TresSugar

Will Ferrell In "The Landlord"

GiggleSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Don't let her short stature and baby talk fool you, cuz Will Ferrell's landlady ain't kidding around about collecting the rent. It's now or never Will, and this chick is fully prepared to make a grown man cry if you can't cough up the money owed for the month. Why? Don't ask.

The Landlord

Flashback: A Diff'rent Strokes Death Threat

GiggleSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:30:00 -0800

I thought people tuned into sitcom television for a lighthearted good time, but apparently not. If I didn't know that the following clip was from the popular '80s show Diff'rent Strokes then I would have mistook it for some hokey scene from an old-school Lifetime made-for-television movie. Mr. Crazy Eyes is unsettling, but Sam's almost nonchalant response to this death threat is even more disturbing. Where are the tears? The screaming? The escape and chase? Even a laugh track could've helped resuscitate this scene, but no . . .

Rent-a-Friend Business Booming in Japan

TresSugar — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:00:00 -0700

One of my favorite episodes of How I Met Your Mother involves Barney and his hired "family." The eternal playboy (played by Neil Patrick Harris) wants his mother to think he has settled down, so he pays actors to play his wife and son, concocts an elaborate backstory with details including his son's "catch phrase," and plays along for years every time he visits his mother with his fake family in tow.

Well apparently, Japan has turned this sitcom plot into a reality. Japanese rent-a-friend companies allow people to pay for pretend friends, relatives, work colleagues, or even best men! Sometimes single mothers hire fake husbands so kids stop bullying their children at school for having absent fathers!

Just like Barney's family, the "agents" are trained to know an extensive backstory. If rentees give any hint that they're aren't really the people they're pretending to be, it could mess up the clients' lives. Creepy! Apparently the need to look like everything is perfect in your life is so important in Japan that some people are willing to rent these actor-CIA-agent hybrids for about $250 per appearance.

While it might be tempting to hire a stand-in boyfriend for awkward situations, like when you're the only single girl invited to a dinner party filled with couples, this still seems strange to me. What do you think?

Photo courtesy of CBS

Très Bizarre: Diff'rent Strokes Gets Spooky

TresSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:10:00 -0700

If you needed proof that soundtracks help determine how you watch a scene in a movie or television show, look no further than this remixed Diff'rent Strokes theme song. In place of its banal but chipper song is something straight out of a horror film. Come to think of it - Diff'rent Strokes was a pretty weird show.

Unemployeds Find Spirituality and Low Rent at Yoga Ashrams

CitizenSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:00:54 -0700

Living off unemployment and scraping the bottom of your checking account each month? Well if you can stomach no meat, alcohol, and sex along with required meditation, tent cities may not be your worst-case scenario. A yoga "community" in the woods could be!

NPR reports that at least one yoga ashram has seen an uptick in newcomers since the economy nosedived last Fall. Yogaville, which rests in Virginia's Appalachian foothills, never intended to be a safe haven for the nouveau poor, but it welcomes new residents whether they've come for the unlimited yoga or the $300 rent.

While there's no credit check or competitive admission process, there are a few catches. To see where Yogaville gets you, read more.

In exchange for a dorm room, three vegetarian meals a day, and monthly rent, residents are expected to perform daily chores and practice the yogi lifestyle. What's that entail? Abstinence from meat, alcohol, and sex form the sacrificial trinity, and yoga classes and five meditation sessions per week meet the physical requirements.

One resident, who moved in after a layoff, found Yogaville's attitude toward unemployment as refreshing as a sun salutation. He said before people responded to his job loss with somber sympathy but not so in Yogaville. "That's so great!," people said, "All these doors are going to open up for you." Namaste!

Source

Awkward! Roommates Hooking Up

TresSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Here's a story that will convince you that living on your own is worth higher rent. A friend of mine in her second year of graduate school decided to move in with two fellow students. After a month of a really fun house-dynamic, the two other roommates started sleeping together. They had been only friends before, but the close quarters apparently made them discover a mutual attraction. Now my friend feels like she's living with a couple instead of two friends and she's worried about a potentially dramatic situation if things go sour between the pair. What would you do if you suddenly wound up being the third wheel in your own place?

Ashley Dupre Says Some Women Act Like Escorts - Agree?

TresSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

If you guys haven't been following the blog of Ashley Dupre, the high-end call girl who helped New York governor Eliot Spitzer fall from power, let me catch up you. This week, Ashley called out a variety of people, including "ladies, ladies, ladies" who "just love to judge." Ashely thinks that these women shouldn't be so quick to look down on her past as a prostitute, since many women in NYC act like high-end escorts anyway. Ashley says she sees the following all over New York City:

I know many women who target guys with money and use them to get these things. They toy with them, flirt, go on dates, have sex, and then drop hints about that new dress . . . or being short on rent money - and the guys deliver it.

Do you think Ashley's right on the money or is there's a clear line between prostitution and gold digging?

Is This Craigslist Ad Real?

TresSugar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Moving to San Francisco? Well, do I have the place and 'mate for you. It doesn't have any space, but rent's only $680. Now I totally believe this apartment exists . . . but this is either a joke or the most terrifyingly unself-aware person out there. I am almost tempted to go check it out.

Hello, I am seeking a nice room mate to share my 2 bedroom home.

You won't have to pay utilities or do any chores so it's perfect for a young person or a student.

But I cannot have anybody touching or moving my stuff because it would set off a chain reaction of emotions and feelings towards you and towards my things. Hoarding is not a mental illness, it is something environmentally responsible because I don't like to throw anything away. But the San Francisco Department of public health said my living conditions were unsafe and came in and forcibly removed my things I have been collecting for over 40 years. It traumatized me and I have been rebuilding my collection ever since.

Read the rest of the ad and vote on its validity after the jump

Cute Alert: Kitten Gets a Little Excited About the 'Rents Coming Home

GiggleSugar — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Most cats act utterly indifferent to the comings and goings of mere humans - even when those humans are feeding them catnip, Pounce, and other such goodies. This kitten, however, didn't get the memo on how you're supposed to play it cool. Watch as she literally throws herself at ~~their feet~~ the door.

Do Tell: Where Would You Go on a Road Trip?

TresSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0700

A road trip is an adventurous way to discover more about a region and yourself. In the US alone there are more than 3.9 million miles of road to drive along with the music turned up, and there are also wonderful places to explore by car in other countries too.

One of my favorite road trips involved renting a Jeep and heading up the dusty coast of Baja, Mexico. We stopped at gorgeous snorkel spots and our soundtrack was a local band's CD we bought at the suggestion of a gas station attendant.

If you could hit the road before the Summer ended, where would you go?