Recommended Reading

I spend a lot of time on the internet. Like, a lot. And because I do this and spend a lot of time with people who inhabit the same bits of internet that I do, I've been told that I make references to things that may not make very much sense to other people. So here is a recommended reading list. Most of it is internet stuff. Some of it isn't. I hope it's helpful.

1. Hyperbole and a Half

Allie Brosh is my hero.

Why do I keep saying "ALL THE THINGS"? What's up with "going to the motherf*cking bank like an adult"? What on earth is an Ability to be Responsible Trophy? The answers can be found in this post, which had me and pretty much every other young adult I know going "Yes! That's my life!" The whole blog's so amazing that I'm wary of linking to it in case you give up on mine and just go and read hers instead, but this post is the one I'm bound to make a reference to every time I do anything remotely grown up. Or, in fact, every time I don't do anything remotely grown up. INTERNET FOREVER.

2. My Immortal
Are there any words that can adequately describe My Immortal? I suspect not, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. In short, My Immortal is widely agreed to be the worst fanfic ever written. Sadly, the website where it was hosted seems to have closed down, but if you want to experience the awfulness, there are tons of dramatic readings on Youtube. Emily and I once did our own dramatic reading at 4am. With sock puppets. If I ever call anything "totes goffick", or any variation thereupon, this is where it's from.

3. A Very Potter Musical
Almost every time I say "totally awesome", I'm singing "Get Back to Hogwarts" in my head. This is also where I stole "Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is?" from. And if you haven't seen it, you more or less haven't lived, so whether or not you're interested in my blog, you should watch this.



4. 30 Rock
Considering how many shows I watch, I don't know what it is about this one that makes me borrow from it more than the others. Things I've stolen from 30 Rock include "that's (not) a thing", "all the time always", and "suck it, nerds!".

5. Lolspeak  
O HAI, im in ur internets, copyin ur speeches. Lolcat images are traditionally captioned in lolspeak, for which I have great appreciation.* "I can has", "moar", and "[adjective] [noun] is [adjective]" are all lolspeak. The LOLcat Wasteland is one of my favourite things.

april hates u, makes lilacs, u no can has.
april in ur memoriez, making ur desire.
spring rain in ur dull rootzes.

6. Bleak Expectations
Mostly, I wanted to share this just because it's awesome. But if I ever refer to playing the organ in a thunderstorm or use "Harrumble!" as an exclamation of joy, this wonderful radio show is to blame. 


 
7. Blogging Twilight

Dan Bergstein is my other hero.

Blogging Twilight was such a big part of my life last year that I don't even remember what I started borrowing from it.** Dan is the inventor of the sarcasm hand ("Edward isn't a creepy stalker at all. He's the greatest guy in the world. *hand raised*"), and he was responsible for giving me endless fodder for my Twilight mockery rants while saving me from actually having to read the books myself. Hey Dan, hey Dan, WANNA RIDE BIKES? (I stole that from him too.)

8. Five go Mad in Dorset
This is going to come up any time I get on a bike, go on a picnic, or uncover a mystery. So, pretty often. You can watch it here. It's magical. Lashings of ginger beer!

9. The Gregory Brothers
I don't know who to credit for how often I say "winning". "Win" was already used to refer to anything good, but then Charlie Sheen went nuts and "winning!" really took off, especially to mean, well, not winning. So I guess Charlie Sheen started it, but the Gregory Brothers are responsible for making it so gosh darn catchy.

"Are you bi-polar?"

"I'm bi-WINNING!"

 
*As a point of interest, I once wrote a syntax essay on lolspeak. It was the most fun I've ever had writing a syntax essay. To be fair though, that wasn't much of a competition.
**Fun fact: accidental plagiarism is called "cryptomnesia".