Matchbook Films

Click to viewLength: 2:56In the kids' area at the county fair this year there stood a small stage in front of a couple of benches. There was no schedule of performers or showcases, just a live gooseneck microphone at a kid-friendly height. When we first walked past, a couple of girls were using it to sing "Happy Birthday" together. The boy appeared not to take notice. A few minutes later, however, when there was no one on stage and no one in the audience, he wandered up the ramp, muttered a few words into the microphone, and stepped back down again. After a few more tentative experiments, he marched back up and launched into a complete song, an En Vogue number from Sesame Street (complete with the requisite melisma). While his diction is... imprecise, his rhythm is surprisingly good. He even attempts to sing much of the song while inhaling, in his attempt to keep the beat. I have included the song in its entirety, so nota bene.The general shakiness of the video is due to the effect of Christa's foot tapping on the bench on which we were seated. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week27

Click to viewLength: 0:48 Saturday I participated in City Chase San Francisco, an "urban adventure" in the mold of The Amazing Race. Our final challenge was to bowl a strike or a spare. With one small catch. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week26

Click to viewLength: 0:27A spontaneous adaptation of a poem entitled "I Like Peanut Butter" from an out-of-print children's book the boy has at one of his two schools (he won't say which). Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week25

Click to viewLength: 0:44Creakily climbing back up on the horse after a jarring dismount. Aided by my Father's Day present, a Flip mino.Up to this point I've typically avoided footage of the boy playing to the camera, but with the Flip he's had a bit of a conceptual breakthrough. He's not just performing for my benefit--he's performing for his own.Photo (cc) by Marko Kivelä. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week24

Click to viewLength: 1:42Just smile and nod and pretend that it's still Videoblogging Week 2008. It'll all soon be over. 6 of 7. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week17, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 1:11Every day is Videoblogging Week 2008 if you just believe it in your heart. Number 5 of 7. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week17, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 1:17Missed a day due to a self-inflicted eyeglass injury and utter exhaustion. So for me this is Day 4 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week16, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 1:57Day 3 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week16, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 1:45My testy relationship with food continues.You may note the clock in the background. The one whose batteries I should have removed before shooting. You may also note it was late in the evening when I made this. Turns out my wireless RF mic messes with the satellite TV reception downstairs where my in-laws are staying, so unless I can figure out an alternate plan I'll have to wait each night until they're asleep.Day 2 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week16, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 1:39Yeah... I don't like 'em. Day 1 of 7 of Videoblogging Week 2008. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week16, videobloggingweek2008

Click to viewLength: 0:24New Year's Day 2008. The boy's slide-ascension skills continue to improve. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week15

Click to viewLength: 1:25A bit of hay bale fun from October 2007. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week14

Click to viewLength: 3:42Been tweaking this thing for hours in the attempt to disquise my occasionally off key singing and the fact that I recorded it with terrible microphones (the Xacti HD and PowerBook G4 internals, to be precise).Decided to call it quits, went back and (mostly) de-effected it. The vocal and banjo overdubs remain, but the instrumental break is sans solo.I used to perform music live, but I'm desperately out of practice.I'll stand by the song, though. Poor white steamboat worker from the wrong side of the river falls for middle-class mulatto city girl, circa 1861. (Historical language in effect.)Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like to know why a Gen X California Hapa would be writing a song like this in the first place. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week13

Click to viewLength: 1:41"100 Years in Cinema" is the title card slogan for the collaborative movie clip party I host each year with friends. Back in August 2005 I posted the opening montage from the 8th Edition to the videoblog.Lately it's become a favorite of the boy's when we watch old Matchbook Films videos in the kitchen via Front Row. The fast-paced onscreen action and the Chemical Brothers beats make a compelling argument for a dance party of one. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week12

Click to viewLength: 0:51Earlier this month I hosted a photo scavenger hunt in downtown San Francisco. One of the items on the list steered teams to this video on YouTube. The style is old-school vlog with a pretty basic GarageBand underlay, but since I've not made one like this before I thought I'd share it here.There are a couple of other videos I've made this year in other contexts that I should maybe post for Semanal 08. Since I'm so far behind.... Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week11

