A lot has been said about how contestants on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette “reality tv” shows on ABC have to sign a contract, but very few people have been able to actually read the “shocking” contract themselves. Now you can. Reality Steve has talked at great length about the crazy contract, and how the heavy editing causes some contestants to be given “bad edits”, where they are made out to be and are treated like villains on and off the show.

Rozlyn Papa got a very bad edit during her stint on The Bachelor with Jake Pavelka “On The Wings of Love”, where claims were made that she and a producer had a shocking sexual affair or “inappropriate relationship”. Didn’t happen. What may be good for boosting ratings and viewership for the show hasn’t been good for Rozlyn’s reputation.

Reality Steve, Steve Carbone of Dallas, has done everything he could to dispel the lies and innuendo perpetrated against Rozlyn, including a two-hour interview with her, but a lot of people still choose to believe what they saw on TV was reality. Not so fast.

Frankenbiting

What is frankenbiting? Remember Wes Hayden from Jillian Harris’ season on The Bachelorette? Wes was the chosen villain during that season, with bad edits via “frankenbiting” editing practices that made it appear as though Wes had a girlfriend while “dating” Jillian. Frankenbiting is a controversial editing practice where editors combine bits and pieces of various soundbites to create new but purportedly representative quotes.

Time Magazine refers to frankenbiting as the splicing/dicing and editing of dialogue and action in reality TV shows to create interesting and completely false stories. It’s called “drama”. Ratings. Frankenbiting happens on reality tv a lot more than most viewers realize. In a post-show interview with KHFI-FM’s “Bobby Bones Show” radio program in Austin, TX, Wes explained how taking words out of context via frankenbiting on The Bachlorette (including his exit interview) made him look like a cheating dog:

“That is a bold-faced lie, I did not have a girlfriend,” Wes said. “I had a girlfriend last summer. She’s still a very good friend of mine, I mean every now and again we’ll go out and to lunch or something like that. I mean, I did some work for her mom, I’m good friends with her family.”

Regarding his exit interview, where it appeared that Wes admitted to having a girlfriend, he says:

“They [didn't] play what I say after that. I said, ‘I’m the only guy in Bachelorette history to make it to the final four with a girlfriend’ [and then] I said ‘Get real dude, if I had a girlfriend, I’d be home with her right now and I wouldn’t be putting up with this,’” Wes told the radio station. “They said stuff like that all the way through, all the way through like that. They can take whatever they want and just play what they want.”

Bachelor and Bachelorette Contract Controversy

Now, about the Bachelor/Bachelorette contract that contestants have to sign to participate on the show. Contestants that sign the legal contract to be on either The Bachlelor or The Bachlorette are setting themselves up for bad edits and frankenbiting. Question is, Who will be the chosen villain for Ali Fedowtowsky’s season on The Bachelorette?

Excerpts of the 22-page Bachelor/Bachelorette contract that contestants sign, Part 1 under DISCLOSURES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

“If I am selected to be a Participant in the Series, I understand that my actions, voice, and statements during the pre-production period and on the Location during production will be filmed and recorded for the Series on and up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis, including, without limitation, by means of hidden cameras and microphones and I hereby consent to such videotaping, filming, or recording and knowingly and voluntarily waive any privacy rights I may have, regardless of whether I am aware that recording of my actions and conversations is taking place.”

With all the hidden cameras and microphones used on The Bachelor and Bachelorette, why is there NO video or audio of Rozlyn Papa’s “inappropriate relationship” or sex scandal with the producer? Huh ABC? Huh Chris Harrison?

Under “KNOWLEDGE OF SHOW” excerpt:

“I agree that before, during and after the Dates, I will appear in the Series to be interviewed and make observations concerning my experiences on the Dates and thoughts related thereto. I understand that the Series is an unscripted and/or reality series that may involve the element of surprise. I have been informed and understand that I should be prepared for anything, at any time during the production of the Series and that the Series may involve “twists” and that that Producer may make misrepresentations intentionally or unintentionally concerning the Series and/or any element or aspect of the Series. Said misrepresentations may be made by, without limitation, Producer, Host, other Series Participants, Producer’s affiliates and/or other parties connected to the show.

Knowledge of Potential Embarrassment and Surprises: I acknowledge that interviews on or in connection with the Series may consist of another Participant and/or my statements about other Participants, personal relationships and, perhaps, the opinions and statements of my family and/or friends and other people connected with the Series, and that some of these statements and/or statements by the host of the Series, Producer or Producer’s employees or agents or others may be considered surprising, humiliating, embarrassing, derogatory, defamatory, or otherwise offensive or injurious to me, the viewing audience, Producer or Producer’s employees or agents and/or other third parties.”

AstroChicks.com has Part 1 of the 22-page contract that contestants sign here for those interested in the entire first page of the contract excerpted above. Also, The Smoking Gun has a copy of the 17-page contract from Trista’s season on The Bachelorette here for anyone interested in comparing them.

Reality Steve’s blog and reported computer viruses:

A few people have emailed me saying they got a computer virus when they clicked on Reality Steve’s blog, and they wondered if I’ve had any such problems. No, I haven’t, but I did send a message to Steve Carbone on Facebook on January 17 letting him know that McAfee Security has a warning that his blog is in the red zone. The warning message found here on McAfee about RealitySteve.com says: “When we tested this site we found links to sirlinksalot.net, which we found breaches browser security on our test PC.”

I haven’t had any problems or gotten a computer virus going to Reality Steve’s blog, but I also haven’t clicked on any links to “sirlinksalot”. I had no problem downloading Steve’s interview with Rozlyn, and I haven’t had any virus issues reading Steve’s episode recaps or Bachelor spoilers, except for the occasional server problems he was having before changing servers. If you have had computer virus problems from Reality Steve’s blog, leave a comment below explaining your experience.

