IKEA Monkey
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Donald Trump: 'I Will Win the Latino Vote'
IKEA Monkeylol ok
Obamacare Has Saved Women Over $1.4 Billion in Birth Control Costs
IKEA MonkeyTHANKS OBAMA

A new study has found that the Affordable Care Act created an immediate drop in out-of-pocket birth control costs for women. The authors saw costs decrease for almost all reversible birth control methods, an average of around $250 per person per year. And that’s even with some health insurance companies still illegally charging patients for birth control.
Oregon Pharmacists Will Soon Be Able to Prescribe Birth Control
IKEA MonkeyNice!

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has signed a measure into law that will allow Oregon pharmacists to prescribe birth control directly to patients. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Knute Buehler, who is both male and Republican, who sponsored the proposal because, he said, “it makes no sense that men have unrestrained access to contraception” while women don’t. Oregon, man.
Mark Cuban Has Reportedly Been Fined $25,000 For Discussing Free Agency Deals
IKEA MonkeyMark Cuban can pull $25,000 out of his couch cushions

USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks quietly pulled off one of the biggest coups of free agency so far, landing both DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews. But if there’s one thing Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn’t know how to do, it’s how to stay quiet. Though both players have reportedly agreed to contracts, the league-wide moratorium on officially signing free agents doesn’t end until July 9, and organizations are prohibited from publicly discussing any pending deals until that time.
But that didn’t stop Cuban from going on a Fox Sports radio show last Friday to talk about Dallas’ new acquisitions, which according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, resulted in a $25,000 fine, the first such fine commissioner Adam Silver has levied against Cuban during his tenure.
ESPN sources say Mavs owner Mark Cuban has been fined $25,000 for publicly discussing Mavs' looming deals w/DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 7, 2015
Here’s more of what Cuban had to say about Jordan on The Dan and Bob Show:
“We see him [Jordan] as ‘Shaq-like’ but never having been given the opportunity,” Cuban told the radio show. “We told him if he came to the Mavs, he would be a focal point. He would grow into being a franchise player.”
“We told him that you’re capable of being a 20-20 guy,” Cuban told the radio show. “You’re just not being given the opportunity.”
Cuban went onto discuss the issue of Matthews’ Achilles injury and subsequent recovery:
“We’re not putting a timetable on it,” Cuban said Friday on KTCK-AM 1310. “Like I told Wes, if he opens up with camp, great. If he starts the season, great. If he misses 30 games, great. I don’t care because we didn’t sign him for this year.”
“The goal isn’t to try to rush them,” Cuban said. “It’s really to get them all healthy, which we know we can, and have them playing together and be something special for a lot of years as opposed to being worrying about the first 30 games of this season.”
Needless to say, there are giant question marks attached to both of these signings. It’s debatable whether Jordan is, in fact, capable of evolving into a low-post scoring threat, given that he’s shown minimal offensive proficiency during his career so far. It seems more likely that the Mavs have simply acquired a younger version of Tyson Chandler, a big who can play defense and catch lobs, which of course isn’t a bad thing. But if they’re honestly counting on him to carry a significant portion of the offensive load as a future franchise cornerstone, then they might be setting themselves up for disappointment.
Matthews is a different story. They’re rolling the dice on whether he’ll ever be the same player again after that Achilles injury, but the good news is that, at 28, he’s still relatively young. As a spot-up perimeter shooter, his game is tailor-made for the pace-and-space era of the NBA and not predicated on being a slasher or an explosive athlete. But if he loses some of that lateral quickness, he might never be the same elite-level defender he’s been during his career up to this point.
Cuban knows all this, of course, and a $25,000 for talking about it on air is chump change for him. But the signings themselves are a bet that could potentially cost him much more in the future.
(via Marc Stein and Fox Sports)
Gronk’s Bahamas Party Cruise Has A Video Trailer Filled With Air Horn
IKEA MonkeySo, we're all going to this right?
About a month ago, we learned that Rob Gronkowski is hosting a three-day party cruise to the Bahamas in February 2016 in what is sure to be most turnt, STD-laden event of the year.
If one measly press release wasn’t enough to sell you on a trip to Gronk’s private island, there’s now a video trailer to promote the event. Based on the amount of air horn included, I’m convinced that Gronk edited this himself. The event has boasts appearances from Waka Flocka Flame, 3LAU, Sammy Adams and Brooke Evers. I’ve actually heard of one of them!
