TresSugar

Could 2011 Be the Year We Say Bye-Bye to Bananas?

Katie Sweeney — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:30:30 PST

Yesterday The New Yorker published a comprehensive story about Tropical Race Four, a type of fungus that is currently threatening to destroy the United State's banana crop. While there are more than 1,000 types of bananas, only one, the Cavendish banana, is ideal for cultivating and exporting. Thus, the majority of banana plantations in the world harvest Cavendishes.

However, the Tropical Race Four fungus has already taken out Cavendish crops in Asia and Australia, and the fungus is set to hit Latin America next. If it does, the entire crop of US bananas could become extinct. While some scientists are frantically searching for a cure to Tropical Race Four, others are trying to engineer a stronger banana.

But, if there's so many other types of bananas out there, wouldn't it be easier to farm and export them? What do you think should be the solution to possible banana extinction?

3 Words to Know If We're Going to Brighton Beach, and We Are

TresSugar — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:00:59 PDT

Though the dream of Brighton Beach, the Jersey Shore-inspired reality show about Russian-Americans, has yet to be realized, an article in The New Yorker all but assures it will be.

The show's producers, two 20-somethings of Ukrainian and Belarusian descent, have received hundreds of audition videos and are shopping the show. Besides an uptick in vodka sales, the show is sure to bring the gaudy, brawny Russian-American pride into our Internet, so we're going to have to learn to speak Rushlish. Here are three words to get you started.

Vassya: A term of feigned endearment, like "bro" or "dude," between two male friends.
Russki: The Russian equivalent of "guido." Be careful with this one though! Though it simply means one who is an ethnic Russian, it can be a slur when used by foreigners.
A dura: I've seen it used to describe an idiotic female, but Urban Dictionary defines it as a naive female who doesn't know what's best for her. It can derogatory or playful.

That's it so far. Please add to it! The Internet is surprisingly ignorant of Rushlish. A wrong we hope Brighton Beach will promptly correct.

Source: Flickr User Bob Jagendorm

The New Yorker Takes a Look at Wrinkles

BellaSugar — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:00:51 PDT

In this week's issue of The New Yorker, writer Judith Thurman asks an age-old question: what can you do about wrinkles?

The answer, she finds? Not much. "Apart from dying, there is, to date, no permanent cure for wrinkles," she writes. From there, the article explores the history (and occasional hucksterism) of anti-aging treatments, zipping from Cleopatra's techniques to modern-day fixes like Botox. It's interesting and funny stuff, especially when Thurman dryly describes the "vibrational qualities" of a $150 Sjal face mask.

Her research boils down to this: the one topical wrinkle fighter that's been proven to minimize wrinkles is prescription-only tretinoin (better known by its brand name, Retin-A). Even then, it's not without side effects - which suggests that the best way to deal with wrinkles is to stop worrying about them so much.

The Racist Roots of Marriage Counseling

TresSugar — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:00:06 PDT

Paul Popenoe was not a psychologist or psychiatrist, nor did he finish college, but the father of marriage counseling in America was called Dr. Popenoe anyway. After all, he did have an honorary degree in sociology.

Before he opened the American Institute of Family Relations, his marriage counseling center in Los Angeles, he led a successful campaign to sterilize the mentally ill. It spawned a forced-sterilization law in California, which inspired two-thirds of other US states to do the same. He continued to follow his interest in only breeding the best by studying eugenics - the practice of selective breeding applied to humans - but after it was made unpopular by the Nazis he talked less of it and more of saving marriage (only those worth saving, of course). In 1949 his popularity peaked when Ladies Home Journal published an excerpt of his book Can This Marriage Be Saved?

Here's some of his advice, courtesy of The New Yorker.

