I have a question. Why are there so many goddamn Emmy nominees? There are 7 Outstanding Drama and Comedy series nominees, 6 nominees in almost all of the acting categories and many of the other categories have more than 5 nominees. I don't really understand this. Are they just wanting to give more actors an ego boost by saying they were nominated for an Emmy? I mean, don't get me wrong, I think many of the nominees are deserving and many of them are often overlooked (♥Benry♥), so it's nice to see that they are getting a little recognition, but it's a little ridiculous, don't you think?

But even with the extra nominations, they still snubbed January Jones for Mad Men this season, which is utter crap. I love that Elisabeth Moss, John Hamm and John Slattery were all nominated, but January Jones was so amazing as Betty. I would have also liked to see Christina Hendricks nominated, but I'm ridiculously in love with the women of Mad Men, so, maybe that's why.

But I am pretty pleased with the nominees overall. Kiefer Sutherland wasn't nominated for 24 (just the African Adventure movie) which I was a little bummed about, but Cherry Jones was and she rules, so that evens things out. I really just want Mad Men or Dexter to win the drama categories and I don't really care about the comedy ones, as I don't watch any of those shows besides Family Guy. I get my television lolz from the CW's superb broadcasting.

Anyway, speaking of television, I want to express my respect and love for tonight's episode of 16 and Pregnant. I think the series overall was very well done and showed 6 very different situations with refreshing honesty, but tonight's was especially well done. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, 16 and Pregnant is a show on MTV about well, being 16 and Pregnant. It's young girls and couples dealing with an unexpected pregnancy while still in high school without any Moldy Peaches songs. All of the other girls/couples kept their babies and dealt/are dealing with being parents at such a young age, but tonight, the couple, Catelynn and Tyler, decided to give their baby up for adoption. They both come from not-ideal home situations (her mom and his dad are actually married, but they were together before their parents were) and they decide that they can't provide a great life for a baby at this point in their lives. Their parents are furious with them and want them to keep the baby, but Catelynn and Tyler are both about 12,000 times more mature than their parents and make the decision without their approval. They go to the adoption agency and choose the adoptive parents all on their own. Catelynn's mom even calls a "bitch" for doing it but she doesn't back down to her. Like, seriously, she's a rockstar. But anyway, after the baby is born, watching them finally have to make the exchange and give their baby up to its adoptive parents was probably the most emotional thing I've seen in a long time. It's an open-adoption, so they'll be keeping in touch, but you could just feel how hard it was for them, even though they knew they were making the right decision. I've never rooted so hard for a teenage-couple on a reality/documentary program, but I really want those kids to make it.

I saw HBP tonight. The short version: It was awesome. The long version? Will come later, if it all.

More importantly, it is just_katarin's birthday! She is my actualfax favorite and chatfics awesome things to me and listens to me complain about anyone who gets TAI, Empires or 504 Plan canon wrong and agrees with me on almost everything (she's sadly wrong about Christmas lights, though. But I forgive her because ILHER). I would have liked to have a fic finished for her, but I suck. :( So instead, I made these. ( lol suck )

In case you've missed it.

So, okay. Besides whatever's going on with Ryan and Pete, I think this is actually not a bad article or interview on Ryan's part. He didn't say anything negative about Brendon and Spencer and he emphasized that the split seemed to be largely about creative and musical differences. He's also sad about being made the villain, which I thought was weirdly adorable for some reason. Oh Ryan Ross, you're kind of stupid but I had missed your monotone voice.

The main reason that I think this article is not that bad, even with the Pete stuff, is that when my favorite bandom band split 3 years ago, Tom Conrad came out and posted passive aggressive blog posts about not quitting the band and selling a photograph of Butcher and Bill's lower torsos for $45. William Beckett showed up at Tom's favorite bar near his place and they got into some kind of altercation. Tom did not talk to anyone in The Academy Is.., including Butcher and Siska, for at least a year after the split and TAI wrote at least one song about him ("We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands") and probably two ("Everything We Had"). And while Tom was obviously okay enough to go on a small acoustic tour with Bill and Siska this past spring, he still hates Mike Carden, probably because Mike talked negatively (he always thought Tom was more of a "touring guy" and never expected to write music with him) on him in interviews after Tom was out of the band.

