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Football is falling under a cloud of suspicion as never before, sullied by a multibillion-dollar web of match-fixing that is corrupting increasingly larger parts of the world's most popular sport.
Internet betting, emboldened criminal gangs and even the economic downturn have created conditions that make football — or football, as the sport is called around the world — a lucrative target.
Known as "the beautiful game" for its grace, athleticism and traditions of fair play, football is under threat of becoming a dirty game.
"Football is in a disastrous state," said Chris Eaton, director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security. "Fixing of matches for criminal gambling fraud purposes is absolutely endemic worldwide … arrogantly happening daily."
At least 50 nations in 2012 had match-fixing investigations — almost a quarter of the 209 members of FIFA, football's governing body — involving hundreds of people.
Europol, the European Union's police body, announced last week that it had found 680 "suspicious" games worldwide since 2008, including 380 in Europe.
Experts interviewed by The Associated Press believe that figure may be low. Sportradar, a company in London that monitors global sports betting, estimates that about 300 football games a year in Europe alone could be rigged.
"We do not detect it better," Eaton said in an interview with the AP. "There's just more to detect."
Globalization has propelled the fortunes of popular football teams like Manchester United and showered millions in TV revenue on clubs that get into tournaments like Europe's Champions League.
Criminals have realized that it can be vastly easier to shift gambling profits across borders than it is to move contraband.
"These are real criminals — Italian mafia, Chinese gangs, Russian mafia," said Sylvia Schenk, a sports expert with corruption watchdog Transparency International.
Ralf Mutschke, FIFA's security chief, admits that football officials had underestimated the scope of match-fixing. He told the AP that "realistically, there is no way" FIFA can tackle organized crime by itself, saying it needs more help from national law enforcement agencies.
The growing threat has prompted the European Union's 27 nations to unite against match-fixing.
"The scale is such that no country can deal with the problem on its own," said EU Sport Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.
Gambling on sports generates hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and up to 90 percent of that is bet on football, Interpol chief Ronald Noble told the AP in an interview. Eaton, the former FIFA expert, has cited an estimated $500 billion a year.
The total amount of money generated by sports betting would equal the gross domestic product of Switzerland, ranked 19th in the world.
Match-fixing — where the outcome of a game is determined in advance — is used by gambling rings to make money off bets they know they will win. Matches also are rigged to propel a team into a higher-ranking division where it can earn more revenue.
FIFA has estimated that organized crime takes in as much as $15 billion a year by fixing matches. In Italy alone, a recent rigging scandal is estimated to have produced $2.6 billion for the Camorra and the Mafia crime syndicates, Eaton said.
Football officials are well aware that repeated match-fixing will undermine the integrity of their sport, driving away sponsors and reducing the billion-dollar value of lucrative TV contracts.
FIFA earned $2.4 billion in broadcast sales linked to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and already has agreed to $2.3 billion in deals tied to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The U.K.'s Premier League earned $2.8 billion in broadcast rights for Britain alone in its last multiyear contract. Membership in Europe's Champions League is worth nearly $60 million a year to each team, according to a lawsuit filed by the Turkish club Fenerbahce.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has proclaimed "zero tolerance" for match-fixing, and FIFA has pledged $27 million to Interpol to fight it. Computer experts working for FIFA and UEFA — the European football body — monitor more than 31,000 European games and thousands of international matches every year, trying to sniff out the betting spikes that can reveal corruption.
So far, however, sports authorities are "proving to be particularly helpless in the face of the transnational resources" available to organized crime, according to a 2012 study on match-fixing. The report warned that the risk of football "falling into decay in the face of repeated scandals is genuine and must not be underestimated."
Some top football officials shy away from the dire warnings of academics and law enforcement officials. UEFA chief Gianni Infantino said in a statement that, on average, 203 games — 0.7 percent of the matches that UEFA monitors a year — show some signs of irregularities, "which does not mean they are fixed."
"It is a small problem, but it's like a cancer," Infantino said. "We don't say 0.7 is nothing. We say 0.7 is 0.7 too much. We can say generally that UEFA competitions are very healthy in this respect."
Match-fixing has been around for decades, of course, and is not limited to football. It has also infected sports like cricket, tennis, horse racing and even volleyball. The U.S. has its own sordid history of gambling scandals, from baseball's Black Sox in the 1919 World Series to a handful of point-shaving schemes in college basketball over the years, to an NBA referee taking money from a professional gambler for inside tips on basketball games, including some that he officiated in 2007.
Still, nothing approaches the scale of the match-fixing allegations now hitting football, because of the sheer number of games played and the enormous Asian betting interest in European games, according to David Forrest, an economist at the U.K.'s University of Salford Business School, one of the co-authors of the 2012 report.
In January alone, FIFA banned 41 players in South Korea from football for life due to match-fixing. That follows 51 worldwide bans last year — 22 of them for life — on players, officials and referees from Croatia, Finland, Guatemala, Italy, Nicaragua, Portugal, South Korea and Turkey.
FIFA bans include some elite figures in the sport. Antonio Conte, coach of the Italian club Juventus — a team whose winning tradition rivals that of baseball's New York Yankees — returned in December after a four-month ban for failing to report match-fixing.
Forrest's report said that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the war on terror relegated the fight against organized crime to a distinct second place, and that allowed gangs "to invest in new areas of the economy with relative impunity for nearly 10 years."
Eaton attributes the surge in match-fixing to an exponential rise in online gambling — "at least 500 percent, and likely far more" — in the last decade.
Criminals have targeted every level of the game: the World Cup, regional tournaments such as theChampions League, high-powered divisions like England's Premier League and Italy's Serie A, "friendly" exhibition contests between national teams, all the way down to semipro games in the football wilderness.
Criminals are always trying to find the sweet spot between how poorly the players are paid and how much bettors want to wager on a game, Forrest said. That's why fixers don't try too hard to target the Super Bowl, he says, because "the bribes would be so high to convince the athletes to join."
World Cup and European qualifiers that face uneven matchups are key targets because one team may "have no chance of getting into the tournament," Forrest said in an interview.
The same scenario applies to early rounds of major tournaments or late-season national leagues, where one team is desperately trying to either win a trophy or avoid being sent down to a lower league. Those situations propel teams upward into a whole new level of revenue or send them tumbling off a financial cliff.
Match-fixing has also branched out from traditional hotbeds of corruption — Asia and the Balkans — to places like Canada, Finland and Norway, which rank among the least corrupt nations in the world. Until recently, no one — including sports regulators — thought to look for corruption in lower-level leagues. Still, given the vast amount of football betting, there's plenty of money to be made.
"It's liquidity of the markets," Forrest said. "You can make serious money only if you can put on (bet) serious money. In most sports, the bet you can make is too small."
Goalkeeper Richard Kingson of Ghana says he was offered — but declined — $300,000 to lose a game to the Czech Republic at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
But prices have gone up. Italy's Calciopoli investigation found it cost up to $516,000 to fix a match in the top leagueof Serie A; $155,000 for a fix in the second division and $64,500 for a third-division fixed match.
In Croatia, court documents show that first-league games in 2010 could be fixed for as little as $25,600.
There is also a shift in the traditional match-fixing scenario in which players are paid to lose or referees are paid to make sure one team wins. With the rise of online spot betting — wagers made during the game — criminal gangs can predetermine not only the outcome of the match but also make money on bets like how many goals are scored, when they are scored, or who will take a penalty kick.
These live bets can "be particularly advantageous for criminals," according to Forrest's report, because they increase the number of wagers placed on the same fixed game.
As former Balkan warlords and Chinese businessmen have discovered, owning a club means players don't need to be paid extra to fix matches; they can just be ordered to lose. Corrupt team officials have also dangled career advancement instead of money before vulnerable young players.
