I’ve listened to Swifty since “Tim McGraw.” I remember hearing of this Taylor person in Athens sophomore year of college, and immediately downloaded her debut album. From “Tim McGraw” to “Picture to Burn,” I was hooked. Then I heard “Should’ve Said No” and was absolutely in awe of this girl who was years younger than me.

I kept my T. Swift album a secret, but then, she came out with Fearless. And…

Oh.

My.

God.

It was oh so good! Track after track, I just couldn’t take it all in fast enough. “You Belong With Me” was my insta-favorite from the first run through, but then I began to love “Tell Me Why” and “You’re Not Sorry” oh so much.

Soon after, Taylor Swift became a CELEBRITY. She was everywhere. She was dating Joe Jonas. She was dumped by Joe Jonas. She was nominated for a bunch of awards. She won a bunch of awards (including a Grammy for Album of the Year). She was interrupted by Kanye, and became even more famous. She hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and then she started to date Taylor Lautner. I mean, she was of Britney Spears “Oops I Did It Again” fame.

With this great fame, came all of the haters. I like to think of myself (Pop-artists aside), as someone with good musical taste. People were making fun of my T.Swift collection on my iPod. If I was famous, I think I would’ve received hate-mail. Suddenly, it became embarrassing to like Taylor Swift. I heard it all: “She’s always singing about getting revenge,” “Her voice sounds whiny,” “She plays the same notes over and over again,” etc.

To all the haters, I say this: what great song isn’t about revenge? Or boys? Or love? Or bullies? Maybe her voice sounded whiny on her first CD because she was, um 15 or 16 when she recorded it and every girl at that age sounds like a whiny little BIA if ya know what I’m saying. And No, her songs do not sound alike. Nor does she, or any of the musicians play the same pattern in music on every single song. That is ridic. Obviously, all of those people who voted on her for the billion awards she received agree with me.

Taylor released her third album, Speak Now, this past Monday (10/25). I was kind of worried it was going to suck. Not because I don’t have any faith in my Swifty, but it seems like once most artists become uber-popular, all of these producers and mixers want to come in and mess with their voice and their overall sound, and it never turns out well. To my great relief, the album is phenomenal. I love every single track. At the moment, I cannot stop listening to “Sparks Fly,” “Dear John,” “Last Kiss,” and “Long Live.” Making this album thrice as nice, Taylor wrote every song on the album as a “TAKE THAT! (throws fist in air)” to all of her critics.

There’s something so uplifting about fun, catchy pop music. I love all of my whisper rock artists like Joshua Radin (see you Thursday, stud), Damien Rice and Sufjan Stevens, but it’s so fun to crank up the volume on tracks like “Mine” and sing and dance in my car as if I’m 16 again.

On the bright side, I’m certainly not alone in my like of T. Swift anymore. Speak Now record sales could reach one million in its first week on the shelves.

So, keep telling me you don’t like her. Keep giving me reasons as to why she sucks. And keep secretly downloading her music (I know you’re doing it!).

I’m loud and proud of my love of Taylor, and will be amongst the pre-teen girls at her next concert. I ain’t scurred.

The thing that kills me about all of my career aspirations is that romantic comedies always, um, romanticize these career choices. Don’t EVEN get me started on The Devil Wears Prada and how in most magazine jobs you are lucky if you get a free issue of the actual magazine, let alone free Prada. I’ve seen movie after movie where the likes of J. LO, Mandy Moore and Jennifer Aniston have traipsed around all cute in their J Crew wardrobe workings as “florists.” Hell, J. LO was a Maid in Manhattan and even managed to nag a politico.

I blame the movie industry for making me think my dreams of becoming a cashier at Hallmark would actually get me places. I also blame the movie industry, specifically Love Happens, for making me believe that a.) I could live in Seattle b.) I could be a florist and c.) a hotel would actually hire me to flor–whatever it is that florists do (florally decorate?) and I would meet the love of my life giving a self help seminar.

Let’s break it down:

Mandy Moore has portrayed a florist (License to Wed) and a caterer (Because I Said So). In LTW she was able to wear really nice clothes and marry John Krasinski. Not. Fair. In BISS, her mother was Diane Keaton, and their family often burst into song. Also, she had a really, really, cute house. Again, NOT. FAIR.

Jennifer Aniston has portrayed a cashier (The Good Girl), a nomadic waitress (Along Came Polly (side note: SHART!)), a florist (Love Happens), an ex-writer with an awesome dog (Marley and Me), and a waitress who miraculously works her way up the Ralph Lauren food chain to become an executive (“Friends”). Okay, okay, the ex-writer thing is supposedly based on a true story, so I’ll give her Marley and Me. But the rest? She had the cutest apartment and ferret in Along Came Polly and ended the movie on the beach with her one and only love, Ben Stiller. You’ve already heard my thoughts on Love Happens. And I almost don’t event want to talk about her jobs on “Friends” because it just makes me so angry! Like, yeah, it’s that easy to get into fashion in New York City.

