It’s Summer… Still.

I think the hardest thing for me to do with this blog is to come up with a title for them.

Past that, I probably could just write about anything and be somewhat satisfied. Only I don’t like just random titles. We’ll see what does happen from here though.

So my summer is starting to wind down slowly but surely. I’ve got about 2 more weeks at home before I move back into my apartment in Statesboro, which is where I’ll reside until I graduate… permanently. There will be no coming home to this bedroom. In fact, once I leave, and then Dad leaves, this bedroom belongs to someone else. It’s kinda a weird thought, but I’m slowly getting use to the idea. My dad won’t be 2 hours away anymore, instead we’ll be separated by nearly 3,000 miles, for the first time in my life, for more than just a week, or 2 weeks. We’re talking months at a time. It’s just weird to think about, quite naturally. At the same time, I’m greatly anticipating the added freedom that’ll come with it. And I’m definitely anxiously waiting for it.

I guess it’s just the thought that for once in my life, I don’t have to worry about him hearing about everything that happens with me, or having to watch what’s said around me, in fears of him getting the backlash. Sure some of that will still happen, but at the same time though, it won’t be as bad.

I should probably mention that for the last 5 years, he’s known about things relating to my life before I actually have the chance to do them. In other words, he’s had one eye always on me for quite some time, especially this last year. But now he’s loosened up a lot, even to the extent of me staying out well past midnight, and him not even bat an eye and worry. He goes to bed, leaves the light on, and that’s it. So much better now…. I am old enough now. [Not to mention, what am I REALLY going to do in Small-Town Georgia anyway?]

I guess part still is just the notion that he will be in California. There comes the time where Parent and Child must separate. Truth be honest, I’ve been expecting this to happen sooner rather than later. I guess I just didn’t expect to happen… like… now.

So time comes now to empty my room — all 10 years I’ve been living here — of all things that I never really thought about. And it’s brought back a lot of memories. Like, I came across some pictures from when my mom was still alive, which include family reunion photos, amongst others. Time to put things into boxes and storage bins. Once I leave, Dad’s going to basically take my room apart and start re-painting it. He’s already started painting the spare bedroom, although work on that has seemed to come to a standstill, considering the paint colors are failing to match evenly. Instead of plain white, the color has a lavender tint to it. And I don’t think that this was intentional either. And to think I was almost the one to paint that room… my luck is rather nice now-days.

I guess this is all I can think of. Pretty soon I’ll be back in Statesboro, and life will continue to move forward. I’m not entirely sure what to expect yet, but I’m pretty much ready for what’s ahead. At least, I hope I am.

I Guess Not…

So I guess adding the WordPress app to my iPod didn’t indeed do the proposed inspiration.

Ah, the wonders of life.

So it’s still summer, and I’m still without anything to do. I’m actually out of blogging ideas, which explains the dry spell. Nothing really comes to mind as to what I should do on here. I’ve had ideas in the past, but, lucky me, never have had the paper to write them down or do anything with them. So, it’s always become a “back to the drawing board” type of thing.

Small update on life:

- I found another Vitas song on the internet. I’m not sure what the name of it in English is, but it’s REALLY good.

- Dad found some old videos from 15+ years ago, still in great condition. Brought back a LOT of family memories from trips we’ve taken, as well as family videos. I DEFINITELY use to be a child with no inhibitions…. that’s for sure.

- I kinda have a job now. My dad’s job at the recreation center will be transferred over to me at some point. He’s gonna show me what all he does, and then I can start with that. It’ll give me something to look forward to everyday, for sure.

- July 4th, once again, might leave me with nothing to do. I HAD the opportunity to go to Detroit for the 4th, but I passed on it because I didn’t care to be around that part of the family with nothing to do on my own besides following my parents around. And I’m not really one to follow for 5 days straight anymore…. But I might figure out some stuff in the coming weeks. Trying to convince someone I like a lot to make a visit down here, but I dunno if that’s gonna work out or not….. haven’t talked to him in a couple of days.

That’s about all I have to offer at the current moment. Just know I’m thinking about you, Blog. All the time. And hopefully with those thoughts something will spur up from the ground, and this can get a great kick-start.

