Wow, I think we now have all of the soaps covered for our updates (detailed summaries) and our short recaps. (knock on wood) I will have to ask Gisele, who is our fabulous daytime manager. She does a great job and makes sure everything runs well.

I will be updating our jobs page as soon as I hear back from her. We still can always use more writers, editors etc. so please let me know if you are interested in helping out on our great site! It would be really great if we could find someone to run our sections for Lost and Ghost Whisperer, for instance. I never have time to keep those up.

Our site has "Volunteer of the Month" every month. That is always fun to choose, but sometimes I forget and then I have to give them out late. I am bad at that. Deanna was this month's VOM and she does a great job. Ebele was July's VOM. She does proofreading for us. Most of our volunteers are really wonderful.

Sometimes I will post around the net for help, and someone asks if there is any pay involved. Of course I have to say no. I guess they don't know what "volunteer" means...anyway, I wish we could pay! I hope someday our site makes enough money to pay real workers. Especially me! LOL. I work on the site full time but don't get a paycheck. But I still have to declare the site's money on my taxes AS IF I got to keep it. In reality it mostly goes into expenses for the site. The site is huge and not cheap to host. Then we have many domain names. And also, I buy things that I need to run the site occasionally, like computer or TV accessories, or prizes, or Volunteer of the Month gifts, etc. At the end of the year, I usually get gifts for the volunteers. But the expenses are not really covered completely because I tend to go a little overboard on spending. Getting that business credit card was a bit of a bad idea. Oh, well.

I just wonder when people say, "No thanks, I'm looking for a real job". Well, that's just silly. For one thing, doing volunteer work and a real job are not mutually exclusive. You can do both! You can do any of our jobs for just a few hours per week. You help us out, and our readers, SO MUCH. Secondly, doing volunteer work helps your resume. You can put it down as a job. It sure looks better than being unemployed. Also, we can help you with learning software or other skills. I can also write letters of recommendation (and have on many occasions). Third, if you are a high school or college student, doing extracurricular activities such as this can be very helpful for college or job applications. Lastly, it's something you can easily do at home, on the computer. It's not like going out to do local volunteer work.

OF COURSE, we understand if you prefer to do charity work..this is not really charity. You are not helping out the poor, or underprivileged, or children, or the elderly....However, you can still DONATE to our site.....we always need funds! Any little bit helps.

The old TV MegaSite, Inc. is incorporated in Alabama. The new one is incorporated in California. Now I am partnered with my investor. We have a website design company that is working on the prep work for moving and redesigning our site, among other things. They are sure taking a long time, though. They have been working on it since late May. I won't mention their company's name, since they are not doing a great job so far. You shouldn't have to keep bugging people, that you are paying, to do their job. It's been very frustrating.

I record General Hospital for someone in Australia. They used to show it there but apparently they stopped a few years back. I used to send her tapes, but now it's DVD's. I fell really behind this year on both watching GH and recording for her. I'm all caught up now on watching, woo hoo! And almost caught up on hers as well. I have to do the recording in the other room on a separate TV than the one I watch on. I think I read that Sonny and Kate still get married. I sure hope that's true. I didn't like him sleeping with Carly, but I think it's understandable. The main problem is not his infidelity but the fact that this plays on all of Kate's insecurities. I hope he can convince her that he's through with Carly. I hope Carly and Jax survive, too. I really like them when they are happy together. I don't know why the soap writers think they have to always split up couples. If they have chemistry, then of course they are fun to watch together even when they are happy. I mean, we enjoyed watching them fall in love, so why wouldn't we want to see them being IN love for a while, too? And it makes it all the better if they break up later, if we got to see them happy. Otherwise it's just constant fighting fighting fighting. That is no fun. I know drama has to have conflict, but it doesn't always have to have romantic conflict. People have problems in their marraiges that they have to solve, and it's not always about cheating on each other. Even rich folks. It's just lazy writing.

YouTube is great for watching GH and other tv shows...the networks don't let them put their primetime shows on, but they don't seem to mind soaps, probably because they are dying for anyone to watch them.

Don't forget that "Fringe" premieres Tuesday night! http://www.fox.com/fringe/ It looks good.

I still have last night's "Mad Men" to watch. What a great show. I know some don't like this season so far, but I think it's still great. This show is all character-driven, which I love. Not that the story is bad, but you can't expect a lot of action or moving story with this show because that's not what it's about. It's about the people and how they act, not what they do. The beauty of it is seeing the little character nuances. It is like real life - it doesn't always go somewhere. But when it does - WOW!! If you are going to start watching this show, I suggest you download the first season on iTunes. You may also be able to watch it on the AMC site. Peyton List, who used to play Lucy on As The World Turns, has joined the cast! Another great reason to watch. Our volunteer Annmarie runs our website about Peyton, too.

