Ntoki ya Mayele Visual Poem

Videography is something I enjoy whenever I have time to do so especially given life, work, adulting, and my other creative projects I’m currently working on. This one uses alternating images and is an abstract video involving imagery associated with the Congo (in this case, both countries as seen with the flags). It was a little project referencing part of my heritage that I’ve only known about for a couple of years now. Interestingly enough, the wooden animal napkin holders I use are based on animals native to that part of Africa and were originally from Kinshasa, DRC. What makes it awesome is that they’re handmade AND fairly traded, so the artists got payed what they were owed making these things. I got them as a present last Christmas and I thought it was very cool. Now, I got to use them as part of the visuals. Feel free to check out this video.

Natondo mingi nayo!

Eira Video

I thought I would try something new and different when it came to my videography skills. After watching some examples of visual poems and “slow cinema” (Abbas Kiarostami being a recent re-discovery), I thought I would try to make an abstract visual piece with all this snow that’s hit multiple parts of the Midwest. There were already a couple of blizzards and I used footage from this month and January while mixing it up with different transitions and effects. It certainly doesn’t hurt to expand my horizons with my media production skills.

Fun fact: The title is the Welsh word for “snow”.

Shaping New Territory Music Video!

It’s about time there was another Ospreyshire video. I made one on my Debut EP and I did that Katauta 52 series a few years ago. This is also the first time I made something for just a single. I enjoyed creating this video even though there were some difficulties. The stop motion scenes with the go stuff was very arduous. The scene with the dozens of stones took a half hour to shoot for just 10 seconds of footage since I had to make it frame by frame. This video also has some Easter eggs that include references to other bloggers and some of my interests in some way. See if you can figure it out!

Don’t forget to download the single for free or by donation on Bandcamp!

Brotherhood of the World Award! (or There’s a joke involving X-Men, Doom Patrol, or Fullmetal Alchemist in here somewhere.)

I was nominated again so soon! This time, it’s the Brotherhood of the World Award. I would like to thank Chizurue for nominating me. She reviews anime, manga, and books on her blogs such as Of Midnight Ravings and Mnemosyne.

Here’s how the award works:

-Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
-Answer the questions sent to you.
-Nominate around ten bloggers.
-Create your set of questions for your nominees.
-List the rules and display the Brotherhood of the World logo in your post.

Without further ado, I’m going to answer the questions used during Chizurue’s post.

Briefly explain your blogging style (where your favorite blogging spot/tools – as in, on the couch using your smartphone or something).

For starters, I blog using my phone or my desktop. I’d say it’s 50/50 depending on which blog I’m using and what kind of content I’m posting.

I all my blogs I tend to write like how I talk or what I believe, but in different ways. When it comes to some kinds of content, I just let something like a video or song speak for itself before I explain things briefly.

Ospreyshire: I do my best to talk about my creative project under this moniker. This is my main blog as one could guess. I show as much content that I create on here like my year-long Katauta 52 Project or my stories behind my songs/poems on here. Things couldn’t just be a bout me, so I do my best to cross-promote people like other people on ZAP Records (the indie label I’m affiliated with), nominating others for awards, and the occasional post about some real-life friends of mine doing great things.

Autumn Peal Media: I don’t talk that much on my blog. I just let my video projects and photography speak for themselves on there. Just don’t expect me to be all that vocal on there.

C. M. B. Bell Fiction: This is different since I deal with my original stories on there. I try to have a conversational style of dialogue while also adding some more poetic narration. My fiction writing style tends to use atypical protagonists, referencing social issues, having diverse casts, and making plots for things or characters I’ve never seen before. I also enjoy satirizing tropes and cliches whenever I can. Most of the stuff on there is micro fiction or my Hollandus Landing cell phone novel. Stay tuned for more content on there though.

Iridium Eye Reviews: This blog allowed me to be more overt in my honesty as I review some obscure media and anime. I wanted to have a mix of formal things such as researching concepts for fun facts while also having a bit of humor. There are times where I drop some uncomfortable truths if I disagree with the majority consensus or mention some controversial elements depending on what I review. I felt like I’ve become more assertive as a person after making this blog March of last year.

How do you manage your blogging time including blog reading time?

