CasaSugar

Get the Bod: Joan Jett

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:50:11 -0700

I love the idea that a new audience gets to see the awesome-ness of Joan Jett - via Kristen Stewart - in The Runaways, which opens this Friday. The woman seriously rocks, both literally and figuratively. She was off my radar for a bit, but her recent press appearances have reminded me of her amazing body: washboard abs and some smokin' guns to boot. Not too shabby for a 51-year-old rocker.

Curious at how she manages to look ageless, I did a little digging to see what I could find. From what I gather, there is no celebrity trainer or detox cleanses; Joan seems like a poster child for healthy living. As she told the New York Times a few years ago, "most days I feel like 25" - she stays active by always being on the go. Like many musicians, a demanding tour schedule leaves little time to sit around, but she does find time to exercise when home in Long Island. She's been known to go biking and knock out 50 push-ups during commercial breaks. Challenging rock star preconceptions, Joan doesn't smoke or drink, and does her best to stay out of the sun's harmful rays.

See Joan in action and find out about her vegetarian diet when you read more.

Joan also keeps her health in check with a healthy diet, and has been a vegetarian for over 20 years. She told Go Veg that she turned to a vegetarian diet while touring.

I was on the road eight months a year, and meat was too heavy to eat late at night, so I ate other things. I slowly lost my taste for meat, and at the same time, I experienced a slowly dawning awareness that it is unnecessary to eat animals in order to live in this world.

No alcohol, smoking, or red meat sounds like a surefire recipe for health! Next time you're at the gym, try working out to "Do You Wanna Touch Me" performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - it's the kind of song that makes you want to be stronger.

Tours to Kerala – A Destination beyond Imagination

brijesh12 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:09:21 -0800

How heavenly Kerala is! Equal to paradise on the earth!
Whenever I step into this beautiful Indian state, I get transferred to the world of ecstasy and wonders.
Basking in its magnificence, drunk on its beauty I bend over before god who shaped this wonderland with natural wonders and pored unique cultural features. Simply awe-inspiring! And nothing!
If you have not yet traveled Kerala and explored its fantastic beauty, I think you have not see real India. Lovingly nicknamed as the God’s Own Country, the beautiful Indian state of Kerala is a treasure-trove of fabulous attractions such as historical monuments, religious shrines, beaches, backwaters, lakes, wildlife, Ayurveda, tea & coffee gardens, spice plantations, hill stations, houseboats, boat races and colorful & vibrant events & festivals. Sanctified with wholesome and decent climate, this beautiful land is a backbone in India tourism.
For an unforgettable and cheerful holiday experience of lifetime, you should visit Kerala – God’s Own Country. It has a lot of attractions to offer it visitors. Every year a large gathering of tourists and vacationers from all over the world visit this wonderland quite in good number and cherish awe-inspiring charm of its attractions, beauty and cultural wonders. This beautiful land features some of the most fascinating beaches in India. Kovalam beach is one of the finest beach resorts in the world. A host of impressive beach resorts here bids an experienced drenched in the exceptional nature beauty and unique serenity.
Beaches of Kerala are noted for swaying palm coconut trees, golden & silvery sands, playful murmuring waves, tranquil & amiable ambiance, sheer romantic environs, picturesque sunset and some of water sport activities. Kovalam Beach, Varkala Beach, Fort Bekal Beach, Fort Kochi Beach, Alleppey Beach, Beypore Beach, Kappad Beach, Mararikulam Beach, Poovar Beach, etc are much admired beach destinations in this beautiful Indian state. You can enjoy a variety of adventure & water sports at the beaches here. Surely, you will have a unique lifetime experience of beach tours to Kerala and will be able to convert your Kerala holiday into a lingering affair.
The serene & scenic vast stretches of backwaters of Kerala are equally delightful and fascinating. Endowed with exceptional nature beauty and serene ambiance, backwaters here give you totally unique experience of Holiday in Kerala and you will surely love to explore them. The best and most convenient way to explore the serene & breathtakingly beautiful backwaters is houseboat – a deluxe holiday home floating over placid water of Kerala backwaters. A houseboat cruise takes tourists into a world of wonders where you find each and everything charming, charismatic and spellbinding. For a blissful backwater cruise by staying at houseboat, explore the popular backwater destinations like Alleppey, Kumarakom, Fort Kochi, Kollam, Kuttanad, Kozhikode, etc. Be sure, it will be a totally unique lifetime experience of Kerala vacationsin India.
The beautiful land of Kerala also enjoys rich flora and fauna found in its various wildlife sanctuaries & national parks. Munnar, Ponmudi, Wayanad, etc are popular hill stations in this state and home to unique nature beauty and diverse flora and fauna also. Shopping in this beautiful Indian state will add special charm to your vacations. Body Massage at various Ayurvedic resorts or parlors of Ayurveda is a completely a rejuvenating experience you will love it, I am sure.

