...one of my videos has been BLOCKED on YouTube.
Now of course, technically, yes. My using the music on those videos is not within my rights.
But for heaven's sake. It's a family vacation video. If anything it's creating positive exposure for the artists in question.
And it's not the one I expected to be taken down first.
Who could have guessed that the Moody Blues would be coming after me? Yep. Day 1, 2007 Trip, "Highway". C'mon. Really? You're upset that I used "Highway"? It's not like I used "Nights in White Satin" or "Your Wildest Dreams" or anything they're actually KNOWN for...That video has probably gotten "Highway" more play than it's seen in years.
And to think I was doing a whole Moody Blues marching band show 9 years ago to the day.
Believe me guys, I am a prude for artists' rights. I don't even borrow CDs from my brother to put on my iPod any more.
How on earth is this harming you? It's a FAMILY VACATION VIDEO. I'm not making any money off of it. I think a total of 25 people even took the time to watch the thing.
I even gave full credit to the artists in the description. C'mon you people, I bought the stinking "Time Traveller" boxed set which wasn't even all that great. The cost of that has got to be worth the rights to that long forgotten song...
*Sigh* The society we live in has lost all common sense.
Comments welcome.
Matt
P.S. don't forget to look at the tookie video below if you haven't already.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
State of Things
Medical condition first:
I feel...okay. Not bad, but not normal. Just uncomfortable enough to keep me from being totally relaxed. Pretty sure that I am creating a fair amount of my own problems by overcompensating with other muscles, and now that those muscles are starting to get sore, everything feels out of kilter. Anyway, back to work tomorrow and we'll see if having other things to think about helps the situation.
The good news is: Had a very productive weekend. Got all the laundry in the whole house done. Did not eat a single meal out. Finished 9 videos and was able to page through my iPod for future possible music selections (this is a serious concern - I am starting to run out of useful music for these videos). Steph caught up on grading. Straightened up the downstairs several times to keep it in decent shape. Steph even cleaned up the bedroom a little bit, too.
State of the family?
Things are tough. It's a good thing we've got a solid foundation of love all around, because this pace is a killer. I've been telling people, it's not chaos, it's not running like mad from place to place, but it IS constant motion. There's never enough time for everything, and something or someone always gets shortchanged. I think we're coming to the realization that we just need to try to rotate around as much as possible so that the same things and/or people are not always the ones getting the short end of the stick. Fact is, sometimes you have to be a bad employee so you can be a good parent, and sometimes you just have to get work done and let the kids watch more tv than you really want to. AND sometimes you just have to let the whole thing go for a few minutes or a few hours so that you can remind yourself that you're still human.
So we're plugging along, doing our best to keep our heads above water. As I said, things are tough, but we're doing fine. And I know we're okay, because I still regularly have those moments when I look at one of the kids and am overwhelmed by what a blessing they are. Faith trying to read words now, Mari doing the Apple Tree poem, Robby's freakishly cute smile, Hannah blowing raspberries...it is still mind-blowing how lucky we are and how amazing our kids are.
Busy week ahead, preparing for our first weekend out in the travel trailer. Should be a lot of fun, and should have some great pics when it's all said and done.
Thanks for sticking with us - hope everyone enjoys the new vids.
Matt
I feel...okay. Not bad, but not normal. Just uncomfortable enough to keep me from being totally relaxed. Pretty sure that I am creating a fair amount of my own problems by overcompensating with other muscles, and now that those muscles are starting to get sore, everything feels out of kilter. Anyway, back to work tomorrow and we'll see if having other things to think about helps the situation.
The good news is: Had a very productive weekend. Got all the laundry in the whole house done. Did not eat a single meal out. Finished 9 videos and was able to page through my iPod for future possible music selections (this is a serious concern - I am starting to run out of useful music for these videos). Steph caught up on grading. Straightened up the downstairs several times to keep it in decent shape. Steph even cleaned up the bedroom a little bit, too.
