cactus i.v.

I know people read things, and they say, “Oh my gosh, that made me cry.” But they didn’t really cry. It was just touching and sweet.
And people type “lol,” but they’re usually not laughing out loud, and I don’t know anyone who has rolled on the floor from laughing so hard at an IM.
But this, […]

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to your favorite e-i-c.
Happy birthday to me.

Lute Olson is taking a leave of absence from coaching the University of Arizona’s mens basketball team.
The 73-year-old was quoted by the Associated Press saying, “For the past 25 years, I have always given 110 percent to the team and this job,” Olson said.
Here’s the thing: No matter how many years you’ve been coaching, you […]

For three weeks last month, you could get free candy at Kmart.
Well, for almost three weeks. And almost free.
The Big K had an Internet-only coupon that offered free candy. The rest of that sentence should read “up to a $2.79 value,” but it was actually at at $2.79 value. If the candy was less than […]

The cactus turns one a week from tomorrow, which is huge. It’s very exciting for us here.
This month’s contest is in honor of our birthday. Pen us a birthday poem. It can be simple, but bonus points will be given if it rhymes. You get an entire month to write it, and the winner will […]

The way I spent my Tuesday was either completely lame or completely prepping me for motherhood.
I went to A.C. Moore to pick up a last minute item for my Halloween costume [[my co-workers and I are going to be the “Punctuation Police,” and I, Sergeant Semicolon, had to make the badges, and I needed pin […]

A part of me wants to be famous. Money would never be an issue, and as long as I kept my priorities straight, I’d be alright.
That’s what I think until I watch videos on Web sites like TMZ.com.
The amount of video and still cameras around stars is ridiculous. They can’t do anything — not shopping, […]

[[Ed.’s note: This just posted on online-writing-jobs.com. If you’re interested, let me know]]
Do you wear out your Netflix subscription? Do the workers at Blockbuster know you by name? Well, then I have a job for you.
My webzine — www.cactusiv.com — needs a movie columnist. Our current columnist is leaving, and we need someone to fill […]

Anyone who talks to me — even on a semi-regular basis — knows that I was sick recently. I’m the worst at taking care of myself. I was living on a diet of Ramen and apples. Soup and fruit. Sure, it doesn’t sound well balanced, but it sounded like it would warm my sore throat […]

If I knew where to find Jordin Sparks, I’d have her sing to Cathy S. today [[although she’d probably rather Chris Richardson]].
Today, our favorite American Idol writer celebrates her birthday.
She’ll be back writing again when the next season starts in January, but let’s declare today ‘Idol’ Birthday Day and wish Cathy S. a very happy […]

Happy Birthday to Atari Jay — who is still young enough to not actually know what Atari really was.
At least, that’s the line she uses when she’s trying to get younger boys who only go back to Nintendo.
Happy 22nd from the cactus!

…your McDonald’s Monopoly game codes. Or your MyCokeRewards.com caps. I’ll take either.
I like free stuff. I visit bigbigforums.com on a regular basis, accumulating free toothpaste and deodorant — as well as a couple stocking stuffers. I’m also a fan of free samples in Costco or covering events that have a free meal.
That’s part of the […]

My hands are completely covered in white spray paint, which means my black keyboard isn’t going to stay black for very long.
Oops.
I was spray painting a tray, and I just didn’t have patience for the entire thing to dry before I sprayed it again. So, I sprayed it, blew on it and flipped it over.
That […]

While television stations are reworking themselves, trying to figure out what works and when, we’re doing that here at the cactus.
Our schedule is getting shuffled around a little bit to bring you more of what you want when you want it. At least, what we think you want when we think you want it.
So, here’s […]

I watched him wipe his tears, and I couldn’t help but smile.
That sounds like the opening sentence for a vindictive romance novel, but it’s just the opposite, really.
Recently, my friend was the groom in a wedding, and I watched him more than the bride because, to be honest, I had never met the bride before […]

