Happy New Year!!!

Well, everyone! Today's the day! I'd just like to wish everyone a...

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Expect for more blog posts coming every week on Saturdays!

Struggling With Ambitions

I do not usually do this, but I'd like to make this blog post a little more about me. Please stick with me here, as this may interest you.

Over the course of last week, I had a very strong ambition that was unlike any other. It isn't surprising to have many random ambitions pop into my head at times. Let me tell you now: Deep down, I am an entrepreneur. I feel it. I know it. I've always loved the sight of money and earning money. I love the feeling of having that power and being able to spend money for my own desire. Please note that I am wise with my money and I am not greedy.

I know it is perceived as disrespectful to buy someone a giftcard for their birthday or for the holidays. For me, however, I view it a different way. I think of giftcards as someone saying, "Here you go. This is yours. You buy what you desire and what you wish." and not "I didn't know what you wanted, so here you go."

I'm still a very young kid. I am always trying to think of creative ways to make money that isn't just allowance or chores around the house (even though we could use some of that). When I tell my friends I would like to make money, they are always like, "Ask your parents for some money or do extra chores!" There comes my point - I don't want to receive money from my parents, because when I get money in that form, it seems as if nothing has changed because it was my parents' money; therefore, it technically could be my money already. I want to make money from the outside world as it gives me a feeling of gratitude and accomplishment.

So my most recent ambition was to make an iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad application. Many problems had struck me. Some of the problems are as follows:

What is my idea for an app?

How will I make money/market the app?

I can't design an application! Who will do it for me?

How the heck is this going to work?

This list could go on and on folks. My point is, I am not going to give up on this (at least not right away). Hopefully, someone out there can help me design my application and I could acquire Internet stardom at an early age or be quite rich. My question for this week isn't really a question - it is more of a task:

Stick with your ambitions and turn dreams into reality.

I know this might seem like a nursery rhyme quote or something, but honestly, let that sink into your mind and think about it. Maybe something will be able to go your way...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!

My Sixth Sense

Almost everyone I know has a unique sense other than sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. If you search hard enough, you might be able to find your sixth sense. It isn't exactly a sense, but it's something unique that you feel only pertains for you. It comes naturally, and you have to think of what you've done earlier.

I think that my sixth sense is very interesting. As being one of the computer junkies in my family, I have the sense to know when someone has left the television on. I hear a faint buzzing sound in my ear and I know that the TV is still on. It is very strange, but it helps because I can help save some energy from being wasted.

http://watermarked.cutcaster.com/cutcaster-photo-100856711-The-5-senses.jpg & edited by the blogger.

Sciencists always argue whether there are more than five senses, such as the sense of pain. I still believe that there are only five senses, but having a sixth sense is just a saying. So, if you think you have one like me, it's not really another sense, but it is something unique that most people probably wouldn't have. I would like to hear what your sixth sense is, so my question for this week is...

What is your sixth sense?

Challenge Time! #1: The Amish Spirit

As I watched one of the new Family Guy episode that aired on November 28th, 2011, an idea struck me. The idea was to set up some challenges for my blog viewers once in a while. Many of you out there may not enjoy the adult cartoon humor, but I however, find it to be hilarious. The new episode had the main character, Peter Griffin's car break down in the Amish country. Everyone hated the life there with no modern day technology for the Griffin family. The Amish treat them as guests until Peter causes some issues within the Amish country. It is then a battle of technology vs. modern times. Eventually, the two make up and become friends in the end.

Of course with the crude humor that makes up Family Guy there were a couple of stereotypical jokes about the Amish. I hope this does not offend anyone. My favorite part of the episode was when Peter was "introducing rock & roll" to the Amish which they were not too pleased with. Below is a picture from the scene:

This image is copyright of Fox.

Anyways, I was thinking about the Amish and how they can survive with so little technology. I remembered the idea from last year when one of my teachers tried to make us go a week without electronics and then we had to blog about it on our class blog. I failed the challenge within the first 12 hours as I am very dependent on electronics - especially computers. This week, I am challenging my blog viewers to try and go a day - just a day - without the use of technology, just as I did. That means no computers, iPads, iPhones, iPods, electric blenders, coffee machines, washing machines, electric fans, etc. I would like to hear about your experiences and complications that arise during the challenge in the comments!

EDIT: (December 30, 2011)

Try out this Peter Griffin soundboard! Click on one of the phrases for Peter to say it!

Soundboard Archive - Prank Call Soundboards

4 Interesting Ways to Get Rid of a Sore Throat Immediately

As the winter season approaches, we might start to be getting colds and notice we are getting some symptoms of them, including sore throats. This how-to guide will show you how to get rid of sore throats immediately.

