View gallery

Another day, another crazy story about the fashion industry and how someone's body has been distorted to give the impression of being skinnier than they are. The latest twist in the saga of that Ralph Lauren model who appeared in an ad that had been altered to give the impression that she was freakily thin is that she'd previously been fired for being too fat. "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes any more," the 5-feet, 10-inch, 120-pound model told the New York Daily News. It reportedly happened last spring. It's time to Stop, the madness already. How many more of these stories can we take? Not to hate on super-skinny models, but I prefer to see how clothes fit on regular folks, people with curves and a little extra flesh. To expect extra tall women with large frames to fit into itsy bitsy clothing is warped and unrealistic. It's time for some of these so-called fashionistas to become real-istas instead.   

More images

Remember that commercial from the ‘80s where two unsuspecting strangers bump into each other and are, like, really pissed? One hisses “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!”

Then some other dude retorts, “Well, you got chocolate on my peanut butter!”

A nanosecond later both say, “Mmmm, that’s good!”

It took a bit of time for the pair to warm up to the idea. But they totally did.

Fast forward to ’09 and I’m feeling pretty “mmm-mmm fab” myself about a new mashup that might prompt some people, particularly women, to scratch their heads: Twitter + mammogram = Twammogram, or live-tweeting one’s mammogram.

I’ll give you a second.

Ready? The awesome idea is the brainchild of two tweeps (Twitter peeps) who live in different parts of the country, have never met in person but have a “two-peas-in-a-pod” Twitter/Facebook bond. The #Twammogram concept has caught on with global followers of the women, Misha Niklewicz, of Napa Valley, California, and Laura Methvin of Tallahassee, Florida -- and spread way beyond their base.

(Full disclosure alert: I have been tweeps with Methvin since I began tweeting back in February and I recently began to follow Niklewicz.)

@MishaRN and @WeeLaura, their respective Twitter usernames, say they’ve heard from many women who a) were scared to get their mammograms b) wanted to undergo the procedure but were uninsured or c) hadn’t thought about getting any dang mammogram until Misha and Laura began making their appointments.

Laura, 42, who’s a singer/songwriter by night, legal eagle by day, is set to live-tweet her mammogram Oct. 23, but she has already begun her multi-media preparations: http://virtualista.posterous.com/before-the-zombie-apocalypse-there-will-betwa

“Yeah, I'm live-tweeting my mammogram. All in the name of raising awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October,” Laura writes in her LOL blog.. “BONUS: I'm promising to shoot a shirtless video if Ashton Kutcher or Stephen Colbert signs on to support the campaign.”

Misha, 40, a labor and delivery nurse, had her first ever mammogram Thursday, which you can read about here in her blog http://laugh-rant-snort.blogspot.com/2009/10/yes-i-blogged-my-mammogram.html.

Her insight showed no boundaries including a photo of her squished tata in the mammogram machine.

"It hardly took anytime at all. In fact, it would have gone faster, but I was tweeting and snapping photos. My mammographer was awesome. She thought it was a little weird that I was taking photos and texting the whole time- but she went with it!," she writes in her blog.

"Colleen is the rockingest boob smusher! #twammogram."

I spoke to Laura and Misha Wednesday, before either of their mammograms.

“We were two goofballs trying to get our friends on Twitter to get mammograms,” during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Misha said, of the initial Facebook exchange on Monday, Oct. 5. It “grew expendentially” throughout the day and then got a celebrity boost from Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who retweeted (forwarded) it to her 25,000-plus followers, Misha said. Then ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper also passed it along to his 28,600 fans.

Such celeb/media personality re-tweets are home runs in the Twitterverse.

Laura has reveled in the response.

“It’s hugely gratifying better than a real dopamine rush,” she said. “And it’ll be a super big bonus of helping somebody who needs one.

So, to get inspired, follow @Twammogram on Twitter. Or, if you decide to live-tweet your mammogram experience, use the hashtag #Twammogram to search for the subject.

And don’t forget to join the Twammogram Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Twammogram/149146019131?ref=ts
 

Jon and Kate Gosselin

My column in today's Daily News is on the fate of children who star in reality TV shows. Are they being exploited or are critics of shows such as "Jon & Kate Plus 8" making too much out of nothing? One of my favorite financial gurus, Suze Orman, recently waded into the debate. And here's what she told Predicto TV:

“Here's the thing. I get that—the kids are telling the aunts, the uncles, that they don't like the cameras, things like that. I don't think they're violating child labor laws. I think if anything, a lot of money's coming in that's setting those kids up for the rest of their lives. So I don't know: a few cameras here, to show the kids; lots of millions of dollars to send the kids to school for the rest of their lives—versus student loans? I don't know, maybe when those kids get older they'll say "Mom, thank you so very much!" To tell you the truth, I don't have clue. But I don't watch the show. And ask me if I'm ever going to watch...”

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 1998 file photo, Mary Kay LeTourneau listens to testimony during her court hearing.

 Mary Kay Letourneau a formerly married teacher who became infamous for having an affair with a sixth-grader is hosting a party with the former student, who's now her husband. And get this, their party is being called Hot for Teacher night. Hah, hah, snicker, snicker.

