03.31.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:51 am by Max
Last Thursday I interviewed my grade six students using my webcam. It was the last day I would be seeing them, so I thought it would be nice to make a video as a kind of going-away present. Hey, twenty years from now, they’ll be able to see what they were like in elementary school. Like I’ve said before, I enjoy keeping records of things.
I’ve uploaded the video to YouTube. I think I did a pretty good job with the opening credits and music (though I was wondering about the copyright issue regarding the music clip I used). Regarding the interviews, there is a lot that could be improved upon. I wasn’t happy with the background noise and poor image quality. As well, the microphone didn’t do a good job of picking up the quieter students’ voices. My booming voice, of course, is dominant. Oh well, I don’t believe much can be done about these technical shortcomings until I upgrade to a better webcam.
Anyhow, here’s the video. It’s a little embarrassing to watch your own amateurish production, and even more embarrassing to know it’s now available to the whole world.
Update: Hmm, I was going to make the video publicly available, but I’ve since changed my mind. For now, at least.
Update 2: OK, I’ve tinkered with the video for the final time. It is now available on YouTube.
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03.28.07
Posted in Corporate Malefeasance at 1:52 am by Max
Why is it that corporations need to disguise their commercial impulses as altruism? See here before you read on.
The Baby Einstein company is owned by the children’s entertainment juggernaut known as Disney. Now I have nothing against either Baby Einstein or Disney, but I do take issue with the aforementioned duplicitous message, which is shown at the end of a baby video.
If Disney wants to make donations to the Autism Society of America, great. Let Disney do it. Of course, we know that Disney donating its dollars would not only benefit victims of autism but also Disney, since the corporation could claim tax write-offs.
But why does Disney try to mislead consumers into thinking that purchasing its products is a good way to help charities? Isn’t the best way to help a charity simply to donate to that charity directly?
I realize that the compassionate consumer probably feels better about patronizing a company that supports a charity. Me myself, if I was faced with a choice between Product A and Product B, would mostly likely choose the one that claimed to donate a percentage of its sales. But why do we have to blur what seem to me very clear—not to mention necessary—distinctions? Why disguise naked self-interest (Disney wants your money, you want a baby video) as philanthropy (helping those in need)?
Of course, it’s not just Disney that’s guilty here. Many corporations do the same thing. Nevertheless, I find this blurring of the lines really repellent. I think it’s really slimy how corporations try to make us feel good about ourselves for pursuing our own selfish desires.
You have to really use your brain to avoid big business’s attempts to manipulate you.
Which reminds me of a time I watched a live sports event at GM (General Motors) Place in Vancouver. A blurb on a big electronic sign announced in words to the effect: “No smoking inside the stadium. GM Place is pleased to provide you with a smoke-free environment.”
Smoke free, huh? And this coming from General Motors, a gigantic automobile manufacturer? Was I the only one among 30,000-odd souls who saw the irony in that pernicious statement?
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Posted in Uncategorized at 1:12 am by Max
I loved this fishy link so I sent it out to some of my (male) students and inquired what their choice would be. One student writes in:
By the way,
I saw your recommendation site.
And I understood.
My answer is “A”.
Because there are a mouth and breast in it.
And I can’t embrace fish face.
Can’t embrace a fish face. Gotta agree with him there!
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03.27.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:56 pm by Max
Our Gouldian finches are currently working on their second or third batch of incestuous eggs. Blacky, a female, has mated with one of her brothers, either Yuka or Charlie—they look so alike we can’t tell them apart.* Blacky and her mate, and also Bbobbi the zebra finch, are all taking turns warming the eggs. The thing is, do we want this incestuous brood to hatch?
Sorry to say that I neglected to report the passing of Kīro (father of Blacky) last December. Poor Kīro dad.
*Sorry, I currently have no photos ready for Blacky, Yuka, and Charlie.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:03 am by Max
OK, I think I may have been wrong when I blamed Yahoo! for screwing up regarding the management of storage space on my server. Most probably, I had freed up a lot of space by getting rid of a messload of useless files. So I owe Yahoo! an apology.
