Doesn’t even begin to cover how I’m feeling about this…

Justices Block Key Part of Campaign Law

Yes. Because what we need to do is make it EASIER for companies to influence elections. Yes. That’s what this country needs.

*headdesk*

*pound pound pound*

I watched Grey’s Anatomy for the first few seasons. It’s one of those shows that I tried out, really liked, and then grew to hate. If there’s one thing that will make me stop watching a show faster than a jack rabbit, it’s infidelity… Random, I know. There’s divorce, people. If you don’t want to stay married, it’s a valid option. We’re not living in the 1600’s here people. Divorce isn’t going to land you in the stockade or what have you. Jeezy.

Wait. What was I saying? Oh yeah…

One thing I do miss about that show? The music. That show had one of the greatest television soundtracks ever. I was constantly and consistently being introduced to new artists and there’s nothing better in my opinion. Bands like Tegan & Sara (Especially their album So Jealous – the show played practically every track) and Gomez came onto my radar because of this show. Smaller things like just songs and random bits from the show also lead me to the awesome song Standing in the Way of Control by The Gossip, an awesome rocking song with a saweet chick vocalist. I miss the music from that show. I do not, however, miss it enough to actually start watching the show again. Can’t I just be friends with Shonda Rhimes and get the music direct from the source?

Must work on that.

I truly DO NOT like this book series… but there are so many things out there making fun of it that make it almost worth seeing. Here’s the latest…

In the grand scheme of things, I find very few things cooler than a person who can write a song on the fly and have it sound at all good… This song is hilarious and thoughtful and everything I’ve come to expect from Amanda Palmer… plus, she’s randomly in her bra and that also cracks me up.

In the grand tradition of Pixar, this movie made me cry like a big giant baby. I know I’m not alone in this as there were plenty of adults sniffling near me. I’d gone to see the movie for my niece’s birthday party and there’s nothing quite like crying your eyes out sitting next to a bunch of 8-year-olds.

I think one of the reasons I love this video so much is because it’s deceptively simple. It’s beautiful in a way that I can’t quite explain. When we see the colors reflected on people’s faces for the first time I knew I was hooked. The expressions on Dug’s face are absolutely priceless and the editor’s use of timing and the music’s natural movement is just insanely brilliant! Check it out, people.

For those of you who weren’t aware, yesterday was More Joy Day. What is this wondrous event? A few years ago, a fangirl friend of mine named SDWolfpup posted the following plea after several of us had experienced a 2007 that would have killed lesser humans.

Awhile back, I was reading the American Idol recaps over on Televisionwithoutpity.com and I came to this paragraph, written by the recapper Jacob:

Some dick cuts you off on the highway, and you give yourself the pass to be a dick to the next five customers, and your bad mood fades by lunchtime, and you forget the dick on the highway, you forget the color of his car, you forget how he was on the phone with his ex-wife, yelling about custody of their kids, and how he never meant to cut you off in the first place, he was just distracted. Your day continues as planned, and at lunch you check your websites and read a funny recap, and you maybe laugh out loud, and you go home and watch TV. But those five guys give themselves the pass to be dicks to the next five — they’re having a bad day, so it’s okay just this once, and they’re happy again by lunch — and those twenty-five become six hundred twenty-five, and those six twenty-five become a million, and you’ve added to the sum total of anger in the world. But it works with love, too, and kindness. … Your donation is something tangible, but what it means is something altogether more powerful, and it’s that you continue to stand, and you continue to remember that you’re not alone, and with reverence for this fact, you can’t help but add to joy. Which is your entire job, from the day you’re born until the day you die: more joy.

Read her whole post here

“I think it’s brave to try to be happy.”

Thusly, More Joy Day was born. Through the efforts of hundreds of people, joy has been spread for three years now. Stories have been written with no other expectation than to bring a smile to the face of the person it was written for… and maybe a few others in the process. People spend hours, days, weeks …months on projects for More Joy Day. Hours in front of complex graphics programs and editing software have been spent with the idea that such extensive work would help balance out some of the terrible things going on in this world. It’s one of those explosions of giddy happiness and I can absolutely see where joy and excitement are contagious.

