My Mind's Eye

New version of this blog

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 22:30:00 -0500

Go here! Been a while since I've posted here. Perhaps someone is still out here from over a decade ago!

https://itsmymindseye.blogspot.com/

Indefinite hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:33:00 -0500

I don't know for how long or even if this blog might ever publish again, but for now this will be the last post. Thanks for your comments or readership and feed subscriptions.

There is a blog that took its place It's My Mind in Beta. Some archival material has been uploaded there. Mainly mobile pictures and my original videos. So I hope you follow me there as well. And subscribe as well.

Subscribe to It's My Mind in Beta

There will be more mobile pics and in the feed you will see updates to Flickr as well. I would like to do some original videos there too, but that blog will be more focused. I hope you enjoy.

V-Log #7: Puppet Show

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:07:00 -0500

I shot this video during the 2007 Christmas holidays. There was a puppet show in Daley Plaza and I recorded some of it. Right behind me was a Christmas market. An annual thing in Chicago's Daley Plaze.

City Hall with a green roof

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:54:00 -0500

Not one of mine, but still a great pic worth sharing!

I got this new video editing program

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:42:00 -0500

Now I just have to figure out how to use it. I've been using Windows Movie Maker for a couple or so years but it was time to step up my game a little with Sony Vegas. I can often tell say watching vids on YouTube those who use Windows Movie Maker vs. those who might use a higher quality program. Today I'm going to present to you some tutorials I've found. It might help you too.

Beyond that I think I still want to find a book on this!

A different direction

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 2 May 2008 21:02:00 -0500

I've been promising a new direction for a while. Starting this summer there will be one. This blog will go back to being a photo/video blog. There will be no more blogthings, cartoons, or email spam. Random videos that I find off of YouTube will for me at the moment their status will be unclear. I haven't decided whether or not I will either continue to post those or not.

I would like to post more of my original pictures. Hopefully if I can get my cell phone good to go again I'd like to post cameraphone pics again. Those I promise to post good Flickr photos that I run across like I used to and original videos made by your's truly.

There won't be a particular emphasis on anything in particular. I want to keep things experimental I want to play with video editing and then display the results here. That'll be the only reason for it. Of course these will be vids of places I've been or what not.

For most anything else you can always go to It's My Mind, The Movie Cabinet, Unconventional Wisdom or The Sixth Ward. If you're still around thanks for dropping by and it would be good for you if you subscribed to this blog's feed you won't just get blog updates, but also photos that I will upload to Flickr in the future.

You can subscribe using the link contained in every post on this blog that says "Subscribe to this feed" or go down to the very bottom of the blog and look for an orange rounded square with "Subscribe to My Mind's Eye" right next to it to subscribe to this blog. To subscribe you can use such a program as Google Reader, Bloglines, or even MyYahoo to receive blog updates. I hope that subscription posts such as this will remain relatively rare. Thanks you for reading.

Australian Rules Football - Freakish Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:25:00 -0500

I wish they would show some games in the US again. This sport is better than our homegrown version of football!

McFadden & Whitehead - Aint No Stoppin Us Now

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:59:00 -0500

Well this is as good a place as I'm going to find a satifactory rendition of this disco (?) hit. And at that one that was seen on Soul Train!

Fountain Hall - Morris Brown College

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:37:00 -0600

I just found out that historic structure located at Morris Brown College in Altanta, GA was designed by architect GL Norman. You can find more info here.

For those of you with a Blackberry...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:11:00 -0600

FOXNews...

“CrackBerry” addicts were looking for thumbthing to do late Monday as BlackBerry smartphones throughout North America went on the blink.

A major service outage afflicted users of the popular, addictive BlackBerry smart phones across the United States and Canada on Monday, wireless carriers said.

Officials with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless said BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. told them customers of all wireless carriers were affected.

It was not immediately clear how many BlackBerry subscribers had problems, as some users reported being able to access their service normally Monday afternoon.

The BlackBerry service, which lets users check e-mail and access other data services on their handheld devices, has become a lifeline for many business executives and is increasingly popular among consumers with models like the BlackBerry Pearl.

There was no word what caused the outage or when service would be restored.

RIM officials did not return phone calls.

Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 8 Feb 2008 02:58:00 -0600

This was really good music back in the day. It still is in fact!

