FitSugar

Why Feel The "Y": Core Concepts

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:30:00 PDT

Do you work your "Y"? Well you should...it is an easy way to feel connected to your "core." The "Y" connects your armpits to your belly button, and then your pelvic floor (like a kagel) pulling up toward your navel. Feeling these points connected gets your external obliques to work so your rib cage stays aligned over your pelvis. Engaging the pelvic floor stabilizes the lower part of the pelvis. All the energy meets at your navel activating your deep abs. Your upper body is now all connected.

I find this "Y" visual helpful for quickly getting into my core and stabilizing my torso while doing a bunch of different activities, from hauling toddlers around to doing free weights I use the "Y" to keep my torso still when doing bi-cep curls. It totally helps get rid of the "sway back into the heels" that often accompanies the lift. Try the "Y" when you do your next set of push-ups - keeping your torso all trussed up really helps out your arms as they push your entire body weight away from the floor.

So use your "Y" - practice it while standing in line for your morning latte.

If you have some questions about your core read this post Core Questions and hopefully it will answer yours.

Grammy Awards: Gwyneth Paltrow

BellaSugar — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:10:37 PST

Gwyneth Paltrow made an appearance at the Grammys looking polished and perfectly GOOP-y. With her pink lipstick, classic eyeliner, and sleek ponytail, she was also on top of several of the night's biggest trends. Do you think Gwyneth's look made it all work? Vote on all of our Grammy Awards polls here!

Announcing the 2012 Grammy Award Winners

Shannon Vestal — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:24:48 PST

The mood of the Grammy Awards was a bit somber this year in the wake of Whitney Houston's shocking death, but the show went on, and the statues were all handed out to the winners. Adele owned the night, picking up multiple awards, including those for record of the year, album of the year, and song of the year.

Plenty of other folks received Grammys too, including Kanye West, The Foo Fighters, and Taylor Swift, so to see the full list of winners, just keep reading.

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

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "If/Then"

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:20:41 PST

Last year we had the Grey's Anatomy musical episode, and this season it's the alternate-reality episode. That's right: as Meredith ponders on the veracity of the phrase "meant to be," we get to see what could have been - or in this case, what was always destined to be. Though this is a filler episode if I ever saw one, it's still pretty fun to see the characters go down different paths (well, except for Jackson, who pretty much stays the same).

What we're treated to is a preppy-pink Meredith, a geeky Karev, and an even edgier Yang just to name a few. There are also plenty of shout-outs to characters from past seasons, like Izzie, George, and Burke. Ready to break down all of the differences? Just

George Clooney Gets Dirty, Dapper to Reveal His Best Pranks in LA Times Magazine

Molly Goodson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:10:00 PST

George Clooney was happy to try on both goofy and handsome looks for the Oscars issue of the LA Times Magazine with Viola Davis on the cover, which is out on Sunday. The accompanying article is focused on George the prankster and chronicles everything from friends who have been on the receiving end of his famous cons to what he's careful about when choosing his targets. George recently said he's planning a prank on Brad Pitt that may "end his career." George and Brad are up against each other in the best actor category at the Academy Awards, though when it comes to practical jokes Mr. Clooney is in a league of his own. George revealed his best one ever, which involves a cat litter box, and a time when he backed off something he'd been working on for years. Here are highlights:

Clooney on his pranks: "Humor only gets me in trouble when I forget that any joke I make will be heard by a lot of people and can be hurtful to someone if I’m not careful. I’m just screwing around...but you realize as you get home that it’s something that would hurt someone’s feelings, and maybe it’s not needed. You have to consider that a little more."
Jerry Weintraub on one prank from Ocean's Eleven days: "I had a gold silk shirt-a very expensive gold silk shirt-Clooney hated. Once at the Bellagio when we were doing Ocean’s, I was having drinks with the guys, and Clooney sneaked into my closet and stole the shirt. That September, for my birthday, I received a big box wrapped with ribbon-and in it was my gold shirt. On the back, Clooney had drawn a picture in black marker of a giant penis, and he’d had everyone who participated in a charity golf tournament for prostate cancer in Las Vegas sign it, too. There were 30 signatures-Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Wayne Gretzky..."
Julianna Margulies on an ER era prank with an unnamed man: "He asked George, 'Does my pasta smell funny?' and then pushed the plate into his face. Clooney took it all in stride, but he waited until the guy’s last day [on the production] and placed a license plate frame on his car that said, 'Honk if you like p--y.' The guy thought every-one was honking and waving goodbye to him. [George] was the master-and he had the patience of a Buddhist monk. He can create a joke that will take eight years [to pull off]."

