Cocker by Name, Cocker by Nature

So it's been awhile since I last did a proper update. This is for two reasons: a) not that much has been happening and b) I'm very tired. My heart's still recovering (which I now predict will not end until the end of the semester or I get a new boyfriend) and this week is mid-terms. My pen pal has convinced me that I really do need to listen to Pulp so I've doing that for the past day or so as well. Jarvis Cocker confuses me though. As I wrote in a note I made about him he is both constantly on the prowl for more sex and what would have happened if David Bowie had been from Sheffield and was into new wave. And I'm dead serious when I say that. On the other hand I can't help but associate him with an episode of NMTB were he's doing this really stupid looking dance to "Common People" and then (this was a connections round) being associated with the lead singer from Spandau Ballet (I'm not going to tell you how their connected, it's too confusing.) So on the one hand I have this guy who sounds like sex but reminds me of NMTB. It's very confusing for me poor brain. In any event, I've listened to Different Class almost twice through and I still like Blur better. I've got one more album I need to listen to and hopefully my brain won't explode from listening to Mr. Cocker's voice too much.
In other news, UMW is having a con. On a Sunday. And Ben Folds is coming to play on a Monday. The scheduling at this school is very strange. Speaking of scheduling I've decided that I'm going to take elementary astronomy for my science requirement because I really like stars. I have one more class to choose (none of my other required classes are being offered next semester) and I'll have a full schedule. Of course I'll also be counting down the days till I'm in London (because I will be in London a year from now dammit.) So yeah, scheduling and Mary Washicon. I'm not cosplaying, but see no point in not going. It's all of five minutes from my room. :shrugs:
I've been wearing the hat and keep getting compliments, which I find strange. It's way big on me and I keep worrying that it's going to fly off. It has flown off twice, once at Union Station and again yesterday into the bushes near my dorm (that was well annoying.) Tomorrow I have a recital that I'm actually not dreading and hopefully it will go okay. I also have my show tomorrow and have to start on another paper for music history. I can't wait till Friday. Until next time.

Pen Pal

I have a pen pal (a moniker I'm sure he would appreciate.) It's fun and as has been very cathartic because we mostly just talk about music with some side lining into the personal stuff. He really knows his stuff about British music and it's been so refreshing to have someone know as much, if not more, than I do. He also knows a bit about Doctor Who which is always a plus because my sci-fi geek side is as important as my British music geek side. I told my mum about him this morning and her first reaction was worry and "are you sure he's not some old guy?" I personally am not worried because I use my brain and have never revealed any real personal information. Except that one time I mentioned the exact town I live in. But that was four years ago. Still, it's been so nice having someone to distract me from last weeks (almost two weeks) event. Besides, he's "forcing" me into listening to all the bands I know I should be listening to but just haven't gotten around to listening to. Of course he found me through LJ which just adds a layer of oddness to it that I appreciate in a strange way. It's fun though, this pen pal stuff. Lots of fun.

I Can't Be Expected to Be OK After a Week

"What'll I Do" Irving Berlin

What'll I do when you
Are far away
And I'm so blue,
What'll I do?

What'll I do when I
Am wondering who
Is kissing you,
What'll I do?

What'll I do with just
A photograph
To tell my troubles to?

When I'm alone
With only dreams of you
That won't come true,
What'll I do?

What'll I do with just
A photograph
To tell my troubles to?

When I'm alone
With only dreams of you
That won't come true,
What'll I do?

"To The End" Blur

All those dirty words (Jusqu'a la fin)
They make us look so dumb (En plein soleil)
We've been drinking far too much (Jusqu'a la fin)
And neither of us mean what we say (En plein amour)

Well you and I
Collapsed in love
And it looks like we might have made it
Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end

What happened to us? (Jusqu'a la fin)
Soon it will be gone forever (En plein soleil)
Infatuated only with ourselves (Jusqu'a la fin)
And neither of us can think straight anymore. (En plein amour)

Well you and I
Collapsed in love
And it looks like we might have made it,
Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end
When you and I
Collapsed in love
Well, it looks like we might have made it
Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end.

(En plein amour)
You and I
Just collapsed in love
And it looks like we might have made it
Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end

(En plein soleil)
(En plein soleil)

Every Record Ever

Now that I've been all emo and shit, here's something highly amusing (and somewhat true) that I got from Cracked.com.

