Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

Actress Katie Holmes listens to questions during a press conference to promote an ice skating event in Taiwan last week.Last week, Tom Cruise took daughter Suri and son Connor to an awards ceremony in New York. Meanwhile, Katie Holmes was on the other side of the planet in Taiwan. The official reason was to promote an ice skating event.

Now that Holmes filed for divorce on Friday, according to People, Holmes' Taiwan trip seems more like a warning sign than anything else.

In recent months, the couple was rarely photographed together, even when the two were in the same city. Back in New York this week, Holmes was photographed all over town with Suri, wearing matching outfits, going to see the movie Brave, eating ice cream, all without Dad.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes before the split

Tom, also in New York, was busy filming his new movie Oblivion and wrapping up his promotion of Rock of Ages. Even though he credited Katie for his interest in doing Rock of Ages (and apparently gave her his bejeweled codpiece), she didn't show up at the movie premiere.

What has been spotlighted, particularly in the Daily

Read More »from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to Divorce: The Signs Were There

Jeannine Morris today. (Courtesy of Jeannine Morris/Beauty Sweet Spot)Jeannine Morris believes Cosmopolitan Magazine saved her life. And no, the glossy's patented sex tips had nothing to do with it.

Before 2006, Morris was a self-described tanorexic. At the time, orange was in and every superstar on the red carpet was out to prove it (remember the only bad picture Charlize Theron ever took?)

Then she landed her "dream job" as beauty assistant at Cosmo. "When I began working there full time, I began representing the brand," Morris tells Yahoo! Shine. "My director and editor mentioned to me several times that I needed to quit tanning and start living a healthier lifestyle because at Cosmopolitan we practiced safe sun and had to practice what we preached."

That same year, the magazine had launched a "Safe Sun Campaign" aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of too much sun exposure, with an emphasis on the damage caused by tanning beds. The initiative helped turn the TAN act into a law, regulating tanning equipment and the language used to warn

Read More »from 'Cosmo Saved My Life,' Says Former Tanorexic Employee

It's one of the most widely asked questions on search engines this year. The collision of elaborate question-popping and social broadcasting has made the process of getting engaged more crowded than ever. As of 2010, 43 percent of brides said "I do" in public, many of them on YouTube, according to one study. So what compels someone to organize a flash mob or live-tweet pending plans to thousands?

It's practically in our cultural DNA, according to Slate's Elizabeth Weingarten. She dates the public proposal to 12th Century France, when priests broke the news at church on behalf of each engaged couple. In Colonial America, couples hung proclamations of marriage outside town hall.

It's only natural that as our communities expanded through multi-media, so did our staging of the big question, and perhaps our desire to share the best and worst examples with each other.

But according to wedding planner Siobhan Craven-Robins, the public proposal is a result of a more modern phenomenon: the

Read More »from Burning Question: Why Do People Propose in Public?

Did Ann Curry really just apologize for "dropping the ball?" After 15 years on "The Today Show," reporting from war-torn countries, interviewing world leaders, and even dressing up on Halloween, the veteran journalist's farewell seemed more like a mea culpa than a respectable send-off.

Why wasn't she "mad as hell"? After weeks of finger-pointing for dropped ratings and a much-anticipated demotion, Curry got only a few minutes and a sympathetic pep talk from her coworkers as a goodbye. In the process she insinuated her own failure as an anchor, despite protestations from fans.

"For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I am sorry I could not carry the ball across the finish line," Curry uttered through tears.

Matt Lauer's lower lip practically jutted out in "sad baby face" as the 54-year-old professional expressed a rare moment of vulnerability. He called her heart big and praised her caring nature. At least, Al Roker and Natalie Morales brought up her excellent tsunami and war Read More »from Ann Curry's Today Show Farewell: Why so Sorry?

Nora Ephron and Meg Ryan."When Harry Met Sally" was released in theaters, July 14, 1989, the same day as "License to Kill." For those gambling on the romantic comedy, the odds were already against them.  How could two people arguing about love compete with James Bond? Never underestimate the power of Nora Ephron. After the screenwriter's romantic comedy earned almost a $100 million at the box office worldwide nobody ever did again.

Ephron, who died Tuesday at the age of 71, was for a long time Hollywood's stand-alone proof that women writers aren't just funny, they're financially viable.

Her string of box office hits changed the canvas of entertainment from the inside out. In the '70s, romantic comedies were a man's game. "The Heartbreak Kid," "The Graduate," Phillip Roth's "Goodbye Columbus," and Woody Allen's string of critical hits reflected the anxiety of a generation of commitment-wary men in search of the perfect woman. Even those rare breakthrough female characters, like Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, were

Read More »from How Nora Ephron Changed Movies for Women

Hemingway with McDonald's staff in their new uniforms.Wayne Hemingway has gone where no high fashion designer has gone before: McDonald's.

Eighteen months ago, the man behind HemingwayDesign and the award-winning street style label Red or Dead, was tasked with revamping the fast food giant's burger-colored (that's being kind) uniforms.

Gallery: 13 creepy photos of Ronald McDonald

The new look still takes its cue from the kitchen: pickle green and mustard yellow polo shirts at the counter. Mustard-colored skinny ties and belts for managers. Lettuce green pants for customer service assistants. But the condiments cues are the only reminder of the old get-ups.

"We've taken some of the Americanism out of the uniforms," the British-born Hemingway told Yahoo! Shine in an interview Monday, just a few weeks before the uniforms are rolled out at four Olympic park restaurants in London.

Fast food saltier in U.S. than overseas

If you've ever been to a drive-thru or even a Starbucks, you'll realized what Hemingway means by American. "Baseball

Read More »from Project McDonald's: Designer 'De-Americanizes' Fast Food Uniform

We've seen back flipping best men and shimmying fathers of the bride. But a singing bride? It's about time. Marie Carr, 25, opted out of a bouquet and a traditional 'Here comes the bride' refrain in favor of a Christina Aguilera ballad and a microphone. Now she's the biggest veiled video star, at least this week.

The amateur singer, who's best known for belting it out in showers and cars, serenaded her groom, Devin, with Aguilera's "The Right Man," on her wedding day. The uplifting idea came to her as a result of earlier tragedy.

"My dad died in a car wreck when I was 13 so I knew no one would be walking me down the aisle," Marie told Yahoo! Shine in a phone interview Monday. "I thought that [Christina Aguilera] song would be perfect because it's about walking by yourself but also walking toward the love of your life."

If there's any question whether her performance comes from the heart, consider this: The couple, who met as Miami University students, were wed only months afterRead More »from The Singing Bride Becomes an Accidental Viral Hit

Children were treated thursday after a mysterious incident at a public pool. (Michelle Pemberton/The Indianapolis Star)In Thursday's 90 degree heat-wave, Indianapolis' Garfield Park Pool seemed like the best place for locals to cool down. Then, in a moment, it became the worst.

"Mayhem," is how the Indianapolis Star's reporters described the scene as hoards of young swimmers began vomiting. Lifeguards rushed to evacuate the pool, as the reported odor of sharp chemicals flooded the area.

One mom on the scene described "an explosion of acid" rising from a once serene pool, though it's unclear what officially happened around 2 p.m. yesterday to sicken as many as 80 people, according to the Star's estimate.

Video: safety tips for summer swimming

"We haven't reached a final determination on the cause of yesterday's incident," John T. Althardt, spokesman for the Marion County Health Department, told Yahoo! Shine Friday. The pool employee on the scene that day might have more answers, but is still recovering in the hospital along with six other patients being treated for respiratory distress.

For now,

Read More »from Toxic Public Pool Sends Kids to Hospital. Parents Want Answers