Click to viewLength: 0:42A pantsless summer moment in MN. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week10

Click to viewLength: 0:38This week the boy discovered the falling baker from the early years of Sesame Street. He's learning well. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week9

Click to viewLength: 0:35Subtle but significant change of pace for me. For the casual viewer: not much to see, feel free to move along. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week8

Click to viewLength: 0:34August 2007. In which the boy goes for a spin. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week7

Click to viewLength: 0:46October 2007. In which the boy takes matters into his own hands. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week6

Click to viewLength: 0:20Going to the park after a summer rain helps clarify the relationship between a waterslide and a standard playground slide. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week5

Click to viewLength: 0:08 Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week4

Click to viewLength: 0:17A quick Christmas moment. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week3

Click to viewLength: 7:55In casual conversation it is often difficult to explain life with a hyperlexic boy. My wife's brilliant new blog has begun to open the eyes of more people to some of the particulars of our family's life together. And I of course have more than a hundred individual video posts that fill in even more detail. But I've generally edited my "Story Time" series pretty tightly, to capture just the highlights of the boy's recitations. This time I'm inviting you to experience this family pastime in near-real time. We tell people that he memorizes and recites stories, but those who haven't had (or taken) the time to really listen to him may not understand that this is not merely passive brain activity. Storytelling for him is PLAY. The story, in this case, is one of the most beautifully written and illustrated picture books in our collection, OWL MOON, the 1988 Caldecott Medal winner by Jane Yolen. The boy knows it from a Scholastic video adaptation, and from the hardcover book. The audio from the DVD--read by the author--is also available as a download from iTunes. It's the story told in the voice of a young girl walking in the snowy woods, the first time she's been allowed to accompany her father on a late night search for owls. The book makes for excellent bedtime reading, and makes an outstanding gift for fathers of young children (especially girls). The boy and I have taken this walk many times after dark. On one beautiful evening back in August 2007, I brought my camera along. Technorati Tags: semanal08, semanal08week2

Click to viewLength: 0:39The big present from Santa this year was a 45-pound trike. just like the ones at his preschool Took the boy to the elementary school blacktop to give it a spin (our street is too hilly). He prefers to scoot, rather than pedal, and can move a lot faster than I expected. Didn't want to be one of those parents who puts a helmet on their kid on a tricycle, but um... Week 1 of Semanal, a 52-week videoblogging adventure.

Click to viewLength: 1:11Those old enough to remember the Electric Company (or hip enough to have bought the DVD box set) will likely remember the "Sign Song", written by Clark Gesner, and unmistakably arranged by Joe Raposo. The boy's current affinity for the song is due in part to its second half, in which the vocals are omitted (so that viewers could read the signs and sing along at home).Here he demonstrates his mastery of the song (including an unintentional endnote on the mp3 I hijacked from the DVD), and a camera awareness I've not revealed in the past.Couldn't resist, though. Cuteness prevailed.

Click to viewLength: 1:15This one's dark, gotta admit it. Not, like, heavy or serious. Just: almost impossible to see.

Click to viewLength: 1:59Practicing a few comedy fundamentals in the mirror before heading off to bed.One of the reasons the boy's extended family and friends initially had trouble understanding his autism assessment was his impish sense of humor. It's not something that's seen in the forms of autism typically shown on talk shows and news programs (what I like to call "TV autism"), but the spectrum is both broad and mysterious. Christa's doing a fantastic job chronicling the particulars of the boy's special spot on the spectrum in her new blog.He has always loved making us laugh, especially during the evening bathroom ritual. (See here and here for relevant examples.) Of course, he still needs to work on that whole making himself laugh while he's doing it. Not everyone can get away with what they got away with on the Carol Burnett show.

Click to viewLength: 0:33Would you believe Christmas morning, 2006?

Click to viewLength: 0:43Taking a break from the trip down memory lane, with a moment from earlier today. Can you spot the boy?