I don't believe in advice. My theory is that everybody has the answers right inside of her, since we're all made up of the same amount of God. So when a friend says, "I need some advice," I switch it to "I need some love," and I try to offer that. Offering love usually looks like being quiet, listening hard, and letting my friend talk until she discovers that she already has all the answers. Since I don't offer advice, Craig and I find it funny that people ask me for it every single day. Constantly. Craig once asked what I make of that and I told him that I think friends ask me for advice because they know I won't offer any. People really just need a safe place and some time to discover what they already know.

Recently a dear friend called during a very hard day. She had made a parenting mistake. A parenting mistake is doing something opposed to what you believe is best for your children. I have a friend who is very health conscious and would call four frozen pizzas for dinner a horrible mistake, while I just call it dinner. Parenting mistakes are different for each mama. So when a friend tells me she made a mistake, I don't measure it against my beliefs and say: OH PUH-LEASE. THAT'S NOT A MISTAKE. I'll TELL YOU WHAT A MISTAKE IS, MISSY. Competing about who's the worst is as much of a drag as competing about who's the best.

In this particular case, my friend had become tired and hopeless and spanked her child. She considered this a mistake, because she doesn't believe in spanking. Please, baby Jesus, let us not debate the spanking issue. It's a mistake for some and not for others. This particular friend, who is as precious as water in a desert, was devastated. She asked me for advice. I immediately switched that to a request for love.

Then I told her what I do when I make a big or little parenting mistake, which is several hundred times a day.

I try to remember two things:

1. Who I am, and...

2. My most important parenting job.

First, I remember that I am a human being. And human beings make mistakes, almost constantly. We fall short of what we aim for, always. We get impatient. We get angry. We get selfish. We get freaking sick and tired of playing pet store. That's okay. It's just the way it is. Can't change it. Will always forevermore be. I'm human. Can't fight it. An elephant's gotta be an elephant and people gotta be people.

Then I remember what my most important parenting job is. And that is to teach my children how to deal with being human. Because most likely, that's where they're headed. No matter what I do, they're headed toward being jacked-up humans faster than three brakeless railroad cars.

There is really only one way to deal gracefully with being a jacked-up human, and that is this:

Watch free live Streaming of the tenth ODI of the Commonwealth Bank Series (Tri Series) between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Whatever happens, you can catch all the action right here. Watch every ball, every moment of drama live and free from the below give link.

Available in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

India vs Australia, 10th ODI – Live Streaming

Australian stand-in skipper Shane Watson won the toss and decided to bat against India in the 10th ODI of the tri-series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav.


Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Shane Watson(c), Peter Forrest, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Matthew Wade(w), Daniel Christian, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus.

My daughter has all of the makings of a great activist: Her heart is giant, her mind is quick, and she's as naïve as an elf. She believes that every human being is good and kind and will do the right thing. Occasionally she will see otherwise: a guy throwing litter out his window, a mom sneaking soda into a water cup, a dog on a short leash chained to a tree. Dismayed, betrayed, and outraged, she processes these injustices as rare aberrations to her ideal world.

She's wide open with no armor, I often say about her. Not even a thin coat of cynicism to blunt the realities to come.

She was only in kindergarten when she wrote a letter to the People's Republic of China urging them -- adamantly, like pretty please Sirs -- to renounce its one-child per family law. Her sister was adopted from China, and the thought that her sibling might not have been due to unfair legislation struck her as wrongheaded. Families should have the freedom to make this decision, she argued. Her passionate plea, written in 5-year-old script, was signed with a string of x's and o's.

Hungry children, neglected animals, polluted environments, look out. If you think one person isn't big enough to make a difference, just try throwing away a piece of plastic in our house. You'd better hope the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle czar isn't around to bust you.

So when my daughter reads in her "101 Ways to Save the World" book that proceeds from a certain charity will benefit battered women and abused children, she wants to know what it means. What's battered? And why are children abused?

I would give anything if she never had to know about men who hit, or creeps who lurked behind bushes, or adults who hurt the children who trusted them.

