PetSugar

New Product Alert! New Autumn Designs From Bella Bean

PetSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:45:00 -0700

New season, new collar. Switch up your pampered pal's walktime accessories and check out the new styles from Bella Bean. Each offers a coordinating leash ($48) if you like to go the matchy-matchy route but the patterns still function prettily alone.

Now I'm biased towards the Whoo Wants a Walk? style featuring cute little owls but the "North Pole" color combo of the Caravan model would be a great option to last straight up until that big holiday coming later this year. Browse the looks below.

New Product Alert! Rock & Republic Pet Collection

PetSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:52:03 -0800

Fetch Collar in Black ($50)

Unconditional Collar in Grey ($65)

Precious Cargo Bed in Black ($180)

Unconditional Collar in Black ($55)

Unconditional Placemat in Black ($20)

Fetch Messenger Bag in Black ($310)

Precious Cargo Collar in Fuchsia ($65)

Unconditional Bed in Black ($180)

Precious Cargo Placemat in Black ($20)

Precious Cargo Collar in Black ($60)

Unconditional Carrier in Grey ($330)

New Product Alert! Juicy Couture Spring 2010

PetSugar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:47:28 -0800

Juicy Flower Dog Collar ($55)

Juicy Couture Cotton Pique Polo Vivid ($40)

Juicy Couture Pointelle Ruffled Tank Lemon ($35)

Juicy Couture Daisy Velour Dog Hoodie (Vivid) ($45)

Juicy Couture Daisy Velour Dog Hoodie (Fern) ($45)

Juicy Couture Cotton Pique Polo Lemon ($40)

Juicy Daisy Hair Barrettes ($25)

Life is Juicy French Terry T-Shirt by Juicy Couture ($35)

Juicy Couture Pointelle Ruffled Tank Vivid ($35)

New Product Alert! Molly Meow

PetSugar — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:55:16 -0800

la vie en rose cat duvet, round ($20)

diy kit, romeo & juliet, round (2 cat duvets 1 stuff sack - $50)

diy kit, romeo & juliet, square (2 cat duvets 1 stuff sack - $50)

bird on a wire cat duvet, round ($20)

la vie en rose cat duvet, square ($20)

bird on a wire cat duvet, round ($20)

Children's "Big Rex and Friends" Cloth Books Recalled Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

tdsollog — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:28:04 -0800

NEWS from CPSCU.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionOffice of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 8, 2010Release # 10-105 Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 347-9411CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 Children's "Big Rex and Friends" Cloth Books Recalled Due to Risk of Lead ExposureWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: "Big Rex and Friends" Cloth BooksUnits: About 204,000Importer: St. Martin's Press LLC, of New York, N.Y.Hazard: A red plastic dot sewn in the book contains high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.Incidents/Injuries: None reported.Description: This recall involves "Big Rex and Friends" cloth books. The book has a black and white striped border with a red dinosaur on the cover. The words "Big Rex and Friends" are printed on the cover. ISBN 031249260X or 9780312492601 is printed on the back of the book.Sold at: Barnes & Noble, Toys "R" Us, Amazon, Borders and other bookstores and retailers nationwide from May 2004 through October 2009 for about $9.Manufactured in: ChinaRemedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled book away from children and contact St. Martin's Press for instructions on returning the book for a full refund.Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact St. Martin's Press at (800) 347-9411 or visit the firm's Web site at www.priddybooks.com/recallNote: CPSC was alerted to this hazard by the U.S. PIRGTo see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to:http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10105.html

Twilight Producer Wyck Godfrey talks about Breaking Dawn

athena4rob — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:42:12 -0800

Producer Wyck Godfrey spoke to Gina McIntyre from L.A. Times. He pretty much says : "We don't have a director, we don't have the whole script, we don't know if it will be 1 or 2 movies." Zero plus zero we still have zero...

