Poppin' Off Early Edition- The Walking Dead Season Five Finale

*As always, this post will contain spoilers from Sunday night's episode. If you haven't watched it or haven't heard what happened yet, you probably don't want to read this.*

Oh Alexandria. What a fickle place you are. So naive and yet a little bit vicious. I kinda like it. There was a lot of speculation on what Sunday night's episode was going to be. With it being bumped up to 90 minutes, everyone was thinking something big was coming. I was pretty sure that Glenn was going to eat it, and I'm not the only one. With all the teasers of Glenn and bats, his demise at the hands of Lucille seemed inevitable this season. So when I made the mistake on getting on Twitter while the East Coast was watching the finale, and I started seeing the OMG GLENN NOOOOOO tweets, I thought for sure he was a goner. Well, he wasn't. So you guys on the East Coast are a little dramatic lol. But he did come close, twice, at the hands of Nicholas, and when Glenn didn't kill that fool, I got a little angry. He needs to go.

You know who else needs to go? Father Gabriel. When he went on his little nature walk, and told that zombie that he was ready, I got so excited! He betrayed Rick's group by going to Deanna and saying what horrible people they are. They're so horrible that they let him tag along, even though he's been nothing but a whiny baby and a hindrance to the group. And excuse me, but who was the one that locked all his churchy friends out and let them die in the interest of self preservation? Yeah, that was you Father Gabriel, not Rick. So on the scale of one to you're a mega douche, I'd say he's a lot worse than Rick and Company. At least Rick kills for the protection of his makeshift family. Father Gabriel just hides in the corner like a puss. Then when Sasha went to him for help, and he told her that it was her and Tyreese's fault that Bob died. What the hell dude? That's not very priest-like, that's messed up. And the Padre still isn't very apocalypse savvy, as he left the gate open for zombies to just come on in and make themselves at home. Its a good thing Rick noticed that one had gotten through, and the delivery of its head to his hearing was a nice touch. It's probably the reason that Deanna let him stay in Alexandria. That, and when Porchdick Pete was trying to kill Rick, he sliced open Reg first and Deanna asked Rick to kill him for her. So long Porchdick! It was nice knowing you. Now maybe Rick can start a family again with Jessie.

Michael Cudlitz (Abraham) did an interview where he said that fans would be pissed off at this finale. His comments added to the Glenn dying theory, but after watching the finale, I don't think that's what he meant. I left the finale feeling pissed off that they killed the wrong people! I mean, Porchdick Pete needed to go, that's for sure. But poor Reg? He didn't do anything. I know that they are following a comic book story line there (and that's amazing, since I haven't read one Walking Dead comic, but comment sections on TWD articles are so informative), but did they really have to do it? Nicholas and Father Gabriel really needed to die in that episode. And really, Sasha did too. Shes so self destructive right now, its annoying and she either needs to get over it, or she needs to get back in that pit with the zombies.

This episode also brought us Morgan. After seeing little glimpses of him throughout the season, he is finally brought to the group. He helped save Aaron and Daryl from a trap that the Wolves had set. And that's the other big takeaway from this finale- The Wolves. We've been seeing these zombies with W's on their heads for this last half of the season, and now we know that they are marked for Wolves. Morgan had a talk with a Wolves member at the start of episode, where the Wolves member tells him that hes going to take everything from Morgan, including his life. As we know, that didn't happen, but the monologue was a nice way to explain what this group is and what the people of Alexandria are going to be up against. At the end of the episode, after we see more Wolves members resetting their food truck trap that almost killed Aaron and Daryl, we see them killing the member that failed to capture them, and we also see them looking at pictures of Rick's group in Alexandria. Season six will have to center around conflict with the Wolves, and if what all the comment commandos are saying is true....Glenn with finally meet his demise at the hands of Negan and Lucille :(

And lastly, it's also been hinted that someone in the group is going to turn into a bad guy (or gal). After watching these past few episodes, does anything think that's Carol (or Scarol? I can't think of her as anything else thanks to Chris Hardwick)? She came into Alexandria playing the timid old lady who can't do much, but shes basically Martha Stewart on steroids. Being a gangsta towards that kid, threatening Pete in the finale, turning on Rick when they were asking him about the gun, even though it had been her idea to get them....It just seems like shes planning her own thing now.

Source.

What did you think of the finale?  Were you thinking that Glenn was going to die too? Let me know in the comments below!

