When I first heard Kate Beckinsale was going to be a face of a skincare brand that uses blue scorpion venom in its products, I was intrigued and also a little freaked out. But take one look at Beckinsale’s background — and her social media — and you know she 1) wouldn’t hurt an animal and 2) doesn’t partner with many beauty brands. So, for Beckinsale to work with MRVL Skincare, there had to be something to it. It turns out, there is and the story of how this skincare came to be is pretty fascinating. As is Beckinsale’s thoughts on why people are so concerned about women asserting their intelligence.

First, let’s get to the beauty products. MRVL Skincare was founded by entrepreneur Rick Langley who is also the founder of the world’s largest Blue Scorpion farm. These types of scorpions don’t have dangerous venom, so there are no concerns there. Langley developed what he calls Blue Scorpion Peptide (BSP) that he promises helps to stimulate natural collagen production, fight free radicals, help regenerate symptoms of damaged skin and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The first batch of products is out today on the brand’s website.

I sat down with Beckinsale to find out her must-have items in the line and how she really feels about all that IQ backlash.

How She Got Involved With MRVL Skincare

Beckinsale was happy to become a spokesperson for MRVL Skincare because, well, the products just worked for her, something she says is most important when she’s going to be supporting a brand. “They sent me some of them, and they were such nice products and I really liked what they did to my skin,” she says. And when we learned the photoshoot was going to be in Turks and Caicos with dogs, the animal-rights activist was all in.

Of course, she made sure the Blue Scorpions aren’t hurt when “milked” for their venom, something I asked Langley as well. “I don’t want that to be involved with something that’s not kind,” she says. “But then also once I met them, I’m like, these last people to hurt an animal.” In fact, it was that Langley is also an animal-lover that attracted Beckinsale to the project.

Her Must-Have Products

Beckinsale likes to keep her routine pretty simple with an oil cleanser to remove makeup. As of late, she’s adding in her favorite MRVL Skincare products, too. “I really am a massive fan of the retinol cream particularly,” she says of the Retinol Repair Night Cream that contains combines retinol with the BSP. She uses it a few times a week but applies the Super Rich Eye Cream every day. When her skin is feeling dry and sensitive, she incorporates the calming, rich Arnica Recovery Cream.

MRVL Skincare.

How Her Cats Feel About Dressing Up

Switching gears, I have to ask Beckinsale about the cats on her Instagram always dressed up in the type of outfits my own cat would murder me for putting on her. Her cats are incredibly chill about it. “Well, Clive, the older one is 17. He actually really enjoys an outfit and he’s got certain things he just likes,” she says. “He loves tule and he loves ribbon and he’s really predictable. We adopted Willow from somebody else who couldn’t take care of her. She was kind of skittish and not the sort of cat that’s wanting to wear a pair of pajamas. But actually the longer she’s been with us, she’s like, I guess that’s how it is around here.”

Source: Instagram

Why She Thinks People Have Trouble With Intelligent Women

This past October, Beckinsale was a guest on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, when the host pressed her for her IQ. She called her mother to find out and revealed it to be 152, which is considered to be “highly gifted.” She told Stern that having a high IQ wasn’t “helpful” to her in Hollywood, saying, “I just think it might be a handicap, actually.” This led to numerous headlines criticizing the actor for “bragging” about her intelligence.

“If I was bragging, I would have said it earlier than this,” she tells me. “This would be a thing that I would have mentioned. It’s not something I think about, it’s not something I think is a particularly good marker of intelligence. Actually, I don’t think it’s that relevant.” She says she was just asked so she answered the question. “I think women if you say ‘I’m intelligent,’ or ‘I’m anything,’ frankly, it’s immediately bragging even it’s just a fact,” she continues.

Beckinsale took to her Instagram to express her frustration with the response. She sites studies that show girls often “play dumb” with boys to appear more feminine. Growing up in an all-girls school, Beckinsale didn’t have this experience. She might not have felt confident physically but she knew she was smart — and wasn’t taught to hide it. “I did not grow up feeling particularly confident about what I looked like,” she says. “I was very short and my feet grew to this same size they are now. I wasn’t one of these kids that had an amazing middle school time. That still doesn’t feel like my big strength. But I’ve never ever had to feel like I’m not smart.”

Source: Instagram

How She Feels About the Backlash

“Once I started thinking about it after this whole thing came up, finding all these articles about women dumbing themselves down and women, especially on dates, dumbing themselves down and thinking ‘God, this was just sorry,’” she says. “This says more about men actually, you know. But having said that, a lot of the people who jumped on me were women. I think people, in general, don’t like a woman to take up too much space. I don’t agree with that.”

