GeekSugar

Philadelphia Bloggers Pay Business Tax: Fair or Unreasonable?

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:15:45 PDT

Is this fair, or just ridiculous? The city of Philadelphia wants to charge bloggers $300 to continue posting on their blogs - the equivalent of a "business privilege license." While this fee would apply to professional or money-making blogs, it also applies to blogs created by residents as a hobby or part-time blogs that make no money. Additionally, bloggers are required to pay taxes on any earnings they received from the blog, however small the profit.

While taxes on a lucrative blog seem fair, taxing those who run popular or successful blogs that don't turn a profit seems a little ridiculous, even for a cash-strapped city. The city of Philadelphia's take: if your blog has the potential to become lucrative, you must pay a tax, regardless of how much money is actually generated.

On one hand, these are the same sorts of rules that freelance writers and others must follow; on the other, these blogs aren't turning a profit. If everyone started charging such a tax, I'm afraid that otherwise awesome content would never see the light of day. What do you think about this tax?

5 Sites For Creating Your Wedding Website

GeekSugar — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:47:13 PDT

I already told you why you need a wedding website, now I'm making it easy to set one up of your own! If you don't have the time or web skill needed to create a site from scratch, fear not! There are plenty of sites that do the hard work for you, allowing you to customize your site with designs, colors, photos, and even music that fit you and your betrothed's style. Here, five simple places to get started creating your own wedding website. And don't forget to check what information you should include to make you and your guests' lives much easier.

Cool Idea: Give Your Houseplants a Vacation

CasaSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:15:40 PDT

I have been following David Horvitz's blog for a few months or so. For all of 2009 (not necessarily every day, but frequently), he sends out small texts of simple instructional ideas through his mailing list, and then posts screenshots of them on his blog. Many of his instructions involve mailing things to far-off addresses, like "Take a photo of your head in the freezer and mail it to a museum in Greenland that has no current exhibition." I've never followed through with his suggestions. But I think this one, shown above, giving your house plants a vacation, is fun and something I might actually do. I've gotten to the point that I don't even notice my houseplants anymore, unless they're in desparate need of watering. So it would be fun to switch it up and lay my eyes on someone else's ficus for a while. What do you think? Would you do this?

What Do You Think of the Word "Blog"?

GeekSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:10 PDT

I found myself watching TiVoed episodes of Miss Guided this weekend and got a kick out of a scene where a student's gossip blog creates drama on campus. Namely, the main character, Becky, learns she's at the bottom of the "do-able" teachers' list and complains about the site to the principal, calling it a "blurgh." The principal, who is played by the dorky SNL alum, Chris Parnell, says "it's a blog, Becky, not a 'blurgh.'" It was a hilarious scene, but I couldn't help but wince. Blog has become such a dirty word and a huge fragment on the population doesn't understand what it means. I love blogs more than anyone, but I can't say I love the word.

Photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

Little Boxes on the Hillside

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:05:10 PDT

Molly directed me to these Flickr photos from the Westlake District of Daly City, California. One of America's first master-planned postwar suburbs, Westlake was the "inspiration" for Malvina Reynolds' song "Little Boxes," which became a hit for folk musician Pete Seeger in 1964. Many Casa readers, however, probably recognize it as the theme music for the TV show "Weeds."

You can find out more about Westlake on America's Most Perfect Ticky-Tacky Suburb. I'm curious: Do you like these homes, or do you find the design too dated? Tell me when you take a look the gallery and

Source

View 9 Photos ›

Blog I Love: Beauty Product Junkies

BellaSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 05:00:02 PDT

One of my favorite beauty blogs on the Web is actually right here on TeamSugar: Created by our very own Atoxicsparkle, it's called Beauty Product Junkies, and it has more than 1,700 members. If you're a fellow junkie, you should definitely check out BPJ: This is an incredibly active group where users post everything from product reviews to Beauty Marks to instructions on how to achieve different looks. There are also weekly Beauty Challenges, where users Beauty Mark their favorite products.

