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She's Still the One: Shania Twain Voted Best Legs in Canada

- Canadians vote Shania Twain and Sidney Crosby as the winners of the Skintimate Signature Scents Best Canadian Legs poll -

TORONTO, June 28, 2011 /CNW/ - Proving 'she's not just a pretty face', Shania Twain has ranked first in the Skintimate^® Signature Scents™ Best Canadian Legs poll. With Shania stepping back into the limelight in 2011, she now walks away with the top honour after being voted best legs in the nation by three-in-ten Canadians.

The top honours in the Skintimate^® Signature Scents™ Best Canadian Legs poll go to:

• Shania Twain (30% of the national vote, 37% in Alberta)
• Rachel McAdams (12% of the national vote, 16% in Alberta and Ontario)
• Celine Dion (10% of the national vote, 16% in Quebec)
• Joannie Rochette (9% of the national vote, 17% in Quebec)

He shoots, he scores
As for the best male legs in Canada, hockey superstar Sidney Crosby, has yet another award to add to his collection; taking top honours with a national vote of 27% (33% in Alberta and 26% in Ontario and BC gave Crosby a top score). Crosby skates circles around the competition with his hockey-toned legs, after defeating runner-up celebrity heartthrob Ryan Reynolds at 18% and basketball hero Steve Nash at 10%.

Skintimate Signature Scents Best Canadian Legs poll
The Skintimate^® Signature Scents™ Best Canadian Legs poll was conducted among 1,010 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panel members from June 15^th, to June 16^th, 2011. The margin of error is ±3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

About Skintimate
Skintimate^®, brought to you by Energizer Canada, is a leading brand of shave prep products for women. Committed to shave product innovation, Skintimate^® has introduced some of the most innovative and successful shave products on the market including Moisturizing Shave Cream^®, the first non-lathering cream formula infused with soy protein extract, Skin Therapy^®, the first lotionized moisturizing shave gel that combines a unique moisture-rich lotionized gel with a special skin softening complex, and Signature Scents^®, a moisturizing shave gel that combines enticing fragrance with 11 moisturizers. For more information visit www.skintimate.ca.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2011/28/c9731.html

Pa. jury sees best, worst of starved teen's life

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia jurors hearing a case involving the starvation death of a disabled teen are seeing photos of the best and worst periods of her life.

A Phoenix teacher recalls Danieal (dan-YELL') Kelly as an endearing child who liked school trips and Shania Twain songs. But teacher Lynn Levin says the girl was frequently absent and in need of glasses, despite frequent attempts to talk to her father about the problems.

Daniel Kelly is charged with child endangerment for allegedly abandoning his daughter at her unfit mother's chaotic home. The mother, Andrea Kelly, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder following Danieal's 2006 neglect death.

A city social worker says the debris-filled home was one of the worst he'd ever seen.

Two aid workers are also on trial for allegedly failing the girl.

http://www.whptv.com/news/state/story/Pa-jury-sees-best-worst-of-starved-teens-life/agJHMIT8jk6zZOnWRaumBQ.cspx

Blake Shelton's record label bosses wanted to shut down his Twitter

While Blake Shelton was in search of “The Voice,” his record label wanted to silence his…by shutting down his Twitter account.

Shelton’s label bosses at Warner Bros. thought his Twitter messages were overly candid and sometimes offensive, like his tweet where he re-wrote some Shania Twain lyrics to read, "Any man that tries Touching my behind / He's gonna be a beaten, bleedin', heaving kind of guy.”

After the remarks were considered anti-gay, Shelton’s label heads wanted to prevent him from tweeting, something he and the rest of the judges regularly do for “The Voice.”

“There was a point where Warner Bros. was like, 'We've got to get Blake off Twitter, 'cause he can't say these type of things,'" Shelton told the New York Times.

Shelton apologized for his tweets after he was under pressure from critics and groups like GLAAD, but the tweets haven’t seemed to have caused him any distress.

His new album, “Red River Blue,” was just released on Tuesday. Featuring the hit single “Honey Bee,” it’s already at #1 on iTunes and is on its way to a big debut.