You know it's true, I know it's true, thus it is brilliant. Also, credit for the art work is at bottom right corner. Enjoy!

It's 5th Grade All Over, Except This Time I'm Older

I cried in my bathroom last night. It was the first time since Wednesday I had a proper cry about what happened. I think it was due to a mixture of really good break-up songs (ABBA "The Winner Takes It All") and news/pictures about Katsucon. I felt really pathetic, using the fan in the loo as a way to mask the crying and I didn't feel much better, but I've been trying not to cry since the initial shock so I think it was for the best. I keep using that phrase, but half the time I don't actually believe it. I also have this rather fucked up hope that the bastard will realize he didn't have a good reason for doing this, will ask me back and I'll get to hurt him like he's hurt me. I had the same hope with Miles and look how well that turned out. Which brings me to another point: I had a dream where Miles played both himself and the bastard. That was very strange, if completely relevant. Both betrayed me, both broke up with me out of the clear blue sky and both did nothing to help my trust/self-esteem issues (though I would say Miles was the origin of my trust issues, the grimy little fucker.) Still, it was strange waking up with Miles' face in my brain. The grimy little fucker.
I just want some closure. I want a proper reason and a chance to air my grievances. I want everything I didn't get with Miles. I never got closure, I never got to tell him what he did to me. I doubt I'll ever get that with the bastard, mostly because I won't be able to talk to him, but I want all of it nevertheless. Because maybe if I get closure, I won't hurt as much as I do now. Again, I doubt that's true, but I can hope, since none of it will happen. I'll just solider through and cry in my bathroom when necessary.
On another, somewhat related note, I brought back the hat I bought the bastard for Christmas. It's my hat now and I'm going to wear it as a sign of my (non-existent) strength. It's too big for me, but I don't care really. It's the hat and now it's mine. And I'm wearing it on Friday, just to prove the point. Doctor Who is as much mine as it is his, even more so because I was the reason he really got into it. We'll just see how Friday goes.

Aftermath

I feel I owe you the reading public some kind of explanation for yesterday. Obvious point of fact is Hunter broke up with me. I'm not going to go into details because a) I might start bawling again and b) it was a fairly generic break up. Though his reasoning did include an ingrown toe-nail. Anywho, the point of this entry is to say this: I have so many freakin' amazing people in my life. I've gotten more hugs in the past 24 hours than I usually do in a month. Even people who are friends with Hunter were there for me, calling to check that I was okay. I just am so thankful and grateful to everyone whose been so nice to me over the past day. Especially Joe because he called Hunter a loser, and not just because he's my friend. That made my day. So even though I can't think too hard, have to be constantly distracted, and have to avoid a certain area on campus (which is really awkward), I'm doing okay. And that's entirely because of the wonderful people in my life. Yay them.

Over

I'm speechless right now, but have to mark this day. It's over. All the frustration and tears, for nothing. My mom's getting the v-day gift or at least what I've completed of it. I hate him.

Sad Happy Sad

This is a rather pathetic entry, but if I posted this on Facebook or Twitter, it would just seem even sadder, and I have my standards. I just found out through and AV Club inventory list that Marketa and Glenn have broken up. I'm inordinately sad about this fact. However I can't keep a sad face while listening to Lily Allen (album review later tonight, promise!), but just so you know, I am sad on the inside.
In other news, I finally get to show off during a recital. I'm thrilled, just absolutely stoked. Now if I could play the A harmonic minor scale really fast, it would be absolutely perfect. Still, I'm excited about a recital for the first time since forever. :D
I'm still on the inside though. They were perfect! :sad face:

V-Day Part 1 cont.