We talk about how things women like are often seen as silly or frivolous as if being into skincare or cats has anything to do with how smart you are. (It doesn’t.) “I tend to throw a cat [into photos] just to make it more fun,” she says. “And people will go ‘oh, well, this really shows your IQ.’  No, because if you’re smart, you don’t have to be going on about it all the time. You can put a fedora on a cat and still be smart.”

Amen.

There is no doubt that the Covid virus has tested humanity in many ways. It seems to be a huge wake-up call that, apparently, we all needed. It essentially forced us all to slow and then hunker down with only our nearest and dearest.

Being homebound with our children and each other enabled most of us to reevaluate our priorities. For many families, staying home with their children was a new and life-changing experience. Parents realized that spending quality time as a family was more important than they previously thought.

We have all experienced limitations in everyday life to one degree or another. We missed out on weddings, celebrations, school, and sporting events. And more importantly, we had to endure the loss of thousands of lives, children missing school, widespread unemployment, and an incredible amount of stress and uncertainty.

A New Demand

For almost two years, the news outlets have talked about the effect of Covid on our healthcare facilities and personnel. But we don’t often hear about the impact that Covid has had on our mental health system. Unfortunately, it is one of the few industries that has thrived and experienced substantial growth due to Covid.

I can be happy for the mask makers and food delivery companies that have suddenly had immense growth. They are an example of some of the industries who are winners here. But the recent increase in demand for mental health care is not one that we should celebrate.

I think Covid affected people differently based on their personalities and preconditions. For those hypersensitive to illness or germs, an airborne deadly virus is their worst nightmare brought to life. For these people six feet of social distancing is not nearly enough and entering a potentially deadly germ-filled world was not an option.

It is understandable that if they already feared germs and becoming ill that Covid would stop them in their tracks.

Is There Help Anywhere?

Think about the number of seasoned professionals like high-tech executives or attorneys who suddenly found themselves homebound, without a job or identity. Depression can easily set in to realize that you no longer have a daily purpose or a place to go. And that you were much more expendable to your company than you thought. For some driven and hardworking people, this is enough to shake them at their core.

People are seeking professional help in droves. In most major cities, trying to find a mental health professional is like finding a needle in a haystack. They are out there. The only problem is they have more patients than they can treat.

And there is a serious problem when severely depressed or anxiety-filled people must wait for months to be seen. Can you imagine being suicidal and being told that you can get help, but it won’t be for at least a couple of months? This is a recipe for disaster and, frankly, is unacceptable.

Another susceptible group is people that are prone to depression or anxiety. The isolation involved, especially at the onset of the outbreak, was especially difficult for them. It is medically proven that we are social beings and that our brains are wired for social interaction.

We depend on each other for support, love, and a sense of belonging. Isolation can increase self-doubt, negative thoughts, and elevate or cause depression. For those that suffer from anxiety, it’s obvious that Covid and the fear surrounding it were a big trigger.

Get in Line

Perhaps there are statistics out there indicating the effect of Covid on our mental health system. The increase in suicides or hospitalizations for patients suffering with depression and anxiety. In most states, there is a mandatory psychiatric hold for individuals threatening or attempting suicide.

Some hospitals have a psych unit equipped to hold and treat these patients, while others must be transferred to another local facility.

Mental health professionals recently told me that their patient load has been at a maximum level for over a year. In addition to treating so many patients, there are the time-consuming Covid protocols they must perform. In some cases they are turning patients away and are having trouble finding post- treatment care for patients about to be discharged.

Dealing with the Loss

We can look at this as mental health or financial issue. In my opinion, it’s both. And who’s to say what triggered the depression or anxiety. Was it the financial fallout, isolation, or the fear of death and the uncertain future? Regardless of whether people had mental health issues before Covid or developed them during the pandemic, one thing is certain – our mental healthcare system was not prepared.

I pray that the next wave of mental health issues is not post-traumatic stress. This disorder affects thousands of Veterans due to the violent and traumatic experiences associated with being at war.

For some people, Covid has become their own personal war. A situation of monumental loss that they couldn’t control. There have been many losses for some; someone they loved, their job, their savings, their contact with loved ones, and their faith in the future.

There are many lessons to come out of Covid. Like other historical events, we can tell our great-grandchildren that we were there and lived to tell the story. We survived, but the question is, at what cost? For some of us, it was purely financial, and for others, it was much more.

I hope that as we tell our great-grandchildren that we tell them the truth. The truth is that it affected everyone differently. And that for some, the cost was a deeply emotional one.