"I hope that people learn from me, it's OK to be yourself,” Shelton said. “It's OK to offend somebody, and, as a matter of fact, please be polarizing. If you're not polarizing, you failed in my opinion. If you don't stand for something, how can anyone respect what you do?"

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90054067?Blake%20Shelton's%20record%20label%20bosses%20wanted%20to%20shut%20down%20his%20Twitter

GAC Time Machine: Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine”

Despite Tayor, Shania, Reba, Carrie, Country Radio Is Where the Girls Aren't

By Wade Jessen, Nashville | July 29, 2011

To paraphrase George Strait's No. 5-peaking Hot Country Songs hit from 1992, when it comes to the current state of country radio, female artists are about as gone as a girl can get.

For a second consecutive week, no songs by women billed as lead acts or unaccompanied by a male duet partner rank in the chart's top 30.

How rare is such a female drought in the 60-position chart's top half?

While country radio traditionally has been dominated by male singers, it's actually unprecedented, dating to the list's adoption of Nielsen BDS data the week of Jan. 20, 1990.

Of course, female vocals aren't completely absent from the top 30: Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott sings on "Just a Kiss" (No. 4); Carrie Underwood shares vocals with Brad Paisley on "Remind Me" (No. 9), as does Grace Potter with Kenny Chesney on "You and Tequila" (No. 10); and, Thompson Square, the duo of husband and wife Keifer and Shawna Thompson, bullets at No. 21 with "I Got You." But still, what gives?

According to WUBL (94.9 The Bull)/Atlanta APD/MD Lance Houston, timing is the main culprit for the current dearth of women on country radio.

"Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Ashton Shepherd, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Sara Evans and LeAnn Rimes are either between singles or just getting started," he said.

"It also doesn't help any that a few of the great females in our format in recent years, like Faith Hill and Shania Twain," have been inactive (Twain) or more prominent on adult radio (Hill).

Radio Panel Attributes Success To 'Difficult Times' at Billboard Country Summit

Although it would be plausible to blame such a shortage of charting solo females on timing and leave it at that, there are other current and retrospective factors to consider, not the least of which is the fact that country radio is and has always been dominated by men.

That gender disparity came closest to parity during the boom period the genre experienced in the first half of the '90s, when it was not uncommon for the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis and Trisha Yearwood to reach the chart's summit.

When the format cooled in the mid-'90s -- parallel to the slowdown in output of Garth Brooks', Nielsen SoundScan's all-time best selling album artist with 68.5 million units to date) -- women lost much of the ground they had gained during the decade's earlier explosion.

Country radio experienced a second, although less sustainable, boom following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the format's female acts took a back seat to the testosterone-fueled themes of jingoistic isolationism and wistful longing for a return to cultural and religious fundamentalism. In fact, over a two-year period in that period (2002-04), not one solo female act topped Hot Country Songs.

Conventional wisdom along Nashville's Music Row holds that women are excruciatingly difficult to break as artists -- although when they do emerge forcefully, the payoff can be astronomical, as in the careers of Shania Twain in the '90s and Taylor Swift today.

Throughout the entire history of country-formatted radio, however, music made by women has been largely viewed by programmers as experimental and non-essential. Perhaps new thinking by the format's gatekeepers is needed for more women to grace current, and future, country airwaves.

"I think men forget that the role of women in America has changed tenfold from a decade or two ago," says KKGO (Go Country 105 FM) Los Angeles PD Tonya Campos. "Men's roles in society, arts and music have basically maintained forward movement while many, many women have gone from the kitchen to the mainstream workforce.

"The lack of women on the country chart has more to do with song selection and subject matter than it does with talent," Campos theorizes.

"There are so many talented women in country music that I find it hard to comprehend why more of their music is not making it to the top."

Technology may also be impacting women's overall lack of current chart momentum.

