What's Up in the Marvel Universe

There's a lot going on in the land of Marvel right now. I, for one, have been geeking out almost nonstop for the past week or so. A lot of this stuff is really awesome- for example, Marvel's first movies led by a woman and a POC have been announced. Also, the Age of Ultron Trailer has been released and it is perfection.

So let's take a look, shall we?

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First off, the absolutely perfect Age of Ultron trailer I mentioned. Gaze at the glorious thing that is this trailer. Done? (I'm not kidding. You need to watch it.) Good.

First off, the creepy Pinnochio music in the background needs to be mentioned. *shudders* And poor Bruce on the jet.

But what I really want to talk about? BALLET DANCERS. If my memory serves me correctly, one of Black Widow's covers back when she was with the Red Room was as a ballet dancer. So does this mean that we get to see more backstory for Nat in the Cinematic Universe? Let's hope so.

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Second, we got a full list of all the movies for Phase Three! For those of you who aren't IN the Marvel fandom and are more like casual bystanders, the Marvel movies are set up in "phases". Phase One was everything up to The Avengers, and Phase Two will include everything between Iron Man 3 and Ant-Man.

No Black Widow movie, unfortunately- but look what we do get! Carol Danvers AND Black Panther! DC did beat Marvel to the punch with Wonder Woman and Cyborg, but honestly, I'm not going to complain. I'm just happy that these two major companies are both starting to introduce more diversity into their films.

So, anyway, here's the list:

Pretty awesome, huh? I'm loving these gorgeous logos. Also, the introduction of Carol Danvers and the Inhumans means a future Kamala Khan movie is a possibility!

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And, in miscellaneous-but-still-awesome Marvel news (yes, there's more)...

• The Guardians of the Galaxy are getting their own animated TV show on Disney XD!

• For those of you who haven't heard already, there's an alternate universe where Gwen Stacey got spider powers instead of Peter Parker. Well, Spider-Gwen (as she's been dubbed by fans) is getting her own ongoing comic series! Also, several other fantastic Marvel ladies, including Gamora, Peggy Carter, and Silk are getting their own series as well. 
• The new Thor series (starring a mysterious woman as the new Thor) has started off with a bang. 
• And finally, the amazing Natasha Romanoff is getting a YA novel! It will be written by Margaret Stohl (author of the Beautiful Creatures series), and will come out in May 2015.

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So, anyway, I hope I haven't missed anything (but I probably did)! What are you looking forward to the most?

Shipping and OTPs

Before we get started on the actual post, I'd like to let you know that I've written a co-review of "Kill the Moon" (S08, E07 of Doctor Who) with nevillegirl at Musings from Neville's Navel. You can find the post here.

For those of you who aren't neck deep in nerd culture and fandoms, I'm going to define what these mysterious "ships" and "OTPs" are (No, it has nothing to do with FedEx).

Shipping (Ship is short for relationship, I think?) generally means that you think two characters would make/ are a cute couple. Sometimes people also ship characters as just friends- they don't necessarily have to be in a relationship.

OTP stands for "one true pairing". The thing is, most people have multiple OTPs. It can be taken in different ways, like you have one OTP per fandom, or even per character.

So, anyway, now that I've defined those critical terms and self-promoted a bit (as usual), let's get started! I'm going to be listing my OTPs and my thoughts on them/ why I ship them. Hopefully, this one will have a bit more substance than my horrendous INTJ characters post.

Let the shipping begin!

Clint Barton/ Natasha Romanoff- Marvel Cinematic Universe



"Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call." -Natasha Romanoff, The Avengers

How could anyone not ship this? I mean, they're just so perfect for each other. You want chemistry? They've got chemistry. I can totally imagine them going on this super romantic dinner date and then right afterwards going out to kick some HYDRA butt or something.

Cecil/ Carlos- Welcome to Night Vale



"Neat!" -Cecil Baldwin, WTNV Episode 16 (The Phone Call)

Why do I ship them, you ask? HAHAHA Cecil and Carlos are just... They're just... so cuuuuute together. Also I have a weakness for ships where one or both of the people in it are super awkward and nerdy and obviously in love but have a really hard time expressing it and I just... It's perfect. They're perfect for each other.

