This week, Rosie O'Donnell came to Harpo studios to start work on her new show. It looks like she had a great day with our colleagues in Chicago, and we can't wait to see it premier in October on OWN!

Korea's Got Talent has a new star in the semifinals--a 22-year old opera singer named Sung-bong Choi who specializes in Italian love songs. But what makes Choi so heartbreakingly wonderful is his past as a homeless boy who used sleep in doors and sell gum to survive....from the age of 5. Watch the video below (now viewed by over 9 million people) and see how the whole story of his past came to light on national television--with such restraint and grace, you'd think he was a head of state. 

Photo: Thinkstock

We've known since age 5 what causes brain freeze: delicious, cold treats that demand to be gulped with gusto. But we're grateful to the blog Food Republic for explaining exactly what's going on when we get those intense, temporarily-immobilizing headaches. Here's the deal: Blood vessels in the roof of the mouth constrict at the touch of cold food or beverages, and then quickly expand to allow blood flow to warm the mouth back up. The pain receptors in the mouth use nerves in the face to communicate with the brain, and the pain socks us in the forehead. We can't help but wonder: if you don't let the cold stuff touch the roof of your mouth, will you avoid freezing your forehead?

We're going to try that trick the next time we eat or drink something cold. Even if it doesn't work, these icy treats are definitely worth the brain freeze risk:

• Fresh fruit ice pops
• Goopy ice cream sundaes
• Watermelon ice with roasted strawberries and lime parfait
  

Photo: Ruven Afanador

Hello, friends of summer.

I haven't written lately because my technically challenged self could not access this email account. So many barriers were put in place to protect the account, I ended up barring myself from access.

So here we go...last week was at the Allen Conference with all the movers and shapers of our world. Met some fascinating people, like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Dynamo woman. So exciting to see women crack that glass ceiling and burst through it. Came home inspired to work harder and do better.

Started out the week taking swimming lessons. Moving beyond my amateur doggy paddle. Learned the breaststroke today.

Over a year ago, I pulled a picture from O mag of a woman gliding through water. It was such a striking image of freedom and possibility, I put it on my vision board (which I've still not completed). Today, when I finished my swimming lesson, I passed the vision board lying on the table where it's been since 2009. I had an aha! moment.

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

* "It hit me that just an ounce of the unexpected can have a tremendous effect—and that a single word can change everything." — From Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston's Aha! Moment. The AMC show returns for its fourth season on Sunday night. [O magazine; AMC]

* Anyone mourning the passing of Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz should read Gilligan's Wake author and GQ writer Tom Carson's remembrance of meeting him unexpectedly at a book signing. [GQ.com]


* Get your man the summer heat-wave survival kit—if only to steal the deodorant for yourself. [Esquire.com]

* Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. Fans of Friday Night Lights sad to see the show come to an end tomorrow at least have a very thorough oral history to catch up on. [Grantland]

* "My dad looked back at me and said, 'Yes, that's your brother, and you love your brother.'" — Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin describes his struggle to come to terms with his older brother's homosexuality. [Out]

Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

We recently told you about the first 3D printed swimsuit, but it was just announced that Kristin Cavallari (star of The Hills) will be walking the runway tomorrow at Miami Fashion Week Swim in a bikini made of...glass. While it's certainly cutting edge, we imagine that sitting poolside or actually swimming in this creation would be nearly impossible. Plus, you'd need to apply sunscreen to parts of your body that, ahem, you never thought needed sunscreen before.

If the idea of walking onto the beach in this swimsuit makes you cringe, here are  8 confidence-boosting and affordable options to try on for size. Like the one at left by Yokini, which which has a 5-in-1 bottom that can be rolled up or down depending on the amount of coverage you desire.





For more swimsuit advice keep reading:

Find the most flattering swimsuit for your body
Slimming suits for plus-size women
Pear-shaped? 7 styles made for you.

Dr. Donna on the set (courtesy of USA)

It's the middle of football season, and the head trainer for the New York Jets is pacing around his office. He's tried every drill he can think of, but his players just can't seem to focus. The phone rings. It's a woman--a hypnotherapist, she says. She thinks she can help the players get their heads back in the game. The trainer is familiar with strangers telling him how to improve his team--this is New York, after all--and he tactfully puts her off. That trainer had no idea what he was up against.

A couple of months later, Donna Dannenfelser, Ed.D., a Long Island housewife-turned-therapist, is counseling pro football players in her home while her kids watch TV. The team starts turning things around. Fast forward a decade, and Dr. Donna, as the players call her, is advising high-profile patients and working as a supervising producer on a show based on her career (Necessary Roughness, Wednesdays on USA).

We thought the woman who made that call to the Jets would have some smart advice about the tough situations we sometimes find ourselves dealing with.

Situation 1: The blow off

We've got an awesome idea but the people in charge won't listen--not unlike that Jets trainer. How do you get past a no answer?

[On the jump, find out how she got a yes--and how you can too]

I used to be rigid about the accumulation of things I don’t need.  Lately, though, I am relenting. I go soft at the knees for rusted farm tools, a mason jar of old unmatched buttons, a set of slightly bent tins saying “flour” “salt” and “coffee.” I buy this stuff without thinking at garage sales or weekend markets. It makes me long for the countryside I never grew up in—barns to coleslaw.

Last week I tried to take home—no joke—an old, dead stump. A man had cut down his tree and was giving away the 3-foot tall stump. It weighed about 100 pounds. I tried to carry/roll/drag it to the car. My husband watched me. He felt embarrassed. So did I. Worse, I lied to him, loudly, so that other people would hear me and think I was a normal person. “We can make a lamp out of it!” I said.

“It’s a stump,” my husband said.

 “It’s like a rope swing without the swing!” I said.

“Think about it this way,” he said. “It’s history.”

We left the stump on the side of the road. As we should have. Because I needed another way to indulge my nostalgia for the past I never had. Luckily, I found such a place. It’s called dearphotograph.com.

Photo: Dear Photograph