Jodi Picoult + Stephenie Meyer

If you have not picked up Change of Heart by my favorite author, Jodi Picoult you must. Also, check out this interview which I just stumbled upon, about her last book, 19 Minutes.



Also, on the top of my long list of books to read, is The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Check out this interview with Stephenie talking about The Host and the Twilight saga.

Everlife

One underrated music group that you should listen to if you already haven't, is Everlife. I heard of this group when they first came out a few years ago but I never paid attention until now and I have no idea why I waited so long to really listen.

Last year when I heard their music on the radio, I would always wonder who sung the songs. I just found out it was this group, these girls, these 3 sisters. They are Christian but even if you are not, you will still enjoy the music. I am a Christian and I haven't loved a young Christian artist this much since Stacie Orrico.

Thanks to Disney for letting Everlife be opening acts on tour for artists like Miley Cyrus and The Cheetah Girls. The girls have gotten so much more exposure and yet I feel it still is not enough.

These girls are the real deal.

Visit their Myspace for more info.

Moonlight

I've been a fan of the CBS show, Moonlight since the creators and cast showed up with the pilot at San Diego Comic Con in July 2007.

Every Friday night, I tuned in just as so many have and yet CBS has announced its cancellation...after a bit of hope was set out for a 13 episode mid season pickup. Now, no mid season pick up, just cancelled.

Thank you Nikki Finke. Her inside scoop still gives hope though. I'm really hoping that what she is reporting could happen does happen and Moonlight moves to The CW. Moving to any network or even airing the next season online is fine by me.

It just can't end the way it did.

After all, me being a Jericho fan, I have already been through a rollercoaster already as far as the fans supporting our butts off to give that amazing show a second season. Must this happen again for Moonlight? Well, actually it is happening (with the blood drive) although I'm not so sure how much of an affect it will have this time.

Time will only tell.

Charice Pempengco

I love watching the Ellen DeGeneres show & Oprah Winfrey show.

I missed seeing this...extraordinary (is an under statement) singer when she appeared on Ellen but I'm anticipating and dreading watching her (and everyone else) on Oprah tomorrow.

It's so incredible to see young people with talent who use it (and give it their all) and it gives me hope that my talent can be shared one day too but man...It's people like this that make me feel like a loser. After watching that it's like, man, what can I do that's so great again?

For more information on Charice, visit:

Official Site and Myspace

Must Reads

"HIT" (+) or "MISS" (-)
(My own personal opinion) for each book that I was required to read in high school, which is considered a "must read" with very, very brief comments.

I remember in freshman and sophomore year, I was required to read these books:

All Classics
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - HIT
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - HIT
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - HIT
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - HIT
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence - HIT
Night by Elie Wiesel - HIT

Great!
Muckraker by Billy Callahan - HIT
(Couldn't put it down)

Huh?
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - MISS
(The story is good but either I don't like vignettes or I just don't care for her style of writing on top of the vignettes)

I remember in junior year, I was required to read:

Black Boy by Richard T. Wright - HIT
(I only read Part 1. I want to read Part 2 badly.)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - HIT
(I enjoyed this lots more than I thought I would)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - ?
(Classic that I was glad I read but did not enjoy as much as I would have thought, given the props it's been given. I'm going to read this again when I'll be able to appreciate it more.)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - N/A
(I'll admit it, by the time we got to reading this I was tapped. Sparknotes all the way. I have to read this one day.)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - HIT/MISS
(The story is good but hard to follow if you are not paying attention and do not understand the writing style)
The Crucible by Arthur Miller - HIT
(A favorite of mine, no doubt)
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - HIT
(Brilliant and yet I still believe that it is over rated.)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - HIT/MISS
(Classic although not of interest to me)
(Excerpts) Beowulf - HIT
(The excerpts I read were really interesting. I want to read it all.)
(Excerpts) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - HIT
(I want to read all of the tales!)
(Excerpts) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - HIT/MISS
(This is overall a funny hit even if you don't understand the satire but it is just not of my interest in the end)

Let's not forget the great poets (All HITS):
Shakespeare (Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar)
Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, etc...

I was also required to read and write reports on certain books, one of which:
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - HIT
(This really is a Must Read)

California vs New Jersey

Since I wake up everyday thinking about the day that I will move to California this summer, I decided to compile a short list of the positive and negative aspects of living in California opposed to New Jersey.

FYI: Once I move to California, this blog will mainly be dedicated to (aside from my writing career) all things Entertainment.

Positives
1. Weather is so much more beautiful year round
2. Cleaner Beaches
3. Networking Heaven (ie, San Diego Comic Con, etc...)
4. Outside Malls
5. More & Bigger Flea Markets
6. More Vegetarian Friendly
7. LA: Celebrities are Everywhere + Hollywood Events
8. Better chance at being an extra in Movies/TV shows
9. Weekend Trips: San Diego, San Francisco, Vegas, & Mexico
10. Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, etc…
11. Annual Festivals every single month…how could you have nothing to do?
12. Taste of real Mexican food
13. CA Governor can kick NJ Governor’s booty.

Okay, that last one was just for fun.


Negatives
1. Cost of Living is higher but so worth it
2. Goodbye Dunkin Donuts...Hello The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
3. No Wawa but there’s something over there like that, right?
4. No Meadowlands Fair so I’ll visit Jersey in the summer for that!
5. Six Flags is not like ours here in Jersey.
6. Have to wait for Broadway tours in CA (No more NYC trips all the time to Broadway)
7. Traffic is Horrendous but that comes with the territory
8. No snowy winters like Jersey but I can get over that
9. Miss out on Z100 Zootopia but I’ll just go to KIIS Wango Tango
10. I'm gonna look like an idiot at first trying to pump my own gas.
11. Natural Disasters (earthquakes, wildfires, etc…) but no worries
12. LA: Lots of fake people… but hey that’s everywhere.

The BIG question:
What do you call subs in CA? Please say subs. I’m tired of hoagie and a sandwich is just out of the question. I’ve heard grinder but am not positive about this.