Some Hollywood couples seem to thrive in a media spotlight, but for these couples, being in the public eye seemed to do them more harm than good. In fact, being in the public eye was completely disastrous for them. Not only did they have to deal with whatever drama they were dealing with, they had to do it with constant public speculation and criticism. In some cases, these couples learned their lessons, but in other cases, they didn’t learn a damn thing! Either way, here are 10 couples that publicly fell apart.

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Usher and Tameka Raymond

This is probably one of the most public custody battles we’ve seen from any divorced celebrity couple in recent times. To make matters worse, in the midst of the intense battle, Tameka lost her son in a Jet-Ski accident that took the 11-year-old’s life. Despite mourning her son she then had to continue the awful custody battle, only to lose primary custody in the end.

I have a really bad habit I’m trying to break: mean mugging kids. I know, it’s terrible, but I think I’ve found the correct place to redirect my anger—their parents—because most times the things that bring me to turn up my nose at these little ones really isn’t their fault. They don’t know any better. However, their grown parents should and that’s why I’d like to share a little knowledge with them. Nobody cares about their kids like they do.

Generally speaking, I don’t hate children. I hate children I have to deal with through no choice of my own. And since kids under the age of 4 or 5 are generally oblivious and innocent to the world around them, I really hate their parents who think everyone else’s world has to revolve around their kids just because theirs does.

What I’m really talking about here are random situations that possibly may not even bother the average American with a normal blood pressure, but for someone who was absent the day they passed out patience in school, these things drive me crazy. Take for instance waiting in line to order food from a restaurant. You know how there will be a mother-child pair in front of you and the mom doesn’t think to ask the child what he wants to eat until the cashier actually calls on them and then we’re waiting another two or three minutes for him to decide? The first 30 seconds of “umms” and I don’t knows” and “no, I don’t want that”s are cute, but when you’re about to make 10 people late for work just to give your 18-month-old child a choice of what he wants to eat for more breakfast, it’s not.

Or what about the parents who think the grocery line is the right time to teach their child math? I support learning and I’m definitely glad to see a parent being hands-on. However, when I have one item and I’m standing in the one line out of a possible 30 that’s open in Target and I have to wait for you to explain the difference in value between pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters the first time you let your child try to pay for a pack of gum, I have a problem. And then the parent always looks back at you with that half-grinned “sorry” that makes you look like a jerk if you don’t smile back and say, “it’s OK,” when in your head all you want to yell is “get out the emm-effin way!” At this point I really don’t care if they pass their first grade math class or not, go pick up a workbook on aisle 9 and spare the rest of us.

Now, like I said I have absolutely no patience so while those may seem like harmless examples of children being in the way, there are also the times when kids are literally in the way, like physically. I’m not a small person and I have no interest in trying to tiptoe around someone else’s child who actually is and I would appreciate it if other parents didn’t make me. Guess who looked like a jacka** a few weeks ago in the checkout line at the store when I went to walk away from the cashier and unknowingly stepped on a little girl who proceeded to collapse to the ground and cry and scream outrageously loud like she was murdered? All I was trying to go about my childless business and now all of a sudden I was getting stared down by angry onlookers like some sort of child abuser for not looking out for some unknown kid. And where was her mother? Over at another register completely oblivious to what was going on. I stood there saying sorry over and over again and asking was she OK til the mom finally looked up and was like, “oh, she’s fine it’s OK.” Well, glad to see you’re not about to flip on me or anything but how about you keep your child by your side next time?

Then there are the instances where you see a kid clowning in the middle of the floor, sidewalk, street, walkway, etc. from a mile away and maneuver yourself so that your paths don’t cross because you see their parent obviously doesn’t have sense enough to tell them something like I don’t know, be still, let this stranger walk by, get out the way, excuse me, stop doing acrobatics in the middle of the walkway. Without question, 99 percent of the time that child is somehow going to run straight into you, hit you with something, cause you to trip, cause you to cause them to trip, or something in the like. Now you’d be wrong to hit somebody else’s child back (right?) but for some reason, parents just think their child is free to roam freely in the great out- or indoors like the world is their oyster and throw adults off their path. Sorry, mom and dad, about 1 in 5 women are out in these streets without any bambinos, and like I said in the headline: if we wanted to be bothered with children we’d be bothered with children of our own.

I may totally feel different, should an amazing act of nature akin to the immaculate conception occur and I somehow become someone’s mother down the line, but I honestly don’t see it happening. You can tell the type of parents who think everyone should have to deal with their child, they’re the type of adults who think everyone should have to deal with their mess. I genuinely try to affect other people’s lives and wellbeing as little as possible on a daily. I’ve got my debit card out before I’m at the register, my metro pass stays handy, I know what I want when it’s time for me to place an order, and I’m not trying to waste anybody else’s time or my own. I know it’s hard being a parent and learning opportunities surround us 24/7 but um, I’m not trying to be a part of your social experiment. Keep that child rearing contained to you and yours, the same place where that child needs to be—next to you and away from strangers.

