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Speak Up: What's Your Proudest Moment?

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:30:00 PDT

Recently when I was writing about Matt Damon and his triathlon, I reminisced about my own completion of a triathlon - though I did the whole thing on my own! I'm very proud of a lot of my fitness accomplishments, the triathlon being among my proudest moments, but I would have to say that my favorite achievement was just simply becoming a runner.

Years ago, I refused to run. I despised it because my endurance was not up to par and I could only run a few minutes before getting totally winded and I just hated it. After much practice and patience, I am now able to run miles on end and it feels great. Have you had a proud fitness moment? It could be as big as completing a marathon or something small such as joining a gym. Speak up and share your proudest health and/or fitness moment and maybe you'll motivate someone to reach their goal, too!

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In Defense of the Chronically Late Mom

BabyCenter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:01:11 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Betsy Shaw about being late for school.

If I were to wear a scarlet letter it would be T.

T for tardy. T for turd ball. T for totally inept mother.

We are late for school with such alarming regularity it’s embarrassing. The last time we were on time, after a mini snowstorm that excited my children enough to urge them into their snowsuits and outside at 6:30 a.m., we got to school five minutes early to find it dark and empty. Delayed opening. I was apparently the only mother who didn’t get the memo.

Calling Charlie Brown…

Being late for school brings up a vicious brew of conflicting emotion in me. On the one hand I just don’t care. Life is short. Far too short to risk traumatizing your children with a bullwhip and terrorizing morning walkers and squirrels, not to mention my own white-knuckled children, speeding our way to school like Toad on a motorcar bender each weekday morning.

On the other hand I am ashamed, deeply embarrassed, to be “that mom.” All the other moms can do it, even the single ones. Why. Can’t. I? What’s wrong with me?

I complained about this once to a woman from South Carolina who I met on my Guatemala trip and she told me her school started at 7:30. She also made it clear her kids were never late.

Never late.

Keep reading for more of Betsy's reasoning for being late.

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

read more! PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that. BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!" PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it. BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style. PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]? BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided. PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way? BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped. PS: What song did you write first? BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well. PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie? BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts. PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe? BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant. Photo courtesy Disney

Bachelor Ben Goes Skinny-Dipping With Model Courtney

Annie Scudder — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:50:00 PST

Regardless of what goes down in the Fantasy Suite, we never see too much nudity on The Bachelor. But last night, with tons of women left in the running, one contestant decided the regular bikini wardrobe offered too much coverage. Model Courtney, who wondered aloud whether Ben had ever gone skinny-dipping with a model (did I mention she's a model?), surprised bachelor Ben at his hotel room. They proceeded to strip down and jump in the ocean in Puerto Rico. Courtney was proud of her conquest, but Ben had second thoughts, saying: "Courtney and I shared a very intimate moment and right now I feel kind of crappy about what happened." Watch the insanity now, and if you tuned in, share your thoughts in the comments.

Hollywood Makeup Artist Brett Freedman's Top 5 Drugstore Picks

Guest Writer — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:02:00 PST

We're proud to present the following post by celebrity makeup artist and Vanitymark Cosmetics founder, Brett Freedman.

I don't know anyone that doesn't have a mix of department store and drugstore cosmetics in her bag. Makeup artists, too, pull from both sources for their arsenal. It used to be that drugstore brands were obviously lower-watt than their larger price-tagged friends. These days the line is blurred. With many higher- and lower-priced brands owned by the same companies, the drugstore lines have benefited from creamier textures, higher pigment count, and of-the-moment shades.

For me, I generally stumble on a drugstore product when I'm traveling and need to grab something quick. What keeps me coming back for more? A unique shade, usually. A fab finish runs a quick second, and third is texture. Here are some of my favorites, all under $10.

Photo courtesy of Vanitymark Cosmetics

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "The First Time"

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:03:22 PST

It's show time for New Directions on Glee this week, as the club prepares for opening night of its West Side Story production. Everyone's a little jittery, but Rachel and Blaine have more than just singing on the brain. After Artie tells them that they lack passion as Tony and Maria, both of the leads start to question whether it might be time to take their relationships to the next level.

It's certainly not the first time the topic of virginity has come up on the show, but this time it's handled a little more delicately (and thankfully, there's no crooning of "Like a Virgin" from Mr. Schue.) It's an episode of milestones for many of the characters, and it's one of my favorites of the season so far. Call me crazy, but I think this show has outgrown Sue Sylvester. There's a lot to break down, so let's get to it after the jump.

Hot Reese Joins Hollywood Couples Kate and Matt, John and Emily at LACMA's A-List Bash

Allie Merriam — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:12:42 PST

Last night's LACMA Art + Film Gala, which was held to honor Clint Eastwood and artist John Baldessari, brought out many of Hollywood's most famous leading ladies and men. Gucci, who sponsored the bash, dressed Kate Hudson, Evan Rachel Wood, Zoe Saldana, and Kate Becksinale. Reese Witherspoon did her own thing in a one-shouldered Cushnie + Ochs, and Kate Bosworth added some color in yellow Erdem. Clint's J. Edgar stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer threw on suits to raise a toast to the legendary director.

There were plenty of hot celebrity couples who stopped on the gray carpet before heading inside. Kate Hudson was on the arm of fiancé Matt Bellamy, and Kate Bosworth shared a look of love with her man Michael Polish. John Krasinski looked proud to show off his wife Emily Blunt, who nearly stole the show with her sleek hairstyle and sheer black gown. We caught a moment with Rachel Zoe, who wore Lanvin, and her husband Rodger Berman. Speaking of her favorite Leonardo movie of all time, Rachel said hers is still What's Eating Gilbert Grape after all these years. Stay tuned for more from inside the LACMA bash as well as video tomorrow on PopSugar Rush!

90210 "It's the Great Masquerade, Naomi Clark": Most Scandalous Moments

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:15:24 PDT

Halloween comes a bit late to 90210, as the gang gets outfitted for Naomi's big masquerade party. As usual, there's plenty of issues being masked this week (see what I did there?), from Dixon's drug problem to Holly's true intentions.

It's not an episode that's heavy on major moments, but there's definitely some relationship drama as a few couples grow closer together, while Silver and Navid drift further apart. Let's break it down when you

Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy Bring Baby Giulia For a Sunny Stroll

Allie Merriam — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:52:29 PDT

Carla Bruni's daughter Giulia made her debut this morning while out for a walk with proud dad Nicolas Sarkozy. The happy family went for a stroll and enjoyed the beautiful Fall day on the grounds of the presidential home. Little Giulia is just 12 days old, having entered the world on Oct. 19. To celebrate the arrival of the first baby born to a ruling French couple in office, we took a look back at Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy's cutest moments.

In the past, Carla has been clear that she'd like to keep her newborn as out of the spotlight as possible. Nonetheless, she announced the little one's name last week and made a quick statement. Carla said, "I am deeply touched by the many messages of congratulations that I have received since the birth of our daughter Giulia. On this happy occasion, my husband joins me in expressing our warmest thanks to all those of you who sent us these tokens of your kindness."

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "Put Me In, Coach"

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:43:54 PDT

The doctors of Seattle Grace are competing for more than just surgeries on this week's Grey's Anatomy; Owen is also trying to whip them into shape as a softball team. They're not exactly in prime athletic shape though, and even recruiting a former pro in Henry is no match for the stiff competition coming from Seattle Press.

It's on the lighter side of the spectrum as far as Grey's episodes go: everything works out peachy keen with their patients, and the show is low on drama - aside from Sloane and his new lady friend having a serious effect on Lexie. Let's break it down when you keep reading.