Jenny/ Madame Vastra- Doctor Who



"I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife." -Madame Vastra, The Snowmen

Jenny and Vastra are really one of the only reasons I'm still watching this Moffat stuff. I don't have as much to say on this one, but... PERFECTION.

Sherlock Holmes/ Molly Hooper- Sherlock



"You've always counted." -Sherlock Holmes, The Reichenbach Fall

As I said, awkward-nerdy-but-still-adorable ships are one of my weaknesses. I don't really have a whole lot to say on Sherlolly either, though, aside from that it's cute.

Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman- The Young Avengers



"Oh, ugh. Is love really going to save us all?" -Loki, Young Avengers #13

Why, you ask? Excuse me if I laugh at you again. Billy and Teddy are the best together, there's no denying it. They understand each other, and they're just such a (I feel like I'm really overusing this word but) cute couple.

Gertrude Yorkes and Chase Stein- The Runaways

"I was reventilating him. Anyone who says different gets fed to my dinosaur." -Gertrude Yorkes, Runaways #16

Throughout most of the original series, they hated each other (Well, at least, Gert hated Chase. I have no idea if Chase hated Gert or not.) and then BOOM.  They were absolutely in love and it was perfect. And it wasn't perfect, either. It was realistic. They had their ups and downs. It wasn't all just fluffiness and rainbows, but they still stayed together, and... I think that makes it all the better.

Let me know what your ships and OTPs are in the comments!

INTJ

First off, before we get started here, I'd like to shove you in the general direction of gently nudge you toward the new page I created on my current WIP novel.

And now that you've done that (You have, right? Thanks. You're an awesome human being. High five!), on to the actual post. Basically, I'm going to list a few characters who supposedly share my personality type and my thoughts on them and our similarities (because I like making lists).

If you want to try this, you can take the test here and find the character list here.

Brief summary of my type (INTJ): INTJs are clever, analytical, pragmatic and logical, and are not scared to tell someone (or themselves) when they're being stupid. They emphasize efficiency, making them simultaneously loners and excellent leaders.

Batman from DC Comics
As you probably already know, I'm not a huge DC fan and I really don't know enough about him to judge my thoughts on this one, but hey, I'm Batman!

Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol
Um I really don't think so but oookay? Maybe I can see him being an INTJ, but I'm still not really very much like him.

Four (Tobias Eaton) from Divergent
I haven't read Divergent yet but I'm going to file this away for future reference.

Some Incarnations of the Doctor from Doctor Who
That's not very helpful. Maybe if I knew which ones it was talking about? Twelve, I suppose?

Severus Snape and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter
NOPE. Voldemort isn't an INTJ.  I can say that for a fact. I mean, those long "I'm going to gloat and rant about you before I kill you" speech he does every time he gets his hand on Harry isn't very "clever, pragmatic, and logical" of him, is it? Maybe I can go with Snape. But not Voldemort.

Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
AHAHAHA My life is complete. I am Marvin the Paranoid Android. I guess I can maybe see a tiny bit of a resemblance? Maybe?

Smaug from The Hobbit
Why yes I do have a nasty habit of hoarding treasure. This is turning into less of a "deep thoughts on my similarities to the characters" and more of a sarcastic commentary.

Amon from The Legend of Korra
WOAH OKAY let's take a detour and talk about storylines that don't live up to their potential, yes? Because Amon and the Equalists had a lot of wasted potential. When they were first introduced, I had kind of expected them to be more of a metaphor for other real life equal rights movements. But then the show kind of brushed them off as being bad guys who think that the Benders are privileged even though they aren't. I felt like the storyline would have been a lot more interesting if it were more about Korra questioning the world as she knew it, and who was right- the Benders or the Equalists. If that makes any sense? Anyway. Back on track.

Scar from The Lion King
Why am I always the bad guy? Geez.

Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Um, yeah, I can agree with that one, actually. Even though he's a villain.

