MANtage

YouTube was made for Barats and Bereta.

Get inspired

I can't decide if this two minute video montage of 40 inspirational movie clips is more inspirational or humorous. Whatever it is, it's short and fun to guess which movies the clips come from and whether or not you've seen them.

The editor shares his story and transcript here.

Kermit and Joey

Over the past two years I've been surprised to discover how Sesame Street is no longer the universal part of childhood it used to be. Whenever I find a reason, cultural, educational, or otherwise, to reference the iconic show to my students, I get dumb, blank stares.

Unable to connect with my students over MY favorite childhood TV show, I've taken to scouring YouTube for memorable Sesame Street clips. This first clip is my favorite. Of course, the Cookie Monster gimmick is cute, but the final seconds where Kermit and Joey kiss and make up is endearing.



Two is better than one, so I present another classic Kermit and Joey clip. As they count their way to 20, it's especially cute how Joey tries to change the subject by commenting on Kermit's eyes. In the words of one YouTube commenter, it's like she's stalling because she can't remember what number comes next.

Feliz Cumpleaños

Originally uploaded by digitalnut One day a couple of weeks ago, while waiting for the lunch bell, I asked my 3rd grade class if they'd like to learn how to say anything in any language. New to my games, their answers were a blend of yeses, nos, and uncertainty. Perfect.

I said, "Ask me how to say anything in any language."

They said, "How do you say anything in any language?"

I said, "Anything in any language," and waited.

Some got it, but most did not. Before everyone caught up, I said, "OK, this is real. Now I'll teach you how to say, oh, happy birthday in Spanish."

I said, "Ask me how to say happy birthday in Spanish."

They said, "How do you say happy birthday in Spanish?"

I said, "Happy birthday in Spanish."

Most everyone got it by now, and there was laughter all around. As we waited for the lunch bell, we practiced other random phrases in random languages. Their eyes lit up with mischievous glee when I suggested that they wow their parents with their new found skill. I've been amused to hear, with varying degrees of success, how their own stunts went.

Fast forward to last Thursday when I was sitting in restaurant recounting this tale to a friend, also a teacher. At the very moment when I said, "How do you say happy birthday in Spanish," an old woman carrying a baby walked by our booth. I believe she was Mexican.

Overhearing but misunderstanding the context of my question, she paused and turned to us and sweetly interjected, "Happy birthday in Spanish is Feliz Cumpleaños," and then walked away.

I love helpful people.

Boom De Ah Dah!

Color me giddy that I found the expansive Discovery Channel Boom De Ah Dah! commercial on YouTube.

It's especially enjoyable if you follow and love, as I do, some of the shows in the clip, like Dirty Jobs, Man vs. Wild, and MythBusters.

And who doesn't love Stephen Hawking? See him in the last 6 seconds.

Cool.

Weekly recap

With a great week of blogging in the bag, here's a recap of posts.

Story of the week: The party is over

Picture of the week: Korean bathroom instructions

Video of the week: Brian & Katie's evolution of wedding dance

Link of the week: TV buff goldmine

TV buff goldmine

www.tv.com

If you're a movie buff, you must be a TV buff, too.

Becoming a TV buff requires a website. I present www.tv.com. I use it daily to track when episodes from my favorite series play, the names of episodes, and to read up on facts and trivia about series and episodes. Like IMDb, www.tv.com is broad and deep and authoritative.

Brian & Katie's Evolution of Wedding Dance

The first minute and a half of my favorite video this week is dull, but it gets better.

Watch it.

The original Evolution of Dance is equally entertaining. (95 million views can't be wrong!)

Korean bathroom instructions

How to use a urinal
Originally uploaded by digitalnut

One day, while strolling through the TechnoMart in Seoul, I felt the call of nature. While answering said call, I was faced with the above picture. Though I can read Korean, I couldn't understand the words, but I had no problem understanding the graphics.

How about you?

The party is over

Good Bye Chuncheon
Originally uploaded by digitalnut

I'm just shy of two years home from Korea. In some ways, returning to Utah was the right decision: I regained a small portion of my sanity, I proved myself as a capable, appealing teacher on my home court, and I even got back into the dating game (thanks to a helpful push).

In some other ways, though, I wonder if it remains right to stay home. The better money aside, the life of an expatriate teaching English in South Korea is simply more exciting, and I look at the number of pictures these days I take as exhibit number one.

