CrashOverride and I do the very first unboxing video on my YouTube channel. For being a first one, I thought it came out very well! Shot the video in my kitchen and then did post-editing in Wondershare Filmora.
CrashOverride and I do the very first unboxing video on my YouTube channel. For being a first one, I thought it came out very well! Shot the video in my kitchen and then did post-editing in Wondershare Filmora.
To all who have been following me here, I am changing my site up some, so please listen………
If you have enjoyed my writings here, then I invite you to my new home, which is at:
http://midnightbanshi.wordpress.com
I hope you’ll come by and say HI, and follow along for the ride! See you out there!
I’ve been digging through my video tapes that have been piling up in my room – in various locations over the years, and am now glad I have been collecting them, and for a very good reason.
There are times that I have taken a video camera out and just shot random footage of things that I find interesting – or sometimes just want to take a camera out and shoot footage in general for no specific reason. One day in 1993, I went on a ride with an acquaintance of mine, and shot in-drive footage all around Billings, taking in various locations and sights that were there at the time. I went back and watched this footage, and did you know that:
– Dos Machos used to be further up north on 24th St. West, near the Rimrock Mall?
– Wal-Mart and Toys R Us on the west end were just getting constructed?
– We used to have a Bugle Boy Outlet Store in the middle of downtown?
– The Crown Plaza hotel downtown used to be called the Sheraton?
Well, intrepid believer, wonder no more, because I, MidnightBanshi is going to bring this footage to you, courtesy of the wonderous portal known as YouTube! While this video may seem pedestrian to some, some people may actually find this interesting, because it gives a window into the past – more than 20 years ago, driven about the Magic City in a rambling rattletrap of a car with a not-so-clean windshield (hey, this was spur of the moment), but you will see some things that may bring back memories.
As always, please feel free to come by my channel on YouTube. Just look up MidnightBanshi – same handle I use to habitate Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook! See you………out there!
This week, my journey began into the world of video editing and converting……and I couldn’t be happier.
I’ve been wanting to do video capturing and editing for quite some time now, and thanks to some good friends of mine, that dream is becoming reality. I’ve been without a working desktop PC for a while, so one of my compadres helped me find the parts to build a PC, and then we got it all working with Windows 7 and a darn good capture device. It was simple to get started, and I was overjoyed when I captured my first video, and then uploaded it to YouTube.
I told myself that once I got my stuff all set up, one of the first projects I was going to do was convert the 1988 Made Ya Look concert that I’ve had on videotape since it was given to me by the band themselves, and convert it to digital to share up on YouTube. This was something that really made me happy because I received a number of good comments from the band members themselves, along with many of their friends, family, and fans! I tell you this, and it’s true – there is no feeling greater than being able to bring happiness to someone.
I’m now working on getting some more software to help with creating even more videos to share online, which will help immensely. I already have a job, so I figure I needed a hobby to help keep my brain going and get me out and about sometimes, and this looks like it’ll fill the bill nicely!
I hear people thinking “Are you going to make a career out of this too?” – absolutely not. My whole goal of my channel of videos is to share something with people who remember people, places, and things they have seen in the past – maybe even things they forgot about, and breathe some new life into them. Now that I have started, I’m looking for even more things to make videos about to put on my channel for people to see.
One of my upcoming projects is a documentary around Laurel, Montana, where I go to various places and share memories of places I’ve been in my life growing up there, and sharing what has changed over the years. I’m sure I can share some things that some people may not even be aware of, yet I remember quite well, so I have a feeling that this will make some people happy as well, being able to experience what I have seen over the years.
Oh….I also have a video that I shot in 1993, driving around Billings, Montana, and people will see what actually was around back then – from a Bugle Boy outlet store, to the former Dos Machos location, to seeing the early stages of the construction of the Toys R Us and Wal-Mart out on the west end! I hope you won’t miss that!
So how do you find these videos that I will be sharing with everyone? Just come find me online on YouTube under the handle “MidnightBanshi” – which is also my screen name on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! I invite you to share in my sharing journey, and hope that perhaps some of the things you will see will bring back memories for you as well! I have no intent of making money off of this venture – I am hopeful that my reward will be hearing back from people who see the things I share, and being able to perhaps even make someone’s day.
So please………come aboard and subscribe to my YouTube channel, come follow me on social media. It’ll be a fun ride all the way around!
I love the 4th of July – it’s a great time of the year for getting together with family and friends, check out the local cuisine – and oh yes……….the fireworks.
I grew up in a small German railroad town – it’s actually pretty cool if you get a chance to see it. It’s the largest train yard this side of the country. There is also a long-standing German heritage and history. Sadly, the history is a bit thinner than it used to be, as there is no local Herbstfest anymore – nor an Oktoberfest.
There are the fireworks though, and it’s something to truly behold! I daresay they outshine Disneyland by quite a margin! The finale each year is a 4+ minute explosive extravaganza done to music, and is just breathtaking! We used to actually live 3 blocks from the park they shot them off at, so getting a good seat was rather easy. Nowadays, living next door in Billings, it’s a bit trickier to do. You have to leave early on to get a good spot – and leaving takes a bit of finesse as well. My new favorite egress is done by going across the tracks on the west side of town, going through Little Germany, and then sneaking out the south side.
Is it worth going to the show each year despite all of the traffic? You bet your bottom dollar it is! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a good fireworks show and cannot afford to go to Disneyland or any other major metro area.
Next year though………I’m parking closer to the park! Lesson learned! 🙂
I’m believing that I really need to change my way of living. I’m feeling it in all of the bad ways.
