Adam Lambert has the number 2 selling CD on Amazon right now. The reason this is so noteworthy is that the CD has not been announced or publicized and doesn't even have a name yet.

Adam Lambert fans, in a frenzy to find out information on his first full-length CD, stumbled upon the information while searching the Internet. The news that it is available for pre-sale spread like wildfire. The fact that Lambert's CD is number 2 on Amazon is made even stranger by how difficult it is to find. If you do a search for Adam Lambert on Amazon, the new CD does not come up. I found the correct link in an Adam Lambert message board on Amazon.

Right now, the premiere CD is titled Adam Lambert New Release 2009. The release date is November 24, 2009. The way things look now, Adam Lambert could wind up the biggest selling American Idol yet. It doesn't appear that coming in second hurt him at all.

See newer post: Adam Lambert Video Preview 2012 Song "Time for Miracles"

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Did you watch the first episode of The Good Wife starring Julianna Margulies last week? If not, you might want to try it. With all the recent scandals involving politicians that cheated on their wives, The Good Wife gives you a chance to see the wife's view, fully fleshed out.

CBS has put together a video with news footage of disgraced politicians, scenes from The Good Wife and interviews with cast members and journalists:



The Good Wife is much more than a series about a political scandal. It is also a critically acclaimed legal drama, as Julianna's character goes back to work as a lawyer after having been a stay home wife and mother for many years. What would you do if this happened to you? Would you be a Good Wife?

See also:  
The Good Wife Cast at The Paley Center - Fun and Laughter for All

Julianna Margulies as The Good Wife in a great new CBS series

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Teens are growing up today in a very different world then ever before. The availability of cell phones, IM, texting, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have brought about many potential problems for teens that their parents never faced. How should teens handle unwanted, repeated calls or text messages, breaking into email or social networking accounts or being pressured to send embarrassing pictures or videos. That's Not Cool is here to help.

That's Not Cool was created by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, along with the Advertising Council and the Office of Violence against Women to help teens deal with these digital situations with the opposite sex and even friends. The website contains numerous resources for teens to deal with these problems:

• Videos - Watch videos that portray different digital dilemmas, choose how you would deal with them and then see how each choice plays out.
• Callout Cards - If somebody is disrespecting you, call them out on it by sending them a humorous message on a digital Callout Card. There are cards for every type of situation. A few examples are: "You must be proud to have nothing better to do than IM me all day", "Congratulations on violating my trust" and "Thanks for helping me exceed my text message limit".
• Talk it Out: Get and give advice, by topic.
• Need Help: What to do when this website is not enough. Information on the National Teen Dating Abuse hotline, Youth & Teen organizations, LGBTQ organizations and National victim Services organizations.

The That's Not Cool campaign is made up for more than just this website. There are also television, radio, posters in malls and web ads designed to help teens recognize and deal with digital dating abuse. Follow Thats Not Cool on Facebook or MySpace. This past summer, the campaign reached over a half a million teens through actual live programs at rock concerts, street festivals and malls across the country.

Don't wait until your teens come to you with problems to share the That's Not Cool website with them. They may be embarrassed to share this information with you. Tell your teens about this website now and have them share it with their friends. Digital harassment and dating abuse needs to be dealt with.

See also: Build Healthy Teen Relationships To Prevent Teen Dating Violence

 

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I have always tried to be a charitable and helpful person, yet I don't usually go out of my way to look for opportunities to help people. It is a good thing that Debbie Tenzer, author of the book Do One Nice Thing, and creator of the website, decided that not only would she find opportunities to help people, but that she would share them with all of us.

Debbie Tenzer decided that she wanted to be helpful and charitable on a regular basis. While she knew that every day would be too much, she decided that she could "Do One Nice Thing" once a week. She then created a website and wrote a book to share her ideas with the world so that we might be more apt to follow her lead. This book has got me on a mission to try to spend more time helping others also.

I plan to share this book and everything I got out of it with my family. Whether they decide to join the crusade is up to them, but hopefully seeing and knowing that I am doing this, will rub off on my sons.

