So, am I a YouTuber?

Awhile back I mentioned that I had started a new YouTube channel. I have had one before, a channel where I posted some personal projects, school assignments, some videos I'd done with my friends, etc. I'll link to that channel HERE if you're interested.

Anyway, I have wanted to make YouTube videos for ages now. I've thought about it off and on since probably 2011, 2012, ever since I'd really started getting into watching YouTubers on a regular basis. The problem was, I never had time, I was always in school, I had work, I had a lot of reasons why I never started.

And of course there's also the issue that I never felt like I would be any good at it, so I just didn't. I've let that feeling stop me from doing a LOT of things over the years, and I am working on getting over that.

When I started getting closer to the end of my time at Iowa State, I started thinking about it again, a bit more seriously this time, so I brought it up to one of my fellow writers at the Rotoscopers, Rachel Wagner, and she asked me if I wanted to co-host an episode of her podcast/YouTube show with her. Eventually we decided to review Doctor Who, and every week since then we have been talking about the new episodes of season 10 as they air. I'll link you to the latest one here so you can see how that's going.



That sort of let me test the waters before I fully committed to making my own channel and after a few weeks, I just decided to go for it. I had no more excuses. I was out of school, at the time I wasn't working because I was preparing some projects in order to apply for more internships, I had (some) free time, plus this would be a very good way to practice video editing, which I had been needing to do, so one day I just spontaneously decided to record a video and I put it up. And the next day I put up another one. A couple days later I did another.

I've now been putting up at least one video a week for over a month, and I am very close to being happy with them. I am of course, still self critical about most of it, but I think I am slowly improving, which is what I wanted. I still don't care for my on-camera presence very much, but I think a lot of people feel that way, and I just need to get over it.

Right now my channel is mostly movie reviews, I love reviewing things, as you can tell from all the time I've spent working for the Rotoscopers, however, I am open to experimenting with different kinds of videos. I just need ideas. The main reason, other than the fact that it's fun, that I am doing it for now, is to practice different video editing techniques, so the more things I do the better. Right now, the reason I have been so consistent with my output, is that I've started a series called Wonderland Wednesday. Every week I look at a new version of Alice in Wonderland, and there are a LOT of versions, so I have plenty of material.

When I first started thinking about this project, I really only thought there'd be like, 10 versions out there, but when I went to make a list, I found that there were far more than 10. However, I am a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, so instead of feeling daunted, I thought it would be a lot of fun to review them all.

This series started with me reviewing the 2010 live action Disney version of the story, because Rachel Wagner does not like it at all, and I do. She suggested that I review it to explain what I like about it, so I did.



The next version I decided to do was the 1999 version, because ever since I was a kid it has been one of my favorites.



After I did those two, Rachel told me that she really liked the 1933 version of the story, so I did that one next.



As you can tell from that video, I reference watching it with my cousin. Sarah is also a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, so I had decided that I would watch some of them with her before I reviewed them. However, the next week we watched the 1903 version of the story, and she absolutely loved it, so much so, that I asked her if she wanted to guest host the next episode with me, and she agreed!



We actually had so much fun that she agreed to keep co-hosting as long as we had versions she wanted to watch. We filmed two more episodes the next week, but due to computer cord issues, I had no power to edit with for a few days, so I filmed a quick review with my phone that week, and uploaded directly to YouTube. I am actually almost proud of that video, because I managed to make it through with very few stumbles, and I did it all in one take, with no cuts or edits. As you can probably tell from my other videos, I usually am normally heavily editing myself.



This week's video is another one with Sarah, but after my issues the last time, I ended up losing the micro SD card that I had filmed the other two videos on. So on Monday we got back together, and refilmed both of them. Then I stayed up until 4 this morning editing it to get it done in time. The first one here is the 1910 version, and the 1915 version will be out next week.



So that's what I've been up to recently. Am I a YouTuber now? I don't know. I make videos for YouTube, but I only have 6 subscribers, and one of them is me, one of them is my mom, and one of them is Rachel, so really it's more like I have three. :p I'm not sure what "Being a YouTuber" means, but if I'm not one now, I might be someday. Right now I am having a lot of fun with it, and I am getting a lot of practice in editing videos, as well as in Photoshop for the thumbnails. And since being a video editor (and graphic designer) is one of the jobs on my list of "Things I want to be when I grow up," I think the time I'm spending on it is time well spent. :)

If you have a YouTube account, I'd love it if you'd subscribe. I'm not one to ask that in every video, but since I'm mostly talking to friends and family here, I thought I'd ask this once. It would be nice to have a few more subscribers so it doesn't feel like I'm shouting into the void. :p You don't have to if you don't want to of course, but hopefully you'll get some sort of entertainment out of them. And if you like them, feel free to share them with your friends! Okay, now I am sounding like a real YouTuber so I'll stop. :)

I probably won't repost every video to my blog, but I'll probably do an update post every once in awhile to let you know how it's going. Right now it's going well, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this takes me!