It's been one of the biggest questions surrounding Summit Entertainment's uber-successful "Twilight" franchise (apart, of course, from whether stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson really are a couple off-screen) -- just how the producers are going to manage to pull off a big-screen adaptation of "Breaking Dawn." The fourth book in Stephenie Meyer's juggernaut of a young adult fiction series about the epic love affair between high school student Bella Swan and her good-guy vampire beau Edward Cullen has plenty of heft, clocking in at upward of 750 pages, but it also has the distinction of being the most controversial entry in the saga.When it was released in August 2008, fan reaction was intense and divided with some "Twi-hards" expressing confusion and dismay over a plot that involved *SPOILER ALERT* a recently graduated 19-year-old Bella giving birth to a half-human/half-vamp daughter named Renesmee, who grows much faster than the average mortal child and who possesses a unique way of communicating with those around her, clearly inherited from Dad's side of the family.Wyck Godfrey, the producer of all the films in the "Twilight" saga, admits that the creative team still doesn't know how they'll handle the character in the "Breaking Dawn" movie, but said that the plan is absolutely for the production to go forward -- as either one or two installments -- with an eye toward beginning to shoot in Vancouver this fall. All three stars are signed for "Breaking Dawn," he said, meaning that Stewart and Pattinson will be dealing with the joys and woes of interspecies parenting and newly minted heartthrob Taylor Lautner will return as often-shirtless shape-shifter Jacob Black.At the moment, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who's penned all the "Twilight" movies, is working on the "Breaking Dawn" script(s). "It's a work in process," Godfrey said in an interview Friday. "The issue [of whether there will be one or two movies] is not going to be resolved until we get the full treatment and see whether it's organic. If it's not organic, I don't think it will be done, and if it is, it will be. It really has to do with how much level of detail from the books there is, with all of these new vampires that appear in 'Breaking Dawn,' the whole section about Jacob... It's a very long single movie if it does become a single movie."Although there's been a great deal of online chatter about whether Chris Weitz, director of the second and most recent movie, "New Moon," would return to helm "Breaking Dawn," Godfrey downplayed that possibility, saying, "I think everyone would be happy and excited if he came back, but I don't think it's going to happen."He and the other principals are formulating a list of potential directors, "but right now," Godfrey said, "we're just focused on the treatment and getting that right. At that point, we're going to see who's available and who's appropriate. It's such a complicated book because you have the emotions and the intensity of the love story -- so you need somebody who's just a wonderful director of actors -- and yet it's really complicated from an action and visual effects standpoint. They've got to have both tools in their kit."A visual effects background might be particularly helpful when it comes to dealing with the character of Renesmee."I keep having visions of '[The Curious Case of] Benjamin Button' in my head," Godfrey said, referring to David Fincher's Oscar-nominated 2008 fantasy about a man who becomes physically younger as he ages. "It's certainly going to be visual effects in some capacity along with an actor. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being a full CG creation, but it also may be a human shot on a soundstage that then is used to shrink down. I don't know. We need a director. When we get a director, that director will need to come with a point of view of how they want to tackle it."The third movie in the series, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," is due in theaters June 30.
So what do YOU think? Should Breaking Dawn be split into 2 movies?

New Product Alert! Rage Against the Maltese

PetSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:15:59 -0700

Aww, what did that adoro fluffy animal ever do to you?! I'm betting this clever shirt got its name based on the common letters between Maltese and machine, but still I've got nothing but love for the teacup pups. (If rage involves chasing and licking, North has a lot of that . . . toward most breeds!)

Regardless, rockin' company Rockstar Puppy recently tweeted about its new tees, and I had to check 'em out. I'm loving this one best but they've got bands of all genres. If you have any other musically inspired group/breed names or song suggestions, "Whippet good" and share in the comments below.

Top 10 Twitter Feeds to Follow

Monique Marie — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:39:21 -0800

10: Adam Savage

Ray Tamarra/Getty ImagesAdam Savage is but one half of the popular "Mythbusters" team.
You know him as one half of the "Mythbusters" -- Discovery Channel's wildly successful show that's part science, part fun. Aside from being a pretty smart person, Savage (@donttrythis) also has a pretty interesting life, one actually worth following on Twitter. Fans can get an inside peek into the world of a real mythbuster -- "Just finished watching "Stand By Me" with my boys. They LOVED it (of course). AND I finished all my homework for our RSA appearance soon." Part of the appeal of Savage is that he doesn't seem to have bought into his own celebrity and he's extremely fan friendly. His tweet regarding a recent walk down the red carpet -- "This is far out. There are tons of ACTUAL famous people here" -- is the kind of humble self deprecation that has earned Savage nearly 30,000 followers as of April 2009 [source: Twitter].

