BuzzSugar

Do You Talk to Your Pet?

PetSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:15:12 -0700

While I obviously know North can't help me decide what to eat for dinner, I still love the way he cocks his head to the side when I talk to him. Even though I sometimes chat him up, I can't say I have long, one-sided discussions with him . . . unlike Amanda Lorber on the MTV show, The Paper.

Don't you think her Westie, Gaby, has the most priceless expressions?! It's almost like the pooch is actually listening . . . but still, doesn't really care what's being said. However, it turns out she was actually speaking to her dog in order to not appear to be addressing the camera:

"I was always very hyperaware of the cameras being there," Lorber said. "I don't really talk to my dog all that much, that's so that I'm not looking directly at the camera. I didn't want to look like I was talking to myself, so we figured out I could talk to my dog."

How about you – do you chat it up with your pet even if no cameras are rolling?

My New Favorite Geek Show: The Paper

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:30:07 -0700

As much as I alternately love and loathe new reality shows, I didn't want to get into MTV's The Paper. But after one episode, I was powerless - not only is the show itself well-produced, edited, and so entertaining, I can't help but empathize with the newspaper geeks because I was one in high school too!

But, times are no longer like my high school days - the MTV class has a room full of eMacs, and the students have the hottest phones. Plucky yet beleaguered editor-in-chief Amanda Lorber started the school year with a nose job and a new iPhone (and my heart broke a little for her when her date texted his way out of Homecoming).

It warms my old journalism heart to see the kids sitting at their monitors, slaving over stories, and wordsmithing their ways to their future. I just know these nerds are going to be my future colleagues, so keep on geekin' on, Paper kids!

Photos courtesy of MTV

MTV's The Paper: All the Drama That's Fit to Air

GiggleSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:00:00 -0700

The Paper is one of the new shows in MTV's teenybopper reality show lineup. I initially thought the program would serve as an enticing way to get young peeps enthused about a nonathletic, extracurricular activity - one that promotes civic awareness, community involvement, and writing proficiency. I should have known better. The show mainly focuses on the quirkiness of the paper's editor in chief and how nearly everyone under her can't stand her, constantly undermine her, and want to overthrow her. The value of teamwork? Oh, that's been edited out, natch.

TV Tonight: The Paper

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:30:23 -0700

In high school, I was a class-A newspaper nerd, trolling the halls with a notepad in hand, hoping for a bit of scandal from the drama department or an expose on why Frisbee was no longer allowed in gym class. Even so, I doubt I'd be any match for the kids of The Paper, MTV's newest reality series. The show, which premieres tonight after The Hills, follows a crew of teens at a south Florida high school as they battle to become editor in chief of The Circuit.

I loved the idea when it was first announced, and I admit I've gotten a little thrill every time I've seen the ads for the show - especially when Amanda, the catalyst for much of the bickering on the staff, declares in no uncertain terms that "journalists are the most important people in the world." These kids don't look like out-and-out geeks, but they're not the perfectly polished specimens of The Hills, either. They seem shockingly normal, caught up less in fame and more in the everyday dramas of popularity and personality that were such a big part of the teenage experience for so many of us.

MTV's last foray into a journalism-based series, I'm From Rolling Stone, didn't work out so well - but I have higher hopes for The Paper. After all, very few people can relate to being music journalists, but who can't relate to the awkwardness of high school?

Are you interested in checking out The Paper when it premieres tonight? To check out a preview, just read more.

MTV Plans Reality Show for Teenage Newspaper Nerds

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:15:07 -0700

Well, this just warms the cockles of my teenage-journalism-nerd heart. MTV is filming a documentary series about a high school newspaper that will air early next year.

The series is set at Cypress Bay High School in Florida, behind the scenes of the award-winning newspaper The Circuit. MTV is filming eight episodes, and lest you non-nerdy types wonder how there will possibly be enough drama to fill eight episodes, I can assure you that high school newspapers have plenty of backstabbing, catfighting and bad-decision-making to go around. Or maybe that was just my high school paper.

Interesting tidbit: MTV is shying away from calling this a "reality series," because they insist they didn't set anything up - they found this group of kids and are filming as-is (though the network did post a casting notice last year). Instead they're calling it a "docu-series." Apparently, we've reached the point where reality TV is officially classified as not real.

Source

Casa Verde: Poo-Pourri and Sheep Poo Paper

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:00:32 -0700

Spotted on Re-Nest, Creative Paper Wales is a Wales-based craft paper mill that makes paper and air fresheners from sheep poo! No, you didn't misread that, from poo! Sheep Poo Paper is made by collecting the finest, freshest sheep poo in Snowdonia and "just about anything else [they] can think of that has good-length cellulose fibers in it," sterilizing it in a pressure cooker, washing it repeatedly, reducing it to a pulp, and then using traditional papermaking techniques to turn it into paper — without the use of any trees. Poo-Pourri ($2.93), made with this paper, is the world's first air freshener made with, um, poop, and uses an innovative Wave 'n' Waft folded fragrance technology that infuses the air with a scent (daffodil, fresh-cut grass) the more you wave it around. How about that? I'm truly impressed. What could be next? Recycled paper from trees is sooo last season, isn't it?

Would You Use Black Toilet Paper?

CasaSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:00:32 -0700

The concept of "designer toilet paper" is a kind of akin to a Swarovski-encrusted nose hair trimmer; you just can't make nasal weed-wacking look glamorous. So, I would never venture to kid myself by buying Black Toilet Paper ($12). But, I do think if you were going to go all out hosting a Halloween party, it might then be acceptable.

Wrap It Up: Handprint Holiday Paper

LilSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:00:39 -0800

The economy may have families cutting back, but creativity comes free of charge! Instead of tossing rolls of pricey wrapping paper into your cart at the store, take the time to teach your tots how to make festive prints with their hands, fingers and even feet. The colorful gift wrap makes presents extra special and the activity can become a beloved holiday tradition. Check out our Christmas selection and come back tomorrow to see more inventive ways lil is wrapping things up this season!

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Mystery Still Surrounds Paper Bag Inventor

partysugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:18:39 -0700

In the late 1850/60s, many scientists and inventors were focused on a new field of research: the creation of the modern day paper bag. It was such a hot topic that the original designer is unknown. Some believe that it was a certain William Goodale of Massachusetts who patented the first paper bag manufacturing machine on today's date in 1859. Yet other sources state that Francis Wolle devised the process for paper bag making 7 years earlier in 1852. However, I prefer to believe that it was in fact manufactured by a female. Margaret Knight is known to have produced a machine in the 1970s that greatly improved the form and shape of the paper bags. This improvement came in the form of a mechanically folded and glued square bottom which allowed the bags to stand on their own. The paper bag was the primary way to take home groceries until the 1970s when supermarkets switched to the much cheaper plastic bags.

Protect Toilet Paper From Nosy Paws!

PetSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:00:57 -0700

Pets get into the darnedest things! From the valuables coming with electrical cords to the unmentionables in the trash, having a furry friend in your home means always being out the lookout with pet-proofed spaces. There are many dogs and cats that love to unroll paper towels or toilet paper (like our POTD B-Bop), and lilsugar told me about a great product to keep your TP safe from baby hands . . . that works just great for puppy paws and kitty claws, too! Find out what it is when you read more.

This neat product is the TP Saver 2 Pack ($5.97). Just slide the tube into the roll and attach the plug end into it to hold down the top sheet and save your roll. You can even add it after the toilet paper is on the holder so it's easy to detach and reattach when you need to use it.