BuzzSugar

2007: The Entertainment Year in Review

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:00:51 PST

From Isaiah Washington's ill-conceived remarks to the end of The OC to the start of a Grey's Anatomy spinoff, 2007 was a year full of controversy, endings, and new beginnings in the entertainment world. Want to reminisce about some of the year's top stories? I've rounded up several of the biggest events and newsmakers in this fun slideshow. Click through, and then come back and tell me which stories make your list of the year's biggest.

6 Strategies to Save More This Year

Kiplinger — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:27:21 PST

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

Saving doesn't come easily for us young adults. Entry-level salaries don't give you a lot to work with. And, well, we also tend to spend what we make - and then some - on the latest gadgets and flashiest fashions.

But don’t worry. We’re not doomed to frivolity and the wreckage it can make of our finances. Here's how you can start saving smart throughout 2012:

Periodically calculate how much you spend. What better time to review your budget than at the start of a New Year? “It’s really hard to [track your spending] each month, so aim for just once or twice a year,” says Jill Boynton, a certified financial planner in Newington, New Hampshire.

Just be sure when you do it that you track everything. Boynton recommends filling out a spreadsheet with a month’s worth of spending. Or you can try an online budgeting tool such as Mint.com (See our slide show: Which Budgeting Site is Best for You?). But note: Mint works best for those who deal mostly in plastic as opposed to cash. When you make an ATM withdrawal, the site labels the transaction as “Cash & ATM.” Unless you diligently manage your cash transactions (you can manually edit Mint’s labels), you can easily lose track of where the money goes.

The drudgery of tracking spending can pay off when you find surprising expenses you could easily cut. At the end of 2011, I crunched my own numbers and found that I shelled out about $200 a month at Starbucks and other restaurants. I’m sure I could cut that by at least half. That’s like finding a $100 bill every month in my back pocket.

Read on for more strategies.

Uh Oh! Watch Out For These 12 IRS Audit Red Flags

Kiplinger — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:06:09 PST

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

The IRS audits only slightly more than 1% of all individual tax returns annually. The agency doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year. So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes.

However, the chances of being audited or otherwise hearing from the IRS increase depending upon various factors, including your income level, whether you omitted income, the types of deductions or losses you claimed, the business in which you're engaged and whether you own foreign assets. Math errors may draw IRS inquiry, but they'll rarely lead to a full-blown exam. Although there's no sure way to avoid an IRS audit, you should be aware of red flags that could increase your chances of drawing unwanted attention from the IRS.

1. Making too much money

Although the overall individual audit rate is about 1.11%, the odds increase dramatically for higher-income filers. IRS statistics show that people with incomes of $200,000 or higher had an audit rate of 3.93%, or one out of slightly more than every 25 returns. Report $1 million or more of income? There's a one-in-eight chance your return will be audited. The audit rate drops significantly for filers making less than $200,000: Only 1.02% of such returns were audited during 2011, and the vast majority of these exams were conducted by mail. We're not saying you should try to make less money - everyone wants to be a millionaire. Just understand that the more income shown on your return, the more likely it is that you'll be hearing from the IRS.

Read on for more red flags.

2011: The Year in Google

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:32:21 PST

What was on the world's mind in 2011? Rebecca Black, according to Google's Zeitgeist 2011 roundup. The teen singer's viral video wonder "Friday" had over 167 million view on YouTube, and searches for her name made it the number one fastest-rising search term on the site in 2011.

Google's Zeitgeist review of the year is largely made up of the fastest-rising search terms in categories such as people, entertainment, consumer electronics, and news for every region worldwide. Interestingly, the fastest-falling searches are also listed with the once top social network, MySpace, securing the number one spot for losing the most global interest online this year.

Here's a detail of the fastest-moving US search terms in their respective categories:

Google News - Hurricane Irene
Image Search - Planking
Google Maps - International airport, with Ikea not far behind at number two
Product Search - HP TouchPad

For a closer look at the world's last 12 months through an Internet lens, get your tissues ready to watch Google's 2011 year in review video after the break.

