Insight

In another bout of Homer Simpson syndrome, triggered by a disappointing view count of my latest video (it was my misfortune to finish Welcome to my Nightmare during a contest deadline), I’ve been browing the Insight features offered by Youtube.

My #1 video of all time is Superstition:  most popular in Spain, Argentina & Chile

Hitman cameo: most popular in Italy

Desmondo Desnudo: Venezuela

Cuz He’s Scottish:  UK and… Finland?

I Crashed Your Plane:  Canada and Finland.  I must have a Fin on my friends list.

Do I Know You:  As well as a friend in Canada.  The UK came up as well as Finland: I’m guessing on account of the search term Glaswegian

Welcome to my Nightmare (poor thing):  Slovenia???

My Heart’s on Fire

iLife’s tutorials suck ass.  Thank goodness LVI’s Elvira has posted a guide for Mac users.  Just to prove her awesomeness, she also linked me to iMovie 6.  Now hopefully I can get some real vidding done.  Thank you, Elvira!

Wow!

Four days ago I posted my Superstition video at Lost Video Island.  By lat night I had ONE THOUSAND views.  *Nerdgasm*  Thank you, LVI!!

Another huge squishy Thank You goes to David Martinez at Todoseries.com for his wonderful review of Superstition.

Alas, time passes in the blogosphere.  Like a grain of sand in the virtual hourglass, Desmondwatch trickles down the page as newer, shinier things capture audience attention.  But a thousand hits in four days; I gotta call that a success.

Guess it’s time to make a new video!

Reality Invades

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Lost fandom to bring you the following:

I’m going to become a proper lodger. I’ll be living in the house of a charming older woman, renting the master bedroom with ensuite bathroom for the meager sum of one thousand american dollars per month. This not only includes telephone, cable tv, internet, electricity, water, free use of the laundry facilities, and garbage disposal, but she also COOKS. And it’s furnished! It’s like I’ve stepped into the Pickwick Papers, only with ComCast.

She hasn’t even charged a deposit. I’ve already paid my first month’s rent (using credit. yech). In lieu of a security deposit however, I’ll be paying my own expenses toward getting the room cleaned up, painted, curtained, and whatnot. I’ve already laid out a plan. Even though I’ve already begun paying rent, I won’t be moved in until November, providing Jacob and Elisa (my flatmate and his sweetheart) are still planning on moving in together when her lease goes up.

The paint job

Trim & Mantelpiece: Instead of gold, consider a wheat/blond pearl tone in a metallic high-gloss

Hearth Interior (non-functioning): Flat ruby/wine/burgundy/maroon

Walls: Pumpkin finish a blend of 50% Satin/50% Flat

Doors, Ceiling, & Bathroom: Bone/Antique White, Gloss

Closet Interior: Warm Beige/Taupe, Mushroom, Fallen Leaf

That takes us up to five cans of paint. I also need to wash the walls with mineral spirits, give them a light sanding and prime. I’ve read about Zinsser 123 and Kilz primers.

The fixtures

Wall sconces: replace each with a filigreed bronze wedge

Towel rack: install rods on the exterior of the closet door

Ornamental fireplace screen

Bronze curtain-hooks

Draft-dodger for bathroom window

The Window Treatments

Curtains: Dark Chesnut w/ white sheers

ditch the blinds

This is already shaping up to be a pricey job. It’s just as well that I won’t be moving in, as I’m not going to be able to do so until this interior design project is complete, which I can’t afford but sporadically

The sealed door

The last residents prior to the lady who has let this room to me sealed the door communicating to the other bedroom. This I don’t mind save they did an ugly job of it. I’ve devised a plan however to remedy this blight. It could be the cheapest solution of the lot.

Foam-board, cut to fit

cover with fabric sample

adhere with Fabrik-Tak

Being right next to the bathroom, it may be susceptible to moisture, but extras can be made and used as wall hangings.

There are still some additional improvements to consider. I need to figure out a light source for the shower stall (there isn’t one at the moment, and I’m not so goth that I enjoy showering in the dark). And the floor could be refinished, but I don’t know if I’m up to it

Boom Shaka Laka

Jashaka 2 is an animation video editing software I found on c-net.  They give it a four-star rating but I’m not sure if the program can be used for conventional video editing.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I have the option of downgrading Apple iMovie after discovering that the new version doesn’t permit sound editing.

I might have to give it a try.

Homer Simpson Syndrome

Does anybody remember the episode of The Simpsons where Homer designed a webpage?  How he sat and fretted and stared at his hit counter?

Is this a universal phenomenon I wonder?  Does everyone who makes a public page become consumed by whether it’s being viewed or not, or look forlornly at their comments field, spending hours linking to other tubes, sending friend invites and wondering why no one ever replies?

The odd thing is, I’m done with my one-clip Lost quest.  After finding the “Charles Dickens” tube for my playlist, I found a free website to download season 2 (see previous post).  I already own season 3 on DVD, and I now have the option to enjoy season 4 at my discretion.  The Desmond Collection is complete.  Okay, so I haven’t updated the playlist on my tube, but it’s complete as far as having it all is concerned.

Yet here I am, digging up and joining every Lost group.  I registered at Lost Video Island (great folks), and have even made Hitman and “24″ videos trying to generate interest.  I surf around channels now not looking for clips, but looking for the most viewed channels and trying to collect some fallout off their popularity.  It took less of my time trying to find the elusive clip I was looking for than it has for this nebulous goal of, what?  Approval?  Attention?  Human interaction?

man, I’m such a loser

tangled web: continued

After nearly finishing the Desmond collection, three of the subscriptions that made up my playlist disappeared — their accounts were suspended.

Back to square one.

Then I got my first computer.

So. It was up to me then. I hadn’t counted on how complicated it would be to make my own Desmond clips in the OSX environment.

First you need to find the episodes: TV Links

Then you need to be able to save them somehow: Downloadhelper

Then you need a player: VLC Media Player

Then you need to convert the Flash Movie into a QuickTime file: iSquint

Now you can finally edit the damn things: iMovie

That is, once you figure out how to use all the bloody software you’ve just downloaded…

tangled web: woven

This all started looking for one little tube.  Naturally, it’s always the last place you look.

You see, I’m first and foremost a Dickens reader.  When Desmond first showed up in Lost season 2 I didn’t think much of him beyond he was entertaining and had a nice accent.  Then he reappeared in Live Together, Die Alone with the line:  “I’ve read everything Mister Charles Dickens has ever written… every wonderful word.”

Instantly, my favorite character.

I wanted to share a tube of this to explain to my friends why I was so interested in him.  I looked up and down youtube, and found practically every Desmond clip but that one.  At that point I decided I might as well put all of them together.  Hence, the Desmond collection.

Updates

I’ve decided to incorporate a blog to keep visitors updated on my playlists without filling up their inboxes.

Both of yours ^_^  *waves to Hitchcockfan101 and IntoBattleWeGo*