Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

Meet Snacker: Disney's newest fairy at the center of a major controversy.

The zaftig Snacker, along with a bean-bag shaped mob figure named "Glutton" and a ball-bellied couch potato named "Lead Bottom" make of a few of the cartoon villains in Epcot Center's educational exhibit Habit Heroes.

The theme park's interactive experience and corresponding website were created in collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield, to teach kids healthy eating habits. But after a soft launch three weeks ago, critics have accused the exhibit of "fat-shaming," and Disney has responded by closing the exhibit as the company mulls a relaunch. And the website is down for maintenance.

Read more: Another Disney character stirs controversy

"It's so dumbfounding it's unreal," Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an assistant professor of family medicine, told the Calgary Herald. "I just can't believe somebody out there thought it was a good idea to pick up where the school bullies left off and shame kids on their

Read More »from Disney's Habit Heroes Accused of "fat-shaming"

Read More »from Teen Idol Davy Jones Dies. Remembering Our First Love

Here's your free leap day lunch, courtesy of Chick-fil-A.Even if February 29 isn't your birthday, you're getting presents. The date that comes once every four years brings out the generous side of some of the biggest companies in the country. Consumer Reports' ShopSmart Magazine sent us a list of the foodie freebies you should take advantage of while it's still leap day. Here are the most savory:

Get a free cookie if you buy anything at Subway.

Several Chick-fil-A joints are selling $0.29 milkshakes, others are doling out four-count Chick-n-Minis for zero cents. One of the chicken franchises is even giving customers wearing green shirts a free sandwich with the purchase of a side and a medium drink.

McDonald's in Washington D.C.'s Union Station is offering a free McCafe Shake with the purchase of any Extra Value Meal. Customers in southern Virginia and North Carolina get a free coffee all day long

Once your stomach is satisfied turn to your laptop for more giveaways. Go to Facebook.com/entergiveaways and "like" what you see for more

Read More »from Fast Food Freebies for Leap Day: Subway, Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's One-day Freebies

Mills and Tancock on their wedding day. (courtesy of kirstie-2ndchanceatlife.blogspot.com)
Too sick for a phone interview with Shine, Kirstie Mills responded to our questions over email. Mills is used to working around her limitations, rather than letting them get in her way.

Since childhood, she's suffered from cystic fibrosis, a chronic lung condition that's ultimately fatal. Despite being given days to live at just 21, she decided to wed her long-term boyfriend Stuart Tancock this past summer. Now her journey to the alter is the subject of "Breathless Bride: Dying to Live", a TLC documentary premiering tonight (Wed, 10PM EST).

Unlike the title of the documentary, Mills answers to our questions aren't alliterative. They're candid, honest and at times, layered with frustrated emotions.

Mills' wedding was "fake flowers and a cake that kept." She chose the venue because it would "let her cancel at the last minute if I was too ill."

This is not a story about a wedding but about a marriage that almost didn't happen.

The U.K.-based Mills met her her husband two years back

Read More »from The Bride Who Almost Died at Her Wedding: Kirstie Mills' Amazing Story

On Monday night, booted Bachelor contestant Kacie B. traveled to Switzerland to find out why she was dumped. When she got her answer, she was glad to have the closure, she said. Then she lay on the floor of a hotel hallway and dry heaved.

If only she'd gone to wotwentwrong.com, a new website that lets you find out why you were rejected without looking your ex in the eye. The site launched in the U.S. just before Valentine's day and has become an international sensation in a matter of weeks.

How it works: you log in, enter the name and email of an ex you want answers from and let the site help you craft a request. It's all very dispassionate, which can be helpful if you're prone to dissertation-sized rants. First you choose a template (philosophical, sincere, flippant or cool-apparently it's not too late for that option). Say you choose, philosophical, an automatic quote from Ben Franklin will begin your transaction. The rest of the email is pre-filled in: "I'd really like to know what

Read More »from Breakup Website Goes Viral. Does it Help to Know What Went Wrong?

The first ten minutes of this week's episode we join Ben on a 10 hour journey to Interlaken, Switzerland. It feels like 20 hours.

"...and then Courtney kissed the fish..."

As we're dealing with airport stress, Ben's going off about the three women he's dating. He ends up recounting in detail each date he went on with each girl as if we weren't there the first time around. Oh hey Ben. You're in 17a? I thought they couldn't get us seats together? No that's fine I was just going to get some shut-eye but...

What's that? I had my headphones in so I couldn't hear you.

"...Nikki has all the qualities I respect..."

You go save us some seats. I need to find the bar car.

I'm going to stop you right there. You know that's not the problem people have with her, right?

Hey look! Swans!

Um Ben? We're here. In Interlaken. Can we please go check in to our hotel now?

"Wait, jacket open or zipped halfway?"

Not the way it is.

DATE 1: Nikki

 Ben surprised Nikki with her very first helicopter ride and picnic since the other day.

"I brought the rest of our lunch from two weeks ago!"

The ride is smooth at first, but then the pilot gets frisky.

"Ben, this is your captain speaking. Prepare to s--- your pants. Over and out."

Suddenly the helicopter starts Read More »from Bachelor Recap: Episode 9 is Bath Time for Baby Ben!

Bill Maher thinks so. Education, healthcare and environmental issues hold more weight with moms, he says, because they're voting with their kids' future in mind. Men not so much. It's the kind of commentary that can draw battle lines between the sexes, if those lines weren't already drawn. Women's reproductive rights are at forefront of female voters' minds as candidates rally for support. But so is the economy. When it comes to big issues what's most important to you? Do you think being a woman makes you a more measured, thoughtful voter?

Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.

Related:
Shine's political roundup
Women's reproductive rights, state by state
5 things politicians should remember about women voters

Read More »from Do Women Vote Smarter Than Men?

(Thinkstock Photos)The happy homemaker has hung up her apron. After years marveling over moisture-rich hand-soap and test-washing her kids' dirt-stained soccer jerseys, the stay at home mom has all but disappeared from commercials.

The new breed of female consumers are financially independent, tech-reliant and more interested in shopping for clothes, cosmetics and cars than cleaning supplies. They also span the decades from their mid-20s to their mid-60s. As a result, advertisers are rethinking the average women as anything but average.

A feature in the latest issue of AdWeek, gathers marketing trends, statistics and feedback from advertising specialists to break our three new "types" of women targeted in commercials. They've been around for a few years now, but their numbers are growing in direct relation to women's financial success.

Instead of a mom doing laundry, the latest Tide commercial features a 20-something woman discussing the merits of yoga pants over brunch with a friend. The standard

Read More »from Three New “types” of Women: Are You One of Them?