Maysie

Well, I feel bad for anyone who feels like they aren't who they are supposed to be. Occasionally I see a transgender person in my daily comings and goings and I wonder how on earth it must be to just know you are in the wrong body. It's one thing to look in the mirror and think "gee, I wish my hair was straight/curly or my eyes were blue/brown" etc., but to be the wrong gender -- I don't care who you are, what you've accomplished in your life or how much money you have: I think it would be overwhelming for most. I don't feel any more sorry for Bruce than any other person in his position, but I do feel for him. Yes, his life has been choices, and who knows what choices he made because of this underlying issue for him. He may make a boatload of money on this, but he didn't have to -- he already has a boatload of money. Though I'm a little skeptical with how this is going to play out with KUWTK (like is this the storyline for the next season?) it doesn't minimize that he's felt that he's been living in the wrong body for a long time, and that has to suck, especially when you're just finding yourself this late in life. So good for Bruce for finally figuring it out and doing it. Though I have to say, this has all made me think of Renee Richards and crazy mad props and respect to her for doing something 40 years ago that many people today still can't comprehend. In my opinion, she kind of paved the way for the Bruces of the world.

Well, Kim's really making a name for herself for her willingness to strip down just for publicity. Perhaps it's a good thing that those pictures don't really look much like her at all. If I'd seen that cover on a news stand I never would have guess it was her. And the ass shot -- she is virtually unrecognizable, which is a good thing, I think. You know, there are so many ways to get recognition, particularly when you're wealthy. You can use your name and/or your money to do great things for people and make a difference, change the world, etc all while getting great, free publicity. But that takes work and a little bit of self-sacrifice and it seems Kim will always take the cheap and easy way out. Plus, I think her narcissistic nature enjoys the endless stream of images of herself. I truly can picture her just staring at pictures of herself as she searches the internet and flips through a magazine.

I do agree with this. As much as I dislike most of this family, there's no doubt this has to be tough for them. My issue with Kim and Kris is that I can see them using this to burnish their images. I doubt that we'd hear anything sincere from them, and ultimately that doesn't matter. However, the fact that Kim started throwing hints with her interview re Bruce's personal journey kind of smacks of a set-up. I mean look at how the internet has gone crazy over this the last couple of days (this has come closer to breaking the internet than her stupid Paper cover). He either knew she was going to say that and blessed it to start building the drama or she's so much of an attention whore she'll throw her family under the bus for a headline. The fact is, he could have gone to any outlet and any/all of the family could have participated in it. For myself, I would have much less skepticism watching it on an outlet that doesn't have a financial stake in the family brand. I'm sure 20/20 or hell, even 60 minutes, would have jumped on this because it is newsworthy (if it's really true -- has it been confirmed yet?). A former Olympian transgender is a big damn deal and E! is not his only option. So yeah, it does allow Bruce to tell his story, and I think that could be a good thing, but I think doing it on E! kind of undermines the credibility of everyone involved.

I agree with both of these. There has to be some other option than E!. If it's on E!, it's probably going to include the Kardashians (you know Kris will find way to wet her beak on this, and given Kim's hints, I can't imagine her staying away from this because my God the publicity). And while the issues the kids and spouse have to deal with in these situations are real, emotional and confusing, I can only imagine it's going to be all about how Bruce's journey affects the K's if they're involved. And if I felt there was a sincere bone in their collective bodies, I may even allow myself to accept that, but given that everything seems to be scripted for them and all about generating headlines, I dread the possibility of them hijacking this. I think beesknees' excellent post probably illustrates what a tough process it is for anyone and everyone affiliated with the situation. I think for Bruce, it could be even more difficult given his family and the fact that he was a former Olympian -- a very macho image to overcome. So it could be a great, fascinating story and an interesting way for him to come out. But for the love of God, keep it off E! or keep the Kardashians far, far away from it.

Well, I won't harsh on them for North being unattended near a toilet. If they've got razors and medications laying about then yeah, I'd take issue with that. I think it's great she flushed the phone. Now if she could flush Kim's we'd be really getting somewhere, though I'm sure there's a spare ready.

