Chinese Mummy Unearthed But Then Suddenly Vanishes

spooky.
Media outlets in China reported last week that construction workers there had unearthed a surprisingly well-preserved mummy along with two skeletons -- but that all three vanished soon thereafter.
The remains were discovered in a tomb unearthed at a construction site in Xiangcheng City, in China's Henan province, Sina News reported. The skeletons weren't in great shape but the mummy was astonishingly well-preserved.
“The mummy’s face was black but his facial features could be seen clearly," a witness said, according to Sina News. "He wore a robe of Qing dynasty and a long braided ponytail."
The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to around 1910, was the last of China's imperial dynasties. During this time period, Han Chinese males often wore a long braided ponytail, called a queue.
What explains the mummy's remarkable condition? Dr. Lukas Nickel, professor of art and archaeology at the University of London, told The Huffington Post in an email that it was not customary to embalm bodies at that time. But under certain conditions, he said, "bodies can be preserved, especially if the coffin was airtight and protected against environmental influences."
A famous example of such preservation is the Marquise of Dai mummy, Nickel said. Discovered in China's Hunan province, the Marquise was buried in nested, lacquered coffins surrounded by charcoal that perfectly preserved the ancient remains.
While the Xiangcheng City mummy might have been an opportunity for further archaeological study, it now appears that the mummy was removed from its burial site -- and there have been no reports as to where it went. Strange.
The disappearance was of great concern to the local villagers, who believe the mummified remains belonged to a male ancestor, and that the two skeletons are those of his two wives, Sina reported in a follow-up story. Unless the remains are located and given a proper reburial, the villagers worry that their ancestors will beunable to rest in peace, according to a translation of local news site Dayoo.com.

Joe Jonas' Alleged Drug Addiction Behind Jonas Brothers Tour Cancellation, Tabloid Claims

A recent tabloid report claims Joe Jonas' alleged drug use was the reason the Jonas Brothers decided to cancel their 19-date tour.
Last week, People magazine reported the Jonas Brothers had decided to axe the tour because of a "deep rift within the band," according to spokesman Jesse Derris.
Although a source told People the cancellation was due to "creative differences," Star magazine is now reporting that it roots back to Joe's purported drug habit.
“He’s been dealing with substance abuse issues for quite some time,” a source told the tabloid. "The tour would have never survived with how Joe was behaving.” Those close to him “have been begging him to seek help."
“At this point, Nick and Kevin don’t care what is going on with the band, they just want to see their brother healthy,” an unnamed source added. “They’ve had discussions with Joe about their fears for him and the importance of getting help.”
A rep for Joe declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Huffington Post.
Although this talk of drugs may be one big fabrication, both TMZ and E! News noted that Joe has been accompanied by addiction specialist Mike Bayer recently. Bayer is the CEO and founder of Cast Recovery Services and once worked with Demi Lovato, who dated Joe back in 2010.
"It's still too early to tell if the singer is employing Mike Bayer as his sober companion, or if the two are simply just friends," E! News wrote.
Rumors of Joe's alleged drug use first surfaced in March when Blind Gossip published a report about a Joe Jonas sex tape. The tape was said to feature the 24-year-old singer and his girlfriend, Blanda Eggenschwiler, "drinking, doing drugs, and engaging in sex using a number of sex toys and BDSM devices, including dildos, a gag ball, and a slapper paddle."
The former Disney star's rep denied the salacious claims to E! News.

