TresSugar

Dear Poll: Are You Easy to Get Ahold Of?

DearSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:00:00 PDT

In this day and age, where most of us carry a BlackBerry, a cell phone, an iPhone, or maybe even all three, it's easier than ever to get ahold of people. My mom, for instance, always has her phone with her, no matter the day or the time. Then there's my BFF, who is notorious for never answering her phone and lagging on her email responses. While I understand the need to disconnect every once in a while, I love knowing that I can always rely on certain people in my life to answer my call or return my text. Where do you fall on the accessibility spectrum? Are you one that always has your phone out on the table, just in case, or do you prefer to remain a little out of touch?

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FABTV: Stereo MC's "Connected"

FabSugar — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:22:22 PDT

Here is a song that is groovy, baby. You'll remember this one. Though the Stereo MC's came and went, this song stayed with me. It's soulful and dance-inducing; it's the type of song I don't mind getting stuck in my head. It also happens to have a trance-like quality to it, so if you need to zone out for three minutes and 46 seconds, feel free. I do want to point out all the denim in the video, from baggy pants and the denim shirt-wearing lead singer to the funky backup singers and their Fab denim vests. I'm feeling the denim connection . . .

The How-To Lounge: Coping with Excessive E-mail

DearSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:00:00 PDT

In this technical day and age, e-mail is a part of our everyday life. We are so married to our e-mail that every new phone has the ability to be wireless so everyone can stay connected even if they are away from their desks. But with so many e-mails inundating your inbox, it's hard to keep your head screwed on straight. Below are some tips to help you stay afloat when your e-mail inbox is overflowing with messages.

Click here to

According to new research, the average Outlook business user receives 470 e-mails a week and spends 15 hours dealing with them. Predictions state that by 2009, workers will spend 41 percent of their time reading and responding to e-mails -- so when are you supposed to do your day job?
It's pretty clear that we all receive entirely too much e-mail, so take the appropriate steps to weed out unnecessary messages. Take your name off distribution mailing lists from stores, news updates, concert updates, etc.
If you haven't already, have your IT department set up a spam block so you don't get bogged down with junk mail
Limit the number of e-mail accounts you have active. It's recommended to have one business account and one personal account. The more accounts you have, the more spam and junk mail you will receive
Create a method when going through your e-mails. Some people think it's easier to flag important messages and deal with them later while others like to read each e-mail only once, deal with it, and delete it or file it away, never to be looked at again. Whatever system works for you, stick to it. Organization is key
When it comes to e-mail etiquette, less is more. You're not alone if you feel overwhelmed by your inbox, so try to send the least amount of e-mails as possible, and be respectful of who you CC
Many times people respond back to a rhetorical e-mail just to confirm to you that they received it. If you don't need the confirmation, add a notation at the bottom of the message, NRN, standing for No Response Needed
The e-mails are going to keep coming, so trying to constantly stay on top of them is close to impossible. Give yourself a break, turn off your BlackBerry every once in a while, turn your out of office on if you need the silence in order to get your work done, and when you go on vacation, go on vacation!

I hope these tips are helpful, and like always, if you have any other suggestions, please share them in the comments below!

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4 Reasons We Can't Wait to Play Harry Potter For Kinect

Laura Marie Given — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:02:00 PDT

There's a book series, a film series, a Florida amusement park, a London studio tour, and, coming this Fall, there will also be the Harry Potter For Kinect video game! Based on the eight films, the game gives diehard fans a chance to experience the movies' most memorable moments for themselves, whether as a character or as their own avatar. Check out the top four reasons we're excited to play:

Pretending we're wizards: Thanks to hands-free and voice-recognition technology, users can cast spells using physical maneuvers or by calling out spell names. We're already practicing our "Expelliarmus!" technique.
Flying (sort of): It's a dream come (virtually) true. Gamers will have the opportunity to fly on a broomstick for their very own Quidditch match.
Walking in Harry's shoes: With the game, users can experience some of Harry's classic moments, like choosing a house at Hogwarts, visiting Ollivanders, and confronting He Who Shall Not Be Named in a final, dramatic battle.
Some friendly competition: Select co-op gameplay to connect with wizardly friends, and master lessons so you can challenge other opponents in competitive minigames.