This just went live on online-writing-jobs.com. I figured I’d share it with all of you as well.
Are you excited about the new fall television season? Do you want an excuse to spend time in front of the set? Well, then I have a job for you.
cactus i.v. needs a television columnist. From January to May, […]

“Good thing you like talking,” James said to me as we were sitting in his house in front of his new wood burning stove. He was putting some kindling into a box with old newspapers and cardboard, and I was watching.
“Thanks,” I said, dryly, turning my attention to the open front door.
Up the steps walked […]

I try to be a good person.
When I was in college, it seemed like I did more volunteer work than the rest of the school combined. I was always sitting in the hallway, raising money for a cause, and while classes were in session and no one was walking the straightaways, I was jotting down […]

I wish I was old enough to have seen CBGB at its heyday. Patti Smith, the Ramones, Television. All these bands tip a hat to the most famous rock club ever.Hilly Kristal, the club’s owner, called it CBGB for a reason: He wanted a club for bluegrass. That’s what the name stands for, you know. […]

Rabbit rabbit.
My brother Joe and I were watching television once, and we heard that the first thing you say on the first of any month is “Rabbit rabbit,” you will have good luck for the whole month.
Maybe that’s just superstition, but I’ve tried to do it every month since [[and, honestly, that’s about 15 years […]

I wanted the contest to be fun. We were averaging a comment a day on here, and I wanted to generate some conversation on the cactus.
It got out of hand.
There has been a mad rush this last week, with comment points nearly doubling. While that’s great for traffic numbers, I feel like it’s creating a […]

So, a little bit of detective work showed me that I missed Michelle L.’s birthday.
Dang it!
I didn’t want to have to wait until next August 25, so let’s all wish her a happy 26th birthday now.
Hey Michelle, does that mean I have to update your bio on the staff page? And, I promise I will […]

Susan [[director of publicity and marketing]] and I were talking about the six coal miners who were stuck after a cave-in in Huntington, Utah.
We had this conversation last Monday, when hope of finding the miners was lost by all but the families.
My heart goes out to those families, it really does.
I live in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., […]

You may have noticed that we’re spending a bunch of time and focus to update the MySpace page — found at MySpace.com/cactusiv, if you didn’t know.
We’ve made the page cleaner. It looks more like a MySpace page. It’s white and simple, and it doesn’t take very long to open, which is a plus. Seriously, I […]

You might notice a few changes here at the cactus. We’re slowly, but surely, working to make this bigger and better for our readers.
First [[because I’m writing it first, not because these are in a descending order of importance]], we’re adding pictures to the upper-left of the columns now. The goal is to make the […]

It’s Saturday, my first day off in I can’t even tell you how long.
I woke up late and danced around my apartment to FER SURE, my new favorite song from my new favorite band, The Medic Droid.
I’m twirling around like a ballerina and grinding like I’m trying to get in my own pants. I’m sure […]

[[Ed.’s note: This was JUST posted on cactus i.v.’s MySpace page. Good luck!]]

hello to all our myspace friends, and welcome to the first cactusiv.com contest.
it’s an easy one.
to win, all you have to do is post the most comments between now and august 31st.
well, that’s almost all you have to do.
here are the rules:
one) comments […]

I wish I had some interesting stories to share with you this week, but I haven’t been doing anything besides refreshing TMZ.com to read about Lindsay Lohan.
First, she goes to turn herself in for a DUI. The next thing I know, she’s getting arrested for a laundry list of other offenses that should put her […]

Some day, I am going to go back to editor’s notes that contain useful information about the way of the world.
Today is not one of those days.
Today, we have a new staffer. It’s like they’re growing on trees, and I’m just here for the picking.
Leysa Sierzega comes direct to us from the world of radio […]

I went on vacation during the first week of July, and I’m pretty sure it’ll come up in future posts, so I don’t want to give away any secrets about it.
I do, however, want to take a quick editor’s note to thank my entire staff for being accommodating. Everyone was under a very early deadline […]