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Category Archives: Fun
Video? With a Still Camera?
That’s right, I shot this with a Canon T2i in 1080p 24fps with the kit lens.
I really like the way it turned out. The only downside to using this camera for video is the lack of audio options and the difficulty of focusing.
More to come though – with video, of course!
Final Stretch of Break
Breanna and her dog, Levi.
I made it back from Springfield just fine. It was a good time – I visited my girlfriend, saw Tron in a nice theater, and visited the Titanic museum in Branson, MO.
Looking ahead, I’m going to visit my roommate tomorrow in Cherokee, IA. He’s turning 21! Finally.
And even further ahead, I’m going to try to get the following done before school starts:
- Prepare some stuff for fraternity happenings this spring
- Make some ISUtv promotional material
- Practice clarinet for my Symphonic Band audition
- Everything that I’m forgetting about right now
I have my work cut out for me!
Musical Thoughts
As I was driving seven hours either way to Springfield, I listened to a TED talks podcast discussing Coca Cola’s marketing strategy.
In a nutshell, Coca Cola, Inc. does a hell of a good job with marketing. They came up with a way to distribute their product to communities throughout Africa in a non-traditional way. They also came up with a new song appealing to the market – “Waving Flag” (above).
Not only did the song sell Coca Cola – it promoted citizenship and unity. And made it to the top of the pop charts…in 17 countries.
A New Year’s Eve Update
Happy New Year’s Eve!
I’m about to embark on a drive to Springfield, MO to visit my girlfriend. I’ll leave tomorrow morning (New Year’s Day), but not before visiting with some friends tonight.
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We were supposed to have a family-friend party here in the Stratford area tonight, but worries over ice had that postponed until tomorrow night.
I also have some friends in Ames and Des Moines that I might visit tonight.
Tunes
For the seven-hour drive, I’m armed with some good audio material: TED Talks Podcasts!
I’m also quite fond of this classical tune, Die Moldau or Vitiva. Done by a composer named Bedrich Smetana:
A Larson Christmas (2010)
I’m going to take Journalism 310: Introduction to Photojournalism this spring at Iowa State, so I got a Canon Rebel T2i digital SLR camera over break.
I’ve been playing with it; as you can see from the photos above, it’s still a little rough! I’m really liking it, though, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of things.
The only problem I’ve run into is using the video mode (which was a big point of purchasing this model of camera). Though I’m using a 32GB Class-10 card, it’s starting to have buffer-overrun issues. It’s worked for the first 15 or so videos I shot, but now it’s starting to give me trouble.
Hopefully that’s the only issue I have – it’s a great camera!
The little shih tzu in the photos is one that we’re dog-sitting for some friends of ours, but it’s quite photogenic.
If you’re wondering, we have four dogs (plus the shih tzu) and a house cat.
Merry Christmas!
Serenading Sorority
The Men of Beta Theta Pi were serenaded by some ISU Kappa Kappa Gammas. They sang “Santa Baby” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
They CAN sing! Someday I’m going to get one of those new-fangled video cameras and get real life on video. But, for now, here are some photos:
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- Kappas Singing
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- Betas watching the serenade
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- Singing another song
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- Kevin in his hat!
Snow in Ames!
We got our first snow of the winter today in Ames!
Let the driving headaches and the wet carpet commence.
Also, this was shot on Bre’s iPod Touch 4th Gen. It shoots HD video. And then uploads it to YouTube. I want one.
Bowling With The Band
Every year during the ISUCF’V'MB band camp, there is a section night where members of each instrument’s section go out and have a meet and greet with food.
This year, due to the busy schedule, the band staff and directors never got to have their staff night. So tonight was that night!
Dinner at Hickory Park
Dinner at Hickory Park - Directors
We went to Hickory Park to eat, and then went bowling in the Underground at the MU. I won!
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- Dinner at Hickory Park
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- Dinner at Hickory Park – Directors
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- My first strike of the night!
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- Lovely
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- Mr. Staub bowling
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- By the time Tom left, he had the perfect score!
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- Doing an “almost spare dance”
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- Halfway through our game, the machine broke.
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- We changed our names for the second game
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- I won! And two perfect scores by Tyler and Mr. Staub.
Caroling With Instruments
Tonight, the Iota Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Service Fraternity went “Caroling” to three senior centers around Ames.
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- Erin Asmus and members of the Senior Center
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- Josh Kassmeyer Conducts
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- Chad Nelson with his Euphonium
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- Stacie and Me
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- Josh Conducting
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- Dan and Erin playing saxophone
Since the purpose of our fraternity is service to the band programs at Iowa State, we are all band members at heart. Some of us played instruments we’ve been playing for a long time; others experimented with different instruments.
Although the music wasn’t quite concert-worthy, the folks in the senior centers really seemed to enjoy our playing.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!