See more pictures of George, Viola Davis, Gary Oldman and more at the LA Times Magazine website here.

Hunger Games Beauty: Get Katniss's Opening Ceremonies Look

Allure — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:05:14 PST

We're happy to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Every time a new image is released from The Hunger Games, fans react like it's a gift from their sponsor flying in by silver parachute. (If you don't know what that means, you still have 55 days to read the book before the premiere.

But we have to admit, even we squealed a bit over this new picture, which shows Katniss before the chariot ride in the opening ceremonies. Her dress, which earns her the nickname "Girl on Fire," is amazing; but what we're really impressed with is the smoldering makeup. In the book, Katniss describes her face in this scene as "relatively clear of makeup, just a bit of highlighting here and there." But from the looks of the photo, makeup artist Ve Neill either didn't read the book (we're guessing probably not so likely) or took some creative license (and we don't mind!). Here's how she got the look:

This Is What Happens When Iggy Pop Invades a Perfume Ad

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:33:49 PST

Perfume commercials are always trying to be provocative and sexy to attract consumers, but the new ads for Paco Rabane Black XS seem to be reaching out in a very different way: specifically, to glam rock fans in the early punk era. What else could possibly explain this frenetic new ad, which has everything a young David Bowie could want: Iggy Pop sensuously wrapping himself in an American flag, models licking a Damien Hirst-y jewel-encrusted skull, a couple writhing in money like a pair of proto-punk Scrooge McDucks, etc. It's as if someone turned Velvet Goldmine into a perfume.

As big fans of Mr. Stardust and his spiders from Mars, the campy elements of the ad are pretty appealing to us. But given the otherwise small overlap between perfumistas and '70s-rock aficionados, this spot seems pretty niche indeed. Still, it's always nice to see Iggy, and maybe now, with a perfume campaign under his belt, he can finally fulfill his beauty destiny by starting a hair care line.

Happy Hour: Amaretto-Cranberry Kiss

Nancy Einhart — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:45:33 PST

Any other time of year, a cocktail with "kiss" in the name might make me roll my eyes. But for Valentine's Day, this bright red, Winter-y drink is perfectly appropriate. Despite the name, I count the Amaretto-Cranberry Kiss among my favorite cocktails.

Like some of the best couples, amaretto and cranberry juice are an unlikely match, but highly compatible, and this vibrant cocktail tastes smooth, tart, and not too sweet. This time, I used sparkling cranberry juice from Trader Joe's (stirred, not shaken), which added a fun twist. Garnish with a seasonal clementine slice and toast to whatever you fancy. Get the recipe now.

Where Are All the Single Geeks? 5 Places You Might Find Them

GeekSugar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:18:03 PST

In my social circle, I hear the same question often: "Where are all the single geek boys?" If you're a single gal, you may be asking yourself the same, so I'm taking a stab at playing matchmaker. Below, you'll find five possible places to uncover scores of single geeks, hopefully bringing your dating search to an end. By the way, you can still leave your other tech-related questions on our Facebook page, in the comments, or in our Ask a Geek Girl group to get the answers you need!

Online - According to new research, 66 percent of Gen-Y daters know someone who found love online, and there are lots of places to look. From Cupidtino to DateCraft (the insanely popular World of Warcraft dating site), you're sure to find that special geek wandering the Internet. You may even stumble upon a geek worth talking to in forums and comment sections on your favorite websites. Keep your eyes peeled - they're out there.
Sunnyvale, CA - OKCupid's recent Valentine's Day poll shows that there are more eligible geeky bachelors in Sunnyvale, CA, than anywhere else in the country. It's in the heart of sunny Silicon Valley, so if you're ready to settle down with a hard-working software engineer, tech expert, or entrepreneur, then head west my friends. You may also get a good tan in the process.

See the rest of the list when you read more.