I hope.

Peace, home dogs.

Reportong Live From the iPod

I broke down and downloaded the application for WordPress to my iPod touch. Very handy thing to have indeed.

Maybe it’ll inspire me to do more updates to this blog now. Although I am inspired anyway but I’m never home now days. Always out with friends or spending time out of the house trying not to go stir crazy.

At any rate we’re talking about high school so I’m gonna skip out. Meantime here’s a picture for your enjoyment.

The Future…

So I’m currently going through a patch where I haven’t slept since sometime yesterday. I made an attempt to sleep, but to no avail. And before I knew it, it was 7am, and the sun was beginning to peak through the windows. No sense in going to bed now.

So I’m making coffee to help me for a little bit.

I’ve changed this site around, and it’s going to become more-so of a public outlet for me. All forms of my identity have been taken off.

[break for the rest of the day, resume at.... 11:41pm]

I haven’t slept ALL DAY, but I feel alright. Kinda tired, but nothing different from what I felt yesterday around this time. But, I did want to get this entry in before midnight tonight, because I almost forgot about it. I, once again, have been on YouTube all day. But through that, I think I’ve found the YouTuber that I’ve identified — and MAY be forming a bit of a crush on — the most.

There’s something about running a victory lap after success that spells the most personality-attractive thing I’ve ever seen……

This is bumpercarmonday on his personal channel, and he is also Monday on StacyAndTheSausages, which I JUST found a few days ago through Jordan, or volnessj. Basically it’s absolutely ridiculous.

[I heart heart heart StacyAndTheSausages now. It's AMAZING. ]

I’m going through and watching ALL these videos, and I stopped on the above-embeded video. And… it just is amazing, nonetheless. I feel like I can relate to him so much. Where was he before when I needed him? [ROFL]

Anyway, it’s almost midnight and I want this post up before tomorrow, so I’m cutting off now. I’ll write another tomorrow.

Peace out, love, and sausages. : D

The World of Vitas.

I’m back to typing in a blog I tend to forget I have sometimes.

But hopefully now that school’s done for the year, I’ll have more time to focus on some stuff, and maybe I can really get this blog going. I’m still not sure what its purpose is yet, so I’m just gonna continue down the train of RANDOM stuff, for now. Maybe something will inspire me.

I surf YouTube, a lot. I come across a lot of videos sometimes.

Enter the world of Vitas.
All I can say is that he’s pure amazement. Words can’t fathom the amazement. And, it’s amazement in 5 octaves.
He was born in Latvia in 1980, and is a well-renowed Russian singer, and is expanding his horizons to other parts of Asia. Needs to find his way to America.

And yes, he is a male, ladies and gentlemen. Countertenor to be exact.

This is him singing his infamous “Opera #2″. I like it, after listening to it DOZENS upon dozens of times. It’s sung in Russian, so don’t expect to understand what he’s singing, unless you speak Russian.

Some people say that he doesn’t do this song performance live, that it’s done lip-synching. I have to say this: after watching this video, along with other videos, and seeing how he moves the microphone away from his mouth, sound stops, and all that jazz, then moves it back….. if taping and syncing can keep up with all of that, then what am I doing here at my computer? Sign me up for a record deal!

All seriousness, I have no doubt he does these things in real-time, live as a heartbeat. If you listen to his voice, you can just tell it’s not being synched. Each voice has a significant, what I call, “live feeling” to it. I dunno if being a music major and having ear-training makes me hear these changes very closely, but when I listened to this I had no doubt he did it live. The very first one I watched by Vitas may be questionable. And that one has editing anyway, so that could simply be a dub-over. I dunno. But I’m sticking up for the man. He’s amazing.

Also, go listen to this other song too. Except for an editing flop at the end, I think this is pretty sound as well.

Pretty well. Except for I’m sure it’s bloody cold out there. : )

Well I’m off to do things, like prepare for bed, shower, and prepare for a gruesome stretch and workout in the morning. I’m not sure about an early-morning workout, but a workout nonetheless.

Until Next Time…..

Don’t forget to buckle up…. when traveling 545mph, 35,000 feet in the air.