Country radio's audience composition is heavily dominated by adult women and, more often than not, they prefer tough-but-tender male singers over attractive female acts to deliver the messages that speak to them most effectively. As Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) continues to be more broadly deployed, programmers are measuring tune-out minute-by-minute, not on a quarter-hour basis per the decades-old diary recall system - and that new ratings measurement methodology makes many of radio's programmers skittish about alienating the adult females who are so attractive to advertising clients.

Still, Campos believes that female artists, although outnumbered and disproportionately scrutinized by many programmers, are essential to mass-appeal radio programming.

"When you see a song like (Evans') "A Little Bit Stronger" or (Lambert's) "The House That Built Me" performing extraordinarily well [both tracks topped Hot Country Songs since the start of 2010; in that span, just 11 of 42 leaders have sported female vocals, including hits by groups - Lady Antebellum, the Band Perry - featuring women singers], you start to piece together that songs speaking about the strength of women, or women becoming someone they can be proud of, are the messages that cut through."

The paucity of women in the chart's top 30 should end next week: eight songs by solo female artists place in the bottom half of the chart, led by Swift's "Sparks Fly," which looks likely to break into the top 30, as it ignites 39-31 in its third frame this week.

Pickler's "Tough" follows at No. 34, Evans' "My Heart Can't Tell You No" bullets at No. 41 and Sunny Sweeney's "Staying's Worse Than Leaving" - another song about women's empowerment - rises 43-42.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/genre/country/despite-taylor-shania-reba-carrie-country-1005297852.story

Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain Help Save the Children

Posted Aug 10th 2011 3:15PM by Gayle Thompson

The world has been riveted by tragic images of starving children in East Africa, and now several of music's biggest stars, including two of country music's finest, are working to help combat the devastating crisis.

Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain have joined the campaign to raise money for Save the Children's East Africa cause. The ladies join fellow music superstars Paul McCartney, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Madonna, Lady Gaga and several more, who are all combining their efforts to raise crucial funds.

As part of the initiative, artists will each post a short film on their Facebook and Twitter pages of the urgent crisis, set to the music of Bob Marley's classic 1973 hit, 'High Tide or Low Tide,' and share how their fans can help. The goal is to reach one billion people, and raise millions of dollars to send food and financial aid to the more than ten million individuals who are starving in East Africa.

Marley's widow Rita is a strong advocate of the new endeavor. "Not one child should be denied food nor water," she notes (quote via Us Weekly magazine). "Not one child should suffer. Along with Save the Children, we must stand up together as friends to put a stop to this, to feed our children and to save their lives."

Watch the video below, or download the song or video here, to donate $1.29 to Save the Children.

http://www.theboot.com/2011/08/10/save-the-children-music-video-east-africa/

Why music is in tune with exercise

as workout intensity increases, so does the preference for uptempo songs, according to a sports psychologist

By JILL BARKER, Freelance August 25, 2011

Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine" is my go-to song. It's the one I turn to during a run when my energy starts to wane. It's not a song I listen to outside of a run, but it's just what I need when the going gets tough.

Turns out there's some science behind the concept of a go-to song. Researchers have determined that music can increase aerobic endurance, aid in the enjoyment of exercise, reduce the perception of effort and increase the ability to sustain muscular effort. In short, the right music can make exercise feel easier and better.

It isn't exactly news that music is a motivator. The explosion of dance aerobics in the '80s was based on the powerful combination of music and exercise. Fitness instructors spent hours choosing the right songs to motivate the masses. A catchy tune with a steady beat - the Pointer Sisters' Jump (For My Love), for instance - not only set the right tone, it allowed exercisers to synchronize their movements with the music.

Why music has the power to motivate is complicated. What's important is the science behind the kind of song that provides the boost you need when your exercise mojo begins to lag.

Preliminary research suggested that exercisers instinctively choose songs that match their heart rate, which seemed to have merit. As exercise intensity increases, so does heart rate. And as most exercisers will tell you, the best motivational music has a corresponding increase in speed.

Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist from the U.K., specializes in analyzing the power of music as an exercise motivator. He suggests that good motivational music is decided by four qualities: tempo or speed of music as measured by beats per minute (BPM), musicality (harmony and melody), cultural impact (the popularity of music within society) and the association of a piece of music to other feelings, like those evoked when you hear the theme from Rocky or Chariots of Fire.

