On a recent trip to Utah I lost an expensive Sony HDD camcorder. I was really bummed out it, to say the least, but then my wife decided to surprise me with an early Christmas present to replace it.
She got me the Kodak Zi6, a pocket HD camcorder that competes with the Flip. The Flip Ultra and Flip Mino have some things that the Zi6 doesn't, the main one being a rechargeable lithium ion battery and lots of onboard memory, but the Zi6 gives you an SD card slot so you can expand the memory up to 32gb if you like. And from what I gather from a number of reviews, it seems the Zi6 has a bit of an advantage when it comes to picture clarity.
The one thing that bothers me though, is that it runs on AA batteries. And not just any AA batteries, either. From what I've experienced so far, you need to use the Kodak-branded NiMH rechargeable AA batteries that it ships with if you want the power meter to work properly. I tried using some standard Alkaline batteries and the power meter drained in about 10 minutes. What's funny is that after a few minutes I turned it back on and it was at full again, but only for it to drain yet again after another couple minutes. Using the Kodak batteries, however, I experience none of those problems.
I'm certainly no technology pundit, but I'm excited to have a new camcorder.
And no camcorder review would be complete without a little test footage. Check out the videos below if you would like to see me sing a long with Celia Cruz and Juanes...
If you like what you see, and want to get a Kodak Zi6 for yourself, feel free to pick one up here:
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Four Months, Twelve Remixes
From June to September, I dedicated all my spare time to feeding my music hobby/obsession. Once I got a new song idea in my head, I had a hard time focusing on anything else until I could produce the track. Recently, however, I've put music-making on hold, so as not to neglect the family and the day job too much.... I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back into the "studio" at this point, but until then, here's a summary of all the stuff I've made so far...
The Left Is Making Me Nervous. This is what got me started. It's a political parody of Making Me Nervous by Brad Sucks.
You Are 57. A gift to my parents celebrating their 57th birthdays. I talked about this one in an earlier post, where you can also watch the music video I made for it.
Saturday Is Old. This is a mash-up of This Is Old by State Shirt and Saturday by DJ Vadim. State Shirt called it crazy in one of his blog entries.
No Rainbows At 33. Inspired to do this one when a friend of mine requested that I write them a birthday song after watching the You Are 57 video.
He-Man Has The Power. I made this for Rhett & Link's 80s themed community building exercise. It's about He-Man. Some crazy kids in Australia thought that it was appropriate material to use in a Twilight parody video.
MJ Packed All Up In My Brain. Another entry into the above-mentioned CBE, mashing up three different Rhett & Link songs with Bad, Beat It and Billie Jean. It was good enough to receive an honorable mention from Rhett & Link.
Have A Good Trip. A farewell ditty dedicated to my sister and brother-in-law as they moved out to Colorado. Artemisstrong remixed it here.
Bright Morning Stars (Simple Guitar Mix). My contribution to ccMixter's Secret Mixter Summer 2009, featuring the Tom Waits-esque vocals of Anchor Méjans.
Mermaid Anchored Down Under. Another Anchor Méjans-inspired remix.
Cases Of A Misused Apostrophe. While thinking about one of my biggest pet peeves and They Might Be Giants, I came up with this song, dedicated to English teachers and punctuation enthusiasts everywhere. Instrumental stems provided by Brad Sucks.
Madeline Is Nine. Celebrating my daughter's ninth birthday. Fellow ccMixter artists, Tenny and @nop felt compelled to create their own remixes for Maddie here and here.
Peace Around The World. My remix of Brad Stanfield's cry for peace. Special Note: All of my other stuff makes use of other people's instrumental samples, but on this one, I composed and recorded the instrumentals, myself. A first for me!
You know, I guess I have enough here to make an album... Would anyone buy it?
The Left Is Making Me Nervous. This is what got me started. It's a political parody of Making Me Nervous by Brad Sucks.
You Are 57. A gift to my parents celebrating their 57th birthdays. I talked about this one in an earlier post, where you can also watch the music video I made for it.
