Leigh Weingus2013-05-18T15:05:55-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=leigh-weingusCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Leigh WeingusGood old fashioned elbow grease.Should Cam And Mitch Get Married On 'Modern Family'? Ed O'Neill Says It's Not A 'Bad Bet'tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-05-16T16:34:10-04:002013-05-16T16:34:20-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/Cam and Mitch finally get hitched next season on "Modern Family"? Ed O'Neill, who plays Jay Pritchett, thinks it's in the cards.
At the Entertainment Weekly & ABC-TV New York Upfronts party this week, the "Modern Family" star said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of his onscreen son Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his partner Cam (Eric Stonestreet) getting married in the upcoming fifth season of the ABC series.
"That I don't know about, but it's not a bad bet," O'Neill told The Huffington Post. "I didn't think of that! Because, you know, Jesse's getting married this summer. You think he'll be wearing a bow tie?"
O'Neill isn't the only who's pushing for the couple to tie the knot. This week, ACLU Action, the advocacy arm of the civil liberties group, launched a campaign in support of an onscreen wedding for Mitch and Cam.
“The freedom to marry is being advanced in American living rooms as much as in court rooms," ACLU's executive eirector Anthony D. Romero in a statement. “As we wait for the Supreme Court to rule, we want to keep this issue on the minds and screens of Americans everywhere."
The season finale of "Modern Family" airs on Wednesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Do you think Mitch and Cam will get married in Season 5? Sound off in the comments.
]]>'Glee' Season 4 Finale: Meredith Baxter On Working With Patty Duke, Being Gay Role Models On TVtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-05-09T14:19:16-04:002013-05-09T17:19:18-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/"Glee" Season 4 finale, "Family Ties" actress Meredith Baxter will appear with Patty Duke as one half of a gay couple offering up advice to Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) as they get ready to take their relationship to the next level.
Baxter took a few minutes to speak with The Huffington Post via phone to discuss her character, Liz, working with Duke, who plays Jan, and the special scenes they share with the show's fan-favorite gay couple. She also talked about what "Glee" has done for the TV world and whether or not she'd come back for more.
How did you get the part of Liz? Did Ryan Murphy recruit you?
I would love to be able to tell a story like, "Well, they all came to my door and begged me to be on their show." But that's really not what happened. I just got a call from my agent saying, "Hey, you want a part in Glee?" And I was like, "OK, I'll take it." I hadn't even read it and I said yes.
Will you be singing at all?
Well, that didn't happen. It would have been nice, but it didn't happen. It was just a lovely, quiet scene with me, Patty Duke, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer.
Patty Duke is a legend. Was it intimidating to enter into a TV relationship with her?
I don't watch a lot of TV, so she was just Patty to me. I didn't think "Oh my God, I'm talking to a legend here." She was lovely. It's always good to work with an accomplished actor, and I think you're only as good as who you're working with. It's not a solo act. I connected with her, and we have a wonderful story to tell. We tell the story of a couple who's been together for many decades and serve as an example to Blaine and Kurt to show them what longevity can look like.
We know Jan meets Blaine when he's picking out an engagement ring for Kurt. How does Liz come into play?
I'm not in the jewelry shop scene, it's just Jan. She says at some point something to the effect of, "Come have dinner with me and my partner." Then it's just the four of us in a restaurant, and we get to talking. We talk about ourselves and how the scenery has changed since we started our relationship, moved in together and have been together all these years. We went to the prom together, but we went with two boys, because you had to have a beard in those days.
The show obviously wants to support same-sex marriage, but these are still two teenagers. Are Liz and Jan supportive of that?
The nice thing is that we weren't in the position of offering advice, I think we just talked about ourselves and our experiences. So we're not in the position of coming out and meeting someone and in the same day giving them advice about their lives.
How do you think your life would have been different if there had been a show like "Glee" on when you were young?
I did watch more television then. I think it would have been helpful and remarkable. I think I would have loved all the music -- I'm a big musical girl. I love show tunes. I was probably a gay boy when I was a kid. [Laughs.] I would have just been thrilled.
How do you think "Glee" has changed the TV world?
It's all conjecture on my part, but I would say teens want to see themselves represented and have a musical genre, which is lovely. Kids like to see themselves reflected on shows. So there are gay and straight characters, which is very much like high school. It can only be beneficial to show intelligent solutions to problems.
Is it true you'll be back for Season 5?
Well you say a prayer there, girl, because that would be so much fun.
The Season 4 finale of "Glee" airs Thurs., May 9 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
]]>'The Office' Wrap Party: A Day Of Goodbyes In Scranton, PAtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-05-06T15:46:32-04:002013-05-06T15:46:35-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/ "Ain't No Party Like A Scranton Party"
On a sunny May day eight years later, approximately 10,000 people swarmed the hilly Pennsylvania town for the "Office" wrap party. Kids, parents, college students, couples and groups of friends lined up along Monroe Avenue to watch the quirky characters they had come to know and love parade through town to say their final goodbyes.
May 16, 2013 will mark the series finale of NBC's beloved workplace comedy, previously starring Steve Carrell and now well-known actors like John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, Ellie Kemper and more.
"I don't personally feel responsible [for Scranton's fame]. I think it's part of the synergistic overview of the whole thing," Creed Bratton, who plays none other than Creed Bratton, told HuffPost TV after the parade. "It's a mutual thing. They made us and we made them. It's kind of cool. It's like a ramora and a shark."