Re-Vlog: The Southwest Chief

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 22:13:00 -0600

I already posted this video here as a YouTube vid (I just realized that all you got to do is scroll down from this post). I just wanted to use it again but this time I wanted to use the embed feature from Blip. If you want to download it here's WMV and FLV.

The first time I ever embedded a Blip.tv video over at It's My Mind was this evening. Ladies and gentlemen if you care, Super Tuesday is upon us!

Motorola's wayward path

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 19:23:00 -0600

This is a mobile blog of sorts. So maybe I should do mobile news here. So from the Chicago Tribune today is a story about Motorola and how they may sell off their cell phone business...

It was shortly after Motorola Inc.'s Edward Zander declared "more Razrs" that the mantra started to backfire.

Zander, then CEO of the Schaumburg-based technology giant, was riding a stupendous crest in July 2006 when he was asked what was next for Motorola after the hit Razr mobile phone.

"More Razrs," he said. "It is something we are going to continue for quite some time."

Competitors followed suit, turning the thin, must-have phone into a commodity now found for free.

Nothing has been the same since for struggling Motorola, which said Thursday it is considering restructuring the company, including whether to separate the mobile phone division from its other businesses. That means Motorola, one of the most prominent names in technology, could exit the phone business it pioneered by seeking a buyer.

The problems for the tumbling phone division are complex, but one thing is clear: It was a fateful decision to exploit the Razr's success with a series of phones -- the Krzr, Rizr, Slvr, Q and now Razr 2 -- that mimicked the Razr's style but not its original cachet.

The company couldn't follow up with another breakout hit, market share and the stock price have plummeted, Zander left the top job in December and now the future of the company is uncertain.

"Motorola lost their way," said Karen Norkus, a senior sales representative for a Chicago Verizon Wireless store. "Customers started shying away from them because there was never anything strong after the Razr."

Customers also aren't clamoring for the Q smart phone, she said, noting that she sold three BlackBerry models on Thursday.

"Sales for Motorola's smart phone have gone down," she said, referring to sales at her Michigan Avenue store.

Aza Raskin, a Chicago software designer who recently joined the Mozilla Foundation, a Web programming concern, said Motorola seemed to rest on its laurels.

"If you talked to people when the Razr first came out in 2004, they loved how thin it was. It had a sexiness to it," he said. "It was groundbreaking but they couldn't follow up.

"So the question is, 'What comes next?'"

'Beholden' to carriers

And in Raskin's view, he would work on breaking down Motorola's reliance on providing U.S. wireless carriers with products to suit their needs, and focus on meeting consumer needs, as mobile phone-makers do elsewhere.

"The cell phone-maker is beholden to the carrier in this country," he said. "I know Motorola has a lot of cool stuff in its labs. I've seen it. But it must be frustrating because they have to make what the carriers want."

I like Motorola so they'd better get it together quick!

What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:17:00 -0600

What Your Favorite Color Blue Says About You:

Emotional --- Affected --- Sensitive
Peaceful --- Tranquil --- Connected
Spiritual --- Experimental --- Deep

What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:47:00 -0600

Well. I got text messaging back but still cannot post mobile pictures. I'll figure that out soon!

How about an English lesson???

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 1 Jan 2008 19:13:00 -0600

Learning verbs 1959 from TVDays.com.

Porgy and Bess--Bessie You Is My Woman Now

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:01:00 -0600

Porgy and Bess was an opera composed by George Gershwin. He's responsible for that music you might hear when you watch a United Airlines ad. If you're interested that composition was called, A Rhapsody in Blue. The jazzy sound in this vid is delightful, enjoy!

V-Log #6: My first original YouTube video

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:58:00 -0600

It's a Lumiere of sorts. A soundless somewhat fixed video of my train ride to Los Angeles, California. This day was July 20th, 2005. I was somewhere between Colorado and New Mexico when I took this video.

I haven't forsaken Blip.tv, but YouTube was the most convenient at this moment. I may post it up later. I'm going to get a handle on posting video on the internet.

There will be more to come. Old videos, new videos, and even recuts. Expect it to happen soon.

I just bought a new camcorder

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:47:00 -0600

Another entry level model but adequate since I can't yet afford the expensive High Definition models. Still I'm liking this camera because I can shoot video at night. I tested it out on myself last night and looking at myself was strange because I was a greenish hue.

