What happened to Mel?

If you have not heard the latest thrashing on once golden boy Mel Gibson, then you may as well admit that you live under a rock. In a quite dramatic reappearance into the limelight, which Mel has avoided since The Passion of the Christ smashed theater records, Gibson was pulled over for drunk driving. But wait…there is more. After being pulled over by the police, he is on the record making anti-Semitic remarks. These remarks include asking the policeman if he was a Jew and then declaring that “Jews…they cause all the world wars.”

Oh how far they fall…and hard. It seems like just yesterday I was cheering Mel on in the first Lethal Weapon movie and even when he brought out a softer and sweeter side in What Women Want. He has not only been hailed as a great actor, but also a promising director. No one can forget his triumph in starring, producing, and directing Braveheart. Even when there were skeptics about America’s acceptance of a religious (and subtitled) film, Mel proved them all wrong by toping the box office with The Passion of the Christ. However, maybe we should have known that was the beginning of the end.

Keeping Divorce Dirty Laundry Where It Belongs

Why did Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman split up? I can’t tell you if the rumors of his infidelities are true, but I can tell you this: We won’t be hearing about it from Uma.

In the July 16th issue of Parade, Thurman refuses to bad-mouth her ex, with whom she has two children. "I cannot participate in anything critical about my children's father," she says. "I just need to keep peace. I think it's fair to say that I haven't said one mean thing, and I'm not going to start now. It's terrible for my family."

This is especially gratifying to read when it seems like every day, there’s a new post-divorce revelation about hidden problems in celebrity relationships. My Life on the D-List’s Kathy Griffin says that her soon-to-be-ex-husband stole $72,000 from her, which he denies. Former Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller is in the middle of a bitter divorce in which her ex-husband, doctor Christopher Phillips, accuses her of blackmailing him by threatening to accuse him of drug abuse. He also says she had an affair with a married male athlete. Miller disputes these claims, saying, “The worst thing I ever did to my ex-husband was to put unleaded gas in his car and not premium. With gas prices these days, do you blame me?”

One especially disappointing disclosure came from Hilary Swank, whom I used to consider a class act. In the article that landed her on the cover of Vanity Fair, she says that her marriage to Chad Lowe broke up largely due to his “substance abuse.” While this little tidbit may be true, I fail to see why it was necessary to spill it to the media. We already knew that a couple that seemed genuinely happy is no longer together. Who besides Swank, clad in a white bikini on the Vanity Fair cover, benefits from this revelation? I guess she put the acting skills that earned her two Oscars to use in pretending she had a happy marriage.

Choose Your Own Adventure is Back in a Big Way

Do you remember the "Choose Your Own Adventure" chapter book series that first debuted in the seventies, to later be reincarnated in the eighties and again in 2005? Well, the interactive children's books which offer readers the ability to choose the way in which their story ends has now made it's way onto the small screen.

This weekend, "Choose Your Own Adventure," the interactive animated children's DVD, will hit stores with the voices of stars like Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz, Mean Girls' Lacey Chabert and Spy Kids' Daryl Sabra. Rounding out the cast is husband and wife acting duo William H. Macy and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman.

My reaction is: Yes! I loved the original book series and so did my children and I'm actually surprised, now, in discovering this to-be at-home viewing gem that it had not already been done. With the growing popularity of straight-to-DVD releases for children it is no wonder that Choose Your Own Adventure would eventually make its way onto our television sets. 

Children's DVDs are just as and often more successful than big Hollywood films in being sold. We parents know this better than anyone. We are the ones buying the DVDs so that our children can watch them over and over again in the play room or den. It's always amazed me how many times my own children could watch the same video tape over and over again, never failing to amuse them. Eventually, however, the video was retired and replaced with a new plot or new favorite character. With Choose Your Own Adventure plot lines won't get repetative because they are constantly changing depending on your child's critical decision. No more humming the Dora the Explorer theme song around the house.

Stacy's Day at Today

Ever Wonder what a Day on the Today show is like?

This past Monday, July 24, Stacy made her 10th appearance on the daily news program. Stacy made a guest appearance to speak about “Mom-fidence!” or the lack of confidence moms often feel as parents in our perfection-driven society.

As always, Stacy was excited to appear on Today, even flying in from LA Sunday night to appear on the show bright and early Monday morning. After a late night of editing and re-editing the script for her segment, Stacy makes sure to get a full eight hours of sleep – wake-up is at 6:30 am! Stacy will be on a little after 9 am, so she is able to get a little more shut-eye than the Today crew. Lydia, a senior at Brown and Today intern, gets up at 4:30 am in order to be at work on time.

Why Can't Girl Celebutantes Get Along?

The latest news on used-to-be best friends Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton is that they may be starring in their hit reality show The Simple Life side-by-side.  A recent representative for the E! network, which now produces the show, said “they want to give the viewers what they want, and what the viewers want is to see Paris and Nicole together, fighting.” Hmm… are we really in need of shameless entertainment that badly?

In the land of guys and dolled up girls there seems to be a constant fight between “friends.” Hollywood seems to revel in the constant back and forth between its Hollywood “it” girls, but what is underneath all the cat fights? Girls are being bullied all the time in school, now probably more than ever. Is hot Hollywood trying to encourage aggression in woman by pitting them against each other?

Paris may be one of the biggest instigators in the dysfunctional Hollywood family feud. She seems to make friends with other starlets just to diss them later down the line. Points in case: Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Simpson, and Nicole Richie, just to name a few. As soon as Lindsey hit the lime light Paris became her constant companion, was Lindsey prepared?