The Bachelorette season with Ali Fedotowsky begins shooting on March 13, with at least some parts being filmed in New York. The Bachelorette is scheduled to premiere on May 24, 2010 on ABC. It will be interesting to see if Reality Steve gets to spoil Ali’s season too, and which contestant gets the short end of the stick with bad editing, a frankenbite hatchet-job and becomes the “love to hate” villain.

What do you think about Ali being the new Bachelorette? What do you think about the raw deal some contestants get from the editing process to make the “reality show” more dramatic for viewers?

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Vampire Academy is an ongoing series of six vampire-based fantasy/romance novels by USA Today and New York Times best-selling author, Richelle Mead. The Vampire Academy series of books include titles such as Vampire Academy (Book 1-2007); Frostbite (Book 2-2008); Shadow Kiss (Book 3-2008); Blood Promise (Book 4-2009); Spirit Bound (Book 5-May, 2010) and Book 6 with a to-be-determined title scheduled for release in December 2010.

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school. It’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rosemarie “Rose” Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir, a Moroi Vampire Princess.

They’ve been on the run for two years following a horrible incident, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s, a large castle hidden in the deep forests of Montana, the very place where they’re most in danger. Rose and Lissa each become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi, the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires, make Lissa one of them forever.

Vampire Academy Books

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy (book 1) introduces guardian-in-training Rose Hathaway, her training teacher Dimitri Belikov, her best friend Vasilisa Dragomir, and Lissa’s new boyfriend Christian Ozera. Rose is 17, a student at St. Vladimir, extremely opinionated, and very tough! Dimitri is in his mid-twenties, from a small town in Russia, the assigned guardian to Lissa, and a school-wide guardian at St. Vladimir’s.

Lissa is 17, a moroi, royal, the last in her bloodline, and is currently waiting to see what magic she’s specialized in. Christian is a moroi, 17, a fire-user, an only child, and a St. Vladimir social-reject. Dimitri is assigned to train Rose to prepare her for the Senior Year Field Exam. But as Rose’s training gets underway, Lissa starts to worry about things, and finds she’s falling for bad-boy Christian Ozera.

Although Christian can help keep Lissa mentally stable, it is Rose and Dimitri’s job to keep Lissa physically stable. So when Rose gets shot with fear after running 12 miles with Dimitri, she runs even more to see what has traumatized Lissa. After 30 minutes of having to calm Lissa down, Rose, Lissa and Dimitri stuff themselves inside Lissa’s room to reveal a fox with its throat cut open, lying on Lissa’s pillow. With Rose burning with anger, she wins her first fight in class and suspects a fellow student, Mia, of killing the fox.

When students start antagonizing Rose and Lissa about the fox, one of the taunters, Ralf Sarcozy, finds himself on fire in the middle of class. After all possible fire-users are considered, it’s discovered that it is lonely Christian who performed the offensive magic. As a way of trying to figure out what’s going on between Lissa and Christian behind closed doors, Rose meditates and is able to “get into” Lissa’s head.

Afterward, Rose has a little run-in with male-royal, Jesse. As a way of getting back at Mia for some issues, Rose starts telling rumors to Jesse about Mia’s family. Right when things start getting heated and intense between Rose and Jesse, Dimitri walks in and threatens Jesse about Rose. After an outburst from Rose, a training session the next day, and a few “romantic” moments between Dimitri and Rose, it was time to get ready for Queen Tatiana to visit the school.

Once the excitement dies down, and Rose has an almost-fight with Mia, Rose finds it difficult to sleep. When Rose goes to talk to Dimitri, they find Lissa in her bathroom with a butchered rabbit in the trash. After the hall matron gets worked up, they discover a note was left for Lissa, threatening her “identity”.

As classmates start up with their comments about Rose and Lissa again, Lissa has finally had enough and starts taking things into her own hands. After a few days go by with romance continuing between Rose and Dimitri, and a few other exciting and interesting things unfold, Rose finds out she’s going on a shopping trip! But when Lissa tries to pull out a pair of shoes to show Rose, not only are there shoes in the bag, but a dead dove as well.

After everything gets cleaned up, Rose discovers that this shopping trip actually serves another purpose: she’s to be Dimitri’s partner in guarding Lissa to help Rose prepare for the future. While Rose is shopping with Lissa, they come across a rose-shaped necklace that happens to be too expensive. Once everyone gets back to the school, Rose breaks her ankle on a rotted bench, and has to be rushed to the clinic.

Although Dimitri finds Lissa passed out from cut wounds on her wrists, Lissa decides she wants to be on her own for a little while. At a school dance, Rose’s friend Mason gets Ralf and Jesse to reveal how some sex rumors got started. Also, Rose has a run-in with Mia which ends in Mia screaming with a bloody face, and a broken nose. After Rose finds herself under a spell, from a necklace, Lissa gets abducted by Viktor and his Strigoi-turned niece, Natalie.

Vampire Academy Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy has an interesting relationship between the characters, in my opinion. Rose and Lissa are bonded, so Rose will always know how Lissa is feeling, and what she’s thinking. Good-girl Lissa falls for bad-boy Christian, proving that opposites attract. And teenage-rebel Rose develops feelings for older, self-controlled Dimitri Belikov.

I love that Rose has a mind of her own. She’s not falling, stupidly, in love with someone just because of what they are, like Bella does in Twilight. She’s a typical teenager having feelings of attraction for someone she knows she’s not supposed to. She’s not some prissy girl who’s scared of everything. She’s down to fight and will instigate it; even if it’s between animals and not “humans”. What I like about Lissa, is that even though she’s supposed to be the more self-controlled and reserved one between Lissa and Rose, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty either!

These characters are so much more realistic and well-thought out than some books I’ve read. You have typical teenagers talking smack, girls trying to ruin each other’s reputations, jealousy over popularity, people spreading rumors, etc. Richelle Mead does a fabulous job of telling a story based on fantasy, but keeping it somewhat realistic too.

One thing that helps a lot is, since Rose is bonded to Lissa, Rose needs to literally see what Lissa sees. Richelle sets up the transition so well that you know when points of view are going to change between Rose and Lissa, then back again. There may be a couple confusing parts to when the point of view is changing from Lissa to Rose, but not many.