So basically, what I'm saying, is that this really isn't that bad when it comes to bands splitting up. Hell, it sounds downright civil. So, let's all take a second and chill, okay?

First, Empires icons. I couldn't believe it had almost been a year since I last posted icons of them. School eating up all of my Photoshop time >:(

Secondly, I can't handle Nick Scimeca and the nonsense he wears. Like, seriously, what is this outfit that he's been rocking all summer?

Thirdly, that meme that's been going around my flist:

Post ten of any pictures currently on your hard drive that you think are self-expressive.
• NO CAPTIONS!!! It must be like we're speaking with images and we have to interpret your visual language just like we have to interpret your words.
• They must ALREADY be on your hard drive - no googling or flickr! They have to have been saved to your folders sometime in the past. They must be something you've saved there because it resonated with you for some reason.
• You do NOT have to answer any questions about any of your pictures if you don't want to. You can make them as mysterious as you like. Or you can explain them away as much as you like.

( My 10 pictures )

ETA I decided to get a Tumblr. I'm still figuring it out but I'll probably just use it to post pictures and designs I like and talk about music. So, like this journal but less fandomy.

Andy Mrotek I love you

I was going to update with some other nonsense tonight, but this is better.

I posted some Star Wars quotes icons and wallpapers tonight. Also 4 Star Trek movie graphics that I'd been sitting on and needed an excuse to post. I promise I will go back to graphics that have actual pictures, soon, especially since I'm in dire need of new Tom icons.

While I was mowing the grass today, I thought a lot about the Panic split. ( And it's long and boring so I'm cutting it )

Panic being split into two bands? I can deal. I'm sad but I can deal. Ryan Ross being photographed with coke and making a lolzy evil twin joke about it on twitter? I'm more shocked by people being shocked about it than anything else. But this next thing? I'm not really sure if I can handle it. I'm going to warn you, it might cause you to spit out a beverage.

without tom i wouldnt have clean laundry, clean dishes or ever take out the garbage. gotta snap out of this laziness asap. (from here)

Tom Conrad. Doing the dishes.

I don't know what to do with myself. My entire worldview is blown, people. This is the guy who got locked out of his apartment in the snow while he was wearing flip-flops. He once wrote the words "a eviction." He has some sort of phobia of money. He is not supposed to be the responsible one! Because really, guys, if I live in a world where Tom fucking Conrad is the responsible one? I will never know what is right and what is wrong ever again.

(Hi new friends from the friending meme! I have an intro post if you'd like to read it. This is pretty much how my journal is all the time)

I don't know what it says about me that the first time I finish a fic in about a year is the day after Panic splits in half, but inspiration is fickle, I guess.

Title: The End is the Beginning
Pairing: Jon/Tom
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2,132 words
Summary: Tom helps Jon through the band split, like how Jon did for him almost three years ago.
Warnings: (Obviously) about the Panic split, so if that's not your cup of tea right now, you'll probably want to skip this.
Notes: Thanks to just_katarin for looking this over. Any grammatical errors are mine and I apologize if there are any.

( The End is the Beginning )

So, last night, I went to bed early because I was tired for no reason and I really just needed to get in a long night's sleep without waking up at 3pm the next day. I even had some dreams about getting bossed around in an aquarium and putting up Empires posters all over Chicago so I could go to their prom. About 30 minutes ago, just_katarin texted me out of my weird, blissful sleep, to inform me about Jon and Ryan leaving Panic. Am I saddened about this? Well, yeah, but I really can't stop laughing out of shock and confusion. I have a delayed reaction about this kind of stuff, so instead of wondering what could have happened between them, I'm going to blame Alex Greenwald.

Alex Greenwald was the lead singer of Phantom Planet for years, until they broke up a few months ago. They were on the HCT last year and Alex became good friends with both The Hush Sound and Panic (Ryan in particular). The Hush Sound is now on some sort of "hiatus" as Bob and Greta make solo records and now Ryan and Jon are off to form a jam band without Brendon and Spencer. So, it is my very informed opinion that it is entirely his fault for splitting up two bandom bands. He is not allowed to go anywhere near the rest of them for forever.

