Friday night frivolity

Hello kids!

Just found myself with some down time before dinner and thought I'd write a quick post.

I'm starting to get really excited for the changing of the seasons. Mostly because I'm completely useless in the winter months. I go into hibernate mode, getting way more sleep than necessary but still finding it impossible to make it through the day without excessive yawning. I'm not sure if you all got a chance to visit Google today, but if you did, you likely noticed their "Welcome back Spring!" visual:

Childhood references always make my day. I think there might be a future post about such things. I'll have to think about that one.

In other news, I'm beginning an interesting artistic adventure with a new friend from work (huzzah for new friends!). We're both feeling a little unimpressed with our surroundings and see an oportunity to liven things up a bit. We're hoping to get a co-operated blog up and running in the next few weeks for all of you lovely people to enjoy. The idea is to make it a free museum of sorts where you'll be able to look at not only the art (visual, audio, written) that the two of us have done, but also the work of other artists that we know and love. Just doing our part to bring all of our talents a little bit closer to one another. The Internet is a great vehicle for community and sharing - things that I think we both value immensely.

So, keep an eye out for all of that. Alright, back to my delicious drink (tequila, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry seltzer!) and some guitar practice. Let's see how I play after I've had a bit to drink, huh?

I'll report back if the results are worth sharing. :)

Take care!

A new adventure

Tonight I'm beginning work on a project that I'm very excited about. A few years ago, I wrote a story called "The Cafe." It's something I've been very proud of and I've always wanted to do something more with it. Well, I have some interested friends and in a few weeks we are going to create a short film based on the story. So tonight I'm working on adapting the script and getting it ready to be filmed. I'm hoping to get it all completed in a few months so that it can be posted and shared with all of you. If you're interested in being an extra or have some amazing skill that you'd like to offer, please leave me a comment.

Here are two sweet short films to keep you entertained in the mean time. Take care!

The Traffic Warden
SweetnightGoodheart

BBC Television Series (mini or otherwise): My favorite kind of escapism

There are so many ways to pull yourself out of the present, to get away from reality for a while. Some people pull themselves up, others prefer to go down. I'm not sure which direction my wanderings take me, but perhaps its a little bit of both. And I'm a pretty big fan of balance, so I'll take it.

When I get home at night, I'm greeted by a dark living room that I occasionally trip into, a very vocal cat and a pile of dishes that is beginning to seem infinite. On the nights that I'd prefer a good cuddle session with the cat over dish-pan hands (and let's face it, that's most nights), I tend to turn to the same vices. My poisons of choice? Well, I start by heating up a can of Progresso soup (if I'm too lazy to do the dishes, I'm certainly too lazy to do any REAL cooking). I then set about picking out a blanket and some fuzzy socks. Next, I wander over to our wine rack and find something appropriate for my mood and the weather. Finally, I settle in for a few hours with my dear friend, the BBC.

The past few years have brought many new stories and actors into my life. Alright boys and girls, if you're looking for suggestions, get out your pens and paper. Here is a list of my top favorite (favourite!) BBC productions:

• Pride and Prejudice (my first and favorite experience with the BBC - and I don't care what anyone says... Colin Firth is the only proper Darcy in existence)
• Doctor Who (many thanks to my Who guru, Kurt.)
• Casanova
• Blackpool
• Top Gear
• Blackadder
• Any of Gordon Ramsey's insane shows (thank God they brought him state-side)
• The Catherine Tate Show
• French and Saunders
• Monte Python
• Planet Earth
• The Vicar of Dibley
• Big Train

It's nice to know that after having seen so many series, I've only just barely cracked the surface. But don't be fooled, I would have seen way more than this list by now if I had a TiVo and cable. But without BBC America to rely on, all I've got is PBS (and thankfully they play The Vicar of Dibley and Blackadder from time to time). I've got plenty more shows on my list that I need to work on acquiring, including "Spaces," "Absolutely Fabulous," "Life on Mars," "Little Britain" and all of the episodes from the original Doctor Who series. So I've got lots to look forward to.

Copyright this.

The Internet and I have had an interesting week. After years of use and appreciation on my part, I have finally been on the receiving end of the law. About 6 months ago, I uploaded a video to YouTube that I had created. This video featured one of my favorite songs by Jason Mraz and clips from the BBC television series Doctor Who. Now, I can appreciate the whole idea of copyright, but the way I saw this project... well, I'll get into that later. First, let me explain what happened.

After posting this video in September, it just sort of hibernated on YouTube for a while. Not too many people watched it, but the ones who did, really appreciated it. After a while, I got tired of checking it everyday to see the change in view count, so I just started checking it about once a week. Then about two weeks ago, the view count jumped from 400 to 700 in a few days. And within a week, it was about to hit 1,300. I was delighted. But then, the next morning, when I went to check again, the video had been taken down. The Warner Music Group had finally decided to step in and flag it for copyright infringement for the use of the song.

Now, I've thought about this a lot, and here are some of my arguments with this situation:

- First of all, this wasn't a problem 6 months ago, and there are only a few things that have changed since then that would have caused them to ban the video. A. Jason Mraz has definitely grown in popularity, 2... er, B. My video was jumping up quickly in views, or C. maybe YouTube has just implemented some crazy new software that can tell when you are using copyrighted music.

- I have a pretty good feeling that if I asked Jason Mraz if he minds that I've posted this video, he wouldn't have a huge problem with it. He's made it pretty clear that he supports piracy (community love?) and open source materials because it's about sharing art with one another. That's what's important here.

- Ok, I understand that I'm using materials that do not belong to me, but I have acknowledged that they do not belong to me in a disclaimer and I've created something brand new with these items. The song was not meant to describe the relationship between these two characters and the clips have been painstakingly cut and sewn together to tell another version of a story. I've created something brand new and I think that giving credit to the materials and artists that I've pulled from should be sufficient.