The only parts of the book that I was getting pretty confused about, was when Richelle does her flashbacks. Instead of using 15 chapters to tell a story and then continue it, Richelle just flashes back to an event that happened between Rose, Lissa, and a teacher; it’s the whole reason for the story, basically.

In one chapter, Rose is sitting in class, and something triggers a flashback. Somehow you go from Rose in a classroom, to 3 people freaking out in a random location. So I had to reread the page to figure out what was going on. But it’s definitely not like you’re totally lost and have no idea what’s going on. Sometimes you know you’re in a flashback, sometimes you get confused, but the confusion is definitely worth reading this book!

It is an INCREDIBLE book, and I’ve already recommended this one to the Co-Owner of the Hush, Hush fansite, Rebecca. It’s not the generic story of vampires and all that nonsense. Richelle keeps to some old parts, but adds some new, and some in-betweens. She keeps to the undead, vampire-staking and no sunlight: Strigoi, but adds the idea of “living” vampires, who wield magic, and who die like a human would: Moroi. She also brings back the idea of Dhampirs: half-vampire, half-human. Only, instead of the Dhampirs killing other vampires, they GUARD the Moroi from the Strigoi.

Vampire Academy is amazingly well-thought out, and I love this book so much I feel like I’m giving too much away! You won’t be disappointed with the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead like with some other Vampire books!

Guest post review written and submitted by Heather P. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow Heather P and engage with her and fellow Vampire Academy fans, Hush, Hush and Twilight book fans.

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For people that drink as much coffee as we do, our recent experience with a single serve coffee maker in our hotel room during our Chicago vacation created temporary disappointment. I can only guess as to why hotels choose to provide hotel guests with one-cup coffee machines versus one that brews more than one cup of coffee at a time, but we weren’t impressed.

The moment we checked into our hotel room and saw the tiny coffee making appliance sitting on the counter at the hotel we stayed at, we knew we weren’t going to make it through our entire vacation trip with that silly looking coffee maker. We made a beeline to the nearest store and bought a cheap, black 12-cup automatic coffee maker that was sitting all by itself on a discount clearance shelf for just ten dollars.

We also bought our favorite coffee creamer, two large coffee cups that only cost 99 cents each, and a decent size container of our favorite brand of coffee and coffee filters. We couldn’t help but laugh when we read the front of the coffee maker provided by the hotel, where it claims to be a two-cup coffee machine that comes with pre-measured coffee pods. The only way it would be possible to get two cups of coffee from that machine would be for us to use cups from a little girl’s toy tea set. Simply ridiculous.

Top Ten Best Selling Coffee Makers

Even though the automatic coffee maker we bought during our vacation doesn’t appear anywhere on the list of best selling coffee makers, we were pleased with the results even with the slow brewing time. We’ve been talking about replacing the lousy Proctor Silex coffee maker we have at home for a better quality machine, and since we donated the one we used during our trip to the kids, we’ve been checking out coffee maker reviews and ratings for all the different kinds of coffee makers.

Apparently, single serve coffee makers like the Keurig coffee maker are a growing trend amongst many coffee drinkers as a way of reducing their caffeine consumption, but we would just switch to decaf coffee if we were concerned about caffeine addiction problems. We’ve never been espresso/cappuccino coffee drinkers, and hot tea never appealed to me, but we do love the taste of great coffee brewed at home.

You might think that the amount of coffee we drink everyday might lead us to buy a large commercial type coffee maker, perhaps one that brews upwards of 100 cups of coffee at a time, but that would be overkill. We’ve read review articles on various types of coffee makers that brew 10, 12 or 14 cups of coffee at a time for comparison purposes, and even checked out ratings on Consumer Reports.

What is the Best Home Coffee Maker?

Trying to compare coffee makers for personal home use versus industrial sized coffee makers appropriate for business offices became somewhat frustrating. All we wanted to know is, What is the best home coffee maker on the market today? Until we began our search for a new coffee maker, it hadn’t occurred to me that there are so many brands of coffee machines to choose from! DeLonghi, Cuisinart, Gaggia, Braun, Krups, Saeco, Capresso, Bunn, Sunbeam, Senseo, KitchenAid, Black and Decker, Mr. Coffee, Coleman, Jura and Zojirushi are the brands that come to mind. That’s a lot of competition for coffee makers, and each wants to be considered the best.

After reviewing customer reviews and online ratings for coffee makers, it became clear that deciding which coffee maker machine was the best is just a matter of opinion and personal experience. There also appears to be a certain amount of hype surrounding some coffee makers which caused some doubt in our minds as to the reliability and trustworthiness of some online reviews. However, if you’re interested in an honest, unbiased review of the Keurig Special Edition B60 Single Serve Coffee Maker, I can personally vouch for the source.

A few years ago we had a Bunn coffee maker that worked like a champ until it was dropped and broken, and even though it can be a bit pricey, it was our favorite over all the other brands. The fact that a full pot of coffee was brewed and ready in two minutes flat was just one of the reasons why we chose the Bunn. That old saying “you get what you pay for” probably rings true when it comes to buying a good quality coffee maker.

Types of Coffee Makers

I certainly wouldn’t attempt to convince anyone that one brand of coffee maker is better than the other, because there are many factors to consider in the selection process. Whether you buy an automatic drip coffee maker, manual drip, French press/Plunger Pot, stove top percolator, espresso/cappuccino/latte machine or pod coffee maker, consider your personal preferences of what you need your coffee maker to do and what features are important to you.

Should it have programmable settings? An automatic on/off safety feature? Brew interrupt/pause feature? What is your price range? Color preference? Amount of available space for the coffee maker? Do you need a space-saver undercabinet type coffee maker? Do you need a single or dual cup model, or perhaps a family size standard coffee maker with 8, 10, 12 or 14 cup options? Once you decide what features and options you want in a coffee maker, choosing the right one for your home or office becomes much easier.