Anyway, if all that sounds like too much potential blackout drunkenness to miss, there’s a presale available on the cruise’s website.
Man punches cougar to save pet
IKEA MonkeySee, if this happened to Snowy, she'd be the one punching the cougar
Black hole awakens, erupts after 26 years
IKEA MonkeyWelp its been fun, see you round the next singularity
Review: Wendy's - Baconator Fries
IKEA MonkeyCorey
It's $1.99 for an order but I received this courtesy of Wendy's.
Like a lot of fast food chains, the fries can vary quite a bit in crispiness. Unfortunately for me, they were pretty soft this time around and also heavily salted.
The shredded cheese was nicely melted and, together with the cheddar cheese sauce, offered an enjoyable mild flavor with plenty to go around.
Nutritional Info - Wendy's Baconator Fries
Calories - 490 (from Fat - 250)
Fat - 28g (Saturated Fat - 9g)
Sodium - 550mg
Carbs - 45g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 14g
The FBI Just Raided Subway Spokesperson Jared Fogle's House
IKEA Monkeywhaaaaaaat

Federal authorities raided the Indiana home of Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle Tuesday morning. Fogle’s uncle Russell Taylor, who heads a childhood fitness charity founded by Fogle, was arrested in April on child pornography charges. The warrant served at Fogle’s home is believed to be connected to that case.
Inside the Nightmarish Body Habit Disorders That Affect 'One in 50 People'
IKEA MonkeyI have been a compulsive inner-cheek biter since I was very young. My mother would yell at me about it, and I wouldn't even realize I had been doing it. Sometimes it wasn't a huge deal, but sometimes I'd bite so compulsively I'd cause bleeding and swelling. Over time its worn some of my teeth down - not the molars, like with night grinding, but the front. I've only had one dentist address this with me correctly (the rest have offered expensive mouth guards that I wear at night, which solves nothing since I only do this during the day with my front teeth, not my rear molars). It is an incredibly hard habit to break. Chewing gum sometimes helps, but the main thing that has caused a huge decrease is treatment for my anxiety and depression. I still do it, but I find my compulsive behaviors have lessened considerably when my anxiety and depression are better controlled and they get worse when those things ratchet up.
Anyway, I've always been kind of embarrassed about it, especially given the damage its done to my teeth (since mostly addressed/fixed by that dentist who took me seriously and listened to me when I explained about the habit). Its going to be an ongoing thing but it is kind of comforting to know there's a name for it and not just "that weird thing Suzanne does" that my mom used to yell at me about.
This article originally appeared on VICE UK
We all have habits that we find difficult to stop. Some of us chew the ends off pens, others spend real human money on Candy Crush. Neither of those are great, but at least they're relatively harmless. Some of us, however, aren't so lucky. Some of us bite our nails to the point that the skin on each finger is always in a state of bleeding or scabbing over, and each nail is only a millimeter long.
Evelyn, a 24-year-old student I spoke to, told me she compulsively picks at blemishes, tiny scabs, and open wounds on her head and face. These sores often hurt and bleed, yet the small scars dotted around her face illustrate the fact she's repeated this process thousands of times regardless, because the picking is something she can't control.
The medical term for this behavior is excoriation disorder, more colloquially referred to as compulsive skin picking (CSP). The disorder is part of a family of self-grooming behaviors that fall under the umbrella term Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs). Other forms of BFRBs are compulsive hair pulling (trichotillomania), compulsive nail biting (onychophagia), and compulsive biting of the inside of the cheeks.
Roughly one in 50 people exhibit at least one BFRB. That's 2 percent of the global population, or around 146 million people. However, Jennifer Raikes, Executive Director of the Trichotillomania Learning Center (TLC) in the US—one of the world-leading institutions dedicated to ending the suffering caused by BFRBs—told me via Skype that TLC actually "see skin picking as potentially higher than" this conservative estimate.
Dr. Jon Grant is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago and has been studying BFRBs for almost 20 years. Considered among the foremost scholars in the clinical study of BFRBs, he defines them as "problematic, non-functional behaviors directed at the body, with a loss of control, and resulting in negative consequences."
