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Brad Brings His Beard Back to CA and the Dark Void

Molly — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

Brad Pitt was continuing his own personal celebration of National Beard Month as he arrived back at LAX last night. He arrived in Nice on Wednesday, but quickly turned back around and headed back to California. While Brad was jet-setting, there was some new movie news for him - he's producing and starring in the big screen adaptation of video game The Dark Void. He and Angelina are both signing on to new projects, but still find time for art loving date nights and even a new jewelry designing gig.

To see more of Brad at LAX, just read more.

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Democratic National Convention: News and Pundit Roundup

LibertySugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:45:32 -0700

What does everybody else covering the convention have to say about it?

Kennedy: Kennedy hammers home healthcare as a central tenet of the Obama campaign. - Politico
Message: James Carville says the Convention has no message - ABC News
VP Vetting: Clinton was considered. Hillary asked Barack not to put her through charade of being vetted if he was not serious. - Washington Post
Comedy: He's not laughing. Jon Stewart lectures reporters on lazy coverage. - CNN
Democratic Nervousness: Democratic Party is pulling Obama in all sorts of directions. Obama needs to stress that he's in tune with a new era, that he's a 21st-century man. - David Brooks
McCain's response: Hillary says she does not approve this message. It's 3 a.m. all over again in a new McCain ad.- Townhall

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Front Page: 13-Year-Old Kavya Is an American Spelling Idol

TresSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:01:09 -0700

Kavya Shivashankar won the national spelling bee yesterday by spelling "laodicean." - CBS News
Former president George W. Bush has weighed in on the torture issue for the first time, calling the interrogation methods effective. - CNN
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, 72, is denying that he had an affair with an 18-year-old model. - The Independent
Susan Boyle was so distraught over recent negative publicity about her expletive-filled rant that she almost quit Britain's Got Talent before the finals. - BBC News
Tonight Jay Leno will host his last Tonight Show. - Reuters

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First Openly Gay Bishop Ordained in Sweden

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Swedish meatballs. IKEA. Abba. Free health care and education. As if those riches weren't enough for one nation to hoard, now comes the news that over the weekend, Eva Brunne, above left, was ordained as Sweden's first openly gay bishop. Another female pastor, Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, was also ordained as Bishop of Härnösand in northern Sweden. Around 75 percent of Swedes belong to the Lutheran church.

Brunne, 55, is in a civil union partnership with another woman and both of them are the parents of a three-year-old child.

Did I mention that Sweden also allows same-sex couples to adopt children and was one of the first countries to marry gay people in a major church? Yeah, I'll stop now, but I could go on. Sweden seriously has it going on.

Angelina Jolie Urges the UN to Act on Darfur

TresSugar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Darfur has almost disappeared from the news, and experts now call it a "low intensity" conflict. But the intensity of the crisis has not lessened for those who are struggling to survive. . . . Thirty percent of those displaced are school-age children. Girls leaving the [refugee] camps are raped; boys leaving the camps are killed. They want an education; they want to go back to their villages, to their land; they want peace. But they also want justice.

In an op-ed on Time.com today, Angelina Jolie attempts to lend some publicity to the crisis in Darfur. Today, the United Nations Security Council will look into the case against Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Bashir has been accused of taking out his inability to defeat rebels on the civilian population by subjecting it to rape, hunger, and fear. Angelina hopes the UN will act on this indictment and end the suffering in Darfur.

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Front Page: World Marks 20 Years Since Fall of Berlin Wall

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:18 -0800

As Germany and the rest of the world mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, those who experienced the momentous moment are sharing their memories. - BBC News
Iran has charged three US citizens with espionage after they crossed into the country from Iraq. - Voice of America
Jon Gosselin and Levi Johnston made a joint appearance in Times Square yesterday. - New York Daily News
Three big Wall Street firms are set to pay $30 billion in bonuses this year. - Bloomberg
Alice S. Rossi, a noted scholar and founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), died last week at the age of 87. - New York Times
Disney's revamped version of A Christmas Carol took the top spot at the box office this weekend, bringing in $31 million. - BuzzSugar

Are You Excited For Another Vacation Sequel?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:30:54 -0700

Hollywood may be taking a Couples Retreat this Friday, but we all know that Chevy Chase and National Lampoon put trip-themed films on the map with the Vacation series.

Now the Griswolds are back for another sequel, but this time Clark's son Rusty will be the dad commandeering the adventure. Ethan Embry played Rusty in the most recent Vegas Vacation, but a variety have actors have played the kids over the years and I'm sure we'll get a new pair this time. David Dobkin (one of the masterminds behind Wedding Crashers will produce and possibly direct, and of course the door is open for Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo to make appearances as the original Mr. and Mrs. Griswold. The Vacation movies will always hold a special place in my heart, but are you excited for the sequel?

Morning News Anchors Drink McDonald's Coffee (For Cash)

LibertySugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:15:00 -0700

Each morning news anchors on Fox's Las Vegas affiliate sit in front of very visible McDonald's iced coffee cups, part of a product-placement deal. The fast-food chain sponsors the two-hour morning news-and-lifestyle segment, but instead of commercial breaks, the advertisement happens during the news.

Since advertisement dollars already influence networks, I think the product-placement deal raises some old conflict of interest concerns. The producers say they would pull the cups if they had to report a negative story about McDonald's, just as they would pull a regular commercial. Still, the covertness of the promotion could deceive some viewers not aware that McDonald's paid for the cups' placement.

To find out how political parties are incorporating product placement, and how the industry sees it, read more.

Product integration happens a ton in scripted television, so much so that the Writers Guild of America wants it blatantly disclosed. The WGA says: "the hope is that consumers, not expecting to find a commercial within their program, will fail to realize they are actually being advertised to. This practice exploits the emotional connection viewers have with shows." Perhaps this expectation of neutrality increases significantly when dealing with news, as opposed to entertainment.

Going the overt-sponsorship road, the Democrats will be handing out AT&T logo-plastered bags at the Democratic National Convention. It's almost impossible not to see a conflict of interest here (telecom cough cough immunity) but, the Democrats assure that sponsorship does not equal access to politicians.

How should news stations and political parties reconcile high costs with integrity?

Are People With Sensitive Noses More Empathetic?

TresSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Are you cursed and blessed with a good sense of smell? Cursed because you smell every ungodly stink no matter how far away, and blessed because lovely smells affect you deeply?

Psychology professor Denise Chen at Rice University thinks you may also be more empathetic than your olfaction-challenged neighbor.

Sense of smell and emotions come from the same area of the brain (the limbic system), and Chen set out to test their connection. In an experiment with 22 pairs of dorm-dwelling women, Chen asked them all to sleep in identical t-shirts. The next morning, she presented each person with three t-shirts: one worn by her roommate, and two others worn by other people in the dorm. The women who were able to identify their roommates' t-shirts by smell alone also scored high in emotional tests.

"The olfactory brain overlaps with the emotional brain," said Chen, "and is believed to have contributed to its evolution." Do you have a good sense of smell or wish you did?

Fox News' Megyn Kelly Is Obsessed With Her Hair

GiggleSugar — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:49:59 -0700

"News at 11: I can't do a thing with my hair!" You know, as much as I'm a hater of Fox News, from the perspective of a lady with hairanoia issues of my own, I can relate, Megyn. Who cares that serious news is going on around you at the Democratic National Convention? This cow lick needs tending to, and it needs tending to now! (You gotta love the guy in the background supplying thought bubbles - especially the one about getting more Dippity-Do! Wheeee!)