BuzzSugar

Which British Actors Have the Best American Accents on TV?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:45:56 PDT

Acording to a poll conducted by RadioTimes, (a kind of UK TV Guide) Hugh Laurie of House is the Brit who does the best American accent on TV. In second place is Anna Friel from Pushing Daisies, followed by Michelle Ryan of the ill-fated Bionic Woman. Damian Lewis takes the fourth spot for his work on Band of Brothers, and the stars of The Riches, Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard are at the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.

Who do you think does the best American accents on TV? And who does the worst? For the full list of the top 20 best American accents on TV according to the RadioTimes poll,

Hugh Laurie (House)
Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)
Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman)
Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers)
Minnie Driver (The Riches)
Eddie Izzard (The Riches)
Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck)
Ian McShane (Deadwood)
Louise Lombard (CSI)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)
Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica)
Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters)
Dominic West (The Wire)
Lennie James (Jericho)
Sean Maguire (The Class)
Idris Elba (The Wire)
Sophia Myles (Moonlight)
Other
Kevin McKidd (Journeyman)

House photo courtesy of Fox
Pushing Daisies photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

Lauren Conrad Leaves Lately in Her Own Design

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:15:00 PDT

Lauren Conrad left a taping of Chelsea Lately yesterday in Santa Monica with a Red Bull in hand. She stopped by the talk show to promote her new book, The Fame Game, after making a stop by Ryan Seacrest's radio show earlier in the day. Lauren wore a brown polka-dot dress from her own Paper Crown line for the busy press day talking up her fourth novel. Before she hit the promotional trail, she took some time out to go to Coachella, where we spotted her hanging out poolside at the Lacoste bash with Lea Michele. The Fame Game is just one of two books with Lauren's name attached that will hit bookstores this month. She also contributed to Glamour's new collection of essays 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She's 30, which is out today, even though she's a few years away from the milestone herself.

"Is Our Relationship Normal?"

Tres Community — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:05:00 PDT

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I've been in very few relationships throughout my life and whenever I was, the relationship didn't last long because of different misunderstandings. Now I'm in a relationship and some of the things that my boyfriend thinks aren't a big deal, are to me. For example: When he asks me for something small, he gets it - no problem, because it's not that important to argue over. But one day I asked him if he could switch the radio station while I was driving because the song was getting on my nerves. He put up an argument and said something like, "I wanted to listen to it, and it's about to end anyway." I told him that it was his car, so he could listen to it another time, but he kept on and on, so I told him to forget it.

Sometimes I think: "Do I really trip about unnecessary things? Or is he just used to getting his way?" I think it's a little bit of both. He's a good guy, and when I tell him about things that bother me, I minimize them because I don't want it to get in the way of our relationship. I know that this should be a comfort in any relationship, but I feel needy when I ask for things. If I need something, do I just out and ask for it? What is normal in a relationship? What stuff is okay to talk about? Is it normal to express everything to him that annoys me, or do I pick and choose what's appropriate?

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Secrets to Saving on Your 7 Favorite Indulgences

Emily Co — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:25:48 PDT

We all have our weaknesses, and yours may be a Starbucks addiction or even an avid book reading habit. Although we advocate saving, we're also a big fan of being able to indulge on occasion. After all, if you keep denying yourself, it might be counterintuitive because you may end up buying on impulse. Here are some ways you can still enjoy your favorite purchases, yet save at the same time:

Starbucks: Sign up for a Starbucks card and you can accumulate rewards such as free drinks. Once you buy five drinks, you get free syrup or soy milk and free refills on brewed coffee, iced coffee, or iced tea. You'll also get a free tall drink if you buy a bag of coffee beans. Once you buy over 30 drinks, you get a free drink for every 15 drinks you buy. As a card holder, you'll also get a free drink of your choice on your birthday.

Frugal secret: You can make your own Starbucks drinks in your own home. Check out Squawkfox's recipe for a homemade Starbucks Frappuccino that costs only 32 cents to make. Don't forget to also check out YumSugar's Starbucks-inspired pumpkin spice latte recipe.
Books: If you got a thing for books, there's always the library of course. But for those who just love permanent additions to their budding book collection, you can consider joining book clubs like Barnes & Nobles, which sends regular discounts and coupons to your inbox. You can also get really cheap indie ebooks for free or for 99 cents on Amazon. Some of the books are actually really good, but check out the reviews before buying if you don't want to waste your time on a dud.
Frugal secret: Shhh, don't let anyone know, but you can get free books from authors, even the acclaimed and famous ones, if you try this trick. A lot of times, you can even get the book ahead of its release. All you have to do is start building up a nice repertoire of really solid and detailed book reviews on Amazon or Good Reads, the social network for book recommendations. If your Amazon reviews are good, people will start voting on them, which may qualify you for Amazon's Vine program, an exclusive club that "invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and prerelease items." And if you're a popular Good Reads reviewer, authors will start reaching out to you to review their books.
Yoga: You can save on yoga classes by subscribing to daily deal sites and keeping an eye out for discounts at your local yoga studio. Lululemon also offers free yoga classes, so you might want to check out your local shop. A lot of studios have free or donation-based classes on occasion, so you might want to check with them, too.
Frugal secret: Become a yoga teacher to get access to free classes. You don't have to worry about teaching taking up too much of your time because I have friends who teach only once or twice a week and still get the perks of a full-time teacher, such as being able to attend classes for free. You can also offer to trade services (writing, graphic design, admin, or whatever skill you can provide) with the studio in exchange for free classes.

