Dearest M&Ms, You Can Fix This Great Blunder

I must preface this by explaining that I have a life-long love of M&Ms.  Since I was a young-un, I have enjoyed every advertising campaign, and I have enjoyed every variety of M&M.  I have even fallen for strange new packaging; "What?!  M&Ms in a TUBE???  I MUST have them!"  M&M advertising strikes such a lovely chord for me, that in college, I had some plush M&M characters adorning a portion of the wall in my dorm room in a lovely castle (that's right, I was a princess for two years).  Furthermore, my love for M&Ms extends beyond the M&M sub-brand, in that I think I love all the Martian chocolates (chocolate from Mars Bars* would be Martian, correcto?)

Therefore, you can imagine my joyfulness and delight when I saw the adorable and funny commercial regarding the new and very exciting Caramel M&Ms.  I acquired these new M&Ms as soon as I could, and eagerly ate one.  "Ugh, maybe I had a bad taste in my mouth."  I tried another, this time biting half of it so I could gaze upon the lovely layers, as one does.  I ate both halves slowly, being sure to eliminate any pre-existing tastes in my mouth.  My palate was cleared of all but Caramel M&M.  The next one would surely be better.  I tried another, this time eating it like a normal person might, since, as a not-so-normal, I can only guess what a normal might do.  Still no good.  I ate one more, for I became determined to ascertain the cause of this bizarre lack of deliciousness.  I ate this one more slowly and delicately, trying to savor and separate the flavors in the three layers (caramel, chocolate, and candy).  "Ugh, the caramel is gritty, and it's trying to taste like yummy caramel, but isn't quite doing it right."  That was it – the caramel is no good.  How could the wonderful Martians that created the Milky Way with all its delicious parts including delicious caramel, make this caramel blunder?!

Mars Bars, please, if you are reading this, or even if you're not, please fix it.  Make the caramel smooth and delicious, as caramel should be.  I believe you can fix the disgusting gustatory atrocities you dare call Caramel M&Ms.  They are undeserving of such a beautiful name and such a wonderful commercial.  Red was right.

  

*I know Mars Bars is really just Mars, and I've never actually had the thing called a Mars Bar, but Mars Bars rhymes, and I enjoy things that rhyme, so that is how I shall refer to the Martian chocolate company.  I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

More Economics from a Dummy

The following has existed as an unpublished draft for more than a year with the second half added a few months ago.  Most of it is probably not relevant anymore.  Enjoy!

As I explained previously, I know just about nothing about economics and my interest in it is nearly non-existent as well, to the extent that I would rather learn about the cell biology of how grass grows or the quantum physics of how paint dries than about economics. However, I have been thinking a little bit about some of the things I put forth in my economic theory, and I think I need to add to it. Like most sequels, this is not as good as the first one.

Fun with Flat Taxes

One of the disjointed parts of my theory involved a flat tax for all. Recently, flat taxes have been the topic of ridicule via the ridicule of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan. I learned about that plant from a chart someone posted on Facebook, and some googling I did later (though I apparently didn't save the links I learned from). It seems that Herman Cain would charge a 9% income tax for people and corporations, and a 9% national sales tax to either replace or add to state taxes. I’m not clear on the latter because I’m not clear on the difference between the apples and oranges he keeps talking about in the clips of debates I’ve seen on The Daily Show and/or Colbert Report (like this one). Herman Cain would also remove all tax deductions. Based on other clips of things I’ve seen on The Daily Colbert (here's one), it seems that Rick Perry also has a flat tax plan where he would charge 20% taxes for all while keeping tax deductions in place.  (Herman Cain and Rick Perry were Republican candidates who lost the primaries for the 2012 presidential election.  These now-obscure references are partially what render this blog posting no longer relevant.)

