’m not writing about the incident to further fry Kate Gosselin on the proverbial media fire, but to support her choice in using spanking as a tool to teach children right from wrong.

Although spanking is frowned upon by many, if you were spanked as a child, didn’t it teach you quickly right from wrong?

Would you rather sit in time out for lengthy periods of time, or get a quick swat?  I’d take a swat on my butt anytime to get back to what I was doing as quickly as possibly. 

Yes, some children do get physically abused.  I’ve investigated hundreds of child abuse cases in the past seven years and I’ve learned the difference between spanking and physical abuse.

While many claim that spanking is a form of physical abuse, I politely disagree.  Some physical abuse cases I’ve seen include belt whippings that left deep welts up and down a sixteen year old’s back, a broken femur on a 10 month old, a cracked skull on a 3 month old, and many children covered in bruises or with mystery fractures.

Let’s not confuse spanking with child abuse unless the spanking becomes so forceful that it leaves physical marks.  That might sound funny, really, that spanking is not abuse unless it leaves bruising or “signs”, but there are many children out there that need the attention of authorities to be saved from abuse and the Gosselin children are not those children.

You might disagree with spanking, so don’t spank your children.  There are many “positive parenting” parents out there.  Their children are the ones telling adults what to do and the children trying to reason with their teacher why they shouldn’t have to be quiet right now.

Sometimes a little fear of adults goes a long way.   I’m not saying to go and beat your children into submission, but if my daughter decides to tell me off  someday, she’s getting a swat on her butt.  No questions asked.

Hollywood has taken a hit this week and lost several celebrities that were all legends in their own right.

News that Ed McMahon has passed wasn’t unexpected, but Johnny Carson’s sidekick will be missed.  Ed McMahon had been in poor health for a number of months and at 85 years old finally gave up the good fight. 

Ed McMahon spent most of his career on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, coining the phrase “Heeeeeeeeeere’s JOHNNY!”

Ed McMahon died on June 24, 2009 at the age of 85.

On Thursday, June 25, 2009, the public then learns that Farrah Fawcett, who has been bravely fighting anal cancer in the public eye has passed away.  Farrah Fawcett was only 62 years old.  Again, we might have expected her death because we know she had been fighting for her life for some time now, but I think most of us held out hope that she just might get better.

Farrah Fawcett, a television star, pop culture phenomenon and actress, fought hard against the cancer that eventually took her life.  Known as one of the original Charlie’s Angels, Fawcett will be remembered forever by fans everywhere. 

Here with her Charlie’s Angels, Farrah Fawcett is the woman on the left.

Although Farrah and her long time love Ryan O’Neill never did get to get married, he has stated that the cancer and watching her battle with it made him love her more than ever. 

Thoughts go out to Ryan O’Neill and Farrah’s family that they find solace in her memory.

Now, if losing two celebrities this week wasn’t enough, hours after Farrah’s passing we learn that Michael Jackson has also died.

What?  MJ?  Michael Jackson?  How?  When?

Although details aren’t clear, he reportedly died from cardiac arrest.  I heard on the radio that his father called TMZ on the way to the hospital to let them know that his son was dying.

Jackson recently began working on reviving his career in England and reportedly went through an extensive medical exam that said he was in the clear.

As a teenager in the 80’s, I learned the steps of Thriller and knew how to moonwalk.  I didn’t go as far as wearing the one glove, but many kids did.

As an adult in 2009, I am not as thrilled with Michael Jackson.  His recent troubles with accusations of pedophelia make me wary of completely canonizing the King of Pop.  Regardless, Michael Jackson is the third legend lost this week and Hollywood isn’t going to be the same without Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.  What a strange week for the stars.

In 1921, Charles Ponzi came up with a scheme that sounded too good to be true, and it was.

Charles Ponzi promised investors that they would receive a 50% return on their money within 90 days, an opportunity that many of the poor and uneducated people he approached found too good to pass up.

