"The Captain Of The Rant"

So I went to Arkansas (again) this weekend to hear Clif give his senior seminar presentation. The presentation itself was quite good--Clif has an excellent, laidback delivery style, and he injects bits of humor into the proceedings to keep it from getting boring (and, as one who has studied the Tudor/Stuart era quite a bit, I know how boring it can get). He also dubbed me "Captain of the Rant" after one of the guys he was studying. I think it's a title I'll keep.

The downside of the trip was the fact that I had to wake up yesterday morning at 4.30. Four thirty. That's no decent hour to be waking up at. Hell, that's an hour to be falling asleep at. I ended up sleeping in the car for most of the trip up there and the trip back, though this wasn't as pleasant as you'd imagine--I was running on only about four or five hours of sleep to begin, with, had to wake up too damn early, and I ached all over from sleeping at uncomfortable angles. My neck is actually still sore.

Anyway, Clif's presentation, as I said, went well. Watched Monica give hers immediately afterwards, which was interesting to me and maybe one or two other people in the room who knew how postmodernism worked in literature and had actually heard of Joseph Campbell's monomyth (thank you, Everett, for showing me that interview series with Bill Moyers. I'd have been completely clueless otherwise).

After the presentations, the folks took Clif, Clif's roommate (Mike, known almost exclusively by his last name, Luers), myself, and Dr. Dippel and his wife Nadine out for lunch at Wiediker's (please pardon my horrible misspelling of a German name). It's this nifty winery thing up in Altus, AR, the alcohol capitol of Western Arkansas (it's just west of the dry county line and a popular destination for Clarksvillians who have a hankering for moonshine). Had a wonderful lunch, got to freak mom out when Clif and I both ordered a beer with lunch (Grolsch, which I decided was far superior to any American beer I've ever had. It actually almost tasted good). Also ran into some folks from high school up in Altus. You don't expect to see people you've known since you were like six or seven in a completely different state at a winery, of all places.

Spent the night at the folks' place last night, and we ended up watching Tango and Cash. I remember that being a great flick when I was 12. Now...well, not so much. Maybe my tastes have gotten more sophisticated? I dunno. This morning, though, I sat down with dad and he taught me several Beatles songs on the guitar. I now have chord progressions for "Let it Be," "Get Back," "Hey Jude," and "I've Just Seen a Face." He also taught me Lennon's "Imagine" and Harrison's "My Sweet Lord." Admittedly, I'm not very good at playing most of these songs yet, but I have chord progressions I can play for them.

I'm excited about seeing Wilco tomorrow night. Hell, I'm excited about seeing Rana tomorrow night. I haven't seen her since I graduated three years ago, which is a damned shame. Rana is just one of the most lovable people I've ever met. And she gives really good hugs. I've needed one of those lately.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Wilco, "War on War"