About Author ::
Brijesh is an eminent analyst and writer in Travel & Tourism related topics. He has authored many books on tour guide for Kerala Holiday and tours to kerala.Find more packages at http://www.keralatourpackage.org

House Tour: Rhiannon's Affordably Cool SF Pad

CasaSugar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0800

CasaSugar Community member Rhiannon138 posted photos of her cooler than cooler apartment in the Su Casa group, and I just had to ask her to give us a house tour. Rhiannon and her boyfriend, Victor, both students at SFSU in their 20s, and her dog Mayo live in San Francisco. They've worked very hard to make their home comfortable and stylish on a modest budget. She says, "We're renters and also tried hard to work with and disguise carpeting, linoleum, and an average kitchen. I've gotten a lot of ideas and inspiration from seeing other people's homes on blogs, so hopefully mine could inspire someone in return!" Come take the full tour!

View Slideshow ›

Islam

Eleuthera — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:12:54 -0800

by Susan Dale
03/02/2010

A ‘Profile In Courage’ the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Is Not.

After the thankfully unsuccessful terrorist activities of the underwear bomber in an airplane over Detroit last Christmas Day, discussion resumed regarding the use of the full body scanner at American international airports. This is a highly sensitive machine that, when used for security purposes, displays the body in its full naked glory.

It was said, after the actions on December 25th by Mr. Mutallab, that this process would have been the only way to have detected the particular technique of terror the young Nigerian was attempting to import into America. Then along comes the perpetually zany Council of American-Islamic Relations. In its infinite wisdom, this group disclosed their intention to sue the United States of America to prevent the aforementioned body scanner from being used on Muslim men and women.

For religious reasons, don’t you know?

In the parallel universe where reside the left and their radical Islamic friends, it makes perfect sense that the only machine that can detect a certain, and most destructive kind of explosive, that has been used exclusively by Islamic terrorists since 2001, is now able to be used with any traveler using American international airports, except, of course, Muslim persons. These Muslim individuals are, as every sane person acknowledges, the ACTUAL REASON we have to put every air traveler through the excruciating security measures that are now in place.

To prevent the further terrorist actions of Muslim terrorists is, in fact, the whole point of the exercise.

The TSA, when confronted by CAIR in this regard, immediately capitulated, thus giving in in the face of yet another Islamic threat. Simultaneously, the TSA agreed to instruct its security staff, in enforcing the same tortuous security measures for everyone but Muslims, to ‘pat down’ Muslim men and women, with the proviso, of course, that only same gender ‘pat downs’ would be permitted for our Muslim brethren.

So, to be sure you understand, this is the deal.

Every American has to go through a humiliating and time consuming hell every time any one of us has to fly anywhere in the country, or the world. This nightmare is due strictly to the actions of Islamic terrorists. Now, due to the Obama-determined decision of certain of our non-elected bureaucrats, we are now excepting Islamists, and only Islamists – THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SWORN TO ANNIHILATE AMERICA – from being forced to submit the examination of this machine that is the only thing that can detect certain terrorist explosives. In other words, the organization created to protect the American traveling public is now, under the Obama Administration, being prevented from doing so due to reasons of politically correct religious (again, addressed only to the world of Islam) sensitivity.

What kind of fantasy world is the Obama Administration living in? Does anyone in his Administration remember what happened on September 11, 2001? Has anyone in this ridiculous excuse for a Presidential Administration heard the repeated assurances from the Muslim world that we will either be converted to Islam by their jihad or die?