Do you get sick of dealing with other people’s kids in public?

*Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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By Angela Thomas

Source: curlynikki.com

The TWA (teeny weeny afro) has been around for ages and has been worn by neo-soul singers like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and India Arie. But now there are a new crop of celebrities who are choosing this style. Whether it is a personal form of expression, a result of damage, or just a new look, more and more celebrity women are deciding to ditch their weaves in favor of their natural hair. Here are six celebrities who boldly chose to chop it all off and/or expose us to their inspiring TWAs.

Source: People.com

From the outside looking in, it looks like being the child of a celebrity has some pretty amazing perks. Your people have all these connections, you don’t have to worry about not being able to afford to go to school, and you can often buy what you want/need for that matter. Oh, the perks. But the way many of the children of celebrities act these days, snapping off on their parents online and embarrassing them, I guess it really isn’t all roses and sunshine. I’m sure you’ve already heard about Mike Epps’ daughter Bria releasing a recording of her father cursing her out, but she’s not the only one who has acted out and put her parent in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Check these young adults (and some now older), out.

By Ryan Rivera

Anxiety may be one of the most common mental health conditions in the country, and yet few people are willing to admit that their anxiety is causing a serious problem. Anxiety is often considered normal, especially in its milder forms, and indeed there are times when feeling anxious makes a great deal of sense (an important meeting with a client, or a job interview for example), and otherwise fairly harmless.

Yet there’s no denying that there are also times when anxiety affects your life in a negative way, and in some cases that anxiety can be fairly consistent. Persistent anxiety may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder – and for many, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects their life fairly regularly. If you experience anxiety when no anxiety should be present, and you find that that anxiety is affecting your quality of life, there may be more going on than you think.

You can see what qualifies as GAD in the DSM-IV-TR, but it’s not uncommon to have an anxiety problem without realizing it. So here are some potential signs to keep an eye out for.

Security guards in a Washington, DC DMV picked the wrong mother to mess with this week. When Simone dos Santos was breastfeeding her 4-month-old in a hallway, two female security guards asked her to stop because it was indecent. What they didn’t know was dos Santos is an attorney, and she wasn’t about to take their “indecent exposure” claim at face value.

“I called my law firm to ask for pro bono assistance and an associate who could immediately research whether there was a law regarding breastfeeding in public,” dos Santos wrote in a blog for the Washington Post. “I wanted to get the name of all of the guards involved, and finally got a name and number of a supervisor before I was called into the room for the hearing on the parking ticket.”

dos Santos added that she’s since learned that the guards were wrong and had no right to stop her from breastfeeding her son. Citing the “Child’s Right to Nurse Human Rights Amendment Act of 2007, she said the law allows women to breastfeed in any location she has a right to be with her child—-public or private.

Stories like these aren’t uncommon. Last year, ABC did a little undercover experiment to gauge people’s reaction to mothers breastfeeding in public. Most people didn’t approve, but approval and rights are two separate things.

Are you bothered by women breastfeeding in public? Have you ever been asked or asked someone else to stop breastfeeding when you were out?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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If you want to add some spice to your relationship, you don’t have to go as far as adding a third person into your bedroom or heading to some scandalous sex party in the depths of Lower Manhattan. You can start off nice and easy and try getting your public freak on with your boo. I’m serious. There’s a certain level of spontaneity and a jolt of adrenaline that comes along with public sexual encounters. But like anything else, there are rules to this game. If played well you’ll be filled with sexual bliss, but if you happen to make a few wrong turns you might end up in the slammer, so be careful. Here’s a list of places to make it happen and others to avoid at all costs:

Back of a yellow cab

Making love in the back of a yellow cab under the bright city lights has a certain mystique to it. See last week’s episode of “How To Make it in America” or just imagine Samantha getting it on with one of her many lovers in “Sex and the City.” Don’t worry too much about the driver noticing, downtown in any major city is typically so busy that cab drivers are more worried about almost hitting each other than a couple trying to “make it happen.”

(Time) – This is a big week for guns and the people who want to carry them. The question: Just how big? The Supreme Court ruled on Monday, June 28, in a challenge to Chicago’s gun-control law, that Americans in all 50 states have a constitutional right to possess firearms for self-defense. Gun-rights supporters are ecstatic about the decision. The floodgates are now open for lawsuits challenging state and local gun-control laws nationwide. But based on what the majority actually said, it seems likely that many of these challenges will fail.

Read More..

(TG Daily) — People trust Apple more than Facebook, and Google more than Twitter, according to a poll from Zogby Interactive. Steve Ballmer must have an awfully reassuring face, because 49 percent of US adults said they trusted Microsoft. The same number felt equally warm and fuzzy about Apple and Google.

Read More…

(TG Daily) — People trust Apple more than Facebook, and Google more than Twitter, according to a poll from Zogby Interactive. Steve Ballmer must have an awfully reassuring face, because 49 percent of US adults said they trusted Microsoft. The same number felt equally warm and fuzzy about Apple and Google.

Read More…