Saturday, February 9, 2013
Hermes
Cartier
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Shocker! Kate Upton Sheds Bikini Top on Leaked Cover
Kate does SI ... again.Kate Upton made such a splash last year on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, the magazine has apparently asked her back for a second round.
But this time, she’s not wearing a bikini top!Instead, the curvy 20-year-old is oddly “bundled up” in a white parka, which of course is paired with white bikini bottoms in the purported cover photo, which leaked on Friday … three days before it was to be officially unveiled. But Upton fans shouldn’t worry: the jacket is unzipped, therefore her cleavage is still on full display.
[Related: 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (Photos)]
Also strange about the cover shot? Upton is set against a snowy Antarctic backdrop – with the cover line “Kate Upton Goes Polar Bare” – instead of the usual beach scene. What gives?!
[Related: Kate Upton on Super Bowl Etiquette, Deep-Fried Discipline]
What Were Celebs Thinking?!
 |
Vanessa Hudgens looked far from
foxy at Wednesday's Wildfox Fall 2013 presentation during New York
Fashion Week. The former "High School Musical" hottie -- who's become a
What Were They Thinking?! staple since splitting with Zac Efron two
years ago -- made the mistake of pairing this chintzy cheetah coat with
an unshapely, shimmering mess of a dress. A top knot, excessively long
earrings, and mismatched, bow-adorned peep-toes made for equally
upsetting accessories.
 |
Ms. Hudgens delivered her second
fashion faux pas of the week upon arriving at designer John Varvatos'
recent NYC soiree in this ill-suited ensemble, which featured a tired,
Rachel Zoe-esque faux fur vest, clunky boots, and Indiana Jones'
signature chapeau. Talk about a temple of doom!
 |
Hudgens' "HSM" co-star Ashley
Tisdale is also known for her excessive use of accoutrement. Earlier
this week, The Tiz was spotted leaving lunch at West Hollywood's Urth
Cafe in an absurd amalgamation that included a knit cap, oversize
sweater, monstrous Chanel handbag, and buckled, suede booties.
 |
Whenever Kelis is captured on
film, she winds up in What Were They Thinking?!. This week, the
"Milkshake" rapper earned herself a spot in our style snafus gallery by
sporting this leather-infused look -- and two-tone weave -- to the
Essence Black Women in Music event at L.A.'s Greystone Manor Supperclub.
 | |
We adore Sarah Jessica Parker
and realize that -- as a fashion icon -- she's allowed to take risks on
the red carpet, but we just can't support the wearing of disco-era
drapes to a charity function as classy as the annual amfAR gala. Steven
Tyler's scarf isn't doing her any favors either.
 |
Following in SJP's footsteps was
our beloved "Big Love" alum Chloe Sevigny, who's catastrophic coif
overshadowed her edgy Proenza Schouler ensemble. It's time for a new
'do, boo!
 |
Fellow hipster Lena Dunham also
failed in the fashion department this week. Based on her facial
expression, it seems like the "Girls" star/scribe would agree with our
unfavorable assessment of the color-blocked Thakoon dud she donned at
the Directors Guild of America Awards last Saturday.
 |
We are obsessed with Ashley
Olsen's adorable dachshund; we'd just prefer to see him in a better
sweater next time. Otherwise, super-cute!
 |
Just
when we were starting to support Miley Cyrus' mod phase, she slipped
back into a pair of tasteless Daisy Dukes ... and a floral top worthy of
the What Were They Thinking?! Hall of Fame.
 |
Britney. In boxers. In public. 'Nuff said.
 |
Few women can pull off a
jumpsuit. Needless to say, "How I Met Your Mother's" Cobie Smulders
isn't one of them. What's your take on her plunging Yves St. Laurent
one-piece? Awkward or awesome?