To test the theory of whether musical preference is linked to matching tempo with heartbeat, Karageorghis examined the musical preference of 29 university students while they exercised at three different intensities (40, 60 and 75 per cent of maximum heart rate) while listening to three different speeds of music (80, 120 and 140 BPM). In an effort to standardize the music selection, all songs featured the same artist and were considered similar in their motivational qualities.

The results determined that fast and medium-tempo music was preferred during workouts done at all three intensities, with fast music gaining in popularity as exercise intensity increased.

Karageorghis recommends songs with 120 to 140 BPM during medium-to high-intensity exercise - which, incidentally, is the speed of most commercially produced dance music. As exercise intensity in-creases, a tempo closer to 140 BPM produces the greatest level of motivation.

If those uptempo songs also include lyrics with positive affirmations, like Justin Bieber's Never Say Never, the effect on exercise is even greater. Add to that the enjoyment factor of a favourite artist, and you have the recipe for a perfect go-to song.

Great work Tommy.

Today in Music History - Aug. 28

The Canadian Press
Sun, 28 Aug 2011

In 1965, country singer Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ont. Growing up in Timmins, Ont., she began her music career as the headline vocalist in musical productions at a northern Ontario resort. Focusing on country music, she recorded a demo tape in Nashville in 1991 followed by her first album. But it was her 1994 followup, "The Woman In Me," that made Twain a major international star with more than 10 million albums sold and four Top 10 country hits. That album was her first with her producer, songwriting partner and now ex-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange. Twain's 1997 album, "Come On Over" was even more of a smash, with such hit tracks as "You're Still The One," "From This Moment On", "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "Man! I Feel Like A Woman." By March 2000, that album was confirmed as both the best-selling album in country music history, and the best-selling album ever by a female artist. Twain has won several awards including Grammys, Junos and American Music Awards.

MySask.com

Four Ways that 9/11 Changed Country Music

by Kevin John Coyne

September 12, 2011

The terrorist attacks on American soil ten years ago changed the course of our nation’s history in far more significant ways than just its impact on country music.

But the fact is that country music was changed as well.  Here are the four biggest ways that it did, for better and for worse.

1. Alan Jackson Becomes a Legend

He was still getting solid radio airplay and record sales in 2001, but it seemed like his glory days were behind him. Then, he stepped on to the CMA Awards stage and debuted “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” to a stunned industry crowd on national television.

It was the perfect song by the perfect artist at the perfect time, and it launched an amazing return to the head of the pack.  The commercial success was great, but it’s worth noting that “Where Were You” served notice that he was undergoing an artistic renaissance as well.   The big hits that followed – “Drive (For Daddy Gene)”, “It’s Five O’ Clock Somewhere,” and “Remember When” – were the best of his career.  Heck, of anybody’s career.

2. Toby Keith Becomes a Superstar

On the same night that Jackson performed his instant classic, Toby Keith just sang his latest hit, the novelty number “I Wanna Talk About Me.”  But the following spring, he came out with the next quintessential post-9/11 anthem, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

While it didn’t lead to nearly the same level of artistic growth that Jackson experienced, it did launch Keith into the rarefied air of country superstardom.  For most of the next decade, he’d be an instant add at radio.  And if some of those hits made us wince, it was still great to see the finest male vocalist of his generation get his due.   For those of us who thought that he was robbed at radio and industry award shows in the nineties, it was rewarding to see him have his day.

3. The Politicization of Country Music

National unity began to fade in the run up to our invasion of Iraq, and country radio picked a side, much to the detriment of the format.  The shamelessly jingoistic “Have You Forgotten?” became a seven week #1 for Darryl Worley, while a criticism of President Bush wiped the Dixie Chicks off of the radio dial.

The upshot?  Country radio sent the message that if you weren’t on board with the Bush Administration, you better keep your mouth shut.   Then again, with Worley’s career fading soon after “Have You Forgotten?”, opening it was no guarantee for long-term success, either.