Some of the many things that have been accomplished since Tenzer began her worldwide niceness movement in June 2005 are:

• 85 tons of school supplies have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan for local children
• More than 4,000 blankets have been sent to U.S. soldiers in Iraq
• More than 10,000 hand-made cards have cheered up children in hospitals around the world
• Thousands of books have been given to schools, libraries and children's hospitals
• Numerous people have registered to become organ donors
• Food, toys, school supplies and more have gone to families or individuals that need them

Will I be able to remember and stick to doing one nice thing each and every week? Sticking with anything can be difficult, no matter how motivated you are at first. I know that I should pick a specific day of the week for my charitable endeavors; Debbie chose Mondays as hers. If I get too busy, thankfully, Debbie included a chapter in the book of websites in which you can do something charitable with just a click of the mouse.

What do you think about this. Have I convinced any of you to follow Debbie Tenzer and Do One Nice Thing a week? If so, maybe sharing the information about the book and website will actually be the first nice thing of my new campaign. Please take a look at the Do One Nice Thing website and the Do One Nice Thing blog. For more inspiration I highly recommend reading the actual Do One Nice Thing book by author Debbie Tenzer.

For more info:
Family Volunteer Resources 
Silicon Valley Moms Bookclub post about Do One Nice Thing

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The 2009 fall television season has been premieres worth watching. The best part is that there are also a number of excellent TV series that both parents and teens can both enjoy and bond over. You made need to get used to recording some of these shows in this fall's crowded television schedule because there are overlaps galore.

These are the 5 TV shows I most recommend for parents and teens to watch:

1. FlashForward - (Thursdays, 8pm ET, ABC) Firstly, it is one of the best new shows this fall, so I highly recommend this to everyone. The reasons I recommend this so highly for family bonding are the same reasons that apply for my recommendation that parents and teens watch Lost together. Don't miss the premiere episode tonight, 9/24/2009.

2. Modern Family - (Wednesdays, 9pm ET, ABC) As with FlashForward, this is also one of the best new shows on television this fall. Families should be able to laugh and relate to the modern families depicted in this very funny show.

3. Glee - (Wednesdays, 9pm ET, Fox) - The teens love the high school antics, while parents can enjoy the comedy of the very funny adult characters in this series. Everyone will enjoy the music.

4. The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays, 8pm ET, CW) - With moms and daughters already both loving the Twilight books and movie, there is no reason they can't extend that connection to The Vampire Diaries as well. What woman or girl doesn't want to watch great lucking vampires?

5. Either The Middle (Wednesdays, 8:30pm ET, ABC, premiering 9/30) or Community (Thursdays, 9:30pm ET, NBC (or both) depending on your family's sense of humor.

Enjoy the new TV season and get those DVRs ready. Thursdays at 8pm and Wednesdays at 9pm are stacked with quality shows.

See also:
20 Best TV Shows For Parent Teen Bonding
Falling Skies Trailer, Comic, Synopsis and More

 

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Would you like to have a database application that is easy to use and meant for families and personal use instead of for businesses? FileMaker Inc. originally created Bento, and the newer, Bento 2, as software to use on the Macintosh computer. However, about two months ago, a Bento iPhone and iTouch application was made that can be used alone or in sync with the desktop application.

Since I don't have a Mac computer, I am using the Bento iPhone app as a stand alone database. It comes with 25 pre-designed templates that can be customized very easily. Some of the templates included are an Address Book that automatically imports the information from your contacts list; Exercise Log; Recipes; Diet Log; Classes and Donations. There are also templates that could be very helpful to someone with a very small business, such as Customers, Items Sold, Products for Sale and Membership list.

A great benefit of using Bento on the iPhone as compared to the desktop (besides the price savings of $4.99 compared to $50) is that the portability enables you to add information wherever you are. If you want to create an inventory of all your books, you can bring the iPhone to wherever the books are scattered, rather than having to bring the books to your computer. You can also take a picture of the book with your iPhone camera and then add it to the book description page.

What I like most about the Bento iPhone app is the fact that it was created with someone like me in mind. It is easy to use, has templates that a parent or self-employed individual would need and it is cheap. What more could you want from a personal database application?

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Modern Family, a new comedy premiering on ABC Wednesday night, September 23rd at 9pm ET, is not only the funniest new comedy on television, it might be the funniest comedy on television period. I first viewed the premiere episode at home, by myself, and I was laughing out loud throughout the show. Then, I saw the Modern Family pilot again in an auditorium with a few hundred people at the Paley Center for Media. The entire audience, made up of young and old, were rolling in the aisles. Modern Family is must-see comedy.

