As a little kid, I was a huge Michael Jackson fan. It had been a long time since I listened to anything from him, but a little while back I put a CD of Thriller in the CD player and listened to it and fell in love with those songs all over again. Afterwards, I tried to learn some of the words to a couple songs on the album.
So back in October, I did some recording sessions of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". I had the files on my computer and didn't really know what I wanted to do with them. Finally I decided it might be kind of neat to put them up on YouTube. So here are the four sessions I did:
- Session take 1 (vocals only)
- Session take 2
- Session take 3
- Session take 4
I remember years ago someone said it would be kind of interesting to hear out-takes of some of my songs with areas I messed up and such. So you could more or less view these in the same light, especially sessions takes 2 and 3.
The whole idea was to eventually do a full-scale recording of Thriller just like I have done with different songs in the past. I never got around to it, but I still might do one. I just have to find the time.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
People Filled With Hate
Take a look at this. I've been watching him closely for a couple weeks. A while back, I was searching for some information at s2beta.com. I can't resist reading some of the topics there every now and then. I hate what I read often because of the rude comments that are constantly posted there.
Eventually though, I came across some of the usual trouble there with a user named Oerg866. I've seen a number of very rude comments aimed at him. Not only are the completely rude, but they're unfair. The kid claims he's 13. Even if he were to be a little younger than that, the point is he's still young! I watched his YouTube videos and realized that he was very enthusiastic about what he did in those videos. However some people have called him dumb and a liar. I don't see this at all, and those people need to be confronted.
My dad has told me several times in the past that a bully is someone who's afraid of a bully. Donald Trump has been saying something along those lines recently as well. My feeling is just because people were hard on you doesn't mean you should be hard on others. People who are treating Oerg866 badly are bullies. Those people learn to shut up when other people jump on them though. If you have something hurtful to say, keep it to yourself. If they're mean to you, then you got every reason in the world to fire back. As long as they haven't bothered you though, you need to keep to yourself.
I've been heavily criticized online for nearly a decade because of the way I am. I try to put out a strong message that I feel is important, or I try to motivate others to do good things. What did I ever get in return most of the time? I was called egotistical, up-tight, a moron, and a bunch of other things I'd rather not write here. I saw recently where comments were made about me again. Those people are foolish though, because the only thing I ever tried to do for years was be a good role model, never to say "I'm God, worship me". I had a lot of popularity on the internet at one time. At the age of 14, all that popularity made me really excited, but I never let it get too far to my head. I've always maintained that when you're looked up to by a lot of people, you should assume responsibility of being a good role model.
What does that have to do with the people pushing this little kid around? Well I may not have the backing I used to on the internet, but I will always continue to try and put forward what I think is the honest and right thing to do. I often found myself taking up for the younger kids who were pushed around and made fun of by the older kids. You should treat others with respect, and you've especially got serious issues if you're in your late teens or adult-hood harassing a 13 (or younger) year old kid for no good reason. That's sick. I created my blog to talk about what I think on some things, so I'm expressing my thoughts. I don't wish to upset anyone, and I don't want to make enemies. However I think if more people would speak up about this kind of stuff, it wouldn't happen as much as it does. So, allow me to be the first -- stop it.
Eventually though, I came across some of the usual trouble there with a user named Oerg866. I've seen a number of very rude comments aimed at him. Not only are the completely rude, but they're unfair. The kid claims he's 13. Even if he were to be a little younger than that, the point is he's still young! I watched his YouTube videos and realized that he was very enthusiastic about what he did in those videos. However some people have called him dumb and a liar. I don't see this at all, and those people need to be confronted.
My dad has told me several times in the past that a bully is someone who's afraid of a bully. Donald Trump has been saying something along those lines recently as well. My feeling is just because people were hard on you doesn't mean you should be hard on others. People who are treating Oerg866 badly are bullies. Those people learn to shut up when other people jump on them though. If you have something hurtful to say, keep it to yourself. If they're mean to you, then you got every reason in the world to fire back. As long as they haven't bothered you though, you need to keep to yourself.
