TresSugar

Say What? Spelling Bee Protesters Have Had Enuf

TresSugar — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:00:09 PDT

"Enuf is enuf. Enough is too much."

- Protesters are picketing outside the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week with signs carrying this slogan. The small group, which includes an 81-year-old former school principal, wants to make spelling simpler. If they had their way, "fruit" would be spelled "froot" and "slow" would be spelled "slow." I'm not sure this would make things easier.

Must the Female Nerd Be a Pretty Actress Deep Down?

TresSugar — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:00:25 PDT

Popular for her unpopularity, the female nerd has long been loved for her willingness to put it all out there. Maybe even show her dark side? These antiheroines are always socially maladjusted yet professionally successful. They annoy everyone around them while endearing an entire audience. And they are, without exception, played by pretty actresses.

The American Prospect notes it's almost like nerdy female characters have to flaunt their frumpiness just so they're believable. No one exemplifies this better than Tina Fey's Liz Lemon on 30 Rock. By all sane standards, Tina Fey is an attractive woman. Watching Liz Lemon makes me think it's not her nerdiness that's the problem, but the snobby egomaniacs who surround her. Which, if 30 Rock is a metacritique of how single women of a certain age are treated, makes sense.

Yet even when the soon-to-be canceled Ugly Betty's ratings dipped, the producers - who did a great job making America Ferrera look ugly with big glasses and bad wigs - tried to save the floundering show by making its star less ugly.

So it appears the only way to portray a nerdy woman is to make her a ticking bombshell; one that might whip off her glasses and throw down her hair at any second. Is it that regular women, who relate to their nerdiness, can hope that's true for them too? Or is putting a nonbeauty in a main role just a risk Hollywood can't take?

Taste Test: "New" Candy

partysugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:00:08 PDT

Updating an image or spinning off of a product is nothing new, but lately it seems like this concept has taken over the candy industry. I recently received a box full of new products that were featured at the National Candy Expo a month ago in Chicago. The majority of items weren't exactly new, but rather re-creations of old products. I selected four - Pop Rocks Chocolate bars, Nerds Giant Chews, Chocolate Pez, and Baskin Robbins Soft Candy - and decided to perform a taste test. Sadly none of the new variations lived up to their established counterparts. To see what I thought of each product,

read more. Pop Rocks Chocolate bars: This oversized bar is described as "real milk chocolate with a kick." At first the chocolate bar tastes like any normal krispy-style chocolate bar. However, the krispies explode in your mouth like pop rocks. The chocolate is mediocore and the sensation interesting, but I wasn't hungry for more. Nerds Giant Chews: These giant nerds (they're the size of peanut M&Ms) have a bumpy, crunchy shell and soft chewy center. They taste exactly like the miniature version. Eating one is the equivalent of tossing an entire handful of Nerds into your mouth.

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Chocolate Pez: Why Pez felt they needed to expand into artificial chocolate-flavored candies is beyond me. These are chalky and leave a sour aftertaste in the mouth. Baskin Robbins Soft Candy: With their sweet-minty scent, I was certain these chewy candies were going to be the best of the bunch. However they were disappointing and tasted fake. The best thing about them was the smell. So has anyone else tasted any of these new candy formulas? What did you think of them?

Buzz In: Who Are Your Favorite Fictional Nerds?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:30:41 PDT

Between Chuck and Flight of the Conchords, The Big Bang Theory and Tina Fey's 30 Rock alter ego Liz Lemon, I'm not sure we needed any more proof that we're in something of a pop culture nerd renaissance right now. But just in case, here's something else: The guy who wrote Fanboys just had another script picked up, this time about "a video game junkie facing a midlife crisis who learns that a young punk had broken a record he set as a teen." The guy sets out to reclaim his position at the top of the gaming throne. Nerd power!