 |
Rihanna wannabe Rita Ora ravaged
our retinas once again on Tuesday, thanks to this flagrant House of
Holland frock. And what's up with those nurse-approved kicks and
matching doctor's bag? Perhaps she's making house calls ever since her
music career failed to take flight in the U.S.
 |
Here's to hoping Jennifer
Lawrence gets her locks properly coiffed before hitting the red carpet
at the 85th Annual Academy Awards later this month. Don't get it
twisted; we treasure her. We just wanted her tresses to look a little
more luxurious at the Oscar nominees luncheon. That's all.
 |
One of these days, Justin Bieber will buy a belt or learn to pull up his pants, right? OK, probably not.
 |
Suffice it to say, Ginnifer
Goodwin should say "buh-bye" ("SNL"-style) to the flight attendant flop
she boarded at Tuesday's Listerine launch event. David Spade would not
approve.
Common Tax-Filing Mistakes and How to Avoid it
And even if a mistake -- either on your computer or paper forms --
doesn't cost you cash, it could delay the receipt of any refund you're
expecting.
To get exactly what you should from the Internal Revenue Service, as quickly as possible, look out for these tax-filing pitfalls. A few are new, thanks to recent law changes. Others are perennial problems taxpayers face each filing season. With a little care, you can avoid them all.
1. Pay your Roth conversion taxes
A lot of taxpayers have taken advantage of the tax law change that now allows anyone, regardless of income, to convert a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth IRA. But if you made such a change in 2010 when this conversion was first allowed, you have a tax task to take care of on your 2012 return. A special provision allowed individuals who moved their money into a Roth IRA in 2010 to spread the taxes due on converted amounts equally over the 2011 and 2012 tax years. The first half of those conversion taxes was due with your 2011 tax return. Make sure you pay the rest of the taxes with your 2012 return.
2. Homebuyer tax credit complications
Since its creation, the first-time homebuyer credit went through significant changes. It started as a $7,500 interest-free loan from Uncle Sam, changed into a true tax credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time buyer and added a $6,500 tax credit for a previous homeowner moving up to another house.
All the revisions to eligible buyer guidelines, purchase time frames, income thresholds, home price restrictions and payback requirements are a tax-filing minefield. If you're not careful, a mistake here could end up costing you the credit or at least slowing down the processing of your return.
If you're paying back the original $7,500 tax credit, the IRS has made the repayment process a bit simpler by eliminating in many cases the requirement that taxpayers file Form 5405. Now some individuals who are repaying the credit can just write the repayment amount they are including with their taxes directly on Form 1040.
3. Math miscalculations
The most common error on tax returns, year after year, is bad math. Mistakes in arithmetic or in transferring figures from one schedule to another will get you an immediate correction notice. Math mistakes also can reduce your tax refund or result in you owing more tax than you thought.
Using a tax software program to file your return can help reduce math errors. The built-in calculators do the work for you, adding, subtracting and inserting numbers on additional forms as needed. But you still have to make sure your initial numbers are correct. Entering $3,500 when the real figure is $5,300 makes a lot of tax difference. Getting the numbers right is crucial because you can be sure the IRS will be double-checking numerical entries against its copies of your tax statements (W-2, 1099s and the like). When IRS examiners find a discrepancy, they'll definitely let you know and, in many cases, will correct your mistake and refigure your taxes for you. Don't give them the chance. Make sure your math entries are right.
4. Direct deposit dangers
Taxpayers can have a refund directly deposited into multiple bank accounts. This option is a great way to save your refund money, but the more numbers you enter on a tax form, the more chances you have to enter them incorrectly. And a wrong account or routing number could cause you to lose your refund entirely.
You can divide your refund into three accounts by filing Form 8888 along with your individual return. It's not a difficult document to complete, but if you put in wrong account numbers, your refund could end up in someone else's account or be sent back to the IRS. Either way, you might not be able to retrieve your refund because there is no IRS procedure for replacing lost electronically transferred funds.
