Social media is confusing!

If you've known me for any length of time, then you probably already know that I'm an internet junkie. I was an AOL user in the early days on my Mac Classic (black and white!), I love to shop online, and I usually watch tv with a computer on my lap or with my iPhone in my hand.

I know I'm not the only one who's confused about social media. I'm talking about Facebook, Twitter, and the very thing you're reading...a blog. Several years ago when my cousin first showed me her Facebook, I remember thinking: "Well, this is great for college 'kids'." Fast forward a few years and now EVERYONE is using it. I even see commercials on tv or advertisements in magazines that ask you to "become a fan on Facebook" of this or that company. Some companies even use their Twitter or Facebook fan pages for offering promotions or discounts (see: my last blog entry).

FREE is great...but how good is your "gimmick"??

So you know I love me some FREE stuff, and I'll go out of my way for something that's FREE. (Just ask my husband. At a recent art fair, I made him talk to the Comcast booth just so I could get a free bag...and then we ended up switching to Comcast internet!)

So for the last 2 weeks, @BordersMedia on Twitter has been having a contest that's tied to the release of Dan Brown's new book: The Lost Symbol. Each day (starting Sept 15), they've been hiding goldentickets in 10 Borders store locations (for total of 80 books/stores), which are redeemable for a signed copy of the book.

I TRY to be environmentally friendly...

I haven't gone completely earth-friendly-nuts yet, but I admit that I do try to be environmentally friendly when I can.

Summer is officially O-V-E-R

So I was woken up this morning at 4:30 to the the sound of loud and freaky thunder. It continued for another 1/2 hour but still no rain has fallen.

CNN article on fasting and Ramadan

CNN posted an article today on fasting and Ramadan. In case you're interested, here's the article.

Dreaded excitement

So when Ramadan was still over a month away, I remember telling my husband that I was excited about it's approach.

Well, now I sorta changed my mind. I enjoy a challenge, so I think that was the initial reason for my excitement when the holiday was still far away and not yet upon us. Now that it's here, I just feel tired, and I think what I felt was a sort of dreaded excitement.

Book review > The Time Traveler's Wife book deconstructed

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Amazon: Paperback).

So for those of you who are unfamiliar, the basic premise is this. The story follows two main characters (and those who they interact with): a man who has a medical condition that causes him to time travel and the woman who meets him at various intervals over the course of her life, starting at the age of 6 and with whom she subsequently falls in love.

I've picked up this book in the bookstore several times since it was first published, each time with interest in purchasing it, but never pulled the trigger on it...until now. This time I bought it because I saw it was being made into a movie which looked interesting.

After starting to read it, I had a hard time putting it down. It was well written and the storyline (which jumps between Henry and Clare's perspectives) was interesting. The plot spent some time on the scientific aspect but not so much that it detracted from the relationship building (romantic aspect) of the story.

Ending first please

So I admit it: I'd rather know the ending first.

My husband hates to see movie previews where they show too much of the movie. I, on the other hand, love them and would prefer to know as much information about a movie as possible before I go see it. Before seeing some movies, I'll even read spoilers, plot summaries, or reviews that reveal too much. Like with that movie The Happening starring Mark Wahlberg. As soon as I saw the preview, I was curious about the story and ending. So I searched online for spoilers, found out the ending, and let's just say I was not impressed. That was 2 tickets we didn't have to buy, and we still haven't seen that one, even on DVD. (Oddly enough, with movies, I don't like those where elements in the movie are presented out of sequence, like Memento.)