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Buzz Gift Guide: Best of 2008 For Gals

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:30:45 PST

Welcome back to my Buzz Gift Guide series for all the entertainment lovers in your life. Yesterday I sifted through the stacks (er, Web pages) of music, DVDs, and books to find some of the best 2008 has to offer dudes. Today I will share with you some 2008 entertainment gift ideas for the ladies.

It's no secret how much I love Jenny Lewis and I will be spreading the gospel this year by handing out her newest album Acid Tongue to my girlfriends (or at least including her songs on the mix CDs I'll make this holiday season). I'll also be giving out Aimee Mann's newest album, as I think it's pretty awesome.

It was a good year for books: I read both The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum and Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner and would definitely recommend them. In the movies department, might I suggest the hilarious Baby Mama or Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day on DVD?

Since I watch more TV than most people I know, I use the holidays to not-so-subtly suggest to friends what I know they would love, like 30 Rock or Greek. And many of my friends have grown to love Lipstick Jungle, so it would be a treat for them to receive the show's first season on DVD.

A couple more ideas below, so have fun scrolling on through.

Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.

Jennifer Weiner Brings Her Relatable Storytelling to ABC

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:32:33 PDT

In a smart and savvy move, ABC has struck a deal with bestselling author Jennifer Weiner to develop a television series, presumably focusing on what Weiner knows best - highly relatable women.

ABC already has many shows geared toward females like Grey's Anatomy, Samantha Who? and Desperate Housewives, and I give them kudos for thinking outside the box in their search for the next hit series. Handing over the reins to a known name like Weiner - an author who has built a career creating memorable (and often hysterically funny) characters - seems like a win for them, and for audiences (like me) who love to see a little bit of themselves in the female characters on TV. An ABC representative said of Weiner's fans: "They respond to her wry wit, embrace her smart characters and want to live in the worlds she creates."

Weiner's book In Her Shoes was adapted for the big screen in 2005 and her new book, Certain Girls (the sequel to Good in Bed) hit bookstores earlier this month. She's a hot commodity these days: in addition to her deal with ABC, two different studios are working on adapting her books Little Earthquakes and The Guy Not Taken.

Are you as happy as I am to see someone this talented get so much love? Will you check out a TV show if she's behind it?

Source and Source

Book Review: Certain Girls

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:30:00 PDT

When I was first introduced to the smart, hilariously sassy Cannie Shapiro in Jennifer Weiner's Good in Bed, I felt like I'd made a friend. She's clever, outspoken, fun and talented, though she also, like many of us, struggles with her weight and her feelings of self-worth. Thus, I was delighted to find out that we get a continuation of Cannie's story in Certain Girls - and this time there's another voice talking: Cannie's now-13-year-old daughter, Joy.

Joy, whose premature birth left her with hearing problems, has always known that her mother wrote a salacious, bestselling novel many years ago but never had much interest in reading it - until now. And what she reads horrifies her. She starts to question her mother's honesty, and goes in search of the truth about her family's history. Meanwhile, Cannie's husband Peter wants to find a surrogate so he and Cannie can have their own baby together. Not loving the idea, Cannie explores their options while also trying to plan a bat mitzvah for her surly teenage girl.

In a rare occurrence of the sequel surpassing the original, I enjoyed Certain Girls more than I liked Good in Bed. To find out why,

While I like the character of Cannie and the collection of hilarious characters that surround her in Good in Bed, that book is a whole lotta Cannie. It's also fanciful in ways that I couldn't quite swallow at times. But Certain Girls benefits from Joy's voice and her teenage perspective. At times it struck a chord so familiar I had to put down the book, recognizing as I did the painful experiences of puberty. It's also surprisingly fun to get a new, inside look at Cannie through her daughter's eyes. Certain Girls is also darker, in many ways, and though there's still a good amount of fantasy-world fun, there's also a hefty dose of real-world drama. Perhaps because of this, I became powerfully attached to this mother-daughter duo and had to do that thing where I lingered over the final few pages to try and make it last.

Bottom line: Certain Girls isn't literary perfection, but it is a funny, absorbing and emotional read.

