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,

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.

View 5 Photos ›

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

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.

5 Perks of Dating a Geek

Annie Scudder — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:23:22 PDT

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan last night in a surprise ceremony in his backyard. Priscilla, who just finished med school last week, has been dating Mark for almost a decade, after they met at Harvard. The Social Network makes the case that computer nerd Mark created Facebook to help him get chicks. But if all women knew that dating a technology lover comes with so many perks, they wouldn't need to be convinced. And in reality, Mark and Priscilla have been together since before he released "The Facebook." Here are five reasons to seek out a geeky guy.

They're genuine: There's a good chance a geek has spent more time playing video games than practicing his game. And if he's used to being the dating underdog, he'll likely appreciate having you in his life.
They set up your electronics: Can't get your WiFi to work? Dream of an awesome entertainment setup but frightened by cords? Find a guy that looks at setting up electronics as a form of entertainment itself.
They fix your computers: Your time spent waiting in line at the Genius Bar or on the phone with technical support will drop drastically. And if they can't fix it, they know someone who can.
They expand your knowledge: If you think of the Internet as a series of tubes, spending time with a computer nerd can make technology seem like less of a mystery. And if they have a thing for nonfiction books, they'll probably share what they've learned.
They can find anything on the Internet: Geeks can call on their superior online research skills when you're planning a vacation or looking for a new restaurant for date night. How romantic!

Anything to add, geek lovers?

Source: Facebook user Priscilla Chan

14 Geeky Gifts to Give Your Bridesmaids

Laura Marie Given — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:02:05 PDT

Being a bridesmaid is quite the commitment, so get creative when you give thanks by picking out unique gifts that your geeky pals will love. No matter their nerd variety - literary, gaming, tech - we've found a wide range of options to suit all kinds of geeky personalities. From Photoshop classes to Transformers-inspired beers, here are 14 fun options to shop for your bridesmaids.

9 Inspired Wedding Invites For Geeks in Love

Laura Marie Given — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:18:44 PDT

If you're preparing to say "I do" to a fellow nerd, why not play up your geeky status with some playful wedding invitations? For the science-lover who found chemistry with another lab rat or passionate Facebook enthusiast, we've rounded up some clever invitation options that are sure to charm your guests. From "Four Eyes" to QR codes, here are 9 fun, lighthearted invitation picks perfect for dorky duos.

OnSugar Blog: If the World Revolved Around Families . . .

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:16:38 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and Jo Aaron is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Mommy Brain blog.

While innocently looking for a restaurant suggestion online the other day, I stumbled across an anti-parent, anti-child blog entry that just annoyed me. It was an angry (and narrow-minded, in my opinion) piece about how awful it is when this particular person has to dine with families at his favorite restaurants. He/she literally suggested that families shouldn't be allowed to dine in restaurants at all, and most definitely not the ones that are any good.

Here are my guesses:

#1, this person is somewhere between 21-26.

#2, this person will have a completely different blog in about 5-10 years when he/she has kids of his/her own and realizes that going out for dinner is like parental heroin . . . you know, your fix is having someone else prepare and clean up your meal while all you have to do is watch the kids and make sure they don't drive the other patrons nuts. Because that's the easy part. Right.

So, while I get that I shouldn't be carting my kids off to the Pump Room for a 9PM Saturday night reservation, I don't think it's such a crime to have them enjoy a 5:30PM reservation at a local haunt regardless of how cool and trendy it is this week. Instead of digitally flicking this guy or gal off by replying to his/her post, instead I thought I'd make a list of all of the ways that the world would be a better place for those of us with kids . . . maybe this will drive it home:

If the world revolved around families, there would be no such thing as lines at the grocery store. Instead of spending 15 minutes telling our kids to stop touching everything in the checkout line, like candy, magazines, or batteries, we'd just breeze through the aisles, yell our credit card numbers out to the teller as we beelined to our cars. No fuss, no muss.
If the world revolved around families, there would be a Starbucks with dozens of drive-thru windows and on-duty baristas somewhere between my house and school.
If the world revolved around families, there would be TVs with DVD players and current Disney movies playing in every waiting room in the United States. This includes all airport terminals as well. And speaking of airports...
If the world revolved around families, there would be such a thing as teleportation like on Star Trek (yes, I'm a nerd), so that families would never, never, never, ever have to deal with air travel at all.
If the world revolved around families, no one with kids would ever have to go to the DMV, post office, or emergency room.

Keep reading for more of Jo Aaron's funny observations!