Strollerderby : lourdes ciccone

Possible Father of Malawian Orphan Opposes Madonna Adoption

Brett Singer — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:00:00 GMT

James Kambewa might be the father of Chifundo "Mercy" James, the girl that Madonna wants to adopt. And he's decided that he can take care of her. He feels that his little girl should be "raised as a Malawian", according to BBC News. So Madonna should step off.

I say "might" because it's not clear that the man is, in fact, Mercy's dad. In an interview with 'The Early Show' on CBS, he said that "he wore a necklace bearing his daughter's name around his neck, even though he had never seen her in person." He said that he wants "to take care of her, and I'm capable to take care of my baby." A big question, of course, is why Mercy was in an orphanage if she had a parent "capable" of raising her.

The whole thing is getting somewhat silly. Personally, I think Madonna should be able to adopt Mercy James, because that would mean a much better life for the girl. A court ruled that the adoption wasn't legal (Madonna's appeal will be heard on Monday), but if that's true, how was she able to adopt David Banda?

I'm not going to get into a debate about Malawian legal matters. I just think that it would be too bad if this little girl is forced to live in an orphanage when she could have moved into the lap of luxury. Especially if the only reason her dad came forward is because there were TV cameras around.

Source: BBC

More Stuff Hip, Urban Parents Like

Australian Kiddie Show Star Appears In Laddie Mag

What Burlesque Can Teach Your Daughter

5 Year Old Mexican Boy Could Be First To Have Swine Flu

12 Year Old Knocks Em Dead On Britain's Got Talent

Skip The Cereal, Buy The Marshmallows

Does Madonna Spank Her Kids?

Brett Singer — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Somewhat buried in the news about Madonna's adopted son David Banda meeting up with his biological father in Malawi was this little tidbit (this is David's dad Yohane talking about his chat with David):

He told me his mum likes riding horses and that he too rides horses. Then he told me a story when one day he and his brother, Rocco, rode horses and fell. He told me his mum spanked him because they are not supposed to ride horses on their own. (Emphasis added)

Whoa, Nellie! Hang on a minute. Madonna spanked him?

Well, maybe. When I first saw this, Shannon pointed out that sometimes little kids exaggerate. I've never hit either of my children but my oldest once informed someone that I had. Somewhat out of the blue, I might add. Luckily it was a person who was inclined to take my word for it (a relative). But if it had been a teacher, I don't know how that would have gone over.

Still, it's interesting to think about. Do you think Madonna spanks her kids? Or maybe she has the nanny do it? Or is David just a little kid exaggerating?

Source: PerezHilton

Homebirthing Advocate's Baby Dies During Homebirth

Another Country Joins the Ban Against Corporal Punishment

Madonna/Angelina Dichotomy: Why is Adoption Okay for One Star but not the Other?

Peeper Madness - Supeep Court

Texas School Accused Of Student Cage Fighting

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Madonna Adoption Denied, Appeal Filed

Brett Singer — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:00:00 GMT

A Malawi court ruled on Friday that Madonna could not adopt 4-year-old Mercy James because she had not been a resident of the country for 18 months.

As my son sometimes says, "I didn't see that coming."

Why do I say that? Well, here's the thing. She already adopted a kid from Malawi. David Banda. Remember him? Cute kid, rides horses, visited his hometown with Madge so he could hang with his biological dad?

According to the Telegraph, the rule about adoptive parents being residents of Malawai for 18-24 months was waived back in 2006 to allow Madge to adopt David. Now a local judge is concerned about setting a "dangerous precedent" if she is allowed to adopt again.

Except that the precedent was already set! You let her do it before! When you train puppies, or discipline children, you try to be consistent. I know that's an oversimplification, but isn't it silly to talk about "dangerous precedents" when you already did the thing that you now say you are worried about?

That could be why Madonna has decided to appeal the ruling. I don't know much about the law, and I know even less about Malawian legal issues (to be fair, I probably know more about brain surgery than I do about Malawian legal issues), but it seems to me that she's got a pretty good case. Because they let her adopt David Banda in 2006. Did I mention that?

