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The Secret Circle: "Bound" Recap

Rose Curiel — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:37:12 PDT

The second episode of The Secret Circle has Cassie - and us - getting better acquainted with her powers as a witch. While she has no idea what she's doing, the coven is still aggressively courting her. Nevertheless, she resists them as best she can and even tries to make a go at a normal friendship with the class president.

Diana and Adam try to convince her that she can harness her powers by joining them while the mysterious older generation of witches try to gain their lost powers by any means necessary. To find out what evil deeds they are up to this week, and if Cassie gives in to her fellow teenage witches, just keep reading.

Link Time: James Franco Interviews Gucci Designer For Harper's Bazaar

FabSugar — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:54:14 PST

James Franco interviews Gucci designer Frida Giannini for Harper's Bazaar - Stylelist
Versace regains control of the Versus label - Vogue UK Daily
House of Holland's kooky fashion video - Nylon Blog
Rumors about Stefano Pilati's fate at YSL resurface - The Cut
Brooklyn Decker's Just Go With It style - InStyle
Marc Jacobs's prom-queen-worthy JJ patent leather corsage clutch - Bag Snob
Daisy Lowe talks Christopher Kane and walking for Vivienne Westwood - FabSugar UK
Is Jennifer Aniston's little black dress a hit or miss? - People StyleWatch
A few of our favorite things from London Fashion Week - Vogue Daily
Shop Spring 2011's runway looks right now - Fashionologie

Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar

True Blood Bites: "Spellbound"

Becky Kirsch — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:48:05 PDT

The battle between the vampires and witches reaches fever pitch in this week's episode of True Blood. Both sides lose victims in the first battle of what is now an all-out war, with even major characters finding themselves in the line of fire.

While one big relationship met its downfall, others flourished - including Sookie and Eric's, which has taken on weirdly euphoric levels now that the two have shared each others' blood. If you're ready to break down the breakup, battle scene, and more, just

Saddest ghost story: We finally get the back story on the creepy doll and equally creepy spirit hanging around baby Mikey. It turns out the spirit’s fixation on Arlene’s baby is due to her having tragically lost her own child during her lifetime, and now she wants to claim Mikey as her own. That much is clear after she takes over Lafayette's form and snatches the baby - along with a gun - away from his sleeping parents. Whether she plans to use the gun to simply protect the infant, or for some other, more sinister plot is unknown.
Best first kiss: Once Jason saves Jessica's life, she's hopeless against resisting him, but she's still a little surprised by her actions, cutely covering her mouth after the lip lock.
Funniest Freaky Friday moment: Tommy wastes no time in exploiting his newfound ability to shift into other people, transforming into a disheveled, foul-mouthed version of Maxine in an attempt to profit from the natural gas rights on her property. Even if he is up to no good, it’s still pretty hilarious to see him order two Miller tallboys paired with shots of tequila and hot sauce as the self-righteous matron.
Most psychedelic reaction to drinking blood: Sookie lets Eric feed on her so that he can regain strength after his “silvering,” and Eric, in turn, lets Sookie feed from him, saying, “We will be one.” After feeding on one another, the pair embarks on a hallucinogenic, acid-like trip, seeing snowflakes fall from shower heads and talking about making love forever on a bed they encounter in a forest.
Most drama-ridden pack: Pack leader Marcus orders his werewolves to stay out of the trouble brewing between Bon Temps’s witches and vampires, but it looks like there’s plenty of drama within the pack to keep the group occupied. We find out that Marcus is father to Luna’s daughter, and he’s vowed to cause trouble for Sam for hanging out with his little girl. Meanwhile, a suspicious Debbie follows Alcide to find that he has lied to her about staying away from Sookie. Will the unstable shewolf fall off the wagon or betray Alcide by getting him in trouble with the pack?
Best pint-sized wingwoman: Sam shows up a Luna’s doorstep, explaining that he’s kicked Tommy out of his life, but the lady-shifter is still reluctant to invite him in. Luckily for Sam, Luna’s daughter does it for her, insisting that Sam play Barbies. Playing with dolls may not be the smoothest way for a man to rework his way into a woman’s heart, but it seems to have helped the pair begin to move past the awkward Tommy situation.
Worst breakups (fictional and nonfictional): Who realized that Jessica’s first breakup scene with Hoyt was a dream? There were certainly a lot of clues - the eye-rolling, Hoyt’s over-the-top pleas, and, you know, Jessica killing him - but stranger things have happened on True Blood. Equally painful to watch was the actual breakup, with Hoyt crossing the line by calling out Jessica on her inability to have kids and her eternal virginity. Low blow, Hoyt. Low blow.
Most violent midnight rendezvous: The vampires and the witches battle it out when they meet up in the cemetery for what is initially supposed to be a peaceful discussion. Team vampire takes significant hits with Bill getting a load of silver to the face, Eric falling under Antonia’s trademark puppet-master spell, and Sookie taking a bullet to the abdomen! Alcide shows up just in time to save Sookie, but Eric and Bill seem like they are in some serious trouble.

What do you think will happen to Bill and Eric now that they are under the witches’ control? Can we expect to see the end of the reformed Eric next week now that he's under Antonia's control?

