I know its been a while since my last Vidcast. I've actually shot I think 2 others that never made it to the blog. Mostly because by the time I had a chance to edit them, they were outdated.
Here's a map of my incredibly wrong journey.
Yeah, it was a bit out of my way!
Anyway, had a Chris Tomlin private show last night. It was a good time. Pictures after the jump. I don't know what that means, but I always see "after the jump" in blogs so I thought I'd try it. Here they are:
This has nothing to do with the year 2000, but as I noticed on my viewer counter that I am nearing that 2000 views mark, I was excited, yet disappointed. 2000 views and only one $5 donation towards my bobblehead. For shame!
Only one more week til the Office Season 4 comes out on DVD. I believe I will be purchasing it from Best Buy for the extras it includes. My favorite Office-related blog (unless you want to count mine) has a listing of where you can buy season 4 and what they have to offer. Check it! www.officetally.com
I looked into it a little today, and decided I want one. But she's right, they are more pricey than I want to pay. The bobblehead to the left is about $89.00 plus tax and S&H. Besides gas, food, and rent, I've got a long list of things I'd like to buy before this, but I would love so much to be able to display this in my office.
So I came up with a solution. I checked out my feedburner stats and I average exactly 33 different viewers a day to this fine blog. My astounding math skills told me that if every one of those viewers gave me just $3 I would have enough to buy my bobblehead.
So I'm soliciting you. Every donation helps. If you would like to donate to the "Buy David a Bobblehead fund" click the donation button below. All transactions will go directly through paypal so no account numbers will have to be given out and all donations will be used only for their intended purpose. I will keep you updated on the progress and once the goal of $100 is met, I will take down the donation link and purchase the bobblehead. The suggested donation is $5 (not all of my viewers are actually people I know and I'm sure won't donate) but you can give as little or as much as you want. Oh, and when you make the donation vote for which bobblehead body you want me to get. You can view the choices here. Which ever body has the highest amount in donations wins!
My top 5 choices are: "Stud Bobblehead" "Casual Bobblehead" "Shorts and Tie Bobblehead" "Tough Guy 2 Bobblehead" and "Executive No Tie Bobblehead"
It all started with an innocent t-shirt. I was flipping through a magazine and I saw an ad for an $8 t-shirt that said "Better Off Alive". It was an ad for an anti-abortion website but what caught my eye was that it was a cool t-shirt. If anyone knows me, they know how much I love t-shirts, especially internet t-shirts. As guilty as I feel now, my honest thoughts were, "its a cool t-shirt and being political is trendy". I decided to take a look at the site so if anyone asked me about the shirt, I'd at least have a response. What I found put a whole new viewpoint on an issue that I have specifically tried to avoid having a viewpoint on.
I'm not going to apologize for my views on the matter, but I will apologize for getting political on a blog that is anything but. So this is your one chance to stop reading. This is going to be an anti-abortion blog and if you don't want to read about it don't. I don't want nasty comments on your views.
I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible and let the website do most of the talking for me, but there are a few things I'd like to talk about. The first is my callousness on the matter. Much to the dismay of my right-wing, evangelical family (which, don't get me wrong, I am very much apart of) I have to honestly say I've never had a strong stance on this matter. I've got my own feelings towards it ("No wife of mine will ever have an abortion," I've thought) but have opposingly felt "Your body, your choice. Stupid choice, but yours nonetheless."
Secondly, I'd like to address the ignorance I've had with the issue. As a strong Christian, there are certain things that science can't explain that I have to rely on my faith to believe in. One of these things being the question I've heard many times in the face of abortion issues, "When does life begin." Much to my surprise, this isn't an unanswerable question at all. Its a question, nearly every medical book agrees with. Life begins at conception. From the moment of fertilization, the tiny zygote has a genetic code all of its own. In fact, one of the first things to happen after fertilization is a weakening of the mother's immune system so it doesn't expel this "foreign body." Once you have determined that it is indeed a form of life, that ends all questions for me. I'm further baffled by cases where a pregnant woman is beaten or killed and that offender can be charged with murdering the baby. Or if a pregnant woman takes drugs or alcohol during a pregnancy and something happens she can be charged with "fetal harm". So basically we're saying as long as its intentional, its legal.