Obviously, Herman Cain and Rick Perry got these ideas from my blog, because there is simply no other possible explanation of how one could think of a flat tax or simplifying the overly complicated tax code. I spoke of a flat tax, as part of my three-disjointed-pronged economic plan that could easily make me president, and they took that idea and added some stuff that I do not approve of and never intended for. Please note: I am not crazy (at least in this respect), nor am I serious about having any part in Herman Cain’s or Rick Perry’s plan making.

Lots of people (well, at least one person) feel that Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is a terrible idea, and I agree for the reasons those people state. Someone at the Huffington Post explained that it would end up taxing lower income people a bit more than they are currently taxed, and it would drastically reduce taxes for corporations and the very wealthy by a lot. I haven’t googled Rick Perry’s plan, but it seems like it might be an improvement on Cain’s plan.  Clearly, that’s quite an endorsement, since it is coming from my uneconomical brain via my blog-typing fingers, I mean digits (because digits are economically related!).

While Herman Cain’s flat tax plan is clearly not fair and good, I still believe that my flat tax plan could be fair and good. My plan is extremely vague, which leaves it open to suggestions from people who know about the economics. If you don’t feel like going back and reading about my plan, I will re-state it and de-Cain it here: We should pick some percentage, and charge that percentage of tax to all people. I don’t know what that percentage would be, but I would want it to be a fair one for all. Furthermore, this would only apply to taxable people, and says nothing about how to tax corporations. Despite what the Supreme Court says, I cannot include corporations in the semantics of “People”; my brain simply won’t allow it. Thus, how to tax corporations is another thing that is left vague in my tax plan for people smarter and more knowledgeable than I to handle when I become president. I’m kidding of course -- I still won’t run for president. Anyhoo, my tax plan would not have anything to do with sales tax, since I would never have thought of changing the way sales tax is, and after reading the Huff-Po article, it’s clear that it would be wrong to give the power of sales tax to the Federal Government. Regarding Herman Cain’s removal of all tax deductions, I think I would leave that vague also, because I think some deductions are good, so long as they don’t allow people to screw over the government via loopholes and abuses and such. Yes, I think that is sufficiently vague to ensure success.

Speculators are Evil! Eeeeeeviiiiiil!

One of the other disjointed portions of my theory states that commodities trading is wrong and should be eradicated. Later, it occurred to me that there is a precedent for my proposed illegalization of commodities trading: insider trading! Like insider trading, commodities trading hurts the whole economy while benefiting a few traders. I assume that is why insider trading is illegal, and so, commodities trading should be too.

Political Predictions

This does not in any way bring me to another disjointed, unrelated point.  This point is so unrelated, in fact, that it has very little to do with economics.  Jon Stewart delineated the bizarre doomsday-like predictions Republican presidential candidates make and have made in the past regarding the horrors that would befall this great land if Obama was/is (re)-elected.  He highlighted the bizarreness of these predictions by emphasizing that the previous predictions have not come to fruition.  This brought to my mind the predictions I made about what could happen if George W. Bush were elected president.  The difference, however, is that my predictions came true, except that W. was not actually elected (the first time anyway).

At the time of my correct predictions, this blog did not exist.  Instead, I had a verbal blog, i.e. I occasionally told people what my thoughts were.  Thus, I verbally pre-blogged (or “told”) at least one family member or friend (but probably more than one) that if George W. Bush became president, we would undoubtedly go to war, and the economy would suffer.  Obviously both things happened.

The economy thing could have happened anyway.  From what I barely understand, it seems that it is possible that the economy simply goes through cycles, and whoever is president at the time either gets credit for a strong economy, or is blamed for a bad economy.  However, I’m pretty sure President W. Bush caused all these economic problems we have now that I am trying to fix via this blog.  I know this because I heard during Mr. W. Bush’s campaign that he ran every business he had ever owned into the ground, so I naturally deduced that he would therefore run this country into the ground, since its economy is but a giant business (or so I assume).

I knew that Present W. Bush would bring us to war because he stated during his campaign that if anyone, in any way, attacked us or harmed us or whatever, we would go to war.  He said this in such a way that sounded to me as if he were looking to go to war, and would react to any trigger with war.  Clearly, that made me nervous.

