I will have the Polenta…Sorry I meant the Placenta….

Has Kim Kardashian finally lost it? Have the pregnancy hormones caused her to spiral out of control and go absolutely bonkers and speak before thinking? OK I take that last one back. But seriously Kims latest statement is baffling, yet not entirely that uncommon.

Kim K has revealed that she will eat her own placenta after giving birth! (‘placentophagy’ as it is scientifically known). Yes you read correctly. She will dine on her own placenta as she believes it will make her “look younger”.

The 32 year old reality star is pregnant with her first child with rapper and business mogul Kanye West. Kim made the shocking and bizarre announcement during the season premiere of ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’. The star who is expecting a baby girl later this year expressed her desire to eat the afterbirth due to its supposedly rejuvenating nature. I suppose in her industry you gotta look your best at all times!

However Kim is not the first celebrity to indulge in her own body matter. ‘Mad Men’ star January Jones did just that after the birth of her son. The actress dried out the organ and had it turned into pills. She claimed it staved off post-natal depression and fatigue: “I was never depressed or sad or down after the baby was born, so I’d strongly suggest it to any pregnant woman”.

Similarly, former Playboy bunny and ex –girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, Holly Madison, wanted in on the placenta-eating trend. Holly, who is no stranger to the limelight, also opted for the pill option. Her rationale for it – it would help her body to recover after the birth. The star tweeted; 

So what exactly is the placenta and why is it regarded by many as the miracle cure to post-natal ailments?
Anyone who has ever seen the placenta knows it is no pretty organ! It is large and round with an intricate network of blood vessels. It operates as the crossing point between the systems of the mother and the baby while the infant is still in the womb and is rich in nutrients (looks pretty gross eh!).  

But what are the so-called benefits of eating after-birth?

Firstly it’s interesting to note that the internet is full of recipes and ideas so that one can incorporate the placenta into their meals. It can be eaten raw, steamed, sliced, dehydrated and turned into a pill or blended up to make a nice fresh smoothie! (yummy!)

 

So apparently the health benefits associated with this phenomenon include; increased lactation, reduced postpartum depression, it aids in the body’s recovery post-birth and helps in the replenishment of depleted iron levels. Sounds good? Yes! However there is no hard evidence of the advantages of indulging in this craze but neither is there any evidence of harmful negative side-effects (other than the occasional headache).

 

Mammals in the wild have been doing it all their lives and they know what’s good for them. But are they just being primitive beasts – cannibals? Animals adhering to the rule – ‘survival of the fittest’ as they don’t know when their next meal is going to come along? There is the school of thought that humans only introduced this weird and primitive behaviour as a means of protecting their off-spring while living in the wild – in order to hide any traces of birth and to protect the newborn from predators. But as society became more civilised this tradition soon died off.

So there you have it. Without any hard scientific proof of the health benefits of placentophagy, I for one will not be advocating the movement towards it. The debate will no doubt be revisited once thorough and ground-breaking research has been completed. Personally, scientifically beneficial or not, I will not be opting for this trend should I eventually have a baby – I find it repulsive if I am perfectly honest – pass me a sweet cup of tea and I will recover just fine!

HATS, FLAGS OR HEADBANDS? – But should it be the players who are flogging them?

What is it about the GAA that we love so much? Is it the sense of community spirit it creates that you can only share with fellow County comrades? Is it the fun and banter that you experience with rival County supporters in the stands? Is it the spray-painting of the sheep, the flags, the bunting, the headbands, the hats, the tea and sandwiches or just the feeling of being at home surrounded and proud to be out representing your County?

Maybe it’s the fact that I grew up near Pairc Dubhghlas de hIde in Roscommon that instilled in me, from a very young age, the joys of cheering on the local lads from the stand. I have so many fond memories of being in Hyde Park and at various other GAA pitches across the country. The best summers were filled with these Sunday outings. Without doubt, one of the best feelings in the world has to be standing in Croke Park belting out our National Anthem on All-Ireland  Final day. Nothing makes me feel more patrotic. I love it!

The dedication that players, both club and County, give to their sport is admirable and painstaking. These guys train no fewer than three times a week with matches at weekends. For many of them, they have to commute long distances to train, sacrificing their personal time and social lives. And on top of all this, unlike the professional rugby and soccer players, our GAA lads hold down full-time jobs, many as teachers, Gardai, bankers etc.