Everyone gets a sore throat at some point. When I get a cold or a symptom of a cold, I stop at NOTHING to eradicate them right away. I do my research and test out some of my own ways to get rid of a sore throat right away. Some ways listed may be truly disgusting, but they absolutely work if done correctly. As there are only four ways listed here, notice that these are to get rid of it IMMEDIATELY.

1. Swallow Vinegar

As disgusting as it may seem, swallowing just a spoonful of vinegar eliminates the sore throat right away. I always try this method first as it works best for me.  Vinegar has a very strong taste and smell so try not to think about it when you have it and don't be nervous. Just think: "One gulp and it's gone." Make sure you have water around for after you swallow it.

2. Gargling Salt Water

This is one of those methods that works to get the mucus out of your throat. Take half a mug full of water and heat it for 30 seconds in a microwave or until very warm. Using the hottest temperature of water your mouth can hold works best. Next, take a spoonful of salt (you don't need that much) and put it into the cup of warm water. Stir it up and go to your bathroom. Take mouthfuls of the salt water and gargle it as if it were mouth wash. After about 30-45 seconds, spit it out and repeat until the mug is empty. It is a repetitive process, but it gets rid of the mucus in your throat.

3. Hot Drinks

If this doesn't work, resorting to hot drinks works best. Keeping your body hydrated is the next step in getting rid of a sore throat. Make hot drinks such as tea or warming up some orange juice. Try to only have heated drinks and avoid soft drinks like soda.

4. Use a Humidifier When You Rest

Adding a humidifier to the room you are resting in helps you breathe in the water vapor and clear your sinuses. It also keeps you warm in the room. It helps release the mucus in your sinuses, helping you to breathe better. Swollen sinuses is usually a cause of a sore throat. Do not purposely try to breathe it in. It just happens naturally.

I hope these methods worked for you! Happy holidays!

A New Year is Asking You A Question

As Thanksgiving wraps up, the holiday spirit doesn't break as Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years Eve and other holidays are coming up. I would like to point out New Years Eve and New Years Day. New Years is not all about staying up all night and partying until the ball drops... It is more about making a change for the next year - A New Years resolution.

A resolution for New Years could be a goal, changing a habit,  or anything else! Resolutions require you to think of something that fits for you personally. The hardest part of a resolution is following through with it. You have to stick with it, otherwise, you have no goal to work towards. Resolutions aren't meant to be easy, and resolutions help you change and develop into a better you. As long as you can make your own personal resolution and follow through, you'll have something else to be proud of!

Most people give up on their New Years resolution by the end of January and I'm sure most people don't even consider making a resolution. Well, there is a vast selection of resolutions you can choose from. Some are as easy as brushing your teeth (believe me, some people don't) and some are as different as working out every day. Some common resolutions for adults were exercising more, paying off debt, and learning something new. I believe that these are some great ideas for resolutions.

My New Years resolution is to clean off my contacts when I take them out instead of just popping them into the lens case. At the end of the day, everyone is so tired, and so am I. Having to take out my contacts and clean them with solution can be quite some work which explains why I chose it. It might seem like a very simple task, but having to keep it up for a whole year can be a challenge for me.

My question this week obviously will be...

What is your New Years Resolution?

How To Create A ToonTown Music Video

This is my first How-To blog post. I decided to make a How-To video on something that will be easy for me. Let's get started.

You will need:

Windows Movie Maker

Hypercam

ToonTown

Audio/Song

OPTIONAL: ToonTown Membership

OPTIONAL: ToonTown Friend

Step 1. Decide What You Will Do

Before anything, you must decide what song you will be creating a music video for, what people will be in it, when you will have time to do it, and whether or not you will be creating a music video of the whole song or just a part of it.

Step 2. Set Up HyperCam

Hypercam is a legitimate way to record your screen. To use Hypercam, download it here (its free and there are no viruses). It does not matter what version you download. Next, open it up. this screen should come up:

 

Make sure ToonTown is running in windowed mode. First, go to the "Sounds" tab and make sure you are not recording sound by checking if the "record sound" box is unchecked. Go to the "AVI File" tab and select a destination for all of your clips will be stored. Next, click on the "Screen Area" tab and click on "Select Region." This will create a + sign. Drag the + over to the top left of where you would like to record and click. Drag the other end over to the bottom right of where you would like to record and click. This sets the area of where you would like to record.