Principal CBT therapist Simon Darnley is Head of the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit at NHS South London and Maudsley (SLaM), and Head of Clinical Pathways for Lambeth Mood, Anxiety, and Personality Disorders. With over 20 years of experience working with habit disorders, he compares them to the way many of us eat popcorn at the cinema. Before you know it, your fingers are scraping the bottom of the box and all the popcorn is gone.
BFRB sufferers often speak of a trance they go into when they pick or pull or bite, only realizing after some time that they have been doing so. Also like our popcorn ritual at the movies, many sufferers have exclusive situations or environments when they engage with their compulsive habit, like sat in front of the TV.
BFRBs are often mistakenly associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it's common for people to experience their compulsion without obsessive thoughts. Jennifer Raikes from TLC told me that "depression and anxiety can coexist with these disorders." Indeed, a lot of the time, BFRBs can be linked with stress and can be part of a bigger problem like body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). However, people can also be perfectly relaxed and content with their lives, save for the fact they can't stop compulsively pulling their hair out.
These habit disorders are likely genetic. The student I spoke to told me that when she began to open up about her skin picking, her father revealed that his mother (her grandmother) has the same disorder. BFRBs are also closely connected to the nature of addiction. One of the world's leading BFRB therapists, Dr. Suzanne Mouton-Odum, runs a private practice in Houston, Texas. She confirms that BFRBs are not "the result of earlier trauma" or "bad parenting," but are in fact "complex human behaviors that require complex intervention," i.e. there's not an easy fix.
BFRBs typically start in the early teens, and are very common among males and females alike. For around 2,500 years, BFRBs have been on the radar of the collective human consciousness. In Epidemics Book 1, the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates tells young doctors, "We must note whether he plucks his hair, picks at his skin, or weeps."
Watch our film 'Swansea Love Story,' about a group of young addicts caught up in South Wales' heroin epidemic:
At a recent BFRB conference at King's College, London, Dr. Mouton-Odum asked the audience how many of those suffering from BFRBs would want to get rid of them if they could. Many hands shot up into the air. She then asked that if they could engage with picking or pulling without any hair loss, skin damage, etc, would they still want to stop? Only two hands remained up in the air. A significant element to BFRBs is that they actually help people in some way, whether it's that they soothe the nervous system or that they provide relief from discomfort.
So if BFRBs have positive affects, why is it important for people to stop engaging with these behaviors?
Over time, these disorders can erode a person's courage, hope, social relationships, self-esteem, and even have detrimental effects on educational and career prospects. A person's quality of life can be deeply affected. I've been told of one woman who became a nun as a result of suffering from BFRBs. Jennifer Raikes has "known people who have felt suicidal" as a result of their picking or pulling.
People with BFRBs often avoid going to the doctor, but this can lead to potentially dangerous consequences, as problem areas can be the eyelashes or the pubic area, i.e. sensitive areas at risk of infection. Some people eat the hair they pull and, in the most extreme cases, people can develop a build-up of hair in the stomach that is hard to digest and can become life threatening if not detected and extracted.
I spoke to a 42-year-old merchandiser called Sarah about her struggles with BFRBs. She told me, "The most difficult thing is the emotional suffering for me, the shame, the scars, and the disliking of what I do."
TRENDING ON MUNCHIES: This Man Created the Ice Cube's Multimillion-Dollar Industry
How much research has been dedicated to BFRBs? Hardly any. How available is effective treatment? Jennifer Raikes claims there is "a real dearth of specialists in this field, not just in the US." There are just under 300 specialists based in the US listed on the TLC website, with a handful based in Canada and one in Mexico. The situation currently looks pretty bleak if you're not based in North America and in need of treatment for your BFRB.
I asked Dr. Grant why he believes BFRBs are so under-researched and underfunded. He said that the main reason was that "people consider them simply habits that one should be able to change on one's own instead of complex behaviors that result in problems for people."
UK-based Simon Darnley believes "there is treatment out there" in the form of "anxiety therapies" conducted by "good therapists." The problem is that he typically sees five to 10 cases per year.
Why so few cases? Jennifer Raikes spoke of a "catch 22" situation where "people who have these disorders do not talk about them." There is little public awareness of the existence of these disorders, so people don't know they even have something that requires treatment.