"The Office" wasn't filmed in Scranton, of course -- most of the scenes were shot at the Chandler Valley Center Studios in Los Angeles -- but the cast members still hold it near and dear to their hearts.
As Michael Scott (Carrell) once said, there "ain't no party like a Scranton party," and the cast proved him right when they performed a series of musical numbers with the Scrantones -- the band responsible for the theme music in "The Office" -- at the courthouse downtown. Although Fischer (Pam) cried a few times (hey, someone had to do it!) the cast mostly had a blast.
Although "The Office" cast is finally moving on from Scranton and Dunder Mifflin, they didn't shy away from taking memorabilia with them.
"I took all of Pam's jewelry. The necklaces and earrings she's always wore, and there's a necklace that spells out CeCe in morse code, I took that," Fischer told HuffPost TV. "I took her candy dish. I took a purse she's always carried, so ... the personal items."
As much as she took, though, Fischer was jealous of Craig Robinson's (Darryl) find: a (presumably stuffed) duck.
"You took the duck?" Fischer exclaimed.
"I took the duck," Robinson said."
"You're so lucky you got that duck!"
Will The Finale Be "The Greatest Episode Of Television" Ever?
As much faith as they have in the "Office" writers, the cast is well aware that they have a lot to live up to when it comes to the series finale. Luckily, most of the actors are confident that viewers will get everything they want out of it.
"They'll get closure," Robinson said. "They'll get what they've come to expect form 'The Office': humor, heart, awkwardness. And love."
"[Fans will] get to say goodbye to all the different aspects of the show that they've loved," Fischer added. "The relationships, the humor, the quiet moments. I think the finale has all of those things."
While Oscar Nunez (Oscar) knows "you can't please everyone," noting that series finales are very hit or miss, he hopes "The Office" has had a positive impact on viewers over the years.
"If it inspires some kids to do comedy," he told HuffPost TV. "I'm happy."
But as far as Brian Baumgartner (Kevin) is concerned, there's no question as far as the greatness of the "Office" finale.
"I think it's the greatest episode of television that I have seen," he said. "I know that's a bold statement, but the reason I say that is because there was a plan for the end of the show for eight years. Greg [Daniels] had an idea of what he wanted to do and how he wanted the show to end, and it plays out over not just the finale, actually, but the second to last and episode and the last episode was an idea he had from the very beginning."
Will He Or Won't He?
And finally, the million dollar question: Will Steve Carrell make an appearance in the series finale?
"I think Steve felt, and I agree, that the 'Goodbye, Michael' episode was his goodbye and he didn't want to overshadow the ending that all the other characters deserved," Robinson said.
But Carrell did make an appearance at the end of the Scranton wrap party to the surprise and excitement of every guest.
The series finale of "The Office" airs on Thurs., May 16 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 7tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.31951372013-05-02T10:55:59-04:002013-05-02T10:56:06-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
Life throws a lot of curve balls our way. Tests are flunked, jobs are lost, hearts break and we lose people close to us. But if we can find a way to be happy at our core through it all, we're pretty lucky.
When I started my yoga journey in March, I was terrified. The training program was a huge time commitment. Between my demanding full-time job, social life and everything in between, how would I manage to stay sane? Would I be spread too thin?
I'm sure you've heard what they say about busy people: If you want something done, give it to a busy person. Knowing I had less time naturally made me more efficient -- I was faster at everything from replacing my Brita filter to writing stories at work.
Interestingly, I was doing all of these things with ease. I wasn't in a stressed out tizzy, I felt like I was gliding through life on a perpetual endorphin rush.
As the weeks progressed, I only got happier. The more yoga I practiced the better I felt, so I started going to two classes a night if my schedule allowed for it.
Don't get me wrong: I still had a bad days. I remember a particularly dreary Monday a few weeks ago in which everything seemed to be going wrong. It was raining, I realized I'd forgotten my wallet after spending a hellish half hour in Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side, I couldn't find my phone charger and I kept making typos in my articles.
My natural inclination was to call it a day and check out of life for the night. What was wrong with zoning out and re-watching the second season of Arrested Development? But at the last minute I headed to Strala, and the excitement I was greeted with immediately cheered me up. I ended up taking back-to-back yoga classes that night, and by 9 p.m. all was right in the world. I had gone from sad to happy in a matter of a few downward dogs and a crow pose.
When I signed up for yoga teacher training, I knew benefits would come from it. I would get stronger and more flexible. I would make new friends, gain a better understanding of yoga and eventually be equipped to lead a class. But I had no idea how much happier it would make me.
Yoga was a huge, happy surprise in my life that transformed me in ways I never could have imagined. Thank you for reading and sharing my journey with me. And if you haven't already, get out there and hit the mat! Namaste.
For more on yoga, click here.]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 6tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.31571562013-04-27T10:12:08-04:002013-04-27T10:12:15-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
Early adulthood has helped me break out of my "I'm not doing that" mentality in a little bit. I moved across the country after college, and that was brave. I found roommates on Craigslist, made friends everywhere I went and even worked as a telemarketer.
As open as I was on the outside, I was still closed off in less-noticeable ways. I often turned down invitations if they in any way interfered with my work or exercise schedules, but mainly I sold myself short when it came to my job. I was convinced that anything I could do someone else could do better, and no amount of praise could budge that mentality.
