quite a lot of trouble for such a pretty little girl

SOME STUFF THAT IS AMAZING
(before I post about Merlin tomorrow)

One!
I watched the Women of SNL special and it was generally funny because they showed the best clips, but I think the thing that made me laugh the hardest was Amy Poehler's Sharon Osbourne impersonation. Not because it was the best impersonation ever (though it was pretty amazing), it's because of the dog. She has this little Pomeranian she's holding and waving all over the place like it's a stuffed animal and shaking it, and that dog is totally nonplussed. It's just looking calmly at the camera like "yes, and?" and she's SHAKING IT EVERYWHERE. I have no idea why I'm so entertained by this dog, but I watched the entire two hour special and that dog made me laugh harder than I've laughed in weeks. Even thinking about it makes me giggle. That dog! I can't. I can't even.

Is something wrong with me?

Two!
According to some dude on Twitter, Bradley James was gallivanting around LA this Halloween dressed up as a Ghostbuster. This guy could be totally full of it, I don't know. And you know what, I don't care. It makes me love Bradley more than I ALREADY DID, regardless of if it's true or not. If it's true, that's amazing. If it's not true, I love the fact that Bradley is exactly the type of person I would believe would dress up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween, and that just makes him a special snowflake.

Oh, the limbs I would sacrifice for pictures of this.

Three!
Some wrap-up from the Rally to Restore Sanity - if you haven't seen Jon Stewart's sincere closing remarks, GO WATCH THEM RIGHT NOW. They are great and true and insightful. I mean, it's a little unfair to the extreme left, I think, since the extreme right is where you get people who are theological extremists and want to wage war on everyone and damn your rights to hell, and the worst the extreme left ever wants to do is tax you a lot and make you go through red tape. Oooh, scary. Also, the 100 greatest signs from the rally. And seriously, they're GREAT.

Also, THIS IS YOUR REMINDER TO VOTE TOMORROW OR WE'RE NOT SPEAKING ANYMORE.

Four!
You know who else is great? BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH. I mean, his name is already the greatest name in the history of names, but he's been doing some great stuff lately. Like this live chat he did for PBS in which we learn he's amazing, adorable, hilarious, articulate, and oh, I love him. Also, there's these new pictures. I can't tell if I'm terrified of him or vaguely attracted to him. EITHER WAY I LOVE HIM.

Five!
I found a gerbil adoption agency in the next town over! They say they have new pups coming and should be ready by late November. I think I've decided on names, so it should be less than a month until you all are regaled with pictures and tales of Messrs. Gus and Baxter.

Six!
THIS DRESS IS SO FUCKING AMAZING I WANT TO DIE. If only I had $150 to, you know, spend on a dress I don't need and have nowhere to wear.

Edit, or Seven!
So sometimes while I'm winding down for bed I turn on the music video channel, which is doing a promo for Rock Band 3 that's a playlist full of featured songs. One of them is The Cure's Just Like Heaven, which in its original form I hate, but it reminded me of this cover, which once again proves that a song can be a truly terrible thing, but almost any song can be saved by a skillful cover. God, I love this cover:

So for those of you who don't know or live under rocks or what-the-fuck-ever, I'm really amazingly picky about soundtracks to things. Like, really, really, really picky. Not only does it have to sound right, the lyrics have to be right. And not just one verse, all the lyrics. Or almost all of them. Because yeah, I'm really that big of a snob over soundtracks and yes, I do judge people negatively when they do not live up to my soundtrack standards. I have no idea why I'm so hardcore about soundtracks as opposed to say, morals, but I am. I think I judge people more negatively for making bad soundtracks than I do for them running over kittens, which is a pretty sad statement on my value system. It makes me mildly ashamed of myself.

Anyways, so back when I watched Juno and I, of course, loved it, I was really disappointed to not love the soundtrack. I mean, I loved about a quarter of the songs, but it wasn't right in a way I couldn't name. The lyrics were wrong and the sound was slightly off and it just wasn't right and it ticked me the hell off. So naturally, I decided, fuck the fact that there are not one but two Juno soundtracks (officially). I am going to make a third one. And furthermore, my third one will be awesome. Potentially the awesomest of all three soundtracks.