Shame is what sends people into the shadows. Mr. Darnley says the lack of awareness of BFRBs is due to "shame and embarrassment as people partly believe their BFRBs are their own fault." People need reassurance that their habits are not their fault, and that they should feel confident to address them and talk about them.
Taking a hard-line approach with someone and telling him or her to stop something they can't control only perpetuates the shame they feel and subjugates them into more silence. It's like ordering someone with a broken leg to stop limping. There's a reason for the limping, and that's a broken leg. There's also a reason for the existence of BFRBs. They are incredibly complex behaviors, but they sometimes seem trivial when spoken of. They come with the confusing baggage of mixed feelings and paradoxical emotions, and recovery cannot be attained without correct therapeutic intervention and time.
GPs need to start asking about these behaviors, and healthcare providers need to educate themselves about BFRBs and how to treat them. –Dr. Jon Grant
Lack of a call for supply inevitably results in a lack of demand for services. The five to 10 cases that Simon Darnley typically sees each year are only those extreme cases where people have reached breaking point and have nowhere else to turn. Applying our earlier estimate of 2 percent to the population of the UK, there are currently 2.3 million British people whose quality of life would be improved significantly if a strong network of BFRB treatment providers was established here.
What is the best way to treat BFRBs? Simon Darnley says, "We know CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) is really helpful when combined with HRT (Habit Reversal Training)," before stressing that "understanding yourself and your environment" are important checkpoints on the road to recovery.
What steps can be taken to improve the lives of those living with BFRBs? When I put this to Dr. Grant, he answered, "GPs need to start asking about these behaviors, and healthcare providers need to educate themselves about (BFRBs) and how to treat them."
Simon Darnley calls for "more research into other habit disorders" and also wants "more people to come forward for treatment" in order to "increase awareness."
Sufferers of BFRBs can take action right now. They can start support groups, which would amplify their collective voice. Jennifer Raikes certainly supports this idea, as she regards support groups as important tools for "shame-lifting." She told me that "one person has huge ripple effects with any action they take"—and she should know, being one of the founding members of the New York City Trichotillomania Support Group, having suffered from hair pulling and skin picking for many years. Jennifer would like to see more "treatment providers who are experts in this field," a hope I'm certain sufferers would also like to see fulfilled.
Names of BFRB sufferers have been changed
For more information about Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, visit trich.org.
More on VICE:
My Fear of Vomit: The Nightmare of Living with Emetophobia
You Have No Idea What the Term 'Depressed' Really Means Until It Devours You
Rare white humpback whale spotted off coast
IKEA MonkeyCaptain Ahab, you have a call on the white courtesy phone.
Floyd Mayweather Has Been Stripped Of His Welterweight Title
IKEA MonkeyWhoa

Getty Image
Floyd Mayweather might be the “King of the Ring” and the greatest pound-for-pound fighter the sport has ever seen. But that didn’t matter much to the WBO who stripped him of his welterweight title on Monday. The moves comes after Mayweather failed to pay a $200,000 sanctioning fee from his May 2nd fight with Manny Pacquiao.
The WBO world championship committee is allowed no other alternative but to cease to recognize Mr. Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the WBO welterweight champion of the world and vacate his title for failing to comply with our WBO regulations of world championship contests. The WBO has the utmost respect for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and all that he has accomplished during his storied career. Mr. Mayweather has always agreed with and understood that world championships have both privileges and responsibilities and that status as WBO champion is subject to and conditioned on compliance with the WBO rules and regulations.
Mayweather initially talked about relinquishing his other belts to “give young fighters a chance.” Alas, he’s not a man of his word. Shocking.
In other news, Timothy Bradley will be given the now vacant WBO welterweight title for his controversial victory over Jessie Vargas. Boxing continues to be a huge clusterf*ck.
[ESPN]
Great Job, Internet!: This YouTube star’s tribute to the Punjabi music industry is pretty great
IKEA MonkeyThis guy is so funny and clever. Don't sleep on Jus Reign.
Four years ago, Youtube star Jus Reign posted a takedown of seven things wrong with the Punjabi music industry. In it, he railed against needlessly gritty settings and the fact that every UK producer seems to make the same song, and while a lot of his 555,000 subscribers agreed with his complaints, other folks were pretty upset about what he had to say. “Some people weren’t to happy with that,” Reign explained in a followup video. “I started getting comments like ‘Oh yeah? Well if you think you can make fun of them, why don’t you do a video yourself?’”
