get and get

Pop the champagne because another year filled with trashy reality TV, cheating scandals, and embarrassingly catchy pop-songs has come and gone. If any of you caught Matt Lauer's "People of the Year" on Thanksgiving, then you probably shut it off when Kim Kardashian started talking about all the tough decisions she made this year (like, "deciding what color nail polish to wear"). Although I respect NBC's nominations, I think the real awards should go to these people for showing us just how dysfunctional a year can be...

Chelsea Handler

Why did Chelsea have such a great year?

• This woman isn't afraid to say what everyone else is thinking. I personally respect anyone who calls Angelina Jolie a home-wrecking bitch (come on, we're all thinking it).
• She broke up with her old-balls boyfriend in favor of better suitors, like rumored fling 50 Cent. From the sounds of 50's tweets, this seems like a good choice ("Ok look, I hurt my neck having rough sex").
• While most of us spent our Thanksgiving in the company of drunken relatives, she spent hers on a beach in Mexico with fellow single girl Jennifer Aniston. Chelsea, keep doing what you're doing.

Bruce Jenner


Although Kim Kardashian actually took the title, I think the credit should go to Bruce for having to put up with a house full of estrogen-heavy lunatics, not to mention an extremely bossy wife. Remind me again why these chicks are rich and famous? Okay, I get that Kim has a large ass and screws football players, but if that makes you filthy rich, half of my college cheerleading squad would be rolling in dough. At least Bruce has an Olympic medal.

Bristol Palin


While Matt Lauer gave a shout out to her mother, I think Bristol had a better year. Why?

• She finally realized that Levi Johnston is a skeezeball, citing, "He's just obsessed with the limelight and I got played" (better late than never, Brist).
• She was so influential that she actually made a crazy Wisconsin man shoot the TV. Until then, nothing entertaining ever happened in the Cheese State.
• She made a nation laugh, not only by watching her shake what Sarah Palin (and a teenage pregnancy) gave her on Dancing with the Stars, but also by participating in ridiculously ironic "Pause Before You Play" PSA's for the Candie's Foundation.
• Most importantly, she was a big ego boost for the American public: whenever our lives were going poorly this year we could still think to ourselves, "At least we're not Bristol Palin."

The 19 Kids & Counting Clan


Once again, these people made us feel better about our lives. When things were going wrong in 2010, I'm sure we all thought to ourselves, "At least I don't have to share a dinner table with 18 siblings." Maybe these parents should take Bristol Palin's advice and pause before the play, or better yet, take a condom from Mike the Situation. Seriously guys, I'm sure customers at the local Friendly's will appreciate if you stop procreating! (I also wanna give a special shout out to Jedidiah and Jinger, because, as far as names are concerned, these poor kiddos got the short end of the unprotected stick.)

Shaquille O'Neal


Okay, maybe I'm biased because I'm a Boston Girl, but Shaq's still got it going on. While LeBron put on a theatrical production titled "What Team am I Going to Pick...duh duh duh," his fellow Cav's teammate strayed away from the drama, citing plain and simple, "For me, it really was not a tough decision to make. I just wanted to be with a great team." Maybe it's because he's too old and no one else wanted him, but I think Shaq made out well. Since he's been injured, he's basically getting paid $3 million to chill on the bench. I've personally liked Shaq ever since Aaron Carter wrote a song about him back in the day. Until Justin Bieber includes LeBron in a music video, I'm gonna give this award to Shaq.

Jake Gyllenhaal


The end of 2010 was pretty good to Jake. His film, Love and Other Drugs, opened to $14 million, not because of its sentimental plot, but because he was naked in about half the scenes. And I think girls around the globe will agree that he looked hot (props to T-Swift). Enjoy your lovefest while it lasts, Jakey; by the time 2011 rolls around you'll be the main subject of Tay-Tay's boy-bashing ballads.

Yonni Barrios (aka "the two-timing Chilean Miner")


We complain that we're cramped up in our dorm room with three suitemates; this guy was trapped in a mine with 32 other dudes for 69 days! Yup, 69 long days without sex from his wife...or his mistress of five years. Unlike many American celebrities, he didn't blame his two-timing actions on "sex addiction," but straightforwardly invited both women to visit him at the rescue site. What have we learned from Yonni? It takes five years, a near death experience, and international media coverage to get a man to admit he cheated.