Mixtape Monday #5

It's Monday! That means its time for a Mixtape! Today's is dedicated to Avril Lavigne. She became famous in 2002....which was my senior year of high school. I really loved her style, totally tried to copy it. She was a refreshing change of pace from all the bubblegum pop that was floating around at the time (think Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, etc), which is why I think she became so popular. I still like to listen to her music on occasion (mostly the old stuff), and it makes me sad that her fans pay so much for meet and greets with her, but she doesn't let them come near her (let Buzzfeed refresh your memory). So here's the Monday morning Avril Lavigne fix you didn't know you needed. Annoy all your friends and co-workers by singing Sk8er Boi all day. You're welcome.

Sk8er Boi

Nobody's Home

How You Remind Me

(Nickleback Cover)

Complicated

And there isn't an official video for this song, but if you're so inclined, search for Slipped Away. I listened to that song a lot after my grandfather passed away, and again when my grandma passed. Its for those reasons that I can't really bring myself to listen to that song now. Its beautiful though, and it kinda dispels what people say about Avril, that just writes drivel. She wrote Slipped Away after her own grandfather passed, and you can tell that he meant a lot to her. 

Were you an Avril fan back in the day? Are you one now? Let me know in the comments!

Poppin' Off- Netflix Picks #1

Netflix has been my best friend for quite some time now, so I thought I would periodically share with you guys what I've been watching.

Jericho
The premise is an interesting one- some major cities get nuked, then the rest of the United States falls apart. Everyone is receiving different information about who attacked the US, but none of it turns out to be true. After the attacks, people have to learn how to survive on limited resources, almost reverting back to the olden days, except they can still manage to find ways to make their electronics and cars work periodically. The United States splits off into new mini countries, and they basically are at war with one another. The show was cancelled abruptly in the beginning of it's second season, so it kinda leaves off in a place where you can feel alright about the ending, but you know there's more to the story. And there is. The writers were kind enough to continue the series in graphic novel form. You can pick up  "season" three and  "season" four and jump right back into the story :)

This how the US gets split in Jericho

Revolution

I'm actually still watching this (almost done with season one), but I really like it. In this one, the post apocalyptic world is created because someone turned off all the electricity. Yep, all of it. So the world gets taken way back in the day; they're using candles, swords, horses and buggies-everything old school. Or, as I once said while looking at Monroe's office (he's the main bad guy), it all looks like it from the Revolution. So maybe that was done on purpose. Anyway, the show has a lot of action, but the characters do make a lot of dumb decisions that can sometimes get irritating to watch. Irritations aside, I'm looking forward to watching season two, and its too bad that season three won't get to happen. Revolution also got cancelled. Here's the opening spiel, to give you an idea on what the show's about:

 We lived in an electric world. We relied on it for everything. And then the power went out. Everything stopped working. We weren't prepared. Fear and confusion led to panic. The lucky ones made it out of the cities. The government collapsed. Militias took over, controlling the food supply and stockpiling weapons. We still don't know why the power went out. But we're hopeful someone will come and light the way.

The US map from Revolution

What I like most about these shows is that these post apocalyptic scenarios are a little more realistic than say, zombies. Now don't get me wrong, I love the Walking Dead, I watch it every Sunday (and I am loving Carol right now! Shes like a bad ass Mr Rogers, going hard on that kid while baking cookies and wearing her sweater sets!). But the likelihood of a zombie outbreak happening is still very slim at this point. While viruses are getting more resistant to antibiotics, its not say that something resembling a zombie can't happen someday; but someone attacking us or us losing our power at the hand of another (probably Mother Nature, not a person though), is much more likely to occur. And I like these shows because of that. They didn't get super crazy with their scenarios, and well, I'm a fan of dystopian themed shows/books :) 

Are you a fan of shows like this? Have any recommendations? Leave them in the comments below. Have a great weekend!

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Monday Mix Up #23 (Not Entirely Suitable for Work)

Hey! Its the first Monday Mix Up since some time last year! I'm still deciding whether or not I want to keep this, but for now, today's list is all about hate mail** disguised as April Fool's pranks. Now, we're pretty close to April Fool's Day, so having these shipped now might be too late, but you can totally replicate some of these at home! So if you have a frenemy, or just someone you just straight up don't like, use April Fool's Day to release some of your pent up dislike in the form of snail mail hijinks.

Shipyourenemiesglitter.com
Glitter is the herpes of the art world. Let glitter be the herpes of your rude co-worker's cubicle, so they can be reminded for weeks that someone doesn't care for them. For $9.99, this company will send an envelope of glitter, along with a note telling them why they're receiving it. Ships worldwide, and they have an April Fool's Day shipping option. It's anonymous, so the only way that person will know that you sent them the glitter is if you tell them, or tell someone else that can't keep a secret.