Modern Family is a mockumentary about the lives of three modern day families, that turn out to be related. Ed O'Neill (Married with Children) is Jay, the patriarch of the family. His family consists of his much younger, sexier Colombian wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara), and her son Manny (Rico Rodriguez). Julie Bowen (Ed, Lost, Boston Legal) plays Claire. She lives with her husband Phil (Ty Burrell) and three children, a teen, tween and child. Phil likes to think that he is a cool, with-it dad, but his kids think otherwise. The third couple is Mitchell and Cameron, an openly gay couple that have adopted a baby from Vietnam.

Modern family has received rave reviews from television critics everywhere. From Zap2it, "There's a moment in the pilot that is so funny that right now I'm laughing just thinking about it. And that's the number one best thing about Modern Family - it's a new comedy that is actually laugh-out-loud funny." From the NY Times, "Every season has a standout new show. This is it".

Check out this preview clip of Modern Family:



Do not miss the premiere of Modern Family tomorrow night, Wednesday September 23rd at 9pm ET. You don't want to miss the funniest new show on television that will make you laugh out loud, do you?

See also: Modern Family: New comedy on ABC for my Examiner review with more details and a longer video

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Accidentally on Purpose is a new comedy premiering on CBS on Monday, September 21st at 8:30pm ET on CBS. Based on book with the same name, Jenna Elfman stars as Billie, a single woman in her late 30s, who gets pregnant after a brief affair with Zach, a much younger guy. They agree to live together platonically, which gets difficult when his friends start turning her apartment into a frat house.

I recently took place in a conference call interview with Jenna Elfman, Mary Pols (author of the book, Accidentally on Purpose) and Claudia Lonow, executive producer and writer on the television series. The were all extremely friendly and had a mutual admiration for each other. Here are the highlights from the interview:

Jenna Elfman chose this role, not because she had anything in common with the character of Billie, because she doesn't, but because her voice was so appealing and her wit was so unique and fresh. She had never done anything like this before and she couldn't stop thinking about it. Jenna connects to the zest for life and joy of Accidentally on Purpose.

The reason Jenna decided to return to sitcoms was because she loves making people laugh, especially a live audience. It is the most satiating and pleasurable experience.

Mary Pols, author, had been a struggling film critic before Accidentally on Purpose. When asked how she went about getting her book to become a TV series, she answered that she actually did nothing. Her agent shopped it around and it was optioned before even being published. Like a fairy tale, she didn't believe it was really happening until she visited the set.

The book is not all comedy. There are many thoughtful and intimate issues. Will they be incorporated into the TV series? Producer, Claudia, said that there will be some dramatic issues raised but Accidentally on Purpose will still always maintain the form of a comedy.

When asked if she felt pressure portraying a real person, Jenna responded that she has both Mary and Claudia, two very smart witty women helping her. Also, because comedy has its own DNA, she isn't really portraying Mary's exact life. Because Claudia had already produced a show on Showtime that was semi-autobiographical to herself, she knows what it is like to be portrayed on TV and is very protective of Mary.

Mary's large family is a big part of Accidentally on Purpose, the book, so they do have some part on the series also. She said that they all find this very funny and are enjoying it, but are still happy that their names aren't being used. However, Matt, the real life baby father, is not completely on board yet.

Zack is a chef on the TV series, however Matt, was unemployed during this time. Mary thought it was funny that of all jobs they made him a chef because Matt couldn't cook at all. But, as Jenna pointed out, Zack having a job gives another dimension to the show.

When asked how it felt to be portraying a cougar, or old woman, Jenna sounded as if she hadn't thought of their relationship that way before. Since she is still in her 30s, it is no big deal, she added.

When asked about her co-stars (Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Nicolas Wright, Grant Show, Lennon Parham among others), Jenna said that they all get along great. They are buddies with respect, admiration and trust for each other. Claudia added that one of the reasons that they get along so well is because of Jenna's friendliness.

Claudia was asked if she was excited to be part of CBS's hit Monday night comedy lineup (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory)? She is very excited about it but panicked at the same time.

Watch a clip from Accidentally on Purpose from CBS:



Don't forget to tune in to CBS on Monday September 21st at 8:30pm ET for the premiere episode of Accidentally on Purpose starring Jenna Elfman, produced by Claudia Lonow and based on the book by Mary Pols.

