Every year, I try to come up with the top list of the most interesting entertainment stories but everyone does that nowadays! So, I decided to come up with the top ten entertainment and pop cultural things I discovered! (Or, maybe rediscovered.) What new thing did you discover in the 2011?

1. I rediscovered my lust for men with accents especially those from the United Kingdom and their territories and commonwealths. 

a.  Representing Ireland: Colin Farrell after seeing a very well done remake of Fright Night.

b. Representing Australia: Hugh Jackman after seeing the surprisingly entertainingReal Steel and his even better one man show--Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway.

c. Representing Ireland via Germany: Indie-film hottie, Michael Fassbender, who starred in no less than four films in 2011. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve seen 3 out of 4 with plans to see A Dangerous Method before 2012. (Speaking of shame, you must see Michael Fassbender as a tightly-wound sex addict in Shame--a role for which he was recently nominated for a Golden Globe. I smell Oscar-nod.)

 

d. Honorable mentions goes to the two Scots--Ewen McGregor (for Beginners) and James McAvoy (X-Men First Class).

2. I have to thank the supreme writing talents of one Ms. Edwidge Danticat for helping me to rediscover the wonderful escapism of romance novels and the Harlequin brand. Ms. Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory was so beautiful, haunting and painful that it reopened some personal wounds that I am still exploring in therapy ten months later. I also realized that any other capital L literature would only pale in comparison so I decided to go the genre I knew would always make me feel good--romance. (I got so entrenched in the genre that I went to the Romance Writers of America’s Librarian Day conference in New York this past year.)

3. I discovered that African-American romance novels are not like what I thought they would be. (Yes, the librarian was judging books by the their covers. lol.) I have to thankGwyneth Bolton, who wrote the hot and dramatic Kimani Romance (a Harlequin imprint)Sizzling Seduction (which is about a fireman trying to woo the heart of a bitter divorcee). When I met her at a 2011 Book Expo of America book signing, all I could stutter was “fireman hot” like a super fan girl.

4. I discovered the next hot and sexy Young Adult paranormal romance trend is Angels/Demons after reading Personal Demons. A hot angel and a super demon fight for the soul of a corrupted-Catholic girl named Mary. Talk about your love triangles. Take that Bella, Jacob and Edward. 

5. I discovered blogs about books and romance novels that were well-written, funny, insightful and relevant. My favorites are Smart Bitches Trashy Books and Heartbreakers and Heroes.

6. I discovered that I like technology. I won an iPad 2 and a Clarisonic Plus. The iPad has made surfing the net and personal organization fun for me. Each day I discover a new trick that it can do. The Clarisonic Plus has transformed my skin! I use it only about two times a week, but after a month I saw a difference. My face felt smoother; looked less dull; and my pores appear smaller. The netbook I received as a Mother’s Day gift is like having a personal diary. I whip it out and bang out a story whenever I want. 

7. And speaking of writing, I've rediscovered my joy of writing. So far, I've written an erotic short story and a few poems. I also have another short story in progress. I might have to pull out my romance writers’ phrase guide book to help me with that one. 

8. I have been listening to the podcasts of Adam Carolla, Kevin Smith and Larry Miller for a little over a year but it was really this year when I discovered that I can’t go a day without listening to one of Adam’s trademark rants. Why? Because he makes so much damn sense! He yells, complains, and theorises about the same things I want to rant about it to a public audience. 

 

9. I discovered the TV show Breaking Bad. My husband has watched it from the beginning, but I’ve only started watching with this past season. I’d sit on the arm of the couch next my husband like a bird on a hippo’s back, and quietly absorbed the brilliant intensity of that show. After each episode, I would turn to my husband and whisper “Wow, that was intense.” He would just nod and say “That wasn’t even the illest part.”

10. Thanks to the drug store beauty blog, Nouveau Cheap, I discovered some of the best lip gloss around. It’s Jordana’s EasyShine Glossy Lip Color. For only $1.99, I was able to get rich, high impact, and sexy color. What more could a girl ask for?