Incorrect account numbers aren't just a problem when a refund is split multiple ways. Even if your refund is going to just one account, make very sure you enter your account and bank routing numbers correctly.
5. Additional income, additional filing work
Did you have a side job this year? If so, as a contractor you probably received a Form 1099-MISC detailing the extra earnings.
What about savings and investment accounts? For these, you should have received Form 1099-INT and Form 1099 DIV statements.
In each 1099 instance, the IRS knows precisely how much extra money, either as wages or unearned investment income, you made as soon as you did, thanks to the copies of your 1099 forms that went to the tax agency.
If you forget to include any of these earnings on your return, the IRS examiners will let you know you owe taxes on it, too. And depending on when your oversight is discovered, you also could owe penalties and interest on the unreported earnings.
6. Filing status errors
Make sure you choose the correct filing status for your situation. You have five options, and each could make a difference in your ultimate tax bill.
If this is the first tax-filing season you've been divorced and you now are a single parent, head-of-household probably will be more beneficial. And you're still married, but you and your spouse are thinking about filing separate tax returns? That works in some cases, but not all.
Make sure you know what each tax-filing status entails, and choose the one that best fits your personal and tax situation.
7. Social Security number oversights
Because the IRS stopped putting taxpayer Social Security numbers on tax package labels in response to privacy concerns, some taxpayers forget to write in their identification numbers. Your tax ID number is crucial because there are so many transactions -- income statements, savings account interest, retirement plan contributions -- keyed to this number.
The nine-digit sequence also is vital to claim several tax credits, such as the child tax and additional child tax credits as well as ones for educational expenses and dependent care costs.
And make sure the names associated with the Social Security numbers match Social Security Administration records. A difference here also will cause the IRS to kick out or slow down your return.
8. Complete charitable contributions
Did you give to charitable groups last year? All types of donations, from cash to cars, could be valuable tax deductions, so make sure you count them all when you file. Be sure to follow the donation tax rules, the most important being that you give to a qualified organization -- that is, one that has tax-exempt status with the IRS. Also be careful when calculating any gifts of clothing and household items. Tax law now requires that these donations be in good or better condition or the deduction is disallowed.
9. Signature required
Sign and date your return. The IRS won't process it if it's missing a John Hancock, and that means on e-filed returns, too. Taxpayers filing electronically must sign the return electronically using a personal identification number, or PIN. To verify your identity, you'll have to provide the PIN you used last year or your adjusted gross income from your previous year's tax return.
Your tax software should walk you through the e-signature process, but if you're still mailing your return, don't be in such a hurry that you stuff your 1040 in the preaddressed IRS envelope without signing it. And if it's a joint filing, you and your spouse must sign.
10. Missing the deadline
Don't miss the impending April 15 tax deadline. If you owe the IRS and that's the reason you're thinking of not filing, that's a bad idea. If you don't file a return, you'll face even stiffer penalties. So send in the paperwork, pay what you cann and talk with the IRS or your tax professional about the next steps.
To get exactly what you should from the Internal Revenue Service, as quickly as possible, look out for these tax-filing pitfalls. A few are new, thanks to recent law changes. Others are perennial problems taxpayers face each filing season. With a little care, you can avoid them all.
1. Pay your Roth conversion taxes
A lot of taxpayers have taken advantage of the tax law change that now allows anyone, regardless of income, to convert a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth IRA. But if you made such a change in 2010 when this conversion was first allowed, you have a tax task to take care of on your 2012 return. A special provision allowed individuals who moved their money into a Roth IRA in 2010 to spread the taxes due on converted amounts equally over the 2011 and 2012 tax years. The first half of those conversion taxes was due with your 2011 tax return. Make sure you pay the rest of the taxes with your 2012 return.
2. Homebuyer tax credit complications
Since its creation, the first-time homebuyer credit went through significant changes. It started as a $7,500 interest-free loan from Uncle Sam, changed into a true tax credit of up to $8,000 for a first-time buyer and added a $6,500 tax credit for a previous homeowner moving up to another house.
