GeekSugar

6 Travel Apps to Help You Book on the Go

GeekSugar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:47:19 PST

I don't know about you, but I'm itching to get outta this gray and gloomy weather, and am ready to head South for the rest of the Winter. Remember the sun? Yeah, me neither. If you need some assistance getting some vitamin D, check out these apps that will help you book flights, cars, and hotels in a place where it's warm and sunny. Or not - you can go North too if you want. It's totally up to you.

Oh, Good. Another In-Flight Fire Hazard to Worry About

GeekSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:45:02 PDT

In-flight fires caused by gadgets are back in the news after a recent piece in the New York Times warned of yet another risk: fires caused by the rechargable lithium batteries in handheld credit-card machines used by flight attendants to ring up purchases. The Federal Aviation Administration considers the batteries hazardous, and requires special training for flight attendants on airlines who carry spare batteries (some airlines, like Delta and JetBlue, don't carry spare batteries at all).

No fires from the readers have been reported, but according to the same article, in the last two years, a portable DVD has caught fire on a plane, a flashlight placed in a storage compartment exploded, turning into a projectile, and eight people were injured when a battery fell against a metal seat frame and exploded.

The best way to keep devices from overheating, or worse, catching fire? Keep them out of overhead compartments, and turn them off completely before storing them for flight. Do you take special precautions when flying with gadgets?

Do You Use In-Flight Airline Entertainment?

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:34:50 PDT

You already know that I'm a big fan of Virgin America's in-flight entertainment system, and have been known to tune in to JetBlue's DirectTV programming a time or two. But for a lot of you, an airline's in-flight goodies may not be a reason to book a seat.

On a recent flight to LA, I noticed how few people actually use their seat-back TV sets to watch the tube, a movie, or play games, instead choosing to sleep or use their own gadgets to keep them busy.

I found a very handy chart on one of my favorite travel sites the other day that lists how airlines stack up against one another when it comes to entertaining their passengers. I was pretty happy with the results: most airlines are now offering some sort of in-flight WiFi, as well as music and movies via personal viewing sets on the seat backs. So what gives? Are you totally into your favorite airline's in-flight entertainment, or do you completely tune out when flying?

Website of the Day: InsideTrip

GeekSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:05:42 PDT

Whenever I need to book a flight, my priority is usually getting the best price, so you can find me scanning websites like Kayak or Farecast. But what about comfort and quality? A new website called InsideTrip not only price compares flights, but ranks them in terms of speed, comfort, and ease, and then provides you with an overall trip quality ranking. You can even click on flight details to see rankings on specific things like routing quality, lost bags rank, legroom, connection time, etc. The founder, Dave Pelter, said he wanted to create a site that provides people with info to help them make the smartest travel decisions possible. It's really easy to use, and definitely gives a good idea about the overall experience of a particular flight/airline!

Do you have a favorite website you want to share with us? Submit your faves to our Website of the Day group! To learn how, just

read more. I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

The Scoop: JetBlue Doubles Prices for Underseat Pets

PetSugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:30:15 PDT

All this talk of what the airlines are charging for the details, got me thinking about my lil detail, North. He loves being included in my life – and lets me know when he doesn't feel that way – but, boy, can the price of plane tickets get us down! When looking into a summer trip with my pooch this week, I realized a very shocking (and troubling) fact: JetBlue has doubled the price of a cabin pet from $50 to $100. I spoke with a representative from the airline's corporate communications department who shared some information on this change. Learn what I found out when you

read more. On May 1, 2008, the nonrefundable fee for a high-flying pet became $100 each way. This airline still only allows small pets – weighing up to 20 pounds inside a carrier – to travel under the seat counting as your "personal item." The price change was part of an effort to combat the continual rise in the cost of operation – I was told that a lot of thought was put into this decision, and it could be considered a last resort as the industry is encountering a unique environment because of the price of fuel these days. The news hits pretty hard, especially considering this airline is known for having some of the lowest one-way fares around – $100 each way could very well put your pet's ticket cost over that of your own! I can definitely understand bringing a doggie or kitty onboard for a big holiday or important trip, but this price point makes it often cheaper and easier to keep pets grounded at a fab boarding facility instead. What do you think? Share your opinions in the comments below. Source

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Celebrate His Big Weekend With a Kiss

Lauren Turner — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:12:16 PST

Channing Tatum planted a sweet kiss on Jenna Dewan's nose while they waited for a flight at LAX yesterday. The couple were headed to NYC, where Jenna has already gotten in on the Fashion Week fun with a stop by Rachel Roy's presentation. It was a big weekend for Channing since his The Vow was number one at the box office after an impressive opening against Safe House and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Jenna showed support for her man on Twitter, saying "And congrats to my love Channing Tatum on a RECORD BREAKING box office weekend! Amazing!" If you haven't seen the movie yet, make sure to check out reviews for The Vow! Channing will be back on the big screen next month, when his remake of 21 Jump Street with Jonah Hill hits theaters.

Video: Naomi Watts's Road to Playing Princess Diana

Karli Bulnes — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:36:49 PST

Naomi Watts has been tapped to play Princess Diana in the upcoming biopic Caught in Flight. Find out who she beat out for the role and why she's a perfect pick in PopSugar Rush.

Race Up the Empire State Building Is Tonight!

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:44 PST

I'm all for jogging up stairs to warm up before a run, and I've even come to love running hills. But running straight up the 86 flights of stairs it takes to get to the top of the Empire State building seems grueling. That's just what the 650 brave souls who are entered in the 35th Annual Empire State Building Run-Up Race are doing tonight.

Keep reading to find out how long it took last year's winners to complete this race.

Savvy Links: 4 Ways to Be Happy Right Now

Emily Co — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:24:19 PST

4 ways to be happy right now - HuffPost Women
Your career is the reason no one’s getting married anymore - The Jane Dough
15 tested tips for creative efficiency - Wise Bread
Tasty alternatives to in-flight dining - Tecca
What your jewelry says about you - DailyWorth
How to restore your holiday state of mind - Corporette
The secret to having a budget: You need to look at it - Credit Karma
Unused gift cards lying around? Sell them! - Real Simple
Save on a dinner and movie night out - AllYou

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

read more! PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that. BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!" PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it. BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style. PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]? BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided. PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way? BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped. PS: What song did you write first? BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well. PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie? BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts. PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe? BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant. Photo courtesy Disney