Obviously my dreams of becoming a  fashionable florist will never come to fruition as they just aren’t realistic. I’ll just have to live vicariously through the likes of MM and Jen until the end of time.

I’ll get really upset, however, if one of them works in a Hallmark in their next film.

So tell me…are you a Tim Riggins fan?

I’m a late bloomer when it comes to the “Friday Night Lights” phenomenon. However, after catching the FNL bug, I’m certain of five things:

1. High school football is magical, shows true vulnerability on the field and players play for the love of the game
2. Tim Riggins will steal your heart
3. You’ll want to travel to your local high school to watch the big game this Friday
4. Julie Taylor may annoy you, but you’ll love her romance with Matt
5. You’ll want to marry a football coach, and ask him to give you a speech every day to boost your spirits

So yeah, check it out.

Anyways, the other day I was watching the classic 90s movie Never Been Kissed starring Drew “I’ve Sobered Up” Barrymore and Michael “I am way hot on ‘Alias’” Vartan. In the final scenes of the movie, Drew sits down to her ‘ol laptop to write about her experiences posing as a high school student and writes the following: Someone once told me that, to write well, you have to write what you know. Well, here’s what I know…[insert sequence about her past and present high school experiences]. Aaaand scene.

What a genius idea. I’m going to start writing what I know because at all of 24 years old I know a lot. Most of what I know involves something embarrassing regarding, well, me, but still. I know stuff. Geesh.

My first topic of this newfound inspiration shall be Mandy Moore because if there is one thing that I’m uber-defensive about in pop culture, it is Mandy Moore.

As most of us twentysomethings are already aware of, Mandy hit the scene around the same time as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson. Unfortunately for her, though, her first single “Candy” didn’t seem to have the same gusto as “…Baby One More Time” or “Genie In A Bottle.” I happened to love “Candy,” and I’m not afraid to admit it. Maybe it was the VW Beetle Mandy drives in it, or maybe it was the voiceover section where she says “Love always, Mandy,” I don’t know. Would I listen to it now? Hellll to the nah. But back then, “Candy” was good to me.

Moving on, Mandy later came out with her #1 TRL song “Crush.” I STILL love that song. And, for quite some time the word “Crush” was my Facebook password (TRUE STORY – that’s the best password EVER). I’m not gonna lie, I wanted Mandy’s outfit that she wore in that video, I wanted the boy that was the object of her crush AND I wanted a band to sing backup in my apartment. I wanted it all.

Soon after “Crush,” Mandy’s feature film debut, A Walk To Remember hit theatres. Now, some people didn’t buy Mandy as a young and in-love teen that had leukemia, but I thought she did a great job – girlfriend even won the prestigious Breakout Female Star award at the MTV Movie Awards. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it? DOES IT? I loved A Walk To Remember. As a young teenage girl, I already had read all of Nicholas Sparks’ books, so I was pumped to find out MM and my uber-crush Shane West were starring in the book adaptation together. I probably saw AWTR about 5 or 6 (maybe 10) times in the theater. I hung the movie poster above my bed. I wrote to both Shane and Mandy, and got autographs from BOTH. The icing on the AWTR cake was an embroidered pillow with the quote “Our love is like the wind, I can’t see it, but I can feel it.” I had it specially made to match my bedding. And boom. Bet ya didn’t see that coming.

Next up for Mandy was the album “Coverage” in which MM covered such classics as “Drop The Pilot” and “One Way Or Another.” I liked it, her record label did not and there ends that chapter in her life.

I thought MM was done with music. I was devastated, distraught. I mean, with the disbanding of 98 degrees and the rebanding of Backstreet Boys I just didn’t know what to do with myself. Soon after, I found myself moving off to college and forgetting about young MM’s music, but enjoying her films like How To Deal and Chasing Liberty. Then, on one fateful afternoon I heard she was releasing a new album.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

I was over the moon excited.

Wild Hope came out in 2007, one of my most formative years. It was especially exciting to find out that one of the songs off that record became part of the Bath and Body Works (old place of work!)  soundtrack, so I could listen to it every day.

That same year, MM starred in my favorite lay-in-bed-all-day-movie-marathon-movie Because I Said So. I could watch that movie on repeat for an entire day and not tire of it. I swear, Diane Keaton has a gift. Anyways, the movie is good, and she only sings like twice in the whole movie, so all the haters can chill.