I'm more or less going to end it here and direct you to the website. Mostly because it can say so much more than I can. I feel the need to first post this warning. It opens with some very gruesome images of what an abortion does. These are not the controversial "third trimester" abortions. These are the standard abortions done every day on thousands of embryos and fetuses.
My advice is, if you are already against abortion in any circumstance, don't bother with the site. It won't give you any new information and it will just show you images you don't need to see. However, if you believe there are permissible circumstances, I urge you to look at the site and think hard about your reasons. I'll give you the same advice the opening line of the video gives... If ignorance is bliss, turn back now.
I started toying around with my website a little today. I've been wanting to do a new layout for quite some time and just haven't worked up the motivation. My eventual plan is a total overhaul of the site, and also incorporate my blog into it as well. Right now, I just forward blog.davidwage.com to my blog, its not actually an active website yet.
So anyways, I broke out my handy-dandy HTML book today and got to work! I'm not sure how long it will be before I get my whole website done, but for now, you can check out my new layout at www.davidwage.com/new.htm and tell me what you think! You'll notice I've already gotten a head start on the blog look. Hopefully I'll have it fully integrated into my site by the end of the week. I'm leaning towards going back to a similar look of my first website design for those that have been with me since then.
Of course, I still have the original davidwage.com up and running. So visit there too!
Today was one of those days that at the end, I just had to sigh and say "I love my job". I enjoy my job daily, even those days that are spent mostly puttsing around on the internet and waiting for my phone to ring.
I had a meeting at a church this morning to see what they had to work with for a concert we are bringing in next month. Most venues, we have to cart in a lot of our own stuff, or make do with some of the arrangements they have (green rooms in classrooms, renting a generator to power the lights and sound being brought in, guys suspended from the ceiling holding flashlights to get a spotlight). This church just built a new auditorium and they said it was built with concerts and events in mind. He said they designed the addition after a PAC (performing arts center). It was truly amazing. He also showed me a video room which alone made me want to become a member of the church. They record all the sermons and have a full TV production studio to air it complete with multiple Apple's with all the latest studio and video programs available, flatscreen preview and program monitors, state of the art switcher panels... EVERYTHING! I seriously loved it. Then, the guy who runs their AV dept used to be in a Christian band so I got to hear him and my boss trade war stories, which I always enjoy hearing.
So I returned and my boss told me there was a label stopping by with a new band and that I should introduce myself since I worked with these regularly. I had already worked with one of the guys quite a bit so it was good to meet him. They were going to take my boss and our music director out to lunch and since the label was paying for it anyway, the guy from the label invited me too (which I think caught my boss off guard that the label was willing to spend more money). So more war stories, and met new friends.
Well, to highlight the day, yesterday I had e-mailed my boss and asked him for some actual on-air time. Currently, I am voice tracking weekends for one of our stations which broadcasts out of Muskogee. Its not nearly the money maker our Tulsa station is, and in all honesty, basically just gets the leftovers from KXOJ. Its still on-air, but its not a huge deal. From the time I interviewed for this job, I left my boss know I was interested in some future on-air time. He said, yeah sure, but just kinda shelved it. Well, in the car ride to the meeting this morning, he said it was funny that I brought it up yesterday because he just heard me for the first time over the weekend and thought to himself he needed to get me on-air. Unfortunately, its not really in the budget for now, but starting next week, he is going to start me off on some weekends for KXOJ. Its a small step, but a step forward nonetheless!
I noticed about a month ago that I had yet to post any blogs focused on the concerts I've been doing all summer. By that point it was all too late anyway, but I decided since we wrapped up our Summer Concert Series yesterday that I would post a recap of all the concerts we did (actually I have to do one of the station site so I'm just personalizing it a little and copying it here).
