6 Unconventional Tips That Could Save Your Marriage

When couples have problems with their marriages, they usually go with the more usual advice they get from friends or family. Some couples go the extra mile to talk with marriage therapists, but much of the advice they receive is wrong, says author Mort Fertel. Fertel says advice that is logical and sounds good is often ineffective, and that reconciling a broken marriage is not an intuitive process.

While I agree with the sense behind some of his teachings, most sound like he just wants aggrieved parties to an unhealthy marriage to remain in that bad situation and simply get used to it. The truth is that what works for one couple may not work for the other, and it would be best for each person to find what suits them.

On that note, I'm sharing some of the tips Fertel uses to work with couples.

Go at it ALONE. Most people think, "I need my spouse to work with me to fix our marriage." But it does not take two to tango. One person's effort can change the momentum of a marriage, and very often, it's that effort that motivates the obstinate spouse to join in the process.

Surfer Who Lost an Arm to a Shark - Bethany Hamilton - is Engaged!

So happy for her :)

Bethany Hamilton, the surfer whose arm was severed by a shark in 2003, is tying the knot.
Hamilton announced her engagement to her boyfriend of one year, Christian youth minister Adam Dirks, on her website last Wednesday.
According to a blog post Dirks wrote on Hamilton's website, the two met in 2012 through mutual friends and bonded over their strong Christian faith.
On Thursday, Hamilton wrote on her Facebook page, "One year ago today, I met an amazing man, now we will spend the rest of our lives together and I'm soo excited! I love you Adam!"
When Hamilton was 13, she was attacked by a tiger shark while surfing on Kauai's North Shore. Though her left arm was severed in the attack, she returned to surf competitions the following year. A movie based on her life, "Soul Surfer," was released in 2011.

Via HuffPo

Those Who Identify As Feminist Are A Minority

In an article titled "Has Feminism Become a Dirty Word", the Economist and YouGov shared results from a poll they carried out asking both men and women if they were feminists. According to their findings; up to 18 percent of men identify as feminists, and up to 38 percent of women. This is indeed a minority, but it is even more than I had thought. This adds up to 28% of Americans consider themselves feminists, with women twice as likely as men to use that label for themselves. The poll results also show that,

... for women at least, feminism is generational, with the youngest women and those who came of age during the 1970’s feminist movement the most willing to use that label for themselves.

The willingness of women to call themselves feminists depends on their age. Only 28% of women 65 and older say they are feminists (the baby boomers now make up only a small proportion of this older group); 41% of women between the ages of 45 and 64 say they are. This group would have come of age and political awareness during the 1970’s, when the feminist movement was at its most visible and perhaps most active.

Movie Review - Oblivion

Oblivion, the movie, is set in the future, after a war in which Earth has been destroyed after a war with alien 'scavengers'. Cruise plays Jack Harper, a repair technician who is on a tour of duty on what is left of Earth; the rest of humanity has left for Titan a moon of Saturn. He and his partner Victoria (played by Andrea Riseborough) ensure that large hydrorigs that draw energy from the sea are in working order; they are aided in this duty by drones, which protect the hydrorigs from attacks by the scavengers, who supposedly still operate on Earth.

Atala's Review - I wasn't really sure about this movie when I saw the trailers. I know that for some people, Tom Cruise is a reason to go to watch a movie, but I worry that this means the movie will be long on mindless action and short on substantial plot. In this case I was wrong, and I was so pleased to be wrong.

The film starts slowly enough; we are treated to haunting, desolate landscapes of a wasted Earth as we watch Harper go about his day-to-day business of dealing with hydrorig failures. It becomes more interesting when he starts having dreams of another time on Earth - dreams in which there is a recurring image of an unknown woman. These make him wonder about what happened in the war with the scavengers, especially because his memory is supposed to have been wiped for security reasons. However, Victoria (who apparently is more than just a work partner) doesn't share his curiosity; she just wants to be done with the tour of duty so that they can both return to Titan for a well deserved rest.

Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu [Video]

Janelle Monae just released the video to a single off her upcoming album, Electric Lady. She features Erykah Badu who has been a bit quiet on the music front. The song is another danceable tune in the style of Monae and the video just as creative. I really liked Erykah Badu's section, and the rap by Janelle at the end.

Charles Ramsey - The Man Who Helped Free Amanda Berry

Meet Charles Ramsey of Cleveland, Ohio. Charles Ramsey says he was in his house eating some McDonald’s, when he heard a woman screaming in his neighbor’s house. She told him to call the police, that she was Amanda Berry. He didn't believe it at first, but he helped her kick out the screen door to the locked house.

When she came out with her daughter, she called the police herself from his house. When the police arrived, the other two women who had all been missing for more than a decade each were rescued from alleged kidnapper, Charles Ramsey’s neighbor Ariel Castro.

In the video, Ramsey blasts for Castro. “You got some big testicles to pull this off, bro... I barbecue with this dude! We eat ribs and whatnot! Seriously, you think you know a person ..." He said something though that seemed to make the interviewer uncomfortable. When asked how he knew to take Berry seriously, he said “I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Dead giveaway! Dead. Giveaway.”

Date Night on the Met Gala Red Carpet

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds an annual Costume Institute Benefit known as the Met Gala, and last night's event was themed, Punk: Chaos to Couture. This meant that celebrities, designers, models, and fashion insiders were given free reign to celebrate high fashion. As usual, I'm more interested in who came with who, some came with their designers, others with their significant others, family or friends, than what they wore, but they all look good so enjoy :)

Amanda Berry Had a Daughter While in Captivity for over a Decade

Amanda Berry (center) with sister and daughter

It was all over the news yesterday, three women, the most well known of them being Amanda Berry, were found in an Ohio home after over ten years of being reported missing. The other women were Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, and they had been held at the same home since they went missing. There was also a child found alongside the women.

Obviously, there are still a lot of gaps to be filled in this story, and I'm sure we'll hear more as time goes on. The child who was found and and who was also shown in the pictures on TV yesterday, is 6 years old and has been confirmed to be the daughter of Amanda Berry.

Three brothers were arrested in connection with the case, and police said one of the brothers, a 52-year-old, lived at the home. They released no names and gave no details about the others arrested or what charges they might face.

Investigations are ongoing, but it does give hope to those whose friends and family have been long missing. They might still be alive.

Men May Commit Even if They Don’t Feel Love

A lot of people will be surprised to learn that men will sometimes commit to marry their girlfriends even though they are not necessarily romantically or sexually attracted to them. According to a study by Match.com,

Men are more likely than women to be willing to make a commitment to someone who has everything they are looking for in a partner, but whom they are not in love with (31% of men and 23% of women) and willing to make a commitment to someone who has everything they are looking for in a partner but whom they don't find sexually attractive (26% of men and 22% of women).

The truth is that even though men are often regarded as scared of marriage and commitment, they also have dreams of getting married some day and having a wife and kids. Also, men are just as susceptible to peer pressure as women are, and if they see all of their male friends and peers getting married, they will feel a desire to do the same. This is much more so when their current girlfriend is putting pressure on them to walk down the aisle.

Magazine Covers I'm Loving - Linda Ikeji on Mania

Linda Ikeji Covers Mania

Reprising her modelling days, Linda Ikeji is on the cover of StyleMania Magazine. The issue is tagged “The New Generation” and is out this month. She looks great!