Pink: A Sorta Kinda Review

Last Friday, I saw Pink in concert. I was beyond excited. In 2010, on my old blog, I wrote about how upset I was in 2009 that I couldn’t see Pink or Kelly Clarkson in concert because I was unemployed and broke.

But three and half years make a difference, and I’m in a much better financial position, so I was able to shell out the money to see Pink, who I’ve been a fan of since her first CD way back when.

Here are some random thoughts…

1. Her abs are ridiculous. Actually, she’s in amazing shape period. But her abs…OMG. I was sitting close enough to the stage that I could make out the delineation with my eyes and didn’t need the screen to point it out.

Just noticed the guy behind her, who looks like he’s pointing at her butt. LOL. He was the emcee of the show, for lack of a better term.

As the above picture shows, when she came over to my side of the stage, I was close enough to touch her, but I thought that would be kinda creepy, so I didn’t. Instead, I did my best to blind her with the flash of my camera. Good Times.

2. She did A LOT of acrobatics during the show, but I was like, “I’ve seen this before.” In my head, she’d done a lot of this in the 2009 concert, so it wasn’t fresh. Been there, done that. However, as luck would have it, Palladia (a TV show I adore and blogged about) aired that 2009 concert Saturday, so I was able to compare. Woo hoo! She did a little bit of flying back then, but she amped it up big time this time around. I guess she was testing the waters back then. I saw her do the acrobatic stuff on a couple of award shows and wrongly assumed that was her old show, but it wasn’t.

So I was being a little harder than I should have been. Acrobatic, flying around stuff was supercool while singing and sounding great at the same time. Thumbs up!

3. I laughed in the middle of the show when they played a video about how she won a talent contest when she was 13 and released her first CD in 2000 back when she was pop/R&B Pink instead of the pop/Rock Pink we all know and love today. It was a big flashing light that “these next songs are going to be weird and different from my recent stuff.” She performed a melody of the singles from that CD, including “There You Go.” I was obsessed with this song when I was in college. I don’t know why, but I was.

I was glad she did them, especially when I watched the 2009 tour and she did not.

4. I don’t like looking up setlists before going to shows. I like it to be a surprise. Which is why as the concert neared its end, I kept thinking, “Surely she’s not going to do this concert and not perform True Love, my favorite song on her latest CD.”

But that’s exactly what she did. I never even contemplated that she wouldn’t do the song because she’s performed it before. She did it during her VH-1 Storytellers (which I saw on Palladia – told ya I love that channel!). I was going to link to a Youtube video of the video, but it appears not to exist – lol. Luckily, I found the entire Storytellers episode on VH1′s website. I thought it was a really good episode and highly recommend it. It was way better than someone else’s episode. I won’t names, but she felt the need to go into character for each song. *cue eyeroll*

Anyway, back to the point. Here’s the video of True Love if you don’t want to watch the entire episode for some crazy, ridiculous reason. I love this song because it’s sweet and funny and true. So upset she didn’t do it during the concert.

Oh, wait. She did show a video at the end of the concert of some behind the scenes stuff that used True Love as the background music, but that didn’t count! If I wanted to hear a recorded version of the song, I could have popped in my CD.

Overall thoughts – Pink put on a fun, funny, sometimes risque, entertaining show. She sounded great. It’s always fun to be in the company of thousands who enjoy the same thing you do. Glad I went. Thumbs up.

Up next: Kelly Clarkson this Friday. Can’t wait.

All play and no work? Hey, I was at Disney World!

Tags

2013, Mickey Mouse, vacation, Walt Disney World

This photo cracks me up. Hey, Boo!

A few weeks ago, I went to a work conference being held at WALT DISNEY WORLD. SCORE! #winning! And any other cool terms I can’t think of right now or just don’t know because I’m not cool.

So yeah, I adore Walt Disney World and will look for any excuse I can think of to go there. The last time I was there was in 2010 for the Romance Writers of America conference. However, as I  I wandered through the parks on this last trip, I remembered that I only spent half a day at the Magic Kingdom during the RWA trip, so really it had been since December 2008 that I spent any quality time in the parks.

I was shocked by this. Where did the time go?

Most things were the same at the World, but a few had changed, which is as it should be. It keeps things fresh and interesting for me. A few highlights of the trip…

A view of the Grand Floridian from the monorail

1. OMG, the hotel! The Grand Floridian is Disney’s flagship hotel and I got to stay there! My employer paid for my hotel during the conference. The official conference hotel was the Contemporary, but it sold out and the Disney rep asked if I minded staying at the overflow hotel, the GF. Um, yeah, I think that will be okay. I’ve always wanted to stay at one of Disney’s deluxe hotels, but I’m way too cheap to pay the asking price. But if someone else is footing the bill? Heck, yeah. Sign me up.

