Jezebel

A History of Geeky Glasses, and Why We Love Them [Uniform]

Kristen Philipkoski — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:35:00 EST

When Buddy Holly finally conceded to glasses, his vision was already 20-800. He had tried some of the earliest contact lenses. They became unbearable after about 10 minutes. So he got glasses. His first frames had thick plastic at the top, with a thinner, less obtrusive metal frame for the bottom half. More »

The Shippers: Television's Most Romance-Obsessed Fans [TV]

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:15:00 EST

Pete and Olivia on Fringe. Jack and Liz on 30 Rock. Booth and Bones on Bones. Beckett and Castle, Scully and Mulder, Buffy and Angel, Xena and Gabrielle. To kiss or not to kiss, that is the question. Sometimes a TV series stirs not only the imagination, but the heart… and the loins. The new issue of Entertainment Weekly features a cover story about the sexy love triangle on The Vampire Diaries, as well as a supplemental essay, "Just Do It," in which Jeff Jensen discusses the culture of "shippers," fans who are deeply invested in the romantic relationship between fictional characters. Jensen seems to think that all shippers really want is to see their favorite couples be together. But is this true? Do we actually want our One True Pairings to be together? Or is the longing the best part? More »

Michelle Obama Did Not Spend $50k on Fancy Lingerie After All [Rag Trade]

Jenna Sauers — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:50:00 EST

The Telegraph newspaper has issued a rare apology and full retraction of an earlier article. The reason? The newspaper claimed that Michelle Obama had had an Agent Provocateur store in Manhattan closed down during business hours so that she could go on a $50,000 lingerie shopping spree in privacy. Also with Obama at this event was a high-spending Qatari princess. The story seemed fishy — Agent Provocateur released a statement saying it never commented publicly on its high-profile customers, and the White House issued a flat denial — but with this retraction comes an acknowledgement that the whole shopping trip described by the Telegraph was actually a complete fiction. "We would like to make clear that the 'shopping spree' involving Her Highness Sheikha Moza and Michelle Obama that we referred to in fact never occurred," writes the editors of the paper. "We apologise for the distress and embarrassment this article caused." [Telegraph] More »

Obama's Birth Control Compromise Is Actually Pretty Good [Pill Baby Pill]

Anna North — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:18:00 EST

Remember when we said the birth control compromise Obama would announce today for religious employees wouldn't satisfy anyone? Well, we are actually satisfied! (Mostly, anyhow.) More »

Think Like a Man, Dress Like a Mess [Good/bad/ugly]

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:45:00 EST

For last night's premiere of Think Like a Man—the biggest nightmare of a romantic comedy for so many reasons—the red carpet fashions seemed to set the tone for what's sure to be a cinematic shitshow. More »

The Couple That Talks Together Stays Together [Relationships]

Anna North — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:15:00 EST

A new study has some potentially heartwarming news: for couples, a good conversation can help relieve the stress of an argument. But not just any conversation works: at least one of the partners has to get really immersed in the talk. More »

Brave Girl Kicks and Screams to Save Herself From Being Kidnapped [Rescues]

Cassie Murdoch — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:45:00 EST

A 7-year-old girl is safe and sound after a man attempted to kidnap her earlier this week in the toy aisle of a Walmart in Georgia. Brittney Baxter was looking at toys when a man started talking to her and then grabbed her, covering her mouth. She kicked him and screamed until he let her go, which you can see on this surveillance footage. Her mother was just a few aisles away and couldn't believe what had happened. Luckily, no one was injured. The creep who did this, Thomas Andrew Woods, was already on probation for the 2004 killing of his uncle and is now in custody. He is being charged with attempted kidnapping. Major props to Brittney for having the presence of mind to protect herself in what must have been a terrifying situation. More »

Rick Santorum Says Women Aren't Fit for Combat Because They're Just So Emotional [Video]

Cassie Murdoch — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:20:00 EST

Pretty much every time he opens his mouth, Rick Santorum manages to commit some kind of flagrant foul, but yesterday he really delivered a doozy. This time it was on the matter of ladies in combat, and Santorum was quick to praise the women of the military, saying he "wants to create every opportunity for women to be able to serve this country." He should have stopped right there, because after that he stepped into a big old pile of horse shit. More »