4. Female Domination of the Genre Evaporates

This was the worst of it.   Country record sales exploded in 2002, and the industry credited it to traditionalists Jackson and Keith.   Radio drew the conclusion that  listeners didn’t want any more pop-flavored country, despite the fact that two of the biggest selling albums of the year were by Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

Both ladies struggled at radio with their top-selling projects, and the careers of Lee Ann Womack and SHeDaisy nearly ended.   Even ten years later, with the top-selling artists being Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, most female artists are still struggling to get radio play.

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2011/09/12/four-ways-that-911-changed-country-music-for-good/

Wedding Recap: A Look Back at This Year's Most Intimate Ceremonies

By Grace Shreve, Yahoo! Contributor Network - September 22, 2011 1:58 PM PDT

After millions tuned in to watch the royal wedding, and Kim Kardashian turned her nuptials into a full-blown media circus, many celebrity weddings have become more public spectacle than private event.

While fans tend to revel in stars' luxurious preparations and hang on every extravagant wedding-day detail, not all celebs are eager to celebrate on such a grand scale. With so many highly-publicized weddings making headlines, it's easy to forget some of the smaller, low-key ceremonies that took place this year. Excluding courthouse civil ceremonies, here's a look back at some of this year's "little weddings that could."

"Dream House" costars Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig first went public with their romance in February 2011, when the two sipped champagne, kissed, and danced at an NYC restaurant on Valentine's Day. In June, the two stars wed in upstate New York, managing to pull off a completely private ceremony. According to reports, only four people attended the intimate nuptials, including two friends, Weisz' son Henry (5), and Craig's daughter Ella (18), both from previous relationships. When asked how he kept his wedding a secret, Craig answered coyly, "I did it secretly--I can't tell you how I pulled it off. My private life is incredibly important to me, and certainly that aspect of it is more than incredibly important to me."

In May, Sarah Palin's son Track married his high school sweetheart, Britta Hanson, in Hatcher Pass, Alaska. Clad in jeans, the bride and groom were all smiles while posing with their parents in front of the snow-covered mountains. At the time, the couple announced their intention to have a larger, formal ceremony later in the year, "when extended family and friends from the Lower 48 can travel north for a long ski weekend." So, why not just wait? Three months later, Britta gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter named Kyla Grace.

In May, actress Ashley Williams of "Something Borrowed" and "How I Met Your Mother" married her boyfriend of eight years, producer Neal Dodson. The two wed at the Nashville home of country singer Brad Paisley and reportedly exchanged rings they bought online. For the outdoor reception, guests donned their party favor flip-flops, sipped beer, and dined on pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and biscuits. Instead of the traditional wedding cake, the couple opted to finish things off with banana pudding. The down-to-earth bride told People , "We wanted an intimate, farm-inspired wedding. We basically planned an upscale keg party!"

In February, "Chuck" star Sarah Lancaster exchanged vows with her boyfriend of two years, attorney Matthew Jacobs. Though their Southern California wedding was small, it was certainly big on tradition; Sarah wore her grandmother's gold heirloom bracelet and her mother's pearl earrings, while Matthew sported his father's 3-piece, circa 1960s wedding suit. In June, the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Oliver Michael Jacobs, who arrived weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces.

After 29 years of waiting, "The View" cohost Joy Behar finally married her "spousal equivalent" Steve Janowitz. The two wed in August, in a private ceremony in New York City. The bride discussed the wedding on her show's September 6 season premiere, showing pictures of the intimate, family-only gathering. While the groom wore a tux, Behar opted for a short, black dress to tie the knot, and she revealed that she now wears a wedding band that once belonged to her mother.

Country music superstar Shania Twain kicked off the new year by tying the knot in Puerto Rico. She and husband Frederic Thiebaud became involved after learning of Twain's husband's affair with Thiebaud's wife Marie-Ann, who was Twain's employee and close friend. With a mere 40 guests in attendance, including Twain's son Eja (9) and Thiebaud's daughter Johanna (9), the couple said their vows on the beach at Rincon's Ocean Villa. According to a guest, when the two were pronounced man and wife, "Fred picked her up and kissed her. He was jumping for joy. It was tearful, beautiful."