So, to conclude, I was right, but I wasn’t making crazy predictions based on nothing; I was making accurate predictions based on things I heard during a presidential campaign.  Furthermore, I am a predicting genius!  But I sill won’t run for president!

A Sad Idol Day

**SPOILER ALERT AI-11 Top 7 parts 1 and 2 results are discussed below.***

I am heartbroken and shocked that Colton Dixon was voted off American Idol. He should have won. I couldn’t even vote for him because I couldn’t get through, which is normally an indication that a contestant will not be eliminated. Therefore, this is obviously a big conspiracy.

Colton could have at least been the traditional “shocking” Top 4 elimination, as Chris Daughtry was so many successful years ago. Colton certainly should not have been voted out at the Top 7 level. Last week, the judges were absolutely correct to use their save for Jessica Sanchez, because she and her massive talent also don’t deserve to be voted out this early. Since Colton was removed, I now believe that Jessica should win, with Joshua Ledet as the runner up, and Hollie Cavanagh in the Top 3 (since she has improved so much). Regarding Skylar Laine and Phillip Phillips, I do think they are quite talented; however, I’m simply not the biggest fan of either. I am a bit of a fan of Elise Testone, but I don’t think she is as talented as the rest of the Top 7.

Someone on the TV suggested that Colton was voted out because of his performance of Lady Gaga’s "Bad Romance," however, I loved that performance – I love what he did with what is probably Gaga’s best song ever. My guess is that the red blob he added to his newly blond hair might have had something to do with his removal. However, as I stated previously, his talent is so phenomenal that what he does to his hair is rendered less significant. Anyway, regardless of why he was (wrongly) voted out, it shouldn’t have happened, and I know that he will be successful. I very much look forward to buying his CD when it is released, for there is no doubt that there will be one to begin his (knock on wood) long and successful career, and that it will be amazing.

The dimly bright side to Colton’s elimination is that I can now go ahead and buy all of his things on iTunes. You see, I am not a fan of iTunes (I love Amazon MP3), so I was waiting until the season was over to go and purchase all the American Idol contestants' songs that I want, and thusly minimize my exposure to the dreadful iTunes. Since Colton’s are the only songs that I absolutely need to own, I will go ahead and buy his songs now. Perhaps I will make another journey to the iTunes hellscape at the end of the season for some of the other songs of the other contestants, but such a treacherous venture might not happen. I wish these things were not exclusive to iTunes, for Amazon MP3 is so much better.

UPDATE April 24, 2012

I saw Colton on the TV, and he has removed the red blob from his hair, so he obviously read my blog and took my implied advice! There is no other possible explanation! Woohoo! Unfortunately, however, his hair remains blond.

I was listening to one of Chris Daughtry’s Idol performances (his best one ever), and I realized that I love Colton the way I love Daughtry. They both have the kind of voice, emotion, and talent that reaches deep within my soul and brain, captivating me and causing me to mutter with admiration, “OMG, I love him so much.” While Daughtry’s effect is stronger than Colton’s, Colton’s effect is still undeniable. This provides further certainty that Colton will be tremendously successful.

UPDATE March 9, 2013
SPOILER ALERT: American Idol Season 12 Top 10 results are mentioned below.

It seems that my hopes and predictions were wrong, in that Jessica Sanchez did not win, but rather was runner up to Phillip Phillips.  I did end up venturing back into the iTunes hellscape to purchase some of Jessica's Idol songs, and I will likely buy her debut album when it is released this Spring.  Moments ago, I purchased Colton Dixon's album A Messenger, which is wonderful as expected.

If you're interested in my Idol thoughts regarding the 2013 batch, there are currently only four of the Top 10 who I really like, in the following order: Kree Harrison, Lazaro Arbos, Angie Miller, and Devin Velez.  While he is not in the Top 10, I also really like Charlie Askew, who has a wonderfully apt last name that appears to be real.  I hope he finds success and happiness.  Aside from talk of her last name or whether she is pleasantly askew, the same could be said of Aubrey Cleland.

