Episode 1

As promised... the first full episode of Cool Ideas (DPSBS Productions).

Chicken Run

http://www.queerty.com/hen-now-a-cock-20081028/
I wonder how the chicken feels about all this.

My New Friend

My roommates and I took a stroll to downtown Newport today. Many things had changed, there was a new fudgery, Empire had been renovated, and we found this little guy. I'm not sure of his purpose, but he seems to be a painted robot (in the middle of a crosswalk) possibly warning people to be wary of traffic. I'm still a little confused by my own explanation though, he's very small, almost unnoticeable, and a squished robot? Maybe you can make some sense out of it than I did.

Free Duck!

I'm up at school now! One of my roommates, Alli, moved in early this morning, and after she felt pretty settled we went out to Job Lot for some last minute cheap shopping needs where I found this wonderful offer.


















You not only get a bathroom double lamp, towel bar, hook, and ring but also a rubber ducky. What a deal!

Ultimate Spoons

The first of many...

And you can check out the group's youtube account here.

Subscriber Demographics

A fun favorite :D
"Objectifying women. Let's discuss it: not cool. End of discussion."
"Chocolate is my weakness."
"If I have to re-bedazzle this phone one more time!"

Silent Rave

A few of my friends and I agreed to meet up in the city for Union Square's second "Silent Rave." It was first held this past April and now on August 17th 2008. What's a silent rave you ask? WELL, in short, it's a statement on how we should rid society of certain standards; if you want to dance in public, do it.
At 5:28pm participants were instructed to begin dancing to the music on their iPods. People danced the way you'd expect them to when they're all alone. Hundreds surrounded you all in consumed by their music playing, everyone in a different world. Whenever a song ended you were immediately struck at how oddly quiet it was. Many strangers approached us asking what was going on; the best response being, "we just wanted to dance." We danced alone and together. We had to take a break and grab a quick dinner before going back and dancing some more. We left early, around 9:45pm. I'm sure the dancing continued past midnight, but with a small croud (many had work the next morning).

To read more about the Silent Rave:
ABC News Story
Facebook Event
Facebook Group

Poland Dorms

The college students of Poland may be my new favorite people. I found the SKNMOS's youtube account after seeing one of there videos. It showed (just as this) a dorm building gone wild, but playing Snake and some Pong at the end. Check that one out too if you can.

The Olympics

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/12/oly.kids/index.html
I believe our world has a whole lot of fixing up to do.

Hmm, awkward.

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/ansett-airlines-p1.php

Dance Time

This is how we dance in summer school, y'all. Oh, we also waltz and samba, but that's not important now.

Vote '08

Please Play

This would probably look a lot nicer if I knew how to make the photos into a slide show. In any case, I got to go and see "Playing the Building," which I blogged about not too long ago. I'll put the instructions to the instrument below this blurb. I don't expect you to really read them or for it to make sense. Basically there were three different types of sounds: motors, hammers, and pipes. I really liked how everything was put together. It fit the building very well, it wasn't glamorous; the pipes looked warn and would have blended in anywhere in the city.

Hair Break

It seems that twice a week, instead of focusing on music (as it is a music camp) we take time out to have our own version of "Shear Genius." Most of the kids get involved and I've been the victim of it. Here we have Ms. Minnis' do. It was created and designed by our very own Allison W. I can't wait for next week...

Commitment Ceremony

Something I've been trying to get on my iPod for ages. You got to love Julie Goldman and Kate McKinnon.

Dollar

I found this dollar on the ground during the Sidewalk Sales. The next day I was gypped a dollar in a restaurant, so I guess it makes up for that transaction. And then I put it on WheresGeorge.com.

Heinz

I found this UK commercial vid a little less than a month ago. Sadly, I read that the commercial got two hundred and some complaints and they ended up taking it off the air. Soon after they decided that there was nothing wrong with the commercial but also chose to not re-air it. Oh, well. It was definitely cool of Heinz to make it in the first place.

Carnival of the Animals

Possibly my favorite musical work, "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens is performed by a small collection of instruments. I found this video and others by the same group of each movement. I immediately fell in love with the way they portrayed each animal and the creative changes made in "The Pianists." I suggest checking out the full youtube collection here.

Hot Sauce

Taco Bell, which has become the ultimate ranting venue for me and my friends, began producing a different sauce packet design a couple years ago. They all have short messages in the white space such as "Bike tires scare me." We check them every time, it seems that you get a selection of sayings depending on the Taco Bell you frequent. Some of my favorites include:
Not it!
At night the sporks pick on me.
I collect straws.
Where are you taking me?
And here's a sight with a few more where they're collecting the different packets they find.

Playing the Building

A short video showing just a few of the things that one can do with David Byrne's latest creation, "Playing the Building." Check out this sight for more information.

(Thanks Ms. Minnis.)

Labels

Yes, another one of my youtube shorts. It's a video response to this.

Dance

My friend at one of her performances last year. I'm glad someone captured this exact moment. The whole experience was beautiful.

First Vid

If these videos don't seem to make sense, they come from my YouTube channel, so I'm mainly speaking to that audience. Let me know if there's anything you want me to talk about in my videos. I'm open to most anything.

History

Lately, I don't feel comfortable unless I'm making history. I need to know that I made a significant difference in the movement. It's another opportunity to discover the wonders of volunteering.

Rube Goldberg Machine

Kendra sent this video to me a couple months ago. It's a recording of the Rube Goldberg Machine she made with a group in one of her classes. This was the first time they tried the whole system at once, and I believe she said theirs was the most successful. In any event, I was very impressed. I recommend youtube-ing "Rube Goldberg" and viewing some of the featured videos. Awesome job, Kendra!

Progress

I've been working on a string arrangement for Disney's "Kiss the Girl." Because Disney tends to be very secretive about their original scores, I originally started off of a basic piano and voice version to help grasp a little of what Alan Menken had written. Slowly I added harmonies and solos I heard in the original. I'm still working on a few parts, mainly in the instrumental section of the original and the ending. Here are the audio files of my progress thus far (oldest to newest).