Saturday Is Old. This is a mash-up of This Is Old by State Shirt and Saturday by DJ Vadim. State Shirt called it crazy in one of his blog entries.
No Rainbows At 33. Inspired to do this one when a friend of mine requested that I write them a birthday song after watching the You Are 57 video.
He-Man Has The Power. I made this for Rhett & Link's 80s themed community building exercise. It's about He-Man. Some crazy kids in Australia thought that it was appropriate material to use in a Twilight parody video.
MJ Packed All Up In My Brain. Another entry into the above-mentioned CBE, mashing up three different Rhett & Link songs with Bad, Beat It and Billie Jean. It was good enough to receive an honorable mention from Rhett & Link.
Have A Good Trip. A farewell ditty dedicated to my sister and brother-in-law as they moved out to Colorado. Artemisstrong remixed it here.
Bright Morning Stars (Simple Guitar Mix). My contribution to ccMixter's Secret Mixter Summer 2009, featuring the Tom Waits-esque vocals of Anchor Méjans.
Mermaid Anchored Down Under. Another Anchor Méjans-inspired remix.
Cases Of A Misused Apostrophe. While thinking about one of my biggest pet peeves and They Might Be Giants, I came up with this song, dedicated to English teachers and punctuation enthusiasts everywhere. Instrumental stems provided by Brad Sucks.
Madeline Is Nine. Celebrating my daughter's ninth birthday. Fellow ccMixter artists, Tenny and @nop felt compelled to create their own remixes for Maddie here and here.
Peace Around The World. My remix of Brad Stanfield's cry for peace. Special Note: All of my other stuff makes use of other people's instrumental samples, but on this one, I composed and recorded the instrumentals, myself. A first for me!
You know, I guess I have enough here to make an album... Would anyone buy it?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Remixing and Pandora
Recently, I have taken up a new hobby: Remixing.
It started with a trip to the gym and a desire to create a political parody. A few months ago, I heard a song called Making Me Nervous, by Brad Sucks, while listening to one of my Pandora stations on the treadmill. That song is very catchy. It instantly sunk its teeth into my head and would not let go. I later googled the song, downloaded it, playlisted it, and listened to it over and over again for a few days straight. Like I said, it's catchy! Anyway, it wasn't long before I started coming up with my own lyrics for it and thought how great it would be if I could actually record it.
I was on a mission. First, I would need some instrumentals to sing to. How could I duplicate the instrumentation on Making Me Nervous? Well, I got to researching and discovered that Brad Sucks provides the source files for all of his songs for free on his website. He even encourages people to create remixes with them and then post them on ccmixter.org! How cool is that? I would be able to make my parody without having to pirate any music! I felt a surge of validation that this was meant to happen. If only I had a microphone and some recording software...
After some googling, I found some software by NCH, called MixPad, free for 30 days. Then I found an old USB headset that I had lying around to record my vocals. It was coming together.
I started recording, but the audio quality from the old headset was not that great. It sounded like I was singing into a telephone. I needed to get my hands on a better microphone, but without shelling out a lot of money. After some more googling, I discovered the perfect microphone for my purposes, available at Best Buy. It even comes with some semi-professional recording software. Sweet! The only problem was the $100 price tag. There was no way my wife would consider a microphone to feed my obsession to be a justifiable expense....
Lucky for me, my birthday was right around the corner. And as luck would have it, a certain generous family member (not my wife) found it in their heart to give me Best Buy gift card. I felt another jolt of validation. Recording sessions, here we come! If only I could find some free time without the the wife and kids around to finally lay down some tracks...
Well, it just so happened my wife had planned a trip to visit her sister in Texas for a week, and while she was gone, my mother was good enough to keep the kids at her house. Ah, serendipity! I took full advantage of the opportunity and recorded my Making Me Nervous parody, but didn't stop there. I also recorded a little birthday ditty for my parents, called You Are 57, and shot a video for that to boot (see previous post).
More and more music-making ideas have been flooding my brain every day. Since I started playing around with this stuff three weeks ago, I have created a total of four mixes, all available here: http://ccmixter.org/people/cuajitoben. Pending available free time, there will be more still to come.
