Strollerderby : people magazine

Political Nanny: No Gifts from Mom and Dad for the Obama Girls

Madeline Holler — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:58:00 GMT

Santa still makes his rounds with presents for all. And Sasha and Malia get to have blow-out slumber birthday parties. But according to People magazine (here, via Politico), Barack and Michelle Obama don't give their girls Christmas or birthday presents. (Let the false Muslim rumors reignite!)

The maybe-First Family is featured in this week's People in a 7-page spread, where Michelle tells the reporters that, as parents, they want to teach limits.

The article also includes the 7 Obama House Rules:

Here are the seven “Obama House Rules” listed by the magazine:

1) “No whining, arguing or annoying teasing,” says Michelle Obama.

2) Make the bed. “Doesn’t have to look good—just throw the sheet over it,” says Mom.

3) Set your own alarm clock. “They get themselves up, get their own clothes,” says Sasha and Malia’s grandmother Marian Robinson. “They’re very easy to take care of; there’s not much left for me to do!”

4) Keep playroom toy closet clean.

5) Allowance from Dad for doing chores: $1 per week. “I’m out of town all the time,” says Barack, “so Malia will say, ‘Hey, you owe me 10 weeks!’ ”

6) No birthday or Christmas presents from Mom and Dad, who spend “hundreds” on birthday slumber parties and, as Barack puts it, “want to teach some limits.” Says Michelle: “Malia says, ‘I know there is a Santa because there’s no way you’d buy me all that stuff.’ ”

7) Lights out at 8:30. “They got an extra half hour when they were ready to read on their own,” says Michelle.

Question: Do kids in the White House have to make their own bed and clean the toy closet? Just wondering.

Photo: Politico

Celebrity Baby Naming Hits New Low

Madeline Holler — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:08:00 GMT

Inspektor Pilot meet Peanut. He's the newest kid in Tinseltown with an unspeakably ridiculous name.

Yes, Peanut is the newborn son of General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher and his fiancée, Ehiku. Mercifully, they have given the boy the middle name Kai, a celebration of babe's Hawaiian heritage and a perfectly fine back-up for when he gets sick of the double-takes every time he introduces himself.

But Peanut? Is he also heir to the Jiff fortune? Perhaps an ode to former President Carter and his humble roots? No.

Peanut is what they called the little guy in-utero and I guess, well, it stuck! (To the roof of his parents' mouths?)

Here's what Dad says:

"We were calling him that when he was in mommy," Rademacher told People about the unusual name, which was first reported by Soap Opera Digest. "It kind of represented joy and happiness to us. It puts a smile on everyone's face."

Um, Mr. Rademacher? That's a grimace, not a smile.

Hell, if everybody went with the in-utero names, we'd have a country full of Little Monkeys, Peach, and, in the case of my family, "Clumpy," what my very pro-choice husband so sentimentally names all fertilized and implanted sperm-and-egg combos (aka: clumps of cells), from blastocyst to near full-term fetus.

What did you call your baby pre-birth? And, did you consider stamping it on the birth certificate?

Is Your Kid Part of the New Baby Boom?

Which Celebs Refuse To Pimp Out Their Kids?

Babies And Benjamins: Should Celebs Sell Photos?

Photo: People magazine

Which Celebs Refuse To Pimp Out Their Kids?

Amy S.F. Lutz — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Since Brangelina's twins arrived, there's been a lot of passionate debate about the ethics of celebrities auctioning off baby pics to the highest bidder.

Me, I thought that, since Brad and Angelina have promised to donate the $11 million they've allegedly scored from People Magazine to charity, everyone wins. Until I read a very rational article on this practice, which pointed out that celebs like the Jolie-Pitts have so much money they could easily afford to donate $11 mil to charity WITHOUT sacrificing their children's privacy. As Bruce Weinstein, who writes on ethics for a syndicated column, points out, "If your own parents are literally selling you out, where can one feel safe?"

Not all celebrities are raking in the big bucks for their baby pictures, however. Which ones are taking the moral highground?

According to Gawker, a few big names were never approached to sell their babes' photos because they made it clear beforehand they weren't interested. In this group are actresses Nicole Kidman (who recently welcomed, with husband Keith Urban, daughter Sunday Rose), Halle Berry (who celebrated the arrival of Nahla Ariela with Gabriel Aubry) and Cate Blanchett (who, with husband Andrew Upton, brought home third son Ignatius Martin in April).

Then there are those celebs who turned down big time offers for pictures of their offspring, such as Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck (parents of Violet Anne, now 2), Courtney Cox and David Arquette (parents of Coco Riley, now 4), Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick (parents of James Wilkie, now 5) and Salma Hayek (who last year delivered Valentina Paloma, fathered by Hayek's fiance, Francois-Henri Pinault). Several of these tots have been snapped while out and about with their parents, or had their pictures distributed for free, but in any case, these folks obviously didn't want their children to become the focus of increasingly aggressive stalking by the paparazzi.

