BuzzSugar

What to Download: New Music on iTunes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:30:47 PST

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores, including iTunes. So I take a spin through each week's iTunes music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. It's a pretty light week for new releases, but in addition to the picks below, you can also snag a new collection from Ghostface Killah and the soundtrack to Revolutionary Road. Here are today's selections:

Whoa, "Womanizer": If Britney Spears's "Womanizer" is always stuck in your head, you might want to consider picking up a remix EP that's out on iTunes today. The EP includes five different versions of the song, including some that are very club-y and others that are almost dreamy. At first listen, I most enjoy the Kaskade mix, and I couldn't help but bob my head during the Benny Benassi mix.

The greatest gift of all: If you enjoyed Stephen Colbert's tongue-in-cheek take on the holiday special, then you might want to get yourself over to iTunes this week, where Colbert's "Another Christmas Song" is free this week. The opening song from the special is old-fashioned and jazzy but with a good dose of holiday sarcasm mixed in ("The manger’s on fire/The holly’s a-glow/Hear the baby Jesus cryin’ ho ho ho").

I've got one more for you, so just

Time to pretend: The Pretenders get credit for longevity (and the enduring coolness of lead singer Chrissie Hynde), and I'm curious to hear them reflect on their career and new album in this new iTunes Originals recording. The release is a mix of interview clips and intimate recordings, including new versions of tracks from this year's Break Up the Concrete and classics like "Talk of the Town." You have to buy the whole thing to hear the interview clips, but each song is available separately.

Meeting My Sperm Donor

The Good Men Project — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:00:50 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Ben Sommer, conceived through alternative insemination, is a young man now and tells the story of deciding to meet his donor.

I grew up in a middle-class home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with two loving parents, both of whom are women. My conception was perhaps the most organized and scientific miracle of the modern American family - my architecture, the dream of dozens of individuals conducting their work across thousands of miles.

Objectifying Ryan Gosling

I was conceived through alternative insemination. A donor submitted his sperm to the Sperm Bank of California in Oakland (TSBC). Later, it was sent to the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston. Since opening its doors in 1982, TSBC has helped families without the ability to conceive on their own to birth over 2,000 children. Two thirds of those have ended up, like me, being raised in a lesbian household. TSBC is also the first sperm bank to offer a donor-identity-release program, which allows children of alternative insemination access to their donors' information when they turn 18.

I am not as much an oddity as you might think. As of 2005, some 270,000 children in the United States had same sex-parents. We are a generation that is just now beginning to come of age and able to share our stories. This is mine.

Growing up in a lesbian household was much like growing up in any other family unit, I imagine: vacations to Cape Cod, parents working late and sometimes not, play dates with a diverse group of friends.

I never gave much thought to that mysterious figure across the country. I never questioned the fact that I didn't have a father. As far as I was concerned I didn't need one. Is having two moms really all that different than having a mom and a dad? Parents are parents, right? I didn't see a difference at the time. My parents didn't either - at least at first.

They decided to conceive through a donor, in part, to avoid the complications that a third parent would bring. Asking a close male friend to donate, like some couples have done, can create unforeseen consequences. In the past, there have been custody battles between the donor and the parents raising the child. This was the case with a friend of mine, whose parents arranged donation from a male family friend. With a semi-anonymous donor like the man my parents chose, it would be clear who my parents were. And it was.

That's not to say that it was smooth sailing. "When we first learned you were going to be a boy, we really panicked," my mother told me recently. "Who's going to teach him to throw a ball? We didn't have many male friends. There was even basic stuff, like who's going to teach him to pee standing up. That doesn't come naturally."

Read the rest of the story below.

Karen Gillan Dishes on the Doctor, River, and Fans

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:30:13 PST

With just about two weeks remaining until Doctor Who fans get their seasonal fix with the Christmas episode, there's a happy break in the Who absence, as Karen Gillan (who plays Amy Pond) spoke on all things Doctor to the Los Angeles Times.

Take a peek at Karen's perspective of her character's strange family tree and what she has planned for life after the BBC's popular sci-fi show. Warning: season six spoilers right ahead!

Return of the Ponds - "I have not read a single word of the next season. I know I am coming back, but that’s all I know, to be honest." In unison: Woohoo!
River Song's Reveal - "I did not know that River Song was Amy and Rory’s daughter until we got the script for that episode. Because if I’d known that, it probably would have changed the way we interacted with one another, River and Amy."
Karen vs. Amy - "I’m not anywhere near as sort of sassy and confident as she is. At all . . . But obviously there are bits of me in there, but it’s probably . . . bits that are a bit odder."

Find out Karen's strangest moment with a fan after the break.

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "Extraordinary Merry Christmas"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:57:02 PST

I must be in the holiday spirit, because Glee made my heart grow three times this week. Early in the episode, the gang mentions how dreary last year's holidays were, what with Kurt being at another school and Sue destroying their tree and gifts, so they want to have a happier holidays. The show itself seems to take that sentiment to heart, and there's pretty much nothing but music, joy, and laughter in this episode.

If you're a holiday lover, I'm willing to bet this is one of your favorite episodes of all time - it definitely is for me, because watching the glee club perform old Christmas standards and fun original songs made me more than merry. I didn't mind that there's very little story development this week - just fun, and I'm already planning on watching the hilarious and wonderful Christmas special segment again. To break down all the festivities, just keep reading.

How to Have an Old-Fashioned, Fun, and Frugal Christmas

LearnVest — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:15:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Ray-Bans aren't the only piece of the past worth revisiting.

There are also old-school photos, discreetly boozy drinks and Judy Garland. Let's go ahead and combine all three: It's Retro Christmas.

This year, we're planning to enjoy what we call "Retro Christmas": A return to holidays past, when the season was about togetherness rather than excess gifts, affection rather than perfection.

