Lisa Lavie, a YouTube artist who has successfully released her debut album Everything or Nothing (2008) exclusively on iTunes, has one powerhouse of a voice. Reminiscent of a classic Mariah Carey and previous X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, Lisa’s voice has such immense depth and range that you can’t help but feel like you found a rare gem and wonder if anyone else even knows it exists. Then you start to think if you didn’t know it existed,  then a bunch other people probably don’t know; which leads to the thought that (more) people need to know about and appreciate this awesomeness and then you feel exhausted just thinking of the injustice of it all.

Lisa’s YouTube channel has a number of covers and showcases songs off her album which has an R&B and Soul feel to it and which in my opinion is a refreshing departure from the overproduced fakeness in mainstream music. Check out my favourite songs (and counting) from her album below.

I know that you know that somehow I feel like I would be a better person if my posts were somehow not quite as sporadic as they are now. I know you know this because you told me…and you also told a bunch of other people. People who like me might want to post a tad bit more often but somehow can’t quite cut it in this blogosphere of emotions and ideas that is constantly being churned out every second. Thank you for noting this shortcoming of mine (really, no hard feelings here). I mean if people didn’t point out shortcomings how else would we grow to be better people? Right? At least that’s what I tell myself on a day-to-day basis.

As you can see I haven’t really taken you up on this offer (quite a good one, might I add) of giving me something to write about each day and for that I am truly sorry. I know you only want the best for me but even accepting such a task is really daunting. I mean really, the pressure is kind of intense.

Honestly, I have a lot of stuff on my chest that I would love to offload in this blog of mine. They’re kind of emotional and so avoidance is the game I’m playing right now (don’t judge me). I’ll get around to it. No for real, I’m working on it. See this post I’m writing right now— BIG STEP.

So, I just wanted to say thanks for the offer but I don’t think I can accept it right this very moment. I still feel better knowing it’s on the table though so it’s not for nothing, so don’t feel bad. Keep looking out for me, ok?

Sincerely,

Misery

p.s. I suppose all those other people who accepted your offer makes you feel better. I totally forgot about them.

Amazon Haul

Camera Case, SD card and replacement battery bought separately

What's in the box

Camera Batteries

Original and Replacement Battery (BCF10PP)

Front of Camera

Camera Aerial View

Back of Camera

Camera in Case with replacement battery

~.~.~.~.~.~

So when I first decided to do this little camera series, I had planned on posting sample pictures – just because i couldn’t find very much online (aside from the reviews). Since then quite a number of pictures have appeared on Flickr and Picassa. I suppose, it being named the number one consumer camera for 2010, it was bought by quite a number of people who happened to post em since I purchased mine in November. All in all, I still like my camera and have no regrets, so if you want to check out actual buyer images head on over Flickr and Picassa and check em out.

1. Canon SD1300

Everyone recommended I get a Canon. Known for their picture quality, build and all around good name, they were at the top of my list. The camera was right in my price range too at $129 and came with a free memory card at Amazon. They had five colour options and all the cool features I could want in a camera.

2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20

This camera was rated 2010 Consumer Camera of the year from digitalcameraHQ. Panasonic has been known for their Lumix brand of cameras which have good picture quality, extensive zoom and a ton of features; they also had five colour options to choose from. It was also discounted at Amazon from $179 to $139.

3. Sony Cybershot W350

Available at Amazon for $144, this camera was also well rated with CNET choosing it as their top point and shoot in their Holiday Gift Guide for 2010. With a cool panorama sweep and wide angle features, it is also the thinnest of the bunch and comes with five colour options.

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In the end I chose the Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20 (violet). Even though it lacked cool features like panorama and zoom during video and came with a USB 1.0 cable (USB 2.0 is faster) and saved HD video in a larger format that the others. As a casual user I figure those won’t really be issues for me. Plus no matter how hard I tried, something about it just kept pulling me back. So in the end I went with my gut. Let’s hope I made the right decision. See upcoming posts for the unboxing and sample pics.

You might be wondering why I’m writing about an album from 2006. Frankly, it’s just that good. Listening to the album this past week, with “fresh ears” I have found some new favourites which as it turns out are the quirkier songs on the album; songs like Field Below, Apres Moi and That time.

In listening to her other albums I have to admit, sometimes the songs just seem to go over my head. Her songs have an element of depth to them which artists today truly lack. Not because they are complicated but her songs and storytelling sometimes pulls from different places, time periods and has so many references that you have to immerse yourself to really “get it”.

While reintroducing myself to her music this week I found two songs off her 2009 album Far that I can’t stop playing – Laughing with and Human of the Year. Honestly, I can’t even tell you the other songs on the album. It was like these two just reached out and grabbed me. Many people have their different interpretations of these songs. Laughing with seemed pretty straight forward to me but after reading an explanation of  Human of the Year – I looked past the haunting quality and awesome vocals to really listen to the song and it all just made sense. See if you can figure it out and let me know.

So there you go…Regina Spektor. If you hadn’t heard of her before now, you’re welcome. Enjoy the eargasms below.

From Begin to Hope

From Far

Is it worse that I ended it with more handfuls of apple jacks imitation cereal?

Not the response I was hoping for.

You guys are failing to see the upside here. I actually worked out, sweat and felt pain!

Yay for me!!!!

First thing’s first. Choosing a camera is difficult. There are so many options – zoom, speed, LCD size, megapixels, viewfinder, video capability, video type, sound playback…the list goes on. This is not a post to narrow all of that down for you. This is a post to show you how to use the internet to aid you in selecting the camera that’s right for you.

