Songs of Summer: Classic Edition

I love summer! And I’m so sad it’s almost over. (In Austin we’re about half-way through it.) To keep my summer spirit in tact during its off-season I listen to tunes that remind me of how awesome it is. Here is a compiled list of the ones that really get to me, something upbeat and fun for the whole family to enjoy while traveling this summer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: music, summer | Posted in Faves | No Comments »

Keep On Voting

We’ve received some great entries in the Spread the Craft Contest! You can still watch the entries for free-and make sure you continue to vote until until August 1st (that’s Friday!). We will be making the Big Announcement next Tuesday, August 5th-so stay tuned to see who takes home the $1500 in prizes.

So far, the winner is still up in the air-we’ve got so many great entries to choose from that it’s hard to decide. The debate rages on, and has spawned some pretty heated discussion here at MindBites World Headquarters. It hasn’t, yet, come to blows, but there is still time…. You can still cast your vote-currently leading the People’s Choice voting is an entry that came in just under the wire: Light Painting-Fun With Photography. Following closely behind is Craft Your Own Exercise Machine.

And if you missed out on this contest-do not fret! We have another contest in the works. If you would like to weigh in on the topic, you can visit the MindBites forum and let us know your suggestions.

| Posted in General | No Comments »

The Coral Reef Alliance

What says “summertime” better than coral reefs? Coral reefs are the symbol of clean refreshing water, open space, beautiful creatures, and every possible color one could imagine. But what many don’t realize is that coral reefs are an invaluable resource for scientific research. More than 100 human cultures depend on coral reefs for food, income, and protection. Also, they play an important role as natural breakwaters to minimize wave damage from cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons, and tsunamis. But like many of the earth’s natural beauties, the reefs are in danger of destruction due to humans, and one group, the Coral Reef Alliance, has set out on a mission to preserve them.

The Coral Reef Alliance (also called CORAL) is a member-supported NPO dedicated to protecting coral reefs worldwide by integrating ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and community partnerships. They attempt to do so by engaging stakeholders from three groups, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and their managers, marine recreation tourism, and local communities. CORAL’s goal is to increase the capacity for these groups to work collaboratively toward conservation.

They choose a site for their projects based on political stability and safety, type of threats, funding availability, local support for marine protected areas, and the presence of potential conservation partner organizations. They are currently focused in the Asia/Pacific and Caribbean/Latin America regions. Their 7 active project sites are in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Hawaii, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

You can help conserve these beautiful underwater structures in four fundamental ways:

1. Joining CORAL and making a donation. An ongoing commitment can make you a Friend of the Reef, which gives you access to a one year subscription of CORAL Current and other perks. You can join and donate online at www.coral.org.
2. Be a Smart Consumer by following suggestions like these: Don’t buy coral jewelry, choose seafood wisely (by following CORAL’s online guide), Support coral friendly business, and donate to reef conservation societies.
3. Show support by adding a badge to you website, blog, or e-mail signature (as we have done in our blog entry). Or send a coral reef E-Card to three of your friends and ask them to pass it on.
4. Live sustainably, that is try not to leave a large environmental footprint behind as you live your life. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs, plant native trees, buy efficient cars, and reduce traveling by airplane.

Tags: Charities, CORAL, Coral Reef Allaince, non-profit organization, summer | Posted in Charity | 1 Comment »

Crisis Averted

For those of you that have been keeping track of the Spread the Craft contest, you probably noticed some funny stuff going on with the voting…We wanted to let you guys know what happened, and also that the problems have been fixed.

First off, it was brought to our attention that the site was not letting certain people vote, despite the fact that you were supposed to be able to vote once a day, every day. This was something we experienced in the office, too. This problem has been fixed! Continue voting as normal until August 1st.

Also, there was a last-minute entry that shot up in the People’s Choice rankings. To PhotoTony’s credit, he noticed this and emailed us about a possible glitch (thanks for your honesty, Tony!), which we found. The glitch has now been resolved, and the vote totals have been corrected (based on daily user voting records).

We apologize for these issues, Biters! This being our first contest, we are on a learning curve…there are some things we will likely do differently next time around!

Tags: spread the craft, voting | Posted in MindBites News and Notes | No Comments »

What to Do When the Summer Starts Slummin’

The summer is half gone and parents are running low on ideas to entertain the kids. To try to avoid the summer slump we have created a list to help all who are wondering how to entertain and enjoy the rest of summer vacation. The list basically cuts it down to two areas, with AC and without, that include the summer’s best pick-up-and-go activities to do with your kids. Many of these activities are specific to Austin, but the ideas (like going to a museum, or bowling) can be done anywhere!