Although scaling down our celebrations means spending less money, that's not the point.

We’ve put together our plan for making this year special . . . and focused on elegance, simplicity and genuine holiday spirit. In the end, our goal is to spend time with the people we care about. Of course, while we call this "Retro Christmas," you can adjust most of our tips for whatever winter holidays you celebrate (except maybe for our advice on ornamenting your tree).

Here's to Christmas in sepia!

Gift as a Group

To make gift-giving as meaningful as possible, concentrate on quality rather than quantity. So, instead of buying something just because you need to get a gift, get one that you know will be cherished, even if that means going in with a group of family or friends.

One easy aid is Share a Gift, a website that allows people to make donations toward a communal gift. It uses PayPal and organizes money better than the usual cash collection.

Read on for more tips for a retro Christmas.

Meet Mariah Carey's Twins Moroccan and Monroe - See Their Sweet Faces!

Lauren Turner — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:05:46 PDT

Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon introduced their 6-month-old twins on an episode of 20/20 last night. The family of four welcomed Barbara Walters into their NYC home for an exclusive interview that also included a look inside the twins' nursery and a peek at some of their intimate family photos over the past six months. We got our first look at pictures of Moroccan and Monroe earlier this week, though these latest shots show their sweet faces.

The Carey-Cannons dressed up in The Incredibles costumes for one Halloween themed shot while another showed the twins cuddled close in yellow ducky robes. Mariah showed that she's already loving dressing up her little ones - check out the gallery for a picture of Moroccan on the mic in his crib and Monroe in a diamond headband and pearls. Mariah and Nick welcomed their son and daughter in April and while the proud parents are focusing on family, they've also made time for their careers. Mariah has a new version of her hit holiday song "All I Want For Christmas Is You" coming out with Justin Bieber next month and Nick is currently starring in the comedy Up All Night.

WireImage, Pacific Coast News Online, Image courtesy of ABC

Michael Bublé Makes a Special Stop in Napa to Sing, Share About Luisana, His Wedding, and More For Beringer & Bublé

Lauren Turner — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:20:00 PDT

Michael Bublé made a special appearance at Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena on Friday. He's been working with the winery, which is one of his Crazy Love tour sponsors, throughout the year and made the trip to Napa to meet with press and perform for 200 lucky fans who won the Beringer & Bublé contest. Also on hand for the event were Jason Priestley and his wife, Naomi Lowde, who enjoyed dinner and watched the show from the audience. We sat down with Michael before he hit the stage and he showed off his charming personality, shared a sample of his sexy voice, and toasted the room with a glass of Beringer Sauvignon Blanc. During the chat, Michael opened up about meeting his wife, Luisana Lopilato, their wedding in Argentina, his Christmas album, and more:

On being in Napa with Luisana: "She's here. I asked her if she wanted to come here and hang out with me and she didn't. She was outside tanning, and now she's at the spa having a massage and a faahh-shil (facial) as she calls it. We arrived late, late last night and had a hot tub off our balcony, which was nice; we had a little glass of wine.
On meeting his wife: "She went to go see me, I was in concert in Argentina. When I saw her my security was whisking me away to a room. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I was actually really crushed because I knew that I wouldn't get to meet her again. I was with my grandpa and I was really down, I'd come out of a relationship and I was feeling really destroyed over it. I was sitting there, probably drinking a little too much. The guy who runs the record company asked me if I wanted to meet Argentina's most famous actor. I said fine, and there she walked in. I didn't know what to do. She was with this guy who looked like Brad Pitt on steroids. I just thought well that's great, and thank you God. I didn't want to hit on her because they were obviously together. I sat down, and she didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Spanish, but this guy with her spoke English. I sat with him and I tried very softly to ask him questions and find out what was going on between them. By my third scotch it was like 'you're so beautiful.' I remember grabbing his arm and being like, 'God I hate you. You're such a good looking couple.' And he's like 'no, we're not a couple.' At the same time she was on the phone texting her mom saying, 'I come to meet Michael Bublé and he is so gay.' It took me a couple days to convince her I wasn't."
On getting married: "The best night of my life I've ever had was the wedding night in Argentina. We partied, danced, drank, yelled, and screamed until 7 in the morning. It was beautiful. I made the deal with Lu we were going to get married there so all her people could come but my people weren't there. So I had an unwedding, as some people call it, I had a party in Vancouver. But then everyone said 'look he's doing it again, he must be the most romantic . . .' I'm just like stop, I'm not. It seemed so cheesy. It really creeps me out that people thought I was getting married four times. You know nothing against Seal and Heidi Klum, but I don't know about getting married every single year. Renewing your vows every five years or something cute like that, that's fine."
On settling down and having kids: "My home base will be in Vancouver, and Los Angeles, and Argentina. I'll split the time between Argentina and Vancouver until we hopefully have kids. And even then until they're about 4 or 5 years old we don't really have to worry too much. But it's going to be an issue. Obviously she loves her country, she's proud of her country, that's where her friends and family are."
On writing songs for people: "I've never written songs for someone. I write songs that are inspired by the feelings I have at the time whether I'm in love or my heart is broken. I don't seem to write very well if I'm just normal. Now I'm content and I will probably never write a hit song again."
On his Christmas album: "This morning I had to work, I was recording with Shania Twain for my Christmas record. She's in Europe. I was on Skype connected to my music producer David Foster, who was connected to Shania with her new husband and kids. I have one more date with David and then I have to go in with Bob Rock, who's another incredible producer. Then I start doing press, photoshoots, I'll start doing the music videos. Come November I'm sure they'll have me . . . I'm not sure how many countries I'll be in but I'm sure wherever they celebrate Christmas I'll be around."