TresSugar

Dear Poll: Do You Follow Trends?

DearSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 -0700

With a new season comes new trends. If you're a magazine junky like me, it's pretty hard to avoid reading about the new it bag or the trendy new color that'll be hot for the season. While I like to think I have my own unique style, it's inevitable that I pick up a few new habits every season, however some people take trendy to a whole different level. For instance, skinny jeans or leggings are just not made for everyone, yet women still wear them because they're "in" despite how they look. Same thing goes for platform shoes, black nail polish, oversized sunglasses, or brining back an old look - it's either your style or it's not. So ladies, even though it's fun to be hip and with it, what I want to know is, do you jump on the trendy bandwagon or do you like to express your individuality by going against the trendy grain?

Source, Source, Flynet

Are You Into Tattoos?

DearSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Tattoos hurt and they're permanent, and these are two very good reasons that I don't have any - but that's not to say that I don't appreciate them! I totally respect the fact that they often represent an idea, a person, a memory, a place, a special date, or are just an artistic design a person has a connection with or loves.

The fact still remains that I am a huge wimp when it comes to pain and needles -- I can't even deal with one shot of Novocaine -- so I'm sure I would go absolutely ballistic if I got a tattoo. I'll stick to showing off my individuality in other ways.

What about you - are you into tattoos? Do you have any? Are you attracted to people who have tattoos, or are they a huge turn off for you? Does it depend on what or where the tattoo is? Have you ever dated anyone with a memorable tattoo? I want to hear it all.

Source, Source, Source, and Source

What Family Values Will You Pass On?

DearSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:00:00 -0700

As a child, it's your parents' job to teach you values -- all the things that shape you into a strong, confident person so you have the tools to make the right decisions.

Some examples of general values are:

Individuality: Being confident about yourself
Integrity and Responsibility: Doing the right thing
Compassion: Helping others
Tolerance and Respect: Accepting other people's differences
Honesty: Being truthful to others and to yourself
Courage: To try new things and take risks
Generosity: Sharing and Giving to others
Faith: This could be religious, but it doesn't have to be

Of course we all have specific values that we learned from our family. My parents taught me to "Always call your Grandmother at least once a week," or "If you borrow something, always return it in the same shape you received it," and "Be kind to animals," and my mom's personal favorite, "No TV while eating dinner." These values have stuck with me, and I know someday when I have kids, I'll definitely pass them on to them.

So I was wondering what did you learn from your parents that you plan on passing on to your children?

Source

Wise Guide: one size does not fit all

DearSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:30:00 -0800

The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases. ~ Carl Jung

Are you able to allow others their own recipe for living? Do you feel free enough to live by your own?

Source

Ellen & the Cover of W Magazine

DearSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:30:00 -0800

We recently posted a You Don't Need Permission To about looking like yourself instead of everyone else, and your comments well and truly rocked.

Check out Ellen in this month's W Magazine if you haven't already; she's on the cover and is featured in a 6-page spread. I don't think she looks at all like the Ellen we know and adore. The look is slick and glam, and there's something a little too femmie going on. Why can Diane Keaton wear a gorgeous suit in a spread, or someone else be photographed barefoot, and Ellen's in dominatrix pumps and fishnets?

In the video from the shoot below, we see Ellen being funny and whimsical, and I think W missed a true opportunity to reveal Ellen's particular beauty and magic in the magazine; instead, they buried her in makeup, sexed her up, and chose images which hid her considerable charisma. Do they or don't they understand what's brilliant about this woman?

Worse still, W Magazine bizarrely and stupidly asked her to pose for the cover in a dress; Ellen wisely took a pass.

I know what this magazine is. It's beauty magazine; it's a fashion magazine. For me to even be considered and asked to be on the cover- it's huge-- When I first thought about doing it, I thought, Okay, I'll be open to this. I'll play dress up. Then I thought, I just don't feel comfortable in it. I don't want to apologize for who I am.

Do you think she still expresses herself truly in these shots, or do you feel the stylists and the magazine imposed some traditional ideas on her? Would you have rather seen Ellen photographed brilliantly but looking more like the woman we know (plus, plus, of course -- it's a fashion magazine, after all) or do you like her look in these pictures?

Court to Decide If Individuals Have Right to Bear Arms

LibertySugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:00:27 -0700

The groundbreaking lawsuit challenging Washington DC's strict gun-control laws will go before the US Supreme Court this week. District of Columbia v. Heller, funded by a rich libertarian lawyer, is a shot in the dark for Second Amendment activists. The Supreme Court will have the extremely rare opportunity to rule on a provision of the Constitution that never has gone directly before the Supreme Court - the Second Amendment.