Congratulations to all the couples! We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/wedding-recap-a-look-back-at-this-years-most-intimate-ceremonies/72779

The October 17 issue of Country Weekly magazine has a small picture of Shania along the top edge of the cover.

Inside, pages 20 and 21 feature "Style Icon: Shania Twain".

The six pictures included represent:
"Any Man of Mine" (1995)
"That Don't Impress Me Much" (1998)
"Come On Over" (1999)
"Rock This Country" (1999)
"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" (1999)
"Party for Two" (2004)

Strange!

Country California Interviews Shania Twain

We recently sat down with Shania Twain for a revealing discussion concerning chronic constipation, Dungeons and Dragons, and the woman she admires.

You can listen in on our chat through the Youtube player below.

* Some of Shania’s responses have been edited for length and/or content… oh, and all the questions were changed. And we probably didn’t actually speak to her. But other than that, this is exactly how it went down.

http://www.countrycalifornia.com/country-california-interviews-shania-twain/

2011 Rewind: No. 8 – Martina, Sara, Shania & Faith Return

By Sarah Wyland

This year saw the return of four of country music’s biggest female stars: Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

Martina changed records labels and released her first new album, Eleven, since 2009. The album spawned the hits “Teenage Daughters” and “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” Martina celebrated the release by embarking on a cross-country train tour, which ended with a special performance at the Empire State Building.

“This is such an amazing time in my life and my career,” Martina said when she announced her new album’s release. “I feel like I’ve been given the support and power to go into the studio and write and create an album that pushes the boundaries of what people expect of me, while still being true to myself.”

Sara released her first new music since 2005’s Real Fine Place when Stronger hit store shelves on March 8. The album featured the No. 1 hit CMA-nominated hit “A Little Bit Stronger,” which was also a part of the movie Country Strong. Sara also returned to the road, touring with Rascal Flatts on their Flatts Fest summer tour and performed on both the ACM and CMA Awards.

“This song has had the biggest emotional response of any other single I’ve ever released,” Sara said after “A Little Bit Stronger” reached No. 1. “I think it is because almost everyone has gone through a difficult time in their life and most people can relate to the line in the song ‘even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger.’”

Shania made her return to CMA Music Festival for the first time in 15 years to sign copies of her autobiography, From This Moment On. She also released her first single in six year, “Today Is Your Day,” and had a reality show, Why Not? With Shania Twain, on OWN. Shania will return to the stage when she begins a two-year headlining stand at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on December 1, 2012.

“This past year has been such an amazing journey and to find myself poised to play at The Colosseum is truly magical,” Shania said. “The Colosseum is an iconic location with unmatched energy, and I’m excited to bring a pop/country spin to the city. People from all over the world travel to Las Vegas and I’m so thrilled to be able to share my music with a truly global audience.”

Faith also returned to both the radio and the stage in 2011. She released her first new single in five years, “Come Home,” which she premiered with a performance during the CMA Awards in November. “It’s such a great song,” Faith said. “So well written – a beautiful lyric and sentiment – combined with a driving musical undertone and instrumentation. I’m really excited for fans of country radio to hear the song.”

Martina will tour with George Strait in 2012 while Sara will re-join Rascal Flatts on their Thaw Out tour. Shania will resume performing in Vegas and Faith is expected to release a new album.

http://blog.gactv.com/blog/2011/12/21/2011-rewind-no-8-martina-sara-shania-faith-return/

The Myth of the Attractive Mistress

By Samara O'Shea (Author, "Daydream Believer")
Posted: 1/7/12

When a man is unfaithful, it's not as cut and dry as "I need a prettier woman in my life." He's usually fulfilling a deeper psychological desire. The male ego is a hungry beast -- if it doesn't feel it's getting the attention it needs, it will go hunting. The source of the attention doesn't matter as much as the attention itself. The one thing the mistress can always offer, regardless of what she looks like, is newness. She is a new body and a new face. She is an escape from that which is known. Of course one reason to get married is for familiarity -- wanting to love the same body and the same face till death do us part -- but oftentimes the routine of a relationship catches people off guard and they long for the unfamiliar. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it happens. While it's true, mistresses like Angelina Jolie do come along -- she's the exception rather than the rule. Let's examine the evidence:

