What I Like About Twitter

Last year, I did what I was supposed to do as a new writer wanting to "make connections" and stay up on the latest industry news.

I joined Twitter. I'm the first to admit, I'm not an early adopter. I don't like change. I was the one clinging to my VHS tapes when DVDs were becoming more popular. Granted, the reason I did this was because VHS was cheaper, but still.

I joined Myspace years after everyone else did. I wasn't keen on joining Facebook because I rarely went on Myspace. Why did I need to join another social media site? Eventually, I did though. But I'm not a Facebook aficionado. It is fun to catch up on people's lives, but that becomes boring after awhile.

I always feel like I'm missing something with Facebook. What are people doing that they can spend hours on it?

But that's not the case with Twitter. I joined and immediately fell in love. The posts were fast and fast to read. There's no superfluous information. All I have to care about or pay attention to are the posts.

It's fun when someone tweets something random (and most tweets are random) and you connect with it. You reply and bam you're having a conversation.

But I've gone completely off on a tangent.

What amuses me most about Twitter is how it's become a news source. I imagine that the founders thought it would be a place for friends to talk to each other in real time and a place to make new friends based on shared interests. Which it is.

But it's also a place that news organizations, especially the kind that report celebrity news, rely heavily on. And it cracks me up. I watch too much a lot of ESPN. I know it's not a Sportscenter until an anchor says, "Athlete A said blah blah blah on Twitter."

It happens every night, and it's great. There's no need to conduct an interview or heck even ask for an interview. Athletes put it out there for everyone to see.

I don't know why, but this amuses me to no end.

Do you like Twitter? What do you like most about it? Are you #teamtwitter or #teamfacebook?

Tuesday Links

1. Dallas is coming back! Yes, the TV show. I remember watching it as a kid and as a proud Dallasite, I have to admit this makes me happy. What makes me even happier is that they're going to film in Dallas.

2. I wasn't the only one affected by the USA Women's World Cup team's victory over Brazil. My post is the best one, of course, but these aren't too bad either. :)

3. Oh, and look. There's a very, very cool tribute video. Yay!

4. Do I really care about Kate Middleton? Not really. Do I care about her clothes? Yes really all day long!

5. All is not lost in the world of soap operas. At some point in my life, I've watched all the soap operas that remain on the air, so it does my heart good to hear that Marlena, John, and Carrie and the original Austin (even if he is the dumbest character in the history of soap operas) are coming back to Days of Our Lives.

6. And apparently, One Life to Live and All My Children are moving to the Internet. I'm trying not to get too excited because there is still a lot that hasn't been decided, but this is definitely better than the alternative.

7. And since I am a romance writer who loves sports, this story made my heart go pitter patter. World-famous athlete begging to get his girlfriend back after he realizes he was a dumbass for breaking up with her in the first place? Yes, please.

On the Edge of Glory

Last week, I noticed that I was a light on the sports and heavy on the pop culture on this here blog, which would be fine except it's supposed to be pretty evenly split. I promised to do better.

My Monday post would be about sports, I told myself.

I thought I would write about one of my favorite movies, Bend It Like Beckham*, in homage to the Women's World Cup. But then I watched the USA-Brazil match yesterday and realized it would be so much better to write about the real thing.

I love sports. It's the ultimate reality show. You have heroes, villains, and engrossing storylines. This game had all that and more.

What the USA did yesterday is nothing short of amazing. In 123 minutes, those women inspired and motivated me to be better and do better.

How did I get to that point?

I'll be honest. Soccer isn't my favorite sport. I never watch it or even think to watch it unless it's World Cup time. I watched some of the men's World Cup last year, so I was feeling a little guilty I hadn't been watching the women's tournament as much as I could.

I knew the U.S. was playing Brazil in the quarterfinals, which was seen as an unfortunate break because Brazil has one of the best teams in the world. So I was interested to see how we would play against such a powerhouse. The Americans had sounded confident in pregame interviews, but it's a lot easier to talk a good game than play one.

I turned the game on while at work. We scored right away (I actually missed it. I was doing work I guess). While I wasn't engrossed in the game, I did check in periodically. During one of those check-ins, I saw Brazil lining up for a penalty kick. And they missed! Yay! But then they got to go again for some ridiculous call from the referee. And this time, Marta, widely regarded as the best player in the world, made the kick. Now, I was mad.

And then I saw that we would be one player down for the rest of the match. I didn't see the play that got her kicked out until after the game, but that was a bullshit call, too.

Anyway, from that moment, I was hooked. Could the U.S. somehow win a game against a really good team when they were at such a disadvantage? They managed to get the game into overtime only to have Marta score again. As the game neared its end, I admit that I had almost completely lost hope. They were a woman down and hadn't scored since the beginning of the game.