Christmas Catch-Up

Can you believe it's almost the end of May and I still haven't gotten Christmas pictures up? I can...

I'm notorious for not getting pictures up in good time. Frankly it was a miracle that I got my graduation pictures up only a week after it happened. Maybe now that I've finished school I will be a little better about that kind of thing. Maybe. We'll see... :p

Anyway, on to the pictures from Christmas! Technically these are from New Years, as we didn't have Christmas until January, but most of them are from the present opening day.

Jackson! My most adorable nephew! He looks so little here! He's already so much bigger than this, and it was only like 5 1/2 months ago! What happened?

Presents 2017

The fam.

Aunt Ruth made us all new cowboy boot stockings to hang above the stove downstairs.

This one is mine. :)

Baby's first Christmas. :)

Christmas Paparazzi. :)

Literally. :p

Grandma and Jackson. :)

I have a feeling that most of these pictures today are going to be Jackson. :p

Did people get bored waiting for Jackson? :p

Jackson needed help opening everything. I got him these two books, but I think he enjoyed the colorful wrapping paper even more. :p

Daddy and Jackson. :)

Eva gave me a Mr. Rogers mug for Christmas. :)

His sweater changes color with heat!

I got a bunch of books for Christmas too. A Doctor Who Cookbook from Shaina, as well as a Doctor Who history book and the Atlas Obscura from mom and dad.

I tried to do a selfie with Jackson, but it wasn't entirely successful. :p

Okay, it was kind of successful. He's so stinkin' cute. :p

Grandpa and Jackson. :)

I found these pictures on one of my devices after most everyone had left. :p

And of course, the last pictures of the day were Jackson as they were leaving.

He's just too cute.

I have some other pictures from around that time as well, but I'll save them for another post. We'll see if I have some time tomorrow. Stay tuned! :)

Rotoscopers Roundup 5

It's been a while since I've done an update about my work at the Rotoscopers, last November to be precise! But I have written quite a few stories in the last six months, here is a list of all of them!

Announcement of the long awaited third season of Young Justice.

Review of Star Wars Rebels: The Holocrons of Fate.

Review of Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks.

Review of Star Wars Rebels: The Antilles Extraction.

Story about the new Cartoon Network short: Infinity Train.

I contributed to this Roundtable discussion of Disney's Moana.

Announcement of the voice cast for Disney XD's DuckTales reboot.

Blu-Ray Review of The Legend of Korra: The Complete Series.

DVD Review of Shaun the Sheep: Seasons 3 & 4.

Story about Netflix' new stop motion series: Buddy Thunderstruck.

Catch up review of Star Wars Rebels Season 3 Episodes 4-13.

Review of the Oscar Nominated Short: Pear Cider and Cigarettes.

Review of Star Wars Rebels: Legacy of Mandalore.

Story about director Hayao Miyazaki's un-retirement to work on a new film.

Review of Star Wars Rebels: Through Imperial Eyes.

First look trailer for DuckTales, plus announcement of an early second season renewal.

Announcement that Star Wars Rebels has been renewed for a fourth season.

Blu-Ray Review of Disney's 2016 version of Pete's Dragon.

Studio Ghibli Countdown: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Review of Star Wars Rebels: Double Agent Droid.

Review of Star Wars Rebels:  Twin Suns.

Review of Star Wars Rebels:  Zero Hour - Season 3 Finale.

Announcement of Cartoon Network's New Shows for 2017-2018.

Announcement for Steven Universe Return Date & Trailer.

Announcement for Netflix's New Carmen Sandiego Animated Series.

Announcement that Star Wars Rebels’ Season 4 will be the final season.

Review of Rugrats Seasons 1 & 2 DVDs.

Announcement that Lin Manuel Miranda has joined the cast of Disney XD's DuckTales.

TIIA 16 (The Internet is Awesome)

We'll start this of with Peter Hollens, amazing as always. I have always loved Celtic music, and when Peter does one, he makes it into something really special.



When Walk Off The Earth releases a new music video you never know what to expect, but it's guaranteed to be something totally different!



The other big walking themed group, Walk The Moon, recently released an amazing video as well. 80's & 90's kids should be able to spot a ton of references to a certain Robin Williams film from our childhood. :)



I recently discovered Tessa Violet, a YouTuber that I'd kind of known existed, but I'd never watched any of her videos before. I don't remember how I stumbled on her recently, but it wasn't long before I fell into (digital) love with her, thanks largely to this song.



I've listened to a lot of Doctor Who covers, and this is one of the best I've ever heard.



The Piano guys are so good. Not only is their music amazing, but their videos are so cool too!



Jon Cozart, aka Paint, has been making videos very sporadically over the last couple of years, but every time he does they go viral. It's not hard to see why. Now that he's out of school I'm hoping to see a lot more from him!



We'll close this out with an amazing video from Lindsey Stirling and an artist I'd never heard before this song, Otto Knows. I like what I'm hearing, and I hope he does more!

