A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

videos

2013 in Review: Video captures a little slice of life

OK, allow me to be honest — this video could be way better.

This is basically a snapshot — through videos — of my 2013. I know I took many more videos, but I just can’t find them all. The video — as it stands — is about 12 minutes long. There’s no music with it, as most of the videos have their own sounds.

Still, even without some videos I know I took, this is a pretty fun look back at 2013. From a singing disc golfer to clips from the cruise I was on to little iPhone videos, it has some interesting stuff on here.

This is the second in a series of posts looking back at 2013 and looking forward to 2014. I’ve adjusted the schedule a bit, as I had other things I needed to post on certain days. Tomorrow, as well as next week will have posts looking at all aspects of the year as well.

One thing I’d like to do is learn my camera’s video function a little more this year and have some better videos for 2014. That might mean the year in review video will be longer, but I’m OK with that. I realize not everybody will sit through it, but I know many who will — so it’s kind of a catch-22. In the end, though, if I do what is in my mind, it will capture my year a bit more.

Anyway, without further delay … here’s my look at 2013 in videos.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Using holiday music is key to getting into the festive mood

I know the Christmas music usually hits the radios right around Thanksgiving.

Alas, I won’t lie — I usually like it.

I’m a fan of Christmas music and always have been. But, with how this year has gone, I’ve found I’m not in the most festive mood. I’m sure today and tomorrow will be fine. I’ll have the chance to spend time with family and friends and for that, I’m thankful and happy.

However, being in a bit of a hum-bug mood this year, I’ve not really listened to much when it comes to holiday music. And that’s a bit of a shame because, honestly, it usually helps put me into the holiday mood.

So, while processing photos, I decided to hit up YouTube and find some of my favorites.

I figured I’d also share them with all of you.

In no certain order, here are some of my favorite songs for this time of year.

Mariah Carey — All I want for Christmas is you

One of my all-time favorites. Whenever I hear this, it really does get me into a more festive mood. She’s really an amazing artist and this song is such a big part of our society, it seems, that it’s hard to not have on the list.

Burl Ives — Holly Jolly Christmas

A classic. Probably my all-time favorite. Plus, it’s in the Rudolph special!

If you want to see a really cute video to go with this song, check this one out — it’s Lady Antebellum’s version. The short video is really cool, too.

Jose Feliciano — Feliz Navidad

Come on now … be honest. This song totally has to get you into the festive mood!

Andy Williams — Most wonderful time of the year

It really is, isn’t it?

Fred Astaire — Santa Claus is coming to town

It’s Fred Astaire. And a Christmas song. How isn’t this awesome?

Gene Autry — Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Many have been done, but Autry’s is still the best, I think.

Frank Sinatra — Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Anything with Frank rules. That’s pretty much a solid guarantee.

Jimmy Durante — Frosty the Snowman

Though originally done by Autry — many a generation knows this song as sung by Durante in the popular holiday cartoon.

This is, by far, not a full list of my favorites. But it is a bunch I wanted to share. So what are your favorite holiday tunes?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

You view that tube!

OK, so I’m working on a few other blog posts that might take some time. I needed something today and realized it had been a long time since I shared some of my YouTube finds.

So, what better for a dreary upstate New York day than a few cool videos?

Every once in a while, either through current subscriptions or random finds, I come across videos that I think would be great to share with people. Below are a few that I have found recently. I hope you enjoy them!

Have you ever heard of Lindsey Stirling? No? Amazing. She’s a “hip-hop” violinist. She was once a contestant on America’s Got Talent, too. Anyway, I’ve followed her YouTube channel for a bit. She’s really good and her videos are tremendous. I would highly encourage you to give a look.

Here’s her latest on YouTube:

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How many of you grew up with Nintendo?

Mario. Luigi. Yoshi. All those catchy jingles of Super Mario Brothers.

If you are one of those people, you might love this video. Really cool. And if you sit back and think, you can probably picture each spot of the game where these tunes come from. Really cool.

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In a day and age when the Internet is King, technology is the ruler and we all just follow…

… check out this short video.

It proves that words are and can be some of the most powerful things in this world.

This is a pretty powerful video, I thought.

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For those of us who are soon going to be stuck in several months of “ugh” weather, take a peek at this video.

One day, it’s a place I’d love to visit.

This video makes this paradise look that much better. Amazing.

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And how about some disc golf trick shots to finish off this post?

I think that works well.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

TV themes don’t always need words

Continuing my reflection of some of the finest TV themes that have been done, this is Part 3. And this time, we dive into the world of themes without words. The bulk of these themes will comes from the 80s and 90s as that’s what I consider the golden era of TV theme songs.

I have already posted about theme songs (with words) from the 1980s and 1990s. The installment after this post for this series will be an “everything else” post that will cover the themes that fell outside of the perimeters of the other posts.

But oh those catchy TV tunes. The ones that you caught yourself whistling or humming the next day at work or school. The ones that didn’t need words. The ones that within three seconds of it starting, you knew what show was coming on the tube.

Come on, like when you heard this in the background, you had no idea some crazy stuff was going to happen?

Such is the world of TV shows with those themes without words. So many great shows have been like that. Believe me, trimming this list down to the ones I’ll have below was not easy! There are a ton, especially in the 80s and 90s. They are catchy jingles that stay in you mind for hours, days, or more. But they were good. They weren’t just 20-second quickies to open a show. They had substance, much like the shows with words.