With AC:

1. Stay cool, get a cone, or a cupcake!
Snow cones on Lamar
Amy’s Ice cream on Burnet Road
Bar-B-Que adventures to Llano
Hey, Cupcake! on 24th
2. Read a book or have one read to you
Book Fairs
Library Day: Thursdays
Book Readings at Barnes & Noble
Pottery Barn: Story-time
3. Get crafty
Workshop: Make a garden gnome
4. Bowl
Dart Bowl $1 Mondays
5. Museums
Bob Bullock Museum: IMAX
Blanton Museum
Children’s Museum

Without AC:

1. Movies in the Park
2. Fairs
Hill Country Art fairs
Weekend Book Fairs at AMOA Laguna Lagoria location
3. Free live music
Blues on the Green every other Wednesday at Zilker
Austin Symphony Free Sundays outside Long Center
4. Get your sweat on
Explore the Greenbelt beyond Barton Springs
Take a 20 minute hike to Sculpture Falls and Bull Creek
Fishing in Port Aransas
Disc Golf
Canoe trips on Town Lake
Peter Pan Putt-putt
Blackberry picking escapades
Camping trips to Paleface Ranch
Family oriented Fun Runs

5. Put on a play or watch one for free
Zilker Outdoor Theatre: Thursday - Sunday at sundown
6. Go to camp or join a club
Longhorn, Ozark, Chess, Art
First Samples Sewing camps
Ballet Austin Dance camps
Church camps
Book People Book Club
7. Go to A Park or Pool
Take the dog out to a park
Slip ‘N Slide Contests
Austin Pools
Picnics at the Botanical Gardens
Gardening to encourage butterfly and bird watching
Volleyball courts at Zilker Park and Pease Park

Tags: Austin Hot Spots, children, summer | Posted in Around Austin, Life and Learning | No Comments »

The Dark Knight

What can I say that hasn’t been said? The movie is full of pleasant surprises and well-crafted characters. Heath Ledger’s Joker is exactly what everyone else has said, simply amazing. When he’s off screen you want him back on, and when he’s on screen you’re unbelievably creeped out and entertained.

What I loved most about The Dark Knight is the bar it sets for quality when it comes to not only summer action films, but also action films derived from comic books. It alleviates the over-used excuse of poor writing that results in underdeveloped characters and pitiful plots that both audiences and movie buffs pawn off as “just a comic book movie.” So far, no other comic film has stood up to The Dark Knight precisely because of that. From now on, producers, writers and directors are going to have to dig deeper into their reservoir of talent to produce stories that not only rival others in spectacle, but story and character as well. Or at least lets hope that’s the legacy of The Dark Knight, because it would truly pain me to sit through another Spiderman 3.

I believe that what makes The Dark Knight stand out most is Christopher Nolan’s choices in aesthetic and narrative. The choices he made in both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are a far cry from the choices most filmmakers might have made at the time. As I recall, there were many complaints from friends and fans that had a peek at Begins when they got a glimpse of the tank that is the Batmobile and the not quite so sleek Batman costume. But it’s the oddities, such as the overly lit warehouse type Batcave, that make Nolan’s recreation and construction of this world so uniquely great. It creates and has seemed to carry over into a universe where an audience truly doesn’t know what to expect around each and every corner.

Where as Brian Singer’s Superman: Returns choose to stay true to the idea, Nolan’s Batman, stays true to spirit.

Tags: Batman, film review, The Dark Knight | Posted in Reel to Reel | No Comments »

Going to the Chapel: Wedding Tips from the Sister of the Groom

Being the youngest of four kids, I have been through my two oldest brothers’ weddings, and five of my cousins’ weddings, all within about 8 years. On May 4, my second oldest brother, William, was the next to get married! For the past four years, there has been one wedding per year in my family, and I’d like to share the top things I’ve noticed and learned (perhaps even things I’ll use when it is my time to walk down the aisle):

Make a wedding registry! On one hand, it is nice if your guests give you money because it provides the most flexibility with what you want to spend it on, many guests will want to give you a gift. Making a wedding registry is probably the best thing you can do. It is easy for your guests because they don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll like the gift. You may want to do some research on the registry details (return policies, gift cards, online registries, etc). For example, with Macy’s wedding registry, you get 10% off anything that is left in your registry after your wedding date (I’m not too sure on until how long after your wedding they’ll give you this discount). Also, after you open all of your gifts and you find yourself thinking, “I’ll never actually use this! What was I thinking?!” you can return it and get gift cards. While doing your research, you might also want to consider which places have the potential of going bankrupt and avoid those places. You really don’t want to be stuck with gift cards that become useless pieces of plastic.