I'm a bit ambivalent about this. On one hand, I feel for him because I think it would be absolutely awful to live one way and know that it's just not who you are. I've felt that way about transgendered people for a while -- when I see a transgendered person I can only imagine how difficult their life can be because it must be a constant struggle to be accepted. So from that perspective, I do feel for him. If it turns into a made for tv journey . . . I don't know. On one hand, I can see where it would have some kind of educational value. But to play it out on E! . . . well, I don't see this so much as entertainment, which isn't that what the E in E! is all about? I don't feel like he should hide away in shame if any/all of it is true, but to have E! document his journey just smacks of more jumping on the gravy train by this family, especially with Kim dropping all her hints this week. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

Truthfully, when I saw the commercial I got a real strong Cher vibe. Like about 10 or 15 years ago when I saw her on Will and Grace. Kim's too young to have that look already. At least Cher didn't start looking that way til she hit her 50s. God only knows what Kim will look like in 15 years.

Here you go. The comments are nice and snarky. However the Daily Mail offers a nice contrast between Kendall walking for Chanel and Kris trying to upstage her by wearing it.

I couldn't help but look at the ad and it's actually pretty good. It's short and she had very little required of her. But good god almighty her ass looks huge. As far as the Bruce stuff goes, it's right up there with Kris's statements, in my opinion: a bunch of cryptic bullshit that's only going to invite more speculation. How about "no comment."? Or "Bruce has been a great father figure to me and I love him."?

Is Miley pregnant? Is it truth or gossip? Anyhow, those pictures are one hilarious trainwreck after another. I saw somewhere else why Kanye never smiles. He launched into a story about finding a book (when he was recording Yeezus) that was from the 1800s (covered in velvet, no less!) and everyone in its pictures were all very serious looking. He said it looked "cool," if I remember correctly. And then he launched into a bunch of bullshit about everyone could do fashion (which, maybe I kinda agree with, especially after seeing these pictures) and then started equating fashion to love, and love to God and all this stuff I couldn't follow. It was classic Kanye stream of consciousness crap. I still believe he and his wife would be so much more attractive if they smiled, however, if he can carry his philosophy about the 1800's over to Kim's selfie habit, I'll take the not smiling any day.

Yeah, that is definitely not the body that had the airport security pat-down. Boy, this woman really brings out my inner bitch because I don't typically snark on people for that kind of stuff. I snark on anyone who is selfie obsessed, however. I am so sick and tired of selfies. I have a family member who is doing a year of selfies, and on one hand, I think, okay, I can see the interest in taking a picture of yourself every day for a year and you can kind of see how you change, etc. But then on the other hand, I'm thinking Really???? It seems so self-absorbed and shallow, though I'll give her credit: she's not getting all dolled up and junk. She just snaps it whenever and posts it and honestly, most aren't all that flattering. I'm guessing most copies of this book are going to end up under the mattresses of teenage boys throughout the U.S.

I find it hilarious that she's so proud of this book -- her words! She's a narcissist.

Somehow I don't think Amal Clooney gives too much of a shit about any of this. I think she was there as supportive wife; I get the sense she's different from the other ladies in his life in that she knows this goes with the territory of being with GC, but it feels like she's with him in spite of it -- which may be part of the reason she made the cut to Mrs. Clooney. There was a whole mess of bad stuff going on -- Taryn Manning, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kiera Knightly, Rosmunde Pilke, etc. but J Lo was especially jarring to me. I know she's in fabulous condition, and I know she can wear just about anything and look good in it, but that doesn't mean she should. I also thought Jennifer Anniston was dull dull dull, which is kind of appropriate to me because I find her to be dull dull dull. And what the hell with the makeup? Some of these ladies looked really orange or fake-baked. For me, Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda were outstanding and the rest kind of ranged from underwhelming to craptastic.

I saw that too and I have to admit, I felt a bit sorry for Bruce. I don't care if he wants to transition or not - entirely his business. But that cover is just all kinds of fucked up. And the reports of Kris denouncing it "whether it's true or not" are almost as bad as running the picture, in my opinion. I'm truly hoping that the "true or not" is an invented story by the rags to stir things up. Because otherwise it's as nasty as the magazine picture/story. If she must make a statement, then it should be supportive and not feed more gossip.

It will be interesting to see how this develops as North ages. I have a friend that now has a 7 year old daughter. When the kid was born, my friend swore there'd be none of that princess, frilly, sparkly, girly bullshit in her house. And guess what? There's princess, frilly, sparkly girly bullshit in her house -- thank God! Because I was a little creeped out that my friend would impose her own version of what she thought was cool for her kid (and that's what a lot of it is about, in my opinion: people wanting cool, hip kids, I suppose because it makes them cool, hip parents). When her daughter was little, my friend dressed her as she pleased, but now that the child's growing and forming her own opinions, mom kind of has to let the child make her own calls (within reason). Parents seem to really want to dress their kids hip and fashionably (like the Alexander Wang niece upthread), and I confess I do like seeing kids in some cute clothes. But I do get a little disgusted by the attempt to be so fashionable and cutting edge with not just a child, but a toddler, mainly because it seems more about the parents than the kids. I hope as North ages that her parents encourage her to dress as she wants within reason. I would think as an artist Kanye would be super-supportive of that.