Source

Robert Pattinson Talks Racy Cosmopolis Scenes

Lauren Turner — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:39:53 PDT

Robert Pattinson on refusing to do certain scenes in Cosmopolis - People
Bethenny Frankel responds to divorce rumors - Us Weekly
Listen to AI winner Phillip Phillips's first single - HuffPost Entertainment
So many reasons to love Tom Hardy - Lainey Gossip
Oops! There's a serious typo in the Great Gatsby trailer - Zap2It
See Kim Zolciak's topless wedding gift for her fiancé - TooFab
Michael Fassbender is "happy to fly the flag for gingers" - Celebitchy
MTV's The Real World celebrates 20th anniversary - The Daily Beast
See what critics think about Robert Pattinson's Cosmopolis - Hollywood Reporter
You won't believe what the Blink-182 girl looks like today - BuzzFeed
Why did Britney Spears leave X Factor auditions early? - The Insider
Are you excited for Katy Perry's new movie? - Rotten Tomatoes
Michelle Obama wants to trade places with Beyoncé - Wonderwall
Find out which pop stars will host the Miss USA pageant - Lifeline Live

Hysteria Director Tanya Wexler Talks Vibrators, Faking It, and Duck Sex

Tara Block — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:15 PDT

Don't be shy . . . It's time to talk sex toys! And Hysteria director Tanya Wexler is writing us a prescription for pleasure. Tanya's film - what she calls "the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to" - is in limited release and stars Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Rupert Everett. When working on a romantic comedy that centers around the invention of the vibrator, you end up with some entertaining and embarrassing situations along the way, and lucky for us, Tanya spilled all the hilariously dirty details. From teaming up with the film's partner Jimmyjane for a drive-by vibrator drop-off to a certain female Oscar-winner to trying unsuccessfully to get ducks to shag on command, Tanya was bursting with great stories from working on this very unconventional film. And while Tanya isn't ashamed to discuss the sexy subject matter of her latest film with us, the mother of four and her partner of 21 years did have a tricky challenge telling her preteen kids what her movie was about. (She eventually gave them the script and let them figure it out themselves!) Check out our interview with the fun-loving director now, and we dare you not to have a girl crush on her by the end!

TrèsSugar: What were some of the challenges to getting a movie made about vibrators?
Tanya Wexler: Getting the script right was tricky because if you just make a movie about the invention of the vibrator, it's actually a really short movie: you go "bzz" and it's done. And we had a kind of light romantic comedy. I say I made the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to. But some people wanted it to be raunchy or some people wanted it to be more serious and about feminism. People project a lot onto this movie of what they want, because there isn't a lot out there about vibrators and women's pleasure, and we still don't really deal with that topic very well, or we're overly antsy around it. And as a result, people have a lot of ideas of what the movie could and should be, and you can't please everyone. [laughs]

TS: Ha, good one.
TW: It's nonstop!

TS: Do you find sex toys inherently funny or something to be seriously celebrated?
TW: Yes!

TS: Both?
TW: Yes! Yes. I think they make me laugh, and I think that the inner kind of Beavis and Butt-head in all of us goes "[laugh]." You know, that inner 13-year-old, like, "Hahaha vibrator . . . " and yet they're awesome and fun.

TS: What shocked you the most when researching the movie?
TW: That ducks are the rapists of the bird world, and you'll see when you see the movie, because there's a little bit of questionable duck behavior - or awesome duck behavior - in the movie. It's totally a sidebar, but you cannot make ducks shag on command. I'm just saying.

TS: What about the whole history of hysteria being a medical condition?
TW: When I first heard the idea, I was like, "What do you mean it was invented in Victorian times?" I knew about hysteria, but the idea that the treatment was manual [British accent] massage deparaxism - which is what they called it - and, of course, the denial. The most shocking thing is the denial, that they didn't think it was sexual.

TS: Do you think they were really in denial?
TW: No, I don't think that some people were. My college roommate was with her high school boyfriend for two years and she had never had an orgasm. I think there's all kinds of denial, especially with women's sexuality. So the fact that there are young women today who haven't had an orgasm, whether self-induced - which is insane - or with a partner, then why wouldn't we think back then that women wouldn't know what orgasms were?

They would get a massage, and the doctor's saying, "Without a penis, this isn't sex, because sex is about procreation," so what is this? The best physical therapy you've ever had. So once you don't think of it as something other than what the doctor's supposed to do to cure your uncontrollable crying or uncontrollable laughter or whatever, then it's just an awesome muscle spasm. If you don't think women have their own inherent sexuality, then you're not thinking about it like that.

Keep reading for Tanya's thoughts on Fifty Shades and more!