The hotel was beautiful, of course, but another benefit of staying at the GF was that I got to ride the monorail a lot because the conference was at the Contemporary. And now I’m officially in love. I’ve heard other Disneyphiles rhapsodizing about the monorail’s convenience and now I fully understand why. The monorail only stops at a few of Disney’s hotels. I never waited long for one and most of the time I had a seat. Granted, it was late January, not the middle of July, but still…

2. You want some mayo with those fries? On my Hollywood Studios day, I was eating dinner at a table outside when two teenagers plopped down at my table, which was cool. It was crowded and I was taking up a big table by myself because I couldn’t find a small table. Anywho, they started talking and I tried to figure out where they were from. England? No, I didn’t think so because the girl said something and I had no idea what she said although she was only a few feet away. South Africa, maybe? Since it wasn’t really any of my business, I didn’t ask.

Not even when the boy poured ketchup and mayo all over his fries. But when the girl asked him for a packet of mayo and poured it all over her fries, I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I asked where they were from. New Zealand. Aww, so close. I asked if it was common for New Zealanders to put mayo on their fries. After a few seconds, they said yes, although they’d never thought about it before. They were working at Disney in the college program and had been in the States for two weeks.

3. You’re going to want to sleep in this ride. So when I rode Hollywood Tower of Terror, a dad sat in the row in front of me with his daughter. She couldn’t have been older than 4 or 5. He was really psyching her up. “You’re going to love this! You’re going to want to sleep in this ride!” In my head, I’m going, “No, she’s not. She’s going to hate it.” In case you don’t know, Tower of Terror is a sudden, elevator drop ride. It’s not as crazy as similar rides at Six Flags and other amusement parks, but it’s still pretty intense. So, anyway, we rode the ride. I clutched the handrail as hard as I can and yelled the whole way. As the ride ends, I hear this little voice in front of me. “Again, again, again!” I guess Daddy knew best.

4. Are you from the United States? While at the Magic Kingdom, my phone battery started to die. I found an electrical outlet outside of a building. Better yet, there was a bench next to the outlet, so I plopped down and went to charging. The bench was also across the way from a restroom. So an old man sat next to me while his family used the facilities. I smiled and nodded at him and went back to reading Twitter on the phone. All of a sudden I hear, “Are you from the United States?” Yes, old man was talking to me.

I understand why he asked. One of the coolest things about Disney World is the sheer amount of languages and accents you hear just walking through the parks. It was funny. He probably could have phrased the question in a more polite way, but it was cool. After I told him yes, he asked about my cool Crocs because he was from Colorado near the Crocs headquarters.

The American Idol Experience

5. Fake American Idol makes me just as mad as real American Idol. I love American Idol, so I was really excited to try out the American Idol Experience, in which park guests audition and participate in an American Idol-like show. They sing, they get critiqued by 3 judges, and there’s a Ryan Seacrest wannabe judge, and the audience votes on the winner. They have about 4 of these shows throughout the day and then have a show at night with all of the winners and one grand prize winner is announced. The grand prize winner gets a “head of the line” pass for the real American Idol auditions. They don’t have to camp out with the masses.

I went to a morning session and loved it, so I had to go to the evening session to see if my girl won. And she didn’t! I was so mad. I’m fully convinced that they gave it to the teenager because she was the right age and my girl was “over the hill” because she was in her 30s. Hmmph.

6. And one bad thing. Yep, that’s my suitcase. Sometime between when I checked in my bag at the airport and when it was delivered to my hotel room, it lost a wheel. Sigh. I’ve wanted new luggage for a while. Now, I have the perfect excuse to get some. #silverlining – But if that was the worst thing to happen, then it was a fabulous trip.

Okay, this post is really long, so I’ll stop now. Enjoy a few photos from the trip with some witty, insightful, HI-LARIOUS captions.

And, oh, yeah, I can’t wait to go back!

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Dear RGIII

Tags

RG3, RGIII, Robert Griffin III, sociology of sport

Oh, Robert Griffin III. I like you, even though you play for the hated Washington Redskins. You’re articulate and a fellow Texan. I feel pride seeing a black quarterback succeed in the NFL when that opportunity was blocked for so many decades because of the implicit and often explicit belief that black men weren’t smart enough to play the position or lead a team.

