(Written by Kaylene Peoples)

Almost 50 years have passed, and Barbie has played a big part in setting fashion trends. This quest to be fashionable started with the original founder of Mattel, Ruth Handler, the mother of the original Barbie. Mattel Corporation told her that the doll would never have mass appeal and would be too expensive to manufacture. But after exhausting her efforts to design a doll, and even getting designers to create her clothes, Mattel finally conceded and made the first Barbie®doll in 1959. That first year, Barbie sold at $3.00 a doll and was a huge success. If you think about inflation and the cost of living, the increase in housing, transportation and travel, the Barbie®doll really hasn’t increased in price that significantly. The average doll only sells for as low as $7.00 and still appeals to the same demographic.

(Written by Natalie Martin)

I’ve found people who think they’re being pro-Bush actually disagreeing with what he and his cabinet members say, because they are so quick to distrust their own eyes and ears in favor of a transitory statement from this country’s leaders. Perhaps it’s because of our own inherent inability to admit fault. Read (or “troll”) the Yahoo! message boards and you’ll find many pro-Bush people saying that al Qaeda and Hussein and al-whoever all sat down for kabobs while plotting to destroy America–and these message posters think they’re defending the administration.

I always thought my first visit to a plastic surgeon would include leaflets of models whose noses I wanted, or pictures of celebrities with the perfect profile. After all, I do live in Los Angeles, aka tinsel town, aka Hollywood fabulous–the land where everybody is a size 2, has a perfect nose, full lips, no character lines, and a 6-pack. I guess I could have scheduled a lipo-suction appointment, or a breast augmentation procedure, or maybe even a butt lift. But instead I found myself visiting probably the only plastic surgeon on the west side with a moral conscience.

Ladies on motorcycles fighting breast cancer. What a wonderful idea! But is “ladies” too soft of a word? Though these women are true ladies, they represent a demographic that may have been overlooked in the fight against breast cancer. Divas for a Cure consists of a core group of women who ride motorcycles. Jan Emanel, the founder, is a breast cancer survivor, who has taken her bike along with a host of other divas to help spread the word about breast cancer awareness to the biker community.

One might chuckle when presented with the title Bowling for Boobies. I did. But once I learned what this funny little title stood for, my laughter turned into real compassion. Edith Speed, a breast cancer survivor, and her caring friends founded the annual charity event to aid women while they are dealing with this potentially deadly illness.