Steve Carrell Has Three Weeks to Live and He's Gonna Spend Them With Keira Knightley [Video]

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:45:00 EST

That's the premise of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, an apocalyptic romcom crashing into theaters this summer. The title seems to be based on a song by Chris Cornell, and the plot unfolds thusly: An asteroid named Mathilda is heading towards Earth, and people are trying to figure out what the fuck to do with their final days. Steve Carrell plays Dodge, a man looking for the one who got away, and Keira Knightley plays Penny, his neighbor who decides to help him. More »

Doting Father Discovers Daughter's Facebook Rant, Pumps Her Laptop Full of Bullets [Video]

Madeleine Davies — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:20:00 EST

When this father discovered his daughter's bratty rant about him on Facebook, he decided to make a rant of his own. The only difference is his (which he thankfully decided to videotape) ended with him shooting a round of hollow-point bullets into his entitled kid's laptop to ensure that she doesn't do it again. Texas forever. More »

Obama to Announce Birth-Control Compromise That Satisfies No One [Pill Baby Pill]

Anna North — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Obama's reportedly going to announce some sort of compromise today on the requirement that religious employers cover birth control. What's the compromise? No one really knows yet. But apparently it's not going to make anybody happy. More »

How Badly Do You Want to Work at Home? [Work]

Cassie Murdoch — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:30:00 EST

How badly do you want to be a telecommuter? It may seem preferable to a lengthy drive followed by sitting in a cubicle hive for hours at a time, while being forced to endure the banal conversations of those around you as you try to get things done. But just how much would you give up to get it? More »

Recovering Bulimic Lady Gaga is Sick of the Diet Wars [Video]

Luke Malone — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST

Though Lady Gaga's day wardrobe often consists of little more than some Saran Wrap and oversized sunglasses, she confessed she wasn't always so free and easy when it comes to body image and struggled with bulimia during high school. Speaking at a conference called It's Our Turn at an LA school, Gaga shared her story when a girl admitted to struggling with body issues and asked her how she got to be so confident. "I used to throw up all the time in high school. So I'm not that confident. I wanted to be a skinny little ballerina but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night," she said, adding that she stopped when she realized the stomach acid was impacting negatively on her vocal chords. "Weight is still a struggle. Every video I'm in, every magazine cover, they stretch you – they make you perfect. It's not real life ... I'm gonna say this about girls: The dieting wars have got to stop. Everyone just knock it off. Because at the end of the day, it's affecting kids your age. And it's making girls sick." [Page Six] More »

Make Your Engagement Extra Special by Proposing at Pizza Hut [Proposals]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:55:00 EST

Asking someone to marry you is one of life's most amazing events; so what better place to do it than at Pizza Hut, one of the most amazing places on the planet. For the bargain price of just $10,010, you can get a complete Pizza Hut proposal package. That may seem a bit pricey for what is not necessarily the most gourmet pizza pie, but before you balk, you should know they provide the ring! And they also throw in limo service, a videographer, a photographer, flowers, fireworks, and...$10 worth of pizza and breadsticks to chow down on after she says yes. (Or you could hide the ring under a slice of pepperoni and propose mid-meal, if you want to make in an extra greasy engagement.) This is one can't lose meal deal, because there is no girl in the world who would say no to a question popped with pizza. You'd better act quickly though. They're only offering 10 of these packages, and you've got to buy before Valentine's Day. More »

Terrible Judge Says Woman Fired Over Pumping Breast Milk Wasn't Discriminated Against [Discrimination]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:15:00 EST

In a curious decision, a judge in Texas has ruled that a woman who was fired after she asked for a place in the office to pump her breast milk was not discriminated against. Donnicia Venters was working at a debt collection agency called Houston Funding in 2008 when she gave birth to a daughter. As she was about to come back from maternity leave, she asked the company's vice president for a private place in the office to pump her breast milk, and she was suddenly told her position had been filled. She then got a back-dated termination notice a week later, which cited "job abandonment" as the cause. More »

An Awkward Moment with Lindsay Lohan, Woody Allen, and Soon-Yi [Snap Judgment]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:30:00 EST