However, after watching yesterday’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks and listening to some of your postgame comments, I want to smack you upside the head.

I understand. Professional athletes are ultracompetitive. They have to be to in order to rise to the professional ranks. That competitiveness is their greatest asset, but it’s also their greatest weakness. They have such a myopic view of the world. They feel that if they don’t play in this ONE game, then the world is going to collapse around them. They don’t think about the repercussions their decisions can have on their lives long after their playing days are over.

When I was in graduate school, I took Sociology of Sport. While what we studied could often be classified as common sense, it was still eye-opening for me. At that point, I’d been a huge sports fan for over fifteen years and had been fully immersed in that culture and accepting of the cultural norms. The biggest cultural norm being hypermasculinity. If you listen to sports broadcasters during games or on Sportscenter, they’ll often call athletes who play through pain “real” men and ideal teammates, i.e. people we should aspire to be like. That attitude is so pervasive hardly anyone contradicts it, least of all the athletes who are putting themselves in harm’s way.

“You respect authority, and I respect Coach Shanahan,” you said after the game. “But at the same time, you have to step up and be a man, sometimes. There was no way I was coming out of that game.”

Oh, RGIII.

I know. You didn’t want to let down your team. An admirable quality, but knowing your limits and accepting them doesn’t make you less of a man. Being a man has nothing to do with playing a sport.

Here’s the thing. You just completed your first season. You have many more games to play and, if you’re lucky, championships to win. This one game was not going to put you in the Hall of Fame, but it had the potential to destroy any chance of that ever happening if your knee never fully recovers.

You weren’t giving your team the best chance to win playing on that bum knee (but since even your coach refused to acknowledge this fact, maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on you). And it was bum. It wasn’t something you could just walk off.

You are a man, even if you never step foot on a football field again. It’s time to make smart decisions that will benefit you and your team for years to come, not for one game or one season.

Real men understand the journey is long.

Steel Magnolias Remake: Yay?!

Tags

Lifetime, Parent Trap, remake, Steel Magnolias

If anyone mentions Dirty Dancing or Steel Magnolias, I always say it’s my favorite movie. They’re like 1a and 1b for me. I’ve seen them both a million times, and enjoy each like it’s the first time every time I watch.

When I was a kid, I would watch Steel Magnolias every day. My mom would ask why I was watching it again. It’s so sad, she would say. It is, but it’s also hilarious was always my response.

I love Steel Magnolias so much that I read the play it’s adapted from. No, I didn’t see the play. I read the play. That’s love.

Last week, Lifetime released the trailer for its all-black remake of Steel Magnolias. I knew they were making it. I just wasn’t sure what my reaction should be. And I’m still not.

As a general rule, I don’t see the point in remakes, especially when the remake adheres so strictly to the original. But then I think of a remake that I do enjoy and I wonder if I’m being too harsh.

I saw the original Parent Trap with Hayley Mills as a kid because it was mentioned several times in The Babysitters Club. Then Lindsay Lohan’s version was released, and I enjoy it almost as much as the original. They changed just enough the story to make it seem fresh, but still remain faithful and respectful to the original.

But then we have the Footloose remake. I haven’t seen it, but I did see the trailer, and it didn’t look like they had changed anything beyond the choreography, which begged the question – what was the point? I haven’t felt compelled to watch it. Perhaps I’m being too harsh, but from the outside looking in, that’s how it looked.

So when I saw the link on Twitter for the Steel Magnolias trailer, I hesitated for a few seconds and then clicked. What would I get? Similar, but different enough or the same thing?

Have I mentioned that I’ve seen Steel Magnolias a million times? There are only a handful of movies for which I can recite most of the dialogue.

So, yeah, that trailer? At least 95% of the dialogue is the same, which begs the question – what’s different from the original version that made a remake a necessity?

Yeah, they changed the characters to be black, but is that really enough of a difference to justify a new movie? I guess I should reserve judgment until I see it. Maybe they will surprise me.

And I will be watching if only to see what they did to my favorite movie. I won’t be able to help myself.

Sigh.

Which I guess is the reason Lifetime made the movie in the first place.

Dallas: Back to the Future

Last year, when I heard that TNT was rebooting the iconic TV series, Dallas, I got excited. Although I don’t remember a lot of details, I do remember watching it when I was a kid. I always love a good soap opera. And I’m from Dallas.