See also: Review of Accidentally on Purpose: New Jenna Elfman comedy on CBS

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Yndico Is is the first book written by singer, songwriter Sandra Olajide. It is an extremely unique novel and very difficult to categorize and describe. It looks like a children's book, yet I doubt they would understand it. Yndico Is will be enjoyed most by teens, tweens and even adults.

A description from the back cover of Yndico Is:

Yndico accidentally causes a rip in the fabric of time and steps through to a dimension where past, present and future merge simultaneously. Will she find her way home guided by the enigmatic Issy, a child from everywhen and the holder of incredible secrets and enormous powers?

The first book in a series, Yndico Is is part fantasy, part science fiction. It is also a story that will get you thinking and will leave you wanting more. The second book in the series is scheduled to go on sale on February 7, 2010.

Yndico Is Collector's Edition is a Hardbound limited edition book, numbered and signed by the author, Sandra Olajide, and comes with a CD single and poster. The song on the CD is Yindico is Free, written by the author especially for the book. You can listen to it on the Yndico Is website.

See also:
Do Teenage Girls Read Comics and Graphic Novels?
Have Young Adult Books Become More Popular and Respectable?

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Yesterday I attended an event at the Chelsea Piers Sports Center in Manhattan to watch Jillian Michaels unveil her new workout video game, Jillian Michaels Fitness ultimatum 2010. Not only did she tell us about it, but we saw demonstrations and got to try it out ourselves. I will definitely need to be starting this game on the easiest setting available.

If you've watched Jillian Michaels on The Biggest Loser or on any of her fitness DVDs, you know that she is a tough task master. However, when not training she was very sweet and spoke to everyone about getting into this career because of her overweight childhood.

The new 2010 Wii game goes on sale October 6th and features:

• Jillian's motion-captured movements - One on one training with Jillian's 3D avatar
• Fitness routines created by Jillian
• All-new audio from Jillian includes training and diet tips
• Customizable training calendar
• New high intensity workouts, while still offering multiple difficulty levels
• Many exercises enhanced for the Balance Board
• Exotic locations
• Spanish language support

Take a look at the video below to glimpse a real preview of the Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for the Wii:



This game will also be available as a portable high-intensity workout for the Nintendo DS beginning October 20th. You can follow Jillian's pre-defined workout routine or customize your own fitness routine. Over a dozen real world activities are available. You will still be able to follow a 3D avatar of Jillian on screen to maintain proper form and pace while you work out.

For more information on Jillian Michaels and all of her products, see her website, Jillian Michaels, Real Weight Loss for Real People.

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I recently viewed an advance copy of The Middle, a new comedy premiering on ABC on Wednesday, September 30th at 8:30pm ET. Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) plays Frankie, a middle-aged, midwestern mom of three kids, two of whom are teens, and a full time job. I could so easily relate to her world, and therefore knew how real it was, but laughed because it is funny when the craziness is happening to somebody else.

Neil Flynn (the janitor from Scrubs) is perfect as the husband and father that doesn't get too rattled by the kids, because, after all, its his wife's responsibility. Does that ring a bell to anyone?

The Middle is also made more interesting by the way they chose to portray the kids. Instead of the stereotypical portrayal of teens and kids we usually see on TV, all three of the kids on this show are uniquely quirky. The teens on The Middle seemed like real teens, not some writer's version of teens. The seven year old son is adorable, but mostly because of his problems.

I would love to hear what you think of The Middle. Please watch it next Wednesday night and come back and comment. Did you also relate to it? Do you agree that the casting for The Middle was perfect? Is your life as difficult as the life of Patricia Heaton's character?

See also: ABC The Middle website

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Teen girls love to shop. It is rarely a problem getting them interested. However, getting teen boys excited about shopping for clothes is not always easy. enveme.com has found the perfect solution; it combines shopping with music.

enveme.com is a music infused fashion and lifestyle website that was launched in August 2009. It sells the type of clothes that teens and twenty-somethings shop for; t-shirts, jeans and other casual clothes with quality style and smart design. The website features downloadable music of independent rock, pop and alternative bands. And there is something that parents will like - affordable prices.

enveme.com is a great website for finding new music. If your teen is in a serious band, have them submit their music to enveme. For news on the latest in music and fashion, sign up for the enveme newsletter. 25 fans that sign up by September 30th will win a limited-edition enveme t-shirt created exclusively to celebrate the launch.