Paris offers Hollywood type perks, being able to get into any club, having a constant shopping companion, possibly getting close enough to nab some of Nicky Hilton’s famous clothing line, and the guarantee to be photographed where ever you go. One celebutant is never as good as two. However, when Lindsey hit her Paris pitfall, it was a long way down. In a recent video Paris laughed along as a less than sober oil heir, Brandon Davis, slandered Lindsey to the media. If that is how she treats her friends in front of the camera, who knows what goes on when the cameras go off.

No Habla Espanol: But the Celeb Kids Do

Kate Moss has enrolled her 3-year-old daughter Lila Grace in Spanish lessons. According to a source, Kate, who dropped out of school as a teenager to pursue modeling (good thing it worked out) wants her daughter to have the very best education and thinks that Spanish is a very important language for her to learn. In fact, Kate's hope is that Lila be fluent by the age that her mother quit school altogether.

And of course, not to be outdone, other celebrity mothers are jumping on the foreign language bandwagon. Madonna's two kids attend a French-speaking school and Gwyneth is teaching her toddler daughter Spanish.

It's certainly a luxury to be able to teach your child a second language before they are fully equipped to speak their native tongue. There is no doubt that these children, the offspring of world-traveling stars, will benefit from being able to speak Spanish and French because most likely, they will have multiple opportunities to visit these countries and put their lessons to the test.

The Dangers of Children on the Internet

When we were kids, our moms worried about our safety around strangers. We were told never to talk to strangers, take things from strangers, or get in the car with a stranger. But with advancement in technology, a new generation of children has arisen in which talking with a stranger face to face is only one of a parent's concerns.

Now, one of the cool things for kids to do is to start up an online personal account about themselves. One popular site is MySpace, where both adults and kids can create pages that list their favorite songs, foods, and activities, as well as connect with friends by posting on each other's sites. In theory, such a site is a fantastic idea-it keeps kids busy and entertained, and means the phone line won't always be tied up with chatting kids! The Internet, with its endless supply of information and space, can be a great communication tool for kids, but it can also be a danger.

Recently, MySpace has taken a lot of heat for its lax security policies. There have been several cases of young girls who were sexually assulted by older men they met on MySpace. Such incidents have caused MySpace to up its security measures, preventing adults from sending messages to children under 16 unless they already know the child's last name. But the site does not require a person to prove their age, so anyone could sign up to be any age the choose! I don't know about you, but as the mother of a thirteen-year-old girl and twelve-year-old boy, MySpace's security changes don't make me feel any more comfortable letting my children loose to create their own personal pages!

Even Nicole Richie's Father Worries About Her Weight...

Nicole Richie is said to have collapsed in LA fashion boutique Kitson on a recent shopping trip, only to refuse food offered by the staff and then sip only water until she felt well enough to stand and walk out.

This incident comes on the heels of her well-documented disintegration from healthy, voluptuous rising star to wafer-thin reality show A-lister. Nicole's father, Lionel Richie, expresses his own fears about his daughter's weight in a recent People magazine interview.

Lionel says he is a "basketcase" over the rumors circling about Nicole's apparent eating disorder and shockingly thin physique. Says Lionel in a candid moment with the magazine about his eldest daughter:

I'll be honest with you. It hurts me more than it hurts her.

And on letting his daughter know his concerns...

Getting Older: Every Mom's Fear...Even the Famous Ones

Courtney Cox Arquette has not been shy lately about her feelings on getting older and looking it. In fact, the beautiful actress and mother of the equally gorgeous Coco has said that she has been so distraught over her aging appearance that she sought therapy to deal with her wrinkle line ya-yas. Courtney is certainly not alone.

Kate Hudson says she wants to write a book about loving one's ever-changing, aging appearance. Although Kate Hudson can hardly be considered "old" at age 27, she has confessed to feeling awful after giving birth to her son Ryder and the depression she dealt with in facing her often daunting weight loss and post-pregnancy body. Kate wants to write a book to give other moms facing the similarly stressful task of regaining their former slender pre-mama body the strength to do so.

Michelle Pfeiffer, the much beloved movie star and hot mom who turned 48 this year, told InStyle magazine that she toys with thoughts of plastic surgery. But Pfeiffer admonishes those who "[lose] sight of what looks good" and distort their faces to compete with other similarly Botox-blessed celebrities. Says Pfeiffer: "Aging happens to every single one of us. Once you accept that it unburdens you."

Why Will and Harry Deserve the Royal Treatment

If you are not yet aware of the new development in Princess Diana's death, then you, like myself, are in for a sobering shock; pictures of Diana just seconds after the infamous crash that ended her life are being published in a new tell-all book that lawyers of the Royal family say can not be kept from being sold in the UK. Princes William and Harry, I think, deserve better.

In a recent joint statement the late Di's sons made, the boys honored their mother and rejected the publication of the scandalous book:

Following this week’s publication in an Italian magazine of material relating directly to the death of our mother, we feel deeply saddened that such a low has been reached.

Despite the support shown to us and our mother’s memory by so many people over the last eight years, we feel that as her sons we would be failing in our duty to her now if we did not protect her as she once did us.

We appeal to all forms of media throughout the world to appreciate fully that publishing such material causes great hurt to us, our father, our mother’s family and all those who so loved and respected her.

Wow, guess we now know how far will publishers go to sell books. These motherless boys have had to endure so much in the intrusive public eye, and yet they still manage to summon the grace and fortitude to speak out against greedy media hounds dredging up horrific post-death images of their beloved Mom.