On birth control: “If charity begins at home, birth control should begin abroad. Continued limitation of offspring in the white race simply invites the black, brown, and yellow races to finish the work already begun by birth control."
On the about-to-stray husband: Dick is about to leave his wife, Andrea, for another woman. He is bored with Andrea. “Living with her is like being aboard that ship that cruised forever between the ports of Tedium and Monotony,” he says. Can this marriage be saved? You bet. At Popenoe’s clinic, Andrea is urged to make herself more interesting. She learns how to make better conversation, goes on a strict diet, and loses eight pounds. The affair is averted.

This Magazine Cover Was Drawn on An iPhone

GeekSugar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:30:38 PDT

The cover of this week's issue of The New Yorker was created using an iPhone. Artist John Colombo created the portrait of a west side Manhattan diner using Brushes, a $5 painting application. It's not the first cover he's created using the app; the first appeared last Spring. Since last June, Colombo has been posting his weekly Brushes illustrations on The New Yorker blog Finger Painting.

Brushes is one of the apps that's coming to the iPad, which hopefully means many more gorgeous, detailed illustrations are to come. To see a video of the cover's creation,

The New Yorker Profiles Kelly Wearstler

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:00:06 PDT

The “presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design,” Kelly Wearstler, is featured in a six-page profile in the Sept. 14 issue of The New Yorker.

I've always considered Wearstler (pronounced "Worst-ler") an enigma - wife of a hotel mogul, author, Top Design judge, crimped-hair enthusiast, Southern belle, ex-Playboy model - but her design skill is irrefutable. So, it was interesting to read about how the girl who grew up in a cluttered Myrtle Beach home decorated in a "blowsy Provincial style" became the face of ornate, layered, over-the-top Hollywood Regency style.

"You don’t hire her for her subtlety, you hire her for what her critics call ‘muchness'," said a client. Her style, as it turns out, is governed more by instinct than intellect: "I don't have time to think things through a lot. I just do how it feels," she says. I was also intrigued to hear that she thinks of herself as having "a very European sensibility" that's "well travelled, collected." Pick up a copy to read the full text or read an abstract online.

Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan Describe Their Greenwich Village Home

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:00:27 PDT

Most of us describe our homes in fairly generic terms, tossing out "modern," "traditional with a twist," or "relaxed Regency," if pressed for a characterization. Well, leave it to Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan to turn dull description on its head.
To hear how they describe their home,

In the June 22 issue of the New Yorker, Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan take writer Ariel Levy through a tour of their Greenwich Village apartment. While there weren't any photos of the apartment, the quotes were vibrant enough to paint quite the picture of their home (and if you're curious, check out these 2005 photos from the New York Times. In the meanwhile, I have to share my absolute favorite quotes from Jonathan and Simon, as they describe their style:

"Palatial gay fantasia." - Doonan
“Glamorous romper room . . . Because Johnny and I are very infantile."- Doonan
“This is the antithesis of the two-room flat where I grew up." - Doonan
"It's mantique-y" - Adler

Painting by Simona Galeckaité

Could You Give Up Print Magazines For Digital Editions?

GeekSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:00:07 PST

Digital editions of magazines are nothing new, although it feels pretty momentous to hear that prestigious magazine The New Yorker is launching its digital version, with all of the content being made free to its print subscribers.

Here's the thing - I'm a magazine junkie. I subscribe to so many magazines, I can barely get through them all in a month. I love seeing the shiny new covers in the mail, flipping through them when I get a spare moment - I've always loved them. When I hear that titles go digital, I rejoice (more ways to access the content), but I also secretly fear for the fate of the print editions. What if everyone switched to reading magazines online and my beloved magazines stopped greeting me in my mailbox? I don't know if I could deal.

Could you make the switch from paper to exclusively digital?

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Keeping the Faith: Are Abstinence-Only Pledges Unrealistic?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:30:00 PST

Ever think evangelical teens are most likely to be the next Juno? You might be onto something. While religion may be a good gauge for attitudes towards sex, it is not for sexual behavior.

