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Source: Eurweb.com

From Eurweb.com

President Barack Obama’s appearance on” The View” this week gave the show a 15-month ratings high, according to Deadline.com.

His Tuesday visit, where he spoke about topics like Wall Street reform and his recently announced support for gay marriage, drew 4.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

It was his fourth visit to the ABC morning talk show and the first of his re-election campaign.

See how the president fared on a pop culture challenge at Eurweb.com.

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If you think you have a tough time getting along in this world, imagine how rough it must be for the beautiful people—that’s the gist of an article written by a self-proclaimed attractive British woman named Samantha Brick who is getting slammed for her recent essay on pretty people problems.

On Monday, Samantha wrote about the perils being of pretty, but not before she listed all the perks: bottles of bubbly or wine sent to her restaurant table by men she doesn’t know, bartenders not making her pay for drinks, free train tickets and cab fares, and the list goes on. But as nice as all that sounds, Samantha says there’s an ugly downside to being so blessed in the looks department: jealous wives have cut her out of their lives, women have stopped being her friend, insecure bosses have barred her from promotions, and (gasp!) no one has ever asked her to be a bridesmaid. She also finds that “older women are the most hostile to beautiful women — perhaps because they feel their own bloom fading,” and with that observation, she says she “can’t wait for the wrinkles and the grey hair that will help me blend into the background.” Unfortunately, Samantha doesn’t realize she’s already blending in quite well with another group of women—crazies. Even Barbara Walters had to put her out on “The View” and let her know, sorry, Sammy, you’re just not all that attractive. But as much as I know this woman is hardly the cream of the British crop (and she does too), unfortunately I’ve seen her kind up close and personal.

This is actually an issue I’ve been struggling with since I started hanging out with an old friend of mine more often. We have about the same lighter brown skin tone and longer hair and for some reason she’s trying to get me to buy into this sort of alternate universe where all people with a lighter complexion are automatically attractive and therefore superior to everyone else and I just can’t take it. When we go out she’ll point out girls who “aren’t that attractive to be light-skinned” and then I have to remind her those qualities don’t go hand in hand. Or she’ll tell me people probably aren’t speaking to us because of our looks and I’ll tell her no, they’re not speaking to you because you’re stank. Then I’m reminded that this is the same girl who told me like 10 years ago that there are people in the world who simply don’t like me because of my skin tone and hair texture; interestingly I haven’t had a single experience to back that theory up. What I have seen though is that whenever one of the bartenders who looks like she could be our more attractive sister comes to ask if we want a drink her attitude turns sour and she turns up her nose to ask me why she’s always in our face about a drink. Now who’s intimidated? Like Samantha, her “woe is pretty old me” problem is all about perception.

If we really think about it, any woman could write Samantha’s story. Just a couple of months, ago a 53-year-old man bought me a Coke at the airport. I must be killin’ ‘em in these streets if he came off of $2 and didn’t even know my name! I mean really, what woman hasn’t had a man buy her a drink, or a bartender drop her tab, or an officer skip out on a ticket, or a free oil change? Women use their feminine wiles all the time to get things and half the time the goods aren’t predicated on how attractive a woman is but on the man’s level of thirst.

In all honesty, and I hope this comes out right, women who are seen as “less attractive” by society’s standards usually don’t get caught up in all this who looks better than who foolishness. When you’re not all caught up in your looks, you don’t have time to be worried about anyone else’s. It’s women like Samantha who are trying to keep up with the beauty Joneses who keep tally on how their looks affect their daily lives. Like my friend, because Samantha possesses the most sought after qualities in a white woman—blonde hair and what looks to be blue eyes—why wouldn’t she think everyone is jealous of her and dying to please her? Unfortunately, she’s been bamboozled, and if you haven’t already come to this conclusion yet, it’s likely her arrogant attitude that keeps women from befriending her, not some unfounded desire to look like her. Although let Samanta tell it, the backlash she’s received in response to her article only demonstrates her point: “no one in this world is more reviled than a pretty woman.”

I beg to differ. Pretty women people can handle. Pretty and conceited? Not so much.

Do you think so-called attractive people’s looks turn others off or is it usually their attitudes that do them in?

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

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The View’s new crime segment “Missing Black Children” is serving it’s purpose of highlighting African American children who often disappear unnoticed. Last week, a missing New York City teen that was featured on the show was found just hours after the segment was broadcast.

On Friday, an anonymous viewer recognized 16-year-old Mishell DiAmonde Green who was profiled on the show and called in to the Black and Missing Foundation to report her location. The girl was later found at the Safe Horizon shelter for victims of violence in NYC that same day.

Mishell went missing on Sept. 8 when she was on her way to an after-school program in SoHo. According to her mother, Janell Johnson-Dash, “This was her first time going out alone where we weren’t going to pick her up, so I trusted her with a set of keys, because I trust her, and a 10 p.m. curfew. You’re 16, you can do this. She said, ‘Ma I promise I’ll be home on time.’ She gave my husband a hug and a kiss and we never saw her again,” she said on “The View.” The next morning she called the police to report her daughter missing.

“They told us, ‘Don’t worry about it, this type of stuff happens all the time with teenagers. We’re pretty sure she’ll show up.’ And my immediate response was, ‘You don’t know my baby. This is completely out of character. There’s no way in the world that she would just stay out.’”

Months went by with no leads as police classified Mishell as a runaway rather than a missing person. Thanks to “The View” the mother and daughter have been reunited.

“We thank all who lifted your hearts and voices in prayer, who posted reports, who told about her disappearance, who called us with suggestions, and who were there,” Green’s family said in a statement.”Thank you to ‘The View’ for providing a platform that gave Mishell’s story the media attention needed for her recovery.”

