Is Taylor Swift dating Taylor Lautner? I don’t know, but that would be pretty sweet (we’ll all feel some sort of satisfaction that Edward wasn’t the only one to snag a good girl). Taylor Swift just put out a killer video called “Fifteen.” Go for your dreams girls and forget those boys (unless they’re buying you Starbucks, of course, then give them a few minutes of your time).

Miley Raps—Or at Least Tries

I love Miley Cyrus. I’m not even a teen (no, I won’t tell you how old I am, but I recently exited my 20s), and yet I love her movies and music. When she quit Twitter with more than 1 million followers, I was disappointed. There were rumors she quit because her boyfriend told her to. Then she clarified in, um, a rap video (yes, a rap video) that she quit because she wants her privacy. If she wants her privacy she shouldn’t be putting out rap videos! Here it is for your viewing enjoyment:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tSOTQPUQoU]

Thank you to Jenny B. Jones who told me about the Jimmy Falon spoof, which I was sorry I missed but glad I could find it online.

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmtB0fx6mQ]

News for Writers

So the buzz/arguments/blogs this week in the CBA publishing world surrounded the fact that the biggest CBA publisher there is, Thomas Nelson, has added a self-publishing imprint. It’s controversial because, well, somewhere along the lines we got this idea that self-published books were garbage. It’s also controversial because the imprint name they are using was used at one time for some well-known authors. A few years ago they switched those authors under the Thomas Nelson imprint, but still, not some happy authors out there.

Personally—other than the imprint name problem—I think it’s a great idea. It’s a way to make money, and the face of publishing is changing dramatically. It should be an option for those who want it, and Thomas Nelson will offer a nice product for those authors (mostly non-fiction writers, although I am still waiting for the day when some fiction author self-publishes a teen novel and makes a ton of money because (1) teens live online, and (2) teens don’t care what a book’s imprint is).

Anyway, you can read a balanced response to the move on agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog.

In Other News

• A few weeks ago I posted a blog about teens in the news, failing to post any positive stories. Then I read this great article about a new book coming out (“The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”) telling the story of a teen in Africa who changed his community. Very touching and heart-warming story that you can read here.
• If you are a teen author, you should join two awesome groups that I’ve recently joined. One is the YA RWA (YARWA) chapter. They have a fun loop, and since they are new they have a lot of other things planned for the future. The second is TeenLitAuthors, a Yahoo group that discusses everything YA. They often have guest agents and authors on the loop to answer questions.

Have a great weekend!
Sandi

Muslim girl converts to Christianity; runs away from home. You may have heard of the teenage girl who converted from the Muslim faith to Christianity and was scared of her parents “killing” her, so she ran away from home. A custody battle is in the courts trying to determine if she is indeed in any danger.

Teen sets self on fire after watching YouTube video. I wouldn’t blame YouTube for this one. And maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but teens (and adults) often doing dumb things. It’s part of growing up. Lesson learned.

12-year-old Yemeni girl married to 24-year-old; dies after childbirth. It’s really sad this type of stuff is still going on in our world. Quit calling it in the name of culture and call it for what it really is: rape and pathetic.

High school football player wrestles gun from girl on bus. A senior football player is a hero after taking away a gun from a girl on a bus who was angry. Not that I condone her behavior, of course, but she apparently was mad because of other people who had been making fun of her. Just another example of the problem of bullying in our high schools. In this article, they say she never went to a teacher about the bullying and when someone threw a piece of paper at her she just smiled. Please. Not all these kids ask for help when they need it, so we can’t expect they will.

Muslim teen sues A&F for discrimination. I suppose I would be mad if I were told I couldn’t wear a cross necklace to a job, but I would think businesses have the right to make you dress in uniform, so I can understand their side of it too.

Will online college kill traditional college? Since I teach online college, I found this article to be compelling.