Welcome to 2009.

It’s definitely been a while since I posted anything here. And while I love this site, I’m almost positive that I need to write more stuff here.

So, the topics for the day:

- Welcome to 2009!

- Barack Obama takes office in 4 days.

- I can’t think of much else. [Insert it here.]

So. Let’s start.

Welcome to 2009!

It’s kinda weird, thinking that the only thing that’s changed is that the “8″ has turned into a “9″ and it makes everything so… different. But, when you think about it, it is a different experience now. You have 365 days to make a change, to make a difference in the world. If you didn’t get to it in 2008, 2009 is your year, right?

I don’t really do New Years Resolutions. Normally, I don’t do them. Or, at least I’ll start them and then get to February and ditch them in the water like they don’t matter. Because they don’t. Normally, the New Years Resolutions I make don’t really forition to much of anything anyway, so it’s not big deal, at least for me. BUT, I do make goals. Goals are better for me to keep, because I’m very goal-oriented to begin with. Needless to say, goals are better for me.

Goals:
- Lose a good amount of weight. Maybe I can wear decent jeans now.
- Become a better, well-rounded person. I’m already well-rounded… just wanna get better at it.
- Become more out-spoken. Speak up for what’s on my mind.
- Figure out the Relationship Department of my life. See where that leads me.
- Stick to the true me, overall. That’s the most important goal in mind.

Hopefully I can keep these goals. I’ve got 365 days (well, from January 1st) to do it.

Barack Obama takes office on January 20th.

I do believe that this will be an interesting 4 years, and I’ve viewed this from both sides.

I view it from both sides because, if you think about it, as a Moderate, I have the idea, and the knowledge, to be very versatile. In that aspect, I’m perfectly OK with the fact that Obama’s taking office. Not to mention, he’s in there for the next 4 years so it’s not like there’s much anyone can do. I’m glad the hubbub surrounding this has fallen down, although in the next 4 days it’ll pick up again, I’m sure. Facebook is connecting with CNN to broadcast the Inauguration live. I dunno if I’m going to watch it or not, I guess it just depends on my schedule and my current interest level. I’m SURE my family will be tuning in LIVE to watch it, on whatever channel will come on. I mean, I’m making an effort to understand the workings of Barack Obama. I even bought one of his books.(I also needed reading material for my flight.) I haven’t ready much into it, but he seems like a good family man thus far. I have to give his props to that. I want to see him outside of politics first, before I dive in to what he plans to do.

I guess I’m giving him a shot. It’s worth it at this point. Not much else I can do, right? I mean, it’ll be 4 years before anyone can change it.

Other stuff?

The economy sucks. You don’t want to get me started.

MySpace is totally out. Everyone should get Facebook. It’ll make my life easier.

YouTube is my life now. You should check out the vloggers and people on there, like Blade 376, Carlkr, WhatTheBuckShow, Osomasters, and whatever your heart desires!

OK, I think I’m done.
I’ll do this more often, like at the end of a busy work week.
Although I don’t have a job… even though being a full-time student is like a job, right?

Any ideas behind the posted? Leave a comment.

OneRepublic. OneSound.

A couple of days ago, I was checking out my subscriptions list on YouTube, and I came across one of my subscription videos, which lead me to this music video.

Since that point, I’ve been listening to this song non-stop. Well, as much as I can. Right now I’m without computer. So I’ve been taking advantage of “my technology fees at work” and using campus computers. While it’s been nice, nothing compares to having your own laptop in your room.

At any rate, I think this video is amazingly awesome. It’s got a great beat to it, and…. need I mention, the lyrics are pretty amazing themselves:

“Apologize”

I’m holdin’ on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground.
And I’m hearin’ what you say,
But I just can’t make a sound.
You tell me that you need me,
Then you go and cut me down…
But wait…
You tell me that you’re sorry,
Didn’t think I’d turn around…
And say…

That it’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late…
I said it’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late.
Yeah!

I’d take another chance,
Take a fall, take a shot for you.
I need you like a heart needs a beat,
But it’s nothin’ new.
I loved you with a fire red,
Now it’s turnin’ blue…
And you say…
Sorry, like an angel
Heaven let me think was you…
But I’m afraid…

It’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late.
I said it’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late.
Whoa!

