I've Been Tagged, Dagnabbit!

A vortex from outerspace must have formed above my head because I'm being suckered into proliferating this cosmic trend.

Six Quirks About Myself

Well, Aviva Bowman tagged me. She and her family are stationed in Okinawa (Her hubby is a Marine; daughter attends school and is Aviva’s favorite photography subject.) I discovered her blog while creating my own.

Now, I have to reveal six quirks about my character.

1. I’m Filipino, but I prefer colder climes.
2. When it comes to books, I have a “read within 5 years pile” and “read within 20 years pile.”
3. My preference is analog over digital.
4. I wish I could sing tenor.
5. I don’t like leftovers, but I’ll eat from dented cans.
6. Deep down, I’m just a “sci-fi kinda guy.”

Here are the tagging rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers' blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

I’d like to add: No tag backs, please.

Here's the list of people I've tagged. (Half of whom don't know me for which I apologize, but maybe something positive will arise - if you like my blog. I certainly liked yours, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen each of yours.) Back track the tag histories. I've found many interesting and talented people, which is what I suppose this whole game is about: Networking.

Kevin
Perpetual Beginner
Katie
Mostly Torn
Pam
Retarded Mango

Aviva's Future Gear

Aviva is a fellow Blogger and fantastic photographer. She's tagged me. She's challenged my limited Japanese language skills. So, I thought I'd poke fun at her where it hurts the most...


Aviva...If you brought this home, would Craig think you found the keys to the ordinance locker? "Hey Sarge! Where's the rocket launcher?"

OR---


On your next day trip, just throw this simple 160 megapixel 6x17 Seitz in your ruck. How the heck do you pull focus on this thing? And, does Lowepro make a bag to carry it?

OR---[and here's my favorite]


When you're back Stateside, get yourself a surplus stepvan and build yourself a portable (and drivable) gigantic pinhole camera. Let Mia design the paint job.

Actually, Aviva is a great sport. She and her family are based in Okinawa (Hubby is a Marine). Her blog and photos can be found here.

Martial Arts Photos of the SF Sakura Matsuri 2008

I got my act together and opened a Flickr account. I'll still use Photobucket to maintain older posts, but I really like Flickr's variety and my future albums will be hosted there.



Slide Show

Some video:

Kiki's Delivery Service

I'm a big Japanese animation fan. From early Tatsunoko Productions (Speed Racer, Space Cruiser Yamato, and Macross) to Studio Ghibli...

which brings me to:



I have many Studio Ghibli DVD's, but Kiki's Delivery Service (aka: Majo no Takkyubin which translates as "Witch's Delivery Service.") just happens to be my favorite. We're all supposed to go through rites of passage or go on separate journeys to go find our true selves. This film captures that spirit of discovery.

I have both the English and Japanese versions, and both are nice to compare. The essence of Miyazaki's vision carries on in the English. When I want to sit back and enjoy the story, I'll watch it in English. If it's time for me to brush up on my Nihongo, I'll throw on the original version and switch on the subtitles.

This is a nice cozy family film. Get the DVD, make hot coco and snuggle with your little one(s) and/or sweetheart.

Not sure how long these links will last, but for your convenience preview the English version here:

part 01
part 02
part 03
part 04
part 05
part 06
part 07
part 08
part 09
part 10

2008 San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival

I've attended the SF Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival) on and off for the past 20 years. Photography, videography, and audio field recording has always been in my blood. This year, I'm documenting everything I find interesting. The celebration takes place over the course of two consecutive weekends, and I plan to test some of my "new" production gear.

What you see here is a montage of screen grabs of some of the video I shot with my retro Sony DCR-TRV27 w/wide angle lens adapter and Beachtek DXA-2 XLR audio adapter set to mono fed by a Shure SM58 (this is my audio test platform which will eventually be either a Canon GL1 or XH-A1 OR Sony VX2100 or FX-7, and some stills with my P&S Fujifilm Finepix S5000. I'm debating on getting a DSLR or go totally retro and do medium format Mamiya...but that means a darkroom.



I've never seen so many people shooting with Canon 1D's before! I think more than half of them didn't use them to a fifth of its potential. They just dropped their credit cards on the counter and bought the best money could buy in the belief they could snap that perfect shot of their kids on stage. But they were never bold enough, like me and the real pro's, to get right up to the stage apron, to ignore yellow security tape and GET THE SHOT NO ONE ELSE DARES. So many people shot full panorama all day long. Photoshop can't fix that!

One shot I'm particulary proud of is one where I set the camera's timer and used my two meter monopod to suspend my camera over a group of taiko drummers. I even had one of my feet on the stage. The pro's couldn't do this because their foot long telephoto were too heavy. My P&S was just the ticket!



I'll have video and more pictures up next week after the conclusion of festivities. I have this weekend's video in rough cut form. Slide show is next. This was just a tease.

Road Rage vs. Road Sage

This is a true story with a laugh track.

Ernie is a [Girl Scout] Cookie Monster

A friend at work bought a couple of boxes of Girl Scout cookies as a favor to a friend. She's been on a diet and had left the cookies on her desk since late February. As a favor to keep her on her diet, I relieved her of the temptations. I just recently dropped twenty-seven pounds and decided to celebrate...by eating some of the cookies.



Thanks Le Ann!

Algorithm March! with Ninjas

Imagine your students getting into this craze:

More Mango...

Hopefully this vid will gain me more subscribers which in turn direct them here to my main blog.



Plus, I had lots of fun making this video and replying to all the responders.

Really Cool Pizza Delivery Guy

...Dan Balan: Crazy Loop

If I could end up being surrounded by Romanian supermodels, I'd deliver pizza.