Today my blog turns Old. It's the big three-oh-oh for A Silvertongued Serenade. If the Internet could eat a cake, Silvertongue's would probably look like this:
But the Internet can't eat cake, so instead I made my very first video blog ever! Come take a virtual tour of my apartment, a.k.a. The Fishbowl II (fondly named after the Fishbowl we lived in last year).
Fan-freaking-tabulous it is not, but it is very orange and blue, which surely counts for something.
Presenting the long-awaited cheaptickets.com commercial contest video, starring Miss Rex and The Pantsless One (conveniently clothed for this episode)!
We were shooting for 50 grand but we didn't even make it into the finals. Hard to believe, eh?
But hey, 'twas a learning experience. Now I know how not to light a green screen, but that a decent one can be made for under $10. I know that you should never use the on-camera microphone, but that decent sound effects can be made with a little resourcefulness and imagination. And look at all the fun costumes I got to wear! (Oh god, I nearly died in that snowsuit under all those lights...)
Now let's play a game. With the exception of the flute playing in the Paris scene, all sound effects were created right in my studio (read: bedroom) with everyday household items. Who can figure out what I used?
Rome may not be the center of the world anymore, but try telling that to the eight million tourists milling around the Vatican. For the number of people here and for the diversity of language and race, it’s easy to forget that all roads no longer lead to Rome. But the bustle of the city also begs the question: Has Rome been too commercialized? Or does it still retain some of the ancient magic that made it a cultural hub years ago? I think the answer is, “both.”
I believe it’s important for people to come here and see the artifacts and sites. It provokes a connection and sense of reverence regarding history that can only be gained in a hands-on way. It’s mind-boggling to picture a group of people more or less like me erecting hundred-foot-tall stone columns at their public forums or the thousand arches of the Coliseum, not out of aesthetic ambition but for practical use. Just as I walk to the dining hall and then to the chapel and then to the library each day without a thought, the ancient Romans worked, ate, worshiped, played and studied in these majestic structures every day.
Imagining a population for whom these sights were ordinary offers a moving peek into history that we are fortunate to have.
Beyond even that, structures such as the crumbling Coliseum remind us that no earthly empire is everlasting, no matter how vast or powerful. I am reminded of the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which tells of a traveler who found the ruins of a huge statue. An inscription reads, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.” Ozymandias thought his kingdom would last forever. In the same way, people thought Rome would never fall. Neither is with us anymore. It’s not hard to imagine tourists visiting the United States in a few millennia to see what’s left of the Pentagon or Mount Rushmore. It’s a sobering thought, but I think people need to grasp the transience of all we take for granted – not only so we can appreciate the good things we have, but also so we can learn to hold those things loosely, assigning greater value to the intangible qualities of culture.
Yet on the other hand, the commercialized aspect of the tourist scene makes me cringe, and it’s more than the pressing crowds that make me feel that way. It seems somehow wrong to “go see the Vatican,” a place that was built to be holy and honoring to God. It’s not a museum. It’s holy ground (or should be). I’m glad the Pope still used it for his weekly message and that pilgrims still worship there. In this way, it is still being used for its intended purpose. On the other hand, I think the builders’ original vision for some of the other monuments has been lost.
But then, we have progressed. Maybe it is too much to ask that a new culture in a new millennium cling to the values of a culture so old we can hardly understand it. To the ancient Romans, watching lions eat Christians was quality entertainment. It would turn our stomachs today. For us, it would be sick to reinstate gladiatorial fights in the Coliseum, yet I believe it is a good thing to use that space as the public arena it was meant to be. I heard there was recently a concert there. Surely the designers did not intend for power chords to resonate through the stone arches. At the same time, this use of the Coliseum holds true to a purpose the architects may not have intended, but which is nonetheless as old as the structure itself: spectacle.
The real disrespect is the way vendors and con artists have turned the historical and religious sites into marketplaces and stages for robbery. Walking out of the Vatican, souvenir shop windows display tacky gold souvenirs plastered with the face of the Pope as if he were some flamboyant celebrity. It makes me think of the Bible story about Jesus overturning the tables in the sanctuary. It’s an even greater shame that portions of the city, including some of the most ancient sites, bear the artwork and tags of vandals.
All else aside, the fact that the new Rome reflects aspects of the greater global culture can hardly be pegged as a bad thing. Global culture values green space. One can see this in the city of Rome. As a matter of fact, the Italians have valued green space for centuries. In the center of the city you’ll find the gardens of the Borghese palace, a sprawling grassy space with paths for horseback riders and knolls for picnickers. Trees are scattered about and green and yellow birds fight scrawny brown squirrels for branch space. The gardens have been there for six hundred years, way before the rest of the world had even begun to create the pollution we are now desperate to eliminate with our city parks and nature reservations. Rome does not just open a window on ancient cultures; it spotlights today’s in a manner that even the culturally semi-literate can comprehend as a good thing, in spite of what may have been lost in the sweep of time and tourism.
