GeekSugar

New England Town Moves Into Future Without a Crystal Ball

CitizenSugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:00:31 PDT

Close your eyes and visualize. Imagine a small town in New England where people fear being arrested for telling the future, clairvoyance or tarot card readings. A place where contacting spirits or communicating with those who have passed on are persecuted and even arrested. Is this the 1680s? Nope, it's the 20th century. The New England town of St. Johnsbury in VT has just repealed a law banning mystical practices put on the books in 1966. One tarot reader says, "When the ordinance was lifted, I actually felt a large weight lifting from my shoulders. It was very oppressive to have to refrain from something that was as natural to me as breathing."

Though town officials don't know where the law came from, fear of fraud has inspired a bunch of communities to ban fortunetelling. St. Johnsbury may have had a reversal in their law, but the crystal ball has trouble in other parts of the country. To find out where,

read more. In Philadelphia last year, city inspectors closed more than a dozen psychics, astrologer and tarot-card readers once they realized they also had a decades-old law that banned these practices. In Livingston Parish, LA they also made soothsaying, fortunetelling, palm reading and crystal ball usage a crime. Meanwhile, similar laws on the books are being challenged in states such as Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Bans on the practice fortune telling lead some to believe that the government should not have the power to decide whether fortunetelling is illegal - but I bet you could have guessed that even without a crystal ball. Source

Would You Trust a Digital Fortune Cookie?

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:05:32 PDT

Wouldn't you agree that the thrill of an edible fortune cookie is breaking it open to find that white fortune telling piece of paper? Well how would you feel about reading words of wisdom from a digital fortune cookie? Check out exhibit A below. With this e-fortune cookie game, you pull the two outer halves of this pink cookie apart and you can immediately read your fortune. There are over 1,500 sayings that scroll across an LCD screen. For $15, you can learn about luck, friendship, prosperity and finding true love. A little FYI though, the manufacturers can't guarantee that the one you get will be pink...total bummer. Be sure to leave your thoughts below about this 21st century fortune cookie.

Experts Say Sexism Keeps Women Out of Military Combat Roles

Annie Scudder — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:06:25 PST

Ask GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum why women shouldn't be allowed to serve in combat roles, and he will give you various reasons. First off, a man's emotions. Santorum believes men will try to save their fellow female soldiers, explaining this weekend: "instead of focused on the mission, they may be more concerned about protecting someone who may be in a vulnerable position, a woman in a vulnerable position." In addition to chivalry, Rick says "You throw on top of that just simply physical strength and capabilities," and women simply can't handle the job. Fortunately, the military, which recently opened 14,000 combat jobs up to women including tank mechanic and front-line intelligence, doesn't completely agree with Rick, and experts say "sexist" attitudes are responsible for a policy against trained female soldiers serving in combat positions.

Sociologist Ryan Kelty, who specializes in studying the military, tells LiveScience that the old-fashioned belief that women must be protected is not a good enough reason to exclude women who want to and are capable of serving their country. In other words, chivalry is not a legitimate basis to deny a woman employment, especially when there is no evidence that professional and highly trained male and female soldiers are incapable of carrying out their missions. Kelty explains the military should employ gender-neutral, objective requirements. For example, a soldier should be able to carry 100 pounds for eight hours, regardless of gender.

There may be back and forth, but the truth is that women already serve in these combat roles. In Iraq and Afghanistan, 144 women have lost their lives, 60 of them in combat, while 865 have been wounded. And countries including Canada, Israel, and Australia already allow women in close-combat roles. Despite the slow evolution of American rules on women serving, it can be said that the US military doesn't have the most retro policy. In China, women recruits must display a talent like singing or dancing and Russia holds a Miss Russian Army beauty pageant.

The Benefits of Homeschooling Your Kids

LearnVest — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:05:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

In the past, LearnVest spoke to parents who chose not to use diapers with their children and dove into the stay-at-home parent debate. This time, one mother shares why she has decided to homeschool her children.

In 2002, we had our third child, 10 years after our second was born. Our eldest two boys were in a private school, but we began to consider the best way to educate our newest addition. Although we loved the school our boys attended, each year cost us about $10,000. We questioned how feasible it would be to put additional kids through there, too.