4071 (A Poem)

For this poem, I'm just going to post it here for you to read, before I give any context.

4071

I was there when we moved by box,
Long before we moved by light.

I was there when we ate to recharge,
Long before we plugged in to recharge.

I was there when we walked on grass,
Long before it was covered with metal.

I was there when we had children,
Long before we grew clones in tanks.

I was there when we looked to the sky,
Long before the shell was installed.

I was there when we had libraries,
Long before cranial downloads.

I was there when animals roamed the earth,
Long before we owned the earth.

I was there when the trees began to walk,
Long before we cut them down.

I was there when we were human,
Long before we weren’t.

So, as you can see, this is not your ordinary, every day poem. It has a meaning, and it's supposed to tell a story. Can you interpret the story?

That's what my class had to do, so I thought I'd let you all do so as well.

I thought about publishing the poem one day, and then the explanation the next day.

My classmates had to go a week without any clarification, so a day should be nothing. :p

But I guess I'll be nice and put it all in one post.

You all probably didn't want to do any homework today anyway. :p

This poem came from another writing prompt in class. I can't remember exactly what the prompt was, but I'm pretty sure we were supposed to write about a period of history from the eyes of someone who lived through it. Sort of looking back on history with the knowledge they had gained. I can't remember if the teacher mentioned writing about the present from the perspective of someone from the future, or if I came up with that on my own, but that is basically what this poem is. It's a bit of a grim future.

For the record, I don't think that the future will be in any way like this, I just enjoy speculative fiction and dystopian futures, so that's what I came up with.

I'll walk you though everything I had in mind when I wrote this, starting with the title. 4071. That confused everyone at first until they really thought about it. One of my teachers first thought it sounded like the model number of a tractor, (She grew up on a farm) or perhaps an address before she read too far into it. The simple answer is that it's the year that the poem is being written from.

I was there when we moved by box,
Long before we moved by light.

This line refers to cars, or some other car-like vehicle, and the "Light," is teleportation.

I was there when we ate to recharge,
Long before we plugged in to recharge.

This basically means that people no longer have to eat, they've cybernetically enhanced their bodies so that they just have to plug into a power source to get more energy.

I was there when we walked on grass,
Long before it was covered with metal.

In my imagined future, most or all of the earth has been covered over with metal. There is no grass left, at least, none where the author lives.

I was there when we had children,
Long before we grew clones in tanks.

This one is pretty self explanatory.

I was there when we looked to the sky,
Long before the shell was installed.

This one confused the heck out of everyone. In this future world, I imagined that humanity had built a shell around the entire earth. The shell keeps things like asteroids and aliens out, but there's not really a sky anymore.

I was there when we had libraries,
Long before cranial downloads.

This basically means that people download information directly to their brains instead of reading.

I was there when animals roamed the earth,
Long before we owned the earth.

This line refers to most animals being extinct. The ones that are left all live in zoos, there are no wild animals anymore.

I was there when the trees began to walk,
Long before we cut them down.

This line also confused everyone. This was another bit of far-out imagining on my part. I was just going to write about humanity cutting down all the trees, but then I had the idea to give it even more of a twist.

I was partially inspired by the Ents in Lord of the Rings, as well as by the Forest of Cheem in Doctor Who, but I imagined that in the far future, earth's trees became a sentient race, with intelligence on par with humans. Then there was a war between the races, and humanity won.

I was there when we were human,
Long before we weren’t.

This line was everyone's favorite part. Just about everyone circled it, or underlined it and wrote that it was brilliant.

Basically the author of the poem no longer views humanity as human anymore. They've added too much to their minds and bodies, and taken too much from the earth. Even himself, as he's lived for hundreds of years, and has been a part of everything. He thinks that humanity has done so much that they've lost the right to be called human.

Yes, this is a rather depressing poem, but I thought it was fun to write. Like I said, I don't think any of this is going to happen, I am far more of an optimist overall when it comes to thinking about the future, but I do like stories where everything is terrible and people have to overcome it.

I didn't write it as such, but in my head I imagine that after the author wrote this poem, it started a movement to restore the earth to the way it used to be. So if it helps, you can imagine with me that it eventually has a happy ending. :)

TIIA5 (The Internet Is Awesome)

Let's kick this off, the way I seem to start most of these, with a Lindsey Stirling video.



I have to say, I liked this video even better than the movie it was based on.

I haven't featured World Order in awhile, but if you don't remember, and haven't heard of them, just watch and marvel at their total body muscle control.



Next up is a YouTuber that I only recently discovered, Caleb Hyles, doing a medley from the musical, Wicked.



I bought this song before I'd even finished listening to it, and it's been in my current playlist ever since.

Peter Hollens recently covered Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and it was so good.



Incidentally, at the same time, his wife, Evynne, did a more traditional cover.



Let's end this with Player Piano again, this time with their version of the Doctor Who theme.



They've promised another Doctor Who video soon, I can't wait!