How has Covid affected you and your loved ones? Have you unlocked depression on anxiety because of the pandemic? Have you tried looking for a therapist and what was the result? How are you dealing now, at the end of the second Covid year?

When I first heard Kate Beckinsale was going to be a face of a skincare brand that uses blue scorpion venom in its products, I was intrigued and also a little freaked out. But take one look at Beckinsale’s background — and her social media — and you know she 1) wouldn’t hurt an animal and 2) doesn’t partner with many beauty brands. So, for Beckinsale to work with MRVL Skincare, there had to be something to it. It turns out, there is and the story of how this skincare came to be is pretty fascinating. As is Beckinsale’s thoughts on why people are so concerned about women asserting their intelligence.

First, let’s get to the beauty products. MRVL Skincare was founded by entrepreneur Rick Langley who is also the founder of the world’s largest Blue Scorpion farm. These types of scorpions don’t have dangerous venom, so there are no concerns there. Langley developed what he calls Blue Scorpion Peptide (BSP) that he promises helps to stimulate natural collagen production, fight free radicals, help regenerate symptoms of damaged skin and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The first batch of products is out today on the brand’s website.

I sat down with Beckinsale to find out her must-have items in the line and how she really feels about all that IQ backlash.

How She Got Involved With MRVL Skincare

Beckinsale was happy to become a spokesperson for MRVL Skincare because, well, the products just worked for her, something she says is most important when she’s going to be supporting a brand. “They sent me some of them, and they were such nice products and I really liked what they did to my skin,” she says. And when we learned the photoshoot was going to be in Turks and Caicos with dogs, the animal-rights activist was all in.

Of course, she made sure the Blue Scorpions aren’t hurt when “milked” for their venom, something I asked Langley as well. “I don’t want that to be involved with something that’s not kind,” she says. “But then also once I met them, I’m like, these last people to hurt an animal.” In fact, it was that Langley is also an animal-lover that attracted Beckinsale to the project.

Her Must-Have Products

Beckinsale likes to keep her routine pretty simple with an oil cleanser to remove makeup. As of late, she’s adding in her favorite MRVL Skincare products, too. “I really am a massive fan of the retinol cream particularly,” she says of the Retinol Repair Night Cream that contains combines retinol with the BSP. She uses it a few times a week but applies the Super Rich Eye Cream every day. When her skin is feeling dry and sensitive, she incorporates the calming, rich Arnica Recovery Cream.

MRVL Skincare.

How Her Cats Feel About Dressing Up

Switching gears, I have to ask Beckinsale about the cats on her Instagram always dressed up in the type of outfits my own cat would murder me for putting on her. Her cats are incredibly chill about it. “Well, Clive, the older one is 17. He actually really enjoys an outfit and he’s got certain things he just likes,” she says. “He loves tule and he loves ribbon and he’s really predictable. We adopted Willow from somebody else who couldn’t take care of her. She was kind of skittish and not the sort of cat that’s wanting to wear a pair of pajamas. But actually the longer she’s been with us, she’s like, I guess that’s how it is around here.”

Source: Instagram

Why She Thinks People Have Trouble With Intelligent Women

This past October, Beckinsale was a guest on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, when the host pressed her for her IQ. She called her mother to find out and revealed it to be 152, which is considered to be “highly gifted.” She told Stern that having a high IQ wasn’t “helpful” to her in Hollywood, saying, “I just think it might be a handicap, actually.” This led to numerous headlines criticizing the actor for “bragging” about her intelligence.

“If I was bragging, I would have said it earlier than this,” she tells me. “This would be a thing that I would have mentioned. It’s not something I think about, it’s not something I think is a particularly good marker of intelligence. Actually, I don’t think it’s that relevant.” She says she was just asked so she answered the question. “I think women if you say ‘I’m intelligent,’ or ‘I’m anything,’ frankly, it’s immediately bragging even it’s just a fact,” she continues.

Beckinsale took to her Instagram to express her frustration with the response. She sites studies that show girls often “play dumb” with boys to appear more feminine. Growing up in an all-girls school, Beckinsale didn’t have this experience. She might not have felt confident physically but she knew she was smart — and wasn’t taught to hide it. “I did not grow up feeling particularly confident about what I looked like,” she says. “I was very short and my feet grew to this same size they are now. I wasn’t one of these kids that had an amazing middle school time. That still doesn’t feel like my big strength. But I’ve never ever had to feel like I’m not smart.”

