Anna Nicole

The US judicial system has reached new heights as the US Supreme Court agrees to hear the case of Anna Nicole's inheritance disupute. As the widower of a former 90 year old oil tycoon, her ongoing legal dispute with the son of her now deceased husband certainly brings new meaning to the phrase "legally blonde". It would be really interesting to see how the case is eventually handled - that is from a legal perspective.

A little tidbit: at the age of 26, after she had married J. Howard Marshall in an equally fast wedding, Anna ran off with her bodyguard and honeymooed in Greece with him (i.e., bodyguard - Pierre de Jean).


On a side note:

It's been a crappy week. When buying tickets from a travel agent you found on the web, always be sure to ask about cancellation policies. Some will charge you a cancellation fee even without authorizing a credit card charge yet.

Sealed with a Kiss

When traveling in a foreign country, you never know what can happen with a simple “public display of affection.” Take an Israeli couple that got married in Pushkar, India. The unknowing couple was fined for kissing and hugging during the ceremony. Perhaps they should have gotten married in Paris.

Empire Strikes Back

Whoever designed the empire cut gown must have been obsessed with the “maternity look.” Popular during the Jane Austen’s time (i.e., Regency Era), the empire cut gown fitted what was considered as being beautiful (i.e., plump). These high-waisted gowns often had very low necklines, so low that a woman’s bosoms would be bursting out like tulips. From party dresses to wedding gowns, these supposedly “natural-fitting” dresses had to be designed by men – no doubt. If you’ve seen any Jane Austen movie, you know what I’m talking about, but if not, this great site has a lot of good pictures and historical information.

I'd rather be...

Browsing at an electronics store with husband = boring. This is especially true when we're at the computer store. With so many coffee stands propping up in bookstores, why don't they have them in computer stores like Comp USA wherein you can get a latte, read a magazine, watch TV, surf the web, or blog. It would be a much better use of my time rather than just following my husband around as he oogles over routers and modems.

My Alternative Life

Seating in traffic leads to some daydreaming. Specifically, what would my alternative life be?

Living in Paris, studying art history, cooking, and pastry-making. I'd be working part-time as an assistant pastry chef and living with my best friend who just so happens to be teaching French at an all boys college. She's loaded so money would not be a problem for us. We would obviously be 10 years younger - in our early 20s instead of mid-30s. We'd also find ourselves exploring the French countryside during weekends as we meet young French guys named Herve. In a nutshell, we would be free to do whatever we wanted without the familiar pressures we face from parents and relatives to settle down, get married, have kids, buy a house, and etc.

Okay, back to reality.

These alternative life scenarios sure provides some temporary (i.e., really short) escape from life's monotony.

Bride and Prejudice

As a fan of romantic comedies, I must say that the movie "Bride and Prejudice" was one of the funniest ones I have ever seen. If you're a fan of Jane Austen novels and movies, this one is a modern twist (i.e., Bollywood style) to the classic one. The actor playing Darcy in the movie looks almost like Luke Wilson - his name is Martin Henderson from New Zealand - playing opposite to an actress named Aishwarya Rai. If you enjoyed the movie called "Monsoon Wedding", this one is just as good! I really enjoyed it and got a good laugh.

Continued from Yes or No?

Given another chance at getting married, if my fiancé were to ask me to sign a pre-nup, I would be extremely worried as to how sincere or solid his feelings are towards me. And, I’d really wonder at how much he really knows me to want to live with me for the rest of his life. I'd most likely have second thoughts about our relationship as a result. I gather that a pre-nup becomes necessary when you want to be sure that your spouse is not going to run after your entire assets should you get a divorce, but then it certainly goes back to the first question, which is why do you need a pre-nup? On the other side, I can also understand why others may view it as a safety button in a marriage because nowadays people seem to rush to the wedding altar too soon. Case in point, the 4 month marriage of Jerry Maguire’s leading lady or “you had me at hello.” Both men and women that choose to marry later in life in order to pursue their careers face this problem because you never know what people are like when they get divorced – things can get ugly as in the case of Liza Minelli and David Guest whose star studded wedding celebration became a distance memory soon after the couple decided to call it quits amid allegations that Liza was a husband-beater. There are just so many examples out there that seem to indicate how important it is to know who you are marrying before taking the plunge.

Yes or No?

You are planning to marry the best guy in the world. You've got the ring to prove it, too. He's nice like Clark Kent kind of nice. You get along with all of his friends and family. Even his grandmother loves you. Everything just seems to be peachy, but suddenly, he pops the question: will you please sign the pre-nup? An article from money magazine made me think twice about this. Although for me, it's too late already 'cuz I've been hitched.

A Vegas Wedding?

The scenario is you and your long time boyfriend have been living together for more than 3 years that it already feels like your married already. Boyfriend says that it's better to just elope or have a simple civil wedding, so that you can save money for a real grand wedding down the line.

I have two main issues with this proposal:

1) How is it guaranteed that an actual wedding will happen?

