As a woman, have you ever had the trouble of fending off men from touching you in the subway or unwanted glances towards your smooth silken legs? Well, someone in China has invented the hairy leggings called the “anti-pervert” stockings to help put a stop to it. But beware! If you are a single girl looking for handsome men to court you, this might not be ideal. Either way, it could be worth it just for the shock value. Ready for the beach ladies? Let’s do it! 🙂

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Turkish-Americans took to Union Square in New York to make their feelings known about the political climate going on in their country, Turkey. Many protested about their current Prime Minister Erdogan slowly slipping into what they would like to refer to as a dictatorship system under strict Islamic doctrine. The citizens of the country have long praised and looked up to their historical leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for starting and bringing the country to where it is today, with previous leaders after him taking from his system to govern the country. Today, it is said that Erdogan has introduced several laws that includes banning the sale of liquor, freedom of speech in some cases and even conversion of historic landmark parks into shopping malls and new Mosques. We do hope they could all reach a level of resolution that would lead to no blood shed in Turkey. It’s just so sad to hear and see this happening to Turkey. I had the privilege of visiting the country in 2009. It’s a lovely place. It would be devastating to see it come to ruins.

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Designer Roberto Cavalli’s sketch of Beyonce’s world tour gown. Taking the face of the singer’s solo debut album from “Dangerously In Love” and adding a body dressed in the new gown gave way to the creation. Now you get to pick your favorite, before or after. Nice colors. 😉

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Ever tried to find a parking space while driving in New York City? Frustrating! Right? Two grown men put out their frustrations in old classic blows over a parking space about to be vacated by a taxi. Yes folks, you read right. They came to blows the old fashion way. You definitely do not want to miss watching this video footage below. Mike Tyson has nothing on these grown men. Let the games begin!

Note: The video starts off vertically but will soon switch up horizontally to the right angle. Too bad I didn’t record it. I would have done a better job. 🙂

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Director Lee Daniels stripped away Mariah Carey’s diamonds and glamour for her latest role in The Butler.

The usually decadent and extravagant diva appears to be makeup free as she portrays Hattie Pearl, a field slave, in the upcoming film. Although the released photo may be turning heads, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Carey get into character. Daniels stripped off her makeup and added a faint mustache for her role in 2009’s Precious.

The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and more, is based on the true story of Eugene Allen, who retired from the White House as head butler in 1986 after 34 years of service. It opens in theaters on August 16.

Note to director though. With that complexion, she probably would have been a house slave and not a field slave. Needless to say, Mariah should get an award just for looking the part. Job well done!

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Click below to watch the movie trailer.

There’s nothing quite like a group of proud people happily celebrating their culture from all works of life. Puerto Ricans from far and wide all congregated on fashionable New York’s 5th Avenue in costumes, exotic cars and floats dancing to the loudest music possible. Of course, you can count on a few politicians to take the advantage to show their support with the hope of scoring the fast growing Puerto Rican population in the state of New York. Nevertheless, it was a fun packed day. If you’re into cars, you definitely do not want to miss watching the video footage below and of course the fun filled day at the pre-parade festival in Harlem!

To see an enlarged version, just click on the image. Enjoy!:)

If you thought the annual Puerto Rican Day festivities starts and ends with the traditional parade up and down 5th Avenue then you are in for a big surprise! The REAL fun actually takes place a day before the annual parade in Harlem where young and old gather to celebrate the proud history and culture of Puerto Rico in true Newyorican style. There’s no shortage of costumes, food, music and laughter. Some even took the opportunity to show off their exotic pets! People who hardly knew each other came together to celebrate. It was my first time witnessing the event. I was sad the to see it all come to an end at 5pm promptly. All I can say is WOW! They sure know how to party.

Well, below you will find the video footage that has all the evidence and of course the images further down below. To see an enlarged version, just click on the image. Enjoy! 🙂

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Well…not really. I mean I was in New York representing Shoeholics magazine supporting Italian made crafts hosted by the Italian Trade Commission. My one and only stop was the Giuseppe Zanotti flagship store on Madison Avenue for good conversation and some bubbles –champagne that is. And for my outfit? I opted for a classic multipurpose Norma Kamali jumpsuit and of course Giuseppe Zanotti flats acquired few years ago. You see, well made things last a life time. If you invest in products carefully crafted with love and great workmanship, you can expect them to last for years to come. This is one of the reasons why I hang on to many great pieces like the jumpsuit and shoes! Shop Italians dear friends! 😉

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Photos by Monica Watkins

When Gloria C. MacKenzie went to a Florida supermarket near Tampa last month to buy a Powerball ticket, another person in line did something nice for the 84-year-old widow.
“While in line at Publix, another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning Quick Pick ticket,” she said in a statement Wednesday. (Click here to see the woman who gave up her space!)
The nice gesture turned out to be a life-changing one for MacKenzie and her family. She came forward Wednesday to claim the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history, $590 million.
A retiree from Maine and a mother of four who lives in a modest, tin-roof house in Zephyrhills, Fla., where the lone winning ticket in the May 18 drawing was sold, MacKenzie took her prize in a lump sum of just over $370 million. After federal taxes, she is getting about $278 million, lottery officials said.