"There is an increasing worry about gangs taking over football clubs as a way to further match-fixing … and then they could also use the club to launder money," Forrest said. "It's quite cheap to buy a football club because so many of them are failing."
An American diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks quoted the U.S. Embassy in Sofia as reporting that "Bulgarian football clubs are widely believed to be directly or indirectly controlled by organized crime figures who use their teams as a way to legitimize themselves, launder money and make a fast buck."
In 2011, Turkey's venerable Fenerbahce football club won 16 of its last 17 national league games to stay in the coveted Champions League — a benefit it estimated as worth $58.5 million a year. In July 2012, Fenerbahce President Aziz Yildirim was convicted of fixing four of those games and bribing to influence the outcome of three others. He did it by promising rival players a roster spot or arranging for referees who would favor his team.
Yildirim was one of 93 people who went on trial in Turkey last year for match-fixing — and only 14 of them were players.
Serbian player Boban Dmitrovic says he saw many instances in his home country where two clubs simply agreed on the outcome in advance.
"Right before the match, a note was handed to the players. They had to cooperate because their careers would be jeopardized," Dmitrovic told FIFPro, the football players' union.
This "chairman-to-chairman method" of match-fixing is still common in Russia, Albania and the Balkan nations, according to Forrest's sports corruption report.
The vast majority of the world's wagering originates in Asia, according to Forrest, but its own bettors shun that continent's games for those in Europe because Asian football has been so corrupt for years.
In 2011, China's main TV network refused to broadcast the country's football games because match-fixing was so widespread. Last year, two former heads of China's football federation were sentenced to 10½ years in prison.
In Finland, eight African players with ties to a Singapore crime gang were banned in 2012 for match-fixing. Their handler, Wilson Raj Perumal, was convicted of fixing games in Finland and is being investigated for allegedly fixing other matches in Europe and Africa. On Dec. 15, the South Africa Football Association said Perumal allegedly used tainted referees to manipulate games for betting purposes in 2010.
Experts say a typical scenario can go like this: Bookies set the odds for a game, not knowing it has been fixed. Right before the game starts, gangs unleash a torrent of bets, sometimes employing hundreds of poor workers on laptops. The wave hides the mastermind of the bet. If there is live wagering — on what the score will be at halftime or other topics — several bets can be made on the same fixed game.
Ninety or so minutes later, the bettors hand over their winnings to the boss.
In the past, the perception was that greedy players were behind match-fixing. Yet a study of eastern Europe released last year by the FIFPro union portrayed a region where players often are not paid for months but instead are intimidated, blackmailed or beaten up.
Many said they had been approached by match-fixers — an average of 11.9 percent across the region, with spikes in Greece (30 percent) and Kazakhstan (34 percent). In Russia — host of the 2018 World Cup — about 10 percent of players had been approached to throw a game.
In four nations — the Czech Republic, Greece, Russia and Kazakhstan — at least 43 percent of players said they knew about tainted games in their leagues.
Almost 40 percent of the eastern European players who reported being asked to fix a game also said they had been victims of violence.
Zimbabwe's national team players were threatened at gunpoint in the dressing room and ordered to lose matches by their own football officials in 2009, the country's new federation chief, Jonathan Mashingaidze, said in an interview in December.
Sometimes the threat comes from a teammate. In Italy, a goalkeeper under heavy pressure from organized crime to fix a game in 2010 resorted to drugging several of his teammates so they would play badly. They did — and one even crashed his car after the match, prompting a police investigation that uncovered the fix.
Former player Mario Cizmek of Croatia says he agreed to fix one match in 2011 after he and his teammates had not been paid by his club for more than a year. That led to repeated demands by the fixer, a well-known former coach who used to drink at the same bar as Cizmek's team. It was a classic case of a trusted acquaintance approaching a player to throw a match — a method that Forrest's report says is used often.
"As a sportsman, I know I destroyed everything, but at the time I was only thinking about my family and setting things right," Cizmek said in an interview.
Now broke, unemployed and divorced, Cizmek has been sentenced to 10 months in jail by a court in Zagreb.
Because scoring in football is so low, its referees have an outsized influence on the game. In a Jan. 22 memo, FIFA urged its members to demand that referees tell football authorities immediately about "any suspicious situations, contact or information."
"Our global experience is that referees and assistant referees are the primary target of match-fixers," the memo said.
FIFA has been trying to improve its referee ranks with more training and taking proactive measures such as paying referees with checks instead of cash.
Dmitrovic said when fixed games in Serbia were not going according to plan, corrupt referees would step in with questionable calls to "achieve the desired result."
"The referees always knew what was going on," he said.
Tainted referees also are believed to be at the heart of one or more games involving South Africa in 2010, with a FIFA report in December finding "compelling evidence" of match-fixing.
In 2011, two friendly matches in the Turkish beach resort of Antalya — one between Bolivia and Latvia, the other between Bulgaria and Estonia — appeared suspicious when all seven goals came from penalty kicks awarded by referees. The German magazine Stern later reported that $6.9 million was wagered on the Bulgarian game alone.
FIFA banned the six eastern European officials involved in those games for life.
Officials who govern the sport can't stop match-fixing by themselves and need the cooperation of law enforcement bodies and governments across borders, said Schenk of Transparency International.
Noble, the Interpol chief, agreed.
"It's definitely beyond and above the world of sport, above and beyond FIFA," he said. "It's fair to say we haven't caught up to the scale of the problem."
During the 2010 World Cup, police in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand arrested more than 5,000 people in Interpol-organized raids on nearly 800 illegal gambling dens. Interpol organized other raids in 2011 and 2012, but does not make arrests or conduct national investigations itself.
Schenk and the players' union say football authorities must also make sure their own ranks are free of corruption. One World Cup ticket scandal was linked to the family of a senior FIFA vice president while the former head of Zimbabwe's football federation is accused in a corruption scam.
"There is a strong link between good governance in the bodies that run sports and the sport organizations' credibility in the fight against match-fixing," Schenk wrote in a commentary. "Unless sport organizations are accountable and transparent, they will not have the authority to tackle the problem."
Both Schenk and FIFA chief Blatter say whistleblowers must also be protected better.
In 2011, Italian defender Simone Farina turned down a fixer's offer of $261,500 to throw a game and reported it to police, setting off an investigation that led to scores of arrests. Despite being honored by FIFA, he found himself shunned by many in Italy who considered him a snitch.
"I said no because my immediate thoughts were of my wife, son and daughter," Farina said. "How could I look them in the eye if I said yes? What kind of husband and father would I be?"
Cizmek — the Croatian player who said he took $26,100 but handed back all but about $650 to police — says his scars from match-fixing will last a lifetime.
"This turned my life upside down," he said. "I should have just taken my football shoes and hung them on the wall and said 'Thank you, guys' and gone on to do something else."


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In addition to medications and surgery, radioactive iodine is a treatment option for certain types of hyperthyroidism.
Radioactive Iodine (Radioiodine)
Radioactive iodine is taken by mouth and absorbed by the thyroid gland. Once in the gland, it gives off radiation that damages the thyroid cells and slows thyroid hormone production. The radioactive iodine that is not taken up in the thyroid leaves the body within 2-3 days, primarily through the urine and other bodily fluids.
Calculating the correct dose of radioactive iodine is complicated. It must be done by a trained specialist. Alternatively, many doctors give a standard dose of radioactive iodine. The biological effects of radiation vary among different people, and the length of time it takes to cure hyperthyroidism varies greatly, as well.
This treatment is effective in up to 90% of people with Graves disease after 2 months. But, in some, it may take as long as 6 months. A few people may require a second or even third treatment. This happens more commonly in men, people under the age of 40 years, and those with large goiters . After treatment with radioactive iodine, the size of the thyroid gland may shrink.
