Hark, a vagrant: 281

http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=281

meh! SEE?!

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Wide Angle: Framing Your Worldview

Happy New Years Friends!

We build our lives upon our understanding of the world, often referred to as our "worldview." Your worldview determines how you view God, yourself and other people. It includes thoughts about life and death, good and evil, pain and suffering, and much more. It guides how you think about your relationships, your time and your priorities. Literally everything in your life is affected by your worldview.

That being said I am excited to be facilitating through Grace Church Saint Louis a Wide Angle bible study on the campus of Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Mo.

The study will meet in room 2060 of the J. Scheidegger Center for the Performing Arts at 7pm on Mondays. The 6 meeting dates are as follows:
Jan 17
Jan 24
Jan 31
Feb 7
Feb 14
Feb 21

The Wide Angle study is discussion based around a DVD of Rick Warren and Chuck Colson we will be watching sessions of at each meeting. There is an optional study guide/companion book that can be purchased from the Grace Book Store (or Amazon.com) for around $6, this is as well as Chuck Colson's book "the Good Life" are not required but I do recommend them both as they serve as very enriching companions to the study.

You can sign up at this link, contact me directly, or just show up and check it out.

THE DANGER ZONE : or how I learned to stop worrying and love the YouTubes

I thought this was a rather informative article in regards to the YouTube that everyone has come to know and love.


A little backstory to YouTube: Founded by three former PayPal employees in 2005 and in less than a decade has revolutionized internet media as it made videos something that anyone can share through it's easy to use and simple interface. In 2006 YouTube was purchased by Google Inc, and now operates as a subsidiary of the internet giant that is Google.


YouTube has often been criticized for not taking enough action to ensure that copyrighted material is protected and monitored on the site. After a lawsuit was filed by media giant ViaCom Google/YouTube implemented the Video ID system as a means of reducing violations of copyright laws by checking uploaded media against a database of copyrighted content. Previously uploaders would have encountered a warning discouraging the usage of copyrighted media in user's videos, whereas it was then up to the copyright holders to issue a takedown notice (as per the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, 1998).


I bring up this information because I think that it is important, if not just interesting, information to know (for the media savvy modern day american or denizen of the Internet). Recently my roommate attempted to upload a short video to YouTube only to be informed that his video cannot be viewed in various regions due to copyright issues with his usage of Kenny Loggin's "Highway to the Dangerzone" of Top Gun fame.


The following article gives a few pointers on how to avoid dooming your video to the same fate as my roommate's uploads. Obviously you have something you want to be shared, so here is how to do it without infringing on copyright law.

Article Amplify’d from mashable.com:

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4 Ways to Find Legal Music for Your YouTube Videos

Peter VanRysdam is the CMO of web design company 352 Media Group and the author of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World. Connect with him on Twitter @Peter352.

A good soundtrack can make or break a movie. The same holds true for your YouTube videos. The right song can help convey emotion or add humor. However, you can’t simply pluck a song from your iTunes library. Using a song you don’t own the rights to can leave your video looking more like a silent film. YouTube’s Audio ID technology automatically scans and detects copyrighted songs inside videos and, depending on who owns the rights, disables the audio or serves additional advertising on the video that is paid back to the rights holder.

So where does that leave the budding filmmaker? For most, jumping through the record companies’ hoops of acquiring rights isn’t realistic, especially for a video of your kid’s birthday party. YouTube’s enforcement means torrents are no longer the answer, and independent artists are looking for new ways to get their work heard.

Consequently, a host of options have popped up for users looking to integrate original music into their memes-to-be. Here’s a look at a few of them.

1. Creative Commons Licenses

If “all rights reserved” is the last thing you want to see when deciding which music to use, then Creative Commons is a beacon of light. The non-profit organization of the same name is designed to let artists share their work with the public with the creator maintaining certain rights. This includes pictures from individuals on sites like Flickr, content from Wikipedia, and, of course, audio tracks.

Not all Creative Commons licenses are equal. Artists can choose from four categories. The first, “attribution” (denoted as “by”), lets anyone share the work, provided they credit the creator. The “share alike” (sa) option lets others use your work, allowing they provide the same license for others to use the derivative works. “No derivative works” (nd) dictates the song can only be used verbatim. “Non-commercial” (nc) restricts songs to use in private videos, meaning companies or users looking to profit from advertising are out of luck.