Camilla Parker-Bowles (Princess Diana) -- These days we know that Charles loved Camilla all along and never should have married Diana, but he was bound by duty to do so. At the time, all we knew was Charles was married to a striking, stylish 20-something, and he was having an affair with a plain, older woman who Diana nicknamed "The Rottweiler." Camilla is a good reminder that there's a lot more to being in love than the way someone looks, but it's unfortunate that Diana had to go through the humiliating ordeal. The monarchy has done right by letting Will chose his own wife and not insisting she be of royal descent.

Jane Doe (Halle Berry) -- Halle Berry's second husband, Eric Benét, was said to have cheated on her multiple times with multiple women. I don't know who he was being unfaithful with, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume those women were less attractive than Halle.

Michelle "Bombshell" McGee (Sandra Bullock) -- Unless you have a penchant for tattoos, you probably consider Sandra Bullock easier on the eyes than her husband's mistress Michelle McGee. Last year Jesse James spoke to Piers Morgan about his affair. At one point during the interview (clip here), he inarticulately summed up the destructive relationship between man and ego. He said, "Turning to like infidelity or something to stroke my ego or whatever it was, you know, I don't think it was a decision I made 100 percent willingly or vindictively or anything like that ... It made me feel worse than before it happened." If a man has control over his ego and is able to tell it to simmer down when necessary, then he can be faithful to his family. If the ego has more control than the man, he is capable of betraying just about anyone -- including himself.

Rachel Uchitel, Jaimee Grubbs and Countless Others (Elin Nordegren) - Speaking of out-of-control egos, the Tiger Woods scandal is still one of the most shocking. The boy next store was sleeping with a slew of women less attractive than his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren. This situation emphasizes how sad sex addiction really is. There's nothing glamorous about it. As an addict you will have sex with anyone, anywhere, and having sex becomes the equivalent of smoking a cigarette or throwing back a shot.

Marie-Anne Thiebaud (Shania Twain) -- I really thought the marriage between producer Mutt Lange and singer Shania Twain was a keeper, but I guess marriage is difficult for anyone -- even those who start out with the most genuine intentions. After 14 years together, Shania found out not only was her husband cheating but that he was doing so with her best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud -- two knives in one back. As one of the best selling and best looking female artists of all time, Shania probably thought she had nothing to worry about.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is surely breathtaking to anyone seeing it for the first or even the tenth time, but not necessarily to the security guard who's worked there for twenty years. He can probably point out the most minor flaws. As it true with people -- a gorgeous woman is only flawless to those of us who don't see her on a daily basis, which is why it's best to make sure there's more to the relationship than just the exterior. I guess the bad news is women have to be suspicious of everyone -- not just the pretty girls. The good news is if you trust your man and are secure within yourself, you don't have to be suspicious at all.

Before they had a stylist: Stars go from frumpy to fabulous

SHANIA TWAIN: Shania Twain has a big voice - but an even bigger fashion sense. The country songstress has always favored dramatic looks ... dramatic is a nice way to describe them, right? Thank goodness these days Twain has simplified her style and let her stunning natural beauty take center stage.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/a-stylist-stars-frumpy-fabulous-gallery-1.77982

Jan 26th 2012

What Does LSU Need To Turn The Basketball Season Around?

Pic courtesy of sbnation.com

There’s a song by Shania Twain: “Dance With The One That Brought You”, and a book by Molly Ivans: “You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You”. They both boil down to the same thing. Recruitment’s over for now, and we have to do our best with what we have to work with.

We won’t waste time quoting stats on last year, we know how bad it was, and the LSU program needs to make improvents, and do it sooner rather than later. The LSU kids showed some heart in the Bulldogs loss, and even the loss itself was in doubt near the end of the game.