That got me thinking about some of my favorite on-screen nerds - from the aforementioned Liz Lemon and Conchords guys to more classic outsiders like My So-Called Life's Brian Krakow (and his volumeter) and Patrick Dempsey's Ronald from Can't Buy Me Love. So now I'm wondering: Who are yours? For the purposes of this conversation, let's assume that "nerd" and "geek" mean approximately the same thing, though of course we could debate the distinctions for days . . .

Sad!

GiggleSugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:00:00 PDT

Google ads know what's what.

Source

Keep Track of How Many Oscar-Nominated Films You've Seen With Our Checklist

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:30:38 PST

The countdown to the Oscars is on, and if you're a movie nerd like us, you're trying to see as many nominated films before the ceremony airs on Feb. 26. To help you keep track of how many you've already seen - and to check off more as you watch more films - we've put together a checklist for you. Print it out, mark off the movies you've seen, and then return to it. There are 46 movies up for Academy Awards, so click here to download the checklist, and get watching!

Honoring Some of Our Favorite Geeks For Black History Month

Michele Foley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:38 PST

We may have Valentine's Day on the brain, but February also marks an important time of the year - Black History Month. In honor of Black History Month, let's take a look at some of our favorite geeks, both past and present. Everyone on this list has made vast contributions to furthering tech as we know it.

Dwayne McDuffie - The recently passed McDuffie wrote comic books for both Marvel and DC (including Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America) before founding his own company, Milestone Media, which helped pioneer the use of multicultural characters as its heroes.
Mark Dean - Nerd alert! Without Dean, there may not have been a PC - he holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents, leading the teams that developed the ISA bus and the first one-gigahertz chip.
Mae Carol Jemison - It doesn't get much geekier than space travel; Jemison was the first black woman to travel in space.
Philip Emeagwali - We can all blame Emeagwali for our Internet addiction. He developed the fastest supercomputer software in the world. His IQ is too high to be measured by conventional standards, and he's won a Gordon Bell Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.

See the rest of the notables when you read more.

Katie Linendoll's Picks For Valentine's Day Geeks

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:15:55 PST

Got love on the brain? So does CNN and CBS's favorite go-to gadget gal Katie Linendoll. Whether you're shopping for your favorite tech geek or game nerd, or just eyeing a few sweet items for yourself, Katie's picks for Valentine's Day gifts have you covered.

10 Cheap and Easy Dates For Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Nerds

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:30:00 PST

Does sitting down with your favorite sci-fi novel, fantasy movie, or comic book sound better than dropping a boatload of cash on a Valentine's Day dinner date? You're not alone. These 10 geeky date ideas are two things - awesomely cheap and easy to pull off for your kindred sci-fi and/or fantasy nerd. Cheers to you!

Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Make some Lembas bread together and watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Bake some geeky sweets using Star Wars-themed cookie cutters.
Gift a geeky cookbook and try out a recipe together.
Create your own cocktail and top it off with nerdy ice cubes.
Take in a killer sci-fi classic at your local drive-in.
Make a pink Captain Picard cake to celebrate Valentine's Day and your mutual love for the captain who is number two in your heart.
Make some Earl Grey tea and watch a Star Trek marathon.
Rewatch the first season of Game of Thrones or start a book club for two and reread the series together.

Website of the Day: Nerd Boyfriend

GeekSugar — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 04:00:05 PST

Does your man have trouble picking out an acceptable outfit for everyday living? Does he have a secret urge to up the ante in the fashion department? Then give him a digital nudge by bookmarking Nerd Boyfriend in his web browser. Full of amazing looks on nerdy guys - from scientists, to rock stars, to Mad Men-like '50s geeks - there's a classy and sophisticated look for every man and every situation. The best part is, Nerd Boyfriend even shows you (er, I mean him) how to put the look together with links to pieces he can buy from various online stores. It's like ShopStyle, but totally dedicated to nerds. Classy nerds, that is. I mean, who wouldn't want to dress like Grandmaster Flash?

Do you have an interesting website you want to share? Join the Website of the Day group, and blog it for a chance to be featured on GeekSugar.