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Aborigines Incensed Over Didgeridoo "Dare" in Book for Girls

CitizenSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:00:56 -0700

The Australian answer to the hit book, The Daring Book for Girls is striking the wrong note with Aborigines. The book teaches girls how to play the didgeridoo - despite the fact that Aboriginal culture views the instrument as strictly boys only and not to be played by girls.

The publisher says it wasn't aware of the taboo and has apologized for the faux pas saying there was a "divergence of opinion" on the matter. The hollowed out instrument with the quintessentially Crocodile Dundee-esque sound (just try to imagine that tone without thinking of the movie) is viewed by Aborigines as a male ceremonial instrument. Not only are women forbidden from playing it, but doing so could cause grave consequences, even infertility.

The Daring Book has a less controversial profile than it may seem - its mission: "Whether you’re a girly-girl, an athlete, a brainiac, or a little bit of everything, The Daring Book for Girls gets you ready for anything - from pitching a tent and building a campfire; to running a lemonade stand and learning about female heroines in history; and even to tying a hitch knot and organizing your own spy team. The Daring Book for Girls is the can-do, how-to manual for enthusiastic, unfettered adventure, cheering girls on to be curious and brave-and above all, to have fun."

Source

Texts and Tunes: Dangerous and Daring

babysugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:41 -0800

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.

Absolutely Fabulous

FabSugar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:21:22 -0700

We are crushing on Rachel Roy and her affordable chic Macy's line - check out our exclusive interview with the designer.

A Fabby Halloween is back! Dare to be a Wild Thing this year and join our Halloween group.

Paris Fashion Week has begun and we have great expectations.

Get involved in the FabSugar Community - see you there!

Barneys's Fall look book is brimming with fun.

Do you have Balmania?! Read our update on the hot fashion house.

Would you be interested in Christian Siriano's Bravo show?

What do you think of my October most wanted?

Take this week's Gossip Girl fashion quiz and get Serena's hot blue suede shoe outfit.

Experience a sneak peek of the impending fashion drama on MTV's new show, StyL'D.

See all the young things at Teen Vogue's annual bash.

Milan Fashion Week rocked this week. Dolce &Gabbana was my favorite collection and here's a bellisima roundup

Bella Book: Eye Candy

BellaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:00:37 -0700

Makeup artist Linda Mason is obsessed with eyes. From bright, bold, and sparkling, to subtle and demure, she shares her love of unconventional eye makeup in her book, Eye Candy: 55 Easy Makeup Looks for Glam Lids & Luscious Lashes. To her, eye makeup is an reflection of one's own unique personality, and she wrote this book to take the fear factor out of using bright colors and unusual techniques in everyday life.

The book starts with basic and informative tutorials on everything from how to shape brows correctly (she strongly favors a heavy, natural brow) to how to apply false eyelashes. She then delves into her 55 favorite eye makeup looks, complete with a photograph and breakdown of each. The breakdowns are brief, however, and might be difficult to follow if you are not already experienced with eye makeup application.

For the full review, read more.
The models are young, from 13 to 20, and it's clear that the looks are tailored for this age group. Clean, beautifully makeup-free faces are contrasted against brightly multicolored eye makeup in shades of peacock blues, hot pinks, sea greens, and some with elaborate designs drawn on and around the eyes. While they are striking, they are not very wearable for, say, the office. But for a costume party, or a glamorous night out, these could be fun to try.

I give Mason kudos for using beautifully unique, diverse, and everyday kinds of girls as her models. The looks may be difficult to wear in everyday life, but she obviously has a true passion for her art and beauty in all forms. If you check out this book and and are daring enough to try out one of her looks, send me a picture!

The O.C. Recap: Episode 8, "The Earth Girls Are Easy"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:13:14 -0800

It's tough running a male prostitution ring when your business partner still thinks it's merely a dating service. That's where we find Julie in Episode 8 of "The O.C.," when both Kirsten and Bullitt offer to help her keep the books. Feeling in over her head, she and Bullitt's son, Spencer, come up with another solution: They'll burn the evidence and extract themselves from the whoring business once and for all. That is, after they clean up from their New Year's bookings.

Meanwhile, Seth is in the kitchen with Sandy, mulling over a problem of his own: He has made absolutely no plans for New Year's, and Summer isn't happy about it. So, he just decides to tag along with Ryan, who's planning to surprise Taylor with a trip to Las Vegas.

Lots more, including spoilers, so if you dare, read more

At home, Taylor is packing for her Vegas trip, and suddenly her eyes dart nervously from a box of tampons to her calendar. Could she be late? No, it's just the ever-nosy Taylor remembering when Summer's last period was. Summer admits there might have been an unprotected night with Seth, and the two decide to bring a pregnancy test along on the trip.

In the car, Taylor is acting weird, so when Seth spots the test, he assumes it's Taylor's. They stop for gas, and Seth asks Ryan if he's sure that he hasn't slept with Taylor. Of course, Seth answers, so when he hears about the test, he assumes Taylor must be sleeping around. Meanwhile, the girls overtake an innocent gas-station bathroom with some serious Newport Beach melodrama. When a hyperventilating Summer can't stand to look at the results, Taylor tosses the test in her purse, only to have the bag stolen by a young woman dressed like an alien.