Dicksbymail.com
Someone posted the Refinery29 article that talked about this site on my husband's Facebook wall the other day as a joke, but I bookmarked it for a rainy day lol. Actually, there's this girl that's trying really hard to get my husband's attention (when she should be focused on her own husband), and I don't like it. She's the type of person I would totally send this to, except she commented on the post about how much she wanted a bag! So I can't send her one because it would make her happy, but I want to, because shes a...not nice person. Anyway, for $15 (and probably some shipping and tax), you can send a bag of gummy dicks anonymously to whoever you feel needs one.

Ruindays.com

If you want to one stop shop for your prank/hate mail, visit this site! They have gummy dicks, glitter bombs, and apparently, realistic poop in a box. Yuck. I can visualize myself sending people edible appendages, but I don't think I could stoop so low as to send feces (even the fake kind that just smells real). But maybe you can :) And I won't judge you for it. Because people can wrong you in so many different ways, and maybe your person deserves poop. You also have the option to make the poop glittery, in case the object of your mail rage is a real butthead. There are also boxes filled with sand and butthurt care packages. And just like the others, this site also sends anonymously.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of April Fool's Day. I've always been pretty gullible, so a whole day devoted to pranks and jokes is not good for a person like me. But hopefully this little list put a smile on your face.You probably won't ever have the need to utilize these services, but isn't it nice to know that they exist?

**I don't support the act of hate mail in any form, and these are relatively harmless things (except that poop, that's just gross). You can even send them to friends if they have that type of humor (and you warn them first).**

Five Fandom Friday- Comfort Movies

Its been a while since I've done a FF, but this one was one I just couldn't pass up! I have a lot of favorite movies, but there are just a handful that I will always watch no matter what. Same for teevee shows. So I decided to add my five comfort teevee shows too :) Here they are, in no particular order:

Movie: Clueless I can remember when all of the clothing styles in this movie were cool and all my friends had those ugly furry mini backpacks. And 'whatever' still remains a staple in my vocabulary to this day, just without the W hand gesture. Clueless is a permanent fixture in my Netflix queue, even though I own it :) 

Teevee Show: True Life Oh MTV. There are so many great things you've done that have nothing to do with music. True Life is one of those things. I love seeing how other people deal with things. Sometimes I can relate to the topics, sometimes I can't, but that's what makes it interesting. I especially enjoy the ones that focus on weight and relationships. When I'm having a blah day, its nice to see other people having blah days too. Misery loves company you know.

Movie: Mean Girls You guys know how much I love Mean Girls. I don't know what it is about that movie...Maybe because its pretty darn realistic? I think we all know a Regina George. And its just so freaking funny. I watch this whenever I need to get stuff done and want some background noise. Its a movie I don't feel bad walking away from for a few minutes, because I know what's going on. I also watch it when I need to cheer up, or am feeling bored, or....

Teevee Show: Made. Another MTV gem, this one is for when I need cheering up. I love how they all start as underdogs, then usually come out on top. In the early days, when someone wanted to be Homecoming Queen or whatever, they usually won. And I wondered if that happened just because MTV was there. Other people must have wondered as well, because in the last few seasons that I watched, all the sudden, people stopped winning. The show was still fun to watch, because watching people realize their own potential is a really neat thing, but at the same time, it seemed like the kids on the show weren't reaping all the same benefits that former participants did (the win, the date, etc). Is this show still going? I read on MTV's site that it moved to college students, but I've never seen an episode of that air. 

Movie: Pitch Perfect I didn't expect to love this movie as much as I do. I went to see this movie alone, because nobody wanted to see it with me. I loved every second of it (except the barf scenes, I can't stand when people vomit, its weird). Anna Kendrick is so sassy, and Skylar Astin is just so cute! I will drop everything to watch this movie, no exceptions. I hate that I don't have HBO, because they play this a lot, and Showtime doesn't (and I have Showtime). I've listened to this soundtrack so much that my kids can sing it lol. And I am so excited for Pitch Perfect 2! If it sucks, I will be devastated.

Teevee Show: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air In West Philadelphia, born and raised.....just kidding, I won't type the whole theme song for you, but I do know it! Being the nostalgic nerd that I am, I have a soft spot for teevee shows from my childhood. This is one of them. Geoffrey was one of my favorite characters, because he was so sarcastic. And who didn't love Carlton and that famous dance!? Every once in a while, the show got serious, but it was never done in a vulgar or alienating way, and that's something that I think today's entertainment industry can learn from. 