It's possible that the adoption was denied because of Madonna's recent divorce from Guy Ritchie. The Telegraph quotes a government official as saying that, "Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes." Because being raised by a single parent is clearly much worse than living in an orphanage. Never mind the fact that this particular single parent is wealthier than most of the people on the planet. And while I agree in general with human rights groups who have been saying that "whisking a single child off to a fairytale lifestyle in Hollywood" is not the answer to the world's problems, it's also not the worst thing that could happen to a kid from an impoverished country. (It's also worth noting that Madonna lives in England, not Hollywood. But whatever.)

I should point out that this is not, in my opinion, a major issue in our world today. But everything Madonna does is news, and while I don't care much about her music (or her movies, which, except for "Desperately Seeking Susan" are considerable unwatchable), I have to give her credit for commanding attention with every move she makes. I'll also give her props for starting a charity, Raising Malawi, to help other orphans in Malawi. According to the Telegraph, "She has already built a multi-purpose community centre at Mphandula village, 30 miles from Lilongwe, which looks after more than 8,000 orphans from scores of villages in the area." That's a lot of kids. So, in the language of her adopted British homeland, good on ya, mate. (Or something like that.) Of course, as Shannon pointed out, it's fine for Angelina Jolie to adopt a kid every other week, but Madonna we have a problem with. That's another topic, but one worth mentioning.

What do you think? Should Madonna be allowed to adopt Mercy James?

Source: Telegraph

What Do Madonna and Peanut Butter Have in Common?

Family Awarded Millions For Circumcision Mistake

Gloria Allred Sits On A Booster Seat

Open Letter To The Woman Who Pushed Me While I Was Picking Up My Kid

UPDATE: A-Roid Admits It

Brett Singer — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:00:00 GMT

UPDATE: A-Rod (A-Roid, A-Fraud - I still like The Rod, but it's not sticking yet) has admitted to ESPN's Peter Gammons that, you know, he did it. Children everywhere are... actually, I don't think children care about this at all.

When I was a young Yankee fan, my guy was Reggie Jackson. All I cared about was how he played. Granted, it was a different time, but despite all of the posturing from commentators I don't think kids care much about whether or not The Rod was juicing. Maybe I'm wrong.

Original post follows:

*-*-*

SI.com is reporting that Alex Rodriguez, whom I usually refer to as "The Rod", tested positive for two different anabolic steroids, Primobolan and testosterone, back in 2003. (Make up your own joke about Alex taking testosterone.)

What does this have to do with parenting? Well, somewhat like the Plaxico Burress gun incident ("Safety? What's a safety?"), kids who are into sports, and even those that aren't, will hear this news. What do you tell them? If you go with the "tut-tut" sanctimony of Major League Baseball and the seemingly endless parade of columnists and talk show hosts, then you have to tell them that The Rod is a big fat cheater. That's the word that has been assigned to steroid users. Cheaters. At least it’s a word that even little kids understand. You know, because it's childish.

If you want to go with a calmer explanation, you could say that The Rod made a mistake and we don't have all the facts yet. (Probably better to call him A-Rod, since I'm the only one that calls him The Rod.) Columnist Chris Ballard says that "All of A-Rod's achievements, past and future, will be tainted." First of all, what if the report was wrong? I'm not saying it was, but sometimes reporters, sources or no, make mistakes. Also, we're slamming the guy for doing something that may not even be against the law because he "tainted" the "purity" of baseball. That seems like a pretty bad message to send to kids, frankly.

Ultimately, baseball is a game. Professional baseball, like all professional sports, is a business. In recent years it has become a huge business, one that allows someone like The Rod to earn almost $30 million in one year. That's just his salary, by the way. He probably made a lot more in endorsements, autograph signings, and other things. Sports figures are no longer on the same playing field as the rest of us, if they ever were. (Pun unintended.) Kids should be allowed to enjoy the game without the braying sanctimony of adults who appear desperate to believe that baseball is more important than it is. Sports can bring great enjoyment to fans young and old. When you try to pretend that these people are something more than human, any fall from grace will be a huge disappointment.

For the record, I am a lifelong Yankee fan and I never liked The Rod. (Give me Scott Brosius any day of the week.) I also don't much care about steroids. I think Major League Baseball helped create this problem by preferring profits to players' health; there were multiple times when guys were obviously juiced up and no one said anything about it, sanctimonious commentators included. And I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a little bit glad that my son isn't a big baseball fan. Explaining Plaxico's gun was easier than this will be.

Image/Source: SI.com

Do Your Kids Watch The Super Bowl?