All the revisions to eligible buyer guidelines, purchase time frames, income thresholds, home price restrictions and payback requirements are a tax-filing minefield. If you're not careful, a mistake here could end up costing you the credit or at least slowing down the processing of your return.
If you're paying back the original $7,500 tax credit, the IRS has made the repayment process a bit simpler by eliminating in many cases the requirement that taxpayers file Form 5405. Now some individuals who are repaying the credit can just write the repayment amount they are including with their taxes directly on Form 1040.
3. Math miscalculations
The most common error on tax returns, year after year, is bad math. Mistakes in arithmetic or in transferring figures from one schedule to another will get you an immediate correction notice. Math mistakes also can reduce your tax refund or result in you owing more tax than you thought.
Using a tax software program to file your return can help reduce math errors. The built-in calculators do the work for you, adding, subtracting and inserting numbers on additional forms as needed. But you still have to make sure your initial numbers are correct. Entering $3,500 when the real figure is $5,300 makes a lot of tax difference. Getting the numbers right is crucial because you can be sure the IRS will be double-checking numerical entries against its copies of your tax statements (W-2, 1099s and the like). When IRS examiners find a discrepancy, they'll definitely let you know and, in many cases, will correct your mistake and refigure your taxes for you. Don't give them the chance. Make sure your math entries are right.
4. Direct deposit dangers
Taxpayers can have a refund directly deposited into multiple bank accounts. This option is a great way to save your refund money, but the more numbers you enter on a tax form, the more chances you have to enter them incorrectly. And a wrong account or routing number could cause you to lose your refund entirely.
You can divide your refund into three accounts by filing Form 8888 along with your individual return. It's not a difficult document to complete, but if you put in wrong account numbers, your refund could end up in someone else's account or be sent back to the IRS. Either way, you might not be able to retrieve your refund because there is no IRS procedure for replacing lost electronically transferred funds.
Incorrect account numbers aren't just a problem when a refund is split multiple ways. Even if your refund is going to just one account, make very sure you enter your account and bank routing numbers correctly.
5. Additional income, additional filing work
Did you have a side job this year? If so, as a contractor you probably received a Form 1099-MISC detailing the extra earnings.
What about savings and investment accounts? For these, you should have received Form 1099-INT and Form 1099 DIV statements.
In each 1099 instance, the IRS knows precisely how much extra money, either as wages or unearned investment income, you made as soon as you did, thanks to the copies of your 1099 forms that went to the tax agency.
If you forget to include any of these earnings on your return, the IRS examiners will let you know you owe taxes on it, too. And depending on when your oversight is discovered, you also could owe penalties and interest on the unreported earnings.
6. Filing status errors
Make sure you choose the correct filing status for your situation. You have five options, and each could make a difference in your ultimate tax bill.
If this is the first tax-filing season you've been divorced and you now are a single parent, head-of-household probably will be more beneficial. And you're still married, but you and your spouse are thinking about filing separate tax returns? That works in some cases, but not all.
Make sure you know what each tax-filing status entails, and choose the one that best fits your personal and tax situation.
7. Social Security number oversights
Because the IRS stopped putting taxpayer Social Security numbers on tax package labels in response to privacy concerns, some taxpayers forget to write in their identification numbers. Your tax ID number is crucial because there are so many transactions -- income statements, savings account interest, retirement plan contributions -- keyed to this number.
The nine-digit sequence also is vital to claim several tax credits, such as the child tax and additional child tax credits as well as ones for educational expenses and dependent care costs.
And make sure the names associated with the Social Security numbers match Social Security Administration records. A difference here also will cause the IRS to kick out or slow down your return.
