Dvds

When you think of clutter, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Besides messy cables and cords, it's CDs. If you haven't taken the time to digitize all of your CDs to store on a backup hard drive, maybe now's the time. And when you're done, don't just toss them in the trash — recycle them properly. You can dump your old optical discs, DVDs, and jewel cases in one of the handy recycle bins at Target or Best Buy, ship them to a CD recycling company like Greendisk, or find a recycling center in your neighborhood through CD Recycling Center of America. Or, you could go the crafty route and use them to DIY an at-home project.

Be sure to check out the rest of our 31 Days of Spring Cleaning series to get your digital life in order.

Some athletes or sports gurus like to bulk up their muscles and flex to impress. Me? I'm a toning kind of gal and the quicker the workout, the better. While some people take hours a day to work their body into tip-top shape, sometimes all you need is a 20-minute stint. Created for folks who can't always carve a heavy-duty gym routine into their hectic schedules (or those who simply don't want to!), Acacia has compiled five 20-minute workouts that are quick and easy enough to do in the own comfort of your home in Fit in 5 Total Body Tone ($15). Taken from formerly released DVDs, these 20-minute sections are picked out to represent the best in toning. To make sure they offered a little something for everyone, they included a series on each of the following: strength training, yoga, Pilates, abs, and cardio.

Curious to see what I thought of the DVD? Just read more

Ready to slim down but not willing to kill yourself to make it happen? It might be time to check out Joy Bauer’s Slimdown Workout ($13). As much as I'd love to head to the gym for an hour or two every day, it's not always an option for a mother of two. Joy Bauer, a mother herself, knows what it's like to only have a few moments to yourself to tune up the body.

In her new fitness video, Joy Bauer, nutritional expert of NBC's Today Show and former gymnast, shows how easy it is to stay trim with two simple 20-minute cardio workouts. But it's not just her; she's teamed up with professional trainer Lisa Wheeler. The tall, svelte blonde essentially leads Joy in the routines. I'm not quite sure why she didn't make the cover since she does much of the directing, but it's a good thing she's there as she's much more than an inspiring figure. Lisa helps show the modified versions of exercises and points out Joy's perfect form, which makes you check your own along the way. To keep the viewer engaged, Joy sprinkles in her tidbits of wisdom and pointers. She also makes you feel normal when she says, "Don't feel bad if you can't do this, guys!" as she wobbles herself.

To see what I liked about the exercise and to see a teaser video, just read more

The US Copyright Office made big moves this morning when it announced revisions to its copyright laws, and concluded that the act of jailbreaking your iPhone and ripping a DVD (for educational purposes) are now legal. Every three years the office reviews the laws in order to adjust to the changing digital environment, and this year, not only did it deem jailbreaking legal (in order to operate legally obtained open apps, or run it on another network, i.e. take your iPhone to T-Mobile), but it also made some changes to laws dealing with ebooks and video games. Find out what they are after the break.

I recently 'fessed up to having a whole shelf of fitness DVDs, and it looks like a lot of you are big fans of workout videos too. Whether you own one video or 21, mixing up your collection can keep you from getting bored, especially during the colder months when so many of us move our workouts indoors or feel unmotivated to exercise.

Beat the Winter blues by hosting a fitness DVD swap party at your house. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just invite some of your fitness-minded friends over and ask them to bring any workout DVDs they're tired of. Serve some healthy snacks and let the swap begin. Depending on your guests' preferences, the swaps can be permanent or simply loaners.

For permanent swaps, place all the DVDs in one spot, have your guests draw numbers to see who goes first, and let everyone take turns picking out their preferred DVDs. You could even set up a white elephant (aka "dirty Santa") game, where partygoers can opt to steal DVDs from people who've picked before them.

If your friends would rather borrow than steal, have them draw numbers and pair off. Each pair can trade DVDs for a set amount of time, with the promise to return them later.

Do you like to swap fitness DVDs with friends?

If Pilates has become your new obsession, you might want to add this intermediate mat workout to your fitness DVD library. Combined with New Body! Pilates, the Jennifer Kries New Body Pilates II DVD will give you a great introduction to the fundamentals and favorite exercises of Pilates practice. The video features the expert Kries explaining the moves as they are demonstrated by her sidekick Kim, so it feels like you're sitting in on a private Pilates lesson or taking one of your own.

Though New Body Pilates II builds on the basics taught in part one, you'll still enjoy the sequel if you haven't seen the first one, as long as you have some basic Pilates knowledge. For all the details, read more

You can give your next at home movie night a healthy focus; two of my favorite docs of the year are now out on DVD.

• Enlighten Up!: Filmmaker Kate Churchill, a yoga devotee, takes yoga cynic Nick Rosen on a wild ride through the range of yoga styles to see if the ancient art has universal power. Both filmmaker and subject are affected by the process. Available for purchase ($22) or add the title to your Netflix queue.
• Food, Inc.: The underbelly of the food industry is exposed in this documentary narrated by Omnivore's Dilemma author Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation. Arguing for sustainable food production, the film's antagonist is not the farmer or the carnivore but multinational corporation Monsanto. Purchase ($14) the 94-minute film or Netflix it.

• Lauren Bacall was among the winners at the Honorary Oscars over the weekend — HitFix
• You go, Uncle Jesse: John Stamos gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — Vulture
• The woman's identity behind Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl is not so secret anymore — TV Squad
• Bob Dylan wears a wig in his Christmas video for "Must Be Santa." Too weird. — Pitchfork
• New Moon is already beating advanced ticket sales records — Deadline
• Miss The Wire? Re-live the series with these top 100 quotes — Warming Glow
• brother-noel/">Oasis is getting back together — minus Noel — Rock & Roll Daily
• Sci-fi fanboys are getting a new TV series on NBC — ComingSoon
• Vote for the kraziest characters on TV (yes, "crazy" with a "k") — TV.com
• Go inside Private Practice star Kate Walsh's house — CasaSugar
• New Moon's stars interview each other with fan questions — Moviefone
• Here's a brilliant idea: Adult Swim is allowing fans to customize their own DVD — Collider