Long Overdue Idol Thoughts

I’ve been meaning to make a few statements regarding American Idol this season, but I haven’t been very bloggy lately.

At the time of the Top 24 revelation, I erupted in “Woohoo!”s when Colton Dixon made it though. The judges had redeemed themselves from last year’s terrible lapse in judgment. When he made it through this year, I knew immediately that he would surely win!

When the Top 13 was revealed, I was happy with the contestants. I felt they were all good enough to be there, even if I didn’t love all of them. I was still sure that Colton will win, and it was clear then that the runner up would be Jessica Sanchez. In the following weeks, I concluded that Joshua Ledet would be in the Top 3. Thusly, my predictions were established.

I had become a big fan of Heejun Han, both for his funny and cute personality and his lovely singing; however, I sensed that he wouldn’t win. At the time of Heejun’s Billy Joel Week performance, I knew his Idol time was short. Jimmy Iovine had complained that Heejun was not taking the competition seriously, however, I believe he was; he took the singing very seriously, it seemed, but maintained a healthy sense of humor regarding the non-sing-y portions of the program. This changed with his Billy Joel performance, when his singing became a bit of a joke. The following week, he regained his singing genuineness; I was once again captivated by him as he sang beautifully. However, his humor was dampened, and I believe that is what led to his being voted out. I believe he could have lasted at least one or two more weeks if he had simply maintained the balance of serious singing and funny personality-ing.

I liked all the rest of the Top 13 contestants, with the exception of Deandre Brackensick. I don’t like his hair, and I am not moved by his singing at all. In the weeks following the Top 13, I found that his arrogance and something about the way he moves prevents me from liking him. His mediocre singing is, of course, also a factor in my disliking. Currently I am hoping that tonight will be the time of his out-voting, for regardless of my personal thoughts about his arrogance and distasteful hair, his talent is no longer up to the par of the other seven remaining contestants.

UPDATE April 6, 2012


***SPOILER ALERT*** Top 8 results are mentioned below.

Woohoo! Deandre’s hair was voted out last night! And Deandre's mediocre talent was voted out with it! I would take credit for this wonderful elimination, however, I posted this blog posting moments before the results show began, so obviously all the voting had long since ended. But I can still take credit for thinking and hoping that he would be voted out, and thus telepathically influencing the universe! Woohoo! I go girl! (Notice that I didn’t actually vote this time, so I can’t take credit that way).

I would like to take a moment to address another hairy issue: Colton’s hair. I love Colton’s hair, for it contributes to his rock-starriness. However, I’m not a big fan of the blondification of his hair. While he does still look (and sing) like rock star, and I still love him and want him to win, I simply prefer the previous state of his hair. I must emphasize, however, that I don’t hate it, and even if I did, his talent and voice are so amazing and beautiful that the other stuff is rendered far less significant. To conclude, I love Colton.

House of Disappearing Actresses

**SPOILER ALERTS: The following might refer to things that have happened on House M.D., Lost, Person of Interest, Once Upon a Time, and Grimm up to the date of this blog posting. Any reference to the future is my own speculation, and therefore is extremely likely to come true, for I was right about at least one thing on Lost.**

Before I begin my digression-full meandering discussion of House, I must tell you that while searching my blog for the posting where I elatedly realized I was right about something important on Lost, I noticed that as of right now, I have written 23 blog posts with the Lost label! 23! 23 was one of the numbers! Holy crap! I absolutely didn’t do that intentionally, and I didn’t even notice until now (if I did, I don’t remember)! Jacob’s numbers invaded my brain and blog! I told you there might be spoilers, so please stop complaining, 3 people who still haven’t watched the Lost finale yet. You know who you are.

Onto the actual purpose of this blog…

Before this evening’s rerun of House where Thirteen made her final appearance, I thought about my previous blog postings where I wondered and googled about Thirteen’s and Cameron’s at-the-time potential impending departures from House, and I realized that I never addressed their apparent actual departures. So I’m doing that now, since the TV admitted that it read my mind by airing that particular episode hours after I had those particular thoughts.