VIDEO: O'Reilly Upset About Two Year Old Bashing Bush

Pittsburgh Schools Open Late Day After Super Bowl

Is The Peanut Allergy Scare Overblown?

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

Rocco Ritchie wears Yankee shirt, Guy Ritchie weeps

Brett Singer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

This is just silly.

Us Magazine is reporting that Guy Ritchie, who is divorcing Madonna and had NO PRE-NUP, is freaking out because his son was wearing a Yankee shirt.

"He's actually been crying over it," says the source on the set of Ritchie's upcoming drama 'Sherlock Holmes'. "He's in a terrible state but is doing his best to be on form at work."

The insider tells Us Ritchie "cannot believe" Madonna would let their son wear the shirt, given the fact that her close relationship with the slugger played a role in their contentious divorce.

Look. If it were a Mets shirt, or a (shudder) RED SOX shirt, I could understand Guy getting all worked up. But the Yankees? The most storied franchise in sports history? Come on.

On a slightly more serious note, if this report from an "insider" is true (who are these people who call tabloids at the drop of a hat?), what a self-centered bozo. He's off directing a major film, the Material Mom is on tour screaming about Sarah Palin, and his son is being raised by who knows who. The shirt? That's what he's worrying about?

As for A-Rod – sorry, THE Rod – he apparently attended Yom Kippur services with Madonna and her children. (Aside: next time you are with Madge, ask her what meshugeh ahf toit means. It's important.) This is because the Yankees aren't playing in October. Just wanted to point that out. ALEX. FOCUS.

Source: US

Guy Ritchie Already Found Somebody Else

UPDATE: Jon Stewart says "F*** All Y'All"

The Obamas wear cheap clothes

Another non news photo

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

New Obama Cabinet Position: Oprah as the Secretary of Feel-Good?

Is a happy ending massage cheating?

Should DirecTV Go Around Reincarnating Dead Child Stars?

Magic Garden out on DVD

Missing Teen's Dad Blames Xbox Game Call of Duty

Bill Murray asks about the Cubs

Disney movie to feature black princess

Lourdes and Miley kidnapped?

Brett Singer — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Have America's sweethearts been kidnapped? No, silly! Do you really think something like that would happen and you wouldn't hear about it? Here's the truth about these photos:

First, Lourdes Ciccone, daughter of Madonna. Who is that unmasked man holding her hand? Well, that's her dad. Not Guy Ritchie, but her biological dad, Carlos Leon. Carlos was once arrested for smoking pot in Washington Square Park, but as far as we know, he doesn't do that too often. They probably just saw The Rod (note: that's my new name for Alex Rodriguez; he's not just A rod -- he's THE Rod) across the street and wanted to get away before he started talking to them.

As for Miley/Hannah/Whatever (the girl has more names than a Chekhov character), she's just filming a new movie, which I won't see but will likely gross hundreds of millions of dollars. She doesn't look too happy but I'm guessing it was just a bad moment. Either that or The Rod was visiting the set that day.

images: NY Post, Now Magazine

Dad Rod to visit Kid Rod

C Rod Files For Divorce

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Jim Abbott is a ballplayer you can look up to

Hannah Montana's Miley Cyrus Ready For Sex After Shower Pictures Surface

Jim Abbott is a ballplayer you can look up to

Brett Singer — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:00:00 GMT

The other day, out of nowhere, my son asked me if I had ever heard of a pitcher named Jim-something who only had one hand. Sure, I replied. Jim Abbott. Played for the Yankees. Threw a no-hitter. My son was amazed that I (a) knew who he was talking about, and (b) that someone with only one hand could become a major league pitcher, much less a successful one.

He played for the Yankees from 1992-1994, throwing his no-hitter in 1993. (He played for other teams too, but I'm a New York snob.) He also pitched for the gold medal winning 1998 United States Olympic Baseball Team.

So what is he doing now? Well, while Alex Rodriguez is making significantly more news off the field than he is on it, Abbott is retired from baseball, working as a motivational speaker. He also answers letters from disabled kids and their parents. This article from Sports Illustrated updates us on Jim and tells the story of some of the many kids whose lives Abbott has touched. One of them, Blaise Venancio, is eight years old and has Poland's Syndrome, which in his case means he only has the use of one hand. Of course, he wants to play baseball. Rather than giving up, he watched video of Jim Abbott, eventually writing him a letter, which Abbott answered. "To Blaise," reads the note to Blaise Venancio. "I just wanted to wish you the very best of luck with baseball this year. Hopefully you are having a great time playing. I know it is sometimes hard to do things a little differently from other kids. But believe me, if you stick with it, you can be just as good. Always believe. Anything is possible."