Kim Kardashian's Hollywood Walk Of Fame Dreams Dashed Again

Here we are another year later, and Kim Kardashian still doesn't qualify for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
While Kardashian's boyfriend, Kanye West, made it known in his Oct. 9 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that he thinks the mother of his only child shouldn't be shut out from receiving the honor because she's a reality star, the spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce reiterates that she's not eligible.
"We don't have reality stars on the Walk of Fame," Ana Martinez tells omg Yahoo, explaining that they don't have a category for it. "We're happy to consider reality stars once they get nominated for, or win, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar. We'll consider them when they're legitimate actors or singers."
Of course, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has honored others who don't qualify under the categories she listed. In the past, animated characters including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have received stars, as did the Apollo 11 crew, Magic Johnson for his ownership of a theater, and Muhammad Ali.
While Kardashian may not "qualify," it's the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce that makes the rules, and doesn't appear to want to bend them one bit for Kardashian, or grow with the times to accept there are some out there who could want to see reality stars as deserving of such accolades.
But when challenged on this, Martinez appears rather defensive, changing the subject back to Kardashian, telling omg Yahoo, "I hate to say it, but a lot of people just don't like like her. No one has ever nominated her."
Though it seems unlikely that Kardashian will be nominated anytime soon, she does have a few acting credits to her name. And even so, the 32-year-old has faith that others will come around to embracing reality TV as a true art form.
"I think [reality] is still a new form of entertainment that was kind of an unexpected thing," she told V magazine in 2012, adding that it's not unlike the progression and acceptance of rap music.
"It reminds me of rap music. When rap music first came out, people were like, We don’t understand this, what is this, it’s just a fad. But rap music is definitely here to stay, and I think reality shows have proven they are as well. But when something is newer, people don’t really understand it," she theorized for the magazine.

Montel Williams' MS Routine: A Juice Diet and Regular Exercise

Montel Williams has launched a new online health and fitness show that will bring viewers  health and science news. We caught up with Williams to get the skinny on the show, and how he stays healthy while living with multiple sclerosis. The TV host told us about his low-calorie diet, rigorous exercise routine and mental calming techniques.

Everyday Health: Tell us about your new show. How will it address MS?
Montel Williams: It’s called "Living Well With Montel." Every week we’ll have a brand new show, and in January, we’ll have two.
I’m launching what I think is going to be a new format for TV. I’m going to launch the show only within an online community. We have a premium membership that will have access to the show but also tons of other innovative new information – all health and wellness-related.
The site will have a considerable amount of information about MS. I’m also going to be sharing my personal journey. [But] it’s not just going to address MS. We’ll discuss everything from women’s health issues to men’s health issues to children’s health issues.
I intend to provide information to people so that they can look at their own health and seek out the information that’s pertinent to them. Most of the medical shows, it’s like I’m watching "Captain Kangaroo" – it’s dumbed down information. We’re going to have information about exercises, about health, about recipes, and then we’re going to invite our community to exchange information that we’ll validate.
We need to be our own medical sleuths and learn about the illness before we walk into the doctor’s office so we know the right questions to ask.
EH:  How do you use diet to stay healthy and manage your chronic condition?
MW: I’m eating a different diet. It’s extremely anti-inflammatory.
Studies have proven that green vegetables and fruits of color are high in antioxidants that you can’t get anywhere else. I go to the store – anything that’s got color in it I buy it. I liquefy whole fruits and vegetables. I blend the entire fruit, and I just make smoothies.
Every one of my smoothies has coconut water in it. I use that as the base and then I mix with it four or five fruits: watermelon, pineapple, apple and blueberries, and I put spinach in it and drink that throughout the day.
I can drink 15 pieces of fruit in a day. Nobody is going to sit down and eat that. I drink about 48 ounces a day. That constitutes about 50 percent of what I eat. And then I have one meal a day, some protein. I restrict calories.
EH: What is your exercise routine like?
MW: When it comes to exercise, everybody has to find what works for them. I watch my body. I look at myself in the mirror once a week – not because I’m vain, but I’m looking for moles and changes in my body.
For me, I exercise every morning. I exercise every day. I work out about an hour and 20 minutes, which is aerobics and resistance training. I work on agility and balance. I work on the things that are going to help my condition. I do agility training. I walk on a treadmill. I use an elliptical. I use weights.
It doesn’t matter whether my time is 20 minutes or an hour. I’m moving, which means I walk better for the rest of the day. This is information that we all can use.
EH: You’ve gone through some severe bouts of mental illness. What are you doing to take care of your mind?
MW: The best thing I did for my emotional health was getting a correct diagnosis. I had every MS doctor diagnose me as having clinical depression, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve been diagnosed with emotional lability – an inability to control crying.
It’s a disorder that is brought on by brain damage. When you look at MS, the scars in my brain are minuscule brain damage.
I don’t suffer or feel I suffer from anything that’s not normal. We want to be happy all the time, but real human beings experience feelings and learn how to cope with them. When those feelings are predominant, like you walk away and you’re sad all the time, then you have a problem. But most times sadness is not depression. [For] a lot of people who have MS, depression is part of the disease, [but] it’s not a lifetime situation.
We go through periods when we feel worse then better. We need to stop beating ourselves up for feeling as bad as we think we feel. Let’s get a real diagnosis. Let’s make sure we’re really depressed, and let’s start working on those things we can work on. Even if you’re clinically depressed, doctors are trying to bring you out of that hole.
We are in more control than we think. The second I started to realize that, instead of walking around identifying myself as someone who was depressed, I had better days. This is the Montel Williams philosophy.
You can talk yourself into a good emotional state. I stop for a second, take a deep breath and think about something that’s beautiful. A beautiful thought for me is cutting the umbilical cord for my child. I can guarantee you that your emotional state will change.
EH:  What’s your greatest health challenge, and what are you doing to overcome it?
MW: Right this minute, I’m trying to overcome this reduction in my pain threshold. I have to figure out how to cope with a raised pain threshold. I can hurt myself and not know that I’ve done so because I don’t feel pain the same way other people do. I’m trying to get a grip on how to handle this in the future.
I exercise every day, but I also push myself a little hard, and I need to figure out how to not do that anymore. I broke my knee cap [but still] worked out on it every day.
I broke a rib, and it wasn’t until that happened [that] I went to the doc and said, "It hurts but not that bad." That’s the idiot I am. If someone had a correct pain threshold it would have hurt enough to convince me to go to the doctor.
I could kick a curb and not realize I broke a toe. I’m working with a podiatrist and a therapist to realign my workouts.
EH:  What advice do you have for those who are newly diagnosed with MS?
MW: Seek out as much information as you can, and become your own medical advocate. You need to go online, study, learn as much as you can. Arm yourself before you see the doctor so you have the appropriate questions.
Photo courtesy of Montel Williams

