BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 8/18

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:32:35 PDT

Pioneering music executive Jerry Wexler, who helped build Atlantic Records into a powerhouse in the 1950s and 1960s with artists like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, died on Friday at age 91. - Reuters
Adam Sandler's latest comedy, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, is banned from Arab cinemas. - Variety
Superbad director Greg Mottola will direct the next Simon Pegg-Nick Frost collaboration, titled Paul. - ComingSoon
The Food Network is looking into the competitive eating genre with a new series tentatively titled Eat the Clock. - Hollywood Reporter
Hanna-Barbera's 1960s show Banana Splits will get a modern makeover on Cartoon Network. - Variety
AC/DC's new album, Black Ice, will be sold exclusively in the U.S. via Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the band's website, beginning Oct. 20. - Billboard
Now it's totally official: Laurence Fishburne will definitely succeed William Petersen on CSI. - Hollywood Reporter

A Hearty Serving of Food Reality Shows

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:59:17 PDT

I know that you guys - like me - are very excited for Bravo's "Top Chef Miami," which starts on June 13. But if you need some food-centric reality TV to hold you over until then, there is plenty to go around. A sampler:

Chef Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" (pictured) premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox.
Bravo's brilliantly conceived "4 Star All Stars" special, pitting "Top Chef" finalists from seasons 1 and 2 against each other, airs this Wednesday, June 6, at 10 p.m. I'm totally rooting for Harold to kick Ilan's butt.
"The Next Food Network Star" had its two-hour premiere last night, and if Yum's recap is any indication, this season is going to be much better than the last two.

By the way, Yumsugar will also be recapping "Hell's Kitchen" and "Top Chef Miami," so if you're a fan, you can follow all the action over there. For more on tonight's season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen," and to watch a video of the contestants,

I've never gotten into "Hell's Kitchen," but after reading more about it, I'm not sure why I've been avoiding it. It sounds like "Top Chef" with a slightly megalomaniac host (Ramsay) and a very cool prize: The 12 contestants are vying for the job of head chef at a new Italian restaurant at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Vegas. Meet the competing chefs below.

Photo and video courtesy of Fox

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

Are You Over Cooking Reality TV Shows?

Susannah Chen — Tue, 24 May 2011 10:27:22 PDT

Between the Top Chef franchise, Next Iron Chef, and Food Network Star, there are probably enough reality TV cooking competitions to comprise an entire network. But the buck doesn't stop there.

On June 30, Food Network's Extreme Chef will air, taking a set of brave chefs to a new level of thrill and adventure. We're talking gathering ingredients from a bucket of rattlesnakes, cooking off a hot car engine, and making a meal on a deserted island! Exciting stuff, people.

I've got to be honest: my enthusiasm for cooking reality TV shows has long waned. And with America's Next Great Restaurant getting canceled, and an utterly lackluster Top Chef Masters 3, I can't help but think the rest of the country's interest has ebbed, too.

Source

Will You Watch the Latest Cooking Reality TV Shows?

Susannah Chen — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:12:29 PDT

Many of you said that when it comes to food reality TV shows, the novelty has completely worn off. But this type of culinary programming hasn't let up; last night was the premiere of Food Network Star, and tonight Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliott, and Joe Bastianich will return for the second series kickoff of Masterchef. Will you watch these two new cooking shows?

Photo courtesy of

Will You Watch the Latest Cooking Reality TV Shows?

Yes, I'll watch them both.

I'll watch one; I'll tell you which below.

No, I won't watch either show.

8 Frugal Summer Vacation Ideas

Wise Bread — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:15:37 PDT

If you're thinking of forgoing your usual Summer travel plans due to high prices, you should consider these frugal trip ideas from Wise Bread.

The sky is brighter, the air is warming up, and the layers of clothes are getting peeled off. That can only mean one thing - summer is near.

One of the things that I love most about going on vacation is the chance to break out of my everyday routine, eat crappy foods guilt-free, and stay up blissfully late watching as much trashy reality TV as I please. Setting aside daily responsibilities, trying new things, being in a different space, and having carefree fun is refreshing. But while it’d be nice to go to Fiji or another distant tropical paradise, that just isn't reality for a lot of us.

So what do you do when money is tight, you don’t want to get further into debt, and you really need a vacation? You still take a vacation, but just a frugal one. One that your budget will love. Here are eight frugal summer vacation ideas to get you going.