‘Explosive-wired Islamofascists’ is not a sensitivity issue – it is an act of war. It is an act of war against the United States of America and its innocent citizenry, no matter what religion. Tender feelings toward our Muslim brethren should not be taken into account when figuring out how best to protect us. The application of their faith when in our country should be very low on the list of what is significant to our nation, and if they don’t like that, they can immediately return to the nations where it is of significance. In America, they should understand, each religion is equal to the other; no particular religion is above another.

A current popular phrase might be applied in this instance: Islam, this is America. The land of the free. Deal with it.

It would be interesting to know whether the Obama Administration has instructed members of his Administration to make any accommodations for members of the Christian religion alert to members of the Obama Administration: the religion that FOUNDED OUR NATION in air travel? Perhaps, for Judaism, second alert to members of the Obama Administration: another very important religion found in the United States of America?

The answer would seem to be no.

It is wondered, therefore, if the Obama Administration and its member leftists ever intend to acknowledge the truth about the world of Islam, the founder of terrorism throughout the world.

Barack Hussein Obama can go on and on about how wonderful is the world of Islam. How magnificent and tolerant is their religion; how beautiful is their handwriting, (a subject not thought to be significant in 21st Century America by Obama Administration educators); how extraordinary is their Algebra, yet another subject of American education considered unimportant by current Obama educators, (African-American Studies; Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies; etc., being of much greater significance in the Obamaworld of educating our children) and how peaceful, and desirous of peace, are their people. And from where, almost verbatim from various Obama speeches, do these lovely words come?

Fantasyland.

Like it or not, the Muslim world of the 21st century has nothing to do with the Magical Mystery Tour that Barack Hussein Obama and his followers have chosen to present as the current Muslim world. Obama and his acolytes can create beautiful and false words around the ‘religion of peace,’ and assume people will believe these lies. Hollywood and whoever can create physical fantasies about how gorgeous and sensitive Muslims were and are; or how brilliant, intellectually, scientifically and politically, Muslims were and are, or what victims they are and have been through the centuries, because, of course, of the actions of the Great Satan, (us) with Obama always on the ready to apologize for whatever of our transgressions of which the aggrieved (Muslims) complain. It is, as you know, always our fault. .

The truth about the world of Islam is the opposite.

The fact is that the Muslim extremist world of the 21st century is a nasty, grubby, illiterate but tech-savvy, hate-filled world of duplicitous and violent men whose minds live in a 12th century mélange of hatred of the Infidel (which is just about all of the rest of the world); misogyny - alert to the American left: this is not just chauvinistic men wanting to keep women home and perennially barefoot and pregnant; this is a world where a teenage girl had her nose and ears lopped off because her mother wouldn’t let her marry their cousin, (which actually happened recently in Pakistan, and when the little girl’s mother saw her baby’s face after this mutilation, she fell dead from a heart attack) (religion of peace); this, Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer, is the Islam you champion. One will also find homophobia to a degree that these and other ardent feminists, like Barney Frank, could not imagine – no hate crime legislation here – beheading is the answer to that particular problem in Muslim countries. Then there are young men who have had every advantage that the West gives its youth, who would prefer to have their future contain wiring Downs’ Syndrome children with explosives so they can kill that many more innocent Westerners, in whatever country, it doesn’t really matter to them as long as it results in the most casualties.

And why do they do this? Not for anything we have done, despite constant such lamentations by the left, but for what we are. As an Islamic terrorist was quoted in responding to a leftist plea for us to just get along: “We don’t want to reason with you; we want to kill you.” A logical conclusion is to listen to them when they describe what they want to do to us for existing, don’t you think?

This is the Muslim world Barack Hussein Obama embraces.

Isn’t it time that the President of the United States of America stops protecting and defending the murderous medieval world of Islamic terrorism and starts protecting and defending the American people? Sadly, for us, this is not the case for our current Supreme Leader.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35806

Daughter says pilot in Texas IRS crash was a hero

liliblu — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:18:14 -0800

The Associated Press Monday, February 22, 2010; 9:25 AM

AUSTIN, Texas -- The daughter of a man who crashed his small plane into a building housing offices of the Internal Revenue Service called her father a hero for his anti-government views but said his actions, which killed an IRS employee, were "inappropriate."