Check out enveme.com. You will find first-rate teen clothing and hear some fantastic music. It is more much fun than a trip to the mall.

See also:  Teenage Girls and Fashion

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Multiply is a media sharing site that allows you to do anything with your photos all from one place. You can store, print and edit photos, share your photos on Multiply or cross-post them to Facebook and Twitter, and create things with your photos such as Multiply's award winning Photo Books. And the best part, at least for people like me, it is very easy to use.

Multiply is free to join. To add your photos, you can either upload one photo at a time, or the easier method is to download the Multiply AutoUploader. This tool will automatically download and backup all photos and videos from pre-selected folders on your computer that you choose. They are kept in a secure Media Locker. The only photos that will be seen by others are those that you choose to share.

To share your photos, you can invite your friends to visit your Multiply page and they can see all the photos you have selected for sharing. Or you can now send the photos to Facebook and Twitter.

“Our goal is to provide members with a one-stop, complete digital media solution, from the moment they plug in their cameras to the fulfillment of their photo print products,” explains Multiply CEO and founder Peter Pezaris. “An essential part of this complete experience is the ability to share with the people they know, regardless of the network they frequent.”

One of the best parts of using Multiply is being able to put your photos into their amazing products. Multiply's Photo books were named one of the outstanding products of 2009 by Disney's iParenting Media Awards. Multiply offers a huge selection of layouts which you can add your photos to and further customize. The price varies, but is very reasonable. Other products that can be ordered are calendars, cards and prints. The books and calendars you create would make great gifts.

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The iPhone is almost limitless in the amount of things that you can do with it. Yet, for such a complex gadget, it does not come with a handbook to explain it all to you. I have found that while my teens are happy to just experiment without a manual or guide, I prefer help. The Missing Manual series of books are perfect for people like me. I have especially found iPhone: The Missing Manual 3rd edition extremely useful. I agree with its subtitle, "The book that should have been in the box".

This new edition covers everything new that comes with the iPhone 3GS and the new 3.0 software. So if you are lucky enough to have the new iPhone that works as a video camera, you can get pointers on how to use it in the iPhone missing manual. It also comes with a compass and works much faster. Even if you have an older iPhone, you should have updated your software to 3.0 and now have access to many new features that you might not know that much about, such as copy and paste, multimedia messaging service, voice recording and much, much more. I am still learning about these new features every day.

The manual is extremely organized and very easy to follow. It includes advice for the novice through the more seasoned user. There is even artistic advice on how to take better pictures with your iPhone camera. The chapter on troubleshooting is worth the price of the book alone.


If you are acquainted with The Missing Manual series you know that most of the books are technical guides about computers or gadgets. You can imagine why I was intrigued when I saw a new book in the series titled Your Body: The Missing Manual (the book you should have been born with). It is different than most books you would read on this topic. It is much easier and lighter reading than a textbook on anatomy and much more intersting than a family health guide. It is an engaging, light read on how the various parts of your body work. While Your Body: The Missing Manual is a great book for both adults and teens, parents might want to check out the chapter on sex before deciding to share it with younger teens.

If you want to learn more about your iPhone or your body, check out the missing manuals. And keep in mind, there is an entire missing manuals series on many topics and the list keeps on growing.

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Vampires are continuing to ride high in pop culture, with a new television show, The Vampire Diaries, adding to the many books, TV show and movies already filling our thirst for vampire lore. Although not completely new, The Vampire Diaries is based on a book series, so bringing it to television will attract many new fans, especially now, with Twilight fans needing something to hold them over between movies.

The Vampire Diaries has a great deal in common with Twilight, so I see it's fan base being made up mostly of female teens and moms. Both deal with romance between a sad teenage girl and a vampire in a teenage body, yet over a hundred years old. I enjoyed the first episode, but I'm a mom, so I guess I fit into that demographic.

As much as I love vampire stories (Anne Rice, Buffy, Angel, Twilight), the main reason I decided to watch The Vampire Diaries was to see Ian Somerhalder again. I have missed him since Boone was killed on Lost's first season. He was wonderful as Damon, the bad boy vampire. It will be very interesting to see how his character develops over the course of the show. From an interview with Somerhalder in TV Guide: "Damon doesn't appear until late in the premiere episode, but his presence will loom large over the series. "He's very divisive, exceptionally smart and, unfortunately for Stefan and everyone else, very, very powerful." In the very near future, Somerhalder says, Damon will insinuate himself into a very central role in Mystic Falls."

