Helen and Maurice Kaye got married on Aug. 27, 1934. Now 101 and 102 years old, they reflected on 80 years of happy marriage with the BBC.
"He once bought me flowers," Helen said, laughing, "They were all dead." But instead of gifts, the couple said the most important thing they've learned is tolerance of each other.
"I give in a little, she gives in a little," Maurice said. "And we both laugh at the same things, don't we?" added Helen.
Watch the sweetest video here:
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I'm getting married next summer. According to Tolentino, this means I am diminishing myself as a woman, and turning myself into someone who can be bought with a diamond ring. But here's the thing: I'm not marrying my fiance because he gave me a ring or because I want to dress and act like a thoughtless, trussed-up princess for a day. I'm marrying him because marriage is a meaningful and incredibly worthwhile demonstration of our love for one another. It is also a demonstration of our desire to live out our lives and raise children together. The wedding that kicks it off allows us to celebrate our union with our closest friends and family — something that's as important to many of our loved ones as it is to us. Of course we want to show our guests a nice weekend that shows how much we care about not only each other, but also them.
But what really troubles me about Tolentino's post is that to assume marriage represents societal repression is to assume a pervasive helplessness among women. Marriage is no longer a retro institution that leaves women sitting around doing housework and feeding the children while a man goes off and earns all the money and enjoys all the world's viable intellectual stimulation. Women are anything but feeble Betty Drapers these days. We may not be fully equal to men in some unfortunate ways (we still don't earn a full dollar to theirs), but we certainly haven't given up the fight and are even making awesome strides: women now earn more college degrees than men and are close to overtaking men as the primary breadwinners in their households. My fiance and I are equals in our relationship, and that won't disappear the second we say "I do." I work just as much as does, and I know that when we have children, he'll be an equal caretaker in the relationship. When faced with choosing a city to live in after he finished graduate school, we picked New York because it offers the best opportunities for my career.I have to wonder how Tolentino would respond to gay activists who have been fighting for decades for this country to give them the same legal recognition as heterosexual couples, or who rush to the steps of city hall the moment their state legalizes gay marriage. Marriage is many things: it is work, it is commitment, it is even a tax break. But most important, it's one way to make a life more meaningful.The choice to marry and have a fun traditional wedding to inaugurate it hardly undoes the work of the feminist or post-feminist movements. Indeed, I would argue that it strengthens it — women marrying today know that marriage won't subvert them. It's dangerous to turn a fear of commitment into an argument that it does.Valentine's Spice Box, from $23, SpicySubscriptions.com
Kelly Osbourne looked absolutely stunning on the red carpet the other night at the Emmy Awards, wearing a lilac-colored Zac Posen gown—and a $250,000 manicure (yes, you read that right).
The polish, which contains 267-carats of black diamonds, was created by Los Angeles-based luxury jeweler Azature. It was released last month and Kelly, along with Jennifer Lopez, have been the only celebs to rock it. Azature recently said in an interview that the black diamond is the ultimate fine jewel, so why not showcase this style on nails? So...he developed the Black Diamond Nail Polish in order to preserve the elegance of the black diamond.
Kelly told E! on the red carpet: "I've been so scared to touch anything because it contains powdered black diamonds worth $250,000. [The bottle] is in a safe upstairs in the hotel room. I couldn't believe it. I have not touched a thing all day." Prior to the awards ceremony, she also uploaded an image of the nail polish to Instagram, writing: "I'm s***ting myself to have that much money on my nails!"
Can't swing a swipe of this lacquer (don't worry, we can't either)? Coat your tips with this affordable version Azature Black Diamond Nail Polish, $25, ronrobinson.com.
Photo: PAUL BUCK/EPA
Rihanna never ceases to amaze us when it comes to taking beauty and fashion risks. Case in point: her brand new, daring pixie cut.
To our knowledge, the cut wasn't for a specific role or tour she's heading out on, but perhaps for her opening performance at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards being held Sept. 6, where she'll perform her hit single "We Found Love," followed by her brand new remix of "Cockiness (Love It)" with A$AP Rocky.
But this isn't the first time she's had a short cut. In an interview, her stylist, Ursula Stephen, once explained the singer's constant desire for change: "We're always changing it up, experimenting, and having fun with [her] hair. Her hairstyle typically changes depending on what's on our agenda, what she's wearing, or how she's feeling."
What do you think about Rihanna's new cropped cut?