Oscar de la Renta Resort 2013 Takes Us on a Luxe Ladylike Picnic - See the Complete Collection Here

Marisa Tom — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:43:10 PDT

Oscar de la Renta's Resort 2013 collection offered up a plethora of plush, picnic-ready looks for sunny days ahead. And while you may have pastoral images of lazy lawn spreads and fruit-filled wicker baskets in mind, this country-chic girl wears her gingham prints in luxe satins and silks. The iconic designer presented a cool mix of traditionally sleek looks - black-and-white short suits, apple red tea party frocks, and bright peplum tops - along with quirkier pieces, like a silk and sequined baseball t-shirt paired up with a decadent gingham ball skirt. If the more daytime-friendly wares don't inspire dreams of frolicking in a manicured meadow, then de la Renta's signature frothy gowns will certainly transport you to an evening under the stars in the French Riviera. Above all, this is an ultrafresh lineup with classic and cool-girl appeal. To see every Resort '13 look, just keep clicking.

Glee-ful Highlights From Episodes "Props" and "Nationals"

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:00:18 PDT

It's a Glee double whammy this week as the New Directions prep for, and then head to Nationals! As we've seen at the end of each season, emotions are running high, as the kids get ready to take on Vocal Adrenaline. The stakes are even higher this year since a lot of the seniors are graduating, and there's one gleek in particular who's feeling a little left out.

Season three has not been my favorite, but both of this week's episodes won me over in a big way. The first hour is both funny and poignant, while the second is very sweet and sentimental, as we get ready to say goodbye to some of the core cast members. The night definitely brings back memories from the first season when the show took the world by storm, and reminded me why I fell in love with it in the first place. Let's break down the highlights when you

I'm glad Tina finally gets a little time to shine, though it's a bit awkward that the opening voice-over is all about how the show has essentially ignored her for the first three seasons. Still, it's a nice break, and the sweet moments between Rachel and Tina feel authentic and are fun to watch, particularly when Tina offers to take Rachel on a road trip to see Carmen Thibedeau. And though it's not my favorite number of the night, I love that Rachel gives Tina her wish to duet on "What a Feeling."
Just because it needs to be mentioned: Kurt and Blaine's Halloween costumes as Snooki and the Situation. Amazing.
OK, the switcheroo moment was everything I hoped it would be and more. Though the sneak peek pictures gave away who would become who during Tina's dream, it's still amazing to see the kids all mixed up: particularly Artie as Santana. Genius. My head continued exploding throughout the entire sequence, especially seeing the reaction shots to Tina's rendition of "Because You Loved Me" (Mr. Schue's impression of Sue is spot-on). Speaking of which, Tina totally kills the song: are we getting a preview of what Glee might be like next season?
Coach Beiste has had to do some emotional heavy lifting lately, but this is one of the few times we see Puck truly vulnerable. His feelings of inadequacy about his future come to a head when one of the bullies at school challenges him to a fight in the schoolyard. After Beiste breaks it up, Puck breaks down in tears about feeling like garbage, and he and Beiste comfort each other in a truly touching moment. What's even better is that Beiste proceeds to dump Cooter, and she and Puck sing a sweet duet of Taylor Swift's "Mean." (Honestly I'm surprised it's taken Glee this long to get that song).
I love all the throwbacks to the first season in this episode; there's talk of Tina's first audition, some reminiscing about Puck's days tossing kids in dumpsters, and even an utterance of the Glee-patented insult "lima loser." Those were the days.
How is it possible that the New Directions are, yet again, about to perform at Nationals and they're still trying to slap together the routine just hours beforehand? It's no wonder they're all on edge, but at least they aren't trying to write their own songs this time around.
I can't even talk about how much I loved every one of the New Directions' performances at Nationals; this is by far and away my favorite performance episode. I had chills during "The Edge of Glory," which turned into goose bumps for "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." But the real kicker is "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" - the number is mesmerizing, and I felt proud of how far they've come. I can't remember the last time I was so caught up the performances of this show. They absolutely nailed it.
As for Vocal Adrenaline, well, they certainly bring the theatrics. I'm a fan of Unique's, but something about their numbers lacked energy. But maybe that's because the dudes were so tired from picking up the girls repeatedly and pushing those heavy-looking pinball machines around?
Giving Unique the suddenly existent MVP award is a nice consolation when the New Directions win the grand prize. I do kind of wish they'd give up the celebrity judges' shtick though. No offense to Lindsay Lohan, but getting a peek inside the self-involved judges' room used to be funny but now it just feels stale.
The scene where we get to watch the New Directions celebrating their victory feels like three years coming, and it actually could have been a very fitting end to the series as a whole. The kids are about to graduate and move away, and now they've finally got the biggest trophy in all the land. Hell, they even let Will and Emma finally do it (though did that really need to be shoehorned in with the confetti?). The icing on the cake, of course, is Mr. Schuester's Teacher of the Year award and the performance of "We Are the Champions." A perfect end to a great episode.