2) How important is it for a woman to have a nice wedding as opposed to an elopement in Vegas or a civil wedding?

Personally, I would not want such an option because a wedding should be a special event, not one that you can postpone down the line. And, you can still have a simple yet memorable and elegant wedding with enough help from friends and family. There are many ways to creatively budget and plan for a wedding without going broke like getting married during the winter instead of summer, baking your own wedding cake, or making your own flower arrangements, favors, and wedding invitations. On the flip side, there are some people who would definitely prefer a small intimate ceremony like on a beach for their wedding - just two of you and the officiant.

Male PMS?

Ever wonder if men also suffer what we women go through every month? Here it is, it's called "Irritable Male Syndrome."

Wedding Photographs

If you were separated or divorced and were moving out, would you leave behind a life-sized photo of you and your ex? Nope. I certainly wouldn't leave it knowing that my ex didn't want it. I'd probably tear the photo in half and take my part of the photo with me. But, I guess for some very well known celebrities (i.e., Pitt and Aniston split), it is just too painful to take such a photo with them. One thing is for sure, somebody is going to make a lot of money putting this photo up for sale.

Up and down we go

I go up and down everyday on our building’s elevator. While this may seem as a mundane task, it has given me the unique opportunity to observe urban high-rise behavior. Whether you call it common courtesy or elevator etiquette, as I would like to call it, there are some people who just don’t get it. Like crossing a street and looking both ways. Take the process of entering an elevator; most people know that you are supposed to wait for the people inside to get out first before entering. But, what really irks me is when you do actually wait and then the people inside decide to get out! You end up feeling like an idiot because the guy inside moves so slowly. I call these guys the “delayed responders.” On another note, there are also those whom I’d like to call the “door shutters.” Blame it on being shy or having a ”Paxil” moment, these people purposely press on the “close door” button - knowing full well that somebody is approaching the elevator. This has happened to me so many times, but I always cherish the moment when I see their facial expression whenever I manage to catch the elevator before the doors close. Next, we have the “dumb fingers.” These people accidentally press on the wrong button, but don’t tell you that they have pressed up instead of down. Here, you end up just waiting for someone to enter without any kind of courteous response. Lastly, we have the “dead trees” – these people are the biggest idiots of elevator etiquette. You walk into the elevator and they don’t move aside so all of you can fit inside the elevator without breathing into each other’s faces!

Laughter - the best medicine

Hectic week. For some much needed amusement and laughter, I've found Atom Films - featuring short films and animation.

Opportunistic

Spent most of the Labor Day weekend doing basically everything contrary to labor. In other words, nothing. What I did find interesting on the web is the sudden proliferation of businesses announcing that a portion of your purchase will be donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, while there are others who just completely donate all of their sales to the victims. Lastly, there are also businesses that just make a donation without making any grand announcements to their customers. The issue, here, that bothers me a bit is that some businesses have used this tragedy to promote their sales and even making their company appear somewhat righteous in their efforts. I personally find it very distasteful to find a business that has to post a message on their website stating they are donating a portion of the sales. Why do they have to announce it? Will it really make us (i.e., consumers) into buying customers? I don’t think so. We are smarter and more cynical! Such a practice would most likely make me never want to buy from them. I think most people who are compassionate in light of this terrible event will make a donation whether it is in the form of money, clothes, etc., out of the kindness of their own heart.

Hope within tragedy

The catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina has caused unimaginable pain and suffering for many. Images of grief and anger from TV, newspapers, magazines, and virtually all over the web cannot fully grasp the real harshness of what the victims of the hurricane have suffered and continue to suffer. But, somwhere within the cries of help and despair, I heard about this story and realized that one has to have hope when all else has been destroyed. Even a little ounce of hope can help people through this awfully tragic time. The story of the wedding of Trenise Williams and Joseph Kirsh and how one small group of individuals banded together to help them out says it all. A little help goes a long way and should be an example for others to do the same. In the end, I hope that the kindness and generosity of humanity will prevail.

Handicap

Looking for parking space is obviously a challenge especially when you live in a metropolitan city like LA. While looking for a space at the Glendale Galleria mall today, parking was a bit of a challenge in light of the Labor Day weekend Sales. As I continue to look for a space, a couple in a silver Lexus drives up ahead of me to catch a space. Okay, what’s the catch? Well, as they were driving up to a handicapped parking spot, they placed a blue handicap sign on their dashboard, and rushed out of their car. Who was the handicapped person in the car? I’m still wondering about that to myself.

Kansas!

In most states, the legal marrying age is 18. I thought that this was applicable to all states, but as it turns out the Kansas and a few other states, including allow individuals or should I say, kids as young as 12. With such antediluvian laws still existing in America, what is most disturbing about these laws is that they pretty much fail to protect minors when an adult chooses to marry a minor as in the case of a couple from Nebraska got married in Kansas. When I say couple, the groom was 22, while the bride (pregnant at that) was only 13! What era are these legislators stuck in?