Crasymaker

Instead of dressing up like a banana again this year at work, I decided not to dress up at all. However, when I got to my desk, this guy was sitting in my chair. Now everyone thinks I dressed up as a random idiot for Halloween. I would never do that. Duh.

What the hell is this guys supposed to be, anyway? A rastafarian with a Christmas sweater? I snapped a couple of photos and then went home since there’s nowhere for me to sit.

Anyway, have a Happy Halloween, ya’ll.

In case the title didn’t quite explain it very well, all of the Crasymaker videos are now available on YouTube. I’ve been meaning to upload them to YouTube for quite a while now but haven’t gotten around to it. Instead of the little popup that used to occur, now when you visit the movies page, clicking on a video will take you straight to YouTube. That way, everyone’s guaranteed to be able to watch, even if you’re still using your PC you got back in ‘96.

Or if you just want to watch all the videos directly from my YouTube page, you can do that by clicking here.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I uploaded a new video. To be honest, it’s not my fault. I haven’t received a single video in ages. Until this afternoon, that is.

After we got back from the game today, a brand new video was waiting on my doorstep. After watching it a few times, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s either Danny Dexter or at least someone related to him. As usual, it’s difficult to explain so make of it what you will.

Without further delay, I present Hawaii Tent.

I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while now. Sorry for the delay. For those of you who weren’t there (and much to my surprise), you missed out big time.

I’ve had this long-time feeling that Renaissance festivals were probably the silliest things in the world. Guess what? I was right. They totally are. However, that’s the exact reason why we should be going to them instead of avoiding them, right? Right.

Not sold yet? Well then here is a Flickr set that should change your mind.

So I head down to the Enterprise rental location nearest to my house yesterday to pick up my temporary replacement vehicle and the entire time I’m thinking, “Please don’t let it be a) a Geo Metro or b) something in a really bright, ugly color.”

I guess that was asking too much because the only thing they had available was a bright blue Dodge Avenger. Awesome. The best (read: worst) part about having to drive this ridiculous car around town until my vehicle is repaired is the fact that it’s brand new and doesn’t even have a license plate yet. Why is that, you may ask?

Because without a license plate, it looks like I just bought the damn thing for myself. So if ya’ll see some dumbass driving around town in one of these things, don’t worry. It’s just me.

I was rounding a corner on I540 this afternoon on my way back to work from lunch when I hear this awful bang and immediately feel my car being lunged forward. As I turn to the left, I see a pickup truck spinning around and then it comes banging into the side of me again, only this time I start spinning myself.

At this point, I am spinning out of control down the middle of the highway at 70MPH and I’m thinking that at any moment the wheels are going to catch and I’m going to start rolling down the highway and off the embankment and probably die. I swear, it took long enough for me to actually think about all that. Talk about freaky.

Somehow, the wheels didn’t catch (probably because it had been raining) and after what seemed like about 5 or 6 spins, I came to a stop in the middle of the road. I then realize that I am sitting sideways across both lanes and I am staring straight into traffic. Cars were coming around the corner, seeing me, and then swerving out of the way on either side of me. It was pretty intense. I couldn’t get my car started so I put it in neutral and it slowly rolled to the side of the road.

After forcing my door open, I noticed a pickup truck sitting at the bottom of the ravine and that it was smashed into a small tree. There was a lady standing next to it and I yelled at her to see if she was OK. She yelled back that she was fine and asked me the same thing. She said her apologies and told me she just lost control of her car. She didn’t seem drunk or anything so I assume that since it was drizzling a little, maybe she was right. I called the cops and a state trooper showed up about 15 minutes later. Now I have to wait to hear from the lady’s insurance agent to see about having my car fixed.

I’m still really shaken up and it happened about 4-5 hours ago. I think I might have nightmares about it tonight. I can safely say that it was easily the most terrifying moment of my life so far.

I’ve never been in a wreck that requiries me to wait around for some other insurance agent to call me and then go through the process of having an adjuster come out. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions so that I don’t get screwed out of a proper repair job? I feel pretty clueless about the whole ordeal.

I feel really, really lucky that I am alright. I can’t imagine how much worse off I’d be if I had been riding my motorcycle. In fact, I’m not sure how long it might take to get up the nerve to ride it after this. There was truly nothing I could’ve done to avoid the accident since I was hit from behind with no warning at all. Being in my car saved my life, I suppose. Being on my motorcycle would probably have resulted in my instant death. That’s pretty hard to swallow right now.

A while back, I posted about some new Flickr sets which included some photos from The Good Fear’s video shoot we did this summer.

We’ve been patiently waiting to see what those badasses over at Deluxe 36 had in store and now the wait is over. Head on over to arktimes.com and watch for yourself. It’s about midway down the page. You’ll find it. If not, though, I believe this link should work…for a while, at least.

If not, I suggest you do. I’d been hearing about this “young classic country singer” guy from Little Rock for a couple of years when I finally caught him playing in a basement near the UA Campus. Somehow, instead of coming off like your average folk-singer-wannabe, Chris Denny was so sincere in his performance that I’m pretty sure my jaw was dropped the entire show.

His voice is definitely what grabs your attention first. My initial thought was of a young Roy Orbison but I’ve heard other comparisons including Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Localist) and even Slim Whitman (Pitchfork).

The Localist called him “the oldest twenty-two year old on the planet” and I think that sums it up pretty well. Everything from his music to his lyrics are straight outta the early 50s country music scene.

His debut album is out now and can be found on Amazon and iTunes. I would suggest at least giving it a listen via christopherdenny.com using the handy-dandy player in the top right. There’s also a video floating around that’s great. I found it on his MySpace page but I believe it’s somewhere on his website as well.

Check it out, ya’ll. If ya wanna.

You know how I knew Bikes Blues & BBQ had begun? Well, I looked out my window this morning, that’s how. What’s so weird about that?

Let’s see. How about the fact that we don’t live anywhere near Dickson Street (official location of the rally)? Or the fact that we live on a circle drive that sits among dozens of other non-outlet streets? Normally, the only traffic we ever see in front of our house is from the few neighbors that live next door. You see, our house is near the end of the circle so if you’re driving by, you either live next door or you’re lost.

At 7am, there were bikes just rolling by. Where were they headed? I’ll tell you where: Right back where they came from! Hence the circle drive! I can only assume they’re a part of an elitist biker gang that is not satisfied with just being at one of the largest rallies in the world. Nope, I figure these dudes have to be everywhere at one of the largest rallies in the world. In other words, until they cruise through every inch of pavement in Fayetteville, their journey is not complete.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate BBBBQ. In fact, I really like that my city hosts such a interestingly large event. It never ceases to amaze me, though.

This year, city officials are expecting over 400,000 motorcycles to descend upon us. I suppose with that many bikers driving around, some of them are bound to end up doing circles on N. Maxwell Drive. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised afterall.

I just hope I don’t walk in on one taking a leak in my bathroom sometime this weekend.