Right now I'm taking a break from reading about Japanese history with all of it's incredibly difficult-to-pronounce names and will instead update you lot on my v-day gift for Hunter. I am seriously desperate to avoid work, but if I start watching Gossip Girl again, I will never get this reading done. So, the v-day gift.
Originally I was going to get the bf a fob watch. Then I discovered that fob watches cost as much as one of my dresses and as much as I care about the bf, it seems a bit early to spend that much money on him. So then I was completely lost as to what to get him. I searched and searched, trying to think of something geeky and romantic, with nothing to show for it. Until ThinkGeek.com came to the rescue. I got a flash drive that's packaged in a fake cassette tape fashion (I tried to link to an image, but the site is cooperating with me, so just picture a cassette tape with a small flash drive in the middle.) It holds 90 minutes of music, which has been broken down into two play lists, the first of which I finished last night and second of which I'm almost done with. The second play list is entirely British and consists of all my favourite British artists (well the majority of them anyway). One song each (otherwise the whole thing would be Kaiser Chiefs) and I'm just waiting on Lily Allen's second album to be released so I can decide whether I'm going to feature a song from that album or her first album. I suspect he won't like any of it and will think I'm a big weirdo for making him two play lists while he get's me DW fan art, but I don't care. If he hasn't already figured out that music is my life, he'll get it now.
I also got a card from Etsy.com that says "Shut Up and Kiss Me" with a little Eros* at the bottom. It's stupid and dorky, but so is a card with "XOXO" on it. V-day is just cheesy, and there's nothing he can do about it. I haven't gotten to really celebrate this day since elementary school, so I'm going all dorky and cheesy over it. It's fun to be dorky and cheesy every once in a while.
*Eros, Cupid. It's all the same when you get down to it: A pudgy little guy shooting arrows so people will have sex with each other. And yes, my classics class is going very well, ta.

V-Day Part 1

I've programmed the first part of the play list I'm giving to Hunter for V-day (even though he won't get it on V-day :grumbles incoherently about cons and their stupidity:). It's the mushy romantic part, but about half the songs aren't mushy and romantic, one of the songs isn't even romantic ("Istanbul" for all its wonderful qualities can not be called mushy or romantic) and two, maybe three, of the songs could be considered don't right anti-romantic. Still, it's the sentiment that counts in my opinion. I also told an old friend of mine who's going to Katsucon to punch Hunter in the arm if she sees him. Granted I gave a rather non-descript description of him, but still I think "tall, gangly, and wearing a ridiculous scarf" just about covers it. The chance of the two of them actually seeing each other is astronomical :knocks on wood:, but still it would be highly amusing if Hunter came back saying that some random chick punched him in the arm and said it was from me. Would definitely make up for missing V-day, more so than fan art. In any event, the second part will be pure Brit-pop, which is my way of torturing the poor boy. Still, that's what he gets for missing V-day. Musical (and possibly physical) torture. I'm eeeeeeeeevil.
Edit: Did I mention that one of the songs on mushy romantic is You Can Have It All? Yeah, my idea of a romantic play list is kind of strange.

Amphitheatre Escapades

Well I just had a really lovely afternoon. The weather is gorgeous (currently 72 degrees Fahrenheit) and the sun is shining, so around 12:30 I decided I would enjoy this glorious weather by spending the afternoon at the amphitheatre. So I packed up my books (classics, Asian Civ, and music history) and headed over to the amphitheatre. When I got there, there were already two people there which surprised me since usually I go when no one else is there. Still, I settled down on the steps and started reading one of the many Homeric hymns I have to read for class tomorrow. When the two people that were there left, I started wandering around, as is my wont, and generally enjoying the weather and the freedom of being alone at the amphitheatre. I was listening to my classical mix, reading Homeric hymns and chapters from the Iliad and the Odyssy and just really enjoying the weather and not worrying about a damn thing. The first track on my classical mix is "Bolero" by Ravel and in the middle of said track, I decided to enjoy my freedom and the weather just a little bit more by dancing around like I actually know how to dance. So I was pacing and dancing and leaping about like I'm wont to do when I have this strange feeling that someone else is in the amphitheatre seeing me make an ass out of myself. So I look up from my book (yes I was dancing and reading at the same time, I'm just that good) and who should I see but Heather, Lauren, and Hunter, staring at me. I just about pissed myself from embarrassment. Of course they didn't realize it was me until I stopped dancing, but still. It was an odd moment to say the least. I'm usually much more aware of my surroundings. Still, it was a wonderful afternoon. And dancing to "Bolero" is a lot of fun.

Que Sera

I'm sorry I haven't been updating. My life swings between melodrama and insania depending on the hour and the day. Classes are going well, even if music history does become more frustrating with each passing class. Mostly things are fine I suppose. I'm just stuck in this rut that won't be going anywhere until March by my estimation. Next week is intercollegiate band, but I'm not really looking forward to Saturday for multiple reasons. Still, things aren't so terrible. In the grand scheme of things I'm actually in a very good place. It just doesn't feel that way most of the time. C'est la vie.

