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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:30:18 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the dramas I recommend below, also look out for a couple TV shows on DVD, specifically Brothers and Sisters: Season 3 and Desperate Housewives: Season 5.

State of Play
I was impressed by this tense thriller, which stars Russell Crowe as a seasoned reporter and Ben Affleck as his congressman friend who gets himself in trouble. There's also Rachel McAdams as Crowe's green protégé, who I'm always happy to see on-screen.
Two hours around journalism and politics can sound kind of dry, but this movie's fast-moving plot keeps it engaging and entertaining. Special features on the DVD include deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

84%

See two other movies out on DVD today when you read more

Sugar
Algenis Perez Soto hits hard as the titular character, Miguel "Sugar" Santos, in this story of a minor league baseball player from the Dominican Republic who is shipped to the States to play ball. This isn't a fun time at the ballpark, it's a weighty drama from the same people who brought you Ryan Gosling's Half Nelson. I was riveted by the performances and the filmmakers' portrayal of the unsympathetic International baseball factory.
Special features include deleted scenes, and several featurettes, including one about the casting process.

93%

Earth
Disney's visually stunning Earth comes to us from the producers of the earlier and equally wonderful Planet Earth series.
This is one that will make you happy you have that Blu-ray player - the gorgeous photography looks amazing on an HD TV and player. Plus, the narration by James Earl Jones is guaranteed to give you goose bumps.

85%

Beyonce's Box Office Surprise

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:15:34 -0700

The Beyonce Knowles thriller Obsessed topped the box office over the weekend earning an estimated $28.5 million-kind of amazing given the critical reaction wasn't pretty. Zac Efron's 17 Again came in at No. 2 followed by Fighting, another movie that debuted much better than expected.

The Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx had a somewhat disappointing debut at No. 4. and earned about $9.7 million. According to Variety, "box office observers had expected Soloist to debut in the $10 million-$12 million range. They say the pic could have been dinged by so-so reviews." Interestingly, Disney's Earth rounded out the top five, earning an estimated $8.6 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Does the Promise of a Planted Tree Make You More Likely to See Earth?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:30:15 -0700

Though I watched the Planet Earth series on TV, I still love to click through the awe-inspiring images captured for that project, and I'm planning on seeing the movie Earth in the theater this weekend.

As further incentive to get people to the theaters, Disney has promised to plant a tree for every ticket bought during the movie's opening week. What do you think of this? Does it make you more willing to fork over the money for this movie ticket? Were you going to go anyway? Or does this promise not motivate you to see the movie at all?

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Seriously Green: No Impact Environmentalists

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:30:00 -0700

Environmentally speaking, little things can make a difference. A lot of little people doing a lot of big things can make a HUGE difference. Some extreme environmentalists are trying to do just that, in a movement called No Impact. Basically, No Impact Environmentalists attempt to live their lives, in modern America, without making a negative impact on the environment. It is a simple idea with serious consequences to everyday activities. Here is a sketch of the basic concepts:

Create no trash by composting food scraps, re-using objects, and recycling.
Create no carbon emissions - say goodbye to cars, buses, airplanes, or any other mode of transportation that uses gas. Say hello to biking and walking for transportation.
Create no water pollution by using environmentally-friendly soaps, detergents, and cleaners. This also means saying goodbye to your conventional TOILET. Yes that's right - you can also compost your waste with a composting toilet.
Use no electricity - this creates carbon dioxide emissions, which are linked to Global Warming. This translates into no TV, no lights, no microwave, no oven, no elevators, no air-conditioning, etc. You can use renewable energy to generate electricity with solar panels or windmills.

There's more. To hear about them read more

Buy no products in packaging, unless of course it can be recycled or re-used.
Buy no produce shipped from distant lands - this goes back to the "no carbon emissions" idea. Try growing your own fruits and veggies, or buying local.

Fit's Tips: Think about it. Could you give up the way you live now to try to have NO IMPACT on the destruction of the planet? Maybe you couldn't do everything on that list, but surely we can all do something. Like buying produce at your local farmer's market or using vinegar to mop your floors. For more tips on going green check out treehugger.com.

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 6/4

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:51:56 -0700

Ginnifer Goodwin joins the cast of indie comedy Laws of Motion, says Hollywood Reporter.
You know that kidney donor reality show I said was a really bad idea? Thankfully, it was all a big hoax, says the AP.
In its first commercial licensing deal, Wilco sells lends a number of Sky Blue Sky tracks to a VW campaign, reports Pitchfork.
Jim Carrey has been cast in a dark comedy about gay prisoners titled I Love You, Phillip Morris, says Variety.
The man who leaked the episodes of the last season of "24" before they aired has been hunted down by the FBI, Reuters reports.

An actor who agreed to place his genitals in a mousetrap is suing Johnny Knoxville, Adam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel for failing to pay him the promised $10 million for the stunt which apparently left him severely injured, reports the AP.
According to Variety, Patrick Stewart will lend his distinguished voice to narrate the BBC feature documentary Earth.
NME reports that geography-obsessed Sufjan Steven is composing a piece of music about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Source

Valentine's Day - Give Organic Flowers

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:00:00 -0800

Giving flowers has become such a tradition for Valentine's Day, but just because you may be single, doesn't mean you can't take part in the fun.

I always send my best friend flowers on Valentine's Day, because let's face it, your best friend is always there for you and you do love her - isn't that what it's all about?