Good question. I do read some articles when I have some free time or checking some things out on my breaks if I’m at work when it comes to blog reading time. Some days, I can read several articles while other days I barely have any time given my variable schedule, so I just go with the flow. However, I make an effort to catch up when I can and I’ll intentionally read bloggers’ older/archived posts besides just their newest ones.

Blogging time? Most of this has gone to this page and Iridium Eye. The Ospreyshire page is straightforward and I don’t have to post that much, but most of my time is spent writing poems and filming for the Katauta 52 Project. Iridium Eye takes longer with reviews, finding a picture with it, researching things, and scheduling 3 reviews per Saturday with some cases a whole month in advance.

Who is your most read author?

I haven’t read as much as I used to. As far as books read per author, then I would say Ted Dekker. I read a bunch of his books years ago, but I haven’t read his newer fiction books. As far as more recent authors are concerned, I would say either Winona LaDuke or Rev. William J. Barber II. Both are nonfiction authors who talk about the history and concerns from the American Indigenous and African-American communities respectively. Both were really insightful and I really like how they get real on those issues, are well researched, they know what they’re talking about, and they do not make race a partisan issue which is a huge godsend to me.

How did you come up with your blog name?

I’m sure I’ve answered a question like that when it comes to the Ospreyshire moniker, but I’ll talk about how I got the names for my other blogs.

Autumn Peal Media: I was born in October, so I was certainly an Autumn baby. Peal is an uncommon word that I thought would sound cool and it’s a wordplay with something else, too.

Iridium Eye: Iridium is one of the rarest and most precious metals. This rarity aspect plays on the fact that most of the content I cover is lesser-known. The eye refers to the critical I that I use whenever I review indie films, foreign films, anime, non-mainstream Western animation, short films, and documentaries.

What keeps you blogging?

It is a platform for my creative outlets across the board and it has helped me to have a voice when I’ve been bullied into silence in my past. I’m able to be more honest and assertive online and real life. There’s also a goal I have for using bigger projects to give them a place to be posted online such as books, albums, and video projects.

Thank you! I hereby nominate the following bloggers…

Shokamoka
Ra’ahe
The Things I’ve Seen
Brandon Knoll
B. (Aphorisms)
Blog Posts From the Edge
Angie Trafford
Bloom Reviews
Emily Curry
Milly Schmidt

Here are my questions for my nominees:

1. What was a post that you created that made you feel better as a blogger?

2. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

3. What improvements could you make on your blog? How can you improve as a blogger?

4. How has blogging changed/improved you as a person and in your real life interactions?

5. If you can visit any country that you’ve never been to, where would you visit, which tourist spots would you check out, and why?

 

 

Blogger Recognition Award? Oh, wow!

It’s been a while, but I was recently nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award by Brittney over at Brittney’s Blog. She’s an up and coming blogger who covers subjects like anime and her own life experiences. Feel free to check out her blog. Thank you so much, Brittney!

In order for me to move forward with this award, I have to follow these rules:

1.Say thanks to who nominated you and leave a link back to that persons blog.
2.Give the story or history of your blog.
3.Give two or more pieces of advice for new bloggers.
4.Nominate 10 other bloggers and link their blogs.

Now without further ado, here we go!

1. The story of my blogs:

Ospreyshire: I used to be active in the music scene, but I took a long hiatus. Not only that, but I wanted to to something new. I’ve loved poetry and experimental art, so I wanted to incorporate those elements into a new project. Thus, Ospreyshire was born. My little spoken word/avant-garde/anti-pop project.

Autumn Peal Media: This was a way for me to show off my photography and videography in a blogging format. Even though it’s currently on hiatus, I have several articles showing my works on there like a portfolio. Granted, I’ve been making videos for years via Vimeo, but I didn’t want it to be the only site where people can watch my stuff.

C. M. B. Bell Fiction: I’ve been writing for years, but this was me finally getting off my butt and finally posting stuff on there. I felt like my friends never knew about my fictional projects, so I needed to get some of my works out there. I’m also working hard to finally get my books to the world. I’ve written 15 books over the past 4 years, but I never showed anyone, so I needed a platform where I can post them once they get published. It’s mainly short stories and chapters from my Hollandus Landing cell phone novel so far, but expect more this year.