It wasn't something I spent time feeling bad about. I accepted it. It never occurred to me that there were different kinds of workers and different writing styles, so I willingly passed projects on to colleagues because I thought their work would be superior.
Now that you have a little back story on my history of saying no, you won't be surprised that I was not a fan of back bends in yoga. When I first started practicing I could barely make into a bridge or bow pose, but as time when on I became fully capable of them. I just didn't like them.
No one called me out on staying away from back bends, but through the amount of yoga I've been practicing in recent weeks I've started to find it odd that I'm afraid of a pose that's so easy for me to move into.
A psychologist probably would have had no problem putting two and two together, but it took me a little longer to come to a conclusion on my own. A back bend is the physical manifestation of opening up, otherwise known as my least favorite activity.
Even though my guides encourage me not to push or force anything in my yoga practice, I've been making a conscious effort to move into some kind of back bend at least once a class, even if it's just a low bridge.
I've only been backbending on a daily basis for a little while, so I'm still not exactly jumping into every situation with an enthusiastic "yes." But I do think my back bends have made me pause before saying no.
A friend invited me to a concert last week, for example. Instead of thinking of all the reasons I shouldn't go -- I would be out late, I was going to yoga that night and I didn't know the band -- I thought of the reasons I should accept. I hadn't seen that friend in a while and I could catch an earlier yoga class. Mostly importantly, I would probably have fun.
Even better, I've started taking on work projects with more confidence. Maybe one of my colleagues is better at digging up information, but I could be better at piecing it all together. Different doesn't always have to mean better or worse.
On that note, I think I might just attempt a full wheel today. Who knows what it will allow me to say yes to this week.
For more on yoga, click here.]]>'Mad Men' Cast Talks Megan And Don, Unhappy Characters, Fun On Set And Moretag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-04-24T15:54:53-04:002013-04-27T12:42:09-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/Season 6 of "Mad Men" and AMC's beloved drama is just as buzzed-about as ever.
Don (Jon Hamm) is cheating on Megan (Jessica Paré), Trudy (Allison Brie) finally put Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) in his place, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) is in therapy and Betty (January Jones) still appears to be eating a few too many bugles.
"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner and the some of the cast gathered at the Paley Center in New York on Tuesday for a panel moderated by Brian Williams to discuss their characters, the vibe on set and what's to come.
Find out what they had to say during the panel and to The Huffington Post on the red carpet below.
Megan's naiveté: Real or feigned?
"As viewers, obviously we have way more of an insight into that than Megan does, and he's really still quite good to her as far she knows. She hesitated to tell him about the miscarriage in Episode 3, and obviously, they fought in Episode 4 as all couples do," Paré told The Huffington Post about how much she thinks Megan knows about Don's affair with Sylvia (Linda Cardellini). "But ultimately, at the end of Episode 3, when she does tell him about the miscarriage, he's very receptive and supportive, and he says everything she wants him to say. So while Megan may not feel like everything is perfect, she thinks it's kind of normal."
But could Megan be too caught up in the mentality that she "has it all" to notice the warning signs? It's possible.
"She has her career -- it's going well -- and she's got this wonderful husband, this great family and beautiful apartment," Paré told Williams during the panel. "As far as she's concerned, everything is quite lovely."
"I think she's just messing around with her husband. I don't think it needed to be taken too seriously," Jones told The Huffington Post. "She has a sick sense of humor maybe, but I don't think that it was that shocking."
In fact, the actress thinks Betty is doing better than ever. "I think, in the recent episodes, she's about as happy as we've ever seen her," Jones told the crowd. "She loves her husband. She's happy. I think the weight gain is a result of emotional depression or something ... I think she's as happy as we've seen her because she's getting to eat," Jones joked.
Will Roger and Joan ever speak?
"Can't tell you," Slattery said in true "Mad Men" fashion when The Huffington Post asked about the future of the Joan-Roger saga. "[The writers] are good at not giving the audience what they want because it keeps people hoping that'll happen," he added. "If it happens, then where do they go?"
More Don is around the corner ...
If Hamm's hints are any indication, this season, we might finally understand why Don just can't quit that whole cheating thing.
"Without getting into specifics, we find out a lot more about why Don does what he does, why Don is what he is," Hamm said during the panel. "These circumstances don't just come out of nowhere. We're all people, and we're all products of our environment growing up. And Don, as we've seen in the previous five seasons, has had a very unique childhood ... I think, the example that I've used before, is that I think his house is built on a very shaky foundation. You can plaster over the cracks of the house, but if the foundation is flawed they're gonna keep returning."
On the commenters ...
Despite being a TV favorite, not every "Mad Men" review is positive. For his mental health, Weiner told the crowd that he stays as far away from "Mad Men" commentary as possible.
"I swore off it a couple years ago ... I was off of it for about a year or so because you can't respond to it, and you're kind of on trial for a crime you didn't commit," Weiner said.
"I read a couple reviewers that do recaps of the show usually ever week and stay away from the comments section, because that's a nightmare," Hamm added. "But I do like hearing intelligent people and reading writers who write about the show. I find it helpful to me often, because there's a lot of stuff that I don't get."
SCDP just wants to have fun.
As serious as the show is, the cast manages to have a blast at "base camp."