So he did. This weekend, Reign dropped “Kabootaran Di Shaan (feat. Raxtar & J-Statik),” which he is calling “The must UK Punjabi Bhangra song possible.”

It’s a perfect sendup, from the repetitive beats to the random pigeons to the backup henchmen to the inclusion of UK ...
Colorado's success in curbing teen pregnancies
IKEA MonkeyAmazing
Colorado has spent the last six years conducting a real life test to see if they could reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions. As the NYT's Sabrina Tavernise explains, the results were stunning.
If we want to reduce poverty, one of the simplest, fastest and cheapest things we could do would be to make sure that as few people as possible become parents before they actually want to.
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Tags: medicine Sabrina TaverniseCheck Out The Insane Videos And Photos From The Massive Crash At Dayona On Sunday Night
IKEA Monkeyholy shit
In restrictor plate races, there’s always the risk of “The Big One,” the massive crash that somehow manages to mangle and dismantle dozens of cars in the matter of seconds. In Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway The Big One waited until the very last lap to erupt and become the narrative of the race.
Just after Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the finish line to claim his second victory of the season, contact between Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick led to Austin Dillon and his No. 3 car getting airborne and careening into the catch fence surrounding the track. Dillon’s car was obliterated, and the engine was launched from the car onto the track, but the driver did walk away with relatively minor injures. The fact that he suffered just a bruised tailbone and forearm feels like a small miracle, and is a testament to the safety restraints these cars now have.
Three fans were reportedly injured by debris (NBC) and it's astounding that Austin Dillon was ok pic.twitter.com/EValOlUYML
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) July 6, 2015
According to NBC’s broadcast of the race, three fans were treated for injuries afterwards but the drivers involved in the wreck all walked away safely. While the crash seems terrifying for the drivers, take a glimpse at what it looked and felt like for the spectators in the stands.
And another fan.
A fans point of view of Austin Dillon's crash at Daytona tonight. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/z87klS4C2Y
— Matt Deason (@MattDeason) July 6, 2015
And for Tony Stewart from about two car lengths behind the carnage.
Tony Stewart's view of Austin Dillon going airborne and into the fence is terrifying pic.twitter.com/UUz7YxLtXV
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) July 6, 2015
And here are some of the incredible still images of it that Getty was able to capture.

Getty Image







Getty Image
The South Carolina Senate has voted to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds.
IKEA MonkeyGood.
The South Carolina Senate has voted to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds. The New York Times reports that the vote was 37-3. The Senate still has one more procedural vote to ratify the bill. The House will also have to vote in a two-thirds majority to remove the flag.
Male Testosterone Can Be Bad for the Economy
IKEA MonkeyBut no, by all means, lets give women shit for having their periods and supposedly being too emotional to make rational choices
Increased hormone levels make male stock traders more likely to take risks with their investments, a new study finds.
Michael Eisner’s “Beautiful Women Aren’t Funny” Comment Reveals the Old-Fashioned, Straightforward Nature of Hollywood Sexism
IKEA MonkeyFuck yooooooooou

From my position, the hardest artist to find is a beautiful, funny woman. By far. They usually — boy am I going to get in trouble, I know this goes online — but usually, unbelievably beautiful women, you being an exception, are not funny.
Thus, presciently, spoke Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, at a panel with the stunning and hilarious Goldie Hawn, of all people. There, beside the living, breathing, contradiction to all his basic assumptions, Eisner covered his tracks by declaring her to be simply “an exception.”
The location of their chat was the Aspen Ideas Festival, where various industry ultra-elites rub elbows in the wildflower-strewn shadows of the Rocky Mountains. In front of this crowd, Eisner — arguably once the most powerful person in Hollywood — doubled down on his thesis. “I know women who have been told they’re beautiful, they win Miss Arkansas, they don’t ever have to get attention other than with their looks,” he continued, speaking to Hawn. “So they don’t tell a joke. In the history of the motion-picture business, the number of beautiful, really beautiful women — a Lucille Ball — that are funny, is impossible to find.”
