the beast and dragon, adored

Nice profile of Spoon in today's Austin American-Statesman

In which: the band's backstory is related, in sordid detail, involving rotten major labels that have since been swallowed up by larger corporate entities, A&R reps who don't return phone calls, brilliant, jagged records that don't sell, heartbreak, genius, inspiration, redemption, and, of course, brisket tacos. Well done, Joe Gross. An aside: I didn't know Britt Daniel grew up in Temple, TX. Chances are that my acquaintances from that area didn't know that either. But maybe all it'll take is a performance at the O.C.'s Bait Shop, with or without any lesbian antics.

From what I heard at the band's sold-out concert at Emo's a few months ago and streams on the Merge Records website, "Gimme Fiction" promises to be pretty spectacular.

UNRELATED (READ: POINTLESS SELF-PROMOTION)
Also, there was nothing unforgivably wrong with the story I turned in last week. It ran on Tuesday, and can still be found online, un-archived, here. The headline is fairly bad, but you do what you can with the space that's available. Or, rather, the copy editors and page designers do what they can with the space. I didn't have a thing to do with it. Anyway, there haven't been any new issues since Tuesday, it being dead week and all, but finals start tomorrow, and I think that means a new edition of the Batt to be strewn about campus. So click while the clicking's good.

Back to, ahem, work.

Goodbye to the nervous apprehension

So today has basically been the climax of my final semester of college. The denouement[1] remains- another week or two of farewells and celebratory send-offs, my final final exam next Tuesday, and many, many beers.

This morning I turned in the brochure I made for my graphics class. We all had to give impromptu presentations, and though my work was among the worst in the class, my comedic timing remains impeccable. The big goofy architecture major who often wears Bette Midler t-shirts[2] went last and had a few good lines, but his big laughs were for his studied awkwardness, which is impressive in a weird way.

After class, I said goodbye to the graphics lab in the basement of the Reed McDonald building. I've spent many, many hours in that cave this semester, and I won't be missing it. I don't know what the Battalion's production schedule is like in the coming days, and I haven't gotten any e-mail from my editor in what feels like ages[3], so maybe I'll never be back there again. Not a great loss, in any case. [4]

Meg's senior presentation is tonight. I'd be lying if I said I really knew what it was about, but I'm going to try to get there anyway. Moral support!

Footnotes.
[1] I learned a whole slew of fancy vocabulary words by reading them, so when it came to terms cribbed from other languages, I was often pretty clueless w/r/t pronounciation. Saying this one 'day-nooey-ment' once and getting called on it still makes me cringe ever so slightly when it comes up, which thankfully isn't all that often. See also: "masochist," pronounced with the 'ch' sound intact. For the record, I'm pretty sure I learned that one through MAD Magazine of all places. Remember: context clues!

[2] Ironically, I'd imagine, but then you never know when it comes to those ENDS kids.

[3] When in fact it's been a few days, tops. But then I turned in a story about the changes being made in the MSC (bowling & games shutting down at the end of the semester- you heard it here first!) on Thursday and it still hasn't appeared in the paper and I've heard no word as to why. I don't particularly care - I'd like the $25 for my time, though - but it seems kind of unusual. I didn't think what I turned in was especially bad; bland, maybe, but as careful and accurate as I was able to manage. Is it not news? Tell that to the black-shirt crowd by the Dance Dance Revolution machine.

[4] If we're being honest here, and I believe I can trust you, gentle reader: to myself and to the Battalion. But maybe that's just a wounded ego talking. More on this later.