The side effects of radioactive iodine treatment include:
- Neck pain or soreness
- Soreness of the salivary glands, which are located on the side of the mouth
- Worsening of hyperthyroid symptoms for a few days
- Worsening of the eye disease in Graves disease, especially in smokers—if you smoke , radioactive iodine may be avoided
- Change in taste
After this treatment, there is a chance that you may develop hypothyroidism , a condition marked by too little thyroid hormone in the blood. This may develop as early as 2 months or as late as 20 years after treatment. The risk decreases after the first year, and each year after. Because of this, it's important to see your doctor as recommended during the first year to have regular thyroid function testing. Treatment for hypothyroidism involves taking a replacement thyroid hormone.
- If you are pregnant or nursing, radioactive treatment is not an option. It may harm the thyroid of the fetus or child.
- If you are a woman of childbearing age, you should have a negative pregnancy test prior to the treatment. You should then use a contraceptive method for at least 6 months after the treatment.
- If you are taking an antithyroid drug, it should be stopped before starting the radioiodine to get the best iodine uptake. Your doctor will tell you how far ahead of time to stop the medication.
- If you are aged 65 years and older, or have a heart condition, you may need to take antithyroid drugs for several weeks prior to and after radioactive iodine treatment. This is done to avoid postirradiation thyroiditis, in which there may be too much thyroid hormone released after the procedure.
- The amount of radiation you receive is not dangerous. To be on the safe side, doctors recommend that you do not spend long periods of time with pregnant women or very small children. Most doctors suggest sleeping alone for 2 days and avoiding kissing for 2-3 days. A small amount of radioactive iodine comes out in the saliva.
- If you have an active eye disease related to hyperthyroidism, then you should avoid this treatment.
Bonnema SJ, Bartalena L, Toft AD, Hededus L. Controversies in radioiodine therapy: relation to ophthalmopathy, the possible radioprotective effect of antithyroid drugs, and use in large goiters. Eur J Endocrinol. 2002;147(1):1-11.
Hyperthyroidism and thyrotoxicosis. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at: http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116479/Hyperthyroidism-and-thyrotoxicosis . Updated July 27, 2017. Accessed November 28, 2017.
Vaidya B, Pearce SH. Diagnosis and management of thyrotoxicosis. Brit Med J. 2014;349:g5128.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: EBSCO Medical Review Board James Cornell, MD
- Review Date: 11/2018
- Update Date: 12/20/2014


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ANNE D'INNOCENZIO Tuesday, 02 October 2012 07:31 AM EDT
Americans are expected to spend more during what's traditionally the busiest shopping season of the year, but they're not exactly ready to shop 'til they drop like they have been in the past two years.
The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, said Tuesday that it expects sales during the winter holiday shopping period in November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year. That's more than a percentage point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009 when sales were up just 0.3 percent.
The projections are an important indicator for retailers that depend on the last two months of the year for up to 40 percent of their annual sales. But the estimates also offer valuable insight for economists who closely watch consumer spending, which accounts for up to 70 percent of economic activity.
The holiday shopping season is one gauge of not only the shopping habits, but also the mindset of the average American during what has turned out to be a slow and uneven economic recovery. Right now, people are feeling better about rising home prices and a rebounding stock market, but job growth is still weak and prices for everything from food to gas are higher. At the same time, there's uncertainty about who the next president will be and some Americans worry that the U.S. debt crisis could lead to another recession.
"In all the years, this is the most challenging year doing a forecast," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, based in Washington, D.C. "There are so many uncertainties."
No one's feeling those uncertainties more than U.S. shoppers. Darlene Johnson of Silver Spring, Md., says her outlook has improved in the last few months. The value of her 401(k) retirement plan has risen. Home sales where she lives are up again, and her neighbors are getting higher prices for their houses.
Still, Johnson, who's been grappling with higher food and gas prices, says the economy is still not stable enough for her to splurge during this holiday shopping season. And she's worried about how the debt crisis could affect her.
Johnson says last year, she overindulged and spent about $5,000. It took until this past May to pay down her credit card debt. As a result, this year, she plans to cut her holiday spending to $1,500.
"I felt too much pressure financially," said Johnson, who works for the National Institutes of Health, a government agency that's a conglomerate of research centers. "I am not going to do it to myself again."
It's Americans' worries about the economic uncertainty that led the National Retail Federation to predict slower growth during the winter holiday shopping season than the increase of 5.6 percent and 5.5 percent in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Still, the forecast is higher than the average growth of 3.5 percent for November and December over the past 10 years. And it continues a growth trend that began after holiday sales fell 4.4 percent in 2008 during the middle of the recession. (The federation for the first time is counting online sales and sales from the auto parts and accessories business. It has revised every year's forecast from 2000 to reflect the change.)
The federation's forecast also is still more optimistic than the International Council of Shopping Centers, a mall trade group that last week said it predicts a 2.9 percent increase. It's also higher than the 3.3 percent growth estimated by ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based analyzer of retail foot traffic, last month.
The forecasts come as retailers wrap up what's expected to be a strong back-to-school shopping season. There have been no official numbers out on sales for that shopping period, which is typically the second biggest shopping season of the year and a barometer for what people are willing to spend during the winter holidays. But Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, said he expects revenue at stores opened at least a year to be up 5 percent for the combined August and September months.
But predicting holiday spending is never easy. Take last year's holiday period. Overall sales were strong, but sales don't tell the whole story: Retailers' profits were eroded because they had to do a lot of discounting to get shoppers to spend, particularly during the final weeks before Christmas.
And all the economic variables that will likely have an impact on this year's shopping season make predicting sales that much more difficult. Among them, the worry that the U.S. economy will fall off into another recession next year. That's when tax increases and deep spending cuts will take effect unless Congress reaches a budget deal.
Retailers and economists are hoping history doesn't repeat itself. The last time there was such a budget battle, in August 2011, it ended with the country losing its top credit rating, nervous investors fleeing the stock market, and shoppers taking a break from buying.
Still, Americans are more optimistic than they have been in a long time. Consumers' confidence rose to a seven-month high in September even as the unemployment rate has been stuck at around 8 percent, according to the Conference Board. Gallup Poll, which tracks consumer confidence daily, also registered a pickup in confidence last month to the highest level since May. The upcoming presidential election seems to be having an impact on how shoppers' view the economy, economists say.
Adding to that, Americans have seen their stock portfolios grow as The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has surged more than 15 percent this year. And national home prices were up in July 1.2 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller index released last week. That's the second straight year-over-year gain after two years without one.
Still, some economists question whether the higher level of confidence among Americans is sustainable. Confidence has been bouncing around since the recession and the current level is still well below what's considered healthy. Moreover, the spike in confidence has yet to translate into a surge in spending.
"You have to be confident to spend, but because you're confident doesn't necessarily mean you'll spend," said Dennis Jacobe, chief economist at Gallup Poll.
For their part, retailers already are being cautious. John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says retailers are expected to increase holiday hiring by 6 percent to about 700,000 for the October through December period compared with a year ago, when that figure was 660,200. That's well above the 324,900 hired during the financial meltdown in 2008, but still below the 746,800 level in pre-recession 2006, and well under the nearly 850,000 seasonal workers hired during the height of the dot.com boom in 1999. NRF predicts merchants will hire between 585,000 and 625,000 seasonal workers for the holidays. That's in line with last year's 607,000, according to the trade group's measure.
And they're already starting to offer enticements to lure holiday shoppers. Kmart, a division of Sears Holdings Corp., Toys R Us and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have announced last month they're either lowering or waiving the upfront services fees for their interest-free pay-over-time program. All three said the moves were in response to complaints from shoppers.
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I was so excited for this review. For a while, I've heard about the amazingness known as SugarPill Cosmetics and I finally had the chance to test out some of their products. This year at IMATS, I met the wonderful Amy aka Shrinkle, owner of SugarPill. She was super nice and sent me some goodies to try out after. You all know I love me some bright colors so this line was right up my alley.