One could argue that no matter how Brad and Angelina resolved the photo distribution question, their no-doubt gorgeous twins would still become the focus of increasingly aggressive stalking by the paparazzi. And one would probably be right - after all, we're talking about Brangelina here! But at least if they had held their ground, their kids would have known, when they were old enough to appreciate it, that their parents never looked at them with dollar signs in their eyes.

20 Mil For Pics Of Twins

Clay Aiken ain't no fruit

Brett Singer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Far be it from me to imply that Clay Aiken is anything less than muy macho. But, you know, there have been those nasty rumors, which led to threats of a lawsuit from his devoted fan base, who are known as the Claymates. (Really. They call themselves Claymates, and one of them tried to sue Clay over rumors that he was homosexual. Don't you feel normal now?) So perhaps -- and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this, you know -- Clay's recent actions are fueled by a desire to "butch it up, Mary" as the saying goes.

First: he impregnates a woman. This is a clear sign of masculinity. I mean, try doing that if you're... you know, not manly. Well, it was artificial insemination, which means there was no actual physical contact. But hey, there's nothing wrong with that either. (Even if Aiken isn't the father, he could have been. Hey! Stop laughing!)

Second: when a ~~vulture~~ cameraperson from ~~the fiery pits of Hell~~ TMZ confronted him on the street, he pulled a Sean Penn and whacked the camera. In a very aggressive, manly way. Again, nothing wrong with that. (Video of the incident is below, or click here.)

One thing that I've always found interesting is what constitutes "manliness." Impregnating a woman means that your sperm is, you know, spermy. Strong swimmers, etc. But so what?

And punching someone, even if that someone is ~~being a dick~~ just doing their jobs, is more out of control than it is "macho." To be fair, Clay just kinda pushed the guy; more specifically, he pushed the camera. If he had ripped the dude's arms off and beaten him within an inch of his life, that would have been much more manly. (Not that we advocate such behavior. But it would definitely have been big news.)

So maybe it's possible that all of this "news" just happens to be coming out (no pun intended) around the time that Mr. Aiken has a new album out. Just a thought.

In closing, let me request that the phrase "Claby" (Clay + Baby) never, ever catch on. It's just... there is something wrong with that.

(TMZ.com screenshot)

other image: offoffBway.com

Breaking News: Clay may not be the father

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Breaking News: Clay Aiken might not be the father

Brett Singer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:30:00 GMT

Could the whole "Clay Aiken can impregnate a woman without even touching her" news be a big fat stinkin' lie? The Calgary Herald is reporting that "several people close to" babymama Jaymes Foster are denying claims (clayms? Nope, not going there) that Aiken is the daddy.

~~One Of The Signs Of The Apocalypse~~ TMZ first reported that Aiken had artificially inseminated Foster, the sister of record producer David Foster, going on to say that, "Clay is a lot more than sperm -- we're told he will have an active role in raising the child." The story was picked up by roughly 12 million media outlets. BUT one of the so-called sources is denying that he ever said Clay was the daddy-to-be, even asking People.com to retract their story. And B.J. Cook, David Foster's ex-wife and Jaymes Foster's ex-sister-in-law said, "Jaymes is definitely pregnant, that much is true...I can guarantee that it's not Clay Aiken's baby." (emphasis added.)

Of course, no one directly involved is talking to the press, including Clay, who is very busy punching cameras.

It must be pointed out that we have no knowledge of this incident, or alleged incident. Maybe Clay is on his way to fatherhood. Maybe not. Who the hell knows? Clearly this is the most important story of the decade. Well, other than the Sex and the City movie. (Election? What election?)

Aside #1: Foster went from "in her late 40's" to "50" in a matter of days -- I guess it is stressful being in the public eye. Here's a photo of the happy non-couple.

Aside #2: Even if this whole thing turns out to be bull, at least we'll always have the phrase "Clay is a lot more than sperm." Thank you ~~Satan~~ TMZ.

images: thehollywoodgossip.com, offoffBway.com

All Aiken, All the Time

Strollerderby : people magazine

Political Nanny: No Gifts from Mom and Dad for the Obama Girls

Celebrity Baby Naming Hits New Low

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Is Your Kid Part of the New Baby Boom?

Which Celebs Refuse To Pimp Out Their Kids?

Babies And Benjamins: Should Celebs Sell Photos?

Which Celebs Refuse To Pimp Out Their Kids?

Clay Aiken ain't no fruit

Breaking News: Clay may not be the father

American Idol or American Psycho? Clay Aiken Gives Pap a SMACKDOWN!

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