"We have the most fun base camp, I think. I don't know about other shows, but we have a table, trees, a fire place and decorations," Jones said during the panel. "Very rarely would you see us in our trailers. We all like to kind of congregate at this base camp and have fun. "
"We've always had this communal sense of wanting to be together ... we have taken steps over the season to make this base camp we all share fun, supportive and interesting," Hamm told Williams. Weiner added, "People come in when they're not working ... it all comes from Jon. That's his part of our operation. They spend a lot of time playing cards and behaving like writers used to."
"Lizzie [Elisabeth Moss] has a lot of say, actually. She's base camp president!" Pare joked.
"Mad Men" airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.
]]>Alexis Bledel And Zachary Levi Talk 'Remember Sunday' And Kickstartertag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-04-21T21:29:46-04:002013-04-22T04:43:56-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
The film tells the story of Gus (Levi), a man who lost his short-term memory in an accident and finds himself repeatedly falling in love with Molly (Bledel).
"There's a lot of heart in it, which I would hope you would find in a Hallmark movie. That's what they're about ... appealing to people and where they are in life, and those kinds of themes that are very common -- not common as in boring, but common as in we all share them," Levi told The Huffington Post. "And while we don't all share short-term memory loss, we do all share love, relationships and struggling through issues that may be unique."
The "Gilmore Girls" alum and "Chuck" alum took a few minutes to talk to HuffPost TV via phone about "Remember Sunday" and, of course, whether either of their earlier hit series could ever become a movie, a la "Veronica Mars."
"Remember Sunday" has a "50 First Dates" quality to it. What about that theme was appealing for you in choosing to do this movie? Alexis Bledel: When I read the script I felt like the characters were really well drawn out. They're really great counterparts for each other, and I really cared about what happened to each of them. So that was the draw for me. Zachary Levi: For me, playing someone with short-term memory loss was an interesting challenge. I loved the idea of falling in love with someone over and over again and what that's like.
I know there's been fan chatter about a "Gilmore Girls" and a "Chuck" movie ever since the "Veronica Mars" success with Kickstarter. Alexis, would you be interested in a "Glimore Girls" movie? Bledel: I don't know. It feels like such a long time ago to me now, and I love the way they wrapped up the series. I loved our last episode, so I don't know. I haven't heard about them making one recently.
What about you, Zachary? Is a "Chuck" movie going to happen? Levi: I believe that entertainment is just in this incredible place. I think we're kind of entering into a new chapter of artists, consumers, development, distribution and marketing. Technology has literally just turned on its head, and I want to take advantage of that to create a more direct line from the artist to the consumer and foster those relationships and make great content for people. If I can start with a "Chuck" movie -- because I think that would be a really funny thing to do -- that would be great.
Have you actually talked to the co-creators about it? Levi: We have a meeting on the books. We're gonna try to get that done ASAP.
"Remember Sunday" airs on Sun., April 21 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark.
]]>My Downward Lifestyle Week: 5tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.31021742013-04-20T09:13:10-04:002013-04-20T09:13:19-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
Enter yoga. When I found out how much forward folding happened in class, I was thrilled. This was answer to my perpetually tight hamstrings! So at any opportunity to reach for my toes, I would go all out. My hamstrings screamed at me to stop, but I ignored them. I was in a battle with my muscles, and I was determined to win.
Guess what happened? I started hurting myself. I never tore anything, but my hamstrings got worn out and tired. When yoga started to become a horribly painful hour of my day, I decided it was time to listen.
My yoga guides had always told me not to push or force anything, but I always tuned their words out. Even worse, I had been tuning myself out. Deep down I knew the pain I was experiencing wasn't a good thing, but I was letting what I thought to be right override what I felt to be true.
Slowly, I began to accept that on some days my hands would rest on my shins instead of on the floor. What did my body really need that day? What could it handle? Whatever that was, I would listen to my body and breathe. Within a few weeks, my happy hamstrings began to open on their own. I didn't have to do anything but breathe and bend, and all it took was a little listening.
Recently, a good friend of mine has been going through a hard time. She's a first-year law student, and a series of traumatic events have left her completely unable to concentrate on her schoolwork. This friend and I have been huge support systems for each other since we were 16, and although I was physically able to be there for those tearful phone calls throughout college and our early 20s, more often than not I would let my mind drift as she vented about classes, jobs, roommates and bad boyfriends.
"Leigh, are you on Facebook?!" she would say as I guiltily closed my browser and said "No!" before doling out half-baked advice and telling her I would always be there for her.
Technically I was always there. I was a great friend on paper, and she never complained. But my recent ability to listen to my hamstrings -- and my entire body, for that matter -- have made me a much better listener. When I talk to her, I'm no longer clicking through cat memes on Buzzfeed. I'm hanging on to her every word and evaluating exactly how I can help in the best way possible.
After all, she -- and my body -- both deserve to be listened to. They've both been with me for a long time!
For more on yoga, click here.]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 4tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.30543072013-04-14T08:36:07-04:002013-04-14T08:42:24-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
When my best friend and I started hitting the gym regularly our sophomore year of college, we would head straight to the dining hall afterward to feast on ice cream and vegan cookies -- they were vegan, so they had to be great for us, right?! -- to reward ourselves for a job well done.
