Skin Parade

First off, I'm trying something new with the titles of my posts - I'll be randomly selecting a song from iTunes and making the title of that song the title of my post. Reduce, reuse, recycle. That's my motto. Well, that and "Do A Good Turn Daily," and "Who's Got the Cookies?!"

Anyway, so today's title comes from a Guided By Voices album, Universal Truths and Cycles, which marked their return to big indie label Matador after trying to break into the big time over at TVT with their previous two albums: Do the Collapse and Isolation Drills. For what they are, both of those are decent rock albums the latter being my favorite of the two despite containing the most personal songs in the GBV canon (just give a listen to "the Brides Have Hit Glass" to see what a 40-something Midwestern rock god sounds like when he's in the midst of a divorce).

That said, Universal Truths and Cycles is a passable GBV album, ranking somewhere near the bottom of the list. There are a couple of truly excellent songs on here, "Cheyenne," and "Everywhere With Helicopter," are the type of anthemic rock songs that Robert Pollard can, and given the sheer mass of the man's catalog, apparently does write in his sleep. But the album as a whole sounds weak, and a little tired. Sort of defeated, maybe. The follow-up, "Earthquake Glue is a step in the right direction, but nothing substantial when held up to earlier classics like Propeller, Mag, Earwhig! or Under the Bushes, Under the Stars let alone the career-defining and wholeheartedly recommended Bee Thousand.

So, anyway, this is what I've been up to the last day or two:

This is my first prepared screen for printing. I'm using it to print on the back of 10" by 13" envelopes that will include my resume and some work samples. The finger will be printed on the back and slightly overlap the flap. I'm excited to print it tonight after the touch-ups I just put on there are dry. It's been a cool learning experience and, hopefully, it'll print. The next one will be a lot better, fo sho. Cross yr fingers. I'll have photos up when I get some packets put together, so you can get the full effect. In the mean time, I'll tease you with this because I'm tricky like that. I'm really hoping that this will "wow" possible employers into taking a chance on this young, studly recent grad. We shall see.

Anyway, I've got to go get the oil changed in the car and then it's off to work. Raise the roof.