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Reality Steve has done it again with his Bachelor spoilers! This one is a doozy! Reality Steve’s blog is reporting that not only are Jake Pavelka and Bachelor “winner” Vienna Girardi still together, but they are actually ENGAGED and planning on getting married! Jake proposed to Vienna. Are you shocked? Whether or not the engagement will last, or if a wedding will actually take place, is anyone’s guess.

Every Bachelor fan knows that Tenley and Vienna are the final two contestants on The Bachelor “On The Wings of Love” hit show and who Jake chooses to be his wife. The “After the Final Rose” shindig was taped last Sunday, February 21st in Los Angeles.

At the ATFR taping, Jake Pavelka announces that he’s happy and that he and Vienna Girardi are engaged. Yep, they’re still together at this point. Engaged and planning on getting married.

Some online sites have reported that Vienna has been spotted in Dallas at various times, dates and locations, but no proof (photos etc) were provided. Guess proof isn’t needed anymore since Jake announced the news of their engagement himself.

Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi are happy and engaged. Planning a wedding for who knows when. If they’re smart, they won’t rush into marriage too quickly, but take time to get to know each other a lot better. A lot better.

Disappointment setting in for you Bachelor fans? Were you hoping that Reality Steve (Steve Carbone) would be proven wrong about what has been happening on The Bachelor? Were you hoping that Jake Pavelka would “come to his senses” and dump Vienna for Tenley, or perhaps even Ali?

Speculation has been rampant that Jake would suddenly realize that he is in love with Ali after all and chooses her over the final two contestants and will live happily ever after. Sorry…ain’t happenin.

Who will be the next Bachelorette? Reality Steve says Ali pretty much has it in the bag to become the next Bachelorette, even though there has been no official statement. Yet.

Considering how Steve Carbone has gotten every episode and every known detail right about what will happen on The Bachelor, I’m betting that Ali fans will be happy to hear the news that she will be the next Bachelorette when it’s announced officially.

Since taping for The Bachelorette begins next month in March, if some crazy thing happens where Jake and Vienna break up before Ali’s season starts taping, bets are that Jake would show up in hopes of trying to win Ali back.

Do you think Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi will make it to the altar? Most online sites don’t believe for a second that the duo’s relationship will last very long at all. What do you think?

I know, I know, Vienna has been getting slammed and raked over the coals in the trash mags for everything under the sun except for what toothpaste she uses. Yawn. It’s boring to say the least.

Do you think Vienna and Jake can make their relationship work and actually have a successful marriage? Who were you hoping Jake would choose to become Mrs. Jake Pavelka if not Vienna?

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Having continuous cell phone problems with our previous cell phones lead us to look into the difference between the Blackberry smartphone and the iPhone. We were both desperate to find the best cell phone and cell phone plan to fit our needs. Choosing a smart phone like the iPhone or Blackberry Bold or Curve, deciding which was the best, was a difficult decision to make.

After carefully reviewing many of the cheaper cell phones on the market and knowing what our needs are for business and personal use, we ultimately decided that we both needed a good quality smart phone. But which one? The iPhone or the Blackberry? If we decided on a Blackberry vs. an Apple iPhone, what is the best Blackberry cell phone? Is it the Blackberry Curve, the Palm, the Storm, the Pearl, the Tour, or the Blackberry Bold?

We both spent a lot of time reading iPhone reviews from current users, and it was interesting to learn that there has been numerous complaints from female iPhone users who have long fingernails. Apparently a lot of women aren’t very happy about how the iPhone design makes it difficult to type on the iPhone touch screen keypad, and that women with long fingernails or “chunky fingers” are hankering for a stylus to use with their iPhones.

I thought it was kind of funny that some women were accusing Steve Jobs and Apple, the maker of the brand spanking new Apple iPad device, of being “misogynistic” due to the fingernail problem. It’s pretty ridiculous to expect every geeky gadget or electronic device to match every possible user, long fingernails or not, and I have no problem trimming or cutting back my nails in order to not have the problem with my smartphone.

After spending some hands-on time with both the iPhone and the different Blackberry smartphones, and checking out the many features each offers, we both ultimately decided to buy a Blackberry and adjust our cell phone plan a little to allow for internet use, emailing, instant messaging and a few more necessary options.

Out of all the different Blackberry phones we reviewed and tried out, we both chose the BlackBerry Bold 9700 with AT&T over the other cell phone devices. Text messaging with the tiny little buttons has been a challenge for both of us, but with some practice and trimming back my fingernails, we both love our Blackberries. I’m still trying to figure out how to text message correctly, using both thumbs at the same time, without hitting the wrong buttons by mistake and having to continuously edit the message.

Medical Blackberry Applications for Professionals

One of the coolest features of the Blackberry are the medical Blackberry applications and software available to medical professionals, like Skyscape and the Epocrates RX for Blackberry application. Even though my profession is in the dental field vs. the “medical” field, there are several medical-related applications that are very helpful to medical or dental professionals. The “Epocrates RX for Blackberry” application for Blackberry users in the medical profession is a free mobile drug reference, with weekly updates that include monographs for more than 3,500 drugs.

Epocrates Rx is available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, Android, Win Mobile and Win Smartphones. Part of my responsibility in the dental field is being the one “on call” during weekends and after-hours, handling emergency calls and contacting the doctor with relevant patient information as needed.

The ability to instantly access drug and safety information for more than 3,500 generic and brand drugs for our patients allows me to provide the doctor up-to-date information regardless of where I am at the time. The fact that it also helps make me that much more valuable to the doctor and patients is just icing on the cake. The InteractionCheck feature allows me (and the doctor) to check for interactions and/or contraindications of up to 30 drugs at a time.

