Media Mondays: New Moon Madness and AMAs

Well, unless you've been abducted by aliens or you've been living in a cave with a tin foil hat on, you know that this past weekend was opening weekend for the second installment of the Twilight saga: New Moon. It made a ton of money from its screaming (and nearly fainting) prepubescent fans...and its "older" fans...making more money on its opening day than any other movie before, beating out The Dark Knight's record-breaking first day revenue.

Oh, yeah, and if you picked up on the "older" part of my previous statement, it should be noted that "older" equals 25+ in the Twilight world. EXCUSE ME?!?!?!?!?!? I'm OLDER?? I think not.

Besides...Edward is 109...that makes him older. I digress.

Check out author Stephenie Meyer's website where she's answered a ton of questions recently posted about Twilight, etc. She's asked if she's surprised by "older" fans & I LOVE that she responded that she wrote it for her 29-year-old self, so no. Check out the quotes and fun answers to a bunch of questions.

Moving on to the other weekend madness: the American Music Awards.

I think perhaps the most memorable moment--though not for good reasons--was Adam Lambert's homo-fest. Sorry; I know I'm not pulling any punches with this one, but that's really what it was. There was a big make-out moment with someone...was it a guy? was it a girl? do we want to know? Oh yeah, and gratuitous crotch rubbing...by faces. *shudder*

And in other AMA news: Lady Gaga gave a laughable performance. She's special.

And Jermaine Jackson needs to remember that he, in fact, is NOT Michael, never has been and never will be and should be ashamed of his behavior.

There were some good performances: the Black Eyed Peas, for instance are always great and Carrie Underwood rocked it out.

Congrats to Taylor Swift for all of her wins and I have to say, the girl's a genius. She wasn't in L.A. for the awards, but in London...Kanye was nowhere close! Love ya, Taylor!

Ah, and here you see that my two subjects intersect! This is better than six degrees of Kevin Bacon!

Taylor Swift (AMA big winner) + Taylor Lautner (New Moon buff boy) = (neither confirmed, nor denied) LOVE!!!

Happy Monday! :)

Thrifty Thursdays: Kroger Ads

Check out Kroger's website for downloadable coupons and management of your Plus card. You can also make up a shopping list so you're careful not to forget all those fabulous 10 for $10 deals! Happy coupon hunting!

Writing Wednesdays: The Dictionary

One of my favorite resources is www.dictionary.com. Now, it is available (with Thesaurus and Reference pages) for your BlackBerry. But, more importantly, it's available for MY BlackBerry! Hehe! Just kidding. This is an awesome resource and I use it daily, and that's really not an exaggeration. It's been pivotal in those random conversations one has while out shopping or having lunch...like: what's the plural for platypus? (It's platypuses or platypi, by the way.) Yay for mobile references! :)

Trivia Tuesdays: The Whole Nine Yards

No, it's not just a movie! :)

I had always heard that this figure of speech (would it be considered that?) had to do with the "whole nine yards" of ammunition in WWII airplanes. But, it turns out that there are numerous explanations and theories about this phrase, some of which have to do with the "whole nine yards" of fabric in a full men's...or wait, is if full women's(?)...suit. Does it have to do with nautical yards...or maybe something related to cement mixing? The theories seriously go on for...well...the whole nine yards!

So, the jury's still out. I'll let you know if I can come across a definitive answer for this one; be sure to let me know if you've found one yourself! :)

Happy Tuesday!

Media Mondays: Musicals!

I love musicals!! As I write this, my daughter is watching one of my favorite musicals of all time: Mary Poppins. Is there a better musical turned movie? And if there is, does it star Julie Andrews?

In looking for a picture for this post, I came across some really neat pics on www.imdb.com, courtesy of MPTV Images. Here are some candid photos that I think are totally cool! Browse over to the third page to view behind-the-scenes photos. What fun! :)



What is it about musicals that we love? I think it's the passion in the music: whether the passion of happiness and jollity, as in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, or the darker passions of hopelessness or yearning for love as in Fiddler on the Roof or The Phantom of the Opera.

Whatever may be the case for our love of musicals, I am thrilled to see that they are still popular and patrons flock to the theaters for new musicals such as Wicked (which I hope to see at some point, myself!).

If you haven't watched your favorite musical in a while (and who doesn't have a favorite?), pull it out on the next rainy Saturday, cuddle up with a blanket on the couch and enjoy!

(photo: movieposter.com)

Free For All Fridays: What is a Conservative?

I could get on my soapbox, quote the Declaration of Independence, cite Conservative leaders and wistfully look back to the era of Reagan...or, I could just let Jonathan Krohn do it for me. Author of "Defining Conservatism," this (13 year old) young man is a genius and lays out the foundation of conservatism in precise and easy-to-understand language.

I don't care what your political affiliation may be, this kid is AMAZING! I'm floored and I would seriously love to know what his I.Q. is!

Thursday: Taking a Moment

While I would normally blog about something "thrifty" for Thrifty Thursdays, today I feel that it is more appropriate to remember and say a little prayer for the victims of the shooting at Fort Hood, TX which took place today. As of this moment, the last report I heard is that 12 people have been killed and 31 have been injured.

Watching footage from the post, the sirens signaling an emergency at the fort are haunting. What a terrifying experience for these people. I cannot even imagine, and my heart goes out to the survivors and the families of those wounded and killed. What a senseless and horrifying event.

Please take a moment to say a prayer for the families and the victims of today's tragedy.

Thrifty Thursdays will return next week.

God Bless

Writing Wednesdays: Music to Write By

Writers are individual in their habits and styles, just like they're unique in their "writing rituals," if you will. I, for one, always write to music. Whether it's for enjoyment, an online journal or a massive research project, I have music of some sort streaming through my headphones. I realize this doesn't work for everyone; it's completely distracting for some, but for me, music helps me focus. I can tune out the unimportant noise in the room and really concentrate on the words running across the computer screen.

So, I wanted to post a song that I came across about a month ago. It's been inspirational in some of my free-time writing lately, and I'm just in love with the song. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!




Happy Hump Day! :)

Trivia Tuesdays: M*A*S*H

Did you know that the T.V. show M*A*S*H, which is set during the Korean War ran for 11 seasons? The real Korean War lasted for just three years...well, if you count the 1953 cease-fire as the end of the war. Some would argue that it is still an ongoing conflict, but that's a debate for another time. If one uses the 1953 date, then the television show lasted almost four times as long as the actual war...and was obviously more popular.

Incidentally, M*A*S*H was more of a criticism of the Vietnam War than anything, using the earlier Korean War as its platform and setting.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Media Mondays: Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL??

Come Hades or high water, I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. Don't care if Jessica's jinxin' them, if Tony's got butter fingers, even when T.O. was being...well...T.O., I have loved them.

However, I have to hand it to Brett Favre & the Minnesota Vikings. The most entertaining part of this football weekend, in my opinion, was the smack down the Vikings (who picked Farve up after Green Bay dumped him) gave the Packers...and after the Packers fans "boo"-ed when Farve took the field. It would have been one thing if the Packers had actually won, but they didn't & had to fold up their mean signs and go home the losers. Booyah!

(photo credit: Torsten Bolten via Wikimedia Commons)