Tiana from The Princess and the Frog
YES AN AWESOME AND AMBITIOUS DISNEY LADY! AND SHE'S NOT A VILLAIN!

Professor James Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock Holmes
Annnnd another villain.

Khan from Star Trek: Into Darkness
First Sherlock, and now Khan. I'm sensing a pattern here.

So basically a short list of villains, with a few heroes and more sympathetic villains scattered in between. And I must say, I like a lot of the characters on this list.

My Favorite Comic Books

So, yes. It's been a really really long time since I actually posted on here. But hopefully I'm back now! And to get this blog up and running again, I've compiled a list of my favorite comic books, including what I liked, what I didn't like, etc. Enjoy!



The Avengers
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Main Characters: Iron Man, Captain America (Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes), Thor, Red Hulk, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Spider-Woman
What I Liked: I've actually liked a lot of the Brian Michael Bendis stuff I've read so far. He does a really good job with the team dynamics, and sometimes the plotlines.
What I Didn't Like: You know how I said "sometimes" the plotlines? Yeah, well, in Avengers they're kind of a hit or a miss. Some I loved, some I didn't.
The Verdict: 6/10



Hawkeye
Writer: Matt Fraction
Main Characters: Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, and Pizza Dog
What I Liked: They were really funny, and the characters were really relatable. It was also really interesting reading a comic about a not-so-super hero while he's not being a... well... hero. And the cameos in vol. 2 were a lot of fun too. And Pizza Dog. I love Pizza Dog.
What I Didn't Like: It's fun. Not that that's a bad thing, but sometimes it feels like that was the sole goal of the book. When the plot did get "serious", it felt kind of... I don't know... dull. I dunno. Maybe I'm not making much sense here. Anyway.
The Verdict: 8/10



Amazing X-Men
Writer: Jason Aaron? I think?
Main Characters: Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Storm, Firestar, Northstar, Iceman, Azazel
What I Liked: Firestar's character development was great. Her change through the course of the story... She became a lot more confident in her place as an X-Man. And Nightcrawler's back! He's been one of my favorites ever since I got into X-Men. So that was great. I guess... just the characterizations overall. And the plot was very well done, too.
What I Didn't Like: The way it ended. I can't really go into detail without spoilers, but... just no. I didn't like the ending.
The Verdict: 8/10



Young Avengers
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Main Characters: Wiccan, Hulkling, Miss America, Kate Bishop, Kid Loki, Speed, Prodigy, Marvel Boy/ Noh Varr/ The Protector/ whatever he calls himself
What I Liked: The team dynamics and character development were AMAZING. I loved each and every one of the characters. And the writing was hilarious. And Billy and Teddy were just so darn CUTE together.
What I Didn't Like: The plot felt really rushed sometimes, like they were trying to cram too much into too few pages. And am I the only one who didn't get the whole Kid-Loki-Turning-Into-Teenage-Loki thing? I dunno.
The Verdict: 9/10



Excalibur (Classic)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Main Characters: Captain Britain, Meggan, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rachel Summers
What I Liked: These are probably the oldest comics I've read which means they're from before 2000 and WOAH THERE'S MORE THAN ONE TOKEN GIRL ON THE TEAM THIS IS SHOCKING. But seriously. The plot was great (I loved the concept of the Warwolves), and a lot of my favorite characters were included.
What I Didn't Like: I found the art kind of meh, but that's just personal preference. It's also annoyingly hard to get your hands on a copy.
The Verdict: 7/10



Runaways
Writers: Brian Vaughan and Joss Whedon
Main Characters: Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean, Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Molly Hayes, Alex Wilder, Xavin, Victor Macha
What I Liked: Um. EVERYTHING. No. Just kidding. I'll try to be a bit more specific here. Most of the time, the art was great (most of the time meaning "when it wasn't that weird manga stuff"). The plotlines were stupendous. But the best part was the character development. If you like excellent, three dimensional characters, chances are you'll LOVE Runaways. As an added bonus, Joss Whedon was such a huge fan that when Brian Vaughan left he wrote a few issues.
What I Didn't Like: As mentioned before, after a little while, (around vol 9 I think?) the art style switched to a really weird manga-but-not-really thing and I didn't like it at all. Also, since the series was canceled in 2009, there are a ton of strings left untied that'll have you making up headcanons for years to figure out what happened.
The Verdict: 10/10 as long as you pretend everything after Joss Whedon's books never existed.