Joe Stack's adult daughter, Samantha Bell, spoke to ABC's "Good Morning America" from her home in Norway. Asked during a phone interview broadcast Monday if she considered her father a hero, she said: "Yes. Because now maybe people will listen."
Authorities say Stack, 53, targeted the IRS office building in Austin on Thursday, killing employee Vernon Hunter and himself, after posting a ranting manifesto against the agency and the government. He apparently set fire to his home before flying his plane into the office building.
Hunter's son, Ken Hunter, said he's alarmed by comments that the pilot was a hero.
"How can you call someone a hero who after he burns down his house, he gets into his plane ... and flies it into a building to kill people?" Hunter told ABC." "My dad Vernon did two tours of duty in Vietnam. My dad's a hero."
Bell said she offered her deepest condolences to Hunter's family. She said her father's last actions were wrong.
"But if nobody comes out and speaks up on behalf of injustice, then nothing will ever be accomplished," she told ABC. "But I do not agree with his last action with what he did. But I do agree about the government,"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/22/AR2010022201433.html?hpid=moreheadlines

AIG executives' homes on display during Working Families Party bus tour

Cassandra57 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:02:59 -0700

* PUBLIC POST *

Warning: I hope the author does not present himself as a journalist, as this is an extremely biased and judgmental article with few facts to support his implications.

A useful definition, from Wikipedia:
"A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position."

Sound familiar?

I'd love to know who paid for this "charter bus", maybe ACORN or the Democratic Party?
====================================================================
The grimy white bus belongs to Chieppo Charters, which seemed an apt name as it expelled clouds of diesel exhaust into the pristine environs that are home to the first AIG executive on Saturday's tour.

The "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" AIG tour was a media event staged by the Working Families Party. It started in Hartford with a preliminary stop in scruffy Bridgeport.

A posse of press vehicles then trailed the bus for 20 minutes into Fairfield and a realm of houses that are bigger than any one family could possibly need.

Locals would no doubt have stopped and stared, but there were none in evidence as the bus pulled over at Golden Pond Lane, "Chieppo" in big, black letters on the back, a final belch of noxious black fumes rising up into the perfect blue sky.

The sponsors had found an actual victim of the economic downturn to participate in the next stage of the event. Mark Dziubek, a father of five laid off seven weeks ago from the steel rolling mill where he worked for 19 years, had learned of the AIG bus tour on the Internet.

His misfortune made him media-perfect, and the tour organizers included him among three designated to deliver a letter to the first executive's sprawling, $1.7 million manse.

"This ain't my house," Dziubek joked.

The house belongs to Douglas Poling, the son of Red Poling, retired head of the Ford Motor Co.

Douglas Poling rose to become No. 2 at AIG Financial Products. He was a major player in the recklessness that endangered the world financial system and left the company in need of a $170 billion taxpayer bailout.

For his part in jeopardizing the whole economy, Poling received tens of millions of dollars.

AIG then decided it needed him to help undo the damage and awarded him $6.4 million, the biggest of the retention bonuses that have everybody furious.

In the wake of the outcry and with Congress poised to take it back in taxes, Poling decided to return his bonus. The gesture drew praise from even some of the Working Families folks yesterday.

But anybody who read the bonus contract would see that the payment for top executives such as Poling was 75% of what they had received in 2007.

In other words, Poling gave back this year's $6.4 million but got an $8.2 million bonus the year before.

He likely got even more in 2006, as 30 cents out of every dollar his unit took in went into the bonus pool. This formula earned the guy one notch above Poling more than $300 million in eight years.

For every $1 million Poling and his buddies put in their pockets, they incurred $5 billion of risk for their company, risk that now largely falls on the taxpayers.

Yet all that is forgotten in the uproar over $218 million in bonuses, an outcry that is in fact a kind of blessing for Poling.

Sure, he has to suffer a little public scorn.

Yes, a Chieppo bus coughed up to the end of his idyllic lane.

But he had a pair of private security guards posted on his front lawn to keep back the delegation with a letter about economic inequities.

"There's a mailbox over there," said one guard. "You need to keep off the property ... Make sure you're off the driveway, please."

And, simply by paying back a measly $6.4 million he likely would have lost anyway, Poling prompted the protester who read the letter aloud to add an expression of gratitude. "Thank you for paying back the bonus ..."

