Blog Posts by Erin Flaherty, Shine staff

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Have you heard about MissNowMrs.com yet? It's a new service that provides forms and letters to make changing everything from driver's licenses to voter registration cards a breeze for new brides who are taking their husbands' name (for a fee of $30, of course). I was going to send the link to some just married ladies I know, but then I realized, none of them actually changed their names. Which brings up the question: Why does anyone bother to change their last name at all?

The women I know who chose not to change their last names did so for both personal and professional reasons and just plain, "old-fashioned" convenience. When all the people in your work community know you as one name, why change it and endure getting all the new business cards, email address, re-introductions to contacts, etc? Especially for the self-employed and freelancers who are a company of "one," some feel that changing their name could in some ways, intrude upon their brand identity, (not to mention their

Jamie Lynn, at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in simpler times. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
Like you, I've been following the story of the 17 Gloucester teens and their disturbing "pregnancy pact," with sorrow and concern for both the families of these children and the misguided young girls involved, (all of whom are 16 and younger). But I couldn't help but think about all the somewhat "glamorous" portrayals of teen pregnancy in the media and especially Hollywood lately. Are films like Juno and celebs like Jamie Lynn Spears partly to blame?

Now, Juno was a great film. I loved it. Ellen Page (who is actually 21 years old, which may help explain her character's wise-beyond-her years demeanor) was fabulous, and certainly the movie made no mistake when it came to addressing the idea that Juno was too young for the responsibility--a decision the unusually mature teen came to on her own when she decided to put her baby up for adoption. Still, the plucky teen didn't seem to have many more complications. She shrugged off her classmates' stares, had very open, supportive parents,

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Move over metrosexuals, the new guy with a questionable um, appetite is the stray, a term coined by Details writer Mike Albo, used to describe the straight guy who everyone thinks is gay.

Now, I had a knee-jerk reaction when I came across this term because fact is, I know this guy. Several of my friends' growing up had a stray dad, the man we were all sure was gay, but was married with children, and not because he was in the closet. (One of these stray dads however, did have a walk in clothes closet, but I digress...) Albo sums the phenom up nicely: It's usually the single guy friend you have, the super nice, great catch that you're always trying to fix up with your single lady friends, who automatically discount the guy because they assume he's homosexual. When said guy excuses himself to go the bathroom, the gal leans over, a quizzical look on her face, and whispers, "So, he's gay, right?"

Says Albo, in an attempt to define the man behind the mystery, "The characteristics that

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We've all heard by now that John McCain allegedly called his wife the "C" word, but the man who claims he heard him also says he used the "T" word in the same sentence, which is documented in the book, The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter. Says The Raw Story:

"John McCain's temper is well documented. He's called opponents and colleagues 's**theads,' 'assholes' and in at least one case 'a fu$#*ng jerk.'" Here's a lesser known factoid about him: Apparently, his high school nickname was "McNasty."

But according to Schecter, he really went over the edge when his wife Cindy insinuated that he was losing some of his hair:

"In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c$#t." McCain's excuse

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Oh man, this story just kills me. According to The Daily Mail, pig farmers Debbie and Andrew Keeble noticed something strange about one of their new arrivals:

"While her six brothers and sisters messed around in the mire, she stayed on the edge shaking. It is thought she might have mysophobia - a fear of dirt.

Owners Debbie and Andrew Keeble were at a loss, until they remembered the four miniature wellies used as pen and pencil holders in their office. They slipped them on the piglet's feet - and into the mud she happily ploughed.

Now she runs over to Mr Keeble so he can put them on for her in the morning."

Wow.

Not to worry though, five-week-old "Cinders" will not become bacon, as the Keebles are retired and only keep the animals as pets. In fact, she has a higher purpose: She will be the glamorous face behind a campaign to give a better deal to pig farmers. Eat that Sharon Stone!

Want more HEAVY PETTING? See "Send someone you love a Dreamlet right now" and "The LOL cats

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Confession time: I'm kinda obsessed with Askmen.com, the largest men's lifestyle site online. It's like spying on five million men a month (although, I'm sure there are other female voyeurs like me out there). They do this huge survey for guys, The Great Male Survey, so this year, I am honored and floored that we get to partner with them to bring you the first annual The Great Female Survey!!! Here's the idea:

Who and what is "the modern woman"? Arriving at a definition often involves a lot of assumptions, and descriptions of the modern woman are varied and plenty: mother, independent woman, vamp, (to name a few). Determining if any of these portrayals are factual largely boils down to a single question: Is there any real data to back them up?

The short answer is: No. Or rather: Not yet. Yahoo Shine has joined AskMen.com in preparing the 2008 Great Female Survey, which will be live on the site for the next month. Check back toward the end of July, when we'll publish the results.

Tales of public masturbation and other sexual harrassment scandals surround Dov Charney, the mad genius behind American Apparel (and trust me, he's laughing all the way to the bank). And who can ignore all the hyper-sexual, borderline pedophilia ads featuring young hipsters wearing cotton undies and photographed in (usually) lewd positions? Recently, American Apparel decided to embrace its sexual side further by peddling the Hitachi Magic Wand, a sex toy that some call the "Cadillac of Vibrators." So now, you can buy all your summer T's and um tease, in one place. How convenient!

PS. Actually, according to Salon, there's one other store where you can pick up both a Magic Wand and a T-shirt, and that place is Wal-Mart.

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When gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts, 10,500 same-sex couples rushed to the alter in 2004. Four years later, that number has significantly dropped: According to the most recent data, there were only 867 same-sex marriages in the first eight months of 2007.

Why the downward spiral? The New York Times just attempted to answer that question by speculating that just as in straight marriage, blissful unions aren't always all they're cracked up to be. In fact, Julie and Hillary Goodridge, the lead plaintiffs in the case that paved the way for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, have since parted ways. (Personally, the article seemed slightly offensive in its incredulous, "Wow, gays experience problems with marriage too." Huh. Go figure.)

For example, one woman interviewed for the story sums it up: "Lesbian and gay couples get divorced for the same reasons that heterosexual couples do," Ms. Kauffman said. "Honestly the only thing that is different is that some people rushed to