It’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late.
I said it’s too late to apologize.
It’s too late.

It’s too late to apologize. YEAH!
I said it’s too late to apologize. YEAH!
I’m holdin’ on your rope,
got me ten feet off the ground.

A further investigation into OneRepublic and I realized just how much I like their music. Where has this band been my entire life?

Look Around Us.

July 22nd, 2008.

That was my last entry here.

Don’t take for a minute, though, that I haven’t thought about writing something else here. It’s just been difficult for me to just… open up on a public forum. Although, now I do believe I can rise to the challenge and do what’s been placed in front of me. That, and I think I now have some stuff to write about.

For once.

It’s Thanksgiving Break, and every college student is off to spend the holiday with the family. Well, almost everyone. But regardless, people are deserting their college towns for a day full of football, turkey, and more food to stuff into your stomach than you care to imagine. Some are simply going home; others are taking to the skies, like myself [I'm going to California] to see family. Either way, you’re getting the hell outta dodge for something a little better than where you are right now.

So, I ask you:

What are you thankful for?

Each year, someone will ask me what I am thankful for, or what causes me to want to get up every morning and go through the day. I think someones we can forget about the simple stuff, the roots of ourselves.

We get so wrapped up in the college life, when all we need to do is sit down and smell the flowers around us.

This Thanksgiving hits me a little different than the last one. Last year my dad and I were at home, enjoying a quiet day. We went to the neighbor’s house for dinner, but we just spent the day indoors, enjoying life.

And up to that point, it was something I had completely forgotten to do.

Enjoy Life.

I spend a lot of time at school doing a lot of work, tending to others, or simply staying busy. I never take the time and the energy to simply sit down and enjoy the hand that life has given me. Even right now as I write this, I’m listening to an online lecture for one of my classes. I’ve gotten so skilled at splitting my attention I can do it without knowledge of such. It’s not scary, but at the same token, it gets pretty insane.

To not enjoy life at its prime — a second-year college student — is almost blasphemy. Yet I do it, on a daily basis.

I never sit and enjoy life.
I’m too “busy”.

Today as I drove home, I faced a rather cold morning. So cold it drove my engine temperature down.

But, in that coldness rose a beauty I cannot explain. As I drove past the many fields leading to the interstate, I examined all the built-in beauty around us. At the same time, I also noticed how easy it is to not notice it.

I think it’s time to take a glance at life, and just take it for face value.

Enjoy Life.

Take care, as always….

[Lanier3000]

The World of YouTube.

I’m definitely behind on my starting of this blog, but I have good reasonings, so bear with. I have something else in the works, so we’ll see where this goes. But for right now, this topic’s been heavy on my mind as of recent.

I’m sure everyone’s aware of the fact that Viacom has put in a juncture that they get access to YouTube accounts, including what they watched when they watched it, along with age, so on and so forth. Apparently it’s all because of the fact that people are watching shows on the ‘Tube versus watching them on TV, and Viacom wants to see just how much they’re losing to the internet. They just want a better idea as to the variety of people that watch content coming from Viacom, right?

Wrong.

How would you feel if you got on the internet one day, and all of a sudden, every thing that you thought was once private is now out in the open for someone to see? Will they let YouTube anonymize the information? I haven’t heard anything about that yet, but I’ll be sure to add it if I do. Frankly, I think it’s a load of crap, to be honest. I’m all for figuring out which demographic you appeal to most, but seeking ALL the information of people watching your videos? Going after it all? Do you think that’s really necessary, because I sure as hell don’t.