A national survey talked to 3,400 teens between 13 and 17 and found that evangelicals are the most likely to say they do not believe in sex before marriage, yet they are just as likely to have it - if not more. Seventy-four percent say they do not believe in premarital sex, compared to 50 percent of mainline Protestants and 25 percent of Jewish teens. Second only to black Protestants, they lose their virginity on average shortly after turning 16.

While the effectiveness of abstinence pledges that are so popular among evangelicals has long been contested, I never knew inflation was a problem. A pledge movement often collapses in a school when it becomes too popular. As soon as it loses its magical minority milieu - 30 percent is the tipping point - teens feel less unique and pledges get tossed aside like last year’s yellow.

Minding the gap between sexual beliefs and behavior becomes even harder when looking at the outcome of abstinence pledges. To find out how effective they are,

According to a 2001 estimate, 2.5 million people in the US pledged to abstain from premarital sex, yet more than half of them do it anyway. Pledges do have some impact though. Teens who take them lose their virginity 18 months later than those who do not and have fewer partners on average.

Once religious conviction gets factored in, pledges sounded even more effective. Those who scored high on religiosity - defined by behaviors like going to church and praying at home - are more likely to abstain. But better indicators are the strength of social networks and quality of relationships with parents. Teens who live with both biological parents and feel their families understand them, pay attention to their concerns, and have fun with them are the most likely to delay sex - regardless of how religious or what religion they are.

What do you think about abstinence-only pledges? A good guideline? Or unrealistic and only for the most religious?

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Weekend Reading: Alec Baldwin's Insecurities

BuzzSugar — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:00:08 PDT

It's funny, isn't it, how and when actors' personal lives begin to sabotage their professional lives? Lindsay Lohan, once a promising young talent, is in the process of rebuilding her career after issues with drugs, alcohol, and bar fights. Then there's Tom Cruise, who has been in career rehab ever since he jumped the couch. Major celebs are more than just talent, they're entire brands, and going off brand is usually career suicide - unless, of course, you're Alec Baldwin.

This guy is known to be, well, a little odd and even a loose cannon. But no matter what terrible, weird thing comes out about his private life, he's such a great addition to any cast (30 Rock is the most recent perfect example) on TV or in movies that I for one tend to ignore that other stuff. I mean, look at him. I can't even type this post without looking at his picture and cracking up.

In this way, he is totally fascinating to me. Which is why I for one will be curling up with this giant, illuminating profile on Baldwin in The New Yorker this weekend. To see some of the tidbits that got me hooked, just

Baldwin's "rhetoric" brings to mind for the reporter a scene where his character on 30 Rock looks at an "equestrian painting" and says, "I wish I were a horse - strong, free, my chestnut haunches glistening in the sun.”
Even though he is enjoying a career rejuvenation right now (a career many actors would kill for), he is still "very conscious of what is lacking in his life - a spouse, for example, and a film career something like Jack Nicholson’s, and the governorship of New York."
Of Tina Fey, he says, "She’s so bright you’re always wondering if you’re boring her" and says that his 30 Rock character, Jack Donaghy, is based on SNL creator Lorne Michaels: "Jack Donaghy is Lorne, first and foremost. 'What am I, a farmer?' That is Lorne. I think he said that. Lorne’s got a tuxedo in the glove compartment of his car. Lorne is a big-ticket A-list New York water buffalo. He’s big on the Serengeti. Lorne is a person who seduces you into thinking that if you take his advice and play your cards right you're going to end up with his life."
And then there's stuff like this:

"In East Hampton, I’m a nudist and I eat meat," Baldwin - a vegetarian - had said before my visit, expanding on the idea that he lived a quite different life on Long Island than he did in New York. "I shoot deer with a bow and arrow. I smoke the deer meat and eat it every morning with my eggs and toast. I am a homosexual. I listen to rock music, loud."

Interesting guy, right? What do you think? Will we ever truly understand the mind of Alec Baldwin?

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