Ever an overachiever, apparently, Eisner managed to tread on old Christopher Hitchens’ “women aren’t funny” territory while insulting pretty women and funny women at the exact same time. Given our current banner moment for diverse-looking funny ladies in TV, Hollywood, writing, and stand-up, it was also remarkably out of touch. Soon enough, the outrage got churning and Fox News thought it was a good topic for a debate.
The broader conversation about sexism in Hollywood, whether it’s merely perceived or truly statistical, often hits the following snag of an argument: but actually, is it really sexism, or is it a simply about audience, revenue, and the market? Hollywood is supposed to be liberal, after all. They all donate to Democrats! And the job of executives is to entertain the people, make them happy. Maybe “the people” want white guys front and center, now and forever. Thus, every time a film, an entire franchise, or a body of work that caters to people of color, older women, young girls, or anyone outside that young male demographic does well — which happens fairly regularly — it’s treated as an anomaly rather than a basis for a pattern.
But, of course, some brave voices have been speaking up for a long time, supporting the idea that it’s neanderthal beliefs like Eisner’s, rather than “the market,” which causes the race and gender problem in Hollywood. Whether the changed narrative comes from revelations in the Sony emails, from Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman boosting female writers and directors, or from Chris Rock going on a delightful spree of truth-telling about race in the industry, the general cultural winds seem to be shifting to awareness that there’s a big problem in the industry.
And that changing culture has even reached those who believe that the problem might extend to entrenched legal discrimination. As Gabrielle Union recently said, following up on Rock’s comments with some of her own: “They say, ‘We just went with the best candidate’ but if you’re never considered, you never have a chance.” Recently, our own Jason Bailey spoke to Ariela Migdal, a senior staff attorney with the Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU, who told him why “we’ve asked our civil rights enforcement agencies to get involved” in Hollywood bias allegations.
“We’ve asked them to look into the systemic bias here — and what that means is, it’s not just, your boss fired you because you’re a woman, but it’s entrenched in your industry, or there’s a handful of big studios and other employers that are involved,” Migdal said. “So it’s not one person that did something wrong; the whole hiring system is off in this industry.”
For decades, Eisner sat on top of that hiring, greenlighting, and larger cultural structure that produced popular mass entertainment — and, often, entertainment for young girls. It’s wonderful that in theaters today, more progressive fare like Inside Out is showing up on screen to offer girls a broader (and funnier, and sadder) view of themselves. But the situation hasn’t changed so much, yet. In 2013, men made up more than 98 percent of directors for the 100 top-grossing movies.
So the next time you hear that Hollywood (or any gender-skewed sector of the entertainment industry) isn’t actually racist or sexist, after all, because the media is so liberal — point out Eisner’s words, and what the ACLU is investigating. None of these problems are “actually” about anything except plain, unadorned prejudice.
Advice Columnist Amy Dickinson Unknowingly Counseled Johnny from ‘The Room’
IKEA MonkeyThis is hilarious

Since 2003, through her syndicated advice column, Amy Dickinson has offered up words of wisdom to just about every type of person in crisis. Unbeknownst to Dickinson, that recently included Johnny from The Room. On July 4th, Ask Amy ran a column with the headline, “Don’t turn dysfunctional relationship into marriage,” and it turns out said dysfunctional relationship was the famous web of lies between a certain Johnny and his deceitful fiancé, Lisa from Tommy Wiseau’s canonical midnight film. A very clever troll wrote to Dickinson — who clearly didn’t have as keen a knowledge of ironic pastimes as her cunning correspondent — as “Devastated,” and essentially summarized the film:
Dear Amy: I have a serious problem with my future wife. She has not been faithful to me.
I recently overheard her talking to her friend about how she was unfaithful to me. When I confronted her, all that she said was that she couldn’t talk right now. I feel like I have to record everything in my own house just to learn the truth.
To make things even more stressful is the fact that she recently told a couple of people that I hit her, but it’s not true. I did not hit her. I’m not sure why she has been acting like this lately. She did just find out that her mother has breast cancer, and that might be playing a role in her behavior.
We still always find time to make love, so I don’t know why she would go out seeking it from someone else. I just can’t believe she would do this to me. I love her so much, she is my everything, and I don’t know that I could go on without her. She is tearing me apart.