I can't wait to see Boone, and other deceased characters, return to Lost during Season 6. Ian Somerhalder has no idea what is going to happen during Lost's final season and won't see his script until he is in Hawaii ready to film. I'm looking forward to watching Ian in both The Vampire Diaries and Lost this year.

See also: Emma and the Vampires - New Jane Austen Mashup

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I have always impressed upon my teens the importance of finding a career in which you love what you do. It won't feel like work and you will actually look forward to it each day. My older son, a computer addict since he was six years old, majored in computer science and now does computer programming for a social gaming and networking website. He loves his job. Hopefully my younger son, still in college will be as lucky. I am now also doing what I love; writing about pop culture, television, and technology. But I have learned that there is a downside to combining your passions and your work.

I find that it is now difficult for me to relax and be "off duty". Most of my hobbies and interests are exactly what I am now writing about. When my favorite magazine, Entertainment Weekly, arrives, I now read it more with an eye to what might be blogworthy than for relaxation. The same thing occurs when I watch television, go to the movies or listen to music. Browsing the Internet puts me into overdrive. Last night I attended an event as part of Back2Broadway month in New York. A panel of Broadway producers spoke about their craft. I was about to take notes when I forced myself to sit back and enjoy and forget about writing.

Now that I write a Television page for the Examiner.com, it has gotten even worse, because I am looking for even more TV stories. I recently was recommended two great television recap sites, one for PrimeTime TV and the other for DayTime TV. My first thoughts were, these will be great for catching up on shows to blog about, and I can blog about these sites. The funny part is that I was recommended these sites as places to relax with because I enjoy television. The worst was with my weekly blogging about Lost. I was so busy taking notes during each Lost episode, it was affecting my enjoyment of my favorite show. I solved that by watching the first time just as a viewer (it feels like heaven) and then rewatching from my DVR for my blog post.

Don't get me wrong. I would still rather work in what I love, and have less relaxation, then to have a job that I have no interest in. I am not complaining at all. I am just making an observation because I never thought that there could be any downside to doing what you love. I have found a good way to relax finally. I play Wurdle and Bejeweled on my iPhone. My head clears and I think of nothing else, not even television, pop culture or technology.

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I just returned from seeing a screening of the fall premiere, or 2nd episode, of Glee at the Paley Center for Media in NYC. I loved the first episode so I was a little worried that I might be let down. I couldn't have been more wrong. This episode, Showmance, put the pilot episode to shame.

This new episode of Glee is hysterical. During the second half, I laughed so much my stomach hurt. Jane Lynch is priceless as the coach of the cheerleaders and Jessalyn Gilsig is also very funny as Will's wife. Everything seemed to come together perfectly now that all the character introductions were out of the way.

This new fall premiere episode of Glee, Shomance, or episode number 2, will air on Fox, tomorrow night, Wednesday at 9pm ET. Do Not Miss It.

See Also:
Glee: Hit Musical Comedy on Fox
Glee: Fox airing director's cut and tweet-a-long

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Updated 8/26/10:
20 Fall Movies for Teens 2010











Labor Day is over and school is beginning. Usually that means that there won't be many movies released that teens would want to see until Thanksgiving. The fall is generally the time when smaller films for adults are released. This fall, 2009, teens won't have to wait for the holiday season to go back to the movies Here is a list of 20 movies that will open in theaters between mid-September and mid-December that should interest teenagers:

9/11
1. Sorority Row - Stars Brianna Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman and Audrina Patridge as six sorority sisters in this remake of a 1983 slasher film.

9/18
2. Jennifer's Body - Dark Comedy/Horror film starring Megan Fox (The Transformers), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia) and Adam Brody (The O.C.) . Written by Diablo Cody (Juno). Popular high school cheerleader becomes possessed by a demon. Teens will definitely want to see this (although it is rated R). Megan Fox is huge right now coming off this summer's hit Transformer's sequel.

3. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Computer animated movie based on the 1978 book by Judi and Ron Barrett. Starring Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Neil Patrick Harris as the voices of the main characters. Although more of a children's film, many of today's teens will remember reading the book and want to see it come to life. I saw a 15 minute preview of this film and I enjoyed it. It will be perfect for tweens.