We had three more children in the following years for a total of six, and with each new baby came further confirmation that putting our four youngest through private school was out of the question financially. Our two eldest were approaching college age, which put even more pressure on us.

The decision was simple. We elected to educate our four youngest at home.

Why Public School Wasn’t an Option

We always knew that we wouldn’t send our children to public school. Parents who opt out of public school do so for many reasons: safety, quality of education, religious conviction, and many others. My husband and I both went to public school, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know what schools are like today. For us, religion was the main reason. We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to raise, train, and educate their own children. Many parts of the Bible talk about training your children - to us, that includes education.

For more, read after the jump.

Kate Winslet Reveals Dreams to Play a Man and Liz Taylor in Golden Globes Press Room

Molly Goodson — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:52:27 PST

Kate Winslet stepped back into the Golden Globes press room shortly after accepting the latest statue for her collection. She won for her work in Mildred Pierce, but backstage, talk turned to future roles. She apparently has her eye on playing Elizabeth Taylor as well as taking on the part of a man someday. Plus, Kate told us why roast chicken became a favorite in her household:

On the rumors both she and Lindsay Lohan want to play Elizabeth Taylor: "I think I’ll decline to comment, that’s the first I’ve heard of that story. It’s a massive undertaking for anybody who should be fortunate enough to get that part. I’m not gonna go there, dude!"

On dream future roles: "I would like to someday play a man. That is something that I do know. I don’t know what kind of man. I don’t know whether that would ever happen or not. That would be the ultimate challenge."

On learning to cook for the part: "I was taught to section up a chicken by Tom Colicchio! He used a technique that was quite old-fashioned so it married up. My children were eating a lot of chicken!"

On how Ricky Gervais is doing as a host: "He seems to be doing absolutely fine. I’ve been back here for about the past half-hour, so unless he’s fallen over or started drinking too much, I think he’s doing OK."

Best fashion advice she's ever received: "Wear something that I feel comfortable in, not to wear something just because someone else is telling me to. I think that is true of life as well."

Real Talk With TV Broke Girl Beth Behrs

LearnVest — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:59:07 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Since when is being broke funny?

Since CBS released its new sitcom 2 Broke Girls, in which actress Beth Behrs plays a recently humbled heiress, Caroline, who moves to Brooklyn to hide out after her father loses their family fortune in a Ponzi scheme.

Caroline winds up living with her perpetually poor fellow waitress, Max, played by Kat Dennings, and the two hatch a plan to save their wages and start a cupcake business.

Recession-era cupcake businesses have been all the rage lately (see: Bridesmaids), but shows addressing personal finances - or lack thereof - with humor and honesty is something we don’t see very often. Caroline and Max manage to plan for their future while hustling for their present - and survive on a shoestring with admirable grace. We love that these characters live richly, even on a tight salary: After all, that's what LearnVest is all about.

And, of course, any show where the leading ladies discuss interest rates is right up our alley.

Check out our exclusive talk with Behrs on her penny-pinching past, her first pair of Louboutins - and why she still chooses to live with a roommate in real life. It turns out that we can learn something from celebs about money.

LearnVest: As a 26-year-old in Hollywood, how much of Caroline and Max’s financial struggle can you relate to?

Beth Behrs: Literally up until we shot the pilot, I was working as a nanny five days a week and then as a bartender and concierge at The Geffen Playhouse on the weekends. So, I can definitely relate to being broke, right out of college and working tons of odd jobs to just pay the rent.

Real-life waitress stories and more from Behrs.

Angelina Jolie Talks Being "So Not Cool" to Her Kids in THR

Lauren Turner — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:10:02 PST

Angelina Jolie shares the cover of The Hollywood Reporter with Jennifer Yuh Nelson for the current issue, which highlights female directors. Angelina got behind the camera for her first project, In the Land of Blood and Honey, last year and has lately been busy promoting the war drama ahead of its holiday release in a few weeks. She took a break to chat with the publication and her Kung Fu Panda director Jennifer about writing her first film, working on animated movies, and family life. Here's more from Angelina in The Hollywood Reporter:

On Kung Fu Panda: "Fortunately, I've scored some points at home because of Kung Fu Panda. They love Tigress, who is my alternate personality. Otherwise, they think Brad [Pitt] and I are just so not cool."
On writing the script from home: "I wrote whenever I could, when the kids were asleep or in their classes. Halfway through some of the most horrific scenes, I'd hear, 'Mommy, I need another story, I can't go to sleep,' and so I'd pause what I was doing and go tell happy stories about bunny villages. They won't see this movie. They know that mommy, on occasion, goes off to Libya or other places. I make them very conscious of the fact that there are a lot of people struggling through different things, and I don't protect them from the fact that war isn't a video game, it's a very, very horrible thing."
On why she loves voicing animation: "I love animation because you get to do things you don't normally get to. For one, I could bring my kids and wear my pajamas, and hang out with Jen. And my character is just so badass. Yes, eating pizza is the hardest stunt we did."

What to Skip When Shopping For Baby

LearnVest — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:15:45 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

By the last few months of every woman’s third trimester, she’s inevitably faced with one of life’s most intimidating situations: baby shopping.

No matter whether you had your most recent child years ago or are currently expecting, I’m sure you’re familiar with the situation.

You walk into your local baby store brimming with excitement and confidence, ready to stock up for your little one. Ten minutes later, after seeing floor-to-ceiling walls of bottles, swaddling blankets, baby food containers and strollers of every variety, that confidence plummets. Or it morphs into apathy that has you reaching for the chocolate and telling yourself your baby would be fine sleeping in a box.

At least, that’s how it was with me.

Thankfully, you don’t need everything you see at the baby store-nor do you need to be drowning in debt to provide a happy home for your little one. As it turns out, a lot of the items listed on the “must buy for your baby” checklists given out by big box baby stores aren’t essential at all.

If you’re way past the baby stage, share your wisdom with other budding moms in LearnVest Discussions.

As for me, here’s what I’ve found you can skip:

Bottle Sterilizer

Keeping your baby’s bottles germ-free is the best way to prevent infection and upset tummies. But you don’t need to pay upwards of $80 for an electric sterilizer that will take up a lot of kitchen counter space. Instead, try this Munchkin one for $18. It fits all size bottles, takes up no space and sterilizes your feeding accessories in the microwave in three minutes.

Read on for more items to skip.

6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying My First Yoga Mat

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:57:25 PDT

When I started practicing yoga over 10 years ago, I couldn't wait to own my first yoga mat. I impulsively bought a pretty purple one, based on color alone. Not the best move, as it began disintegrating after a few weeks. What a waste of $35. Like any fitness gear, it pays to do a little research and to know some tips from well-seasoned yogis. Here are things I wish I knew before buying my first yoga mat.

Not All Mats Are Created Equal
Just as there are many types of yoga, there are even more varieties of yoga mats. Some are lightweight for traveling, some are eco-friendly, and some are designed for classes where you don't sweat much. Choose a mat based on the type of yoga you're doing and the amount you perspire. Avoid mats made for other types of exercise like physical therapy or Pilates, as they can be too squishy or slippery.

If You Want It to Last, Spend the Dough
There are plenty of mats that costs $20 or less, but you get what you pay for in the yoga mat world. Typically found at huge stores like Target or Walmart, less-expensive mats not only wear down after a few months, but they're typically made with chemically-smelling plastics like PVC, which aren't good for the Earth or your body. Pricier mats like the Manduka Black Mat cost ~~a small fortune~~ over $90, but you're paying for a durable mat made to last a lifetime (or two). In the long run, you actually save money.

Keep reading for more tips on buying your first yoga mat.

Back-to-School Special: Our College Intern Shares Her Fall Shopping List

FabSugar — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:09:05 PDT

Attention, students: it's time to return to campus, and in addition to picking up new supplies and textbooks, you'll need some affordable, chic pieces to nail the cool girl look your first day. Who better to tell us what college kids need than our very own in-house college student? Our NYC Summer intern Colleen took a break from her endless researching to share with us her Fall accessories shopping list. When you're on a college student's budget, splurging on a bunch of new outfits isn't necessary; fortunately, a few good accessories will tweak your current wardrobe and put a new spin on your favorite pieces. From an ultra-girly floral backpack to a classic gold menswear watch, Colleen's picks are smart, slightly cheeky, and super chic. Click through to see each one, and let us know what you're jonesing for this back-to-school season.