Read on for more.

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.

4 Star Apps to Correctly Re-Create the Titanic Night Sky

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:21:05 PDT

When Titanic was released in 1997, part of the media craze surrounding the film was director James Cameron's painstaking work on re-creating the ship, staterooms, and even table linens with historical accuracy. One person not impressed was astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who became a vocal critic of Titanic's depiction of that fateful night sky. In meetings with James himself and in public appearances, Neil called out the director for his inaccurate and "lazy" use of a random assortment of stars despite knowing the precise latitude and longitude where the ship sunk, and thus easily capable of re-creating the exact stars Rose would have seen when waiting in the water for rescue.

Finally, with today's Titanic 3D rerelease, scientific accuracy proves victorious as James Cameron admits his perfectionist defeat and changes the stars to reflect what Titanic survivors would've seen at 4:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. In honor of Neil's constellation concern, download one of these four apps to ensure you always know which stars you're gazing at on a clear night.

Star Walk for iPad ($5) - Tour the universe in all its stunning, bright-eyed wonder with this HD app that has been beautifully remastered for the retina display of the newest iPad generation.
The Night Sky ($1) - Should you find yourself in the desert or aboard a cruise ship with limited WiFi, this is the app to have for 4G-less connectivity. View the local stars even without a data connection.
SkyView ($2) - Point your phone's camera to the sky for an augmented reality view in 3D graphics of the stars above. Travel back or forward in time to see the sky on a particular date. Very handy should you ever make a historical film.
StarTalk (Free) - This radio program hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson won't show you the stars in the sky, but by subscribing to the podcast, you'll stay on the cutting edge of all things space, science, and pop culture.

Photos: Neil deGrasse Tyson Twitter and Titanic Facebook

Michael Bublé Marks His One-Year Anniversary With Wife Luisana!

Allie Merriam — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 08:43:38 PDT

Michael Bublé and his wife Luisana Lopilato touched down in Rio yesterday evening. The couple are just one country away from her native Argentina, where Michael and Luisana celebrated one of their many huge wedding celebrations last year. The couple tied the knot exactly one year ago today in Buenos Aires!

Their trip to Brazil comes during an exciting professional time for Michael. He was just nominated for a Sony Radio Academy Award in the category of best music program, having hosted a two-month-long show for a London network last year. He's also in the running for four honors during Canada's Juno Awards, which take place tomorrow. Michael won't attend, however, as he's due to perform twice this weekend in Rio and Sao Paulo.

Jennifer Lopez Waves Goodbye to Another AI Contestant and Shares Her Own New Music

Lauren Turner — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:08:06 PDT

Jennifer Lopez waved hello to the American Idol audience as she took her judging seat for the elimination show in LA last night. Contestant Heejun Han was sent home on the episode, which also featured a performance by last year's winner Scotty McCreery and Nicki Minaj.

J Lo switched gears back to her own music this morning, sharing her new track "Dance Again" on Ryan Seacrest's radio show. She'll premiere the video for the new song on AI next Thursday. J Lo will likely sing the new jam along with some others this Summer when she performs for the first time in Brazil. She announced plans to headline two dates of Sao Paulo's Pop Music Festival during a recent trip to the country with boyfriend Casper Smart. And it looks like he's planning to join her again, since he tweeted, "Thanks again Brazil for being so welcoming. See you in the Summer!"

Jay-Z Protégé Rita Ora on Having Hov and Beyoncé as Mentors and Her Roc Nation Debut

Lindsay Miller — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:05:18 PDT

British singer Rita Ora is poised to make a splash stateside this Summer with the release of her first album on Roc Nation, Jay-Z's label, as well a series of tour dates with Coldplay. We caught up with the platinum blond pop singer during her recent visit to LA to talk about her "gritty" sound, hearing herself on the radio for the first time, and her love of vintage clothes and playing dress up. She also filled us in on what it's been like to have Jay and Beyoncé Knowles as her musical guides and the "so cute" new addition to the Roc Nation family, baby Blue Ivy. Check out our interview and listen to Rita's newest track, "How We Do (Party)," on iTunes now!

Olympic Hopeful Jessica Hardy Shares Her Tips to Beat Workout Boredom

espnW — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 04:06:56 PDT

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

By Jessica Hardy

Jessica Hardy knew she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer at age 5, when her mom started taking her to the neighborhood pool in Long Beach, Calif. Now, more than 20 years later, she's a three-time world champion and a world record holder in the 50m and 100m breaststroke. Her next goal? Olympic gold in London.

Jessica will be blogging for espnW in the lead-up to this summer's London Olympics. Follow her journey on espnW.com and read her full blog entry here.

How I Fend Off Workout Boredom

1. Hit Instant Replay. When I need motivation at practice, I just picture my competitors inching past me from the side of my goggles. That mental image is enough to drive me.

A Bright Idea

2. Sing It, Sister. The last song I hear on the radio in my car before heading into practice always gets stuck in my head. I end up singing it the whole time, and you know what, it keeps me entertained - though my teammates don't always feel the same way.

Playing Hard Ball

3. Go into Detail. During a tough part of practice, I focus on technique with each stroke rather than when on earth the set is going to end. That little trick helps me get through it.

Keep reading for more boredom-busting tips.