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Soon-Yi Previn, Lindsay Lohan, and Woody Allen attend the amfAR New York Gala To Kick Off Fall 2012 Fashion Week at Cipriani Wall Street on February 8, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) More »

Amazing Little Girl Can Give Better Directions Than Any GPS [Video]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:45:00 EST

Republican Politician Offers a Heartwarming Defense of Gay Marriage [Video]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:05:00 EST

Comment of the Day: A Union Divided Might Actually Be Awesome [Reader Roundup]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST

While Rick Santorum was raking in campaign cash, mcstabbypants was busy pondering what the rest of us could do to retain our sanity: More »

Gwyneth Paltrow Goes All Out For Blue Ivy's Baby Gift [Dirt Bag]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST

What do you get for the BFF who has everything and then also has a baby? Well, if you're Gwyneth Paltrow, you buy your pal Beyoncé a top of the line Bugaboo Cameleon stroller—retail price $979. Nothing but the best for Blue Ivy™. But here's a question: what the hell are Beyoncé and Jay-Z going to do with a stroller? That child is not going to see the light of day until she already knows how to walk, or maybe she won't even need to walk because she'll be carried aloft on a platform everywhere she goes. Actually, maybe they could use it to push the baby around inside her 2,200-square-foot nursery. Either way, props to the Goop for the nice gesture. [Us] More »

RuPaul in 'Dragton Abbey' [TV]

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:45:00 EST

Next Wednesday on The Soup, RuPaul and some queens will star in a skit called "Dragton Abbey." It looks like Ru is Carson. We're hoping Joel McHale is the Dowager Countess. More »

Is Taylor Armstrong Tweeting Compliments to Herself? [Tweet Beat]

Madeleine Davies — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST

In today's Tweet Beat, Taylor Armstrong inspires herself, Jimmy Fallon rejoices in the return of the Shamrock Shake, Juliette Lewis has some strong words for rice pudding and Bette Middler shares her thoughts on Rick Santorum. More »

Max Azria Would Like To See You In Color-Blocked Caftans This Fall [Fashion Show]

Jenna Sauers — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:20:00 EST

Max Azria seems to be feeling pretty '70s for fall, at least in his BCBG Max Azria collection (the first to walk of the three brands he presents at New York Fashion Week, the others being Hervé Leger by Max Azria and Max Azria). There were fluid, flared trousers, coats in camel and leather, and floaty caftans. More »

Breasts Make Excellent Puppets [NSFW] [Breast Intentions]

Anna North — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:15:00 EST

And not in sexy lingerie, either — Heidi Leigh dresses up her breasts as characters she calls "buppets" (breast puppets), and photographs them for her blog. Let's take a look at some of the b(r)e(a)st ones (warning: NSFW but in a funny way). More »

Catholic Bishops Want Every Business Including Taco Bell to Be Free to Deny Birth Control Coverage [Pill Baby Pill]

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST

Hey, look who it is poking its funny hats into the birth control debate! It's the Catholic Church again, and they're here tell the government that God wants every business owner to have the right to deny their female employees coverage for birth control. Even Taco Bell. Especially Taco Bell. More »

Baby Bear and Wolf Cub are The Cutest Best Friends You'll Ever See [Video]

Madeleine Davies — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:45:00 EST

Lil' Bear, a grizzly, and Tala, a wolf, have been best friends for six years. Better yet, there's video of the besties (beasties?) playing as babies. This might be the cutest thing you'll watch all day. More »

Kansas and Oklahoma Battle to See Which State is Considering Crappier Abortion Restrictions [Roe V World]

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:30:00 EST

There's no better way for lawmakers to impress constituents nowadays than to pass draconian abortion restrictions, and no states are trying harder to enforce pregnancy than Kansas and Oklahoma. But which terrible, totalitarian abortion law is worse? Let's find out. More »

Do You Keep Underwear In Your Purse? [Dating]

Anna North — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:15:00 EST

Apparently a lot of British ladies do! A survey (conducted, it must be said, by the possibly biased lingerie buyers at the department store Sainsbury's) found that 43% of single women "carry an extra pair of sexy underwear in their handbags, in case a date is successful." This seems really high to us — couldn't you just wear sexy underwear on the date, and thus eliminate the risk of whipping it out onto the table along with your wallet? More »