But the U.S. kept battling and then Abby Wambach scored with a minute left in the game. Freaking amazing!

The U.S. went on to win the game with penalty kicks. Duh. :)

This game had everything a sports fan or even someone who simply enjoys a good story could ask for. And the best thing about is that it's true. It's not fiction.

Amazing does happen. It can happen to all of us. With belief, dedication, resiliency, determination, hard work, and teamwork.

And a little karma never  hurts, either.

*Don't worry. I will write about Bend It Like Beckham one day. I seriously heart that movie.

Jam of the Week

Bruno Mars' The Lazy Song

I like this song because it's funny and clever. But more importantly, because I think I was his muse.

Yeah, this could be the Jam of the Week every week. Sigh. I fight my inherent laziness every day of my life. I am the Queen of Procrastination. I know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. And that's my problem. I end up telling myself I have time to do it. Most of the time, it's not that I don't want to do it (unless it's cleaning), but sitting on my couch surfing the Internet or watching TV is so much easier and requires little to no effort.

Don't get me wrong. I do get things done (I'm a perfectionist nerd after all), but not in as timely fashion as I would like. Or I end up running out of time before I can make sure everything meets my overly demanding standards. Which bugs me to no end.

Maybe one day, I'll conquer this flaw. But not today. There are websites that will perish if I don't visit them RIGHT NOW.

Wednesday Links

Hello to anyone reading this. I'm back from my trip to New York for the Romance Writers of America Conference. I'll have a full report on the conference later, but I thought I needed to get back into the blogging game before I got too rusty, so here are some links. 1. ESPN acquires all rights to Wimbledon starting next year. This is fabulous news for me. I'll never forget being pissed off last year when NBC aired a match that had already been played instead of one that was being played right then because the network was too afraid to go over its time slot. In 2010, when all it took was a few clicks of the mouse to know the score was unacceptable. Tape delayed matches in the 1980s worked because the public had no other choice. Today? It just makes you look ridiculous.

2. Two ADAs return to Law & Order: SVU. As a long-time viewer of the show, I'm happy because I loved both of them. It's a good step, but the show still won't be the same with Mariska Hargitay's reduced role and with no Christopher Meloni at all. I still haven't decided if I'm watching or not.

3. Yesterday, Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murdering her daughter. Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker breaks down last night's ridiculous media coverage.

4. Wanna know where the 2018 Winter Olympics are going to be held? Of course, you do. And as of this morning, we have an answer.

5. Hollywood executives are so desperate for movies stars that they do the everything in their power to convince us that certain people are stars and therefore can carry movies based on their name alone. I've thought this for years. The most recent example: Ryan Reynolds. The truth is there are very few movie stars who people will line up to see just because he or she is in the movie. The Tom Cruise of the 80s and 90s is gone. So are Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.

I think the only true movie stars today are Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Oh, and I guess Johnny Depp, but that last movie with Angelina Jolie (who is NOT a movie star) tanked. Will Smith was one, but not any longer because his last few movies haven't done well. Reese Witherspoon built up some goodwill with Legally Blonde, but it's gone now.

Am I forgetting someone?

Jam of the Week: In Memoriam

Earlier this week, I  heard Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal on Pandora. Because I was at work, I couldn't turn the volume up to 100 and sing along out loud, but I wanted to. It has long been my favorite MJ song, and I knew immediately that it would be Jam of the Week. What I didn't realize until this morning while listening to the radio is that tomorrow, June 25, is the anniversary (is that the right word) of Michael's death, so it made my selection even more appropriate.

I've loved Smooth Criminal since I was a kid. When I was in elementary school, someone made the bright decision that the gym floors needed to be redone (varnished? Is that the right word?). Looking back, I'm confused about why they didn't do this over summer break, but whatever. They redid the floors, which meant we couldn't go in there. But we still needed to have P.E., so they made us go into the school auditorium, where the gym teacher made us watch Moonwalker over and over again. Why that movie? No idea. I do know it freaked me out. It's so weird.

Except the Smooth Criminal part. That I loved and still do. It just makes me happy to hear it. It's my jam.

Here's the superlong movie version of the video. I like this version better than the shorter radio edit video because you  can actually see what's going on.

R.I.P., Michael.

Tale of Woe: My First Trip to Aldi's

I love Walt Disney World. Very, very much. I am not alone. The reason I know I’m not alone is because there is a very popular message board called DISBoards. It’s where all the Disney freaks hang out and talk about how much they love Disney and what their favorite Disney attraction, hotel, restaurant, etc. etc. is. I used to hang out there all the time (not as much now because I’m busy) because yes, I love Disney, but also because people there talk about anything and everything under the sun. Well, except for politics and religion. Those two topics got banned. People may share a love of Disney, but often that’s where the common interests ended. Some of the stuff that was posted during the 2008 election – yeah, not good. But I’m digressing.