But as we wiped away the cookie crumbs and celebrated another night of being 19 and looking great in our workout clothes, we would wind up exhausted and dealing with horrible stomachaches
The issue wasn't that our speedy metabolisms couldn't handle our nightly sugar binges. It was that we weren't eating food that made us feel good.
Luckily I gave up that cookie-and-ice-cream habit pretty quickly, but I became way too calorie-conscious as the years went on. I could chew as much gum and drink as much Diet Coke as I wanted because they were calorie-free. Never mind that both gave me horrible headaches.
"Bad" food was reserved for special occasions, and when I felt I'd worked hard and deserved a break, I would treat myself to a sugary Starbucks drink in the middle of the workday that would lead to major 3 p.m. sugar crash.
Although I got the benefit of endorphins from an hour-long ride on a stationary bike, when I started practicing yoga I began to realize just how much focus was put on building muscle and burning calories at a gym. I didn't go to the gym with the intention of treating my body well, I did it to burn off the chocolate ice cream I'd eaten the night before.
Yoga is technically exercise, of course. But to quote my yoga instructors, it's more of a "concert for the body." And it made me feel great. As I found myself spending more nights and weekends breathing into my body, loosening up my muscles and strengthening my core, I became addicted to the feeling and started practicing almost daily. I felt strong and happy, but I still didn't feel the need to eat super-nutritious food. I was getting so much exercise. Why did it matter?
But since immersing myself in my yoga practice over the past month, I've stopped craving anything that will leave me feeling bad or tired. That happy feeling I get from yoga has leaked into every area of my life, but especially into my eating habits. Why would I eat a candy bar after lunch instead of yogurt and fruit? It doesn't make sense, because it doesn't make me feel as good.
I'm not claiming to be perfect. My diet hardly consists entirely of kale and lean protein, and I haven't banned sugar and fat from my life, but it just makes more sense to me to indulge in the good and stay away from the bad.
As I mentioned before, keeping up a nutritious diet isn't easy for most people. But the answer isn't yo-yo dieting, cutting out all "bad" foods or not eating enough. For me, it was realizing the importance of being nice to my body, and I came to that understanding through yoga.
Before you close your computer and immediately hit the mat, be warned: Yoga isn't the answer to all food-related issues, it's just what worked for me. But I will say that it's certainly worth a shot. A few downward dogs never killed anyone!
For more on yoga, click here.]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 3tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.30075632013-04-07T11:54:08-04:002013-04-07T11:54:14-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
The problem with lying restlessly in bed is that my mind becomes my worst enemy. Not only are my worries magnified at 3 a.m., but the promise of an exhausting next day only makes my anxiety worse and sleep more unattainable.
It didn't come as much a surprise that my insomnia eased up when I started practicing yoga almost daily, but the pose that made room for that ease was unexpected.
Plank is known for for being a strength-building pose, and for that reason it's one of my least favorites. It engages almost every party of the body, especially the core. So when my guides decided to add a two-minute plank meditation to the end of class, I began to dread it. I mean seriously, who wants to hold an excruciating post for two minutes after relaxing in pigeon moments before?
But as the two minute planks wore on, they became easier. This was partially because they did their job and made me stronger, but I also found myself entering a meditative state each class. Because holding plank was so difficult, I had no choice but to make it as easy on myself as possible. As with most things in life, breathing deeply and staying positive made it more attainable.
So instead of thinking about how much I wanted to revert to downward dog or child's pose, I made a conscious decision to spend those two minutes -- this is corny, get ready -- "thinking happy thoughts." Every time negativity began to creep in, I would redirect my thoughts to fun weekend plans or a positive experience I'd had. Very recently, I was able to close my eyes for two minutes and breathe without thinking about anything at all.
Without realizing it, I started to apply this same practice to my sleep. Difficult poses are anxiety-inducing, as is finding myself awake in the middle of the night.
As I tossed and turned a few nights ago thinking irrational thoughts about how horrible my dentist appointment the next day would be -- I hadn't been in three years and was positive I would have to have an emergency root canal --- I began taking several deep breaths and letting positive thoughts override my negative ones. Eventually, my thoughts disappeared completely and I fell asleep. And in case you're wondering, no cavities!
I still fall out of plank sometimes, and I'm sure I'll find myself knee-deep in anxiety one night again. But it's a comfort to know that even if I'm never able get rid of my insomnia completely, I can at least make it a little more bearable.
For more on yoga, click here. ]]>Vincent Kartheiser Vs. Pete Campbell: Who's The Bigger Ass****?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-04-04T13:47:32-04:002013-04-04T13:47:35-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
In honor of Sunday's "Mad Men" premiere, we rounded up the best (worst?) Campbell and Kartheiser quotes, only to find out that the two have striking similarities.
Click through the slideshow below to see if you agree!
"Mad Men" Season 6 premieres on Sun., April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 2tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.29654982013-03-30T09:33:40-04:002013-03-30T09:33:47-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
But impatience isn't a comfortable feeling. It's certainly not an emotion I seek out, which is why I've avoided arm balances for as long as I've practiced yoga. I was never one of those people who just "floated" upside down. I couldn't walk around on my hands, and my dolphin pushups didn't turn into beautiful forearms stands. When I attempted anything of the sort, I ended up jumping around furiously and eventually reverting to child's pose and making a mental grocery list as I waited for it all to be over.