Anyway this means that I can finally convert some of the video I've compiled over the years to a computer file. This also means that I might have to get an external storage device to people to have some space to hold the video files. Still this means that more V-Logs will be forthecoming.

They might be old archival footage or newly created video. Still My Mind's Eye is going back to what it was designed for exhibition of original pictures and videos. BTW, only three videos came from actual digital cameras. Still I ahve a camcorder to play with and I intend to use it.

Skee-Lo - I Wish

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:26:00 -0600

Another reason I miss the mid-1990s. Raps such as this by Skee-Lo. Enjoy!

Lumiere

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 13:17:00 -0600

A film of some guys playing some cards and of a butler or bartender pouring these guys some drinks. I assume it's beer because what else would guys drink when they're playing cards.

I've seen videobloggers take to this Lumiere style. I have no doubt that they take their cues from old films such as this from TVDays.com.

Here are some basic rules on Lumiere videoblogging.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:28:00 -0600

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about celebration. You enjoy all the fun and fellowship that the holidays bring.

You celebrate the holidays in a offbeat style. You believe the holidays are for doing whatever you feel like - and some of your "traditions" are pretty wacky.

During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in.

You think the holidays should be decadent and indulgent. You never mind gaining a few holiday pounds... it's worth it!

Your best holiday memories are of childhood foods and traditions. You secretly still wish you believed in Santa Claus.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:25:00 -0600

I found this photo amongst my Flickr contacts. This is a poweful pic that just spoke to me. It reminds me of my own mortality but more importantly about my mother.

It also reminds me of funerals. Black American Baptist style funerals. I won't say that blacks are fascinated with death but it's probably one thing we are prepared for. Perhaps not financially or anything like that but certainly mentally blacks seem prepared for it. Or I could say there are those who don't believe they'll live a long time and they'll act the part, but not always.

Still I can express my complaints. Mainly the preaching and the organ playing. I know funerals contain those and there may not be much I can do about that. Still I think about the whole program for a funeral. At this point in time it's not very appealing. It is however a fact of life.

I miss these days...

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:57:00 -0600

When wrestling was actually worth something. A time when there were three big wrestling companies competing for viewing eyes. Then one day there was only one company and wrestling started to get stale fast.

I miss this era when the original ECW actually has national TV exposure on the network once known as TNN or The Nashville Network (and they would become The National Network and then Spike). It was a great hour of wrestling everyweek I could watch at a reliable time, they still had their own syndicated programming that aired on TV stations around the nations. Then the WWF came to TNN and ECW was forced off and not too long after WWF aired their programming on TNN, ECW was a memory.

I really miss those days!

Puttin’ on the Ritz

noreply@blogger.com (Levois) — Fri, 9 Nov 2007 04:53:00 -0600

I've been browsing YouTube for music videos this week. Doesn't matter the genre. It could be rap, R&B, soul, funk, rock, new wave, or what have you.

I posted a couple of videos on the 1980s version of Puttin on the Ritz here earlier this year but both of those videos have been deleted from YouTube. This time I think that YouTube isn't likely to bother it so I post it now and delete those other posts that I already have here.

I always though of this song as a nice snappy song. Especially with that nice early 1980s sound (performed by this artist named Taco).

There were two version of this video I should add. This is the controversial version where the permorers here were in blackface. In another version of this video, those sequences with the performers in black face were edited out and in some shots headshots of movie legend Gary Cooper were inserted.

I decided to look up more about this song and found out that originally the lyrics were to reflect the fad of well to do New Yorkers going to black jazz clubs in Harlem. I decided to see if I can find the original lyrics of this song and excuse me if I call this Exhibit A.

Have you seen the well-to-do
Up and down Park Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their noses in the air

High hats and narrow collars
White spats and fifteen dollars
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time

Now, if you're blue
And you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled Gowns upon the bevy of
High browns from down the levy
Always spits
Puttin' on the Ritz

That's where each and every lulu-belle goes
Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Rubbin' elbows

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

- short instrumental break -

(Boys, look at that man puttin' on that Ritz)

Now, if you're blue
And you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled Gowns upon the bevy of
High browns from down the levy
All misfits
Puttin' on that certain Ritz

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

The song was later rewritten to be generally applicable to going out in the town in style.

“Puttin’ on the Ritz” Original Lyrics(1929)
Puttin' on the Ritz (Wikipedia)
Irving Berlin Lyrics and Chords Puttin on the Ritz