Maria_Stephanos's Blog

I know  the economy is tanking, the race for President is getting uglier and the states economy is in the toilet, which is why I want to talk to you about Halloween costumes.  Not your kids, but yours, when you were a kid.  My beautiful mother dug up all these pictures of my beautiful sister and myself in our costumes.  Priceless.  I was a marshmallow white shirt white skirt white face white wig,  one year I was Dolly Parton because we had a nice long blonde wig and nerf balls to complete the outfit :)...  I love telling my kids: "Back when I was a kid, we didn't buy costumes we made them.! And this year, that's what they are doing.  A baseball player and skateboarder.  And in this economy, that's just fine with me and of course it soothes my nostalgic heart.  So share.  What was your very best, most memorable costume as a kid?

And it's naked.  Right down to the last hair and pore.

Check out Newsweeks latest cover of Sarah Palin. It's super high definition and you can see everything on her face. Her smudged eye makeup.  Her eyebrows that have some stray hairs... Newsweek knew exactly what it was doing. Magazines do not put things on their cover without thinking about every last detail. 

It simply is not a flattering picture of Palin.  But does it have to be?  It shows her up close and very personal.  And I think that was the point.  Unfortunately, we are all so used to seeing everybody's imperfections airbrushed out, that this was jarring and deliberate and I'm ok with it.  Here's what I'm not ok with.  I googled Obama Newsweek magazine cover.  And we didn't see every pore. Every stray hair.  Coincidence? I think not.

This has NOTHING to do, with whom I will vote for in November.  I am actually still on the fence. This blog is about a photograph and I want to know what you think. Do you think it's fair?  I should also say, as a woman who has been fortunate and unfortunate! enough to be in magazines I would not be happy with this photograph.  But I would also say, well that's who I am and what I look like and that's just the way it goes!

I was once again HONORED to be part of the walk for Juvenille Diabetes. It never fails, to warm my heart and soar my spirits, to see the passion and commitment from all these families. It also breaks my heart to see the kids who suffer from JD. I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who came out. We wanted to raise 2 million dollars and we did that and then some. You all, make sure you say thank you to FOx for supporting this cause, but the real thanks goes to all of you, for giving so much to this event. I love seeing the same people every year. I feel like I know you guys now. ANd I simply cannot wait for the day, when we never have to do this again, because we finally raised enough money for a cure!

Check out the pix here:  JDRF Walk

I found myself with a rare night off Sunday night, and sat myself in front of the tv and just flipped around.  I couldn't stop myself.  I stayed on one channel for at the most 10 minutes, and moved around.  Remember, I don't watch tv at night, I'm on tv at night!  I was honestly driving myself crazy because during any commercial I would flip around and then stay there. I was like a cat with tinsel.  And then I remembered when I was a little girl in Groveland and I would get up turn the tv on and watch it warm up. And then I would love to watch it turn off down to that little white dot and go away. Wow, how far we've come. It's remarkable. Everything and anything on tv, on the internet.  But trust me, there are moments when I wish it was as simple as just turning it on, and watching one show at a time. The Lawrence Welk show, Maude, All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Starsky and Hutch, Fantasy Island. Remember the days?

Are you ready for this one?  A new study says... a man's attitude about women in the workplace can have a very definite effect on his salary. Researchers say men are still being rewarded for "cavemen" views.

Organizational psychologists say men who believe women should stay at home with the kids are making 11 thousand dollars more than men, who have more feminist attitudes. 

So are you a caveman?  Or a cavewoman?  Should women stay at home. Be honest now.  And are you just saying that because you want to make more money? :)

And the women out there, don't you think we should get a cut of the coin?

Except, if you're John McCain. I don't care what side of the political aisle you hang out, this is wrong.  Atlantic Monthly, no slouch of a magazine hired a photographer Jill Greenberg to photograph John McCain. A quick google check will show you, she is for lack of a better term vehemently anti-GOP. I have no problem with that, it's her opinion.

Here's the problem.  During the photo shoot, she admitted she tricked McCain into standing over a strobe light, placed on the floor to deliberately cast shadows on his face. And then she allegedly took the out-takes from the shoot and manipulated them and then published them on her website. 

In one picture she doctored it by adding blood oozing from McCain's shark toothed mouth and labeled it "I am a bloodthirsty warmongerer."  You know what.  Judging from her previous work, she's obviously a talented photographer.  She should have left it at that.  Look, magazines do this all the time, they Photoshop, airbrush, but this goes beyond that. 

The Editor is apologizing, but this just plays into the hands of everybody! Conservatives will say this is just another example of the "liberal" media distorting McCain.  Liberals will say she was just doing her job.  You say what?

His mom was kind enough to send me an update email. Brian has been at Walter Reed Army Medical Center since Friday night. He's come along amazingly well and doctor's say his recover from the IED incident is like a miracle. And he did have a visitor. You guessed it. President Bush.  She said that Brian was really happy that his commander in chief came to see him and honored his service to the country.  Brian also received one of the highest honors in the Army. He will be presenting the flag to the mother of his gunner (who was killed in the IED) at his funeral at Arlington National Ceremony. Usually this is reserved for the "Old Guard". His gunner's family came to see him today and that was very emotional as well.