“We love because we can.”

Why all of the Pushing Daisies pictures? I loved that show. It makes me smile simply to think about it and when something warms your heart like that, you have to share… plus… I love that show. There was nothing that wasn’t AWESOME about that show. I’ve the first season on DVD and it’s so absolutely worth watching over and over. Such a beautifully colored show too… but I digress. More Joy Day!!!

Just because the day’s over doesn’t mean you can’t keep spreading joy! Send someone a letter. Call your mother to thank her for having you. Call your dad and tell him why he means so much to you. Send a card to a friend you haven’t seen in a while. I promise, the simple act of doing something to make someone else smile will put one on your face too.

And because I can’t help but end on a nerdy note (not that this entire post wasn’t nerdy) I give you a video made by someone for More Joy Day to the television show Big Bang Theory. I truly thought life couldn’t get more awesome… Oh but it has.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

For those of you who will be in the Atlanta area on Thursday, here’s something you don’t want to miss!

A King Celebration Concert – A concert given by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra featuring some of Atlanta’s most talented residents:
Nili Riemer – Soprano
Christin-Marie Hill – Mezzo-Soprano
Rodrick Dixon – Tenor
Terry Cook – Baritone
Spelman College Glee Club
Morehouse College Glee Club

I like a good celebrating someone’s life through music!! Tickets are General Admission and are $25.00. You can buy tickets on their website. Hope to see you there!!

I have to admit, I’m kind of a snob when it comes to mixes and such. I really just want to be able to sing along or dance along and only the best mixes escape getting on my nerves. The exception to this rule is the mash up. For some reason when it’s only a few songs, I can still groove along quite nicely. One of my favorite mash up artists is Party Ben. (You can find all of his tracks at his website at http://www.partyben.com/

While his vidding skills are not so much on point, you can get a good idea about what his work sounds like. Who mixes Snoop with Zeppelin? This guy. I love the sound here.

Probably his most famous mash up is Boulevard of Broken songs. Mashing Green Day, Travis, Eminem/Aerosmith, and Oasis in a way that makes me listen to the original versions of the songs and wish for the mash up version. I think my favorite of all of his mash ups HAS to be Never Feel Good, the mash up of Cake and Gorillaz to the point that I rarely listen to the original versions of either song anymore. Check ‘em out at his downloads section as almost all of the stuff on the site is available for free download.

Cheers!

I start back to school today for the first time in five years. It’s an insane step that I hope pays off. It was one of those decisions that was actually a year in the making and I’m excited and a little scared to be starting something new. With that in mind… here’s some music to get us all going. Some of you are starting new resolutions, new diets, new ways and paths in life… this mix is for you… and me, I guess. (All Amazon mp3 links)

1. Learning To Fly by Tom Petty
2. Shining Star by Earth, Wind & Fire
3. Wake Up And Live by Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
4. Shine by Laura Izibor
5. Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis
6. Two Step by Dave Matthews Band
7. Takes So Long by The Weepies
8. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
9. See the World by Gomez
10. Here It Goes by Jimmy Eat World

My new year’s resolution for 2010? I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to recycle. I live in Marietta, the land of the ridiculous, man. They have no recycling program here and that just hurts my brain. Anybody have any good spots in Marietta to take stuff in?

It got me to thinking about what kind of year 2009 was. It was a concert year, to be sure. It wasn’t much of a movie year for me because I didn’t much go to the movies and the Harry Potter movie was an absolute pile of crap… (I still maintain that the sixth movie has yet to have been made. Still waiting for it to come out and all of that…. except Tom Felton, the kid who plays Draco Malfoy, he did an awesome job… nice guy, too.) I’ve got quite a few to Netflix now, after seeing this video.

What were your favorite movies from this year?

The two that jump out for me this year are Zombieland and Star Trek. I’m sure there are more that I’ve loved but those just kicked so much ass that I can’t stop talking about them. My inner Star Trek fangirl was fed by the redux version and I was shocked by how much I liked the changes even though I’m a die hard Trek fan… And Zombieland and I have already bonded on this blog so you know how I liked it.

Cheers.