Movie: The Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink/Sixteen Candles These movies are together because I usually can't watch one without the others. John Hughes was a mastermind as far teen movies are concerned. There probably wouldn't even be the teen movie genre as we know it without him. And Molly Ringwald was the 80's It Girl as far as I'm concerned. Doesn't matter if she was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks (literally) or the rich girl, her clothes were always fabulous (I even did a Casual Costume based on Andie. The admiration is real). And those soundtracks....you couldn't be more 80's if you tried. Love it! 

Teevee Show: Sex and the City I didn't get to watch this show too much when it was actually on the air (that whole no HBO thing), but every once in a while, we'd get a free weekend of HBO from our provider in hopes that we'd upgrade. WE never did, but I would use that time to watch SATC. I ended up buying the whole series on DVD, and I like to binge watch a season (or three) when I'm feeling really lonely. Even though its been reported that off screen, the ladies didn't get along, on screen they were like the best group of friends you could ever want (I guess they really are good actors!). I still hope to someday have that kind of inner circle, but until that happens, I'll happily transport myself into Carrie Bradshaw's Manhattan. 

Movie: The Twilight Saga Don't laugh (okay, you totally can), but I like the movies a lot more than the books. And I really like to watch the movies in the summer, when I'm really hating our over 100 degree weather and wishing it was winter. The Twilight movies just have that perma-winter feel to them, and I love them for that. They make me feel cooler, just for a little while. 

Decode by Paramore

from the Twilight soundtrack

Teevee Show: What Not to Wear Even though this show is gone, I have some on my DVR, and TLC is nice enough to rerun it occasionally :) Stacy and Clinton are my favorites, and much like Made, I like seeing people's transformations. Towards the end, they started doing celebrity makeovers, which I thought was kinda lame since celebrities already have access to personal stylists and money (each WNTW participant received $5000 to shop for a new wardrobe), but I guess they were trying to change it up. My husband used to tell me that he was going to nominate me for the show, but thankfully that never happened lol. I loved watching it, but I would be embarrassed to be on it.  

This girl was so annoying! But fabulous!

Thanks again to Megan and Kristin for coming up with these fabulous Fandom Friday topics!

Mixtape Monday #4

Happy Monday! Today's playlist is dedicated to my 31st birthday, which was last Friday (Friday the 13th, so spooky lol). I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane!

1. Happy Birthday- NKOTB They are my life long loves lol. I became a fan at five years old, and haven't stopped since. 

2. Motownphilly- Boyz II Men This would be the first of many Boyz II Men songs that I loved. Stephanie Tanner danced to this on an episode on Full House, does anyone else remember that? 

3. Listen To Your Heart- Roxette It was a tie between this and The Look. Roxette was played a lot in my house. On vinyl. Before it was cool. 

4. Straight Up- Paula Abdul Another one where I had a tough time choosing just one song. I adored her when I was little. Especially after that video when she danced with the cartoon cat. 

5. and 6. Landslide and Big Love- Fleetwood Mac I didn't know where to place these on my playlist timeline. I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac, but didn't really appreciate the lyrics until I was much older. Tusk is another one of my all time favorite FM songs.

7. All That She Wants- Ace of Base This was the first CD I ever purchased. I saved up my catsitting money to buy a radio with a CD player in it, and just enough to get a CD too. 

8. Just A Girl- No Doubt Junior high brought me Gwen Stefani, her crazy cool skater wardrobe, and sassy lyrics. I tried so hard to dress like her for many years (still do sometimes!), and have had a mad girl crush on her ever since.

9. C'mon 'N' Ride It (The Train) - Quad City DJs I remember this playing at the first dance I ever attended in junior high, and how excited everyone got over it. This song, and the Tootsie Roll. 

10. What's My Age Again?- Blink-182 I had such a crush on Mark Hoppus. I wanted a skater boy just like him. Blink is another band that stayed around in my life for a very long time, with mostly happy memories associated with them :)

11. Genie in a Bottle- Christina Aguilera The first time I heard this song, my sister and I were watching a brand new soap opera called Passions. It was awesome in it's weirdness. It wasn't too much longer after that episode that we started hearing it on the radio, and then Christina Aguilera became a huge star.

12. Oops.. I Did It Again- Britney Spears My sisters and I listened to her, but secretly lol. Our cover was blown when one of them basically became her one summer. Oops.

13. I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing- Aerosmith Armageddon was a huge movie my freshman year of high school, so this song was the song to dance to. I got to dance with my crush at our end of the year luau. Naturally I read way more into it than I should have, but that's what high school is for, right?