Ooooooh good speculation. I bet you're right! It would be kind of Hi-Larious if Kim and Beyonce were pregnant at the same time. There would be pictures all over the internet comparing both of them through their pregnancies, which could ultimately help Kim because she'd have to step up her game -- she may actually wear stuff that, you know, is for pregnant women.

I'm going to bring this little goldmine to everyone's attention as the counterpoint to the taped, spanxxed, photo-shopped beyond recognition image Kim presents to the world in her selfies. http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/08/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-tsa-airport-security-butt-crack-lax/ On one hand, I feel a wee bit bad for posting this because I generally hate criticizing people's looks. But on the other hand, she's been pretty out there about how awesome she looks since having a baby (thanks to all that hard work!) and doing everything she can to make us believe that she is a MILF. And there's no way in hell anyone can look at these pictures and not think the Paper photos aren't photo-shopped. Unless she's pregnant now, which I'm really wondering about after seeing these candid, obviously unauthorized shots. Anyway, it all goes back to the fact if she wore clothes that actually fit she'd look so much better.

Oh Charlie . . . I go back and forth between wishing he'd go away and feeling a bit sorry for him. I think he's gifted, but he's a bit whacked anymore. But sometimes he hits it right and this is one of those times -- she is a pox on the entertainment business! As for whether the story is true or not . . . we'll never really know. I think plenty of famous people live their lives one way when cameras are present and another way when they aren't. I would not be surprised if Kim denied an autograph if no one was around to catch it on film. However, there's been no victimized child popping up to say how Kim crushed her dreams, so who knows. If the incident is fiction, it's kind of funny that real actors are talking (and making up) smack about her.

I'm kind of ambivalent about this. On one hand, the thought of a child crying herself to sleep because she doesn't get Kim's -- or any famous person's -- autograph is kind of ridiculous. There's a point where I get tired of the "but what about the children????" angst. As well, I have little tolerance for anyone who encourages looking toward famous people to be their heroes, particularly people who are famous simply for being famous. It becomes a little much for me when the public slams famous people for being poor role models to America's kids because I think parents should be the ultimate role models -- not athletes, actors, musicians and famewhores. There's nothing wrong with admiring famous people (especially those with talent and perseverance!) but when they inevitably falter, part of the shame we heap on them is that they've disappointed the children, which gets a little overwrought. All that being said, for fuck's sake: give the child an autograph. This woman bases most of her life on getting her picture published and being talked about, whether it's in an "art" magazine, fashion magazine, on a website, in a tabloid, on television shows. To deny someone an autograph -- someone who has obviously bought whatever bullshit Kim is selling -- is pretty damn low. Low enough to get called out on it by Charlie Sheen. In my opinion, this is part of the deal for Kim and other attention-seekers like her: you want attention, you manipulate things and people to get it, deal with the consequences, especially when it's a reasonable request for an autograph. This says so much more about her character than any self-aggrandizing interview or episode of her crap tv show ever could. Maybe Kim's so stupid she can't even sign her own name. Nahh. She's got plenty of experience signing those checks. She's just that nasty.

These magazine gigs she's been getting have been a win-win for Kim and the magazines. Like GaT, says, they get a mess of publicity because it's Kim on the cover, looking all artsy (or whatever they're trying to call it) and Kim gets to delude herself that she's a cutting edge fashion model. Plus it's something she gets to instagram and tweet that's all about her and has nothing to do with Kanye, North or anyone else in the family. You know, she's been photoshopped so much the last year or so I wonder if even she knows what she really looks like. Seriously - I wonder if she sees that Balmain ad when she looks in the mirror or something else. I don't know . . . I'd be a bit offended if I was retouched so much.