I remember taking a Tuesday night class a few years ago in which my guide would try to turn the class upside down for at least half an hour, and I would conveniently slip out to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. Once I even hid in the supply closet and called a friend. Eventually, I just stopped going.
So when I walked into Strala last Saturday and was told I would be spending a full three hours balancing on my hands and arms, I got ready to flee. It wasn't too late. Maybe I could convince them to give me my money back!
But as I looked around at the friendly faces of my guides and new friends, I planted my mat on the ground with conviction. It was only three hours, I could grin and bear it.
Sorry to spoil the ending for you, but I didn't become a master of inversions in three hours. I fell a lot. My arms buckled. When my classmates told me I was "almost there" I would grit my teeth and tell them I most definitely wasn't.
I did improve, though. One of our guides continued to advise us to find the "ease in the effort," and what initially sounded like gibberish began to click. Arm balances were hard, and that was why they made me so impatient. They would take effort, but if I eased up on myself both mentally and physically I might get a few steps closer. After a few deep breaths and a decision to break free of my impatience, my attitude started to change. I got a significant amount of air under my feet, and I didn't topple backward and break my back. The best part? No bathroom breaks.
Having semi-conquered my biggest yoga annoyance and, let's face it, fear, by Sunday I felt energized and ready for the week ahead of me.
But work hit me with a new set of challenges, one being a team effort to improve the headlines on our page. When by Thursday afternoon I felt my headlines hadn't improved in the slightest, I was ready to lie down on my keyboard and give up for the day. I could identify the feeling immediately, of course -- I was impatient. I wanted to be good at headlines at that very second. I didn't want to keep trying a failing for another week or month.
Instead of gchatting my editor to tell her I was a useless human being (she's great with the pep talks), I took the same deep breaths I had taken before attempting a forearm stand on Saturday. I wasn't a headline genius, and I probably wouldn't be the following day, either. But I would never get anywhere unless I eased up on myself and continued to try.
So I tried. My next headline was just as imperfect as the headlines before it had been, and my editor changed it before putting it on the page. But hey, my arm balances had improved when I had a little patience. Why would this challenge be any different?
For more on yoga, click here. ]]>My Downward Lifestyle: Week 1tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.28974672013-03-21T08:17:13-04:002013-03-21T08:44:21-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
First, a little bit about my history with health and fitness. When I started college in 2005, I fell into habits of the average college freshman. I lived off Hot Cheetos and Vitamin Water from the on-campus convenience store, stayed up until 4 a.m. Facebook stalking people I didn't know and only moved if I felt like braving an afternoon class. I drank a lot of Smirnoff Ice (it was cool back then) and thought of my college's gym and running paths as evil places with nothing to offer but shortness of breath and a lot of sweat.
Determined to turn over a new leaf sophomore year, I pulled on a pair of pajama pants and headed to the gym. I probably wasn't the laughing stock of the place, but it sure felt like it -- especially when I almost passed out after 10 minutes on a stationary bike.
Embarrassing as it was, I kind of liked it. I've always been a sucker for a good challenge, and regular exercise was anything but easy for me. As the months wore on, I started feel a new kind of happiness creep into my life that I couldn't get from late night pizza or three hours of Desperate Housewives. Without my realizing it, endorphins had become a daily necessity.
Three years and two running injuries later, I wandered into a yoga studio because a friend promised it would loosen up my muscles and make me less injury-prone. I wasn't sure how I felt about chanting and pretending to be a tree, but I figured I would go a couple of times just to say I'd done it.
Instead, it changed my life.
I dove headfirst into Hatha, Vinyasa and Bikram. One teacher impatiently yanked me into a correct triangle pose week after week, and another clapped gleefully when I finally dropped my tense shoulders for an entire class.
When I moved to New York in 2010, I typed "10 dollar yoga" into Google and found Strala, a sunny studio on Broadway. Because Strala subscribes to the idea that a person knows their own body better than a guide ever will, no one forced me into poses or clucked disapprovingly when I lowered myself too quickly from a plank pose to my mat. Eventually, my arms started resembling Michelle Obama's -- or at least that's what I tell myself -- and I found myself standing on my hands and mastering tree and pigeon poses.
But strength and flexibility weren't the only changes I was seeing. I started eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains because I enjoyed them. I was approaching difficult situations with more ease and patience, and I began to view life less as a toned-down version of The Hunger Games and more as a thrilling ride with a few bumps along the way.
Because yoga has had such a positive impact on my life, I recently started a teacher certification program with Strala in hopes of sharing my positive experience with others. I expected to learn the essentials of being a yoga guide, but I didn't realize how much it would deepen my own practice and aid in my never-ending quest for the healthiest possible lifestyle.
From relationships, stress and sleep to tapping into my deepest fears, for the next six weeks I will detail how different poses, meditation styles and breathing exercises are impacting essential parts of my life, for better or worse.
For more on yoga, click here. ]]>'Psych' Star Dule Hill Talks Gus, 'The West Wing,' Aaron Sorkin And Moretag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//2013-03-20T18:13:04-04:002013-03-22T10:25:18-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/
Although his days of working with Aaron Sorkin are behind him (for now ... ), Hill has been starring on USA's "Psych" for seven seasons as Gus, Detective Shawn Spencer's (James Roday) straight-laced assistant. But he almost turned down the job.
