Today is a good day for a post, I think. The date today is one of my favorites of the entire year: 9.27, or as I like to think of it: 3^2.3^3. And this year it's even cooler: 3^2.3^3.3^2. Yes, I am this big of a math nerd. :)

I read Reader's Digest (yes, I am a math nerd and read what 80-year-olds read!) and every month there is a segment where they have celebrities share what's currently entertaining them.

This month I thought, "Hey! I could post what I like on my blog!" I mean, regular people like me are the new celebrities, right? That's what reality television shows keep telling me anyway!

So here we go:
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Today we interviewed Ciara, blogger and technical theater extraordinaire (a stretch?), on what she's been up to.

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What She's Listening To:

Believe it or not, I like listening to CDs. There is something about hearing a musician's vision from beginning to end. Right now, my most played are Jason Mraz's "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" and Maroon 5's "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". I know, I am a little bit of a girl. :)

I've also discovered the Genius Playlist feature on iTunes, and it is, indeed, genius. You pick a song and it will automatically create a playlist of other songs in your library that have the same feel. My favorite Genius-Playlist-of-the-moment was made from Belle & Sebastian's "White Collar Boy". It includes bands like Stars, Broken Social Scene, and The Postal Service.

I am always looking for new music, so I really appreciate it when my friends share cool playlists so I can buy the songs!

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What She's Watching:

Oh, where to begin? Here are the television shows that I tune into every week:

1. "Glee" (perfectly captures high school extracurricular politics!)
2. "Project Runway" (the most creative reality show out there)
3. NBC's Thursday Night lineup ("SNL Weekend Update", "The Office", etc = lots of laughs!)

Also, I typically don't watch too many DVDs, but in order to make it through the off-season, I have been rewatching seasons 1-3 of my favorite show, "30 Rock". Tina Fey is nothing short of a comedic genius! She is my hero.

As far as movies are concerned, I have seen an unusually high number of them recently. The one I enjoyed the most this year by far was 500 Days Of Summer. It flippin' changed my life.

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What She's Reading:

I am about halfway through 7 books right now. It's not because any of them are not entertaining; it's because I get too excited to read the next thing! Reading is a relatively new hobby for me, so I don't know how to manage it well yet!

I've been reading a lot of Bill Bryson and A.J. Jacobs lately. Bryson writes a variety of books about all sorts of interesting things, from chronicling a massive road-trip through American small towns to how the English language came to be. His writing is fascinating, but packed with information. I've just accepted the fact that I will read 1000 facts per chapter, and maybe remember 1 or 2. :)

Jacobs is the author I'd love to be if I could just write full time. He always tries to do these crazy experiments, like reading the entire encyclopedia from cover-to-cover, and hilariously writes about his experiences. His newest book, The Guinea Pig Diaries is definitely on my Christmas list!

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Where She's Surfing

I used to not surf the internet much (I know, such a hypocrite!), but now that I have Google Reader I check in to SO many blogs and news pages. I mean, it makes it so easy! I highly recommend RSS Readers to everyone. You can see when all of your favorite pages update (maybe like this one?), all in one convenient place!

Besides the many blogs of my wonderful friends, the updates I look forward to most these days come from:

1. Model D (the most optimistic Detroit webnews EVER)
2. Lifehacker (tells me how to do things easier and cheaper)
3. The Onion (my family's all-time favorite satire magazine)

In particular, I really love The Onion's "American Voices" section. It takes a real event in the news and pretends to have man-on-the-streets' comments on it. It's quick and clever - both pluses for a busy girl like myself!

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What She's Plugging

Well, actually, I have a brand new blog! It's called Stuff I Just Learned and it's an outlet for my love of random facts. If you're interested, check it out! (Just click on the title above.) Don't worry ciarastar fans, this blog isn't going anywhere. I just needed a place to store and share little pieces of information I find interesting. I want to keep ciarastar a little broader and more personal.

Plus these entries here take forever to write! ;)

Speaking of this diaryland blog, I am also still plugging it, too! I just past 7 years of writing on here. Yowza!

Oh, and I guess I'm also plugging the performing arts and justice. And doggie adoption.

:)

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ps. Happy Birthday Sherry and Mysti!