When I joined YouTube over 2 years ago, I did it because I began watching a lot of videos over a variety of subjects. And in that timeframe, I’ve amassed a great number of videos that I’ve watched (totally over 3,000 probably) and it’ll still grow as long as people make content on there that I find to be interesting to me. And unless my 21 subscriptions suddenly pull their channels, I don’t find that likely to happen soon. Even I have started uploading some videos that I’ve made, just to see if they will generate anything. I’m not really looking to find anything from it, at least not now. It’s just for fun for me. But I go there, primarily, because I don’t have to worry about all my actions being watched, or having Big Brother staring me down time and time again. I don’t have to worry about all the videos I’ve watched becoming open to some Big Company who just wants to play bully. The mere fact that someone can come along and do that makes me so mad it’s not even funny. I’m sure I’ve watched Viacom-owned content on YouTube in the two years I’ve been on here. But I’ve also watched the funny videos from the What the Buck Show and great collab videos all across the board, among others.

It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Another thing.

Hate on YouTube.

What’s up with that?

Remember those 3000+ videos I’ve watched? 99 percent of them were videos that I were actually interested in, videos that grabbed my attention in the first 5-10 seconds and kept it for the remainder of the video. I may not have left comments (I’m getting better at that) but I truly enjoyed them. But not once did I continue to watch a video that I know, within that first 5-10 second bracket, I would not like. OK, there were a couple of occasions where my opinion changed mid-video, but then I would stop watching and keep on moving. I wouldn’t keep watching a video I wouldn’t like.

If you watch a video that you don’t like, involving content you don’t like or don’t want to look at, you can’t blame that on the creator of the video. They’re being themselves (or acting out things that interest them) and, therefore, are portraying themselves wholeheartedly. And even those that are posted as clips from something else are of videos that interest them, and can be labeled as such.

So WHY do you feel it necessary to leave hate comments?

Why do you feel it necessary to leave comments riddled with “You’re gay” or “go f*** yourself” or stuff like that?

It just does not make sense to me. AT ALL.

Now, I’m not saying that hate doesn’t exist, so don’t pull that from this. I receive some form of hate constantly. Not on a daily basis, but enough to where it’s just a stop sign on the road: I stop and then proceed onward. Not to the extent of the abovementioned, but I think you saw my metaphor. If not, email me and I will send it to you.

I cruise around the ‘Tube from time to time, checking out all sorts of videos. Sometimes I don’t even watch the videos…. I’ll go straight to the comments. And almost every time, I’ll find one video where multiple people will leave a comment nowhere related to the video, but trying to take a stab at the person who made the video. Sometimes it’s accompanied by agreeing comments, but there are people who will defend the maker of the video, or bring up the same fact that I’m bring up now. And I agree. It makes no sense to be putting someone down for a video they made when you obviously clicked on the video, and you obviously took the time to watch it. And if you didn’t watch it and just left the comment, then you’re just a retard in need of some serious psychiatric evaluations.

All I’m saying is to just remember that you have the option to watch whatever video that pleases you. And you also have the option to not watch any video you don’t think would strike your interest. Obviously there’s a reason you watched a particular video, or else you wouldn’t have clicked on it. If it came up in a search, the video title, a still image, and part of the video description are available to you at a click. You don’t have to open the link, and you don’t have to watch the video. Options remain to you to keep on moving.

But you insist on clicking it, and comments insue.

You think it’s funny? Watch…. someone’s gonna get mad once, and it’s gonna be all over. It’ll send that one person over the edge and then it won’t be so funny anymore.

Maybe then it’ll make more sense.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to my roots on YouTube. Leaving comments on videos I like, messaging my favorite people and saying thanks for making great videos, and just keep on moving. It’s all I can do. I’m one in a billion, and I can speak for myself.

Not everyone else.

Until Next Time,

[Lanier3000]

New Age Maybe?

I felt REALLY strange the other day.

Something was telling me to put my voice out there, like a medium of sorts.

And even now, I’m not exactly sure what I’m about to step into, or even if people will read it.

First off, if you wanna know more about me, check out my page “Who Am I?” at the top. Saved me from having to write a whole entry in regards to my person.

I guess I just want to run out there as another human to voice his opinion on things, if there is one. Movie Reviews, Life itself, it doesn’t matter. I guess it’s just time for me to go out there, and write what I want. Without having to worry about people telling me “You’re attacking me…” or “That’s not fair” or something like that. No, it’s not fair to me. And it’s about damn time I start to stand up for myself.

Now, what to write about…. hmm…. that’ll come later.

Take care, as always.