Greatly outnumbered by the press, the protesters returned to the Chieppo, among them Mark Dziubek, who made all of $37,000 a year before he was laid off. He rode on with the others to the homes of two lesser executives and then the U.S. headquarters of AIG Financial Products' headquarters in Wilton.

The whole world's economy remained in peril, but on Golden Pond Lane, not the faintest whiff of diesel exhaust remained. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. And Poling still had his millions.

He even had people thanking him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/03/22/2009-03-22_aig_executives_ho...

50 Cheap Date Ideas

PinkNC — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:17:05 -0800

Discount Dating

A lighter wallet is no excuse to turn date night into a luxury. Get out of your sweatpants, put down the cold pizza, and check out these 51 budget-friendly date ideas that will get you off the couch and into each other's pants.

Get on thin ice. Depending on the weather, head to an indoor or outdoor ice-skating rink - it's the perfect excuse to hold hands, "accidentally" fall on top of each other, and grab a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up to each other to keep warm.

Skip the pricey wine bar and grab a few beers at your local dive bar. Make sure you pick a place with a pool table or dartboard set up, and challenge him to a few games. Loser owes the winner a song on the jukebox.

He may hate to shop, but he'll end up thanking you if you drag him to a flea market. There's something for everyone and plenty of things you never knew existed - you might even discover he has a hobby or weird collection you didn't know about!

Settle in for a night of pampering: No pricey spa required. Use your empty wallets as an excuse to stay in - and up - all night. Run a bubble bath and then treat each other to full-body massages. Sleep in the next day.

Get an adrenaline rush at the roller-skating rink. As long as you don't mind being the oldest people there who aren't chaperoning their children, it's a great way to have fun and let loose with each other. Top it off with a bowl of ice cream when you get home.

Play house: Dress up in your most serious grownup outfit and leave your tiny apartment to visit some open houses. Spend the day arguing over where you would put the love seat, discussing the difference between eggshell and ecru paint, and giggling over strangers' hideous decorating choices.

Does he drive you up a wall sometimes? He probably feels the same way about you, so put on your sneakers and head to an indoor rock-climbing gym. Challenge him to a race to the top and relieve sore muscles with a hot shower together afterward. Just try not to gloat too much about beating him.

Celebrate the first snow of winter with a day of sledding. Pick a hilly spot in your town and use garbage can lids as makeshift sleds. Wear a bike helmet to up the dorky fun factor, and celebrate living through the experience with a cup of hot cocoa.

Spend the day picking fruit at a local farm, either one-on-one or with a few couples you know - the more the merrier. Once you've picked all the apples you can carry back to the car, get creative in the kitchen and think up some recipes with the fruit you picked. Judge each other's creations, Top Chef style.

Plan a trip. You might need to save up for awhile, but that doesn't mean you can't daydream. Plan your dream vacation with each other - it might be the incentive you need to start putting your loose change in the piggy bank.

Challenge your guy to a little friendly competition and surprise him by taking him to a rifle range. After each round, compare your targets - loser buys the next round of bullets; winner gets gloating privileges.

Spice up your movie-night routine by finding a drive-in movie theater. Stop at the supermarket on your way to load up on your favorite snacks, and bring blankets and pillows to make the car extra cozy. Let him pick the movie - you'll get points for being easygoing, even though you know you'll probably miss most of the movie.

The easiest way to booze it up on the cheap? Take a tour of a winery or brewery, and pick up some wine facts for your next dinner party while getting tipsy.

Dying to see a musical or play but can't afford the tickets? Call around to see if you can buy tickets to the dress rehearsal instead - you'll pay a fraction of the price for the same experience.

Wherever you live, chances are there are local bands dying for an audience. Check out MySpace for bands in your area and go to a show. Alternate with your guy on who gets to pick the band so that you both get a chance to enjoy your favorite music genres, and save cash on booze by bringing a flask.

Head to the bookstore and walk through the aisles together, showing each other your favorite books, bonding over the books you both hated, and flipping through a Kama Sutra book for ideas for later.

Bowl him over at the bowling alley. Psych him out by reminding him of how many gross people wore his shoes before him, and don't forget to program his sugary-sweet nickname ("Muffin Face") onto the computerized scoreboard instead of his real name.