Based on what I have heard from various sources such as the TV and my mom (who read a magazine article), it would seem that Olivia Wilde (Thirteen), Jennifer Morrison (Cameron), and Lisa Edelstein (Cuddy) have left House M.D. This is not new news, of course, and all their characters have had closure on the program, but as I said, I felt that I should address (or at least mention) their departures here, so that my blog can have closure regarding these characters as well.

All three actresses have already moved on to other things such as movies and other programs on the TV. I don’t know where Lisa Edelstein went, but Olivia Wilde made some movies whose commercials I’ve seen. Jennifer Morrison is now the star of another show called Once Upon a Time.

I discovered Once Upon a Time last week when ABC had a marathon of it. I read in the Wikipedia that it was created by a couple of Lost writers, with Damon Lindelof (Lost co-creator) as a consultant, so it’s not surprising that it easily drew me in. It’s a show about fairy tale characters, and is thusly similar to another new show about fairy tale characters that also drew me in called Grimm. Together (with an emphasis on Grimm), these two programs have caused me to get the original translation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales (free on Kindle!), which are more violent than Disney would have us believe. Some of the Amazon reviewers explain that the Grimm brothers were just jotting down the folk tales of oral tradition, and therefore their stories might not have been intended for young children. At some point in my adulthood, I did notice some excessive violence, even in the childproofed versions of these tales that we were all told.

Anyway, getting back to Jennifer Morrison, her character on Once Upon a Time is really quite different from Cameron, in that the former is far more bad-ass than the latter. Perhaps because of this bad-assed-ness, I find that I like this character a lot better than Cameron, who was probably removed from House because the writers ran out of ways to keep the most moral character from being annoying. That is not to say that morals are annoying – I rather enjoy morals – but it is to say the character had been falling down an annoying spiral since she married Chase, perhaps because she was probably still in love with her dead husband.

Emma Swan, Jennifer Morrison’s Once Upon a Time character, maintains Cameron’s morals while exhibiting a satisfying though small degree of bad-assed-ness. Cameron was nearly one-dimensional, while Emma already has depth after only a few episodes. Both Cameron and Emma are good, but Once Upon a Time seems to have the same theme that Lost had – that nothing is purely good or purely evil, and everything and everyone possess both good and evil facets. Thus, Cameron was simply good with non-evil flaws, while Emma is predominantly good. There is the sense that Emma is capable of evil, as all humans are, but she chooses good, as clearly explicated in yesterday’s episode, where she made it clear that she wanted good to win over evil, for the sake of her biological son.

It’s unfortunate that Cameron, Cuddy, and Thirteen were written out of House M.D. for one reason or another, particularly since House hasn’t been as good as it was since their departures, but I’m glad that the three actresses are doing other things. I believe Olivia Wilde and Lisa Edelstein chose to leave House, and I know that Jennifer Morrison did not, so I’m particularly happy that she found employment on this new program that, at the time of this blog posting, is better than recent House episodes.

Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time and Grimm might end up getting cancelled, because that seems to be the fate of most shows that I watch from the beginning, such as Flash Forward and Free Agents. Let us hope that the only curse on Once Upon a Time (and Grimm, and New Girl (the other new show I watch)) is the fictional one on the non-parenthetical program. Oh, I also occasionally watch Person of Interest, because it contains Ben from Lost (Michael Emerson, not the character) and because it’s a good show, but that program should be safe from my inadvertent curse since I don’t watch it regularly. I should mention that The Simpsons is the only exception to my inadvertent curse that I can think of at the moment.

Before this blog posting ends, I must digress once more, and in so doing, I shall create a fun Lost numbers bookend (blogend?) for this posting.  I thought it was rather cute and fun that in the pilot episode of Person of Interest, Michael Emerson’s character had a mysterious and cryptic list of names and numbers!  Hahahahaha, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed that Lost allusion!