9/25
4. Fame - Remake of the 1980 classic film to teens attending the New York City High School of Performing Arts. The songs Fame and Out Here On My Own are included again in the new film. Should be a hit with teens and adults.

5. Surrogates - Based on a comic book series and stars Bruce Willis. In 2017, humans live there lives through surrogates while they never leave the safety of their homes. Nobody is ever hurt. Then the inventor of the surrogates is murdered and an FBI agent (Willis) and his surrogate investigate the case.

10/2
6. The Invention of Lying - Comedy written, directed by and starring Ricky Gervais takes place on an alternate Earth where nobody ever lies. Also starring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Louis C.K., Christopher Guest and some big stars in cameos. With this group it should be hysterical.

7. Whip It - Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is this comedy starring Ellen Page (Juno) about a misfit girl who joins a roller derby league. Also starring Marcia Gay harden, Daniel Stern and Kristen Wiig.

8. Zombieland - Comedy about a band of survivors after a zombie plague, fighting the living dead while traveling the country, stopping at an amusement park. Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland), Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Amber Heard.

10/9
8. Couple's Retreat - Comedy starring Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman and Kali Hawk. Although a comedy about four couples on vacation may not seem typical teen fare, I think that this cast will pull in many older teens.

10/16
10. Where The Wild Things Are - Live action film, combined with suitmation, animatronics and CGI, of the classic 1963 children's book by Maurice Sendak. Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo and Max Records star as Max and his parents. Just as with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, teens will want to see this because they loved the book growing up and might also want to see the effects.

10/23
11. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - This fantasy adventure based on a book series called "The Saga of Darren Shan" is about a teenager who accidentally breaks a 200 year old truce between two factions of vampires. He will be pulled away from his boring life into one of freaks and grotesque creatures of the night.

10/30
12. Gentlemen Broncos - Comedy about a homeschooled teenager who aspires to be a fantasy writer and attends a fantasy convention to show off his work. A famous novelist, Ronald Chevalier, desperate for new ideas, steals his idea "Broncos". Directed by Napoleon Dynamite director, Jared Hess.

13. Youth in Revolt - Adapted from a novel of the same name by C.D. Payne, it stars Michael Cera as a 16 year old sex-obsessed boy (is any 16 year old boy not) who meets an intellectual girl on vacation in a trailer park. Parents and boyfriends keep getting in the way. Also starring Steve Buscemi, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Ari Graynor and Zach Galifianakis. Looks like it has all the ingredients of the perfect teen movie.

11/13
14. 2012 - Science Fiction disaster film starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. Survivors struggle for their lives after a global cataclysm. Although not a teen movie, per se, these big budget disaster movies are usually seen by all ages.

11/20
15. New Moon - Sequel to Twilight, the film and the book and probably the most anxiously awaited movie by teen girls this year. Do I need write anything more? In addition to stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as Bella and Edward, Taylor Lautner will have a much bigger role in New Moon as Jacob Black. This is the book that started the "team Edward" vs. "team Jacob" camps. So far the clips from the movie look amazing, with much more action than there was in Twilight.

16. Planet 51 - Animated film about a human astronaut who lands on Planet 51, thinking he's the first, then finds that there are little green people living in what looks just like 1950s America. Tweens should enjoy this.

17. The Blind Side - Based on the 2006 book by Michael Lewis about football. The film is about Michael Oher, a Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman and how he made it to the NFL from his poor beginnings. Starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher.

12/4
18. Up In The Air - Comedy starring George Clooney and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno). I think this alone will bring many people in to the theaters. Up in the Air screened at the Telluride film festival to wonderful reviews. If you still even care about the plot, Clooney's character travels around the country terminating corporate employees. He never stays in one place, and has an anonymous life. He is then grounded and must work and live in one place.

12/11
19. The Lovely Bones - Based on the 2002 novel by Alice Sebold about a teenage girl that is brutally killed and then looks down on her family from Heaven. Starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci. Taking a big departure from Lord of The Rings, Peter Jackson directs.

12/18
20. Avatar - Probably the most highly anticipated movie this year by males, this 3-D epic action adventure/science fiction movie is James Cameron's first fictional film since Titanic in 1997. "On the distant moon Pandora, a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization." Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi and a budget of over $200 million.