With only one more episode to go, it all culminates with next week's graduation episode. Were you touched by this episode like I was? What'd you think of the New Directions' showing at Nationals?

Photo courtesy of Fox

5 Reasons Being a Single Man is Kind of Overrated

The Good Men Project — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:47 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Damon Young names five reasons being a single man is overrated.

While most will probably remember 2012 as the "Year Of The YOLO" (and by "most" I mean "like seven people"), it holds special significance for me because it’ll likely be the first year since 2002 where I spent the entire year single. I haven’t completed a full calendar year yet - May will make it seven months since the former Lady Champ and I decided to go our separate ways - but because I seem to enjoy doing random anthropological experiments on myself for absolutely no reason (and because I’m an INTJ and INTJs apparently suck at relationships), I’m confident that I’ll make it to 2013 without having to change my Facebook relationship status again.

Three Little-Known Stressors That Are Killing Men

Anyway, if I could sum up my seven months of singledom in one word, it would most likely be "interesting." I’ve met some "interesting" people, done some "interesting" things, made some "interesting" decisions, and, most importantly, thought some "interesting" thoughts. The most "interesting" of these "interesting" thoughts? Being a single man is kind of overrated.

Now, as I stated on the day where I wrote about orgasms, "overrated" doesn’t mean "bad." In fact, as the careers of Tupac and Derrick Rose continue to prove, something can be very, very good - even great - and still be overrated. I’ve enjoyed being single, and will likely continue to enjoy it. But, while it seems like many assume that being a single man (a single Black man, at that) is nothing but an utopic stream of easy popsicles and cold pancakes, there are a few downsides.

It can be very lonely. As a person who wanted to be single, is a natural introvert, and generally enjoys doing things by himself, I’m surprised by how, for lack of a better term, "noticeable" the solitude and loneliness of singledom can be. Even when seeing multiple people and/or having tons of friends, being single means that you are . . . single, by yourself, and there may be times when you want to have someone around but there will be no one that you want to be around readily available to be around.

Then, to add insult to injury, if you’re an angsty motherf*cker like me, you’ll start thinking things like "Wait. I’m a single man. A single Black man. My dad named me after Dolemite. Shaka Zulu is my second cousin. People who’ve never even met me call me "Champ" for chrissakes. Why the f*ck do I feel lonely right now?" which’ll make it even worse.

You have to wear condoms. And, wearing condoms sucks. If you’re one of the 137 people left on Earth who always has protected sex - even if in a long-term, monogamous relationship - just skip this section and move on to #3. Also, I’ve left a plate of gotdamn sugar cookies at the end of this post as a reward for your duty. Please eat them with a gotdamn smile.

If you’re not one of these people, you should be able to relate to how frustrating it’s been to go from condom-less sex to having to worry about having gotdamn condoms all the damn time. And, even if you’re not actively having sex, "Do I have condoms?" and "Since I don’t have condoms, is there somewhere close where I can buy them?" always has to be on your mind.

Also, from a logistical perspective, they’re a hassle to put on, they smell like a pack of slutty balloons, and "sex with condoms" will always be the Mike Conley of coitus. There is always the alternative - just don’t wear condoms while single, either - but I think one Cromartie per generation is enough.

(Btw, is it just me, or has the price of condoms spiked dramatically in the past four years? I was last single in 2008, and I don’t remember a box of condoms costing as much as it does to fill a gas tank. Does this qualify as a "first world problem?" If a Black blogger bitches about condoms in the woods, would Kanye’s missing draws make a sound?) As much as condoms suck, they don’t suck as much as . . .

Having to participate in the dating game. In a paradox so annoying that I almost didn’t mention it today because I plan on spending an entire day on this sole topic soon, I love meeting new, interesting women but I hate the process that usually goes along with meeting new, interesting women. I understand (and appreciate) the purpose of the process, but knowing why it’s necessary doesn’t mean that you have to enjoy it.