I haven't heard enough of Kanye's music to be a fan or a hater. His music appeals to plenty enough people that he won't ever need or want for anything and that's fine. There's a host of popular musicians that are plenty talented that I can take or leave (like Beyonce; her stuff is catchy but i'm not downloading it on itunes; and Taylor Swift drives me nuts). As for Paul McCartney collaborating with Kanye, and even admiring his work, I can go with that even if I don't share his taste. He's endured for 50 years because he's got musical talent and is curious - not just a one note artist (haw haw haw). Seriously, I respect artists who go outside their comfort zone or look beyond their own niche. Sometimes it works (Run DMC and Aerosmith!) and sometimes it doesn't (I loathe the Ebony/Ivory thing with PM and SW - nice thought but inane; and the collaboration with MJ wasn't much better). But at least they're open to listening to what's current and I feel like it helps move music forward and keep it fresh. I can believe there's a whole raft of people who have no idea who the hell McCartney is or why he's a big deal or important (and consider the fact that John Lennon isn't even in the conversation, simply because he's dead). I had a vague idea of who Frank Sinatra was when I was a teenager because my grandparents listened to him, and Liberace, who was an absolute world-wide phenomenon was known to me only because of Bugs Bunny. Not long ago there was a teenager in my house -- 19 -- who certainly knows all about Kanye West. I spent some time explaining the Beach Boys and Beatles to him and even played him a bit on my stereo (yes, vinyl!! -- another revelation for him!). He was okay with it, but I think he got a bit bored by it. I may ask myself "why, Sir Paul, why???" but in the end, I respect musicians who will fiddle around with other stuff. Their tastes and style may vary wildly, but in the end, it's all music. It's valid, even though I may not like it.

I'm so glad you said this. One of my favorite pictures of my mother, taken many many years ago, was with my sister and me as little girls. My mother is engaged, smiling and looking very adoringly at us while my sister looks up at her. It's a beautiful shot and I'd hazard a guess that my mom wouldn't have traded that happy moment for anything, let alone to keep a wrinkle away. It was a genuine moment and when I see that picture now, I can feel how much my mom loved (and still loves) us. And when I look at my mom I don't see an old, wrinkled woman but the beautiful person (inside and out) that raised me. Every child should be so lucky and in North's case, it's especially sad because she'll never want for any material thing in the world. But she's stuck with a mother who is afraid to smile because of the natural aging process . . . that's just sad and fucked up and sending all sorts of weird messages to her daughter.

The irony of not smiling to keep the wrinkles away (even if that's really a sincere explanation) is that she's much prettier when she genuinely smiles. I don't know what/how much work she's had done, but the result is that she looks unreal, like a plastic doll. Not smiling makes it even worse -- like she can't smile. In my opinion, it's an excuse. Either her cosmetic procedures/permanent duck face poses have frozen her face so she can't smile or she's simply not all that engaged/happy with her life and she isn't a skilled enough actress to pretend otherwise. Because let's be honest: when she does get wrinkles (and she will get them, eventually), there's little evidence to suggest that she won't go through whatever procedure necessary to get rid of them. Maybe Kim doesn't think smiling makes her look sexy or serious enough. It's kind of a shame that when she looks back at all of the endless photos of herself taken at this point in her life, there will be few of them showing her with a smile -- including pictures with her family. But I guess she'll be wrinkle free and marveling over how sexy and hot she looked -- because it's so much better to be hot than happy, right?

Kim's real talent, it would seem, is keeping her name in the headlines. Headlines feed her fame, which feeds her bank account, which makes her hungry for more money and more fame. Even if you took the money out of the equation, I'd bet that she'd still be seeking the attention. And I'll give her this: keeping herself relevant is the one true talent she seems to have. As we all know, she doesn't seem to do much of anything other than change clothes and walk to and from her car with a string of photographers in tow. She makes sure they know when she's coming and going so they get their shots. When she's not coming and going, she's sure to tweet or instagram selfies to pop up in the day's headlines and grab the clicks. And the more we click, the higher up her name rises and the more value it has. Honestly, if she were an average person, she could do quite well as a social media marketing expert. Kim has that mastered. Without the internet, her fame would have long since passed. But since she's really good at using the internet to keep her face front and center, I've realized it's going to be quite a while before she goes away.

I cannot believe she's in the same frame as Isabella Rossellini, a woman who is pretty much the other end of the spectrum from anything Kardashian. As for Kim's outfit, why -- My God WHY??!!?? -- does she insist on wearing ill-fitting clothes? I am guessing the answer is because she's getting plenty of attention because of it. She knows damn good and well that her choices are a size too small and she has plenty of resources on hand to have them properly fitted to her. But she ends up gathering headlines about how she "stuns" and "turns heads" and "shows off her curves" in her outfits. But it just makes her look worse, imo, in shots like this.