Which of these movies looks good to you? Which movies do you think teens will want to see the most?


See also:
42 Movies for Teens 2011
23 Summer Movies for Teens and Tweens 2010
36 Movies for Teens 2010
The Lovely Bones Movie Preview

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I recently attended Mashable's Social Good Conference in NYC. One of the best parts of the event for me was meeting Ambriel Pouncy from PLAYBACK Clothing and learning about the wonderful recycled t-shirts and sweatshirts that they make and sell. This company treats making clothes and helping the environment as all one process.

Adam Siskind started PLAYBACK clothing after being inspired by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. He decided he wanted "to push the boundaries of eco-apparel in a way that promotes quality, innovation, and sustainability".

All of PLAYBACK's clothing is made from recycled products - either recycled bottles or post-industrial cotton scraps. PLAYBACK gathers the recyclable products, sorts them by color (to avoid using extra dye), breaks them down into fiber form, re-creates them and designs them. You can then buy a very cool looking t-shirt or sweatshirt that is better for the environment and puts less stress on our planet. And by the way, they are so soft and comfortable.

I got a t-shirt for my teenage son made out of recycled root beer bottles so the shirt is a light brown. He loved it and thought is was very cool. All of the t-shirts are muted brown, blue, green or gray because these are the colors of the materials they recycle and why add chemical dye if it isn't necessary?

So check out PLAYBACK Clothing, buy some amazing clothes and feel good about yourself. Spread the word to your friends. If PLAYBACK succeeds, hopefully more companies will see that it is worthwhile using recycled materials.

See also: Teenage Girls and Fashion

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By this time next week, we will be hearing The Beatle's songs everywhere. Not only is The Beatles: Rock Band finally coming out on September 9, 2009, but on the same day, reissues of their albums will also be available for sale. This would be a grand comeback if The Beatles had ever left.

If you want to get prepared and read about the Beatles and see great photographs of them, then the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, going on sale tomorrow, September 4, 2009 is the place to go. EW will attempt to rank the 50 best Beatles songs, not an easy task since they are all so great. The magazine will also include a gallery of rare behind-the-scene photographs.

As for The Beatles: Rock Band, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison were very much a part to putting it together. The games includes 45 songs from throughout the time the The Beatles recorded, never before seen photos and audio clips of the band in the studio. This is one video game that I am looking forward to my family playing.

See also:
Beatles Video on Why Music Matters
The Beatles Rock Band: A Video Game for all Generations

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Do you have trouble finding healthy breakfast cereal that your kids will like? Do they each want a different type of cereal? What about snacks? Finding healthy snacks that teens will enjoy can be a very daunting task. Look no further. Check out MojaMix, a fully customizable granola, perfect for breakfast or snack, that is sold online.

With MojaMix, you choose what will be in your cereal. First you choose your cereal base, then add any dried fruits you want and then nuts and seeds. There are even a few extras, such as chocolate coffee beans, which I added and were delicious. There are prices next to each ingredient so you can spend as much or little as you'd like. When you are done, you name your mix. So if you get a different one for each kid, they can each name theirs.

I found that my MojaMix worked better for a snack because I chose many large ingredients. I think that next time I will use smaller ingredients to try it out as cereal. But I loved having such a yummy, healthy snack to eat.

I just read an article on Ypulse discussing the results of a youth-hosted forum organized by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation. One of the obstacles that the teen panelists cited in achieving their goals of eating healthier was the lack of options to affordable healthy food options during the school day. With MojaMix, you can just fill you a snack bag each day of the mix that they chose and they can have a healthy snack at school every day.

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We Will Rock You - The Game, an iPhone app from Queen Theatrical Productions, is a simulation game in which you are the show's producer. You must take your production of the hit musical We Will Rock You from a school auditorium all the way to its real venue, London's Dominion Theatre.

The game is based on the real musical "We Will Rock You", based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single. The show has played in many locations around the world and its audience has recently topped 10 million.

You will make all production and creative decisions but you must stay within the show's budget. You will have to decide on ticket prices, merchandising and marketing. Of course, the show will have to rock, so you must select the right cast, equipment and props. You have one year to reach your goal.

The We Will Rock You - The Game iPhone app is FREE and available worldwide. If you ever wanted to be part of the music industry, this is your chance to try it out, while listening to the great music of Queen at the same time.

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