Finding free Creative Commons audio is pretty simple. Some individual artists have created sites, like Incompetech.com and Danodongs.com to share their work, though each appreciate donations. If their styles don’t suit your needs, you can search sites like Jamendo, which boasts more than a quarter of a million tracks. Each song clearly lists the type of Creative Commons license allowed.

2. Stock Audio

Stock audio libraries work just like stock photo libraries, allowing you to license music for a particular application. But just like stock photos, the license is subject to a lengthy legal agreement restricting use. That said, costs are reasonable with sites like iStockphoto offering music rights from $3.60 to $95 depending on the license selected and type of payment plan you choose. This may be the best option if you’re considering well-known classical works from famous composers or versatile sound loops.

3. Pay-Per-Use

If you’re after a very specific sound, a more traditional pay-per-use license may be your best bet. Unlike the stock and creative commons options, most of the options are from professional, though not well-known, artists. Along with that may come higher prices. The costs depend largely on how specific your needs are, so if you need a specific song, expect to pay more.

The RumbleFish Music Licensing Store offers a wide variety of styles, with pricing equally diverse. While the price is contingent on factors like the type and duration of use, single songs can range from $5 for use in a video blog to more than $6,300 for lifetime use as a recurring theme in an advertisement video series. While that sounds like a lot, keep in mind RumbleFish stipulates the license is good for all galaxies, which has to be worth a few thousand at least.

If you’re fine with “in the style of” a particular artist, RumbleFish’s other site, Friendly Music, offers a great option at just $1.99 per track. Songs are indexed by genre, keyword, and even moods, like angry or optimistic. Independent artists can upload their work for a 50/50 profit share.

For videos longer than just a couple of minutes, or to have a common theme across multiple videos in a series, there’s Primary Elements. Users can download full CDs of royalty-free tracks that share a common musical style. License options range from $19 to $189 depending on whether the songs will be used for commercial purposes and if you plan to credit the website.

Copyrights don’t last forever, but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to use recordings of the classics. While copyright protection expires 70 years after an artist’s death, that only covers the composition. Mozart died well before 1940, but that doesn’t mean you can use a recording of the “Magic Flute” from the New York Philharmonic.

4. Public Domain

That means it’s time to dust off the piano and make your own recording. And if you auto-tune your version of the original, you can even file a new copyright for it.

Have you used any of these ways to add a soundtrack to YouTube videos? What other resources have you used?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hronos7 Read more at mashable.com

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Thanks for reading! Now for your (legal) listening pleasure, some TopGun goodness:

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Ode - Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy

ODE
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamer of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems. 

With wonderful deathless ditties,
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth. 

A breath of our inspiration,
Is the life of each generation.
A wondrous thing of our dreaming,
Unearthly, impossible seeming-
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising.
They had no divine foreshowing
Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broke,
A light that doth not depart
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore today is thrilling,
With a past day's late fulfilling.
And the multitudes are enlisted
In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of tomorrow,
Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for it's joy or it's sorrow,
The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing;
O men! It must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
Intrepid you hear us cry-
How, spite of your human scorning,
Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the corners
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers,
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamt not before;
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

(1844 - 1881)

     This is my favorite poem it really speaks to the poet/musician/artisan and the weight that the arts carry in culture and politics. The opening lines are probably the most quoted, and I've placed links to the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (where I originally heard it quoted). "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreamers," are beautiful but in my humble opinion it is all to often that I find that dreamers often waste time with words and ideas that lack actions, O'Shaughnessy however sums up the first stanza by saying "Yet we are the movers and shakers of the world for ever, it seems." Very interesting, and very moving.

     The power of the tongue however is something that is all too often overlooked and disregarded. James chapter 3 verses 2-12 says that the tongue is like a fire, after stating that even just a small spark can set the greatest of forests ablaze. Ships are steered by the smallest of rudders, and horses led by tiny bits in the mouth. Yet, the out of the mouth we simultaneously bless the Lord and Father while turning around and cursing our fellow man in nearly the same breath. A fountain cannot, and does not, outflow freshwater and bitter water. We need to be aware of our words and our actions, and make sure (as I have mentioned in earlier posts) that we are not aimlessly running (our mouth, our body, our life) or beating the air without meaning. Take control of your actions and your life, let Christ be the center, and discipline yourself to lose the duality of your mouth. For the mouths of the righteous (those harmonious with God) bring forth skillful and godly Wisdom, but the perverse tongue shall be cut down [like a barren and rotten tree]. 

