Sky KID`s SKYNET

At the end of this week I am going to travel with my dad and a friend of ours across Europe. We are going to be driving through at least 6 countries amongst which France, Italy , Hungary , Austria and Spain. This trip will happen in the course of one week and during that time I will be off line. Two day ago following the advice of an American friend of mine I got a Power inverter which would allow me to use my notebook while on the road. I intend to use if for charging my batteries for the digital camera and the video camera - which means that if everything goes as expected I will have a bunch of photos to share. In any case - even without internet I will keep a log of the journey on my computer and its likely that this log in going to appear in my blog as soon as I am able to get a decent Internet connection. We don`t own a GPS receiver - but I have installed a copy of Microsoft Autoroute Euro 2007 and hopefully it will turn to be useful  - my dad is very skeptical about it trough.

I am very excited about this trip ….hopefully it will go as smooth as I want it to be. Wish me bon voyage !

Hello and thank you for visiting my post here on Skykid’s Blog.

I have been informed that as a guest writer here, I have been remiss in making an introduction. Be it far from me to be the least bit mysterious so let me straighten things out now, for those that are indeed interested.

I live in the Grand state of Virginia in the US. My current occupation is doing corporate theater all over the world. I love my job even after nearly 20 years doing it. I am a well rounded technician who can do most any part of the show from Audio to Graphics to Video. I started my career in theater and at first worked both sides of the curtain. Although I loved acting and was fairly good at it, the pay was steadier backstage. From there I moved into a Hotel and stayed there learning the audio visual industry for the next nine years.

After eight years in the hotel I had an opportunity to learn something completely new. I was offered a job learning to be a Private Detective. I worked my apprenticeship and learned from an old gumshoe who taught me the ways of the street detective, as opposed to the modern day PI who parks their posteriors behind a computer and then complains that they can’t find anything.

After nearly twenty years of doing both AV and PI work I closed my agency and moved back to snow country.

The one constant in my life the entire time was my love for treble music. I was a treble singer for a very short time when I was a child and unfortunately had to give it up because my mother raised the four of us by her self. She worked a menial job at minimum wage without a raise for eighteen years. My singing, for all the joy it gave me, took too much time and too much money to continue.

For the short time I enjoyed it, I remember it as one of the most enjoyable times of my childhood. Once a treble, always a fan.

So I have been very fortunate to have been in on Youtube since it’s early stages and have followed the careers of many trebles. I mentor new trebles on Stage behavior, lens technique and maintaining a fanbase. Many of the trebles I have had the pleasure of associating with have gone on to reach wonderful goals. I am certainly not taking credit for any part of their successes, I will say that it has been wonderful to see them grow and exceed their dreams. If I can delude myself into thinking that I did something, wrote something or said has helped them to be or exhibit their talents better, then so be it. And as I accept no fees for anything I do then I will claim my delusions as payment in happiness.

One of the things that I do with a small group of others is to document, preserve and sometimes restore treble recordings. We archive videos, audio tracks and even artwork so that it will be available for decades to come in the original quality in which it was recorded. The talent has been most co-operative in making this happen and a by product of this relationship is that I get to meet a lot of trebles and their families.

Most of my mentoring is done through the parents or in conjunction with a vocal coach. Parents are pivotal in a treble’s success in any setting outside a cathedral. In the cathedral setting the choirmasters are the parents. And yes, although they know a great deal about voice, they know little about the technical end of it and even less about internet marketing. And make no mistake, Choir sites are popping up all over the internet as this treble explosion takes off and they find another source for funds in an ever and always struggling music department.

So this advantage of having access to trebles and their families has worked well to fulfill another passion of mine. Writing. I have been asked to write articles about trebles so that we can see a little bit more into the lives of the new or contemporary trebles. They aren’t always in a cassock anymore. They come in all genre’s of music and every walk of life. They are also popping up so fast that they can be a star and no one even saw them walk up to a microphone until stardom propelled them into our homes. Then we wonder where the little tyke with the great lungs came from.

My job is to try and stay on top of it and give you an insight into their lives.
Many of my trebles come from referrals from people just like you. If you come across one who is new and has a nice sound to his voice I invite you to email me with a link to them. Even if they don’t sing but they have that crisp sweetness to their voice and might be a treble if nudged that way. Send me a link. I have a couple of video bloggers that are thinking about the possibility of taking up voice because of leads given to me and a letter or email to the parents.

