video – Page 3 – THOMnottom

Walkies

We’ve delayed it as long as possible, but sooner or later Kayleigh was bound to develop an interest in moving on her own. Crawling has not been a big concern, and even now she only does a 3-legged butt-shuffle when the mood strikes. Instead it is the full-on 2-legged mode of transport that has tickled her fancy.

This has been going on for less than a week, but her progress is disconcerting for us and our lack of baby-proofing. She still lacks complete confidence in her wobbly balance, which means much of the day is spent partially hunched over providing two fingers to grip tightly for support. As much as this prospect terrifies me, Kayleigh can be even more adorable than usual when she excitedly stamps her feet in circles around the house. And it sure does make her smile.

Now an outdoor component has been added, which means shoes have become a necessity – which also lets her flaunt some of her new vocabulary. There’s some video of all of this that needs to be uploaded, in the meantime I came across this ad for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia which rather accurately depicts her first steps with footwear.

Alright, not exactly accurate as we got rid of the coffee table, but you get the idea.

So you think you can…

The Woman and I watch So You Think You Can Dance a day late, owing to her work schedule, so we just watched this performance last night. But I felt it needed to be shared, even if I’m late as usual.

I guess I already handed over my “man card” by mentioning that I watch this show regularly, so it’s safe to go ahead and say that this performance had me in tears. Yes, there’s a whole lot of made up drama in these “reality” shows, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any real emotion.

Your moment of (baby) zen #5

Your moment of (baby) zen #4

Happy Mother’s Day

This isn’t the video I wanted to make, but it will have to do. For my beautiful wife, who has given me the most wonderful gift that is Kayleigh. Happy Mother’s Day.

P.S. For those curious about the music, “Danny’s Song” was the first song that we used regularly to put Kayleigh to sleep. It’s now embedded in my head forever.

Your moment of (baby) zen #3

Where The Wild Things Are

Please tell me you’ve seen the trailer already. Seriously, if this thing doesn’t tug at your inner child’s heart strings, I don’t know what will.

I’ve watched this about a dozen times and still get misty-eyed. The Woman actually paused the Ellen Degeneres Show and called me in for the debut. There’s just so much being done right with one of my favorite childhood memories (a rarity these days). I mean, Arcade Fire – how totally awesome is that? Although it does makes me regret even more not picking up the set of MacFarlane Toys done for the wild things way back when…

It’s children’s stories like this that I can’t wait to start sharing with Kayleigh – you know, once she’s able to actually enjoy them. I can read her all the Shel Silverstein in the world right now, but it’ll be a few years ’til her eyes start welling up at the mere mention of The Giving Tree.

I wish I had started a list of items to share with Kayleigh as she grows up – like 1001 rules for my unborn son. What a cool idea. Maybe it’s not too late. It’s not like she’s going to suddenly start understanding me tomorrow…

And now for your moment of (baby) zen

‘Cause this Is Thriller, Thriller Night

I’m still not exactly sure what that line means, but I know I’ve “sung” it many times over the past decade and a half. A friend of mine pointed out that the video for Thriller turned 25 just over a week ago. Holy crappola! 25? I remember anxiously awaiting the world premier – you know, back when MTV used to make music video premiers a big deal… actually, back when they just made music videos a big deal. He summed up the feeling with this line:

I remember the 25th anniversary of Woodstock, and realizing that Thriller is as ancient to kids in high school as Woodstock is to me is making me feel ancient.

Since the driving force behind the Internet (besides porn, of course) seems to be 30 somethings who failed to notice that they are no longer 20 somethings and gasp in amazement as they realize that their childhood actually took place many moons ago, now seems like the perfect time to point him and my other aging friends in the direction of kottke’s Timeline twins post.

His Back to the Future/To Kill a Mockingbird “comparison” hits me hardest. I remember seeing that Michael J. Fox opus in the theater with my best friend and then spending the rest of the summer pretending to hitch rides on cars while sitting on skateboards (my balance on those wheels was terrible) and dodging the angry principal. Did kids spend the summer of ’62 rolling down hills in tires and pretending to defend black men in rape trials? Suddenly my childhood seems rather mundane…

Anyway, to stem the bleeding of lameness that is a 32 year-old man complaining about “feeling old” I’d rather just switch to something awesome about Thriller instead. And that would be François Macré’s 64-track, a capella version of said song:

That’s a better use of 350 hours of time than just about anything I’ve ever done. In particular, the muted guitar and bass line are incredible. My only wish is that he had used the original vocals by Michael Jackson so that I could better hear just how close the musical part sounds.

I swear I’m not getting all political…

You’ve all seen the “Yes We Can” song by now, right? If not, take a gander:

Regardless of politics, it’s pretty inspiring – the type of speech (and presentation) that could get me all choked up if I truly believed it could make a difference. But the only thing better than inspirational is parody. That’s why I sure am glad this next video came along:

Come on – that’s hysterical!

(both are thanks to jonsonblog)