What I want to know is, would there be as many laughs if it had the teacher had been male and the student female? The guy would have been labeled a pedophile and a child molester and shunned. He wouldn't be standing in a club glad handing partygoers when they show up.  Granted, the couple is legally married now and their teacher-student relationship took place years ago, but what's that bar owner thinking?  This is celebrating child molesting - hah, hah, wink, wink. This will be the third time they've done it. Hah, hah, whoa buddy!

Granted, Letourneau served her prison time. She and her new husband are the parents of two children from this union. Maybe they're hosting the Hot for Teacher nights to make a little extra cash. I'm sensing some serious mental issues must be at play.... What do you think? Should folks in Seattle just let the past be the past and pay up at the door, or should they shun the party because of the ick factor?  

Beware, skinny jeans wearers. Apparently, you can suffer health repercussions if your pants are overly tight. Now, I never heard of this either. But according to MSNBC, it's called "meralgia paresthetica, also known as 'tingling thigh syndrome.'" 

"Typically, sufferers of the nerve condition include construction workers or police officers with heavy, low-slung belts, pregnant women or obese people; it also can result from a pulled-tight seat belt in a car accident.But over the last several years, experts say they’ve been seeing more young women at a healthy weight complain of symptoms. The culprit: too-tight jeans." -- MSNBC 

Check out this unusual way that a Detroit judge has come up with to force men to live up to their responsibilities. He's making wayward fathers watch the "Maury" show. That's right, the show by Maury Povich, the king of baby daddy/baby mama drama. Now, if that move by the judge isn't cruel and unusual punishment, I don't know what is. Of course, I'm having a little fun with the idea of sentencing men who are behind on their child support payments with watching other fathers vehemently deny paternity before learning the results of their DNA tests on national T.V.  (If you've watched "Maury," then you know how sad and appalling this display of irresponsibility can be.) But you've got to at least give it to this judge in Detroit for trying an unconventional approach to make people do what they're supposed to do anyway.     

The Associated Press -- The studio audience isn't alone in cheering for Maury Povich. A Michigan judge, inspired by watching the syndicated talk show "Maury," has sentenced several dozen men so far this year to watch the show as part of their probation for overdue child support. The defendants must watch the show and discuss episodes with their probation officer.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree says he took over the "deadbeat dads docket" in January after watching "too much of this terrible daytime TV" over the holidays. Watching episodes of "Maury," he said Monday, "was an eye-opener for me," and inspired him to use the show to help defendants realize the error of their ways.

"They see that people who laugh at that show are laughing at them," he said. "I'm trying to hold up a mirror."

"Maury" often deals with parenthood and child support, including raucous segments featuring men who deny fathering children and undergo testing to determine paternity.

Not every deadbeat dad is sentenced to watch the show, McCree said "some are hopeless and have to go to jail" while others have special circumstances such as job loss that have caused them to fall behind on payments.

"It's that group in the middle: What can I do to impact their lives," he said.

It's too early to tell if the show is making a difference, McCree said.

"At least it did give them a momentary focus, and I'll take what I can get out of these guys," he said.

Word of McCree's unique sentencing practice reached the producers of "Maury," who invited him on the show. An episode featuring McCree was taped April 1 and will air Thursday.

Povich says McCree is "thinking outside the box in terms of punishment," and more importantly, is calling attention to an important social issue.

"The question of whether young women are conducting themselves in a way that they would know who the fathers are, or the men who are going around bedding these women without using protection or any attempt to prevent pregnancy I believe that is an undeniable social issue in this country, and I think Judge McCree has given us more legitimacy than most people would think we have," Povich said.

"I'll endorse anything that works," he added.

Bristol Palin and her father, Todd, in New York, during her media tour for the Candies Foundation.

Awwww, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the former GOP vice presidential nominee, has big reason to celebrate about now. According to the Associated Press, 18-old Bristol Palin received her diploma Thursday night from Wasilla High School. People magazine is reporting that Bristol wore a necklace of Blow-Pop lollipops strung together with curly gift ribbon as she collected her sheepskin. Bristol gave birth to a son, Tripp, in December.

Iman arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala in New York, on Monday, May 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)

I got these quotes from an email from the folks at Parade magazine, who interviewed Iman, the fashion model. What do you make of what she says?  

“Mrs. Obama is not a great beauty,” Iman, 53 says in Sunday's  PARADE. “But she is so interesting looking and so bright. That will always take you farther. When you’re a great beauty, it’s always downhill for you. If you’re someone like Mrs. Obama, you just get better with age.”

The magazine also asked, the fashion icon if it was difficult to have been one of  the first black supermodels? 

“I did feel a bit ostracized,” Iman says in PARADE. “You suddenly represent a whole race, and that race goes, ‘Well, that person does not represent our ideals of beauty.’ For lack of a better term, it becomes what it was like during slavery. One had the field n— and the house n—. There was this notion that I was chosen by white fashion editors to be better than the rest, which I am  not. I did not like being thought of as the house n— whether it was spoken or whether it was understood. It always left a bad taste in my mouth. I call it ‘the politics of beauty’ because fashion can sometimes be an assault on one’s identity.”