Do you plan to buy Harry Potter For Kinect?

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Moonrise Kingdom: A Retro Delight

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:00:00 PDT

Everything about Moonrise Kingdom is unmistakably Wes Anderson: the hazy cinematography, the clever dialogue, and even the use of the director's favorite actors. Indeed, Anderson isn't leaving his comfort zone as a filmmaker, but Moonrise Kingdom is still a pleasure to watch. Set in 1965, the movie tells the story of Sam and Suzy (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward), preteen pen pals who conspire to run away together. As they set up camp all over an island off the coast of New England, they're being pursued by Sam's scout troop (led by camp counselor Edward Norton), Suzy's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), and different authorities (Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton). Sam and Suzy's experience with young love is sweet and complicated, and made all the more dreamy through Anderson's lens.

The elements might be familiar, but Anderson proves why he's such an admired director with a film like this. It's surprisingly romantic, but there's also a real threat to Sam and Suzy in the wild. Their compelling journey paired with the optical treat of Anderson's style makes Moonrise Kingdom a must-watch for fans of the distinctive director. To find out what else I liked about the film, just keep reading.

Shawn Johnson Talks Weight Loss and Learning to Love Her Body

espnW — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:05:26 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Shawn Johnson

Shawn Johnson is blogging for espnW throughout her training for the Olympics in London this summer. Follow hers other Olympic hopefuls' journeys on espnW.com.

Four years ago, I was standing on an Olympic podium, wearing a gold medal, and still thinking to myself how I could have been better. It had nothing to do with my performance - it was all how I looked. Back then, I always felt like I could have been a few pounds lighter. But the irony is, when I look back at the pictures, I look unhealthy and too thin. It's easy to get into a trap as an elite athlete, because you're made to feel that you're never perfect, that you can always be better. That's how you improve in your sport, but it's also tough because you aren't satisfied with yourself ever - it's second nature not to be. I'd always think, "Just get a little stronger, a little lighter," until it was completely ingrained in my mind.

Shawn Johnson takes us inside training camp

It's easy for people to blame gymnastics for this mentality, but I feel like the sport has improved a lot. The horror stories we heard from generations ago (think Joan Ryan's infamous book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes), you don't hear at all anymore. But I do believe it can improve further and that good nutrition could be a key to all of this, if it were only taught at a young age. Many gymnasts go into the elite level at 13 or so, and a 13-year-old isn't going to go to the library to read some book on nutrition! She needs to be given the right information on how to eat well. Otherwise, it's not until she's out of the sport that she realizes the damage she's done to her body by not eating enough over the past 20 years.

Shawn Johnson in the driver's seat

I see all the success we have as a country where the gymnasts aren't 100 percent healthy, and I imagine how amazing we could be if we were doing it in the healthiest way possible. I don't think it's a failure on anybody's part; the education just isn't there right now, and it's just not thought about in our sport. My parents have told me since I was little, "You're given your body for a reason. It's OK to be different. Being unique is a good thing." But I always struggled to believe it. I'm stocky, muscular and short, and I wanted to be thin and flexible so bad! My mom would say, "You're not made that way, and you're not going to become that, so you have to learn to accept and love the body you're in." Well, some people are born with that appreciation, and some people have to work really hard to get there. Put me in that second camp.

Read on for more on what Shawn Johnson has to say about body confidence and how she feels in her gymnastics leotard.

Band-Aid Magic Vision: Ga Ga or Gag?

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:04:28 PDT

Like most tots, my lil ones have a bit of an obsession with bandages - one slight scrape and they're begging me to fix it up. Some of that is probably the fun characters they get to place on the boo-boo, but I have a feeling more of it has to do with the attention they receive. Imagine how they would react if it was none other than Kermit the Frog, Gonzo, or Miss Piggy calming them down?

