You Call Yourself A Creator?!

To be a creator, you yourself must be creative.


I have a bone to pick with many so-called "creators" on YouTube. Stop asking your audience to do your job for you!

Recently, more and more, I have seen YouTuber's putting out these types of questions, "What should I make a video about?", "Anyone have an idea of a topic I could discuss in a video?", "Hey viewers, decide, my next video! Tell me what you want to see me do!" Okay, that last one isn't a question, but they're all the same. A so-called creator is asking their audience to be creative FOR them.

Now, I'm all for interaction, and most people enjoy a "choose your own adventure" story every now and then, but that is not what's happening here. People who have created YouTube channels have done so because, at some point, they believed that they had something to share with other people in the form of video. Your YouTube channel should be your creative outlet, not a place for other people to make you dance around like a puppet, unless that's your gimmick, and if that works for you and your viewers, then okay and please disregard this post.

As a viewer myself, I know that when I put on my favorite TV show or my favorite web series, I like to sit back and watch the stories the writers have dreamed up. When I watch Ze Frank, WheezyWaiter, Mickeleh, or the Vlogbrothers, I like to hear them talk about the topics and issues that are interesting to them. I like to see how passionate they are about the things they care about, which might be things I knew nothing about before. I like to learn new things, so maybe it's just me, but I don't want to tell the Vlogbrothers what they should talk about in their videos. (If I thought I had better ideas than them, I would make my own videos.)

Thankfully, besides Question Tuesdays,the Vlogbrothers are not the ones asking their viewers to tell them what to do. As in the case of Question Tuesday (videos in which the Vlogbrothers answer questions from their viewers), I think it is completely fine if a YouTube creator asks for audience guidance or interaction once in a while. However, this trend of YouTuber's not making any videos until a viewer comes up with a topic for them to discuss is ridiculous.

You created your YouTube channel to share yourself in some way. So do a self assessment. Find that spark inside, the thing that you are passionate about and go from there. Let that fuel your creativity. I spend enough energy on my own creative projects, so don't ask me to be creative for you too.

There is a huge difference between collaborating with your viewers to make a video, and you just being too lazy to think of anything on your own. Personally, I think it is better for you to not post anything for a while if you're just not feeling inspired, than to fall into this habit of asking other people to tell you what to do.

So there's my argument. If you're not feeling inspired. Go to a park, read a book, do some research, anything that you feel will help you out, but turning to your viewers and asking them to do your job is a bad idea. Why would anyone want to watch videos from a person who doesn't appear to have any original ideas? Don't sell yourself short. Instead, really sell yourself!

For everyone's sake, watch a CommunityChannel video and at the very least reinact one of your craziest dreams with yourself as all the characters before you start begging viewers to decide your every move. Dan Brown already proved that that was a bad idea, so just don't do it!

America Wants A Queen

Below is a short essay that I wrote in 2007 for a college English class. The assignment was to make some sort of observation about American behavior. The Essay was titled "America Wants A Queen" and recently, with all of the hoop-la being made in America over the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, I felt like sharing this essay. It seems a bit ridiculous how overly excited so many Americans are about a "Royal Wedding" that has nothing to do with their own country. (I have several British friends who are not even half as excited as some American's I have seen talking on television.) I personally don't think it is such a big deal, but here is my essay. I think it was true in 2007 and I feel it is still valid today in 2011.

America Wants A Queen

Over two hundred years ago Americans fought for the right to be free of royal control. Upon winning the battle, a new leadership was formed based upon a popular vote. A method that has endured to the present, because Americans believe that a person with the support of the people is better suited to run a government than someone who is merely born into a certain family. Americans claim that democracy is the only way, and that monarchies and other such governments are relics of the past. However, they will only say this when speaking about government. The true hearts of Americans are laced with jealousy for their cousins across the pond, because the truth is, Americans long for a monarch. A person who will sit in a big gilded chair, dressed in fine robes, adorned with jewels from head to toe, and who will smile encouragingly to the massive crowds of common folk. The American president does little to fulfill this desire for the people.
Instead, Americans make royalty out of celebrities. Oprah is the ‘Queen of daytime television’, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are the ‘King and Queen of Hollywood’, the late Elvis was ‘The King’, Michael Jackson was the former ‘Prince of Pop’, and even Britney Spears has been called a ‘Pop Princess.’ There is no doubt that many people view the children of celebrities as heirs to the thrones of Hollywood, whether the children have any acting talent or not, it is considered their birthright. Obviously, the desire for a monarchy system is not dead in the hearts of Americans. It is frighteningly becoming more and more apparent that Americans care more about having a leader with a pretty face than one who knows how to run a country. Current polls ask citizens who would make a better president, Hillary Clinton (the wife of a former president), or Oprah Winfrey (perhaps the richest woman in America). People choose Oprah, because they like her talk show, but does she know anything about running a country? Perhaps it would not be such a bad idea for Oprah to be elected president. Oprah did not get rich by accident. She got rich because people trust her. She tells people what to buy, and what charities to donate to, and people listen. Maybe if she were president, people would not mind paying their taxes, (because it’s for Oprah), and perhaps the country could pay off its deficit. However, then Oprah would also be stuck with the real business of running a country. Like dealing with a war, feats she may not be capable of handling, and when she fails, the country will lose faith in her. No, it would be better for America to adopt a situation similar to that of England. Let us have a Queen to stand up at ceremonies and wear a pretty crown, and a president that can be blamed for everything that goes wrong. Then America will be happy. Until that day, America simply has Oprah, ‘the queen of daytime television’ and a president everyone loves to hate.

