LilSugar

Texts and Tunes: Dangerous and Daring

babysugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:41 PST

Give your kids these books that will teach them all sorts of old tricks and get them off the couch. Boys can dive into Dangerous Book For Boys ($15) and girls can bury themselves in the Daring Book For Girls ($15).

The Dangerous Book For Boys by Conn and Hal Igguiden teaches young rascals how to tie knots, make paper airplanes, fish, craft bows and arrows out of front-yard tools, build a tree house, act out coin tricks, and assemble go-carts.

The Daring Book For Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz counsels girls on public speaking, softball rules, origami fortunetellers, and how to make a handlebar scooters. It also talks about tying a sari, Chinese jump rope, and building a campfire.

Kids won't believe how much fun can come from these two texts. And, the activities provide bonding time for parents and children.

You're Fired! 20 Signs That a Pink Slip Is Coming

Wise Bread — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:54:53 PDT

If something feels off at the office, you may want to brace yourself for the worst. Wise Bread shares signs to look for when a pink slip is coming.

There are two types of employees. One has a good idea of what they do, who they are, and what position they play in the company. They are savvy. They know the score. They are under no delusions, and will no doubt leave for another job long before they are ever considered as cannon-fodder.

And then there's the other kind. The guy who could get Gandhi to hate him. The woman who spends most of her day chatting on the phone to friends or doing online shopping. Or the nice chap in sales who is completely oblivious that the recent merger means his job is now obsolete. They all have Ostrich Syndrome. They couldn't see a pink slip coming if it was 8ft tall and glowing in the dark, screaming "you're fired!"

You want to avoid being in that second category at all costs. So I've compiled a handy list. If you can answer yes to THREE or more of these questions, you may want to think about sprucing up your résumé and dry-cleaning your best interview attire.

1. Are you no longer in the loop about, well, anything?

This is a huge telltale sign. Suddenly you're finding out about company news from the cleaning lady or the new girl in accounting. If you were formally in the know about all things business related, but now suffer from "the company's doing what??!" disease, the writing is probably on the wall.

2. Did you recently screw up big-time?

We're not talking a minor faux pas here. Did you lose money on an account that was previously bulletproof? Oh dear. Were you caught having sex on the boss's desk with the boss's spouse? That's probably not a career-enhancing move. Unless you're a real dope, you know if you have screwed up. And if you know, HR knows. It may not be the final nail in your coffin, but it's a nail in the coffin nonetheless.

3. Are people avoiding you at all costs?

Eye contact is difficult to make with someone if you know his or her head's on the chopping block. Small talk is just as tough. It's best just to avoid that person altogether. So if people are no longer doing that fun "stop 'n' chat" in the hall, or the coffee room empties when you arrive, then guess what . . . you may be a marked man or woman.

Read on for more.

What's Your Number?: Just Doesn't Add Up

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:30:00 PDT

In the opening scene of What's Your Number, Ally (Anna Faris) slips out of bed to adequately primp for that "Don't I naturally look amazing in the morning?" glow and return before her boyfriend du jour even notices she's gone. If that sounds familiar to you, it's because almost the exact same scene was featured in Bridesmaids. Though we can write that off to unfortunate coincidence, the rest of What's Your Number? continues to borrow so much from other films that the romantic comedy ultimately drowns in overused clichés.

The attractive neighbors-who-will-obviously-fall-in-love here are Ally, an unlucky but optimistic woman who has a dated a string of losers, and Colin, an overgrown frat boy who brings new meaning to the term "love 'em and leave 'em." When the latest issue of Marie Claire informs Ally that her number of lovers is above average and means she's in danger of ever finding "the one," she decides to try again with all of her exes instead of letting her number go higher than 20. After one hilarious, wine-induced failed attempt to track down the guys on the Internet, Colin offers his sleuthing skills in exchange for using Ally's apartment as his personal hideout from his one-night stands. What ensues is a predictable, by-the-book romantic comedy that is barely salvaged by Faris and Evans's chemistry and a long list of inspired supporting players.

To see what else I thought about What's Your Number?, just keep reading.

Gerard Butler Says Shooting Machine Gun Preacher Made Him Feel Like He Had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:13:32 PDT

Gerard Butler stars in this week's new release Machine Gun Preacher as Sam Childers, a man who left a life of crime and drug addiction to devote himself to his children who'd been affected by the violent attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army in the Sudan. Butler, who also serves as executive producer, and his costar Michelle Monaghan, who plays Sam's wife Lynn, chatted with us during a recent press day in San Francisco. They talked about what it was like portraying real people, how Butler prepared for the role, and the difficulties he endured while filming some of the more disturbing scenes in Africa.

Did you know about Sam's story, and what did you think of the title when you heard it?
Gerard Butler: It was my agent who'd heard about it for a long time, and he loved it, was very passionate about it for a long time. He pitched the story to me, so I immediately connected Machine Gun Preacher with a guy who fought for children in the Sudan. I like the [title] Machine Gun Preacher, I think it's very catchy, but I think that it allows the movie to reveal the far deeper, interesting, more complex story. And yet to let people know that it's a crazy ass movie at the same time. He's a crazy ass guy, a hell of a powerful adventurer as well. I didn't know about it before, and [then] I wanted everyone to know about it.

Michelle Monaghan: I mean obviously, I got the script and saw Machine Gun Preacher, and I was intrigued - come on! I was completely inspired when I'd read it. This is definitely a project I wanted to be a part of, and certainly knowing that Gerry was on board to tell his story, as was Marc Forster, only cemented the idea of being a part of it even more.

To find out what else Butler and Monaghan had to say, like how hard it was shooting the violent scenes, just keep reading.

A Whole Lotta Lil in This Week's Links

LilSugar — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:22:57 PDT

See how your favorite celebrity tots made their photographic debuts!
Bye, bye bling, hello weight-loss camp: a new trend in push presents for new moms.
A look back at Victoria Beckham's trendsetting-maternity style over four pregnancies.
These 5 books make explaining divorce to kids a bit easier.
The murder of a lil Brooklyn boy has our moms talking about our dangerous world.
Huggies thinks it has the solution for diapering tots that won't lay down for a minute!
Are your kids in on this Summer's biggest bracelet trend? They will be!
It's not just babies that don't sleep through the night, toddlers don't too!
Expectant mamas won't want to miss this Summer's biggest (and brightest) maternity trend.
Is your baby a boob grabber? This one is!