Since 2007, MM has starred in Licence to Wed with John “I’m Jim Halpert and I’m married to Emily Blunt” Krasinski and a few other movies. She also was a guest star on “How I Met Your Mother.” I mean, helllllllllo! I think people like to hate on MM because she’s just so darn likeable. AND she’s married to a rock star (Ryan “I’m moody, but brilliant” Adams). Girl’s got it good.

With the exception of her last album Amanda Leigh, I haven’t heard much from my beloved MM. So where is she? What is she working on? And when will she star in another movie with Shane West? I know, I know you all are waiting right along with me.

Those who know me, know I cannot turn down a cheesy ABC Family Movie (writer’s note: it HAS to be ABC Family, I don’t do Disney made-for-TV movies and Lifetime made-for-TV movies are only good if they star Shannon Doherty and are entitled Friends till the End here’s a link to the audio from the grand finale song sung by Doherty herself). Well, I needed to take a sick day today (migraines and stomach aches are a terrible combo), so I decided to whip out my recording of This Time Around starring Brian Austin Green and Carly Pope. Before I get into the details of this movie, let’s discuss one mayjuh thing – ABC Family – Why haven’t you put this out on DVD?! I mean, you put Lucky Seven which was mediocre at best out on DVD, but you will not put this cinematic masterpiece on DVD? Pish. Posh.

So why is this movie so great? Here are the reasons why this movie is the best and ABC Family should put it on DVD ASAP. Got it? Good:

1. It stars Brian Austin Green AKA David Silver. Oh, and happy belated 90210 day, people! It will only happen ONCE in our entire lives. God bless Brian Austin Green, Luke Perry, the 90s, Donna Martin Graduates, and “Breakfast in Bed” weekends on SoapNet. Where was I? Oh yeah, Brian Austin Green is in it and it’s nice.
2. It also stars Sara Rue and Carly Pope from the short-lived, but kinda charming teen dramedy “Popular” of the long-dead WB.
3. It has a makeover scene. I mean, it’s no Clueless, but the characters run through a department store AT NIGHT and have their pick of dresses and shoes and makeup and perfume.
4. There are two standard rom-com songs featured: “Why Can’t I” by Liz Phair and “Like Lovers Do” by Heather Nova. Hollla.
5. It’s set in a pedestrian city (Chicago, for those of you wondering)
6. The main girl’s favorite flowers are white tulips (I mean, duh. Because all guys go somewhere besides Publix to purchase their flowers.)
7. The entire plot is so Never Been Kissed/10 Things I Hate About You/any good romcom/teen movie EVER: Pope’s character was traumatized by Green’s character in Junior High. When Pope’s PR firm lands Green’s restaurant as a client, Pope knows she has to “get him back” by making him fall in lover with her and breaking his heart. Romance, cheesy lines and the aforementioned songs follow.
8. Pope’s dress for the not-so-surprise ending is covered up by a CAPE. I love capes. Capes are so fun. Ever since my Samantha American Girl doll, I’ve been obsessed with capes. And hand muffs.

I mean, if those reasons don’t sell you on watching This Time Around, you must be dead inside.

Check it out:

I’m about two years too late, but I’m in love with “Hometown Glory” by Adele. Her voice is amazing, and I cannot wait until her next CD. I heart this part:

“I like it in the city when two worlds collide”

It reminds me of this great artist and blogger, Sophie Blackall. Her entire Web site is based on missed connections, people reaching out to strangers they met on the subway, on the sidewalk, etc. Isn’t that amazing? I love the idea of fate, but more importantly I love it when people take control of their own destiny. Check out her art here, I am in love with the “Floral Jacket” piece.

She began walking again, south towards The Mound. ‘Live each day as if it’s your last’, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn’t practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Go out there with your passion and your electric typewriter and work hard at … something. Change lives through art maybe. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.”

One Day, by David Nicholls

I saw Inception this weekend. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Actually, awesome doesn’t even describe it. It’s a smart summer blockbuster that doesn’t follow the typical action-thriller formula. Everything from the set-design, the acting, the story to the directing were superb. It was refreshing to see a movie that isn’t dumbed-down, and yet, held the attention span of the audience through the entirety of the film.

And if great acting, directing, story-telling, etc. doesn’t get your booty to the theater, then Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s tailored suits should do the trick. I have an even bigger crush on him now, if that’s even possible.

In fact, the only thing I didn’t like about Inception is that it’s sure to attract even more fans for Levitt, who held his own against screen-vet Leonardo DiCaprio. In all seriousness though, I truly hope this movie and its success gives Levitt even more staying-power in Hollywood, he certainly deserves it.

Oh. I said it: GINGER. Look, I know that term might seem derogatory or hateful, but I feel like I can use it because I’ve been friends with red-heads in the past who’ve referred to themselves as such. Not only is the term funny, but it’s endearing. I wish there was something cool to call my head color besides “brown” or “brunette.” I mean, come on. I’d settle for “Dumb Blonde” if it meant I would have an excuse for my stupid mistakes.