Someone gave me the first episode of the new "Dexter" so I am going to watch that now...another great show.

I am getting excited about the new fall season! I read that you can watch many of the new shows before they air at http://hulu.com so I plan to do that.

Our Daytime Manager Gisele has revamped our main daytime page, so check it out!

I am still catching up on the GH episodes on the DVR. I am on August 22 now...almost done! Woo hoo! Some of these ladies, though, are way too skinny...they look unhealthy. It's especially noticeable when they wear no sleeves. I'm on a very severe diet myself to lose about 50 lbs., but I am far from skinny. When I stop losing weight, I will still be way heavier than the women on TV. GH was my first soap and always "the love of my life". Even though I don't like a lot of things the writers have done on the show, I still enjoy it. I can't wait to see Laura's return.

I have been writing some reviews of TV DVDs this week, so check that out, please! Unfortunately my DVD player is in the shop...I have to phone them again on Monday to find out the status. I called on Friday, but the repair guys were gone already. They had to send it to a place in NY to get fixed, but that was a while ago. I hope I can get it soon! I really would rather watch "How the West Was Won" on my big TV and not on my little computer screen. Plus, my m-i-l really wants to watch it, too.

Once I'm done with these DVD's, I will start writing some other soap updates and stuff we are missing...

Don't forget that "Fringe" premieres this week! I can't wait!

I got really busy this summer! Wow!! So hard to keep this updated. I'm going to really try hard to do so now that things are rolling along.

We have some new writers for our B&B, Guiding Light and Y&R updates, so that is AWESOME. We also have new proofreaders. I am bad with names, but I have a big thank you to give all of them. Things are going great. We should be opening our new House section soon, run by Bridget, and I will hopefully be able to start on our new CSI section. Deanna is updating our Smallville transcripts and is now adding Buffy as well! Nikky went to the All My Children fan event and took some great pics, and she's writing up a description today. She also got tons of great autographs for us! I got to interview David Boreanaz as well about "Bones"!!! He is one of my favorite actors!! Make sure to go to our site and check it all out.

I was out of town last weekend, and when I came back home, there were many new DVD's waiting for me on the doorstep, thanks to Warner Brothers. I am very excited! I got last season's Smallville, Supernatural, Chuck, Pushing Daisies, and Legion of Superhoes; not to mention "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and "How the West Was Won"!! Woo hoo! So I have been enjoying watching them and writing up the reviews for our site. Some of them I watch anyway, and others I am delighted to see for the first time. There are no bad ones so far. The last one, How the West Was Won - WOW, fabulous packaging, lots of pictures and other extras. They did a great job. Too bad it's over 4 hours long just for the movie! That one's going to take me some time.

I took my DVD/VCR in to be repaired weeks ago, but they had to send it out to another state, so I wonder if it's back? Hmm....have to phone them tomorrow.

The new fall season has started! Mostly on FOX. I don't watch Prison Break, but I got to speak to Wentworth Miller the other day on a conference call, and he sounded very excited. I watched the first episode of the first season, and I thought it was really good, but it was just a little too violent for me to keep watching. I didn't like it when one of the guy's fingers got chopped off. Yikes. From what he said, I gather that they have not been in the prison every season. This season they are going to be working for the government, sort of like Charlie's Angels or something. I really like the guy who plays his brother, who was on John Doe, but I liked him way better with the longer hair on that show.

Bones started last night and it was awesome! Love that show. I didn't like Angela and the other guy breaking off their engagement, though. Boo!!

We have the whole fall season schedule up on our site, so check it out. I already have my DVR set up for the shows this week. For the past two years, I pledged to only follow two new shows. I will watch a few others so I can write reviews for the site, but as far as really following every episode, only two shows. That way I am not overwhelmed, and also I don't get so upset when they cancel the shows. Last year I only watched Back to You and Moonlight (both canceled). This year I will only watch Fringe and Life on Mars. That's Fall, but of course I will still watch some mid-season shows, like last year when I watched Sarah Connor Chronicles and New Amsterdam. I will FOR SURE watch Dollhouse in the winter when it premieres (Joss Whedon's new show). I was totally stoked that they did not cancel Sarah Connor Chronicles (SCC). We will, of course, be reviewing as many of the new shows as we can on our site on our reviews page.

I am kicking myself because I slept in today and missed the conference call with J.J. Abrams and Joshua Jackons of Fringe!! ARGH!! But they will send me a transcript anyway, so I can write it up for an article.

Make sure to keep watching our News page as that is updated regularly, as well as our primetime forum where Danielle posts TONS of news daily!

