Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock released a movie about a single mother. Or rather, a man, raised by his mother and consequently mad because of it. "He was already dangerously disturbed, had been ever since his father died," explains Norman Bates' psychiatrist at the end of the seminal thriller "Psycho." "His mother was a clinging, demanding woman, and for years the two of them lived as if there was no one else in the world."

In a time when father figures were seen as essential to the nuclear family, Norma Bates, one of the earliest and most famous single mother's in horror films, was considered a cautionary tale. She played out the two biggest myths of the time: single moms are too close to their sons, and without a father, a boy will go 'mad.'

Since the '60s single moms have been incorporated into the fear genre, and not by accident. Culture critic Monica Nolan calls showing success in single motherhood, a Hollywood taboo. "A massive amount of energy is spent to prove that

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A mugshot of Charlie Sheen, from the night he spent in jail last year. (via NY Daily News)

"Oh my man, I'm fine!" And with that, Charlie Sheen wrote off yet another scandal that should have buried him. Despite three decades riddled with put-downs, rehab and assault charges, Sheen's career has turned out to be bulletproof. The latest bullet came this week, when cops busted into his trashed hotel suite, after his alleged escort called 911. Details are still emerging but today's allegations purport Sheen was fueled by cocaine when he blew up at an escort who demanded $12,000 for sex.

Every time Sheen gets into trouble, and it's becoming monthly, the same question surfaces: How does he keep getting away with it?

"The public still seems to like Charlie Sheen, and it hasn't caught up with him," publicist Howard Bragman told "Good Morning America," yesterday. "We've seen it so many times that we hardly get fazed when something happens to Charlie Sheen."

Compared to addiction-addled Lindsay Lohan, Sheen's treatment by fans and the penal system has been

Read More »from The great Charlie Sheen mystery: How has his career survived?

A scene from

Can one blog post spark a national debate? It happened yesterday, when Marie Claire writer Maura Kelly published a story titled "Should "Fatties" Get a Room?"

The post was first published on the magazine's web site as well as on Yahoo! Shine, a content-sharing partner with Marie Claire and several other female-oriented websites.

Kelly's piece centers on the question: "Think people feel uncomfortable when they see overweight people making out on television?"

It's an issue raised by viewers of the new CBS show "Mike and Molly," about a heavy-set couple who met at their Overeaters Anonymous group. After considering the question herself, Kelly answers yes.

"I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything," she writes. "To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply

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Ashley Madison isn't a woman, it's an online dating website for spouses looking to cheat. Maybe you've seen the commercial featuring a philandering husband caught in the act by his wife. Or the one with the guy who's repulsed by his wife's snoring. "Life is short. Have an affair," reads the tag-line. Until now, the site's target demographic has been men.

But that's about to change. A new site for female cheaters called DiscreetAdultery.com had Ashley Madison defending it's female cheating turf today. The new site was temporarily shuttered after it's false claim of affiliation with AshleyMadison. That's how serious the lady biz is. According to Ashley Madison co-founder Noel Biderman, Canadian membership is now 32 percent female, and the German version of the site boasts a clientele that's 42 percent female.

But the numbers don't seem to add up. Countless studies on why nearly half the country has admitted to cheating, suggests that men and women do it for different reasons. For

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Just a heads up, adorable baby, you're not allowed to wear aviator sunglasses with that costume. (via amazon.com)
Halloween is a time to be thankful... that you don't live in Walnut, California.

Trick-or-treaters in that town need a permit to wear a mask. The code strictly states: "No person shall wear a mask or disguise on a public street without a permit from the sheriff," according to Idiot Laws. So before you can even plan a costume, you have to plan a visit to the police precinct.

In Belleville, Illinois, you can't even trick-or-treat if you're in high school. The mayor of the county signed an ordinance banning kids past eight grade from asking for candy. "We were hearing more and more about bigger kids knocking on doors after 9 at night, and the people who lived in the homes were scared," the Mayor told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We believe that Halloween is for little children."

Several townships in Virginia agree, banning kids over 12 from participating in the sweet-treat soliciting.

In several towns in Oklahoma, celebrating Halloween on October 30, is encouraged this year.

Read More »from The weirdest Halloween laws in the country

(ThinkStock Photos)

Thank you birth control pill for all your tireless efforts. Now it's time to step aside.

A new topical contraceptive gel is in the works, and studies so far suggest it's a whole lot better than the original pill. Rubbing this treatment on your arms, legs, shoulders or abdomen on a daily basis, may be just as effective as a means of contraception. Plus, no side effects!

"In a test of 18 women who used it for 7 months, none became pregnant - we assume that, in the name of science of course, they were sexually active at the time - or suffered any serious side effects...[like] sickness, weight gain, or a muted sense of sexual desire," according to Popular Science.

The drug in the gel contains estrogen, like the pill. But it also contains Nestorone, a synthetic form of progesterone. Unlike the patch, the gel doesn't fall off. And unlike the pill, it's safe for women who are breast-feeding.

Dr Ruth Merkatz, director of clinical development of reproductive health at the

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Who knew a Tiger could do a better job of describing the bane of our month? The Internet gives us lots of gifts, but an oversize cat who understands the painful mental and physical trials of our period pauses is more than I could ever have hoped for. Some genius created Time of the Month Tiger, a meme that lets you air exactly what's pissing you off 6 days out of the month. Here's mine:

Make your own here and tweet us at @YahooShine and include #periodmeme. We'll add to the gallery.

Read More »from The Internet gets us: introducing the period meme

Last night on "Two and a Half Men," Charlie, the character, appears to be settling down, but Charlie, the living, breathing human, is still holding up his unconventional lifestyle. The New York Post reported today that Sheen was found intoxicated and naked early this morning in his room at New York's Plaza Hotel. He was carted off to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation. His publicist told USA Today: "What we are able to determine is that Charlie had an adverse allergic reaction to some medication and was taken to the hospital, where (he) is expected to be released tomorrow." Good Lord.
Now back to the recap. Last night, Charlie the character dates a women he really likes but she's 47, which is perverse and practically illegal for the nubile 43 year-old Charlie (who incidentally is played by 45 year-old Charlie Sheen). Some B-plot with Alan constantly getting caught in the hairy-knuckled act of self-pleasure played out, but I was too busy updating Twitter to pay attention.

It

Read More »from The Two and Half Men Project: #twoandahalfmen and an update on Charlie Sheen