1. Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. Coming straight out of the little box on today’s advent calendar, are: BAUBALLS, more commonly known as, testicle ornaments for your Christmas tree.
These lovely little numbers come in a range of colours and styles, suitable for any Christmas theme. You can invest in Rudolph’s furry balls, or Snowman balls (brrrr), even the big man himself, Santa, has made his balls available for purchase.
And here’s the best part – it’s all for a good cause. British ad agency Fallon is selling bauballs for the benefit Orchid, a male cancer charity and also to raise awareness amongst men of the signs of testicular cancer.

Bauballs
Thanks Hurricane Vanessa.
3. 32-year-old supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her 35 year old husband Tom Brady have welcomed a baby girl. Vivian Lake was born on 5 December and is the couple’s second child, after Benjamin, age 3.
Gisele made the public announcement on her Facebook page, saying: “We feel so lucky to have been able to experience the miracle of birth once again and are forever grateful for the opportunity to be the parents of another little angel. Vivian Lake was born at home on December 5. She is healthy and full of life.”

Fifi Box gave birth to a baby girl.
4. Next time someone says ‘your life is over after you have kids’, show them this… [click here]
5. Over the weekend, singer and television presenter, Brian McFadden decided to share his thoughts about domestic violence with his 230,000 Twitter followers. Here is what he said:
McFadden has (understandably, unsurprisingly and quite rightly) been slammed for his insensitive remark. The chief executive of Domestic Violence Victoria, Fiona McCormack, said that broadcasting such a message was “irresponsible”, especially considering that McFadden is father to two young girls.
6. Awkward family photos: the Christmas edition…..[click here to see]
7. Would you wear it? Jessica Biel stepped out for the premiere of her new movie, Playing For Keeps, in what appears to be an arm sling. A very fancy, expensive, Versace arm sling. We wonder if anyone asked if they could borrow a texta to sign the cast underneath it? Take a look…

Gwyneth Paltrow's Dress (front)
8. Pathetic anarchists: 23 hilarious examples of people breaking the rules [click here to see]






Comments
14 Comments so far
Why is it so wrong to suggest that women who make excuses for and stay with men who abuse them is so bad? Did I miss something? I thought as feminists we were supposed to be discouraging victim mentality and encouraging women to take action, take a stand, to DO something.
It IS frustrating being the friend of someone who makes excuses for a violent relationship even when all the support and safety is offered then refused. Isn’t it better to leave and maybe suffer consequences then to stay and definitely suffer them?
On another note, god forbid anyone ever have an unpopular opinion, they are bound to be slammed for it!
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It may seem insensitive but it’s true. And I may seem insensitive for siding with Brian on this one, but, having witnessed friends in similar circumstances, despite everyone’s efforts to help them leave the situation, they did nothing and continued taking the abuse. It’s confusing for everyone. Yes, I think sometimes the woman is brainwashed as such by the guy, or stays only for the sake of the children, but doing so damages the children more, by saying to them ‘it’s ok to be abused in the home.”
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That is extremely over simplified and demonstrates the exact same ignorance that McFadden up there is displaying.
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Well Tallulah my sister stays in an abusive relationship with a gambling alcoholic who lost his licence due to drink driving. She stays for financial reasons. They have two young girls. Whatever the excuse/reason/justification we have all had enough. We have to accept that it is her choice to stay even if we think she is bloody stupid for doing it. It is not over simplifying it. Nor am I ignorant. I have experience of being in an abusive relationship myself. I agree with Brian in so much as his comment was based on his friends situation. We don’t have to dissect everything a person says and apply it across the board!
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Its hardly over simplifying to state that a woman in an abusive relationship should get out. There is so much help and support in the community that there is no excuse for women anymore. Clearly it leaves family members and friends angry and confused as to why they stay. Brian is right, women should NEVER take abuse and use the helping hands that are offered to GET OUT!!
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@bradley – I have to admit, I had the same thought as you for years, I thought if someone is hitting you, leave. In recent years though I’ve seen friends go through abusive situations and it’s never as cut and dried as that. There is usually a great deal of emotional blackmail and psychological abuse so the woman doesn’t know which way is up or down. Often the family pet is threatened so the woman fears for what could happen to it. Sometimes there are monetary considerations, they may not have outside support or be too ashamed to go for help so they feel that they have no choice other than to put up with it. They also can be so psychologically damaged that they feel they deserve it in the end, that if weren’t so demanding/annoying/etc that it wouldn’t happen. Often the abuser can be quite charming and acts so repentant that he is forgiven and believed that it will never happen again. If there are children, the woman might want to keep the family unit together. There are loads of different scenarios that I am not thinking of but to blame the victim is not fair.
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There was a case years back in S.A. where a woman had moved from interstate to get away from an abusive partner, he tracked her down and shot her in the street when she was on her way to work. Also had a case here where a woman was shot at work and a woman was beaten to death at a function in front of members of her community.
It is not even that simple to get up and leave, or to leave and change your identity or even move interstate. People who say “I’d just leave” or “I wouldn’t put up with that” are people outside the situation. Yes, it is frustrating to see someone in that situation, but it is more than just frustrating to be IN that situation.
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I wonder if the name for Giselle and Tom’s baby is inspired by Vivian Leigh and Veronica Lake?
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That must be one interesting Advent Calendar that you have hanging in the MM office !
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What else would you do with your “Bauballs” ? I suppose that they could make a fetching pair of earings !
Have to say that I agree with McFadden. Never thought that I’d be saying that ! Men who hit women ARE pathetic and so are the women who make excuses for these twerps and stay with them. No one was born to be anothers punching bag. Nothing makes my head spin more than the woman who stays with the abusive bloke because “she loves him”.
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Many men threaten women with further abuse if they leave. My sister dated a man who punched her in the stomach. She kept quiet because he said he would kill her if she went to the police or left. Have some compassion & think why someone might be coerced to stay.
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Then why not go to the police? Just curious.
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Because…he said…he’d kill her? Did you not read that bit? Doesn’t matter how much an exaggeration or big talk that sounds like for us, I cannot imagine how terrifying a threat like that would be for someone in that situation.
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I do have a lot of compassion for people in those situations and there are a myriad of reasons for why the situations end up as they do- BUT Brian McFadden is entitled to his opinion especially one that is venting his frustration as the helpless friend.
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