Dead Fetus Found In Teen's Bag By Security Guard At Herald Square Victoria's Secret: Police

A security guard at the Victoria's Secret in New York City's Herald Square uncovered a dead fetus in the bag of a teenage customer Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
According to the Daily News, security personnel stopped two teenage girls at the midtown store to question them about shoplifting when the deceased baby was found.
"It was discovered that one of the females had what we believe to be a fetus [in her bag]," Sgt. Lee Jones of the New York Police Department told Business Insider.
One of the teens was taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation after the incident, which occurred at 1:24 p.m., a police department spokesman confirmed to The Huffington Post.
A medical examiner will perform an autopsy on the fetus to determine the cause of death.
It's not clear whether one of the teen girls is the mother of the child. However, according to NBC New York, the hospitalized 17-year-old told police that she had suffered a miscarriage on Wednesday.
This story is developing.

Obama: 'Coolest Thing' About Being President Is Everyone Takes Your Phone Calls

President Barack Obama revealed in an interview Tuesday what's coolest about being commander-in-chief.
"I think the coolest thing is that if there’s somebody interesting who’s doing anything -– a scientist, a sports figure, a writer, anybody in the world –- if I want to call 'em up and talk to 'em, they will answer my phone call. And that’s a pretty cool thing," Obama told New York's WABC.
That statement was a response to a question from a reporter's daughter, who said she thought the coolest part of being president would be spending time with Beyonce and Jay Z.
"You can tell your daughter that that is a view shared by Malia and Sasha," Obama told the reporter.

Highest Paid TV Actors: Ashton Kutcher, 'Two And A Half Men' Cast Top List Of Stars

The "Two and a Half Men" cast is very well paid. Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones all made Forbes' list of TV's highest paid actors.
Former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen -- who previously topped this list -- is still present, but in a much lower spot. "Grey's Anatomy's" Patrick Dempsey, yes, McDreamy, also made the list.
Forbes' calculated the stars' earnings between June 2012 and June 2013, with help from producers, managers, agents and other industry professionals. The list also takes into account other "entertainment-related endeavors." Taxes and other expenses are not accounted for.
See the gallery below to see the full list. Head over here for the highest paid TV actresses.