State of the family?
Things are tough. It's a good thing we've got a solid foundation of love all around, because this pace is a killer. I've been telling people, it's not chaos, it's not running like mad from place to place, but it IS constant motion. There's never enough time for everything, and something or someone always gets shortchanged. I think we're coming to the realization that we just need to try to rotate around as much as possible so that the same things and/or people are not always the ones getting the short end of the stick. Fact is, sometimes you have to be a bad employee so you can be a good parent, and sometimes you just have to get work done and let the kids watch more tv than you really want to. AND sometimes you just have to let the whole thing go for a few minutes or a few hours so that you can remind yourself that you're still human.
So we're plugging along, doing our best to keep our heads above water. As I said, things are tough, but we're doing fine. And I know we're okay, because I still regularly have those moments when I look at one of the kids and am overwhelmed by what a blessing they are. Faith trying to read words now, Mari doing the Apple Tree poem, Robby's freakishly cute smile, Hannah blowing raspberries...it is still mind-blowing how lucky we are and how amazing our kids are.
Busy week ahead, preparing for our first weekend out in the travel trailer. Should be a lot of fun, and should have some great pics when it's all said and done.
Thanks for sticking with us - hope everyone enjoys the new vids.
Matt
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tennessee Videos Complete!
Yahoo! Got all the Tennessee videos done a few hours ago! Not bad work for a couple of days.
Let's see...that means all I have left to do to be 'caught up' is Mari's 2nd Birthday, Christmas 2007, The little snowstorm of 2008, Easter 2008, Faith's 4th birthday, Faith's 3-year old preschool Graduation, babies' first bath, babies' first foods, babies' first time in the bumbo and exersaucer, and playing in grandma's wading pool...
I think that's it, anyway...hmmm...I'm sure I've missed something, though...
*sigh*...why can't I just put pictures in a photo album like everyone else...
Oh well, be checking that video bar, the remainder of the Tennessee videos are uploading soon!
Matt
Let's see...that means all I have left to do to be 'caught up' is Mari's 2nd Birthday, Christmas 2007, The little snowstorm of 2008, Easter 2008, Faith's 4th birthday, Faith's 3-year old preschool Graduation, babies' first bath, babies' first foods, babies' first time in the bumbo and exersaucer, and playing in grandma's wading pool...
I think that's it, anyway...hmmm...I'm sure I've missed something, though...
*sigh*...why can't I just put pictures in a photo album like everyone else...
Oh well, be checking that video bar, the remainder of the Tennessee videos are uploading soon!
Matt
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Morning after
Hello all. I am enjoying some time off. The procedure was uneventful, and I feel pretty much normal. Just trying to take it easy.
Already got 2 new videos done! Check em out above and on YouTube - the drive down to Tennessee, and the pics from our tubing trip. You better darn well enjoy the first one - Ulead Video Studio shut down on me after working on it for about an hour and I lost everything - apparently the autosave decided to quit working, too, so I had to 'reconstruct' my work from memory - pretty annoying - and as you can tell, the clips are pretty connected with the rapid music style changes. (The background behind the album that this music comes from is really interesting - check it out here.)
So, keep checking back - more videos should be on the way soon!
Matt
Already got 2 new videos done! Check em out above and on YouTube - the drive down to Tennessee, and the pics from our tubing trip. You better darn well enjoy the first one - Ulead Video Studio shut down on me after working on it for about an hour and I lost everything - apparently the autosave decided to quit working, too, so I had to 'reconstruct' my work from memory - pretty annoying - and as you can tell, the clips are pretty connected with the rapid music style changes. (The background behind the album that this music comes from is really interesting - check it out here.)
So, keep checking back - more videos should be on the way soon!
Matt
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
TMI...no not really.
What do you mean, 'Matt's gonna kill me?'
It's all good. I think 'The Procedure' is the best way to phrase it, and it's how I think I've referred to it in previous posts. Anyway...29 hours to go.