It gets better: In May, wearing his glove on his left hand, Blaise ran in from center field to cover second base, making a backhanded pick-up of an in-between-hop throw. When asked how he did it, Blaise said, "Jim Abbott. He's my friend." That gets me right here, y'know?

I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, I admit it. But a guy who has one hand and pitches, pitches really well, and according to Wikipedia, can even hit (even though he didn't often have to)? While every sports media outlet gushes like a teenage girl with a boy-band crush about the All-Star Game, I think it's worth remembering that some ballplayers are good people who want to be helpful in some way.

Here's some video of Abbott. Take that, A-Rod.

Jim Abbott- the legend

Jim Abbott - Rise to Fame

image: Jim Abbott official website

Source: Sports Illustrated

Dad Rod to visit Kid Rod

C Rod Files For Divorce

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

All-Star Daddy: Joe Girardi

All-Star Daddy: Ryan Dempster

When Cynthia called Cindy

Brett Singer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Cynthia Rodriguez, that is. Called Cindy Adams. Because, you know, that's the first person I would call if I were getting a divorce.

Cindy Adams scored an EXCLUSIVE interview with the woman formerly known as C-Rod. While her hubby (hereafter referred to as "The Rod") was busy striking out with the bases loaded, Cynthia was chatting to Cindy about him.

Apparently the message on her MySpace page (which is probably fake) isn't that far off: "she still loves him," writes Adams in the New York Post.

Ms. Scurtis says that she "wants no publicity." However, when reports came out that she went on a $100,000 spending spree in Paris in order to stick it to The Rod, Cynthia was "urged" by her lawyers to "address these misperceptions," according to the Post article.

Adams also says, referring to both her past as a child psychologist and her two daughters, that "this lady's passion is children," which would explain why she fell in love with The Rod. (Because he's, you know, a big baby.)

The one question I still want answered is: who is taking care of those two kids? Cynthia said she went to Paris for four days to "clear my head." I don't know about you, but spending time with a 3 year old and an 11 month old is not my idea of a head-clearing time. So presumably, she left the kids Stateside. Right? They weren't with The Rod, he was busy striking out and making excuses, plus he hasn't been allowed to see them. (Free advice for Cynthia: if you don't want people to think you're out shopping all the time, maybe the photo accompanying the EXCLUSIVE interivew where you try to set the record straight should be of something other than you shopping.)

We do get to hear that 3 year old Natasha misses her daddy, which is sad. The whole thing is kind of sad, but since I've never been a fan of The Rod, I admit that I'm keeping up on all of the nasty details as they pop up. And there may be more of those, sayeth Cindy: "More bad Alex habits may yet surface. There are coaches on road trips through whom notes and numbers were passed. Much wildlife may yet creep out from under many a stadium." Oy vey.

photo: NY Post

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Attack of the Strippers

How Are Madonna's Kids Holding Up?

Jose Canseco: Madonna Begged Me To Impregnate Her

Dad Rod to visit Kid Rod

Brett Singer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:15:00 GMT

The New York Post is reporting that Cynthia Rodriguez, the woman formerly known as C-Rod, will allow her husband-for-now Alex to see the older of their two children. Dad-rod hasn't seen little Natasha (3) or Ella (11 weeks) since Cynthia threw him out of the house, requesting that he… never… return. (Two points to whomever can tell me where that line comes from.)

Natasha will travel to Toronto where the allegedly philandering third baseman is playing baseball, a side gig to his main job as Tabloid Fodder. Cynthia's attorney, Earle Lilly, said that baby Ella is "too young to travel far from Miami," which is where Cynthia is now that she's returned from Paris, where she wasn't sleeping with Lenny Kravitz.

Toronto? Isn't that where Alex was caught dining with a stripper last year? Why, yes. Yes it was. The Post talked to said stripper, one Joslyn Morse, who told reporters that she would be willing to testify at the Rod's divorce trial (although she hasn't been asked yet). According to the dishrag of record: "I don't believe much in life anymore," Morse answered when asked about her former paramour's infatuation with Madonna. She did not elaborate." WELL. All righty then.

image: MySpace

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Attack of the Strippers

How Are Madonna's Kids Holding Up?