------------------------------ And now for the much-slaved-over video, for which my video partner Tyler went to great lengths to procure a firewire cable (which connects the camcorder to the Mac) and for which he was pick-pocketed in the process:
This week's Scatterday post is all about things that should exist, but either don't, or can't.
First off, we've got scratch and sniff web pages (idea courtesy of Go-Co's student paper photo editor, Paul Wright). This would absolutely revolutionize the Internet! Imagine coming to A Silvertongued Serenade and smelling the tingly scent of a Christmas tree in December or the rich aroma of chocolate on Valentine's Day. Imagine reading Excavations of Claymore and being able to smell the drink I'm reviewing. Think of the marketing possibilities (like our country needs any help with that). Think of the social networking implications! What if you could go on Facebook and experience your significant other's signature cologne or perfume without him or her even being present?
OK, now that we've crossed the creeper line, let's move on to silent velcro! I got this one from the Narcoleptic. There's not much to say, really. Just think of all the times you've been trying not to wake up a roommate or spouse, peeling back the velcro on your briefcase or backpack or shoes at a glacial pace so as not to disturb them. And it would be so much easier to just change rooms and rip it open, but that would require actual movement, so instead you sit there in CCCHHHHHHZZZZKKKKKK-y agony just trying to get the damn thing open and get on with your day.
The last invention of the week is the two-sided Kindle. The Fishbowl and I came up with this one during story time, when we realized how terribly inconvenient it is to stop reading at the end of a page and hold up the picture for everyone else to see. And you can only hold it up for a second because everyone really just wants to get back to the story, so pictures get way less appreciation than they deserve. The Kindle technology is new, but I have every confidence that they could put a double screen on that baby that will display the text on one side and the illustration on the back for such reading-aloud scenarios. Every kindergarten teacher will love it!
And now, some other awesomeness that you should be aware of:
My friend Ravin is in the process of knitting one of these:
My other friend The Cuddle Rapist showed me this. If you have acid, now would be the time to drop it, but you don't really need any for this music video to be as trippy as a screaming hot dog.
I'll leave you with these words of wisdom from Switchfoot's frontman, Jon Foreman: "Hope is living in a world that doesn’t exist yet. Hope is seeing things as they are not. It’s not illogical. It is a dream. And it will come to pass."
Have a fabbity Sattaday! Peace, love, and Boston Rs, Miss Rex
The votes are in and the judges have (finally) spoken: with 2753 votes, my video placed 3rd out of 300-some-odd entries. For old time's sake, let's take one last look at this thing.
I was really pulling for second, and so was everyone I knew... and their mother... and their grandmother... and their friends on Facebook who I'd never even met. What I'm trying to say is, we put up one heck of a fight. Someone else just put up more of one. But third is nothing to be ashamed of! I had a great time making the video, I still won $250, and best of all, I've seen what a fabulous support system I have in my life. Take a look:
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Handle:Core Date:7/22/2009 2:28:35 PM Parents will never leave their college-bound children home alone again after watching this! Hilarious.
Handle:isaac Date:7/22/2009 3:16:16 PM I was all prepared to shrug but that was actually really funny!
Handle:bchambo Date:7/23/2009 12:20:40 PM Great job Mandie! Hope you win!
Handle:alyssagram Date:7/24/2009 10:30:43 AM This certainly expresses what you have to do to get to college with a witty style. I love it!!
Handle:Jeff Date:7/24/2009 11:37:39 AM Funny! Good luck!
Handle:Aunt Norma Date:7/24/2009 1:04:31 PM Your video is delightful! I especially liked when your Mom and Dad came in at the end. I'm going to try to vote each day. Good luck!
Handle:momma Date:7/24/2009 10:07:00 PM Love the video! What cute parents you have!
Handle:Friend BJ Date:7/27/2009 3:26:47 PM Great job - Mom and Dad need to do more shopping
Handle:granny betsy Date:7/27/2009 8:08:51 PM ohhh cant wait to see you at the next family gathering!! take care deary
Handle:mnoon Date:7/28/2009 12:21:13 AM Hey Mandie! This is awesome! I'm truly impressed; you absolutely deserve to win. This video made me realize doubly how much I miss you. I hope it won't be too long before I can come visit again! Love, your cuz, Mary
Handle:gardenart Date:7/28/2009 4:20:10 PM Great video! I had to watch it a few times to catch the little subtleties. Good concept, excellent editing and I love the soundtrack.
