And all the people that You made in Your image still believe in that chunky stew

You know how books sometimes have extra paper at the corners? Like, the paper isn't perfectly rectangular, because there's some extra hanging off one corner? I hope you know what I mean, because I really can't describe it any better. Anyway, I'm wondering whether there's a reason for that, because it strikes me as a really weird mistake for a book manufacturer to make.

Anyway, I had two strange dreams last night. In one, I was back in college, and taking some history class. The professor said I would probably be better off in Angelina Jolie's class, which was in a classroom in the same building, but I had to walk through this odd set of staircases to reach it. When I reached the classroom, I don't think Angelina Jolie was there, but there were a few different teachers, including an old man with a beard and a blonde lady. A few of my classmates from high school were in the class. Also, I think at one point, the absent professor changed from Jolie to Fiona Apple. Aside from the fact that they're both kind of freaky-looking, I'm not sure where the connection is there, nor do I have any idea why my subconscious would have been thinking of either one of them.

In the other one, bethje and I were in Paris, watching some film about Watergate. Well, actually, it was about the scandal that brought down the Nixon administration, but in the movie, it really didn't resemble Watergate at all. Rather, it revolved around one of Nixon's aides who refused to reveal information about his past (shades of Harriet Miers), but people knew about it anyway because he used to be an actor (shades of Ronald Reagan, I suppose). The other thing I remember about this film is that Henry Kissinger was hanging around with his granddaughter. (I have no idea whether he actually has one.) Later in the dream, Beth was driving my car around in a circle.

In my continuing quest to come up with themed mix CD's that I'll probably never make, I came up with the idea yesterday to make a mix of stuff with religious themes, whether positive, negative, or just using a religious story as a jumping-off point. The songs by the usual suspects that came to mind were:

Tori Amos - God
Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Frank Black and the Catholics - Six Sixty-Six, John The Revelator
Camper Van Beethoven - Might Makes Right ("They say that God is on our side and makes us mighty.")
Laura Cantrell - Churches Off The Interstate
Neko Case and Her Boyfriends - The Virginian ("She fell away from the side of the Lord")
The Corn Sisters - This Little Light
Cracker - Hallelujah
Ben Folds - Mess ("But I don't believe in God, so I can't be saved"), Jesusland
Hypnotic Clambake - Spirituality
Tom Lehrer - The Vatican Rag
The Minus 5 - When God Made Time
Pixies - Nimrod's Son, Dead (based on the story of David and Bathsheba)
They Might Be Giants - Kiss Me, Son Of God
XTC - Dear God, Jumping In Gomorrah
The Young Fresh Fellows - Two Lives ("I went to mass each morning, each night I drowned in gin")

I'm also considering using the New Pornographers song "Centre For Holy Wars," simply based on the title. (I have no idea WHAT the lyrics for that one actually mean.) And there are a few spiritual-type songs on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack that I think would work. Any other ideas?

I might actually end up making this mix, if only for myself. A lot of these songs are ones that I've put on a lot of mixes anyway. My other big idea for a themed mix is one with songs about outer space, but that would probably be about 85% Frank Black/Pixies and 14% TMBG, so there wouldn't be that much variety to it.