9: Neil Gaiman

Darryl James/Getty ImagesNeil Gaiman is a popular science fiction and fantasy author.
British author Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) is famous for his science fiction novels, film screenplays and graphic novels. The film version of his fantasy novel "Stardust" grossed more than $135 million worldwide [source: Box Office Mojo]. Gaiman has a blog on his Web site that has become pretty popular due to his interaction with fans. The same fan connection has happened with his Twitter account as well. Gaiman tweets about his life as a world traveling writer, keeping fans in the know about book signings and appearances as well as alerting folks when he's finished a longer blog post on his Web site. Part of the charm of Gaiman's tweets is that he's a respected author, so you won't find any silly Internet abbreviations. If you're expecting "just ate rotten mffn for b-fast - LOLZ!" then you'll be disappointed. If you appreciate sly British humor, Gaiman is your man:
"It is beautiful. As if every photo should be captioned 'by nightfall their peaceful town would be the scene of unimaginable horror'."

8: CNN

Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesThis is CNN...and a dog.
Not all the Twitter feeds worth following are actual people. CNN (@cnnbrk) has been a respected news media outlet since it was founded in 1980 by media mogul Ted Turner. It has since been absorbed by Time Warner Cable, but it still retains its place as leader in providing accurate and up-to-the-minute news from every corner of the globe. To keep up with news in real time, you can follow the CNN feed or the CNN Breaking News version on Twitter. Both feeds are sanctioned by CNN, and you can find news as it happens on both. CNN made headlines in April 2009, when actor and Twitterholic Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN to a race for one million followers and won. It was all in good fun though, with Kutcher donating $100,000 to a charity that helps fight malaria after his victory.

7: New York Times

Mario Tama/Getty ImagesThe New York Times building in New York City
The New York Times (@nytimes) was founded in 1851 and quickly became the most successful newspaper in the United States. To this day it's the go-to news publication in the United States, where you always get "All the News That's Fit to Print." With print media outlets falling on hard times during the economic hardships of 2008 and 2009, "The Times" has embraced Twitter as a way to stay relevant and connected in an increasingly paperless world. The Times has no less than 50 different Twitter feeds for newshounds to follow. You can keep up with personal tweets from editors, writers and reporters as well as a host of news feeds. Each section of the paper has its own Twitter account as well, so if you love The Times sports coverage, but don't enjoy the style section so much, you can choose only to follow what you're interested in. Most of The Times' section tweets are blurbs with links to further coverage on its Web site, while the reporter and writer tweets include personal points of view on the news they cover.

6: NASA Robots

Pool/Getty ImagesThe robot team celebrates in the mission control room the successful Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft's scheduled landing on the Martian Arctic.
Yes, you read that one right. In a stroke of marketing genius, NASA, beginning with the Mars Phoenix Lander (@marsphoenix), began to "ghost tweet" as if various mission robots were speaking with their followers. Not only was it a clever way to keep people interested and informed about NASA and space exploration, but it created some unusual and unexpected results. Followers became attached to the Mars Phoenix Lander and humanized it, perhaps partially due to the smash hit film "Wall-E," the Pixar computer animated film about a very emotional robot. The sad news is that the Mars Phoenix Lander's job required it to stay on the red planet forever. The 38,000-plus followers of Mars Phoenix were saddened, though the ghost tweeters tried their best to keep spirits up:
"I should stay well-preserved in this cold. I'll be humankind's monument here for centuries, eons, until future explorers come for me."
And the final message from Mars Phoenix was simply a structured series of ones and zeroes -- the binary code was translated as "triumph."