Some Cranky Guy at CPAC Says Rachel Maddow is Best Argument in Favor of Contraception [Video]

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

If you've got clinically low blood pressure, I've got great news: the CPAC, or Conservative Political Action Conference, is meeting this week in Washington, raising the city's level of curmudgeonly dickishness to unprecedented levels. At the forefront of the race toward insufferability is Cal Thomas, conservative pundit who believes that Rachel Maddow's very existence is a great argument in favor of contraception... for Rachel Maddow's parents! Good one, dude! More »

Bridesmaids Is Still Breaking Records and Raking in Cash [Video]

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:40:00 EST

It's been said that women aren't funny. And when Bridesmaids was released, at least one dude claimed it was "more alarming than actually funny" and noted "it goes on for what seems like forever." He was in the minority, though, because the flick was a box-office smash ($288 million worldwide), and has just become the most popular video-on-demand movie ever. EVER. Below, a few clips to remind you of the awesomeness. More »

Surprising Number of Married People Spice Up Sex Lives With Public Spanking [Sex]

Anna North — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:20:00 EST

We've heard that women's interest in sex tends to decline over the course of a relationship, but now a study shows that most married women still think sex is an important part of their marriage. And some of the things they do to keep things lively are somewhat bizarre. More »

Cupcakes Are Ruining Everything [Dessert]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Once upon a time, cupcakes were just a run of the mill dessert. Now there are boutique cupcake bakeries all over the place and our consumption shows no signs of slowing. It's no fad; the Washington Post has declared that our relationship with cupcakes is "an enduring love affair." Of course, the things you love say a lot about you. And, apparently, our love of cupcakes reveals some pretty disturbing things about us. More »

School District Celebrates Black History Month With Boys-Only Movie Day [Education]

Anna North — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:45:00 EST

To celebrate Black History Month, the Dallas school district decided to take its fifth-graders to a screening of the movie Red Tails. The male ones, that is. Because girls can't be fighter pilots, or even learn about them, obviously. More »

America-Loving Lawmaker Wants to Change Name of Gulf of Mexico [Patriotism]

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:30:00 EST

Because the state of Mississippi has not been embarrassed enough by the shenanigans of its lawmakers, one of the Jackson's finest has introduced a bill to the state legislature that would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico... to the Gulf of America. I bet he also drives a truck that shoots flames from its tailpipe. More »

Downton Abbey's O'Brien Is a Total Babe [Downton Abbey]

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:15:00 EST

Siobhan Finneran, the actress who plays the Countess' maid on Downton Abbey, showed up to Britain's National Television Awards in London looking super hot in a tight red dress, almost unrecognizable from her dour character O'Brien. More »

Is Your Doctor a Big Fat Liar? [Doctors]

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

We like to think that doctors are somehow superior to the rest of us. After all, doctor knows best, right? We want to believe that they are wiser, more skilled, more honest than we are—except a new survey finds that, in fact, they're not always as honest as you might think. More »

Misguided Idiot in Black Face Asks BYU Students About Black History [Video]

Madeleine Davies — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:45:00 EST

What a bunch of cool kids! Does this video make you want to enroll at Brigham Young University and do college all over again just so you can be friends with a bunch of fun ignorant racists? Race you to the registrar! More »

How to Act at Someone Else's Church [Social Minefield]

Anna North — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:30:00 EST

Back in December, we offered some tips on going to a holiday celebration of another religion. But religious services of various kinds go on all year, and different rules apply when you're in church than when you're at a Hanukkah party. Herewith, some advice on going to someone's place of worship without making an ass of yourself. More »

Top Modeling Agency Says 14 Is Not Too Young For The Runway [Rag Trade]

Jenna Sauers — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:10:00 EST

Fashion week isn't just about pretty dresses and champagne: it's also about long hours for the people who work it. And some of those workers are children. The Times is reporting on the Council of Fashion Designers of America's efforts to ensure all models who work New York Fashion Week are over 16 years old. Last season, at least two agencies — Ford and Women — flouted those guidelines, and models aged 14 and 15 walked for a number of top designers, including Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, BCBG, and DKNY. Ford, despite pledging to honor the CFDA age guidelines, has apparently not changed its practices this season: More »