1. What do you want in a camera?

If you want some information on all the options available to you and help in determining how important they are to you, I would highly suggest CNET’s Digital Camera Buying Guide. Chock full of information, they break down all the options and link the general camera features to the type of user, making it fairly easy for you to decide just what group you fall into. They also have a Digital SLR camera buying guide for the more advanced camera users.

2. Which cameras have the features you’re looking for?

Once you decide the kind of user you are and the features you want, the next thing is to find all the cameras that meet that criteria. Once again CNET has this covered. Their digital camera finder makes it easy by allowing you to select the most basic options while their digital camera review section allows you to narrow down the options by feature, brand or camera type.

3. Camera comparisons

When you have finally narrowed it down to a couple of choices, the next thing to do is to compare your options. Quite a few sites have this feature with some being better than others. Snapsort.com keeps it really simple by giving a feature by feature comparison while sites like Imaging Resource have image by image comparisons on the same or similar test subjects.

4. In depth Reviews

These basically give a review of the camera’s overall performance, feel and features. Sites like digitalcameraHQ, Camera Labs and Imaging Resource do an awesome job.

5. User reviews

To me this is one of the most important parts of choosing a camera and can pretty much be a deal breaker. If the choice comes down to two cameras and one has a ton of bad reviews, which will you feel most comfortable buying? TestFreaks.com pretty much aggregates reviews from all over the internet, they even categorizes them into “expert” and “user” reviews. Amazon and Youtube are also pretty good places to find some user reviews, even though I’m pretty sure TestFreaks has them included in their listings.

6. Pictures

Finally, after all of the research above, maybe you want to see actual pictures not just test images but real everyday photos from real users. Flickr and Picasa are good sources for this. Flickr has a camera finder feature while Picasa’s search function using allows you to just type in the name of the camera and voila all the camera images at your fingertips.

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Most of the websites mentioned above, have the same or similar features. Some with better options and more details but a wealth of information nonetheless. I pretty much used them all in my camera selection process. The verdict is still out however, as I have yet to even turn on my camera. In my next post I’ll let you know my top 3 and which one I selected.

Kodak Ektralite 10 Camera

1) A Kodak Ektralite 10 which I probably used for the last time at my high school graduation in 2000; and

2) A Polaroid PDC 3035 (a gift to my dad which i knew he never was gonna use – so I took it) which I stopped using somewhere around 2006 primarily because I likened it to a piece of crap.

Let’s just say I preferred the Kodak (and yes I just found out that it was made in 1978 – sorry Polaroid).

Polaroid pdc 3035

Now I don’t particularly like to take pictures i.e be the subject of a photo, what with all the posing (how awkward must I be made to feel), fake smiles and what not. Neither do I particularly like to take pics of other people (primarily in public) because somehow I am the one who ends up feeling self conscious. But I figured I needed a new camera anyway, you know, for candids, landscapes, macros and the occasional posing stuff… you know, “moments”.

If you’re like me, decisions do not come easy and choosing a camera what with all the choices and features and options out there can be a little daunting. It took me a good couple of months – maybe even a year – to decide on a camera and because I didn’t really have the luxury of going to stores for a hands on experience and so all my research was done via the internet.

Since I haven’t tested my new camera yet (too busy and sick), I can’t say if I made a good decision, but so far I haven’t regretted choosing it over another camera. You know how sometimes you make a purchase and keep thinking on the way home or waiting for delivery “man I should’ve chose that other one” but yet try to convince yourself you made a good decision? That hasn’t happened. Thank God! Cuz returning it is not an option.

I say all that to say that I’ve decided to do a couple posts on my camera shopping/research/selection/use/performance experience. Why? Absolutely no idea, but I figure it might be useful to someone. Stay tuned.

It all started out with the cheap little ipod earphones that came with my video ipod. They lasted for about a year before they went down the crapper, then I bought a cheap replacement (US$ 1.50) which died a couple months later.

iLuv-Worst earphones ever

But the one that has made me the most upset were the most expensive and they did not even last for a month. This pile of misery came straight from I-Luv, a brand that i happened to like (till now) I supported them by getting their ipod case and the ipod/dvd plaver but my faith in the brand has been shattered – all cuz of this piece of crap for US$12:99 (J$1000 – for me)

The first night I bought and used these, one ear pad came off – never to be found again. Next, the little silver metal piece of crap just fell of leaving me staring at the inside of some earphone. Mind you, once the soft spongy pads come off, they don’t fit too well in your ear so the just keep falling out.

Klip Xtreme - Runner up of crappy headphones

Then just today when I’d had enough, I spent US$ 7.00 on another piece of crap – from KlipXtreme that came with that shorting out sound right as i plugged it to the ipod.

****

So the above rant was written April 2009 and now a year and a half and about 5 headphones later I am still frustrated. I have heard recommendations for headphones on quite a few podcast bust seriously I cannot pay $30 much less $100 for a headphone, no matter how good the sound quality.  I mean that sucker better last for a couple of years. Even then, it would be kinda hard for me to spend the equivalent of $2500 or even $8500 on a headphone.

So… ILuv and Klip Extreme and more recently Coby are not cutting it for me. I beg you, anyone suggest a good headphone (that does not cost an arm and a leg). I am desperate! Desperate I tell you!

-Everything and everyone on this earth was put here to solve a problem.

-Your destiny is something that you find, it is not something that you develop.

-If you want to know whose lives you were meant to touch on this earth, think of the situations around you that touch you and make you feel hurt or pain. That is the path to finding your calling.

****

It made sense to me so…