As for me? I’m a nerd and I’ll read pretty much anything even if it has absolutely nothing to do with me. A post about a colonoscopy? Sure, why not? A post about how some woman’s husband is cheating on her? Yep.

Anyway, there’s a Budget Board on the DIS. People talk about ways to save money. And being the cheapinista I am, you know I’m all over that.

A couple of years ago, I noticed that people kept mentioning Aldi’s. Aldi’s? What the heck is that, I thought.  I was nosy, so I read. Apparently, it’s a grocery store that specializes in generic items and it’s CHEAP.

I had to leave it at that because I’m in Texas and Aldi’s appeared to be a North thing.

But Aldi’s came to town last year. *Cue the happy dance music*

Last night, I made my first (of many) visits. However, things didn’t go quite as planned.

I walk into the place and look around. Um, where are the grocery carts? I turn in a circle. No carts. Other patrons are walking around pushing them, so I know they have them. Do they not have enough? It is a pretty small place. But there aren’t that many people in there. Are they stored somewhere else in the store?

I can’t ask somebody because it’s probably a stupid question, and I don’t like looking stupid.

I figure I’ll stumble on to them at some point, so I venture farther into the store. And yep, there’s the generic, cheap stuff I was promised. I like cheap. So I wander around the store looking at everything.

At some point, it dawns on me that the grocery carts are probably outside and I just missed them. I also remember reading on the DIS that they “rent” the carts for a quarter, so employees don’t have to waste time wandering the parking lot gathering scattered carts. You get the quarter back when you return the cart.

I have no problem with this EXCEPT I rarely pay cash. I charge everything to a credit card and pay it off at the end of the month, so I can rack up the air miles, Disney points, cash back or whatever. But there are also some items I want to get, too many for me to carry in my hands. So I go outside and look around. Yep, there the carts are – to the left of the door. I’d entered from the right and completely missed them.

I open my wallet, praying I have a quarter inside. And that would be a no. Maybe I have one in my car? I head that way and a lady calls out from her car that you need a quarter to get a cart. I answer sheepishly, “I know, but I don’t have one.” She very generously gives me a quarter. Yay for human kindness!

I’m back in business! I get the cart, head back inside, load up my cart and head to the checkout counter. Um, yeah, they charge $.10 for bags. Didn’t know that. This is when I notice other people walking around with their own bags. Alrighty, then.

I figure the cashier is going to ask me if I want to purchase bags, but she doesn’t. She just loads the cart. And, not wanting to risk embarrassment, you know I wasn't going to ask.

I go to pay and whip out the credit card. She asks if I want cash back. I say no. I swipe my credit card. It asks for a pin number. I look at her and say I have a credit card.

Her response? "We don’t accept credit cards. Cash or debit only."

Er, um, what?

Remember how I said I rarely have cash? Yeah, that’s still true. I also don’t keep much cash in my checking account because I don’t need to because I DON'T PAY FOR THINGS IN CASH. Bills that can go on the credit card and I pay everything else online at the beginning of the month when I get paid. Most of what’s left over goes to the savings account.

I quickly wrack my brain to remember how much I have in checking and breathe a sigh of relief. I should have enough to cover it. I whip out the debit card and slide it through the machine.

Pin number? After a momentary blank, I punch it in. The card is declined. Did I not remember how much was in the checking account? But the cashier says I entered the wrong pin. Oh, thank God. Let’s try this again. Success!

I wheel the cart out to my car, praying that I have a bag amongst all the junk in the back seat. And I do. I put as much as I can into it and throw the rest in the backseat. I return the cart and get the quarter back.

I leave and head straight to McDonald’s for some comfort food and a desperately needed frozen strawberry lemonade.

And thus concludes Jamie’s embarrassing tale of the day.

Tuesday Links

1. No more Rachel Berry or Mercedes on Glee after this year? Say it ain't so. 2. One last post about Dirk. Maybe. But this one's too good not to mention.

3. I've watched every season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I'm half embarrassed and half proud of this fact. *clears throat* Anywho, two former contestants are engaged. I know Ali loved Roberto, but I loved Chris. I'm so happy he found love with another normal contestant of the show.

4. Pop culture and sports meet yet again. I can't wait to watch Basketball Wives: LA. My hands are already covering my eyes, but I know I'll be peeking through my fingers.

5. Wimbledon started yesterday. I LOVE tennis. This Day One recap is great. It also has links to other Wimbledon articles.