DC has the nation's strictest gun-control law, and effectively bans the private possession of handguns. The law states that rifles and shotguns must be kept unloaded and disassembled, or trigger locked, at home. DC argues that the law is a logical decision to make in a dangerous city, although the other party maintains that crime and homicide rates have not been reduced. To see how the Bush administration is making a case for the restrictions, read more.

The Constitutional question is whether the Second Amendment provides an individual right, or whether it only extends to militias as a collective right. In fact the Bush Administration has helped the district, arguing that while the Second Amendment conveys an individual right, such a right is subject to reasonable government restrictions. The government's official position has infuriated gun activists, including Dick Cheney. Check out some exerpts from the briefs filed with the court by interested parties.

We'll have to wait a while to get the court's decision on one of the most important cases in American history. The opinion should be released this summer. And here's an extra twist - liberals who favor expansive interpretations of other amendments, like those protecting the rights of criminal defendants, logically should embrace a broad reading of the Second Amendment, a blow to liberal gun control.

Do you think gun rights belong to the individual? If so, when do restrictions stop being reasonable?

Source

UK May Start Carbon Credit Trading For Individuals

LibertySugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:00:34 -0700

Instead of charging taxes to be used to cut carbon emissions, the British government may issue personal carbon credits. Members of Parliament are suggesting that individuals be issued annual limits for their fuel and energy use. If they want to use more, they can buy the credits from the more frugal users. The plan would reward conservationists.

The proposing committee of parliament admitted that the public would not eagerly jump on board with the program. But, the committee could not ignore the benefits. The chairman said:

Under the personal carbon trading, someone who perhaps doesn't have an enormous house or swimming pool, someone who doesn't take several holidays in the Caribbean every year, will actually get a cash benefit if they keep a low carbon footprint.

Proponents also note that unlike a gas tax, which falls heavier on the poor, this would effectively redistribute money from the wealthy to the poor.

Does the government have a responsibility to advocate unpopular laws that are in the public interest? Personal carbon trading could be the key to getting the public invested in and aware of their impact on the environment. But, is it also unfair intrusions by the government? Should governments be focused on major producers, like corporations, instead of acting like an individual's morality managers?

Source

Love It or Leave It? Disney-Inspired Engagement Rings

TresSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Some girls never let go of their wish to be princesses, and thanks to designer Kristie Kelly, they don't have to. The Kirstie Kelly for Disney by Mouwad collection, shown at Bridal Week in New York, features six engagement rings and wedding bands that pay homage to Disney's leading princesses.

The engagement rings, named after Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, and Belle are supposed to be "subtle references to the personalities of each princess." For example, the baguettes and clean lines of the Ariel ring are supposed to reference the bold style of art deco and Ariel's "bold individuality."

Although I was never a fan of princesses, have no plans of getting married anytime soon, and would feel sheepish taking a leap into adulthood wearing a Disney-inspired engagement ring, I do fancy the look of the Sleeping Beauty ring. What do you feel about this collection?

Clash of Cultures Puts Latina Teens in Danger of Suicide

TresSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:50:13 -0700

According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, one out of seven Latina teenagers attempts suicide.

Psychologist Dr. Luis Zayas of Washington University, who has spent the last 25 years studying Latina teens, believes that this rate is so high because of the teens' troubled relationships with their mothers. Usually the child of poor immigrant parents, the troubled teen is caught between her parents' values and the ones she sees growing up in the US.

American teens, says Dr. Zayas, have "very different models about what girls should do, can do and are permitted to do." For Francisca Abreu, now 15, clashing with her Dominican mother led to depression, a suicide attempt, and pregnancy at 14. Her mother Isabel wanted Francisca to stay home, clean the house, and learn to cook. Not surprisingly, Francisca wanted to go out with her friends.

"Teenagers have certain freedoms; they don't need to consult with their parents to make certain decisions," Dr. Zayas says. "That's the culture that's here, and inserted in that is the Latino family that says the family is much more important than the individual."

After giving birth to her daughter Destiny at 14 and lots of therapy, Francisca says she finally understands what her mother went though. "All she did was be a good mother, sacrifice her life for us," Francisca says. "That's all she did."

Did you grow up in an immigrant family and deal with the clash of cultures as a teen?

How Do You Express Your Individuality?

DearSugar — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:58:27 -0800

You can always seeChristina Aguilera coming because of her signature red lips. Carmen Electra and Sienna Miller used to tie a skull scarf onto everything and Jackie O. wore Chanel suits and over-sized sunglasses.

Some women have a certain fragrance that they always wear, for others it's a pair of glasses, a haircut, message t-shirts or even a specific strut. What do you do to express your individuality?