And to think this all started from listening to Pandora at the gym. I would never have predicted that internet radio could impact my life so dramatically...
It started with a trip to the gym and a desire to create a political parody. A few months ago, I heard a song called Making Me Nervous, by Brad Sucks, while listening to one of my Pandora stations on the treadmill. That song is very catchy. It instantly sunk its teeth into my head and would not let go. I later googled the song, downloaded it, playlisted it, and listened to it over and over again for a few days straight. Like I said, it's catchy! Anyway, it wasn't long before I started coming up with my own lyrics for it and thought how great it would be if I could actually record it.
I was on a mission. First, I would need some instrumentals to sing to. How could I duplicate the instrumentation on Making Me Nervous? Well, I got to researching and discovered that Brad Sucks provides the source files for all of his songs for free on his website. He even encourages people to create remixes with them and then post them on ccmixter.org! How cool is that? I would be able to make my parody without having to pirate any music! I felt a surge of validation that this was meant to happen. If only I had a microphone and some recording software...
After some googling, I found some software by NCH, called MixPad, free for 30 days. Then I found an old USB headset that I had lying around to record my vocals. It was coming together.
I started recording, but the audio quality from the old headset was not that great. It sounded like I was singing into a telephone. I needed to get my hands on a better microphone, but without shelling out a lot of money. After some more googling, I discovered the perfect microphone for my purposes, available at Best Buy. It even comes with some semi-professional recording software. Sweet! The only problem was the $100 price tag. There was no way my wife would consider a microphone to feed my obsession to be a justifiable expense....
Lucky for me, my birthday was right around the corner. And as luck would have it, a certain generous family member (not my wife) found it in their heart to give me Best Buy gift card. I felt another jolt of validation. Recording sessions, here we come! If only I could find some free time without the the wife and kids around to finally lay down some tracks...
Well, it just so happened my wife had planned a trip to visit her sister in Texas for a week, and while she was gone, my mother was good enough to keep the kids at her house. Ah, serendipity! I took full advantage of the opportunity and recorded my Making Me Nervous parody, but didn't stop there. I also recorded a little birthday ditty for my parents, called You Are 57, and shot a video for that to boot (see previous post).
More and more music-making ideas have been flooding my brain every day. Since I started playing around with this stuff three weeks ago, I have created a total of four mixes, all available here: http://ccmixter.org/people/cuajitoben. Pending available free time, there will be more still to come.
And to think this all started from listening to Pandora at the gym. I would never have predicted that internet radio could impact my life so dramatically...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
You Are 57
Okay, I know two weeks is a long time between blog posts, so I apologize to my readers for the brief sabbatical. Not to make excuses, but I do have a lot going on in my life. Between work, family and church, there's not much time for anything else. Not to mention my budding music career.
Recently, with what free time I do have at my disposal, I have been busy recording, mixing and editing the following piece of artistic genius in honor of my parents' 57th birthdays.
At the release of this video, I am anticipating about a dozen, if not dozens of inquiries to come pouring in. Listed below are the questions that I know everyone will be dying to ask. Or not. These could just be coming from the voices in my head.....
"You Are 57" FAQ
Q: How did you come up with the idea for this song?
A: My parents turned 57.
Q: What is that thing that keeps popping out in the top left corner in some of the frames?
A: A Scrabble board.
Q: Who was filming? Couldn’t they keep the camera steady?
A: The camera was mounted on a tripod, but apparently either the Scrabble board or the camera couldn’t stop dancing to the music (perhaps caused by a predefined image stabilization setting, or something, I don’t know). I didn’t realize what was going on until after I was done filming, at which point I lacked the time and energy to reshoot.
Q: Why do you have a Scrabble board on your wall?
A: In a house full of small children, game boards are often put to better use as wall decorations, rather than playing games on them.
Q: You're not pulling a Corey Vidal, are you? Is that really you singing?
A: No, no. That is my voice you are hearing.
Q: Where did you learn those dance moves?