To see my review, click here!
Check out my video review!
A+ for packaging! It's obvious that the packaging was meticulously created to convey the SugarPill lifestyle. Even the boxes are super cute. If I saw this on a shelf at Sephora, for example, I would immediately pick it up at least to look at the design. The boxes don't have the names of the product printed on them but I heard that this change will come in the future. The pressed shadows, loose shadows, and palettes are all especially created for this brand. There are no cheap stickers which would give you the idea that this is a repackaged brand from a private labeling company.
ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadows $12
These are just too gorgeous. You get a lot of products and the colors are magical. A lot of them seem to contain a type of reflects glitter which makes the pigment sparkle. Be careful because many of these are filled to the brim and you don't want any spillage. These loose shadows are super vibrant. Some of the colors require a bit of patting to get an even coat...you can also foil them to achieve a uniform coat.
Absinthe: Gorgeous lime green shade with lots of greenish/yellow shimmer.
Decora: Another hot pink, yay! This one is a little softer than Dollipop eyeshadow. It's a hot pink with blue reflects glitter.
Goldlilux: Hands down, this is the prettiest Gold pigment ever. It swatches as super pigmented and has a metallic sheen with super tiny glitters that just shine. Great as a body shimmer too!
Hysteric: This metallic purple shade is more subtle than Poison Plum eyeshadow. It's a metallic shade with a reflects teal glitter.
Royal Sugar: I love gorgeous blue shadows. This is a royal blue with gorgeous turquoise shimmers. Gawjus!
Starling: Super shimmery turquoise blue with lots of shine...can you say bright pop of color on the lower lashline?
Pressed Eyeshadows $12
I received Poison Plum to test out. It's been toted as a possible MUFE 92 dupe. It has more of a blue undertone than the MUFE version but it's just as great. It's insanely pigmented but watch out because you'll most likely get a little stainage from it due to the carmine in the ingredients (thanks Amy for the tidbit of knowledge!). The pan is huge and I love the clear lid so you can see what color you're getting. This is my favorite color in the bunch.
4-Color Pressed Eyeshadow Palette $34
I received the quad in Sweetheart which contained the colors Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori, and Tako. I think Amy picked this one out for me because I told her I loved hot pink.
Dollipop: Super bright hot pink in a matte shade. Really pigmented. Not chalky.
Afterparty: Gorgeous marine blue color. It has a bit of a metallic sheen which makes it even more gorgeous. My favor color in the bunch.
Midori: Vibrant green shade with a bit of sheen...very much the color of the drink Midori Sour.
Tako: This is a pure white matte shade. It's a good balance to the other bright colors to use as a highlight or to help with blending.
The palette itself is made of durable cardboard with the SugarPill design on front. This is a great value for the eyeshadows. If you're trying to build up your colors, this is the most cost effective way is through the palettes. They contain the same shadows that are available in the pressed color design. There's a large mirror which is handy for travel and daily use.
-super cute packaging
-large eyeshadow pans
-extremely pigmented
-original designs and products
-fun, bright colors
-affordable for the amount of product you get
-hot pink and purple colors stain lids (not unusual though, the carmine in intense makeup colors like these often does...my MUFE 92 always stains)
-loose eyeshadows don't have a sifter and can spill...in my packaging there was a tiny bit of dust that had leaked
-outside packaging, the boxes, don't have the names written on them
-not a lot of neutrals (not yet!)
Would I Buy?
I would definitely recommend this line. If you're a bright color lover, this is a definite. If you're into neutrals, you could always pick up some colors to do the bright pop of color on the lashline technique. Some of the loose shadows like Goldilux are also very wearable. SugarPill has really made a splash in the world of cosmetics where many companies were seeming like drones of one another. This company really stands out with its innovative design and products. The prices are affordable enough to try out at least some of their products. I feel like their bright matte shadows are comparable to MUFE but at a fraction of the price. We always wait for MAC to have limited edition collections with super bright colors but SugarPill has them now and they're not going anywhere. I see big things for this line and I know they plan on doing more products. Can't wait!
You can find these products at http://www.sugarpillshop.com/. Definitely check out the site. It's very bright, fun and easy to navigate. There are even real swatches for the shades. Each delivery comes in a special SugarPill box which also contains some of their nifty logo stickers.
They have an amazing shipping offer which is only $5 flat rate on U.S. Orders. Free worldwide shipping on orders over $75.
Amy has generously agreed to sponsor a giveaway for my lovely readers, yay! I will be giving away 5 Poison Plum Pressed eyeshadows and 5 Goldilux Loose Shadows. That means that 10 of you will walk away with something, yay! Here's how to win:
- Follow my blog, Subscribe to my YouTube, and Follow me on Twitter...I will have a giveaway on each of these sites. You can enter on all three to increase your chances of winning.
- YouTube Entry: Leave a comment on the video wall telling me which product you'd like to win (either Poison Plum or Goldilux) and why. I'll pick two winners of each.
- Blogger Entry: Leave a comment on this post telling me which product you'd like to win (either Poison Plum or Goldilux) and why. I'll pick two winners of each.
- Twitter Entry: At a random point during the week I will have a giveaway asking a trivia question. First to answer correctly wins. I'll do two giveaways - one for Poison Plum and the other for Goldilux.
- Open to International Participants
- Winners must email me at email@example.com to claim their prizes within 1 week of winner announcement or the prize will go to someone else
FTC Disclosure: Products provided for review. I am not affiliated with the company and not paid to write this review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.
Atlanta Makeup Artist


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Oh. Well, as long as it's printed on the label, then I guess it's Ok. Remember, if you don't eat your Patriotic Donut Holes, the terrorists win!
Although now that I'm looking at these things, I do see a problem: There are only red and white donut holes. No blue! Don't think I don't see what's going on here, either. That's right, Canada: I'm watching you.
Those are rather generic for Patriot Day, though, don't you think? Can we get something a little more...I dunno, holiday-specific?
Oh yes, they did. The twin towers...on a cupcake cake. (Patooie!) Wow. And...fireworks? Um. Ohhh kaaay. (Let the debate begin, again!)
Right, maybe we should head back into the generic territory:
to work out with teensy little dumbbells. Or turn that frown upside down - twice. Or maybe just enroll in an art class. (Uncle Sam can be a little hard to understand sometimes.)
Hm. Look, there has to be a middle ground between donut holes and icing depictions of the towers, right? How about just a nice, uplifting, appropriately-worded sentiment?
- Related Wreckage: A Cake Wrecks Salute


text:
Learning About Proteins
Article Translations: (Spanish)
You probably know you need to eat protein, but what is it? Many foods contain protein (say: PRO-teen), but the best sources are beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and legumes like black beans and lentils.
Protein builds, maintains, and replaces the tissues in your body. (Not the tissues you blow your nose in! We mean the stuff your body's made up of.) Your muscles, your organs, and your immune system are made up mostly of protein.
Your body uses the protein you eat to make lots of specialized protein molecules that have specific jobs. For instance, your body uses protein to make hemoglobin (say: HEE-muh-glow-bin), the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to every part of your body.
Other proteins are used to build cardiac muscle. What's that? Your heart! In fact, whether you're running or just hanging out, protein is doing important work like moving your legs, carrying oxygen to your body, and protecting you from disease.
All About Amino Acids
When you eat foods that contain protein, the digestive juices in your stomach and intestine go to work. They break down the protein in food into basic units, called amino (say: uh-MEE-no) acids. The amino acids then can be reused to make the proteins your body needs to maintain muscles, bones, blood, and body organs.
Proteins are sometimes described as long necklaces with differently shaped beads. Each bead is a small amino acid. These amino acids can join together to make thousands of different proteins. Scientists have found many different amino acids in protein, but 22 of them are very important to human health.
