Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

By Piper Weiss, Shine staff.

And you thought you'd seen all the commemorative plates, mugs and figurines your brain could process when Kate and Will wed last April. As their one-year anniversary approaches, a slew of new souvenirs marking the newlywed's first 365 days as husband and wife are flooding the Internet. Do royal fans really need another set of Kate and Will playing cards or Middleton paper dolls? And do they have enough room in their pantries for yet another royal wedding mug? For better or worse, they do.

Read More »from Kate and Will's One-Year Anniversary Sparks Souvenir Craze

(North Olmsted Police)My best friend just celebrated her second anniversary and I still haven't gotten her a wedding present. I am the worst, or so I thought until I read this morning's headline: "Drunk Ohio Woman Brooke Burke Arrested: Slow Dances With Groom, Assaults Bride and Officer"

If you ever feel guilty about a forgotten wedding gift, remind yourself of the tale of Brooke Burke, the worst wedding guest ever. According to ABC News, the Ohio wedding guest's antics were so bad she left the reception in handcuffs.

Video: Tips for new mothers of the bride

It all started when Brooke allegedly refused to stop slow dancing "inappropriately" with the groom. When the bride cut in, Brooke protested a little too much, according to the police report. Screaming, and attempts to swing at the bride, ensued. The argument whipped like a wedding tornado through the reception. A pregnant guest was reportedly pushed by Brooke in the melee. Belligerent screams from the guest from hell got so loud, it caught the

Read More »from Worst Wedding Guest Ever: Attacks Bride, Slow Dances with Groom, Leaves in Cop Car

You know what doesn't get old? Drugged-up dentist videos.

This was proven at the dawn of the viral video era, when a boy named David asked his dad on the way home from the dentist, "Is this real life?"

Watch: more hilarious home videos starring kids

Now three years later, a new anesthetized star is born. Last month a North Carolina teenager posted a video shot by her mom on the way home from the dentist, after a wisdom tooth extraction. Still recovering from the anesthesia, the teenager becomes convinced she's living inside of a Harry Potter book.

"Hogwarts. I go to Hogwarts. I'm a wizard. I forgot! I bet they put a spell on me," she warbles, cotton-mouthed.

It's not over. She exacts an elaborate plan for revenge on those dentists who cast the spell. "'We gotta get them back," she pleads with her mom. "We gotta get revenge. I have my lightsaber."

What is it about the human brain, post-surgery that's so endlessly entertaining? 'Going under', as they say, is close to being a coma,

Read More »from Dental Surgery Turns Girl into a Wizard (and a Viral Video Star)

By Piper Weiss, Shine Staff                                    This week, when Kate and Will were immortalized in wax, the world glimpsed the impressive advances in sculpting technology. The four sets of royal replicas, costing around $1.6 million, were practically indistinguishable from the real thing. Clearly, Madam Tussaud's pros have found their way out of the 'uncanny valley'--the term used to describe life-like replicas just slightly 'off' enough to make children cry. Not all who came before wax Will and Kate were so lucky...

Read More »from Celebrity Wax Figures: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

(Photo by Dave Bennett/Getty Images)When Time unveiled its 100 style icons list this week, the biggest controversy was that the Olsen twins made the cut. Nobody blinked at the inclusion of four other names on the list, all synonymous with racism, anti-semitism or body image intolerance.
We're used to the beautiful industry being ugly on the inside.

High fashion may be fickle, but its unfailingly accepting of it's inner circle. If you're in good standing, then being ignorant makes you a "bad boy" or "controversial" and being abusive makes you nothing more than a "diva."

Here are four style "icons" on Time's list, who probably shouldn't be influencing anyone.

Naomi Campbell: Alleged recipient of blood diamonds and "inconvenienced" war crime witness. Beyond her appearance in the Hague, you may also be familiar with her multiple arrests for physical abuse. She's been accused of assaulting at least ten people, including employees, associates and even police. "When you're a fashion pioneer, you've earned the right to be a

Read More »from Time's Style Icon List Honors Terrible People

(via American Apparel)American Apparel is under fire again. The UK's Advertising Standard Authority has banned a series of photos appearing on the company's website. Labeled "pornographic and exploitative" in a complaint by an anonymous consumer, the eight ads appearing on AmericanApparel.net, feature a woman in various stages of undress wearing items sold at the national chain. Some feature exposed breasts, while others portray models lying in unmade beds-a trademark pose of the brand.

Here in the U.S., American Apparel is no stranger to controversy. Between questionably degrading marketing campaigns, outcries from bloggers, and lawsuits from former models, employees and Woody Allen, the company is used to being a bullseye for critics. In fact, one their ads was under scrutiny in England for portraying a too-young looking model back in 2009.

Here's where it gets complicated. According to the ASA, one of the points against the latest set of ads which debuted on the website in October, is that models are

Read More »from UK Bans American Apparel Ad. Are They Pornographic or Just Graphic?

Time is running out for wall clocks. Who needs a coo-coo bird when you've got a web-synchronized portable alarm clock in your smartphone? As technology gets smarter and homes get tinier, household staples are going obsolete.

An Oregon family is devastated after a tragic accident took the life of their toddler. Tiffany Hebb was doing laundry, while her 21-month-old Ollie kept her company. When she left the room briefly, he crawled into the washing machine and drowned.

A frantic Hebb found her son minutes later trapped in the water-filled basin and tried desperately to resuscitate him. After suffering severe brain damage, he died the following day in the hospital.

"It was the worst day of my life," the grieving mother told a local Fox affiliate through tears. Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance.

"I want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility," she said.

Read more: Toddler's trauma highlights laundry room dangers

Between 2005 and 2009, two children under the age of five lost their lives in laundry room accidents, according to a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commision. In a 2003

Read More »from Toddler's Tragic Washing Machine Accident Sends Warning to Parents