I've been heavily criticized online for nearly a decade because of the way I am. I try to put out a strong message that I feel is important, or I try to motivate others to do good things. What did I ever get in return most of the time? I was called egotistical, up-tight, a moron, and a bunch of other things I'd rather not write here. I saw recently where comments were made about me again. Those people are foolish though, because the only thing I ever tried to do for years was be a good role model, never to say "I'm God, worship me". I had a lot of popularity on the internet at one time. At the age of 14, all that popularity made me really excited, but I never let it get too far to my head. I've always maintained that when you're looked up to by a lot of people, you should assume responsibility of being a good role model.
What does that have to do with the people pushing this little kid around? Well I may not have the backing I used to on the internet, but I will always continue to try and put forward what I think is the honest and right thing to do. I often found myself taking up for the younger kids who were pushed around and made fun of by the older kids. You should treat others with respect, and you've especially got serious issues if you're in your late teens or adult-hood harassing a 13 (or younger) year old kid for no good reason. That's sick. I created my blog to talk about what I think on some things, so I'm expressing my thoughts. I don't wish to upset anyone, and I don't want to make enemies. However I think if more people would speak up about this kind of stuff, it wouldn't happen as much as it does. So, allow me to be the first -- stop it.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Christmas Confussion
Christmas was a confusing day for me. The first problem was knowing where dinner actually was, and the second problem was getting there.
A week before Christmas, my grandmother told me that my Aunt Brenda was going to have Christmas dinner this year. That was my understanding all the way up to Christmas day. I helped my grandmother down the steps, and she got in my mom's truck. Because my mom is a slow driver, I decided I would go in my car. When I got to my destination, I knocked on the door and waited for someone to come open it. After a good 5 minutes, I realized nobody was there. So I got in my car and thought perhaps everyone went to my Aunt Billy's house instead. Her car was there, but nobody was home. I thought to myself "is this a ghost town or something?"
I went home a little annoyed because I felt mislead. I know I shouldn't let little things get to me like that, but it's in my nature as a human being. It was pouring down rain, and I just didn't feel like searching around anymore. I decided it was their fault for not giving me accurate information and if they wanted me to come to dinner, they'd have to call me at home first. I did leave a message on my brother's cell phone to let someone know where I was so they wouldn't get worried.
Eventually the phone rang and it was my brother. They explained to me that they were actually up at my cousin's house. Apparently my aunt was supposed to have dinner, but they changed plans and forgot to tell me about it. I couldn't remember how to even get there. They told me and I was started on my way.
After going 8 miles, I figured I was just about there. I turned where I thought I was supposed to. I went up the hill on the dirt road, but it didn't seem to want to end. It took me all the way to the top of the hill. By that point I had already realized I had made a wrong turn. I saw a house at the top of the hill that appeared to still be under construction. I figured that would be a good place to turn around.
As I pulled my car to the side of the house, I realized I was in mud. It wasn't where I wanted to be because I don't like a muddy car. As I began to back up however, I soon forgot about getting mud on my car because I was stuck. It was like being in snow, only worse. I got out and walked around to try and find something I could tug under my back wheel to get some traction. I found some plyboard and tried that. It helped a little, but eventually I realized that I was just going to have to keep trying to maneuver my car back and forth until I could get out of there. It took me roughly a good 15 minutes, but I eventually got turned around.
When I got there, I was exhausted. I was 2 hours late for dinner, and I had mud everywhere. I walked in and told my story to get a laugh out of people. It was good to finally sit down and have something to eat.
A week before Christmas, my grandmother told me that my Aunt Brenda was going to have Christmas dinner this year. That was my understanding all the way up to Christmas day. I helped my grandmother down the steps, and she got in my mom's truck. Because my mom is a slow driver, I decided I would go in my car. When I got to my destination, I knocked on the door and waited for someone to come open it. After a good 5 minutes, I realized nobody was there. So I got in my car and thought perhaps everyone went to my Aunt Billy's house instead. Her car was there, but nobody was home. I thought to myself "is this a ghost town or something?"
