So, I have this bit of video from one of my old bands that I want to post on my blog, but it needs to be cut and spiced up before it is ready for public consumption. I could use one of the many DV editors available for Windows XP, but made a pledge long ago to use open source software as much as possible. Cinelerra is considered the top of the line open source video editors. I have been trying to use this video editing program on several different Linux OS’s but had been running into various problems. I have always been a fan of Debian based distros, mainly because of the excellent package management system call Apt-Get. But I either couldn’t get the right dependencies (64 Studio, Debian Etch) or my external hard drive, where my video is stored, wouldn’t mount (Ubuntu). I decided to give this a try using Fedora 8. I had it installed on my laptop last year and remembered that my external hard drive mounted with no problem. Now to install Cinelerra. At first I had some problems with dependencies, and found that the instructions I was using to install Cinelerra were outdated. Here is what worked for me:
If you haven’t done so, install the Livna repository.
DO NOT use the Cinelerra package at FreshRPM. This is where I ran into dependency problems. Some of the dependencies provided for Cinelerra at this repository are not currently compatible with those you will use from the newer and more up-to date Livna repository. Instead, use the Software Installer option and install one of the packages found HERE.
PS. As is usually the case when messing around with my computer, finding solutions is often trying this and that to find what works. It’s much like fumbling for a light switch in the dark. I didn’t take notes as I was working out and blogging about this was an afterthought, so I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. I noticed that I did not disable the FreshRPM repository when I successfully installed Cinelerra. If you still have dependency issues, you might want to disable it and try again.
I really wished I had more time to blog, but the work on my student teaching and the stuff in my life leaves little free time for indulgences such as blogging. Anyway, I have been very critical of the continued Hannity / Savage / Limbaugh / Levin right wing attacks on Candidate Obama because of his associations with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. I’m not saying this isn’t a viable issue, but the amount of overkill on this issue, is, to say the least, pathetic, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to comprehend this type of negative campaigning would ultimately be used against a Republican candidate. Well, it didn’t take too long for the tables to turn, and I can assure you this is only the beginning. By spending two months in a spinning and swept state of euphoria created by constantly inhaling the fumes from the political bong loaded with this ad hominem opiate, they have opened the door for these very same guilt by association attacks to be used on their candidates (though one could make the argument that McCain is not their candidate - Hillary Clinton is!). The right wing religo-idiots have legitimized this ugliness as a proper means to the ends, no matter the cost.
NOTE: Maybe I’m being too hard on this guy - the pony pic could just be an innocent misunderstanding - I mean I wasn’t there. Maybe they really did just SLEEP together… Or, maybe it was the pony that seduced Tony… Or maybe he just got really, really drunk last night… Or, maybe Tony is new to this country and misunderstood when he heard the other guys say they slept with whores… Or, you know how first loves never work out because it’s a mismatch… well, here you go.
This band is probably the most flat-out-good-time music fun I’ve had the pleasure to play!!!… though I DID get to parade around in my smiley-face boxers in Juni Moon!… and crazy wigs in Rare Form… and crazy hats in Acoustic Highway….
Anyway, all musicians should be so lucky to have played with such a fun group of guys. I am proud to have served as the bottom end to Chris Plays Guitar.
PS. There is more video on the way!
UPDATE: OK, it’s not video - I’ll have that by the week end - but here is an unearthed Live recording of us TOTALLY MUTILATING AND DESTROYING the Paula Abdul song Straght Up. The original copy of the song was cloudy and had really low treble frequencies, so I tweaked the EQ setting so it would sound better. Enjoy!!!
Generally, I distrust any news organization that thinks the slogan “Truth to Power” has any relevance in todays world, as the truth is subjective, and the press itself is a “power” that must also be put in check and vetted for “truth”. The tag line of this article makes a big fuss that the building is six months behind schedule. Somehow, I think the bigger issue is this: someone tell me, why does it cost 3/4’s of a billion dollars to build an embassy?
Sorry I haven’t blogged in sooo long. I have been insanely busy with the indentured servitude that is student teaching, and trying to do a few spa jobs to keep some sort of money in my pocket between student loan disbursements. Even as we speak, I am trying to rewrite my teaching philosophical statement that I wrote a few years and failed hard drives ago. “Your What?????” you may ask. It is basically a declaration of the reasons why I want to teach, and what kind of pedagological techniques I plan on implementing to enhance student learning….. pedagological….. yes, it took me a week to learn to say it too!!! Only slightly longer than it did to learn to correctly pronounce the name “Ahmadinejad”. In a nutshell, pedagogy is the study of education techniques to determine which ones work, when, where, and why. It’s more complicated than that, but I have to get back to work to finish that “thing” I am writing about writing. There is a job fair later today at the College, and I must be ready.
PS. Mike, Daniel, and Cliff - especially Cliff - I have a HUGE, unimaginable surprise waiting for you. If I can only find the time to post it…
The Clinton’s just can’t seem to get their minds, or campaign for that matter, around a little thing called the Internet. Things were so much easier fifteen years ago, when any fact checking could be dismissed as the distortions of a right-wing conspiracy. But, all the same, I’m sure her team will insist she was only speaking metaphorically.
PS. The Sonic-Mate did note that if you look very closely and tilt your head to the left, you will see that Hillary is actually using the girl as a human shield. Her bravery in the line of fire never ceases to amaze!
I didn’t participate much in the feeding frenzy over Spizter’s curious spending habits because, well, everyone else was doing it, and I’m a non-conforming non-conformist… whatever that means. Well now that the news cycle has moved on to other things (Obama and the Preacher - sounds like a TV sitcom), I thought that I would again weigh in.
I fully admit I wallowed in a certain amount of glee when I heard the news about Spitzer. His comeuppance was long overdue. The thing that really ticked me off about Spitzer had nothing to do with sex (darn). Spitzer went way over the line when he went after NYSE Chairmn Dick Grasso, for (drumroll please) making too much money. It wasn’t just that he went after Grasso - it was the ferocity with which he went after the guy. Even though there is no evidence that any corporate malfeasance, or that stockholders were ripped off a-la World.Com or Enron, Grasso was non-the-less slandered and lumped in with the likes of Bernie Ebbers, Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay. That was Spitzer’s style. Grasso did a masterful job of reviving the NYSE after 9/11 and more than earned his hefty bonus for that alone. The bonus was an accumulated payout based on performance and years working for the exchange. Spitzer claims the bonus violates state law because the amount paid is “unreasonable”… Whawaaa??? Just who is deciding what is unreasonable.
I would think that paying $5000 for a former “Girls Gone Wild” hooker, to most of us, seems “unreasonable”.
PS. I just found this gem, so their was some sex involved after all.