Show him your rugged side and build something together. Ask him to help you build something like a coffee table or dresser for your place - he'll be psyched that you asked him, just as long as you can bite your tongue when the table he puts together falls apart the moment you set your cup of coffee down.

Appeal to his inner child (it shouldn't be too hard to tap into) and buy tickets for a carnival. Embrace the cheesiness - share cotton candy, let him try to win you a prize, and ride the Ferris wheel until you get nauseous. It's a great way to get to know each other if you've just started dating and will serve as a reminder of how much fun you can have together if you've been dating for awhile.

Keep up on the specials. For a break on your dinner bill, check out sites like Restaurant.com for the restaurant deals in your area. And check out the websites of your favorite bars - they might have drink specials on certain nights, like a free pizza with every drink.

Ask him about his fantasy cars and he'll probably talk your ear off. Head over to a local car dealership and test-drive the most expensive car they'll let you take out of the parking lot. Take turns at the wheel but resist the urge to nitpick each other's driving skills.

Indulge your sweet tooth with your sweetie - visit a chocolate or cookie factory. Do a quick Google search to see if there are any in your area and give one a call to see if it does tours. If it only does group tours, make it a group date and invite a few other couples.

Get spooked at a haunted house. Check out Hauntedhouse.com for listings in your state. Start off the night by watching a scary movie before you go, and then try not to laugh when he launches a foot into the air at every corner.

Get out those matching aprons and fire up the skillet for a night of cooking - for both of you. Learn how to cook each other's favorite meal and then do it together. Whether you end up with a delicious steak and tuna casserole for two or speed-dialing for Chinese takeout, you're guaranteed to enjoy the process.

Forget eating dinner parked in front of a Mad Men marathon until you and your boyfriend are tired of looking at each other. Invite another couple over that you don't know well for a potluck dinner. Ask them to bring the appetizer and dessert, and work on the main course with your guy. At least one of the dishes should come out edible, and you can bond with your new friends over your shared culinary failure.

Tap into your animal instincts by visiting a petting zoo. Bring some bread to feed the animals and spend a few hours debating him on why getting a pet monkey is a bad idea. When you get home, jump in the shower with him to scrub off the zoo smell.

Play 20 Questions. Whether you've been together for three weeks or three years, there are probably things you don't know about each other. Each of you should write down 20 questions about the other - make sure they're open-ended so you don't get boring one-word answers - and fire away. Take turns answering the questions and get to know each other a little better than you already do.

Take a pottery class together and decorate your apartment in misshapen vases and funky-looking coffee mugs. Resist the urge to make your guy recreate the scene from Ghost every time you walk into class.

Have pretentious conversations about art at a local show. You'll find them going on all year at community centers, schools, and libraries - you might even find a great piece of art to add to your home.

Take a hike. Spend the day hiking and taking pictures together. When you're ready to recover, add some extra romance to the evening - lie across the hood of the car and look at the stars.

If you're tired of a quiet dinner at home disintegrating into chips and dip on the couch with no conversation between the two of you except for requests to change the channel, grab a blanket and some food and have an indoor picnic. The best part of staying inside? No ants in your food - plus, you're free to get busy right then and there.

Take a class together. Sign up to learn something neither of you knows how to do. Community schools generally offer a lot of options for classes you can take in eight-week sessions, from cooking to karate.

Put on your walking shoes and head to the museum. Almost all museums have one day a week where you can get in for free or for a small suggested donation. Pick the exhibits you each want to see beforehand, and spend some time at each of them together.

Celebrate something special with a trip to a bed and breakfast. A one-night stay in the colder months won't break the bank, so you can put that extra cash toward a room with a hot tub or breakfast in bed. If you're in for a long car ride, grab a book on tape from the local library.

Look into the future: Go together for a psychic reading. Practice your poker faces and spend the rest of the night talking about how funny - or eerily accurate - the reading was.

Score major points and head to a baseball game with your guy. Tickets can be as cheap as $5 a person, but bring extra cash for some beer, hot dogs, and a giant foam finger.

Check the theater offerings at local colleges and high schools. Schools usually have a spring and a fall show, and it's a great way to see a version of your favorite plays and musicals for a fraction of the cost.

One man's junk is another couple's treasure. Grab your guy and see what you can dig up at local garage sales. Up your chances of scoring something great by going to the ritziest neighborhood in your area.