Features of the Epocrates RX for Blackberry include:

• Pill pictures displayed within the drug monograph show you exactly what each drug looks like

• Provides adult and pediatric dosages for FDA-approved and off-label indications

• Black box warnings, contraindications, and caution warnings

• Adverse reactions and drug interactions, both common and serious, organized by category

• Approximate drug prescription costs for patients paying out-of-pocket

• Safety and monitoring information (ie pregnancy risk factors and more)

• Manufacturing information including DEA/FDA status

• Pharmacology information (metabolism, excretion, drug class and more)

• Notes section for jotting down notes

I’ve also heard that there is a medical dictionary for Blackberry users called Stedman’s Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary for health professionals and nurses that have a Blackberry, but I haven’t checked that out personally yet. Another dictionary option for medical professionals that a friend told me about is called the BEIKS medical dictionary for Blackberry, so I’ll be spending some time checking those out soon. Maybe I’ll find they are both one in the same, but I don’t know for sure yet.

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What are some cheap and fun things to do during family vacations to Chicago? Anyone who has been to Chicago during the winter months knows that taking a Chicago vacation requires bundling up with warm winter clothes to offset the cold, blustery, freezing temperatures and winds from the Windy City. There are a lot of fun and cheap things to do in and outside of Chicago, indoors and outdoors, including things to do in the suburbs for families, kids and adults of all ages.

Looking for fun things to do in Chicago during the summer or winter? Chicago has a lot to offer tourists and vacationers throughout the year with favorite places including museums, parks, indoor and outdoor swimming, golf courses and mini-golf courses, family entertainment centers, live theater, ice skating, comedy clubs, festivals, art galleries, restaurants, working farms and orchards, amongst thousands of other Chicago attractions.

Whether you take a vacation to Chicago in the spring, summer, fall or winter months, make sure you plan your itinerary to include the popular places in downtown Chicago and in the suburbs north, west, east and south of the city. Coupons, discount tickets and pass cards like the Go Card help a lot to reduce the overall costs of a vacation trip and tours around Chicago, or anywhere else you want to go.

The Go Chicago Card provides unlimited, FREE admission to 30 top tourist attractions, activities, tours and museums with the card, with a savings of up to 55% compared to the cost of purchasing individual tickets. See as many of the best attractions as you want for the number of days chosen for a very low price. Go Cards are available in single and multi-day increments and come with a full-color, pocket-size guidebook included. Vacations to Chicago don’t have to break the bank!

Things to Do in Chicago and Surrounding Chicago Suburbs

There are thousands upon thousands of children and family activities to do in downtown Chicago, in the suburbs and outskirts of the city, but a list of some ideas of the most popular destinations will help complete your vacation itinerary.

Haunted Trails in Joliet
1423 North Broadway (Rt. 53) in Joliet, IL – (815) 722-7800
This open year-round family entertainment center features go-karts, laser tag, rides, games, miniature golf, batting cages, restaurant and a picnic grove. Birthday parties and group package options for up to 2,000 guests are available.

Haunted Trails Family Entertainment Centers
7759 South Harlem Avenue in Burbank, IL 60459 – (708) 598-8580
This open year-round family entertainment center features 100s of games, rides, award-winning miniature golf, Go Karts & Batting Cages, Restaurant/Party room featuring karaoke. October Haunted House information can be found at (www.frightmarehauntedhouse.com). Birthday party and group packages are also available.

Hollywood Park, Crestwood Family Entertainment Centers
5051 Cal Sag Road in Crestwood, IL 60445 (708) 389-7275
Award-winner! Features miniature golf, Hollywood Speedway go-kart track, arcade games, indoor bumper cars, indoor children’s playland, rock wall & Hollywood Memorabilia on display, Café-Pizzeria.

Kidswork Children’s Museum
11 South White Street in Frankfort, IL 60423 (815) 469-1199
KidsWork is a fun, interactive educational experience for kids ages 0-8, with two floors of exhibits including theater, art room, tot spot, pet vet and more.

Odyssey Fun World
Located at 19111 South Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park, IL 60477 (708) 429-3800
Games, Laser Tag, Batting Cages, Soft Playland, Miniature Golf, Go-Karts, Bumper Boats, Inflatable Park and much more.

Chicago Indoor Racing – Addison
Located at 2381 W. Army Trail Road, Addison, IL 60101 (847) 941-9400
Chicagoland’s most exciting indoor European Kart Racing and entertainment facility with 105,000 s/f of space, featuring CyberSport, Clark’s Café, meeting & event space for groups of up to 800 guests, and a multitude of alternative entertainment options.

CyberSport at Chicago Indoor Racing
Address is 2381 W. Army Trail Road, Addison, IL 60101 (847) 941-9400
Located inside Chicago Indoor Racing, CyberSport is a multiplayer game that blends bumper cars, lacrosse and basketball into an alternative to racing for groups of 10 to 400.

Enchanted Castle Restaurant & Entertainment Complex
1103 S. Main Street, Lombard, IL 60148 (630) 953-7860
Premier entertainment complex with 60,000 square feet of fun! Indoor go karts, laser tag, bumper cars, games, mini golf, Kid’s Quest Softplay, future Sir Bounce-A-Lot Jumpland, special events, and 625-seat restaurant with karaoke.

Safari Land
701 W. North Avenue in Villa Park, IL 60181 (630) 530-4649
Family entertainment center featuring Illinois’ largest indoor roller coaster, Kiddie go-karts, bumper cars, Tilt-A-Whirl, Monkey Jump, Merry-Go-Round, and hundreds of video & redemption games. Activity-based fees apply.

Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Road in Glenview, IL (847) 657-1506
Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview is am 18.6 acres farm and a popular destination for locals and tourists. Families, adults and children alike learn about a real working farm. The farm is open to the public, offering educational programs for all ages, and special events throughout the year.  Public hours are Monday – Saturday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Admission is free on those days (unless there is a special event) and a farm story time is featured at 4:00 pm each Thursday.

The Mitchell Museum
3001 Central Street in Evanston IL (847) 475-1030
The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian portrays the Native American cultures of the Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Northwest Coast and Arctic. Closed on Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Thursday 10:00 am – 8pm. Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center
The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center has 3.5 miles of trails for walking and education. The schoolhouse contains interpretive exhibits and hosts events. It is located at 9800 Willow Springs Road, Willow Springs IL (708) 839-6897.

