I took another stab at this tune because I noticed I was paying more attention to the video than just playing the song. And seeing me mauling the uke really doesn’t add much. So I just recorded the audio and dropped in a few goofy stills.
Tag Archives: YouTube (Me)
Swinging On A Star
This tune isn’t ready for the road it’s proof I’m still practicing. Struggling with good clean chords and smooth changes. Once I get this song memorized and can stop looking at the iPad, these will improve.
Call Recorder for FaceTime
I’ve been searching for a better way to record video chats and found my way back to the eCamm website and Call Recorder for FaceTime. I used Call Recorder years ago but was not aware they had created an app specifically for FaceTime. The app cost $30 and that’s a non-starter for most folks but I’m impressed with this little app. George Kopp and I were both using FaceTime from the desktop but this would have worked fine had he been on his iPhone.
Call Recorder also records audio phone calls. When someone calls my iPhone, I have the option of answering the call on my MacBook (if both are on same wifi network). I can then record the call using this app. Sample below.
City of New Orleans
I’ve been looking for a project where I could try a video-on-video effect I like. I had some suitable background video from my 24 Hours of Amtrak Hell and this song is one I like. Ideally I would have waited until I was more proficient with the song but I’ll be 68 in a couple of weeks so we go with what we got. (This was easier than I expected, mostly because I used Screenflow instead of iMovie.)
SALT Gun
Last fall I came across a story (and video) about the SALT Gun, a non-lethal home defense weapon. Think of a paint-ball gun except the balls are filled with some combination of chemicals that incapacitates. This video is what persuaded me to order one of these. And I like the idea of a weapon that won’t kill my drunken next door neighbor if he stumbles into the wrong house at 3 a.m.
After reading the operations manual and handling the gun for a bit, I decided to return it. (The company has a 30 day return policy.) Here are a few of the reasons I decided not to keep the gun. First, from the ops manual:
Pressurize the SALT Gun only when it will be immediately used.
At 2:00 a.m., in the dark, with a stranger in the house… will my wife remember this extra step?
Firing the SALT Gun – Eye protection must be worn by the user.
I’m guessing this something they have to put in the operations manual but it raises the question: Is this device save for my wife to use? Must she keep safety glasses with the gun?
I found the Trigger Safety Button hard to operate. Had to push very hard and fiddle with it to move it to either position.
And finally, I found the gun bulky, a bit heavy for a woman and generally unwieldy. This might be the perfect solution for some… but not for us.
Shirt Pocket Video
The video above runs about 50 seconds and was recorded with my iPhone in my shirt pocket. I got the idea from this from the 2013 Spike Jonze move, Her (Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson).
There are times when I would like to record video … discreetly. Some folks — even in very public places — get all goofy about being recorded. (See Google Glass).
While the iPhone looks quite natural in my shirt pocket, the vertical orientation results in the clueless video the rest of the world thinks is okay. But my new iPhone 6S records 4K which allowed me to crop and wind up with the CORRECT aspect ratio.
Walking results in pretty bad video but once standing still, it’s pretty good. Same for the audio.
Bring It On Home to Me
The Rose
I could practice this a hundred more times and probably not get much better with it. So here it is on two takes recorded to my iPhone.
Ben Hur galley ship scene (with subtitles)
At the Dark End of the Street
“In the summer of 1966, while a DJ convention was being held in Memphis, Dan Penn and Chips Moman were cheating while playing cards with Florida DJ Don Schroeder,and decided to write the song while on a break. Penn said of the song “We were always wanting to come up with the best cheatin’ song. Ever.” The duo went to the hotel room of Quinton Claunch, another Muscle Shoals alumnus, and founder of Hi Records, to write. Claunch told them, “Boys, you can use my room on one condition, which is that you give me that song for James Carr. They said I had a deal, and they kept their word.” The song, lyrics and all, was written in about thirty minutes.” (Wikipedia)
I first heard this song in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments. It’s been covered by lots and lots of artists (Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Gregg Allman, Linda Ronstadt, to name a few) but my favorite versions are by Bobby King & Terry Evans and Veronica Klaus.