Step 3. Record Your Material

Next, you are going to record all the parts of the music video. It is better to have someone else be the star of the music video (or multiple stars) rather than yourself as you can record from different angles. To record yourself, press the "Tab" button on your keyboard while playing ToonTown. Say your phrase in a bubble. If you have a friend, tell your friend what to say in a bubble. To create a bubble, type a "." before your phrase i.e. ".Impress BT" will appear:

Fun Fact: Impress BT is the ToonTown Font!

They should copy what you say in a bubble. After that, tell them what you want them to do when you record. They could spin in a circle, do an emotion, run away, or not do anything at all. Once they are aware of what they are doing, count to 3 and press F2 which is the hot key for Hypercam to record. You should see a red square which indicates where you are recording. Make sure you film a long time before you press F2 again to stop recording. Pressing F2 too soon will cause you to get a short clip which won't fit the length of the song's phrase. If this does happen however, you have two choices: Film the clip again (recommended) or slow down the scene when we get to editing. Once you finish that clip, move on to the next one and repeat. Get creative when recording and record from different angles for a nice touch to your video.

Step 4. Import Your Clips

Open up Windows Movie Maker by clicking "Start" and then "All Programs" and import your song. Drag it into the timeline. Next, import all of the clips that make up your song and place them in order in which you would like them to appear.

Step 5. Sync Your Clips Together With The Song

This is the hardest part for most people. First, if there is an intro of the song with just background music, either have someone just dance and play that for the intro, or say what song you are making a music video for and possibly the artist of the song by clicking under Edit Movie where it says "Titles and Credits" and following the directions as shown. Second is the longest part of this step where you finally get to crop your video down to sync with the time the words hit the screen and when the song plays. Since it is hard to explain, I will show you how to do so in the video below.

Step 6. Add Effects To Your Video To Make It Look Nice

After all of your hard word syncing everything perfectly together, it is time to finally make your video look chic and snazzy by adding some effects. Depending on which Windows Movie Maker version you have, you might have different effects. Now that you have all of your clips synced together, you can add effects to each clip. This is fine, however, you can make it look even more creative if you split your clips in to pieces somewhere randomly in the middle and add an effect in between as shown below. Splitting clips in to pieces does not change the length of each clip and does not affect your video and can be done so by clicking in between a clip and going to "Clip" and pressing "Split" at the top or by pressing Ctrl+L. Hence, adding effects in between clips adds a very good effect to your whole video.

Step 7. Render Your Video & Upload!

Congratulations! You have finished your video! Be sure to play the video a couple times to make sure you like it. Do not upload your Windows Movie Maker (MSWMM) file. YouTube does not accept videos in the form of .MSWMM so you must render the video by going to "File" and clicking "Save Movie File." Follow the directions to rendering your video and save it somewhere where you can find it. Go to your YouTube, click upload and browse for the .WMA file you created. Enter the video description, tags, settings, etc. and press save. You have successfully uploaded your ToonTown Music Video. If there are any problems, I am positive

FAQs:

I can't find Windows Movie Maker!

If you don't have Windows Movie Maker, there is a virus-free download on the Microsoft website and you can download Windows Movie Maker by clicking here. However, before you do this, you might want to check if you have it already. Go to "Start" and search your computer for files and folders by typing in "Windows Movie Maker" and clicking "Search."

I have Windows Live Movie Maker. Can I still make a video?

Absolutely, but unfortunately, this blog post is only showing how to make a ToonTown music video in other versions of Windows Movie Maker, so I cannot help you with Windows Live Movie Maker.

My .WMA video has blacked-out parts! What do I do?!!?

This has happened to me before and it is horrible to discover that a video that I just made has not been successfully rendered. Honestly, this cannot be fixed but there are a couple tricks that work to fix this issue. As complex as it may seem, open up your original Windows Movie Maker project (.MSWMM) file in Windows Movie Maker and cut the whole project down into four parts and rendering each at a time. Take each part, render, re-open the file, cut another part, and repeat. Do not save at any point in this process as you will lose all of your video. To be safe, I suggest making a second .MSWMM file just in case you make a mistake. After you have your four sections, stick them all together with the original audio and render it again. Doing so will allow the video to render easily instead of rendering each effect all at once. 

If this doesn't work, you must resort to using Hypercam to record your video on Windows Movie Maker. Select the region of where you would like to record on Windows Movie Maker, play the song and record. Import the clip into Windows Movie Maker, add the audio and render. This causes tremendous amounts of lag in your final video, but if the blackness continues, this is the final method I have to fix it for you.

My clip is too short! What do I do?!!?

All you have to do is give the shortened clip the "Slow Down, Half" effect as many times as needed to fit the length of the phrase in the song.

The star of my video can't see what I'm saying! What do I do?!!?