5: Martha Stewart

Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesMartha Stewart flashes her trademark cute smile.
Who doesn't need a little more Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) in their lives? The business giant, TV show host, magazine publisher, author and ex-con is one of the most popular women in the world. Her followers, and not just on Twitter, are a force to be reckoned with -- if Martha endorses it, they try it out. If she says to paint it, they paint it. If she says break out the pinking shears, then something is going to get cut (in a zigzag). Followers of her Twitter feed get posts on what she's up too with her various endeavors, updates on appearances she'll be making and simple advice and recommendations on everything from a nice summer wine to what to serve at the perfect dinner party. And as you might expect, it's also delightfully free of grade-school Internet abbreviations.

4: Oprah Winfrey

Katy Winn/Getty ImagesOprah gives a big thumbs up to Twitter.
Just like Martha Stewart, and perhaps even more so, media mogul Oprah Winfrey (@oprah) has a legion of fans who hang on her every word. She's created a true empire and the fate of everything from an author's career to a product's success can hang in the balance depending on her recommendation. When Oprah tweets, her nearly 750,000 (as of April 2009) followers listen. Considering the fact that Oprah just started tweeting in mid-April 2009, the sheer number of followers she has is astounding. So far, her tweets have been a mix of updates on upcoming show guests and some fun personal information, like what music she's listening to and what her dinner plans are. She also gives a little behind-the-scenes look at her show, tweeting about how she pulled an episode on the Columbine High School shooting anniversary because it "focused too much on killers." Go, Oprah, go.

3: Shaquille O'Neal

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty ImagesShaq may not be able to shoot a free throw, but he can twitter with the best.
NBA basketball star Shaquille O'Neal (@THE_REAL_SHAQ) is one of the most popular players in league history because of his sense of humor and gentle giant persona, so it's no surprise that his Twitter feed is also a big hit. As of April 2009, his Shaqness had acquired nearly 900,000 followers and is sure to hit the one million mark. Like with most celebrities, Shaq tweets about his day-to-day life, but through the lens of his funny personality. He also made headlines in March 2009 by twittering during halftime of a game. All he said in the message was a cryptic "Shhhhh," but it was enough to make the news. In addition to his funny posts about what he ate for breakfast and his desire to lose enough weight to have "eight pack abs" Shaq also uses Twitter to give tickets away to fans, proving that his heart is as big as his shoe size -- an astounding 23.

2: Barack Obama

Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesYes we can Ttwitter!
Yes, the President of the United States (@BarackObama) is on Twitter. President Obama twittered himself in the weeks leading up to the election, giving updates on appearances he'd be making and covering talking points of his political rallies. Since he's taken office, he's been a little busier trying to help correct an ailing U.S. economy, but the tweets live on through his staff. But he did make history on March 26, 2009, when he became the first acting American President to send a tweet. He sent a message about the struggling economy and included a video link to the White House Web site. The video was of the President himself, urging Americans to send their questions about the economic struggles for a press conference he held the following day. His staff now sends out tweets updating his million-plus followers about his upcoming speeches as well as calls for Americans to volunteer with various organizations.

1: Wil Wheaton

Albert L. Ortega/Getty ImagesWil Wheaton never had any friends later on like the ones he had when he was 12 -- does anybody?
Actor Wil Wheaton (@wilw) is probably best known for his role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and when he played a young boy searching with his friends for a dead body in the 1986 film "Stand By Me." But anyone in-the-know is keen to the fact that Wheaton is a virtual God in the land of technophiles and all things geek related. Wheaton has this reputation because he's become what's known in the tech realm as an "early adopter." This means that he's first on the bandwagon when it comes to tech products, gaming and geek trends. His blog has been wildly popular for years and once he started twittering, it didn't take fans long to catch on. Aside from the usual day-to-day stuff that Twitter is known for, Wheaton recommends video games, tech products, movies, podcasts and just about anything else Web related.

Dumbo University

Eleuthera — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:02:17 -0800

by Patrick J. Buchanan

11/20/2009

As George W. Bush famously asked, "Is our children learning?"

Apparently not in the twin capitals of liberalism, D.C. and New York.

In a ranking of 50 states and D.C. by how much each spent per pupil in public schools in 2005, New York ranked first; D.C. third. The state spent $14,100, and New York City just a tad less.