First of all, wow! I can't believe I've been here for 3 months already. Its all been great though. So a little bit about these concerts. Typically they are new artists who maybe have one or two singles out and don't have a huge recognition. The concerts are free to the public, and the bands don't charge us anything, and are what is known as "brown bag concerts". We did all of these concerts at the Riverwalk Crossing which is an outdoor mall with an amphitheater venue.
The first concert was back in May and featured American Idol finalist, Chris Sligh. He was a little sick so it wasn't the best of shows I've seen, although the drunk gal getting up at the end while he was still singing on stage was a highlight.
Less than a week later we brought in a band by the name of Tenth Avenue North. This was by far my favorite show. I was familiar with the first 10 seconds and the last 10 seconds of their single Love is Here which is as far as I get when voice tracking my on-air shifts. First of all, the label rep came along with them and took me out to lunch. It was great to be able to sit down and talk with her and have her genuinely want to know my needs for the station. Quite the change from my days on Morningside College Radio where I had to fight tooth and nail to get any response from the labels. (This is ironic because Tooth & Nail Records was the only label I didn't have to struggle to get CDs from. Thanks Allison!). The show went great and the guys invited me out with them afterwards to see the "new" Indiana Jones. The only disappointment of the evening.
We took a short break while we geared up for a few other things we had going on with the station including a concert that saw over 30,000 people that showed up. Then in mid-July we kicked it back up with an acoustic show by Pillar. This is to date, the only strictly acoustic show Pillar has ever done. This is why I love this station. They did it as a favor to us and for the fun of it.
Pillar - Fireproof (live at Riverwalk)
Just two days later, we brought in an artist by the name of Meredith Andrews. She was a lot of fun and I especially enjoyed chatting with her and the label rep for a while after the show. Got some great photos too.
Finally, after a great season, with no complications, we wrapped up with a show with three artists on the ticket as opposed to our usual single artist shows. We were so close to having a perfect season. So, I started my day around 9:30 and began prepping for the show. Just before 10, I got a call from the first band to perform, Caleb Rowden Band. They had informed me that their bus broke down outside of St. Louis so they had to cancel. It really was disappointing, don't get me wrong, but given the rest of the circumstances of the day it actually helped us out a little. There had been thunderstorms threatening all day and Outdoor venue + Electrical sound equipment ≠ successful concert. Before they canceled we were going to have to make a decision by 2pm whether or not to move the concert to an indoor church about a mile from the initial venue. This causes problems only because 1, we have already been promoting the Riverwalk, and 2, the church doesn't have the capacity of the amphitheater. Having the band cancel helped us to delay our decision because the other 2 artists were alone. Just a guitar and a microphone. We changed the load in time from 2:30 to 4:00 and were going to make a decision by 5.
Around 11am I got a call from Franny's label rep, Kellyn, saying their flight was delayed by an hour so instead of getting in at 3 and being at the station by 4, they wouldn't make it to the station by 5. With the schedule change from Caleb, this wasn't much of a problem, so no big deal. At 2pm it was a torrential downpour and had we needed to make a decision, it would have been indoors. So its now 3:30 and I get another txt from Kellyn saying they are still on the tarmac waiting to take off which is an hour after the hour delay. So now, they aren't going to land until 5. The day just keeps improving. She calls me shortly after 5 and says they finally landed and I told her to come straight to the venue, but that she could call the station and do a phone interview if she'd like. After another hour of them waiting for their bags, and the 20 minute drive over, they finally arrive at the Riverwalk at 6:30. Its an 8:00 show, so an hour and a half may sound like plenty of time, but believe me its not. Thankfully, it was a quick set-up, she got on the stage for a quick soundcheck and we still had plenty of time to do the pre-show stuff. It all worked out, but man what a ride getting there.
The next morning, I got the chance to take Josh to the airport. What else do you talk to an artists about on a 20 minute car ride than music? He made me fan of pandora.com and I haven't talked to him since he's had a chance to listen, but I'm relatively sure I made him a fan of the Spill Canvas.
Here's some pics from the shows. Just click to enlarge. There's more available on the station website at www.kxoj.com.
