Housewife

Even in the curious world of reality television, Bethenny Frankel is a curiosity -- or, at the very least, a living, breathing oxymoron. The breakout star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York," she's the only "housewife" who isn't actually a housewife. That didn't stop her from costarring in the series' most talked-about episode of last season, when frenemy -- make that enemy -- Kelly Bensimon announced to Frankel that they'd never be friends because (raising her hand) Kelly was "up here" (hen lowering it)

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was on hand Tuesday night for his team's visit to Staples Center to play the Lakers. After taking a moment to reminisce about Shaquille O'Neal, who will have his jersey retired by the Lakers at halftime, Cuban gave a jab to former Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "I have great respect for Phil, Jeanie's husband, as he'll be now be known," Cuban said.  "Someone's got to be the first housewife of the Lakers. " Jackson and Jeanie [Buss] became engaged to marry in January, although they've yet to officially tie the knot.

Mr. Charlie was unhappy. He stared gloomily at the floor and tried hard to convey the message that this whole business of trying to keep hookers out of his motel was almost too much. "Some prostitute look like housewife," he was saying, "and some housewife look like prostitute. How you know?" His friend, Mr. Kuo, nodded in agreement. "Some have driver license!" he added in a proper tone of incredulity. Mr. Charlie shook his head. "Heavy duty," he said sadly.

New York magazine's article “ The Retro Wife ,” about how self-described feminists are bucking their NYC careers in favor of becoming stay-at-home moms, has ignited a fierce debate online. Is feminism the opportunity to make the choice between having career or becoming a SAHM? Or is feminism the pursuit of equality, in which both men and women have the same opportunities in the workplace? Or has the concept morphed into a hybrid of both? If a woman chooses to pursue a career, her gender shouldn't become an obstacle, whether she has children or not -- just like her male colleagues.

As Lottie Sebren, housewife turned seamen's aide, sprinted up the aluminum gangplank, a sailor's head popped through a porthole. "Lottie!" exclaimed Hup Cheng Tan, chief officer of the Neptune Emerald, a super freighter from Singapore. She planted a kiss on Tan's cheek, then navigated a labyrinth of hallways and staircases, ascending to the ship's old wheelhouse, which Sebren has helped transform into a lounge.

REGARDING writer Caitlin Flanagan ["The Mother Lode," by Gina Piccalo, April 12], the happy housewife: That snickering sound you hear is 100,000 working moms gleefully laughing at the thought of Flanagan embarking on her book tour. As soon as she gets on the plane, the family gerbil will die, the 8-year-old twins will come down with fever and vomiting, the plumbing will spring a leak and the husband will score a business trip, all of which will require that housewife Flanagan cancel the book tour and return home on the very next flight.

Two women will contest Iceland's presidential election to be held June 25, the government said. Sigrun Thorsteinsdottir, a 46-year-old housewife, is running against incumbent Vigdis Finnbogadottir, who in 1980 became the world's first elected female head of state. Thorsteinsdottir is campaigning on a platform of a more politically active presidency. Finnbogadottir, 46, a single parent, is expected to easily win reelection to the mainly ceremonial office.

I watched two episodes of "227" and was thoroughly disgusted. This show is as bad as "Good Times." As a college student, I get fed up seeing blacks in stereotypical roles. This show is no exception: Marla Gibbs plays a gossipy, passive housewife and her husband is super macho. And since when do black women sit on their porches all day long and gossip? Kim Carr, Northridge

I can't believe I read the whole thing. However, it took that long to realize that Patricia Kluge is in her 30s, he in his 70s; that she was his mistress for 11 years before they were married; and that the years of her first marriage were spent posing nude for magazines. What a typical Virginia housewife. Well, at least she is a wife who has a house in Virginia. What a nice world we live in where your journalists think we should respect people just because they are rich.

An Arcadia housewife testified in court Wednesday that she saw accused Night Stalker Richard Ramirez with a cat perched on his neck and a container of ice cream in his hand within a block of the residence of a 32-year-old Arcadia woman on the night before the woman was discovered dead.

Kyle Richards of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" has partnered with Lizzy Schwartz and Debbie Weisman of Boca Raton boutiques Alene Too to launch a new store, Kyle by Alene Too, in Beverly Hills. The new boutique carries luxury brands, including Matthew Williamson, What Goes Around Comes Around, Haute Hippie and Ramy Brook. The shop also features personal shopping services. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Admitting you have a problem, it's often said, is the first step to recovery. Brenda Wilhelmson reached that point years ago when she realized that alcohol was wrecking her life. Join a live Web chat with Wilhelmson on Monday, July 25, at 11 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. Central and 2 p.m. Eastern time) when she speaks about her book, "Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife," about her struggles with addiction and her ongoing recovery. While some addicts talk about hitting bottom before seeking help, Wilhelmson said that pivotal moment may not be the same for everyone.

The decision to get sober is often a difficult one that comes at the end of an arduous struggle with dependency. Join a live Web chat with Brenda Wilhelmson, author of "Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife" on Monday, July 25, at 11 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. EST). Wilhelmson, who has written for the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Reader, kept diaries and blogged about her battle with alcohol addiction, eventually turning those entries into a book. We asked her why she decided to go public with her alcoholism.

Ellen McCormack, a New York housewife who briefly became a national figure in American politics when she twice ran for president, in 1976 and 1980, in campaigns designed to galvanize the antiabortion movement, has died. She was 84. McCormack died of congestive heart failure Sunday at an assisted-living facility in Avon, Conn., said a daughter, Kathy McCormack-Batterson. In the 1976 Democratic presidential primary, McCormack made history twice. She was the first female candidate to receive Secret Service protection and to qualify for federal matching funds.

Geraldine A. Ferraro, the savvy New York Democrat who was embraced as a symbol of women's equality in 1984 when she became the first woman nominated for vice president by a major party, died Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was 75. The cause was complications from multiple myeloma, her family said. Ferraro was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer, in 1998. She did not disclose her illness publicly until 2001, when she went on NBC's "Today" show and said she had beaten the cancer into remission with thalidomide, the once-banned drug that had proven effective with some end-stage cancers.

Once, they could be found on the arms of their charming, wealthy husbands, leading lives of privilege and glamour. Now those days are gone, replaced by lawyers' questions and the scorn of former friends. Call them "The Real Housewives of South Florida Ponzi Schemers." Among them is Victoria Meisner, whose husband, Michael, masterminded a $37-million plot that defrauded more than 260 investors. Her story, however, is different from most of the other wives: Like her husband, she's now a convicted felon.

Take a children's TV show, add an obsession with bodily fluids, Twinkies and Wagnerian opera and what do you get? "Stumpy's Gang: A Comic Mutation," the bizarre "adult comedy" at the Zephyr Theatre. A Chicago troupe named White Noise takes the credit--or blame--for this often repellent one-act about Frank Bubman (Jim O'Heir), a deranged janitor at GenetiCo, an evil research and development firm.

'Life is short. Have an affair." That's the slogan of the Ashley Madison dating service, a website for people who want to cheat on their partners. That's right, unlike traditional Internet dating sites -- where you're expected to say you're unattached no matter what the truth is -- Ashley Madison is honest about its duplicity. Unlike match.

Even in the curious world of reality television, Bethenny Frankel is a curiosity -- or, at the very least, a living, breathing oxymoron. The breakout star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York," she's the only "housewife" who isn't actually a housewife. That didn't stop her from costarring in the series' most talked-about episode of last season, when frenemy -- make that enemy -- Kelly Bensimon announced to Frankel that they'd never be friends because (raising her hand) Kelly was "up here" (hen lowering it)