Anyone who watched The Ellen Degeneres Show today got a huge shock: Perez Hilton publicly announced that he will no longer be bullying celebs. Perez, who is arguably the world’s most well known citizen journalist, is as famous for his out-and-proud sexuality as he is for his snarky criticism of public figures. It makes sense that the one thing that would strike a nerve with Perez is the recent suicides of teens who were harassed for their sexuality, but is Perez taking things too far by cutting out all criticism?

Isn’t it possible to poke fun without crossing the line?

Of course, cyber-bullying is always wrong, and never something to be taken lightly, but Perez could simply make more harmless comments. Poking fun at someone’s wardrobe choice is okay, but attacking his or her personal struggles is not. After all, who would Perez Hilton be without his trademark witty blog posts and inappropriate graffiti art?

I agree that when Perez tries to out closeted celebs, it’s blatantly wrong. But most of his comments are of the more innocuous variety. His blog reflects a trend in new media: finding a clever, humorous way to impart news to the masses.

So I say, bring on the biting comments about Ashlee Simpsons’ new hair and Mel Gibson’s atrocious behavior (hey, you deserve it, M. Gibs.) Just leave the serious stuff alone, and we’ll continue to hit refresh on your blog every thirty seconds.

There comes a tipping point where you have to say “enough is enough,” and you either need to fix what is driving you to the edge or take a step back to realize what needs to be fixed. My tipping point just arrived and resulted in me saying: “I quit!”

So, you know those people I was playing nanny for? Besides the peach cobbler incident, things have been okay. In fact, the family hired me on as their accountant/bookkeeper – so I have been doing tax forms and working with thousands and thousands of receipts for the last few weeks. However, things started going south pretty fast once I started playing the role of babysitter and bookkeeper!

There were tons of demands. It was like once they had me around all the time, they would do anything to keep me there. For example, I would give the family my schedule and they would be mad because I had LSAT class or a few hours out of the day blocked off to study – things they knew when they hired me from the start. They started wanting me to nanny and do bookkeeping work at the same time – but they only wanted to pay me for bookkeeping, despite me watching their young children. Then it turned into almost full-time hours, when I only want to work part-time. And, the worst part was when the pay became sporadic. As I write this, I still need to be paid for nearly a $100 worth of work. Do I think I’ll see the money? No, but at least I’ll have my sanity back.

About two weeks ago, I realized I haven’t had a day off in nearly two weeks. Every day was constant LSAT studying, practice tests, classes to attend, and then nonstop babysitting and bookkeeping work. And to top it all off, since I started working there I have contracted the following: pink eye, a random eye infection, ring worm, and a stomach virus – all because the kids have had these things. After having pink eye back to back, you start to feel the effects. So, I started asking myself why was I depending so much on just a few bucks here and there? It seemed stupid to waste so much time doing things that aren’t going to help me get to where I need to be and want to be in the future.

However, my boiling point really came over the weekend. The dad told me that I should be able to finish all the accounting work by that day, and I told him that would be impossible. Even if I worked for 72 hours straight – there was no feasible way that I would finish. In response to this, he said to me “Well, you must be stupid or something.” And then he told me I had to cancel my trip to St. Louis (I’m going to see my boyfriend) — something I planned and booked over a month ago! Huh, what? Wait, did you just call me stupid?

No sir, in fact, I’m not stupid. The only stupid thing is your behavior towards me. It was unacceptable for him to say this, so I just had enough and did my first real adult “I quit” moment. I’m sorry, but no one is going to call me stupid for no reason – especially in a situation like that. Yes, I may be a newly post-graduate student trying to figure things out in the world, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. If he wanted the accountant books to be complete by this week, he should have had someone start it months ago — not three weeks ago!

Although I need the money, I have to admit – I feel better already. I will have more time to study and time for myself, so I really can’t complain. And although I won’t be working, I’m not getting too discouraged – something will have to turn up…it always does.

We heard him say…he’s the voice of our generation?

New ladies are taking the reigns tonight on SNL.

Mariah wears holiday lingerie on her own.

Lindsay still likes dudes, and wants Sam to be okay with that.

Angelina giving up acting?

So hot right now: zipper booties!l

Will Spencer please STFU?!

Un-effable names for dudes.

There’s really no way to put a new spin on the idea of keeping those little promises we make to ourselves right before the ball drops every January 1st. The idea of starting a new year with a clean slate is always tantalizing, but how many of us actually end up doing what we toast to doing at midnight?

Instead of dolling out general, Oprah-fied advice about keeping you resolutions, I’m gonna tell you what worked for me. Obviously, I don’t represent the majority of the population, but if someone with the willpower of -3 (read: cannot eat just one cookie or stop at first base) can keep herself on the right track with these examples, maybe you can too.

*Be Reasonable: Guaranteeing yourself that you’ll lose 50 pounds in three months or give up smoking cold turkey can be difficult promises to keep, and nothing fades away faster than a lofty promise. I say, make a timetable and take baby steps. I’ll start exercising more and go easy on the sugar, and, I will find a program or support to help me wean down my nicotine intake, are two very doable sentences. Start small, succeed, and go bigger. That’s the key.

*Keep a Journal: Writing down your daily progress towards your resolutions is a great way to keep yourself focused on your the original goal. An online blog, or even an old fashioned diary, are two techniques that will help you see the daily evolution from idea to actuality.

*Tell People: The idea of positive thinking is fantastic, but in my world, the more people I tell about a certain idea, the stupider I’ll feel if that idea never comes to fruition. Telling the most annoying person you know about your resolution is a surefire way to hear about it every hour on the hour. You won’t be able to ignore those promises to yourself when Johnny Asshole keeps sticking his head into your room and asking about your progress.

*Find a Partner: This is especially helpful in the weight loss or “quitting something” category of resolutions. Having someone by your side to help you ignore that second brownie, or pull you away from those expensive shoes, provides just the right amount of encouragement when the going gets tough.

*Believe In It: It may sound cheesy, but truly believing that this is the year for changing something you’ve always wanted to change can be a very powerful thing. We can pretty much do anything as long as we put our minds to it and use every ounce of determination we have. How else would I have given up my love affair with store-bought cake?

To start things off right, cast your resolutions to the infinity of the internet and tell us what your goals are for 2008!