Iridium Eye Reviews: This blog has been a labor of love since I started it last March. I wanted a platform where I can talk about movies and anime that not many people were talking about. I actually have a film background and I wanted to show my knowledge on various aspects of film and animation. For years, I wanted to post reviews online, but I was scared to post my opinions on there. Better late than never, I guess. As some of you may know, I got sick of so many mainstream movies out there getting all the attention. At the same time, my affinity for indie movies, documentaries, anime, foreign films, and short films was rekindled, so I wanted to share my unorthodox thoughts on the media that doesn’t get much attention from reviewer circles or bloggers.

2. Advice for new bloggers

I don’t know how many people will take this to heart, but here’s some words I hope people can follow.

-Be honest and researched in your opinions.

-Don’t just follow the crowd. Be original by carving your own identity.

-Get connected with other bloggers. It’s a community, not a competition.

-Not everyone will have the same opinion as you. If you do have a different opinion, don’t be a troll or try to be contrarian for controversy’s sake.

I guess that’s it for now.

3. Nominations!

I nominate the following blogs…

Ani-dotes
The Zone of Nerders
Raistlin0903
Elle Nguyen
Canadian Globe Trotter
Jenn
Fractured Faith Blog
The Otaku Judge
Jeannette Jonic
Mechanical Anime Reviews

Thanks and have a great day!

-Curtis

Do you like video projects and/or photography?

Here goes my 2nd week in a row about my other blogs. Hahaha!

One thing I’ve been doing for years is some videography and some photography. I have my own little DIY thing called Autumn Peal Media.

The video projects I’ve done in the past involve concert footage, some sports highlights, poetry, and some music videos including the following:

The Old-Timers “Mammon” which I do-directed with lead singer Dave Emmerson [Hardcore/Punk from Scotland/South Africa]
Watercolour “Ulysses” [Indie Folk from England]
Praiser “Your Ego” [Hardcore from Germany]
Ospreyshire “My Heart is a Crater” [Spoken Word/Anti-Pop/Avant-garde]

I have these projects on Vimeo and I also have some photo projects including my Shutterbug Saturday stuff where I show off photos from my trip to Ecuador on the WordPress blog.

Feel free to check out my other works! I post photos every Saturday and reference throwback videos on Thursday.

-Curtis

Shameless Self-Promotion Post ;)

I normally don’t post on Mondays with this blog (yet), but I thought I’d make a random post.

You see, making spoken word poetry over some avant-garde and post-minimalistic soundscapes isn’t all that I do. I have other creative pursuits, and if you weren’t aware of them, then I’d be happy to tell you about my other blogs.

Autumn Peal: This is my little DIY video and photo thing that I’ve been doing for a while now. Most of my videos are music related (concert footage and the occasional music video), but I’ve also done sports highlights, poetry, and a few travel videos since visiting Ecuador for the first time. You can find this stuff at http://autumnpealmedia.wordpress.com and http://vimeo.com/autumnpeal. I post things on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on the blog.

C. M. B. Bell Writing: Did you know I do fiction projects? You do now! I’ve been posting microfiction/flash fiction on Mondays and Tuesdays so far, but I have future projects that will be featured on this blog, so watch out for them. My stories tend to use deconstruction, satire, and the occasional parody. What? I like messing around with tropes. Check it out at http://cmbbwrites.wordpress.com.

Iridium Eye: This is my film review blog where I post things every Saturday for the time being. Iridium Eye isn’t some place to get Hollywood movie reviews or juicy gossip in that realm. Instead, the emphasis is on independent films, world cinema, documentaries, and even anime of all things (most of it being lesser known). I want to give some unknown movies a chance by giving my thoughts on what I’ve been watching lately. Feel free to check it out at http://iridiumeye.wordpress.com.

Okay, that’s enough shameless plugging today. Pardon my arrogance in this post. Hahaha!

-Curtis

My Heart Is A Crater Music Video

Surprise!

I didn’t tell anyone this, but I wanted to make a video for my stuff. Here’s my debut music video for the track “My Heart Is A Crater.” Feel free to share this video around with your friends. This video was done by my DIY video production thingamabob known as Autumn Peal Media. There’s a blog involving that, too. http://autumnpealmedia.wordpress.com. Feel free to check that out with my video and photo projects.

Don’t forget that this is on my EP Verses V.S. Anhedonia which is on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, and other digital retailers. And of course…

http://ospreyshire.bandcamp.com
http://ZAPrecords84.bandcamp.com

Thanks!

-Curtis