Rihanna


In 2010 Ree-Ree gained some of the respect I lost for her by quickly forgiving Chris Brown in 2009. For whatever reason, her songs seem to dominate my gym playlist. And you know what? Her lyrics really speak to me. I too have dated a few lying rude-boys who I wanted to say my name and make me feel like the only girl in the world...and let's just say, no, they weren't big enough.

Cee Lo Green


I think we can all admit to having blasted his hit single "Fuck You" when we were extremely pissed off at someone. Thank you for putting us in a better mood Cee-Lo, I'm sure your gold-digging ex-girlfriend regrets dumping your ass.

The Old Spice Guy


Because after a decade of metrosexuality and an overload of men's pink polo shirts, I think it's reassuring to have a man that smells like a man. And the fact that he has amazing abs and can turn an Old Spice bottle into diamonds is just an added bonus.

Skype may soon join Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube on China's Internet blacklist. Today, The People's Daily, a Communist Party-run newspaper, declared that all Internet phone services other than those provided by the two state-run telcos, China Telecom and China Unicom, were illegal.

According to the article, the decision from The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is expected to make Skype, China's UUCall, "and other similar services" unavailable.
The ministry is even soliciting the public's help, setting up a hotline to collect reports and distributing PSA circulars.

"Currently, our ministry is working with relevant departments to focus on the crackdown on illegal VoIP [voice over internet protocol calls] and we are now appealing to the public for clues for illegal VoIP cases," it said in a circular.
A spokeswoman for Skype advised, "Users in China currently can access Skype via TOM Online, our majority JV partner. TOM Online offers local versions of Skype for Windows, MAC as well as mobile platforms such as Symbian and Windows Mobile. More details can be found at skype.tom.com."

While censorship undoubtedly played a role in the ministry's decision- several dissidents have been known to use Skype to communicate to those outside China- experts say there is a clear protectionist motive as well. After all, China has one of the fastest-growing Internet user populations in the world.
Wang Yuquan, a chief consultant at Frost and Sullivan in Beijing, told AP that the announcement is a subtle warning to Skype not to grow too large.
"If the ministry hadn't made this announcement, I think Skype would have offered its services in a very large scale. Now, with the announcement, it can't," he said told AP.

In 2007 Skype forged a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Internet giant Tom Group, a company that has so far satisfied most of Beijing's censorship demands. In March, Tom Group severed ties with Google. Skype China was also criticized last year for helping the Communist Party monitor calls for terms like "Fanlun Gong" and "Tibet."
However, Professor Kan Kaili at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications told the Telegraph that "it is very unlikely that they will manage to shut Skype down."
"Skype is the market leader, but there is also MSN and Gmail Talk. The children of Chinese government officials, who are studying abroad, use these services to call home, so I do not think anyone is going to cut the lines," Kaili said. "Even if they take a strict approach, such as getting local operators to block the broadband services of people who use Skype, people will still find a way around it."
For now at least, Skype is still available in China.
Earlier today, Skype added video calling for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Stay tuned to PCMag for a full hands on with the new service.

Welcome to the official AXA Haircut Guide! When Nook upgrades your store to Nookingtons, a small shop called the Shampoodle opens on the ground floor. Here, you can talk to Harriet the Poodle to get a haircut. Haircuts cost 3,000 bells, but they're well worth the cost. However, you can't just ask for the haircut you'd like as you would in a real salon, thus it is important that you understand exactly how the haircut process works. There are sixteen different styles in all; eight for the boy and eight for the girl. Harriet will ask you five questions. The first three questions determine the style of haircut you will get, while the last two determine the color. If you are unsure as to which option to pick to get the color you want, just check out our handy chart!
***NEW*** AXA user Haruu has discovered that if girls establish a relationship with Harriet that she will offer to give you boy's haircuts. To establish a relationship with Harriet, simply go and talk to her on a regular basis. Eventually, she will ask you if you want a "Boys Pixie Haircut" if you are a girl. If you do choose to have a boy's haircut, you can use the boy's chart to determine a hairstyle. We have an email submission from Josh that confirms that the inverse is true for boy players.
Images of girls with boy haircuts, provided by Haruu: Image one | Image two
Images of boys with girl haircuts, provided by Josh: Image one | Image two
Directions: Select a haircut from the chart before going to see Harriet. Then answer the first three questions next to the style you like to determine the shape of your hair. Next, skip to the color chart at the end of the page. Select the color you want and say that choice to Harriet. The last question allows you to switch between warm and cool colors.


Girls with unusual haircuts. Haircut in the form of animals!