Of those 22 amino acids, your body can make 13 of them without you ever thinking about it. Your body can't make the other nine amino acids, but you can get them by eating protein-rich foods. They are called essential amino acids because it's essential that you get them from the foods you eat.
Different Kinds of Protein
Protein from animal sources, such as meat and milk, is called complete, because it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. Most vegetable protein is considered incomplete because it lacks one or more of the essential amino acids. This can be a concern for someone who doesn't eat meat or milk products. But people who eat a vegetarian diet can still get all their essential amino acids by eating a wide variety of protein-rich vegetable foods.
For instance, you can't get all the amino acids you need from peanuts alone, but if you have peanut butter on whole-grain bread, you're set. Likewise, red beans won't give you everything you need, but red beans and rice will do the trick.
The good news is that you don't have to eat all the essential amino acids in every meal. As long as you have a variety of protein sources throughout the day, your body will grab what it needs from each meal.
How Much Is Enough?
You can figure out how much protein you need if you know how much you weigh. Each day, kids need to eat about 0.5 grams of protein for every pound (0.5 kilograms) they weigh. That's a gram for every 2 pounds (1 kilogram) you weigh. Your protein needs will grow as you get bigger, but then they will level off when you reach adult size. Adults, for instance, need about 60 grams per day.
To figure out your protein needs, multiply your weight in pounds times 0.5 or you can just take your weight and divide by 2. For instance, a 70-pound (or 32-kilogram) kid should have about 35 grams of protein every day. If you only know your weight in kilograms, you need about 1 gram of protein each day for every kilogram you weigh.
You can look at a food label to find out how many protein grams are in a serving. But if you're eating a balanced diet, you don't need to keep track of it. It's pretty easy to get enough protein. Here's an example of how a kid might get about 35 grams of protein in a day:
- 2 tablespoons (15 milliliters) peanut butter (7 grams protein)
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) low-fat milk (8 grams protein)
- 1 ounce (30 grams) or two domino-size pieces of cheddar cheese (7 grams protein)
- 1.5 ounces (90 grams) chicken breast (10.5 grams protein)
- ½ cup (80 grams) broccoli (2 grams protein)
Of course, you can choose your own favorite combination of protein-rich foods — now that you're a pro at protein!
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2024 KidsHealth ® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com


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Pink Tulle Tablecloth For Children's Size Table
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Tablecloth fit 4ft trestle table at the lowest height (55cm).
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text:
Friday, August 15, 2008
Gosh, Kermit, I Think I'd Get That Looked At...
Friday, August 15, 2008
The store selling these cakes (oh yes, there are more!) claims that they are watermelons.
As you can see from this other example, the "slice" appears to have drifted southward over time, resulting in the truly unfortunate and rather alarming spectacle you see here. In fact, this guy could be the new spokesman for certain "personal care" items, don't you think? Can't you just see him bouncing across your television screen, his squeaky voice telling you to "ask your doctor if HerpAway is right for you!"?
Thanks to Bahktin for the pic, originally posted here.
115 comments | Post a Comment
- Caitybug22 said...
Hey Jen,
I have a really ugly cake from our rehersal dinner. How do i send it to you?
email@example.com - August 15, 2008 at 8:15 AM
haha, the red part is supposed to be the guts?
- August 15, 2008 at 8:18 AM
- Wonderful World of Weiners said...
If I was that frog, I'd get those black bumpy spots looked at!
Hallie - August 15, 2008 at 8:28 AM
- Bonnie said...
Hi, Just wanted you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed this blog. My SIL hooked my up with it. I used to be a cake decorator, so I can appreciated this whole site. It's amazing what some people and some decorators can do (or not do) to a cake. Thanks for sharing.
- August 15, 2008 at 8:31 AM
- Nosnin said...
I'm speechless...
Tracy - August 15, 2008 at 8:33 AM
- bendygirl said...
OMG, I think I must now always start my day with a cake wreck! You brighten my day with the social commentary and the pics, OMG, I just keep laughing so hard, I cry. Wonder if I could get that printed on a cake.
I have to also admit, I've NEVER EVER had these experiences with cakes. What I've ordered has always come out correctly. So seeing these things, well, it just becomes that much more funny!!
Thank you for making my day!! - August 15, 2008 at 8:36 AM
- The Courteous Chihuahua said...
ah, Jen...you make me laugh. That picture makes me itchy.
- August 15, 2008 at 8:42 AM
The cake itself looks kind of worried.
- August 15, 2008 at 8:51 AM
- R said...
Win. - August 15, 2008 at 8:59 AM
- Kelli said...
I was looking up information on watermelons and I read that the "flesh consists of highly developed placental tissue within the fruit."
Between that quote and that picture, I'm never eating watermelon again. - August 15, 2008 at 9:02 AM
- V. Nicharico said...
LOL!! I could probably get that it's a watermelon if it didn't have, you know, great bulging eyes or arms and legs ;p
Like that, it just looks like a very unfortunate female critter that really needs to visit her gynecologist!! - August 15, 2008 at 9:03 AM
oh dear Kermit has Herpes!
- August 15, 2008 at 9:08 AM
Ewwww... that's so horrid! They need to fire that cakemaker. First of all, why does the watermelon have eyes and arms? It's clearly a vagina when you add body parts!
- August 15, 2008 at 9:12 AM
- Gayle said...
Once again, your blog has made me laugh until I cried. Thank you for making me smile first thing this morning!
http://www.gayletrent.com - August 15, 2008 at 9:23 AM
- A said...
Okay, before reading about the pic, I tried to decide if it was a very bad Kermit or if it was an OLIVE! Watermelon?? NEVER! Happy Friday and cheers! ~holds up coffee~
- August 15, 2008 at 9:28 AM
- ella fae said...
Besides laughing at their idea of how you cut watermelons, I find it wholly disturbing that they thought it was a good idea to make the watermelon a "person." I mean, it's one thing to eat a cake that looks like a My Little Pony (one of my first birthday cakes growing up) but it's something else to have a watermelon-man frosted so that it looks he's committing seppuku.
- August 15, 2008 at 10:01 AM
- mommy skonovd said...
um yeah. and what exactly is that supposed to be?!?! and who would buy it?!? it looks like a really bad groom's cake!
- August 15, 2008 at 10:06 AM
- Courtney said...
I am not sure of the last time I saw a watermellon with eyes?? Thanks for the laughs keep them comming:)
- August 15, 2008 at 10:12 AM
And I just THOUGHT the feet cakes
were disgusting.
Who would do that to an innocent cake? - August 15, 2008 at 10:15 AM
- Amber / Obsidian Dragon said...
You know, it wouldn't be that bad if it ditched the limbs and the eyes.
But with them...
....ew. I'd buy one just for the hilarity, but it would be 'fun' trying to force myself to eat it. - August 15, 2008 at 10:24 AM
I'd still rather eat this one than the faeces-and-flies cake, but ... - August 15, 2008 at 10:25 AM
I'm not sure this will get approved but all I can think is "vagina"! Especially the one in the link.
My goodness this is indeed a wreck. - August 15, 2008 at 10:32 AM
- M is for... said...
ok - having just spent that last 20 minutes digging through this new gem that is your blog...
Oh my god...
that's too much - the second cake looked like an evil alien va-jay-jay.
eesh! - August 15, 2008 at 10:38 AM
- Katie Alender said...
Horrific! I'm with Amy, it looks like an olive to me. But no matter what it is, it's wrong, wrong, a thousand times wrong. - August 15, 2008 at 10:52 AM
- Amy said...
Oh dear!
- August 15, 2008 at 11:05 AM
- M said...
I have a picture of our Super Bowl cake from years ago....we said to write Pittsburgh "Steelers" and when we went to pick it up it said, "STEALERS!" We took it home like that....would you like a picture? - August 15, 2008 at 11:13 AM
- mom said...