A great resource for information on trebles is The BCSD (Boys Choir Soloist DIrector) I halp out there by adding my kids to their database. (And yes, they all become my kids when we start an association.) I operate on the golden rule. Encourage, praise or shut up. If you are a parent and want to know more about your youngster becoming a treble just drop me a note.

Thanks to skykid for this guest spot. I am truly humbled to have been invited here.
Cheers,

Send your treble leads to: bagofrats1414@yahoo.com

Tonight I watched two movies with my dad – one he wanted me to see and another one which I wanted him to see. His movie was The Bucket List . It was a nice story about the last moments in the lives of two different men, dyeing of cancer. After meeting in a hospital room, they became friends and decided to fulfill their life goals.

While the movie was fine I did not really share the enthusiasm that my had father about it. I just could not relate to the characters .

Then it was my turn and I put the Edges of the Lord DVD in the player. I won’t go into much detail about it, as I will soon write a separate review about it. But when the final credits rolled my father said that he liked it.

The two movies tonight made me realize why I am fond of coming of age movies; much more than any other genre. As you know, in coming of age movies the central plot revolves around a person suddenly facing a life changing experience, trial or tribulation. That person once was naive or childish and is now suddenly older and wiser because of the experience. While watching movies from this genre its not hard to me to associate with the characters portrayed there. I am still preparing to embrace the world out there, without some of my naive beliefs.

During the process of growing, I made mistakes and naturally learn from them. I still feel that there is so much to be seen and learned . That is probably the reason why I associate with the characters on screen allow myself to go deeper into the story and gain something for myself. The same reasoning probably explains why I am so into the stories and movies of Stephen King. It’s the way he writes, describing the feelings of his characters so well that I almost believe I was them. I have been afraid of the dark since I was 6 and still am. You can imagine how I feel when reading the thoughts of Johnny in his book IT.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy movies from other genres. But “The Bucket List”, for example was for two old man evaluating their life. This is too far away for me to consider it as my story.

The ultimate coming of age movie list (link)

There is a rising star out there you need to keep an eye on.

A wonderful young voice by the name of Sam Verlinden.

A young talent who lives in the zone of music that the rest of us get to visit once in a while.

Out of Kiwi land Auckland New Zealand and now just 10 ½ years old he is finding his firm footing on the stage.

By way of a quick introduction taken from his resume:

* At only 10 years old - Sam is possibly the youngest singing sensation to hit Auckland - and possibly New Zealand - ever. His vocals have been described as natural raw brilliance. He has a powerful soulful tone and lovely quality to his voice.
* He is the youngest member of the junior 5 piece vocal band KIDZ ROCK – and has often been compared to the young Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5 era.
* Sam loves the old Jackson 5 hits, he sings a powerful rendition of “I’ll Be There” and “Who’s Lovin You”. His other musical influences range from R Kelly, Justin Timberlake, Jesse McCartney, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles.
* Sam recently won several gold medals as a soloist in the NZ singing finals of Aim to Fame. His precious gold medals qualify him to represent NZ to compete at the World Championship of Performing Arts in LA in July 08. This competition is likened to the Olympic Games of the Performing Arts, with 52 countries competing.
* He is also been an active member of the musical theatre company (NYTC) for 3 years.
They are currently rehearsing the stage show Grease in which Sam has the lead role of Johnny Casino. He has had many leads during this time, including Oliver and Little Joe in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
* Sam is very passionate about his Pacific Island heritage and does a very moving performance of leading the Haka.
* Aside from singing, Sam’s biggest passion is rugby. He’d like to sing the National Anthem, lead the Haka, and play as number 11 with the All Blacks one day - and all on the same day!

Links to his gold winning performances can be located on his website and YouTube which has received over 210,000.00 hits.

Here are just some of the Honors this particular video has scored on YouTube the week of 30 March 2008:

#67 - Most Discussed (This Week) - New Zealand
# 9 - Most Discussed (This Week) - Music - New Zealand
# 5 - Most Discussed (This Month) - Music - New Zealand
#22 - Most Viewed (This Week) - Music - New Zealand
#44 - Top Favorites (This Week) - Music - New Zealand
#31 - Top Rated (This Week) - New Zealand
# 3 - Top Rated (This Week) - Music - New Zealand
# 4 - Top Rated (This Month) - Music - New Zealand

Sam is a down to earth kid with one small exception. The music never stops. He said he can’t remember when he first started singing, he just always has. Like New Zealand’s own little August Rush, he hears it all the time. During my interview he said that he is often asked by his teachers to stop singing in class. What’s a kid to do? That’s where his head is.