Source: Instagram

How She Feels About the Backlash

“Once I started thinking about it after this whole thing came up, finding all these articles about women dumbing themselves down and women, especially on dates, dumbing themselves down and thinking ‘God, this was just sorry,’” she says. “This says more about men actually, you know. But having said that, a lot of the people who jumped on me were women. I think people, in general, don’t like a woman to take up too much space. I don’t agree with that.”

We talk about how things women like are often seen as silly or frivolous as if being into skincare or cats has anything to do with how smart you are. (It doesn’t.) “I tend to throw a cat [into photos] just to make it more fun,” she says. “And people will go ‘oh, well, this really shows your IQ.’  No, because if you’re smart, you don’t have to be going on about it all the time. You can put a fedora on a cat and still be smart.”

Amen.

I’m traveling with a friend. We stop at an artist’s cooperative in a university town on our way back home. We spot a dizzying array of Christmas tree ornaments. As always, we ignore them – they have no relevance in our Jewish lives.

Abruptly, my friend stops in her tracks. “Actually,” she notes, “a Christmas tree does have some relevance in my life because one of my kids puts one up yearly. Do you think I should buy her and her family an ornament as an inclusive gesture of good holiday cheer?”

The December Dilemma Kicks in Early

Confusion reigns down upon me. I have no idea how to answer her. What if she bought that adorable bagel Christmas tree ornament and sent it to her daughter to hang up as her kids decorated the tree? Would it be welcomed? Would it be in bad taste? Would it confuse her grandchildren? Would it chip away at her daughter’s commitment to raise her kids Jewish even though she is in an inter-faith marriage and has made a concession to her husband to yearly put up a tree?

My friend passes on the purchase, but the questions linger as we head home.

Ah! The December Dilemma – that treacherous time of year when multiple holidays collide and even people with good intentions can become embroiled in toxic misunderstandings.

Statistics Simply Don’t Lie

And it’s no wonder so many of us wonder. From the Pew Research site, I gather the following information:

About four-in-ten married Jews (42%) have a non-Jewish spouse… intermarriage is almost nonexistent among married Orthodox Jews (2%), while nearly half of all non-Orthodox Jews who are married say their spouse is not Jewish (47%). Intermarriage is more common among those who have married in recent years: Among Jewish respondents who got married since the beginning of 2010, 61% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with 18% of Jews who got married before 1980.

My friend and I jokingly rattle off a random list of 15 Jewish friends who have married children. Eleven of them have kids who have married non-Jews.

Spousal conversion rate among our buddies’ kids? Sticky issue. We don’t pry, so we deem it Unknown. But even if conversion renders the term intermarriage inapplicable, one still has the family of the converted spouse to deal with on matters of sharing traditions, holiday rituals and religious observances. It’s a complicated minefield.

Days pass and a barrage of thoughts continually assault me on how to both approach and celebrate the holidays in mixed marriage households with children.

Simply Too Touchy to Tackle Alone

I approach one of my favorite rabbis for counsel and guidance. Rabbi Gary Klein is Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Palm Harbor, Florida. Below are his thoughts:

It is important that Jews in interfaith families do not become confused and come to believe that both holidays can be theirs. A Jewish child growing up in an interfaith home can enjoy celebrating Christmas with his or her Christian parent, aunts and uncles and grandparents; but should not be taught that Christmas is his or her holiday. The same should hold true for a child being raised as a Christian in an interfaith family. They can enjoy the holiday of their Jewish family members; but not be expected and should not be taught to view it as their holiday; as there are huge differences in the fundamental teachings of Judaism and Christianity.

Children, at least as early as the time they reach middle school, can see that some of the major teachings of one religion contradict some of the major teachings of the other. It’s important for a child’s self-esteem that they feel that a certain synagogue or a certain church is their second home, that they belong there. But children will soon come to see, especially if they are raised believing that they are both Jewish and Christian, that they are neither, and won’t feel at home anywhere. They can, however, be Jews who love Christians and respect Christianity; or Christians who love Jews and respect Judaism. 

Share the Wisdom

We light the first candles on the Menorah on November 28, with Christmas closely following. Here’s to peace, tranquility and mutual respect during this holiday season. Let’s all remember that we are not the only ones experiencing the December Dilemma!

If you are part of a multi-cultural family, how do you build bridges of mutual respect and affection during the holiday season? What holidays are celebrated in your family?

When I first heard Kate Beckinsale was going to be a face of a skincare brand that uses blue scorpion venom in its products, I was intrigued and also a little freaked out. But take one look at Beckinsale’s background — and her social media — and you know she 1) wouldn’t hurt an animal and 2) doesn’t partner with many beauty brands. So, for Beckinsale to work with MRVL Skincare, there had to be something to it. It turns out, there is and the story of how this skincare came to be is pretty fascinating. As is Beckinsale’s thoughts on why people are so concerned about women asserting their intelligence.

