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Ryan Gosling vs. Peter Jackson in Battle of Lovely Bones

Molly — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:00:58 PDT

I was more than a little shocked to hear the news yesterday morning that thanks to "creative differences" Ryan Gosling dropped out of the film adaptation of Lovely Bones and had already been replaced by Mark Wahlberg just hours before the movie was scheduled to start filming. This sudden change got me worried that something was wrong with the script, which would be especially sad considering how near this book is to people's hearts.

Now, rumors have surfaced that it was Peter Jackson who gave Ryan the boot instead of Ryan bailing. Hmm, the plot thickens. It's well known that 26-year-old Ryan has been gaining weight and growing a beard to better embody the father of a 14-year-old girl, but apparently it was a bit too over the top for Jackson's taste. According to the LA Times, Jackson was disappointed with Gosling's physical appearance, especially the weight. Meanwhile, Page Six says Jackson didn't like Ryan from the beginning, citing his demanding tendencies on set.

It sounds like these two talented men just weren't meant to work together. Ryan never struck me as a diva, but he is certainly a bit eccentric and could probably rub people the wrong way. And considering the recent successes in Peter Jackson's life (Lord of the Rings, heard of it?), he's probably got some stubborn faith in his own vision these days. I was excited to see Gosling take on this role, but I'm sure Mark's more realistic age and being an actual father will be excellent. At least we know Jackson can't have any complaints about his physique.

Source

Meet Me in Moscow: A Russian Food Primer

Lizzie Fuhr — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:45:20 PST

Whenever you're complaining about the ferocity of Winter, just remember things are much, much colder in other parts of the world. But while Russian Winters may be brutal, they've got plenty of amazing, comforting recipes with flavors designed to take that chill out of your bones. It's time to call up your babushka, put on your copy of Doctor Zhivago, and grab a tall glass of vodka, if you see fit! It's time to get reading about the delicious dishes Russian cuisine has to offer.

Dishes:

Solyanka: The base of the spicy and sour solyanka soup consists of pickled cucumbers with brine, cabbage, mushrooms, sour cream, and dill. It's either served with meat, fish, or mushrooms.
Pirozhki : Pirozhki are small buns that are stuffed typically with a savory filling and then baked or fried. Some typical fillings include meat, onion, eggs, mashed potatoes, or cabbage.
Stroganov: Beef stroganov, or stroganoff, is cooked up in many a cafeteria today, but this recipe originated in Russia. It's typically pieces of beef served up in a sour cream-based sauce on top of egg noodles.
Blini: These thin, crepelike pancakes are enjoyed with either a savory or sweet topping. As opposed to the French crepe, blinis are made from buckwheat and are part of traditional Russian cuisine.
Borscht: Soups are a staple of a traditional Russian diet. And borscht is the czar of these soups. While it's served up cold in many restaurants in the US, traditionally borscht, primarily made of beets, is served piping hot.
Vatrushka: This traditional Russian dessert is a big ring of flaky pastry dough with cottage cheese in the center. Similar to a delicious American-style Danish, it's typically topped off with raisins or bits of fruit.

Staples:

Smetana (sour cream): Blinis are topped off with it. Soups utilize its flavor. It's even used in dessert recipes! In short, expect to find fresh and delicious sour cream accompanying just about Russian ration you eat.
Black bread: The dark, crusty, hearty rye bread is served alongside many a Russian dish.
Ikra (caviar): Briny caviar is a definite splurge in the US, but in Russia, you can find caviar far more often on a table. It's often served with blinis or atop black bread.

Did I leave anything off? Any Russian foods you love to chow down on? Add your thoughts in the comments!

Source: Flickr User Istelleinad & geishaboy500

Keep Running: Prevent Plantar Fasciitis With These Tips

Susi May — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:06:42 PST

From pounding the pavement running to spending a day in fashionable shoes that lack proper support, feet take a beating. If you're training for a race this Spring and upping your mileage, it pays to show your peds some love. You can do some preventive prehab to avoid coming down with a case of plantar fasciitis. This painful condition, which can be common in new runners and affects women more than men, occurs when the the fibrous band that runs from the heel bone to the base of the toes stretches too far and tears. These micro tears cause inflammation of the fascia and the tissues surrounding it, making every footstep painful and abruptly stalling your training schedule. If you're experiencing some unexplainable heel pain, try these methods to keep plantar fasciitis at bay.

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

Watch the Oscar Nominations on PopSugar!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:15:14 PST

We were in Hollywood this morning broadcasting LIVE as the 2012 Oscar nominations were read by The Hunger Games leading lady Jennifer Lawrence, who was a up for an honor last year with Winter's Bone. We couldn't wait to find out if some of our award season favorites got love from the Academy. Will George Clooney be able to score another best actor statue for The Descendants? Can we expect The Artist to be crowned best picture? Is Angelina Jolie going to be honored with a nod for best director? If you missed the live stream, don't worry - we're replaying the nominations ceremony all morning!

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Michelle Williams Score Oscars Nominations!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:45:46 PST

Many of the 2012 award season favorites got more love this morning at the Oscars nominations! Jennifer Lawrence, who was nominated in 2011 for Winter's Bone, was up early to make the announcement. The best actor category saw Brad Pitt and George Clooney score nods, though Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, and Michael Fassbender were not as lucky. Golden Globe winners Michelle Williams and Meryl Streep will battle it out for best actress, and two ladies from The Help, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain, will face off for best supporting actress. We've listed a select group of actors, actresses, and films below, and make sure to check out the full list of 2012 Oscars nominees. We're also streaming the nominations ceremony in case you missed it!