Hire a wedding planner or designate a close friend as your helper – this always brings on a constant debate. In an effort to save money, William and Lisa decided not to hire a wedding
planner. Instead they used all of the “free” (they say free, but it’s just calculated into your total cost) services provided to them by the Four Seasons. They welcomed the help and expertise of the Four Seasons wedding coordinator (wedding coordinators’ – not wedding planners– services are free, but their level of service varies with the hotel that you decide on). Things were going smoothly until the wedding coordinator at the Four Seasons was promoted and replaced by a new lady. After talking with my sister-in-law, she wishes she had hired a wedding planner or had designated a helper. She felt as if things were a bit disorganized throughout the night. Having a new wedding coordinator definitely brought on some miscommunication, confusion, and frustration. But if the original wedding coordinator didn’t leave, things may have gone smoothly the way William and Lisa planned. I know William and Lisa went back and forth on whether or not they wanted a wedding planer, but if they had a wedding planner, things may have been more relaxed and comfortable (and more expensive!) for them. It is nice to have someone else worry about the small tidbits for you, but you have to decide on what is in your budget; things vary for every situation. My advice would be to do some research and ask the wedding coordinator all the questions you want. After you get a good feel for what the wedding coordinator is capable of, then decide if you need a wedding planner. If you feel like you can do the majority of the work on your own, then do it and simply ask a close friend or relative to be your designated helper on the day of the wedding!

Have a designated helper for photos. When it comes to the huge family pictures, it is pure chaos, especially since my family is so big. Imagine organizing 72 people for a family photo! It’s really hard to keep people from wandering, leaving to eat hors d’ouvres, and keeping them nearby to take pictures, while braving the Texas heat. The longer it takes to gather people for picture taking, the longer the guests have to get cranky, tired of standing, and weary of waiting to sit for the reception dinner. My advice would be to have a designated person to gather the corresponding people for the pictures, instead of waiting around while you wait for people to realize they’re next to take pictures. Additionally, if all of the family knew what order they were taking the pictures, then they would know how much time they do have to wander around. Then, the helper could simply call out the number so that they know they are taking pictures soon. On a side note, it would also help to have the catering staff bring food and water out to the wedding party and those taking pictures to minimize the wandering.

Here is one little tip for wedding guests: If you know that the ceremony is outdoors in a hot place like Austin, TX, make sure you wear a dress that does not show sweat marks very easily. For guys, try to keep a napkin nearby to dab the sweat off of your forehead or to have one handy to offer to the ladies. Although, since everyone was sweating, you would probably only get weird looks if you weren’t sweating!

I’m no expert at weddings, but these are the top tips I would offer to anyone who is planning a wedding. Hopefully, keeping these tips in mind will make your big day more relaxing and enjoyable.

Tags: weddings | Posted in Author Highlight, Life and Learning | 2 Comments »

MindBites Face Lift: The New Townhouse Office

Well, here we are, at another cornerstone in our little company’s big life. We just signed another lease for our new office that happens to be only three blocks south and one story taller than our previous townhouse. A far cry from the carport office but we are increasingly losing parking space. Does anyone know how to rig street meters? I’m predicting heaps of fun parking on top of each other and walking the long distances from our cars to our new office.

Our growing company spawned the move and in our efforts to provide the online community with the best instructional videos the public has to offer we have increased our manpower to 10 in-house employees; 2 producers, 3 marketing executives, 3 videographers, 1 CEO, and 1 tech guy. We’re making it work and with limited parking, too. Ellen suggested riding the ‘Dillo (a free downtown Austin shuttle that uses old cable-cars converted to busses!) to cut back on car space but I say we’re just doing our part to make the earth a better place.

