November 16th, 2008 -- Posted in Story |
It isn’t really surprising to learn that countless celebrities love tattoos, nor is it surprising that those who are in the public eye and in the media can have quite a significant influence on the American population’s fascination with tattoos. The stars have a variety of tattoos, and so pretty much all of their fans crave tattoos also.
For celebrities, age is not a real factor; older stars just like the younger ones have them too. We know all of these people well – but how much do we identify with the distinctive styles of artwork they choose?
One of America’s greatest movie stars, Robert DeNiro, has appeared in movies sporting no few tattoos. Whether or not his fans work out that they are only accessories for his films, the fact is in real life Robert DeNiro has only one tattoo, that of a black panther.
Another great actor who shows off assorted tattoos in his movies is Johnny Depp; however all of his, are real. Bruce Willis also has a few tattoos; notably the symbol of his movie “Die Hard.”
Tattoos have been in style for a very long time with the top musicians who can sport the largest number and most radical and hardcore of designs. The former teen idol Justin Timberlake has a guardian angel, amongst others. Rapper Eminem has more tattoos than you can shake a stick at, including his daughter’s name and his own. The wording on Keith Urban’s wrist, “Omni Vincit Amor” is Latin for ‘Love Conquers All;’ he also has an eagle on one arm.
Sports celebrities also known to go for tattoos. Michael Jordan has his fraternity symbol tattooed above his heart, whilst Dennis Rodman is a virtual canvas of artwork.
Not to be outdone, numerous female stars also show assorted degrees of artwork. Young actress Drew Barrymore is basically a canvas full of tattoos and it is said that she created the larger part of the designs herself. Reese Witherspoon is a little more subtle, wearing only one small star tattoo which is hardly ever visible.
Pamela Anderson has a variety of tattoos also, the most notable of these being the word ‘Mommy’ on one finger, which reportedly used to read ‘Tommy.’ Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has five stars to represent every member of her family, her husband’s initials, and the traditional Jewish phrase ‘I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.’
Some of the modern supermodels also brandish tattoos. Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, and Stephanie Seymour all have these changeless forms of fashion accessories. Many supermodels who opt for tattoos show fewer and smaller designs than celebrities in other fields. While very many celebrities have worn tattoos for a very long time, the popularity of tattoos amongst stars has been increasing, both in the group of celebrities who carry them and the multitude of tattoos that they wear. Only a very few have just one tattoo. More and more are taking on a generous bunch of tattoos as well as more visible tattoos, using skin as a canvas for nearly unlimited varieties of ageless artwork.
As celebrities show off their love of tattoos, and this is picked up by the media, it presents an ever-increasing influence for their fans, especially amongst the younger fans, who want to do likewise. As with anything else that stars do in the public eye, their influence with tattoos helps this form of artwork become more widespread, more trendy, and more acceptable to most of the American population altogether.
Mark has a great site full of tips on tattoo designs. Please take a look at http://www.tattoodesigns365.com
November 9th, 2008 -- Posted in Story |
One of the most popular young stars in Hollywood today is Miley Cyrus. As most people know she is the star of the wildly popular Disney Channel television series ‘Hannah Montana’, as well as the daughter of country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus. She burst on the scene in 2006 and her fame soared like a rocket along with the popularity of her TV show. Though she comes from a showbiz family of sorts, the amount of fame and popularity she has achieved in just her first couple of years in the public eye is astounding.
Her Name
Many people wonder where she got the name Miley from and some are surprised to find out that it wasn’t her birth name. She has legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus now, but she was born Destiny Hope Cyrus. Her parents called her Miley as a nickname because she was such a “smiley” baby.
Her Career
She has stated that she had wished to be an actress from the time she was about nine years old. She got her start in acting when she appeared in her Dad’s television show “Doc”, sometime later she made her film debut in the movie “Big Fish”. She auditioned for the role of Hannah Montana and also the role of her best friend and at first was turned down because she was so young. She eventually won the role with her personality and her stage presence. On the show she also sings many songs, some of which she has written herself. She went on to put out a couple of albums based mainly on her television persona, but has gone on to release material under her own name now. Her initial concert tour and movie made about the concert tour were huge hits as well.
Her Personal Life
She has an incredibly close relationship with her family and for that reason as well as her young age is with them a great deal. She has made many friends with co-stars of her show, stars of other Disney Channel shows, and also people associated with her live performances. Like any young star in Hollywood, she has had to deal with her share of scandals too, but none so bad that they have wrecked her squeaky clean image as Disney’s teen star of the moment.
With her incredible personality and huge popularity, there is nothing that can keep her from achieving all the career accomplishments she wishes for herself. She has shown the talent and drive that is guaranteed to serve her well long after she finishes her run as a teen pop culture icon.