The good news for you the reader is that I will be off my feet and responsibility-free for a couple days with lots of time to post. I plan to do some video work and some trip research work...I've refrained from posting too much info about the developing Summer 2009 trip because I don't want to jinx it, but I think that all the pieces are finally in place and it's safe to start talking about it.
Anyway, that's all starting tomorrow. Right now I'm stuck in that mixed blessing mindset of being in the middle of a short work week that I've been looking forward to for a while...but no matter what you do, it's still Tuesday. Expect more info, more videos, pretty soon.
Matt
It's all good. I think 'The Procedure' is the best way to phrase it, and it's how I think I've referred to it in previous posts. Anyway...29 hours to go.
The good news for you the reader is that I will be off my feet and responsibility-free for a couple days with lots of time to post. I plan to do some video work and some trip research work...I've refrained from posting too much info about the developing Summer 2009 trip because I don't want to jinx it, but I think that all the pieces are finally in place and it's safe to start talking about it.
Anyway, that's all starting tomorrow. Right now I'm stuck in that mixed blessing mindset of being in the middle of a short work week that I've been looking forward to for a while...but no matter what you do, it's still Tuesday. Expect more info, more videos, pretty soon.
Matt
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Busy Fun
Good weekend. Friday night was nothing unusual. Just hangin' out as a family at home. I managed to stay awake for the first 45 mins of the presidential debate. I'm impressed I made it that long!
Saturday morning was the usual round of going to Kindermusik craziness. I got to go with my sister for her "practice" hair and makeup for her wedding. Both looked gorgeous and very princess-y! Matt's parents worked their tails off helping him get the first 2 of our 4, overgrown, half-dead, nasty bushes out of the front yard in front of the house. The ground is SO dry that even tying 250 lb ropes to the bushes and tying those to B & K's massive Suburban broke the rope! So, they cut them down as far as they could and used the chipper to make mulch out of it. 3 hrs later, the front of our house looked pretty different! It'll probably be months before we're able to get everyone together to get the other 2 bushes out!
Today, Matt took the kids to church/Sunday School while I *blushes* did grocery shopping. The power outage a few weeks ago totally messed with our budget and I'm trying so hard to make up for it w/ out wasting money! This evening after dinner (and ANOTHER miserable Bengals loss), we went to a great park in Clifton that overlooks downtown Cincy. The big girls had a great time (it's been a few weeks since we've been to a park) and the babies seemed to like being outside.
The babies are still doing great with their rice cereal. Robby has to have his hands held down as he really wants to put them in his mouth WITH the ceral. Sheesh. Hannah, last night, took a good mouthful, sloshed it around in her mouth and then spit it out. Matt said she did a little better tonight, though. Robby continues to perfect his rolling abilities and Hannah her grabbing abilities.
The big girls are doing well, too. Mari's ear infection seems to be improving (after antibiotic #2) and Faith's possible environmental allergies seem to be under control (thank you Children's Claritin!). They both look forward to their preschool days -- Faith even has HOMEWORK now as she begins her "Letter of the Week" program at school!
Guess that's it for now. Busy week this week -- we do the "walk through" for our new travel trailer and Matt has his...procedure (he's gonna kill me). More on both later.
Steph
Saturday morning was the usual round of going to Kindermusik craziness. I got to go with my sister for her "practice" hair and makeup for her wedding. Both looked gorgeous and very princess-y! Matt's parents worked their tails off helping him get the first 2 of our 4, overgrown, half-dead, nasty bushes out of the front yard in front of the house. The ground is SO dry that even tying 250 lb ropes to the bushes and tying those to B & K's massive Suburban broke the rope! So, they cut them down as far as they could and used the chipper to make mulch out of it. 3 hrs later, the front of our house looked pretty different! It'll probably be months before we're able to get everyone together to get the other 2 bushes out!