Charles Ponzi during the height of his scheme.

Ponzi, already a convicted criminal came up with the idea that if he purchased International Postage Reply Coupons in another country, he could turn them into US postage stamps and sell them for much more than he paid for them.

Values of Inthadernational Postage Reply Coupons were set in local currency and did not take into consideration exchange rates, so Ponzi could buy more coupons for the same money in a poorer country.

Ponzi’s plan didn’t account for the fact that he would have to purchases tons and tons of stamps (literally) to pay back his investors at the rate he promised.  This would require plenty of help and there was never any evidence that Ponzi ever bought any of these coupons with his investors money.

Charles Ponzi first raised more than a million dollars in three hours back in 1921 as he peddled his scheme to the unwary.  Overall Charles Ponzi admitted to taking ten million dollars from investors but skeptics believe it could have been fifteen million or more.  Ponzi returned eight million dollars before his trial.

For his scheming, Ponzi was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in prison.  This seems like a small price to pay for netting what many believe is millions of dollars.

Eventually Charles Ponzi was deported to Italy and in 1945 died alone, reportedly broke and alone.

Dubbed as “robbing Peter to pay Paul” Ponzi Schemes are still run today.  Bernie Madoff is one of the more modern Ponzi Schemers who promised investors high returns and was eventually caught when new investor money ran dry.

Ponzi schemes are enticing to both the schemer and investors because many people want something for nothing and a promise of high returns for your investment,   Ponzi’s mug shot   especially in times of recession, is very appealing.

When people are desperate, like in the case of the poor and uneducated Ponzi preyed on, they will give up what little they have in the hopes of having a better future. 

Always think twice before investing in something that sounds too good to be true.  If you have to do very little in order to make high profits, it is probably not going to work out in the long run. 

 Charles Ponzi, Early and Later in Life

Although the Gosselins announced their big split on Monday night’s episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8, the Crooked Houses that the children received seem to be even bigger. 

The little girls received a crooked garden house, the little boys a crooked pirate ship.  Mady chose her own design of an animal hospital type crooked house and Cara created a haunted house crooked house.

I believe the Crooked House Company gave the houses to the Gosselin family as a way to get on the show and advertise, but custom built crooked houses are available to the general public with a price tag.

Starting at around $1,200 for the smallest houses, crooked houses can run up into the $5,000 price range.  They are cute and whimsical, a great idea that the crooked house company has come up with.

On their website Kidscrookedhouse, they have displayed the custom built houses that were made for the Gosselins.  The children sure seemed to enjoy them on the show and I hope they get years of enjoyment out of them.

 The Custom Built Gosselin Boys Pirate Ship by Kidscrookedhouse

Miley Cyrus, Teen Queen from Hannah Montana fame is still interested in her former boyfriend Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brother Band.  Now, let’s look at it like this.  Miley Cyrus is currently 16 years old.  Miley broke up with Nick Jonas in 2007 after they spent two and a half years together.

It is now 2009, so the teen couple started dated when Miley Cyrus was 12 years old.  At 12 years old one might not find the love of their life, but maybe Miley has found the love her life in Nick Jonas.  Who knows?

Miley and Nick are working together again on a new video and they’ve been spending more and more time together. 

The two have found it impossible to stay apart from one another, says the insider. “Miley and Nick want to get back together,” the source tells the News.

Recently Miley and Nick were photographed at a lunch date together but they say they are just friends.

Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas as a younger couple.

Why is the media so interested in the love life of teens?

Simple.  Teens are interested in the love life of teens and teens are the ones that are searching the internet for every bit of gossip they can find.  Teens can’t necessarily afford the old-fashioned paper magazine, but they can surf the internet for free.

I’ll admit, I know more about Billy Ray Cyrus and his Achy Brakey Heart than I do about his daughter Miley, but if you’re going to have a successful site on the internet, you’d better include the teens.