A: Before shooting this, I reviewed my “How To Dance Like A White Guy” instructional guide.
Q: Did you just do the Macarena? That was sweet.
A: Yes, I did. Thanks.
Q: What characters are on your t-shirts?
A: Top left: Orko; Top right: Figment; Bottom left: Beaker; Bottom right: Pacman ghosts
Q: How did you find the time to make this?
A: When you have a dream, and that dream is to make a cheesy song and video celebrating your parents’ 57th birthday, then you make the time.
Q: This song rocks. I want to listen to it everywhere I go. Where can I download a free MP3?
A: Here: http://ccmixter.org/files/cuajitoben/21212
So, was the lack of recent blog entries worth the wait, or have I lost you as a reader, in which case you aren't actually reading this....?
If your question was not included in the above FAQ, and you want it answered, please ask away in the comments section.
Recently, with what free time I do have at my disposal, I have been busy recording, mixing and editing the following piece of artistic genius in honor of my parents' 57th birthdays.
At the release of this video, I am anticipating about a dozen, if not dozens of inquiries to come pouring in. Listed below are the questions that I know everyone will be dying to ask. Or not. These could just be coming from the voices in my head.....
"You Are 57" FAQ
Q: How did you come up with the idea for this song?
A: My parents turned 57.
Q: What is that thing that keeps popping out in the top left corner in some of the frames?
A: A Scrabble board.
Q: Who was filming? Couldn’t they keep the camera steady?
A: The camera was mounted on a tripod, but apparently either the Scrabble board or the camera couldn’t stop dancing to the music (perhaps caused by a predefined image stabilization setting, or something, I don’t know). I didn’t realize what was going on until after I was done filming, at which point I lacked the time and energy to reshoot.
Q: Why do you have a Scrabble board on your wall?
A: In a house full of small children, game boards are often put to better use as wall decorations, rather than playing games on them.
Q: You're not pulling a Corey Vidal, are you? Is that really you singing?
A: No, no. That is my voice you are hearing.
Q: Where did you learn those dance moves?
A: Before shooting this, I reviewed my “How To Dance Like A White Guy” instructional guide.
Q: Did you just do the Macarena? That was sweet.
A: Yes, I did. Thanks.
Q: What characters are on your t-shirts?
A: Top left: Orko; Top right: Figment; Bottom left: Beaker; Bottom right: Pacman ghosts
Q: How did you find the time to make this?
A: When you have a dream, and that dream is to make a cheesy song and video celebrating your parents’ 57th birthday, then you make the time.
Q: This song rocks. I want to listen to it everywhere I go. Where can I download a free MP3?
A: Here: http://ccmixter.org/files/cuajitoben/21212
So, was the lack of recent blog entries worth the wait, or have I lost you as a reader, in which case you aren't actually reading this....?
If your question was not included in the above FAQ, and you want it answered, please ask away in the comments section.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Amerikan Kar Revolution
During the election season last year, right-wing pundits were in a constant frenzy, warning the public of what could happen to the country if we were to elect Barack Obama. And ever since November, they have been lamenting what will happen, now that we have elected him. While I personally tend to prefer a more conservative candidate than otherwise, lately I have tried to listen to their rantings with a larger grain of salt.
As a matter of fact, for the past two months I have made a conscious effort to reduce my talk-radio intake, in an attempt to become less cynical. I am actually going a full week now without any WMAL or Fox News. I make this point just to emphasize that what spews forth right now comes from me, completely unclouded by recent conservative media. I mean, for every Sean Hannity, there's a Keith Olbermann, so which side truly has the more enlightened perspective, anyway?
After taking some time to clear my head, I have had to ask myself, is life in the USA really so bleak with Obama in the White House? I still have my family. I still go to church. Following five months of unemployment, I was still able to find a new job. And that extra bump in the unemployment check, as a result of the stimulus bill, wasn't such a bad thing, either.
I think it's unwise to accept what any pundit says at face value. The main objective of a television or radio talk-show host is to entertain and gain ratings, more than educate. That being said, I have recently been wondering whether the Mark Levins of the world might not be completely off base in declaring that we are rapidly heading towards European-style socialism.