Today, Matt took the kids to church/Sunday School while I *blushes* did grocery shopping. The power outage a few weeks ago totally messed with our budget and I'm trying so hard to make up for it w/ out wasting money! This evening after dinner (and ANOTHER miserable Bengals loss), we went to a great park in Clifton that overlooks downtown Cincy. The big girls had a great time (it's been a few weeks since we've been to a park) and the babies seemed to like being outside.
The babies are still doing great with their rice cereal. Robby has to have his hands held down as he really wants to put them in his mouth WITH the ceral. Sheesh. Hannah, last night, took a good mouthful, sloshed it around in her mouth and then spit it out. Matt said she did a little better tonight, though. Robby continues to perfect his rolling abilities and Hannah her grabbing abilities.
The big girls are doing well, too. Mari's ear infection seems to be improving (after antibiotic #2) and Faith's possible environmental allergies seem to be under control (thank you Children's Claritin!). They both look forward to their preschool days -- Faith even has HOMEWORK now as she begins her "Letter of the Week" program at school!
Guess that's it for now. Busy week this week -- we do the "walk through" for our new travel trailer and Matt has his...procedure (he's gonna kill me). More on both later.
Steph
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Rice Cereal and Work Observations
Well, the kitchen just got a lot more crowded, and mealtime just got a lot more complicated. Two highchairs, two babies, two bibs, two bowls of rice cereal for the first time.
Pretty typical. Both were interested. Very interested. In fact they both kind of went crosseyed trying to focus on the spoon as it got closer to their mouths. Spit most of it back out, but definitely were trying to eat and were not unhappy at all. A good beginning. But I have to say that I find the thought of mealtime now a little stressful. Oh well...I hardly notice the logistics necessary to get them both to bed any more...I'm sure it will only be a matter of time until the insanity becomes routine. Took the usual video, and we'll post it as soon as we're able.
Meanwhile, got observed at work today. Was really stressed out about it, too. I mean, it's always a little intimidating when the boss stops by to watch you work, but this time was particularly unnerving for some reason...not sure why. Makes me wonder...maybe people from other walks of life can answer this question: I know that just about everybody goes through 'employee reviews' and whatnot as part of their job...but how many other jobs are there where your boss just comes in and sits there and watches just you doing what you do, taking notes all the time? I'm trying to picture in a corporate setting the boss just plopping down in someone's cubicle and in effect saying "Don't mind me, just keep doing what you're doing" and then watching them like a hawk for 45 minutes. I don't think it works that way.
Anyway, it went well. Kids behaved, lesson didn't flop. Nice to have that off my shoulders for the time being.
That's all for now. Again, end of next week I hope to have a lot of time for video work and hopefully some of the fruits of that will be manifest here on the blog.
Matt
P.S. I know that at least one person just discovered the blog for the first time. Hi, Mrs. H, nice of you to stop by. Literally!
Pretty typical. Both were interested. Very interested. In fact they both kind of went crosseyed trying to focus on the spoon as it got closer to their mouths. Spit most of it back out, but definitely were trying to eat and were not unhappy at all. A good beginning. But I have to say that I find the thought of mealtime now a little stressful. Oh well...I hardly notice the logistics necessary to get them both to bed any more...I'm sure it will only be a matter of time until the insanity becomes routine. Took the usual video, and we'll post it as soon as we're able.
Meanwhile, got observed at work today. Was really stressed out about it, too. I mean, it's always a little intimidating when the boss stops by to watch you work, but this time was particularly unnerving for some reason...not sure why. Makes me wonder...maybe people from other walks of life can answer this question: I know that just about everybody goes through 'employee reviews' and whatnot as part of their job...but how many other jobs are there where your boss just comes in and sits there and watches just you doing what you do, taking notes all the time? I'm trying to picture in a corporate setting the boss just plopping down in someone's cubicle and in effect saying "Don't mind me, just keep doing what you're doing" and then watching them like a hawk for 45 minutes. I don't think it works that way.
