Post for July 23, 2003

Big Ten Inch...Record

The Delusion is now reality. That's right--Clif and I have finished recording Cross-Eyed Yeti's debute album, Delusions of Grandeur. Fourteen tracks, just over 40 minutes of music guaranteed to sound absolutely nothing like a boy band record. It's equal parts wry humor, roots rock, and what Clif calls his "flamengo lead guitar" (I asked him if he meant "flamenco guitar," but he was positive that he meant "flamengo." The boy has issues, that's all I can say). That being said, we are very proud of what we accomplished with these songs, and we think they're actually quite good. At some point, we may try to sell the CD through the Dim Bulb (note spacing) site. Should be easy, since I've got all the songs on MP3 on my computer. Granted, what you'll get is a burned copy of it, and the sound quality isn't as high on all of the songs as we wanted, but we were working under rather primative conditions, and think it all turned out good nonetheless. I'll probably see about getting a nice CD label making kit to fancy up the CDs. They'll feature art from our very own Noise Monkey, who was kind enough to some art of a Yeti nature for us. Very spiffy stuff.

Last Train to Clarksville

So I'm going to Arkansas this weekend...not technically to Clarksville, and technically in a car rather than by train, but try to work with me here. But yeah, we're having a going away party for Chris and Jennifer Vander Leest, my roommates of three years and all-around entertaining people (I hesitate to call them "good people" because Chris is mentioned in there). Anyway, they're moving up to Seattle (as in Washington state) so Chris can attend a fancy art school up there. They will be sorely missed, and trips to Clarksville just won't be the same anymore.

Really, it does sort of feel like a chapter of life is coming to an end. I mean, one sorta ended last May when I graduated and started Graduate school, but my situation at OU has always felt...temporary. Like I was just off on a sort of intellectual vacation and would return to the "real World" (yes, I'm actually referring to life in Clarksville with all of my friends as "the real world." Deal with it) soon. The change never really sunk in, I guess. I'd go back for a weekend, and it was like I never left. Folks were like, "oh, it's Chuck," and it didn't seem like anything unusual. On the contrary, it seemed perfectly ordinary, almost right, one could say. But, according to what I've been told, we all have to move on, and we can't remain fixed in one place and one time forever (currently, evidence seems to weigh quiet heavily in favor of those who say this. What with all the people I know who're getting married or moving off or at least on, it seems like I'm the only one sometimes who wants to cling to the past...and now you know the real reason I'm a history major. This is a character trait, let me tell you). But yeah, long story short, I'm going to Arkansas this weekend for one of the last chances for the gang to all be together in place and all of us act like children before "reality" and "adulthood" and "responsibility" all catch up with us.

The Monkey

So there's a theory going around that perhaps the Monkey is a bit too caustic and cruel to people. I dunno, I've met worse. Admittedly, his sense of humor is generally more evil than mine (well, according to who you're talking to), but I don't think he's as bad as, say, Clif, who gets pleasure out of torturing blind people and yelling out of car windows at idiots who are about to stick their hands in hot springs in national parks (admittedly, I found that particular incident funny as hell, but I can't really relate it in full here without offending some people's sensibilities). Eh. I don't see the big deal. Sure, he's made fun of me for not being able to space things correctly or to count, but my math skills are widely recognized as being non-existant, and I figure I can probably dish it out as well as I can take it if it comes to that (I mean, after all, he admitted he's got girly arms. I could take him). Oh well. Go read the comics. I'll be back Monday with something witty and verbose, with any luck.

Oh, and Monkey, as for a way of telling her that you're mean? I think the post might've taken care of your problem...which isn't to say it won't generate a whole host of new problems, but hey--we take issues as they come up, right?