Mayan Adventure Indoor Water park at the Holiday Inn in Elmhurst has 24,000 square feet of water activities for all ages. It’s located at 624 N. York Road, Elmhurst IL (630) 279-1100 or (877) 426-4386 The Mayan Adventure Indoor Water park is Chicagoland’s first indoor water park with 24,000 square feet of wet and wild fun for all ages. Kids, adults and families will have lots of fun slipping down the body and tube slides and landing in the plunge pool. Toddlers will delight in the interactive water station. Game room, poolside café, bar and more!

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
2001 N. Roselle Road, Schaumburg IL (847)843-3900 or (888) 935-6878
Journey through time to the age of chivalry and knighthood. Feast upon a scrumptious banquet and cheer your own knight to victory in the tournament of games.

Want some fun activities outside of the Chicago area? Chicagoland tourists should also keep in mind the many exciting attractions, water parks, theme parks, venues and hotspots just across the Wisconsin and Indiana state lines. The Wisconsin Dells in WI, Horseshoe Casino in Hammond Indiana and the Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks Indiana are three more children and family activities to be enjoyed while vacationing in and around Chicago. The Horseshoe Casino is located at 777 Casino Center Drive in Hammond IN – (866) 711-SHOE. The address and phone number for the Fair Oaks Farms is 856 North 600 East in Fair Oak IN – (877) 536-1194.

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This is a book review guest post of Hush, Hush: The New York Times bestselling book by Becca Fitzpatrick. The “Hush Hush” novel is a very popular book among teens and young adults, including a Hush Hush fansite “Fallen Archangel” at fallenarchangel.com and a Youtube video trailer.

In Hush, Hush, Nora Grey meets Patch Cipriano. Patch is mysterious, attractive, a bad boy, and the school’s newest transfer. Nora is brown-haired, smokey-eyed, an only child, and a columnist for the school’s eZine.

In the biology class they share together, Patch seems to know way too much about Nora; things not even her best friend, Vee Sky, knows. But when the tables are turned, and the biology assignment requires him to talk about himself, he refuses to budge. Patch’s nonchalant attitude leaves Nora frustrated with mixed feelings. While her teen hormones cause her to be attracted to Patch, something else, deep down, tells her she needs to be afraid.

When a mysterious shadow appears in Nora’s room, and a man wearing all black and a ski mask shreds her friend’s car, she looks to Vee for comfort, and winds up meeting Elliot Saunders and his best friend Jules at a local diner. While Jules seems to act strange around Nora and Vee, Elliot warms right up; confessing he just transferred from Kinghorn Prep to Coldwater High.

During the gym class that Nora winds up sharing with Elliot, she finds Patch spying on her and learns that Patch has some inhuman talents. After Elliot invites Nora and Vee to the Delphic Seaport with himself and Jules, they find out they weren’t the only ones there. When Jules strangely excuses himself, Nora finds she’s ditched her friends to ride the newly renovated Archangel, with Patch. While on the ride, Nora finds she gets launched from the car and falls; only to discover she is still safely strapped in the car at the end of the ride. Although Nora was hoping Vee would be around to give her a ride home, she discovers that Patch is her only option.

When Vee and Nora go on a shopping trip, Nora gets the feeling that someone is following her. In an attempt to uncover who the culprit may be, Nora and Vee swap a few items, and Nora watches as Vee walks out of the store with a few of her things; pretending to be Nora, of course. While the intention to disguise Vee as Nora was meant to be good, the outcome isn’t so great. Nora has to call 9-1-1 and have Vee taken to the hospital. When Nora goes to visit Vee the next day, Nora uncovers the strange coincidence that the man, who was wearing a ski mask and shredding her car, is the exact same person responsible for putting Vee in the hospital!

While Nora is at the library doing some research a few days later, she finds out that Elliot was a suspect in a murder case at Kinghorn Prep. After her discovery on Elliot, Nora finds that she is strangely being brutally bribed into going on a ski trip with himself, Vee, and Jules for Spring Break. Although Vee ignores Nora’s attempts to warn her to stay away from Elliot and Jules, the message doesn’t get through till things are a little too late.

Once Nora finds out that Vee is with Elliot and Jules at a party, Nora decides that she has to rescue Vee from them. Nora arrives close to the location that Vee told her, but finds they had already left, and Nora must call Patch for a ride home. On the ride to Nora’s house, Patch’s car ironically dies out, and they find themselves in a hotel trying to avoid the storm outside. As Nora finds herself touching the V-shaped scars on Patch’s back, she experiences flashbacks into Patch’s past. Not only does Nora find out she is the descendant of a Nephilim named Chauncey, she uncovers Patch’s true intentions towards Nora, and the fact that Patch is actually a Fallen Angel.

After they talk and realize that something isn’t right about Jules, Patch drops off Nora at home to do some research of his own. Once at home, Nora finds herself in a life-or-death situation with Patch’s ex-girlfriend. As Patch arrives to save the day, Nora receives a mysterious phone call, demanding her presence at the school. There she is confronted by Jules, who reveals his true intentions to Nora.

What I love about Hush, Hush is the complicated relationship the characters share with each other. When you think you know what’s going to happen next, you have no idea! You get thrown for a loop so many times you can’t even keep track of them all!

When it comes to a Prologue, most books don’t need them. Although some authors use the prologue to talk about events that happened in previous books in the series, Becca Fitzpatrick’s prologue for Hush, Hush actually serves a purpose! If you don’t read the prologue to Hush, Hush, you won’t understand the real significance of Jules’ character, and why he is so important to the story.

Another thing that I like is that when certain words, like Nephilim, are used in books, most of the time you’re left guessing what it could possibly mean! Becca Fitzpatrick does an awesome job telling you what certain words mean, by using the dialogue of the characters. Crafty!