How to Watch Movies in the Theater For Free

Wise Bread — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:39 PST

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

I know this sounds amazing, and there's a kicker - you can see these movies in theaters for free BEFORE they're released to the general public!

It sounds too good to be true, but it can be done really easily. For the past year or so, I have been attending movies in theaters before they've been released. I pay nothing to see them, and to top it off, there are often no previews, so 100 minutes actually means 100 minutes.

Some movie studios provide free screenings of movies. They do this to build interest in a movie, to do research, and to allow the press to review it. If people have a good experience, they'll tell their friends and write positive reviews.

These are the same movies you can see a few weeks later for $12 a pop. Over the past six months, I've seen The Green Hornet (awesome movie!), The Next Three Days, and Limitless, among others, all a few weeks before they were released to the general public, and all for the family friendly price of "on the house."

Read on to find out the secret of watching movies for free.

Kiddie Tablets: Let's Compare the Leapfrog LeapPad Explorer and the VTech InnoTab

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:32:18 PST

The iPad may be top on Mama's holiday wish list this year, but there's a good chance it's on her tot's too! Kids can't keep their hands off the tablets, leading two of the largest educational games manufacturers to create tot-friendly versions this year.

I told you about the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer ($100) when it first hit the market this Fall, and now I just finished playing around with the VTech InnoTab ($79) and can't help but compare the two units. Similarly priced, they are both designed for kids 4 to 9 years old, both run on four AA batteries (or, better yet, burn through them), and both are designed to educate as lil ones interact with their favorite characters. Though neither device runs as fast as an iPad (and neither offers a WiFi option), gadget-oriented kids can't put them down. See how the two hot holiday gift items compare!

Screen size
Both learning tablets have five-inch color touch-screen LCD display screens, though the InnoTab's appears to be more responsive to the finger touch than the LeapPad, which worked better with the included stylus.

Gadget size

LeapPad: The gadget's screen is surrounded by one inch of casing to protect it from drops and spills.
InnoTab: The product's screen comes packaged in a case that provides a two-to-four-inch border around the gadget, giving tots more room to hold it than its competitor. It is almost the same size as the iPad.

Activities and Games

LeapPad: The tablet comes with four free apps - Art Studio, Story Studio, Pet Pad, and one of your choice - to entertain tots. Additional cartridge games are $25 with downloadable apps ranging from $5-$25.
InnoTab: The tablet's PDA-like capabilities - a calendar that allows tots to plan their days and add in stickers, a clock to help learn to tell time, a stopwatch for timing kids, a world globe, etc. - are both fun and educational. They also give kids a sense of independence, turning to their devices for information much like mom and dad. The system also comes with an Art Studio. Additional cartridge games are $25 with downloadable apps costing between $5 and $8.

Keep reading to see how the products compare in other categories.

LeapFrog LeapPad Puts Tots in Control of Their Own Learning Tablets

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:15:40 PDT

Moms may soon regain control of their iPads. The tech toy from Apple that is filled with mama's cooking, organizing, and entertaining apps somehow worked its way into lots of lil ones' hands, and many moms are having a hard time prying it away.

That should all change next week when LeapFrog starts shipping out its new LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet ($100). A tablet engineered just for kids, the LeapPad takes all of the technology introduced on last year's Leapster Explorer (including an ereader that adjusts to tots' learning levels, letter and number writing skills, and a high-resolution touchscreen) and adds exciting new functions like a tilt-sensor (just like the iPad), an enhanced ereader with a visual dictionary and games embedded within the books, a larger (five-inch) screen, and a built-in camera. The company sent us a tablet to try out, see what we thought below.

Who is this product designed for? The manufacturer suggests that the tablet is for tots ages 4 to 9 years old (and it can be customized for up to three kids), but a preschooler could navigate his way around it, too.

