Tag Archives: YouTube

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#Documentaries on my mind

Awhile ago I watched an episodic documentary about spices. The episode that changed my culinary point of view took an in-depth look at the history of vanilla. I did not know that vanilla was native to Mexico. Human beings transplanted vanilla to Oceania, and Mexico lost its stranglehold on the product. The region in Mexico that was once the only source of the pods has begun to sell their vanilla as a luxury item – only in Mexico, eh?

It was Mexican vanilla that I used in the variation of my baked pear recipe. By using the liquid vanilla more juice was produced, perfect for pouring over the pears and the ice cream. The flavour of the vanilla was more subtle as well. Perfumed without overpowering. I found the Mexican vanilla in a small shop in Prince Edward County, in Bloomfield to be exact. The proprietors sell all things Mexican – pottery, jewellery, furniture, art work and vanilla.

English: JOURNEY, Live in Minneapolis, MN on S...

English: JOURNEY, Live in Minneapolis, MN on September 16, 2008, L-R: Ross Valory, Jonathan Cain, Arnel Pineda, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo. Photo by Matt Becker, melodicrockconcerts@gmail.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last night I watched Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey. Yes it is about the band Journey. No it has nothing to do with Shakespeare. Although the central figure’s life could be considered dramatically Shakespearean. Arnel Pineda, grew up poor and homeless in Manila. Eventually he joined a band that spent 15 years in Hong Kong singing cover songs. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle – drugs and sex took their toll. When he returned to Manila, he sang lead in a cover band that paid tribute to Journey, Bon Jovi and other long hair bands from the 80s.

Arnel’s number one fan videoed his performances and posted them to a YouTube channel, where Neal Schon from Journey saw them. He was scouting for a new lead singer. The band gave Arnel a chance, and another chapter in the history of rock and roll was written. It was also captured in a documentary – a life affirming documentary to quote Little Sister.

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Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman threw me a rose @RHCPA

Boyz II Men at the Arena of Stars amphitheatre...

Boyz II Men at the Arena of Stars amphitheatre in Genting Highlands, Malaysia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Actually he threw a rose at the woman sitting in C13. He had no idea that I was that woman. Although we did have a moment of eye-to-eye communication. So much can be said with so little.

Last night was the first time I attended a Boyz II Men concert. Although I had done my YouTube homework, I did not know that the boys are known for presenting long stem roses to the women in the front rows of their concerts. This occurs while Wanya sings “I’ll make love to you.” Had I known I would have been slightly less excited by my seat. I’m not comfortable with the artifice – no matter who does it. ]Yes, that means I would not have made a fool of myself for a scarf from Elvis.]

My attitude was not the norm. I know this because as soon as the first bars began, women around me rose to their feet, hands reaching out as if they were trying to part the Red Sea. Think of “notice me” on steroids. I remained in my seat. Let those who really wanted a rose get  a rose.

The boys kept changing positions on stage, so no matter where you sat, there might be a chance that your favourite Man Who Was a Boy would present you with a rose. If I had been comfortable with the tradition, I would have wanted a rose from Shawn. Wanya, I love your voice and your moves…but Shawn…he lets his intellect show…and there is nothing more appealing in a man than a smart mind. Nathan…don’t be offended…when you dropped into your lower register….shivers ran up my spine.

So there I was in C13, hunkered down-  no arms waving – no giddy jumping up and down in my brogues. Just a bemused smile on my face and a hope that the number would be over quickly so I could go back to enjoying the concert. Then…SIGH…

Shawn moved to centre stage looked right at me, raised his eyebrow, and asked without words if I wanted one of his roses. He had read my body language and gave me the opportunity to say no, without singling me out. [I swear that is what happened, even if Shawn denies it during a Oprah interview.] I nodded once with a smile on my face. A rose came flying at just the right trajectory and speed to land in my hands. [I can't catch anything...that is the truth, unless Shawn throws it.] Sigh.

The rose is in a vase on my coffee table. I think I will press it between the pages of my Oxford Dictionary, an appropriate choice for a man of intellect and tact.

Goodness gracious, I love the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, a bijoux theatre with big names. Betty Buckley…what do you have in store for me in May?

 

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#Awe, #Anger and #Anxiety vs. Stupidity, Bad Taste and Humiliation

Yesterday I read a scholarly article entitled, “What Makes Online Content Viral?” The authors are Jonah Berger and Katherine L. Milkman. It can be found in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.

They used data from the New York Times to identify emotions that compel people to forward a link to others. They identified 3 arousal emotions – awe, anger and anxiety. Sadness they learned failed to motivate Internet users to forward. Degree counts too – Content that evokes high-arousal emotions will be more viral.

I ruminated about these findings, then went online this morning to YouTube. My YouTube homepage delivers suggestions based on my behaviour patterns. It also delivers “popular” videos. This morning my popular offerings were bad lip-reading videos – some with more than 15,000,000 views. The suggestions inspired the question, “Why do stupidity, bad taste and humiliation compel people to forward links?”

Of that list only humiliation is an emotion – and not one of arousal – unless perhaps you are kinky. Stupidity is a condition. Bad taste…that is cultural…one culture’s bad taste is another’s height of artistry. [Japanese game shows are an example.]

I must think on this some more.

 

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Screen Intervention

I rode the City of New Orleans from Chicago to the Big Easy. I had splurged, purchasing a single sleeping cabin. The cabin came with a window, so that I could lie in my bunk and watch the backyards of Tennessee and Louisiana pass by.  Traveling alone means there is no one to whom I can turn to say, “Did you see that?” So I wrote a letter to someone I knew would understand my excitement to be aboard a legendary passenger train. That resulted in an epiphany that has left me unsettled ever since. I was viewing the world through the equivalent of a large television screen. I had become an observer, a passive traveler. I distanced myself from the moment.

The City of New Orleans in the Memphis train s...

The City of New Orleans in the Memphis train station. Licensing: Category:Images of railway stations in the United States Category:Images of Memphis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That distancing has become a cultural phenomenon for a generation oblivious to intellectual copyright. Troll YouTube and you will understand what I mean. Audiences are so busy filming the performance,  they have put a screen between themselves and the live performance. Succumbing to the desire to be the one who posts and has hits and builds a reputation of being “there” relegates the live experience to another TV show.

McLuhan posited that the medium was the message. We have become observers not participants.

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The Hypocrisy of Autotune Haters

About 10 years ago, Notre Dame de Paris, a French musical debuted. A production decision was made to invest in singers and dancers, but limit the musical accompaniment to digital synthesizers. When the production played here in Toronto, the local musicians’ union mounted a protest at the loss of jobs.

The first time that Les Paul put a pick-up on a guitar, music began the slide down the slippery slope. Every electric keyboard with a digitized orchestra and a phantom drummer takes dollars out of musicians’ wallets. What would the local bar band be without the phantom accompanists?

When someone complains about autotuned music, they are in effect calling for a return to harpsichords and hollowed out logs. Autotune is the natural progression of a digitized music world.