And the bountiful fruits of this massive transfer of taxpayers' wealth?

In D.C., nearly half of all black and Latino students drop out. Of those who graduate, nearly half are reading and doing math at seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade levels. D.C. academic achievement ranks 51st, last in the U.S.

Yet last week came a report from New York that makes D.C look like M.I.T. Some 200 students, in their first math class at City University of New York, were tested on their basic math skills.

Ninety percent could not do basic algebra. One-third could not convert a decimal into a fraction.

If this was a representative sampling, nine in 10 CUNY students not only do not belong in college, they do not qualify for their high school diplomas. As for that third who can't do decimals and fractions, they should not have been allowed into high school until they could do sixth-grade math.

As 70 percent of all CUNY students are graduates of city schools, a question arises: What are the taxpayers of New York getting for the highest tax rates in the nation?

If a private business annually turned out products that were of inferior quality than the year before, management would be thrown out by the board. Yet, the education racket has been shaking us down for four decades, and turning out graduates that know less and less.

Scholastic Aptitude Test scores peaked around 1964. Ever since, the national average has been in an almost unbroken descent.

So embarrassing did it get that, a few years ago, the SAT folks retooled the test to produce higher scores. Now there are more 1600s. But the national average continues its decline, and the gap between blacks and Hispanics, and Asians and whites, endures.

Is it not a time for truth?

Just as there are many kids who do not have the athletic ability to play high school sports, or the musical ability to play in a high school band, or the verbal ability to recite poetry well or star in debate, not every kid has the academic ability to do high school work.

By the end of the first two months in first grade, an alert kid can tell you who are the smart ones and who are the athletes.

No two kids were ever created equal -- not even identical twins. The family is the incubator of inequality, and God is its author. As the parable teaches, each of us is given different and unequal talents.

Given equality of opportunity, the brightest will inexorably rise, and the less talented -- athletically, artistically, academically -- will fall behind. All things being equal, the fastest kid will always win the race.

This campaign to equalize test scores among unequal students is utopian and unattainable, and amounts to a scam by the education industry.

How many times have they promised progress? And how many times have they delivered?

It is time to look not only skeptically, but cynically, on further demands for billions for education.

Rather, follow the money. Look for who is getting the jobs, the TV appearances, the consulting contracts, the grants, the titles, the limo drivers. Because, at bottom, that is what it is all about -- the transfer of wealth and power from those who earn it and those who produce it, to those who produce little or nothing.

The city colleges, now the City University of New York, were once municipal jewels. They nourished an intellectual elite from the ethnic groups that came in the great immigration wave before 1924. As open admissions -- letting in every high school graduate in the city who applied -- was being debated, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew weighed in against.

"If these quality colleges are degraded, it would be a permanent and tragic loss to the poor and middle class of New York, who cannot afford to establish their sons and daughters on the Charles River or Cayuga Lake. New York will have traded away one of the intellectual assets of the Western world for a four-year community college and a hundred thousand devalued diplomas."

Agnew quoted historian Dan Boorstin:

"In the university, all men are not equal. Those better endowed or better equipped intellectually must be preferred in admission, and preferred in recognition. ... If we give in to the ... demands of militants to admit persons to the university because of their race, their poverty, their illiteracy or any other nonintellectual distinction, our universities can no longer serve all of us or any of us."

The limousine liberals knew better.

Now, they have CUNY students who can't handle fractions.

Website of the Day: Gazaro

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:07:42 -0800

Holiday shopping. Jut typing the words gives me some serious anxiety, so any site that helps make my life a little bit easier is a good site in my book. If you're in the market for electronics or accessories, you'll like Gazaro, a site that monitors sales fliers and store websites, alerting you when an item you're looking for goes on sale. You can also browse through the site's top picks section, including the latest and best deals.

Gazaro updates in real time, so it's good for finding up-to-the-minute deals on products you're searching for. After registering with the site, you can save your favorite brand names, stores, or products you're interested in and have the best deals sent to you via email daily or weekly.

Do you have an interesting website you want to share? Create a PopSugar Account or log in to your account. Then join the Website of the Day group where you can post your favorite website! And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.