Super Smell!

In case you didn't already know, Stephenie Meyer is amazing. I've mentioned before that I am a complete Twi-hard and I am not ashamed (that's a lie - I'm totally ashamed. But I'm trying to get over it. In my experience the people that criticize the Twilight Saga are those that have not read the books so how can they really have an opinion?) Anyway, back to Stephenie. I *heart* her. Not only did she write a great series of books that I can't stop reading over and over again but her taste in music is ridiculously brilliant as well. If you haven't read the books or even if you have and just haven't noticed, she dedicates at least one page in each book to Thank Yous. She doesn't just thank her publisher and her mom either she really gets into it. And in every single book she takes time to thank the musicians that inspire her. Her favorite is the band Muse, ironic right? But seriously she took the time to thank them in all 4 books and used one of their best songs in a very high profile position in the Twilight movie. Other musical artists that she has thanked in her books and on her website include: Travis, The Cranberries, Weezer, Keane, Elbow, Ok-Go, Jack's Mannequin, Motion City Soundtrack and Gomez. The soundtrack for the 2nd movie, New Moon, goes on sale October 20th - a full month before the movie even comes out - and you best believe I will be buying that bitch. The track list includes all original songs which will be exclusive to the soundtrack. Now, most of you will probably look at the following list and be unimpressed but trust me on this one, if you're into this kind of music at all you know this is going to be a great album.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE — MEET ME ON THE EQUINOX
BAND OF SKULLS — FRIENDS
THOM YORKE — HEARING DAMAGE
LYKKE LI — POSSIBILITY
THE KILLERS — A WHITE DEMON LOVE SONG
ANYA MARINA — SATELLITE HEART
MUSE — I BELONG TO YOU (NEW MOON REMIX)
BON IVER & ST. VINCENT — ROSYLN
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB — DONE ALL WRONG
HURRICANE BELLS — MONSTERS
SEA WOLF — THE VIOLET HOUR
OK GO — SHOOTING THE MOON
GRIZZLY BEAR — SLOW LIFE
EDITORS — NO SOUND BUT THE WIND
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — NEW MOON (THE MEADOW)

Random Thought: One of the ideas in the Twilight Saga is that of Vampires being blessed with special talents/abilities that are really just enhancements of unique talents they had as humans. For example, Edward Cullen as a human was very perceptive and able to "read" people - as a vampire he is able to literally read minds. However Bella is the only person he has ever met who's mind he cannot read. Bella's mind is also immune to the talents of other vampires. SPOILER ALERT: In the 4th book Bella "makes the change" and isn't sure if she has been blessed with a special power at all (not all vampires are) but by the end of the book she discovers her power and realizes that it is the ability to protect her mind. OK - sounds lame but I'm not describing it well or doing it justice at all.

MY POINT IS ... If I were a vampire I think my special talent would be a super sense of smell. I actually never thought much of it until others would comment on my strange ability to compare two completely random smells and yet be dead-on accurate. A few examples: my friend Will's first car in high school was a p.o.s. 1990 Beretta - it was a heep - and it smelled exactly like ranch Frito's, I've also found that the house I lived in during most of high school smelled exactly like lunch-meat, the office I currently work in smelled exactly like ant-killer last week (despite the fact that there had been no visit from an exterminator) and there is a 2-mile long stretch of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that smells exactly like a dirty fish tank. It's not much but it's all I've got. Would yours be any better?