ToonTown does this to filter out mildly-explicit content. You must be a member to fix this problem as only your true friends are able to see or do this. Although this may look unprofessional, you must manipulate the words with use of symbols and bad grammar.

For example, if your phrase is "I like to rock it hard with my love," ToonTown allows you to say all of it in SpeedChat Plus but only you are able to see it. Saying your phrase by accident like this 99% of the time will not get you banned. No one will be able to see what you just said except you so make sure you ask your star if they can see what you are saying. If they can't, then take the phrase (for example) "I like to rock it hard with my love," you could say "I Iike t0 rawkk it h@rd wit mahh l0v3." Notice a couple of things: in "like" it says the capital letter "i" for an "l." Also notice the number zero in the word "to" and the "at" symbol in "hard." Finally, notice the word "my" looks like "mahh" to trick the ToonTown SpeedChat into thinking there is nothing wrong with it. Keep trying different ways until your other person can see it and have them copy exactly as you have it. Again, this looks very unprofessional, but there is no other way to fix it (besides a different video editing program).

My Video Has Been Copyrighted! What Do I Do?!!?

With a copyrighted video, go to "My Videos" on YouTube, find the video that was copyrighted, click on "View Copyright Info," click "I Want To Learn More About The Dispute Process," and click "Take Me To The Dispute Form." Next, select option 2 and copy/paste the following text into the box:

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

  

Type in your full name, copy/paste the good-faith belief, and submit your dispute.

This is telling YouTube that you have permission to upload the video with its audio. If you are still not able to retrieve your audio, you can try the dispute process again but this time type in "I do not own anything in this video. That includes the audio and the visual." and fill out the rest of the information. 

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any issues caused by the information on this blog post. This blog post is for educational purposes only and I am not affiliated with YouTube or Google.  

For some examples of music videos, check some of mine out:

11/11/11 at 11:11:11 AM

11/11/11 is almost like an apocalypse. Numerology, which is the study of numbers, says that the number 11 is the master number and means a new beginning. It is amazing that this week, the day had come where once in a century, the rare 11/11/11 date has come. What is even more ironic is that 11:11 is considered the best time for wishing. So, on 11/11/11 at 11:11, everyone had the opportunity to believe in the power of 11:11 and make a wish.

Why 11/11/11? Why not 12/12/12 or 10/10/10? Well, one obvious reason is that 11/11/11 is composed of all 1's. The other reason is there is a lot of background history that follows 11/11/11. Also, 11 is considered an angelic number and if you see it often, you are considered angelic. There is a lot more history that if you really want to see a bunch of different theories, you must do more research. Nothing can be proved however. People just have to believe what is already out there.

Believing in all this depends. It depends whether or not you consider it true or not, or if it relates to your culture/religion. As for me, I am very superstitious but I, however only somewhat believe in the power of 11:11. If you'd really like to hear more about numerology, I suggest searching it on Google or clicking here to do so.

There happens to be a website that is very superstitious and believes highly in 11:11 that is found here. I've actually tried to make a wish and follow through with all the crazy tasks, but I could never believe in it. Before you go any further, let me tell you the website is a scam, I've looked over the website and found Google AdSense Advertisements, which is an application by Google to get money. Obviously, the creators made the page to scam people into using their website to make a "wish." and get themselves money. Also, if you look on the testimonials, they all say, "Wow! It really works!" and all that stuff you would like to hear. Honestly, they remove all of the negative comments and keep the positive ones. They also create their own that say positive things. There is a display on the page of how many wishes are left. A couple of months after I failed to complete my wishes, I check back to realize that the number of available wishes has gone up from 500 to 3,000! Do not be fooled by this website.

As of 11/11/11 also being Veterans Day, I also don't want to forget to thank all of our Veterans and current Military members for all of your service. Our freedoms wouldn't be the way they are without you :)

So, as always, my question to the readers for this week...

Do you believe in the power of 11:11?

11:11

My Celebrity Cousin!

Since I am still early in my blog, I thought I would tell you a really big secret. Many of you guys know this person from movies, TV shows, magazines, etc. I've talked to him on the phone and met his parents in person. I am related to this popular guy. I have his autograph and his parents' autographs. This person is...

STEVE CARELL!

Yes, many of you did not know this, and I thought I'd share this secret with you guys. It was amazing to know that my second-cousin (my mother's cousin) is Steve Carell.