Photo courtesy of HBO

LeapFrog LeapPad Puts Tots in Control of Their Own Learning Tablets

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:15:40 PDT

Moms may soon regain control of their iPads. The tech toy from Apple that is filled with mama's cooking, organizing, and entertaining apps somehow worked its way into lots of lil ones' hands, and many moms are having a hard time prying it away.

That should all change next week when LeapFrog starts shipping out its new LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet ($100). A tablet engineered just for kids, the LeapPad takes all of the technology introduced on last year's Leapster Explorer (including an ereader that adjusts to tots' learning levels, letter and number writing skills, and a high-resolution touchscreen) and adds exciting new functions like a tilt-sensor (just like the iPad), an enhanced ereader with a visual dictionary and games embedded within the books, a larger (five-inch) screen, and a built-in camera. The company sent us a tablet to try out, see what we thought below.

Who is this product designed for? The manufacturer suggests that the tablet is for tots ages 4 to 9 years old (and it can be customized for up to three kids), but a preschooler could navigate his way around it, too.

What sets it apart? With a five-inch 480-x-272 pixel (16 x 9) touchscreen, the LeapPad offers kids plenty of space to read, draw, write, or view their activities. Given the educational basis behind all of LeapFrog's products, the learning apps included with the system are brought to life on it. The new Ultra eBooks not only reads stories to kids, but should tykes select individual words, the system sounds them out. Portions of books are animated and games are built into them as well. A built-in camera and video recorder can be used on their own or in conjunction with other apps to create storybooks and videos that can be shared once the tablet is connected to a computer. And the accelerometer transforms the tablet into a gaming console, allowing for motion-based activities. Like other LeapFrog products, the Explorer connects to the online Learning Path, allowing parents to track their tots' progress and identify areas requiring additional support. When connected to the computer, artwork, photos, and videos created by kids can also be shared with family and friends through Facebook and email.

What could be better? Kids used to tooling around with their parents' gadgets will have to get used to a slower unit. The 400MHz processor doesn't allow apps to load as quickly as they may be used to. Also, with no WiFi, tots will have to forgo playing Angry Birds and the like, in favor of the more educational apps created by LeapFrog (which could be a very good thing!). The cost may set some families off as well. While the tablet costs $100 and comes with four free apps - Art Studio, Story Studio, Pet Pad, and one of your choice - the 100 additional apps that will be available later this year will cost between $5 to $20, making it a pricey investment. On the plus side, all games and cartridges parents bought for the Explorer are compatible with the LeapPad.

Keep reading to see how long the laptop entertains a youngster and for more views of the device.

Emotional Eating: How to Regain Control

FitSugar — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:00:01 PST

In a poll on emotional eating, 81 percent of FitSugar readers confessed that they eat as a reaction to anxiety, stress, or sadness. While I think that many of us can admit to doing this occasionally, a long history or consistent habit of emotional eating can be problematic. Instead of dealing with the issue at hand, emotional eaters mask their feelings - temporarily - with food. To get control over emotional eating, individuals first need to understand why it happens. Once you understand the characteristics of emotional eating, the next step is to regain control in your patterns. Here are some ways to regain control of your eating habits:

Figure out your triggers: Keep a food journal of what you eat, when you eat, and why you eat it (this one is the most difficult). Knowing your motivations for why you eat will make you conscious of your triggers, and you can begin to change your patterns.
Understand why you feel hungry: Physical hunger comes on slowly, and emotional hunger comes on quickly and is intense. Pay attention to how your stomach feels: is it rumbling and empty? Try waiting out the craving and see if the hunger subsides.
Find other ways to take care of yourself: It's important that you "feed" yourself in other ways aside from food. Take a walk, call a friend, or any other healthy activity that soothes you. Keep a list of alternatives to refer to when in the midst of a craving.

There are a few more tips, so

Banish junk food: Stock your pantry and fridge with healthy foods. If there are no cookies, chips, or ice cream in your house, the chances drop considerably that you will eat and overeat those foods.
Do eat: Make sure that you are eating a well-balanced diet with complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats. When you fill up on healthy foods, you will be better able to determine emotional hunger from physical hunger.
Be healthy: I know this one seems obvious, but take good care of yourself. Exercise regularly and get adequate sleep. Hunger, lack of sleep, and lack of exercise can make you moody, and when you're a cranky pants, it's harder to manage your cravings and combat the stresses that often lead you to reach for food for comfort.

Yo-Yo Dieting Makes Keeping Weight Off Harder

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:30:21 PDT

You eat a balanced diet and exercise, and you lose weight. But once you reach your goal, you exchange trips to the gym for pork lo mein on the couch, and end up gaining all the weight back (and then some). You're not alone. In fact studies show that two-thirds of dieters regain more weight within four or five years than they initially lost. Even celebs aren't immune to the grasps of yo-yo-dieting. Kirstie Alley, Oprah Winfrey, and Janet Jackson have all struggled with keeping the numbers on the scale from going up.

Constant yo-yo dieting makes it harder to keep the weight off because when your body mass decreases by 10 percent or more, it ends up slowing down your metabolism by 11 to 15 percent. Going on and off diets also changes other aspects of your physiology, such as increasing the hunger hormone ghrelin, and decreasing the hormone leptin, which makes you feel satisfied and full. Doctors believe strict diets which are low in calories are the worst. Your body may see restricting your calorie intake as a threat to its survival, and that's why it holds on to the extra pounds on your tush.

I'm sorry to say, but I have more bad news so keep reading