Hill sat down with HuffPost TV on Tuesday morning to discuss "Psych," Gus, Aaron Sorkin and more.
Will Gus be one of the suspects 100th episode?
I can't give that up! You have some real investigative reporting going on. Here's what I'll tell you: Throughout the show, everyone is a suspect at some point. Of course hilarity ensues, but everybody is a suspect because the lights go out.
Who do you want to have done it?
I would choose Curt Smith because he's deceptively heavy. You think someone who's petite like Curt Smith would be light as a feather, but he's deceptively heavy. That's my final answer.
What drew you to Gus initially?
A job. [Laughs.] The reason I say that is because we're all out here doing our thing. Whether you're working in corporate America or you're a journalist, construction worker, a teacher or an actor -- we're all trying to keep working. If one job is ending, you look for another job. When "Psych" ends, I will be looking for another job. You know, I initially said no because I didn't want to play a geeky character for five or six years. Coming off "The West Wing," I realized a show could run that long. But my agent hit me back a couple weeks later and said, "Take another look at it and see how you want to approach it." I did that. I saw how I was going to approach it. And then I met with [creator] Steve Franks, everything clicked.
Once I took that second look, what I liked about Gus was that he was an oxymoron. He swears he's cool, but he really isn't. But because he isn't, he is. It was dynamic that I really enjoyed. This guy thinks he's a ladies man, but he's really not, yet he's an eternal optimist in the midst of it all. Nine times out of 10 he's going make the wrong decision.
So how about this musical episode? Will you be tap dancing at a lot?
Not a lot. I will tap dance in it, but we're a basic cable show and we didn't have a lot of time to set things up. There was already so much more going on with the musical episode, and it took 14 days to shoot two hours' worth of television. I do dance for a little bit, but it's not a whole tap number.
What's your favorite alias? Lavender Gooms? Control Alt Delete?
It's funny you talk about the aliases, because people really grabbed on to that one. You never know what will resonate with them. I always say the first one -- Gus Sillypants Jackson --because that one was James Roday [Shawn Spencer] improvising in the middle of a scene. We had already done the pilot and were working on the series, and I remember James saying "This is my partner, Gus Sillypants Jackson." But I stayed in it, and that started the whole thing.
Roday is an improv genius. The whole pineapple thing is him. A pineapple was on top of my refrigerator in the pilot, and he just, by chance, happened to see it and that's what started it. I also like the alias Lavender Gooms because that's the name of my great aunt. I remember when I was getting married -- I'm Jamaican, so we called her Aunt Tit -- but I never realized that was her real name. So in one episode I was like, "Dude, Lavender Gooms. That's the name of my great aunt" -- so that's what we used.
What about working with Jeffrey Tambor? Are you an "Arrested Development" fan?
Yeah! I haven't watched every episode, but I've watched a lot of it. Jeffrey Tambor is a hilarious actor. I really enjoyed having him on the show. I was picking his brain about the fourth season of "Arrested Development." I was like, "What's happening? Tell me everything!"
What was it like working with Aaron Sorkin?
I love Aaron Sorkin. He's genius. It was the ultimate privilege to have worked with him for those four seasons. It taught me a lot about dialogue and trusting the words. If the playwright or the screenwriter does their job, it makes it easy for you to do your job. And me being a tap dancer helped, because Aaron's words were like music. And when you're up there doing the work it's like choreography. I'm looking forward to working with him again, if I'm blessed enough to.
You don't stray from Aaron's words. It was a shock to my system leaving "The West Wing" and going to "Psych." I remember being like, "What are you doing?" when James Roday first started improvising. Steve and the writing staff write it that way. They leave gaps.
Did you watch the first season of "The Newsroom"?
I did.
What do you think of it? It's definitely had a tough time critically.
That's when you know you're a greater writer though. Because what people are comparing Aaron Sorkin to is Aaron Sorkin. "The Newsroom" is still better than 90 percent of things on television.
Would you take on a guest role if he asked you to?
In a heartbeat. I don't claim to be some Aaron Sorkin expert, but it is like a Camelot. His shows are a place where people are trying to reach their highest potential. And I think we miss that sometimes. If I got a chance to do "The Newsroom," I would have done it yesterday.
"Psych" airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
]]>'Girls' Finale Recap: Season 2, Episode 10 'Together'tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.28998142013-03-18T13:53:15-04:002013-05-18T05:12:01-04:00Leigh Weingushttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-weingus/Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen the Season 2 finale of HBO's "Girls" titled "Together."
With a season of Q-tips, cringe-worthy sex and awesome hairstyles behind us, it's time to take a deep breath. That was a rough ride, "Girls" fans, but if the last 30 minutes of Season 2 are any indication, things may just be looking up for the the fictional Brooklynites we know and love ... or maybe love to hate.
Have the girls finally managed to get it kind of together after 10 episodes of mayhem? With 1 being the least together and 10 being the most together, see how each of the girls scored in the "Girls" season finale titled "Together."
Hannah:
Unless Hannah is flat out refusing to take her medication, she's long overdue for another trip to the doctor. She's hiding her unwashed hair under her covers, counting to eight consistently and still dealing with the repercussions of a Q-tip induced perforated eardrum.