All New X-Men
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Main Characters: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Archangel, Iceman, Shadowcat, Storm, Mystique (I feel like I'm forgetting someone, though...)
What I Liked: The plot was really unique, and it was pretty cool to see all the old X-Men trying to adjust to modern day life. Kitty's banter with Bobby was a lot of fun to read. The dark path Jean has started heading down is pretty interesting, although I'm not quite sure what's up with her relationship with Hank? But oh well. He's got to be better than Scott.
What I Didn't Like: SCOTT SUMMERS. Ugh. That guy. Get it? Huh? Huh? Thinly veiled Night Vale reference? But seriously. He's starting to get on my nerves. A lot.
The Verdict: 8/10

Quarterly Rewind: Spring 2014

So, hi guys! It's me again, believe it or not. Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've had a really hard time coming up with ideas for posts lately, but hopefully I'm back now. Keep an eye out for my review of Ash by Malinda Lo, as it should be coming soon!

(And yes, I've borrowed the Quarterly Rewind from Musings from Neville's Navel again.) It's a bit late, but hey, who cares?

Favorite Quote From A Book I Read This Spring

"I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get- and never would."

-Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Sáenz

This Spring In One Word

Busy!

Most Popular Review This Spring

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Top Two Books I Read This Spring

1. Ash, by Malinda Lo. I haven't even finished it yet, but gosh, this book is amazing. Queer protagonists! Fairy tale style storytelling (in a YA book)! What's not to like?
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. METAPHORS! Metaphors everywhere!

Two Things I’m Looking Forward To This Summer

1. Horseback riding. I'm doing a summer camp, so that'll be fun. Even if it'll be really hot out.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy comes out on August 1st! I can't wait!

Three New Obsessions This Spring

1. Comic books. I still haven't read that many, but the ones I have read, I've loved.
2. Renaissance-era stuff. My school is doing a renaissance fair next year, so I've been doing a lot of research.
3. Polyvore, a new favorite website of mine. Which is weird. I've never really been into fashion. Even if it's fandom related.

Most Popular Three Blog Posts Overall This Spring

How to Read and Write Circular Gallifreyan

Elsa and Anna: Not the First

Why Gertrude Yorkes Needs a Bit More Appreciation

Three Posts I Loved On Other Blogs This Spring

Review: The House of Hades (Musings from Neville's Navel)

Bending Over Backward (This Page Intentionally Left Blank)

Writers Should Learn Languages (YAvengers)

Three Things That Happened This Spring

1. I've branched out in my reading interests a bit. I've started reading a lot more historical fiction, queer fiction, and comic books lately.
2. I was REALLY busy in May. I had a horse show and two big school events. It was fun, though.
3. I volunteered to help teach a book club at school next year with a few friends!

Six Songs That I Listened To Far Too Often This Spring

1. Cassandra's Waltz, from the Doctor Who soundtrack. It's so lovely and sci-fi sounding at the same time.
2. New Year's Day, by U2. I don't know what it is about this song, but I love it.
3. New Soul, by Yael Naim. Which is weird. This is more my mom's kind of music (I usually don't listen to upbeat songs), but... I like it.
4. Nobody but Me, by Save Ferris.
5. Warg Scouts, from the An Unexpected Journey soundtrack. This one is great for writing action scenes to.
6. I Can See the Light from Tangled.

The Winter Soldier Movie Review

This movie was amazing. Just peer, utter awesomeness. I've been wanting to go see it for a while now, but I never really got around to it until today.

And boy am I glad I did.

First off, just let me say that I've never been a huge Captain America fan. I mean, he's okay, but... he's never been very high on my list of favorites.

This movie has quickly zoomed to the top of my list of favorite movies. And my list of most feels-y movies, too.

But I'm sure you'd prefer it if I started discussing the specifics, instead of just ranting about how good it was.