I went home a little annoyed because I felt mislead. I know I shouldn't let little things get to me like that, but it's in my nature as a human being. It was pouring down rain, and I just didn't feel like searching around anymore. I decided it was their fault for not giving me accurate information and if they wanted me to come to dinner, they'd have to call me at home first. I did leave a message on my brother's cell phone to let someone know where I was so they wouldn't get worried.
Eventually the phone rang and it was my brother. They explained to me that they were actually up at my cousin's house. Apparently my aunt was supposed to have dinner, but they changed plans and forgot to tell me about it. I couldn't remember how to even get there. They told me and I was started on my way.
After going 8 miles, I figured I was just about there. I turned where I thought I was supposed to. I went up the hill on the dirt road, but it didn't seem to want to end. It took me all the way to the top of the hill. By that point I had already realized I had made a wrong turn. I saw a house at the top of the hill that appeared to still be under construction. I figured that would be a good place to turn around.
As I pulled my car to the side of the house, I realized I was in mud. It wasn't where I wanted to be because I don't like a muddy car. As I began to back up however, I soon forgot about getting mud on my car because I was stuck. It was like being in snow, only worse. I got out and walked around to try and find something I could tug under my back wheel to get some traction. I found some plyboard and tried that. It helped a little, but eventually I realized that I was just going to have to keep trying to maneuver my car back and forth until I could get out of there. It took me roughly a good 15 minutes, but I eventually got turned around.
When I got there, I was exhausted. I was 2 hours late for dinner, and I had mud everywhere. I walked in and told my story to get a laugh out of people. It was good to finally sit down and have something to eat.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Merry Christmas everyone! I don't care if you celebrate it or not, I'm still going to tell it to you! It's a time for giving and goodwill. Personally I don't care anymore if I get presents or not, because it's more of a family thing for me these days. Sorry if that makes me sound old, but it's the honest truth.
Also I'd like to say I've read a lot of drama going on around the internet lately, and I'm proud to say I haven't had any here. My blog doesn't get thousands of visitors daily and doesn't receive many comments, so that's an important factor. I also feel it's because I've always had a positive attitude here. Rarely have I posted anything that could be taken negatively. If I posted a bunch of negative things I'd surely get more feedback, but people wouldn't like what they read. So lets try to be positive today.
Also I'd like to say I've read a lot of drama going on around the internet lately, and I'm proud to say I haven't had any here. My blog doesn't get thousands of visitors daily and doesn't receive many comments, so that's an important factor. I also feel it's because I've always had a positive attitude here. Rarely have I posted anything that could be taken negatively. If I posted a bunch of negative things I'd surely get more feedback, but people wouldn't like what they read. So lets try to be positive today.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
The New ProSonic Sprite Format
I have finished designing and implementing my ProSonic sprite format into the ProSonic engine. The format encodes sprites in 18-bit color and supports up to 65,535 sprites. It also has mirror and flip flags. In addition, animations are also incorporated into the format with up to 255 frames supported for each animation, and 255 different animations. Animation speeds range from 0 to 255 (measuring frames).
To test the format, I updated the old object code for rings. It displays flawlessly. The sprite blitting code I wrote in the engine also supports 64 levels of translucency which works really well, even when dealing with just 64 available colors in a zone (which surprised me).
The rings animate at the same speed as they do in the original Sonic the Hedgehog games. This is consistent with the old ProSonic engine code, but because the new sprite format has animation data integrated into it, this is one less thing to program. I believe game designers will have a little easier time managing animations with this method.
To test the format, I updated the old object code for rings. It displays flawlessly. The sprite blitting code I wrote in the engine also supports 64 levels of translucency which works really well, even when dealing with just 64 available colors in a zone (which surprised me).The rings animate at the same speed as they do in the original Sonic the Hedgehog games. This is consistent with the old ProSonic engine code, but because the new sprite format has animation data integrated into it, this is one less thing to program. I believe game designers will have a little easier time managing animations with this method.
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