The superficial romantic connections synonymous with singledom gets old. Ironically, the best thing about being a single man - possessing the ability to have myriad short, commitment-free relationships AT THE SAME DAMN TIME!!! - ends up being one of the worst after enough time has passed. This actually hasn’t happened to me yet. I guess I’m still in the single honeymoon phrase. But, I’m certain it will, and the thought of this happening is already depressing me. Actually, this entire list is getting depressing. ***Making note to self to make sure tomorrow’s post is about the playoffs or strippers or something***

You start to realize some, um, "unpositive" things about yourself. I’ve been in three long-term - "long term" = "monogamous relationship lasting at least a year" - relationships as an adult. Each of these relationships failed, and my wanting to be single was the main catalyst behind each of these failures. Now, because I’ve always been a guy who did all the "right on paper" relationship things - I’ve never cheated, never physically or verbally abused any girlfriends, always followed the chivalry handbooks, etc - I’ve always assumed that I’m good at being a partner. But, these last few months have made me realize that I have some real deficiencies in the relationship department - personality quirks that have subtly sabotaged each relationship I’ve been in.

I wouldn’t quite call myself a trojan horse - the sabotage isn’t intentional (at least it’s not consciously intentional) - but I’m just not very good at this relationship thing right now, and I intend to spend the rest of 2012 trying to figure out why.
That’s it for me today. Fellas - single or coupled up - how do you feel about the concept of singledom? Is it all the beer commercials make it out to be, or do you agree that it may be slightly overrated? Also, ladies, are the "single man problems" expressed today at all similar to any "single woman problems?"

Zoe Saldana on Her Style Guru, Not Being a "Pink Girl", and More at the Cosmo Latinas Launch

Chi Diem Chau — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:43:50 PDT

With her supporting family in tow, Zoe Saldana celebrated her cover on the first issue of Cosmopolitan Latinas last night at the Press Lounge in NYC looking gorgeous in a frothy mauve Elie Saab Couture dress, Bottega Veneta clutch, Brian Atwood pumps, and Irit Design jewels. Between her infectious smile and down-to-earth personality, it was hard not to fall in love with the beautiful actress. At the event, the actress let us in on her style secrets, not being a "pink girl," and why she loves being in her 30s:

On where her style comes from: "My stylist Petra Flannery, she is my must have. I work so hard and I am nonstop that sometimes taking time to think about what I am going to wear is overwhelming. She is one of my closest friends and her taste is exquisite. I literally just show up at her door and if I have time, I love just staying with her one entire afternoon and see what I've been missing, like all of the collections in Paris, New York, or London. Petra Flannery is my go-to, my must."
On her organic style process: "I will say no to certain things; I am not a pink girl. This [dress] took years for Petra to get me to wear - feminine, pretty colors, and pastel. I always want things to be hard and poignant and sometimes, you need these things because they mellow you out, you know? They really help you feel so great."
On three words that describe her style: "Unexpected, emotional, and weather-oriented."

See pictures of Zoe Saldana on the cover of Cosmopolitan Latinas, plus read what she has to say about her Oscars dress debate, and why she loves being in her 30s.

Goldilocks Never Had It So Good

Sponsor — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:00:00 PDT

No one ever said it was easy being a woman, and certainly NO ONE ever dared to say that it was easy to find your perfect makeup foundation shade (too light, too dark . . . it's easy to feel like Goldilocks!). But fortunately for us, we're living in a L'Oreal Paris True Match™ world, and we are all about to become L'Oreal Paris girls. L'Oreal Paris True Match™ can help make each morning just a little simpler by blending seamlessly into your skin coloring, leaving you with a flawless face and an even better day ahead.

Want to find your perfect True Match color? Visit L'Oreal Paris True Match™ and find out your exact shade, whether it's Light Ivory or Warm, and you can bask in your easy and perfectly matched makeup mornings too.

Be on the lookout for your chance to be part of L'Oreal Paris True Match™ Makeup's BellaSugar Sample Squad!

The Opposite of Love: Julie Buxbaum ($16.50)	Break Up the Concrete: The Pretenders ($11.99)
Acid Tongue: Jenny Lewis ($12.49)	Certain Girls: A Novel: Jennifer Weiner ($17.79)
@#%&*! Smilers: Aimee Mann ($13.99)	Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day ($12.99)
Baby Mama ($17.99)	Greek - Chapter One ($19.99)
30 Rock: Season 2 ($25.99)	Lipstick Jungle - Season One ($24.99)