Nevermind the fact that if someone was feeling in a watermelon state of mind that they could...eat. a. watermelon.
Isn't a watermelon cake a little bizarre? Unless of course you own a watermelon farm, have just been crowned the county watermelon princess queen, or some such. - August 15, 2008 at 11:21 AM
- Manders said...
Hmmm...Poor Kermit!!
- August 15, 2008 at 11:29 AM
- Tristan said...
If they claim this is a watermelon....why add legs and eyes...OMG, It would have been much better without..lol!
- August 15, 2008 at 11:56 AM
- The Chubby One said...
Why do I feel like they couldn't make up their mind about the cake? Were they going for a frog or were they going for a watermelon? These are two things that SHOULD NOT be mixed.
Watermelons should never have eyes and hands, especially if you are going to cut them open.
My next question...people actually buy these cakes? - August 15, 2008 at 12:04 PM
if its suppose to be a watermelo, then why the arms and legs??? Wierd!
Love your blog these cakes are hilarious
http://newlyweds.wordpress.com/ - August 15, 2008 at 12:18 PM
- Me said...
i have to order a cake in a few weeks, and part of me hopes it turns out awful so i can submit it to you! :) But since it's for a child's baptism, I hope it is just what i order.
Thank you for making me laugh each day! - August 15, 2008 at 12:21 PM
- whywouldyouknitthat said...
I am wondering:
1. Have they actually sold any of these cakes?!
2. Exactly what occasion are these cakes appropriate for? I am afraid to ask! - August 15, 2008 at 12:27 PM
- JP said...
In a very sick way, it is kinda cute :s
- August 15, 2008 at 12:29 PM
- Mag said...
Since when do watermelons have eyes? Or vaginas for that matter?
I think those spots need medical attention STAT. - August 15, 2008 at 12:39 PM
- jengersnap said...
Awesome, I know what to bring to the next office pot luck!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:14 PM
You just keep topping the gross factor! My gosh, WHAT ARE PEOPLE THINKING!!!!!!!!!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:15 PM
This is so wrong. So very, very wrong. A watermelon? Please. That is a sick and perverted frog!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:20 PM
- yayadesigns said...
Honestly, I dont know which picture was worse..1 or 2? 1 looked like a whole body shot and the 2nd one looked like a closeup!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:21 PM
- Amy Ellen said...
WOW, I can't stop laughing, that is sooo bad. Not to mention ewww who would want to eat that. And no it oes NOT look like a watermelon. Yuck....
Amy - August 15, 2008 at 1:22 PM
- Faith said...
Ok, even if it is supposed to look like a watermelon, I don't see why it has to have arms, legs, and buggy eyeballs put on it. What kind of freaky watermelons did they eat at THAT GUY'S house growing up???
My watermelons were appendageless, couldn't look at me, and didn't have gaping wounds that kinda of deter one from wanting to eat them.
People are so freaking WEIRD! - August 15, 2008 at 1:25 PM
- Cassie said...
Oh. God.
Can't. Breathe.
Must. Stop. Laughing. (That cake in the link is pretty horrifying too, but this one really... er... takes the cake.) - August 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM
*tilts head to the side* why would a watermelon need arms legs and eyes? Thats disturbing in of itself.
That is one creepy design.
~Kia - August 15, 2008 at 1:50 PM
- MaryO said...
Words fail me, I'm laughing too hard. If I were a kid, I would be afraid of that cake. If I were a 14 year old boy ---- I shudder to think... You've outdone yourself and THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:58 PM
heck, put this one together with yesterday's "no sexual harassment" cake and you've got yourself a party! an awkward, awkward, party.
- August 15, 2008 at 2:13 PM
- Dea said...
That is wrong on so many levels.
And the other example pic with the higher location of the *ahem* bits - is even naughtier - like some cartoon vulva for a health class....
Do some people just not look at the anatomies of humans??? Are they that clueless as to what "it" looks like "down there"??? - August 15, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Maybe it might have been more believable if they'd made the dark green and light green lines that are on watermelon. And if they'd neglected to give it arms, legs, and googly eyes. And if they'd made the "cut" bit a bit sharper instead of a jagged gash.... Maybe...?
- August 15, 2008 at 2:30 PM
I thought at first that this was just the first step toward bringing together the horrible pregnant cakes with the baby butt cakes :-)
- August 15, 2008 at 2:35 PM
- Trevor said...
I agree with Amy_D. Before trying to read what it was SUPPOSED to be, I wanted to figure out what it is. I thought it was an olive as well. I never figured it for a watermellon. OMG! I love it.
I've been sharing this site with co-workers. It is providing us a good laugh each day. keep it up. - August 15, 2008 at 2:52 PM
- Kristin Coppee said...
Thanks for the laughs. A friend turned me onto your blog and I laugh so hard I cry sometimes.
- August 15, 2008 at 3:25 PM
This cake is horrid. Makes me never want to eat cake again!
- August 15, 2008 at 3:34 PM
- ktmay said...
disturb-me-a....i love your blog. you're stinkin' funny as all get out.
- August 15, 2008 at 3:35 PM
- Trini said...
The ruffles around the ..bits...make it even worse.
- August 15, 2008 at 3:51 PM
- Angela said...
That's - that's - that's - what the heck is that?!?
- August 15, 2008 at 3:51 PM
- Unknown said...
Oh dear. I just finished going through your archives with one hand half covering my eyes. A futile attempt to shield myself from the horror, but an entertaining time nonetheless. Thanks for the laughs!
Bri - August 15, 2008 at 4:06 PM
- CaliGirl9 said...
This cake looks like an autopsy in progress.
- August 15, 2008 at 5:04 PM
- N + I + K + I said...
they could have lied and called it an OLIVE!! :)
(under neat that)
LOVE THIS SITE !! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! :) - August 15, 2008 at 5:15 PM
I checked this out this morning and laughed so hard my husband came to see what was happening. I came back this afternoon to see if it was still as bad....It is! Still laughing. NO Body is eating that cake! HerpesRUs
- August 15, 2008 at 5:38 PM
- Freezair said...
There's no way that's not intentional. No way. Someone must be very bored and trying to cheese someone off. How could you make something like that and NOT realize... *headshake*
- August 15, 2008 at 6:08 PM
- e said...
Hi! I stumbled over here from JustJennRants, and you totally killed all productivity for the last oh, 20 minutes.
Thanks! - August 15, 2008 at 6:16 PM
- lady jicky said...
I cannot stop laughing!
- August 15, 2008 at 8:15 PM
- Fancy That said...
hubby and i laughed so hard, we're in tears!
- August 15, 2008 at 8:18 PM
- dmoss said...
That's an absolute riot!
- August 15, 2008 at 8:39 PM
- Tintin said...
Yeah, yeah, it kinda looks like a green vag. What it reeaaaally looks like to me is one of the Troggles from the Number Munchers computer game. I was a little bit afraid of them in elementary school, and so I'm also afraid of this damned cake. D:
- August 15, 2008 at 8:55 PM
Poor Kermit :(
- August 15, 2008 at 9:08 PM
- Arlene said...
OMG... I'm speechless
- August 15, 2008 at 9:12 PM
- cakehouse said...
my eyes are tearing, my stomach hurts from laughing, and i drooled on my keyboard.
thank you.
this site is amazing. - August 15, 2008 at 9:26 PM
- lislynn said...
OMG, this blog is freakin' hiLARious! Am posting about it tonight on my own blog to spread the word!!
- August 15, 2008 at 9:33 PM
That is really disturbing...
- August 15, 2008 at 9:44 PM
- The Lunar Fox said...
"Ask your doctor if HerpAway is right for you!"
