TresSugar

Tell Mommy: What Do Your Kids Always Misplace?

LilSugar — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:00:56 PDT

No matter how organized I am when we're headed out the door, my husband, or children are usually missing something. Whether it's a misplaced key, wallet, backpack, permission slip, toy, hair tie, or pair of socks - items, small and large, seem to disappear into thin air in our flat. Usually, they are uncovered in a matter of minutes or months. But, I can almost always guess what's been lost. For my daughter, it's her toothbrush and with my son, it's a shoe. If time allots, we turn the place upside down, if it doesn't we table the search party for a more convenient time. Does this happen to you?

Have You Seen Me?

GiggleSugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:30:00 PST

Why would anyone steal another person's "masturbation machine?" Oh, that's right - to use as a back massager.

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Lost! Leather Pants

GiggleSugar — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:00:00 PST

They wouldn't happen to be your "lucky" leather pants, would they?

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I Don't Remember Last Night...

GiggleSugar — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:00:00 PDT

Last night was a bust, in more ways than one.

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Jessica Simpson Shows Her Bump During a Weekend Outing With Eric Johnson

Lauren Turner — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:02:01 PST

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson stopped by the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills yesterday. The afternoon wasn't all fun, though, since Jessica was one of the many celebrities that reacted to Whitney Houston's death. She wrote on Twitter, "I found my voice singing Whitney Houston's music. Today I lost my idol." Jessica and Eric have been hanging in LA lately, but they took a trip to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl last weekend. They're prepping for the birth of their first child together, and Jessica also has her new reality series debuting soon in March. Fashion Star begins on the 13th and will feature Jessica's fellow judge Nicole Richie.

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

read more! PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that. BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!" PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it. BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style. PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]? BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided. PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way? BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped. PS: What song did you write first? BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well. PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie? BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts. PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe? BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant. Photo courtesy Disney

Pilot Scoop: The River

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:01:37 PST

ABC is bringing a little bit of the horror genre to primetime with new series The River, which premieres tonight. In the show, created by Paranormal Activity's Oren Peli, a team of people goes on a rescue mission on the Amazon, but they find a lot more than they bargained for while on their expedition. It could be the next good TV mystery to get sucked into, so if you're interested, check out my thoughts on the pilot below.

What it's about: A famous TV adventure series host, Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), goes missing and is presumed dead while he's exploring the Amazon. His estranged wife and grown son refuse to give up, so they go to the site of his last trip, the creepy, jungle-lined Amazon, to see if they can find him. A documentary crew comes with them, and together they discover terrifying supernatural events aboard the boat.
Where it works: There are genuine scares in the pilot, especially because the mystery seems to be rooted in chilling cultural folklore. And if you crave jump scares weekly, this may be the show for you.
Where it doesn't: None of the main characters is particularly compelling, even though they each hint at enigmatic backstories for themselves. Also, the signature found-footage camera work may turn into a headache for some viewers.
When it's on: Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC, starting Feb. 7
You might like this show if: You really miss Lost and love the Paranormal Activity movies.

To watch a preview and see some photos from The River, just keep reading

The Vampire Diaries "Bringing Out the Dead": The Good, The Bad, and The Bloody

Marisa Tom — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:46:39 PST

After a week's worth of TVD reprieve, it's about time we got some answers - specifically, ones that have everything to do with our favorite Original vamp Elijah and then some. From the tragic twisted fate of Bill Forbes to the shocking discovery Elena makes at home, we're still trying to wrap our heads around everything that goes down. Meanwhile, Bonnie and her estranged mother Abby are tasked with opening the mysteriously sealed fifth coffin, and Damon and Stefan head to Klaus's sweet new pad for the ultimate dinner party showdown.

Like all things based in Mystic Falls, nothing is as it seems and nothing ever goes according to plan. Ready to review the good, the bad, and the bloody? Just keep reading.

Desire/Acquire: Accordion Side Table

Angela Swinderman Elias — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:09 PST

My favorite way to incorporate the vintage-industrial-inspired trend that is everywhere right now is with accordian-style accessories. Their simple, architectural silhouettes are easy to work into all sorts of rooms. I've had my eye on the charming Directoire Iron Table from Zinc Door, but the $620 price tag was setting it out of my league.

Luckily, I've found a replacement that looks just as stylish for an astonishing $60! Keep reading to find out where to snag one before they're gone.

Savvy Confessions: Will My Job Be Affected If I Take Maternity Leave?

Savvy Community — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:15:29 PST

This reader posted in our anonymous Savvy Confessions group, asking how her job will be affected if she takes maternity leave. Do you have any advice for her?

I work in a very small office which includes myself, a nurse, an office assistant, and our program director. Before the holidays, the program director took on an additional position within the company, but at another clinic, which now has him out of our office about 50 percent of the time. At that time, there was one other person in the office with the same job as me, but she was fired a few weeks ago, so now, I fly solo a majority of the time until we can find someone to replace her. Two days before my six month review, I found out I am pregnant! My husband and I are SO EXCITED, and had planned on starting a family this year. Initially, when I interviewed for the position, I mentioned that my husband and I were hoping to begin a family soon as well. Now, I am terrified to tell my boss that I am pregnant! He is a really nice person, but saying that he does not handle stress well would be an understatement.

Read on for more.