SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Soon, this site will have changed - for the better.

Well, hopefully.

Live Blog: Hurricane Igor

(as of time of posting) Hurricane Igor, currently a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85mph, has been predicted to impact Bermuda with a direct hit overnight. I'll be covering the event as it happens both here, on my website, and on Twitter, reporting Igor's battering of the island for nearly 36 hours.

UPDATE: (7:30 ET) I've taken a break from the live blog for now, but fret not! I'll be checking back intermittently. If you just can't wait for the updates, however, or would like to know when I'll be live blogging again, follow my Twitter updates here: http://twitter.com/rwhiting Enjoy the show!

UPDATE: (10:00 ET) I'm up and blogging once again for another 15 minutes! Catch it below while you can!

UPDATE: (11:50 ET) And that's a wrap, folks! Thanks for sticking with me while I battled Igor! Be sure to continue following my updates on Twitter. If I can, I'll be tweeting/blogging the aftermath tomorrow!

UPDATE: (10:11 AM ET) I've been up for a while this morning, but, using the car to charge my laptop battery, I'm once again live-blogging Igor - but this time it's the aftermath! Tune in below!

UPDATE: (4:04 PM ET) The power's back on, and things are rapidly returning to normal here in Bermuda! The island dodged a bullet with Igor, and, as restoration efforts continue, so does the live blog.

UPDATE: (6:17 PM ET) That's it, guys! Thanks for stopping by and joining in on the discussion! Without all your support and readership, I may have felt the blog was worthless! We sincerely got lucky with Igor, and I'm glad I was able to share my experience with you guys, in real time!

Ranting on Movie Theaters

I don't think I've ever been a fan of movie theaters. Even as a kid I remember myself whining about how much of an inconvenience movie-going was and how little fun I had spending two and a half hours in a dark and dirty room. And, as I grew, so did my feelings towards movie houses, and I soon took to social networking to even further spread my displeasure. Whether or not people were listening, I didn't care; it was just fun to vent every once in a while.

And vent I did, sometimes live-blogging my trials in movie-watching. At regular intervals I would tweet my current state of affairs, with updates such as "all's clear... for now," and "what is that?!?" posted as things took place. However, never had I properly formulated and compiled my distaste with movie theaters into one coherent work. Until now, that is.

After yet another trouble-filled experience, I eventually felt the urge to (what else?) write about it, and, after receiving approval, began to compose an article for Fandomania on why I hated movie theaters. Although my words were fueled by the frustration of real-life circumstances, it was not only a fun piece to do but also a successful one, generating a sizable and better-than-expected discussion on the site, with several chiming in and adding their own points to the list.

Here's an excerpt of what I wrote:

The last movie I saw in theaters was Inception. And when I say “last,” I mean it; it may very well be the last movie I will ever see in theaters. Sure, the film was certainly a good one (I mean, who didn’t like it?), and, by the time I hastily made for door as the credits began to roll, I felt satisfied by the flick. Not so much for the rest of the experience, though. Hindered by trouble after trouble and a stream of frustrating moments, the atmosphere itself was not enjoyable. But oh, how I wish this was merely an isolated case; instead, however, it is yet another thing to chalk down on a growing list of reasons why I hate going to the movies.

Needless to say, the post is up in a finalized state on the site now, and you can read and talk about it by clicking here.

Video: Idiosyncrasies - A Visual Showcase

From the description:

In a world of exponential pace, the smaller entities of life can get overlooked. Simple things are overshadowed by modern ingenuity, and we almost never slow down to observe our world's infinitely small yet undeniably significant facets. 

While I do not posses the equipment to accurately view the Earth's most minuscule creations, I do have a camera and the ability to capture a range of visuals around the island I call home.

As evidenced by my near-barren YouTube channel (and, for the record, I am not physically in any of those uploads), I rarely create videos. It's not that I don't like to; on the contrary, they're kinda fun to do every now and again. But they take a looong time. Recording, compiling, cutting, editing, rendering, exporting, encoding -- it's a consuming process, and one that requires a lot of time and a lot of patience. I admire the frequent YouTube content producers who are able to upload sometimes several videos a week! I certainly couldn't reach that quota! 

Anyway, with time, I was able to create something visual for both YouTube and this website. Shot and edited over a period of a week, it took a bit longer to produce than it probably should have, but I wasn't in a rush. Once I had the footage, I edited and pieced it together using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and fixed any wonky video with Adobe After Effects CS5 (for example, motion tracking for overly-shaky imagery). Of course, it's not perfect, and there are some instances of erratic footage here and there*. And yes, it does end more abruptly than I'd like, but it's something, and will hopefully make my YouTube channel just a little less barren. 

Leave a comment either here or on the video's page telling me what you think! 

Oh, and the music is "Battlestar Sonatica" by Bear McCreary. You can find it on the soundtrack for Battlestar Galactica: Season 3! 

*Although I used a tripod for most of the shots, my shaky hand can sometimes take command.

Coming Soon... A New Format

If you've noticed a  bit of change around here, well, then, that's a good thing. Here's why... 

In an effort to keep this site as relevant and as readable as possible, I'll be moving away slightly from lengthy write-ups and into a format that should allow for more frequent and, ultimately, more interesting updates. Now, bear in mind, that doesn't mean that I'm planning to completely abandon my earlier blogging-styles. On the contrary, in fact, these posts may appear at the same regularity as they always have; once a month. Unfortunately, there was a problem with that fashion, and one that led to a site that, as one of my friend's was quick to point out, "lacked fun." I could see why. However, for the longest time, I ignored her comments, unwilling to break away from my essay-like posts. And, thus, issues arose, as these things took a long time to write. Too long, perhaps, and their audience was a limited one at best. Something had to change. I needed to move away from a site that appealed only to my interests and instead to one that, while still reflected my likes, could capture more eyes. 

And so, starting today (maybe tomorrow or this week; I'm not completely sure), new life will begin to grow here, starting with...

PHOTO-BLOGGING: People like things they can see. Seeing colors pop from one's screens can do wonders for an otherwise mellow site. Like mine, to be honest. As you may know, I like to take pictures, and, well, I think it's time to take advantage of my hobby and use it to add a little flare and interest on these pages. Of course, you can check out my Flickr blog "here", and that's normally up-to-date.

RANTS: Sometimes, criticism is deserved, and when something really ticks me off, I'll be sure to rant about it in a humorous fashion here. Don't worry; I'll be sure to keep it balanced. 

NOTEWORTHY LINKS AND FINDS: Here's an envy-worthy feature that Tumblr packs: re-blogging. Instead of taking the time to copy and paste your finds into a new post, you need only hit one button, edit the write-up as necessary, and then post it! It's a simple feature that works, and one that I think other platforms should take notes from. Anyway, I'll make certain to report and compile any cool finds on the Internet here, and, of course, provide brief commentary along with a link. 

MINI-REVIEWS: I think I've finally learnt something: reviews can be accurate and concise. So, yes, I've decided that, rather than spend over 1000 words on one thing, I can assess smaller items in, say, 500 words or less. Look forward to those... 

In addition, I'll be keeping the "photography" section of the site as up-to-date as possible, and maybe even write a blog post for each time I make a change.

Well, there you go. Four ways this site's going to change and boast new and fresh content. Here's hoping for a new era here.

See you soon!