I finally got to watch it, and I wasn’t disappointed. I squeed a little at the opening montage with the familiar theme song and the even more familiar city landmarks. The show itself more than lived up to its promise of soapy goodness. I’ll definitely be watching again.

And yet…the show is called Dallas. It’s not called Rich People Backstabbing Each Other. Although that would be an apropos title, as well. So because it is called Dallas, the city is another character that is showcased. I appreciated that the producers want the show to be as authentic as possible. If for no other reason, shooting here puts money into the local economy yada yada yada.

But I did scratch my head a few times, notably in a few scenes with John Ross, JR’s son. John Ross had a few clandestine meetings, one in the middle of Cowboys Stadium. Yeah, that’s not the place I’d have a clandestine meeting. Maybe in the parking lot, but they’re not just going to waltz on to the field. The stadium isn’t open to any old body, not even the filthy rich. And if you do want to go in, someone is going to ask why.

The second secret meeting took place on some tram thing, and I was really confused. I was thinking that they must have shot that scene in LA, and then I saw the ferris wheel in the background, and I knew where they were – the fairgrounds. But the fair is only here for a month. Maybe the tram is in use other times, but I doubt it. The fairgrounds probably are a good clandestine meeting place, but the tram? Um, OK.

Now, I’m sure I only noticed these things because I’m a Dallasite, and that if the show took place elsewhere, I never would have noticed the odd location choices.

But I chuckled. And scratched my head.

I can’t wait for the next episode and see what other local hotspots I notice.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Tags

Golden Heart, repost, Tell Me Something Good, writing

Yeah, I’m a Golden Heart® finalist. Yeah, seriously. I’m thrilled and still having trouble wrapping my head around it.

After I got the call, I remembered a blog post on the old blog I wrote in January 2011 about starting the GH manuscript. So I went and found it. Reading it brought a huge smile to my face. Who knew what would happen with this story 14 months later?

I thought I’d repost it because it’s so cute.

By the way, for the most part, my initial vision for the story remained intact. I did figure out what Noelle said to tick Tate off, and hilarity most definitely ensued.
http://www.jamiewesley.com/1/post/2011/01/it-feels-like-the-first-time-starting-a-new-manuscript.html
January 4, 2011

Today is a banner day for me. I’m starting a new manuscript – my third. First drafts are my favorite part of the writing process. It’s when I’m at my most creative and let the ideas flow freely. I have an idea of where I want the story to go, but I love getting that zing when an idea pops into my head that makes the story funnier or connects to another, previously unrelated plot point. I’m more of a pantser than a plotter, so it’s all great fun.

However, this new manuscript is different from my first two. The first two had been rolling around in my head for years. I think 2002 for the first one, Seducing Ms. Right, and 2003 for the second one, Second to None. They were stories straight from my heart. I got to write about football in the first and a The Bachelor-type show in the second. These are two things I know waaaayyy too much about. I knew for years what the central conflict in the stories would be (in part anyway).

This new manuscript idea only came to me in late 2010. I was trying to finish up Second to None, but this story kept poking at me. The title, Tell Me Something Good, came to me first. I think I heard the song on the radio and thought that would make a great book title. The “Tell” part stuck out to me and the first thing to pop into my head were radio personalities. Both my heroine and hero are talk show hosts, working for the same radio station. I know they don’t like each other. They each have not-so-nice (but funny) nicknames they’ve given each other that play off the other’s name. Tate and Noelle are going to be fun to write.

However…I don’t know much else. I’m pretty sure she says something that hacks him off and then hilarity will ensue. I kind of have glimpses of their personalities – she’s a little uptight, he’s the fun-loving flirt. I think anyway. I have an inkling of how the story ends – that idea popped into my head as I drove to work this morning – but other than that, I’m not sure.

Basically I’m entering unchartered waters. I know I want to figure out their motivations and goals before I dive too deep into the story. If I don’t, I’ll have problems. Been there, done that. With Second to None, I managed to write a complete first draft without fully understanding what drove Jeremiah, the hero. Not good. I don’t want to make that mistake with Tell Me.

So…

I have a craft book on characters that I’m going to peruse and use to help shape their personalities and figure out how they complement each other. I’m also going to do basic background sketches, so I know their backstories and, by extension, their motivations.

I hope this helps me avoid some of the pitfalls from the first two books, even though I know there are others waiting for me if only because I’m still learning how to be a writer. I always will be.

But anyway…wish me luck in this endeavor.

