methinks

West Indiana Day Parade

The video doesn't come close to capturing the atmosphere of the event. If I could somehow pump thumping bass through your computer speakers the video might be a decent approximation, but until then, this will have to do.

Click here to see the video (.wmv - 36 MB)

English Song Competition

It was the spring semester of 2004 and I was a guest of honor at the school's annual English Song Competition. As a guest of honor, I got a seat near the front and a cup of tea with free refills, although my refills didn't come as often as the judges. You might be wondering why I myself wasn't a judge at this event. Well....I think I kinda got a reputation for being a hardcore, face-robbing judge at some previous events. I didn't realize that even though the possible score range was 1 to 10, the actual scores should fall between 9.0 and 10.0 The 6.3 I gave caused quite a scandal. Anyway...I wasn't invited to judge this one. So I videoed instead.

The Best
This is Lark singing and dancing her way to first place with Everything You Do. Definitely worth a watch.

Click here to watch Lark strut her stuff. (7.9MB)

The Rest
They're all winners in my book, that goes without saying, but only one can be THE winner and get their full performance on the internet. Everyone else has to settle for their 15 second snippet in this video. I think there were 16 contestants overall. Some of them were really good and came close to beating Lark; some of them were less than really good. I've tried to capture the best of each performance...maybe this should be called the best of the rest.

Click here to watch everyone else. (11.6MB)

Robert
If ever there was a showman among the faculty at Qiannan Normal College, it would be Yang Bingwu, aka Five, aka Hwife, aka Robert. Performing I Love You More Then I Can Say, he gives the kiddies a lesson in crowd pleasing.

Click here to watch Robert bring the house down. (6.0MB)

The Scroll of Wisdom

When I moved into my new apartment in Duyun, I was fortunate enough to find a scroll of ancient wisdom just lying about on a desk.

In this video, I translate the tale and hopefully maintain the same poetic impact of the original.

Click here to watch me decipher the scroll (2.9 mb)

Actors Studio

Last year David selected a short play for our Advanced Class, not to perform it but to build confidence and have some fun. I'd say we achieved both those aims.

I had the bright idea to video the "rehearsals" thinking I'd be able to eek out some kind of nostalgic montage at some point. What I didn't realize at the time is that a camcorder mic three yards away from the subject (who is in a concrete classroom with tile floor)...well, it didn't pick up much discernible speech. At least to the untrained ear. If you speak excellent Chinglish you'd probably be able to make out a lot, but still not enough to merit a nostalgic montage.

What we have here instead are two short clips where the intensity is high enough to register on the mic...and in our hearts.

Click here to watch David and Marrissa in Thirteen (3.4 mb)

Click here to watch David and Julia in Sixteen (0.3 mb)

Chengdu Pandas

I know everyone has seen pandas on TV before, and I'd guess that 90% of people reading this right now have seen these particular pandas (at the panda preserve in Chengdu) in person. So yeah, not much new here. Maybe it will bring back some fond memories for you.

Click here to see adult pandas eating (3.6 mb)

Click here to see a baby panda playing (4.1 mb)

Christmas in China: The Videos

I guess you could say I'm a little behind in editing footage I shot in China; these videos come from Christmas 2003, not 2004.

On Christmas morning Class 1 (2001) wishes my family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with a song, then several students and teachers send out individual greetings.

Click here to watch the video (3.8mb)

You might remember the post Christmas in China , in which I wrote about the sumptuous feast, silly games and warm company I shared on Christmas evening. The first of these two videos features a game in which you must pick up a box from the floor with your teeth. It's hard to explain. Just watch the video.

Click here to watch the video (5.3mb)

The last video is a montage from the gift exchange. It's a quick glimpse of the people who made it a memorable evening.

Click here to watch the video (5.4mb)

The Lecture

The man featured in this video lived and taught in Duyun with me. Anticipating that the college would ask him to give a lecture at some point, he took a steady stream of photos in America while waiting to return to China (after being evacuated like me because of SARS). When he finally did return to China, he was indeed asked to give a lecture. He spent hours weaving together a PowerPoint journey which chronicled his life in America and his preparations to move to China. It was a masterpiece of slide presentation artistry. Unfortunately, it was never seen by the masses. Often times in China, things don't go as planned. This video is one example of such Chinese chaos.

The date is December 22, 2003. The location is the main lecture hall of my college in Duyun, Guizhou. I've taught most all of the students in the room.

The Lecture -- 12MB