In other news, The Academy Is... is still together. :D

@maxsteger good luck with the car and you just sparked new fan fiction with that massage pic. Be careful what you post.

@steegs danielle it's no secret that al is certified hot stone. I didn't know u were there

Things to learn from this exchange:
1. Danielle knows about fan fiction, which is just plain funny. I bet she thinks it's Just beautiful
2. But she is not fandom-savvy enough to know that her saying that is going to ensure that no one will write the Al The Hot Masseuse fic of my heart. :(
3. Max thinks Al is hot.
4. Not just hot. Hot stone. (whatever that means, exactly)

Oh Empires. ♥

(that picture is totally hot, btw)

---

Today is not only Independence Day here in the US, it is also Butcher's birthday! I don't think I'll have time to properly pic spam him (or him and Siska) later today, since I'm going to be busy with this last-minute 4th party my mom decided to have, so I will do a short spam right now.
( Butchanski )

If there's one thing I don't like about being home it's that I don't listen to music as much, unless it's 4 in the morning and music videos are all that's on TV. We have satellite and I'm a TV hound, so I spend most of my free time watching Degrassi marathons, That '70s Show(it's syndicated on at least 4 different channels!) and movies I've seen 87 times. The only real time I get to block everything out and just listen to music is when I mow the grass. It's 50 minutes (give or take) of just me, the yard, the John Deere tractor and my iPod and I really kind of love it. I am annoyed that this summer I have to mow the grass twice a week, rather than the usual once, but we have lots of trees and they're a pain to mow around. The music is worth it, though. I literally think of nothing else except the blaring lyrics and what turns I need to make. It's weirdly zen.

So tonight, I turned the TV off earlier than usual and have been listening to music on my headphones (wouldn't Nick be proud of me?). While listening to my 'Subject to Change' playlist I've come to these conclusions:
1. Taking Back Sunday's album is a little hit or miss for me, but the hits just may become my favorite TBS songs ever (namely "Sink Into Me" and "Carpathia")
2. I need to acquire more music by The Veronicas.
3. The Foo Fighters do the best covers.
4. I really like "21 Guns" but right now I keep thinking of its random and repeated usage in Transformers 2 when I listen to it. Michael Bay >:(
5. Incubus will always be my favorite band for reasons I will never be able to explain properly.
6. "Stranger in Moscow" might be my favorite Michael Jackson song.
7. I would read a bazillion fics about Leighton Meester and Cobra Starship (this is more from their new video than just the song but my point stands. And like the video, Butcher could have a cameo)

And this has nothing to do with anything but I need this shirt more than life.

I made more wallpapers. I really love playing with fonts, okay? (As long as they're good fonts because there are so many shitty fonts out there and really, bad fonts are the reason I've never been able to take Heroes seriously)

My mom and I went to see Transformers 2 tonight. As far as shitty action movies go, it's pretty shitty and about 45 minutes too long, but it wasn't completely unwatchable. And Megan Fox is hot and completely phones in every scene and I love her for it.

And I've decided that my absolute, favorite thing about Degrassi (besides the freeze frame finish) are the random, one-episode sports teams. Like, basketball and cheerleading and now, football, are always around, but gymnastics? Only the episode when Manny had an abortion. Lacrosse? Only in the episode about Alex going back to school to get better grades. Wrestling? Only when Toby joined the wrestling team. I think the badminton team they had last season was my favorite, though. Like, seriously Degrassi? Badminton?

(also I promise I'll stop talking about Degrassi when the marathon is over tomorrow night.)