Also, it gave me an excuse to create a mix that was really super indie just for the hell of it, which, hello, I love to do.

Massive, huge, amazingly heartfelt thanks go to jlowe64, for giving me the Juno soundtrack in the first place, always listening to my bitching, and pointing me in the direction of whatever font or song I came whining to him about missing, whisperwords for being my wifey and listening to my pretentious ranting and pretending thinking it was hilarious, evergleam83 for giving me XOXO, Panda, paintmarks for beta-listening to the soundtrack back in the day when it was totally different and assuring me it was awesome, even though I ended up changing it completely, and to lunapluvia, for being my sibling-in-arms of twee indie asshattery, for introducing me to and subsequently sending me the entire Math & Physics Club CD, and, yet again, for listening to my ridiculous ranting.

Also, I would like to state for the record (record, hah! I'm hilarious), that I'm immensely pleased with how the cover art turned out and how I ended up not using brown and various derivatives of the color of really attractive poo. Go me! I feel I've grown as a human being.

( The Year In Review - An(other) Alternative Juno Soundtrack )

Before We Get Started; Compiler's Notes (aka, you may scroll past these, I will not hold it against you)

(ALSO, BEWARE OF VERY VAGUE SPOILERS, IF YOU ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO GO ON THE INTERNET AND READ THIS WITHOUT READING DEATHLY HALLOWS):
So a caveat on this mix - I have never compiled a soundtrack so fast in my entire life. If you've never met me during the process of making a mix, I agonize over it. I literally have a Brokeback Mountain mix sitting on my computer that hasn't changed in years, but I cannot post it because, in my gut, it is not right. And I can't explain it. I am extremely meticulous and compulsive with my mixes. It usually shows. I also, usually, am extremely snobby when it comes to music as far as a mix goes. For me it's not enough for some of the lyrics to make sense, most of the lyrics must make sense. And on top of that, it must be the right sound. You would, not, for instance, make a Rainbow Brite soundtrack with Metallica. Even if the lyrics were perfect. It just doesn't work like that. Normally my test is "Would the characters listen to this? If yes, good, if not, delete it."

This mix has, against all odds, birthed itself whole and wailing to be posted. Remus Lupin would probably listen to two of these songs, if he listened to muggle music at all. It follows almost none of the golden rules I have made for myself in regards to a finished fanmix, and yet, fanmix was having a theme contest and I just couldn't resist. Though I did wait until the very last minute to post it. Duh. Instead of my usual method, I chose songs based on creating a mood, not based on the character. I wanted a mix that made perfect lyrical sense but had a very old, nostalgic, bittersweet, sort of faded yellow-and-scarlet feel to them. I wanted them to sound dusty and heartbroken and woodsy and sad, which naturally translated into "sensitive indie people on guitars". Which, yeah, okay, wasn't that much of a stretch for me. Anyways, while this is labeled a Remus mix, it very much has an implied "...and Sirius" bent to it. It is not by accident that a lot of these songs give a sense of "I'm with someone else and you're gone but that doesn't mean I don't still love you mostest." Because that's how I read the books. It just is. And don't ask me to explain the last song - the lyrics, to me, are like "omg yay happy puppies in the afterlife!", except I realize that it's totally just me. WHATEVER.

In conclusion, this mix is dedicated entirely to missmary for cajoling, encouraging, beating, suggesting music, and mostly being awesome me while I was agonizing. Everything remotely good about this mix is her doing. Everything bad about this mix is entirely my fault. True story.

Also, I know the moon kind of goes the other direction. Call it artistic lisence. Or come up with some deep meaning like about the backwardness of Lupin's life in relation to the moon. It'll earn you bonus points in life.


( And The Dead Are All Living - A Mix For Remus Lupin During the Second War )