I stumble my way through an explanation, realizing quickly that there is no way to sugarcoat abuse. At this exact moment, I know that my daughter is growing her first layer of skin.
When I was a little older than she -- junior high -- I had a friend named Amanda. She was beautiful: thick amber hair, olive skin, and the greenest of eyes. When she chose me to be her friend, I felt as if I had won a prize. I was scrawny and awkward and far from a beauty, but next to Amanda, I couldn't help feeling as if her glow transferred onto me. I liked her parents, too. Her dad was funny, her mom was bubbly. When I played at their house, there was always plenty of snacks, laughs, and smiles.

One day I went to school and Amanda wasn't there. A week, maybe two, passed, and still no Amanda. When finally she returned, I remember the relief that flooded through me. I ran to her in the courtyard, reached for her hands. "You're here. Finally." We hugged and then pulled back and looked at each other.

"I'm back, but not for long," Amanda said. "My mom and sister and I have to move -- to California. My grandparents are there."

"But why?" I whined selfishly because her moving was going to hurt me.

Amanda looked around, then down at her white Keds. Amanda always wore the whitest of Keds. "Because of my dad," she said, looking up briefly.

Germany unlikely to be ready to decide at March 1-2 summit

* Euro zone may decide on combined bailout fund later in March

* No increase of IMF funds without Europe moving first

By Jan Strupczewski and Daniel Flynn

MEXICO CITY, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Euro zone leaders may not be able to meet international demands to ramp up their own funds for bailing out the bloc's debtors when they meet next week because Germany is showing no sign of dropping its opposition to the plan, euro zone officials said.

A bigger European fund is a condition for major non-European economies before they lend more money to the International Monetary Fund to provide an even bigger wall of cash to fight the crisis that has already claimed three euro debtor countries and now threatens the much bigger economies of Italy and Spain.

"I would not bet on a positive outcome by the end of the March 1-2 summit," one euro zone official said. "German opposition to a deal is still very strong."

Euro zone leaders are set to review the 500 billion euro ($675 billion) limit on the joint lending capacity of their temporary and permanent bailout funds, known by their acronyms EFSF and ESM, at the March 1-2 summit.
If they decide to merge the funds, they would create a firewall of 750 billion euros which would help convince markets that they were committed to bringing the crisis under control.

The European Central Bank supports such an increase as do policymakers around the world who are considering more than doubling the IMF's resources by $600 billion.

"Everybody says there is a pre-condition that Europe makes more efforts first," South Korea's central bank governor Kim Choong-soo said before a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of Group of 20 leading economies in Mexico City.

But Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, insists Europe's current bailout arrangements are more than sufficient and that increasing them would send a signal to markets that the euro zone it expects more trouble ahead.

German officials say countries would lose the impetus to carry out badly needed belt-tightening reforms.

"It makes no sense, and is rather harmful," said one German official.

Others in Berlin argue the extra obligations under the combined bailout funds could increase the risk of further credit rating downgrades for some euro zone countries. And the sense of urgency is dissipating because Italy and Spain are paying less to borrow on markets.

Officials from other countries warn that argument is premature.

"The current improvement in markets is very fragile, so we need to be careful not become complacent," a second euro zone official said.

Jennifer Hudson had just put an Oscar on her mantle when the opportunity for more gold came knocking. Unfortunately, its companion, massive weight gain, made sure the chance didn't get in the door.

Following her win for Best Supporting Actress for the 2006 film "Dreamgirls," the American Idol winner says that she asked by director Lee Daniels to read for the title part in the film "Precious." The role, an abused and overweight daughter, was appealing, but the physical strain it present was not.

"I had done that with Effie... and as much as I was moved by this film," Hudson writes in her new book, "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down" (via Uptown Magazine). "I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight."
As Daniels told it in 2009, that helped put him in a bind.

"We were weeks away from the shoot but I still hadn't found Precious," he told The Guardian. "Do you know how difficult it is to find a 300lb black girl to be great in a movie? They don't exist in Hollywood."

As it turned out, Gabby Sidibe, New Yorker and college student, cut class to audition at an open casting call. The rest -- including an Oscar nomination for Sibide -- is history. That includes one side effect for Sibide that would not have plagued Hudson.

Our long national nightmare is finally over. Late Friday night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences lifted its "ban" on Sacha Baron Cohen, meaning the comic will be allowed to walk the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday dressed as General Admiral Aladeen, his character from the upcoming comedy "The Dictator."