Pics I have so far for Bills birthday project

Ok guys these are the images I HAVE for the project so far, it's getting too hard to tell people what I have and what I need, if you don't see it here, please draw it or take a picture or whatever! Please and thank you!

Please send all submissions to me at heatherproa@gmail.com or find me on skype (look me up under pinkpixiedf)

If you don't know, we're drawing scenes from the song The Epic Ballad of Bill (track 16 on Short Stories). I'm putting them together as a music video for Bill's birthday on Thursday. I'll still take submission early on Thursday!

Epic Ballad of Bill


Mushroom cloud


Bill chant


Bill perched on top of the world


Iron Man


Last years comic dork (who doesn't know who the red hulk is)


red hulk


green hulk


Searchlight transformer


Chuck Norris


Chuck Norris attacking stormtroopers


Chuck and stormtroopers





Reincarnation of Palpatine


stormtroopers


Vader and Stormtroopers


Darth Maul


Everybody know's Bill


Terminator


No need to run....


Like lightning!


Bill's so awesome


Bill is Epic


Bill is everywhere


Bill is everywhere


Bill in China


Bill in Illinois


Bill in Manhattan


The most epic story that ever occurred

Hello, I Speak Nerd

Hey! I'm blogging again!

So, it's the holiday season which means I've been keeping busy by working two jobs. (I've been working two jobs during the holiday season for the past several years.) During this time of year I often work 14- 17 hour days, so I spend a lot of time away from the computer. Being away from the computer makes me a little sad these days because currently, the only way I keep in touch with friends in through the internet, mostly Twitter, Skype and YouTube.

I have only a couple of friends who live in the same general area as me (I say it that way because we technically live in different cities), but mostly all of my best friends are spread out across the face of the earth. Normally I feel close to my friends even though we are so far away, because we would converse so much through social media, but now, I feel so far away from everybody because I am rarely at my computer. Even when I am at my computer, it is usually at very odd times (like 1 am Pacific time), so nearly everyone I know is asleep, or at work if they live someplace where it is daylight during my nighttime.

ANYWAY, that's not even what I wanted to talk about in this blog, I guess I just wanted some sort of "introduction" for why I'm blogging again all of a sudden. I just miss the conversation and if I can't be around when other people are awake, I'll write some blogs so people can read them whenever they are around and we can continue sharing ideas and stories and keep our friendships alive.

With that said, here's a little story:

So I was at one of my jobs the other day (to be clear, it is my "second" job where I am only a 'seasonal' employee, so I have only been working there since October and will be let go at the end of December) and I was stocking shelves with another worker. We were putting out some WOW expansion packs and my co-worker started to tell me that he is sort of a nerd because he plays WOW a lot. I said to him that the only details I know about WOW are what I've learned from Watching The Guild. He stared at me for a minute and then said that he didn't know what I meant exactly. I said, "The show, The Guild. You can watch it on YouTube....?" He didn't know what I was talking about. I was sort of surprised really that someone who claimed to be pretty obsessed with World of Warcraft, had not heard of The Guild, but maybe I'm just a little too nerdy. I explained the show to him a little further and got more into discussing YouTube, because I'm a youtuber, not a WOW player. As is only natural, he responded with what he knew of YouTube, which sort of made me sad. The only YouTube videos he knew of were all viral videos like Alien Baby, Leave Brittany Alone! and Chocolate Rain. Although, when he mentioned Chocolate Rain, I brightened up and told him that I had met Tay Zonday at an online video convention (VidCon). He was surprised at this and so I had to explain VidCon to him. When I paused in my discussion, he stared at me for a moment and said "Ya.... I think you're a bigger nerd than I am."

Haha! Being a Nerdfighter, I totally took that as a compliment, but I didn't even begin to discuss Nerdfighteria with him. I thought it might be too much for his obviously infant nerd brain. (LOL, that sounds so horrible!) But really, it was sort of funny to me (like I have more nerd cred than him or something, hehe, is that even worth anything?!) Situations like that make me miss all of the people here on the internet though. It's nice to have regular conversations where you don't have to constantly explain yourself.

