Blog Posts by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger

Firefighter helps NJ FamilyWhen Hurricane Sandy barreled up the East Coast on Monday, it left millions of homes and businesses stranded without power, billions of dollars of damage, and more than 100 people dead. The full scope of the loss and damage is still being evaluated, but there are many ways to help those in need right now.

Charity Navigator has detailed information on how to donate smart, make your dollar go the farthest, and avoid the inevitable scams that prey on people trying to give money in a time of crisis. Before you give by text, social media, or donate to an unknown organization, please click here to read more.

You can contact the American Red Cross if you need help or if you want to make a donation. Click on www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. The New York New Jersey Area also desperately needs blood donations that you can arrange by calling the Red Cross.

The Salvation Army is helping people on the ground in the hardest hit areas with shelters and mobile feeding stations.

Read More »from After Hurricane Sandy: How to Help

Can you guess which stars got a major make-under? We get a little sick of seeing celebs prettied up with photo retouching and thought it would be fun to run the process in reverse. A new app called Ugly Booth, by the makers of the popular Fat Booth and Bald Booth, lets you mess up photos you take with your camera phone or import from your picture library or Facebook. If you are having rough morning, boost your ego by taking a selfie, and see how much worse it could be.

Also on Shine: Stars Without Photoshop

Read More »from Stars Get the Ugly Treatment: Quiz

Foam on the bottom, please...Have you ever stood behind someone in a line at Starbucks while they rambled on with a ridiculously complicated order? As annoying as it is for you (especially at eight o'clock in the morning), just think about how the barista must feel. Even worse, some orders defy the laws of physics and get followed up with a request "to see the manager." Recently, a Redditor asked, "Have you ever had a customer make an impossible request [at Starbucks]?" The thread was picked up by a barista blog called Starbucks Gossip. Read these before you order that sugar-free chai latte:

Some woman wanted a white mocha with whipped cream on the top and the bottom of her drink. Really? I'll put it on the bottom but it sure as hell is not going to stay there. -austinontheinternet

Grande no foam cappuccino.... I was like seriously?...and then she's said well it gets less milk than a latte... and I was like yup sure does... but it's replaced BY FOAM. maj460

I had someone come in and ask me for a

Read More »from Crazy Starbucks Orders: Mission, Impossible

Anakin, the feisty two-legged kitten, charmed up the Web six months ago when his owners first started posting videos of him playing on YouTube. Now, he's six months old and as spunky as ever. Anakin was a feral cat born without a pelvis or back legs. His owners say he zooms around on his front legs, but as he grows, they may get him some kind of wheels to support his body. One of their other cats, George, has "adopted" him and likes to give him baths and rough house. You can learn more about this rather extraordinary kitty by checking out his blog.

Also on Shine: Teen's Gorgeous Photos of Her Dogs

The wind battered our windows last night, but as I listened to the news and texted with friends around Brooklyn and Manhattan I knew we were getting off easy. Emerging from the house this morning, there were piles of leaves and branches, but being situated on a hilltop spared the neighborhood from the watery deluge that hit other parts of the borough. When the wind calmed and the rain stopped, my 14-year-old daughter, Dora, and I went for a drive along the Brooklyn waterfront to see how other areas had fared--especially Red Hook, which we heard had been completely flooded during the storm surge the night before. I thought we'd probably hit some roadblocks since low-lying areas along the coast were supposedly evacuated. We snaked our way to DUMBO, an affluent, artsy area under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The streets were clogged with garbage and cars, covered in weeds, were spun into the middle of some cobblestone streets. Still, families were out walking their desperate dogs,

Read More »from Brooklyn After Sandy

Preparing for a serious weather event can be especially stressful for children. Kids thrive on stability, and it can be upsetting to see parents and caregivers acting anxious and disrupting normal routines. It's also scary to witness the physical destruction caused by a storm and sad to leave treasured belongings behind in the case of an evacuation. Earlier this year, Sesame Street produced a series of videos geared toward helping kids feel safe during a hurricane or other natural disaster. Their website also offers tips for talking to kids as well as activities ideas for waiting out a storm. The video explains what a hurricane is and shows the whole Sesame Street gang banding together to assist and reassure each other. It's an excellent resource for parents who are feeling panicked and seeking a way to communicate with their kids without creating more anxiety. You can also visit the website of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network for even more detailed information on

Read More »from Sesame Street Hurricane Kit: Helping Kids Cope

Don't worry, it's normal. I love when science proves that I'm not a wimp. In a study performed by the University of Dayton, out of 17 women who specifically trained for three months to complete a single pull up, only 4 succeeded. "We honestly thought we could get everyone to do one," Paul Vanderburgh, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Dayton, tells the New York Times.

In what sounds like a rather grueling regime, the women, all average weight and college-aged, pumped iron on an incline three days a week to gain muscle mass, and also did aerobic exercise to slim down. After 90 days, they were leaner and stronger: the average participant lowered her body fat by two percent and increased her upper body strength by 36 percent. Still, when it came time to do the dreaded pull up, most of the women failed.

Vanderburgh explains that women not only develop less muscle than men (whose body composition is fueled by testosterone), the proportion of women's limbs makes performing a pull up

Read More »from Women Can’t Do Pull Ups: It’s a Law of Physics

Maybe the fashion police should crack down on saggy trousers, but real law enforcement? A new ordinance by passed in a three-to-one vote by the city council of Cocoa, Florida prevents a "person in public view from wearing pants or skirts below the waistline that expose the undergarments or the skin…." The law will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

Photo: Student's Controversial Political T-shirt

Although members of the city council say they passed the ban in order to increase civility in their "family oriented" town of 17,000, critics claim it's a mask for additional "stop and frisk" type activities by the police. "This is nothing more than a vehicle for further harassment of young people," Alberta Wilson, president of the Central Brevard Branch of the NAACP told FloridayToday.com. "I don't like the saggy pants anymore than you do, however, I respect people's Constitutional rights." Police Chief Mark Klayman acknowledged that the ordinance would provide greater opportunity to

Read More »from Baggy Pants Ban in Florida Sparks Controversy