The plot twists were absolutely amazing. Disturbing, but amazing. I love a good plot twist, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I really wonder how they're going to handle the aftermath. I won't spoil it for you, though ;)

Secondly, there were some fabulous one-liners, as I would expect of a Marvel movie. And some very gif and meme worthy moments, too.

And then there were the Easter Eggs. Natasha's arrow necklace. The way names like "Stephen Strange" were casually dropped here and there... The little things all added up.

The plot was gorgeously executed, too. I never felt like it was moving too quickly or too slowly- it was just right. And then the fact that it didn't really end. HYDRA is still out there- cut one head off, and two grow back.

The stuntwork and CGI was excellent, too. The fight scenes were very nicely done. I especially liked the police chase with Nick Fury and SHIELD. It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. And anything with Bucky was very well done, too.

And the feels. There were lots of feels.

So, in summary. Beautiful movie. Lots of feels. And maybe I can come up with something bad to say about it later so this is more of a review and less of a "ohmygosh this movie was so cool" rant.

But probably not.

And you've probably guessed by now that my rating is a 10/10.

Why Gertude Yorkes Needs a Bit More Appreciation

Okay. So, I just finished Volume Six (Parental Guidance) of Runaways last night, and, well... My. I haven't had this many feels since Reichenbach. So, that being said, this post is in honor of Gertude Yorkes.

1. Gert is the only superheroine I've ever heard of who looks as if she weighs over a hundred pounds. Now, Runaways does quite a good job at beating back the skinny, scantily clad cliche, but look at Gert next to say, Karolina, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. She has a pet dinosaur, for crying out loud. Fancy suits of armor and superhuman powers are all well and good, but you can't beat Gert when it comes to 'powers'. Need I say more?

3. She's smart. On the Marvel wiki, Gertude was rated a four out of seven on intelligence. Although not quite a genius, she even rivals Ultron's 'son' when it comes to smarts.

4. She realizes that not everyone is perfect, but doesn't let that impact her relationship with them. Even though she doesn't act like it, Gert is one of the most compassionate members of the Runaways. She helps Molly get past the fact that her parents are supervillains, and she gives her life to save Chase.

5. Speaking of that, she has one of the saddest death scenes in the Marvel Universe...

6. And her and Chase also have one of the most adorable relationships.

7. She's critical of society, and a deep thinker. Even Spidey says so, which is saying something.

8. She has pink hair. I think that's pretty cool, don't you? And she would also be quite fun to cosplay.

Thoughts on 'Fangirling'

Fangirl

Noun; fan-girl

Informal, derogatory; An obsessive female fan

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Some people would call me a fangirl. Most, actually. Why? I'm a girl, and I enjoy nerd culture.

But why does that make me a fangirl?

And why is okay to be a fangirl, but not a geek girl?

After all, 'geek girls' are being called out today, for cosplaying and wearing the costumes that the very men shaming them designed.



Yet nobody is calling out the thousands of 'fangirls'. Why?

Because it's okay to idolize an actor for his portrayal of a character in a movie or TV show that happens to belong to nerd culture.

But enjoying the actual comics? Or the movie, simply for its quality? Or cosplaying your favorite character?

No. That's not okay, in today's society

And that needs to change.

Because it's okay to like an actor. Being a fangirl is just fine. But it's not okay to also enjoy nerd culture for something other than certain British men.

And that's just wrong.

Now, why do people assume that any girl who enjoys nerd culture is a fangirl?

Am I, a teenage girl, incapable of enjoying something, simply for its content?

No. I'm not.

Maybe I do on occasion think 'Oh. He's cute."

But I'm not a fangirl, and I'm sure there are plenty of other people like me.

People who are sick of being stereotyped because of the things they enjoy.

Review: Runaways, Vol. 4: True Believers

Runaways, Vol. 4: True Believers by Brian K. Vaughan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



So, this one was by far my favorite of the Runaways books. Full of plot twists, brilliant character development, and some excellent artwork, it certainly deserves my five star rating.