Wearing large sunglasses and dressed in a pink sweater and white pants, she clasped her son’s arm after visiting the lottery offices as they made their way to a silver Ford Focus and left quickly. She did not speak to a crowd of reporters outside the building. She was accompanied at the lottery offices by two unidentified attorneys.
MacKenzie bought the winning ticket at a Publix supermarket in the town of about 13,300, which is 30 miles northeast of Tampa. It is best known for the bottled spring water that bears its name — and now, for one of the biggest lottery winners of all time.
The $590 million was the second-largest lottery jackpot in history, behind a $656 million Mega Millions prize in March 2012, but that sum was split, with three winning tickets.
MacKenzie let the lottery computers generate the numbers at random. She said she had previously bought four other tickets for the drawing.
“We are grateful with this blessing of winning the Florida Lottery Powerball jackpot,” she said in a statement read by lottery officials.
“We hope that everyone would give us the opportunity to maintain our privacy for our family’s benefit.”
The winner had 60 days to claim the prize. Lottery spokesman David Bishop said MacKenzie, her lawyers and her financial adviser spent about two hours going through the necessary paperwork.
“They had clearly been preparing for this. They took all this time to get everything in order,” Bishop said.
Minutes after the announcement, a dozen reporters in Zephyrhills were camped outside MacKenzie’s gray duplex, which backs up to a dirt alley and is across from a cow pasture.
Neighbors were surprised by her good fortune.
“She didn’t say anything about it. She’s so quiet and secluded. She’s usually in the house,” said James Hill. “I’m very happy for her. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. She was always pleasant and smiling.”
Another neighbor, Don Cecil, joked, “I hope she gets a better place to live.”
MacKenzie’s neighbors offered few details about her life. They said she mostly kept to herself, but they’d seen her take short walks along the street and exchanged pleasantries with her.
Her house, situated among mostly mobile homes and pre-fabricated houses, has a chain-link fence with a sheet-metal roof and an old TV antenna.
MacKenzie retired to Zephyrhills more than a decade ago from rural Maine with her husband, Ralph, who died in 2005.
Back in her hometown of East Millinocket, Maine, relatives and friends were surprised to hear of her good fortune.
Robert MacKenzie, Ralph’s brother, said the couple met just after World War II after Ralph got out of the Navy. He went to work in the town’s paper mill, laboring as a technician for almost four decades.
He said the couple raised four children in East Millinocket, a town of less than 2,000 people in northern Maine. A daughter and son still live in East Millinocket, another son lives in Florida and another daughter lives out of state, possibly in Massachusetts, he said.
Robert MacKenzie said he didn’t know his sister-in-law had won until a reporter called him.
“Holy mackerel,” he said when told of her winnings. He added: “It hasn’t soaked in, but I’m happy for her. That would be great because she’s a widow and she can have a nice home now.”
One of the MacKenzies’ daughters, Melinda “Mindy” MacKenzie, a high school teacher, still lives in the family home in East Millinocket in a quiet middle-class neighborhood of white clapboard houses.
Ralph MacKenzie enjoyed snowmobiling, hunting and fishing, said Andrew Hopkins, a retired high school teacher and assistant principal who taught some of the MacKenzie children.
“They were good people. That’s about all I can tell you,” said Hopkins, who lives across the street.

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I have been an avid customer of Wholefoods grocery stores for as long as I can remember. On numerous occasions I have been sucked into the scam of overpaying for goods without thinking twice to check my receipts. It wasn’t until about mid summer last year that I finally woke up and paid more attention to my tally at checkout. It started with fresh produce, particularly the Habanero peppers. Each time my total was rung up incorrectly, I would bring it to the manager’s attention that it wasn’t what I saw on the price card when I picked up the produce at the aisle. He would argue until I had to drag him to the spot to see it for himself after which a rain of apologies would follow. This went on for weeks with promises to fix the cash register to reflect the actual price.

You see, the price card states $4.99 per pound but by the time you get to the register you end up paying a whopping double of $9.99 a pound or more! I got tired of making the same complaint each time and started taking pictures to show the cashier exactly what I had seen and must be charged what was advertised. Now imagine many other customers who don’t pay attention to their receipts, especially those that buy in large quantities and want to get home/work in a hurry. The last thing on their mind would be to remember every grocery tally by the time they get to checkout. You would do yourself a favor to make it a habit of checking your receipts! Each time I made the correction/complaints I saw my grocery bills go down by at least $30!!! Yes it adds up! You can’t trust anyone when it comes to money and most certainly not Wholefoods to do what is right by their customers! Buyer beware!

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