At one point, I was just tired more often than not. Now I have little energy, little motivation, weigh way more than I should……yeah….I’m a mess. At first, I was diagnosed with under-active thyroid disorder and given medication for it, but now my sleep patterns are all wonky. Instead of sleeping a solid 6-8 hours, I sleep 4-5, then get up, and then have to nap for 1-2 more before starting my night-time routine.
I wonder if my night-time routine isn’t taking it’s toll on my health. I don’t know why it should, because other people work nights, and don’t seem to have near as many problems as I have been lately. Maybe I’m just getting old and starting to feel it. I did make one change as of late, which I seem to enjoy. Instead of falling asleep to the TV, I turn on my iHeartRadio app and listen to classic runs of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (God bless you – we’ll miss you). I think I sleep better when I’m hearing music than chattering talking on the TV. It tends to relax me more than TV anyway, because I just treat it as background noise. I used to do that with the MC SoundScapes channel also, but I grew tired of that after a while, and wanted to listen to something with a tiny bit more substance – not too much though…..just better background noise. If I had my druthers, I’d just listen to the rain all of the time, but getting nature to comply with that request would be a fallacy of the highest order.
As it turns out, the “bug” is going around our house again, so I probably re-caught it – again. Oh wonderful. Well, I guess it’ll be 2 Advil and a melatonin before bed. Perhaps rest and some juice will help cure it. Seems to usually work at least.
I love music – always have, and always will. I think to me, there is no better treat than seeing your favorite musician or group live in person…..yep….nothing like it at all. I have been blessed with the opportunity to see some awesome musicians/groups in person, and I will never forget them.
1981 – Johnny Cash – Billings, MT – Yes, the man in black did perform here!
1982 – Barry Manilow – Billings, MT – What a show! This man is a real entertainer!
1984 – “Weird Al” Yankovic – Billings, MT (MontanaFair) – Sat 3 seats from front row center – awesome!
1985 – Cheap Trick/REO Speedwagon – Billings, MT – 2 great groups on one single night!
1998 – Bauhaus – Denver, CO – It was awesome to see Peter Murphy and Love & Rockets get back together for another go!
2000 – Mari Iijima – Denver, CO (Nan Desu Kan) – One of my very favorite singers – a rare treat in the US to see!
2003 – Bachman-Turner Overdrive – Brea, CA (Summerfest) – A free concert from these guys? WOW!
2004 – Nina Hagen – Santa Ana, CA – A long-time dream fulfilled! I waited a LONG time to see her!
I must have just been in the right place at the right time to see these concerts, and I will never forget any of them. I doubt most of them will remember me even a day later, but I will never forget any of them, because they really brightened my life.
I’ve been pretty net-savvy for the past couple of decades or so, and even though I know my way around a computer, an operating system, and most games that aren’t TOO overly-complicated, every once in a while, I miss a tip or trick that I really should know about. I guess one of those things is adding tags to blog postings. Recently, I have come to find out that yes, this IS how people can find your postings and discover you online. For a long time now, I never even really gave it much thought, but after the recent activity I’ve seen here, I guess it actually is important. Who knew!
I just want to thank everyone who has been reading my thoughts, rants, raves, and thoughts on life over the past years, and hope you continue to find it enjoyable to some extent. If you are new to this blog, feel free to peruse back through the years all the way back to when this started back in 2001. Maybe someday I’ll start up a YouTube channel or something, but for now, I think this blog, along with my Facebook and Twitter accounts, really are enough to keep me going. Of course, now that I have a new phone again, perhaps I may get on Tumblr, Instagram, or Pinterest as well – I guess the sky’s the limit!
Today proved yet again that Montana is the home of weird, wacky weather.
I should have seen the signs coming – the dark clouds looming on the horizon, closing fast, but thought that we could get our grocery shopping done fast enough that we could get home before they rolled in – brother, was I wrong! On the way out to the car, it started raining, then coming down hard. By the time I got to the car and got the stuff in the back, it was coming down VERY hard! We all piled into the car just as the HAIL started coming down! Yeah………missed by JUST that much!
Of course, in this type of weather, you do not really want to be out driving around – not any sane person anyway, so we waited for the worst of it to pass over, and then headed home. You could see piles of hail pebbles all around where we drove. Apparently, we didn’t get it as bad as some parts of town did. Thankfully, no dings on the car or broken windows, so that’s a blessing right there.
Reminds me of when a buddy of mine and I rode our bikes from Laurel to Billings on Saturday many moons ago. We were on our way back, riding out on Central Avenue, when the rain started coming down. We ducked into a Kwik Way just in time, as it started coming down harder and harder. It got so bad, the power went out in the store twice, and the rain looked like it was going sideways! Even a large green dumpster tumbled by as it went bumping down the road!
Yeah…….Montana has some pretty whacked out weather, and it can creep up on you before you even know it.
It’s no surprise that people follow something or another – someone or some other. It’s probably always been this way.
You have those that follow a favorite musician, favorite author, favorite actor/actress – it’s all up to taste.
You have those that follow one religion, or another – or even none at all – each person is different.
There are many trains of thought that people follow – all of them may be very different from one another even if some share similar traits.
There is one pattern that everyone does follow though………we are all born into this world human. That’s the one constant that will never change – not unless there is a sudden infusion of life from other planets some time down the road. With us being on the outer arm of our galaxy though, this option may be somewhat remote. It’s not like we are very close to other inhabited worlds. Yes, I still believe that there is other life out there. It would be arrogant for us to believe otherwise.