Mark Allen writes about a number of subjects, some of which are even interesting. You can find out interesting stuff that you don’t know about a number of subjects by visiting 7Things! Including 7 things you don’t know about: Miley Cyrus
June 15th, 2008 -- Posted in Story |
Anna Nicole Smith was famous for being herself. She led a self-created extravagant, loving-every-minute lifestyle. She was constantly in the tabloids pertaining to her mood swings, slurring speech, choices of male companions, and greater-than-life persona. Her sudden death, on February 8, 2007 (Anna Nicole Smith 2007), made the public wonder who this voluptuous woman truly was.
Anna Nicole Smith, born Vickie Lynn Hogan, never seemed to be happy in her environment as a child. She would continuously change her name (Anna Nicole Smith, 2007), trying to be someone else. She used this defense mechanism to flee the emotional inhibitors present in her childhood home. Anna’s half sister has reported that their father had sexually and physically abused Anna and her sisters (msnbc.com, 2007). Anna’s mother removed her from that environment and ended up poor in a trailer park. Anna seemed always to want better, and would do what she needed to achieve her goals.
As described in the Cognitive/ Social Theory (Kowalski & Westen, 2005), Anna felt that by creating a different persona, she would escape her reality and achieve these goals of her ultimate dream of stardom. She believed that by reflecting certain over-exuberant behaviors, she could achieve her pie-in-the-sky dreams. Most anyone who watches television would say that she strived to be the next Marilyn Monroe. This is called a behavioral-outcome expectancy (Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Self-efficacy expectancy explains that Anna knew that she was in control and capable of achieving these goals. She set high personal goals in order to change her life into a dream she had always hoped would come true.
The Humanistic Theory explains that personality is created by one’s environment and societal experiences. Rousseau clearly states (Kowalski & Westen, 2005), “man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.” (pages 447-448). Anna was a compassionate, life-loving person, but felt held back by society and economics. She found employment in all work environments, from a chicken fry, to Wal-mart, to a strip club, in order to achieve her goals.
While working at the chicken fry, she wed a boy one year younger than she; he was sixteen at the time. They divorced shortly after; she also had a son by this man. Anna Nicole began stripping at a club, while mailing in body shots to Playboy Magazine (Anna Nicole Smith, 2007), trying to get into the Hollywood scene. She was aware of her true self, but was willing to delve into a false self in order to escape her binds (Kowalski & Westen, 2005). She wanted to be accepted and loved by all, literally. Anna met an oil tycoon while stripping, and married him years later. This marriage and relationship was extremely controversial because the gentleman was eighty-nine at the time, she was only twenty-seven. Many, including the man’s son, thought of Anna as a gold digger, but Anna stated that she was self- sufficient and truly loved this man (Goldman, 2001). Again, Anna was making a name for herself and placing herself into the tabloids. She was continuously creating an ideal self. The presence of an ideal self is the complete absorption of the false self, and the complete suppression of one’s true needs and personality (Kowalski & Westen, 2005).
Anna became a widow only one year later. Her husband’s son took Anna to court, preventing her from getting any money. She demanded that she loved him, and he loved her. He wanted her to be taken care of (Goldman, 2001). The case was still dancing in and out of the court system at the time of Anna’s death.
Anna’s death was sudden to everyone. However, she did suffer from depression continuously. She did not hide from the public the fact that she took antidepressants. She had been shown on television obviously mixing alcohol with antidepressants, slurring her speech and flailing her arms in the air (msnbc.com, 2007). Anna especially suffered from depression close to her demise. She had lost her first-born child, twenty years old, and given birth to a daughter, just months before. Anna had not stated who her daughter’s father was; this was discovered after Anna’s death (Anna Nicole’s Afterlife, 2007). Even though she wanted to paint the tabloids with her life, Anna seemed to want this part of her life kept secret. It seemed that she wanted different for her new family.
The Humanistic theory best supports Anna Nicole Smith’s personality. Her childhood was filled with unavoidable situations of her environment. Her adulthood was built on self-created drama and stardom. Anna buried her true self as a young child, renaming herself several times until finally settling on Anna Nicole Smith. She was willing to share her ups and downs with the nation through the ever-honest tabloids, and never flinched when exploited. The one trait Anna never did hide was her big, loving southern heart. She wanted the world to love and remember her for who she was and for what she came from.
References
Anna Nicole’s afterlife. (2007, June 4). Maclean’s, Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Academic
Search Premier database.
Anna Nicole’s half-sister’s tell-all book. (2007, April 12). Msnbc.com, Retrieved October 19,
2007, from www.msnbc.com.
Anna Nicole Smith. (2007, February 17). Economist, Retrieved October 18, 2007, from
Academic Search Premier database.
Goldman, D. (2001, March). The millioraire and the playmate. Biography, 5(3), 28. Retrieved
October 18, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.
Kowalski, R. M., and Westen, D. (2005). Psychology; The Study of Mental Processes and
Behavior, (4th Edition). USA: John Wily & Sons, Inc.
Summer Willis writes about various psychological topics.