14. Ex-Girlfriend- No Doubt and 15. Pretty Girl (The Way)- Sugarcult- More high school songs. 

16. Cadillac- Mest My sister and I would drive around in her car senior year and listen to this song.

17. Sweetness- Jimmy Eat World Another high school song. I would listen to the CD that this song is on all the time.  

18. Hey Baby- No Doubt They played this at the start of my senior formal, everyone went nuts of course. The DJ ended our formal playing that song Sandstorm, you know, the techno song? All the cheerleaders were super pissed that he didn't play a slow song. Since I went went friends and not my boyfriend, I was grateful. 

19. Awake- Finch I have mixed feelings about Finch. I really liked them, then shared them with some friends. They listened to Finch so much, I almost got sick of  them. Then things got hairy with those friends, and now all I do is remember those friends when I hear Finch. But I still really love Finch.

20. Suffocate- Cold Cold and Finch are related, time-wise. While things were getting hairy with those Finch friends, I was breaking up with a boyfriend that I thought I had that forever potential with (which is stupid, because I was like nineteen) and binge listening to Cold to cope. And just like Finch, I really like Cold, but all I think of when I hear them is that crappy breakup. 

21. Hollaback Girl- Gwen Stefani Still loving Gwen, and this was around the time I met my husband. What's funny is we went to see her in concert when I was about four months pregnant with my son. I had just lost the job that I thought was going to be my forever place of employment (forever things don't seem to work out for me), and my doctor just days earlier had basically told me I was stupid because I hadn't felt my son kicking, even though he so clearly was. The concert was just supposed to be a mood enhancer, but it ended up being the first time I felt my son move! And after he was born, when we would wake up late at night and MTV would actually play music videos, he would get quiet whenever a Gwen video played :)

22. The Feel Good Drag- Anberlin I would never expect an Anberlin concert to have a mosh pit, but it did. It was insane!! Anberlin is another long time love. I found them in high school and haven't looked back. 

23. Heartbeat- Childish Gambino Shoutout to my days on Tumblr! I found him on there one summer, when my dashboard just blew up with photos of him. I thought he was mega cute, then once I started Googling, I found out that he was more than just a pretty face. I think Donald Glover is amazing. Hes a good actor, and he raps about more than just cars and clothes. He's rap music for the nerd set.

24. Push and Shove- No Doubt My husband and I went to see them in LA at the Gibson Theater. It was supposed to be like a warm up to a tour they had planned, but then Gwen got pregnant with her third son and they cancelled the tour, so we considered ourselves very lucky that we got to see them! We've seen Gwen perform twice as a solo act, so it was neat to see her with No Doubt. 

25. Remix (I Like The)- NKOTB Even though this song is like, the nerd grew up into a hottie and that's why they like her, I like to think of this song as kind of a nerd anthem. I was teased a lot growing up, so I like to think that maybe there is somebody out there that's like "dang, I shouldn't have said those things about her then! look at her now!" even though right now I am at a nasty stage. Some of my medications are making me gain weight (yuck), so I dealing with that, but I still like to daydream.

26. Everything is Awesome- Tegan and Sara ft The Lonely Island  My kids love The Lego Movie, and they love this song even more! If I have my iPod in the car, I have to be careful to not let this song come on, otherwise they will ask for it on repeat. I like the song just fine (love love love The Lonely Island guys), but not when you hear it looped for twenty minutes while stuck in traffic!

This playlist could have been way longer, but I don't want to bore to tears! 

Mixtape Monday #3

Hello Monday and hello blog! I took a very unexpected and unplanned break from this blog, and I'm still not sure if I'll back it one hundred percent any time soon, but I hope so! So thank you for sticking around :)

Today's mixtape is dedicated to Lindsey Stirling. I love that she's made playing the violin cool. I played for many years, and got a lot of crap for it from kids at school. I think its a beautiful instrument though, and hope that one of my children will decide to try it when they get a little older (I'm so pleased that my oldest niece has already started lessons!). Lindsey also does a lot of "geeky" videos; theme songs to video games and animes.etc. But her videos are so cool, I don't think they look geeky at all. So here are some of my favorite Lindsey videos, and I hope you'll check out her CDs, Lindsey Stirling and Shatter Me. I own both CDs, and they're amazing! Plus, they're really great to listen to if you have kids in the car. Clean lyrics (when there are any), classical-ish music, but still very modern. 

Roundtable Rivals

Shatter Me ft Lzzy Hale

Radioactive ft Pentatonix

Star Wars Medley ft Peter Hollens

Pokemon Dubstep Remix ft Kurt Hugo Schneider

Do you have any favorite Lindsey Stirling songs? Let me know in the comments!

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