What should I do? — Devastated
In all fairness, none of that sounds particularly outlandish — and all of that could easily read as a description from someone desperately seeking advice… though “record,” “breast cancer” and finding “time to make love” give away the message’s The Roominess, unless, in this case, you’re Amy Dickinson. She responded:
The first thing you should do is to NOT get married. Your fiancée’s behavior and your response are the very essence of dysfunction. If you are correct and she is stepping out on you, this is a huge problem. Your declaration that you feel like you “have to record everything … just to learn the truth” is chilling. Her counter-accusation that you hit her is potentially very dangerous for you.
Because of an escalation in behavior I sense in both of you — and the seemingly toxic connection between you two — it would be wisest for you to separate. Seek the support of close friends, family, and a professional counselor to help you deal with this loss and change.
If only she’d been around in the actual world of the film, when the “real” Johnny was still alive, she perhaps could have saved him from Lisa — and from himself. But alas, all we’re left with are these thoughtful admonishments for a ghost, and the hope that perhaps next week, Dickinson will lend her knowledge to Nomi Malone or the residents of Nilbog.
Via Defamer.
Winning Women's Soccer Team Paid 40 Times Less Than Men Who Lose
IKEA MonkeyEquality!

In the Women’s World Cup , the USA soccer team took the championship against Japan on Sunday—just not with their pocketbooks. In fact, they are being paid 40 times less than their male counterparts .
Belle Gibson, Blogger Who Lied About Having Cancer, Just Keeps Lying
IKEA MonkeyThis is physically painful to watch

Fallen wellness guru Belle Gibson appeared on the Australian version of 60 Minutes, where she was grilled by reporter Tara Brown who asked a series of questions relating to Gibson’s dire health history. Gibson became one of the Internet’s most famous healthy living bloggers after claiming that a mindful diet and holistic medicine cured her from malignant brain cancer. In April, she admitted that she was never ill, but in the recently aired interview, she claims ignorance due to a misdiagnosis by a “quack” doctor.
6 Sharks That Could Be Behind N.C. Attacks
IKEA MonkeyHammerhead, Great White, Mako, Tiger, White Tipped Reef, and Steve.
Billy Joel, 66, ties knot 4th time
IKEA MonkeyWaiting to hear from Santorum, Huckabee, etc about how this is destroying the sanctity of marriage
England Lost The Women’s World Cup Semifinal In The Most Brutal Way Imaginable
IKEA MonkeyBrutal
This is how the English Women’s National Team lost Wednesday night’s World Cup semifinal against Japan. The game was tied 1-1 at halftime and remained the score up until the 91st minute of the second half. Then disaster struck for England — otherwise known as Laura Bassett accidentally scoring an own goal with just a little less than a minute and 30 seconds left in the match.
This means that Japan moves on and will face the United States for the World Cup Final on Sunday evening. It will actually be a rematch of the 2011 World Cup Final, in which the U.S. Women lost in a shootout 3-1, but not before giving up leads of 1-0 with nine minutes remaining in regulation, and a 2-1 advantage with three minutes left in overtime.
Let’s hope this game doesn’t end in the same heartbreaking fashion like the one the English National Team just experienced.
"Just gonna lay here forever." http://t.co/ifU6OM5NWa—
Mike Tunison (@xmasape) July 02, 2015
My World Of Flops: Not princess material Case File #39: I Wanna Marry “Harry”
IKEA MonkeyI watched all of this. I read an interview with the girl who "won", and it sounds like it was the most bonkers experience. But she's still friends with the dude and though they didn't end up romantically together she says they still get together and hang out, which, I guess worse things could have happened.
When the reality-show revolution began with 1973’s An American Family, the PBS miniseries about the Loud family, it had noble aspirations. An American Family set out to document the curious customs and rituals of upper-middle-class Americans while at the same time examining how the process of being filmed affects its subjects. Even The Real World was an exercise in pop-sociology, an exploration both of what happens when a bunch of strangers stop being polite and start getting real and, on a more implicit level, a study of how fame, celebrity, and being in the public eye affects young people.
The nature of reality television in these United States began to shift dramatically with the game-changing 2003 debut of a show called Joe Millionaire. The show’s premise was as simple as it was odious. A group of women competed to win the heart of a strapping slab of man-meat ...