I tried to keep this as simple as I could. I did not oversimplify it. All of the ingredients are there, the main one being “nature”. But I wanted the message to be easily understood by those who needed to hear it.
Category Archives: Video Log
My video journal which chronicles various events in my life. Just like my written journal, entries are infrequently posted.
Watch out for an angry cat
Here’s a short video I made that offers a bit of insight into how cats behave when they’re angry, or stressed or wound up. They need to unload that tension and they do it in ways that are predictable, whether you’re talking about small cats or big cats. I hope this helps you!
Finally, some snow!
After an unusually warm, humdrum winter in Romania, bereft of snow, we finally had some fairly heavy snowfall these past few days! I drove through a snowstorm the day before yesterday and when I got home, I got to enjoy the beautiful winter weather from inside our house, safe and warm.
I made a short vlog about this which you can watch here or on YouTube. Enjoy!
Glad to be back home!
The toy train II
Back in 2009, I made a little video called “The toy train” and published it to YouTube. As 2017 turned into 2018, that video was seen more than 25,000,000 times. Almost ten years later, I made a follow-up video that can see it here or on YouTube.
The tracks were set up for my daughter, who loves playing with trains. It’s Thomas the Tank Engine and Sir Handel, running on two track sets, Elsbridge Station and Runaway Boulder. The various toys used to decorate the set belong to her.
If you were to put yourself in my shoes, you’d have an interesting perspective on the phenomenon that can be loosely called “children’s videos on YouTube”. When I posted my original toy train video, there was no such thing. I simply made a fun little video that I liked and that I thought children might like. I was thinking forward to the time when I might have a child of my own.
It’s now 2018 and the demand for children’s videos has exploded around me. Some of the big YT channels aimed at children get views that number in the billions and revenues that are in the very healthy millions (see this article). There are even YT channels that don’t even bother to make real videos; instead they use computer algorithms to mash together video clips and audio clips in order to create somewhat watchable gibberish, in the hope of racking up views and revenues (see this article). That’s disturbing. Children need simple, logical storylines to their videos; their young minds are thoroughly confused by computer-generated gibberish.
Rest assured my videos are real and they’re made by me. Enjoy!
Proud To Be Romanian at Cetatea Făgărașului
Ligia and I were in attendance at a wonderful event last night, organized by the good folks from Proud To Be Romanian at Cetatea Făgărașului, a medieval fortress whose construction began in 1310 and continued through various repairs and improvements well into the 1630s.
It goes without saying that I love medieval fortresses and castles. I feel right at home whenever I visit one. I loved the architecture here, the various tunnels and cellars that run under its walls, the beautiful, grandiose rooms and hallways but most of all and perhaps a little odd, the window encasements which were made of carved stone. They were so beautifully and delicately made and were perfect for the style of the castle.
We got there a little before the entertainment started. Being there ahead of time gave us the opportunity to explore the castle and take some photos, which you’ll get to see here. The evening’s festivities involved wine and champagne tastings, hors d’oeuvres, some networking, a ceremony celebrating those who are doing good things in Romania (Ligia was among those who were feted) and a concert in the castle’s inner courtyard.
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Ligia and Valentina Vasile in the throne room of Cetatea Fagaras. La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017.
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
La evenimentul “Proud To Be Romanian” organizat la Cetatea Fagaras pe 22 iulie 2017
I also shot some 360° video with my Giroptic camera (it’s embedded below and may not display properly in certain browsers like Safari on a Mac). I have to apologize for its quality. While the novelty of this kind of video kind of makes up for the camera’s technical inability to record proper HD video, it’s not enough to recommend it. And when you hear the bad sound recorded with its microphones, you’re even more put off. Again, sorry… If any of you know how to improve the quality of the video captured with this camera, please let me know.
But enough whining! The event was great, the champagne and the wine were great and the castle was amazing! We loved it! One of the people we got to meet was Mrs. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Office at United Nations (you’ll see her in one of the photos with Ligia) and you should have seen my face when she said she knew me and liked my show, Romania Through Their Eyes… 😳
Thank you Adriana and Rob for putting this wonderful shindig together!
Raoul Pop 