Turn Down That Incessant Quiet Music!

I’m officially an old lady since I turned 30 almost a year ago, and I can therefore say that I don’t get the music these kids are listening to these days.

The not-so-good music these days that these kids today like seems to involve a folksy quality that I find boring. It doesn’t all suck entirely, but the hype surrounding how allegedly great some of these artists are is entirely unwarranted. A lot of this stuff that they love so much, like John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and a few years ago those Moldy Peaches from the movie I didn't see (Juno) and probably other stuff I can't think of right now, seems to lack the passion, the enthusiasm, the emotion, and the musickiness that I personally love in music. What do I mean by “musickiness”? I don’t know, that’s why I made up a word. It's a lot of dull, quiet, singing, perhaps with some potentially profound lyrics, which I only say because I vaguely remember hearing some lyrics that sounded pretty good in the midst of some painfully boring music. I have no problem with quiet, but I do have a problem with nearly monotonous or otherwise repetitive music. Perhaps I'm being too harsh.

I don’t hate music by any means; in fact, I love it and can’t live without it. Really, I think my brain would revolt if I didn’t feed it music through my ears, or “listening holes,” as we called them in my day. Please note, I have stolen that construction from Grandpa Simpson on The Simpsons (or maybe I was just inspired by him).

Some of the old lady music that I do enjoy includes Metallica, Beethoven, Evanescence, and Shinedown. I also like a lot of present day music, such as Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Three Days Grace, and Green Day (are any of those still present-day?). I also like that Christina Peri song ( “Jar of Hearts” ), and not just because she is the sister of a guy from Shinedown. It’s funny to hear about the guy who goes around collecting a jar o’ farts. Hahahahaha, but seriously, I do really like the line “You’re gonna catch a cold/From the ice inside your soul.” It’s simultaneously simple, profound, and cute. This song nicely demonstrates that quiet music and good lyrics can exist within the realm of good music that involves enthusiasm, emotion, and passion conveyed by a great voice, great song-writing, and tremendous talent.

UPDATE July 19, 2011

Well, it seems that Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee reads my blog and was influenced by it. I say this because that is the only plausible explanation for her stating that music of late has been lacking in terms of rock. Anyway, I’m glad my blog (or perhaps not my blog) has compelled her to bring more rock back to help fill the quiet void.

Best Ice Cream EVER!

Ok, maybe it’s just one of the best ice creams ever, but it’s definitely on the short list.

Which ice cream do I speak of you ask? Edy’s Slow Churned Red White and No More Blues (Limited Edition). It’s spectacular. I only discovered the gustatory joy of this incredibly delicious flavor recently, but apparently it’s been available all summer (which explains the patriotic nature of it).

I always thought there should be blueberry ice cream, and now there is. It far exceeds any expectations I might have had. I’m glad I caused this to come into existence (hehe). I wouldn’t have even thought of the delicious addition of strawberries to the blueberry ice cream I envisioned.

Its beautiful and patriotic swirls of delicious real (I’m assuming because it definitely tastes real) blueberries and strawberries intertwined throughout the deliciously rich and creamy, yet not-too-fattening slow churned vanilla ice cream. The enchanting flavors and smells explode like beautiful 4th of July fireworks. The smell of the blueberries and strawberries is intoxicating, and the berries burst with intense deliciousness, perfectly complimenting the incredible vanilla flavor. Edy’s Slow Churned vanilla is seriously the only vanilla ice cream (other than Carvel) that I truly enjoy, because it has a rich vanilla flavor that I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted elsewhere.