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. God Bless you!

     

Lindenwood University Symphony Orchestra

Tonight I went to go see Lindenwood University's Symphony Orchestra play in their fall concert at the J.Scheidegger Center for the Performing Arts. This is an ensemble I have heard and played with periodically through the years; they have always been very mediocre (when compared to many other similar college string ensembles) having many intonation issues, rhythmic inaccuracies, and just an "eh" level of musicianship  in general.  Things were pleasantly different at this concert however.

The red curtains hung with anticipation prior to the concert as the audience came into the the house and found their seats. The ensemble could be heard warming up and tuning behind the curtains, nothing as of yet seemed out of ordinary or hinted at what was to come. The curtains opened and the concert mistress walked out and tuned the ensemble, still nothing out of the ordinary. She sat and a wild eyed and tall Wm. Shane Williams approached the podium and requested the audience to stand for the playing our very own National Anthem. Patriotic lighting of red, white, and blue appeared on the orchestral shell and the orchestra began to play. I could already hear the Symphony of sound that had been lacking all these years from the ensemble even with the very first few notes of the anthem.

The Maestro then introduced La Gazza Ladra Overture (the Thieving Magpie) by Gioacchino Rossini with a brief preface of how it was written and performed in a single day for the premier of the opera, ink still wet. The performance was energetic, lively, and had a full ensemble sound.

Reverie, Op. 24 of Alexandre Glazouno followed the overture, featuring senior Casey Cheever on Horn.   Mr. Cheever had an intelligent and intuitive comprehension of the melodic development, as well as a relaxed and controlled sound that seemed to float as if it were a cloud above the ensemble. It was delightful to listen to, to say the least.

As a finale for the concert the orchestra played a young Beethoven's Symphony No.1 (Op21. C Major). One could tell that parts of this were not as refined as the other three presentations were, however it did not detract from the performance in a terrible way. The orchestra presented a unified ensemble sound and finished the concert strong and with authority (the way ANY Beethoven composition should be played).

As a final note of summation, it is safe to say that I enjoyed the concert and will be anxiously waiting for the next concert and the new heights to which this ensemble should soar to. I see only greatness in their future if they continue to improve like this.

   

Time for a run

Ok. So I haven't seriously ran since I graduated from high school (Geez, its already been two years, doesn't seem like it's been that long), currently I jog a mile or two every couple of days, but nothing competitive at all. Anywho. I plan on being competitive in Lindenwood's upcoming 5k run/walk in October, so just to see where I am at currently I pushed myself to run an entire 5k this morning nonstop and managed make it in at 27 minutes. . .so I will keep pushing myself until October, and I will not be disappointed with any time I get, 27 is a pretty decent time, especially first time with no competition pushing me. I will keep I Corinthians 9:24-27 in mind as I train:

     " Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, 

but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 

Athletes exercise self-control in all things; 

they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. 

So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; 

but I punish my body and enslave it,

 so that after proclaiming to others 

I myself should not be disqualified."

"Exercise self-control in all things," that is an interesting thought. I am reminded of what the Greek philosopher/physician/scientist Aristotle said on excellence:

    "We are what we repeatedly do; 

Excellence ,therefore, is not an act but a habit" 

As with my athletic training I plan on staying disciplined with my spiritual training and not get side-tracked during this upcoming school year. Who I am is not who I was, and I will not be the fool that returns to his folly. I've got my eye on the prize and I will not be deterred this time around. I will rejoice in the Lord at all times in all circumstances for by His grace I am saved, and by His grace I will be provided for, there is nothing more I need. The Lord is my Shepard. I shall not want.

God Bless,

   Poncho

Major Change

Literally. I just changed majors not too long ago after much prayer and speaking with folks with experience and wisdom. Formally, I was a Music Education and Percussion Performance dual major. After realizing the lessened market for teachers, and that all of the people I have always sought to emulate have been men like Warren Buffett and Richard Branson I decided to switch out the Music Education degree path for a degree in Business Administration (which is a fairly broad degree).

Life is good right now. My God has blessed me, and I am highly favored.

Recent Projects:
   Made myself a new messenger bag with discount fabrics from JoAnn's
   Sewed my sneakers back together
Current Projects:
   LeaveMeAlone Box
   Lyre 2.0

God Bless,
   Poncho