BEST ACTOR
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
George Clooney, The Descendants
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST PICTURES
War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Make sure to watch the 2012 Oscars when they air on the evening of Feb. 26 and check out all the pictures of Jennifer announcing when you read more!

From the Community: a Total-Body Toning Circuit

Fit Community — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:57:49 PST

FitSugar reader FitFabCities has a circuit workout that works your entire body. She shared the video with us in our Fit Community.

Grab a resistance band and a pair of dumbbells, and you're good to go for this full-body circuit-training workout . . . and the best part is you don't even have to leave your living room to do it. That said, this is also a great workout to try at the gym if you're looking to switch up your regular routine.

Circuit training means you move from exercise to exercise and take minimal breaks between the moves so you keep your heart rate up the entire time. This helps to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time, something I love. There are eight exercises total in this workout, and we are going for about 15 reps per exercise. You'll notice there are a lot of multimuscle group exercises meaning you'll work more than one muscle at once, which is perfect if you're short on time. Let's be honest, who's isn't?

Strength training is so important since it helps to prevent injury, increase bone density, increase muscle mass (meaning you burn more calories just doing things like driving your car or watching Bravo) and, of course, it helps you feel fab in your jeans.

You might want to watch this workout video once to preview the exercises then follow along for a kick-butt, total body workout sure to burn lots of calories and tighten and tone every muscle in your body!

Keep reading for the video and workout breakdown.

Pirate Rock! Disney's Sharky and Bones Open Up About Pirate Culture, Jake, and Peter Pan

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:37:27 PST

Can you talk like a pirate? If your lil one is between 2 and 5 years old, chances are he'll know exactly what we're talking about!

Since its launch last February, Disney's Jake and the Neverland Pirates has become the top-ranking series among kids in that age group. The animated show - about a new crew of pirates who work together to outwit Captain Hook and Smee around Pirate Island - is about to embark on its second season with a prime-time special Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns (airing Feb. 13), where the little boy who won't grow up enlists the minipirates to help him find his lost shadow. As with the daily show, the special will feature original pirate rock songs written and sung by Sharky and Bones of The Never Land Pirate Band. I spoke with Loren Hoskins and Kevin Hendrickson, the men behind Sharky and Bones and the stars of the live-action music videos featured at the end of each episode, about the popularity of pirate culture and what it can teach tots today.

LilSugar: Obviously you two are well versed in little kids' obsessions with pirates. How did it start for you two?
Kevin Hendrickson (Bones): It started before our kids. Loren and I met maybe 12 years ago, and we both just had a love of pirates and the old Disney records we grew up listening to. We decided to make a pirate album for kids, even though we didn't have kids.
Loren Hoskins (Sharky): We were pirates before pirate was cool. We had an affinity for pirate and pirate culture and the old Disneyland rides - you know the old Pirates of the Caribbean attraction - and we combined all those into a rock album for kids of all ages. We say "for buccaneers of all ages" because we had a lot of fans that were not kids and a lot of fans that were kids and then families that were fans. We just decided to not be a children's band, but a band for all buccaneers!

LilSugar: It's been almost 60 years since Disney released Peter Pan, and unlike other Disney flicks, it hasn't received a rerelease or a 3D upgrade. Why do you think the pirate obsession remains so strong today?
Loren Hoskins (Sharky): I have always maintained that what pirates represent for play is all the best things about play. That's imagination, adventure, being bold-hearted, silly voices, and fun dress-up costumes. You put all that together and you get classic kid play. It's like pirates and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were huge for a while, and I think for the same reason – you can just go "roaar," and play all these great games, and they were bold and adventurous and from exotic locations. Pirates are the same thing. They're one of those classic play building blocks

Keep reading for more of our talk about pirate rock and the show's educational value.

Geek Out Over the Latest Game of Thrones Season 2 Production Diary

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:56:12 PST

Game of Thrones didn't take home the big prize for best drama series last weekend at the Golden Globes, but Peter Dinklage did get some award show love for his role on one of the best shows on TV. Season two of GOT is set to debut on April 1, and HBO has thrown us a bone by releasing an early look with a set visit from Croatia.

Straight from "Kings Landing," (or Dubrovnik, as it's called in the real world), the seaside city looks as if it were ripped from the pages of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series. Check it out below, and mark your calendars for April 1!

13 Foods For Freaky Friday

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:55:19 PST

In honor of Freaky Friday (today's Friday the 13th!), I thought I'd pull together a list of 13 freaky foods. Even if you don't have triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13), you may be afraid of some of the things on this list. I know there are a bunch of other freaky things out there (how about almost anything Andrew Zimmern eats on his show?), so if you think something's missing, we want to hear it.

#13: Bubble Tea
I personally love this stuff; however, I've known quite a few folks who are freaked out by the tapioca inside of the tea. Come to think of it, I know a lot of people freaked out by tapioca in general . . .
#12: Squid ink pasta
I don't have a problem with this lovely pasta dyed with squid ink, but some find eating black pasta to be just a bit too freaky.
Keep reading to see more freaky foods perfect for Friday the 13th.