Let’s get back on track, shall we? I’ve always had a thing for gingers. I can trace it back to elementary school when I had a crush on one and things escalated from there. I can remember several distinct gingers throughout my life that I’ve fallen for.

We can also blame Prince Harry for my obsession. It doesn’t hurt that he’s the bad boy who’s chances of having to actually take the throne–ahem–responsibility–of the monarchy are slim, which means PARTY time for Taylor. Think about it, I could become a princess, wear a tone of jewels and crowns and gowns and fancy perfume but I wouldn’t have to do as much as, say, the queen.

I digress.

The reason why I’m thinking about my own unicorn is because my friend and I found a hot ginger in Seattle. Of course he actually lives in Seattle, but maybe I will see Bartender Eric again. I mean, who cares if he had an embarrassing belt buckle that resembled a soccer ball? (I do. But we can ignore that. I mean, if someone found a white unicorn they wouldn’t scoff at a small black dot on its head, now would they?)

So there you have it. I found my unicorn. My once-in-a-lifetime-hot-ginger. Now I’m determined to find on in the South. Help me out, folks!

In addition to the serendipitous idea of a hot ginger, the acoustic version of “Everlong” and my still-missing Jewel CD, I’m in desperate search of these other unicorns:

• Lucy’s daddy and mommy. (I MUST know what made her as cute as a button)
• The answer to Tom Cruise’s sexuality (and Hayden Christiansen and Derek Hough)
• The silver disc ring that Julia Roberts wears in Notting Hill
• The moment I watch The Lake House and say, “I finally get it!” And, for that matter, the moment I re-read The Time Traveler’s Wife and utter those same exact words.
• A ticket across the globe for less than $1,000
• Someone who actually likes Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt

What are your unicorns?

So…in the days and months leading up to my vacation to Seattle, many people asked the same question “Why?” To be honest, I was taken aback by these questionings. Why not? It’s Washington. It’s rich in history and lush in greenery. Might as well see something that is the complete opposite of Georgia. But for those who are still curious, here are my reasons for going to Seattle, please brace yourself for some real cliches.

1.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been here. Sure, JGL has been many places, but Seattle is actually documented. So, I know now that I stood in the same place as JGL and that is awesome. For reals.

2.  Seattle is close to Canada. I’ve never been to Canada and was dying for a new stamp in my passport (sadly, no stamp for me). And, I would be lying if the whole Visit Vancouver ad campaign that aired during the Winter Olympics didn’t persuade me. After all, this is a product of Vancouver:

Um, hello? He is gorgeous. And I’m not JUST NOW hopping on the RR band wagon like most women out there. No. I’ve been in love with Ryan since his now defunct show “Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place,” which was later shortened to “Two Guys and a Girl.”

3.  The “Real World: Seattle” was the best season ever. Nate? Irene? THE SLAP HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD? Crazy Lindsay? Yep. They were all pretty awesome. I will forever love that season. It was the last of the worthy MTV reality shows.

4.  Seattle is for lovers. Kinda. We all know my affection for emo boys. I thought Seattle would be full of ‘em. Well, they were. But they were also full of those emo boys’ girlfriends. Which sucks. But good to know decent looking men live somewhere.

5.  The markets! If only Atlanta had this kind of fresh food. I’ve never experienced anything like Pike Place before. From the food, to the restaurants, to the crafts, art, cliche souvenirs, etc. Pike Place had it all. I especially enjoyed the artists’ booths.

6.  The fun neighborhoods. Seattle is just like any other city, it has plenty of hoods to hang out in.

7.  Mt. Rainier. I heart Mt. Rainier. I’m not an outdoorsy person, so this might seem like a stretch to most of you, but it was so much fun riding up this mountain. And it was definitely cool to see the natives utilizing the mountain for a day of fun!

8.  Free transportation. I’m pretty sure Seattle is the most trusting city I’ve ever been in. Kim got to ride the bus for free so long as she had $2 for the next ride. AND, buses in the downtown area are automatically free. Not only are these buses free, but they are battery operated.

9.  Cleanest city I’ve seen since London.

10.  Safest city I’ve been to, ever. I only saw 2 cops the entire trip. I saw quadruple that amount the minute I walked outside of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. This leads me to believe that Seattle is, in fact, a safe city (public urination aside).

Those are just 10 of the reasons why I love Seattle. I could mention how I fell even more in love with the city after seeing Love Happens, or how I’m a total Twi-Hard, or that I generally like it when it’s overcast outside. But I’ll let you decide if Seattle is the trip for you. I loved it, and hope to go back. Heck, I could live there one day (after JGL marries me). Let me know if you love Seattle as much as I do, and why you want to vacation there.