Hahahaha... I love your commentary. The cakes are very amusing indeed, but often it's your commentary I end up quoting out loud to go along with the cake that makes my significant other chuckle or outright laugh. XD - August 15, 2008 at 11:08 PM
You know, I kind of want to make a "gash" joke, but even I'm not quite that crude.
- August 15, 2008 at 11:42 PM
- Tamlynn said...
Thank you for this blog! My husband and I have read a few entries every day this week and have gone through the whole blog.
Last week, my husband seriously injured his eye. I won't gross you out with the details. He is homebound and pretty miserable. My friend told me about your blog, and it has helped keep his spirits up. I scroll to the cake wreck picture, he squints at it with his good eye,(go ahead and laugh, it IS funny) and then I read your awesome comments to him. You have us roflol.
Thanks! - August 16, 2008 at 12:02 AM
I read your blog for nearly an hour. I think it's very intelligent, and very specific, which means good reading! Love for you to check out my blog, which is about writing & bizarre sights in Chicago and New Jersey. I hope you'll find it as entertaining as I found yours,
Stephanie - August 16, 2008 at 12:55 AM
- Steven said...
Oh, wow. I found this site through Best Week Ever, and now am an avid reader. This is the first time that I am posting, though. Let me say... these cakes are hilarious, and your commentary is fantastic.
Please, PLEASE! Keep up the good work!
And that cake... ROFLMAO. That is just BAD. - August 16, 2008 at 1:20 AM
- Sleepwalker said...
'HerpAway' *snorts* Heeeee! Pure gold.
At any point whatsoever did a bakery manager say gosh, maybe we should rethink placing this cake on the shelf for customers to view (much less consider buying)?
Someone stuck in the dim recesses of a bakery apparently believes negative attention is better than no attention at all. - August 16, 2008 at 1:45 AM
- Sue said...
First time here. I've added you to my favs and linked you on my blog. Great stuff!
I think they might make a cream for that malady Kermie has! - August 16, 2008 at 10:27 AM
- Dalton said...
That is unfortunate. Kermit has a gaping hole.
http://phelpssaveschildren.blogspot.com - August 16, 2008 at 11:56 AM
i just found this site and wasted my morning looking through every post. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.
- August 16, 2008 at 1:18 PM
- Katie said...
Oh my goodness!! I just found your blog. Thank you for some great laughs. What a funny way to start out my morning. I love it.
- August 16, 2008 at 1:35 PM
- Invernessca said...
your site is one of the funniest I read, and now my teenager and her friends are hooked as well. It was the sasha cake...her name is sasha and she's about to leave for her first year of college, so I used the cake wreck as part of a good-bye card--we're all devoted fans now. thank you for your efforts and wit.
- August 16, 2008 at 1:39 PM
- Christy said...
The funniest thing to me is the expression and body language (can you call it that?)of the little guy...uh,gal...
It looks really confused.
I can't imagine why. - August 16, 2008 at 3:02 PM
- Chilly said...
I've just discovered your blog via D-Listed Decor and spent the past hour reading every single post. To a blog-junkie like me, this one is pure smack... The sugar-frosted kind!!
By the way, that frog/watermelon cake is embarrassingly bad. The naughty implications are .. wow. - August 16, 2008 at 3:44 PM
- Unknown said...
It may be a bit off topic, but go to www.rosebudcakes.com if you want to see the best cake design studio in the country!
- August 16, 2008 at 4:37 PM
- Erin said...
oooh, kermit's naughty bits have spots!
you make me laugh till I pee.
keep 'em coming! - August 16, 2008 at 4:49 PM
oh my gosh. that is hilarious!!!!
- August 16, 2008 at 5:52 PM
- Janet said...
The photo came from a Fred Meyer store, and I shop at that chain regularly. I will _so_ be checking out the cake section!
- August 16, 2008 at 7:58 PM
- purple-goat said...
I've suddenly lost my appetite. Who would've thought that both cake and watermelon could suddenly become un-appetizing? :)
- August 16, 2008 at 8:36 PM
- Jessica said...
The shocked "watermelon" eyes are really what sells it. It reminds me of the "congratulations on becoming a woman" cake we used for a prop in a play once. If only we'd thought of giving the cake a vagina!
- August 16, 2008 at 8:58 PM
So glad I found your blog ...needed the laugh. Off to send your link to everyone!
http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com - August 16, 2008 at 11:11 PM
Sweet lord, this blog is brilliant. I LOL-ed, literally. Nice work.
- August 17, 2008 at 8:24 AM
- Hannah said...
i freaking love this blog. you should update more!
- August 17, 2008 at 1:01 PM
- moonfire photography said...
My son, who will be 3 in October, just pointed at the "watermelon" cake and said "LOOK! It's a FROG!" *giggle*
- August 17, 2008 at 5:20 PM
- August 18, 2008 at 8:40 AM
And I guess it never occurred to these geniuses to make the red slash go horizontally like a mouth, rather than slapping it down right between the "legs"?
- August 18, 2008 at 12:12 PM
- Langston said...
HAHAHAHA No the red part looks like Kermit has a Vagigi ahahahha Disgusting. This is like a bad Digitalfuntown.com joke . . . Hilarious.
http://www.digitalfuntown.com/showpage.php?showid=5 - August 18, 2008 at 12:19 PM
- A. said...
Thanks so much for your blog. You actually made me laugh out loud this morning. I'm featuring your blog on my Squidoo birthday cake lens at:
Keep up the great work!! - - August 18, 2008 at 12:41 PM
- Miranda said...
Oh! Lord have mercy.
- August 18, 2008 at 1:08 PM
- ad said...
Can we just be glad that there isn't a wee marzipan baby being squeezed out?
- August 18, 2008 at 1:58 PM
- Dan D. said...
Wow, I didn't realize that Kermit had one of those... It- uh..
I'm going to have to see a therapist now, to reevaluate my formative years watching Sesame Street and to rid my mind of the images of angry black specks peering at me from a puppet frog's vagina. - August 18, 2008 at 2:14 PM
This blog will definitely curb my sweet tooth if there are more like this one. Do these cake decorators have any brain cells?
Gail - August 18, 2008 at 4:04 PM
I've heard of watermelons being used as... er, sex toys for boys. Which brings a new dimension to the question, "Who was this intended for?" Especially with the addition of eyes, arms, and legs.
- August 18, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Too, too funny! I wonder if Kermit here and the "cold sore" cake are related. A sort of before and after, maybe?
- August 20, 2008 at 9:11 AM
You call this cake a "He"? Man, it's quite obviously a woman. With black spots in her... fruit meat...
- August 20, 2008 at 6:07 PM
The apocalypse will begin in 3, 2, 1...
- August 21, 2008 at 3:20 PM
- Pea and Pear said...
oooh tooo funny!! I am still laughing !! A flash of that image will come into my head and I will be fent into fits of laughter. Such a fun blog. yippee!!!!
- August 28, 2008 at 3:24 AM
- Unknown said...
goatse cake!
- August 29, 2008 at 10:47 AM
whoa! After seeing the first cake I have to say...
why would they move the gash lower???!!!!!
I'm seriously starting to worry about the world.... - September 3, 2008 at 6:09 PM
- Denise said...
Ok that's it...I have officially lost it. This cake has sent me over the edge...and there is no recovering from this.
While I came to work with good intentions I found your blog and began to read. Silly really, how dare I waste company time and money to read another's blog. But hell it's my break time.
I got to this cake and fully understood the reason for waterproof mascara. My boss has gotten up from his desk to find out what the whimpering sound is. Unfortunately it's me trying to surpress my laughter. Yes, since I had tears running down my cheeks I shamelessly let him think I was crying. He meekly walked out telling me to take whatever time I needed.
Thank you for making me laugh. I have shared your blog with many others on another bulletin board. I have encouraged them to all go to a local bakery and order a cake. We are deciding on what it should say. The results should be entertaining to say the least. :) - September 11, 2008 at 1:11 AM
I am literally crying with laughter while trying to be silent incase my family hear me and think I'm laughing at nothing. THANK YOU for making this site. It's really made my day.