What sets it apart? With a five-inch 480-x-272 pixel (16 x 9) touchscreen, the LeapPad offers kids plenty of space to read, draw, write, or view their activities. Given the educational basis behind all of LeapFrog's products, the learning apps included with the system are brought to life on it. The new Ultra eBooks not only reads stories to kids, but should tykes select individual words, the system sounds them out. Portions of books are animated and games are built into them as well. A built-in camera and video recorder can be used on their own or in conjunction with other apps to create storybooks and videos that can be shared once the tablet is connected to a computer. And the accelerometer transforms the tablet into a gaming console, allowing for motion-based activities. Like other LeapFrog products, the Explorer connects to the online Learning Path, allowing parents to track their tots' progress and identify areas requiring additional support. When connected to the computer, artwork, photos, and videos created by kids can also be shared with family and friends through Facebook and email.

What could be better? Kids used to tooling around with their parents' gadgets will have to get used to a slower unit. The 400MHz processor doesn't allow apps to load as quickly as they may be used to. Also, with no WiFi, tots will have to forgo playing Angry Birds and the like, in favor of the more educational apps created by LeapFrog (which could be a very good thing!). The cost may set some families off as well. While the tablet costs $100 and comes with four free apps - Art Studio, Story Studio, Pet Pad, and one of your choice - the 100 additional apps that will be available later this year will cost between $5 to $20, making it a pricey investment. On the plus side, all games and cartridges parents bought for the Explorer are compatible with the LeapPad.

Keep reading to see how long the laptop entertains a youngster and for more views of the device.

Why You Should Read The Hunger Games

Buzz Community — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:00:00 PDT

The following book review comes from Buzz Community member Igboprincess, who posted it in the Book Club group.

One book series that I am so glad I read is the Hunger Games trilogy! The movie is coming out soon, so I suggest you read the first book before seeing it because the book is always better. Here's a summary for you! Suzanne Collins has created a future where there's no United States, because the entire continent of North America is now named Panem. This dystopian country is dictatorship run by President Snow from the Capitol. The rest of the country is divided up into 12 areas called districts. Every year for entertainment, the Capitol hosts The Hunger Games: a bloody fight to the death that is televised and mandatory to watch. Two tributes from each district are selected and forced to enter the arena in a battle for their lives.
Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist, and she basically kicks butt. When her sister Prim gets picked to be a tribute, Katniss takes her place in the games to save Prim's life.

To read the rest of this post, just

read more. She gets really close with this really hunky bread maker guy named Peeta, who is the male tribute from District 12, but that's a problem because she already sorta kinda has feelings for her really hunky hunting partner named Gale (Did I mention that Katniss is a wicked cool huntress? She's like, one with her bow and arrow. A modern Artemis or something.) and there's a lot of emotional confusion and dawdling between the two equally hot young men. That part is kinda Twilight-esque, but the rest of The Hunger Games is jarring violence and suspense that will keep anyone furiously flipping through the pages. Even though it's characterized under "Young Adult" it's really not. These books are for anyone who is literate and wants some interesting drama in their life. Want to see your post featured on BuzzSugar? Just join the Buzz Community, and if you write about anything entertainment related, you may see it here!

Steve Jobs Disses Tablet Competitors, But How Do They Stack Up?

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:13:35 PST

As you may have heard, Apple announced the iPad 2 during a press event in San Francisco yesterday. Reviews so far have been glowing, but Steve Jobs did not hold back on discussing why the company's competitors aren't succeeding in this space. Jobs declared that manufacturers are still designing tablets to work like PCs, when tablets aren't used like regular computers; Apple understands this, which is why they are winning the tablet war. I know many of you are Apple fans, and plenty of you are not, but I've found it very interesting over the years to see the two camps collide, and it makes me wonder - how do we go about deciding which products to buy?

I predominately use Apple products (we are a Mac office here at Sugar HQ), but I've had my share of Microsoft and RIM products as well, and I may as well tell you that I liked the new iPad. But I'm sure you're wondering how it stacks up against its competitors. Check out the spec breakdown of four popular tablets after the jump.