But this time around, I sure as heck ain’t wrong. (The red felt marker is my own.)
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03.26.07
Posted in Family/Friends Video at 1:40 pm by Max
The kids like food they can eat piecemeal, such as kernels of canned corn, dry cereal, and puffed rice. Here’s a recent video of “corn time.”
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:44 am by Max
Having spent quite a bit of time getting videos into their final finished form on this blog, I’ve done a fair bit of thinking about my role as a video producer.
I’ll be the first to say that making video about yourself can be quite an embarrasing endeavor. You know how funny your voice sounds to you when you record it and play it back? Same deal, but with the added dimension of video.
I am ashamed of my (previously) fat belly, my lisp (I thought that had mostly gone away in the last few years, but apparently it hasn’t, or else it has returned), and the way my voice cracks when I coo to my babies and try to hit a high note. Nor am I fond of the shaky or blurry camera, dim lighting, or the excessive background noise you get when making webcam videos.
All in all, my videos are pretty amateurish productions. And I have no idea who’s watching my videos, but I suspect that most of the viewers are people I know personally. Now some of you may find my videos ridiculous. If you feel that way, please refrain from watching the homemade flicks, but I offer no apologies. Because in the final analysis, this blog is mainly for me, so that I can keep a record of my existence (no, I don’t care too much about the minutiae). And, in the end, I love my amateurish videos, lisp or no lisp!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:29 am by Max
I found this interesting image over at a blog I check in on from time to time. It drags to the surface a number of associations that are stuck in my head. First, Hamlet calling Polonius a fishmonger. Second, the old “Smells like fish, tastes like chicken” joke from childhood. Finally, what my friend Kenny Hash used to tell me: “There are two things that taste like fish. And I don’t eat fish.” If you’re a man, ask yourself which of the two creatures you would choose. If I know men—and I think I can say I do because I’m a member of the male sex myself—I believe I already know how you’re going to answer.
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03.24.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:07 am by Max
I finished my workout tonight at half past midnight. The kids didn’t go to bed until 10:30 or so, so the late workout was a necessity. I did three exercises—deadlifts (hamstrings and lower back), bent barbell rows (lats or upper back), and barbell curls (biceps)—for a total of about thirteen or fourteen sets. I felt like I was coming on my second last set of curls (Arnold was right—click here for YouTube video). Yeah! There’s nothing like it.
Today was a day off from work, so I got to eat well, relax with my wife, and rest up. My salary is based on 21 teaching hours per week but I am sometimes (often? I don’t usually check) under par. Still get paid the full salary, though. Rockin’!
In the afternoon, we went for a nice long walk by the local Ta River. There are some cute-looking ducks in the river and other wildlife, but unfortunately the waterway is fouled by garbage and other pollution. It’s a real shame; they should clean it up. With all the money they spend fixing up roads here, they could at least divert a little more to cleaning up the local environment. (I shouldn’t, however, be coming across as consistently negative towards Japan in my blog; there are a lot of good things about life over here, including the wide selection of English magazines that can be borrowed from the local public library.)
On the way to the riverside playground we—especially I—like to go to, it was sunny and so warm I stripped down to my T-shirt. I had to wear my jacket on the way back, though. Still, it felt like the first real day of spring. My wife saw a cute little finch (chamsae in Korean or suzume in Japanese) sitting beside the riverside path. She bent over closer and when it didn’t fly away, she picked it up. Amazing! (Wish I had shot it with my video camera, which we brought to the park with us to film our kids.) The brown finch squawked once or twice but otherwise didn’t protest, and the four of us had a go at petting it. My wife handed the bird to me and I set it back down on the pavement. Weird. Was it in shock or something? Why didn’t it fly away? It didn’t look injured in any way…
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03.23.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:15 am by Max
Well, the fourth chapter of Taxi Tales is finally ready. It is, just so you know, in video format. Visit this link to watch.
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