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Monday Miscellany

1. Dear LSAT students: When you come to take a diagnostic test you should probably bring (a) your diagnostic test book and (b) a pencil. This is not junior high, people. You want to be lawyers; get it together.

2. That's enough, Nickleback.*

3. You know that post I wrote about that Our Lady Peace song that was so awful? Yeah, guess what's on repeat on my iPod right now? I can't help it! It makes me laugh every time I hear it. Congratulations, Our Lady Peace, you have successfully got me to spend my money on you. I'm not sure if it's a sustainable business model, but you gotta work with what you've got, I suppose.**

4. I'm experiencing a sort of writing high point at the moment. That's why I missed all my updates last week, because every time I sat down at my computer I had a billion other story-related things I wanted to do first. It's so exciting when things start happening in a story.

~~~

*This is from a meme that's going around Facebook at the moment, and it cracks me up everytime I see it. That's enough indeed.

**I should mention that, as a direct result of Our Lady Peace, I also bought the song "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" by Nelson, which is the song that "All You Did Was Save My Life" reminds me of.# Our Lady Peace: Saving the Music Industry One Song At A Time.
#I should also mention that "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" is an infinitely better song than "All You Did Was Save My Life." Say what you want about Nelson, but that song has a hell of a hook.

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