Because lists are easy:

-I finally got around to redoing my layout. It combines my two of my favorite things, Obi-Wan Kenobi quotes and Bill Beckett. I also redid my links to Star Wars locations because I'm lame.
-Tom Conrad is self-aware. Who knew?
-I've been watching so much Degrassi lately that the two songs from the new movie (one by Craig and the other by Manny) are constantly stuck in my head. I think the one Craig did was in one of my dreams last night. I am the saddest human being alive. Also I'm becoming more and more attracted to Jay and I don't know how to feel about that.
-I am maybe, hopefully going to get my license on Tuesday. Yes, I'm 22 years old and I've never had a driver's license. I told you, saddest human being alive.
-My mother says she's going to start making me work out at the Y with her. This is going to be awful and not just because I hate working out where other people can see me. My mom and I don't have a typical parent/child relationship, since it's always just been the two of us, we have more of a peer/peer relationship and she's just really bossy. And because of this, working out with her will include lots of her telling me I'm doing it wrong, which I'm not excited for.
-Since it's on right now, can I just say how much I hate those fucking Bump-Its ads? NONE of those girls look good with their hair like that. They're the second most annoying ads on TV, next to any and all Proactiv commercials.

Michael Jackson was fucking crazy. He was also a fucking genius. And he'll always be remembered for both, for better or for worse.

I've always loved his music, it's what my mom raised me on (along with Madonna, Rod Stewart and Dean Martin). I literally can't think of a time when I didn't know who Michael Jackson was. I mean, I was born in 1987 and most of the videos I remember watching as a kid were off of Dangerous, so he was still pretty epic, even if it wasn't like when Thriller came out. It was like he had just always been there, to me. He was Michael Jackson and he made the best music on the planet, even if he did have a weird nose.

I think the thing I'm finding the strangest, and probably the saddest, about his death is reconciling the fact that there will be no more new music or new iconic performances, ever again. He hasn't made any new music since Invincible, when he did that video with Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker, and he hasn't performed since he danced on top of a car at one of his court dates, so it shouldn't feel like overwhelming disappointment and loss, but it does. Michael being around was what we all always expected, because Michael Jackson wasn't just a singer, he wasn't just a figure of pop culture, he was above pop culture. He was something different. He was a legend, one that will never come around again. Our generation won't have a legend. Sure, it will have its superstars and tragic talents and even its geniuses, but we will never have someone whose music will reach and effect that many people ever again. And now that Michael is gone, all those possibilities(unlikely as they might have been) of his legend continuing and new chapters being written, are gone. And that just kind of sucks.

And since I've been making these all night of different albums, here's a wallpaper I made of Thriller. Nothing much, but I felt like sharing.

There is nothing new or interesting I can add to warnings wank. My thoughts are simple: Anyone who would willingly not warn for something that is triggering to numerous survivors of abuse is a fucking douchebag.

So anyway, here are a crapload of screencaps of my Sims. Since I last posted about my Simventures, I've added Cobra Starship, the rest of Empires and the rest of Panic. I've also changed certain people's haircuts numerous times because I am indecisive about the haircuts I downloaded.

( And Max has lady hair )

Those lyrics wallpapers I was talking about. I only stuck to bandom lyrics for now, but I like making them, so I might branch out into other songs and bands. Thank you for all your suggestions! ♥

I'm watching Casino right now and I can't explain why I love this movie so much and why I always watch it when it's on, but it really is my favorite mob movie of all time. There are certainly better ones but I just enjoy watching this one the most. Maybe it's the ending, because it's so brutal and fucked up (at least for Joe Pesci) and it astounds me every time. Also there are some amazingly directed shots and the opening was done by my favorite title sequence director of all time (Saul Bass).

Anyway, how hilarious is Siska's damn cat? I don't know why, but I can't stop laughing at that picture. Maybe it's because he has the exact expression of what I would expect Siska's cat to have.

So, lately, I've been watching a lot of Degrassi because The-N is doing that thing where they air every episode ever during the weekends, in chronological order. They also play some episodes during the week and I always watch them, even when Liberty embarrasses me so much I have to mute her ("I can get us a five-fingered discount on a pack of smokes."), because Degrassi is the show I made up with my mind. It has everything I could ever want: ridiculous, over-the-top drama, unrealistic (LOL Jay) and realistic high school kids and Canadian accents. It's just so wonderful and I cannot adequately express how excited I am for that movie in August. Paige doing a panty shot! Craig being stupid about girls! Manny having not horrible bangs! PETE WENTZ AND CASSADEE! It's all too much for me to handle and I really cannot wait.
(I'm also excited for the new season because I want to know what happens with Riley denying his gayness and steroid abuse. And because I'm always hoping someone will beat the crap out of Peter.)