Like Father, Like Daughter

I'm a little scared right now. I've always known that I had my dad's stubborn streak and high-mindedness about certain things. I also know that much like my dad I'm prone to self-deprecation, which works in my favour to a certain extent because at least that part of my personality keeps my ego in check. However more and more I'm realizing that my dad and I have something else in common, something that I don't particularly like: passive-aggressiveness. My dad being mad at me has always been worse than my mum being mad at me because my dad doesn't yell. There's no outward show anger at all. He stews until he hits his boiling point, which doesn't happen often. He mostly just stews and acts in a passive-aggressive manner towards the person/people he's mad at. With yelling at least you know what you're getting.
For the past few weeks I've been extremely frustrated with Hunter for a myriad of pointless reasons. I haven't said anything, but lately I've made snide and sarcastic remarks when he and I actually get a chance to talk. Today when he said he was going to hang out some knitting shop down town I told him I hoped he had fun with his yarn. Even though the statement was typed I was thinking it in my head with a bitter and sarcastic tone. What scares me about this is that it's so easy to just continue down this road, never confront the issue, just make pithy and cutting remarks instead. I'll continue to feel bitter, Hunter will remain completely unaware of the problem and nothing will get better, it will just get worse. This relationship is so important to me, but inertia is working against me and I'm too much like my dad. I'll let the problem stew until I hit my boiling point at which point everything will go to hell and a hand basket. That scares me, but I seem incapable of doing anything to change it. People say the first step is admitting you have a problem, but then what? How do you fight inertia?
God, I've gone so emo. At least I still listen to relatively happy music.

AV Club Q&A

I usually don't copy and paste things whole-sale into my blog unless their lyrics. The few times I've quoted from other blogs/articles, I usually have a witty comment to add. In this case, I don't. I simply wanted to share the genius of 2 AV Club writers. Enjoy:

What are your pop-culture "sacred cows"? What entertainment opinions do you consider so inarguable that attempts to argue the subject provoke instant rage or frustration?

Steve Heisler

That's a perfect segue into something I argue constantly: the early Beatles are just as substantial and worthy of merit as the later stuff. Endless praise has been lumped upon everything past Rubber Soul—and I'm not denying the pure, unfiltered genius that gave way to Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and just about the entire Beatles oeuvre. It's just that even at Please Please Me, the Fab Four were making the kind of experimental yet commercially viable music they made later. This was just its early stages. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison (yeah, Starr not so much until the mid-'60s) took the rock 'n' roll not yet popular with white America, mixed in raw blues and skiffle (high-energy, country-inspired folk music), and gave it a smiling face—together, that's no small feat. Plus, those guys were in their late teens/early 20s at the time, which is still pretty amazing to think about. McCartney ensured the timing was airtight, Harrison handled the kick-ass guitar solos (his "Can't Buy Me Love" ditty, while short, is a personal favorite), and Lennon penned more honest lyrics than most bands. (Listen to "Help!" and "I'm A Loser," and try to ignore the upbeat tempo.) In short, opening with "Tomorrow Never Knows" would have been career suicide; the early stuff made the audience for that career-changing track.

Donna Bowman

I'll cheer Tasha's principle and apply it to my favorite lump-dismissal rage-inducer: musicals. If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me, "Oh, I don't like musicals," I'd open my own nickelodeon. You don't like entertainment in which music is integrated with the action? I'd say you don't like entertainment, full stop. Now, I understand that accepting certain conventions of certain musical entertainment forms, like people singing to each other instead of talking, takes a suspension of disbelief. But these same people generally have no problem with the suspension of disbelief needed to accept action movies or romantic comedies. Convention is convention; throwing out one because it's preposterous on its face makes as little sense as mandating the teaching of counter-evidence for evolution, but not for the theory of gravity.

The "I don't like musicals" assertion that sends me all the way 'round the bend actually came up in the "Guilty displeasures" thread—Singin' In The Rain. The person who could find Singin' boring or silly is not a person I care to have existing in the same world as me. Such a statement, as is often the case, tells me more about the person making it than about the movie. If there was ever a movie that displayed the ability of musicals (and, I would argue, cinema itself) to simultaneously communicate sophistication and sincerity, it's Singin'. Anyone who is able to accept joy into his life will at least be able to understand its greatness. Only a truly dedicated curmudgeon—the kind of person who sees a dark cloud behind every silver lining—could dismiss it as worthless.