Band-Aid Brand just introduced Band-Aid Magic Vision, a bandage that works in conjunction with a free iPhone app to help soothe injured kids. Here's how it works: Apply a bandage to an injured child (it can even be a pretend injury, if your kids are prone to inventing cuts and bruises the way mine are), and then point an iPhone or iPad loaded with the app at the bandage. The app then allows kids to interact with one of the three Muppet characters as they comfort the kids. Your children can pose with Miss Piggy on a runway, help Gonzo with one of his crazy daredevil acts, or swing with Kermit as he sings "Rainbow Connection." They can also photograph themselves interacting with the characters, and that sounds like just the cure tots need when they're facing noncritical injuries. What do you think?

5 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Paying For College

LearnVest — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:15:23 PDT

Paying for college is such a complex issue. LearnVest helps simplify it by answering some key questions in regard to paying tuition.

If you believe everything you read, then you might think you need to be a Rockefeller to have kids.

That, of course, isn't the case.

Yes, kids are expensive, and thinking about paying for a college education can be scary and frustrating . . . but that's where we come in.

As with everything else in life, figuring out what to do about your kid's college savings is all about the planning, says Stephany Kirkpatrick, CFP, LearnVest's director of financial planning. Depending on where you are in life right now and how old your kids are, you may have questions about how to set up a 529 plan (which is an education savings plan designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs), what to look for, and when to start saving.

If you're pregnant or have a newborn and are starting to think about this, then good for you! The earlier you get started socking away cash for their college, the easier it will be. You'll learn a lot in this article, but you should also check out our Baby on Board Bootcamp, which will tell you everything you need to know - financially - to be ready for a baby. It includes 529 advice, as well as financial tips on everything from putting together a will and picking out a life insurance policy to buying nursery basics.
If your kid is slightly older and you’ve done your research but haven’t yet started saving in a 529 plan, then first read the four mistakes to avoid when choosing a 529 plan, and then check out the different college savings plans available to you.
If this is the first you’re thinking about it, no matter your kid's ageI, then don't worry about it. You have to start somewhere!

Read on for more.

Sex and Hare Krishna: Mad Men's Mother Lakshmi Didn't Follow the Rules

Annie Scudder — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:03:03 PDT

This week on Mad Men, we get a visit from Paul Kinsey, who has gone from progressive, pipe-smoking copy editor to confused Hare Krishna devotee. The Hare Krishna movement was founded in NYC in 1966, the year that's coming to a close on this season, and attracted beatniks like Allen Ginsberg and Beatle George Harrison, one of its most famous followers. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or the Hare Krishna Movement, as it is officially known, is based on Hindu traditions and got the attention of the city's hippies when it started. Ironically, it did not back free love.

On the episode, Paul Kinsey's Hare Krishna love interest, Mother Lakshmi, decides to seduce Paul's friend and former co-worker, Harry Crane. Showing up at the office, she lets Harry believe that sleeping together is not against the rules of the religion. You can't blame Harry for believing her, since the Hare Krishna meeting he attended had a strong counter-culture vibe. But in fact, "no illicit sex" is one of the four regulative principles of Hare Krishna consciousness.

Sexual contact is only OK between married couples for the purpose of reproduction, and sex is considered the most powerful connection to the material world, a bond Hare Krishnas want to break. The other three rules include: no eating meat, fish, or eggs, no gambling, and no use of intoxicants. Devoted Hare Krishnas would have disapproved of Roger Sterling's acid drop. But, of course, not everyone followed the rules in the '60s and high-profile members like Allen Ginsberg disagreed with the prohibitions.

Vegetarianism and yoga were part of what made Hare Krishna exotic back in the 1960s, while its negative attitudes toward premarital sex were conventional then. Today, things have switched around. Its rule against sex for pleasure seems extreme, thanks to the sexual revolution, while vegetarianism and yoga have gone mainstream.

Celebrities You Should Like on Facebook

Allie Merriam — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:53:25 PDT

Facebook made history by going public yesterday and making themselves the world's third largest IPO. The social network has an estimated value over $100 billion, and the worth stems from billions of devoted users. Plenty of our favorite stars use Facebook to connect with their own fans. We've rounded up a look at the celebrities you should like on Facebook and be sure to like PopSugar to stay up-to-date on entertainment news and photos!