They thank ALL of you for your incredible words of support. And I thank you as well.  I also promise to have Brian on the the news to tell his story whenever he's ready!

Thanks again.

Maria

I know I'm not going to change the world with this next blog, but here goes... I just ate chinese food for dinner at my desk, opened my fortune and this is what it said.  "You will be successful someday"  I saved it right away and it made me smile. And then thought, why do I save these things?   I have one taped to my computer that says "fall seven times; get up eight"  I do try to live those very words, that grace a tiny sliver of paper everyday.  So do you do the same thing?  Fortune cookies, maybe a horoscope?   Or do you think they're just a waste of time?

I was in the middle of my crazy day and I got a call on my work phone from a lovely woman named Phyllis.  I called her right back after she told me her son's story.  Her son is Sgt. Brian Scott from South Boston.  He's with the 340 MP Unit Reserve out of Worcester.  He's been in Iraq for 6 weeks.  His job was to train Iraqi police and on his way to the police station his Humvee was hit by an IED.  Improvised explosive device.  He was the team leader. It crushed his vehicle and a piece of shrapnel hit his left temple.  It's still there. He's in a hospital right now in Germany and will be coming back to the states by next week to get more intensive care. His mom called me because he's a fan of Fox.  And I'm a fan of anyone who makes the commitment to help serve and protect.  So if you can, let's send him well wishes right here and our thoughts... and/or prayers...

 

Thanks everyone in advance!

So if you are just joining us on this inane bet, our political editor Joe Battenfeld and myself had a bet. I believed that John McCain was going to pick Mitt Romney. I was wrong. And you all had great suggestions as to how I was going to pay up on this bet. And this evening, Joe decided to "surprise" me (which he did) with a story about how wrong I was. He's right, I was wrong and I've begged him to come up with a proper way to pay off this bet and this is what we decided. I think I got off pretty easily don't you? Watch and let me know.

Alright Mr. Political Editor, Mr. Battenfeld, Mr. Rub my face in my bad call.

I'm a woman of my word.  I was convinced until the bitter end Mitt Romney was going to be the choice.  I was WRONG.  So, you call it.  You name it (even though you didn't name Ms. Palin :) )

I'll wear a shirt that says you were right on television.  I'll run a road race.  I will shout it from the top of our studios with camera's on me.  What's it going to be Mr. Battenfeld?  

So, today during our Fox 25 news at 5:00 Live Chat, Legend Killer called me out for not blogging.  WHich of course my bosses love :)  So here it is, and as requested it will be of a "light" nature.  I will ask you all the ridiculous questions, I ask my children incessantly.  I ask them because I've always asked too many questions and I also believes it gives me a nice little window into their beautiful minds.

Pizza or french fries? Mountains or the ocean? Breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?  Day or night?  Swimming or running?  Sunrise or sunset?  Would you rather be a President or an athlete?  Baseball or basketball?  Ice cream or apple pie?  Talking or silence? 

Ok, there are a million more, but that should get you all going. Love to hear your answers or more suggestions for questions!

I know it's a personal question. But there's only one reason why I'm asking it. We're working on a story about those teeth whitening kiosks at the mall. Have you ever been to one? Was it successful? We're curious to know about your experience. If you have or know somebody who has, just email us planning@myfoxboston.com. We'd love to hear from you!

And don't worry, I'll be blogging about meatier issues soon enough.

Before you jump all over me, I will say up front, it was John Edwards taking down John Edwards.  He just had a little help from the National Enquirer.  Where to begin with this sordid story.  Take your pick:  The National Enquirer breaking a story that ends up on the front page of the New York Times.  The Networks/news stations refusing to cover the story using the National Enquirer as a source.  John Edwards cheating on his wife who was in remission from cancer.  John Edwards emphatically saying he did nothing of the sort.  John Edwards saying he'll take a paternity test to prove he is NOT the baby's father or the woman in the case who's saying she'll never let her baby take a paternity test. 

And should we even care. He's not a senator anymore.  He's not running for president.  He's a private citizen.  However, he is a big player (excuse the pun) in the Democratic Party, he did run for president, was on a vice presidential ticket and was very public with his wife's fight against cancer, not to mention the fact he was going to be front and center at the convention.  So I think given that, it's a story.  You say what?

BTW, check out fenwaydav's blog on this too…

It's happening in Ohio. And I don't like it. I don't smoke, I hate smelling it, tasting it, but this is just wrong. A Children's Hospital has decided that starting in November the hospital won't hire anyone who tests positive for nicotine. This hospital banned smoking there two years ago. And now they are refusing to hire smokers. Listen, these people aren't smoking in the hospital. So, what's the problem? They can smoke in their private life. As long as they don't smoke on the job, I don't see the problem. A children's hospital spokesperson said the smoking ban promotes healthy living. If I have a nurse or a doctor who comes into my hospital room and can save my life, I don't CARE if they smoke in the privacy of theirs. Just don't do it in front of me. And you say what?