Photo Credit: Maciel/X17online.com
Jason Stackhouse – er, Ryan Kwanten – takes us behind the scenes of the hugely popular True Blood
By Lauren Smelcher
Even if you think Twilight is rubbish, or you totally missed The Vampire Diaries wave, nobody can deny the impact of True Blood. Not just another show cashing in on the vampire trend, True Blood is a hit with both fans and critics. The sexed-up thriller about vampires, telepathic waitresses, shapeshifters and maenads in the sleepy, fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps has gained a cult following for its whip-smart writing, make-you-blush sex scenes and genuine suspense of the storylines. We chatted with Aussie Ryan Kwanten, 33, who plays slow-witted but adorable Jason Stackhouse, about life behind the scenes of our favourite show.
Did you expect the show to be so popular?
Obviously you have high hopes, but it’s such a fickle industry that [a show] can have two Academy Award winners (creator Alan Bell, who won an Oscar in 2000 for American Beauty and Anna Paquin), like we do, and still not ever see the light of day. We were fortunate the pilot got picked up by HBO, but even then it was such a slow start. It took at least three or four episodes for people to really capture and understand the tone of the show.
How have fans reacted?
I’m still amazed at the sheer demographic of people who watch the show, everyone from the young teens – which is a little scary – through to the elderly. Whenever I’m introduced to a family of people, it’s funny when all of them, from the 15-year-old daughter to the 55-year-old dad, say they love the show.
Who’s the funniest person on set?
I would be considered the practical joker of the group.
Really? What have you done?
A couple of the crew members and I have done everything from putting someone’s Smart Car into the elevator, to filling a car with those little Styrofoam balls. It gets very juvenile, but it passes the day. But HBO does run a very professional set!
What is it like on the set? Are you friends with the other cast members?
It’s probably the best kind of environment because we really love working with each other, but we go our separate ways outside the show. What tends to happen in a lot of film and television productions is that it can get a little too incestuous, for lack of a better word, because you start taking your work home with you. When that happens, the show is at risk of conflict and even being cut short. Outside of Stephen (Moyer, who plays Bill) and Anna (Paquin, who plays Sookie), who are engaged, we all have our private lives away from the set.
All of you seem to have your kit off all the time on the show. Is there any rivalry between the guys about who’s got the best body?
Oh no, there’s no rivalry. We all share our stories about having socks stuffed down our pants for sex scenes, but there’s no competition. We’re above that age, I guess.
Do you work out a lot? I mean, how do you get guns like that?
Did you write that question? I want to see that question.
No!
I had a very competitive upbringing. I played all types of sports: boxing, swimming, and now, yoga. I pride myself on working out, not necessarily looking good.
Is it fun playing Jason?
Not at all. [Laughs.] It’s terrible, terrible. I walk back into my trailer at the end of every day, and say, “What a hard day in the office, how am I going to sleep tonight?”
So yes, it’s fun?
Yes. There are times when I almost feel I’m living vicariously through him. He gets a lot more action than – not just your average man but like – 10 average men put together. [He’s a very] rambunctious little man.
He seems like a difficult character to play. In the first season, all of the women he had relationships with – his grandmother, two of the women he sleeps with and then his girlfriend are killed, and he’s accused of the murder. In the second season, he’s taken in by a religious cult. He’s sweet and a bit dopey, but also incredibly sexual and charismatic. Is it difficult to become Jason?
Not really. What’s interesting is I don’t really see myself as being anything like him, but at the same time I don’t find it all that difficult to jump into his shoes. I think of Jason as a guy who doesn’t have a lot of thought processes. There isn’t a huge amount of thinking behind the decisions he makes, so I’ve just learnt to switch mine off when I play him. Whatever ideas hit me on that particular line, on that particular word, I just do it.
In terms of story lines, do the actors know what’s going to happen or are you surprised every time you get your lines?
We’re always surprised. At our table reads, we all sit down and at the end of every one, we pause and sit there for a few seconds. We’re all thinking, “Wow, we just read this, and now we actually get to do it.” I’m amazed at the amount of “firsts” that happen on our show, things that you’ve never seen on television before. That’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of. I’ve never seen anyone dance in their underwear while wearing a Laura Bush mask on television.
What’s your favourite part of working on the show?
I love being able to work on the show for six months, and then work on other projects for the other half of the year. I get to come out here for three days and help Telstra launch the T-Box and then go off to Washington for a film, and then to New Jersey and LA. It’s a crazy life and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
And, finally, can you give us any True Blood spoilers?
There are a lot more characters. Everything you enjoyed about the second season [will be] amplified by about a thousand in this third one. Expect the unexpected.
Ryan Kwanten was in Australia to launch the Telstra T-Box®. The T-Box brings BigPond® TV movie downloads, HD free-to-air channels, YouTube™ videos and personal video recorder (PVR) functions to a single, stylish set top box.