"VICTORY!" Cohen Aladeen tweeted with a photo of himself holding a gold-plated gun and two Oscar tickets (click below).

Though while Cohen-as-Aladeen triumphed over "the Zionist snakes of Hollywood," the victory didn't come without a price. According to TheWrap, many in the AMPAS are still upset about Cohen's planned red carpet stunt and don't feel its appropriate. Still, officials want Cohen's representatives and Paramount (the studio releasing "The Dictator") to provide details of Cohen's plans, so that proper security measures can be implemented.

"Do we have concerns?" said an Academy Awards source to TheWrap. "Yes. Did we say, 'Please stunt the red carpet?' No."

According to Roman, Williams and Lozada’s friendship was rather one-sided, with Lozada consistently supporting Williams, but Williams failing to do the same in return.
“I always saw Evelyn trying to be there for Jennifer, but I never saw that really reciprocated,” said Tami, who tried to help the two women work out their differences in the Season 4 premiere. “I didn’t really feel a lot of friendship love. Like, I know my diehard friends, we don’t function in the way they function, so I can’t say that I’m very surprised.”
“I didn’t really know what it was, couldn’t put my finger on it,” said Roman. “I always felt that there was a little tension toward Evelyn from Jennifer.”
To fans of the show, Williams may come off as the more peaceful member of the former pair, but Roman warns that this season fans will see another, more sinister, side of Williams.
“Just because Jennifer is quiet doesn’t mean that she’s not doing things behind the scenes. I think as people watch the show, they will see certain things unfold that they might not have been aware of, and it may change people’s perspective of how their relationship really was,” said Roman.“Now that this thing is starting to unfold before my eyes, just as it will for everyone else, I’m seeing what those underlying tensions were, and they’re all going to be brought to the forefront this season.”
Well, we’re all definitely going to tune into to see the ongoing battle between Williams and Lozada. But in the meantime, you can check out a list of some of Roman’s greatest feuds below. –nicholas robinson

Was Ray J using his status with Whitney Houston to land another hit reality show?
Reports are that the former on-again off-again couple taped a few television episodes and that Ray J — the little brother of singer Brandy — was attempting to sell the concept before Houston succumbed to tragedy on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif.
After multiple failed attempts to procure fame via traditional ways — like musical talent for instance — Ray J used the infamous sex tape with Kim Kardashian to enjoy temporary fame and score a couple of popular reality shows, one on his own and another with his sister Brandy and their mother. Kardashian didn’t fair to badly either from the proliferation of the sex tapes.

Ray J’s publicist confirmed that he and Whitney had shot some footage for a reality show they were pitching. It’s not hard to imagine who would have gained the most of it had come to fruition.
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CHANKAY: Paula Abdul Will Judge ABC’s Got To Dance: CBS has signed the former “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul to headline its coming dance competition, “Got to Dance.” Ms. Abdul will be th...

Seems like Lindsay Lohan is accepting any offer that she will get without thinking it twice. The model and singer – actress just recently accepted an offer to pose nude for Playboy Magazine for a hefty amount of 1 million dollar.

Steve Honig, Lohan’s representative did not confirm anything nor deny. It was Dina Lohan, Lindsay’s mom, who verified today that the Mean Girls actress will be in Playboy and that ” the photo shoot went well.”

Although posing in Playboy won’t be her first time, but a lot of people are questioning if this “project” will help out her career. Some even think that this is a sign of desperation.


Last week, her lawyer mentioned that she is working to support not just herself but also her family. Since there were few invites from TV and movie producers in the industry, not to mention her probation, baring her body in Playboy could provide the money that they need.

Lohan’s career went down when she was caught with two DUI or Driving Under the Influence incidents which led her to visit three rehabilitation centers in 2007. She had also undergone alcohol education classes in May last year. On September 2011 her probation was denied after failing a drug test and spent an entire day in a jail before being released on a bail. She was also charged of theft last February where a necklace was stolen in a jewelry store in January. She was sentenced of 120 days imprisonment and 360 hours of community service. Just last week, Lohan was refused to attend her community service work in a Los Angeles morgue because of tardiness but then showed up the next day too early with cupcakes on her hand.