Features of the new townhouse include a covered porch, a baby pool for beer or play, a large community room, 1 bathroom, 5 wall windows, central air, 2 parking spaces, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a fun outdoor staircase to emphasize our commitment to “Keep Austin Fit.” While we gain a shower we leave behind a water cooler, a foosball table and all its glory, access to the best tacos in town from Arturo’s, the smell of Italian food at Sagra, walking distance to Tiffany’s Treats, neighborhood mint plants, , and the use of the back alley to take our business calls. Sadly, the team hasn’t had Internet access since the move and being a company that exists on this one medium, as an online instructional video store so to speak, the new new office has become any restaurant that has wi-fi and a sizable worktable. We do get to keep the low-maintenance office plants (we never have to water them, and no, they are not fake).

Our working environment is changing as our growing company graduates from grade school, single to double digits. We’re in the big leagues now. Our team officially can play a game of basketball, girls against boys, account executives versus creative department. By the way, did I mention we got a new chrome toilet paper roller?

Upward and onward!

Tags: MindBites, moving, office space | Posted in MindBites News and Notes | 1 Comment »

5 Ways to Make a MindBite (Without Owning a Video Camera)

We’ve heard a lot lately that people ‘wish they had’ a video camera, or they would enter the Spread the Craft contest, if only they owned a video camera…well, we are here to say, You Don’t Need One! Well, OK, you might want to get one eventually, but you CAN make a MindBite without owning a video camera…and here’s 5 ways!

1.) BEG, BORROW, Check-Out and Steal a video camera. NO, don’t steal you’ll go to jail. Friends, family, or neighbors. You are bound to have one person in your sphere of acquaintances that owns a video camera. Ask nicely if you can borrow it; say pretty please. Tell them you will share the winnings from the Crafting contest, that should get their attention. You could even include your friend in your crafting project, or MindBite lesson.

• Enroll in production classes at your local Community Television or Public Access station. Many Community TV stations have equipment for check out if you take their classes and get certified. Great way to get experience and learn fundamentals of video production.
• Public Libraries. Check to see if your local library has cameras available for check out.
• High Schools & Colleges. If you have a son/daughter in high school or college, or if you’re in school yourself, many have a Audio/Visual department that is an elective course.

2.) Digital Camera. Most digital cameras come with a video feature that allows you to record short videos to your data card. Video takes up a ton of memory on your card, so you’ll want to make sure that you have a card with a lot of memory (at least 1 Gig). And make sure you remove all the photos off the card, first.

3.) Webcam. Lots of computers now come with built-in webcams, or many people have bought one as additional hardware for their computer. A webcam can be a cheaper way to record your MindBite lesson, however, you are limited to a small recording area unless you have someone to move the camera for you as you do your demonstration.

4.) PowerPoint. Trusty old PowerPoint (or a similar program) can work, using still images, screen captures, and text to share the process of your lesson. You can connect a microphone to your computer to record the audio then import the audio into PowerPoint.

5) Cell Phone. Many cell phones are digital-video enabled, and this might be a way for you to record your MindBite. The video will be of a LOWER QUALITY, and you will have to check to see how much video your phone will record. This method will require a bit of research, and it will depend on the type of cell phone you own.

Good luck, in your search in finding a camera, hopefully this list can put you in the right direction. To learn more about Lighting, Audio, and Editing, check out some of other Insight videos. Until next time…

Register as an author today, and start selling your own instructional videos!

Tags: Digital video, MindBites | Posted in General, Video Production and Publishing | No Comments »

Spread the Craft update

We’re down to about a week and a half left in the Spread the Craft contest, and the grand prize of $1,000 and the People’s choice prize of $500 are still up for grabs! All of the contest videos are free for the viewing, so take your time to learn and increase your crafting repertoire. While you’re watching, vote for your favorite lesson. All registered Mindbites users can vote once a day, so get your friends to join in on the fun! Current People’s Choice Leaders are: 1. How To Craft Your Own Exercise Machine 2. Make Your Own Baby Sign Language Flashcards 3. DIY Shrinky Dinks. Remember, the People’s Choice voting is open until August 1, 2008. DIY Shrinky Dinks’ author Claire Chauvin from Poopscape.com, and Linda Permann from Craftstylish.com are not wasting time on spreading the word about the contest. Even if you don’t think there is enough time to mobilize your peeps for the People’s choice prize, keep your eye on the $1,000 grand prize. Imagine if a crafter swoops in at the last minute, steals the spotlight, awes the crafting community and wins the $1,000 grand prize with a smashing crafting lesson? That could be you! Enter the contest and make sure you submit your video by July 21, 2008 (midnight CT).

And remember to watch the Thug’Nit Sequel:

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Tags: crafting, spread the craft, voting | Posted in MindBites News and Notes | No Comments »