Jose Canseco: Madonna Begged Me To Impregnate Her

C Rod Files For Divorce

Brett Singer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Cynthia Rodriguez has clearly decided that Madonna is, well, full of it. Or maybe she just doesn't like being called "C Rod". Whatever the reason, she's filed for divorce in Miami, according to ESPN.com/Associated Press. The filing says that A-Rod "emotionally abandoned his wife and children…The marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken because of the husband's extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct." Note that it says "affairs" and not "affair". Assuming Madonna is lying when she says the two are just drinking buddies rather than Kabbalah Kanoodlers, there are at least two (let us not forget his dalliance with stripper Joslyn Noel Morse.)

A-Rod's attorney (Attorney-Rod?), who has the porn movie name of Ira M. Elegant, "said he had not reviewed the divorce petition but added: 'As you know, anyone can pay the filing fee and make allegations.'" I actually didn't know that, so thanks Ira.

Now, since she's single, I want to take a moment to point out her MySpace page! She hasn't logged in since November of 2007, which probably explains why she says, "I am my husbands biggest fan!!" The page is in her maiden name of Cynthia Scurtis. It is, of course, highly possible that the page is fake; we'll have to see if that login date changes in the coming weeks. Since she will likely receive a dump truck full of Major League Cash (A-Rod is the highest paid player in baseball), Cynthia just shot up to the top of the Most Eligible Bachelorette list.

I feel badly for the kid-rods, who are very young. Alex, you're a weenie.

image: MySpace

Related:

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

Madonna Denies The Rumors

A-Rod's Wife Left Him Over Madonna

Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Who is babysitting the Kid-Rods?

Brett Singer — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMT

At least some part of the A-Rod/Madonna/C-Rod/Lenny Kravitz bizarre love square is true (C-Rod is the new name for Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of Alex, in case you didn't know). Kravitz denies that he and Mrs. Rod are having an affair, and the fact that he reportedly isn't even in Paris lends some credibility to that claim. But Cynthia is definitely in The City of Light, and the New York Post has the photo to prove it. PLUS she isn’t wearing her $150,000 engagement ring. Also, Cynthia's mom Evangeline told the Post, "We've known about this for a long time. Everyone else is shocked, but we're not shocked…My daughter is a very good girl. She has high values." Not exactly a full-on confirmation, but it's close.

Now, I have a question, one also asked by Boston teacher DeDe White in today's New York Post: um, don't these people have young children?

Normally the phrase "but what about the children?" is used as a club to bludgeon people who have the audacity to schedule golf tournaments involving strippers at the same time that 7 year olds will be hitting the links. In this case, though, I think it's fair to ask who's taking care of the 10 week old bambina, not to mention the 4 year old. Grandpa Rod (actually it was Cynthia's father, John Scurtis, but Grandpa Rod is funnier) told the Post that the Kid-Rods were "being taken care of" but didn't say anything more than that. It's certainly possible that the little ones are in Paris with mom but I sort of doubt it.

(Aside: if you google "a-rod children", the first link that pops up is news from 2007 on his official web site that his children's book is being released. I guess he and Madonna have authorship in common.)

Another thing: I always wonder who these "friends" are that get quoted in gossip stories like these. What kind of "close friend" yaks to the media like that, even off the record?

image: New York Post

A-Rod Asks for Divorce

Lou Gehrig Day on July 4th

Attack of the Strippers

Cynthia Finds Love Letter From A-Rod To Madonna

Madonna No Longer Jewish

Brett Singer — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Madonna will no longer study the Kabbalah, something she has done for over a decade. The reason? Bat Mitzvahs are expensive.

According to people close to her, Madonna was horrified by the 2007 case of David Brooks, who reportedly spent $10 million dollars on his daughter's Bat Mitzvah. "If he spent that much, I won't be able to get away with anything less than $5 million… if we're lucky," the Material Mom told a friend. Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Ciccone, will turn 12 years old in October, meaning that her Bat Mitzvah could have occurred this year.

Madonna has been very involved with the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, and quoted the Talmud at her recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Her husband Guy Ritchie has stated in the past that the family no longer exchanges gifts on Christmas.

Photo: socialitelife.buzznet.com