6. Last, but certainly not least, you know you've made it when Weird Al Yankovic parodies you. Congrats, Lady Gaga!

Remember Way Back When...

Last week, I saw a post on Twitter from CSI: NY star Hill Harper. Someone asked him if he'd ever been on Married with Children. He answered yes, that was one of his first TV gigs. It made me chuckle because I love when I watch old movies and TV shows and see people who are now huge stars in bit roles or in their first movie. George Clooney on Golden Girls, anyone? (It's on the Hallmark Channel, people. The show is still hilarious). Or on The Facts of Life. Or on Sisters before he blew up on ER. It always amused me when people would drool over him because I was like, "That's the guy from Sisters. He's been acting a long time. He didn't get hot overnight."

Another show I've been watching lately is Single Ladies starring Stacey Dash. I always wonder how old her character is supposed to be. I'm guessing early to mid thirties, which is fine because she doesn't look older than that. Except I know she is. Of course, she starred as the teenage Dionne in Clueless in the 90s, but at least ten years before that, she guest starred as a friend of Denise's on The Cosby Show.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyP-x0rJiJk]

My favorite example - In 1987, I saw a movie called Can't Buy Me Love and developed a huge crush on the star of the movie. Over the years, whenever I saw him in something, I would get excited that he was still working. He never blew up, so seeing him wasn't a frequent occurrence. And then about six years ago, I started seeing promos for a little show called Grey's Anatomy. And I thought, "Hey! That looks like Patrick Dempsey." And, of course, it was. He was the reason I decided to watch the show. And he quickly became known as McDreamy. I was happy for his success, but at the same time I was like, "Back off, bitches. I knew him way back when." LOL.

And I can go on. Ryan Reynolds on Nickelodeon's Fifteen, Sarah Michelle Gellar on a little teen soap before All My Children or Buffy, the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie when she was known as Stacey on Kids, Incorporated. The list really does go on, but I'll stop.

Do you remember people from way back when or am I the only one with the crazy memory?

Jam of the Week

Last week, I got my hair done. My cousin/hairstylist was playing "Love Story" from Mariah Carey's E=MC2 album, and I was humming along. She said, "You must have this CD" because it was never released as a single. I said, "I have all her albums." Which is true. OK, not the Glitter soundtrack, but everything else. I love Mimi. I have for the past twenty years. When I went home, I felt the need to listen to some more of her stuff. One of my favorite Mariah songs is "Melt Away" on the Daydream album. After I listened to it, I scrolled to another song from that album - "Always Be My Baby." The Jam of the Week.

I've loved this song for over 15 years, and it still holds up, its stalker message be damned. :) It's the Mariah song that even nonfans like.

It never fails to put a smile on my face or make me bob my head when I hear it on the radio (which still happens every now and then). It's so sing-alongable.

The intro is greatness.

Do do doop Do do doop do doop da dum Do do doop dum Do do doop do doop da dum

Do do doop Do do doop do doop da dum Do do doop dum Do do doop do doop da dum

You're humming along now, aren't you? :)

Commercials - Love or Love to Hate 'em?

The beauty of the DVR is that you can skip past the commercials. With a press of the fast forward button, that hour-long episode of Grey's Anatomy becomes 40 minutes. When I do DVR a show, I like being able to skip the commercials, but honestly it doesn't bother me to watch a show live. That's how I watched TV for the first twenty-five years of my life, so it's all good. And by not skipping commercials, I get to discover commercials that I love that become part of pop culture. For instance, a few months ago, I kept seeing people posting about the Sun Drop commercial on Twitter. I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was on my radar. I could have looked it up on Youtube, but that requires effort and we can't have THAT, can we? Psshh. Anywho, I finally saw the commercial and I got excited and felt like I was one of the cool kids. I love the ad because it's soooo ridiculous and has a cool song.

Anywho, I have a new favorite commercial. I crack up every time I see it. I stop what I'm doing so I can give it my full attention.

I love the guy's passion. He is READY. You know he practiced the moves at homes after rehearsal every night. And the looks of disdain on his fellow flash mobbers' faces? PRICELESS.

Hooray for great commercials? Do you like commercials or find them annoying?

Links, Baby!

I've decided to blog links to stories that catch my eye. Here's the first installment. 1. "Voice coaches Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine have collaborated on a new single"

I adore Christina and Maroon 5, so this made my day and it's not even 11:00 yet. *happy dance*

2. The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, sports/pop culture blogger extraordinaire, did a retro diary of the Mavs-Heat Game 6. This was like the cherry on top of my delirium over the championship. I still can't believe the Mavericks won. It's amazing, and I haven't stopped smiling since.