When it comes to attention-getters, some authors can’t seem to remember what their teachers taught them in school! I don’t like reading books where it takes ¾ of the book to REALLY get started! Although I’m a huge fan of the Twilight Saga (TEAM JACOB ALL THE WAY!) Stephanie takes up quite some time just getting things started! But Hush, Hush!? Who would’ve thought that using Human Reproduction on the first page and a jerk-of-a-guy on the next would equal success! YEY!

Despite the fact that Hush, Hush is getting more and more attention, its cover has already won five awards! Thanks to James Porto who took the amazing shot using Drew Doyon to depict Patch, Hush, Hush won: Best YA cover, Best Male-only Cover, Most unique cover, Best debut cover, AND cover of the year!

Although I’ve already read Hush, Hush 4 times, and let my cousin-in-law borrow it, I plan on reading it over and over again once I retrieve it! Thanks Becca for writing such an amazing novel! Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t noticed, I have nothing to complain about Hush, Hush; only compliments!

Hush Hush Book Youtube Video Trailer

Click here to view the embedded video.

Guest post written and submitted by Heather P. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow Heather P and engage with her and fellow Hush, Hush fans and Twilight book fans.

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Our favorite snarky and sarcastic reality tv blog-master Reality Steve has Bachelor producers in a dither because of Steve’s bachelor spoilers. Reality Steve, aka Steve Carbone, just might need to watch out for the Israeli secret service to come knocking on his door, according to an interview executive producer Mike Fleiss had with EW. Really ABC? I just bet that Reality Steve is shaking in his Texas boots right about now. Not likely.

While Bachelor producers are going about their business of preparing for the upcoming wedding of Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney, to be aired on March 8, producers of The Bachelor aren’t too happy with Steve Carbone and the oh-so-fabulous spoilers on Reality Steve’s blog.

Reality Steve’s blog updates comes complete with some of the best, if not THE best, Bachelor episode recaps and spoilers on the web. Sarcasm, wit and snarkiness flows freely on Steve’s blog and his fans love it! ABC knows it too and Hollywood Insider interviewed Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss about the impact Reality Steve and his blog is having on the hit reality show.

Part of ABC’s problem with Reality Steve is that he accurately revealed the shocking details of how Jason Mesnick would propose to Melissa Rycroft and then dump her for Molly on national television before the After the Final Rose special aired. The fact that Steve has revealed on his blog a number of great spoilers, who the Final 4 would be and who would “win” Jake Pavelka’s heart at the final rose ceremony, should give viewers and fans reason to believe Reality Steve is right. Again.

“That’s something that kind of bugs us,” says executive producer Mike Fleiss. “In some ways, it’s just more promotion. We would like to find out [who his source is].” While Fleiss says the show has taken extreme measures in the past to track down leaks — “We spent a lot of money and we hired these guys from the Israeli secret service to shake down people and look at phone records and stuff like that. We ultimately found out who it was. That person no longer works for us.” — he has not gone to such lengths to suss out Carbone’s mole. “We would love to know if anyone knows [who the source is]. I’m offering a $25 reward!”

Fleiss’ apparent tongue-in-cheek response to the bachelor spoiler leaks is likely due to the fact that the realitysteve.com spoilers didn’t keep fans from tuning in and watching Jason Mesnick dump Melissa for Molly: The After the Final Rose shocker scored 17.5 million viewers last March.

Steve Carbone, former sports talk DJ from Los Angeles now living in Dallas Texas, says that he doesn’t “go looking for this stuff, it comes to me because I’m willing to throw the show under the bus”. Relying on several different tipsters for his highly sought after bachelor spoilers and sarcastic recaps, Reality Steve says he doesn’t want to read spoilers about his favorite shows like American Idol or Survivor but likes to “one up” The Bachelor simply because he can.

Considering the fact that Reality Steve’s blog only gets somewhere between 400,000-500,000 page views per week, with occasional downtime due to server problems handling such a high volume of traffic, the impact for The Bachelor has been positive. More people are watching this season’s “On the Wings of Love” with Jake Pavelka, 10% more viewers, than the same time last year. Reality Steve has seen a large increase in readership for his blog as well, and for very good reason. He’s hysterical!

Hopefully now that Steve has changed servers, anxious readers won’t have to worry anymore about getting their Reality Steve fix and play-by-play episode recaps. Seems to me that ABC and Mike Fleiss just might owe Reality Steve a big debt of gratitude and a sincere Thank You for doing such a great job at actually getting more people to tune in and watch The Bachelor – even if it’s just to find out if Reality Steve is right or wrong about what will happen on The Bachelor this season.

He’s been right with previous seasons, and his spoilers are right this time too, and Jake Pavelka’s choice for a wife is getting ripped apart in the tabloids while Bachelor host Chris Harrison defends Vienna as a “gentle loving woman”. Speculation is that Jake Pavelka and Vienna won’t last, if they’re even still together at this point since taping ended in November. People that don’t want to know the details of spoilers on The Bachelor, or any other show for that matter, should just not read them. It’s that simple. Really.

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When the Apple iPad was unveiled last week by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, gadget geeks were anxious to learn what all the hype was about. Who will want to buy the iPad and what all does it do? Is the iPad application device worth the hype that has been built up? Whether or not the iPad will crush or slay netbooks and e-readers like the Kindle remains to be seen. The iPad is an application device and not a computer or a laptop, so why there is talk about the iPad crushing netbooks sounds like nothing more than hype and geek jargon to me.

After reading a ton of pro and con reviews about the Apple iPad and watching video presentations, plus finding out from FOXNews that my already overloaded smartphone carrier AT&T will be providing services for the iPad, I’m underwhelmed. Some thought the iPad would be named the iTablet or the iSlate instead of something that conjures up thoughts of feminine hygiene products for women.

Oh, the iPad jokes took the net by storm, and hilarious they were for sure. Admittedly, the iPad is a good looking gadget, but who is the moron that came up with the goofy name? The cost of the iPad, a giant iPhone kind of gadget, is too rich for my blood. Unless Apple lowers the price. Yeah, right.