VFW Essay Contest. My friend Mechelle sent me this great link. In light of Patriot’s Day (September 11), The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) offers an essay contest for students in 6, 7, or 8^th grade called Patriot’s Pen. Contestants are to write a 300-400 word essay. The topic this year is: “When is the Right Time to Honor Our Military Heroes?” Essays are submitted to local VFW posts. The winners are given a savings bond. If you are a student in one of these grades (or know of one), this is a great way write, voice your thoughts, and possibly win some money.

I like Beyonce’s song and video too (“Single Ladies” (Put a Ring on It)”), but that was just plain rude and wrong. The poor girl was giving her acceptance speech. She was, however, somewhat vindicated—West was booed by the audience and told to leave the building. Later, when Beyonce won video of the year, she invited Swift up to finish giving her speech (plus, a couple of singers tweeted some choice words about West). He did, though, apologize on his blog today.

The VMAs are known for their controversy (think last year and Brand’s rude comment about the Jonas Brothers purity rings), and their crazy antics (this year Lady Gaga speared herself in fake blood as a testimony of the Paparazzi and what they did to Princess Diana). So, if nothing else, it’s some strange, yet interesting entertainment.

Photo credit: AP | Singer Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

I have to say the “New Moon” clip was awesome. The movie looks better than the first one and I can’t wait.

And, one of the best parts, there will be a preview of “New Moon.” Yippee!

FDNY - Ground Zero Spirit

Eight years ago I was 22 years old and a senior at California State University San Marcos. I was one of those rare college students who took the early classes so I could start my day and get much accomplished. My first class was communications. I arrived with about five other students (hardly anyone else liked early classes), and because it was a communications class we had a huge movie-theater-like screen across the front of the room. My professor already had it turned on, and we sat the entire class in silence watching the story unravel. When I went to my next class they also had it turned on. Then, a few minutes into class, an adult burst into our room, told us that all Cal State campuses were being closed for the day, and we were to leave immediately and head straight home.

I was newly married, so on the way home I called my husband who was also on his way home. I tried calling family members, but phone lines were jammed. For the rest of the day I sat in front of the television and watched the towers fall, the people jumping from windows, the confusion, panic, pain, and chaos. Then, I cried.

One of the best memories for me was after that, how the country pulled together. Everyone was nice to each other, people were in church and praying, people lined up to donate blood, flags flew every where. It was awesome to see such unity. But then, as quickly as it came, it went. I wrote a story for Focus on the Family’s Boundless webzine, called “Patriotism Comes Home,” because I was sad to see it all go and I really struggled with what it all meant.

Each one of us was affected some way by that day and I hope it continues to change us and make us think. I hope we’ll pass on the lessons learned to our children.

In memory of those who died and those who still suffer, my prayers are with you today. As President George Bush read on that tragic evening, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

If you grew up in the 80s (or even 90s) you’ll fondly remember the PBS Show “Reading Rainbow.” I loved this show. I could sing the theme song by heart and knew LeVar Burton’s face better than any other television personality. Maybe that’s where I learned to love books and that in turn fed into my subconscious to become a writer.

So I was bummed the other night when I heard the show ended as of last Friday. It ran for 26 years, the third longest running children’s show, beaten by only “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers.”

Part of the reason for the closure was funding for the show. However, there has also been a shift in philosophy from teaching kids that they need to read, to actually showing them how to read through phonics and other techniques.

I hope that more of the children’s cable television shows will focus on reading as PBS has done in the past. The end of an awesome era has come, and it makes me sad. So long Reading Rainbow. I’ll miss you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6j8EiWIVZs]

A UK police department put out a graphic video that shows a teen texting and then causing a car accident which kills her friends. The video hit YouTube and has become a sensation with over a million views.

It is pretty graphic (thus causing the controversy), but many media outlets have experts saying that this is something we need to reach teens and stick these types of images in their heads. In a way I have to agree. I can still remember the drunk driving videos they showed us in high school and vowing never to drink and drive after viewing those. So if you have a teen or know a teen you might want them to see this.

YouTube video (I found several versions of it, here’s one):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ttNgZDZruI]

 MSN story and video link: 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32549978#32549978