Soon, a moderate-speed chase ensues, and the boys are in hot pursuit of what they think is Taylor's pregnancy test. The foursome ultimately ends up at a rave where-OMG!-everyone is dressed like an alien, which makes the purse-snatching martian very tough to locate. Taylor is upset that Ryan thinks she slept around, so she wanders off. Later, Ryan is upset to find Taylor drinking, to which she snaps: "Why? Because I might be pregnant with my whore baby?" Finally, Summer reveals the truth to Seth: that the test was actually hers. The girls get in the car to drive home and the boys hitch a ride with some ravers.

Meanwhile, back at Bullitt's New Year's Eve party, Kaitlin finds a new father figure in the Texan. Bullitt has hired a guy named Frank (yes, that is Kevin Sorbo of TV's "Hercules") to put Julie's books in order. Frank approaches Julie at the bash and seems puzzled that she's still calling NewMatch a dating service. He tells her that if she wants him to keep quiet, she should come up to his hotel room later. She does, but he just wants to talk. Seems that Frank has some demons in his past, and Sandy thinks he looks vexingly familiar. As Julie and Frank chat, we see Sandy pulling up files on him, and then, Frank tells Julie who he really is: Ryan's real father. Whoa.

And that's not the only juicy shocker in this episode. When the foursome returns to Newport Beach, Taylor invites Ryan into her bed for "everything but," while Seth and Summer deliberate over the pregnancy test. Before they can look at the results, Seth proposes to Summer with an eyeball ring he took from one of the ravers. She hesitantly says yes; after all, it's highly probable that she's pregnant. But lo and behold, the test is negative, and suddenly that whole proposal thing is left hanging awkwardly in the air.

Tune in to see what happens next when "The O.C." returns Jan. 4!

Photos courtesy of Fox

Look of The Day: Funky in Singapore

FabSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:27:15 -0700

nitegems has an interesting story to accompany this daring funky in Singapore look. It appears pinafores are big there so she paired it with basics and a splash of cobalt blue. Warning: according to nitegems, "guys don't REALLY dig this outfit..some make fun of me and call me a farm girl while others ask me what's with the school girl outfit? BUT most girls I've met commented on how funky I look! So my advice is just be wacky and wear it on a fun girls night out!"

She is today's Look Book Look of the Day!

Here's what she's wearing:

Black Pinafore: Vintage
Tee Shirt: Threadless
Blue belt: Vintage
Blue leggings: Topshop
Gold watch: Vintage Casio

Congrats nitegems!

Everyone else, submit your looks today and I just might feature you on FabSugar! Do you live overseas and have fab outfits to share? Join the Overseas Fashionistas Group and to submit a Look in this group learn how to post a blog.

Freedom Writers: Nothing New, But Still Moving

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 08:30:01 -0800

In my preview of Freedom Writers, I said it was the kind of movie that would either make you weep or roll your eyes. So I should probably confess that I'm one of the weepers; Freedom Writers had me reaching for the tissues more than once.

I may be a sucker, but at least I'm a sucker for a pretty good movie. Yes, it's an inspirational teacher story you've seen before, and yes, it's a little too neat: Once the students have their inevitable breakthrough, violence stops and gangs disappear. But you still root for the tough but vulnerable kids and for their teacher, who swaps her victories in the classroom for failure in her personal life.

Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell, the real-life teacher who started at one of Long Beach's roughest schools in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots. She knows what she's doing is right, she babbles to her boss, because her father worked in the civil rights movement. Her boss doesn't flat-out tell her to can the idealism - but she does suggest that maybe it would be wise if Erin didn't wear pearls to class.

At first, Erin pulls out all the tricks from the Dangerous Minds playbook. She tries teaching poetry by playing Tupac, which gets shrugged off with a snort of "white girl's gonna teach us about rap." She tries telling her students that their racism is just the kind of thing that led to the Holocaust, but one of her students asks, "What's the Holocaust?" That gives Erin an idea, so

Erin decides her students could relate to the story of Anne Frank, so she gives them the book and journals to write in. Through scenes with the students and voiceovers of their writing (which the real Gruwell and her students turned into a book), we see how Anne Frank's story changes them. One drops his gun into a sewer; another makes amends with his mother. The students want Miep Gies, the woman who sheltered Anne Frank, to speak at their school, so they launch a series of fundraisers to reach their goal. I dare you not to cry when Gies (played by Pat Carroll) walks in.

One of the most refreshing parts of Freedom Writers is that Swank's Erin isn't some perfect savior. I could have done without the Erin-fights-the-administration subplot, which adds nothing to the movie and is clearly going to end in victory from the second it's introduced. More interesting is how her work wrecks her home life, as she takes a second and then a third job to pay for her students' books and field trips. She all but forgets about her husband, Scott (Patrick Dempsey), who does his floppy-haired brooding thing for a while before finally packing his bags. I'm not a huge fan of Swank's, but she really fades into this role; her smile, her failed attempts at urban slang, and even that strand of pearls are truly Erin's.

As with every based-on-a-true-story movie, though, it's tough to know what's real. Somehow, after Gies visits, the kids are all best friends, gang violence stops, and one student decides to testify against a fellow gang member at a trial. If that happened, it's a testament to Gruwell's teaching. If it didn't, it veers a little too close to standard Hollywood inspirational schlock.

Then again, maybe it doesn't matter. Freedom Writers is engaging, and even though you know where the movie is going when you walk into the theater, it's still moving when it gets there.