1. The All-American, Almighty Road-Trip Vacation

About 10 years ago, my husband was able to travel through 30 different states in the span of a month and a half with a friend in a $400 1982 Chevy Sprint. It’s an experience he’ll never forget, and while gas prices do get high in the summer, the road trip is still one of the cheapest options for frugal vacations. Grab a map, pack a large cooler, stop at grocery stores along the way, sing cheesy songs, tell stories you’ve never told before, watch the sun rise and set, and make yourself some memories. (This can be combined with the “I Had No Idea There Were Over 400 National Parks” vacation below, if you’re feeling adventurous.)

2. The Infamous Staycation Vacation

Set a time frame. If you can only get two to three days off from work (or less), that’s OK! This is how you do it - turn off the phones, put an auto reply on your email, turn off the computer (and really keep it off), don’t check your usual social media feeds, and really allow yourself a break from everyday life and the technology that comes along with it. Then go to the grocery store and get sundae supplies: ice cream, candy toppings, hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream, and why not throw in some cherries too? You are on vacation after all! Rent those guilty-pleasure movies you’ve been wanting to see, and settle in for a movie marathon. Those books and magazines that have been stacking up? This is the time to read them! Those museum exhibits you’ve been dying to see but just don’t have the time for? Go check ‘em out! Hanging with friends on a patio on a random Tuesday night? Go for it! The point is to have fun, indulge in some pleasures you normally don’t get to, and get out of your normal routine.

Read on for more ideas.

Fabio Viviani on Upcoming Ventures and the Health Trends That Bug Him

YumSugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:19:22 PDT

Photo: Camilla Salem

Recently, we had the chance to spend some quality time with Italian charmer Fabio Viviani. After homemade pasta and cappuccinos for breakfast, and a series of hilarious one-liners, we grabbed a table at Casa Tua in Miami, and got to dishing. Even though he'd been out until 4 a.m. the night before, he had plenty to say about reality TV, the world of vegan cuisine, and his take on health food.

YumSugar: You rose to fame on Top Chef. Do you have any further plans for reality TV, on Bravo or anywhere else?

Find out his answer, plus other things he's been up to, when you keep reading.

Gail Simmons on Her New Book, Her Future, and the Question She Never Needs to Hear Again

Susannah Chen — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:55:25 PST

Gail Simmons has a pretty full plate right now: in addition to being in charge of special projects at Food & Wine magazine, she's also got some pretty steady gigs as a judge on Top Chef and the host of Top Chef: Just Desserts. But on top of that, her first book, Talking With My Mouth Full, was just released yesterday.

Over the phone, we caught up with Gail, who despite being at the top of her game, offered plenty of her time to share candid thoughts on everything from the health hazards of celebrity chefdom to her plans 15 years from now.

Find out her thoughts on current food issues, her plans for now (and later), and the one question she'd be happy to never hear again, when you keep reading.

The Vampire Diaries "Bringing Out the Dead": The Good, The Bad, and The Bloody

Marisa Tom — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:46:39 PST

After a week's worth of TVD reprieve, it's about time we got some answers - specifically, ones that have everything to do with our favorite Original vamp Elijah and then some. From the tragic twisted fate of Bill Forbes to the shocking discovery Elena makes at home, we're still trying to wrap our heads around everything that goes down. Meanwhile, Bonnie and her estranged mother Abby are tasked with opening the mysteriously sealed fifth coffin, and Damon and Stefan head to Klaus's sweet new pad for the ultimate dinner party showdown.

Like all things based in Mystic Falls, nothing is as it seems and nothing ever goes according to plan. Ready to review the good, the bad, and the bloody? Just keep reading.

How to Trick Your Boyfriend Into Watching The Bachelor

Tara Block — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:50:36 PST

For us, the best part about Mondays is our girls' night viewing party for The Bachelor. But sometimes we find ourselves at home for the show, competing with our significant other for the TV (hello, Monday night football). So instead of fighting your man for tube time, here's how to get him hooked on the show!

Bribe him with food: If you're enjoying yummy homemade snacks and an alcoholic beverage while watching the reality dating show, he's sure to join you on the couch for at least a little bit. And once he gets a taste of the guilty pleasure, he won't be able to turn back!
Tease the girl-on-girl action: Show him the clip from Ben F's Bachelor premiere last week of two of the contestants cuddling, and he may be curious enough to start watching! Not to mention, you're basically asking him to ogle a ton of hot girls.
Give him a distraction: The only way I kept my SO seated beside me during the show was by getting him a handheld gaming device. Your man may be entertained by video games, his iPhone, or his laptop, but he'll be secretly watching the show - trust me!
Entice with the hilarious parts: With all the horrible pickup lines, delusional contestants, and dating faux parts, The Bachelor is full of the humorous parts of single life that he may miss now that's dating you. Show him some of the best, worst moments to get him laughing along with you on Mondays.