First, let’s get to the beauty products. MRVL Skincare was founded by entrepreneur Rick Langley who is also the founder of the world’s largest Blue Scorpion farm. These types of scorpions don’t have dangerous venom, so there are no concerns there. Langley developed what he calls Blue Scorpion Peptide (BSP) that he promises helps to stimulate natural collagen production, fight free radicals, help regenerate symptoms of damaged skin and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The first batch of products is out today on the brand’s website.

I sat down with Beckinsale to find out her must-have items in the line and how she really feels about all that IQ backlash.

How She Got Involved With MRVL Skincare

Beckinsale was happy to become a spokesperson for MRVL Skincare because, well, the products just worked for her, something she says is most important when she’s going to be supporting a brand. “They sent me some of them, and they were such nice products and I really liked what they did to my skin,” she says. And when we learned the photoshoot was going to be in Turks and Caicos with dogs, the animal-rights activist was all in.

Of course, she made sure the Blue Scorpions aren’t hurt when “milked” for their venom, something I asked Langley as well. “I don’t want that to be involved with something that’s not kind,” she says. “But then also once I met them, I’m like, these last people to hurt an animal.” In fact, it was that Langley is also an animal-lover that attracted Beckinsale to the project.

Her Must-Have Products

Beckinsale likes to keep her routine pretty simple with an oil cleanser to remove makeup. As of late, she’s adding in her favorite MRVL Skincare products, too. “I really am a massive fan of the retinol cream particularly,” she says of the Retinol Repair Night Cream that contains combines retinol with the BSP. She uses it a few times a week but applies the Super Rich Eye Cream every day. When her skin is feeling dry and sensitive, she incorporates the calming, rich Arnica Recovery Cream.

MRVL Skincare.

How Her Cats Feel About Dressing Up

Switching gears, I have to ask Beckinsale about the cats on her Instagram always dressed up in the type of outfits my own cat would murder me for putting on her. Her cats are incredibly chill about it. “Well, Clive, the older one is 17. He actually really enjoys an outfit and he’s got certain things he just likes,” she says. “He loves tule and he loves ribbon and he’s really predictable. We adopted Willow from somebody else who couldn’t take care of her. She was kind of skittish and not the sort of cat that’s wanting to wear a pair of pajamas. But actually the longer she’s been with us, she’s like, I guess that’s how it is around here.”

Source: Instagram

Why She Thinks People Have Trouble With Intelligent Women

This past October, Beckinsale was a guest on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, when the host pressed her for her IQ. She called her mother to find out and revealed it to be 152, which is considered to be “highly gifted.” She told Stern that having a high IQ wasn’t “helpful” to her in Hollywood, saying, “I just think it might be a handicap, actually.” This led to numerous headlines criticizing the actor for “bragging” about her intelligence.

“If I was bragging, I would have said it earlier than this,” she tells me. “This would be a thing that I would have mentioned. It’s not something I think about, it’s not something I think is a particularly good marker of intelligence. Actually, I don’t think it’s that relevant.” She says she was just asked so she answered the question. “I think women if you say ‘I’m intelligent,’ or ‘I’m anything,’ frankly, it’s immediately bragging even it’s just a fact,” she continues.

Beckinsale took to her Instagram to express her frustration with the response. She sites studies that show girls often “play dumb” with boys to appear more feminine. Growing up in an all-girls school, Beckinsale didn’t have this experience. She might not have felt confident physically but she knew she was smart — and wasn’t taught to hide it. “I did not grow up feeling particularly confident about what I looked like,” she says. “I was very short and my feet grew to this same size they are now. I wasn’t one of these kids that had an amazing middle school time. That still doesn’t feel like my big strength. But I’ve never ever had to feel like I’m not smart.”

Source: Instagram

How She Feels About the Backlash

“Once I started thinking about it after this whole thing came up, finding all these articles about women dumbing themselves down and women, especially on dates, dumbing themselves down and thinking ‘God, this was just sorry,’” she says. “This says more about men actually, you know. But having said that, a lot of the people who jumped on me were women. I think people, in general, don’t like a woman to take up too much space. I don’t agree with that.”

We talk about how things women like are often seen as silly or frivolous as if being into skincare or cats has anything to do with how smart you are. (It doesn’t.) “I tend to throw a cat [into photos] just to make it more fun,” she says. “And people will go ‘oh, well, this really shows your IQ.’  No, because if you’re smart, you don’t have to be going on about it all the time. You can put a fedora on a cat and still be smart.”

Amen.