In March, when Rick Wagoner resigned from General Motors as CEO at the behest of the White House, I started to become concerned. Could our government really exercise that much blatant influence over a commercial enterprise? What is its motive for doing so? And if the government is willing to go that far, what would they do next?
Well, for starters, it seems the next logical step is to not just pretend to own General Motors, but to actually own it. Hence, as of this week, after laying down another $30 billion to secure 60 percent of the operation, General Motors is the people's car company. The people's government's car company, at any rate.
What makes this situation particularly alarming to me is how left-leaning publications are echoing right-wing sentiment, when reporting on the story. Even Washington Post editorials are stating that, "ideally, the federal government would make GM's job easier by staying out of business decisions." The same article also sadly concludes that, "the political manipulation of the company has probably only just begun." Click on this link for the complete story.
So to my readers I ask the following question. And I realize that many of you have been shy about posting comments in the past, but this time speak up! If, in less than five months into the current Presidential administration, we have one nationalized car company, how many more commercial entities will be nationalized four years from now? [Cue dramatic orchestral music sequence] Buhm, buhm, buhmmmm!!!!
On April Fools Day, I joked with my friends on Facebook, saying that I was in favor of government-run car companies. A friend of mine later joked back, suggesting that GM should now stand for Government Motors. It looks like Despair.com ripped of his idea....
As a matter of fact, for the past two months I have made a conscious effort to reduce my talk-radio intake, in an attempt to become less cynical. I am actually going a full week now without any WMAL or Fox News. I make this point just to emphasize that what spews forth right now comes from me, completely unclouded by recent conservative media. I mean, for every Sean Hannity, there's a Keith Olbermann, so which side truly has the more enlightened perspective, anyway?
After taking some time to clear my head, I have had to ask myself, is life in the USA really so bleak with Obama in the White House? I still have my family. I still go to church. Following five months of unemployment, I was still able to find a new job. And that extra bump in the unemployment check, as a result of the stimulus bill, wasn't such a bad thing, either.
I think it's unwise to accept what any pundit says at face value. The main objective of a television or radio talk-show host is to entertain and gain ratings, more than educate. That being said, I have recently been wondering whether the Mark Levins of the world might not be completely off base in declaring that we are rapidly heading towards European-style socialism.
In March, when Rick Wagoner resigned from General Motors as CEO at the behest of the White House, I started to become concerned. Could our government really exercise that much blatant influence over a commercial enterprise? What is its motive for doing so? And if the government is willing to go that far, what would they do next?
Well, for starters, it seems the next logical step is to not just pretend to own General Motors, but to actually own it. Hence, as of this week, after laying down another $30 billion to secure 60 percent of the operation, General Motors is the people's car company. The people's government's car company, at any rate.
What makes this situation particularly alarming to me is how left-leaning publications are echoing right-wing sentiment, when reporting on the story. Even Washington Post editorials are stating that, "ideally, the federal government would make GM's job easier by staying out of business decisions." The same article also sadly concludes that, "the political manipulation of the company has probably only just begun." Click on this link for the complete story.
So to my readers I ask the following question. And I realize that many of you have been shy about posting comments in the past, but this time speak up! If, in less than five months into the current Presidential administration, we have one nationalized car company, how many more commercial entities will be nationalized four years from now? [Cue dramatic orchestral music sequence] Buhm, buhm, buhmmmm!!!!
On April Fools Day, I joked with my friends on Facebook, saying that I was in favor of government-run car companies. A friend of mine later joked back, suggesting that GM should now stand for Government Motors. It looks like Despair.com ripped of his idea....
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Contests
For those of you that missed it, Despair, Inc. recently held their Demotivator® Caption Contest. See screen shot below...
They ended up with over 10,000 entries. My jewels of inspiration accounted for about 1 percent of those. I submitted ideas like...
FINANCIAL PLANNING: Some financial windfalls are unavoidable. Some may suck you dry and tear you to pieces.
