Blog Posts by Erin Flaherty, Shine staff

It's Friday, so I thought I'd treat you guys to some serious, Heavy Petting and oh lord, this is the freakin' most ridiculously adorable thing ever. When a white tiger at the Safari Zoological Park in Caney, Kansas rejected her young, keepers turned to a golden retriever named Isabella for some maternal love. Donate to the zoo, which specializes in protecting endangered animals here, and watch the video for cute dog/baby animal action.

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There's so much in the news these days about cheating that you have to wonder just how these morons manage to get caught so often. That's why I smirked when I read this post from my girls over at The Frisky called "Dating Don'ts: How Not to Cheat (Or Seem Like You Are)." Yes Madonna and A-Rod, Sienna and Balthazar, take note: "if you're going to step out, at least have a little consideration for your main squeeze and don't get caught."

For example, all text messaging is good for is leaving a sordid trail of evidence behind you. Then there's the old teacher's pet scenario. Can we say Debra Lafave and Mary Kay LeTourneau? "...since teenage boys aren't really discrete," is it any wonder these cradle robbers got outed and punished (deservedly) for their crimes? And of course, everyone's been keeping tabs on the nanny diaries. Says their blogger, "Much like hooking up with a member of the family, these affairs inevitably get found out and are messier than anything you'd find in a nappy."

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While men have been enjoying the infamous "happy ending" massage for oh well, ages I guess, ever since the "Sex and the City" episode where Samantha went on a mission to get one, women have been not just a little curious about the um, ins and outs of what the female version just might entail. But whereas the idea is certainly provocative and something to laugh at or fantasize about, would you ever actually attempt to get an off the spa menu add-on? Tango writer Melissa Lafsky did just that when she went on journey to try and experience the elusive urban legend herself. And well, let's just say things got really, really real.

Thing is, the female happy ending can be slightly complicated. Men can get a hard-on, quite the attention getting signal that he's literally up for more if the masseuse is, but Lafsky finds the more subtly aroused woman must work to get noticed, via moaning, writhing and blatant asking for it. And that's just the thing, as she acknowledges: "For many women

NY Daily Mail
It's a victory for small chested women everywhere. The naturally petite Keira Knightley refused to allow studio heads to digitally enlarge her chest in publicity photos of her upcoming movie, "The Duchess." According to the NY Daily News:

"She has insisted that her figure stay in its natural state,' an insider said. 'She is proud of her body and doesn't want it altered.'

'This isn't the first time Knightley has faced this dilemma. The actress drew negative attention in 2004 with her larger-than-usual breasts in publicity stills for King Arthur.'

"Those things certainly weren't mine,' Fox News quoted her as saying in 2006. According to Knightley, the studio marketing team was behind her suddenly C-cup breasts, but gave her final approval on the photos."

I am getting so sick of Hollywood airbrushing/altering women's images, aren't you? I guess some old school types still think it takes tits and ass to sell a film, but you don't see them pulling this crap on the male actors, who

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Some women cut their hair after a breakup, but this week's New York Times Modern Love writer Kerry Cohen gets a new tattoo.

She got her first ink at a time when many of us did, in her early 20s, explaining the sentiment that most can also relate to: "When our relationship ended I lay on my bed, hollow and hurting, unable to cry, going over the relationship with friends. I told them all the things you believe when you've been dumped: I'll always feel this way, I'm not worth loving and no one will ever love me again."

For the record, she got an admittedly "stereotypical American Indian symbol" the New Jersey-born Jewish girl chose "thoughtlessly." Sound familiar?

As she went on through all of the various sorts of breakups that paint the landscape of a young woman's life, more trips to artists named "Diamond" and the like followed suit. Now, Cohen has since changed her needle loving ways. Just before getting married, she tried to erase the last symbol of her failed relationship--a

Now, I think we're all still recovering from that whole Manties moment, but just when I thought it was safe to troll the internet looking for new sex trends, I go and discover E-Mancipate, a site devoted to "accelerate the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item." While they insist it's not necessarily about the fetish, they do claim that "the pantyhose for men trend is healthy, sexy and positive."

So how do YOU feel about men in pantyhose? I mean, gee guys, us ladies don't even like wearing nude stockings anymore! More power to 'em or please lord wake me from this nightmare?

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Can pole dancing and feminism go hand in hand? While the rather bizarre trend of aerobic pole dancing is kind of old hat, it's slowly catching on in China, and according to the New York Times, it's a step, or um, slide towards an empowering woman's movement of sorts.

How so? One woman who helped introduce the fad, Luo Lan, 39, sees it as allowing "women to stay fit and express their sexuality with an unprecedented degree of openness and freedom," in a society that traditionally encourages women to "be loyal, faithful and modestly dressed," or in other words, to be seen but not heard. Not surprisingly, most of the women taking the exercise classes have never stepped foot in an actual strip club.

Of course, not everyone approves of this controversial new direction for the ladies. Ms. Luo has received both prank calls and plenty of criticism. One Chinese man interviewed for the story says, "'Five years ago, this wouldn't have been permitted,' said Zhang Jian, 30, a manager in an

D Jewelry Co.
There's a rather strange jewelry trend emerging. Seems "divorce rings" have suddenly become all the rage while I must've been sleeping under a rock. Now, this is not to be confused with the practice of retooling an old engagement or wedding ring. We're talking about companies like D Jewelry Co. and Transition Rings hawking brand new rings to those that wish to commemorate their divorce.

According to D Jewelry's website, whose rather condescending slogan is "Building self esteem one person at a time" (ooookkkkaaayyy): "The rings serve not only the purpose of remembering a particular separation, but also to symbolize a new beginning and positive outlook on the future." Sure, that sounds healthy enough, but still... Oh and by the way, "self esteem," I mean, one of their divorce rings, will cost you a cool $330.00.

Now, this is merely my humble opinion, but I smell a marketing scam. I mean, divorces are expensive. Surely that money would better be spent on a mortgage or if you really