Yes, the LSU Tigers were outclassed in the game; the Bulldogs have some big, well coached players with a bit more experience. Buzz made some good points, and one of them tells the whole tale, the free throw shooting. Look at the score, it was a close game: 76-71, that’s only a 5 point difference. Fouls and free throws were the deciding factor in this one.

The burden is on the coaches as much as it is on the boys, there’s lots of work to do. LSU shot 61% at the foul line, and that’s not good enough for the SEC. Mississippi State shot 74%, which was a lot closer to the SEC standard. The problem was that the Bulldogs got to shoot way the hell too many of them, and you can’t win like that.

The coaches need to figure that one out, and get it fixed. There’s times to foul, but it needs to be a calculated decision. The boys need to spend some long hours at the free throw line as well. I watched one of our best shooters miss two in a row at a very critical point of the game.

I felt like that was a turning point, it may well have been one. We may be 2 and 4, but it’s still early and some hard work can turn this around.

Merged post above.

Tommy Hunter still going strong

By Bill Harris, QMI Agency

Posted:Monday, March 05, 2012 01:58 PM EST           

If you’re old enough to remember The Tommy Hunter Show, you’ll remember what a big deal it was on Canadian TV.

Not only did it highlight the singing and playing of its talented host, but virtually all the biggest and budding country music acts of the era performed on The Tommy Hunter Show.

“Yeah, Shania Twain,” said Hunter, asked to recall young performers on his show who he could tell were headed for greatness.

“Anne Murray, when she was first starting. Garth Brooks did our show. Alan Jackson. Reba McEntire.”

The Tommy Hunter Show aired on CBC from 1965 to 1992, if you can believe it. Hunter has kept active touring since then, but now, finally, “Canada’s Country Gentleman” is retiring.

Having just completed the East Coast leg of his final tour, Hunter has only a handful of concerts remaining in his native Ontario over the next couple of weeks, including a show at Casino Rama, north of Toronto, on March 15 (visit www.tommyhunter.com for a full list). Things culminate with a concert in Hunter’s home town of London, Ont., on March 20, which just happens to be his 75th birthday.

“I know I still can sing and perform, but what you do at 25 you can’t do when you’re 75,” Hunter said. “You have to face facts and reality.

“Tony Bennett (age 85) is probably one of the rare exceptions who still is doing it. But I rather would have people come to one of my final shows and say, ‘Why is he retiring?’ I want people to leave happy, saying, ‘Boy, that brings back a lot of memories.’ ”

Notably, it’s the memories of other people’s TV memories that have kept Hunter energized as a performer over the past two decades.

“What I hear continuously is that the kids would rush upstairs after doing the dishes, and the old man would throw some logs on the fire to keep the place warm, and the kids would have a bath and put on fresh pyjamas, and run down and jump up on the sofa, and they were told, ‘Be quiet, now, because Tommy’s coming on and we want to watch the show,’ ” Hunter said.

“But this is what I would refer to as the backhanded compliment. People will say, ‘We watched your show every week.’ And then there’s a long pause, and they add, ‘Now that I think about it, we had only one channel back then.’

“It’s a great line, and they don’t even realize what they’re saying. But in all seriousness, it’s a tremendous feeling listening to those stories.”

In terms of TV legacy, given that there now are separate country music networks that do very well, Hunter is proud that his show helped bring country music out of the barn, so to speak.

“With country music on TV back then, the first thing they’d say is, ‘We don’t know anything about country music, we have this pimply faced 19-year-old kid playing a guitar, let’s just build a barn set and throw in some bales of hay,’ ” Hunter said. “But that’s the last thing I wanted.

“Over time we acquired the best producers, directors and writers, a great team. When I introduced Johnny Cash, I wanted him to come right into your living rooms all across Canada, and you weren’t seeing cattle moving in the background and pitchforks and all that stuff. Because I thought our music had progressed to a level.”

The music, in other words, was good enough to stand on its own.

“Yes,” Hunter said. “That’s exactly right. “I think our show really made a change in that way.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/05/tommy-hunter-still-going-strong