I'll be featuring the results of those challenges on BellaSugar, along with other occasional BPJ content. So, if you're a Beauty Product Junkies member, don't be surprised if you get a message from me asking to feature one of your posts on BellaSugar. (You can always say "no thanks.")

I love reading Beauty Product Junkies just for fun, but Atoxicsparkle and the other members have also been a huge help as I was gearing up to launch BellaSugar. So thanks, guys! Anyway, if you aren't familiar with this group, be sure to check it out.

Share Your Food Photos on YumSugar

Susannah Chen — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:24:28 PDT

Have you cooked, eaten, or spotted something mouthwatering recently? If so, then don't let anything hold you back from sharing it with the rest of us: we want to feast with our eyes too. On a recent trip to Chicago, I hit up one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Big Star, for some south-of-the-border sustenance and wound up ordering their queso fundido, a platter of melted, pungent, cheesy goodness.

Are you ready to share? We've got a group called Savory Sights, where you can upload mouthwatering images of foods and drinks you've made, consumed, or simply salivated over. Start showing us your photos now. There are lots of ways to participate, so read on to learn more.

Elaena's Fairy-Tale Princess and the Pea Pajama Party

Lisa Horten — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:32:26 PDT

While scoping out this incredibly imaginative and whimsical little girl's birthday party based upon the story The Princess and the Pea, "budget" is the last word that comes to mind. But crafty mom Beca, who blogs and sells her printable papers at My Paper Lily, says that she did it all on her own - right down to sewing pillows and sleep masks for the little guests.

Click through and enjoy the whimsy and fun of Elaena's supersweet second birthday celebration!

Source: My Paper Lily

Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Ellie Kemper With a Stripper

Katie Henry — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:30:53 PDT

Ellie Kemper gets a shocking surprise from Ellen - The Insider
Blossom's Jenna von Oy welcomes a daughter - People
Will Holy Motors win the Palme d'Or at Cannes? - Lainey Gossip
Jon Favreau will act in, but not direct, Iron Man 3 - HuffPost Entertainment
Kylie Minogue is showing lots of skin - D-Listed
Taylor Swift debuts a wild new look - JustJared
Is Bill Murray the coolest celebrity ever? - BuzzFeed
Kate Upton covers up in Cannes - Hollywood Tuna
Grant Bowler cast opposite Lindsay Lohan in Liz & Dick - Pink Is the New Blog
Kanye West is branching out into film - The Superficial
Are stars oversharing on Twitter? - The Daily Beast
TV marathons are taking over the holiday weekend - Zap2It
Katy Perry kisses a Marine during Fleet Week - TooFab
Check out the most stylish celebrity jet-setters - The Frisky
Is Mark Zuckerberg's new relationship status doomed? - Your Tango
Elton John's at home resting following health scare - ET Online

A Trip to Marrakesh: Design Tips, Stories, and Inspiration From Maryam Montague and Her Phenomenal New Book

Elka Karl — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:00:33 PDT

Moroccan design and decor may be a popular decorating trend, but for Maryam Montague, the woman behind the beautiful and popular blog My Marrakesh and the new book Marrakesh by Design, it's much more than that: it's a way of life. When Maryam isn't working at her main occupation as a human rights and democracy specialist, she's writing and photographing for her blog; managing her shop, Red Thread Souk; and hosting visitors at Peacock Pavilions, her home and a boutique hotel in a Marrakesh olive grove (which she and her husband designed, built, and decorated).

Maryam recently traveled back to the United States as part of her book tour, and we were happy to catch up with her in LA, where she was presenting at the Legends of La Cienega event at the La Cienega Design Quarter. Keep reading for some of Maryam's thoughts on decorating with Moroccan inspirations in mind, details on her book's genesis, and other fabulous quotes from this always-inspiring woman.