Rent bikes - a tandem one, if you're adventurous - and go for a long ride through the park. Pack a few sandwiches and plenty of water for a picnic, or just grab hot dogs from a stand when you're ready for a break.

See the stars without braving the cold by getting tickets to the planetarium. Sneak in a thin blanket and cozy up. For extra privacy, go during off-peak times - call ahead to see when those are.

Bummed that you can't afford a weeklong vacation with your man? Put things in perspective and volunteer together for a cause you both care about. TiVo Gossip Girl and sign up to work at a soup kitchen once a week, or cuddle up with lovable cats and dogs at your local animal shelter.

Want some quiet time? Exercise your creative talents by drawing each other. All you need are two pieces of paper, some art supplies, and a bottle of wine for a quiet, romantic night in. Go as artistic or as fun as you wish.

Get physical. Get free day passes to a gym whose membership you could never afford and have him spot you. Challenge him to a fitness competition, bribe him into taking a spin class with you, and take advantage of the gym's sauna or pool, if it has one.

You can knit holiday sweaters like nobody's business. Your man is a Guitar Hero rock star. It's great to have separate hobbies, but it's also fun to share. Pick a weekend to teach each other your hobbies, and serenade him with a guitar solo while he knits you a pair of mittens.

While you're waiting for your Netflix delivery, stop at your local library and rent a few old movies. Toss a coin to see whose pick you'll watch first, and promise not to interrupt with bored sighs, eye-rolling, or snoring sound effects during each other's choices.

Travel back in time and reminisce. If you or your guy still live close to where you grew up, give each other a tour of your childhoods. Grab a camera and take pictures of your all-grown-up selves as you visit each landmark.

Can't get away for a vacation? Sightsee in your own city. If you've lived in your area for a long time, chances are you never got around to seeing a lot of the tourist attractions. So grab your guy and pretend to be tourists for a weekend. Stop at a used bookstore or look online for travel guides for your city, put together an itinerary, and don't forget to take pictures!

Grab a cup of coffee and check out a local coffee shop's open mic night. You might luck out with a great show, or you may find a mixed bag of angsty guitar solos and bad poetry - either way, you'll have something to talk (or laugh) about on the way home.

You probably live within driving distance of a college or university. Log on to the school's website and check out the scheduled events - often, schools will open large events, like lectures and panels, to the public. Check back often - your guy's favorite movie director might be appearing at a screening at the school's drama department, or you might find a panel of your favorite authors speaking to the English majors.

Share a few laughs at a comedy club amateur night. Admission usually costs two drinks per person, and you're in for a hilarious night - whether you're laughing with the comedian or at him.
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Celebrities Cook for a Cause

kty — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:39:09 -0800

Celebrity trainer and nutrition coach Kathy Kaehler visits homes of stars like Jennie Garth and Emma Roberts as part of her latest program, Sunday Set-Up. "You'll have healthier meals, less stress and spend less money if you have everything ready to go," says Kaehler, who shows clients how to prepare a week's worth of healthy, organic meals in just an hour and a half. "It's a smart, simple way to control what you eat." Kaehler called her most recent Set-Up, with Rebecca Romijn, Amber Valetta, Angie Harmon and Julie Moran, "Cooking for a Cause" because it benefited Haiti. "I have the best girlfriends!" said Harmon, who hosted. "They all came together to help the people and children of Haiti." You can follow Kaehler's Hollywood tour as well as get the shopping lists, recipes and meal plans on her Web site. -Lisa Tilson

Lauren Conrad Tops the Bestseller List – Again!

kty — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:14:59 -0800

By Jennifer Garcia
First came candy, and now it's lies – Sweet Little Lies, that is. Lauren Conrad's second book has topped the New York Times bestseller list. "It's so gratifying for my second book to be so successful and it was so fun to write! The characters were already developed so I really enjoyed the process so much more this time around," Conrad tells PEOPLE. "All the characters have become like my friends now."The second novel still follows the main character, Jane Roberts, a young reality star in Hollywood, but now with some experience under her belt, she sees some of the pitfalls of the fame game. "I just sat in bed writing and it was the best process," says the former star of The Hills and Laguna Beach. "Who gets to work from home in their PJ's?" Conrad, 24, who is promoting the novel on a book tour, braved the snowy East Coast weather. "It was like Planes, Trains & Automobiles," she jokes of traveling through the storm and enduring canceled flights. "I'm just so thankful to my fans. Everyone is coming out to see me in the snow," she says. "I just can't believe it." Sweet Little Lies follows her hugely successful debut novel, L.A. Candy which also topped the best seller list. Conrad's second novel in her three-book deal hit shelves earlier this month.
RELATED: Lauren Conrad Admits She's One Bad Actress