So let me sum up this blog like a letter:

Dear Internet (CC Nerdfighteria, ClassyLadies),
I miss you. Let's talk more, because we speak the same language and that makes me happy.
Sincerely,
PinkPixieDF

P.S. I told an officer today that "the best way to contact me is through Twitter". They asked for my primary forms of contact (i.e. home phone, cell phone and e-mail) I told them that they could have that information, but I'm rarely home, I only check my e-mail maybe once a week and I never answer my cell phone because I'm nearly always at work. Also, I will be getting a new cell phone in the next couple of weeks so my number is about to change. I told them that using Twitter would bypass all these potential problems, but they still wouldn't accept my Twitter information. Oh well, I guess it's for the best. I don't need the police hovering over my Twitter account.

P.P.S. I was only being questioned by an officer because one of the companies I work for is in a lawsuit against someone who committed credit card fraud and apparently this person purchased things at my register a few months ago. The police required a statement from me about that particular transaction. (I'm not in any trouble or anything!)

Okay, goodbye for today.

Avatar Re-release Review

Hey there! So yes, I've been away from Blogger for a few days. I was on vacation in Wisconsin and I was staying at a house that had an extremely slow internet connection, so it wasn't really worth the effort to try and upload a blog. Also, I was rather busy the whole time I was there. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I tried to keep up with BEDA by tweeting my blog. I did still miss a couple of days, but oh well.

Anyway, I am back home and today I went to see the re-release of AVATAR. It was just as awesome as the first time around. There were new scenes, just as promised. There were three new scenes in fact.

I will try my best not to give real "spoilers", but I will give you a general idea of the new scenes.

The first new scenes is towards the beginning of the film, when Grace, Norm and Jake first venture into the forest in their Avatar bodies, we get to see the school where Grace taught the Na'vi to speak English.

The second new scene is near the middle of the film, we see the aftermath of a battle that took place between the Na'vi and the humans who destroyed the sacred tree. (Remember Jake and Neytiri wake up to find the tree being destroyed). Apparently, some of the Na'vi fought back and destroyed the machine and the humans who were running it.

The last "new" scene is toward the very end, we get to see Tsu'tey's actual final moments. In the original version of the film, we see Tsu'tey jump from his ikran onto one of the ships and kill many of the soldiers, but he is then shot by the last soldier and he falls from the ship, supposedly to his death. This scene is still in the movie, but later, we see that he is found by Jake, Neytiri and some other Na'vi. Tsu'tey is still alive, but dying. He speaks to Jake and Neytiri before he dies.

Personally, I am happy with the inclusion of these scenes. It was nice to see the school that they talked about so much, but we never saw before. The other two scenes also fill in some gaps that were in the film before. I really liked the scene of how Tsu'tey really dies. It was kind of sad before to think of him only falling to his death and that is the end. It is better to know that he died with his friends at his side.

Anyway, I'm glad I got to see this movie in the theatre again. I would recommend going to see it again if you have the chance. If you liked it the first time, you definitely wont be disappointed seeing it again.

Alrighty, goodbye till tomorrow. :-)

Prayers for Esther

How can I write about anything else today when someone who is very well known across the internet and very well loved is battling for her life right now?

You probably know her as CrazyCrayon, but if you don't know the name CrazyCrayon, her name is Esther. Esther is a Nerdfighter, which to me, means she is family. She has cancer and tonight she is exceptionally ill.

My prayers tonight are for Esther and her family. Please keep Esther in your thoughts.

That's all I can really say today. Oh, and Happy Birthday to John Green, without his existence, many of us would not have ever known Esther. Gosh, this is a really big day in Nerdfighteria. Let's be thankful that the world has worked out in such a way as to bring us all together, even if our togetherness only exists regularly in cyberspace, we are all real people, living real lives, and right now, I am praying real prayers for a real person.

Today's quote from the book "365 Days to Let Go: daily insights to change your life"

August 24: "When we realize that our true nature can never be known, only continually discovered, then we become fearless explorers of reality we are created to be - moving in and out of complementary or conflicting moments alike with the same ease as does a dolphin take delight in carving its way through the endless currents of the sea."

Avatar All Over Again!

Hi peoples! Today is almost over, but I won't let this day get away without keeping up with BEDA!

Guess what?!?!

They are re-releasing Avatar (the movie with the blue aliens, not the Airbender one)! It goes back into theatres this Friday (August 27). It will only be shown in 3D and 3D IMAX and only for a limited time. I don't know how long a "limited" time actually is, but I plan on going to see it! They've added in about 8 minutes of extra footage that wasn't in the original version. I know that movie was already so long, but I remember when I saw it, I just didn't want the movie to end. It was so pretty, I could have watched that movie forever probably.

I am going on a trip this weekend. I will be in Wisconsin the 26th to the 29th (I'm going to see my friend Bill be a race car driver!) so I don't know if I will be able to see it while I'm on my trip, but I will if I can, if not I'll probably go check it out on Monday.

Anyway, that's really all for today.

Here's today's quote from the book "365 Days to Let Go: daily insights to change your life"

August 23: "Learn to act in the moment -do as this moment asks- and life won't have to give you a kick to remind you of what you are supposed to do!"