- September 19, 2008 at 12:59 PM
- Stephanie said...
My 4-year-old daughter saw this cake and the other one and said "Is that a watermelon cake? A frog watermelon cake?" So.. at least kids first see the watermelon.
- September 21, 2008 at 10:43 AM
- Tara said...
Well, it's certainly better than the evil vortex vagina cake that it previously was! But, do they really need watermelon cakes? Why not one that looks like a slice of watermelon?
- October 8, 2008 at 12:57 PM
eeewwww...i'm an o.b. nurse and that looks frightfully familiar!
- October 28, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Does appear Kermit had a sex change surgery gone very wrong. Poor Kermie.
- December 9, 2008 at 10:47 AM
- Stephanie said...
Hi, I just found out about your blog and I love it! I wondered if you had a picture of the above cake and sure enough, a Google site search revealed this post, sans back story! A friend of mine showed this to me and the story is way better than the cake itself. So here is the original letter that was included with the photo, taken from Rick Emerson's blog (he's a radio show host in Portland, OR).
I was shopping at Fred Meyer last night when I was startled by this vagina cake.
The cake is a watermelon with a slice out of it and all of them except one have big plastic ants on them. This one has eyes, arms and legs and a vagina?? I am a gay man that has never personally seen a vagina and now have a very distorted picture of what a vagina looks like. Do they all have seeds?? My partner thought it looked similar since they raised the frosting around the edge.
Also, I felt like a pervert when I was taking the picture and a lady and her kids were watching me. Or was it the fact that I let her know that, "the cake didn't do anything for me, I just think it's funny." If I go back and buy it I'm definitely going through the uscan.
Thanks, Startled gay in NOPO. - January 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
- Cupcakes Lady said...
lolololol...Kermi had a sex change and is officially 'OUT'!!! lolol Funny funny. What the hell happened?! xx
- October 7, 2010 at 4:14 PM
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A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.
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Field Trip Guide Business Listings
Southwick's Zoo, Mendon, MA
Prepare to be amazed viewing giraffes, lions, tigers, white rhino's, and chimpanzees in our beautiful 200 acres of naturalistic habitats. Southwick's Zoo is home to 850 exotic animals from around the world and our interactive exhibits are fun for all ages. Stroll leisurely through our 35 acre deer forest, where the deer roam free or ride the Woodlands Express train ride through the North American Elk habitat and wetlands. View the African Plains and other animal exhibits from new heights on our Skyfari Skyride.
Learn about your favorite wild animals, such as a kangaroo, armadillo or chameleon at the EARTH Discovery Center. Get up close and personal with farm animals, featuring chickens, goats and alpacas at our Petting Zoo. Parakeet Landing will offer you the chance to see and hear exotic birds. Don't miss out on animal presentations, our kid's play park, pony and camel rides, kiddie rides and so much more!


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Former GUIDING LIGHT actor Gavin Houston plays Jeffery in THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS |
In the episode, "No More Hiding," secrets are revealed when Jeffery (Gavin Houston) finally confesses to his parents that he's gay.
Meanwhile, Hanna unintentionally tells Benny that Tony is his father, and Candace (Tika Sumpter) informs Amanda that her parents have been keeping her inheritance from her.
Watch a sneak peek below:
THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS follows the complicated dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family and the hired help who work in their opulent Savannah, Georgia mansion. From the outside, the Cryers are the enviable face of success and wealth, but behind the veil, the family's dysfunction threatens to destroy their world of privilege. Cryer family patriarch Jim Cryer (John Schneider, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD) is a powerful judge whose double-life, including tawdry affairs with high-priced escorts, puts his family and political ambitions at risk. His wife, Katheryn Cryer (Renée Lawless, "Wicked"), is the ultimate matriarch portraying a loving and dutiful wife, but she is willing to do anything to protect her family's status. Their son Wyatt (Aaron O'Connell) is a troubled angry jock who cares little for his own image and finds himself in and out of rehab. His sister Amanda (Jacyln Betham), a struggling law student, tries harder to live up to her parents' expectations, but unknowingly has befriended a scurrilous young woman, Candace Young, with the power to ruin the entire family.
Hanna Young (Crystal Fox) is the Cryer's maid and the matriarch of her family. Despite having no money, she has found other types of wealth through religion and virtue. She prides herself on her dutiful son Benny (Tyler Lepley), the glue who helps keep the family together. Hanna does have one dark secret, however, her estranged daughter Candace (Tika Sumpter, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) --- a manipulative opportunist who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. In a bizarre coincidence, Candace is shocked to find out that her newfound friend Amanda's father is Jim Cryer, the very man who has been paying her for sex and who also employs Candace's mother as his family's maid. Other characters in the series include the Cryer's chef Celine (Eva Tamargo, PASSIONS), their wealthy friends Veronica (Angela Robinson) and David Harrington (Peter Parros, AS THE WORLD TURNS) and son Wyatt's rehabilitation counselor, Jeffery Harrington (Gavin Houston, GUIDING LIGHT).
THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS is produced for OWN by Tyler Perry Studios. It is created, written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry.


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WASHINGTON – Eight Members of the United States Helsinki Commission have written a letter to the President of Uzbekistan on the eve of his visit with President George W. Bush in Washington urging him to confront the human rights abuses in his own country.
"We write in anticipation of your upcoming visit to the United States, to convey our deep concern over ongoing human rights violations in the Republic of Uzbekistan," the Commissioners wrote to President Islam Karimov.
Signing the letter to Karimov were Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Commissioners Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI), Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) and Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY).
"The ongoing and systematic abuses by Uzbek authorities against Muslims, which has been well documented by non-governmental organizations and the U.S. Department of State, are especially troubling," the Commissioners wrote. "It is currently estimated that over 7,000 individuals are jailed for alleged crimes related to their religious affiliation or beliefs. Once in custody, many held in incommunicado detention are reportedly tortured and beaten in hopes of securing self-incriminating statements or evidence against other suspects or simply disappear."
"Also of serious concern are the extrajudicial executions that occurred over the past year. Human rights organizations have reported on the deaths of at least five individuals while in police custody," the letter continues. "Despite some Uzbek Government reports listing the cause of death as 'heart attack' or 'brain tumor,' the open wounds, broken bones and multiple bruises on the corpses tell a very different story. We urge you to give priority attention to ending such practices and bringing those responsible to justice."
The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.


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There's been a sea disaster near Sicily, as The Associated Press reports:
"A ship carrying African migrants to Europe caught fire and capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday, killing at least 94 people as it spilled hundreds of passengers into the sea, officials said. Over 150 people were rescued but some 200 others were still unaccounted-for."
According to the BBC, "there are reports that a fire broke out on board before the boat sank. It was believed to have been carrying about 500 people. The boat had set off from Libya and many of those on board were migrants from Eritrea, according to UNHCR spokesman Laurens Jolles in Rome."
Reuters writes that "the mayor of Lampedusa, Giusy Nicolini, said 82 dead bodies had been recovered, mostly Somalis and Eritreans, and the toll was rising, with the bodies being laid out on the harbor. 'It's horrific, like a cemetery, they are still bringing them out,' she told reporters." The wire service adds that:
"Thousands of desperate migrants from Africa arrive in Italy on unsafe, overcrowded vessels every year, with most coming to Lampedusa, a tiny island just 70 miles from the coast of Tunisia. Numbers have been boosted this year by thousands of refugees from the civil war in Syria, most of whom have arrived on the eastern coast of Sicily from Egypt."
Note: As disasters such as this unfold, news accounts about the number of people killed and injured often vary until authorities have a chance to fully document what happened. We'll update as more information comes in.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.