And seriously, when you heard this theme, you weren’t expecting some serious (well, you get what I’m saying) courtroom chicanery?

These themes are a part of television history!

Even though many of these shows ended more than a decade or two ago, the themes still work. They still fit the shows. And they still make it cool to watch some of the old shows. Even if just for the theme.

So, without further ado, allow me to give you my personal top 10. If you have thoughts of ones I might have missed, drop them in the comments below (especially if you have links!)

10. Northern Exposure

Loved this show. Loved this theme. Loved this intro. A moose in the intro. Awesome.

9. Benson

Another one of my all-time favorites. I see part of it has come out on DVD. I think I may have to look into this show for my collection.

8. Hill Street Blues

Ahh, this song rules. Great show, too.

7. St. Elsewhere

Another great theme. I really always liked the sound of this one.

6. Beverly Hills 90210

Oh come on, you know you love it! Admit it!

But, did you know there was apparently a different opening originally and it didn’t last long? For you 90210 nuts, let me know what you know about this. Apparently it was played for the first half of the initial season.

5. Alf

Ha!

4 (tie): ER

I lost a little touch with this in the latter years, but I was always a huge fan of the show.

4 (tie): X-Files

Despite being a top-10 list, this had to make it so it tied with the other theme that I was waffling about.

3. Magnum PI

You know that, at some point, somebody was probably going to get their ass kicked!

2. Miami Vice

Awesome!

1. L.A. Law

This is one of my all-time favorite shows and themes.

There are some others that didn’t make this list as I liked them, but not in my Top 10, such as Dallas, Newhart, Night Court, Roseanne, T.J. Hooker, and Doogie Howser M.D. Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Becoming famous on the internet

Have you ever heard of Keenan Cahill?

If you haven’t, you aren’t alone.

I had never heard of him. I asked a few others and they hadn’t either. I guess that might be because I’m not looking for the next internet sensation or viral video. But, allow me to tell you who Mr. Cahill is.

He’s an Illinois teen who has apparently got quite the following on YouTube for his lip-synching of popular songs. He’s even teamed up with some of said stars for videos. Further, he suffers from Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome, where some people can develop dwarf-like appearances. That is true with Keenan.

I’m all for an Internet sensation. After all, who doesn’t like to be entertained.

But I’ve watched several of Cahill’s videos and can’t see what the draw is. He doesn’t know the words for many of the songs he lip-synchs, he makes weird motions with his head and makes crazy faces. If I wanted to watch someone do that, I’d turn the camera on myself and hit record. I could do this.

The entertainment value of some of these videos are who he does them with. He has one with Brian Wilson and Cody Ross of the San Francisco Giants, which is very funny. The “battle” he has with WWE star Miz is quite funny, too. But that was funny because of The Miz. Cahill is awful in this.

He was on America’s Got Talent this week performing and was completly awful. If not for Nick Cannon helping him out a bit, it really would have been a train wreck.

I don’t see it. (But I also don’t see the whole Justin Bieber craze and he started on YouTube).

But I’m apparently in the minority. Why?

Some of his stats on his YouTube channel — 23,679,096 channel views; 288,013,725 total upload views; and 464,293 subscribers. (These numbers are as of when I looked at his profile).

Before I go any further, here’s his square off with The Miz:

To quote The Miz — Really?

Really?

This is entertainment?

Now, maybe some of you out there like Keenan. Cool if you do, but please explain what is so funny? Is it that he messes everything up? Is it because of the odd faces and moves he makes? What is it?

Maybe you agree with me, however, and there’s some sanity in this world.

Still, it got me to thinking — these YouTube sensations and viral videos. What makes it so crazy? The person? People? What happens?

Let’s take for example a video I found during my research for this blog post. It’s called “Charlie bit my finger – again!” As of me writing this blog, it has 365,278,284 hits. Yes, that number is real. Of those hits, it has 768,884 likes and 100,351 dislikes.

And I was stoked when the video I took of Ultimate Idol that I had on the blog yesterday hit 70 hits!

Again, I’ll let you be the judge.

My opinion? That’s freakin’ funny. Maybe not so all going on, but the reactions. “Charlie, that really hurt!” Well no crap, buddy, you jammed your finger into Charlie’s mouth and he bit you!

Is it worth that many hits? Who knows. But I laughed.

There are other viral videos, too. This one, “Star Wars Kid,” was named the most viral video on the Internet by some company in 2006. Apparently, at that time, it had over 900 million views. I would assume this is a re-upload on YouTube, with the count that they have…

Then, of course, there’s always the Numa Numa guy.

You don’t know the Numa Numa guy?

Really?

Well, far be it from me to not share…

That was one viral video. There have been re-makes, animated, a second video etc. Crazy, right?

I do have a favorite though.

This might be one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched on YouTube. I laugh every time I watch it. It has nearly 100 million hits. It’s a kid who was doped up after having some teeth removed at the dentist. His father (God bless him!) recorded parts of it. Classic stuff.

Now THAT is funny and worth watching.

As for Keenan Cahill? Not so much for me. He’s obiously got a following and kudos to him for finding something people would like and for him capitalizing on it.

But as we all know, the next Internet sensation is probably just around the corner.

So get that camera out as that next sensation could be you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.