I’m certainly not an ice cream connoisseur, and I’m not even much of an ice cream person in general (I prefer chocolate and to a lesser extent cookies, but I certainly don’t hate other tasty confections). But this ice cream is truly spectacular, and it is one of the best flavors of Edy’s Slow Churned that I have tasted (and I’ve tasted many of their appetizing flavors). That says a lot, since Edy’s Slow Churned might just be the best (or definitely one of the best) forms of ice cream in existence. Its texture is far superior to most (or maybe all) other forms of ice cream. To top it off, it’s less fattening than most ice creams. Edy’s states that their Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Light Ice Creams lave less fat and fewer calories than regular ice cream, but that it tastes as good. I very much disagree – it tastes significantly better and has vastly better texture than regular ice cream.

I hope that Red White and No More Blues becomes so popular, and its yumminess becomes so well-known, that the “Limited Edition” portion of its name evaporates. I really hope Edy’s adds this to its more permanent collection of flavors.

The Magical Brilliance of Ben Moody

(Originally posted as a Myspace blog, Sunday, April 29, 2007, 2:10 PM)

If you don't know who Ben Moody is, he's the former Evanescence guy who's been spreading his brilliance throughout the world of pop music. When he left Evanescence, I was heart-broken, but Amy Lee (and the rest of Evanescence) and Ben Moody have clearly influenced each other such that they have each continued to create some of the best music I've ever heard. But it seems that most of the public doesn't get to hear what I feel are among the best Ben Moody has contributed to....and that is the purpose of this blog...

Ben Moody (along with David Hodges) co-wrote "What About Now," which is by far the best song on the otherwise amazing Daughtry (self-titled) CD. Despite the utter perfection and beauty of this song (incredible music, incredible lyrics, and Chris Daughtry's incredible voice and talent), I get the sense that it will never see the light of radio play, perhaps destined to suffer the same fate as Kelly Clarkson's Addicted (also co-written by Ben Moody (with David Hodges and Kelly Clarkson)), also the best song on her otherwise amazing CD (Breakaway).

Both songs reach directly into your soul, into the deepest sulci of your brain, touching you emotionally like few things can; they're both the kind of songs that you stop what you're doing because you're just so mesmerized by the intensely beautiful sounds and you just listen and feel it...Yet you never hear about these songs; they don't appear to be given the chance to shine in the public's eye as singles.

It seems that it's too late for "Addicted" (Kelly Clarkson) since she seems to have a new CD on the way, but it's not too late for "What About Now" (Daughtry)...I hope I'm shown to be wrong, I hope it does find its way onto the playlists...

Interesting side note: As of the time of this blog posting, both Evanescence and Ben Moody have yet to accept me as Myspace friends...I've only been requesting their myspacely friendship for 6 or 7 months...

P.S. I realized I used a jargon-y word, so here's a definition:
"Sulci" is the plural form of Sulcus (because it's Latin). A sulcus is a fissure on your brain. Gyri (singular = gyrus) are the protrusions that sort of bubble out between the sulci.

I hope you've enjoyed this very brief lesson in neuroscience :-)

Updates (via comments I posted on the Myspace version of this blog)

June 23, 2007
Woohoo! Ben Moody accepted my offer of myspacely friendship! But alas, I continue to wait for Evanescence...

July 7, 2007 (07/07/07, a numerically exciting day!)
And the day has come, that I shall wait no more, for Evanescence has, at long last, accepted my myspacely friendship :-)

February 23, 2008
I was elated to see this week on American Idol, the Moody-Daughtry brilliance shining beautifully as "What About Now" played over some sort of montage of contestants. As far as I know, it's not a single (yet), but at least it's getting some public exposure :-)

July 3, 2008
Woohoo! I heard "What About Now" on the radio today! And they called it a new song!

My work here is done :-) This clearly happened because of me and my little blog! You're welcome, world!

Now, what shall I cause the world to do next...

Update:
Now, I mean September 7, 2009
Obviously "What About Now" has become rather popular, and appears to be loved by all humans. I'm so awesome for discovering it, and for causing it's success :-) hehehe

Ben Moody finally released his own CD called All for This (actually, I believe it's a CD-R), which you can download at Amazon (like I did). Obviously, Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson also have new CDs (Leave This Town and All I Ever Wanted respectively) which are also quite good :-)