What do you do to prepare to write a book? Detailed character studies and plot outlines? Or do you sit at your computer and let your fingers take over? Something in between?

xoxo,
Jamie

Jam of the Week

Tags

Jill Scott, So Gone, writing playlist

I’m a horrible blogger. You know it. I know it. I haven’t been inspired to write anything lately, so I haven’t. *hangs head in shame*

BUT…I have been listening to this song a lot lately because it’s on my current work-in-progress’ playlist. I’m pretty sure my heroine stops whatever she’s doing and nods whenever she hears it. She’s in this position and can’t find it within herself to care. I love it (the song and my heroine’s predicament). Enjoy!

Quick Thoughts on Whitney

Tags

Whitney Houston

It’s been over a week since Whitney Houston passed away. I was sad then. I’m  sad more. I’ve been listening to her music and dancing and singing along. It makes me sad, nostalgic, and happy.Man, what a voice!

Two Whitney memories stand out for me.

1. When I was in high school, more than once we broke out singing “The Greatest Love of All” on the bus. Mind you, that song was 10 years old at that point.

2. When The Bodyguard came out, I went to see it with my mom and other family members. Up until that point, I hadn’t liked “I Will Always Love You.” It hadn’t spoken to me or maybe I needed my ears cleared. Who knows what I was thinking? But I’ll tell you as the movie ended and the credits started rolling and the song started playing, there I was belting the song out in the middle of the theater. Yeah, I’ve been a fan of the song ever since.

Whitney, I’ll miss you. May you find the peace in heaven that seemed to allude you here on Earth.

Jam of the Week: My Birthday Edition

Tags

birthday, concert, Jackson 5, Jamie, Kelly Clarkson

Today is my birthday. Woot, woot!

Anyway, last night as a birthday present to myself I saw Kelly Clarkson in concert. She was amazing! Say what you want about her, but the girl can sing her butt off.

But it almost didn’t happen.

When the tickets went on sale, I had no clue. I’m usually pretty good about keeping track of that stuff. All I know is a few days after they went on sale, a DJ mentioned it on the radio. I was like, “Say what, now?”

I immediately hightailed it to my computer and went to ticketmaster.com, but of course all the good seats were long gone. Here’s something you should know about me. I’m hella spoiled when it comes to concert seating. I don’t do nosebleeds. I like to be as close as possible.

I decided to wait to buy tickets. I’ve played this game more than once. It’s not uncommon for (good) seats to be released the closer the concert date approaches. So I checked Ticketmaster every few days. Nothing.

Yesterday morning, I woke up early just to check Ticketmaster. Nothing but nosebleeds. At some point during the day, a lone seat close to the floor popped up, but someone was faster than me and snatched it up. Boo!

For the rest of the day, I went back and forth about just getting a nosebleed seat, but I couldn’t pull the trigger. Spoiled, remember?

But I really wanted to see Kelly. But I didn’t want to watch a speck on stage. Oh, the quandary.

So yeah, at 3:30, the concert was taken off Ticketmaster’s page. No!! I called Ticketmaster and got a recording that tickets could now only be be bought at the venue. I hunted down the venue’s box office number on their website. I called and asked if they had any tickets. Nope. Sold out. This was around 4:00.

I decided to wait until 5:00 to try again. I called and got a recording. The box office opens 2 hours before the show. The concert started at 7:30. Fine. I finished up some actual  job-related work, programmed the box office number in my phone, gathered all my stuff and headed to my car. By the time I got to my car, it was about 5:25.

I called. Got the recording. Waited 5 minutes. Called. Someone answered! Do you have 1 ticket? “We have one ticket available, but we don’t sell tickets over the phone.”

I told her it wouldn’t be a problem. I’d be there shortly. It just so happens that I work close to the venue, my one saving grace. I gunned it, arrived, ran up to the box office and asked if they had a ticket. They still had it. I bought it and the rest is history.

Yeah, kinda ridiculous. But worth it.

I haven’t done a Jam of the Week in a while (ya know because I haven’t been blogging, but whatever). Still I couldn’t let my birthday pass without putting one up.

So yeah, this song was written and recorded before I was born, but we can’t let facts stand in the way of a good story, can we? They’re obviously singing about me, right?

So I present to you… Jamie by the Jackson 5.

My New Favorite Commercial

With the Super Bowl coming up this Sunday, it got me thinking about commercials.

My last favorite commercial was the AT&T flash mob commercial, but they’ve retired that one, I guess. Now I have a new favorite.

It cracks me up. Every. Time.

I love how Jack tries to “sell it” at the meeting with his dancing. And Little Jack’s devastation sends me right over the edge.

Love!