KIDZ ROCK are currently looking to fill two of their positions bringing the group back to five. But that will be a different article.

I asked if he played any instruments and he replied that he was left handed and tried the guitar but it just wasn’t happening even when they strung it for a lefty. He decided to stick to what he does best and enjoys the most. Singing! And the boy can certainly sing.

When he’s not singing, he loves Rugby and aspires to be Number 11 or 12 with the All Blacks. He can recite every All Black players credentials from height, weight, position – he’s a number one fan all the way. He’s like a walking encyclopedia for the NZ All Blacks. Incredible.

He also enjoys WWE Wrestling in his quiet moments of evening contemplation, where he can watch Shawn Michaels make someone listen to his “Sweet Chin Music.” (Even his wrestling favorite is associated with Music! But I don’t think I would want to listen to that one up close and personal.)

Sam loves is special needs sister Emily and loves it when she sings with him.

Sam is up for the Gold now but there’s a snag. The trip to LA is not funded and is quite expensive. And the little guy can’t go it alone so Mum needs to go too. And time is running out, they leave 13 July 2008. The cost is $6k pp - they have raised nearly $1,200 and are seeking corporate Sponsors for the balance. Clothing logos or the like. Hey!

Why not ask the All Blacks! I think something could be worked out?
A little tattoo work and

If you would like to be a corporate sponsor, or would like to make a donation please contact Sam’s manager/mum (Bronwyn) by email samverlinden@gmail.com or 021499264.

Website

The main service I use to share files in Rapidshare . Despite its limitations - like the new Captcha and the annoying time limits - the majority of content I am interested in is to be found on their servers . With premium account one can download without the fear of any restrictions aside from the 5 GB per week one. But being a premium account holder is an expense which I am not always ready or willing to pay. Good alternative are the premium link generators - but more often then not they won`t function just when you need them to. When it comes to earning premium accounts via collectors points - I myself have been collecting mine in the past 7 months and am yet to make another 2000 - to reach the 10 000 requirement which will allow me to use the premium service for 30 days.

Few days ago I have noticed that while being a free user I was able to download as a premium one taking advantage of a special promotion called RapidShare Happy Hours - but when exactly were they was a mystery to me - until I discovered a post by SizzledCore in which the author explained that ” In happy hours, when ever RapidShare fees like their servers have enough spare bandwidth, they disable all the download tickets and captchas and makes it easier for free users to download.” - in his post he also provided an application which automatically monitors Rapidshare and notifies you when the Happy Hours are enabled.

Happy downloading !

When I walked outside the cinema today I felt like I was leaving a magic world only to return to the reality around me. This on itself may hint you that I truly enjoyed the fantasy tale called The Spiderwick Chronicles and my review about it is going to be a positive one.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on books by American authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.The plot follows the adventures of nine-year-old twins Jared and Simon and their 13-year-old sister Mallory, whohave moved to the rundown Spiderwick Estate with their mother. In a hidden room Jared discoverers a book and being curious about its contents he decides to open it regardless of of the warning note stuck to it:

Any boy would do that - as such notes or signs are usually stuck at the most interesting places.

Inside the books pages Jared discovers that complete guide to the magical invisible world or “Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You”.

Freddie Highmore is the big star in the movie and oh my… he stares in two roles - the ones of the identical twins Jared and Simon . Once again I was amazed by his talent as he successfully crated a distinct personality for both characters. ( the movie makes made sure that the viewer was able to make a clear distinction between the twins - using different styles and haircuts …but in my opinion that was not really necessary as I am sure that many people won`t even notice that its the same actor - just as TheBachelorGirl wrote in her blog).

Fairies, griffins, goblins, ogres and trolls populate the magical word which according by Arthur Spiderwick exist in parallel with our own All those creatures are said to be invisible to the human eye - unless they want to be seen or are seen with the help of special round stone ( another method is getting spit upon by a friendly goblin ) . There are good and bad ones and to combat with the bad ones everyday items such as tomato sauce gets used. In fact at times the movie looks like a big Heinz Ketchup commercial ( o :

…the Freddies are always worth watching. They should be cloned - to serve as permanent role models for the inner child in all of us. {l}

Related posts :

Movies starring Freddie Highmore

August Rush , Finding Neverland , Arthur et les Minimoys

Fantasy flick go-to kid Freddie Highmore grows into mature roles (link)

Official movie site (link) IMDB page (link)

Note ( this review is not completed yet )