Steve Carell. The movie actor. The TV star. The first movie where he really got attention was in Bruce All Mighty where his hair was on fire... This triggered some attention and the audience wanted to see more. He got offered to star in movies such as Despicable Me, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Horton Hears A Who, and many others. Evan All Mighty was the sequel to Bruce All Mighty, which was one of the first movies he starred in. His most popular TV show he starred in, The Office, was a blast to watch. It's sad to hear that he left... :(

If you guys don't believe me, you'd better see these two signed autographs. One from him and one from his parents, Edwin and Harriet Carell:

When I spent the afternoon with Steve Carell's parents, it just so happened that Steve was checking in with his parents on the phone and his dad (who he called) offerred me to talk to him. Here is the video of me talking to Steve Carell on the phone. I sound so happy and shy because I was so nervous. I'd actually prefer if you didn't watch this...

So how specifically is he related to me? Well, he is my second cousin, of course. Here is a little family tree..

Steve Carell has won several Golden Globe Awards for best comedy and musical performance.

Here is a picture that was taken of his parents and I.

It is fun to see everyone's reaction when I tell them at school. The answer I usually get is either "Wow, that's amazing, Michael!" or "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU." Either way, I'm happy. Even though I don't feel famous (and I shouldn't anyway), it is incredible to know that my second cousin is Steve Carell. 

If you want to find out more about my cousin, click on any of the following links:

Steve

Carrel

Is

An

Awesome

Person

So my question for this week to my readers...

Are you related to anyone who is famous? If not, who is your favorite celebrity?

The YouTube Project

In school the other day, I was asked to take a topic that I could research for the next couple of days that I would not lose interest about. The research project had nothing to do with our history class, and at first I had no idea why she wanted us doing research. Let me tell you now. It was hard doing research on something whose website is blocked at school.

Our class had recently had our unit assessment on ancient civilizations, and our teacher had us do another assignment. The homework after the day of the test was to create a list of interests. The interests I put down consisted of baking, skateboarding, video-editing, FaceBooking, YouTubing, and many other broad topics. The teacher made us narrow the list down again the next day to one final topic. At this point, I realized we were going to do research, but that was all I knew. My topic for research was YouTube.

Over the course of the week, the teacher had laptops in the classroom, and it was the class of the day I actually felt happy walking in to. It was fun to be able to relax and just sit on a laptop for 45 minutes and do research about YouTube. The only downside is, our school is extremely strict with what websites we are allowed on and every time someone tries to get onto YouTube at school, the filters filter out YouTube as "adult content." Really? Like no kid has seen YouTube before? Of course that the administrators might be afraid us students will be goofing off and search up something mildly inappropriate like smosh or search up something stupidly funny like Nyan Cat (which I actually found enjoyable). If students these days were trusted by teachers, then maybe we would be allowed on YouTube or another adult website under permission. Let me just say that it is hard doing research on a topic whose website is blocked at school. 

Luckily, there were actually a lot of other sites that helped me do my research and I was able to gather a lot of information about YouTube. My notes are shown below.

Note page one

Note page two

 ...I was glad I chose YouTube as my topic. It kept me interested and as you might be able to tell, most people do not know all of this. Did you know that Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created YouTube in 2005? Did you know that they were all former PayPal employees? Did you know the idea for YouTube was thought of in a garage in Pennsylvania? It was very interesting what I found out. Without my teacher forcing me to research YouTube, I wouldn't be able to say what I know today. At the bottom of the first note page I also made a giant list of viral videos...

Research:

All Your Base, PB&J Time, Dancing Baby,

Star Wars Kid, Badger (x3), Numa Numa,

Charlie The Unicorn, Charlie Bit My Finger,Leave Britney Alone, The Mysterious Ticking Noise, Rick Roll, and Keyboard Cat.

What really interested me was when Google became affiliated with YouTube. Apparently, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars in stocks! That put me in shock for a couple of minutes. After that, I explained how YouTube got its name, listed some YouTube partners, and stated what a partner was. 

Research:

YouTube: You: Your Videos. Tube: Broadcasting Area.

Partners: smosh, nigahiga (hopefully won't be suspended for writing that), fred, mysteryguitarman, shanedawson, etc.

Partner: Someone whose videos are very popular and apply to join the partnership program where the partner's videos earn revenue because Google places ads next to their videos. Google, the ad owner, and the partner gain money via Google AdSense.

I think the main idea for my teacher making the class do research (other than avoid reading history) was to prepare us to get ready to do some actual hardcore graded research projects...

So my question to my readers...

Have you ever actually LIKED doing research and have you remembered anything from the research you did?

Happy Halloween everyone! Too bad it's on a Monday this year... :/

Hello To Blogging!

Hurray! Marioluigiman8 has created his first blog!....... Why must I talk in third-person...
Today has marked my 500th subscriber on my YouTube channel! I'm so thankful for all of you that have subscribed! Expect new blog posts weekly on Saturdays!

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