It would be easy to see why many would not be so committed to the game, as I often wonder what thanks they get in return. But the Irish blood running through our veins means that we are traditionalists at heart and want to keep our culture alive. The foundation of the GAA in 1884 changed the face of Irish sport forever and it is only improving and modernising with each blow of the final whistle. We are a proud nation and the proof of our strength is evident in Croke Park – a true testament to our country and to the amateur status of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Ni neart go cur le cheile! (There is no strength without unity)

    

But one thing that troubles me is when I question the younger generations, the primary and secondary students, about their idols, the response is always the same:- Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Mario Balotteli and David Beckham.

     

It is very rarely someone like Sean Cavanagh, Alan Dillon, Karl Lacey, Colm Cooper or Stephen Cluxton and these are the very men that they should be aspiring to be like – hard working decent lads who work full-time jobs yet manage to balance their sporting lives with their personal ones. There are no illicit newspaper spreads detailing the latest fling with a cheap lady-of-the-night (and I can bet they are not that cheap!) there are no seedy kiss ‘n tells, there are no flash cars and grand displays of riches favoured by many of the professional Premiership footballers.

       

What is it about the professional soccer and rugby players that the youth find so appealing? Easy peesy– the glamorous lifestyles and the wealth that is associated with them.

  

These guys lead the lives that most of us can only dream of with limitless funds to buy multi-million-Euro mansions. Fancy driving a Bentley or Aston Martin?  Done! Want to wear D&G, Gucci, Tom Ford, DVF or whatever designer is hot at the moment? Done! Oh and always with an attractive girl on your arm. We are inundated with pictures of Mario Balotelli splashing out on new cars, Cristiano Ronaldo decked out in designer gear and stunning WAGS (Alex Curran and Coleen Rooney do love Cricket in Liverpool y’know!)splurging in all the chicest stores.

Just to set the record straight, I am not advocating the transition of the amateur status of the GAA to a professional one. No siree! But I do think that the GAA sector needs a boost, an injection of glamour in order to continue to entice our youths into it. Without having to pay salaries or bonuses, the use of product endorsements could be utilised more. This is an extremely lucrative business for both the individual player and the brand in question.

Seeing David Beckham advertising everything from Armani underwear (Swoon! Yes please…)to Pepsi (with global Goddesses Beyonce and J-Lo) does absolute wonders for the brand, the individual and ultimately, the sport. (Maybe it’s just me but Ronan O’Gara fronting a Newbridge Jewellery campaign did him no harm!)

Now I’m not saying we need to stick Colm Cooper in an advert with Katy Perry but getting these GAA players more heavily involved in the advertising/endorsement game cannot be detrimental and will make them recognisable in each and every home cross the 32 counties. We know the name so lets get to know the face! If we recognise a face we are more likely to take note of them and look out for them in subsequent games. Let the public know the players personality a little.

GAA stars appearing in advertising campaigns is not a completely foreign concept; Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper appeared in Lucozade adverts as did Westmeaths Dessie Dolan; Adidas have Corks Sean Og O’Hailpin, Tipperarys Eoin Kelly and Kilkennys Henry Shefflin on their books;  Dublin’s Bernard Brogans face was emblazoned on a double-decker bus promoting o2. It’s an industry waiting to be exploited. Conor Ridge, a partner in Horizon Sports management which looks after athletes Derval O’Rourke and David Gillick, feels the landscape between the GAA player and the commercial world is changing and says “the day when a GAA player can earn €100,000 through commercial activity is not that far away at all”.

    

One player who has done wonders for the glamorisation of the sport (even if he is renowned for some dirty trickery on the pitch) is Paul Galvin. As a player I detested Galvin because any of my dealings with the man resulted in me leaving a stadium in floods of tears as Kerry, yet again, stormed forward to reclaim Sam (Maguire that is!) However in recent months I have softened towards the sportsman and now find myself religiously reading his style-bible in the Irish Independent Weekend supplement and following him on Twitter. His fashion column is witty and informative and if you haven’t read it its worth a look – it’s rather funny.

The Kerry style-guru was also voted third in February 2012, to find Ireland’s most desirable Valentines. He has made GAA fashionable and recently announced that he was dating Today FM presenter Louise Duffy.

So what do the GAA need to do in order to increase their popularity and to raise their revenue…glamorise the sport. One way of doing this is to exploit the good looks of some of their main men and to cash in on their high-profile marketability. Get some product endorsements in place.

If these faces become household faces and not only associated with on-pitch playing but also with a more diverse, fun and glam lifestyle, younger kids might start to turn from the Wayne Rooneys of this world to the Sean Og O’Hailpin and Stephen Cluxtons for inspiration. These guys work hard and play hard. Great role models for the younger generations.  (Plus some of them are handsome devils whom I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of on my telly-box!)