Dichotomy

You know a class is going well, and you really trust and like the people in that class, when your professor starts playing "Dancing Queen" and nearly everyone, without hesitation, starts singing along. That is the sign of a tight-knit group of people. Another sign is when you unanimously decide that your music history professor sucks and you start calling her Dolores Umbridge, because that's who she reminds you of. It's an odd dichotomy though. I'm loving my theory class right now but loathing my music history class. Today I wrote out the bridge from "Lucid Dreams" (the not funky version from the album) and the bridge from "Perfect Symmetry" during music history. I don't need to take notes, because Prof. Roach/Umbridge is teaching directly from the book. Meanwhile in theory we're singing "Dancing Queen" and discussing theme and variation techniques. I'm actually taking real notes. It's all very strange in my opinion.
Meanwhile over in Asian Civ. I'm cursing British politics. It's odd for me because usually I avoid thinking about Victorian era British politics and politics in general because it invariably annoys me. However the subject can no longer be avoided and now I'm very annoyed. Not that the Chinese were completely defenceless or unaware of the problems being created by opium, but declaring war on a country because they destroy your illegal product seems completely idiotic to me. Yes, I know they didn't want to lose silver, but still. Opium was illegal, so why make a fuss over its destruction. Lord knows you can get more. Nonetheless, Asian Civ. is excellent.
On a last note, I have three homes: Pollard (morning home), the Washroom (afternoon home) and my room in Arrington (evening home.) Because of the way my schedule has worked out and my own need not to spend more than four or five hours in my room, I generally don't get back to my room until 5 or 6 most days. This makes me happy and I've gotten a lot of extracurricular reading done which also makes me happy. But yes, I have three homes.

Meme-y Goodness

Empire Magazine has revealed its list of the 50 Greatest TV Shows ever:
1. Bold the shows you watch/used to watch.
2. Italic the shows you've seen at least one episode of.
3. Too much work so I'm leaving this out but if you want you can strikeout the shows you've never seen. I'm not doing it because that leaves no shows untouched and who has that kind of time?--which is entirely gypsylady's sentiment, but I concur wholeheatedly
4. Post your answers. (By the way I got this from faithharkness @ LJ)

50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex & The City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek
42. Only Food and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars
39. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf --- I so need to see this it isn't even funny
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK and US
22. The Shield
21. Angel --- Do bits and pieces count?
20. Blackadder --- I only want to watch the ones with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, but I refuse to buy it
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who --- But if you didn't know this already, for shame
15. Heroes
14. Firefly --- Shiny
13. Battlestar Galactica original series and the new one.
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld --- But I never enjoyed myself
10. Spaced --- I own it on DVD and it has Simon Pegg. Of course I watch this
09. The X-Files --- The theme tune always freaked me out and still does
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost --- Off and on sort of thing
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons --- It's been many moons since I watched this, but it use to be a staple of family viewing on Sundays

Twitter is Invading

This comes from the Behind the Sofa Twitter account. I feel I should get a Twitter account now, but I won't. Anywho, here's the quote:

Breaking News: a BBC insider reveals that 70% of Dr Who's special effects budget in 2010 will be spent making Matt Smith look human.

Granted this is from the same group of people who compared Mr. Smith's looks to Young Frankenstein. Which is true, Mr. Smith really does look like an eyebrow-less version of Frank Boyle. >_> I do like Matt Smith, honestly. It's just so easy to make fun of him.

Tonight it Will Be Off With Their Heads in Perfect Symmetry

Today, because I have a lot free time due to a snow day (still had classes this morning, but I won't go into that) I'm going to write-up a review of Franz Ferdinand's new album and re-review Keane and the Kaiser Chiefs third albums. However the format is going to be a little different, mainly because I've already written up a sort of review for Franz Ferdinand and don't feel the need to connect these reviews like I did with Keane and the Kaiser Chiefs. Anywho, it's a big review post and I'm very excited. Finally, I may or may not be reviewing the Killer's third album as well, we'll see where I'm at, at the end of these three reviews.