You can also buy yourself flowers too, but you may want to think about buying organic bouquets. Why buy Organic Flowers?

Whenever you touch or inhale the scent of your non-organic flowers, you are likely touching or inhaling poisonous chemicals. When you buy organic flowers, you won't have to worry about toxic chemicals on your flower bouquets.
Through evaporation, toxic pesticides and fertilizers that are sprayed on flower farms end up in the atmosphere. They then travel to other global areas to fall as rain or snow.
Organic flowers, according to many people, last longer than non-organic ones.

Want to hear the other reasons and find out how you can send organic flowers? Then read more

According to an article on newdream.org, studies have shown that 50% of workers in the Costa Rica flower industry have symptoms of pesticide poisoning. Areas surrounding flower farms there have higher miscarriage and birth defect rates than do other areas.
Buying organic flowers helps support local organic farming communities and organizations, which often have charitable, philanthropic motives for selling their flowers.
The toxic chemicals used on flower farms poison groundwater and the soil. These chemicals also become part of the food chain, as animals such as birds will eat the sprayed plants. In the course of their seasonal migrations, these birds will spread these chemicals globally.

When you buy or give organic flowers, you are supporting the health of your loved one, as well as the health of the planet. Order online from Organic Bouquet (they have 5-6 ft tall red roses).

Host a Festive Earth Dinner

YumSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:17:01 -0700

Looking for another way to celebrate Earth Day? Then start a new Earth Day tradition by hosting an Earth Dinner. An Earth Dinner is a dinner where you know where each ingredient on your table comes from. It's been completed with local and organic produce, as well as humanely-raised animals. Host your first one this year, and plan to do it each year thereafter.

And, if you're looking for something to discuss during dinner, there's a set of Earth Dinner Cards ($10) to help you out. These creative cards are designed to get you thinking and talking about the foods and folks you love. They say things like, "Describe the first time you tasted something you picked off a tree, vine, stem or pulled out of the ground?" and "Who in your life really understands how to make the food you love?" but you can see more if you download a free set of eight cards.

I think the cards are fun way to get conversation going, and would be neat at Earth Day or any other day. How about you? Would you want a set of these? And would you consider hosting an Earth Dinner?

Earth Day Fun Facts

partysugar — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:01:11 -0700

I know some of you secretly love reading my fun facts as much as I do writing them (and acting like a know it all at parties telling people them), so I thought I'd give you a double dosing this week. I believe more and more importance should be placed on Earth Day every year so it's totally worthy of its own set of fabulous fun facts. Did you know that in some elementary schools, after Halloween and Christmas, Earth Day is the third largest celebrated holiday? Or how about that it is now observed in 175 countries and is the largest secular modern day holiday in the world? For more fun facts and to learn how much energy you save when you recycle one aluminum can, read more

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch a TV for three hours - it's equivalent to half a gallon of gasoline.
Earth Day is a relatively new holiday and was first celebrated on April 22 in 1970. More than 20 million Americans participated in this first Earth Day celebration
Earth Day was founded by a senator of Wisconsin and the day is credited for creating the environmentalism movement.
April 22 is the first official day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and of Fall in the Southern hemisphere and was chosen to be Earth Day for this reason.

Never underestimate the importance of recycling: if every newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year. Unfortunately only 27% of all American newspapers are recycled.
More than 20,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of tinfoil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.
Only 11% of the earth's surface is used to grow food.
The world's first national park was started in 1872 at Yellowstone National Park in the US.

The first major international conference on environmental issues was held in Sweden in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations.
The first wildlife refuge was formed on Pelican Island Florida in 1903.
The patron Saint of ecologists is St. Francis and the first proclamation of Earth Day was made by the mayor of San Francisco in 1970.
A highlight of the annual Earth Day ceremony at the United Nations is the ringing of the Peace Bell that was given to the UN by Japan. It is made from coins given by school children to further peace on our planet.

Happy Earth Day!

Texts and Tunes: Goodbye Earth, Hello Moon

babysugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:00:02 -0700

Tiny tots may not fully understand Earth Day, but it's never too early to start reading them stories about the environment and the future it faces. Al Gore's PowerPoint presentation may be a little too heavy for their wee brains, but Goodbye Earth, Hello Moon ($13) offers a great starting point for youngsters. A witty and informative read on the current state of our planet, the book provides teaching opportunities as well as beautiful artwork that both mommy and babe can appreciate.

A fledgling tome from Emily Rylander and Gabriel Meil, the two authors prove to be hooked on classics while providing a hip twist to a very important tale. A group of always popular penguins decides to rally the zoological life for a move to the moon after too many afternoons suited for frozen drinks. Swinging monkeys exclaim, "See you later, dear Equator!" while a pack of turtles pull their roll-along suitcases down the beach sadly saying, "Au revoir, Zanzibar." A clever narrative to boot, let's hope these two don't stop at the moon.

Geek Tip: Watch The Sunrise with Google Earth

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:05:29 -0800

Google Earth adds another neat dimension to its already cool user experience. Now you can check out some of the most beautiful sunrises across the globe with a new Google Earth layer which allows you to watch the sunrise right on your laptop. Taken from Discovery HD Theater’s “Sunrise Earth” program, you can now select the Sunrise Earth layer by clicking Sunrise Earth Program, scrolling down the left side and clicking the "watch the sunrise (on Google Earth)" link. Time to inhale, take a tea break and enjoy the scenery!

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