I bought my first digital camera six years ago, prior to visiting China for the first time. Since then, I've organized my photos on my computer by year and month. Though I was an aspiring photog from the beginning, it took a while to reach my monthly average of 300 - 400 pictures a month, which is where it stood two years ago.

Since returning home, I'm lucky if I average 50 a month. I concede we're always surrounded by a multitude of picture taking possibilities, but going from exotic Asia to ordinary America has left me uninspired. Out of habit, I still carry my Canon PowerShot S50 everywhere, but I'm ashamed to admit it often lies forgotten in the bottom of my backpack.

"So," an old friend recently asked, "why don't you go back to Korea?"

Perhaps I could rejoin the dating scene back in Korea, though I'd have to give up living my beloved 춘천 (Chuncheon - see the highway sign in the photo). Perhaps I could take a leave of absence from getting my teaching credentials, though the folks at the USOE ARL office would probably say no. And perhaps I could even find a job in Korea, given my experience, that doesn't require me to take entry level pay and work entry level hours.

Those are a lot of uncertainties I'd be willing to take if it wasn't for the nagging feeling I have that I'm trying to recreate the perfect party. You know how it goes: with apparently little planning or forethought, you and a friend throw a perfect party. The friends, the food, the drinks, the atmosphere, it all comes together and even becomes legendary as the perfect party.

Later, in an attempt to recreate the fun, you try to recreate every element of said perfect party to no avail. Something about that first party will always remain elusive because you've elevated it beyond what it actually was and closed yourself off to a new experience.

In some ways, I prefer to preserve my memories of Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan as they are in my mind right now: the perfect party.

Movie buff goldmine

www.imdb.com

I can't recall when or how I discovered The Internet Movie Database, but it's been a favorite resource at least since I first ventured to South Korea in 2002. IMDb contains such a breadth and depth of movie information, it's a wonder more people (besides Carly and me) don't seem to know about it.

With data such as release dates, actors, quotes, trivia, goofs, ratings, reviews, and plot summaries, anyone with the desire can pass himself off as a movie buff. I'm half convinced Laura Holt and Remington Steele used IMDb to verbally spar with one another and find similarities between their latest case and their favorite Hollywood classics. Never mind Al Gore had yet to invent the Internet in 1982. (Wow, I researched and learned he sort of did invent the Internet. Sneaky bastard.)

Aside from tracking an actor's movie career or reading about the hidden goofs in a movie, the slickest thing I've discovered to do on IMDb is to search for movies two actors starred in together. Can't recall what movie Edward Norton and Brad Pitt starred in? Go, for example, to Edward Norton's filmography page, scroll to the bottom of the page, and enter Brad Pitt. The search leads to Fight Club (a great movie).

Lest one mistake my efforts to promote the benefits and enjoyment of stuffing your head with movie trivia with Hollywood adoration, I can only say I don't. Clever, huh?

Late to the game

Though I'm really nothing more than a typical consumer of electronics, I take a certain amount of pride in being an early adopter. I bought my first digital camera, a Canon Powershot A40, in May 2002 (it had 2 megapixels). I bought my first MP3 player in early 2003 (it held 512MB). I bought and still use my excellent 40GB iRiver H140 the following year. And while I still don't own my own Mac, I gave up on Windows in favor of the new Intel Macs more than 2 years ago.

The list of software and Internet services I adopted before every other schmo is even longer: Picasa (way before Google noticed), P2P, Skype, Ceiva, Firefox, Flickr, del.icio.us, and more. Oh, and Blogger: I starting blogging in mid-2002 before most anyone knew what a blog was.

Many of the services I used had a social networking element, especially since Web 2.0 became big 2 years ago, but none of my friends, acquaintances, or family shared my interests enough to convince me social networking worked. Making them work seemed like too much work.

When I heard the buzz about MySpace and Facebook, I was skeptical. Something about the missionary zeal with which people tried to get other to join turned me off. With school out for the summer though, I've been bored, so I signed up for Facebook.

Then, zoom! Within 36 hours I had 14 friends, real friends, people I've fallen out of touch with, people I might not have been able to find otherwise. It's all very exciting. And life-affirming. I mean, I feel so popular.

And now I want you to join. Won't you please join my newfound cult? Please? Everyone's doing it. Even me.