8. Complete charitable contributions
Did you give to charitable groups last year? All types of donations, from cash to cars, could be valuable tax deductions, so make sure you count them all when you file. Be sure to follow the donation tax rules, the most important being that you give to a qualified organization -- that is, one that has tax-exempt status with the IRS. Also be careful when calculating any gifts of clothing and household items. Tax law now requires that these donations be in good or better condition or the deduction is disallowed.
9. Signature required
Sign and date your return. The IRS won't process it if it's missing a John Hancock, and that means on e-filed returns, too. Taxpayers filing electronically must sign the return electronically using a personal identification number, or PIN. To verify your identity, you'll have to provide the PIN you used last year or your adjusted gross income from your previous year's tax return.
Your tax software should walk you through the e-signature process, but if you're still mailing your return, don't be in such a hurry that you stuff your 1040 in the preaddressed IRS envelope without signing it. And if it's a joint filing, you and your spouse must sign.
10. Missing the deadline
Don't miss the impending April 15 tax deadline. If you owe the IRS and that's the reason you're thinking of not filing, that's a bad idea. If you don't file a return, you'll face even stiffer penalties. So send in the paperwork, pay what you cann and talk with the IRS or your tax professional about the next steps.
'Two and a Half Men' writers take a jab at Angus T. Jones, steal show from guest star Jaime Pressly
"Two and a Half Men" fans have given majorly mixed
reviews of the long-running series since Ashton Kutcher replaced Charlie
Sheen in 2011, but it would be hard to argue that Jaime Pressly's guest
spot on Thursday night's episode wasn't a ton of fun. Surprisingly,
though, it wasn't Pressly's performance that stole the show; Conchata
Ferrell's character, Berta, delivered a memorable tongue-in-cheek zinger
about Jake (Angus T. Jones) -- saying to Alan (Jon Cryer) that at least
he's not "one of those showbiz kids who go off the rails."
Whoa! Did the writers just make a statement about Angus T. Jones's
highly publicized outburst against "Two and a Half Men"? In November,
Jones bit the hand that's been feeding him for a decade when he told
fans of the show to stop watching it -- even going so far as to call the series "filth."
Watch his rant:
That jab might have slightly upstaged Pressly's performance, but the
Emmy-winning actress ("My Name Is Earl") held her own as 19-year-old
Jake's tough-chick girlfriend, Tammy. She might only be 36, but she
definitely gave an anxious Alan a "cougar" vibe.
Her performance as an inked-up mom of three and savvy business owner
(she owns her own tattoo shop, called "Tammy's Tatties," of course),
who's taken some hard knocks and kept on trucking, added much-needed
range to a show that's known for easy jokes and one-dimensional
characters that often don't push its stars' capabilities. It's also
clear that Pressly hasn't lost her comedic chops, nailing lines like
"Give me a body part and I can paint it, pierce it, or plug it." That
raspy voice doesn't hurt, either!
So how does this seemingly age-inappropriate relationship shake out?
Well, there was almost a Vegas wedding! At least in Jake's mind. Jake's
so love-struck with his blond-bombshell girlfriend that he wants to
propose and then elope to Vegas the next day. He even swears a very
resistant Walden (Ashton Kutcher) to secrecy.
When Alan has a one-on-one chat with Tammy, he realizes that she is a
beautiful, cool, smart woman (even if she just got her ankle bracelet
off a week ago) with whom he actually has a lot in common. She once
freaked when her 17-year-old daughter brought home an older man. But
Alan is most pleased (and relieved) to hear that she's approaching the
relationship with Jake as a lighthearted one that's for the moment and
not forever.
Don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet, Alan; when Walden blurts out
Jake's secret at the dinner table (hey, he said he wasn't good with
secrets), Alan flies off the handle. Especially after a flattered Tammy
seems into the idea of getting hitched. Luckily for everyone, she later
tells Jake that she wants a family wedding that brings their loved ones
together instead of driving them apart. Apologies are accepted all
around, and for now it looks as if the wedding is off. Here's hoping
that Jaime Pressly sticks around for this story arc!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)