The episode opens with Hannah falling down a rabbit hole of paranoid Google searches including "Do millions of microbes really live on our skin?" "How does your body know to stop breathing?" "At what age does your body start melting down?" and "Normal tongue."
Cut to David, Hannah's not-so-nice e-book editor. After lovingly staring at a photo of Chloe Sevigny and making an audible comment about how small her hands are, David dials Hannah and angrily asks where her pages are. And has she already deposited the check he cut her?
"It's hard to me to tell whether I spent that check or a different check, so I'm gonna have to check," Hannah says, before agreeing to get the entire book to him in a day.
Instead, she ends up reading a fashion magazine while munching on a bucket of Cool Whip. Marnie stops by to check on her (why does she still have a key?!) but Hannah hides next to her bed, convinced Marnie is full of nothing but bad intentions.
One spoonful of Cool Whip leads to another, and eventually Hannah is cutting her hair while staring at a photo of Carey Mulligan. Realizing she'll never be able to cut the back on her own, she enlists her cocaine dealer/neighbor Laird, who proudly styles her hair into a perfect bowl cut. After attempting to make small talk, Laird soon tells her she's incredibly self-involved and she ends up back in bed without a page to her name and a really horrible haircut.
Feeling completely alone in the world, Hannah Facetimes Adam, who is somehow still sleeping with Natalia after the degrading sex they had last episode. His phone begins ringing while he's destroying things in his apartment in true Adam form, and when he sees it's Hannah he screams, "Siri, operate!" (It did, however, sound like "Shiri, operate!" He's been hanging out with Appleby a.k.a. Natalia too long.)
"Is this fucking FaceSpace or whatever?" Adam says, before noticing Hannah looking compulsively over each shoulder four times.
"You're here," she cries. "Well, I was always here," he says valiantly, holding her in his arms.
Grand gestures work well in romantic comedies, but both parties are usually mentally stable and have solid careers. This once was a little more laughable, however, especially since both Hannah and Adam could probably benefit from a few weeks in a mental institution.
Overall Togetherness: 1
Shoshanna:
When a girl has a hoodie zipped up to her neck, she probably doesn't want to have sex.
But this doesn't stop her doting boyfriend who's just happy to be with her, hoodie or no hoodie. But when Soshanna screams, "Please get out of me," Ray realizes something is terribly wrong.
Trying once again to work out the puzzle that is Shoshanna, Ray calmly asks what's bothering her and she tells him he has no ambition. Determined to make a change, Ray heads down to Grumpy's where his manager agrees to make him District Chief Logistics and Operations Supervisor -- a title he made up himself, of course -- of the new Brooklyn Heights branch.
Ray runs home to deliver the news, but Shoshanna isn't all that impressed. Tears well up in her innocent little eyes, and in a heartbreaking moment, she tells Ray that it just isn't working.
"I love you so much, like, to the end of the world and back, but sometimes I love you in the way that, like, I feel sorry for you like a monkey," she says (ouch!) and goes on to tell him that he hates everything, colors, ribbons and pillows not excluded.
Hurt and angry, Ray leaves in a huff and Shoshanna curls up in a chair to cry. She may have a lot to learn about life, but Shoshanna knows what she wants out of a relationship. And it it isn't dark-souled, Taco Date Ray.
Overall Togetherness: 9
Marnie:
Whether it's out of desperation or love, Marnie and Charlie have fallen back into something of a relationship. Over brunch one morning, Marnie happily muses about how great it is that they were able to have their own experiences before realizing they were meant to be.
But does Charlie feel the same way? At first, it doesn't look like it, and Marnie marches defiantly out of the restaurant, screaming at him all the way.
While I half-hoped Marnie was once again getting what she deserved for treating Charlie so poorly throughout Season 1, I was happy when he came after her because, well, something good had to happen to her this season.
"I want you. I know I'm a mess, but I want you. I want to see you every morning, and I want to make you a snack every night, and eventually, I want to have your little brown babies, and I want to watch you die," she says in an attempt to express love, which has never been easy for her. Instead of shutting her down as he has practically all season, Charlie launches into a speech that is (once again) worthy of a romantic comedy.
"That's all I ever wanted to hear. I love you. Maybe I'm an idiot for it, but I always have. Everything good I try to do, I do it because of you. I try to get away, but I just keep coming back. And it's because I love you."
Who knows if their relationship will fail miserably the second (third?) time around, but it's making both of them "happy" in the moment. And let's face it: After a season of heartbreak, they both kind of deserve it.
Overall Togetherness: 6
Jessa:
Jessa has been a basket case all season, and the fact that she's been M.I.A. for three episodes doesn't exactly help her togetherness case, especially when Hannah reaches out to her and is greeted by a snarky outgoing message.
"You've reached Jessa. I would never listen to a voicemail, but if you insist on trying -- beep."
Cue Hannah's furious monologue.
"Oh, hello you fucker. Are you kidding me? Where did you go and who am I supposed to talk to if you won't answer your fucking phone? That anorexic Marnie? Fucking Shoshanna? Or my stalker ex-boyfriend? It's not like any of them want to talk to me. I don't blame them, because I cut off all my fucking hair! And now you're off somewhere, just living it up wearing a crop top, you probably got your vagina pierced, you're not answering your phone and you're forgetting about everyone who's fucking it up here. So I hope you're having a great time. LOVE YOU!"
Overall Togetherness: 0. She's still f**king missing!