The Apple iPad Tablet price list is:

Wi-Fi iPad 16GB is $499.00
32GB will be $599.00
64GB will be $699.00

For 3G service, add another $130.00. Unlocked, with a monthly fee of $14.99 per month for the 250MB data plan and $29.99 per month for the Unlimited plan. There are no contracts for the service and customers can pre-pay and cancel at anytime. At its unveiling, Apple announced that the Wi-Fi iPad version ships in 60 days, and the 3G version ships in 90 days.

Apple iPad Reviews Roundup

Engadget -
“…the Apple iPad doesn’t live up to that potential. For all its horsepower, we’re still relegated to one app at a time. For all its talk of being a great web experience — and it is really snappy — we still don’t have Flash. The New York Times app showed promise for newspapers and magazines, but for now the experience unfortunately seems to be the exception, not the rule.”

CNET -
“Really, it’s the casual computer user that will see the biggest benefit from the iPad. The kind of person who doesn’t own an iPhone or a laptop and would be happy to browse the New York Times stories over morning coffee, if it didn’t mean sitting at a computer desk. If you love showing off your digital photos but detest using your home computer to organize and display them, the iPad and its photo-import functionality and large display may be just the ticket.”

Gizmodo –
“Sure the iPad may not be as easy on the eyes as a Kindle. But you will be able to read in bed without an additional light source. You will be able to read things online without banging your head against a wall to get to the right page. And, once the publishers get their acts together, you will be able to enjoy comics, cookbooks, and children’s books, with colorful images. Even before you set them into motion, dancing around the screen, they’ll look way better than they would on e-ink.”

PC World –
“While the Apple iPad is super slim at only a half-inch (13mm) thick, we had some difficulty handling it. At around 680g, it is too heavy to hold in one hand, which is troublesome if you plan on using it as an e-book reader.

“Other e-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle 2 or the COOL-ER e-reader, are much lighter in hand than the Apple iPad, and therefore make for a much more comfortable user experience. Using two hands is much more comfortable, but if you’re reading a long novel, that could get quite tiresome.”

Slashgear -
“In many ways it feels like an oversized iPhone, and unfortunately some of the iPhone’s flaws have been carried over. The biggest – and most frustrating, given the turn of speed the iPad is obviously capable of – is the complete absence of multitasking.

There’s also no Flash support in the browser, a crime given how well it displays webpages. Over the WiFi connection here, SlashGear loaded up snappily and just as you’d expect from a desktop browser, bar any animations, but at least it flips between landscape and portrait orientations with no lag.”

Even though the Apple iPad Tablet looks really cool (even for gadget geek-wannabe’s like me), I just might wait to see if the next new-and-improved version of the Apple iPad has all the bells and whistles that are missing from this version. Hopefully Verizon will become a service provider for the iPad too, because AT&T’s service hasn’t been the greatest.

Multi-tasking capabilities is a must-have in my book since I usually have several tabs open at once on my desktop pc and/or laptop computer, so I’ll definitely be watching for updates and upgrades for the iPad. Do you want an iPad? Do you plan to buy one?

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Since my husband and I are both American Idol fans and live in Texas, north of Dallas, it seems only fair to reveal which contestants made it through to the Top 24. The Dallas American Idol auditions were shown on American Idol already last week, but inquiring minds are curious to know which Texas contestants made it through the Hollywood round in hopes of becoming the next American Idol mega star. American Idol spoiler alert!

Ever since Paula Abdul left Idol, and now Simon Cowell is leaving after season nine, whether or not AI will last much longer remains to be seen. Personally, I don’t enjoy watching the audition phase, with all the singer-wannabe’s and moron’s acting like fools, but at least we’ve got a few contestants from Texas that made it to the list of Top 24 according to the leaked spoilers. Some of the auditions are funny and others are just stupid.

Then again, nearly everyone has heard about the song Pants On The Ground, fanned the page on Facebook and had the song stuck in their head for days.

As with previous seasons of American Idol, spoilers and lists of contestant names have been right and this season is no different. JoesPlaceBlog (www.joesplaceblog.com) has the complete list of American Idol’s Season 9 Top 24, including links to contestant MySpace pages, Facebook, audition videos and performance videos for those who are interested.

Here are your 5 American Idol Texas contestants who are in the Top 24 of Season 9:

1. Lacey Brown, a 23-year-old from Amarillo, TX
***Previous Hollywood contestant from Idol Season 8

http://www.myspace.com/laceybrownmusic
http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_…ng_lacey_brown/

(David Duke, a 23-year-old from Waxahachie, TX was previously on the top 24 list but was removed and replaced with another contestant that is not from Texas)

2. Casey James from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

http://www.myspace.com/caseyjames3
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Casey-James
Article about Casey James Band

3. Alexander “Alex” Lambert from North Richland Hills, TX
(no relation to Season 9 runner-up Adam Lambert)

http://www.myspace.com/handsthathurt
“I’m Yours” YouTube Video
“Tired of Waiting” YouTube Video
“Twist and Shout” YouTube Video
“Barney (the purple dinosaur)” YouTube Video

4. Paige Miles, a 23-year-old from Houston, TX

Interview with Fox4

5. Todrick Hall, age 22, from Plainview TX

Mjsbigblog (www.mjsbigblog.com) pointed out that Todrick Hall is a controversial character, taking money from parents and claiming their kids would be a production that was later canceled. Ruh Roh! It’ll be interesting to see how Todrick does on Idol with this hanging over his head.

http://www.myspace.com/todrick_hall
http://www.youtube.com/user/todrickhall

The Top 24 American Idol finalists for Season 9 will be officially revealed on February 17. We’ll be watching these Texas hometown hopefuls and rooting for them all just like we did with Kelly Clarkson, and since I’m from Chicago originally, we’ll be keeping a close eye and ear on the Chicago-land contestants this season too on AI.

Texas Idol fans, who are you rooting for this season? Do you personally know any of these Texas area Idol hopefuls? Care to wager a good guess as to who of these Texas contestants you think will make it to the Top 12 or higher? Who gets your vote so far?

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