I've been trying out different quick lunches (mostly microwaveable) to try to cut down on my food costs. I recently looked at how much I'm spending on food alone and realized those $7 per meal lunches really add up! I usually have a cup of yogurt on my way to work and have a later lunch of something simple like a TV dinner or leftovers from food i made the night before. I've been trying out different microwaveable meals to find an equal balance of cheap, simple, and filling and that led me to today's product. Michelina's Tuscan-Inspired Alfredo available in your Wal-mart freezer section for less than a dollar! Now, I was fortunate to grow up in a house where both parents were great cooks so I don't have a lot of experience with TV dinners. If this is the norm, I think I can revolutionize the TV dinner industry with this handy innovation: Directions on the top of the box. Still frozen, I turned the packaging upside down and begin to read the directions. The first one? "Tear back lid about halfway to allow product to vent" followed by cooking instructions. So not only do you have to turn the product upside down to find out how to cook, but the first instruction it gives you is "open me."
Don't think I did anything as stupid as to dump out my lunch. I understand it is possible to read instructions without turning it upside down, however, in lifting it above my head the flimsy container nearly spilled on me twice. I just think its a law suit waiting to happen.
With the Olympics just days away, everyone is looking forward to the stories of huge sacrifices, competition, and overcoming adversity but until then, I dare say you can already find this going on.
When I say skaters, many of us think of those stupid punk kids (man am I starting to sound old) who hang around movie theaters or malls, or anywhere but the skate-parks cities often build for them. We don't generally think of olympic quality athletes. Let me share with you what I saw recently while watching the X-Games. The video is of Danny Way, a skateboarder who in this particular instance is competing in the "Big Air" competition in which he skates straight down one side of a quarter pipe, ramps over a large gap, then skates straight up another quarter pipe where you would try to get "big air" and do a trick. On his way down from 20+ feet of air, he clips his leg on the wall and tumbles down the quarterpipe. After spending some time with the paramedics, he is able to limp his way out of the stadium but decides he is still going to compete in his final jump. He literally limps back to the top of the ramp to start his final run! Talk about determination! He goes on to win the silver in this competition after what was described as the "second worst fall in x-games history".
I grew up in the country with my nearest neighbor being almost a mile away. I was also the youngest in the family and the only boy. Growing up, I didn't have a lot of "playmates" so I found ways of entertaining myself. I could go outside on a nice fall Saturday (or frigid Iowa winter) and not come in until dark. My childhood is what cultivated my active imagination, or "specialness" as my mom always called it.
It all started with an innocent t-shirt. I was flipping through a magazine and I saw an ad for an $8 t-shirt that said "Better Off Alive". It was an ad for an anti-abortion website but what caught my eye was that it was a cool t-shirt. If anyone knows me, they know how much I love t-shirts, especially internet t-shirts. As guilty as I feel now, my honest thoughts were, "its a cool t-shirt and being political is trendy". I decided to take a look at the site so if anyone asked me about the shirt, I'd at least have a response. What I found put a whole new viewpoint on an issue that I have specifically tried to avoid having a viewpoint on.
I've been trying out different quick lunches (mostly microwaveable) to try to cut down on my food costs. I recently looked at how much I'm spending on food alone and realized those $7 per meal lunches really add up! I usually have a cup of yogurt on my way to work and have a later lunch of something simple like a TV dinner or leftovers from food i made the night before. I've been trying out different microwaveable meals to find an equal balance of cheap, simple, and filling and that led me to today's product. Michelina's Tuscan-Inspired Alfredo available in your Wal-mart freezer section for less than a dollar! Now, I was fortunate to grow up in a house where both parents were great cooks so I don't have a lot of experience with TV dinners. If this is the norm, I think I can revolutionize the TV dinner industry with this handy innovation: Directions on the top of the box. Still frozen, I turned the packaging upside down and begin to read the directions. The first one? "Tear back lid about halfway to allow product to vent" followed by cooking instructions. So not only do you have to turn the product upside down to find out how to cook, but the first instruction it gives you is "open me."