- I'm not making any money off of this video, and since I'm not a YouTube partner, YouTube shouldn't be making any money off of it either.

- And finally, some might argue that this video is free advertising for both Jason Mraz and Doctor Who. Someone looking for one of these things is now being exposed to the other... I'm building audiences here. People who are tired of the same old stuff are seeing and hearing it all in a completely new way. I'm keeping the song and the show fresh and exciting. Oh, and did I mention, I've created something new? Sharing it with the world? Art? What?

I apologize for ranting, but I really think that our copyright laws need to be reevaluated. The Internet is changing so many things, including the way we experience and interpret the creation of art. Technology is making it more and more possible to share ideas with one another and I think that many of the older systems are standing in the way of how we communicate. At the end of the day, I don't see these laws protecting the artists anyway. It seems to me that they are ultimately helping companies. And with the way the Internet allows us to communicate, do we really need companies to act as middle men anymore? It is easier than ever to share art, music, film, etc. with the world. Maybe it's time we stop believing that we need the money of companies to achieve our goals. If YouTube has proven anything, it's that the ingenuity and creativity of independent musicians, filmmakers and other artists is strong and alive. And quite possibly, all you need.

So anyway, I'll keep making whatever I feel inspired to create and as long as Blogger doesn't get on my case, you'll still be able to watch, listen to or read whatever I work on right here. Including the more recent two videos that I've posted in the last week. Please, if you enjoy what you see, or read, leave a comment. Unlike YouTube, this site doesn't really allow me to see who's watching and what they think. I'd love to see some dialog here and at the end of the day, that's up to you.

Thanks for reading!

Dynamo Doctor

My third adventure with the Doctor and Windows Movie Maker... enjoy!





This song was begging to be paired with Doctor Who. I couldn't help myself. It's taken a while to put it together, because the clips span all four seasons and several special episodes. But I'm happy with the results. A few glitches here and there couldn't be avoided, but I'm sure you'll be understanding. Thanks for watching! And please leave some comments, I'd love to know what you thought!

Song: "Dynamo of Volition" by Jason Mraz from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

Disclaimer: This video is for entertainment purposes only. All footage and characters belong to the BBC. The song is the creative property of Jason Mraz, under the "ruling hand" of the Warner Music Group.

And.... I'm back!

A lot of time has passed since my last real blog entry. I was feeling so bad about it around the 1st of the year that I decided to make it a New Year's resolution to blog more. But surprise, surprise, its already March. I could cheat and just retroactively blog, which Blogger will kindly allow me to do. But I want to be a bit honet. Plus, this is a great moment to blog from and if I cheat on the time/date stamp, there will be so many things that I won't be able to talk about or mention. Unless I want to claim time agent status or rip a hole in the continuum, etc., etc...

Last I wrote, I was just beginning NaNoWriMo and my mind was brimming with ideas. I was going for a Science Fiction theme this year, and the creativity was flowing out of me like I had turned on a faucet that I didn't know was there. Unfortunately, my graduate class picked up a few days later and completely consumed my life until the end of December. It was exhausting, but I proved to myself that the work load was manageable and that I'm actually pretty good at library science.

Once class was over, the holiday insanity was in full swing and days often went by without any computer access at all. It was stressful, but again I made it out the other side. I also managed to make some time to overcome a pretty substantial hurdle. I decided to record a song for Joe for Christmas, letting him hear my real voice for basically the first time. It was exciting and terrifying, but got me an important step closer to singing in front of people again. Only a few people have heard it, but the responses were good and it was the confidence I needed to commit myself to the next step.

So as the new year began, I started reading a new book ("Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, which Joe gave me for Christmas) and began actually playing the guitar. I say "actually" because I finally have a guitar to play. My brother kindly passed on his pre-loved guitar, and hopefully some talent is left in the strings. It's been about 2 months of playing and I can sit down and pluck my way through most songs I come across, but I'm a log way from the fluidity I'm going for. Writing my own material has also been a challenge. I get the lyrics out, but then the music just doesn't match the emotions in the words. I'm 0-2 so far against the songwriting gods.

Another big development is that the title of this blog is no longer entirely true. I was promoted several weeks ago and now share a nice big office with another woman at work. No more cramped 7x7 square of pretend boundaries for me. Although, I'm now sitting directly under an air conditioning vent (which is surprisingly still pumping out cold air in the middle of winter). Can't have it all, right?

Still enjoying and being inspired by the blogs of Mr. Jason Mraz, even though he took a little hiatus like yours truely. I think, deep down, we may be vibing off the same frequencies. Come on Mraz, send some of your songwriting genius my way!

Speaking of Mraz, I'm just finishing up my third (and probably final) Dr. Who video. Well, at least until next season... It features the song "Dynamo of Volition" from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. and has clips from all 4 seasons. I still have trouble putting two doctors in the same video together. I just don't like jumping from one face to another. But hey, he does, so maybe it's something I'd better just get over. Something to think about.

Well, as always, thanks for reading! Be well.

The Doctor and Donna - Crash the Party

I owe a major blog entry. I've really fallen behind. But in the mean time, here's a video I just finished that will hopefully keep you entertained. Enjoy!




If you're looking for my earlier video, which was taken down from YouTube at the request of Warner Music Group, it's posted with the September 1, 2008 entry on this blog. A blog about that whole mess sometime soon...

Song: "Crash the Party" by OK Go, from "Oh No."


Disclaimer: This video is for entertainment purposes only. All footage and characters belong to the BBC. The song is the creative property of OK Go and is owned by EMI.