Nana

Flashless? (Click here.)

Length: 1:15

A bit of summer backyard fun with one of the boy's favorite playmates, my mom. Moments like this help us set aside our vexations over his rigidity and anxiety attacks. It's this kind of interaction the specialists tasked with assessing his social skills never get a chance to see.

Open Mic

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 2:56

In the kids' area at the county fair this year there stood a small stage in front of a couple of benches. There was no schedule of performers or showcases, just a live gooseneck microphone at a kid-friendly height.

When we first walked past, a couple of girls were using it to sing "Happy Birthday" together. The boy appeared not to take notice. A few minutes later, however, when there was no one on stage and no one in the audience, he wandered up the ramp, muttered a few words into the microphone, and stepped back down again. After a few more tentative experiments, he marched back up and launched into a complete song, an En Vogue number from Sesame Street (complete with the requisite melisma).

While his diction is... imprecise, his rhythm is surprisingly good. He even attempts to sing much of the song while inhaling, in his attempt to keep the beat. I have included the song in its entirety, so nota bene.

The general shakiness of the video is due to the effect of Christa's foot tapping on the bench on which we were seated.

Recitation

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:27

A spontaneous adaptation of a poem entitled "I Like Peanut Butter" from an out-of-print children's book the boy has at one of his two schools (he won't say which).

Raspberries

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:44

Creakily climbing back up on the horse after a jarring dismount. Aided by my Father's Day present, a Flip mino.

Up to this point I've typically avoided footage of the boy playing to the camera, but with the Flip he's had a bit of a conceptual breakthrough. He's not just performing for my benefit--he's performing for his own.

Photo (cc) by Marko Kivelä.

Alcohol

Length: 1:42

Just smile and nod and pretend that it's still Videoblogging Week 2008. It'll all soon be over. 6 of 7.

Dessert

Length: 1:11

Every day is Videoblogging Week 2008 if you just believe it in your heart. Number 5 of 7.

Box Lunch

Length: 1:17

Missed a day due to a self-inflicted eyeglass injury and utter exhaustion. So for me this is Day 4 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008.

Sandwiches

Length: 1:57

Day 3 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008.

Salad

Length: 1:45

My testy relationship with food continues.

You may note the clock in the background. The one whose batteries I should have removed before shooting. You may also note it was late in the evening when I made this. Turns out my wireless RF mic messes with the satellite TV reception downstairs where my in-laws are staying, so unless I can figure out an alternate plan I'll have to wait each night until they're asleep.

Day 2 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008.

Green Bell Pepper

Length: 1:39

Yeah... I don't like 'em.

Day 1 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008.

Slide V

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:24

New Year's Day 2008. The boy's slide-ascension skills continue to improve.

Maze

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 1:25

A bit of hay bale fun from October 2007.

Dark-Eyed Susanna

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 3:42

Been tweaking this thing for hours in the attempt to disquise my occasionally off key singing and the fact that I recorded it with terrible microphones (the Xacti HD and PowerBook G4 internals, to be precise).

Decided to call it quits, went back and (mostly) de-effected it. The vocal and banjo overdubs remain, but the instrumental break is sans solo.

I used to perform music live, but I'm desperately out of practice.

I'll stand by the song, though. Poor white steamboat worker from the wrong side of the river falls for middle-class mulatto city girl, circa 1861. (Historical language in effect.)

Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like to know why a Gen X California Hapa would be writing a song like this in the first place.

Dance Party

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 1:41

"100 Years in Cinema" is the title card slogan for the collaborative movie clip party I host each year with friends.

Lately it's become a favorite of the boy's when we watch old Matchbook Films videos in the kitchen via Front Row. The fast-paced onscreen action and the Chemical Brothers beats make a compelling argument for a dance party of one.

Location 3

(Click to view.)

Length: 0:51

Earlier this month I hosted a photo scavenger hunt in downtown San Francisco. One of the items on the list steered teams to this video on YouTube. The style is old-school vlog with a pretty basic GarageBand underlay, but since I've not made one like this before I thought I'd share it here.

There are a couple of other videos I've made this year in other contexts that I should maybe post for Semanal 08. Since I'm so far behind....

Bubble Gun

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:42

A pantsless summer moment in MN.

Stack

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:38

This week the boy discovered the falling baker from the early years of Sesame Street. He's learning well.

Train

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:35

Subtle but significant change of pace for me. For the casual viewer: not much to see, feel free to move along.

Rotation

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:34

August 2007. In which the boy goes for a spin.

Brick Wall (Run IX)

Flashless? (Click to view.)

Length: 0:46

October 2007. In which the boy takes matters into his own hands.