GeekSugar

Cool Idea: Borrow My Pen?

CasaSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:00:55 PST

Worldwide Fred has dreamt up another wacky solution to your insignificant problems. Borrow My Pen? ($8) would have come in handy (no pun intended) in college, or any school for that matter. You remember how classmates ask to borrow a pen and never return them? Here's how to stop pen theft in its tracks. Offer your unprepared friends one of these ballpoints with subversive taglines like "Springfield Sexual Addiction Center," "Electrolysis Is Us: The First Name in Unwanted Hair Removal," "Van Nuys Center For Cosmetic Surgery: Specializing in Difficult Gender Reassignments," etc. Pretty hilarious, huh? Just be sure not to use these when signing a mortgage in front of your co-op board.

DIY: Paper-Covered Pens

CasaSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:30:57 PST

I just came across this great tutorial for making paper-covered pens that would make a fun and affordable stocking stuffer for the holidays, so I thought I'd share. You most likely will have all of the supplies in your home, so this DIY is certainly budget beautiful! All you'll need is some clear ballpoint pens, scissors, a ruler or paper trimmer, pliers, double-sided tape, and some scraps of thin paper (try magazine or wrapping paper). To learn the steps,

What's Nerdier Than a Pencil Pouch?

GiggleSugar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:00:00 PST

Introducing: the dorkiest little product you will never need. It's a do-it-all device that can write, tell time, and make you the envy of any Mensa meeting. The round, digital clock is sure to attract the most spitballs in class and the lolli-nerd-pop pen is a quick way to woo the folks at work - into hating you. Any takers?

Love It or Leave It? Ballpoint Pen With USB Drive

GeekSugar — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:00:11 PDT

Pens are prime targets when it comes to built-in devices like spycams or flashlights. Now Digix from Korea is incorporating USB functionality into the standard ballpoint pen. Showcased on Geek Alerts, these pens come with a 1GB USB memory drive for all your on-the-go storage needs. Use as an actual pen or pop off the top cap to use the USB plug. Available in black, blue, red, and silver. Prices not released yet. I like the concept but the pens aren't exactly what I'd classify as glamorous. If they had a sleeker body I'd be all for them. What are your thoughts?

Fly Fusion Pentop Transfers Notes To Computer

GeekSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:00:17 PDT

Last week I got to try out the new Fly Fusion Pentop, which allows you to transfer your notes and doodles to your PC and acts as a homework helper and MP3 player.

The device, which consists of a pen and special Fly Paper notebook costs $79.99, automatically scans and digitizes everything you write or draw in the notebook so when you hook it to your computer you can easily transfer your notes to an e-mail, word document or turn them into a jpg. The notebook and pen combo also allows you to interact with your notes and get feedback and step-by-step help, as well as play MP3s and games. The Fly Fusion was made by Leapfrog and intended for kids ages 10 and up, but I found myself wishing I would have had one in college, where I took hundreds of pages of notes a month.

View 5 Photos ›

For more of my review and to watch a video of how it works, read more Overall, I thought the pen was really exciting and could be a real time saver for anyone who takes copious notes. The homework help features are great (you can get help solving equations and can help you with language homework by translating words), but I worry they could become a cheating device in the classroom. As a mac girl I was a little bummed the company hasn't come up with a mac compatible pen yet - they claim one is in the works - however, I am sure plenty of PC kids, college students and even professionals that have to take a lot of notes will find it useful. Check out the video below to see how it works.

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

Did Daniel Radcliffe Film Harry Potter While Drunk?

Katie Henry — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:15:46 PST

Daniel Radcliffe admits being drunk while filming Harry Potter scenes - People
Is Jean Dujardin's new film offensive? - Lainey Gossip
Trevor Donovan takes it all off for a photo shoot - UsWeekly
John Legend pens a song for Tim Tebow - Huffington Post
Kristen Stewart chats with her French fans - D-Listed
Jamie Lynn Spears thinks Teen Mom is brave - The Superficial
Olivia Wilde covers Town & Country's March issue - JustJared
Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo to team up on new project - Hollywood Reporter
Would you buy a Kia from Adriana Lima?- Hollywood Tuna
Watch Robert Pattinson's Breaking Dawn bloopers - TooFab
Chris Rock wants to make Melissa McCarthy his wife - Pink Is the New Blog
See the Super Bowl ads that will never air on TV - The Daily Beast
Celebrities love to strip for charity- cityrag
Kristen Bell tries to "Veronica Mars" her way out of a jam - Insider

Happy 26th Birthday, Lauren Conrad - Check Out Her Cutest Twitter Pictures

Brittney Stephens — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:03:00 PST

Lauren Conrad turns 26 years old today! She became a household name when her run on Laguna Beach turned into a starring role in her own reality series almost six years ago. Even after her final episode of The Hills aired, LC kept her star rising by penning best-selling books, designing multiple fashion lines, and launching her own fashion and beauty blog.

Lauren's shared her journey, from an OC high school student to a superstar, with the world, and since she started tweeting we've gotten an even closer glimpse into her daily life. Take a look back at LC's cutest twitpics as we celebrate her big day!

Samsung Galaxy Note Gets Price and Release Date

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:31:18 PST

The biggest smartphone (or tiniest tablet?) we've ever seen, the Samsung Galaxy Note has finally received a price and release date: it's headed to AT&T on Feb. 19 for $300. Whether you're looking for a powerful smartphone or portable tablet, the Galaxy Note has you covered. Coming with a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, HSPA＋ and LTE connectivity for fast upload and download speeds, an included stylus (called the S Pen), and dual cameras (8MP rear facing and 2MP forward facing), it's got everything you might need from either device.

The Galaxy Note could also be your BFF when it comes to organizing your life. Included software integrates with your calendars, to-do lists, and schedule, and the S Memo app allows you to use the stylus to write notes and draw pictures, then converts them into a memo for later use.

You can preorder the Galaxy Note starting on Feb. 5 in two colors - carbon blue and ceramic white.

Sundance Snapshot: Bachelorette

Becky Kirsch — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

There was more than one wedding-themed movie at Sundance this year, and Bachelorette was one of the most buzzed-about. The comedy features a ton of familiar faces, but serves up something a little different from what we've seen in the genre before.

Who's behind it? Kirsten Dunst, Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, and James Marsden lead the funny cast. First-time director Leslye Headland also penned the script.
What's it about? A group of high school BFFs reunite for the wedding of their friend Becky (Rebel Wilson). There's uptight, prissy Regan (Dunst), who begrudgingly accepts her role as maid of honor despite her bitterness that her less-attractive friend is getting married before her; cynical Gena (Caplan), who's determined to confront her high school ex (Scott) at the wedding; and ditsy Katie (Fisher), who is actually depressed beneath her bubbly exterior.
What did I think? Comparisons to Bridesmaids are inevitable, but the movies really are quite different. For starters, Bachelorette is darker, edgier, and has a lot less slapstick (think coke binges instead of food poisoning). Some of the more dramatic undercurrents go a bit too far, particularly Katie's downward spiral through the course of the night, which don't exactly jive with some of the cheesier, warm-and-fuzzy scenes. Though it's a bit uneven, the stellar cast makes the film entertaining, even if it's not worth a standing ovation.