Handle:Dad Date:7/31/2009 10:19:28 PM 500!!!!! you did it
Handle:Mr Condescendin Date:8/11/2009 12:42:55 AM I do love this!!
Handle:aunt Deb Date:8/11/2009 10:51:48 AM we're voting!! Great job, Mandy. What attractive parents you have!!! Love,Debbie
Handle:Abby Date:8/12/2009 2:52:01 PM That was great! It made me laugh.
Handle:Judy Goodwin Date:8/12/2009 3:15:16 PM Clever idea! Well done.
Handle:lam Date:8/13/2009 3:12:40 PM I love the video, great job! You should win Manddi
Handle:gill Date:8/13/2009 6:18:32 PM Yay!
Handle:fan24f Date:8/18/2009 11:49:32 AM really liked your video you go girl
Handle:Lam Date:8/20/2009 2:27:00 PM Don't just watch it, remenber to vote for it too :)
Handle:art Date:8/21/2009 10:53:13 PM I loved the little touches like the part of the bike in the picture after the car was sold instead...
Handle:ZingZing Date:8/22/2009 4:03:46 PM Great video, so fun...its giving me ideas...mom, dad. LOL!
Handle:gillface Date:8/24/2009 3:11:30 PM Mandii, every time I go to vote it says I've already voted today!! For two of my e-mail addresses anyways
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My parents voted more faithfully than I ever could have asked. My congregation, extended family, professors, friends, faithful blog readers, and even complete and utter strangers supported me beyond anything I could have dreamed. What an amazing gift. Thank you all!
My video just went through, which means you can all start voting! It's 30 seconds long, so please take the time to watch it. Then vote vote vote! You can vote once a day through August 1st! This is very important; $5000 are on the line here. If you're feeling especially generous and have many followers, I implore you to repost to your blog so I can get even more views! Thanks!!
The third installment of my Life At College series. A bit belated, I know, but let's all enjoy reliving the memories, shall we? We're far enough removed to laugh about it now....
Installment four to be completed in the (semi) near future (i.e. hopefully before installment five starts up in August!)
I'm not a huge fan of this song, but I am impressed that they managed to make yet another cool video of nothing but the band playing their instruments. If you haven't seen the "Typical" video... I'd get on that if I were you. It's better than the "Spotlight" one.
Wow! Today was amazing! Prepare for uber-happy ADHD post of glee!
I worked on my book for about 5 hours and ironed out some mountainous wrinkles. They might still qualify as molehills, but that's what revisions are for, you know? So that was really satisfying. I'm getting close to done with Part One: Versitas. Sure, I'm borrowing a lot from the last draft, but don't worry: I'm not giving away any huge secrets this time around, which was the reason I had to scrap the 90-page draft I wrote over the summer.
I just want to hurry up and get to the good stuff! The villains. The sea voyages. The battles.
...the zombie unicorns.
Question of the day, and if you're reading, you better post your answer: what the flip does a zombie unicorn eat? Sure as heck that thing's not an herbivore.
So yeah. After working on my book all morning, I joined up with Cam, who wins the hero of the day award for how much help he's been with this PSA project.
Here's what the thing's going to look like. Fred goes to Claymore for coffee and an apple. When he gets outside, he finds Jeff sitting on a bench, typing on his brand new computer. After Jeff gushes over the amazing new user interface, Fred suggests a trade:his Macintosh apple for Jeff's Apple Macintosh computer. Then there are a couple graphic overlays encouraging viewers to buy fair trade coffee so farmers can make a living off their product. The final shot shows Fred running away with Jeff's laptop with Jeff in hot pursuit.
The reason Cam wins the hero award is because he helped me get the mass amounts of equipment I demanded, then he, Bean and Caitlin helped me figure out how to work it all. On top of that, he and Bean starred in the thing. Since they're really close friends, their chemistry was great and their acting sincere. The whole production was just FUN. In the reasonable time span of 3 hours, we had a lot of great laughs, a lot of great bloopers, and still managed to get all the shots I needed for the final video, which will be a lighthearted work of staggering genius!!! I'd love to follow up on the series idea and have Cam always be the kid that tries to rip people off. At any rate, we will definitely be working together on something in the near future. Expect great things.
Me: All right, we're going to do the chase scene one more time. This time, Cam, don't run so far. Make it the most cartoonish chase scene you could possibly imagine. You're not actually trying to get away, you're just running in circles around these trees to piss him off. Cam: Sweet. Bean: Can I throw the apple at his head?
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