Beijing -Famous Cities of the World

beijingtours — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:23:12 -0800

Beijing is well-known transportation hub in northern China with a well-developed transportation system. Since the inner city, there are different possibilities of transportation to choose from in order to Beijing by plane, train or bus. It is home to some of the finest architectural wonders of the world. Imperial residences, parks, like the Forbidden City and Summer Palace was never in awe visitors with their size and scope of military fortifications and the Great Wall and gates, the visitor of its modest size, the walled hutongs that are the most important people in the course of the centuries never denied not refuse to take the visitor with what surprise lies around the corner. This is really an ideal place to visit all year round. Beijing is also a very cosmopolitan city with a large foreign community (all embassies and many large foreign companies and multinationals are located here). There is no shortage of cultural and recreational opportunities, from local punk bands in the international opera events. It is also considering regional prevention and control mechanism for cleaning the air at the Olympics. This includes the exchange of information and feedback systems, such as monitoring of radiation and discharge data reports, monitoring of air quality report shows that air quality alerts, and air pollution control and reduction of conferences in various cities and provinces. Beijing is also famous for its street snacks and meals such as lamb shish kebab (Yang chuanr ROU), at every corner, where vendors set up shop bought. He is also the most developed educational base of China. There are also many different museums and libraries, residents and tourists provide a wonderful opportunity to enjoy its history and culture. It is clearly a model for China's development and is a city that dramatic changes in the last 20 years has gone through, as an example to emulate for the rest of China. These changes are continuing to this day and offer a wide range of opportunities for foreign investment. Beijing is far from achieving the limited ability of the United States in the Middle East challenge, even in their performance. In addition, he drew Chinese astronauts landing on the moon will stop in 2015. All these add up to no-holds limits of power projection, which is rare in the 5000-year history of China. It is the capital of the Republic of China and its political, cultural, national and international clearing. This is one of the largest known historic and cultural cities and the capital of China, 15 Century. Beijing is one of the places of birth of Chinese civilization and one of the six ancient capitals of China. In the past 3000 years, he served as the capital of several dynasties. This is recognized as the political, educational and cultural center of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields. This is a modern city with tall buildings, shopping centers and major international hotels, through a complex freeway system crisscrossing connected through the city. This is an amazing city of contrasts - ancient capital with incredible historical sites and many bustling, modern metropolis, which was held the Olympic Games in 2008. After arriving in Beijing, our guide and take you to your hotel. This is a cool city. Upon arrival at the new airport, one of the first things you notice is the architecture ... A new airport is the largest airport building in the world and absolutely stunning. It is relatively dry from July to September rainy season, a larger share of rain, but spring rather windy. In the summer you can have up to 35 degrees, and winter can go as low -10. It is a place for walking. There are millions of bicycles and large sidewalks in downtown Beijing and pedestrian traffic remains the main mode of transport. This is one of the few cities in the world, it is very difficult to grasp at once. To enjoy the full understanding, feeling and respect for the city of Beijing, one can use a Beijing theme tours. This is the direct responsibility of central government, and it is in 10 districts and 8 counties. It has a temperate continental climate. Beijing full historical heritage. Have a good time.
If you have time to visit Beijing,The following hotels you maybe first to choose to stay
Lusongyuan Hotel Beijing Dongfang Hotel Beijing Airport Garden Hotel Beijing Dong Jiao Min Xiang Hotel Beijing Fujian Hotel Beijing Central garden Hotel Beijing Yuexiu Hotel Beijing Chong Wen Men Hotel Beijing Fuhao Hotel Beijing Presidential plaza Hotel Beijing Oriental garden Hotel Beijing City Hotel Beijing Guangzhou hotel Beijing