       

   

 

The Peter Mark VIP Style Awards 2012

GRAFTON STREET IS THEIR CATWALK

Last night the countrys glitterati were out in force as the prestigious Shelbourne Hotel played host to the years most glamorous event in the style calendar (if you ignore the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Grammies, the BAFTAS and the IFTAS) – The Peter Mark VIP Style Awards. The who’s-who of Irish celebrity were in attendance and it seems that anyone with any sort of profile was nominated!

So did the Irish followers of fashion look to their American counterparts and copy their style straight from the red carpet?  Were reds, nudes and metallics the colour of choice? And more importantly, did anyone try and pull an ‘Angelina’ and bare their perma-tanned right leg?

If you are a fan of Twitter you were probably bombarded with tweets in your twitter-feed from nominees reminding you to vote for them – as if we needed reminding! Surely if you’re anything like me you voted the very nano-second the details were released! !!

Everybodys style is different. The majority of nominees deserved their place on the list but some of them…well I wonder what Joan Rivers would have to say about some of their choices from over the past year! But lets not focus on the bad and lets look at some of the fashion from last night. Presenters on the night were Keith Duffy and Karen Koster. Karen looked stunning in red Karen Millen, a firm favourite with the Xpose presenter. Her beau, John McGuire, was nominated in the Most Stylish Man category but unfortunately missed out to Mr Marty Whelan (just who voted for him I have yet to discover!). He must have tickled (hee hee) a few peoples fancy though as he proudly walked away with the gong!  

 

Last year Michael O’Doherty managed to secure the rather tacky Jordan as a guest on the red carpet. This year the event was Priceless leaving it purely to the Irish trend-setters to lead the way (even though we may have had some more gossip to report if she had been there.) The Oscars red carpet was dotted with champagnes, golds and nudes worn by Cameron Diaz, J-Lo, Stacey Kiebler, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rooney Mara and it seems that the Irish ladies looked to Hollywood for inspiration. Former Miss World Rosanna Davison looked angelic in a satin/silk white gown from Dawn Fitzgerald Atelier accessorised with an emerald clutch bag from Coco Boutique (She would look amazeballs in a black bag mind!) Pippa O’Connor opted for a similar colour pallette in a glimmering gold floor-length gown which she accessorised with new hubbie Brian (they later partied in Krystle nite-club, the club where their romance began!)  Marty Whelan unleashed his inner gangster with a pin-striped suit that Capone himself would have been proud of! Proving that the West can pull out all the stops when necessary, Grainne Seioge went for a black one-shouldered dress and wore for her hair pulled back which showed off her gown perfectly and her enviable curves.

So among the nominees were :

MOST STYLISH WOMAN

Aoife Cogan – (engaged to the honourable Mr D’arcy don’t you know), Sharon Corr ** WINNER, Rosanna Davison, Glenda Gilson, Amy Huberman, Pippa O’Connor –  (GOT MY VOTE) and Georgia Salpa 

MOST STYLISH MAN

 Niall Breslin/Bressie –  (YEESSS Please!!), Nicky Byrne –  (GOT MY VOTE), Ray Foley –  (No likey, No Lighty), Brian Kennedy –  (renowned for throwing red wine!) and Marty Whelan –  (must be for the ‘tache) **WINNER

 MOST STYLISH COUPLE

 Cecelia Ahern & David Keoghan  – (PS , I love you!), Bernard Brogan & Leslie Walsh (GAA player and WAG), Alan Hughes & Karl Broderick  **WINNER and Rob Kearney & Susie Amy (GOT MY VOTE)

 NEWCOMER  AWARD

Holly Carpenter – (crowned Miss Ireland in August 2011), Aoibhin Garrihy – (Fair City actress)  **WINNER, Lynn Kelly – (Hardly ‘new’ . In 2008, crowned Miss Universe Ireland), Michelle McGrath – (former member of pop-group Industry & model) and Rozanna Purcell – (model, reality tv star) (GOT MY VOTE) 

I have excluded some of the  lesser-known nominees as the list was as long as Angelinas right leg! Speaking of which may I add Rozanna Purcell made a joke about, posting on Twitter “My dress for the night… Tryna do an Angelina bahaha “… Not looking bad Roz (just make sure Brian Kennedy is not around with the red vino!)

