Short Post and a Song #108: Jesus, Vanessa.

If you don't want to feel like you're being watched, STOP STANDING IN FRONT OF THE MENU I'M TRYING TO READ, VANESSA.

(I don't know if your name is Vanessa, but I assume it is.)

~*~*~*~*~

"Dear Friend" by Emanuel and the Fear

I was into Emanuel and the Fear in a big way back in college and saw them perform live twice. Feeling nostalgic, I recently looked up their music from back then and found I still loved it just as much.

The entire Listen album is fantastic, as is "The Rain Becomes The Clouds" from their first album—"Dear Friend" is just the song of theirs I’m the most obsessed with at the moment. It is simply impossible to stay in a bad mood while listening to this song. 

Short Post and a Song #107: You died quickly.

Me: I hate when men refer to women as prizes.

The Great Dansby: But you're my prize!

Me: *glare*

Danlock Holmes: I threw a ball into a bowl at the fair and won you. *hugs my head to his chest and pets my hair* You died quickly.

~*~*~*~*~

"We Don't Need Our Heads" by A Great Big Pile of Leaves

There's been a definite teenage theme to the songs I've been posting lately, since I've been writing about teenagers and music can be a good way for me to worm my way into their angsty little heads. This song isn't particularly angsty though; it's just super fun and nostalgic. I'm particularly fond of the lyrics "Hangin' on the outside/It's so much more fun" since it's something I wish I'd realized myself back in high school.

It's all gouda.

ME: I'm gonna start using puns more. 

FRIEND: Great.

ME: Like, I think it's gonna be a pretty gouda day.

FRIEND: Heh.

ME: Yep, I am feeling pretty gouda.

FRIEND: Okay...

ME: *petting dog* Who's a gouda boy!

FRIEND: Maybe I should explain to you how puns work.

ME: Oh no, I get it. I'm very gouda with puns.

FRIEND: Do you just really want some gouda right now or something?

ME: *daydreaming about dancing gouda wheels* What's that, gouda buddy?

Short Post and a Song #106: And the soundtrack of all your dreams shall be the creepy humming from "Pan's Labyrinth".

I'm apparently a huge blanket-hogging dick when I'm sleeping.

I... What do I do about this? Is there some way to punish my sleeping self?

Bad, Sleep Jill, BAD! No more cool "surfing through space on a pizza slice" dreams for you! From now on it's gonna be all clowns, all the time, until you clean up your act.

~*~*~*~*~

"Medusa in Chains" by The Fratellis

I've been listening to The Fratellis for years and am really digging this bonus track off their latest album. It's got a great bluesy feel to it and the instrumental makes me wish I had a piano or keyboard so I could try to sound it out. It's also pretty killer for writing romantical scenes.

Short Post and a Song #105: Did you get a haircut?

How I interpret someone asking me "Did you get a haircut?" when I have not, in fact, gotten a haircut:

"You look like shit most of the time, but you look ever so slightly less like shit today for some reason."

~*~*~*~*~

"Prank Calls by Kelley Stoltz

As I've mentioned previously, I'm working on getting my dystopian novel, The Renaissance Experiment, into shape. I often listen to instrumental music while editing so I don't get distracted by the lyrics, but sometimes I need something that will get me into the right mood to write a certain character. 

My protagonist is sixteen, and nothing gets me into her teenaged head like this song. (Particularly during friendship/not-feeling-alone-anymore-type scenes.) The melody is upbeat and fun, but with just enough of an angsty edge.

The complex and scholarly process of naming baby animals

HANK, A ZOOLOGIST: What should we call a baby kangaroo?

BERNARD, A ZOOLOGIST WHO IS TRYING TO WAKE UP THEIR COLLEAGUE JOEY FROM HIS AFTERNOON NAP: Joey?

HANK: Good one! How about a baby koala?

BERNARD: Joey!

HANK: A little repetitive, but okay. A baby wallaby?

BERNARD: JOEY!

HANK: You're really losing your knack for this, Bernard.

JOEY: Christ, Bernard, I'm up. What are we doing?

HANK: Coming up with names for baby animals. Next on the list are baby wombats.

JOEY: Oh, I love baby wombats! Do you ... would you mind maybe naming them after me?


...And that is the true (maybe?) story of why all baby marsupials are called joeys.

...Also this post is better if you imagine them all with Australian accents.

...Mate.