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Five years ago I got heavily into five bands: Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, Keane, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Maximo Park. In those five years I've become less attached to Maximo Park and the Killers (due to second albums that I didn't like so much) and more attached to Keane, the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand. What got me to listen to each of these bands, and what generally kept me listening, was musical originality. With Tonight: Franz Ferdinand the seemingly endless fount of creativity that Franz Ferdinand exhibited has started to wan. While Tonight is musically (and acoustically) intriguing (and quite slick production-wise) most of the songs are a rehash from the band's previous two albums. By focusing on the night and all that implies, Franz Ferdinand also loses a great deal of the lyrical complexity that they had on their second album, which is a shame given the potential that album had. The first 2/3rds of Tonight are interesting enough to keep a listener's attention, though some of the songs sound incredibly similar, particularly "Twilight Omens" and "Can't Stop Feeling", enough so that one might actually get confused. However after a revamped version of "Lucid Dreams" (7 minutes of the band showing off their ability to use technology to make interesting noises) the album takes a nose dive into the unlistenable. "Katherine Kiss Me" is a strange rehash of "No You Girls", using a majority of the same lyrics, but with an acoustic guitar and slightly altered melody line, while "Dream Again" is a anemic after thought to "Lucid Dreams". While the recording technique may have been original and the majority of the songs are a shitload of fun, Franz Ferdinand it would seem are starting to lose their edge. Grade: B (keeping in mind that compared to most of the stuff that is released nowadays [don't I sound old] is crap compared to this album) Recommended Songs: "Ulysses," "No You Girls," "Twilight Omens," and "Bite Hard"

Off With Their Heads by Kaiser Chiefs
In one review of the Kaiser Chiefs' second album, a reviewer over at Fake DIY pointed out that the Kaiser Chiefs are a band that makes music that sometimes needs to be "lived in" (my words from around the same time) before it can be truly appreciated. While writing a first review several months after an album is released makes no sense, re-reviewing Off With Their Heads seems worthwhile because this is definitely an album that needs to be lived in before you can really get it.
Off With Their Heads is, after listening to it at least fifty times, still a disappointment. It's an example of what happens when a band that should have taken a break decides to record an album instead. While a great many of the songs are seriously lacking in enthusiasm, after about fifty listenings, each song has a bar/measure/chorus that makes it worthwhile to listen to. But a single bar/measure/verse/chorus does not a good song make and the majority of the album suffers because of that fact. Yours Truly, Angry Mob was often accused of being bland and many considered it another example of the sophomore slump, but really Off With Their Heads is the album that suffers the most from blandness. Revamped Grade: C+ Recommend Songs: "Like It Too Much," "You Want History," "Good Days, Bad Days," "Always Happens Like That," "Addicted to Drugs"

Perfect Symmetry by Keane
In thinking about it, my original review of this album still accurately reflects my opinion of Perfect Symmetry. But instead of giving the album a B+, I would give it an A-, because compared to the two albums I just reviewed, Perfect Symmetry perfectly combines musical development with lyrical development while still being in sync with the band's overall image. Recommended Songs: "The Lovers Are Losing," "Better Than This," "Perfect Symmetry," "Playing Along," "Pretend That You're Alone," "Love is the End"

The next big review will be Lily Allen's second album which is released Feb. 10th, so be expecting something around then.

Writer's Block on LJ

The question was "who (or what) is your favourite robot." Here's my answer:

Marvin the manic-depressive robot. The main reason he's my favourite fictional robot is because of Alan Rickman's performance of him in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Besides, I don't think the Daleks technically count as robots...

Bad Night

You know it's a bad night when...

• The only thing keeping you from screaming is a fear that someone won't understand and alert the police
• The only thing keeping you from crying out right is concentrating on the song your singing
• You wish you could drink out of the vain hope that it will make you feel better
• The loudness of a door banging is an excellent measurement of how frustrated you are
• You can't even feign niceness when talking to the reason for it being a bad night, even though he has no idea why you have any reason for being mad
• Singing at the top of your lungs is the only constructive means of expressing your frustration
• Throwing your purse against a window doesn't seem like that bad an idea
• Even the thought of Stephen Fry isn't enough to make you feel less hollow inside

Tonight is bad. I know if I do as he asked, I'll regret it. I'm so like my father when I'm mad or frustrated. I stew and I avoid. I'm not proud of this fact, but at least I can acknowledge the fact. But I'm not going to change tonight and though I may regret it in the morning, I'll just have to live with that. It's been a very bad night for me.