Anyway, it went well. Kids behaved, lesson didn't flop. Nice to have that off my shoulders for the time being.
That's all for now. Again, end of next week I hope to have a lot of time for video work and hopefully some of the fruits of that will be manifest here on the blog.
Matt
P.S. I know that at least one person just discovered the blog for the first time. Hi, Mrs. H, nice of you to stop by. Literally!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Power and 4 Month Checkup!
I'm typing this from our laptop in our home! We have power as of 4:40 pm today! Hooray!!! We were so excited and jumped and danced around. Ahh. Nice, quiet evening tonight. Only the sound of crickets. No NOISY, ANNOYING, LOUD generators from our neighbors. Only natural sounds. :-)
We went over to our friends' house for dinner (we brought over Subway) and when we got home, we put the kids to bed. I then went out to get some basic groceries. Went to our local Kroger that I love. Sign on the door said, "We will close at 11pm tonight to restock perishables and will reopen at 7am tomorrow." Went down the hill to Bigg's. No signs, looked pretty good, so I got what I needed. Saved the milk (the most important and needed thing, really) for last. It's in the back, left-hand corner, which of course is good product placement, right? Ugh. Absolutely and totally empty of milk. None at ALL. Oh except of course for the organic stuff. However, I am currently receiving WIC coupons, thank goodness, and can definitely not get organic milk on the coupons. Ugh. I ask the manager and he says that the milk was supposed to be there at 5pm that evening. It was 9:30pm. He's all, "But we have organic!" I was all, "Thanks but no thanks!". Ugh. Unbelievable! I wasn't able to waste 2 WIC tickets by getting everything on them except for the 3 gallons of milk!
SO I went to Walgreen's and got a gallon. At least the girls can have oatmeal and we can have cereal! Even though it was a frustrating outing, I am still just SO glad to have power!
BABY UPDATE:
Hannah and Robby had their 4 month checkup yesterday. Since Matt was still off school he was able to come and I was SO SO glad! Robby weighed 16 pounds and Hannah, 15 lbs, 3 oz! They're doing great! I don't remember their lengths, but Hannah was in the 70th percentile for babies her age and Robby "near the top"!!! Fantastic for Durkee-Specter babies! Perhaps they BOTH got Grandpa Durkee's height genes!!!
Steph
We went over to our friends' house for dinner (we brought over Subway) and when we got home, we put the kids to bed. I then went out to get some basic groceries. Went to our local Kroger that I love. Sign on the door said, "We will close at 11pm tonight to restock perishables and will reopen at 7am tomorrow." Went down the hill to Bigg's. No signs, looked pretty good, so I got what I needed. Saved the milk (the most important and needed thing, really) for last. It's in the back, left-hand corner, which of course is good product placement, right? Ugh. Absolutely and totally empty of milk. None at ALL. Oh except of course for the organic stuff. However, I am currently receiving WIC coupons, thank goodness, and can definitely not get organic milk on the coupons. Ugh. I ask the manager and he says that the milk was supposed to be there at 5pm that evening. It was 9:30pm. He's all, "But we have organic!" I was all, "Thanks but no thanks!". Ugh. Unbelievable! I wasn't able to waste 2 WIC tickets by getting everything on them except for the 3 gallons of milk!
SO I went to Walgreen's and got a gallon. At least the girls can have oatmeal and we can have cereal! Even though it was a frustrating outing, I am still just SO glad to have power!
BABY UPDATE:
Hannah and Robby had their 4 month checkup yesterday. Since Matt was still off school he was able to come and I was SO SO glad! Robby weighed 16 pounds and Hannah, 15 lbs, 3 oz! They're doing great! I don't remember their lengths, but Hannah was in the 70th percentile for babies her age and Robby "near the top"!!! Fantastic for Durkee-Specter babies! Perhaps they BOTH got Grandpa Durkee's height genes!!!
Steph
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