Mary Pols on Watching Her Accidentally on Purpose Life on TV

LilSugar — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:00:44 PDT

A mom's life may play out like a sitcom, but no woman ever expects to actually watch hers on the small screen. This is exactly what happened to Mary Pols, author of Accidentally on Purpose the brilliant memoir of a 39 year old who had a one-night stand and ended up pregnant. I recently had a chance to chat with Mary about how her book became a CBS show starring Jenna Elfman. The first part of the season finale airs tonight.

LilSugar: It’s one thing to write a memoir that people can purchase and read, it’s another to have your life (or a show based on your life) broadcast on national television, how did you deal with everyone knowing your business?
Mary Pols: The thing about the show is, it's so different from my actual life - which sadly, does not include having shirtless Jon Foster to make out with on a regular basis - that it now feels like it's its own entity. Billie's got the same profession I have, although a different employer (I no longer write for a Bay Area newspaper, I review movies for Time and write a parent-oriented entertainment column for MSN), and she got pregnant on a one-night stand with a much younger man, but after that, our paths really diverge. She's less controlling, freaked out by her situation and just generally nicer than me.

LilSugar: In More magazine you wrote that Accidentally on Purpose was something you ”slaved and wept over" and were really proud of and that you hoped that the CBS show would get the memoir into more hands. Has it?
Mary Pols: I think the memoir has reached a few more hands, definitely. Perhaps mostly the writers and actors on the show, who seem to have diligently done their homework even though the story is so different. I got the loveliest email from Lennon Parham, the very funny actress who plays Billie's sister, after she read the book, which was so kind it made me cry! And I was really touched when Nicolas Wright, who plays slacker stoner Davis, told me during a set visit that he'd read Accidentally on Purpose and loved it. And I think some strangers are finding it too, just based on the emails I get. Although I think people expecting a light and frothy, sitcom-style story would be surprised. There's a lot of sadness in my book, a lot of trying to come to terms with things that don't work out in a happy, easy way. You know, like life.

To see how Accidentally on Purpose went to Hollywood and what Mary's baby's dad thinks of it all, just

read more. LilSugar: How did the series come about and how involved are you in the show? What is it like to watch Jenna Elfman play you? Mary Pols: The book was optioned and the producer, Gail Berman, who is cool and smart and a powerful woman, just took it from there. My only involvement is to be a cheerleader and to occasionally send emails like, "you know, the newspaper industry is in the toilet so if you want any background on that, give me a call." But I think it's healthier to stay out of it. I've been down to the set twice, and everyone was so nice to me. It was surreal beyond belief the first time and just kind of fun the second time. Here's what I'll say about Jenna Elfman: She looks about 25, is about 6 feet tall and even dragging around a vast and entirely authentic baby "bump," is just really, really lovely. So it's flattering. And I think she has great, very natural comic timing and even though she's positively dainty in person, projects an earthiness I enjoy a great deal. Also, it is so fun to see a real life pregnant woman on TV who is not hiding behind grocery bags or cereal boxes as she grows. In real life Jenna just had her baby, Easton, a few weeks ago, and she just sent me a photo. He's gorgeous and I feel a weird little thrill that she ended up having a little boy born in early March, just like I did. Cool little kharma thing there. With Dharma no less. LilSugar: How did /does Matt feel about the book and subsequent show? Did parts like the “strawberry” bit upset him? Mary Pols: I think the TV show was actually harder for Matt to come to terms with than the book. Which is surprising in a way because the book is all truth and the show is way kinder and gentler to his character than I was. He's only seen a few episodes, I think, and God knows, I'm not going to force it on him. But he's such a good guy that I believe he hopes, as I do, that the show will be renewed. He knows how much I want to buy our son a house. Check out Lil next Wednesday to see what Mary had to say about raising her 6 year old, her relationship with his father, and the finale secret she divulged! Photos copyright 2010 CBS Inc.