Anyway down to the main event of the night: It was handbags at dawn as the effortlessly chic ladies of Ireland had their perfectly manicured talons poised in order to scoop the crown from last years Most Stylist Woman Claudine Keane. WAG of the moment Claudine unfortunately couldn’t attend the event and was over in sunny LA. She joked on twitter that there would be a video link put in place for her to hand over the title – Oscar-style! Anyway ***QUEUE DRUM ROLL…..and the title of Most Stylish Woman for 2012 as voted by you, the public, goes to Miss Sharon Corr! Yes Miss Corr often over-shadowed by her gorgeously gothic sister Andrea scooped the much coveted crown. Go Girl! (Even though I personally voted for Pippa!) Hugely missed on the night was our very own Kim Kardashian Georgia Salpa. Her absence meant the red carpet lacked a little glam and fun! I do like my Georgia!

Most Stylish on the Night went to Aoife Cogan, fiancee of Gordan D’Arcy.

I stand by my Pippa though. Her gown was from Ivory Closet and I think she’s always uber stylish and should have picked up the gong for Most Stylish and Roz shoulda won Best Newcomer. But hey what do I know!? Maybe next year I’ll get an invite!

What Do You Sex-pect?

Are Sex Tapes the New Form of Reality TV & the Best Means to Get Ahead?

Kim Kardashian has one. Paris Hilton has one. Tulisa Contostavlos has one. Rob Lowe has one. Even our very own Colin Farrell has one…in order to make a name for yourself, is a ‘leaked’ sex tape the answer?

The latest celeb to fall victim of a ‘leaked’ sex tape is none other than former N’Dubz singer and X-Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos. The 23 year old singers ex-boyfriend, MC Ultra, was allegedly behind the leaking of the tape leaving Tulisa more than a little gobsmacked!

Known for her edgy attitude and her ‘take-no-prisoners’ approach to life, the star has hit back at her critics and posted a video of herself explaining her side of the ‘intimate’ acts caught on camera. The admittance by Tulisa was heart-felt and honest. I have to say I think she was pretty brave to step up and face the world – major respect!

The question that needs to be asked is where does she go from here? How can she exploit the situation to her advantage?

Perhaps the biggest celebrity to be scandalised by a sex tape is reality TV star, model, actress and all-round business women Kim Kardashian. Kim K has managed to turn herself into a world dominating brand by exploiting an otherwise horrific situation. Just a pretty socialite from a well-respected family (her father Robert Kardashian was a lawyer who shot to fame as defence attorney to OJ Simpson), Kim K was known on the LA party scene and was papped regularly with then BFF Paris Hilton (who coincidentally also had a sex tape out in the public domain). In 2007 a sex tape filmed with her then boyfriend Ray J (brother of singer and actress Brandy) began to circulate. The home-made video was bought by Vivid Entertainment. Kim K’s family issued court proceedings to prevent the further dissemination of the video but later settled with Vivid Entertainment for a huge sum of money. From that sex tape in 2007 to 2012 Kim has firmly established herself on the tongues of millions of people worldwide as a household name. Can this mean that by ‘leaking’ a sex tape you can turn yourself into a billion dollar brand? Is this alleged breach of privacy really just a manipulative way of gaining publicity and hitting headlines in order to then begin laying the foundations for a huge and prosperous future career?

Kim Kardashian has without doubt built herself up from the ashes and is now solidly famous for her exploits on ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ and spin-off programme ‘Kourtney & Kim Take New York’ on E! For many, the fact that she was caught on camera in this intimate act is unknown or in any event now forgotten!

But back to Tulisa and the question posed earlier… How can the X-Factor judge now exploit this sensational situation to her advantage?

It seems that the X-Factor judge may already have the ball in motion on that one! Tulisa has in fact only today released her debut single ‘Young’. Can this be described as coincidental timing? Was the well-timed leakage of  the sex tape just an attempt by her ex-boyfriend to profit from her X-Factor fame or did Tulisa have a hand in when it was to be revealed? There is no such thing as negative publicity! For Tulisa to be hitting headlines just days before the single is released I am afraid to say (well, I’m not really) seems quite orchestrated to me. In her counter video on Youtube where she admitted that it was indeed her taking part in the lurid sexual act she did admit that friends had made her aware of the existence of the video six months previously…hhhmmmm it may not have been a bad idea to strike a deal with the ex-bf and agree to release the vid at a time when the two parties need maximum exposure! Just saying!! Stepping out into the solo world musically is a huge deal and perhaps a little boost may have been needed in order to differentiate herself from other acts and to gain front pages! Timing is everything and she may just have looked to Kim K’s little empire and thought ‘I’d like a piece of that!’

On that note I will leave you with one thought…are we, the public, mere puppets who fall for everything these celebs lead us to believe? Are we now in the era that in order to get ahead and to grab headlines at a time when releasing a single/movie, a singer/ actress needs to get our attention through some other means…why not let your singing or acting talent speak for itself eh!?