FINANCIAL PLANNING: All the planning in the world for the road ahead will not help you weather this storm.
BUCKLE UP: Or not. It won't make much difference at this point.
REALITY: Tell whatever story you want, Dorothy. It won't change the fact that your house just blew away.
KANSAS: Our tourists get blown away.
From the thousands of entries they received, Despair.com selected their top 14 and allowed their newsletter subscribers to vote for their favorite. Alas, none of my gems was deemed worthy enough to make the final cut...
PERSEVERANCE: The courage to ignore the obvious wisdom of turning back.
They ended up with over 10,000 entries. My jewels of inspiration accounted for about 1 percent of those. I submitted ideas like...
FINANCIAL PLANNING: Some financial windfalls are unavoidable. Some may suck you dry and tear you to pieces.
FINANCIAL PLANNING: All the planning in the world for the road ahead will not help you weather this storm.
BUCKLE UP: Or not. It won't make much difference at this point.
REALITY: Tell whatever story you want, Dorothy. It won't change the fact that your house just blew away.
KANSAS: Our tourists get blown away.
From the thousands of entries they received, Despair.com selected their top 14 and allowed their newsletter subscribers to vote for their favorite. Alas, none of my gems was deemed worthy enough to make the final cut...
PERSEVERANCE: The courage to ignore the obvious wisdom of turning back.
PERSPECTIVE: It could be worse. You could be heading into a meeting.
ADVERSITY: If it really builds character, prepare for a buttload of moral strength.
HORROR: When the only thing between you and complete disaster is an American-made automobile.
RECRIMINATIONS: There are times when it is particularly unhelpful to be told that if you'd listened to her you wouldn't be in this mess.
OBSTACLES: There are many obstacles on the Road to Success. We only hear about the people who aren't killed by them.
CRISIS: Some problems will never be opportunities. Unless you happen to sell FEMA trailers.
OPTIMISM: Surviving a disaster and your own stupidity may lead to a book deal and a made-for-TV movie about you.
OVERCONFIDENCE: When "I think I can" crosses the line between self-motivation and self-destruction.
ADAPTABILITY: What can seem like a terrible natural disaster can actually be an opportunity to drive a flying car.
LUNACY: Rocks are stupid, but they can't get away from a tornado. So that means you are dumber than a rock.
PRIDE: Having the flesh stripped from your skin by 200 mph winds is a small price to pay for not having to ask for directions.
COURAGE: Those who respond courageously in the face of incredible odds will be remembered forever. In an obituary. As idiots.
OBSTACLES: Obstacles are just failures we haven't met yet.
The PERSEVERANCE entry ultimately won the hearts of the voters, and I'll submit that it was pretty clever. But I thought that at least one of my suggestions was witty enough to be included with the final picks (I especially liked my Dorothy piece). Don't you agree? Sigh........
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friends
Friends are important. They are there for you when you need someone to talk to. They support you in your hour of need. You share laughs and tears together. They understand your mistakes. They listen without judging or jumping to conclusions.
I wish I had more friends. I envy my wife who has done a tremendous job over the years of keeping in touch with her childhood and college friends. She has the uncanny ability to befriend almost anyone she comes in contact with, and forge strong bonds with every single one of them. She has a vast support system at her disposal whenever she needs it.
Me, not so much. I have a tendency to fall out of touch and let my relationships dwindle. My closest friend is my wife, which is not something that I regret, but sometimes a dude needs to talk to a dude. At the moment, I don't have a dude to talk to.
Anyway, right about now you are probably thinking this:
I wish I had more friends. I envy my wife who has done a tremendous job over the years of keeping in touch with her childhood and college friends. She has the uncanny ability to befriend almost anyone she comes in contact with, and forge strong bonds with every single one of them. She has a vast support system at her disposal whenever she needs it.
Me, not so much. I have a tendency to fall out of touch and let my relationships dwindle. My closest friend is my wife, which is not something that I regret, but sometimes a dude needs to talk to a dude. At the moment, I don't have a dude to talk to.
Anyway, right about now you are probably thinking this:
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