I think the soaps have finally rebounded from the bad writing that occurred during the writer's strike. There have been many writer changes among the regular staff as well. Charles Pratt, who used to write for GH, among other shows, and created Desperate Housewives, is now writing AMC, so that is exciting. He is already bringing back David Hayward (Vincent Irrizzary, a big fan favorite) and has some interesting storylines going on. It is much better this week than it's been in a long while.

One Life to Live continues to be great. Their anniversary shows, and the ones following in 1968, were awesome. I disagree with what a lot of people said about the Mendorra storyline. Sure, some of it was silly and boring, but it was fun to see Cristian and Antonio playing action heroes. It was FABULOUS to see the returns of Carlo, Tina and Cain (too bad Cain left). I always love the actor who played the prince, Kevin Spirtas, and he was deliciously evil. My interested in Sarah has improved 100% since Tina has returned. I think she and Cristian, while not exactly exciting, are sweet together. I think BethAnn Bonner does a great job as Talia. Their return to rescue Talia was exciting and very well done (fabulous ending). It's great now to see Tina back in Llanview and sparring with Jessica and Todd. I am sure things will be even better once Viki returns from her vacation. All of the shows in 1968 with Rex and Bo were a hoot. I love Rex and Gigi. I just wish they could bring David back, but he is a popular actor and has other work. I know a lot of people have trouble with what is going on with Todd and Marty as well. I think it's fascinating. I can't wait until she gets her memory back (presumably when John rescues her) and is reunited with Cole and KICKS THE CRAP OUT OF TODD! LOL. As long as she and Todd never have sex, as that would be way too creepy and just too far.

Soaps will only get more audience if they surprise us and make us laugh. I think somewhere along the way, they forgot that the goal is to tell a story that keeps us watching. The only way we keep watching is if it's compelling. That means the story has to grab us and make us want to keep tuning in. We have to like the characters and what they are doing. That means SURPRISES, SHOCKS, GRIPPING DRAMA and sometimes COMEDY, as well as romance and nice family moments. I don't know if most people are like me, typing on their computer while the shows run in the background. If someone is sitting down to watch the show with their full attention, then no wonder they are tuning out the soaps. They are boring most of the time, or even irritating and stupid sometimes. Who wants to see that? That's when you change the channel, or fast-forward, or even (HORRORS) turn off the TV and go do something else. We all lead busy lives, so no one wants to waste their time on something that irritates, bores, or disgusts them. DUH!

As The World Turns is another show that has improved, and I hope it stays that way. They have been much better the past week or so. The stories with the poisonings by Rick were fun and interesting, but then it got silly toward the end and fell flat. The stories with the adults chasing after their teens to stop them from having sex were really really stupid. Once this Leo guy came out and tried to molest Liberty, and Brad almost killed him, THEN it was interesting. I don't want them to keep Jack and Janet apart, though!! They are great together. It is great to have Stenbeck back and will be even better with Dusty's return. I like the actor who plays Mike, but they have made him too boring, and pairing him with nuLily was really stupid. Notice how they are puffing up Holden and Jack's hair to make them look better so we can't tell they are losing it? LOL. It looks bad on Holden, he is not a "salon type". It is great for Jack, somehow his works. I wonder where they are going with Ally and Chris, since he is supposed to be leaving or going on recurring.

Well, have fun and watch more TV! Don't forget to enter our monthly giveaway!

I am very excited because we have a new Young & The Restless update writer. That is a great relief for me. We also have some new proofreaders and other volunteers.

We have a lot of great news at http://tvmegasite.net/prime/news.shtml posted all of the time!

I hope everyone is having a great summer. In past years, summer is boring with reruns, but now there are many original shows on both cable and regular TV. iTunes and other online places have many shows you can watch, streaming or downloaded. I just downloaded both seasons of "Dexter" and really enjoyed it. I had myself a mini-marathon this week. It was wonderful! I don't get Showtime, so this is the only way for me to watch it (except for buying the DVD's of course). DVD's are another way to find movies and tv shows you could be watching, rather than channel-surfing and being bored.

If you are any kind of TV fan, then you always have stuff to watch. Me, I have tons of DVD's and tapes, as well as stuff on the DVR. But sometimes you have to look for the best. If you are a scifi fan, here are some great shows you may not have watched: Battlestar: Galactica and the new Doctor Who are two of my favorites. You can also watch the older Dr. Who on DVD.

I really enjoyed watching "Homicide Life on the Street" this past year on the Sleuth channel, and it is also available on DVD. The same team also did "The Wire", so I plan to rent that one soon. I'm sure it will be excellent, from everything I've heard.

Enjoy your summer!