In the meantime, I've been enjoying replacing Degrassi characters with bandom ones and laughing my head off at the results. Like, Butcher gets Siska pregnant (it's Degrassi, it could happen) and Butcher has to start selling drugs to support them because they want to keep it, but then they can't and Butcher overdoses on the pills! (Butcher would later not get stabbed outside his shitty car, though, because I refuse to think of anything that includes Butcher not being alive). Or Nick and De'Mar dancing all up on each other at a Kevin Smith movie premiere and then later kissing and Nick freaking out (no homo!) and then later De'Mar gets Nick high at a college fair and Nick makes an ass of himself! Or that time Tom got in trouble for taking pictures of his little half-sister and then Joe Dick from Hardcore Logo beat him up for it, and then later he starts dating his musical equal Bill but he cheats on him with Jon (and gets Jon pregnant but Jon gets an abortion) and then goes TOTALLY CRAZY and destroys a hotel room wedding at Bill's gay dad's wedding and then later ends up back with Jon before developing a cocaine addiction while opening for Taking Back Sunday!

(for those that don't watch this show, all of this really happened. No really. It's badfic but on television!)

Anyway, on a COMPLETELY different note, I am making bandom lyric wallpapers again but I'm stuck for lyrics. So, besides the ones I've done so far this week (I Want Blood, Under the Bright Lights, Valmont, Shoot Down the Stars, Live Forever (Fly With Me), Like Vines, About a Girl and We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands), what are some bandom songs/lyrics you'd like to see as a text wallpaper?
Poll #1417979 gimme songs and/or lyrics
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Bandom songs/lyrics you like?

If you have no idea what I'm talking about here are the ones I've done before, although the ones I've been doing this week are really different, so I'm willing to do those songs again, too. Also, sorry if I didn't make the poll box big enough. Comments are cool too.

I made more CM icons. I also put up a new header and way simplified my userinfo over there, since it had been so long since I had done anything different. I'll probably redo my layout here, soon, too, even though I still like it. It's time for a change, though.

And since I haven't been up to much else lately, besides dealing with real life stuff (cats, company and my dad), here are ( more self-indulgent Sims. )

( The continuing adventures of my Jwalk and Tomrad Sims )

( And the new adventures of my TAI Sims )

Anyway, my mom has company coming in sometime tomorrow so I'm not sure what that will mean for me over the next few days. It either means nothing or that I'll have to start pretending to sleep before 1am. This might be hard.

I finally got around to making and posting some Criminal minds icons tonight. I really need to get back into the more regular icon making and posting mode, I've been so bad this year.

Other things I've been up to:
-Playing Pokemon FireRed and Emerald. I played Blue when I was in middle school so I know what I'm doing in FireRed but Emerald is filled with all kinds of crazy different shit, I'm kind of just making it up as I go along. I mean, there's a Pokemon with a goddamn lilypad on its head!
-Continuing my self-indulgent Jon/Tom curtain!fic Sims. They just adopted a baby! :D
-I finished rereading Half-Blood Prince last night. I started rereading it because I've really been wanting to reread Deathly Hallows but I needed a refresher in HBP. I'm so stoked to start DH, I know there's got to be tons of stuff I've forgotten.

And that's really about it, besides some computer stuff for my mom that I should probably go do...now.

ETA I love memes and seeing desktops, so that desktop meme that's been going around:
This is mine!
I have this picture as my desktop because my new favorite thing is Criminal Minds. Also, because it's Matthew Gray Gubler, the most ridiculous person in the entire world. Thirdly because it's MGG dressed as Reid, who is my favorite 80 year old in a 27 year old's body. Fourthly because it's MGG holding a TINY PUPPY. And fifthly, it's MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER HOLDING A TINY PUPPY.