THE ART

Not my favorite, but still excellent. The darker, rather subtle colors fit the mood of the book very well. Molly looks quite a bit older than usual, and it seems as if they slimmed down Gertude a bit, but aside from that I liked it.


THE WRITING

One doesn't usually expect excellent writing in a comic. But True Believers was quite good. Perhaps not right up there with Harry Potter, but it still beats some novels I've read. Not many, but some.

The characters, as usual, were quite well developed. I like the budding romance between Gert and Chase; as Nico says, they're "made for each other." I also like the Karolina/Nico/Alex love triangle. I don't usually enjoy love triangles, but I do like this one. Molly at times seems very immature for her age, but I felt like in True Believers, she grew up a little.

Now on the plot twists. I don't believe I've encountered this many plot twists before in a single book. Victor's past, for example. And the ending... What was with that? Has Alex returned from the dead?

OVERALL

So, that being said, I LOVED True Believers. It's one of my favorite comics so far, and certainly worth a read.



View all my reviews

She-Hulk Says: WE CAN DO IT

Quarterly Rewind- Winter 2014

So, I got this idea from nevillegirl at Musings From Neville's Navel. Basically, it's a meme going over the events of the past couple of months.

It's hard to believe that winter is over, isn't it? And I'll be turning fourteen in a couple of days. Weird.

So. On to the meme.

Image From This Winter

A photo taken during photography class at my school.

Favorite Quote From A Book I Read This Winter
“In the end, all it takes is one small action, by one person. One at a time.” 
-Ghost Hawk, By Susan Cooper



1. The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke. It quickly became one of my new favorite books. I love the characters, the story, and the writing.
My birthday! No. Okay. Um. Seriously.
First of all, the new X-Men movie, Days of Future Past. And Muppets Most Wanted. Honestly, it seems like all the best movies are coming out this year. I'm so excited!
Second... let's see. I'm going on a school camping trip; that should be fun, as I haven't been tent camping in a while now.
Disney. After Frozen came out, I've been totally hooked on Disney. Remember how I was mentioning adding 'yet another fandom' to the list? Well, here's another one. Give me a year and I'll be a sobbing wreck from all the feels.
Third. Let's see. Looking at FitzSimmons stuff on Pintrest because even though I don't watch Agents of SHIELD it's one of the bestest ships ever.

This Winter In One Word
Fast. The year has been going by much too quickly for me.

Most Popular Review This Winter
The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke.

Top Two Books I Read This Winter


2. Shada, by Gareth Roberts. It's like high-end Doctor Who fanfiction, plus it retains the trademark humor of Douglas Adams.

Two Things I’m Looking Forward To This Spring

Three New Obsessions This Winter
Marvel superheroes- the movies and occasionally the comics. I've never really been into superheroes before, but lo and behold. Here I am, a newly coined True Believer. Yet another fandom to add to my list.

Most Popular Five Blog Posts Overall This Winter
How to Read & Write Circular Gallifreyan
Way To Go, Marvel!
Photo Editing
What Every Fairy Tale Needs
The Neptune Project Review

Five Posts I Loved On Other Blogs This Winter
How to Write Strong Females
Mini Reviews: Heroic Edition
Love and the Pursuit of Evil
First Reaction to The Giver Film Trailer
Sochi and Stuff

Five Things That Happened This Winter

Hmm. Let me see.

I started a new novel, which I may or may not write a post about sometime in the near future.I downloaded the free trial of Scrivener, which I may or may not decide to use. I realized that my decision about which high school I want to go to will be a lot harder than I originally thought. I joined Pintrest and went crazy with it. And I learned the basics of html coding and css.

Three Songs That I Listened To Far Too Often This Winter

Let It Go, from Frozen. It's perfect stress relief, and always manages to make me feel better.

Plus, it's just plain awesome.



New Year's Day, by U2. I just discovered U2 on my iPod, and I love it. It's quickly made a place on my list of favorite music.

Eleanor Rigby, by the Beatles. It's so sad. But as Sally Sparrow so wisely put it, "Sad is happy for deep people."




The Song of the Lonely Mountain, by Neil Finn. It's so beautiful and rather haunting.



So, I think that's about it.