Mishell and her family are expected to appear on “The View” today to discuss her recovery and what happened when she went missing. But for the family, the most important thing is that “Mishell is safe and out of harm’s way.”

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

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Headline News correspondent Nischelle Turner called Star Jones’ appearance on The View “awkwardly” awesome and that was a great way to describe it. Six years after she left The View in a storm of controversy, Star Jones proved just why she wasn’t a good fit for The View. During her guest appearance on the show yesterday, Barbara Walters took the opportunity to ask Jones about why she decided to surprise her co-hosts with the news of her departure on air. Jones responded defensively, even asking Barbara why she still cared. Walters shot back saying that the question surrounding Jones’ departure still haunted the show. It was obvious that Jones wasn’t going to cooperate so easily even though she warmed up to the gals later. Check out the video of her appearance and let us know what you think.

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Sherri Shepherd has been open about her promiscuous past, telling the audience at “The View” she had more abortions than she would like to count back in 2008. But emotions were on the rise yesterday as the ladies discussed the controversial Texas law that requires women to have a sonogram before having an abortion, and Sherri got a little choked up this time.

While Elisabeth Hasselbeck expressed favor for the law, saying, “You would never go through any medical procedure like that…without looking at the scientific evidence, why you would ask for an X-ray for those things but not in this case?” Barbara Walters and Joy Behar called the law “totalitarian” and “heartbreaking.”

Sherri Shepherd seemed to be the only one speaking from the perspective of the women who would actually have to endure a sonogram before an abortion and she was noticeably upset at the requirement, saying it’s ridiculous to not want women to have abortions but also not want them to go to Planned Parenthood and get birth control and then give people the safety net of Welfare and food stamps to only come back and say the recipients keep having babies and don’t want to take care of them.

“We stop at the picket signs and we don’t help you past that!” she said. “I’m speaking as a girl who had a lot of abortions and I swear to God, if they had shown me a picture of the fetus I probably wouldn’t have but I would have put my child in a lot of situations that wouldn’t have been good because I didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with having a child…it was a hard thing.”

Check out the clip from the segment here.

Do you think Sherri’s right about the catch 22 of women being discouraged from using preventive resources and then being criticized for getting pregnant? What about the idea of being guilted into having a child you can’t take care of with this law?

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’re a fan of “The View,” you know that there are times where things can get really heated. It can actually be uncomfortable to watch, but it makes for really good TV.   One of the first fights on the show came when Star Jones and Barbara Walters fell out.

But I guess all the bad blood is behind them because Star Jones will be on “The View” on February 22, to promote her campaign to raise awareness about heart disease. Find out more about Star’s appearance and watch other fights during the history of the show at BlackVoices.com.

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Many questioned Sherri Shepherd when she said she feels it’s OK for black people to use the n-word and not white people on an episode of “The View” in October when Rick Perry’s controversial camp name was brought up as a hot topic.

Since then, Sherri hasn’t been able to fully explain her stance on the issue amongst a slew of backlash, but she recently spoke to Essence.com to give more insight on why she sees the word in black and white. Here’s what she said:

“That word brings up so many issues with everybody. I have Black friends who hate the word and don’t want it used. I respect those friends, and I don’t use the word around them. However, this is a word that was in my family. When my uncle played dominos and spades, I heard it used in the utmost of affection. My mother used this word with my father, and my cousin used to say it at our family reunions. I also heard it when I moved to the suburbs in Chicago, and it was used very negatively towards me by White people. To hear a White person say it just brings back those negative feelings.

“On the other hand, it was used in a positive way at home when I was growing up. How can it be positive? The power was taken out of the word, and I know where it comes from. I respect Richard Pryor for deciding not to use it after he returned from his trip to Africa. For me, this word was just It was very hard for me to articulate just what I hear when different people use it. Then again, I probably need to take a closer look at it too. When I was younger, there was a clear line on who could use that word and who couldn’t. It’s gotten really blurred today with the young kids, Black and White, who buy the rap music.”

Sherri says she also knows when it’s “appropriate” to use the controversial word and when it’s not.

“Do I use it around my son? No. He has no filter and everything mommy says he repeats. I personally don’t want him going to school and saying it. It is something I call Sal (husband Lamar Sally). That’s our word and I know he loves me with everything he’s got. I know that may make some people mad. Some lady tweeted me, ‘You sent Black people back 400 years.’ I tweeted her back, ‘If my saying I don’t have a problem using the word set us back 400 years, you got some deeper issues than that.’  I’m not taking that on me.”

I don’t think Sherri is alone in her experience with the n-word and how you can become desensitized to it’s ugly past when it’s used so commonly. But then again, that’s the very argument people have against it’s use in everyday language and rap lyrics.

What do you think about Sherri’s use of the n-word? Can you relate? What’s your stance on the word for white and black people?

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

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Star Jones announced on the Wendy Williams show that she’s signed a deal to turn her her juicy novel, “Satan’s Sisters” into a TV show. The fiction book is based on the off-camera lives of four television hosts—perhaps her former “View” cast members?

I haven’t had a chance to check out Star’s new book just yet, but it definitely sounds like it has potential for a great prime time drama. What do you think. Have you read Satan’s Sisters?

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

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It seems like every other day the women on “The View” are saying or doing something that lands their hilarious conversations on blogs across the country.

Today is one of those days. The topic was vibrators.

Recently a woman was unpacking her suitcase when she noticed that a TSA employee had left her a personalized message on a very personal item.

The message affixed to the woman’s vibrator read, “Get your freak on girl.”

Whooop!

At first the woman thought the note was funny but the more she thought about it, the more she freaked out. After all, this note proved that a TSA agent had…handled her vibrator. Yucks! (Needless to say this little toy is no longer in use.)

See what the women on “The View” had to say about the incident. You know Whoopi clowned.